Trend Regal at Spiegel

Who would imagine that Spiegel and its cousin company, Newport News (share some of the same items) would be a nice resource for current styles? Their prices are decent. I was satisfied with purchases from them in the past. Sometimes it is fun to check what trends they have. I also notice that their styles seem to coincide with patterns from the "Big 4" and even Burda WOF.

Both tops are from Newport News and are so "Sandra Betzina-ish" from Vogue patterns.




The gathered neckline below the neckband reminds me of styles found in Simplicity, Butterick, or in Kwik Sew.

Oh-so-Simplicity

I recently made a Butterick knit top, except that Spiegels has fewer pleats at the neckline.



From Newport News.

From Spiegel.





A sleeveless top with a tie-neck will stick around for awhile. I made a top two years ago from a New Look pattern.



Butterfly kimono sleeves which I have seen from various pattern companies.


I remember a Burda WOF sleeveless with a similar tie placement, but much closer to the neck.

From Burda WOF, February 2008, #119.

Heather and I at our virtual vacation on Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, April 2008.

This top has elements of Burda WOF's (February 2008) draped banded neck with banded bottom.



This top reminds me of Burda WOF's (October 2008) knit dress transformed into a top.




This looks Burda WOF-ish to me. I have seen a similar style, but I do not recall what issue.


Cool and crafty caftan, similar to a New Look pattern I recently used.






Bateau neckline top, reminiscent of a February 2009's Burda WOF #108 I made months ago.



The flounced sleeves are reminiscent of a Burda WOF knit tops except this has the rounded neck whereas the Burda WOF has the v-neck.



My third version of February 2009's Burda WOF. This was taken in July during my vacation in Sweden.

My fourth version of the same pattern. The sleeves make the top distinctive.

Something I would like to make from Newport News.

Sleeves and Stripes Forever

This is one of the few patterns, besides the bohemian dresses from the September 2009 issue that caught my attention.

This is also a work in progress and by not yet a "a final version". I hope that my many imperfections will not deter you, but maybe at least be helpful if you are interested in making your version. I hope that after a few tweaks, I soon will have a TNT version.

Pattern Description:
"Waistcoat or blouse? It's both! The sleeves and lapels are of jacquard fabric and the rest is of metallic pinstripes. Traditional Alpine buttons add glamorous glitter down the front."



Cameron Diaz in Burda??

Pattern Sizing:
Burda petite/half sizes 17 to 21. I sewed a "20". I should have used a "21" for the bust and hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
For the most part, yes. My sleeves did not puff out as much as Burda's. I omitted the little ruffles encircling the lower edges of the sleeves and the trim at the lower hem.

Fabric
Poly pin-striped fabric with some stretch from FashionistaFabrics.com. This was very pleasant to work with!

The sleeves came from a Frederick's skirt composed of some poly jersey and velvet burnout(??) that formed the curved designs. I have not worn this skirt for years and thought I give it a new life by cutting out sleeves for this waistcoat.




Favorite Features
* Vest-like style
* Distinctive pleated sleeves
* Not-so-low neckline. I pressed the lapels which are each the length of one of my Bic pen markers for the length of each of my lapels. Wow! My neckline passed the modesty test when a camisole does not need to be worn with the buttons fastened.


Not-so-favorite Features
*Even after adding an 1" to the lower hem, I still found the waistcoat/blouse a tad short.


* Maybe due to the fabric, I spent more time in pleating the sleeves and fitting the entire sleeve into the armscye. I added an extra pleat on either side of the sleeve to make it fit. My sleeves seemed "limpier" and "wimpier" than Burda's. I also had some trouble with the lower edges of the sleeves. Since I opted to omit the ruffles, I did not finish the hems with zig-zags. Instead I sew a 5/8" hem and encountered "bulk" due to the pleats at the lower edge of the seams. I plan to turn and press the edges under once again and secure the new hems by handstitching.

*The lower back hem of the waistcoat. Stay tuned about this later in the review.

*Due to my imprecise cutting, the upper lapels turned out more rounded.





