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Butterick 4609 Blouse, Finished. (And I Used My Buttonholer!)

Mon, 08/01/2011 - 14:15 — Maggie

I finished my with-real-cuffs blouse!Floral Rayon Challis Blouse -- FinishedFloral Rayon Challis Blouse -- Finished
I ended up using stitch witchery in the front band, but I think I actually used too much, it's stiffer than I would have liked it to be. I'll keep that in mind for next time-- and I definitely will be sewing this pattern again.

This one doesn't seem to photograph too well, but I think it's mainly the print that's responsible for that. It's a pretty print, but it's so contrasting that it's hard to make out the details of the blouse! That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, since the front is a bit strange since I overinterfaced (is "interfaced" the right word when I used stitch-witchery to make the fabric interface itself?) the front band a bit. I think the front was supposed to end up slouchier.

While others had reported that the pattern runs large, I found it to be just about right, actually a bit too small in the hips. I ended up letting out the back darts a bit, which seemed to fix the problem. I'm definitely glad that I didn't go down a size.

I'm not totally sure how I feel about the neck tie thingy. It's kinda cool, but kinda silly at the same time. It was definitely worth making, though; quick and easy, and another option for the blouse.
French CuffFrench Cuff
I'm loving the French cuffs. I was afraid they would be goofy, but I really like them. I made "cuff links" out of buttonhole thread and mystery bundle buttons.

And I finally rewired my Necchi BC! (Okay, fine, Kris did most of it.. but he's the expert!) So, with my BC rewired, I now have a low-shank machine in good working order, which means I can use my buttonholer! I got the buttonholer ages ago, thinking that since it was made specifically for Necchi, it would fit my machine.. and then realized upon getting it that it was for low-shank machines, and I use mostly high-shank. Low-shank buttonholers are cheap. High-shank buttonholers are not.

So, with my working BC and my buttonholer attachment, I was able to make nice automated pretty buttonholes! (Up to this point all of my buttonholes had been as-carefully-as-possible zigzagged.

ButtonholesButtonholes

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Floral Rayon Challis Blouse with French Cuffs -- In Progress

Sat, 07/30/2011 - 20:14 — Maggie

I've been sewing, so you can't say I haven't!Butterick 4609 View C -- In ProgressButterick 4609 View C -- In Progress

I've been working on View C of Butterick 4609-- the blouse with the French cuffs. I'm doing the sash thingy too. I'm making it out of one of the "Trendy" rayon challis-es I got from FabricMart's most recent 75% off sale.

It's not done, but it's getting there. I still need to hem it and put in the buttonholes, and stabilize the front band. Well, it's not actually a front band it's a self-front-band, basically just folded over and then over again to form what would normally be the front band. It says to catch-stitch it in place. And doesn't say anything about interfacing. I used some stitch-witchery tape in between the innermost layers, I'll probably add another strip on the back. I'm not completely sure, though. I've been playing with buttonholes on scraps. Hopefully I'll pester Kris into helping me rewire my BC so I can use my actual buttonholer. But, uh, I've been saying I'm going to rewire the BC for quite awhile..

This blouse is the first time I've successfully made real cuffs! My first try was McCall's 5929 which caused a huge amount of frustration and ended up being a wadder. The Simplicity 2758 blouse I made back in December to shut dfr up only had those little narrow cuffs and not all the trappings real cuffs like the bound slit-- and the bound slit is the mind-boggling part. (Why didn't I do a post on that blouse? I wrote a review, but no blog post. I thought I wrote a post, but now all that seems to be on my site is the picture. Oh, it was probably because it was while dfr was in Florida! LOL Okay, that explains my lack of a post!
But this time I managed real cuffs! The instructions on the pattern were pretty good, and in combination with my copy of the Singer Sewing Book (1949 edition) I managed to make it work!

It looks a little awkward on my dress form. I do hope it ends up looking better on me. My dress form is slightly crooked, which makes everything look a bit awkward. Most of the reviews say that it runs a bit big, but it actually seems quite snug. I cut a 14, which should be about right, and seems to be, but it's hard to tell for sure before finishing up the buttons and all. I did use French seams, but I don't think they should have made too much of a difference.

I'm hoping to finish this one up tomorrow. Either with buttonholer-ed buttonholes or my normal unautomated machine buttonholes.

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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