Something Other Than Sewing....

I often find myself getting involved in projects that inevitably become a bit of an obsession....home repairs, sewing, roller derby....but one thing I never really cared for was gardening.  In our yard we have rules "If it can't be mowed, it can't live here."  And, we've stuck by that for many, many years.  Until....

Straw Bale Gardening.  Yes, my new obsession.

I read about straw bale gardening this spring and thought "That sounds simple enough that even I could do it!"

So, I did.....

First, you need a whole lot of straw:

The principle behind straw bale gardening is that you essentially plant IN compost.  So the first step is to get the bales started composting.  You spend about two weeks fertilizing and watering the bales to get the composting process started:

Over the course of two weeks, the bales do lots of interesting things like stinking to high heaven and sprouting mushrooms:

But, once the composting process has started AND the temperature of the bales has dropped to allow planting, you essentially plant directly IN  the bales themselves, using a bit of potting soil to protect the seedlings, or to create a seed bed:

Because you are planting in compost, you can plant more densely than you would in a standard garden, and also utilize the sides of the bales as well:

So far, things seem to be going well:

The tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are growing like crazy.  The one issue that I have found is that because the straw is essentially a hollow tube, while it works great as a capillary getting water throughout the bale...it also drains very well, which means watering every day in the heat.  I figured that out after I managed to let my celery plants dry out.  I have a soaker hose along the top of the bales now that I let run each morning for a bit.  Except today.  Today it's plenty wet....

Finally, a Finished Top

Finally, I have a finished shirt.  In the previous post, I reviewed all the alterations that I did in order to get BurdaStyle 12.2011.107 to fit....and really could probably have just drawn my own pattern by the time I was finished.  But, by then it was a test of wills between me and the pattern, so I had to see it through to the end.

Because it wasn't difficult enough to make the alterations, I set myself up for additional difficulty by using a semi-sheer lawn/swiss dot, which required that I underline the top as well, which I did for the bodice and waistline.

Underlining does have one advantage, and that is that you don't have to use facings of any kind.  You can just use the underlining fabric itself to hide raw edges, such as the back neckline:

I also used the underlining to hide the shoulder seam.  It's a trick I learned from a HotPatterns top that had you "wrap" the facing around to the right side of the garment, sew the shoulder seam, and then turn everything right side out and tadaaaa...you have a finished edge, hidden shoulder seam, and your facing won't flip around.

Here is how I did it with the underlining.  I started by sewing the front neckline edge all the way up to the seam line:

Then I pinned, right sides together, the front and back bodice pieces at the shoulder.  I "wrapped" the underlining around the neckline edge, pinning so the back bodice was now in between two layers of the front bodice.  I sewed the seam, trimmed the corner, and flip....here is the finished neckline:

I then continued to work somewhat according to the instructions, with some slight changes in construction order to allow for the underlining.  After attaching the center front of the bodice, I then sewed on the waistbands.  The back waistband was flat, so it was easily attached, but the front band had a center peak.  The best way to attach that band is to sew in from each side, towards the peak.  Don't try to make a turn at the peak, it will just make it messy.  Mark your seams here, it helps.

 

Do the same in attaching the skirt/peplum.

Once the waistbands were attached, I inserted the sleeves...It is simple to do this while everything is flat, because the sleeves are heavily gathered.

I then added an invisible zipper on one side:

After that, it was quick finishing to sew the other side seam and finish the hems.

Here is the finished top:

And, on the hoof:

The fit is good, considering the acrobatics that I had to perform to finish it.  So good, in fact, I am attempting the dress version....

Alterations, Alterations, and More Alterations

Let's get this party started, shall we?  I think I am going to split this project into two posts because the alterations are JUST THAT EXTENSIVE.  Really, I probably could have spent less time just drawing up my own pattern.  But, once I got into it, it became a test of wills between me and Burda.

I decided that I wanted to make BurdaStyle 12.2011.107, a V-neck dress with pleats and gathers at bust and waist, which can also be made as a shirt with peplum.  It is available as a download from the Burda site, and since I had temporarily let my subscription lapse (and by temporarily, I mean "two years") I did not have the magazine at home.

Here is the image of the dress:

And sewn as a shirt:

And the line drawing:

I chose the pattern, in part, because it was available in size 38 to 46.  I can wear a 44 in a shirt, but in skirts am a 46 and pants a 48 (don't ask me how that is possible, it boggles my mind too).  This way I had a size that would fit both my top and bottom, all in the same pattern.

