It's Been Awhile

Wow.  It's been a long first part of the year.  I haven't sewn a thing for months except for a bit of mending.  Somewhere around the first of the year, my Sewing Mojo packed up its bags and left me.  I didn't hear a word from it for most of winter and spring.  Not even a postcard.  It did, however, leave behind its sibling to care for me and mend my wounds.  The Fabric Acquisition Mojo.  It has been a steady companion for the last six months.  The only times I've been near the sewing studio have been to throw fabric into it.

But then, I haven't been feeling well for awhile either.  So I've had no energy or interest in doing much of anything lately.

And then my Mom died.  Two weeks ago.  Saturday, June 14, 2014.  The most fabulous, talented, beautiful, supportive person I've ever known.  There isn't a person she's met that doesn't say she had an important impact on them.  I know I was--and will continue to be--extremely fortunate to have had this woman for my mother and my friend.  She showed me nearly every day how to be a better human being.  I can only thank her by going forward and being that better human being.

If you have continued reading this far, I should at least give you some sewing content as a thank you. This was about the last project I finished before the Mojo took a hike this winter.  I was testing this Katherine Tilton pattern as a possibility for a bigger project I have in mind.  In the end, I decided the pattern won't work for the project, but I am happy with the jacket I got.

I used a cotton fabric I've had on the shelves for a few years.  Black with red and white striping.  I took several inches of width out of the pattern through the body and cut the bottom panels opposite to the body to play with the stripes.  I may well make this pattern again--it's a nice little jacket and an easy sew.  But next time I would completely face the bottom panel, rather than just a small hem.  I think it would give a nicer weight and finish to the bottom of the jacket.

I like the red buttons.  They seem happy.

Now I need to get back to the living part of life, rather than just existing, as I have been.  I've been feeling better lately and have more energy.  The Sewing Mojo and I have been negotiating a return to the studio.  The acquired fabric piles have been washed, ironed and folded neatly.  Ready for any whim that may come.

I have decided to start back in the studio by sewing a summer six-PAC per the Stitcher's Guild sew-a-long that is the brainchild of Elizabeth.  I have chosen an assortment of fabrics in a neutral/natural color theme, because I need the basics.  Shown below, from the top moving clockwise, is a feather print rayon  batik from Fabric.com (for a top), a natural 100% linen from JoAnns (skirt or pants), an ivory with light brown specks rayon knit from JoAnns (top), a textured ivory/taupe tweedy linen from (probably) Fabric.com (lightweight jacket), a printed tone-on-tone woven from Marcy Tilton of some blend that I can't recall (some sort of shirt), and an RPL woven from EmmaOneSock (pants).  In the middle is a lovely print rayon/lycra knit from Marcy Tilton for another top.  I will be using mostly all patterns I have used before, so the reporting on the sewing may be less than interesting.  But I am looking forward to the project.

I am sure, however, that after all this light neutral sewing I will be needing some color in my world.  These below were an early birthday present from My Guy.

So, I'm thinking something red!

Butterick 5891 Katherine Tilton Top and Jacket

Just a warning--this post has quite a few pictures.

Butterick Patterns recently released a couple of patterns designed by Katherine Tilton, sister of Marcy Tilton.  (I'm still a bit curious about why she moved from Vogue to Butterick--anyone have any ideas?)  One pattern that really hit my "need to make it now" button was B5891, a very interesting pattern for a top/vest and a jacket.  I purchased it right away (well, as soon as the Butterick website put them on sale).

I decided to try the vest first.  The pattern actually describes this views A/B as a "top," but I call it a vest because I would only wear it over another garment with sleeves.  My upper arms do not make public appearances any more.

 I chose an odd fabric I had sitting on the shelves that I got from Vogue Fabrics about three years ago.  It was labeled as a poly/rayon blend striped jacquard.  I thought it was kind of weird and wasn't sure what to do with it, so it sat around for awhile.  I figured it would be good to use for testing this pattern, since I wouldn't mind if it became a wadder.

This is a very interesting pattern.  It is rather cumbersome to cut out because there are 15 pattern pieces and they are almost all cut with the fabric single layer.  I think it is essential to keep the pattern pieces attached to the cut fabric until the last possible moment and to transfer all the markings to the fabric.  It is very easy to get the pieces mixed up or get them turned around.  It would be a nightmare if your fabric looked the same on both front and back.  Luckily, my fabric had some sort of interfacing pre-fused to it, so it was quite clear which was the wrong side.  This did become an issue at one point, however, because the inside of the double collar shows the wrong side of the inner collar when you wear the neck unbuttoned.  As a result, I chose to self-line the inner collar so it would look nicer when open.

Here's a view with the collar buttoned up

And the back.  I tried to play with the texture of the fabric in the peplum pieces.

The front peplum pieces have tucks sewn in, which adds an interesting contrast to the otherwise fairly straight structure of the garment.

Overall, I'm basically happy with the resulting vest.  My fabric is probably a little to stiff for this pattern, so it may not be the most flattering look on me.  The vest is narrow through the shoulders, but increases greatly in width at the hipline--my stiffer fabric kind of accentuates that.  Also, if I ever make it again, I will cut the armscyes a little lower.  They are cut high under the armpit, which is a good feature if you are going to wear it alone as a top (no bra flashing when you raise your arms), but makes it a little tight with a shirt on underneath.  

While this is not a difficult garment to stitch together, I must say that the pattern directions were a little vague in some areas and also could have included a little more info on finishing details for a better resulting garment.  A beginning level sewist might have some difficulties figuring out what the instructions mean for you to do in certain places, but a little playing with the pieces reveals how it all comes together.

Shortly after finishing the vest, I just had to make the jacket as well.  For this I chose a raw silk tweed in natural, black and white.  I previously had washed the fabric, so it was a little more drapey than perhaps this view needs.  The collar is a really neat feature and I'm not sure it comes across as nice as it could with another fabric with more body to it.  However, I must say, I LOVE this jacket.  The collar is really fun to play with, and can be draped in different ways.  There is a small button hidden inside the left right collar that will hold the right left side of the collar inside, like here:

Or, you can leave that unbuttoned for a completely different look:

As I was rather convinced that this wasn't going to turn out well, I didn't bother to change the serger thread to a color that would blend into the fabric, so you can see the serging on the collar edges as it drapes.  When I decided I really like this jacket, I was kind of pissed at myself for being lazy.  But, actually, the more I look at it, the more I kind of like the contrast of the black serging.  The nature of the tweed is such that it hides some of the design features, such as the front shoulder princess seams, so the bit of contrast seems to add something to me.

Here's the back.  Rather simple, but it really hangs nicely.

It also has side seam pockets.

I am really very happy with this jacket.  It's a fun look, adaptable to lots of different fabrics for different looks.  Furthermore, this is much simpler and definitely quicker to put together than the top/vest view of the pattern.  I see at least one (maybe two) more of these in my future!