Not much to add here, the fitting/construction details are in the prior post, so just some photos. The buttons are Black Cafe-Caramel from Fashion Sewing Supply.
The Fabric is a Brown & Blue Stripe From Gorgeous Fabrics
Placket and Inside Collar Stand is a Blue Shirt Fabric Also From Gorgeous Fabrics. These are Remnants From Blue Shirt No.1
Added A French Cuff With A Rounded Corner
Burgundy Buttonholes, Here I used Machine Embroidery Thread
I’m no Pam Erny when it comes to sewing shirts but a sewing goal for next year is improving my shirtmaking skills, especially collar points and the precision pattern matching required by stripes and plaids. I also just generally need some new shirts! This project has been on my radar for a while and after Vogue released 8747 I found the pattern I want to use. It has a more feminine take on a tailored shirt; the princess seams, gently curved placket and sleeve/collar variations are exactly what I’ve been looking for. All good news right? I can just get going on cranking out new shirts right? Well not exactly because Vogue slopers a HUGE on me regardless of the style. After a zillions adjustments, two muslins and fitting help from Ann this pattern was finally in a usable state. Here’s a breakdown of what I had to do:
Petite Sizing
Below is the side pattern piece showing the various slash-spread adjustments with the original pattern piece laid on top. I have a very short waist, only 15 inches, and very narrow shoulders so generally for tops I start with a size 12 and go from there as shown in the 1st photo on the left below. Even with a size 12 Vogue’s back waist is 16.5 inches so this always my first adjustment This pattern has A-B-C-D cup sizing and I started with a 12 C-cup.
Uneven Shoulders
Due to a slight case of scoliosis my left shoulder is about 3/8 if an inch higher than my right. The side bodice piece in the photo 2nd from the left illustrates the raised armysce and the shoulder peice on this side was also raised. Nancy Zieman’s pivot method is the easiest way to do this type of shoulder adjustment.
The original pattern and the adjusted version after the first round of changes
2nd round of changes, the right and left sides compared
Bust length
A single layer layout is required because the pattern pieces are no longer identical. Labels are used to make sure the correct pattern pieces are sewn together. The right side pieces are marked with dots so I can easily tell them apart. When doing the layout I orient everything to my body as I stand in front of the pattern pieces and fabrics. Sort of a variation on “stage right, stage left”.
Single layer layout with labels marking the right and wrong sides
Vogue always has (for me anyway) a lot of extra length from the front shoulder to the bust point and youcvan see the various tucks I made to take out extra volume. There is no real science to this, the basic idea is to make a slit, open it up, overlap the adjustment and then taper to the nearest seam. The slash-and-spread method works for me a bit better than just tracing to the next largest size from waist to hip for example. I have no idea why this works, I suspect it’s because it keeps the scale of the pattern true to the original sloper? But really I have no clue.
Fabric
This is a blue and white Italian shirt fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics and it’s soooo beautiful! It sews like a dream. I don’t know what the weave is exactly, it’s some kind of complex cross between a twill and broadcloth. The buttons are also from Pam, these are her Classic Cream Pearl shirt buttons. Very beautiful and classy. For interfacing I used, for the first time, Pam’s new Pro-Woven Shirt Crisp and this is a great product. It really produces a professional base for collars and cuffs. Fusing interfacing is a task where I have a bad tendency to cheat by not following directions however, with this product it’s really necessary to rigorously follow Pam’s precise and thorough instructions. I also let each piece cool before I sewed it and that made a big difference as well. This interfacing will feel rather stiff when the shirt is finished, however, after one washing it softens up quite a bit and produces that beautiful firm but pliable hand we know from RTW shirts. Really Pro-Woven Shirt Crisp is the only interfacing worth using for tailored shirts in my opinion.
Today I’ll finish up another shirt from this pattern, its in a brown-blue stripe with french cuffs and contrast details that uses up remnants from this blue fabric.
The Dalai Lama, Facebook status update , September 11, 2011 at 4:58am
Today, as we mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC, let us remember all the innocent lives lost and ponder the continuing impact of that tragic day. September 11th reminds us of the horror we human beings can unleash on ourselves when we allow our human intelligence and powerful technology to be overtaken by hatred.
