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Mom's Linen Tunic With Silver Embroidery (And Some Book Talk)

Sat, 07/02/2011 - 12:16 — Maggie

Mom's Linen TunicMom's Linen Tunic Mom's Linen Tunic NecklineMom's Linen Tunic Neckline Mom's Linen Tunic BackMom's Linen Tunic Back

I know, I am a bad, bad blogger and I don't post enough. But I have a good excuse! I have lots of them!

You see, first I was reading. And some of that was dfr's fault, because while I was waiting for my other Borgia books to come, I started reading Black Sun Rising, the first book of the Coldfire trilogy. (The second and third books are When True Night Falls and Crown of Shadows.) That's dfr's fault because she's the one who first told me to read In Conquest Born, which is by the same author. My mom actually ended up buying Black Sun Rising for her Kindle while she was here. I'm not sure exactly why she started reading a book I was still in the middle of! My dad got started reading This Alien Shore, another C.S. Friedman book. I'm not sure why he left it here, he seemed to be enjoying it and I was already finished with that one!

The Borgia books I was waiting for were Light on Lucrezia, The Borgia Betrayal, and The Borgia Bride.
I'd already read Madonna of the Seven Hills, which comes before Light on Lucrezia, and
Poison, which comes before The Borgia Betrayal, because those were cheaper.

And then of course I couldn't put up in-progress pictures of my mom's tunic, because then she would have seen them. So really, everything that's not a good excuse is dfr's fault!

I'm actually much happier with the tunic than I am with these pictures. My camera and computer don't seem happy about the color. It's this really beautiful, deep, vibrant turquoise, and the photos just don't do it justice. I tried adjusting the color, but I couldn't get it quite right. Any adjustments that made the fabric color more accurate gave strange hues to everything else.
The actual fabric is a bit darker and much deeper than it looks in the photos-- just a really stunning color, utterly perfect for my mom.

Turquoise and silver are her colors. She already had a beautifully matching necklace with her-- and she didn't know about the tunic until she got here!
(On a related note: our house got burglarized when I was a kid. When we got home and discovered this, we found that he'd emptied my mother's jewelery box all over the bed. And of course found nothing but silver and semi-precious stones. My mom said she actually felt bad for the guy!)

My mom seems to have the same fitting problems as I do, except even more exaggerated. I'm a lot taller, but we're a similar size, so I'd cut the same size as I do for myself. The sleeves turned out to be too narrow, although I did manage to get them fitting fairly well by letting them out a bit within the seam allowance. Her shoulders are also even narrower than mine; I fixed that by taking it in a bit around the top of the sleeve cap. I didn't unpick anything there; I just took in both the top of the sleeve cap and the edge of the shoulder. The final fit seems to be fairly good, although next time I'll probably cut the upper sleeves a bit wider.

That pleat on the back is not part of the pattern. I started doing it because the pattern actually wants the back to be cut as separate pieces, and the first time I made this tunic I didn't take the seam allowance into account when I cut the it on the fold.

I'd planned on doing a decorative stitch for the hem, but I was using the silver metallic Gutermann thread (not the same as the metallic Brother embroidery thread) which fluffs up a bit too much for real decorative stitches, and my mom liked the way the regular zigzag looked, so I ended up just just a plain old zigzag hem. My no-model-name-or-number "Heavy Duty" Taiwanese Necchi had thrown a hissy fit over the metallic thread (and protested the use of top-stitching thread too,) but the BU Mira handles it wonderfully.

Some tips for using that metallic Gutermann thread:

  • Always use a top-stitching needle.
  • Thread the needle using a needle threader, don't try to just thread it normally; It's kind fluffy and frays easily, so it's really, really hard to get all of the thread through the eye.
  • Use a Thread Stand It keeps twisting to a minimum and feeds more easily.
  • Use regular thread in the bobbin, preferably in a color that matches the fabric.
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A Silk Chiffon Tunic (Finally!)

