Just-Patterns Veronica Vest with more jeans

Happy New Year everybody! I have taken an unintentional break from posting here on the blog. Life just got really busy with family and other obligations taking up my time, but I have definitely been sewing since I last posted in October. As well as teaching classes, finishing my garden remodel, and just taking a rest after a very busy summer and fall. Also I knew I would have time now to catch up on all my blog posting, as I am recovering from a foot surgery this week, so what better time than to sit with my laptop, reclining on the couch, catching up on movies, blogs and emails.

I have what I call "house arrest" for at least 2 weeks and maybe up to 4 weeks so I will have a lot of time to catch up. I think in a week or so I can get around in the house better, as of today I can very gingerly walk around so it's not too bad. But no driving since it's my right foot. Which means it's time to do tasks I've saved for this month, such as the not so fun working on my taxes and the slightly more fun of reorganizing my recipe files. And then when I feel a bit better I can do some low-key sewing projects. 

The day before this surgery I threw on these items and took some pictures so I could actually post some of my December sewing. I made the wool tweed version of the Veronica Vest by Just-Patterns and then when I made the blue corduroy jeans I had enough remaining to make another vest. 

Here's the tweed version of the vest, this piece of black and white wool was a remnant saved from making a coat which was a sample for a class at Hello Stitch back in 2017.

It's perfect for this vest and uses up a remnant, so a win. The jeans are my go-to pattern for all jeans which is the Megan Nielsen Ash jeans. 

Here's the second version of these same patterns together.

I think what I have ended up with are some very mix-and matchable and usable separates that I can wear with a lot of other items in my wardrobe. I've already worn the jeans several times with different sweaters. 

I had been searching for some nice stretch corduroy in colors for ages but in the fall as a Minerva Maker I was offered the opportunity to sew with their fabric and it's a great fabric. I will definitely use it again, now I want purple cords. This is their Minerva Core Range Stretch 7-Wale Cord fabric, the color was French Navy. 

Now for some sewing details. I have this jeans pattern dialed in and have the various leg widths that I might want to use traced out and ready to go. I decided for these I wanted a slightly wider leg, I guess it's just about a bootcut shape. I have made the Version D Flare leg and I thought they came out a bit too wide, so after completing I went back and narrowed them slightly. Here's the post where those jeans are pictured, as it turns out that is the same cord fabric from Joann's that I used in the black jeans above. 

So to make the bootcut I just measured the opening on my teal green cord jeans as well as a couple of other pairs of bootcut pants that I have, and added to my existing pattern pieces to get the opening the same circumference. See below I have taped on tracing paper to the bottom of the pants leg pattern piece.

And then I played around with the width until I got it to where I liked the look. Also I happen to have these suede booties (which I now have in 3 colors - they are that comfortable) so I hemmed to wear with those. 

Since I was conserving fabric as I cut out these blue cords, I decided to use some denim remnants for the inside waistband. And I used the wrong side of the denim as some of these dark blue denims give off dye for ages despite many washes. My beige leather car seats can attest to the power of blue dye on blue jeans, unbelievable how much color comes off year after year of wearing, despite many washes. Also I prefer to make the pocket bags continue to the center front and create a waist stay, like you see in many ready to wear jeans. I think it keeps the pockets linings from coming out of the top of that front pocket, and also counteracts the stretch in that area of the pants. 

Here's a look at the vest and jeans together. I know I cut out the corduroy with the nap running in the same direction for both pieces however I think they look a bit different in all the photos. Perhaps because I've worn the jeans several times and not yet worn the vest?  Anyway - you can see that there are not facings in the vest, I did change up the pattern as I went along. Mostly because I was short for time and decided to omit the facings and just do a full lining which I sewed in and then pulled through on the lining side seams. I did put interfacing around the neck and bottom edge which is similar to the pattern instructions. 

In fact the tweed one was sewn first, and I tried out the full lining method on that one. Also you can see that my lining is brown! That's what the lining scrap box offered up when I started rummaging. I figured it is not at all seen when the vest is worn and it was thick enough to counteract the itch factor of this wool.

I also didn't have the hardware slider for the back vest belt so I just tied it in a knot. which works as well. Really the whole project was a late night sewing whim that turned out pretty well and reduced by fabric stash by 2 pieces. 

