Some of these sewing hacks are pretty nifty. I particularly like No 21 (to prevent button hole butchery), No 22 which I desperately need, and No 17*:
28 Sewing Hacks That Will Change Your Life
When considering tip No 2, I would strongly advise to keep magnets away from your PC, laptop and other electronic devices: you don't want to wipe them.
*: You can squeeze a third pencil in between these two to get a wider seam allowance.
Do you know of more tips like these? Have you tried any tips and hacks like these and how did they work for you?
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Welcome the New Year Meet-up 2 January 2015
What's a London Dressmakers Meetup for social sewing at a public venue like? Well, I think this one was fairly typical except normally we meet up for monthly meetings at Ev's, not far from Waterloo or Southwark tube stations. This time, as it was an addition to the normal meet-up, we met at the Royal Festival Hall. This venue does make it a bit more difficult for everyone to locate the group, especially as poor Giselle had lost her mobile while away from London for Christmas and couldn't field any mobile phone cries for "Help" from wandering LDC members who hadn't spotted our group. Usually you can identify us by the sewing manuals and magazines, scissors and bits of fabric on the table.
I think there were 10 of us, including Maggie, who had never heard of us but, as a keen knitter and sewer, joined us and I hope we'll see her again at future meetings.
So, what do we do? Sew- by hand, of course- any one knowing of a cafe that allows you to plug in your own sewing machine at a table and start sewing please let us know immediately. Usually tacking, hemming, embellishment, a bit of discreet cutting out, that sort of thing. Diamond was tackling not just one but 2 jacket and skirt suits to a Vogue pattern. Giselle had a dress with an amazing appliqued pattern on it rather like stepped patchwork. Wish I had remembered to take a camera so you could have a view of these things and our group.
Some, such as Holly, bring another craft as their sewing is not at the portable stage, in her case she was knitting some colourful socks.
For a lot of us, this time, we were looking for advice. Marianne, who always produces garments to an extremely high standard, had brought a length of velvet that she had embroidered on her machine with an intricate multi-coloured pattern and was asking for suggestions about the neckline. Catherine wanted opinions on her idea for an ensemble as a winter wedding guest and on how to embellish a hat to go with the dress that she intends to make in a beautiful tweed fabric. I had a problem with two garments that I brought along with me, the first a skirt with fitting problems at the back and the second a jacket where I felt the sleeve needed adjustment. I had spent a couple of weeks thinking about what to do about both of them and still hadn't worked out what I should do but Catherine immediately spotted that I needed to rotate the jacket sleeve a bit and not just take it in as I had thought might be best.
Rholdah is fairly new to dressmaking but determined to give it her best shot. She described how she had taken advantage of the sales to try on lots of dresses and see which ones truly enhanced her look and thus, despite the blandishments of saleswomen telling her that each one suited her, worked out the styles of dress she should aim to make. Catherine then whipped out a book describing figure types which was pretty useful in defining your type and what styles best complement your figure; I think my figure would best be described as a Dented Column. I wish I had the courage to go and try garments on like this but I get so disheartened when nothing seems right or, if it is, I feel faint at seeing the price tag. Best to stick to sewing.
While members were chattering, perusing technique manuals, magazines or the patterns Giselle had brought to give away I was trying to get suggestions for or to hassle people into contributing to this blog, thank you to those who volunteered. I would like to get some regular features going with contributions from many different members. Maybe you have thought of creating your own blog, why not write a few posts for this one to try out blogging. Perhaps there is something you have recently experienced to do with sewing- a garment make, a visit to an exhibition, a course that you have taken, a good place to shop for sewers - that you would like to pass on to members.
The features that I would particularly like to try and get going are:-
1. Member of the Month - Post to be issued on 15th of each month. You can be any type of sewer of any experience level. What I envisage is a bit about yourself and your sewing, what you sew and why, your sewing ambitions, the good and the bad in sewing etc. If you would like to put yourself forward as Member of the Month please contact Giselle or myself by sending us a message on the meet-up site. I hope we have someone lined up for January so we are looking for someone for February and later.
2. My Sewing Machine- Members are often asking "What should I look for in a sewing machine?" " Should I get a new model?" We would love to hear about your machine or machines, whether they be new or old. There are so many out there that it is useful to hear about actual experience of particular models.
