Sewing Vloggers

Sunday, March 30, 2014

The DK jumper, #2, V 1175


Isn't this a fun shape? I really like the hem at this length without the balloon effect., at least for now. If that continues I will just hem the dress and lining separately and leave it long. 

I decided on the pivot and slide which I think will work out the best for my shape. I added to the underarm and center seams this way for an additional 1 1/4 inch of width to the bust. I tried the slash and spread method, the remnants of which you can see on the muslin. It pulled things all awry and made big gapes as well. I think it just didn't work for my particular shape but I thought it would as it did for others. Pivot and slide it was! 

At this point I have the bodice pieces all on. Let me tell you, this pattern IS ALL about the marking! I used a legend and colored threads to mark things properly. 

It is really necessary. For the pleats I used a wax marker, the kind that disappears nicely when you iron. I drew in the direction of the pleats as well. That was VERY handy. I also made sure I laid the pattern out  for cutting exactly as shown in the directions. On my recent draped back tee, I ended up with a fine top but it was "backwards" from the directions in the pattern. With such odd looking pieces and such critical marking I just didn't want anything to vary from the pattern. So far it has all gone together really well.

I will say it has been bulky. I am using a light to midweight linen. And yes, it does look like denim. But it has that bit of linen glow which I love, and of course the wrinkles. This pattern has way too  many layers of fabric in places to make out of a denim and really needs a lightweight fabric.


At this point the fit looks pretty good and as I see this design unfold I think it will be flattering. The back hugs my narrowest part and that's always a good thing. 

Let's see if I can make it through the next steps, Wowsa!...Bunny




Friday, March 28, 2014

"The Colette Sewing Handbook"


Some of you may know I work in a library. It's a wonderful job and one of the perks is ordering for our library pretty much anything I would want. I recently requested some sewing books and will be reviewing them as I go through and read them. "The Colette Sewing Handbook" by Sarai Mitnick is one I have wanted to have in my hands for a long time. I was not disappointed. I am sure many of you have this book and certainly have heard of it but I am late to the game. I am in a situation in my studio where I have so many sewing books that it is rare I buy one any more. That's where the great library position comes in. We can just order them for the library and I have them at my disposal pretty much whenever.

The author of this book also is the founder and designer of the wonderful "Colletterie" sewing blog and "Collette" patterns. Her prior life in the tech world and as a specialist in User Experience makes a wonderful foundation for the her more recent years as a pattern designer and author. I found the "user experience" of reading this book very positive and enjoyable.

Mitnicks style is methodical and thoughtful as she carefully unfolds the knowledge needed by a beginner sewist to have a great wardrobe and a positive sewing experience.  She tackles the fundamentals with the goal of your sewing project being successful AND satisfying. Can we have more nobility like this , please?  This  book , with its signature soft colors and clear photos has a calming effect and you definitely want to sit with a cup of tea or wine to really savor the contents. I did!

photo courtesy of  www.threadandneedles.fr


The book is organized around five concepts,

  • a Thoughtful Plan
  • a Precise Pattern
  • a Fantastic Fit
  • a Beautiful Fabric
  • a Fine Finish
  • Bringing it all together
I personally gained much from reading through Chapter Two, a Thoughtful Plan. To quote Mitnick in the start of that chapter, "My approach is to focus on quality over quantity." She advises how to find inspiration, edit for your own style and dressing for yourself, your lifestyle  and your shape. She helps you develop a plan and make a croquis, all in that one chapter and there are seven chapters in all. At the end of the book you will find a glossary, index and a size chart.

 There are projects and patterns supplied with the book and with each project skills build freshly as well as upon previous skills learned. Each sewing project has a "skills checklist" with page numbers you can quickly refer to. Tools and supplies needed are very clear. I like Sarai's fit explanations and the proof is always in the garments. They look fabulous on the models. Unrelated to sewing but important to me, I really like the diversity of the models used in the book. It is refreshing and emphasizes how an updated classic can look wonderful on everyone if fit and skill are practiced with care. Thank you, Sarai, for that. 

