The T-shirt Project: #1 The Cabi Gather Tee knockoff

Dust off your sergers, ladies!!  The T-shirt Project is officially underway.

Lori of Girls in the Garden and the Sew Forth Now podcast turned me onto Cabi.  They have some great designs in such bright happy colors.  Browsing their site, I was drawn to this tee (despite perhaps it just being plain old white and not the aforementioned bright happy colors).

It’s more or less a v-neck with a center panel and gathers right in the bust area along the panel.  It looked simple enough in form, so I thought it would be a good first project for The T-Shirt Project as well as a chance to try out some simple drafting.  Here’s my version:

To make your own, you will be dividing the front of your t-shirt into 2 sections.  Here’s the process:

1. I traced a front from my TNT t-shirt (Jalie 2921–scarf collar top).  Knowing that that pattern is low without the scarf collar, I raised CF by 1/2″.
2. Measure between your bust at your full bust line.  Divide this measurement by 2.  For me, that works out to 3/4″ or 1 1/2″ total between the girls.  Make a mark on your pattern at this point.
3. Make another mark 1/2″ from CF at the top of the neckline.  Connect the two points extending through to the hem.  The curve of the neckline is part of the center panel, so don’t do anything to change that.  You will end up with a wedge shaped piece.
4. Cut apart your pattern along this line and add seam allowance on either side of the line (I used 1/4″ which is my preference for knits since I serge all of my knits).
5. Having the benefit of a TNT, I tried one of my previous versions and marked the top of my bust and the bottom of my bust with pins at CF.
6. On my pattern because of my cheaty FBA that I do of bumping out to a larger size just at my full bust and coming back under it, I know where my full bust level is–I made a mark perpendicular to the grainline at CF along this line.  I transferred the marks from step 4 to the pattern.  These are the points at which you’ll add the fluff to gather in the next step.
7. From each of the three points you’ve marked (top of the bust, full bust, bottom of bust), draw a line perpendicular to the grainline.  Slash the pattern along these lines, stopping before you get to the side seam seam line.
8. Spread these lines open vertically as much as you want.  I spread open the top bust line 5/8″, the full bust line 3/4″ and the bottom bust line by 3/8″.  I could have made all of these wider to get more dense gathers, but for this version, I tried this.
9. Fill in the empty space with tissue and tape away.
10. True up the line that will attach to the CF panel.
11. That’s it!  Use your back and sleeve from your TNT pattern* and you’re set.

To construct:

1. Cut out your pieces as normal, transferring the top, full, and bottom bust points to the CF side of your side fronts.
2. Run a gathering stitch at 3/8″, 1/2″, and 5/8″.  Pull up the stitches to gather, centering the most gathers around the full bust marking.
3. Gently lay each side front section against the CF panel and adjust the gathers to fit, but don’t sew yet.
4. Gently lay some clear elastic in the seam allowance of the gathered area and baste it into place.  Take out the other gathering stitches.  The elastic will hold the gathers in place and it will be easy to take out the gathering stitches, and plus, they won’t get caught up or shift when you’re sewing the side fronts to the center panel in the next step.
5. Sew or serge the center panels to the side fronts with the gathered side down.  I highly recommend flatlocking this seam–flatlocking is part of the original Cabi shirt, and the flatlocked seam will lay flat wheras a serged seam will be a little more bulky.  To flatlock, you can look over my notes here.  Regardless of how you serge the panel, press towards the side fronts.
6. Sew the rest of your shirt as usual.  I added a binding.  If you’ve never done that, this is an awesome tutorial.  Sarah Veblen Threads Knit Binding Tutorial (the only optional step in binding is basting it into place.  It seems fiddly to do so, but I’ve found that I get a smoother binding since I’m not trying to stretch it while I’m serging it, and if you baste it first, you can adjust it if it’s too long or short).
7. If you’d like to add ruching to the sleeves on the inside of the wrists like the original tee, you can do this easily with some clear elastic.  To do this, I drew a line perpendicular to the hem 4″ long on the inside of each wrist on the right side of the fabric.  From the wrong side of the sleeve, I stretched a piece of clear elastic (from Pam Erny–don’t try to use clear elastic from JoAnn, you’ll cry) behind this line and stitched it into place with a 3-step zigzag while stretching it a lot.