Lastly Happy New Year to all and don't forget the Next Monthly Meet-up is on the evening of Tuesday 13 January. Hope to see you there.
I think there were 10 of us, including Maggie, who had never heard of us but, as a keen knitter and sewer, joined us and I hope we'll see her again at future meetings.
So, what do we do? Sew- by hand, of course- any one knowing of a cafe that allows you to plug in your own sewing machine at a table and start sewing please let us know immediately. Usually tacking, hemming, embellishment, a bit of discreet cutting out, that sort of thing. Diamond was tackling not just one but 2 jacket and skirt suits to a Vogue pattern. Giselle had a dress with an amazing appliqued pattern on it rather like stepped patchwork. Wish I had remembered to take a camera so you could have a view of these things and our group.
Some, such as Holly, bring another craft as their sewing is not at the portable stage, in her case she was knitting some colourful socks.
For a lot of us, this time, we were looking for advice. Marianne, who always produces garments to an extremely high standard, had brought a length of velvet that she had embroidered on her machine with an intricate multi-coloured pattern and was asking for suggestions about the neckline. Catherine wanted opinions on her idea for an ensemble as a winter wedding guest and on how to embellish a hat to go with the dress that she intends to make in a beautiful tweed fabric. I had a problem with two garments that I brought along with me, the first a skirt with fitting problems at the back and the second a jacket where I felt the sleeve needed adjustment. I had spent a couple of weeks thinking about what to do about both of them and still hadn't worked out what I should do but Catherine immediately spotted that I needed to rotate the jacket sleeve a bit and not just take it in as I had thought might be best.
Rholdah is fairly new to dressmaking but determined to give it her best shot. She described how she had taken advantage of the sales to try on lots of dresses and see which ones truly enhanced her look and thus, despite the blandishments of saleswomen telling her that each one suited her, worked out the styles of dress she should aim to make. Catherine then whipped out a book describing figure types which was pretty useful in defining your type and what styles best complement your figure; I think my figure would best be described as a Dented Column. I wish I had the courage to go and try garments on like this but I get so disheartened when nothing seems right or, if it is, I feel faint at seeing the price tag. Best to stick to sewing.
While members were chattering, perusing technique manuals, magazines or the patterns Giselle had brought to give away I was trying to get suggestions for or to hassle people into contributing to this blog, thank you to those who volunteered. I would like to get some regular features going with contributions from many different members. Maybe you have thought of creating your own blog, why not write a few posts for this one to try out blogging. Perhaps there is something you have recently experienced to do with sewing- a garment make, a visit to an exhibition, a course that you have taken, a good place to shop for sewers - that you would like to pass on to members.
The features that I would particularly like to try and get going are:-
1. Member of the Month - Post to be issued on 15th of each month. You can be any type of sewer of any experience level. What I envisage is a bit about yourself and your sewing, what you sew and why, your sewing ambitions, the good and the bad in sewing etc. If you would like to put yourself forward as Member of the Month please contact Giselle or myself by sending us a message on the meet-up site. I hope we have someone lined up for January so we are looking for someone for February and later.
2. My Sewing Machine- Members are often asking "What should I look for in a sewing machine?" " Should I get a new model?" We would love to hear about your machine or machines, whether they be new or old. There are so many out there that it is useful to hear about actual experience of particular models.
Lastly Happy New Year to all and don't forget the Next Monthly Meet-up is on the evening of Tuesday 13 January. Hope to see you there.
Monday, 22 December 2014
Sewing Resolutions
It's that time of year when people reflect on the past 12 months. It has been great to see how people have progressed with their 2014 sewing resolutions here. So how did I do?
My sewing resolutions were:-
Looking back on my sewing year it appears that I do like instant gratification sewing as I now have alot of easy to make dresses in my wardrobe. This is a shame as I have alot of designer Vogue patterns that I have yet to tackle and spend time on. So how has this shaped my sewing resolutions for 2015? My aims for the next year are:-
Has your sewing year shaped your resolutions for 2015? Are there any new skills that you would like to learn? And do you have any meetup ideas that could aid your resolutions?
Don't forget to post your ideas here!
