Sometimes It's the Fabric

Here's muslin #2. Yep, still a "muslin" but this time only due to a poor fabric choice.

It think it looks pretty darn good on the dressform. But on me, not so much. The fabric is a poly "faux slinky" (for lack of a better description) without a lot of stretch/give and it accents every lump and bump because I cut it on the bias to get the chevron effects but with this fabric, there's less stretch on the bias than crossgrain. The top also wants to slide slightly upward at the bust like it doesn't fit even though I know in another knit it would be just fine. Again, the bias cut factor. There was a little voice whispering in my head about this fabric's stretch factor and I should've listened to it.

I love the striping detail and it was because of those knitted-in stripes that I decided to try this fabric. That, and the fact that it's been taking up far too much room in my stash for way too long. (See pic here, 4th shelf down on the far right.) I bought it from a co-op and this one was a miss instead of a hit. I still have nearly 3 yards left and I'm thinking an unfitted cardigan and shell will be a better use for this. Or the trash can.


Right now the bottom and sleeves aren't hemmed and the neckline isn't turned under. I think I'll spend 15 minutes finishing those details and send it to the donate pile. Then I'll try it again with a nicer knit. It's fast to cut out and sew now that I've got the details worked out.

Responding to comments:

Toya asked what I used to make the patterns. I use the Pattern Editor module of my Pattern Master Boutique software. Click here for more info on that.

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Marji commented that maybe I should try one more paper trial of the twist because she didn't think my last pattern revision would work. The top two sections don't really twist around completely. It's more of an interlocking. If you follow the stripes in this version of the top, you should be able to see how that happens.

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Others commented that it's fun (or informative or whatever) to follow along with me. Thank you, and I'm glad you think so. It's fun for me too. :-)

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Also, thanks everyone for the nice comments about the party and our parenting. It's pretty easy to take the credit for being good parents when my kids are so great. So, anyone want some pizza? We have plenty. ;-)

Sidetracked by Seussical

No sewing yet this weekend as it was DS#1's performance weekend for his high school's production of Seussical, the Musical (a cute show based on the works of Dr. Seuss). DS is 3rd from the left in this photo and his girlfriend is 4th from the left. The show opened Thursday evening. We went to Friday's performance and had a great time.

Earlier in the day on Friday, DS asked if we could host the Cast Party after the final performance Saturday night. He wanted it outside with a bonfire, food, drinks, etc. DS said to expect 50 or more guests. Because there were two Saturday performances, DS was not available for party assistance and so DH and I spent all of Saturday getting ready for it ourselves (we knew this going in, but we're suckers for our sons!).

DH chainsawed some dead trees and fallen branches from the back of the property for firewood, used one of the ATVs to drag in some big stumps for seats and then improvised for others with cinder blocks and planks to supplement the camping chairs, picnic benches and patio chairs we have. We ordered 20 pepperoni pizzas to be picked up 30 minutes prior to party time and also had a few cases of sodas on ice in coolers, giant sandwiches cut up on trays, chips, yummy bakery cookies, a big decorated sheet cake, hot cocoa, and the makings for S'mores. We picked up tiki torches and balloons and red plastic tablecloths. We mowed the lawn, raked the firepit area, and set up a table and blinking lights for DS' stereo & speakers.

Around 9:45 p.m., the first cars starting rolling down the tiki torch lined driveway. By 10:30, we had a medium-sized parking lot and a loud and lively group. DS was right about the head count. At one point, I counted 78 which included the kids in the cast and crew, plus a few teachers and parents.

It was a great party! The skies were clear and bright and the temps were in the high 40's which was perfect for a bonfire. The hot cocoa and S'mores were a big hit. The pizzas, sandwiches and cookies disappeared before our eyes (although we have plenty of pizza leftovers for today). It was a whirlwind day pulling this all together and DH and I finally fell into bed about 3 a.m. but it was worth it. DS was grinning ear to ear all night and nearly every kid found me and/or DH and thanked us for hosting the party.

The pic below is Kelli (DS#1's girlfriend), DS#1 in the middle, and DS#2 (who was a stagehand). That's Thing #2 standing in front of them, but I don't remember her real name.


Today we'll clean up what we missed in the yard last night and then head to the dog park for a couple of hours. Later I'll finish sewing my second version of the Adrienne Vittadini Allegra Twist Front Top, which BTW, went together perfectly after the last pattern revision.

A New Twist on Things

I never did get back to the twist top in progress yesterday but bright and early this morning I ripped out one half of the bodice and twist seams and evaluated. It didn't take long before I realized my big mistake.

Yes, as expected, I sewed the wrong seams together. But that's not my real mistake. My real mistake was not "twisting" the pattern itself when I was making it to allow the right side of the fabric to be facing outward after the twist. By keeping the right side out when sewing yesterday's prototype, the only result would be what I ended up with. A good pattern drafting learning experience for me, if nothing else.

