Clothing Engineer

Wow…I’ve done just about nothing during winter break. I originally planned on starting (and finishing!) my heathered black wool crepe suit,
but it just never happened. So I’ve decided to start off with a less
demanding project to ease myself into it again. Hence, Burda 9/06 #114:

I like the military look. This particular pattern is one of my
favorites because of how neat, timeless, and versatile it is. There
were a lot of good looks in this issue.

I bought a navy Italian wool/angora blend knit
from fabric.com to use for this pattern. I’m in the process of washing
and steaming it a few times to make sure it is properly preshrunk. It
is a very soft knit, but seems a bit fragile.

I definitely have to make another one of these.

I’m wearing the first one I made almost every day now. (Its so warm and comfortable…and the color goes with everything!) Mill Direct Textiles
has some stretch fleece in a few different colors. (The Rainshed is
also a good source, though the last time I ordered they only had one
color in stock.)

Just finished this today:

First thing I’ve made recently. I used a taupe stretch fleece from The
Rainshed. I will say it isn’t one of my better projects. In general I
don’t like working with knits, and this one was twice as hard to work
with because of the thickness.

I had some issues with the zipper. What ended up happening is I didn’t
account for the fleece being a four-way stretch knit, and the zipper
ended up being lopsided. I ended up chopping off the uneven part of the
collar and using some binding around the raw edge to disguise the
unevenness. Looking back now I should have interfaced the front before
putting in the zipper. It works, but it could have been a lot better.

One thing I do like about it is the fit. It is a bit hard to tell
from the picture but in person this is fairly fitted and very
comfortable. I did go a little larger on the bust than usual because I
wanted to make sure there was enough room for layering.

Notice anything about the Vogue V2987’s top and view A of Kwik Sew 3497?  Seems to be a popular look this season.

On a side note, that Vogue jacket looks like a very challenging project.  Just look at all of those seams on the back!

Just finished these last night:

These were made out of a 2-way stretch rayon jersey (96% rayon, 4%
lycra).  I got it from fabric.com – just do a search for “stretch
rayon jersey”.

I made some different design changes this time.  I love
lace waistbands, so I used stretch lace instead of elastic on the
waist.  Nothing fancy this time, just serged together in the back
and topstitched to the body with the cover stitch machine, then trimmed
the excess fabric.  For the legs…I don’t have black plush lingerie
elastic on hand, only the plain kind.  I noticed on my Calida
bikinis that the elastic is cover stitched on the outside instead of
turned under (like the instructions recommend).  Of course I don’t
have the same quality elastic they do, but it is nice nonetheless so I
cover stitched it on the outside, then trimmed like I did for the
waistband. 

The only thing I might try different next time is drafting the
leg holes lower, and making the stretch lace in the front a V instead
of going straight across.  I’ve seen this on a ton of RTW panties.

I think they turned out really, really nice.  I’m glad I
bought that bolt of 10 yards of this rayon, because it is perfect for
this project – very thin and soft, with a silkier feel than plain
cotton/lycra jersey.

As with most projects, the two-way stretch worked out better for
me than the four-way.  They seem to stay in place better. 
I’m starting to wonder if four-way stretch jersey is all it is cracked
up to be.  It is much easier for me to make fashionable tops out
of the two-way stretch stuff.  It can be difficult judging knits
and how well they will work for a pattern since they vary so much with
thickness and degree of stretch.  I also noticed I’m getting
better results now that I sew with knits with a maximum of 6%
lycra.  Usually 4% or less works best for what I sew.

This is my second time making this top, though this time I did view A:

This time I used a two-way stretch rayon/lycra knit (50% stretch
across the grain). I also drafted the pattern a half size smaller than
recommended. This time it came out very form-fitting, but it looks
good. I would definitely need to go up a half size if I used something
less stretchy. The only thing I would change next time is to snug in
the armholes a bit. I ended up using 3/8″ lingerie elastic instead of
clear elastic on the arms/neckline because of the trouble I had with
the clear elastic sliding everywhere.

This top works well with more delicate knits.