My sewing resolutions were:-
- Make a tailored jacket
- Continue to make at least 1 garment per month
- Attend at least 1 sewing course or workshop to learn new sewing skills
Looking back on my sewing year it appears that I do like instant gratification sewing as I now have alot of easy to make dresses in my wardrobe. This is a shame as I have alot of designer Vogue patterns that I have yet to tackle and spend time on. So how has this shaped my sewing resolutions for 2015? My aims for the next year are:-
- Complete 3 designer vogue patterns
- Continue to make 1 garment per month
- Make a tailored jacket
- No new pattern challenge (check out the details on this here)
Has your sewing year shaped your resolutions for 2015? Are there any new skills that you would like to learn? And do you have any meetup ideas that could aid your resolutions?
Don't forget to post your ideas here!
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
How many mistakes is it possible to make in one sewing session?
Quite a few judging by the number made between us at the social sewing session on 6 December. Here are some of them so you can remember to avoid them in your sewing.
1. Putting pins in the wrong place for machining the seam. By this I mean not thinking about on which side of the fabric and in which direction you will be sewing the seam when you are putting your pins in. Thus you find that the pins are either (or both) on the underside as you sew or not pointing in the right direction for easy removal before the the presser foot arrives at that spot.
2. The iron not being hot enough for fusing fusible interfacing to the fabric. Remember always to do a test first on a piece of spare fabric with a scrap of interfacing. This way you can find out how hot your iron needs to be.. Always press, not use an ironing motion, and you must make sure that your fabric and interfacing are perfectly smooth and flat before you start or you could create permanent wrinkles in your garment . Once fused then leave the piece to cool before picking it up and using it.
3. Forgetting that you should add a seam allowance before cutting out your fabric. Some patterns, such as Burda magazine patterns or patterns that you have drafted to your own measurements, need seam allowances adding to them before the pattern is is used to cut out the fabric- Don't forget to add them!
4. Not sewing in the right direction on a seam when you are matching up a fabric pattern, such as stripes, checks etc. Always machine away from the point where you have matched the design otherwise your fabric might slip and no longer match when it reaches that point. Consider tacking (basting) rather than pinning and/or using a walking presser foot on your machine if you have one.
5. Finding that you cannot hand crank your sewing machine. I'm not sure that this is valid for all machines but one sewer was trying to lower the needle by turning the handle of the machine by hand but it would not work. She found it would not lower the needle when the bobbin winder spindle was pushed to the right to wind the bobbin.
6. Sewing with no upper or lower thread. Don't forget to check that your needle is threaded and your bobbin has not run out, or about to do so, before starting to sew again after a pause.
7. Stitching down darts or seams without checking that they are lying the right way. Pattern instructions usually tell you which direction to press darts or seams once you have sewn them. Make sure that when you come to stitch across them, for example when applying a waistband to a skirt, that they will be sewn in the correct position and not the wrong way around.
8. Sewing in a zip with the zip slider pointing down instead of up. When sewing in zips by certain methods you can get around the difficult bit of sewing by the head of the zip by moving the head of the zip past the needle- see the previous post for an example. However you can only do this if you can grab the the zip slider which is easier to do if the zip slider is pointing towards the top of the zip.
9.Not concentrating all the time. Be warned, don't think that, just because you have managed to do a difficult bit of machining successfully, you can relax. That's when your lovely straight line starts to wobble.
10. Getting the wrong bit of cloth caught into your stitching. Always make sure that you are only stitching together what you intend to. It's easy to catch up some fabric unintentionally, especially when dealing with gathered fabric or curved stitching.
11. Sewing with a zipper foot in the wrong position. Zipper feet are designed to enable you to stitch as close to the zip teeth as possible. In order to do this, depending on the design of your machine, you need to move either the needle or the zipper foot to the correct position in relation to the side of the zip you are going to stitch. If you don't then you could find yourself either sewing on the teeth of the zip or too far away from the teeth.
I'm trying to think if there is anything I have sewn without making a mistake at all and I can't think of one. What is your most frequent or your worst mistake and how did you deal with it?
1. Putting pins in the wrong place for machining the seam. By this I mean not thinking about on which side of the fabric and in which direction you will be sewing the seam when you are putting your pins in. Thus you find that the pins are either (or both) on the underside as you sew or not pointing in the right direction for easy removal before the the presser foot arrives at that spot.