Were the instructions easy to follow?
They were concise and adequate for those who familiar sewing tops and jackets with princess seams and collars. Maybe at this point, I am already too familiar with Burda WOF's directions that these seemed satisfactory.

Already in the first bullet in the construction, I received the entire bodice nearly completed sans the sleeves and front facing: "Stitch centre fronts to side side fronts and centre back to side backs. Press seam allowances open. Stitch side seams and shoulder seam on blouse and on facing." Whoa...This already seems more than a carload for the first time Burda WOF-er.

Next steps
* sewing the collar pieces together (one of them is interfaced)

* basting the collar to the neckline, attaching the front interfaced facings right sides together along "the hem edge, front edges, and neck edge, catching collar in between."

*stitching the sleeve seams and pleating the sleeves following the arrow between pairs of marked lines. I skipped "neatening" the sleeves edges with a zig zag stitch.

*creating the ruffles according to style 106 and attaching to lower edges of sleeves

*** CAUTION*** I inadvertently omitted the back hem facing that should have been sewn to the front facings. I recently re-read the directions and Burda did not mention the back hem facing (narrow piece, longer than the back facing), assuming the sewist knows what to do with it. I originally thought I was remiss in not accurately accounting for the lower hem because I had very little hem allowance with respect to lower edge of the front facings.






*setting in the sleeves, add the buttonholes and adding trim to the lower edge of the waistcoat.



Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
*Used the pinstriped fabric instead of jacquard for the front facing

* Omitted the decorative sleeve ruffles and the lower edge trim

*As mentioned earlier used material from a former skirt instead of jacquard for the sleeves

*Used French seams at the sides and side backs. I topstitched the front princess seams.

*Finished edges of the front facings and back facings with zigzags over 3/8" folded hems

*Due to my oversight, I omitted the back hem facing. That is what I get for not thinking outside of the Burda Box. I should have attached it to the attached to the front facings. Instead I turned and pressed the hem allowance affected by the front facings and stitched. Then I hand-stitched the front facings to the side seams. It would have been "sleeker" to use the back facings to avoid some challenges. Geez, it would have been EASIER to create a lining for the entire bodice!

*I found 5 buttons from a bag of buttons I purchased from Michael's craft store. I was inspired by Burda WOF's photo of Cameron Diaz (??)wearing the waistcoat to use vintage looking and unmatched buttons.




Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I plan to sew another one, but using sleeves from another pattern. I recommend this pattern due to its versatility and flattering fit. I found the jacket really, really, really fitted. Fortunately, I used a stretched poly that was really, really, really forgiving!


Conclusion:
Despite my experiences with this pattern, I was able to spend two full evenings sewing the waistcoat and sleeves. Just a change of fabric, buttons, embellisments, and sleeves, and voila...infinite possibilities!

Game Sew Network

Some inspiration from Cache.com for $187




Next Item Up For Stitches
"Misses' lined jackets: Semi-fitted, lined jackets have princess seams and above wrist length sleeves with cuffs full length sleeves: jacket A has purchased jewel stones, beads and medallions or perforated discs to creatively embellish as desired and jacket B has contrast ruffle with decorative buttons or beads." I sewed jacket A with the sleeve cuffs, but sans the embelllishments. The pretty McCall's model on the left has that "Vanna" or game show model pose and look going on.


Size
6-8-10-12-14. I sewed a 12 at the shoulders, tapering to a 14 at the hips.




Just one look at my new jacket, and playing cards come to my mind due to the colors: red, black, and white. Then I started thinking of the fun game shows I used to watch as a child: Card Sharks, Password, Match Game, Tic Tac Dough, The $25,000 Pyramid, and The Dating Game. The Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right and Family Feud are still going strong. Classic episodes can now be seen on the Game Show Network.


Fabric
Stretch cotton from GorgeousFabrics.com


Tick-Tack-Sew
From steps 1 through 39 for view A, the directions were straightforward with clear illustrations alongside them. I did not have problems deciphering them.