If you are a new or more novice sewist, you will really enjoy the projects and patterns in the book. The inclusion of the five patterns makes this a true bargain for just the price of a great book. If there is a young budding sewist in your family this book would make a fine gift and set the person on the path to quality sewing. You all know how I feel about the garbage out on the internet that our next generation of sewists is being seduced with.   This is the information we want our new sewists to get. Sarai Mitnick presents it in a youthful, non threatening, methodical manner. As for more experienced sewists, buy this book for the patterns and savor every moment of your reading. It's really that lovely as well as informative and encouraging.....Bunny


 




Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Vogue 1175, the Donna Karan Dress


This project has begun and I am having a quandary over fitting the bust. But first, Let's take a close look at this pattern. 

The upper bodice is basically shapes meeting in a point in the back and in the front being separated by a center panel of fabric. There are two "cleavage" pleats at center front between the left and right bodices. That is  it for fitting the bust. If you look at the model on the right, there is gaping in her armpit. I am thinking that is because she even needs an FBA.  So I made a muslin. The muslin does not have that large pleated area of fabric between the two back bodice pieces. I was pinned that together so I could get it off and on. The rest of the muslin, other than the bodice pieces, are short versions because I knew the bottom skirt would fit. It is the bust I am worried about.

You can see this is very low cut, enough to show a bra band. Every version I saw on the web was worn with a cami or tee underneath and that is my plan as well. It really should be called the Donna Karan jumper. The armscye is cut VERY low as well. So a jumper it is.

This is pinned shut in the back. The neckline and armhole seam allowances are cut off. I am debating adding more height to the neckline but as I think it will always be a jumper I may just keep it the way it is. So far so good, right?


Here's the problem: I need more room in the bust. It looks fine in the front but that is because it won't pin shut in the back. I need additional fabric width directly across the fullest part of the bust, which lines up with those sharp corners.

But I need that extra in the front for my boobs. On me, with the bodice pinned shut, I have pulling where you see the red lines in the side view. 

So what I have done so far is pivot and slide out the front and back bodices to provide me with another inch all around. That should be enough to relieve the pulls as it has on Ms. Dumdum. BUT, there is another option, that seams foolproof and easier. I could simply widen the triangular piece of fabric connecting the two bodice fronts at the cleavage. Here's where you come in dear readers. Do you think if I simply add to the center front panel it will disturb the design too much and have an odd "widening" effect on my bust? Or do you think I should go with my Pivot and slide FBA which will add the needed  width at the underarm without affecting the design? What would you do or suggest? 

I hope to make some major headway on this on the weekend and look forward to your responses before I cut. From what I have read it goes together pretty quickly. The fabric is a cross dyed linen that looks like a denim color, really nice....Thanks in advance for any opinions.....Bunny

Vogue 8636, the Marcy Tilton Tee


This is one of those garments where the fabric and look are much better in real life. I think this top is really pretty and I love the fabric.

Pattern:
This is Vogue 8636, a Marcy Tilton design with raglan sleeves and a relatively wide neckband on what I think is a pretty high neck. I used the Extra Small size and petited the garment, taking out length in the sleeves and upper bodice. I morphed out to a size 12 in the hips, my usual.  The neckline needs a bit of fiddling to lay flat and it is actually part of the design. You are instructed to make little darts in the neck band, after installation, until it fits. I think that's a bit vague for most people and could be flummox for some. I handled the extra band width in a way not in the pattern which I will show below. I have seen others interface the neckband as well, something not called for in the pattern. I didn't need interfacing for the way I finished it.

Fabric:
 This is another ITY knit and I think this one is rayon with lycra. I love the color and very slight sheen none of which is as pretty in these photos, I had to give thought to the placement of the stripes but that was pretty simple for this design. The fabric does show every detail and clings enough in the shoulders to show the indents from my bra straps from carrying around the girls for a lifetime. I have some bras with wide straps and will make sure  I wear those when I wear this top.


