The best sewing book I have

Great day yesterday and in between many errands serge finished, partially seamed, and installed invisible zippers in four pairs of P&S pants. Should have no problem finishing them today and posting pictures.

One of the things I will be 

doing is adding the waistbands and closures. This has never been a detail I have been happy with. Hooks and eyes, either conventional or the traditional skirt hooks and eyes, are too bulky, and personally I find doing a nice buttonhole through all those layers (if you own a sewing machine that does great, consistent buttonholes please let me know) and in that small space very challenging.

So I was thrilled to discover a new method in my favourite sewing reference book Professional Sewing Made Easy by Helen Metrakos 

I love this book. I have never learned so much from any sewing book, most of the techniques are new to me. This is really interesting because I find that most sewing books I look a

t these days have information in them that I already know. Not, I should emphasize, because I am so skilled (this blog should make it clear that this is not the case) but because I have read so many books and articles over the years.

I met Helen a few years ago at the Creative Needlework show in Toronto. Helen is from Montreal and has that great polished chic that the rest of us can only aspire to. S

he was also very modest and down-to-earth and has a really great couture-industrial method approach to sewing that I find really fresh. 

That is all expressed in her book which describes fine-sewing methods that are also smart, sort of the way the best clothes are made by high end manufacturers rather than the hand sewing intensive methods that other writers like Claire Shaeffer espouse, and that I don't have the time to pursue.

Her method for closing a skirt, the one I now exclusively use for my waistbands, is one example. Here are pictures of how it is done, but please look at her book for more complete instructions:

1. Attach a waistband (I like mine narrow) to the top of the garment. I stayed the waist because there was some stretch in my fabric.

2. Press the seam allowance up into the waistband and both end seam allowances right into the waistband so the finished ends are flush with the zipper.

3. Make a loop of covered round elastic and machine stitch this to the inside of the waistband, so the loop is facing out.

4. Fold down and ditch stitch the waistband in place. Note that the ends of the waistband are not stitched closed.

5. From the right side top stitch the ends of the waistband, and attach the button.

I love this treatment. It is easy, flat and  with the little bit of stretch comfortable and durable. Thank you Helen.

Back to sewing

It has been a busy week and most of my sewing until last night has been in my head. A trial yoga class one night (it's been over 25 years since I took yoga and turning 55 has put taking care of myself back on the agenda - my husband, ever alert for an opportunity to bring more equipment into this house helpfully bought me a Nintendo Wii fit on ebay which is also fun, although my stomach muscles took a really beating trying to break my 9 year old niece's record on the hula hoop), dinner with a 35ish former assistant who is now a friend, we do a nice restaurant once a month and gossip, my evening class to teach, and of course the US election.

Like the rest of Canada I was elated by Obama's election - he impresses me so much as an intelligent, measured and thoughtful man but of course it was a nerve wracking night at the beginning. At one point my nerves couldn't take it over Virginia and I had to go into the other room and have my spouse shout out the news. We all need a trustworthy leader in America. My 80 year old mother reported that she and her church guild were booked to make their annual mince meat fundraiser, but when the ladies, all around her age, realized that it was the US election night, and such an important one, they rushed the job, threw together 125 containers down at the church kitchen in less than half and hour, and rushed home to watch the TV. My mom even got out of bed again at 4:00 a.m. to catch late results. And she is an elderly Canadian woman on the Prairies, imagine how it must have felt like in so many parts of the US.

So that was another non sewing night.

However my mind was racing all week with sewing thoughts and with a long weekend ahead of me, I will try to get some of them down.

And I will be sewing. I did yesterday what I always try to do with what I think might be a successful pattern and wore my new P&S pants to work yesterday to see how they held up over a whole day. I have found that wearing and comfort are the real tests of any garment, not just your first impression in the mirror, and that this is the best way to identify the tweaks.

These pants passed all tests and so last night after supper I cut out another four pairs which I intend to sew and photograph, decently this time in the daylight, over the next day or two.

Any more thoughts later.

My Pivot and slide pants

Really only another sewer would not think this whole process is crazy. Uploading unflattering pictures of my body in pants that are in varying degrees not that successful - but as nuts as this seems I am finding this very interesting. My apologies for the quality of the photos, yet another technical hurdle but hopefully some other sewer somewhere will find this interesting or at least useful. 

I am going to make another pair in a lighter fabric this week for possibly more useful pictures, taken in the daylight.

As you can plainly see I am one ordinary sewer just trying to find a way to make some comfortable pants.

These three pictures here are of my P&S experiment, and I have to say I am pretty surprised and pleased with the results. This whole thing about starting from a pattern two sizes too small and adding on seems to have worked for me. As you can see it has given me the fabric where I need it (these are very comfortable pants) but has moved me away from the baggy back and baggy legs of earlier experiments.  I think the legs are a whole lot more flattering and the wrinkles are surprisingly few, and essentially there were no post-first edition changes or additions to this pattern after I had done the initial on the fabric, cutting, and adjusting manipulating the pattern at the layout stage. This is actually pretty impressive I think and if a sewer got really comfortable with this method and her own body I can see getting to a stage where you could work with many out of the envelope patterns and get a pretty good fit by just pivoting and sliding as you cut. This pair is made out of a navy rayon blend and since I had run through this once with my test pair, I reckon it took me only about 15 minutes longer to do this pivot and cutting than if I had cut out this pattern unaltered.