2. The iron not being hot enough for fusing fusible interfacing to the fabric. Remember always to do a test first on a piece of spare fabric with a scrap of interfacing. This way you can find out how hot your iron needs to be.. Always press, not use an ironing motion, and you must make sure that your fabric and interfacing are perfectly smooth and flat before you start or you could create permanent wrinkles in your garment . Once fused then leave the piece to cool before picking it up and using it.
3. Forgetting that you should add a seam allowance before cutting out your fabric. Some patterns, such as Burda magazine patterns or patterns that you have drafted to your own measurements, need seam allowances adding to them before the pattern is is used to cut out the fabric- Don't forget to add them!
4. Not sewing in the right direction on a seam when you are matching up a fabric pattern, such as stripes, checks etc. Always machine away from the point where you have matched the design otherwise your fabric might slip and no longer match when it reaches that point. Consider tacking (basting) rather than pinning and/or using a walking presser foot on your machine if you have one.
5. Finding that you cannot hand crank your sewing machine. I'm not sure that this is valid for all machines but one sewer was trying to lower the needle by turning the handle of the machine by hand but it would not work. She found it would not lower the needle when the bobbin winder spindle was pushed to the right to wind the bobbin.
6. Sewing with no upper or lower thread. Don't forget to check that your needle is threaded and your bobbin has not run out, or about to do so, before starting to sew again after a pause.
7. Stitching down darts or seams without checking that they are lying the right way. Pattern instructions usually tell you which direction to press darts or seams once you have sewn them. Make sure that when you come to stitch across them, for example when applying a waistband to a skirt, that they will be sewn in the correct position and not the wrong way around.
8. Sewing in a zip with the zip slider pointing down instead of up. When sewing in zips by certain methods you can get around the difficult bit of sewing by the head of the zip by moving the head of the zip past the needle- see the previous post for an example. However you can only do this if you can grab the the zip slider which is easier to do if the zip slider is pointing towards the top of the zip.
9.Not concentrating all the time. Be warned, don't think that, just because you have managed to do a difficult bit of machining successfully, you can relax. That's when your lovely straight line starts to wobble.
10. Getting the wrong bit of cloth caught into your stitching. Always make sure that you are only stitching together what you intend to. It's easy to catch up some fabric unintentionally, especially when dealing with gathered fabric or curved stitching.
11. Sewing with a zipper foot in the wrong position. Zipper feet are designed to enable you to stitch as close to the zip teeth as possible. In order to do this, depending on the design of your machine, you need to move either the needle or the zipper foot to the correct position in relation to the side of the zip you are going to stitch. If you don't then you could find yourself either sewing on the teeth of the zip or too far away from the teeth.
I'm trying to think if there is anything I have sewn without making a mistake at all and I can't think of one. What is your most frequent or your worst mistake and how did you deal with it?
Saturday, 22 November 2014
The Beginner's Guide to Dressmaking By Wendy Ward.
This book was written by a teacher of dressmaking, pattern cutting and creator of MiY Collection patterns. Wendy has held classes specifically for our members so, of course, I had to see what the book was like when it was published in November. Here's a picture of the book and its twin in cake taken at the Launch Party. The cake was made by 2 of Wendy's pupils, the lady who iced it also spins her own wool and knits with it as well as doing perfect top stitching and making collars with beautifully sharp corners.
Unlike other books for beginners that I have seen, Wendy plunges the reader straight into what those buying a book on dressmaking want to do- make clothes. I think some people are put off by wading through pages of technique or making aprons before getting to any mention of making a garment as with some books for beginners. There are 6 full size patterns with this book ranging from bust size 84 cm (33 ins) to 101 cm (39 3/4ins). You do have to trace these off and they overlap but they are on stiff paper and clearly marked ( forget about the nightmare experience of trying to trace a pattern from the flimsy overcrowded pattern sheet of a Burda Magazine). The brief introduction describes how to use the book followed by the tools you will need and then it is straight into the projects, which start with the easiest and gradually increase in complexity. Each project has the techniques that you will need listed and these techniques are described and demonstrated in the rear section of the book. I like the way that the finished measurements of the garments are clearly given so you know how much ease there is in the pattern.
I thought that I would try making a garment following the instructions to see how easy it would be for a beginner. I am not a beginner, more of a "can put a garment together but definitely could do better if she paid attention" type of sewer. I adored the zip jacket, project number 5, and this seems to be the item that most people pick on as a garment they would like to make so here is my version and how the construction went.