 Construction:
This was pretty simple tee shirt construction other than handling the collar band. Rather than make the suggest darts I gathered the neckband up at the sleeve/bodice seam and used navy embroidery floss to stitch that up as you see above. But while cutting out this pattern I noticed this:

Crosswise strips of fabric, when pulled, curled into these perfect little non ravelling strips. Eureka!  I decided to put a little bow at each corner. Here is how I make perfect little matching bows:

First, you need one of these.

That is a potato masher you see  with a pile of those strips.
Wrap a length of tube around the potato masher.

Cross over the loops.

Pass one of the tubes under the part of the tube that is behind the potato masher.

Tie a knot.

Voila! A bow with both side perfectly matching . Slide off the potato masher and stitch to your garment.

These were attached in those spots where I did the embroidery floss which now can't be seen and the looseness of the collar band is under control.

Conclusion:
All in all, this is a great raglan tee. I need to finesse the fit some more and think that is simply a matter of making it out of the envelope with a bit of FBA. I will definitely make this again. I am pretty sure next time will not have the collar band and I will scoop the neckline lower. Most who made this the second time around, per PR, did that. Once I get this to Tried and True status I can see myself making it over and over. Nice pattern!....Bunny


Monday, March 24, 2014

Simplicity 1463, a Tons of Tops pattern


Simplicity 1463 is a great wardrobe builder pattern. It has six distinct tops in one pattern and I chose to start with View B, a back wrapping, shaped hem number.

Pattern:

Simplicity 1463 consists of 6 different tops. There are dolman sleeves, raglan sleeves, shaped hems, cuffs or not, etc. So you get six distinct tops in one pattern, great bargain! What you can't see here and only notice if you look at the tech drawing for View B is that the back is quite elaborate. It consists of two bodice pieces, on for back left, one for back right. They provide a lot of drape and a v neck held up by a tie around the back neck. It's hem is slightly shaped to be a bit longer in the back than front, not trendy looking as it is rather subtle, IMO. 
The back feature really caught my eye and was why I bought the pattern.

Fabric:

The fabric is a rayon jersey purchased from JAs. It did not need lining. It was a bit fiddley but that's the nature of the beast. Once again, I used the fusible tricot "Batting Tape" to edge my hems and stabilize.

Construction:

In these back photos I have on no bra. My bras don't ride up and the bra band was totally visible in the back. No worry, I will not go braless in this top! I love the way the back drapes. The outer right side is pleated and sewn into the left side seam. If sewn with a 5/8 seam it creates a big drape and very loose edge to the back neckline. It also makes the V neck lower.

 I solved this by putting in a half inch tuck (one inch taken out) right near the pleats in the left side seam. The tuck is in the neckline edge about an inch from the side seam. This caused the neckline to not drape open as much and raised the V. I do have one of those bras that can be converted to a low back so I can always wear that to be sure no wardrobe malfunctions occur. So my suggestion is to not automatically sew up the side seams in the areas that are left open for the  end of the back bodice to be inserted. Try it on and pull the bodice through the opening until you get your back the way you want. Then stitch up the side seams. You may not have the issue I had. My narrow back and shoulders gave no support so it all just fell and made a deep v neck.  As an aside, the colors in this photo directly above are true, no the dark version appearing in the other photos.

In conclusion: 

I think I have a pretty cute top here. Now that the deep back V is fixed I will be more willing to wear this top out and about. I can see it with some crisp white narrow slacks.  It is very comfortable with the draping back keeping everything loosey goosey. Elbow length sleeves are not my best sleeve look. If I make this again, and I more than likely will, the sleeves will be my preferred 3/4 length. 

I highly recommend this pattern and am looking forward to trying some of the other top versions soon. Next will be a review of the Marcy Tilton Tee.

