Calling Uncle on M7726

This pattern is at least a year and half old and I was initially pretty "meh" on it. And every so often, I'd see a pair that I liked. I mostly thought that 1) they were WAY too high-waist for me 2) the back pleats didn't seem to work too well and 3) I hate that extra long front zipper.

I finally added it to my stash this spring and still, went months waffling on it. Then I added it to my summer plans and spent weeks waffling. Then I finally decided to cut them out and right up until the point where I was about to cut them out, I considered bailing.

First, the envelope includes all sizes. I went through the gazillion sheets twice and I had 2 of the same sheet. This pattern sheet had the front pants piece for sizes 16-22 and the pocket piece for sizes 6-14.  So I was missing the front pants piece for sizes 6-14 and pocket piece for 16-22. I was relieved because I felt managing with the smaller pocket piece was doable.

I wish I'd been missing the pants piece because I would have SURELY jumped ship. But nope, I carried on. Sigh.

The pattern pieces were ENORMOUS. I considered the fact that my twill would be too rigid for the style but, I carried on. Sigh.

A 9" zipper was required. Eesh. I carried on. Sigh.

The instructions are HORRIBLE. Now, y'all know me and know that I sew near any and everything and rarely struggle with any sort of construction. It's actually a straightforward design - not complicated - but the instructions are HORRIBLE. I couldn't believe how unclear they made things. Bleh.

Once I got them assembled, I basted the pleats (they are sewn through full thickness of front and facings) and basted the side seams.

CLOWN PANTS!

Listening to foolishness re: the sad state of America...

Yuck. I hate them. I ended up taking the side seams in another 1" (about 1'4" from the pockets, increasing once I got past the pocket). They did feel a lot better on but I was not happy about the fit, about the fact that they came up to my bustline darn near, and I felt they were not the best use of my wonderful printed twill. I kicked myself for not cutting another pair of NL6459 after finishing the crepe pair.

I pulled out a few pair of flat-front, side-zip pant patterns and I believe I can cut M7745 from the cut pants. I have to take them apart (meh) but I don't want to waste the fabric! I picked it up at Cali Fabrics. I check them out periodically and wonder why I don't shop there more frequently. 1) hate the whole yard requirement 2) I always get bad cuts there. This fabric and the jersey I used for my Kommatia tee was cut terribly. I don't think they'll be in my regular rotation of online retailers -- I find poor cutting to be completely unacceptable* -- but I do like this fabric. 

*I stopped shopping with Fabric.com for over 4 years because they'd routinely send me pieced yardage. I would order 3 and would get a 1yd and 2 yd cut or two 1.5 yd cuts. OY!

Now, I know people tend to mean well but, I am not looking for tips or advice on these. I'm totally okay with everything not being for everybody. I knew this pattern wasn't for me which is why they hadn't made it into my stash before now. And I'm not saying "this pattern is bad" - I am saying "this pattern does not work for me".


Onward!

I am so annoyed with Simplicity and their crappy website experience. The latest release they show on the site is Early Fall but Fall catalogues are in stores. I  bought NEW patterns from Hobby Lobby!

8992 and 8989 are from the latest release

My other frustration is with the Pattern Review site. I've said it before but, the sole reason I pay for an annual membership there now is because my patterns are catalogued and starting from scratch (with 800 patterns!) does not sound like a fun idea. However, it is taking longer and longer for them to load the new releases onto the site. Now, Deepika explained before that it isn't in her control. She gets them whenever they send them. But, the summer Butterick release came out early May and it was early July before they were on the site! The Vogue's aren't there yet and it's been 2 weeks.

I'm going to start looking into another pattern cataloguing method. My annual membership just renewed in May so I have time to figure out a new system and slowwwwwlllllly :-) migrate my patterns over.

Vogue 1501 and Kommatia Patterns Relaxed Tee

Vogue 1501 is a Rachel Comey design that was pretty popular when it was first released. The dress version is super cool (though I can do without the shoulder pads!) but the skirt!!