We need to learn from our painful memories of September 11th and become more aware of the destructive consequences that arise when we give in to feelings of hatred. This tragedy in particular has reinforced my belief that fostering a spirit of peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the world’s peoples and faith traditions is an urgent matter of importance to us all. We must therefore make every effort to ensure that our various faith traditions contribute to build a more caring, peaceful world.
The Dalai Lama
September 9, 2011
Originally published in the Washington Post on September 10, 2011.
“I never conform to any sort of fashion ideal. My ideal was to always show reality, even though I started at Savile Row and ended up a Givenchy in Paris, to depict the times I live in”
- Alexander McQueen, Harper’s Bazaar, September 2008
VOSS collection, spring/summer 2001
The death of Alexander McQueen in February 2010 at age 40 rocked the fashion world and elevated his too-brief 15 year career to mythic status. Savage Beauty is the book published in conjunction with the 2011 Metropolitan Museum of Art’s retrospective of his work and it’s a fine addition to a sewers library as a visual chronicle of the most unique couturier ever to work commercially in the modern fashion industry.
This book is all about his work, don‘t expect much insight into Lee Alexander McQueen as a person. Unlike Andy Warhol or Yves St. Laurent, both of whom had very public artistic careers that spanned decades, McQueen was clearly an artist who spoke through his work and for the most part eschewed the glitz of the fashion industry. The book recounts that instead of hanging around after his shows to speak with the media and press the flesh more often he would duck into a car and speed off, leaving his work to speak for itself. There is some biographical content but no new information or analysis of his tragic suicide other than to note that he ended his life just 9 days after his mother died from cancer. Like most fashion books the preface is several pages of bloviating fashion writing and the most interesting content is at the end, where Sarah Burton, who took over as creative director after his death, offers fascinating insights into the creative process behind his work.
And his work speaks volumes.
Carved elm wood. No 13. collection, spring/summer 1999
Aimee Mullins ensemble
“Art is a man’s name” is a quote from Andy Warhol. Those 5 words, so simple, dismissive, ironic and astute, pretty much sums up our modern world were Art with a capital “A” has no real influence or meaning in the lives of most people. After Western fine art freed itself once and for all from the constraints of the church and cultural censorship by the end of the 20th century it had all been said, done and put out there and really for those of us alive today what is left of Art with a capital “A” that is transcendent and yet accessible? Well we still have fashion and fortunately someone like McQueen to show us what can be produced from the convergence of history, culture, painting, sculpture, performance, couture, technology and metaphor. Add to that mix a good dose of mystery and a willingness to embrace taboo like Diane Arbus or Robert Mapplethorpe and the end result is the most potent, provocative, frightening and beautiful fashion of the recent past. And just like Arbus and Mapplethorpe he was one of those rare and brave artists who had no persona in his work: what you saw was really him and he put it out there for the world to see without apology.
Savage Beauty does a good job of explaining the more obvious and easy to understand aspects of McQueen’s work and the book’s large format and numerous full length photos enable a reader (and especially a sewer) to linger over his astonishing technical skill in not only couture dressmaking but also bespoke tailoring. His facility with color and texture is amazing; there are gowns made from the shells of razor clams and mussels, gowns with animal skulls, horns and taxidermy birds rising from the shoulders. There are close ups of digitally printed fabrics that are milled in such a way that the pattern pieces must have been printed at the same time as the motifs and then the garment was hand draped before being sewn. In these same prints the motifs continue flawlessly from woven fabric still with its selvage fringe (I’m guessing) to a knit mesh with no interruption in the motifs. He worked in every conceivable type of fabric and material with equal skill whether it was wool, silk, lace, metal, leather, rubber, wood, hair, fur or boning. He also used just about every embellishment technique known to man, everything from beading to historical types of embroidery such as Stumpwork, used on the piece that is my absolute favorite in the book, a jacket made from grey and pink silk Birdseye. Stumpwork is three dimensional embroidery done with padding and wire; notice how the bird’s wings stand away from the surface. The Amaranthus in the hat look almost totally 3-D. Notice also the sleeves cross over the body like those of a strait jacket. I’m still trying to figure out what that means.