Here's a closer look at the black corduroy jeans. I got this fabric at Joann's maybe 3 years ago? or 2 years? What is time anyway - with our various periods of lockdown things tend to blur together. But it is the same fabric as the teal corduroy Ash jeans. Every once in a while I find really good fabrics in one category at Joanns, which is bottom weight items, whether it is denim, ponte or corduroy. If I go there intentionally looking I might come up with nothing, but if I am there for perhaps a color of thread or a last minute button requirement, I always look at the aisle of denim and corduroy and often find very nice quality fabrics. Weird - as most of their other stuff is pretty terrible. And slight rant, they used to carry Ambiance bemberg rayon lining in basics like navy, black and grey but those days are gone. I think that fabric is actually hard to come by anywhere, apparently the pandemic and international shipments are the cause and I hope we see it again in local shops. 

I omitted some of the topstitching on the waistband and used black thread for all other topstitching. When it comes to jeans I'm a bit different as I really prefer tone-on-tone stitching, rarely a contrasting stitching for me, I like the look of the stitching disappearing into the fabric color. Even for my ready to wear jeans that I have purchased in the past, I see that I have many where the stitching is the same color as the fabric. 

Well that's the latest for my vest and jeans combos. I plan to do a few more posts in this next couple of weeks when I certainly will have time on my hands and my painful foot propped up on pillows! 

Up next, I made a gorgeous camel wool coat for my friend Heather that I know you will be interested in seeing, and then some wool trousers are just completed. I'm currently doing an online class with Hello Stitch on sewing trousers - this is a new class for me and we had lots of sign ups. Maybe this very chilly winter has everyone thinking about warm wool pants. 

So I hope everyone is having a great new year and thanks very much for the kind words and emails checking to see if I had disappeared from the sewing blog world. Not yet!

Happy 2023 Sewing,

Beth

Perhaps we are edging out of our drought here in California, after the 3 weeks of unbelievable rainstorms. With trees uprooted all over and lots of flooding, my corner of the bay area came through it ok. As we all said, we want this much rain, just not all in one week!  One day as it was storming I heard a different sound and saw the hail which probably didn't make my lemon tree very happy although there are still plenty of lemons ripening. 

Blanca Jumpsuit in Floral Corduroy

Sometimes I come across a piece of fabric and instantly know what I want to sew with it. There are several textile and sewing groups in my area that have periodic fundraising sales of fabrics, supplies and patterns where I've found some real gems. I snagged this piece of floral corduroy earlier this year and thought it would be great for another Blanca flight suit for my friend Halnya. It's rare to find a nice floral corduroy, it must be a few years old as it has no stretch and was 45" wide but the piece was around 4 yards so enough to fit the jumpsuit with a bit of pattern puzzling. I made this pattern last spring when I taught an online class and it's fun to put together. More details below but FYI I'm doing this class again starting Feb 1, here's the link. 

She is a fashion risk taker so was very happy to wear this jumpsuit which I think has a 70's look about it. Here's a better look at this fabric. I think it actually looks better with a leather belt rather than the fabric belt. I really like corduroy and unlike other fabrics that I am fine with ordering online, for corduroy I want to feel it and see the weight and the color in person. Lately I've been looking for stretch corduroys in interesting colors, it's always on my list and if I see some I will buy for the stash. I guess it's out there but I find that the price seems too high for my liking. For some reason I would pay a fortune for a imported wool but I feel like corduroy should be in the $10-$15/yard range which is probably unrealistic. 

Anyway - this was a bargain of a few dollars, and then I ordered a zipper from Wawak, their selection and shipping speed is amazing. 

If you note in this photo above I made a change to the sleeve design. On the pattern the long sleeve has a seam down the center and then no cuff, just a snap to make it smaller at the wrist. Which is feature that I didn't really care for so I extended the short sleeve pattern piece into a long sleeve and added a cuff with snaps. 

For cuffs I just decide how wide I want them, how much overlap, measure the finished sleeve opening (where I added a small pleat) and then draw up the cuff piece right on the fabric. And then use that one to cut out the second.

For the opening into the cuff I just used the continuous bound placket and then let the underlap of the cuff be about one inch longer so that the cuff would overlap.

Since the zipper was metal I thought that snaps would look good on the cuffs instead of buttons so that gave me an opportunity to get out my snap tools. Which consist of a bunch of snap kits that I keep in an old metal cookie tin. So many sewing supplies in old metal cookie tins, right? Another one is full of buttons. 

