Legacy Stash

My husband's seamstress aunt died a few years ago, leaving behind a fair stash of fabric and notions.  (Funny story: the first time she met me, my husband and I had been dating only a few months and she immediately proclaimed that she would make my wedding dress.  It was one of those classic My Big Fat Greek Wedding moments.  In the end, however, my mother made my dress).

Anyway, when we visited one of the cousins last summer, she asked me to look through the stash and take what I wanted. A lot of it was fibers or colors that I knew I'd never use, but there was a generous yard of wool Glen plaid that I took, along with some black velvet that had been sewn into the beginnings of a teeny tiny pencil skirt. 

I'm not sure what I'll use the velvet for, but I decided to make up the Glen plaid into a simple skirt (simple being my one-trick pony).  Given that the limited yardage+plaid, it seemed best to limit seam lines for optimum pattern matching.

I used my trusty Anne Adams 9481 and left off all the waist darts and band, as well as adding back in the center back seam allowance that I had taken out the last time I graded it down.  The pockets are done in a two-part construction that I thought would look bulky in this fabric, so I took a page from the Free Range slacks and used just the back piece and stitched it to the skirt.  I hand stitched some linen bias on the pocket edge to finish it.  In retrospect, I should have extended the top edge of the pocket at least as deep as the facing, but live and learn.  

There was a bit of bemberg left from my wool skirt so I lined this one.  I faced the waistband with bemberg using the Free Range Slacks facing pattern piece.  

The elastic waistband construction uses that of the Elemental skirt.  

It looked weird to top stitch the facing, so I hand stitched it as well as the hem.  I need to steam the front again a few more times, as the fold lines have proved tricky to get out, but hopefully I'll get there in the end.

The top is another 1 yard Coco top with extended cuffs in Marsala cotton jersey knit.  I added an inch of length to the body, just to see if I'd like that better, and I'm not sure--Goldilocks again. 

It feels like it might be on the edge of hitting in an unflattering spot and perhaps my original length would have been better.  Maybe I should split the difference?  I dunno.  I realized that I need to be making a forward shoulder adjustment on tops and dresses, so will try that on future makes for a better fit.

And in the land of Penelope, I finished this sweater after knitting the yoke three times (I know, I know...) but...the sleeves fit like sausage casings and came out much too long.  I knew it was a mistake not to go up a needle size, so I'm reknitting both sleeves.  The neckline is also a bit higher and tighter than I prefer, so I'm also going to tink that back and decrease fewer stitches.  I've pretty much given up hopes of wearing it this season.  Oh well. 

On making

I've been thinking lately about why I make things.  Mostly it is is utilitarian--I make clothes or quilts.  But it is more than that.  There is an intersection of sacred time and sacred space that needs to be expressed as physical beauty in everyday life.  I think occupying in that cosmic space is why traditional societies decorate their clothes and homes with patterns and designs that are beautiful and symbolic for their own sake, not for any utilitarian value the decoration brings.  There is an important spiritual orientation in the making.

with my French terry rose Elemental skirt

I often struggle with guilt over my making, since I do make more than I technically need.  And there is a drum beat in my head about the environmental cost of absolutely everything I do.  That drum beat is fairly unhealthy, I realize, and I'm trying to find balance between saving everything and throwing it all away , but it is hard.  The past few weeks have been a flurry of making on an order unsurpassed, and I realize it is coming from a place of distress, from the need to keep busy to keep my mind from running away with me about my dad.  I wake up in the morning and I think, what useless thing will I sew today?   But I try to remind myself that there is value in the act of making itself, in the creation of something beautiful, even if the thing isn't perfect.

The need to make is an itch that is hard to scratch in other ways. Artists have long made things simply for the beauty of the created thing--be it a painting or a sculpture or whathaveyou, and there is not inherent utility in the finished piece beyond the beauty it may bring to the world. 

I've been re-reading the Throne of Glass series the last few weeks (I read all seven books in a big gulp last fall, and while I wanted to take my time this go-round, I seem to be gulping them down again...but I digress). In the fantasy series, the characters who have magic have to release it in small amounts every day to keep it from building up in them and becoming unmanageable. The urge to create feels a bit like that to me.