Click
As with any art book the format is large and the binding is very nice. The paper is matte finished so every detail can be seen at once, and my only small complaint is that some the photos are heavily retouched in the details and this is especially notable in accessories like shoes. The front cover has one of those flat plastic lenticular lenses that we all know from childhood where the image changes depending on the angle you view it; a melting skull transforms into McQueen’s face. It makes me think of that Frances Bacon painting that interprets a Diego Velazquez painting of Pope Innocent X. The two seen together sum up, for me the approach that McQueen used. And the very last piece in the book is what his art is about in metaphor: it’s a wooden boot that is actually one piece from a pair of prosthetic legs carved from elm wood that legless athlete Aimee Mullins wore in his 1999 show with a knee length skirt made from lace and a leather corset. So many emotions come together in that one silent but fascinating object: craft, fashion, disability, norms, beauty and perception. Evidently fashion editors still request it for shoots thinking it’s merely a pair of boots.
This book is rich in meaning and one that repays me with with something new every time I open it. For Alexander McQueen “Art” was much more than a man’s name.
Machine thread tracing a pattern piece for a muslin
LJ posed a several very good questions on thread tracing:
“I am still confused if i start w a pattern, how do i thread trace the seams for both pieces of the fabric? why sew seam markings on a machine if (a) my question is whats the best way to get seam markings from pattern to fabric when the tracing wheel and wax paper combo is so ineffectual? and (b) wht sew seams on at 13 stitches per inch if i may need to take it apart and make adjustments for a final fitting? and just how DO you thread trace? any input will be appreciated, I presume everyone knows this but me!”
Let’s tackle these questions one by one:
if i start w a pattern, how do i thread trace the seams for both pieces of the fabric?
There are two answers here actually:
If the plan is to thread trace by machine the pattern is laid out and cut out as usual and then each pattern piece is run through the machine one at a time. The seam guide on the machine is used to mark the seam allowances. In the photo above my daughter is machine thread tracing a pattern piece. For hand thread tracing the pattern is laid out single layer and each piece is thread traced individually as shown in the red silk pattern piece in the photo below.
why sew seam markings on a machine if (a) my question is whats the best way to get seam markings from pattern to fabric when the tracing wheel and wax paper combo is so ineffectual? and (b) wht sew seams on at 13 stitches per inch if i may need to take it apart and make adjustments for a final fitting?
A sewn together muslin with machine tread tracing that marks the stitch lines
A tread traced muslin piece. Click for larger view
Marking a seam line with a tracing wheel and sewing wax paper is certainly okay, for me it just goes faster doing it on the machine. I also believe there is more accuracy to the fit with machine tracing because the stitching lines on the cut pattern pieces are calibrated to the machine’s seam guide. The seam line that is marked at 13 stitches per inch doesn’t get picked apart, it’s just used as the guide for joining the fabric pieces. The stitches that do get picked apart are the seams holding the muslin together. I do those in a much longer stitch length in a contrasting color so it’s easy to rip and I can tell the sewn seam from the traced seam lines.
and just how DO you thread trace?
Tread tracing done by hand
It can be done by machine as outlined above or by hand. When it’s done by hand the technique is slightly different. On a hand thread traced piece the seam lines are traced onto a single layer layout before the pattern piece is cut from the yardage. After the pattern piece is outlined in thread it’s cut as a big block and seams allowances are added on outside the hand tracing. The tracing stitch is a long running stitch that traces the outline of the pattern piece. The photo on the left shows a hand tread traced pattern piece. The seam allowances need to be added back on when it’s cut from the block.
Deciding when to do machine vs. hand thread tracing really depends on the project. When I made a dress from the red silk you see here I used hand thread tracing because I had to match a pattern along the hem. However, when I made the muslin for Ralph Rucci gown at right I used machine thread tracing. Generally speaking machine thread tracing is used on muslins and hand thread tracing is used on the fashion fabric.