Here is my flawed pattern drawing. First, the middle section on the left isn't really there in the final pattern. It's in my drawing only to let me know where I started. Next, imagine folding the extension on the right side over to the left (like the page of a book) and so that it's back on top of the "phantom" middle section. That fold/flip puts the correct seams together but the wrong side of the fabric ends up facing outward. If you flip/twist so that the right side of the fabric stays on the right side of the top (which is what I did yesterday), the seams cannot meet up with their correct counterparts. Oops.


I hope you can follow this. If not, print and cut out that flawed pattern from yesterday's entry (twice), marking Right Sides and Wrong Sides and then try it for yourself. You'll see the mistake right away. I should've tried it in paper like that first. ;-)

What I should have done is to allow for both the twist *and* keeping the right side of the fabric on the right side by flipping the middle section extension, like this:


Below is my new pattern drawing with the seam lines trued — and neckline raised per yesterday's test (in pink). I can now fully twist the extension, keep the right side of the fabric facing out, and still end up with the seams next to their correct counterparts.


These are all of the latest pattern pieces for printing, with that twist change incorporated. (Click on it for a bigger, clearer view.) I also added some flare to the back peplum piece because after sewing the tester top, I decided that's what I wanted. IOW, a style change only.


I'm printing my new pieces now and then I'll be cutting some better fabric. Not the really good stuff yet, just in case, but something that will be wearable if this now works as expected. Hmm. Maybe I should take my own advice and print out and test the paper miniatures first.

In Theory. (Yeah, but.)

So I said that I thought the pattern pieces looked good … in theory. In reality, something didn't quite work.

What's wrong with this picture?


This is most certainly not a design feature that flatters me. ;-)

I must've matched up wrong because I measured all the adjacent seams before I cut, and again after this mishap and the lengths were and are just fine. Which is why I'm thinking I inadvertently twisted a half rotation too much and sewed the wrong seams together. Another clue is the "striping" on the knit is not chevroning as I expected. Oops. I'll check all this out later today. It's just a tester top that I never wanted to be wearable, so no big deal.

Other than that … erm … slight glaring issue, I'm liking it. The neckline is a little too low cut in this version but part of that is this cheesy test knit.* I'll probably get out my French curve and modify the pattern to raise it a smidge for the next one.

The middle sections aren't as deep at the bust as I was expecting, compared to the original handknit inspiration top. (I think they'd be closer to my expectations at the sideseams if there actually were sideseams.) I'm still thinking on whether the lower seam should really land under my bust or not. If I lengthen that section, then I'm also visually enlarging my bust. Trust me, they don't need any more enlargement, visually or otherwise. ;-) I'm leaning toward leaving that section as is. I don't think it reads "ill-fitting empire" when worn because there are two seams. I think instead that it reads "interesting seaming." Of course, all of this is subject to change the next time I try it on.

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*I wish I had bought more of this icky knit. It was in Joann's clearance section at least 2 years ago and extremely cheap. It's much too thin/sheer to ever think about wearing out in the world but it's great for "muslining" knit patterns since it has pretty good recovery, sews nicely, and the knit-in striping is perfect for grainline checks. Oh well. No sense yearning for fabric not bought — especially fabric as awful as this.

First Draft — 2-Seam Twist

Here it is, the first draft of my version of Linda's Adrienne Vittadini Allegra Twist Front Top (say that 10 times fast!). I have no idea if this will actually work since I did it all by eye, but it looks good in theory for now.

Apologies for the blurriness. Hopefully clicking on it for the full-size view will clear things up a bit. Later: It does. I just tried it. Whew!

Here's what I did:

1. I started with my TNT (tried-n-true) PMB (Pattern Master Boutique) darted top for knits.

2. Next, I drew the seamlines onto my front pattern piece, and transferred 1/2 of the dart to each seam. Sort of the way you'd transfer a dart out at a sideseam. This is the part I'm "iffy" on, because I just winged it. I'm hoping a knit with good recovery will compensate for anything I screwed up. ;-)

I adjusted seamlines as necessary so that adjoining seams would match in length; specifically, the two seams around the bust and the sideseam (to match the back piece).

3. Then I duplicated my pattern pieces and flipped them so I could "wing" the twisty section. The original handknit top twisty section looks to be one piece if you follow the chevroning of the cable stitches, so I went with that. I might be totally off here but I had to start somewhere.

4. Finally, I pulled in my TNT sleeve and back piece and decided to split the back into a peplum-y thing to match up with the front seaming. Obviously I still have peplums on my mind.

My final pattern pieces look like this:


I'm going to print it out, try it with an unloved knit, and see what I end up with. I'm not quite sewing again yet, but I'm getting close.