*I’m planning a post about finding and getting a TNT for a t-shirt if you haven’t found one to work for you or have no idea what I’m talking about.

I also have a pattern review of this shirt here.

That’s my #1 for The T-shirt Project.  I get extra bonus points too because this white shirt fits into the Wardrobe Basics Sew Along too.  What about you all?  Have a t you’re working on?  Post it to this Flickr group I put together for everyone.

Also, Denver Fabrics has rayon knits on sale this week.  They have lots of good basic solids and the quality is good.  There’s also some fun prints including this one which I almost ordered a couple of weeks ago in another [better] colorway, but it sold out while I was making my order people.  Sad.

Narrow shoulders?

Through both pregnancies and all the weight loss and gain that goes with that the one consistent measurement has been my shoulder width.  I’ve been a 34 in Burda though my weight has been all over the map.  Period.  But I’m starting to think that I need to revisit that measurement as tops are starting to fall off of the edge of my shoulders.

I wonder if in all of my working out that I finally lost some width in my arms themselves that apparently brought in the edge of my shoulders (because it would appear that my shoulder width has not changed by much even though shoulders are too wide on me these days).

Take this top for instance.  It is Burda 7434 in a nice wool jersey from Denver Fabrics.  I’m happy with the width and reasonably how everything fits in general, except that the top of the sleeves are falling off of my shoulders.  Because of the width of the shoulders, the princess seams are falling outside of where they should be as well.

So I’m asking for help.  I know that I need to do a narrow shoulder adjustment of some sort, but can I do that though I’ve made the garment minus hems?  My idea was to split apart the princess seam and make a dart of sorts in the front to take out some width, easing in the back shoulder to match.  Is this a legitimate way to retrofit?

On an unrelated topic, I think WordPress has lost its mind because I can’t seem to fit the gigantorness of the picture…

Hitting a moving target while blindfolded and hopping on one foot

 

Pants fitting is not for the faint of heart.  There are a lot of curves to fit.  Add the added challenge of having recently given birth and being in a weight loss/body reshaping trend after that event, and the post’s title becomes apparent. 

Thankfully I do have a group of ladies I’m meeting with once a month to work on the fit of pants.  I’m at a point though that I have to give up my perfectionism and just make these up as I have a choice between a pair of maternity shorts which are too big and often covered in spit up and workout pants right now.  I’m using OOP Simplicity 4135–the gaucho view…shortened considerably to more of a flared walking short length.

The front looks pretty okay,

and the top part of the back is pretty good too. 

 The problem that I’m having is those silly diagonal wrinkles from the side seam below my bum.  When I was with my group a couple of weeks ago, we had taken out a vertical dart from just under my bum to the hem which took out a good bit of excess that was in the back of the pants.  I’ve probably lost 4 or 5 pounds since then though.  I’m not complaining, but what’s a girl to do?  You can see in the unaltered side that those wrinkles are there too, but they seem to be magnified on the altered side.  The vertical dart definitely took out some excess, but I think there’s something else that I’m missing. 

Does anyone know how to deal with those wrinkles?

Still not tired of this

Oh Simplicity 2369, how I love thee.  A t-shirt as comfy as pajamas but with feminine flair.  While not a super fast sew (well, at least this time, being a bit rusty), everything is drafted just lovely and would be very simple for a beginner.  If you’re nursing, this is also a great top. 

Does the fabric look familiar?  I still had plenty of this poly knit leftover from my Burda maternity dress I made several months ago.  I faced the harsh reality of being a full 10 lbs heavier than where I was at the same point with Noah and cut the pattern slightly bigger.  In reality, I probably cut it TOO large, but I just wanted to have a pretty top to wear post partum.  When your body feels out of whack and oddly shaped, it’s reassuring perhaps to know there’s something pretty to cover it up with hanging in your closet. 

