McCall's 5296 for the UFO Contest on PR

Now this is scary! Apparently, I cut this blouse out last year. But I have no memory of doing so. I know it must have been last year because I remember cutting out the pattern and altering it for an FBA in December of 2008--the first time we stayed in a condo at the Massanutten Ski Resort in western Virginia. I also know it had to have been before October 2009 because that was when we decided to add a French drain to out basement and I had to dismantle my sewing room.

THAT's when I found IT--a 1-gallon plastic bag consisting of the pattern, thread, filled bobbin, and cut out fabric with pattern pieces still pinned in place. I'm too young for a senior moment, so I was very upset that I couldn't remember cutting this out. All sorts of possible causal diseases flitted through my mind until I re-read the pattern instructions. BINGO! Immediately, I realized that the traumatic experience I suffered after initially reading the pattern instructions caused instant amnesia after I hid all evidence of the cut out pattern deep in a drawer in my sewing room--until I found it again.


When the 2010 UFO Pattern Contest began, I instantly thought of this pattern as a candidate; only to cringe as I remembered those instructions.

But two things made me persist: 1) the fabric itself--a beautiful brushed-cotton sateen that had been aging in my stash since I bought it in the early 1990s from 7th Avenue--on online swatch company long defunct; and 2) the pattern itself, a vintage Palmer & Pletsch blouse pattern for a classic cowl-neck collared suit-blouse--called the "suitable blouse". One of the pluses of this pattern--FBA instructions so very-detailed that I felt like Madams Palmer & Pletsch were right in the room with me holding my hand as I did my first cutting into a pattern to perform an FBA.

On the right is a picture of the fabric.


Well, this was no 1 hour pattern or even 3 hour pattern to construct. This blouse has lots of classy details and yes, they take time to do. The instructions are 6, count them, 6 pages long!










One very nice detail is the loops at the collar and and sleeves. I covered my buttons, too. Here's a close-up of one of the sleeves. This pattern takes 13 buttons!





In spite of all the details, the instructions were easy to understand and filled with Palmer & Pletsch tips for easier or nicer looking results. And, being the masters of fit, every so often, they instruct you to stop and try on the pattern for fit, with tips on what to do if it doesn't look write. During one of these fittings, I decided that my bust darts were way too long and shortened them by 1 1/2 inches on each side with very pleasing results.

Likes:
Loved the FBA. This blouse fits me no matter how big a breath I take to call my kids down to dinner! Believe me, I can really take in a lot of air.

Liked the sleeves. There's no cuff, but it still looks very professional with the buttons, loops and small pleat.

Dislikes:
Shoulder pads are every short-waisted, petite girl's friend; but, sheesh! This pattern is from the late 1980s, and I sort of forgot that that was when the shoulder pads in ladies blouses rivaled those in a quarterback's uniform. I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable wearing this blouse without a jacket. Also, even though I used the size pads called for, the shoulders are too wide and hang off my arms. I believe the pattern refers to them as "slightly extended"!? I think I could have used even bigger pads, but it would have looked too bizarre.





Look at those goofy shoulder pads! And I don't even think they're big enough to fit the blouse. That or the shoulders need to be cut back to fit mine.

And the jury's still out on the cowl-neck.












Much better.

Suited and ready for work!





Conclusion: This pattern was one of the most difficult blouse patterns I have attempted to date. I learned a lot of techniques making it. But, as it was more difficult, my results were not as good as I had hoped they would be; and I also found myself a bit impatient at times with how "fiddly" the pattern was. The outdated style, not quite so evident from the artist's depiction on the pattern cover, and less than "perfect cowl" cowl disappointed me. I do love my blouse and will be wearing it to work, but I probably will not make this pattern again. And especially not until after I've altered the pattern to eliminate those shoulder pads and bring in the shoulder seams.

Lingerie Secrets' "The Smoothie"--Another TNT Pattern!

The 2010 Blizzard was on its way, barreling towards the DC Metro Region and getting ready to pound us.

I got home from work around 1:00, having been dismissed from work due to the impending storm. The subway trains coming home were "uber"-packed with fellow commuters all wanting to get home ahead of the storm.

I needed to de-stress and fast! A nice easy lingerie project seemed the answer, since I'd just finished sewing the Lingerie Secrets "High Cut Pantie" and was greatly pleased with the results. So-o-o-o, it was Lingerie Secrets' "The Smoothie" pattern to the rescue!


I already had my fabric pre-washed and my pattern cut out, so I got out the fabric, laid out the pattern and cut it out in a little over half an hour. Again on account of having just made the other Lingerie Secrets pattern, I was familiar with the basic construction of underwear, so I started sewing them up right away.

DH and the boys had gone to the gym and about a half an hour into sewing, they called to tell me they were on their way to pick me up and take me out to eat. By this time the snow was falling harder, but still not sticking on the roads and sidewalks as the temperature was still in the mid-30s. After our rather late lunch, we came home; and I started righ back up sewing again.





Within about an hour--voila--another beautiful pair of underwear with excellent fit. And for me, another TNT lingerie pattern. This makes three patterns from Lingerie Secrets that I have sewn with this year and every one of them have been a winner.