First I wanted to know how the jacket might fit me so I took a commercially made jacket that I had with the sort of fit I was hoping for and measured around the chest of the jacket to compare it with the finished size that Wendy gave for the size I was making, size 1. Bingo, what a match! Please remember when you are measuring to make sure you are using an accurate tape. If it is an old one it may well have stretched or distorted so check it against a solid (metal or plastic) ruler.
Next I traced the pattern using Waitrose greaseproof paper, which I like because it is white- do not use baking parchment because it is not so easy to write upon and, if you have to stick sheets together with sticky tape to get the width , it does not stick. Below is a picture of the pattern sheet and the paper laid out and weighted down to stop it sliding while I trace. Always check that your tracing paper has not shifted once you have completed tracing the piece, you need to be accurate in your tracing. Some people use a highlighter to emphasize the line of the size that they are tracing and this would be particularly useful if you are grading between 2 different sizes, for example if your bust size is a size bigger than your hip size.
Here are the finished pattern pieces, traced and ready to use. There are only 3 pieces in total, front, back and sleeve, for the simplest version of the jacket and you will cut two pieces of each piece. You cannot see it very well in the photograph but I have penciled on the pattern all the marking, notches, grainlines etc that are on the sheet.
Wendy gives the yardage necessary for the garment and a cutting layout. However I suggest you trace out your pattern before you go to buy the fabric for it and play around with various layouts and fabric widths for the pattern you have created to find out how much you will need to buy. I found that I needed less fabric than stated for the 140 cm wide fabric I was using.
Once you have cut out your fabric and transferred the markings to the fabric then I suggest you pin fit the garment. That is you pin the darts in position and pin the shoulders and sides together and, very gingerly, try on the garment. This will give you a good idea of how it will fit you.
As you can see, the body of the jacket looks fine - but always check the sides and back too. Below you can see that the back of the neck gapes.
Luckily there is a centre back seam so I could easily deal with this by increasing the seam allowance from the neck and gradually tapering it down into the back. With this jacket there are no facings or lining so that you do not have to make alterations for these. There is limited scope for alteration with the patterns (taking in or letting out at side seams and lengthening and shortening) although Wendy says that she has designed these patterns to need little alteration. She does not recommend making bust adjustments on any of the sleeved garments in the book, and this is an area where many women find it hard to get a good fit, so there is no information on how to do this.
Taking the pins out, and dropping a few on the floor, I was now ready to apply the fusible interfacing. Wendy suggests cutting strips from iron-on interfacing of the appropriate weight for the fabric, and this is a good way of using up those odd bits of interfacing you get stuck with but cannot bear to throw away. However I had some fusible seam tape, already in narrow strips, so I used this. I would have liked to see Wendy draw attention to the need to identify which is the fusible side of the tape because I have heard even seasoned dressmakers bemoan the fact that they put the tape on with the wrong side facing up so it stuck to the iron or press cloth and not the dress fabric. Be warned, check and double check and, if in doubt about which is the side to go face down on the fabric, test a tiny bit on a waste fabric scrap. Below is my seam tape in position ready to be fused.
And here is the seam tape fused along the front and a view of the back seam finished with bias binding.
I followed the making up steps as described up to and including step 9. Then I decided to insert the zip (Step 11) before setting in the sleeves. Unfortunately step 11 refers to positioning the zip stopper level with a notch. This notch should have been marked on the pattern sheet but, as I discovered, it was left off. I checked and checked the pattern sheet and re-read the instructions and then just guessed where it should go- not that hard. The right hand side of the open-ended zip needs to be pinned and tacked to hold it in the correct position for sewing.
Then, using a zipper foot, sew the zip in position close to the zipper teeth so that, when you flip the seam allowance over, your zip teeth just extend beyond the jacket edge.
I then went to step 12 and finished the jacket fronts with bias binding. This covers the edge of the zip on the right hand side of the jacket enclosing the raw edge that you see to your right in the picture below. Wendy's technique instructions for attaching bias binding as a facing instructs the reader as the final step to stitch the binding to the wrong side of the garment by machining. This gives the effect of topstitching. However I did not want the look of topstitching so laboriously hand picked all the facings and hems. Next time I think I will topstitch!