Again, I find myself grateful that I can sew.  It’s hard being a weight that you’re physically not comfortable being.  Being able to make clothes that FIT for whatever size you are gives you a lot more freedom.  I bought a lot of poorly made and really not all that cheap clothes post partum with Noah and I spent a lot of time feeling sad about my body instead of accepting where I was at and respecting it for the really cool thing that it had just been through.  Now that I have a set of skills, I feel much more ready to accept where I am this time and make some things to get me through the transition.  I will stop whining about my weight now…I’m working out again–it will come [is coming] off, just not instantly.

I updated my studio post below with actual pictures too if you’re interested.

Worth the hoopla

As I posted earlier, I dove into the Burda turtleneck from the September 2010 issue.  People on Patternreview have made I think hundreds of these things at this point–and it’s only January 2011. 

Well throw my hat in the ring for admirers of this pattern.

Burdastyle 09-2010-121: mock turtleneck–what I learned

1.  Basic doesn’t necessarily mean boring:  As I said, I totally missed this (and every other pattern) pattern in the September issue.  When I first started seeing reviews of it pop up on PR, I ignored it.  Snore, I thought–I hate turtlenecks as a general rule.  I should know Burda better by this point.  This pattern is well drafted, 3 pieces, and it looks sleek looking without being constricting or tackily tight.  I see why people have made up a gazillion of these things.  It takes little fabric, is fun to sew and can be accessorized until the cows come home.  It’s MAYBE a little short, but at 7 months pregnant, my opinion on this point can’t be trusted.  I’m wearing a cami underneath for my own comfort, not because it’s too short.  I did add 2″ at CF and 1.5″ in a wedge at the side seam, which was more than enough room for baby, and my hem is nice and level.

2.  In seam buttonholes:  This was my big learning on this top.  Trena’s reviews almost always send me over the edge if I’m so-so on a pattern, and this one was no exception.  She added a thumbhole for extra warmth in the underarm seam.  Being shorter like she is, I knew that I’d have to shorten the sleeves by quite a bit (2.25″)–enough that I’d have plenty of extra length to have a fingerless glove setup if I added a thumbhole.  I elected to do in-seam buttonholes for this feature.

I serged the raw edge of the arms, sewing a piece of twill tape to the thumbhole area in the serged allowance. 

After I sewed in the armscye seam, I sewed the underarm seam just outside my serging, stopping and restarting on either side of the twill tape. 

I pressed this seam really well on my seam roll and did some decorative stitching with hot pink embroidery thread to keep the twill tape tacked down (and because I figured if I was fussing this much over a seam, it might as well be purty).

I’m pretty surprised at HOW much warmer the thumbholes make this top.  Thank you Trena for the inspiration!  Though they were more work than just sewing an underarm seam, the functionality trumps it.  My hands get so cold in winter, particularly when I’m playing violin and wearing even fingerless gloves impairs my movement. 

So I’ll echo words of others–why haven’t you sewn this top yet?

My full review is here on PR.

2010 review and 2011 goals

Ooh–slideshow.  Someone dim the lights.  There’s a bit of ugly in 2010 garment-wise, but, hey, it’s part of what happened, and it’s worthy to note for that reason.

2010 Projects, posted with vodpod

Whew, I got a lot done this past year as far as sewing went.  Overall, I’m really proud of my progress in this crazy game of sewing my own garments, and I’ve successfully negotiated finding time to sew while taking care of a very busy, extremely curious toddler.  Here’s a rundown of my goals for 2010:

