Hot Patterns Riviera Boulevard Cardigan Jacket

The review and more photos are here.

Off to the Riviera

I finished the J. Stern jeans. Meh. I don't love them, but at least they're done. You can read the review on PR by clicking the thumbnail in the "My Reviews" widget in the sidebar at the right. Because they're done, it means that corner of my sewing room is now clear and my UFO guilt would allow me to move on to a new pattern. Yay!

I traced the Hot Patterns Riviera Boulevard Cardigan Jacket (whew, that's a mouthful!) Saturday morning and then tried on the tracing to assess needed fit alterations. Surprisingly, the verdict was none! That's not to say that I traced one straight size and it fit out of the envelope. Instead, with knits lately I've been "cheating." Instead of doing a regular slash/spread FBA, I've just been blending between sizes as I trace or cut, like this:



I'll start with the size that corresponds to my upper bust measurement. For this drawing, that would be the Gray size inside the black outline. Then I move out at armhole level to the size that corresponds to my full bust. Here, it's the Blue size. And then I gradually morph downward to the size that corresponds to my hips. Here, it's the Purple size. I end up with a pattern that resembles the Gray plus Red outline.

This cheating method works for me because I also usually also have to increase the bicep width in sleeves and the morphing shown above does increase the sleeve size needed. But now, instead of actually slash/spreading the sleeve, I just use a similar morph between the sleeve size that matches the Gray size I started with and I extend the underarm seams to the Blue size, like this:



These "cheaters" are what I did for the Riviera jacket while I was tracing. I also made a square shoulder alteration (a usual for me), again while tracing. The net result is one tracing with little or no slash/spread alterations. For this jacket I did end up slicing up some of the pattern pieces to add 2" of additional length between waist and hem, but that's a fast alteration so it almost doesn't count. ;-)

As I said, I use these cheaters mostly for knits. (And before you ask, No, I don't find that the front bottom hem rides up. Your mileage may vary.) I will also sometimes use these morphs as a starting point for wovens too, because then I'll need a much smaller dart/spread when doing a traditional FBA.

So the photo above is where I am now with the jacket. I expect I'll finish it this afternoon. The fabric is a recycled cotton blend fleece from Lucy's Fabrics. It's ginger-orange with colored flecks on the outside and snuggly navy fleece on the inside. Great fabric!

Even though I know the girls probably don't need a pocket flap (even a faux flap such as this), one of the reasons I like this pattern is because of the unusual look of the double flaps. So, caution to the wind and I'm keeping both flaps. I'll probably stitch down the top flaps so they don't actually flap.

* * * * *

Still without A/C here, but the temps dropped and it's actually quite pleasant with the windows open. At night, it's even chilly. Plus, it's good to air out the house once in a while too. But I'll be calling the repairman tomorrow to set up an install date for sometime this week. I'm also getting used to my widescreen monitor and don't hate it quite as much. Things are looking up!

I've had better weeks

Our outside A/C condenser unit died Sunday night. It's a major $$ replacement so it's going to be a few days before we can scrape together the money to get the work done. In the meantime, we have all the windows open, every ceiling and box fan turned on high, and I'm still sweating my butt off. At least the nights cool off a little these days. Arghhh.

The same day the A/C died, we had a big power spike as the electric company workers were doing something at the power station around the corner and blew something or other which killed my monitor, which meant I had to beat feet out to Best Buy that night to buy a replacement so I could work the next day. The only monitors readily available are widescreen. I hate widescreen monitors for computing. I feel like I'm moving my mouse arm 30 extra miles a day. I'll get used to it, but it won't ever be my preference. Arghhh.

I have today off for Veteran's Day and have been trying to finish my JStern jeans. But it's warmer upstairs, naturally, than down so I haven't been making much progress. I also don't love them so that's slowing me down too. But I want them done and OUT of the UFO pile so I can move on. Except what I wanted to move on to was the HP Riviera jacket, but the thought of working in this heat with the wonderful fleece I ordered from Lucy's Fabrics is making me itch. Arghhh.

Have I whined enough? Well, too bad. One more. ;-)

One dark night almost 2 weeks ago, I backed out of my driveway … and right into my son's girlfriend's grandfather's car. She brought over the repair estimate last night. Coupled with the pending A/C bill, I'm going to have to make an insurance claim instead of paying it outright, especially since it's about 3x what I was expecting for a slight dent on the front fender of a 1995 Toyota. Arghhh.

OK, some good news. I had a call today from Jeremy of Hot Patterns. We had a lovely chat and he, Trudy and I are meeting for lunch in a couple of weeks. Should be fun!

Now I'm off to find some cheese. ;-)

Another Sunny Day

My second Hot Patterns Weekender Sunshine top is done.

The fabric is a print a friend from an old sewing list bought for me from S.R. Harris in Minnesota, years ago. It's got gold glitter in various places, which won't last past laundry and which is fine with me. It's been in the stash a long time. I wish I could say it was completely out but there's still enough left for another top at some point. I don't think I really want two so I may just sacrifice it for a muslin in the near future.

Because the print wasn't nearly busy enough (kidding!), I also added some bronze snap heads on the neckband. I was afraid the weight would make the neckband flop down so before I committed, I pinned on a bunch of grommets to test. No flopping, so all is good. The backsides of the snaps are a bit cold on the skin when I first put it on though. Note to self: Do not wear this top while sitting in direct Florida summer sun. ;-)

Marrakesh Express

Someone else just used that blog title and I hope they're reading and now have that song in *their* mind all day long. ;-)

So, they're done (the Hot Patterns Marrakesh Drawstring pants in case you're wondering). The review is here. Main pics are below. It's linen. It wrinkles when you just look at it.







I also had time yesterday to work on another Sunshine top. I should finish it tonight. Here it is in progress. The browns are less red than they appear in this pic.



Parting Shot: Alex and India setting out to Trick or Treat. Yes, they're 17 and a little too old for ToT'ing, but since they were both in full costume, I don't think anyone minded too much - judging by the piles of candy they brought back. Yes, we Trick or Treat in flip-flops and shorts here. Lest you think it's not fair, it really does put a major crimp in costume choices since most are just way too hot for kids to want to wear and they start stripping at about the 5th house of the night and any face paint drips off shortly thereafter. No, Alex and India did not strip. ;-)