Anyway, enough about that.  I made this Remy Raglan over the summer, intending to save it for the fall, since the fabric is a wee bit too heavy for summer.  It is the same fabric as one of Peggy's samples, and I don't mind being a lemming one bit in this instance.  

I love this blouse so much.  The fabric was a splurge for me, but it was worth the cost too.  I ended up finding the same fabric on sale this fall and bought enough for a skirt as well, not to wear these together, but just to have more this squish in my closet.  (I'll show the skirt soon; it is delightful).  I made the shirt specifically to go with my mustard cord skirt, as I have a sweater near this color that I love to wear with this skirt, but the sweater is too heavy to wear in these shoulder months.  

Wind tunnel!

I made a straight size 8 as usual, but fiddled with the length again, as my original cropped length feels a tiny bit too short.  I originally took off 2 1/4" from the pattern length, but am adding back in 1" now, and that seems to be about right when I do a bias bound hem.  

I've gotten the hang of making my own bias now, and if I can spare the fabric, I usually do that.  (I cut the bias as efficiently as possible, to preserve yardage, so it means I have a fair number of joins on any given piece, but I don't care).  

The drape of this silky noil is perfect for this top, and it is so light and comfortable against my skin, a plus for my hot flashy perimenopausal self.  (Also, can I just point out that Google's spell check writers apparently doesn't know what perimenopausal means, since it keeps flagging it with no suggested spellings?  Grr.)

Anyway, a happy make, combined with another happy make (or two), and good things all around.  Off to sew another Remy today in some seafoam-colored Brussels linen.  The only question is: should I go for the sleeve expansion pattern that is definitely Extra, and possibly not my style, or stick with what I like?  Make the button collar or keep it plain? Stay tuned for the answer!

*And about my dad.  He started chemotherapy yesterday, and will have a five day course before they consider sending him home.  The therapy course will take about six months to complete. The good news is that the histology reports came back with lymphoma instead of lung cancer.  Lymphoma is more treatable, so there is a chance he could come through this.  That said, the lymphoma is fairly advanced, so there's a long road ahead.  My dad has an excellent oncologist, and a great medical team around him, so the Lord continues to accompany us through this journey and we will continue to pray.  Thank you for all the notes and prayers--keep 'em coming!  Prayer does not change God, it changes us (C.S.Lewis).  

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait...

Or something like that.  I'm not sure I believe that statement, at least not entirely, but I do think it applies in this case.  To wit: a corduroy skirt.  But not just any corduroy skirt, a perfect gold corduroy skirt.  It is no secret that I love my marigold linen skirt to distraction, but it isn't a great weight for winter, and I've long hoped to find a heavy-weight corduroy to make a shoulder-season version.  Kaufman's gold for a long time was what they termed "cider" and was really an odd color somewhere between chartreuse and beige.  Not gold at all. 

 

Recently, Kate Davies came out with a sweater called Yolk that I immediately downloaded and plotted to make.  The whole outfit sang to me--the colors of the sweater, the gold cord skirt (you see where I'm going with this...), the dark tights and heavy boots.  Being the good little lemming I am sometimes, I started looking at my thrift shops for a gold cord skirt and nada.  Then I tried etsy for cord fabric and nothing.  I went back to my old standby fabric.com, which it must be said, has had a really poor selection of fabric for the past year or more.  I get it, everyone was making masks.  But I'm glad to see more things back in stock there again. 

Anyway, Kaufman had added a gold cord to their 14-wale line that I like so much so I decided to see if it would work.  It is the perfect gold, and I'm super pleased with how this skirt came together.  I used my trusty Anne Adams 9481 (heavily modified/redrafted) and took another 1/2" or so out of the center back, which was just right.  Although, I had to take in an least an inch there on the previous corduroy iterations, so who knows what's what...I thought it better to start with 1/2" and make adjustments from there.  (I still wear all three of the heavy-weight ones quite a bit, and recently refitted the lightweight navy blue one for an elastic waist.  I also made a slight change to the lighter blue one to help the pockets lay flatter instead of bubbling up at the top). 