I've found that these Dritz snap kits actually work very well. The key to using these is to follow the diagram on the package exactly. Also not lose any of the little pieces! Now I just buy replacement snaps as I have the snap setting components that came in the kit. Also when I apply the snaps I put the rubber disc on a piece of wood and then the snap holder plus snaps/garment on that, and then hammer on that. The block of wood gives a firm surface to hammer onto and also kind of absorbs the hammer blow so the snap doesn't smash but locks into place. 

Here's a look at this pattern and the technical drawing.

When I first made this I was a bit cautious as I really don't like sewing bulky zippers but it came out fine. In my class I have some further details but here are a couple of tips for getting this zipper in just right. 

When it comes to zippers I work from the top down, as this type of zipper is very visible on the garment and the opening is the most important. It has to be even at each side of the collar.  I mark the stitch line where the collar will attach and then placed the top of the zipper in relation to that line. Then I pin the zipper down to the zipper stop. As it happened this zipper was a bit too long so I cut off the bottom, hand sewed a new zipper stop and then covered the bottom with lining. I did remove the teeth from the zipper tape below the new stop. 

After fixing the bottom of the zipper I hand basted the whole thing and then it was ready to stitch in. I find it takes a few minutes to hand baste in something like a 22 inch zipper but the time is so well worth it as you can then sew it in by machine, with no pins and be sure that it's in just the right location, and centered. 

So that's a second go round with this pattern and I think another friend wants one so it may again be on my to-do list. Meanwhile I might also make up another Merchant and Miller Boiler Suit for Stacey as she wears her first one constantly. I made both of these pattern back in April when I did my online class for Jumpsuit/Boilersuit and that will start again in February, here's the listing on the Hello Stitch website.  I'm happy to say that Hello Stitch will continue as an online entity and continue to offer classes in sewing and quilting so I will be teaching more online classes this year. 

I'm turning into a jumpsuit fan, maybe I will even make one for myself!

Up next, more completed things to post here, and on my calendar next weekend a trip to Britex with my friend Heather. I want a tweedy wool in tones of burgundy for a jacket, and she wants some camel color wool for a coat. That's the plan but who knows what we will come home with!

Happy winter sewing,

Beth

Today's garden photo, a flower from the mallow bush that I got a few years ago at the local community college horticultural department sale. The flowers are so pretty and this thing is incredibly hardy, I think it's about 6 ft x 6ft now and that's with a periodic chop. 

So nice I made it twice: Simplicity 2455 Jacket

Since I am trying to stick with my goal of making useful separates instead of more dresses, I did some reflecting on that idea, thinking about garments that are useful...not utilitarian.  Evaluating which were the items that were both most frequently and most comfortably worn since I started this blog. Without question it is the blue corduroy jacket I made in December 2010. I wear this all the time. That blog post also ranks as one of the most popular - I think everyone wants a jacket that can go with jeans and mix with lots of different tops. Plus that was the post where I mentioned the velvet board (or often called the needle board) one of the top google search terms that seems to bring seekers of sewing info here. More on the needle board to follow.
I had a piece of olive green stretch corduroy in my stash, a meager piece of 1 and 1/3 yards (60"wide). The pattern (S2455) calls for 1 and 7/8 plus the dreaded "more fabric needed for one-way design and to match plaids". Corduroy falls into that category, all pieces needing to go one way. I stared at it a few times and one day I thought ... tweedy-boucle-ish sleeves.

I think this is a little sleeper of a pattern, Simplicity 2455.  Looks kind of serious and businesslike in the pattern images but has nice princess seams, easy to make lapels and a hint of peplum. Here is the first one I made, in blue uncut corduroy. 

    

In the post for the first version, I have some notes on how to get that inside corner of the collar/lapel intersection nice and smooth. 

I used the needle board again for pressing this jacket, and if you go to the other post you can see some photos showing why/how to use it. It is kind of a pain to remember, but this olive green fabric is cotton corduroy with a bit of lycra, so once a seam is pressed things are good to go, not that much pressing to do, and the important thing to remember is NOT to put the iron down on that right side of the fabric!

Needle board

Here is a look at the collar close up and the back. I didn't intend to put the wool on the under collar but had no choice as I was down to shreds after cutting out the body of the jacket.

