Pattern Magic 3--"Two Peas in a Pod A"

I'm continuing to work my way through "Pattern Magic for Stretch Fabrics", making each design for my Half-scale model Dolly, and then enlarging it for myself if it seems wearable.

The second pattern is again an easy one. The basic premise is to take the sloper pattern and reduce the front to 65% while enlarging the back by 135%, which math tells you results in the overall garment being the size of the sloper.  My pieces looked like this:

Then, gathering all the seam edges on the big piece so they fit the little piece, the 4 seams are sewn together.


The one in the book looked like this:

I added longer sleeves on mine and put it on over the red tee to see the contrast better.

And here are several views in my plain grey model to show the different seam lines. Again, a very fun project yielding a quite unique look without much complexity.  Note that I decided to break out my Nutcracker necklace since there is a little bit of snow on the ground!

Pattern Magic 3---"Wear it Wrong"

I recently purchased this book and thought it would be fun to try some of the projects in it. It seemed more accessible than the other Pattern Magic books or the Drape, Drape ones because instead of having to trace the patterns, it uses a sloper for a half-scale model, which I happened to have.  Here my model "DOLLY"  is wearing the sloper pattern for a basic top (I added the wrap skirt to avoid embarrassment for her!).

Now that I knew the sloper pattern fit well I was ready to try the first project in the book, called "Wear It Wrong".  There was a bit of humor in the write-up for it, saying that if one happened to put their top on wrong it would still be stylish.  In fact it is a top that can be worn several drastically different ways, with head and arms coming out of different holes in each!

The first step is to make a simple kimono top which you can see here

Then, it instructs you to pull the whole thing to HER left and cut off the right sleeve enough that it will fit over her head.   Her left arm then goes through the original neck hole and her right arm goes through an opening in the right side seam----like this:

Then one can arrange the sleeve in different styles that seem to "work". Here are my attempts:

This was so much fun that I decided I needed one that fit ME! Here it is worn in the traditional way (the only "give-away" is that the right sleeve is shorter so it will fit my neck when I wear it WRONG).

Here I am after turning it around.

:

And here are some ways I tried with using that dropped sleeve in different ways

This was so much fun I can't wait to start the next project in this book.  I have a feeling I will be running through my Knit stash quickly!

My "RE-FASHION" contest entry

I just finished my "ReFashion/Repurpose" entry for the Pattern Review contest that ends on Nov. 15.  The rules are to use anything that has already been worn and make something entirely new out of it.

I went to the Thrift store and purchased (VERY cheaply) 3 wool and 1 suede men's coats, some silk ties and 4 sweaters (which I didn't end up using) shown here:

I had an idea that I wanted something "patch-work"looking in the style of this French Au Bonheur pattern (sadly no longer in business)

Though I didn't actually use this pattern I was inspired by the combination of vertical and diagonal lines.

First I threw all of the "thrifted" items in the washing machine and dryer, even the suede coat which came out looking much better!  I couldn't "cut" on any of the items until Nov. 1, the contest start date but at least they were clean.   When the start date arrived I began seam-ripping and cutting the coats apart, leaving the biggest flat pieces possible.  Wow, did I learn a lot about tailoring from these Italian made coats!

Then I cut out a large rectangle approximately the size I wanted the skirt to be in a lining fabric and began laying pieces on the lining.  

When I had the pieces sort of like I wanted I used fabric glue to secure them to the lining until I could sew them down.  I used strips of the ties to cover some of the seam lines.

   I PURPOSELY left the distinctive coat pieces such as buttons, pockets, leather elbow patch etc   I also  salvaged all the labels and put them in a prominent spot on a patch of the suede.                                                            

Here's  pic of the finished skirt

And another of me wearing it:

Now I need to figure out what to do with the felted wool sweaters I didn't use--any suggestions?

Koos Skirt and Lagenlook trip wardrobe

I have had this skirt designed by Koos (Vogue 1244) half made up for what seems like several years.

It was lots of fun to choose and put together the different fabrics. I used quilt strip piecing methods rather than all the little patterns pieces and then cut my finished piece to the size of theirs (this was made convenient by a full underskirt piece in the pattern).   BUT when I tried it on it looked TERRIBLE---the LAST thing I need is a long skirt with vertical stripes emphasizing how short-waisted I am.  And of course I would never wear that tiny top and thought it looked almost clownish in one of the print fabrics (on ME, the model looks great)

I've been thinking a lot about the Lagenlook lately since there's a good discussion going on in Pattern Review and had the idea to have large horizontal stripes on the top to balance out the bottom.  Instead of having the stripes go all the way up to my waist I used the dark underskirt fabric on the upper half, giving it a "layered" look. Then I gathered up my top tee into horizontal pleats to give my upper torso some more width.

The underskirt is sewn to the outer at both top and bottom so all the outside is finished. It pulls up the hemline in a soft fold which you can see here.

This is the final item in the mini-wardrobe I've made for my 5 day trip to Charleston, SC coming up. It won't be very cold there but I did want to look fallish!

The top left is a sweater I crocheted and the bottom left is the Sewing Workshop Trio outfit. The others I've already blogged about.   Hope it doesn't rain as I didn't have time to make my grey krinkly microtech raincoat!