 

 

I did the waist band slightly differently because I only had 1.5" ban-rol, but it worked out, and I like the finish very much.  I got my machine to make two buttonholes on this fabric (finally!) and even sewed the buttons on with the machine, which made this a very fast project indeed.  I put one button on the inside flap of the waist band and the other on the outside and I like that very much.  I put gold bias tape on the hem and turned it in 2", which is a good length for this style.

  

Obviously, I've not had time to make the sweater yet, so stay tuned!  I've got the Lilias Day on needles and am waiting for the yarn to come for the Yolk.  

(I should add that this outfit has been my silhouette all winter: tank top under a slightly boxy sweater over straight skirt with wool tights.  In colder weather I've been wearing a wool skirt and Uggs and maybe adding a scarf).  It is comfortable and I feel good in it, so win-win.  I'm over tucking stuff in right now.

Corduroy Madness (part the fourth)

Okay, so I made another corduroy skirt.  In my defense, the navy one I made in October ended up not being a great skirt.  I did wear it about once a week or more this past month, and I love the color.  The fabric is buttery soft and beautiful, but it is a bit too lightweight for this style of skirt.  As a result, it just bunches and rides up and the waistband Does Not Behave during the day, despite rather strong petersham interfacing.  I think the 21-wale cord would work better as a dress, but since I don't have a winter dress pattern I love right now, I'm just going to stick that in my back pocket for future reference.

So, that left me short a cold-weather blue skirt.  I went back to the Kaufman 14 wale corduroy line to see what options I had.  The navy colorway was out of stock and the same fabric on etsy was eye-wateringly expensive, so I decided to take a chance on the Pacific colorway.  I was concerned it might be too light, too Delft or something, but actually, it is a really gorgeous shade of blue.  The thread that coordinated best was a bright navy thread (as opposed to midnight navy).  I think it will work well with my cold weather clothing and is different enough from my denim skirt to feel fresh.  

I decided to go back to a yoked pocket on this version, because I prefer them, and using the Hollyburn pocket meant I could avoid finishing the side seam (in the Hollyburn pocket, the yoke and pocket bag are all in one, so you just finish the bottom edge, as the side and top edges get put into the side seam and waistband.  With corduroy, I'm always cognizant of how many seams I need to finish and try to reduce that where possible.  Hence the side zip and omitted center back seam.

 

I omitted the button closure on this one, primarily because I have about four big fissures on the tips of my fingers right now and working a buttonhole through thick corduroy just wasn't going to happen.  As it was, sewing on the skirt hook and snap were tough enough.  

 

(And yes, I do have cream for my hands, but it doesn't help that much.  My hands are like this all winter).

 

 

My only complaint about this skirt (and it is minor) is that it is just slightly too big in the waist.  My oregano skirt has a similar issue, although I did just move the button over and add a snap, so it might be okay now.  I've already adjusted the darts and side seams on this blue skirt, but can't quite get the fit perfect.  As with anything fitted through my waist and hips, the differential is difficult because my torso height is in my rise, and there is between 10-12" of difference between my full hip and natural waist measurement.  (I think my waist measurement might be changing a bit too, so the difference is a little more pronounced than it has been recently).

I suspect that a trip through the washer and dryer might sort it out, so I'm hesitant to unpick the waistband and fiddle with it until I try that.  (And there's the not insignificant issue that my waistline tends to expand and contract a little more than average, so perhaps having a bit of extra room isn't a bad thing).  It does make for a comfortable skirt!

I think I can adjust my pattern for next time (I'm strongly considering a wool flannel version) and see if I can get the fit even better.  In any case, this is plenty wearable, and I'm happy to have it in my closet.  (And yes, my name is Juliana and I have a stripey shirt problem).

Corduroy Madness (part the third)

Last one, I promise.  This is the final corduroy skirt I made, and I'm really happy with all three additions to my closet.  I did take some time yesterday to take in the blue skirt, as I realized it was too big in the waist and was droopy. 

To fix it, I pulled off the back part of the waistband only, and took in the larger of the two darts about 1/4" each, and then reattached the waistband and sewed on the button.  I had to trim quite a bit off the waistband to make the edge nice, but after that it was easy to sew on the button and add a snap.  (I had added a snap to my rust skirt and liked the fit better). 

