Spring visited today.

It's been a while since I have had any thing to post.  I have been working to get the new PMB 5 to fit properly.  It seems like a slow process trying to get a decent fit in this upgrade.  I am pretty close to posting my first project.

In the mean time, last week I finished my squares for the quilt that the Friends of Hopewell National Furnace will be making for raffle this year.  We just finished the top and are getting reading to start quilting.

We still need to add the outer strips and then we will be ready to make the sandwich and fasten it to the quilting rack.

After completing my blocks I made some baby items for a shower gift.  I did two blankets and 4 cloths for a friend of my daughter and myself for the soon to be born son.

Cleaning my Iron

I made a blouse yesterday and the interfacing I uses stayed on the bottom of my iron turning it brown.  I tried cleaning it off with my old stand by, a dryer sheet, but it had no effect on this glue.  After the iron cooled I tried Goo Begone with no success.  Today I went to Joanne's and bought the Roewnta iron cleaning kit.  My iron is clean again.  The Dritz iron cleaner is probably very similar without all the bells and whistles.  I usually don't indorse a product but I was really impressed with the results.

THE STASH is your 'home base, your security, your legacy.' (Some poor souls think it's a nagging reminder of what you haven't done yet...)

WE, on the other hand, prefer to regard your PRECIOUS STASH as your Potential for Creativity!

~Lindy, The Silver Needle Newlsetter, 5.12.09

My Chanel Jacket

This jacket is part of a Chanel Sew Along. Our references for this project were Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer and several articles found in Threads Magazine.

 

My pattern is from PMB 5. I design the pattern and cut the fabric before I realized I had an issue with my neck and shoulders not importing over correctly from PMB 4. So I adopted the phrase that Tim Gunn likes to say “make it work”. And I did.

The garment is the Classic Jacket with a curved vee front neckline, jewel back neckline, fitted sides and back, single breasted, and a straight hemline. I used the shoulder princess seam on the front and back. The sleeve is a two piece sleeve which I modified. My shoulder pad setting was 1/2 inch. I took the pattern into Pattern Editor and made two modifications. I reversed the curve of the neck opening and I curved the cuffs. The inspiration for the curved cuffs came for Vogue pattern V8259 and Coco’s Cuff’s by Claire Shaeffer Threads issue # 151

The fabric is woven plaid cashmere. I found the fabric at an estate sale and had a limited amount. Matching plaids starts with the cutting of the fabric. To make this easier I printed a left and right pattern. I had no fabric to spare.

One of the articles we referenced for construction techniques is Inside a Chanel Jacket by Susan Kahjle Threads issue # 121. One of the trademarks of a Chanel Jacket is it subtle quilting. The quilting is usually done by machine. This fabric did not lend itself to subtleness when machine quilted. As a result, all the quilting in this jacket was hand done. With this dilemma I decided to construct the jacket first and the lining second, and the quilting somewhere in the middle.

Another trademark of a Chanel Jacket is the trim. I searched for trim in around the area but was unable to find anything that went with the fashion fabric. I then decided that cording might be the solution. I went to Fabric Mart and found some wool crepe to make the cording. I cut bias strips and sewed a soft rope from my stash into the cording with a zipper foot. I attached the cording. As I went to put in the lining, I discovered that the jacket had grown. By adjusting the cording I was able to fit the outer part of the jacket to the lining. I did have an issue with the length. I used the fabric from the cording to make a facing and I was able to complete the lining.

The last construction technique is the chain at the bottom of the jacket which helps the jacket hang nicely. This was sewn on by hand where the lining meets the fashion fabric. The key to sewing on the chain is that it can be neither to loose or two tight.

Shoulder pads. The thick and the thin of it

Shoulder pads come in many shape and colors. They can be covered or uncovered. You can buy them premade or make them yourself. Covered shoulder pads are most often used in unlined jackets or shirts. Plain shoulder pads are mostly used in lined coats and jackets.

The type of shoulder pads used would depend on the type of sleeve that the garment has. The most common types of shoulder pads are dolman, raglan, and set in sleeves. They come in they come in thickness of ¼ inch to 1 inch on the average.

Doing a tailored jacket with shoulder pads is made easy with Pattern Master Boutique (PMB). Have you ever bought a commercial pattern and the instructions say that you need ½ inch shoulder pads only to find out while constructing your garment that you really need 1 inch shoulder pads? That is because your shoulder slope is different from the standard use by the commercial pattern.

PMB gives you control of this situation and it is very simple to do. If you go to setting while planning your garment, you can choose what size shoulder pads you would like to use.

My favorite size shoulder pad size is 5/8 inches. I have sloping shoulders and I like my jackets to look more like I have squarer shoulders. People who have less slope would want to use a thinner shoulder pad.

Sometimes one shoulder might be slightly lower than the other shoulder which is my situation. One solution for this is to use two different size shoulder pads. In the jacket on the right I used a 5/8 inch shoulder pad and a 5/8 and a ¼ shoulder pad that I whip stitched together before attaching. The style was for a set in sleeve.

For a blouse I would choose a ¼ inch shoulder pad, depending on the weight of the fabric I would consider a thin set in shoulder pad or a molded shoulder pad. Again, the choice is a combination of personal preference, your shoulder slope, the type of garment you are making, and the drape of the fabric.

So why use shoulder pads? Many reasons: To remove wrinkles from your garment, balance shoulder height, to smooth out boney shoulders, or to give your jacket or blouse a professional or expensive look.

The challenges of sewing

I have been working on two jackets.  One is has a build up collar and the other is part of a Chanel sew along.  I have learned that PMB 4 and PMB 5 are not the same for me.  The neck on PMB 5 was way to large for my neck.  The opening of the build up collar required some modification but it is now wearable. 

My Chanel sew along has presented with some interesting challenges.  I am using a boucle of unknown fabric content.  I originally thought it was wool and Cashmere but as I have watch it grow I believe it might be alpaca or Llama.  I have spent the evening do as Tim Gunn would says:  "Make it work."]