Lagenlook pattern from McCall's

Since I've gotten (re)interested in  Lagenlook , especially in the mode of having several different fabrics and colors in the "layering", I've been looking for simple patterns that would give me the LOOK I want.    Surprisingly, several of the major pattern companies are starting to have ones that fit the bill. Since they are usually simple but unusual cuts it wouldn't be terribly hard to draw up my own, but it's SO much easier when there's a pattern in my size to start with.

I picked up several at the 99cent pattern sale that JoAnne's had on McCall patterns this month.  One of my favorites that I just had to have was M6607

This is View B, which caught my eye immediately with the side drape.  Views A and C are cut straight across the bottom in different lengths and still have that great layering collar.

It was just what I needed to get the right addition to a darker pair of pants and tee that I just made.

 I had to recut this yellow fabric from a longsleeved top I"d already made, which was TOO much yellow----so I couldn't make quite as long a collar drop as the pattern but plan to try that next. I also didn't sew the side seams quite to the bottom, so there would be 2 points on each side instead of one.

The pants are the same pattern (V8637)I made in the last blog, this time out of a chunky dark grey ponte
knit, which gives those folds and tucks a little more definition.
 I also made the bottom leg darts on the outside for interest and pulled in the bottoms a little bit more with a band. They are SO comfy and I love the way they fit and look.
                                                    


The underneath long sleeved tee was just the simple rectangle with sleeves that I also explained in my last blog.  I tend to use those simple geometric shapes over and over!    OH, and I've been picking up pieces of tapestry to make purses to go with different outfits----I feel that they almost add another "layer of interest" to my Lagenlook.

Lagenlook for every day

Probably most of you who read this blog already know that "lagenlook" means the "layered" approach to dressing, also known as "arty" or "funky".  It is a look I have always loved and since the Artisan Square Sewing Guild site has come along with 2 LL forums (one is doing a LL 6-pac wardrobe) I've taken a renewed interest in experimenting with different versions of this look in easy knits.  I've found that the clothing that results is so darn COMFORTABLE that I want to wear it all day.  So I ventured out to JoAnn's and other fabric stores yesterday in my newest attempt:

I have gotten many questions as to what patterns I use so will attempt to "deconstruct" my process here.
For this kind of top, I think large geometric shapes give the best "flowy" look. For the underneath blue tee I started with a large rectangle and added sleeves (without the sleeves it's a good summer look with "cap" sleeves)

For the over top I wanted something that was bigger around the armholes so cut this all-in-one pattern, adding the straight cowl pattern later:

I use a large rotary cutter so the edges will be perfectly smooth and often don't even finish them. You can see that I cut the front hemline a little shorter in the front and curved it up a bit in the middle. The extra width at the bottom will cause a knit to drop down into gentle points on the sides

For pants I use a different approach and must use a pattern (especially for the crotch area). Tight pants make me look like a giraffe so I like wide pants on my long skinny legs, but do NOT like them to just go straight down.  You can see from this Vogue Marcy Tilton pattern 8637 that there are suble curves in the seam lines of the pants:  (the skirt is a real winner too)

I am always looking for new ways to give interest to the pants leg lines. Vogue has quite a few "different" leg treatments and the (sadly now defunct) French Pattern company Au Bonheur has some great ones. But don't despair, I'm planning to make up several of my old Au Bonheur pant patterns in the near future and will blog enough info that you can create the look without having a pattern.

But first I want to attempt to knock-off these "Dress to Kill" pants------More soon!

Finishing my sweater with FABRIC

The sweaters in this book "Knit,Swirl" by Sandra McIver were all the rage last year and I got interested in making one when my favorite yarn shop Colonial Yarn Shop offered a class in making one.

Though all the sweaters are somewhat different they are all made by starting with a gigantic circle which is knit round and round for what seemed like thousands of rows.  When the huge circle is complete the sleeves and back are knitted right into it. 

  Here is the sweater I made in the class. It can be worn 2 ways,with a smaller collar and longer back.

 or "upside down" with a large collar and shorter length (which I actually liked better)

I enjoyed wearing it so much that I decided to make one in Fall colors, sort of like this:

Well, I had forgotten just how much knitting goes into this sweater and by the time I got the circle done I put it away for a "rest period"  and forgot about it til this week when I vowed to finish all my "in progress" knitting sweaters without much knitting.

I decided to SEW the body of the sweater to go inside the circle, using a simple rectangle folded to make the sleeves.    I auditioned several fabrics from my stash and here's the wool fabric I decided on, some left-over felted wool from another project. It did seem to match one of the sweater stripes better than is shown
in the picture.

Since I wanted the body and sleeves to be loose and flowy I used the folded rectangle method for it, sewing the edges together a little way for sleeves, and sewed the complete outside to the inner circle of the knitted piece.  I later serged the seam to look better.

I'll have to say I'm quite pleased with the results. In fact I may end up wearing it more than if it were all knitted!   Here are some views:

Closed with my favorite Shawl pin, a knitting needle!

collar can be worn as hoodThis actually feels better than the knitted version!