Now stop staring at that undercollar. Or am I drawing your attention to it? See the stripes, horizontal on one side, vertical on the other.  Also no choice. After all, the undercollar has to go on the bias. So here is a look at the wool fabric, the selvedge is on the left. See the devious problem? As I did not see when I bought it. Diagonal stripes. But I did have a brainwave right before I cut out these sleeves, and did some draping on the dress form. If I had cut it out on the straight of grain, then while both sleeves would have had diagonal stripes but since the sleeves are mirror images the stripes would have been oriented in opposite directions. Hard to explain but take it from me, it looked weird. So the answer is - breaking all kinds of sewing rules, cut the sleeves out on the bias.  Turned the diagonal stripes into vertical ones. Result - worked very well on this loosely woven fabric and gives them a sweater-ish quality that is perfect.

Other inside details. You know I am a fanatic about trimming the inside of a garment. Banish all possible lumpy bits. Here is how I do the hem on the facing, it looks a bit rough as it is a very casual corduroy garment, no pretence at all to being a well tailored jacket. On the facing I did press it directly so there is the mark from the iron, however the needle board was under it so the outer side is still all plushy and smooth.

My usual motley crew of assorted linings. I did happen to have this piece that matched so I used that for the parts near the front. To make it neater I wrapped the lining around the bottom of the facing, enclosing all those ravely bits of corduroy. When I do a lining I most always put that little pleat at the bottom, it just gives the lining a little more "breathing space" letting it hang inside the garment and not pull at the outer fabric. I can't remember if this pattern calls for a lining, I just cut out the main pattern pieces and then wing it on the dress form with the jacket inside out, pinning and stitch on by hand.

As with the previous jacket version, I did a bound buttonhole because the machine button hole maker would have marked up the front. Another find from the button jar. Do you have one of these goofy little tools? No idea what it is called, the "button raiser-upper" "button height adjuster" ? Anyway if it is a BIG button and buttonhole I use a pencil, but for anything less than that I use this gizmo. Which would be more useful if one had 3 hands, but it works once you get the first few stitches in. Kind of a weird photo, though, but I wanted to show how it is used. 

Our weather has turned warm, tomorrow's plan is a hike, maybe wearing shorts ! Woohoo! (we are enjoying the temps but I fear one of our drought summers is a possibility) and I am planning to be outside and away from the sewing machine this weekend to soak up some sun. The Pattern Pyramid drawing from my last post is coming up, so make a comment if you are interested. I appreciate the interest in recent comments about fit and pattern alteration so I will start some posts on that next.

Happy Is it Spring Yet? Sewing, Beth

Sneak Peek, corduroy and wool

Lots of sewing is happening here, not much writing about it and that is as it should be. I have quite a few projects in progess and hope to complete at least one this weekend.

Here is a little peek at the project referred to in the title of this post.  A bit outside my usual color palette. Even I can have only so much clothing in blue or turquoise, sometimes a girl just has to try an earth tone. Or what gets closest to earth tone in my world. Plus it was in my stash. Bonus points for dipping into the pile, right?

A big thank you to everyone who has left such nice comments on my recent projects, from the Lekala dress to the knit tops to the kid's coat etc. I really appreciate every one.  And to answer Carolyn, who asked me after my last post if I was getting a new sewing machine, not likely!  Yes, it would be lovely to have a super new machine (and to have some of that happy new toy feeling as when I bought a new Mac laptop after years of corporate PC purgatory).  But no, a new machine is not on the horizon. I am one of those people who cannot replace something for the sake of getting a new one - whatever it is must be beyond repair. And my lovely old Singers are humming along nicely (fingers crossed they stay that way).  

Meanwhile I am working on a few garments that pose an interesting fit challenge.  Some of the features of this figure are; shorter than average, very full bust, relatively narrow shoulders, plus size.  I have completed a few dresses and am now starting a coat based on a very cute J.Crew style.  Are you interested in some blog posts on these projects?  When it comes to sewing, fit and technique go hand in hand. Technique can be learned through practice - a hidden hem, a smooth zipper, perfect seams.  But garment fit - for me the learning never ends since there are as many fit challenges as there are people on the planet.  