Then I jumped to step 16, attaching the left side of the zip. This is because I felt that I could better ensure that I could get the bottom hem of the jacket level by doing the hem after inserting the rest of the zip fastening. One of the problems with inserting a zip is getting around the zip stopper while maintaining a straight line. I open the zip partly and sew up to a point before the zip stopper.
Then, making sure that the needle is down in the fabric, I raise the zipper foot and pivot the fabric 90 degrees.
With a bit of tugging I can then pull the zipper closed up to a point past which I have already stitched- sometimes, depending on your machine, you can remove the zipper foot, close the zipper and replace the foot. Pivot the fabric back to the start position, lower the presser foot and off you go, continuing your stitching from where you left off.
Jumping back to step 10 in the order of work I set in the sleeves. I always have difficulty with the fit of sleeves so I was very pleasantly surprised to find they fitted reasonably well for me. I might add a sleeve roll as my shoulders are a bit narrow and I am distinctly lacking in biceps so the sleeve needs to be narrower But I can live with it as it is.
Finally I hemmed the bottom of the jacket and the sleeves. I wanted to conceal the loose top end of the left side of the zip. I toyed with the idea of a button but eventually made a knot from a tube of the jacket fabric and sewed it in place.
Here you can see how the bias binding finish looks on the inside of the lapels.
My verdict, yes, a beginner could do it on their own by paying close attention to the instructions. I was lucky to get a reasonable fit with only a simple alteration and I would be interested to hear how the fit worked for other people.
Wendy encourages the reader to experiment and develop their own take on the garment and I have certainly been inspired to do another version of this jacket. Also, in view of the lack of fitting difficulty encountered with the jacket, I may well have a go at the shift dress, graded as the most complex of the patterns and see how that would work for a beginner. I have some of this fabric left, not enough for a complete dress, so I will be looking for another fabric to use with it and how best to use the two together.
Unlike other books for beginners that I have seen, Wendy plunges the reader straight into what those buying a book on dressmaking want to do- make clothes. I think some people are put off by wading through pages of technique or making aprons before getting to any mention of making a garment as with some books for beginners. There are 6 full size patterns with this book ranging from bust size 84 cm (33 ins) to 101 cm (39 3/4ins). You do have to trace these off and they overlap but they are on stiff paper and clearly marked ( forget about the nightmare experience of trying to trace a pattern from the flimsy overcrowded pattern sheet of a Burda Magazine). The brief introduction describes how to use the book followed by the tools you will need and then it is straight into the projects, which start with the easiest and gradually increase in complexity. Each project has the techniques that you will need listed and these techniques are described and demonstrated in the rear section of the book. I like the way that the finished measurements of the garments are clearly given so you know how much ease there is in the pattern.
I thought that I would try making a garment following the instructions to see how easy it would be for a beginner. I am not a beginner, more of a "can put a garment together but definitely could do better if she paid attention" type of sewer. I adored the zip jacket, project number 5, and this seems to be the item that most people pick on as a garment they would like to make so here is my version and how the construction went.
First I wanted to know how the jacket might fit me so I took a commercially made jacket that I had with the sort of fit I was hoping for and measured around the chest of the jacket to compare it with the finished size that Wendy gave for the size I was making, size 1. Bingo, what a match! Please remember when you are measuring to make sure you are using an accurate tape. If it is an old one it may well have stretched or distorted so check it against a solid (metal or plastic) ruler.
Next I traced the pattern using Waitrose greaseproof paper, which I like because it is white- do not use baking parchment because it is not so easy to write upon and, if you have to stick sheets together with sticky tape to get the width , it does not stick. Below is a picture of the pattern sheet and the paper laid out and weighted down to stop it sliding while I trace. Always check that your tracing paper has not shifted once you have completed tracing the piece, you need to be accurate in your tracing. Some people use a highlighter to emphasize the line of the size that they are tracing and this would be particularly useful if you are grading between 2 different sizes, for example if your bust size is a size bigger than your hip size.
Here are the finished pattern pieces, traced and ready to use. There are only 3 pieces in total, front, back and sleeve, for the simplest version of the jacket and you will cut two pieces of each piece. You cannot see it very well in the photograph but I have penciled on the pattern all the marking, notches, grainlines etc that are on the sheet.