Because I have sewn Burda items that have empire waistlines before, I knew they assumed that all women had preternaturally perky boobs, and I would most likely need to add some length above the waistline.  I was not disappointed, and found that not only did I need to add 2 inches in length to cover the girls, I needed to add some fabric in width as well....see below as to how this resulted in the most insane FBA of all time.  However, with the pleats along the front, gathers as well as princess seams, I had a real task ahead of me if I wanted to make any alterations.  My process was as follows:

1. Since I can print off another any time I want, I just cut out my taped together pattern from the download.
2. I started by cutting a size 46 (I find altering Burda patterns, with no seam allowances, a thousand times easier than altering Big 4 patterns and constantly having to figure out where the actual seam will be).
3. To begin the alterations, I folded out the pleats (on the front and the back) and taped the pattern down, tracing another version to work on.
4. I then slashed the pattern horizontally.
5. I separated along the slash, and added 2 inches in length to bust, and retracing the pattern pieces.
6. I then created an "FBA" by slashing vertically multiple times, widening the piece, and then tracing again.
7. I raised the neckline, as I usually do with Burda.
8. Finally, I made muslin....which then revealed a few more issues.

Upon completion of the muslin, I found:

1. I needed to shorten above bust, although the rest was just fine
2. I also needed to alter for a square shoulder along with shortening above the bust, which also involved redrawing the armscye 
3. And to avoid a very frumpy look, I needed to shorten peplum by 2.25 inches

I know that in print this makes virtually no sense, so I have included many, many photos....

Here we start with the original pattern piece, with the pleats folded out.  The pattern is printed so the two front pieces, joined by a princess seam, are for now one piece.  Excellent for making alterations easier and more precise:

Since this created a lot of layers of pattern paper, I decided my first step would be to make a tracing of that pattern piece.  Also, I wouldn't have to print it out again if I messed up.  Here you can see I have made the horizontal slash, and added two inches to the bust:

Trace again, and add a bit of height to the neckline:

I then cut out this version of the tracing, separated it along the princess seam and prepared to add my completely insane FBA by slashing the pattern vertically, repeatedly, and adding width:

Trace again, and here is the difference between the original and the altered pattern:

I then made a muslin and found that due to my extraordinarily square shoulders that I needed to accommodate for that, as well as remove some extra fabric above the bust.  Here you can see just how square my shoulders are, much different than the slope of the pattern piece in the next photo:

To do that I pinched out the fabric at the shoulder, towards the neckline, as necessary, which required also lowering the back neckline.  You can see the new line is angled to make the shoulder more square:

And then I had to account for that change in the armscye, so retraced that as well, since if you pinch out at the top of the shoulder, you have to drop the curve of the armscye at the bottom, otherwise you will be wearing a straightjacket:

After all these alterations, retracings, fittings and refittings...I needed to take a break before cutting my actual garment.

Since I typically make things as difficult as I possibly can, I chose a fabric that needed to be underlined...which in turn required that the order of assembly be changed.  Which is, of course, fine...because I never read Burda instructions anyway.

Next time I'll have the final product ready to share....

Alterations, Part One

I currently have about three different blog posts "cooking," all of them having to do with altering patterns.

I finally made myself sit down and FINISH one of them

I have been spending far too much time trying to find a PERFECT pattern for a non-knit t-shirt and have hated them ALL because they just make me look boxy, so I decided that I wanted to try one that was cut on the bias.

Fortunately, I had Simplicity 2594 already in the stash.

This pattern has a number of options, including a tunic length with a belt, and also some incredibly odd sleeves.  It has a back yoke, and pleats at the shoulder on the front.  As I was reading the instructions before getting started (something I NEVER do) I found that the cowl at the front had one of my pet peeves...and that was a hem along the top of the cowl:

There is never a situation that I can think of that I have worn a cowl neck and the INSIDE of the shirt has been invisible.  So with a small hem, it is inevitable that the inside of the fabric, and that hem is going to show.  I prefer a cowl with a large interior facing, I thought that was just HOW a cowl was made, but am finding more and more examples of the tiny hem the more I sew.

I decided that what this really needed was a big facing.  So, I drafted one.  I started by folding the pattern in half, because why bother trying to draw symmetrically?  Just draw half and then transfer that to the other side.  I added some pattern paper (which is really paper left over from the last move.  I bought a huge pile of newsprint from a packaging company before I left for grad school....in 1999.  I think I may have just used the last piece.  Here is a funny story...I bought it from a place that, at the time, I knew of because it was in my Grandmother's neighborhood.  On a visit home, I swung by, bought a carload of used boxes and a pile of newsprint, in preparation for my move to Columbia, MO.  I went from there, to Washington DC, to Champaign, IL...and was still using that pile of newsprint to wrap my glasses when I moved back to St. Louis in 2004....and now I live AROUND THE CORNER from the place where I originally bought it.  I guess it is safe to say I could easily acquire some more).