Happy weekend sewing, Beth

Special handling notes - corduroy and velvet

Last week I started something I had no business working on.  This time of year I have plenty of projects to cram in before the holidays, including my Vogue 1117 Michael Kors dress I posted last week, but somehow I decided that my wardrobe was lacking in jackets which are not business wear but still look sharp.  It is very easy to do my shopping and errands wearing some version of gym wear, but that is not great advertising for a dressmaker and sewing teacher.  So I pulled out Simplicity 2455, a pattern I had selected for a plaid jacket but decided was too much trouble to match in plaid, yet just right for a solid color.  It looks a bit frumpy on the pattern envelope but has potential. 


Here is the finished jacket.  Blue uncut corduroy purchased on a whim at Joann's, but perfect to wear with jeans.  I regret that it has no Lycra content which would be more comfy but I did add a bit more ease across the shoulders to compensate.

I really like this pattern, with the gathered peplum effect and will make it again in the spring, maybe in another solid.  Here are a few construction details.

Uncut corduroy must be treated in the same way as velvet or any other fabric with pile or nap. Note that you must cut out all pieces running in the same direction.  Here is where that cryptic phrase on the back of the pattern envelope comes into play,  usually something like "extra fabric needed to match plaids or a one-way design fabric".    I like to have the nap running smoothly downward, contrary to my Sewing Made Easy book, copyright 1950 which tells me that short napped fabrics such as corduroy, velvet and velveteen usually have the nap running upward.  I am such a rebel.   But their second commandment for napped fabrics I do follow, which is to press on a Velvet Board.  

So now we get up close and personal with the Velvet Board  (also known as a needle board).

It is comprised of thousands of 1/4 inch stiff wire pieces and mine is filled with fuzz and fibers from previous projects.  At right is a full view of the Velvet board, which measures 12 inches long by 4 inches wide.

Why the velvet board?  It is essential for pressing on garments constructed of napped or pile fabrics.   I made a small example so you can see the difference obtained by using the velvet board for pressing.  Seam on right - velvet board not used and the result is the ghostly reflection of seam allowances showing in the nap on the outside of the garment.

Seam on left, pressed on velvet board and the seam allowances are not visible.  The trick with using the velvet board it to keep it on your ironing space at all times and think twice before reaching for the iron - just to be sure you use it on every seam or corner.

Another construction note, on lapels.  One of the best things about fusible interfacing is that since it is inside the garment, and unseen, you can draw and mark on it with abandon.   Here I have drawn on the stitching line with pencil, for the lapel.  It really helps create a crisp corner, no wobbing and I find it to be a timesaver.  Also note,  when you get to the inside corner of the lapel, where it meets the corner, stop your stitching about 2 stitch lengths from the marked dot point, secure your stitiching there.  Do the same on the collar portion of the lapel.  When you finish and turn inside out, you will have a nice smooth lapel, and no ripples or bumps where the lapel point meets.  There will actually be a little hole at this inside corner, about 1/8" diameter, but it will not show.  

Finished lapel.  On corduroy or velvet, the lapel and collar points will never be as crisp or pointy as on a cotton or wool, but that is part of the charm and softness of the garment.

I did a bound buttonhole as a machine stitched buttonhole would have marked up the nap.  I couldn't figure out where to add pockets on this pattern as it had none, and I didn't want patch pockets, so I added an inside pocket in the front of the lining.

Here is the inside of the jacket, purple satin lining in the body, and blue satin lining in the sleeves.  The purple is reclaimed from a coat I started about 2 years ago, never finished and tossed out, but kept the lining pieces.  Since this jacket has small pieces I was able to recut it to work.  I like a satiny lining on winter coats and jackets - it gives an additional bit of structure and makes them easy to slip on and off over my winter sweaters. 

Some colors make me crazy to photograph - like this blue, which seems to look different in each photo.  The first one seems the more true to life.   Here are 2 more views, of the back and  side seam detail.

Additional info to all who have commented below on this tool I called a Velvet board, perhaps I should have called it a Needle board.  It  seems like that is what it is called if you are
searching for notions or sewing supplies.  


Recently Rosalind asked me about lining jackets, so coming up I will be making a winter wool coat for myself, and I will post some info about linings then.
Until then, more holiday sewing and garden clean up, in between the raindrops. Plus planting bags of tulips which are easy to buy (colorful packages beckoning) but not so easy to get myself outside to dig and plant. 


Happy December sewing to all,  Beth