Thu, 06/02/2011 - 17:46 — Maggie

Polka-Dotted Chiffon TopPolka-Dotted Chiffon Top Chiffon Tunic NecklineChiffon Tunic Neckline After Dfr's recent success with Butterick 5355 for her silk charmeuse, I decided it would be a good pattern to use for some of my chiffon. I got this caramel-colored polka-dotted chiffon early last year in a chiffon bundle from FabricMart, and it seemed like the best choice to use for my first silk chiffon top since I'm not totally wild about the color. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly wearable, but I have a harder time cutting into fabrics in really beautiful colors.

I used French seams, and narrow hems both for the bottom edges and for the neckline. The pattern includes a sash as well, which I haven't made yet, although I haven't decided if I want to or not. If I feel the need to give it more definition around the waist, I might come up with some kind of belt to wear with it, but I'd go with something thinner than the sash-style belt in the pattern; maybe a chain-type belt. Loose and flowing is what I was aiming for, and shapelessness isn't so much of a worry with such sheer fabric, so that's still up in the air.

Despite being delicate silk, my purpose with this was utilitarian; I needed something good for hot weather, light enough to have plenty of air flow, so that I can have the feel of wearing a tank top or just a corset, without running around feeling like I'm half-naked.

Next time I'll probably try the front piece from the A and B views that has the V-neck, rather than the higher neckline that views C and D have.

Orchid Linen Tunic Finished (Again)

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 20:38 — Maggie


Well I had already posted about finishing my orchid linen tunic.. But then the Google issues hit me and I think I lost it in my attempts to restore my database when I believed that the problem was on my end.

I'd said something about dfr nagging me to get up pictures and then something about loving spf 100 sunscreen but it not protecting my lower back when it's not there and something about linen not being as drapey as rayon. Oh, and something about Firefox not recognizing "drapey" as a word.

And so now I'll throw some more curses at Google and submit this post.

Orchid Linen Tunic In-Progress

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 14:38 — Maggie

Orchid Linen Tunic In-ProgressOrchid Linen Tunic In-Progress
An update on another embroidered linen tunic, because if I don't keep up on the updates, dfr will nag me (legitimately) about being a bad blogger. This one in fabric that I actually specifically ordered! (As opposed to the mushroom brown mystery bundle linen.) I'm getting very attached to these tunics.

Besides the general breathability of linen (which isn't quite as much of a blessing now as it will be during the really hot months,) I'm loving the tunic length. While I am a huge fan of those Neutrogena Spectrum SPF 100 sunblocks no matter how strong a sunblock is, you can't get around one major limitation: it can't work if it's not there!

Between forgetting to apply it to skin that's not exposed at the time of putting it on, and my waistband rubbing against my skin and removing it, sunblock doesn't tend to be on that patch of skin at the very bottom of my back. And then after spending awhile gardening, I find myself with a bit of a burn on my lower back. Tunics solve this problem very nicely.

Embellished Mushroom Brown Linen Tunic

Sun, 05/08/2011 - 16:00 — Maggie

Embroidered Tunic

       My linen tunic is finished!  In fact, I had to take it off just to get a picture.  I was fairly successful at removing the misplaced embroidery and fixing it.  There's a tiny snag, but I applied the fusable interfacing after doing the embroidery, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem and it's not really visible. 

 

      As the pattern is drawn, the back is meant to be cut as two pieces.  I'm not so fond of this, so I cut it out on the fold, and then created a little pleat on the back to account for the seam allowances.  I like the pleated back anyway, since it allows for a wider range of motion for my arms.  I'm still getting used to wearing fabrics that don't stretch! 

 

      The embroidery designs are built in designs that came with my machine, so they're nothing really special, but I do think they turned out pretty.  The color of the fabric itself does kinda remind me of burlap, but the embroidery does help.  Maybe I should have done more; I'm not sure where, though. I do hope I don't look like I'm wearing an embroidered burlap sack. 