But about this skirt.  It is the Kaufman 14 wale corduroy in the oregano colorway, and it is a lovely cool green-gray color.  The color looks different depending on the light.  Sometimes it looks more spruce colored and other times more charcoal colored.  I did sew it with dark green thread, but it is a nice neutral color, I think.  The hardest part was finding a zip to match.  I ended up using a spinach one in my box, which is close enough.  The button is a random one from my box that probably was an extra from a garment somewhere along the line, but is an indeterminate color of greenish-brownish-gray.  In other words, perfect for this skirt. 

The construction details are pretty much the same as the rust skirt, including the pocket facing (which I neglected to mention in the post on that skirt).  I just cut a 1" wide strip the same length as the pocket opening and applied as with bias (even though the strip isn't cut on the bias).  It worked a treat. 

Another handworked buttonhole, which was kind of a pain because of the thickness of the material, but it looks nice.  I also tried to center the button over the top of the zip this time, which I think worked.  

I did not interface the waistband on this one, in part because I ran out of petersham and didn't want to wait for more to arrive in the mail.  I suppose if the waistband behaves badly, I can open it up and add it in later, but for now it seems okay.  This corduroy is really heavy, so the petersham doesn't really stabilize the waistband so much as add bulk.

That's all I have for today!  I just got off the phone with my final beta reader and I think I'm about ready to resubmit the manuscript.  I'd appreciate your prayers for this next stage of the process.

Corduroy Madness (part the second)

It will come as a surprise to no one that I have a weakness for the color rust.  It is one of the few "earth" tones that I can wear and not look washed out (jewel tones suit my coloring better) and I find rust to be incredibly versatile, particularly in a skirt.  So much so, that I've had several versions over the years. 

(I looked at those posts again last night as I was thinking about this new make, and realized that my style has changed in the last four or five years, and while I've learned a few more sewing tricks, I'm still kind of tracking in one lane skill-wise.  That's okay, though.  That's my season of life, and I'd rather make stuff that I wear out than stuff that is complicated just for its own sake).  

Over the past year, I've thrifted or bought more than I've sewn, in part because my body has changed faster than I cared to sew, and in part because those changes made me unsure what to wear to feel good in my body.  Thrifting is a relatively easy way to try new things without a lot of time and energy.  That said, skirts remain the bane of my existence, because most ready-to-wear skirts are not drafted for my proportions.  

It's the same problem I have with pants (although worse, because at least with a skirt, I just have to make the hip-to-waist ratio work out.  With pants, I also have to deal with the rise, which on most pants is too short for me and doesn't leave enough room in my seat, but still gapes badly at the waist.  I don't love wearing pants anyway).

 

But I digress.  When I first got back into sewing for myself, I bought a vintage straight skirt pattern, Anne Adams 9481, and have been working with it as a straight skirt block ever since.  The pattern has gone through a number of modifications over the years as my measurements and style preferences have changed. I've basically redrafted the thing at this point, but I have a skirt block that comes out pretty much spot on every time, so that's a win in my book.  

 

 

All that is to say, this rust corduroy skirt is fairly similar to the earlier iterations of it, and uses the same fabric, but it is great for my today body.  I really like the fit and look of it, and while I need to move the button in slightly for a better fit in the waist, the skirt is very comfortable and the length is perfect for my preference right now.  (You might recognize the button from this dress).  I have a pretty deep hem on it, so if I decide to go back to below-the knee skirts again, I can easily let it out.   

I used Kaufman's midweight 14-wale cotton corduroy, finger-pressed everything as I went along, and zig-zagged the seam allowances.  I omitted the back seam again and put the zip on the side for fewer seam allowances.  On this style of skirt, with my figure, it is better not to have a center back seam, as it wears faster than the rest of the skirt over time because of the stress from sitting and moving.  

 

I made the pockets with a diagonal slash rather than a curve, just for something different, and interfaced the waistband with petersham ribbon as usual.  I graded all the darts to make sure the waistband wasn't too bulky.  I sewed it with a jeans needle which made the sewing go like butter.  The buttonholer still did not want to play nice with the cord, so I hand-worked the button hole with some embroidery floss. 

(I'm going to blog the scarf during November's yarn along--sorry to wear it so many days in a row as a tease and not talk about it!  I lurve it).  Today I'm going to work on the spruce cord version of this skirt, so stay tuned!