I am definitely going to do a brown paper pattern edition of this pattern and try this approach again in another more fashionable pattern and have a good look at how to do this method on bodice fitting.

Since I graded the last method I should do that for pivot and slide.

Ease of use: first time I would say about a -B, once you get used to how to measure the pattern about an A.

Results without further fiddling about an A too, for a body like mine with straight sides, not really heavy legs but weight in the middle, the "menopad" my friends call it. 

I would like to hear how other sewers with different figures manage with this method.

Big news on the pivot and slide front

I got off work a couple of hours early on Friday and after tossing my candy into a big bowl by the door and moving my pumpkin out (we get an enormous number of kids every year) I started to stitch up my P&S pant test. 

This is an extremely odd way of approaching pattern alteration but because it was so strange, pretty interesting. There was also a quick and easy aspect to cutting the alterations into the fabric as you go that appealed to a time-challenged sewer like myself, although of course if this works I will be doing this on paper.

The concept of using a pattern 2 sizes smaller was also interesting, and I am not sure exactly how when you really have to add so much, this works, but the idea of working off the actual pattern by pattern direct measurements is interesting. There is a potential to respond on a case by case basis to patterns rather than trying to implement the same alterations to very different patterns, or pattern lines, that appeals to me, and of course this might, if it works, open up the possibility of making a wide range of patterns  work.

OK back to the test. When I made them up and was standing at the door when the spouse came home, they actually fit really quite well. "Darts look good," said my husband who was pleased with his ability to make a relevant comment. I was pretty thrilled so left him to deal with making dinner, trick or treaters, and a fox terrier tied up the fridge door as we could not explain to him why all these strange people were at the door, while I ran down to Fabricville to pick up some "good" fabric.

I cut a pair out yesterday and but lost the rest of that day to the new leaf-vacuum-mulcher my DH lovingly bought me as a present.

Today I will finish those up and post a picture for comment.

And then on to Wild Ginger.

The principles of the actual pivoting and sliding

Once all your notes-to-self are written on your fabric the next step is to lay this crazily annotated pattern on your fabric (or paper if you are sensible) and start cutting and adjusting as you go. To work the process of Cut-Pivot or slide-Cut has to be done in a strict order, with hemlines for example cut first to establish grainlines for the whole piece, and cutting proceeding up to very distinct pivot points that are always the key point before where the pattern must be pivoted to make a width change. This prescribed order is different for garment type, I will just do pants now but if this works might explore it further another time for bodices. Typical sewer, mind always on the project after the one at hand.

That order as best as I can explain it:

1. Pin your pattern to the fabric or paper. Correction because there is a lot of moving the pattern around the best thing to do is use weights which is what they actually do in the book I am using. In my case the weights are a can of smoked oysters (my husband makes a wicked smoked oyster sandwich, a favourite from his Nova Scotia Acadian childhood), sardines (have had that can for about 15 years, been that long since I had sardines, and do remember them being on the menu where I grew up in rural Manitoba) and a couple of cans of tuna. Looks very scientific and professional doesn't it?

2. OK pin the hem to the fabric and weight the rest. Step one, to maintain grainline is to cut out the hem line, if you need to lengthen or shorten  then slide your pattern up or down.

3. Measure and mark all the additions or subtractions (but really when you are working from a pattern that is already 2 sizes smaller I doubt that is going to be an issue) on the fabric. This means for example measuring out the requisite 5/8" at the hip and waistline  and putting a pin in the fabric as a mark in the fabric. When you are done this you will have pins parallel to the stitching line at hip, waist, thigh or wherever else you will need to make additions.

4. OK then it gets weird. After cutting the hem, the next step is to pivot the pattern out to make additions, with the pivoting occurring at the level one below the place that needs the addition.

5. In detail, I need to add to my thigh, so pivoting from the hem I put only one pin in the pattern at the hem and side seam seam allowance intersection and use this as the pivot point to rotate my whole pattern piece until the pattern at the side seam touches the pin I have placed 1/2" out at the thigh line. I then cut along the pattern all the way up to the crotch/thighline along the side seam. This adds to the outer thigh.

6. I then return the pattern to my starting point with the pattern even with the cut hem line.

7. I remove the pin at the outer hem/side seam allowance intersection and transfer it to the inseam/hem allowance intersection. Using this as a new pivot point I rotate my pattern piece to touch the marking pin that is 1/2" out from the thigh line at the inseam. I cut to this point.

8. Next I move the pin to the crotch line, side seam first, then inseam, one step and one cut at a time, pivot out to my 5/8" mark at the hip and cut to the hip line.