I started with interfacing the the two front facings and the sleeve cuffs. Then I stitched the long diagonal darts below the lapels on the fronts and front facings. There's the familiar staystitching of the front and back edges before sewing the princess seams. The entire fronts and backs come together nicely. I took note that the side fronts surpass the front by nearly an inch to accommodate the bottom hem with the lining.

After forming the back pleat and stitching between the marked circles (for movement ease), stitching the lining is done the same way as stitching the outer part of the jacket. Something to note is to stop at the marked triangles just before the neckline edge while stitching the lining's shoulder seams. This seemed to prevent the "bunching" at the junction at the top of the lapels.

With the exception of getting to ease lining pieces with stretch cotton while stitching the princess seams, and minor issues with addng the lining, I found the overall construction process pleasant.


Showcase Sew-down
Favorite Features
* Front and back princess seams



* Cuffed sleeves

* Collar less lapels, reminiscent of Vogue 8491 which has raglan sleeves and no princess seams in the back.

* Pattern was easy to work and contains wonderful directions, a nice reprieve from Burda WOF's. For view A, I used pieces #1-6: front (cut 4 which includes the front facings), side front. back, side back, sleeve, sleeve cuff and #8, the back lining. The side front and side back pieces are also used for the lining, but cut at a shorter length.

Other Features
* The cutting lines of the piece and back piece (without the side fronts and backs) contains a group of sizes (6-8-10, 12-14). To be on the safe side, I added approximately 1/8" to the edge (1" added wearing ease).

* I am uncertain about the slightly dropped shoulders and roomy shoulders to accommodate 1/2" (height?) shoulder pads , reminiscent of the early 90's.

Modifications
*Made my usual 1" petite adjustment

*Omitted shoulder pads.



What's My Line-ing?



*Instead of hand hemming the jacket shell and hand sewing the lining to the shell per the instructions, I "bagged" the lining. I referred to Thread's bagging method described in detail in "Prepare to Bag". Instead of basting the hem, I iron pressed it to avoid dealing with extra stitches. I did not serge the lining and jacket shell edges as instructed. I left a 3" opening between the front facing and the side front lining to turn the jacket inside out. Threads mentioned to account for the difference in widths of the shell and the lining before stitching them together. It suggested taking in or letting out the seams of the lining. While pinning the lining and the shell together at the lower edges, I noticed that their widths did not align, with the shell being wider. I took in approximately 1/8" at the side and princess seams. I sewed the lining 3/8" from the edge of the bottom edge of the jacket (could have been 1/4" but due to the lining's edge fraying in sections, I increased the seam allowance), right sides together


Press Your Luck
I got a lot of use out of Mr. Procter Silex, pressing the lapels, cuffs, neckline, and the lower hem to stay in place. I tried on the jacket several times to determine if the jacket will not "flap out", especially from the back side, and expose the lining. The jacket had a tendency to reveal its "natural" hem (which was lower than what I had estimated) and I pressed accordingly.

Truth or Consew-quences
I found the jacket to be a size larger at the waist and hips. I was so eager to get started on the jacket that I did not pre-wash the fabric. To determine if the fabric would shrink to fit, I hand soaked the jacket briefly in water and a tad of baby shampoo (there was some residue of the fabric's dye in the water) and machine dried it in the gentle cycle. As I hoped for, the jacket fits much better.

It's a jacket that seemed straightforward to sew, although it took me nearly 10 hours of sewing time. I still recommend this jacket especially to those who are familiar with basic shirt construction and are new to lining jackets.

I'm Sewing Down to Liverpool

My Beatles' holiday ornament





Before their Manic Mondays




My first version

Last month, Heather and I took our first official trip to a yard sale (this is the first time I personally visited one). After quickly sifting through several boxes of patterns on the lady's kitchen table and in her living room (she was very kind to welcome us to her home), we found altogether 10 patterns. This was the first pattern that caught my eye.



Pattern Description
"Super simple* (tm) blouse. In Misses' sizes, has side seams, raglan sleeves in towlengths and elastic clasings at neck and sleeves. "


Size
Small size 8-10, bust 31 1/2"-32 1/2". waist 23"-24". The first version ended up being really fitted and narrow on the shoulders. I made a few changes for my second version.

