In the works and on deck

(Can you believe it? TWO posts from me in the same week!)

So it's Spring here in Tampa. For about another minute until it's All Summer-All Humid-All The Time … for months. And I'm ready for some new clothes.

First up, is the new Cashmerette Concord tee. This should have been a very quick sew over this past weekend. To be fair, it IS a quick sew. It just wasn't a quick decision on sizing so actually starting took some time. And let's not mention Netflix sucking me in.

In-Progress Concord

I was originally to be a tester but my sewing is so scarce and scattered these days that I pretty much just wussed out. Jenny very kindly sent me a paper pattern anyway. I'm a bad tester. But I am an honest reviewer, so maybe it will all work out?

Concord back pattern with curves!

With the paper pattern in hand, it meant I had to trace. It also meant I had to "sacrifice" some old never-used costume pattern so I had tracing paper to use, or something resembling it. (I know I have actual pattern tracing paper but I have no idea where it ended up after the move last July.) Tracing isn't a big deal. I have to be honest, though, and say I actually prefer PDFs just because I don't have to trace and I can just print another if I mess up.

So back to the sizing conundrum. I tend to run a little bit narrow in the shoulders and from the Concords I'd been seeing on blogs and Instagram, it looked to me like the neckline runs wide. After cutting and partially sewing, I agree with myself that it does have a wide-set neck opening. In the pic above, the neckband isn't yet sewn on (and in real life it's not even cut out), so the neck opening looks even wider than it will when finished.

Although my B-W-H measurements would put me in the 18-20 range, I started with the E/F cup and traced at 14 for the neckline and shoulders, gradually increasing to 16 at underarm/bust level, and then out to 20+ for hips/bum.

So far, everything is going great. Except my fiddly fabric. I thought I would do some colorblocking, and as you can see, I did. But I'm probably going to be sorry. This rayon knit is very flimsy and there is definite rippling where the two colors come together. I'm pretty sure that the neckband stitching will be meh too. So, I'm dubbing this a wearable muslin and we'll see how it goes.

The pattern itself is very nice. It's nothing earth-shattering for me because I now have years of fitting/altering experience (and a few TNT tees), but I can see that it's going to be a good fit (pun intended) for busty/curvy ladies who don't want to roll their own (paying homage to 4/20 today hahaha!). It should be very easy to get a great tee with a more modern fit than most other commercial tee patterns right out of the envelope. Just heed the possibility of a wide neckline. Oh, and maybe slim sleeves. They looked on the smaller side to me as I was tracing/cutting but I'm withholding final judgment since I haven't actually sewed up the sideseams/sleeves and tried it on yet.

The instructions look comprehensive and I love the 3/8" seam allowances. At the larger end of the plus pattern spectrum, that 3/8" seam allowance can make a real difference in pattern layout on fabric. Plus, it's just so much easier to sew and serge with a 3/8" SA. Jenny also says that there's a slight forward shoulder adjustment built-in. (This doesn't help me, of the erect posture brigade, but it might be of interest to you?)

I'm hoping to finish this up tonight and tomorrow night after work so I can then start on …

… Kwik Sew 3873. And yes, they still don't have the best illustrations/photos. But at least you can see the seamlines and I think it's going to be a fun summer dress with mix/match prints.The sleeves definitely need some de-frumping and KS has always run big in the armhole for me. If the Concord trial above is a win, I may just morph the two together (or if not, use my TNT).

Stay tuned. I promise I'll be back soon with an update on both.