I spent much of yesterday refining a muslin for the Donna Karan dress. Let's just say it was very challenging. This pattern, Vogue 1175, has more pleats, folds, squares, dots and unconventionally shaped pieces than you can imagine. Figuring out how to do a bit of an FBA was a challenge. I made a muslin and will have pics coming, but sorry, it will be on Miss Dumdum. There is some very serious decolletage in this pattern and you really don't want me to share a muslin of that with you.  You can see what I mean by clicking the link........Bunny
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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Two tops today! Simp 1463 and Vogue 8636



Two knit tops got finished this week and I've learned a lot now that they are done. That ease thing is tricky. In both of these tops I "petited" the pattern, reducing length between the apex and shoulder. Now that I see the photos I am thinking not necessary. When I make these next, I will not "petite". It appears to give me negative ease around the upper bodice and wearing ease going down. I think it should be one or the other and since I am not a big fan of negative ease for myself I will make the pattern with no adjustments. I did not do a full bust adjustment on either of these. Next time I will do a small one so that things will fall a little better. Other than that I really like these tops, find them comforable, and consider them definitely wearable and at the beginning of my knit learning curve. Any comments are appreciated. I will do two separate posts about the pattern construction.


I like the look of this draped back which you can only find in the tech drawings on the pattern. There was an issue and that will come with the review. This was view B.
 

This is the Marcy Tilton tee shirt pattern. I really like it but it also did not need to be "petited" in hindsight. The fabric shows everything and you can see how my bra straps cut in and I don't like that.

All of this is livable but I can do better and hopefully will. But for now I am moving on to some linen pieces. It's muslin time!...Bunny

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A Sewfari!


      photo courtesy of le-21eme.com

I will be attending Claire Shaeffer's  "Chanel and that Suit" program of couture study in May. I AM SO EXCITED!  This week long sewing dream will take place in Palm Springs, California. The flight is booked, room reserved, and check sent!



I so wish and wonder if any of my dear readers will be making this trek to the land of eternal sunshine. Ms. Shaeffer always has an ad in Threads Magazine in case you would like to contact her for further information.


All of the fun and learning will take place at the beautiful Palm Mountain Resort. Is this not spectacular? I can't wait to report on friends made and lessons learned. Care to join me? ,,,,Bunny

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Vogue 8962, not a tunic for me!

What a lively convo about the malapropisms! Thanks to all who contributed. It was fun to get our grammar and spelling rages out!


Knit top number two in the three pack is done! I love this fabric and am pleased with the final results. It fits nicely.

Pattern:
This is Vogue 8962, a tunic pattern. Its life as a tunic did not last long. The back is cut on the bias and has a center back seam. It then wraps around to the front and meets the bodice front piece.
Bias does not work on big bums and I've got a big bum. It  just wanted to cling and look not so good. The pattern also has a hi-lo  hem, not a favorite of mine, and that hem just emphasized the hip action even more. I ended up cutting off the hi-lo hem and it is now all the same length as the original front bodice. It looks much better  and my butt looks normal now.  The bias does look good in the back and I like the way it drapes and swings out.

I cut the size 8 with only my usual petiting length adjustments. I flat pattern measured and felt the bust would fit and it is just right, whew! I get nervous when I don't muslin.  I did not put it on to model as today was one of those no hair/no makeup days and I just preferred to spend time sewing instead.

Fabric:
Another ITY knit. I think this is the one that is rayon with spandex. It is a crepe texture, feels thin but doesn't look thin. The texture made this extremely slithery and I had to be careful it didn't slip under the needle or serger knife.

The pattern is interesting. The stripes match perfectly on the selvedges and then wave all over irregularly. They cannot be matched, only pointed in the preferred direction. I did not have enough fabric to cut the yoke  so added a center back seam.. I like the vertical stripes better and the seam is pretty well hidden.



