#commercial patterns

I really like the look of knit tops that have some kind of waist definition – it elevates them just a bit, n’est-ce pas? So, I started toying with the idea of a belted T, but let’s face it, who wants a belt around the waist in the height of summer on what is supposed to be a comfortable piece of clothing? And there are lots of design alternatives.

There are half belt ties. There are darts (but not so much in knits). There is side-seam and centre-back-seam waist shaping. Then there are faux ties. This idea I like.

  Do you really want a belt around your waist when the temperature is 28 degrees Celsius? I think not. 

So, I made a sketch of a top that would not require a constricting belt, but would still provide some kind of drape and definition at the waist…

…and contemplated the fabric I had picked up. The fabric is cotton jersey with a foil design, so it occurred to me that it could be a bit dressy. Then when I happened upon Butterick’s pattern #6628 and saw the rendering of it’s view A, I thought I could skip the pattern design part of my process and move right on to cutting and sewing. Well, not so fast.

First, though, I didn’t love the neckline, so that would have to change. I widened it slightly and went ahead with the pattern pretty much as is. The outcome was okay, but it didn’t have the kind of sleek style I love. Those sleeves were a bit annoying, but at least since they aren’t full-length, they don’t drag in your dinner! The real problem, however, is the drape of the fabric. It doesn’t have much.

But it is comfortable for summer wear and it does fit.

Out to dinner on road trip #1 of the summer in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

So, I reworked the pattern, made a trip down to Queen Street West here in Toronto and picked up a piece of bamboo jersey with more drape and a lovely hand. I’ve written about bamboo fabric before, so if you’ve been reading along, you know that I prefer higher-quality fabrics and a luxurious feel. This piece of bamboo has it all.

Then I went back to my original sketch and created a new pattern that is very similar to the Butterick design, but has a wider neckline and sleek sleeves. As I usually do with this kind of fabric, I cut it out single-layer, and it came together nicely.

Bamboo is a wonderful breathable fabric, and I wore this with white jeans out to dinner while we were away. (For the life of me I cannot understand why I didn’t ask my husband to take a photo of me wearing it, but that will have to wait. Trust me it fits really well!).

They never look quite as good on Gloria Junior. She has no arms! (It’s hard to tell that the neckline is widened, but it is.)

As much as I hate to admit it, the time for thinking about a fall collection is upon me and as I get back to recording my escapades, I’ll be sharing my design inspiration in the next week or two. *Sigh* summer will come to an end soon – but let’s not wish it away just yet (here in the northern hemisphere!).

Let me get straight to the point about commercial sewing patterns: Many of the “big three or four” are far too embellished to put it politely, while so many of the “indie” patterns available are bags. What ever happened to elegant and sophisticated?

Let me show you what I mean. I generally find that Vogue patterns provide the me with the most appealing style options, but if I look at the most recent offerings, I find myself scratching my head. Take for example Vogue 1576. A sophisticated option for the perfect LBD? I think not. Because I prefer not to look like a bat just about to take flight.

Then there’s Vogue 1578.

At first glance it seems like it might have possibilities – but then I take a look at the line art and what do I see? Gathers. Gathers? Gathers everywhere. Not in my sleek LBD. So, I move on.

I see that Vogue’s 1579 has that sheath silhouette that is so appealing to me.

But what about that attached cape? Uh-uh. Not what I’m looking for. So, it’s on to other brands.

Just look at some of the McCall’s spring 2018 dress offerings. I think not…

  …but McCall’s 7714, view C has possibilities.

  Then there are the new offerings from Butterick. Their new #6515 is actually appealing to me, but it is really too much “of-the-moment”, too trendy and not timeless enough. Those statement sleeves (I think I may want sleeves) will date it faster than you can say “fake news,” and the ruffles on the sleeveless one – don’t get me started. I’m not a ruffle type. So that’s out.

I surf on over to Simplicity to see the new offerings and am met with…

  …and what is this obsession I see all over online sewing communities with vintage? I like a bit of retro myself – although I tend to prefer the 1960’s aesthetic to the 1940’s – but I think it needs a bit of an update. I don’t find the literal reproduction appealing at all.

So, I have a quick look at some offerings from indie companies. I don’t find most of the sites appealing at all, but I am drawn to Style Arc for their knit patters. Let’s see what they have in dresses…

…hmm, not what I’m looking for, but to be fair to Style Arc, they do have a couple that I really like, maybe just not for this project. I really love their Serena dress and their Renae. This last one is actually a possibility that I might return to.

There are other online indie pattern companies, but most seem to design for knits or people who really just want to hide in a tent. I get it, though.  If I were to offer any of my own designs as patterns, I would choose to offer the ones whose fits are the most forgiving. That way I wouldn’t have to test them on so many bodies to get the very best composite sizing. S-M-L is so much easier than 6-8-10-12. Anyway, I think I need to look at some of the older patterns that might fit my criteria as follows: elegant, sophisticated, stream-lined and timeless. On to Susan Khalie’s Couture Dress course on Craftsy.