Fabric
First version in quilting cotton from Wal Mart.



Second version in "The Beatles" printed cotton from Fabrics.com


Directions
They were very user friendly with numbered step-by-step directions in a checklist format, larger print for easier readablity, and understandable illustrations in eyecatching orange and brown for emphasis (so retro...), making it ideal for beginning sewists.


Directions, page 1


Directions, page 2

The general steps
*Sew sleeves onto the fronts and back

*Sew the left and right sleeve and side seams, each as one continuous seam

*Sew the casings at the neckline and at the lower edges of the sleeves, leaving openings to insert the elastic

*Insert the elastic at the neckline casing and the sleeve casings. Stitch all casings closed.

*Stitch the lower hem


Favorite Features
* Gathered neckline
* Raglan sleeves
* Two pieces to work with (one for the front and back and one for the sleeves)
* Very easy to sew, being one step above a basic pillowcase.

Not-so Favrorite Features
* Puffy back. I anticpated something odd to occur since one pattern piece is used for both the front and back. But I did not want to deal with complex fitting issues with a "super simple" top. I used a tie (made from the same fabric) to pull the look together.


Modifications
*My usual inch petite adjustment between the waist and hips.

*For the second version, I folded the front/back pattern piece in half and placed the piece 1" from the center fold of the fabric which resulted in 2" added to the center front. I placed the piece 1/2" from the center fold for the back piece and later realized, I probably did not have to make that adjustment. I like the less restrictive feel at the neckline after inserting the elastic in the neckline casing. However, I noticed I had a tad more ease than I expected at my waist and hips. Belt cinching comes in handy.

*I sewed French seams

*I added 1" to the length of the elastic for the neckline casing as specified on the piece for the elastic casing guide

Conclusion
I definitely recommend this pattern for beginning sewists. This is also one pattern due to its classic style and wonderful instructions that Simplicity can include in a "retro re-issue" series. I am surprised that current patterns labeled "very easy" are really more for advanced beginners and beyond.

Sew-Berry Fields Forever...
I had fun wearing this to work yesterday. I have five class periods of Formal Geometry (remember logical argument and proofs?). I taught three periods on block schedule yesterday. The biggest surprise was from the class with my most challenging (or my hard-to-teach Period 5) students, especially with our polarizing musical tastes. Many from that class thought my top was "cool". They tried their best on a midterm administered by our school district that Friday. Interesting that they were not as antsy as I expected on a Friday before our fall two-week intersession break (no intersession classes due to the budget). I was amused by one student who made the first compliment on my shirt and admitted that he loves the Beatles. He also said my shirt was too distracting because when he sees it some Beatle song starts playing in his mind. Fashion sometimes speaks louder or in this case, sings louder than words...

Le Jour de Mon Anniversaire

Guess who this is at 6 months?


My mom said I was born with so much dark unmanageable hair! Heather, however, was born nearly bald.


Heather surprised me yesterday morning with a little Macy's gift bag of birthday wishes for me. She chose an adorable card featuring a cute hamster wearing a patriotic hat and a "#1 MOM" campaign button pinned next to it. Inside the card, she wrote, "Dear Mom, I love you so, so, so... much. You are sweet and beautiful. Love Heather". She also included a sweet sketch of all three of us, "Mom, Heather, and Dad", a jewelry box containing a pink princess gown button and a unicorn button (that she selected from her button collection), and several cute colorful pictures, which I call "heart works" (artwork from the heart). I told her that these are the best birthday gifts I ever had, because she made them.

We also visited my parents and we all enjoyed a very nice dinner together. My father got a kick of our matching outfits. He had fun taking some pics of us. Heather was a little under the weather. She feels a lot better today.

Heather and me posing.


Heather wore a top I sewed from a 1974 Simplicity 6308 pattern.



I wore my fourth version of one of my favorite patterns, a Kwik Sew 3062.

Here are Heather and her longtime pal, Hunter (he's actually a year older than her).


Just say cheeeeeeeee-tah!