Construction:
This was put together in a few hours. My first seam, the CB, was serged and I didn't like the bulk that showed when pressed so I went with the suggested two seams of straight stitching and it looked fine. It layed  (or is that lay, educators?) flatter when ironed. Everything fit together beautifully despite the bias edges and neckline. I chose not to add the cowl collar but made a separate cowl to wear like a scarf with it. It shows a bit of skin and looks cute with the top, sort of peekaboo.  The hems were all done with the fusible batting tape and it worked great. 

In the end I think I got a really cute top to wear to work, much needed. But hi low hemlines on the bias ARE NOT for me.

My third top in the trio will be a Marcy Tilton Tee shirt out of the royal blue and black snakeskin. I may finish that tomorrow. We'll see how it works around some much needed bra shopping. I hate bra shopping.....Bunny




Saturday, March 15, 2014

Sewing Malapropisms, huh?



My sewing friend, Jerry, recently posted on facebook a topic that brought many many responses. Jerry is ready to sink her needles into making an heirloom Christening gown, and like all things Jerry, she is fastidiously researching  before making her first stitch. Jerry's post let us know that she was pretty aggravated at finding directions for gowns discussing "yolks", not "yokes". Seems teachers/designers often don't know the difference between eggs and baby clothing. There were numerous instances found in her research.

Well, Jerry hit a nerve.  I grew up with a Mom who was constantly correcting grammar way into her dotage.  Spelling was something we were expected to excel at and pretty much did. I hear things like this and it just fries me. I have my own list of malapropisms. Yup, there is even a word for it. Per Dictionary.com malapropism means:
"an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound." 

That certainly fits the bill! Thanks to Jerry's commentors here are a few of the major sewing malapropisms, starting with my personal favorite:
Muslim,  which should be muslin. 
Waste,  which should be waist.

Salvage, which should be selvedge.
Embroidery,  which should be embroider. Embroidery is NOT  a verb, people! 
Pressure foot, which is a presser foot.
Pressure foot and presser foot, which should be foot pedal. The presser foot is what you lower to make your machine engage and stitch. It is not the foot pedal on the floor that you press on to "give it the gas".

Found this one on a blog tonight:  Wardrobe Stable, which should be wardrobe staple. Staples are basic items. Stables are places for horses. 
Sister Mary Hortense sends one hard clap on the knuckles with a ruler to all who use these sewing malapropisms and considers them corrected. They will henceforth go into the sewing world with full knowledge of their sins, never to recommit them again.

This post is meant with the best of comical intentions and is no judgement on those who use them. Just keep sewing and call it whatever works for you. Just watch out for my Mom and Sister Mary Hortense. They have no mercy. 

Can you add to this list?

Thanks, Jerry for letting me riff on your topic here on the blog.





Friday, March 14, 2014

Hemming ITY Knits

Someone has asked me to please show how I did the hems on the asymmetrical top, McCalls 6400. First, if you read the past few posts you know I am a very recent convert to these knit fabrics and their patterns. Therefore, this is no expert talking here. However, before I started on my projects I did a fair amount of research. Because what I had on hand was fusible tricot tape, that's the method I used. It was logistics, not experience sewing knits that brought me to that choice. I am still happy with the results but may very possibly find a better way further up the road.


First, about that tape....what I had on hand was a roll of fusible tricot tape, purchased years ago and on it's last legs. I had no packaging at this point nor a name but I definitely remember it being called a "fusible stay tape". I finished the roll with only inches left on this top. With more tops planned, more tape was needed. I hit Joanns as I needed instant gratification at this point and there was nothing similar. I found Steam a Seam and Tricot tape, non-fusible, not what I needed. One of the lovely Joann ladies walked the floors with me until we both gave up. I told her I was going to check out the quilting notions on the other side of this little store. She got back to her draping.

What's this? Batting tape? I squished it and it felt just like my used up roll did. I looked and it sure looked like tricot. But, batting tape, to tape batting pieces together for quilting??? Guess what, it is exactly the same thing as the "fusible stay tape" I put in the top. So if you need this product and don't want to wait and/or pay shipping for something in a different package, got to JA's and get yourself some 3/4  inch batting tape. It also comes in an inch and a half width and I am trying to think how I could use that!