I have been all through this course with the intention of using it to guide my couture dress project. However, I find I’ve used many of her techniques on other projects to date, but have not plunged into doing the dress along with her. One of the reasons I have hesitated so long is that the pattern Craftsy sends along to be used in the course is Vogue 8648, View A or B. It fulfils many of the criteria that I am looking for, but it has one serious drawback. I really don’t like the square neckline.

Oh, actually it has two drawbacks if you must know: I don’t think I want that inset waist. The pattern is one of those that permits fine-tuning the fit – all of those seams lines make fitting much easier than in a fitted dress that is minus those offerings. So, I’m back to the drawing board.

I find that I have been contemplating three patterns for dresses in general, so I dig one of them out of my pattern box and order the other two. Is the first option that I’ll make a muslin for. I really love a boat neck and it has sleeve and sleeveless options, that sheath silhouette and style lines for fine-tuning that fit. Stay tuned!

I’m fascinated by the extraordinary cottage industry (and in some cases far beyond the cottage stage) that has sprung up for indie pattern designers/producers.

It boggles the mind of a sewer who had, for many years, slavishly followed the instructions on the patterns from the big commercial manufacturers, which these days seems to consist of the McCall’s company (one that seems to own Vogue and Butterick and be the distributors for a few other line such as Marfy – one of my sewing goals for 2017) and Simplicity. I’ve turned with delight toward many of these independent pattern designers only find fit issues there as well. There are so many swingy, baggy tops and dresses.

This indie pattern may be the exception to the fit problem rule. It has funnel-neck darts, proper set-in sleeves, back shaping. I got it free as a PDF and plan to make it. Hope I can get it to fit! It will be my first experience with a PDF pattern.

  I understand this interest in comfortable, easy-wearing, easy-sewing clothing, and I like a loose-fitting top as much as the next woman (as you’ll see below) but it just isn’t always for me, and truthfully, I think that clothing with more ease has to fit, too. My own pattern-making education is taking me ever closer to being able to design this kind of pattern for myself without the help of anyone else. But what I also perceive is that designing these kind of patterns is a lot easier than designing patterns for garments that are fitted or even semi-fitted.

Excluding pants patterns (one of which I have and will try in a few months to see about fit), so much out there seems to be tent-like, flowing and generally loose-fitting, and if it’s not, it’s not as tailored a style as I like. So where does that leave me while I learn to do it myself? Back to McCall’s patterns and the like.

I recently decided to complete what I thought would be a sort-of-at-least-partly-fitted tunic that otherwise flows. I chose McCall’s 7247 because I had it in my pattern file and I liked the cross-over front.

Right out of the envelope it is already clear to me that I will need to do some alterations to the pattern. That accomplished, I cut and sew and fit the bodice before moving on to the neck band and sleeves. A perfect fit! I am in heaven. So, I adhere strictly to the pattern and its instructions for the insertion of the neckband. When in, it looks great. I’m happy. Then the sleeves (I set in a mean sleeve, so the finished product looks pretty darn professional). It’s now almost finished; I just have to find the perfect length for the sleeves – so try it on me (Gloria junior doesn’t’ have arms) –which is when the problem becomes apparent.

The pattern instructions clearly state that you need to stretch the neckband while sewing it in. I dutifully stretch as I go although I do think that it is requiring more than the usual amount of neckline stretching even for a knit fabric. Well, I was right. Now that the neckband is in, finished and edge-stitched into place (permanently affixed as it were), all that requisite stretching was too much. Now it pulls from the shoulders and isn’t perfect across the upper chest any longer.

Damn! See those little wrinkles under the neck band? They weren’t there when I did the pre-neckband fitting. Oh, I’ll probably wear it but it will never feel as perfect as it did when fitting it before the neck band went in. My lesson here: if something seems wrong, it probably is. So on to the next commercial pattern.

Enter Vogue pattern 8886 – a “very easy Vogue.”

I love it because it has a slightly funnel-shaped, collared neckline and well-fitted princess lines. If I can get this one to fit, I’ll be laughing. But this time, I’ll do a muslin.

So, first is sort-of tissue fit and based on this and my sloper, I make a few tweaks. Then I decide to cut the D-cup pattern because this is a “perfect fit” pattern and I wear a D-cup bra. However, I wear a 32-D and when I have done the princess seams in the front of the muslin, it’s so big for me that it’s laughable. I guess they meant 38-D or bigger! I should have cut a smaller cup size, but how was I to know?

Oh. My. God. Just look at it.

Well, the good news is that now I have all this extra fabric on the seams to get it just right. I think I’ll sew it with a machine-basting stitch in case I have to make any more adjustments after the sleeves are in. So another “very easy” pattern that isn’t! But that’s just me!

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