Wow it’s been quite a while since I’ve done baby sewing! This dress is for Lily, my first cousin three times removed; her grandmother is my mother’s cousin. She’s 18 months old and is the flower girl in her uncle’s wedding. He is my first cousin twice removed, his mother is Lily’s grandmother. The family ties come full circle because Lily’s grandmother, my mother’s cousin, was the flower girl at my parent’s wedding in 1957.
The pattern is Butterick 5458 in a size 2; I made a few alterations. I wasn’t crazy about the rounded neckline so I made it a more elegant bateau shape. The back zipper was eliminated and replaced with a simple slit closed with a buttonloop. The button is vintage; its from my grandmother’s stash and I added a pearl in the center to dress it up a bit. The pattern has a back zipper however I think a zipper on a toddler dress is just weird. The wedding is in North Carolina next month and the dress is fully lined in batiste so she won’t need to wear a slip because it will be pretty hot. The fashion fabric is Kaufman seersucker from Fabric.com and this is a beautiful fabric! I may need to order a few more yards – I need new summer shirts! If you’re doing vintage pattern sewing this seersucker is the real thing and it’s a joy to sew. The hem of the lining and her bib are trimmed in ecru Cluny lace from my grandmother’s stash. Lily’s mother will love the family ties, my late grandmother is Lily’s great-great aunt. I also made her a diaper cover because the heirloom effect is kind of ruined with a modern disposable diaper. Fortunately I haven’t thrown out all of my baby patterns and I was able to draft the diaper cover from a romper in OOP Simplicity 5115. The bib was a last minute idea. A few years ago I made a silk organza christening gown for a friend and it ended up with a big formula stain on it and I don’t want Lily’s Mom to spend the whole wedding fretting over this dress. Now Lily can wear her matching bib at dinner and have a piece of wedding cake with no worries. I drafted a pattern for the bib from the dress bodice and it lined with batiste as well. The silk ribbon ties are a remnant from my stash. The sash is a good quality polyester organza from Jo-Ann’s if you can believe it!
Overall this was a very relaxing project it was perfect for summer; the finishing and details were most of the work. When my daughters were little I made lots of heirloom garments for them and it was nice to stroll down memory lane.
The last time I got a manicure I noticed the nail tech used a little pump bottle for polish remover and I said to myself “I want some of those!” Polish remover comes in tall narrow bottles that are very tippy and I’m very clumsy. A quick search on Ebay turned up 180inShop based in Hong Kong who sells them in packs of 5 for $8.99 ($5.99 + $1.99 shipping)…these little bottles have a ton of uses: there are two in my sewing room, one filled with water for removing wash-away marker and the other filled with rubbing alcohol for cleaning Sharpie off my Sewing rules. And of course the third one is being used for nail polish remover. The last two went to Abby and Emma and I might just have to take them back!
The video finally arrived from ADA Providence! I wish this was in High Def but competition videos tend to be shot in an older format so they’ll play on virtually any DVD player. From start to finish it took me about six weeks to make all 56 costumes. The inspiration was a Salwar Kameez for the girls and Kurta for the guys, both are South Asian styles worn in that part of the world by millions of people every day. To get started with this project I had a meeting in January with Rennie Gold and Kellie Grant to get a sense of what they were thinking for a costume. Rennie is the director and owner of The Gold School and Kellie is on the faculty. Rennie choreographed “Bollywood Jam”. He had a thick catalog of dance costumes and while there were a few South Asian styles available they were interpretations of formal clothes such as Nehru jackets or were variants on sari, such as a choli (the blouse worn under a sari) paired with loose pants. All of these were out because two years ago another dance school did a big Bollywood production routine that used those types of clothing styles. Plus, the Level 3 dancers are under the age of 13 and, unlike many other dance schools, Rennie will not allow young girls to wear costumes that are not age appropriate. Plus the colors weren’t really what he was looking for either. He used my Pantone deck to chose a color palette and I did web research to come up with ideas.