1. Sew a cute sporty jacket: check
2. Tackle a Vogue pattern: why did these intimidate me so much a year ago?  I made multiple Vogues.  I even made 1027 twice (what a great pattern!).
3. Learn more about knits and apply that learning: I’ve sewn so many knits, and I’m way comfortable with them now.
4. Learn to make welt pockets: not so much.
5. Make more wearable garments: with a few exceptions, I’m okay with what I’m churning out these days.  A friend commented that it was getting harder to tell what I’ve made vs. what I’ve bought–that’s probably a good lithmus test.
6. Learn to fit pants: Does it count that I’ve THOUGHT about it a lot?
7. Enter a sewing contest:  It turns out I did 3–Mini Wardrobe, Lined Jacket, and Endless Combinations.  I found it was good for me to do so and helped me up my game and keep my goals on track.  Plus, I had a lot of fun.  Yay contests!
8. Make a fashionable bag: My Mom rescued me and bought me a gorgeous Cole Haan aqua wristlet for my birthday.  It’s way more my style than anything I’d sew (and I learned that it was easier to buy a bag than source the materials I wanted to use in a bag I’d actually love).
9. Sew a button-down shirt for me: I made 2.  One whose style I love, and one that I love love love love love.  Again, I’m not sure why this was such an intimidating goal for me a year ago.
10. Sew a winter coat: I would have, but I was not going to sacrifice my teal double-faced wool to pregnancy.

Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in 2011:

• Sew some post-partum wear that is me:  I wore a lot of icky ill-fitting t-shirts after I had Noah (that made me feel horrid), mostly because my skills were “emerging” and not ready for the challenge of a wacky changing body.  I’ve seen myself through that change, my skills are much improved, so I’m ready for whatever sizes are coming my way in 3 months.  Oh, and I know that I am a lucky one who can wear a decent, actually supportive bra whilst nursing.
• Make a shirt dress:  I’m comfortable with shirt construction now, and I love this style. 
• Learn to fit pants: Just starting this journey, I know I will be frustrated, but I know the end result will be worth it.
• Sew more with wovens:  Knits are my brainless go-tos when it comes to sewing.  I know how to make them fit my body, and I love how quickly they come together.  I want to get this comfortable with wovens, which is perhaps a tall order given my currently and upcoming wackily changing body.
• Make a winter coat: with the subset goals of welt pockets and bound buttonholes as from last year.  That teal double-faced wool in my stash isn’t getting any younger!
• Figure out what colors look good on me and sew with fabrics in those:  I picked up this book from the library, and I’m utterly confused about my coloring (well I am anyway).  I started sewing in part because I can rarely find colors that are “me”, but apparently, I have a hard time figuring out what those colors are (except aqua–my BFF always).
• Do a better job than last year:  This was my only goal I had for myself when I was teaching.  Being an extremely goal-oriented person but not a natural teacher, I figured this was a low-pressure goal for me.  A friend recently told me it was kind of a high bar–who knows?  It feels low pressure to me.  In essence, I want to keep learning and growing in my sewing, but whatever specific lessons I’m going to learn will present themselves as they come, so my goal is not to try and control every detail of said learning because I’ve found I learn a lot more when I don’t.  Oy, it’s so hard to explain your own mind! 

Versatility

When I went to go find something to wear for church this morning, I thought I’d pop on version 2 of my Vogue 1027 that I made in the spring.  Guess what people–it not only still fits, it’s way comfy, and now that I think about it, it’s a perfect maternity dress (no, I still haven’t hemmed it)!

The skirt is basically a circle skirt, so there’s plenty of extra room in front.  The waist seam really is an empire seam, but it’s not as apparent as the typical underbust empire seam because the ties are cleverly sewn into the waist seam.  The bonus of that for the pregnant lady is that while the waist seam is way above the tummy, that little tie gives some waist definition, so you get to look like a lady, not just a lumpy barrel that it feels like you become whilst pregnant!  I was just thinking yesterday how I’m so over gathers and voluminous maternity everything and I just want to look like my normal self.  I guess I found a good solution smiling at me in my closet this morning!

Planning–the armchair edition

I really do have my little Moleskin filled to the brim right now with cute little drawings of my upcoming projects, but it being 4:40 am and the camera being in the room with the ever so soundly sleeping baby, I will instead venture to overuse the copy and paste function in this post.

There’s this litte jacket which is all muslined, altered, and ready to go.

