Self-Stitched September Day Three

Vogue 7612 top.

I'm wearing it to the country today. It's not very attractive, but it's ever so comfortable and certainly decent enough attire for Taco Cabana, where I'll probably stop for dinner on the way back to San Antonio, either in Seguin or San Marcos, depending on the route I take.

Self-Stitched September Day Two

I wore my wearable test garment today as I worked in my home office , but I put on something else when I went to the office. The jacket I made is fine, but the white linen skirt I wore with it (which is really the only thing I have that the jacket goes with) is amazingly unflattering. It's cut on the bias, and the upper front part of the skirt has stretched and bags down under my stomach.

Part of the problem is that the skirt is too loose in the waist, so the waist band sits an inch or so below my actual waistline. I think I may be able to fix the problem by opening the waistband and inserting elastic. I don't have a lot to loose, since I would not want to wear the skirt in public as it is now. At the very worst, I'll end up with another skirt to wear while working in the garden. Being linen, it breathes well, and being white it reflects sunlight.

Self-Stitched September Day One

I have joined Zoe's Self Stitched September by pledging to wear at least one garment I made myself every day of the month. I've only been sewing for a few months and don't yet have any tailored suits. I have a couple of things suitable for wearing to the office, but most of what I have is more appropriate for wearing while working in the garden, hanging around the house, or going to the grocery store.

Today's self-made garment is an unlined cotton print flared skirt with roomy side-seam pockets. It breathes nicely in our still-very-hot September weather, doesn't show dirt readily. Perfect for working in the garden. Here I am taking a rest in the court yard.

... and here are the guinea fowl and hens who hang out in the garden with me, along with the border collie dog and tamed feral cat (is that a contradiction in terms?). The cat is actually living inside for the time being. When she turned up in my garden one day, I had no idea she was old enough to be pregnant, but she's now quite swollen in the middle with kicking babies. 

I truly lead a double life -- one as a somewhat intellectual tax lawyer and the other as a barefoot gardener and chicken herder who sews. Oh! I almost forgot. I'm also a writer. A novel I wrote with my husband Damien Broderick has just been relased: Post Mortal Syndrome, and of course there's my self-help tax book, The Taxpayer's Life Preserver for people who are in trouble with the IRS.

Butterick 5567 Again

This is the same pattern I used for the cotton jacket http://sewingbrain.blogspot.com/

This time I used a fabric that Fabric.com identified as "light weight silk suiting." It looks and feels (to my novice eyes and hands) like silk dupioni. It was on sale for $3.99. I don't know why it was selling for such a low price, unless stripes in those colors are unfashionable. I think the fabric is lovely. It reminds me of a honey bee.

Anyhow, it was exactly what I was looking for: an inexpensive fabric I could use to learn what it's like to make something from silk fabric.

For the lining I used Ambiance Bemberg rayon bought from Vogue Fabrics online.

The silk fabric was very easy to work with, except that I had to be careful not to stretch it. But the rayon was truly challenging. Very slippery! This will make it perfect for a lining, but it's kind of like trying to sew water.

Before attempting to cut it out, I read some online tutorials. My favorite is Sandra Betzina's video, Mastering Silk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijz_j7UXOik  I love her book Power Sewing and have now ordered Fabric Savvy.  I put paper under the fabric to keep it from slipping while I was cutting it, and also used tissue paper under the seams as I was sewing them. This worked quite well, both for cutting and sewing. After sewing the seam, you tear off the paper. It comes away readily with no damage to the seam.

The pattern has square corners at the bottom of the front. On one of the front pieces, I experimented to see what it would look like with rounded corners. Having one square and one rounded corner makes the front of the jacket look a bit weird, unless I wear it closed. I made it to wear over the linen jersey dress that stretched and ended up too big on top. I think it may actually look better with a dark brown dress I'm planning to make after I do one more of these jackets with yet another silk fabric.

A Pleasant Surprise

The first thing I ever made from knit fabric was a dress that looks pretty good, except that I miscalculated how much the fabric would strech, and the top of the dress is too large. I couldn't figure out any way to fix it other than to wear a jacket over it. I want to make a jacket that looks like the view on the bottom right below (Butterick 5567) , but without the extensions on the sleeves:

The fabrics I want to use are silk lined with Bemberg rayon. The silk looks as though it'll be fairly easy to work with. The rayon doesn't. So I wanted to try a practice version of the jacket before cutting into the silk and rayon.

The pattern was for an unlined jacket, but since I want to line mine, I cut a lining using the same pattern as for the jacket. I used the instructions for making a vest in Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing.

For the outer layer I used some very nasty cotton fabric I got at Jo Ann's -- it was cotton that must have been made from very short fibers. It was coarse and didn't drape well. I lined it with some soft pima cotton from an old sheet. The soft lining made all the difference in the world. The two fabrics together drape nicely, and the soft inner layer gives a luxurious feel to the jacket.

Here's a view of the lining:

I'll definitely wear this jacket.

A Bad Choice of Fabric

I tried making a jacket with kimono sleeves using tightly woven cotton poplin (Simplicity # 5046. It didn't work. The fabric is more like paper than cloth, wrinkles easily, doesn't drape well. Terrible choice for kimono sleeves, as I found out.

The jacket was unwearable, and I seriously considered putting it out with the trash. It would not even be suitable for use as a cleaning rag. But then I decided to try to save it, at least wear it once or twice. So I removed the bottom parts of the sleeves:

It's still not gorgeous, but at least it's weable. This photo shows the edges of the short sleeves pinned but not yet sewn. 

I'm going to try making this same jacket using a softer, drapier fabric and see how it turns out.

Yellow Pants

Thanks for the encouragement, Carolyn!

I love these pants I just made from Vogue # 8584. The pattern lives up to its Very Easy classification. I used a low-cost cotton fabric, since this is the first time I've made this pattern, but the pants are so cheery and comfortable ... and cute! I expect to wear them often.

These pants were easy enough to make that I have no qualms about trying them in a more expensive fabric. Lemme see ... this green cotton chambray would be nice.

I've decided to sign up for the Self-Stiched September challenge: 'I, Barbara, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-Sept '11. I endeavour to wear at least one self-made garment each day for the duration of September 2011.'


I haven't yet made enough public-ready garments to wear something I've made to the office every day, but I love the things I've made for wearing around the house and working in the garden.  I'd like to try to wear something I've made to the office or other public place at least once a week.