Here is my simple hem. It does stretch as I gave it the slightest tug while sewing. That's why the stitches are a bit irregular upon close inspection but it's good enough for government work. On a more ambitious day I would use a double needle for the topstitching but that old I.G. (instant grats) was pushing me on.


The 3/4 inch wide tape was fused to the hem edge of the top on the wrong side. Then it was simply folded in half, matching the edges of the tape, and pressed. I think a tad of the fusible stuck through because it kept the fold in place nicely while I stitched, no pins. I just topstitched from the right side with an edge stitching foot and voila - decent hem. 

I am sure there are other methods and I look forward to finding them and trying them out. In the meantime, I think this is pretty OK for a rank beginner.

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I think the feedback from friends, family and co workers on my work shirt is the best of any garment I have made in the past couple years, really. For some reason this shirt represented something really difficult to do to a lot of my friends. I appreciate all the great feedback but it is really just a basic shirt with little fit.Thanks to all for the lovely words. 

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If you've been around the Northeast borders/southern Canadian areas of our country you will know that we had an epic storm finish up yesterday. Halfway through, in the dark of night, I looked out the window at my little car. Storm Vulcan transformed it from a little gas saver into what appeared to be a Volvo Wagon. I snapped away and submitted my pic to the public radio station website up here for their Photo of the Day. I've submitted lots of photos to them, thunderstorms, birds eating, sunsets, rolling fields, lots! But it took my little eco car to get my pic on for all to see. I glowed.............Bunny


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The Denim Workshirt - McCall's 6613

The work shirt is done. I hope it is the first of several. I like the roomy-ness and casual attitude of it all. I will wear this to death. I hope to make a couple more. The way you see it here is one way I would wear it, with jeans and brown leather boots. There are just so many ways a good ole' boy workshirt can be feminized.

Pattern:
This is McCalls 6613, a Palmer Pletsch Unisex pattern.  It is sized by chest size and I made the smallest size,  34-36 chest, and that gave me a finished chest measurement of 40 inches. So this is very roomy. There are not darts or any fit for that matter. This is not a difficult pattern. I actually never really looked at it. But I did refer to the Zieman Collar and the Colllar Band Tute in the sidebar tutorials.

Fabric:
This is a hundred percent cotton denim from Joanns, nothing special other than I did not want lycra and I did not get any. It's not easy finding denims without stretch. It is relatively lightweight. It is too light for jeans but it is a bit heavier than a chambray, what work shirts are often made of. It washed really nicely and took the topstitching well.

Construction:
I did some changes with the garment fit. I cut down the pockets all around by a 1/4 inch . You can see they are still pretty large. I think I would cut them down a bit more the next iteration. It's a petite thing. I try to make any details smaller to be more in scale with my proportions. I also cut down the collar band by a 1/4 inch width as well as the collar. I am glad I did. I think you'll agree the proportions are good. This is a unisex shirt and they compromised the details toward the male wearer, IMO. Did I "petite" the cuffs? No. I like deep cuffs and actually recut them to the width that I wanted. I felt their cuffs were too narrow. Seams are stitched and serged and topstitched. The topstitching was with variegated "denim" thread. Never again. It looks spotty once stitched and I don't recommend it. Live and learn! I used my monster old Kenmore to do the buttonholes. Facings with graded interior seams and collar band buttonholes are just not anything I even wanted to try with my computerized Pfaff, just too much aggravation. The old Kenmore sails through buttonholes perfectly no matter how many odd layers it has to go over. I treasure that old machine and it is always set up in buttonhole mode, at the ready!

One thing I did not care for but it was too late when I realized it, was the placket for the cuffs. The pattern would have you do a simple seam, ironed open and clean finished. I never would have chosen to do a placket that way and next time won't. I was able to save the situation by lapping one seam allowance over the other and double topstitching. The interior edges were serged. It looked a bit more finished than just a pressed open seam.