Wendy gives the yardage necessary for the garment and a cutting layout. However I suggest you trace out your pattern before you go to buy the fabric for it and play around with various layouts and fabric widths for the pattern you have created to find out how much you will need to buy. I found that I needed less fabric than stated for the 140 cm wide fabric I was using.
Once you have cut out your fabric and transferred the markings to the fabric then I suggest you pin fit the garment. That is you pin the darts in position and pin the shoulders and sides together and, very gingerly, try on the garment. This will give you a good idea of how it will fit you.
As you can see, the body of the jacket looks fine - but always check the sides and back too. Below you can see that the back of the neck gapes.
Luckily there is a centre back seam so I could easily deal with this by increasing the seam allowance from the neck and gradually tapering it down into the back. With this jacket there are no facings or lining so that you do not have to make alterations for these. There is limited scope for alteration with the patterns (taking in or letting out at side seams and lengthening and shortening) although Wendy says that she has designed these patterns to need little alteration. She does not recommend making bust adjustments on any of the sleeved garments in the book, and this is an area where many women find it hard to get a good fit, so there is no information on how to do this.
Taking the pins out, and dropping a few on the floor, I was now ready to apply the fusible interfacing. Wendy suggests cutting strips from iron-on interfacing of the appropriate weight for the fabric, and this is a good way of using up those odd bits of interfacing you get stuck with but cannot bear to throw away. However I had some fusible seam tape, already in narrow strips, so I used this. I would have liked to see Wendy draw attention to the need to identify which is the fusible side of the tape because I have heard even seasoned dressmakers bemoan the fact that they put the tape on with the wrong side facing up so it stuck to the iron or press cloth and not the dress fabric. Be warned, check and double check and, if in doubt about which is the side to go face down on the fabric, test a tiny bit on a waste fabric scrap. Below is my seam tape in position ready to be fused.
And here is the seam tape fused along the front and a view of the back seam finished with bias binding.
I followed the making up steps as described up to and including step 9. Then I decided to insert the zip (Step 11) before setting in the sleeves. Unfortunately step 11 refers to positioning the zip stopper level with a notch. This notch should have been marked on the pattern sheet but, as I discovered, it was left off. I checked and checked the pattern sheet and re-read the instructions and then just guessed where it should go- not that hard. The right hand side of the open-ended zip needs to be pinned and tacked to hold it in the correct position for sewing.
Then, using a zipper foot, sew the zip in position close to the zipper teeth so that, when you flip the seam allowance over, your zip teeth just extend beyond the jacket edge.
Then I jumped to step 16, attaching the left side of the zip. This is because I felt that I could better ensure that I could get the bottom hem of the jacket level by doing the hem after inserting the rest of the zip fastening. One of the problems with inserting a zip is getting around the zip stopper while maintaining a straight line. I open the zip partly and sew up to a point before the zip stopper.
Then, making sure that the needle is down in the fabric, I raise the zipper foot and pivot the fabric 90 degrees.
With a bit of tugging I can then pull the zipper closed up to a point past which I have already stitched- sometimes, depending on your machine, you can remove the zipper foot, close the zipper and replace the foot. Pivot the fabric back to the start position, lower the presser foot and off you go, continuing your stitching from where you left off.
Jumping back to step 10 in the order of work I set in the sleeves. I always have difficulty with the fit of sleeves so I was very pleasantly surprised to find they fitted reasonably well for me. I might add a sleeve roll as my shoulders are a bit narrow and I am distinctly lacking in biceps so the sleeve needs to be narrower But I can live with it as it is.
Finally I hemmed the bottom of the jacket and the sleeves. I wanted to conceal the loose top end of the left side of the zip. I toyed with the idea of a button but eventually made a knot from a tube of the jacket fabric and sewed it in place.
My verdict, yes, a beginner could do it on their own by paying close attention to the instructions. I was lucky to get a reasonable fit with only a simple alteration and I would be interested to hear how the fit worked for other people.
Wendy encourages the reader to experiment and develop their own take on the garment and I have certainly been inspired to do another version of this jacket. Also, in view of the lack of fitting difficulty encountered with the jacket, I may well have a go at the shift dress, graded as the most complex of the patterns and see how that would work for a beginner. I have some of this fabric left, not enough for a complete dress, so I will be looking for another fabric to use with it and how best to use the two together.
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