I have now cut out two more pairs of "The Smoothie" and one more of the "High Cut Pantie" which are awaiting my next instant de-stress moment and maybe Round 2 of the Blizzard of 2010??!!!

Lingerie Secrets "High Cut Pantie"

There is nothing more pathetic than a well-loved pair of ladies underwear (panties, knickers, whatever), which have been worn to the point that the cotton crotch has become a tattered shred, barely even a memory. I could not in all consciousness part with $10 to $12 for a nice pair at Macy's without trying my hand at it, especially since it only takes a half a yard of fabric to make a pair.

For the 2010 Lingerie Contest on PatternReview.com, I chose to make another as yet unreviewed pattern, Lingerie Secrets' "High Cut Pantie". I bought a Value Pack Tricot bundle from Fabric Depot in Garwood, TX (http://www.fabricdepotco.com/ ) at half-price ($15.00) last month. They specialize in fabrics, patterns, and notions for lingerie and active wear. When I got my bundle, a minimum of 10+ yards of solid color fabric, I was delighted with the quality, though I realized I had enough fabric to make all the panties I'll ever need!

I also got a 300 yard spool of elastic. Again, rather overkill, but at $ 0.15/yard, it was a very good deal!

For the thread, I used a very small portion of a 1200 yard spool of YLI Elastic and Bobbin Thread. It seemed to have both strength and a bit of stretchiness to it. This pattern has 3 pattern pieces: front, back, and crotch piece. I used a cotton stretch knit from Spandex World for the lining.











Lingerie Secrets has you sandwich the front piece between the two crotch pieces in a technique similar to that used by Kwik Sew. It is very important to pay attention to wrong and right sides, as when you pull the crotch pieces away from the front after sewing the first seam, you will want the right side of the crotch main or lining pieces to face up on either side.























Here I'm marking the 1/4 inch seam line. I use a water soluble marking pen. Careful, sweaty fingers will remove those marks before you can get the fabric to your machine!

Here I'm "wrapping" the crotch lining around the front of the panty and to the back piece of the panty. After sewing this, you pull the panty pieces through one of the open seams at the side of the crotch. All crotch seams will be concealed.

Here's what it looks like wrapped.



















After the crotch is sewn, you attach the elastic to the legs, sew one side, attach the elastic to the waist, sew the remaining side seam, tack down the seams and you are done!




A beautiful pair of panties that look store-bought! And now for some numbers:

fabric---about $1.50
elastic---about $0.37
Thread--about $0.50

So we're talking about $2.37, compared with $10.00 at Macy's.


Oh, and these are incredibly easy to make. I noted the machine tension, needle, and elastic amounts on my pattern instructions. Next time I make this, I think I can do it in an hour.

Lingerie Secrets "T" Sport Bra

The first PatternReview.com contest of 2010 is the Activewear Contest. I had been wanting to make this "T" Sport Bra from pattern designer Jan Bones, who designs a line of patterns called Lingerie Secrets, for some time and had just the fabric. Her website is located here: http://www.sewinglingerie.com/ .




I bought this spandex fabric from Spandex World in 2008 with the intention of making a bathing suit with it. But when it arrived, I decided I didn't like the sequins and glitter for the pool. It seemed more like dancewear, so I put it aside. I decided this would be just the thing for a non-boring alternative you normally get in the solid color sports bras you buy in the store. So I decided to use this fabric to make my sport bra.




The Lingerie Secrets "T" Sport Bra comes in sizes Small to XLarge and XL1 to XL4, fitting busts from 32" (81 cm.) to 53" (134 cm.). One of the most attractive features of this pattern for me was the separate pattern pieces for bust cup sizes A, B, C, and D, since I always need to do a full bust adjustment on my patterns.

I made the size Large with the D cup pattern piece, to fit a high bust of 36 inches and full bust of 40 inches.

Before cutting the fabric, I tissue-fitted the pattern pieces to myself. What was I thinking?! Of course, it wasn't going to fit. The pattern is paper and the fabric is spandex! Of course, I forgot about that and panicked when it didn't fit. I added 2 inches to the sides and top before cutting it out. And after sewing it up; yeah, yeah, it was too big and no support either. Off came the 2 inches. It fit!

What an incredibly easy pattern to sew! There are only two pattern pieces: a front and a back.





At the sides, the extra fabric is tucked or pleated very attractively. However, Jan states in her instructions, that you may also gather this if you prefer gathers to tucks.

I also decided to underline my sport bra with cotton lycra for more comfort and breathability. Here is a picture of the completed back of the garment, showing the underlining.

And ta-dah! Below are some completed pictures of the front.

And here I am, just back from the gym, wearing it!

2010 Goals for a Great Sewing Year!

1) Sew more! I am shooting for 25 garments (2009 = 15; 2008 = 9).

2) Reduce fabric stash to below 400 yards.

3) Embroidery more with machine.

4) Maintain blog.

5) Enter contests on PR for motivation and inspiration.

6) Take a sewing class/workshop or two!