When I made the dress, I tried the skirt on mid-way and was sold. I sewed a skirt from the same fabric is the dress immediately after then made a yellow version. When I decided this crepe from Mood needed to become a full skirt, V1501 was the immediate choice. 

This fabric! Swoon! It's a polyester crepe and with a little steam and a clapper, it takes a press pretty decently. To be a poly fabric, it handled very nicely and the print is beautifully vibrant. I would definitely recommend it!

Same as previous versions, I cut a size 18 and skipped the french seaming on the pockets. Be sure to take the time to baste the pleats!! 

And then, I got a bit ahead of myself. I cut the backs out and went right ahead and insert the zipper. Once it was time to add the waistband I had a ruh-roh! moment. 

I improvised and added an extension and a button. It isn't perfect but it works!

Aside from that, everything is finished nicely :-D

Skirt is pictured with the Kommatia patterns relaxed tee. I scored 7 patterns from the Makerist during a $2 sale. Then I had them all printed as copyshop patterns. I measured the tee before I even looked at the size chart and decided on a size medium - the chart confirms.

Then I sewed up a muslin 

The top was riding up on the hips so I sliced the side seams, as seen. On the paper pattern, I did a slash and spread on the front pattern piece and added 1/2"; on the back, 3/4". This is an extra 2.5" in the hip! Oy!  But again, as you can see, if I had gone up a size, that would have resulted in a poor fit everywhere else. 

Fabric is a sandwashed poly/Modal jersey from Cali Fabrics. I almost blew up my fast when I got this fabric and washed it up! Very nice for knit basics!

It does still have a little too much back length even though I did a cheater swayback adjustment and I could use an FBA. But also, it's a tee. I don't get too worked up at times on those types of fit issues on tees/other simple garments.

Things I like - it has a nice silhouette (I forgot to take a pic untucked, but the muslin shows it) and the rolled cuff sleeves are cute (wrong side of fabric will show).

Things I do not like - The excess fabric in the back sleeve. I'm not quite sure what to do to correct it. Also, the neck binding. It's overly complicated. However, Barbara Emodi who blogs at Sewing on the Edge *just* did a tutorial for crossover neckband and it makes SO much sense! I wish I'd seen this first but will definitely do it this way next time. Also, the neckband in the pattern is 1 to 1 but Barbara mentions needing to stretch the back - yes. Do this. Mine sits away from my neck so I'll shorten it through the center back next time. 

I did small zigzag stitching on the sleeve cuffs vs actual bartacks.

I've applied for a board member position with a local non profit organization and wore this outfit for the interview :-D

Oh, and I know you've seen that new Vogue collection. Did you swoon? Not much for you?

I, somehow both shamelessly and shamefully, added 7 to the stash! :-p

July Wrap-Up (Yes! I'm Alive!)

It's been a BUSY month and a rough couple of weeks. I've been off work a lot this month so the plus is, I managed to get a lot of sewing done! Unfortunately, I am SO far behind in my reviews. I have a cheat-sheet of notes though for all of my sewn but un-blogged projects so hopefully, I will be pretty accurate once the time comes. Whew!

When I first started back sewing after wrist surgery, I made this collage my summer sewing goals. Happy to say that I've sewn all but 3 items here!

M7601 not sewn - will wait until fall

NL6326 #1 not sewn - I have a ton of skirts now and decided I didn't need it.
B6640 not sewn - will wait until fall

(M7251 not sewn - sewed B6378 (TNT) unblogged in it's place but will sew M7251 this fall )


With that said, I sewed 16.25 yards this month(!). I told y'all I was home a lot!

This month I sewed:

• Butterick 6378 top - 1.5 yards
• rayon challis (stash)
• Deer & Doe Sirocco jumpsuit - 2.5 yards
• metallic jersey (stash)
• New Look 6326 skirt - 1.25 yards
• hot pink crepe suiting (stash)
• zipper
• Burda 04/2019 skirt - 1.5 yards
• bright green stretch cotton twill (stash)
• zipper, button, D-rings
• Burda 04/2019 dress - 2 yards 
• floral rayon challis (stash)
• buttons
• McCall's 7246 dress - 2.5 yards
• floral jersey (stash)
• Simplicity 1430 shorts - 1 yard
• khaki cotton twill (stash)
• zipper, tack button
• Simplicity 1430 top - 1 yard
• print rayon challis (new)
• button
• Kommatia patterns tee - 1 yard
• poly/modal jersey (new)
• New Look 6459 pants - 2 yards
• cotton crepe suiting (new)
• zipper, hook & eye

I am seriously going to go for a no-spending August. Sheesh. This month I bought 13 yards of fabric and 4 patterns. I also had a little splurge on notions at Wawak and JA.