Burda 2-2007-104

I’m stepping out on a limb here with Simplicity 2554F.  The line drawing of the ruffles looks so great, and of course, The Slapdash Sewists’ excellent styling of this top put me over the edge.  I’m not sure about my full bust and the ruffles, though I love the flutter sleeve.  We’ll see.  It might not make it past the muslin stage.

This one I’m excited about.  This is Vogue 8548.  I need a coat for winter, and I’ve made enough jackets at this point to feel comfortable tackling this big of a project.  This is not a super complicated pattern, so I can focus on making this really really well.  Much study and practice is to come.  In the mean time, I bought 4 yards of this absurdly beautiful double-faced robin’s egg blue wool from a PR’er for the crazy price of $23.  I can’t believe how lovely this stuff is, and the color will motivate me to not put this big of a project off for fear’s sake for another year.

Because I’m a sucka for a cap sleeve, here’s Butterick 5495

And because knit dresses seem to be my preferred drug of choice these days, a couple more:

Burda 8-2008-188 tunic lengthened to dress length (which probably means like 2″ for me tee hee).

My queue is longer than this, but I have to have something to post about another day, right? 

I’m hoping I get through this all too.  I’m pretty tired these days and haven’t felt much like making playdates with Gnomey.  Mayhaps I’ve needed a break from my usual pace though…

Failure is part of the creative process

Depressing as this statement may be at times, it is true.

I forged on from yesterday’s confusion over the sleeve.  After fiddling around with it, I discovered it’s a sleeve drape, not really a sleeve at all.  As a design element, it’s really cool.  I figured out how to raise the neckline despite all of the pintucks, which really wasn’t terribly hard.  I could have stood to go a little higher still, but I would have to involve the side front piece.  I was willing to do all of that and then a nagging little voice in the back of my head told me it wouldn’t be a bad idea to muslin the skirt too.  I’m so glad I listened.  Exhibit A:

I know this is practice fabric, but I can’t quite get over the feeling of this:

I’m all for Oktoberfest, but that’s not the look I was hoping for from this dress.  The waist seam hits me weird and uncomfortably, but the big shapeless skirt was the death knell for me.  It somehow dragged down the very well fitted bodice into a big pile of schlumpiness and put 20 pounds on me that I don’t have on my body. 

I could scrap the circle skirt in favor of a gored skirt, but I think the seams would fight with the pintucks. 

What did I learn from this?  I can’t say it enough: making practice garments is a good idea.  Unless there’s a bun in the oven, empire waists, especially in woven fabrics aren’t the best silhouette for my short, curvy frame.  Back to the drawing board.  

I think I’ll go cook lots and read Frog and Toad stories to Noah to help ease my fried brain.

Stuck

I’ve been trying to gather the motivation to tackle my next project.  Several weeks ago I traced off and went through muslin #1 of Burda 05-2010-110.  Wouldn’t you know that I can’t find anyone has written about it or made it up yet?  Where are you petite sewers of Burda?  I need your help.

There are two problems–one that I can fix and one that leaves me with my head a scratchin.  #1–CF is way too low for my taste.  There are some pleats that make raising it by the 2.5″ I estimate I need (I usually raise it only by 1″ if that gives you an idea of how low it is) a little tricky, but that I can figure out.

The larger problem #2:  What on earth is this sleeve?

For the life of me, I can’t figure out how it’s supposed to fit into the armscye.  In typical Burda style, the directions are cryptic and somehow semi-clear on the topic of the sleeve too.  I’ll quote: “Trim allowance on outer edge of cap sleeves to 1/4″ wide, press to inside, and stitch.  Press allowance on straight back edge of cap sleeves to inside.  Baste cap sleeves to neck edge, from each front section seam to back abutting line, with wrong side facing right side.”  Looking at these directions and the line drawings and this almost makes sense.  There’s some kind of placement line that I think the straight part of the sleeve is supposed to be attached to.  I need to go back to the pattern sheet and puzzle it out.  I’m convinced I’m making it harder than it really is.

The good news is that there’s nothing I need to change on this pattern other than the height of center front.  The fit is perfect right out of the gate.  Yee haw for petite patterns!