Tag Archives: pattern drafting

Garment 4: Loose-fit shirt in silk-chiffon

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Design, dressmaking, Fashion Design, Sewing

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To say that this project has been a labour of love is something of an understatement, but I never was one for backing off from a challenge. I had never worked with chiffon before. If I had I would have tackled an easier garment, a plain scarf perhaps. Moreover, I didn’t actually have a pattern for a loose-fit shirt when I started, so my first task was to draw one up.

In my innocence, I thought that I would create the perfect loose-fit shirt by using my fitted-shirt block and eliminating all the darts, because that’s what it says in all the pattern-design books. Now, I have a medium sized bust but also quite a marked swayback. When I tried the no-darts approach, I ended up with a garment that a) ballooned over the small of my back and b) made me look about eight months pregnant. Back to the drawing board – several times.

I realised that, as a ‘swayback’, all of my garments, even the loose-fit ones, will need to be darted. It is the only way to get a decent fit. Here is the fifth muslin (fifth!) that I made, though I opted for a three-sectioned back in the end.

A couple of months ago, I bought this silk bridesmaid dress in a charity shop for £10. I dismantled it before remembering to take a photo. The chiffon shell is draped over the shoulder and there was more than enough fabric for this project. It was quite tricky to identify the right side and the grain of the fabric.

I made a quick illustration of the shirt I had in mind with a little camisole made from the silk satin underneath (still to be made).

Having read a ton of YouTube videos about how to handle chiffon – which put the wind up me, frankly – I gingerly laid out and cut the pattern pieces. I put the fabric on top of ironed tissue paper and pinned the pattern right through to it. It definitely make cutting out the pieces easier.

I tested several types of seams on spare scraps but the winner by a mile was a very narrow French seam for the darts, the side seams and the sleeves. It was a palaver but it was worth it. It looks really neat.

As well as working with chiffon for the first time, and making a loose-fit shirt for the first time, I also decided to make a double yolk for the first time (naturally!). This could have been make-or-break for the project but I held my breath and pulled it off, mostly due to such a good YouTube video that I’m adding the link:

How to Sew a Shirt Yolk

I was uneasy about my ability to create neat buttonholes down a chiffon button band, and also unsure about how smoothly buttons would sit, so I opted for concealed poppers and this worked well but it was a lot of work. I stabilised the bands with silk ribbon.

As with all sewing projects, putting the large pieces together gives the impression of an almost completed garment but it just isn’t so. It took ages to finish the button band, set in the sleeves with French seams, add a collar with collar stand and then the cuffs. But the hem! The hem took three attempts! I am glad I let my perfectionism win, though, because I am happy with the end result.

It has taken four weeks to make this shirt but I do have a sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, the total cost of this custom-fit, handmade silk garment comes to just £9.65, though this doesn’t take account of the hours of work. I think I’ll make a simple T-shirt next time.

 

 

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Garment 3: Minky Fleece Jacket completed

27 Thursday Apr 2017

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I am not going to be rushing to work with minky fleece again but the jacket has actually turned out quite well. It is cosy, which is good as it’s just been snowing in Scotland. The fabric does not fray but it does moult at newly cut edges. This stops with a few swipes of a lint roller, though I did get through about six of them.

I made up a muslin in cotton, which was not ideal but did give me an idea about general fit and any pattern-drafting mistakes I might have made. I was very tempted to put a bust dart in but I am glad I didn’t because the thickness of the fleece seems to ‘absorb’ the excess fabric. A dart would have made it too tight. Making a muslin is essential if you’re lifting a pattern from a garment because, as well as checking the fit, you have to work out the construction sequence. The pocket binding had to go onto the front piece first, then the pocket was stitched to the wrong side of the front piece, then it was sewn to the side panel.

I struggled with the collar as the first attempt stuck out at the front. It took four drafts to get it right. I made the collar sit closer to the neck than in the original garment and also made it narrower.

I tested various stitches for the minky fleece as I don’t have an overlock machine. I finally settled on two rows of 3mm straight stitiches, 1 cm apart, with the top tension down to 1. For the turn-ups at the hem, collar, cuffs and centre fronts, I used a zigzag right along the raw edges. The 1cm fold back along the centre front was especially tricky because I knew I was going to have to stitch-in-the-ditch to insert the zip. I think I held my breath for each seam. I also covered the collar seam with herringbone tape. This is common in shop-bought garments. It holds the seam down and stops it irritating the skin on the back of the neck.

So here it is. I hope it is sturdy as it will be worn a lot. I’m wearing it as I type this post. It’s certainly a big improvement on the old one.

Here are the pattern pieces, adjusted to my own size. I transferred these onto A4 graph paper as a storage solution. I don’t have room for too many life-size card blocks.

This project has taken ten days, although the construction of the garment itself only took four (about 15 hours). The final cost was £14.97, though I think I could have found minky fleece for less than £7.99 per metre.

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Garment Three: Minky Fleece Jacket

17 Monday Apr 2017

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It is week three, though my weeks are not necessarily running concurrently. A few weeks ago I impulse-bought two metres of baby-pink minky fleece, known as cuddle fleece in the UK. This stuff is really for blankets, toys or ‘indoor’ clothes such as dressing gowns, so I thought I would use it to replace a battered old fleece top that I have worn down to its threads. I bought it in a supermarket one cold Scottish day about ten years ago and put it on in the car outside. I’ve worn it constantly ever since but it is now so stained and worn that I am embarrassed to be seen in it.

Here is the dear old thing and the fabric I am going to use to replicate it.

I used the push-pin method to trace the pattern pieces onto card underneath. More precisely, I use heavy duty lining wallpaper (1700 grade plain Anaglypta) and iron it flat on a cotton setting. It cost £5 for 10 metres, which is about a fifth of the cost of the fancy manilla card that professionals use. It works just fine. You can also use ordinary dressmaking pins for this process. They go through the fabric and card more easily but it can be sore on the fingers.

After joining the dots, I got a decent pattern outline which I then matched to my measurements using my sloper. This photo isn’t great but you can see the difference between the original tracing and my adjustments. I have a lowish bust line and broad shoulders but I also think the neckline on the original garment is too wide so I’ve moved it in.

I have ended up with seven pattern pieces (collar not drafted yet) for the muslin. Note the cheap white greaseproof paper that I use (£1.50 for 10 metres), though I have to use pencil, not ink.

I also made ‘flat’ technical drawings because it concentrates the mind on details and contruction issues.

I am going to make the muslin up in cotton, which is not ideal but should reveal major fit issues. The minky fleece moults like a shaggy dog at its edges. I think it’s probably going to drive me nuts but part of this project is learning how to handle different fabrics, so here goes.

I’ll also work on better photographs!

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