While my crinkle batiste blouse was a disaster, the ivory silk jersey shell I made the other day was definitely not:

There’s
wrinkles that show in the photo that aren’t usually there…it is
probably the way the fabric posed for the photo. Anyway, I love this
top. It is pure luxury. It is probably the coolest summer top I own -
featherlight, absorbent, and breathable. I had been afraid to cut this
fabric since I spent $35 for one yard (shipping included) but it was
definitely worth it. I got it from Mood Fabrics.

This is going
to be my staple suit shell. It is already one of my favorite patterns,
and also worked up nicely in matte jersey, though not nearly as
comfortable to wear as the silk.

A few things I noticed while working with this silk jersey:

• Make
  sure your hands are free of any hangnails, rough edges, chapped skin,
  etc before working with it. This is very important, since the knit is
  so fine that it tends to pick easily. It is a bit like pantyhose in
  this aspect.
• Silk jersey is relatively stable and does not need
  to be interfaced at the neckline, armhole, etc. I just turned it over
  to make a narrow hem (so the raw edge was encased) and stitched over it
  with a special stretch stitch to preserve the elasticity.
• Do
  not use a serger for the edges. Just use the stretch stitch on your
  machine, or a narrow zig-zag. A serger will create a seam that is too
  bulky, even with 3 threads. The edges do not ravel so they don’t need
  to be overcasted.
• Silk jersey doesn’t need to be dry-cleaned. I
  just gently hand-wash it in cold water with a bit of shampoo and let it
  air-dry. Much cheaper than going to the cleaners.

These are View B of Kwik Sew 2908. I drafted, cut, and finished
these in a few hours. I made them out of a mint green rayon/lycra
jersey; the fabric content is 92% rayon, 8% spandex:

I
love them! I highly recommend using a rayon/lycra knit. It is still
breathable like cotton, but has an extra sheen, and clothes seem to
slide over it a little easier. I’ve made these before, but this is the
first time I’ve used this type of knit. I also used my Baby Lock Evolve
machine. Have a coverstitch machine makes knits so much quicker and
easier to work with.

A few things to note about this pattern:

• The crotch is drafted extremely wide.  I had to cut off about 1/2″ on either side of the crotch, especially up front.
• For
  the legs, I did not distribute the elastic evenly like the directions
  suggested. Instead I pinned the elastic and panty into quarters as
  suggested by the instructions, then stretched the elastic for the leg
  about 1 1/2″ past where it should have been put for the pins. This
  created extra fullness in the rear, which helps prevent them from
  riding up. I read about this technique in Sewing Lingerie That Fits.

Read the full pattern review.

Why is it so hard to find lightweight black cotton/lycra knit?

I
checked just about every fabric source I know of. Fabric.com, Wazoodle,
Denver Fabrics, The Rainshed, Spandex House, Vogue Fabrics, Fashion
Fabrics Club, etc. Either they have black cotton/lycra knit, but it is
mid to heavyweight. Or they have lightweight cotton/lycra knit, but it
is in just about any color other than black. I just don’t understand
it…one would think that black would be easy to find since it is such
a basic, match-everything color. But it is very difficult to come
across.

I did find that Stretch House had black cotton lycra,
along with many other colors, but their online swatch request form
would not work. When I called them, a man with a thick accent told me
I’d have to fax in my request. I don’t have a fax machine, and told
them this; they told me I’d have to go online to request the swatch. I
told them the order form did not work, they told me to fax it *bangs
head*. I decided that if it was that much of a hassle to even get a
swatch, it would be a mistake ordering from them.

I saw that Fabric.com did have a rayon/lycra knit, with 4% lycra and 50% stretch across the grain, in black.  I immediately ordered 10 yards.  At 60″ wide, this should last for quite a few pairs of Kwik Sew 2908,
the reason for my black cotton/lycra search. I will have to wait to see
until it arrives, but I don’t see why a rayon/lycra knit wouldn’t work.
I already plan on hand-washing, since I’m replacing the elastic waist
with a stretch lace trim, and washing machines are brutal to stretch
lace trim.

Just completed Kwik Sew 3524 with the View A neckline but View B length.  I used a midweight red cotton/lycra print from The Rainshed.  It is so comfortable…I love it!  This is my first project using the Baby Lock Evolve.

Read the pattern review here.