Cheetah Puff

Heather and I recently on Saturday, August 29, took our first official trip to a garage sale (this is the first time I personally visited one). After quickly sifting through several boxes of patterns on the lady's kitchen table and in her living room (she was very kind to welcome us to her home), we found altogether 10 patterns. This was the first pattern that caught Heather's attention. She was intrigued by top's style as illustrated on the pattern envelope. She liked the shirt's stylish collar and puffy sleeves which we do not recall seeing in her size in current RTW. Once we reached 10, we stopped searching and paid for the patterns and 2 folds of fabric.

Heather was very excited for me to make her this top and left the pattern conspicuously in the family room (stayed there for a week before I sewed the top) along with the buttons and the tissue paper on which for me to trace her the same pattern in her size from the given "10".





For some strange reason, I can easily imagine Jan Brady wearing those types of tops, especially the one with the big collar. It's so "her"!

Special thanks to Annette ("Idunna" on Pattern Review) for sharing pictures of her wearing tops made from same pattern. She looks groooooovy!





Pattern Description
From 1974: "Girls' top and bell-bottom pants". The tops with front seam interest features "V" shaped neckline, short set-in sleeves tathered to sleeve band, fornt button closing and tie ends.


Size
Girls' size 10.


Fabric
When her picture taken day was scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, she reminded me again that she wanted to wear the top pictured on this pattern and would like me to make the top in the pink cheetah fabric in a cotton/rayon blend that we purchased days earlier from W-Mart. When Heather tried this top on (just prior to adding the puffed sleeves), her dad joked her about being ready to fly with her wings on. I was certain the collar reminded him of plane flaps. Heather looked at him quizically.







Favorite Features
*Large Peter Pan style collar. I like the ease of construction and placement along the front neckline. I cut 4 pieces, interfaced a pair, sewed each pair right sides together, turned each pair inside out, topstitched the edges, and basted the edge that would be stitched onto the neckline. Each collar flap extended from the shoulder seam to about 3/4" from the front corner.

*Puffed sleeves with band

*Curved upper and lower bodice

*Upper bodice is gathered at lower edge

*Top-stitched edges

*Contains a back facing piece

*Nicely drafted


Not-so-favorite features
* We were not able to find a pattern in a smaller size (i.e. girls' size "7")

* Pattern envelope was missing the entire back section of top and one of the piece for pants. I could not find them in the envelope, between other pieces, and in the directions sheet.


Directions
The directions were clear, simple, and easy to follow a la Kwik Sew. I was able to rely nearly entirely on the illustrations. I liked how the pattern pieces, cutting layout, some tips, directions, and illustrations occupied one two-sided sheet.


Modifications

* Traced all pieces of the collared shirt pattern onto tracing paper and adjusted to two sizes smaller

* Drafted the missing back given the silhouette of the front top (upper and lower bodice combined)

* Omitted the side ties that tie in the back

* Used 4 buttons instead of 6

* Sewed the collar band to the edge of the sleeve 'after' instead of 'before' sewing the sleeve seams (flat). I sewed the right side of the band to the wrong side of the sleeve and turned band to the outside (correct side showing). Then I topstitched very close to the pressed-under edge (pressed under approximately 1/4") that covers the seam formed by the upper edge of the band and the lower edge of the sleeve.

* The top is a little loose for her (noticeably in the waist) but still very appropriate and wearable.


Conclusion
My daughter has often requested me to make sleeveless knit tops like the ones I have been making her for months now. She insisted that she button this top all by herself. I was getting frustrated with her forcing the button through the buttonholes instead of turning them sideways to fit into the horizontal slots. I was afraid that the buttonholes would not last with her persistence. "Heather turn them sideways to go with the buttonholes." But maybe it's good for her to practice buttoning her tops without my help. It has been awhile since she has worn a top with a buttoned front because she has been accustomed to the convenience of tops that slip easily over her head.

I highly recommend this pattern for that lovely young lady you know. It seems to be rare to find current patterns of stylish blouses or shirts for girls in my daughter's age range. Occasionally I would find nice outfits in the children's section of Burda WOF.