Guess Your Pattern Size
Yesterday was a mixed bag. I restrung my windchime successfully. That was a spatially-challenging project, so I was proud of myself for getting it done.
I need to adjust that center string up a couple of inches, but I am enjoying hearing the chimes again.
My other spatially-challenging project was making the See & Sew B5513 top.
Eh. Lots of pros and cons here. Lets start with the pros:
I love love love the fabric. This is a woven rayon from Hobby Lobby. Is it super high quality rayon? No, but it has bugs all over it—bees, dragonflies, butterflies, and moths. I love it so much I plan to buy more of it when it goes on sale again. (Hobby Lobby sales rotate on a three-week schedule.)
I really like the raglan style. I know raglans fit me well (broad shoulders) and I should make more of them.
I also love the cowl neck. More on that in a moment.
It comes in two lengths, and the tunic length was perfect.
The overall construction was complicated enough to be interesting, but not so complicated that it was frustrating. Seams were done mostly on the Janome and finished on the serger.
The cons:
I have never used a See & Sew pattern before. I am not even sure they exist anymore as I pulled this out of my pattern stash. See & Sew patterns seem to be a low-budget version of one of the Big Four companies, with emphasis on the “low-budget” part. There were three body measurements given for choosing the correct size: Bust, Waist, and Hip. That was it. The only finished garment measurement given was the circumference at the hem. The description of the top says “loose fitting.” From that minimal information, one is supposed to figure out what size to make.
I figured wrong.
I went with the size that corresponded to my full bust measurement because the pattern did not differentiate between full and high bust. I should have measured the pattern pieces, although there is a lot of origami in this design with pleats and darts.
This top is so “loose fitting” that I could hide a couple of toddlers underneath. Thank goodness that rayon is drapey. The finished top looks okay on my body, but clearly, I need a smaller size. I suspect I could go down two entire sizes—which, incidentally, would correspond to my high bust measurement—and the top would fit much better.
Things I would change:
This top has darts in the shoulders and pleats in both front and back pieces. I’d be inclined to remove the back pleat and cut the back bodice straight. I think there would still be plenty of freedom of movement thanks to the shoulder darts.
The pattern says to interface the cowl, which is cut on the bias. I used the lightest possible interfacing and ended up pulling it off the fabric after I got one edge sewn to the neck opening, because the cowl wouldn’t drape. It’s a deep cowl—about 9” deep when doubled over and sewn down—and all the interfacing accomplished was to make it stiff. I would not interface the cowl with anything. I am not sure it needs to be cut on the bias, either, if it isn’t interfaced. I think the primary reason for the interfacing is because drapey rayon has no prayer of holding its shape once those bias edges are released. It is also possible that a very light knit interfacing would work better than a woven one. I’ve run into a couple of designers who say that they use the knit interfacing exclusively, even on wovens.
The husband asked me if I could take this top in enough to fit me better. Not really—it would be faster to make another one from scratch. This only took a few hours to put together. I might see if there is any drapey rayon on the clearance rack at Joanns that I could use to test a smaller size, because I like this style and would make a few more if I could get the size dialed in.
I really appreciate the indie sewing pattern designers who give finished garment measurement and/or specific ease measurements in their patterns. That information is so helpful when deciding what size to make.
I keep telling myself this is a process. I do learn something from every project, but I understand why a lot of sewists stick to a few “tried and true” patterns or only buy patterns from one or two pattern companies. Making muslins, even from clearance or sale fabric, costs time and money.
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Whitney, at TomKat Stitchery, released a video this week about the “Coastal Grandma” fashion trend.
I’ve seen this trend pop up on other social media sites, so I watched the video to see what she had to say about it. As she described it, I thought to myself that it perfectly captures my mother’s and my sister’s fashion aesthetics (and my sister lives in North Carolina), but then I laughed because two of the patterns Whitney chose to illustrate the trend are jacket patterns I have in the queue to make for myself. And the accessory pattern she chose was the Fremont Tote from Klum House. I made one of those a few years ago and loved it. I think of my fashion aesthetic more as “Montana Chicken Farmer,” but I clean up nicely when I have a mind to.