But I digress...I added the pattern paper, created an angle that was the mirror image of the slope of the shoulder, and drew on the facing:

To make it easier to see, I traced over the pencil with black marker:

Then I attached it to the pattern, and cut it out:

Here is a little trick when you have patterns with multiple length options....number and mark the piece you cut off (and save it, of course).  Then using it is simple, you just line up your marks and pin it down when you need to make one that length:

This did, of course, change the order in which I assembled it, and how I treated the front cowl.  I would recommend that if you do this, find a pattern that has the fold-over facing on the cowl and follow those.  I just kind of winged it because I had sewn these many times before.  

Here is the final product, with the fold-over facing in the cowl (and my wavy hemline, which happens every time I sew on the bias.  I'll do better on the non-muslin, I promise!):

And the pleats at the front shoulder:

And the back yoke with gathers in the back of the shirt.  This is the only part I actually dislike...it seems like a rather skimpy yoke, and ends very high up on the back.  Also, the gathers are skimpy, too.  Enough so that to me they just look like bad sewing rather than deliberate gathers.  Next time I may just turn it into a pleat at the center instead.

All in all, I'm fairly happy with this muslin.  I will probably make some slight alterations to it, perhaps beefing up that cowl and making the gathers more concentrated towards the center of the back so they look more deliberate.

The fabric was a bargain table find, so at a couple of dollars a yard, I was happy to sacrifice it even if this pattern didn't work.  It's a slippery poly, so I did the usual and starched the heck out of it before cutting, and washed the garment after sewing to remove the starch.  

Back Again...This Time with Hats

And once again I have become the worst blogger in the entire world.

I have to apologize, it isn't that I haven't been working on anything, but that I just have not been in the mood to photograph everything, put it on, and take more photographs.

We also had some upheaval here in we finally had to say goodbye to my 17-year-old dog, Spaz.  After bouts with bladder and kidney stones, incontinence, arthritis, dementia, seizures, and finally a brain tumor, we made the decision that the time had come to say goodbye.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, although I knew it was the right decision for him, it was very had for me to wrap my head around the fact that I had made the decision that he should die. And then scheduled it with the vet. I still have no way to explain how awful that was.  He was a great dog, and will be greatly missed.

But, going through that process found me looking for things to do to keep my mind busy, and one of the things I did was make a complete mess of making some hats.  In the March, 2013 issue of BurdaStyle, they had a pattern for a newsboy's cap:

I veerrry carefully measured my head, traced off the pattern, and ended up with a hat that was HUGE...seriously, I should have made the kid size for my tiny noggin.  How did I mess it up so badly???  Fortunately, my husband has a huge head, so he got a new hat:

The one thing that I didn't really like about the Burda pattern was that there was no snap in it to keep the front of the hat down on the brim, so I added one:

Had I noticed the lack BEFORE I sewed the brim in, I would have added the snap so that it didn't show on the bottom of the brim.  Not that Jeremy cares, he didn't want a hat, anyway!  He just got it because I messed up the measurements.

Not to be deterred, I decided instead that I would copy a hat that I already had.  I made a pattern by putting a piece of newsprint over a piece of foam core, then laid the piece I wanted to copy over the top.  Stick pins through the seams of the piece you are copying, into the foam core, then when you pull them out you just "connect the dots" and you have a pattern.  Add seam allowances, and there you go.  The red hat is the one I purchased, and the green and black hat is the copy I made with my pattern knock off:

Then I thought about it and decided...you know, I never wear green and black.  Plus, like the newsboy's cap, it was too big, ner! But I wear a lot of grey.  So, I made a grey one instead:

Fortunately, that one fit!

In other sewing news, I am also on a quest for a simple, woven shirt.  No collars, no buttons, just a simple t-shirt, but woven and not knit.  I have been through about 6 versions so far....and they all suck.  But all for different reasons.  Soon, I'll have a big post about side seams, armscyes, dropped shoulders, and fabric choices...and all the reasons that woven tees can go wrong.  Hopefully, I'll even have a reason that they go RIGHT from time to time.  But, that is still a few versions away....

In the meantime...happy sewing!