I'm still doing well YTD on fabric with 45.75 IN and 53 OUT.

 

See! I have been sewing!! :-p

 Kommatia tee muslin * pink NL6326 skirt * M7246 wrap dress * S1430 top * Burda 4/2019 dress

I have 3 more things on my summer wish list - M7726 pants in a print twill and a separates "jumpsuit" using S8389 pants and the Ogden cami in chambray. I am sewing my daughter's bday outfit (must finish by the end of August) and I have quite a bit of travel in August and September. My jacket class at Hello Stitch is mid-September and then at the end of September, I am having surgery (more on that later!). So my fall sewing will be starting later than normal. I do think that quite a few of my recent projects will transition into fall, so that will help.

Also, I scored this lot of Singer Reference Library books for $16!

And this Burda Style Sewing Vintage Modern for less than $4. While it isn't something that I've been pining for, it is a resource! There are sewing instructions, drafting/pattern altering instructions, and it's really a great read. I have found that I'm kind of into the 40s styles :)

 

Pattern sheets have literally never been taken out! I had to cut the seal on the envelope.

Woot woot! 

Hopefully your summer sewing is going well :) 

Deer & Doe Sirocco

Sighhhhhhhhhhh.

You all know my general thoughts on Indie pattern companies, right? I want a PROFESSIONALLY DRAFTED AND GRADED PATTERN! You deciding you like to sew and want to sell patterns isn't enough! But sometimes, I get sucked in too. Sigh. I couldn't find any info about whether or not they are professional pattern makers so this rant may be unfounded. Does anyone know?


I own a chunk of Indie patterns. (If I eliminate Style Arc that number is cut in half). Sometimes, I do the right thing and *closely* inspect the finished garment pics before buying. Sometimes, I make a mistake and buy the pattern and don't inspect closely until I'm ready to make it.

Listen, I was this || close to choosing another pattern. Sigh.

This is not a dig at any home sewer as I would never do that. Please do not take anything I say personally, I am forming an opinion based on what I see.

So, I go and look and I notice:
Puny bodice pleats. I instantly decide I don't like them.
Front crotch ermm, issues.
Rippling waistbands
Sleeves that are way pulling away from the body when the wearer has their arms lifted (if it weren't a knit, arm movement WOULD be restricted)

And I'm instantly mad that I didn't inspect closely BEFORE buying

Be clear, I am not ragging on sewers nor am I making declarations about the pattern (except for that armscye - No.). I don't draft patterns. I can't say what's objectively right and wrong about the draft. If their patterns work for you then maybe this one will. I just know that I did way more work than I would EVERRRR do on a pattern and especially one that I spent $16 on (I am a Friend of PR) and it's unlikely that I'll do it again. I really like the Pensee top (less so the dress) so never say never. Sigh.

Alrighty so I have never sewn a D&D pattern aside from the Plantain -and I was a new sewer- but I know now that, it didn't really work for me. That top is the reason I've believed, for forever, that they draft for a pear shape (apparently, they draft for an hourglass). I am NOT a D&D customer after this.

I feel like, over the years of being involved in the sewing community, I've seen a lot of conflation between pattern adjustments and pattern drafting. Yes, not many of us will sew a pattern "out of the envelope" and have it fit properly. And even when we do, that is not necessarily equal to a "well drafted pattern".


I make sewing adjustments. I do not fuss about making sewing adjustments; it is what it is. The work I had to do on this front armhole? Nah, not okay.