Rennie’s final choice was a turquoise blue for Level 1 (the oldest kids, age 13 and up), a lime green for Level 2 (ages 11 – 13) and a bright yellow for Level 3 (ages 8 – 13). He left the color choice for the pants up to me and that was an interesting challenge. It had to be dark color because all of the dancers wear the same tap shoe: black leather Capezio G100′s that cost $65 a pair. Asking them to buy new tap shoes for one routine was out of the question. The pants color also had to coordinate with the three tunic colors. Lucky for me research revealed that a dark merlot wine color is used in real South Asian clothing and it looked great with the tunic colors.
Design Sources
The Girls: Salwar Kameez is a garment for women and girls made from woven fabrics; the basic design is a loose tunic with side slits, a pair of tapered pants fairly tight through the leg that scrunch at the ankle plus a scarf or shawl in a chiffon. The scarf and pants are often the same color and contrast with the tunic. It can be a day or evening garment depending on the fabric. Even though the design is simple the fabrics range from plain woven gauze to sari-type fabrics in bright saturated colors with beautiful metallic designs woven through and embellished with elaborate trim. The tunic can be sleeveless, short sleeved or long sleeved and a v-neck is most common.
The Guys: a Kurta is a tunic worn by men and boys, very loose, and the only embellishment is at the neckline. It’s also made from a woven fabric and the pants can be matching or not.
Fabric: This was an even bigger challenge! My first choice was sari fabric for the tunics and a knit for the pants. Sari is widely available on Ebay in poly-cotton and I found a source that had the three colors I needed. Each sari had a stunning jacquard clover motif woven through with a silver jacquard border. One sari is 7 yards long and I found a source for about $15 per sari and I could get several tunics out of each one with a cross grain layout. I ordered one to make a prototype, however, the fabric was really really sheer and it needed a lining, which was totally out of the question for 56 costumes. So I had to go with a knit for the tunics as well and Spandex House came ot rescue; they sell Milliskin which is a 4-way stretch knit (80% nylon, 20% Spandex) and it comes in 40 colors. It’s meant for dance/gymnastic costumes and work-out clothing. Spandex House has the matte finish version which was perfect. Several of the girls told me they found the leggings to be really comfortable, I think that’s due to te high Spandex count. It’s a rather heavy drapey fabric like Slinky but thankfully it doesn’t “grow” like Slinky. A raw edge on Milliskin will not run or ravel and not having to hem sleeves and pant legs was a real time saver.
Trim: the move away from sari fabric to a plain knit meant I had to look for trim and it had to be at a great price. Trim is always more expensive than fabric and my price limit was $75 per costume. Ideally I wanted to find a trim in three different colors – lo and behold Cheep Trims had metallic fan braid in yellow gold, light gold and silver at a great price point: 20 yards for $12 and I easily met the minimum order requirements.
This was the silouette we wanted
Patterns: Initially, New Look 6086 was exactly what I was looking for in terms of a Salwar style tunic. A short sleeve was perfect because I didn’t want to worry about sleeve length. The scarf was eliminated because there is partnering in this routine. However, once I switched to a knit for the tops I wanted to look for a simpler design without darts to cut down on construction time. Jalie 2805 (the t-shirt pattern) was the final choice and I lengthened each pattern into a short tunic shape with side slits. The end result is much more body conscious than a real Salwar and more appropriate for a dance routine. In tap routines the judges need to see every dancers legs and feet for scoring. Jalie 2920 was used for the leggings and I extended the length by 6 inches to get the ankle scrunch. The guys costumes use Simplicity 9900, a pajama pattern. A few minor adjustments were made; a v-neck was added and and the Henley front and center seamwas eliminated. Oddly the younger boys costumes fit them perfectly but the older guys costumes were HUGE even though I made them in the correct sizes. After the try-on each one had to be cut in two inches on each side for both the pants and the tunic. Now these guys are dancers and all in amazing condition nonetheless the sloper on this pattner is so huge I recommend going down a size for any guy if you decide to use it.
Production
Production sewing was the biggest challenge. There are three sets of dancers in this routine, both guys and girls,a nd the age range is from age 9 to 18. In the end it worked out to 56 costumes in 12 sizes across four colors. Yes – I made 112 pieces of clothing! The school gave me basic measurements for the girls (bust, waist, hips) and I took measurements for the 7 older guys (chest, waist, back length, waist to floor from the side). I winged it on the younger boys because they are all about the same height & size this year and a boys medium worked for the three of them. In the end I traced off and altered patterns in 12 sizes forhte girls and 3 sizes for the guys. That was a ton of work but I have them saved so I can use them again.
