Ready for Loretti

I can easily envision the word "Loretti" with a fine Italian sportscar.  As for Loretti Patterns, I have not yet "test sewn" any of my pattern downloads that I have had in my pattern downloads folder for some time now at printsew.com.

I revisited the sewingpatterns.com to what Loretti patterns were available and was impressed by the fashion forward styles.   I purchased 10 patterns which are the minimum to evade the $0.75 processing fee. Once I got past the daunting task of printing, assembling the rows and columns of sheets, and cutting the pieces, I acquired newly found confidence to sew a recently purchased pattern.

Lekala 5563, same pattern but under the Lekala name, with option to input your measurements for a more customized fit  

Pattern Description: 
Misses' shirt/blouse with collar, button front closure, bust darts, front and back vertical darts, sleeve insets and cuffs.  There is the option to select one of the following sizes prior to downloading:  Misses' small, medium, or large.  I sewed the medium.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/heathersvard_avstil/8583958926/in/set-72157631661887855/

 From a technological standpoint, I had to download the "fileopen" plug in that works in conjunction with Adobe acrobat for reading and printing pdf files. After I purchased the patterns from sewingpatterns.com, I received an email confirmation that my patterns are available on printsew.com. I already had an account at printsew.com under my email address. After entering my password, there was a folder containing past and current downloads from printsew.com. I had to switch from the firefox/mozilla browser to Internet Explorer to be able to successfully read and print the multi-page pdf document of a particular pattern. Although the price is $0.99 from sewingpatterns.com, it took some time and patience to piece together the 28 sheets of lined diagrams. It was like working with a puzzle, which can be enjoyable at times. I found it helpful to cut two edges of a sheet (i.e. left and top edge) to be able to paste (gluestick) it onto the adjacent or neigboring sheets while aligning the matching the"little black squares" at the borders.

 

Fabric: 
I used a cotton woven with loud houndstooth print, purchased from fabric.com nearly 2 years ago. I do not know what possessed me to purchase this fabric with such an interesting color combination. It did look more appealing on the web page and fortunately it was nearly a dream (experienced when working with Liberty of London's cotton lawns) to work with.  


Similarity to the Pattern as Illustrated
Only at the bodice portion. I modified the collar and sleeves. It was a challenge to get the rows of print on the left and right sections to align... 

Instructions
They were easy to follow in terms of the sequencing, but for construction details (i.e. the front bands, the collar with stand, sleeve insets and cuffs), you are better off relying on your experience and/or other helpful resources such as sewing books, YouTube video tutorials, and the blogosphere. The printed instructions remind me of those found in Style Arc patterns and are just as "cryptic" found in Burda Style magazines. Maybe something got lost when translating from the original Russian instructions.

There is no visual pattern layout. I noticed that after piecing the 28 page pattern, there were two separate pieces for the front, the left and the front. The left front was labeled in Russian ("Levaya Polochka" or левая полочка from Google translator) and was printed as if it were also another right front. So, I turned this pattern piece over before cutting.

 As for the front bands (referred to as "front part's front band's blind fly one-piece facings") from the befuddling directions, I was still not sure whether they wanted them inside and top-stitched for a faux front placket style or them being visible on the outside. If the faux front placket style was intended, then I was supposed to have turned the left and right front bands face down on the fabric. The bands which look more like facings due to their width, were to be attached along the edges, right sides together and turned to the inside before top-stitching for a faux front placket style. I was not able to do that since I cut the bands/facings the way they were printed (in the same manner their fronts were). Instead I sewed each facing (visible or right side) to the wrong side, flipped it to the outside, trim to approximately 1 1/2" width, turn the raw edge under, press and top-stitch close to the edge to create the front plackets on the visible side.

Front placket

 

I tried this one for the collar with stand:
http://www.surefitdesigns.com/Shirt_Collars_AS.pdf

 The construction and attachment of the sleeve insets (located between the upper sleeves and cuffs) were vague. They are pleated if the fabric you use for they was pleated to begin with. The directions are nothing more than "make, slash somewhere, and stitch".  


Likes/Dislikes
This is one of many styles that I liked from the Loretti series. I read from a sewing message board that they are Lekala patterns with another name. Although I liked the style as presented on the website and the fit is acceptable, I discovered that the neckline was unacceptably low and the collar as worn on the illustrated model does not work with those as myself who do not possess swan-like necks. I spent more time (in comparison to sewing time) with deciphering the directions, figuring out the pattern layout, and working around the errors I made as a result of assuming the pieces such as the left and right front facings were printed the way as they would be placed on the fabric.  


Alterations/Modifications
 *My typical 1" petite adjustment at the waistline and narrowing of the upper back.

*Omitted the front closure of the collar and tacked the ends to the neckline. *Omitted the sleeve insets and cuffs. I did not want to spend more time decoding the directions and thought the top look better without the long sleeves. *I shortened the sleeves and elasticized the hem.  


Future Plans/Recommendations
I do not plan to sew this top again the near future.   I am not certain enough to truly recommend it. I was glad not to delve into "better" fabric with my first experience with this pattern.

Conclusion: I plan to try Lekala 5167 that I purchased some time ago. It is also available as a Loretti download. Maybe I will have a different experience with the "Lekala" type.

On the subject of houndstooth print,
Lady Golfers going fashion forward?