I don't have a ton of pics because I didn't get nearly any pics of myself alone and it has been SO hot that I have not been able to get full finished "blog photos" of the jumpsuit. This is less about the finished product though and more about the pattern itself. Hopefully I can update the post at some point in the near future with regular front/back/side pics.

As mentioned, I hadn't sewn any of their patterns and knew I'd have to muslin. I chose a size 40/42 (40 neckline/shoulder and 42 everywhere else) based on the size chart:

There is 2-3" positive ease in bust and hips and 3" of negative ease in the waist. I thought this was interesting considering it's a pull-on garment. But I'm going to muslin so it's all good.

I used this cut of Telio jockey ponte (I do NOT like this fabric) as a muslin. Similar drape as my fashion fabric but slightly heavier. The one change I planned to make right away was to lift the armhole and cut it in a bit since I was going sleeveless. I was PERPLEXED by the armhole shape.

Here is my muslin in all its glory (horror? lol!)...

I make adjustments. I assumed I'd need an FBA, full butt adjustment and to shorten the front crotch width. No problem.

I hated the pleats as I assumed I would. The shoulder was too long, the 1-layer waistband was awful and I was again, this || close to jumping ship. I really wanted to eliminate the front pleat but they are diagonal and I didn't fully understand how to make that happen.

Now, if this IG follower is a blog follower, I promise I am not mad/offended/:insert other words: but someone told me I probably don't like the pleats because the jumpsuit is too small and I should go up a size or two.

1) It is a muslin. The purpose is to determine what adjustments, and in what amounts, are needed.
2) Going bigger isn't always the answer. Adjusting where you need the adjustments is better than just going up or down full sizes.
3) In the IG post, I pretty much called out most of these adjustments as necessary...but since I was muslining, why guess at them?

I went back and did the following to the paper pattern:

Converted the back pleats to darts (narrowing the overall takeup about 1/2" total)
removed 5/8" in CB length.
Reshaped the armhole.

Did an FBA and rotated it out
Reshaped the armhole
Took an ENORMOUS armhole dart of ~1" (e.g., don't just automatically go up a size because of tightness)
Straightened out the side seam - I had about 2" of excess fabric at the very top while the waist fit fine.
Converted the pleat to a dart

This really flat shape on bottom is something I don't think I've seen before. I may have been able to understand it better if I'd added the sleeves.

Let me to stop to say the instructions for this front pleat were ridiculous. I hate non-technical directions.  It's probably my biggest gripe with indie pattern makers.

Also, there are no pocket markings AND the pocket is exactly the same for all sizes.

I did Fashion Incubators c*mel toe adjustment which took the front crotch basically from a 42 to a 38.  (did I mention that you shouldn't automatically size up?? Okay, fine, I'm being obnoxious now...)
I added this 1/2" back at the side seam.

More front crotch pics!

Because it WAS too tight in the hips - because, butt - I did a slash and spread to add 1/2" (1" total). The back pant already had a dart, vs pleats everywhere else.

Not shown, as I did it directly on the fabric, was to add 1/4" to the CB crotch seam, tapering to nothing near the point.

And I added 1/2" to the crotch extension which is another common adjustment for me (full thighs).

 

I added 1" total to the "height" of the waistband and doubled it (made a facing). 

Lastly, I removed 2" and they still pool a bit (I could see this being less of an issue in something less drapey where you can roll the legs like the pattern pic).

LOVED the new darted bodice!
The neck binding went in perfectly for me! It's a little wide though...or the neckline curve is a bit too high for me. I felt like it was sort of encroaching.
Really love the wider waistband too!

 

ignore my random foolishness in the background

A full-length pic showing the neck fit thing I mentioned, slightly long legs but not bad, and how much better the front fits compared to the muslin. It fits snug through the bust and part of that is my bra.

My husband and my 4 closest friends.   

This is the closest thing I have to a back fit pic! :-p But *I* think you can see that it isn't pulling, the side seam is straight, the darts fit well, etc.