The costumes had to be delivered a full week before the first competition so Rennie could do rehearsals and a run through prior to the competition. My biggest fear was handing them out and discovering that one (or more!) dancers would not have a costume when they needed to wear them that weekend. I came up with this production plan to prevent that:
Each dancers name, gender, measurements, size for each piece and dance level was put on a 3 x 5 index card
The girls costumes were made first, then the guys.
I sorted the cards and made a separate list on a legal pad of how many pieces were needed of each size in each color. For cutting the list was grouped by size, costume color then by dance level. Bodices were cut first, then sleeves.
all of the pieces for each garment were rolled together and placed in a wire laundry basket to the right of my serger. As I finished each garment I dropped each one into another laundry bsaket to my left.
Trim was added after all the costumes were made.
As each piece was made it was checked off from the totals for that size and each piece was marked with its size on a piece of tape.
When a color was finished in a size I added the dancers names to the tapes, put each into a ziplock bag and dropped in the 3×5 index card with the name facing out.
The pants/leggings were sewn and added to each bag in the same manner..
After all the costumes were done I did a double check against the master list of names to make sure each dancer had a costume. On costume day I did not miss ANYONE!
There were a few glitches during production,the electronics in my serger overloaded and I had to enlist Ann’s help and her industrial serger to finish them up. She gets a big THANK YOU and a giant hug for being such a solid and supportive friend. There have also been repairs here and there. A few kids went through a growth spurt and their costumes were too small based on measurements taken last fall. Some have been accidentally washed, but hat’s no big deal as I have extra fabric (never wash a dance costume!) For Nationals next month I’ll whip up spare leggings in a few sizes because if somethigbn needs repair there will be no time for fixing anything while we’re in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center. One final touch for the girls will be bindi and jewels over their eyebrows.
All in all it was a fun challenge and I got paid for it too!
As soon as I can figure out how to do that in WordPress! The pattern will be only $.99 and this headwrap makes a nice gift, especially when dressed up with a monogram. The next time my daughters have a sleepover birthday party I think we’ll do some as party favors.
This headwrap is a few years old; it has been washed and used many many times so it looks a bit longer in the flat photo compared to the pattern. This is the type of project that can be whipped up in a hour or less and it can be made on a serger or a regular machine. It’s been a bit of a challenge to get it printed out in the same scale as the original so I need to fiddle with that a bit more before I make it a download.
Got both dresses done in time ………..WOOT! Abby is rockin’ the 80′s no? When she saw this pattern in the McCall’s catalog she wanted it exactly as they showed it. The shoulder pads have mesh-covered jewels from M&J Trimming. There two shapes, a 25 mm round and 8×24 mm baguette. The baguettes posed a problem because the mesh is bunched up inside the setting and I could not get a needle through it to sew them on. Bridal glue came to the rescue. My baby knows how to shop: she found a pair of Adrienne Vitadinni silk satin shoes for $30 at DSW! The fashion fabric is a purple silk charmeuse, the lining is black silk habotai, both from Thai silks. Now that I have a dress pattern fitted to her I can make her this style as a Little Black Dress for orchestra (she plays viola.) Em is wearing a different dress than what she will have for Nationals in July. When I injured my shoulder last month I realized there was no way I’d get a spiral steel boned corselet and dress made in time for tonight. Em was very good about the news and found an inexpensive RTW dress at TJ Maxx that I altered by taking off the bra top and adding Rigilene boning to give her support. There was zero boning in this strapless dress and there was no way my daughter was going to be hiking up her dress all night like all the other girls in of Thurston Middle School in RTW. There was an interlining layer in the front bodice due to the molded bra cups so I able to fiddle a casing for the Rigilene. The back of this dress had no interlining and there I just took in the side seams about an inch on each side to make it super tight across her back and we used Hollywood Tape to keep it up.
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