9. I then move the pivot pins to the side seam hip line and pivot and cut out to my 5/8" waistline mark, then do the same on the inseam line.

10. Finally I slide the pattern up a bit to make the small additions to the length at the top of the waist.

Done, cut and ready to sew, no paper alterations at all. Interesting.

A look at how a real pro does it

Before I continue with my own adventures I want you all to have a look at some absolutely fabulous pants made by Cennetta, sewer of great expertise. Her review and samples of Simplicity 2860 made up are to die for and I really appreciated her helpful, clear detailed construction and alteration photos.

See it can be done! This is very encouraging. 

Isn't the internet fantastic? In the old days we had to search for sewing enthusiasts to share with and here we are now able to view and access such wonderful work at any time of the day or night. The inspiration is amazing.

Step two of Pivot and Slide

Sometimes there is a lot of life that stands between a girl and her sewing projects, nearly all good but busy. 

This week it's been my 55th birthday and a nice dinner out with my husband and daughter, the only available child in the vicinity this week, more mid terms and associated student angst at school and a weekend away for a party my daughter's new and wonderful mother-in-law gave for her at home on Cape Breton Island, complete with a famous fiddler and lots of incredible step dancing. Really a great weekend. My DD has traded in her very ethnic last name for her new husband's and as I watched her dance with the best of them her new father-in-law said to me "She's a Macdonald now." 

Yes I think she is and I am glad for her. In a world where it is harder and harder for young families to get all the family support they need I am so happy that she has joined a big strong supportive family that will be there for her just like we are. It helps too that they are as just as welcoming to us and these are people my husband and I will be visiting with in the future too for our own sakes.

So it has been great, but not sewing related, and I am anxious to get pivoting and sliding.

Now on to step two.

Before I go into the detail let me explain the conceptual approach behind this method.

P&S in step one asked me to do a series of basic measurements, hip, waist, stride, thigh and modified crotch depth.

Step two involves doing flat pattern measurements along the same spots, adding ease, and from that calculating the additions or subtracts that are required. Not too complicated.

The twist is that all the numbers, mine, the pattern's, and the changes required, are all written on the pattern itself.

The changes made to the pattern to accommodate individual needs are then made by either sliding the pattern up or down for length changes, or pivoting out or in for width changes.

In one approach the changes can be made directly on the fabric by literally pivoting and sliding the pattern as you cut, or by laying the pattern over paper and making the changes that way to produce a permanent pattern. First time out I am going to work directly on my test fabric and if I like this method do another paper pattern later with what I expect will be other and additional changes.

Here is what I have done so far in step two of P&S:

First off these are the suggested ease allowances for this method:

1. Hip at widest part = 2"

2. Waist at wearing waistline = 1"

3. Thigh = 2"

So working along the stitching line of the waist on my test pattern (which I note has a waistline 1" below the natural waist so I have remeasured for that) and being aware that I should not measure dart take-up this (interesting this pattern does not have front darts) is what I have:

1. The pattern (remember this is a size 12, bought 2 sizes smaller than my usual pattern size as suggested) measures 30.5 at the waistline, one inch below the waist which I find kind of interesting as the waist measurement of a size 12 is 28" I wouldn't have thought that 1" below would have increased that much. My own waist in the same place is 34". With the 1" ease allowance this means I need a waistline on this pattern of 35" and divided by the 8 seam (side seams, front and back crotch X 2) that means a difference of 4.5" divided by 8= .56 inches which so my brain can handle it I am rounding to 5/8". That is 5/8" to be added parallel to the waist at the top of all side seams and crotch seams.

I can do that and have written a note to this effect in red marker (my personal measurements are written in black - if I don't colour code I am going to blow this for sure.)

2. The pattern measures 37" at the hip line where the pattern had me draw it (I note that the finished hip according to the pattern is 38" I guess hip is calculated in a different place)  my own measurement is 39.5" and adding the 2" hip ease that means I need 41.5" at the hip or 4.5" extra divided again by 8 that gives me an addition of 5/8" (why am I not doing this metric? Canada is a metric country but my sewing education predates that change). Accountants and mathematicians or properly educated people should feel free to challenge and correct my rounding.

So I have written another add 5/8" at the hip line at all 8 seam points, sides and both crotches.

3. Again where the system tells me to measure the thigh, 1" below the crotch line the pattern measures, for one thigh, 23.5". My own thigh is 23" and 2" are needed for ease. That means an addition of 1.5" per thigh and divided by the 4 seam allowances involved in sewing up a pant leg that means an addition of 3/8" on each seam at the thigh level.

4. Length, easy one add 2".

5. Crotch length, always a worry this one. Well remeasuring 1" below the waist my crotch or stride measurement is only .5" more than the pattern piece measured along the stitching line, so I will add .25"at the top of each crotch seam on the waist. (Note if you are trying this yourself and have to made more significant additions or subtractions please let me know and I will post those specific instructions.)

6. Seat depth, measured along the side seam stitching line from the waist seam to the seat depth line marked on the pattern (see previous post) in my case 1/2" to be added.