TL;DR

• Didn't like that there were no pocket insertion markings.
• Didn't like that the pocket piece is the same for all sizes.
• I don't like the bodice pleats.
• VERY low armscye (I can't imagine putting a sleeve in there)
• Weird (IMO) front armscye shape. 
• Didn't care for the 1-layer waistband 
• Too much negative ease at waist (IMO) for a pull-on jumpsuit
• There's something with the shape of the neckline (for ME) that I can't identify.
• The neckbinding went in flawlessly - yay!
  I liked the back fit a lot "out of the envelope". Sure, I needed adjustments (which is NOT an issue) but I think the crotch curve as drafted worked well for my butt.

It turned out and it was pretty and shiny. The fabric is THIS Telio knit from Fabric.com (I am an affiliate). It sewed well, it didn't press well but I don't think anyone expects a poly metallic knit to press well! It did well enough with a little steam, press cloth and a clapper.

It is very slightly sheer held up to the light but I figured (and I do this often, LOL!) that my brown skin and black undergarments would be fine -- full seamless/no show bottoms - I don't do "shapewear" Nope. Cannot. I think I've told the story of trying on a Spanx garment with my wedding gown and immediately calling for her to come get me out of that dress so I could that thing OFF.

Onward!

I was off work and sewed A TON. There are definitely finished items before this but this skirt from Burda 04/2019 is up next for review - spoiler alert: I LOVE IT!

Sewing Updates, Cricut Crafts and Birthdays...Oh My!

Crafting saga story ahead! As you may know, I hit the Big 4-0 this weekend and I had a super, amazing, awesome, fantastic time...I made the Deer & Doe Sirocco jumpsuit to wear, AND, my brother and husband surprised me with a visit from my parents!

I was sitting there running my mouth and looked up at the entrance and froze and then burst into tears! And I NEVER CRY! 

I'd bought the tee and bag a month or so ago, knowing I wanted to make these two items. And since they are here, no procrastination shipping! But I go back to work tomorrow and wanted to get them done today.

My mom started calling herself 'ladybug' at some point. IDK where it came from, but it stuck!

I hope the quality of this one is good enough to print!

Wanted to do the letters in white and red and would have settled for white and silver. I checked my vinyl collection and didn't have black (put a pin in this) or red. Since I needed red for the ladybug, I figured I'd make the "Avengers A" red as well.

Magically, this is the week that neither JoAnn or Michaels is having a sale on Cricut (usually 40% off). I was not going to pay $23 for 2 rolls of vinyl!!  JA had it for 25% off on the website and it wasn't "online only" so I knew they'd match the price.

Decided the tee would be quick and I'd do it first. Famous last words?

I accidentally cut the D's from black vinyl. Sigh. LOTS of wasted vinyl.
I forgot to mirror the A (iron-on vinyl is cut as a mirror image).
When I went to get the red vinyl to recut the A, lo and behold, there is an UNOPENED ROLL OF BLACK VINYL! I think I almost shut the light off and just quit.

I don't do a ton of crafting projects and somehow it didn't register that the ladybug was achieved with a bunch of layering. The overall bug is black and then everything else is layered on. Because of this, you don't fully adhere each bit because you have to layer over it. As a result, I messed up the ladybug shell. Oh yeah, I forgot to mirror the red images and had to recut them too.

When I made the design, I saved it knowing I had to check the bag dimensions. I forgot. So, as you can see, it just fits and I couldn't center the ladybug and the name. I think I'm going to go back and randomly place a few hearts in the open space.

I was going to do both sides...NOPE!

And all of this was after having a disastrous day sewing the skirt from Burda 4/2019. Luckily, the skirt is truly, truly fantastic so I persevered. I worked on this off and on all $&#%! day and somehow, I'm still not done.

There is a story here!

There is a story with my denim skirt - but it's finished now and it is pretty much my most favorite thing!

Hello there lovely bartacks! 

There is DEFINITELY a story with the Sirocco (and some side eye)! I'll review this one first. But it was the perfect birthday outfit.

This cake. Swoon! It was absolutely beautiful and SO delicious!

Brought in 40 with a BANG!

My mojo is deadddddd and gone right now.  When I traced the skirt from the April Burda, I traced the dress too. Hopefully I'll sew it soon ish!

Until later!