 

    ...And, I used decorative stitches on the hem!  this is actually the first time I've made real use of my poor neglected Wonder Wheel!

Yes, It's Linen! (Neck Band Embroidery In-Progress)

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 17:56 — Maggie

Neck Band EmbroideryNeck Band EmbroideryNow I've started on a version of Simplicity 2696 (formerly done in the much-debated floral rayon jacquard) in linen. I have the front and back pieces cut out, and then set to work on the embroidery for the neck band. This is actually the first time I've tried machine embroidery meant for clothing. I did the vine-y floral design at the bottom, and haven't quite figured out what else I'm going to do.

I may not have developed dfr's total linen obsession yet, but despite dfr's accusation that's less about a lack of linen-love and mostly just because I want corset supplies too! I can't afford real steel boning and couture linen! Not at the same time, anyways. I got the mushroom brown linen in a mystery bundle that I ordered along with the orchid and antique red linens from FabricMart's half-off linen section. So the mushroom brown one is the one I'm daring to cut into first.

I'm actually not particularly fond of the color itself, but earthy colors do tend to work for me. That's slightly baffling when they're colors I don't actually like. I like green and blue, but drab brown? I know that various colors complement one another and all that jazz, but for some reason I mentally sort colors as "good" and "bad," despite the knowledge that that's a supremely bad way to classify colors. The earthy mushroom brown also seems to be an excellent fabric for floral embroidery, too. And unlike the cream rayon jacquard, I should be able to wear a dark corset under it!

Rayon Crepon Jacquard Tunic

Fri, 04/29/2011 - 09:17 — Maggie

 

Rayon Crepon Jacquard TunicRayon Crepon Jacquard Tunic

I've finished a version of the Simplicity 2696 classic tunic in a rayon crepon jacquard from FabricMart. This is meant to be wearable, but also a mockup before making this in linen. A linen version would definitely have some embroidery around the neckline. I'm not totally sure how I feel about this one. It didn't turn out bad, but somehow looks weird. I haven't quite identified what looks weird about it. Perhaps the fabric looks more like home dec than something that should be worn. My big problem with it, however, was the instructions. Particularly, the instructions, or lack of instructions, for the keyhole neckline. This second picture is the front piece. As you can see, the front is cut out as one piece, with a rounded neckline that does not reflect the final shape. There's a stitching line for attaching the facing (er, is it a facing? Or a placket? I've been using the term facing, but isn't a facing usually turned to the inside rather than to the outside?) But there's no cutting line. Nor are there any instructions that actually tell you to cut the slit that allows you to turn the facing to the outside. Apparently, the slit is supposed to magically appear. I complained about this in chat the other night. dfr told me to open up the side seams, since Simplicity's instructions say to sew up the sides before sewing on the facing, but that makes it almost impossible to sew the facing. drsue said "sew first then cut." That was what I really needed to know. Simplicity's poorly ordered instructions so far as sewing the side seams were certainly annoying, but it was the total absence of any instructions about cutting the slit that allows you to turn the facing to the outside that really boggled my mind. It says to clip the corners and trim the seams, but to me, cutting several inches down the middle does not fall into the category of "clipping corners." So, I finally finished it, and the pattern wasn't bad, but the instructions were. Much thanks to dfr and drsue for the instructions in chat that I actually followed. Had I continued trying to follow Simplicity's instructions, my head would have exploded.

Simplicity 2696 Front PieceSimplicity 2696 Front Piece Simplicity 2696 Vague InstructionsSimplicity 2696 Vague Instructions

 

 

**Drawings and text of pattern instructions copyright of Simplicity Creative Group. Excerpts are shown here for the purpose of clarifying my commentary and criticism of this pattern and accompanying instructions, as outlined in Title 17 U.S. Code, Chapter 1, § 107. I have no affiliation with Simplicity Creative Group.

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