Sewing Blog

 Yesterday I was incredibly productive! I started by working on my press cloth. I bought a half yard of silk organza from Mood. It was about $16 in total with the cost of the fabric and the shipping. I spent some time yesterday making some narrow hems, and then adding a loop to the side so I can hang it. It is perfectly practical and will be really nice to use! After the pressing cloth was created, I got to work on cutting out all of the 18 pieces in the red twill. Let me tell you - this twill is beautiful, but oh geez handling that much stiff extra wide fabric was a pain! I took my time and cut everything on one layer. It meant more time cutting, but I just couldn't be sure I could get everything on grain if I cut it in two layers. So I slowly worked my way through the cutting diagram and checked everything off as I went through. As I finished a twill piece that had a lining, I matched them up and set them aside with the pattern piece. It was really nice to see it all come togethe...

 I've made some good progress! I reached out to the folks at Closet Core Patterns to ask for fitting advice. I decided I was just too confused to make any decisions. And it was good to just take a break for a minute. They got back to me and advised that I do the 22 shoulders as it looked like a good fit there, and then grade out to a 26 everywhere else since I was trying to achieve more of a loose outer coat than a closer fitting jacket. I added a bit to each of my pattern pieces and then tried it on - and WHAM! It looked GOOD! And so, I spent last weekend cutting out all 18 pattern pieces (I am making view A with a hood). It was tedious, but glorious at the same time! I listened to some sewing podcasts and leaned into it! This week I set all the pattern pieces aside and spent time gathering all supplies for the jacket. I already had my fabric, so I washed that. I prepped my stablizer by soaking it in warm water for 30 minutes then hanging to dry. I have no idea if that did anythin...

 I am still working on my Kelly toile. I try to chip away at this a bit each day. Following up on the latest version  number 3.0, I measured some pieces in the lining expansion pack - namely the upper arm and the upper back. They aren't wider in the places I need them (which makes sense as they are the lining pieces meant to go inside the shell I am currently working on - obvious in hindsight...). Given this, I am back to figuring out the fit issues. I tried the "slash" method to do a broad back adjustment. In doing this the fabric hung fine but opened up a lot when I reached forward. It also helped remove the tightness in the upper arms. This leads me to believe I need more fabric. It also makes the think that it is a bit too fitted still. The amount that opened up is 3.25" across both slashes. I went back to my trusty Columbia jacket and did some measurements - the upper backs differ by .5" (Columbia is +0.5"), and the upper arms differ by 2" (Columb...

 I just completed the V. 3.0 Toile for the Kelly Anorak (22/24/26). Overall, it fits a lot better. The upper back is still tight, as well as the upper arms.  In an attempt to really understand the full scope of fit, I put on a sweater and tried the toile on again - still tight. I keep debating how good the fit needs to be before I just jump into an actual coat with my fashion fabric.Today it is raining hard and the colors are changing - I just would like to sew something that I can finish before the season to wear it passes... But the fact I am pausing gives me the indication that I am not close enough yet. To find some more guidance, I pulled out a Columbia jacket I bought at REI in July. At the time it seemed a bit ridiculous to purchase a puffer/jacket 3-in-1 combo, but it fit great and I knew it would come in handy sooner than later. And sure enough, I have been using it the past few days. So I pulled it out to help me judge the sizing for the Kelly. The waist/hips are pr...

 Looking on the internet it seems I am about 5 years late to the Kelly Anorak pattern  by Closet Core (and maybe three times that late to blogging), but I am at a point where it seems fun to sew a coat, and perhaps worth putting my sewing efforts down into some type of blog. This isn't likely to be pretty, but it would be helpful to have a place to write and express as I gain skills. We shall see. I am working on my toile of the Kelly. I tried this back in Nov 2022, but to no avail - the toile didn't fit, I lost patience, and knew my skills would grow a bit to feel ready to tackle this. Although I got the pattern extension for the lining , I think it just makes sense to make a more simple version for my first one. So I will be doing an underlined version following the Closet Core blog post . A more simple version would be to just make it as written - but let's be honest, I won't wear a plain twill jacket in Michigan. The window to wear it just seems too small. A tiny bi...