All in all, this is a pretty good pattern with some adjustments made to more flatter a small female. I can see myself making this again. I would do the pockets differently, smaller and maybe with a flap. It's a keeper!


Today was a daycation, a sewing one! We are in the throws of , no kidding, an epic blizzard. This area pretty much shut down at noon today and it looks like it will take major digging out tomorrow. We already have a foot and we haven't had the worst of it yet. The storm warning is on till 8:00 tomorrow night. They are talking2-3 feet of snow, temps in the single digits (we are almost there now) and very heavy winds and "thunder snow". Hubby and I are hunkered down and it doesn't look like we will have work tomorrow. 


I managed to prep my pattern and cut out another ITY top. This one is a tunic and a Very Easy Very Vogue pattern. It is oddly cut for fit adjustments. I am hoping my flat pattern measuring will serve me well. It looks like it will fit other than a couple of small tweaks. More to come......Stay safe all in the path of Vulcan...Bunny

Sunday, March 9, 2014

I'm a Convert! McCall's 6400


My work shirt is awaiting buttons. I usually save such handiwork for TV time and will deal with it shortly. In the meantime I have whipped out, and I do mean whipped out, an assymetrical top from one of the ITY knits. It went together in less than two hours from start to finish. It could have been a bit less time but I made some changes. Can I say, MY HUSBAND LOVED THIS! I think men always like to see women in vivid color. Add in a little cling and va va voom!  This top had all that sass and was so easy to make. I can't wait to start my next ITY knit top.

Pattern:
McCalls 6400, a pattern for very stretchy fabric. The asymmetrical nature appealed to me a lot and I thought the irregular stripes of the knit could really emphasize that. There are lots of reviews on PR about this pattern. It looks much better with a real woman inside of it , per hubby!

Fabric:
The fabric is a poly/lycra ITY  knit. ITY is the acronym for Interlock Twist Yarn. What and why that's all about I don't know. I can tell you it has a marvelous drape, feels really comfortable and if I ball it up it will just bounce back the minute I go to put it on. This is PERFECT travel fabric. No ironing, evah! Downside: it has a tendency to curl and likes to slither and slide a bit. I used lots of big weights and a rotary cutter to cut it out. It drapes nicely over the body, sort of the way slinky does. It doesn't have that hot rubbery feeling.

Construction:
I followed the pattern pretty closely but frankly this is so simple there wasn't much to follow. All of my edges are backed with fusible tricot, pressed back and topstitched to hem. The top was serged on the seams. For the extra part on the long sleeve I did a bit differently than specified. I cut the cuff double on the fold with the folded edge being the hem edge. The cut edges were then connected to the sleeve. I think it makes for a nicer "pushup" sleeve with the folded double cuff. That's about it, nothing complicated here, just a great design. I may make more. My other ITYs I purchased already have their patterns matched up.

Sewing with ITYs is like eating chocolates. Just give me another and another. If you've been hanging around here any length of time you know I RARELY sew knits. With ITY's I'm a convert! Have you sewn this fabric and if so, what do you think? any hints or downsides? TIA
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I stumbled upon this Vogue Donna Karan  pattern a while ago, OOP. My quest finally ended when I recently found it on Etsy. There were actually several sellers, all asking about 25,00. My seller wanted 5.00. Sold! It arrived and I am thrilled with it, factory folds, uncut. I am not going to use this for anything dressy. Instead I want to make it out of navy blue linen, a summer dress or jumper with a little white tee maybe. I have the fabric and am really excited about this. I just love this design. I think it will be tricky to petite and FBA but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime I have a few other projects in the queue before this one.

If I can't be warm, I can at least sew warm. When will this dreadful weather end?....Bunny

Had to Refurbish This One!

    About  6 or 7 years ago , during the dawn of the Zipper Trend,  I bought one of my rare retail items. It was a blush pink and black bord...