VPLL 1912 0189 Mantle - Part 2 - L

 Picking up where I left off...(see my previous post on this), I'm ready to add the trim to the shell.  The pattern suggests 10 yards of 2 3/4 inch bias strips.  I cut 7 but got impatient and decided to sew some on before I cut the rest.  I'm sure I'll be kicking myself later when I'm nearly done and I have to go cut and gather more bias strips.

The pattern doesn't specifically call for any lining, much less bag lining.  Others have done it though, and I love how it looks so I'm going to pile on the bag lining band wagon.  I cut the strips and sewed them together (opted out of continuous strip bias as it takes me longer to do that).  Then I gather stitched them, only stitching one 30 inch strip at a time.  This way the gather lines don't break or tangle. Then I start gathering (and gathering and gathering).

After the trim strips were gathered I  pinned the gathered strip to the shell, right sides together along the top of the trim line.   I want to stitch exactly 2 3/8 inches from the edge of the shell.  This way, when I fold the trim over, the bottom edge of the trim will be even with the bottom edge of the shell and I will have a 3/8 seam allowance along with a two inch trim.

  Then I pull the lining over the shell, right sides together, and pin all three layers together.  The gathered trim is sandwiched between the shell and the lining.   Please note, I have opted to NOT add any padding in the trim.  Personal preference.  I also chose to ignore the instructions to create a tube out of the trim and then sew it down.  The instructions call for 10 yards of trim.  I used 14.

Here's a finished sleeve waiting to be pressed.  I'm trimming each sleeve and sewing in the lining.  Once I've turned and pressed them, I can sew up the center back seam of the shell.  I will also sew the top and bottom 3 inches of the center back of the lining.  This leaves a nice gap for reversing the garment inside out to do the edge trim.  

But before I do start closing the center back, I have a brainiac idea!  I want to add a welt pocket.  

I was far too excited to measure or stitch carefully.  I know my seam lines are not straight.  But they're mostly straight and I can fudge a little with a hot iron.  Once I make the two welts with the red, I'll have a pocket bag with red on the shell side and polka dots on the lining side.  See how cute?

Once I got all the trim on I hand tacked it to the trim seam allowance.  That way my trim won't have a tendency to roll out or sag,  This pattern seems simple, but bias trim sewn to a bias cut edge is tricky work,  I had to fight the tendency of the edges to stretch while I pinned and sewed.  Even with stay stitching.

Here is the final garment (ignore the white string hanging off my elbow!  I was working on a different muslin while we took these pictures) And a celebratory glass of wine!

Pattern Review Checklist:

1.  Pattern Description - Ladies Spring Mantle, 0189
2.  Pattern Sizing - Based on pattern measurements, seems true to size
3.  Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing  it? YES!
4. Were the instructions easy to follow?  Recommend pictures for the gusset, and I found the trim 'tube' confusing
5. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I love the versatility of this pattern
6. Fabric Used - Shell is hopsack linen, lining and pocket are cotton
7. Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I added a bust dart when I sized up the pattern, and  a small dart at the neck.  I also added a welt pocket in the lining.
8. Would you recommend this pattern to others?  Absolutely
9. Conclusion - I think I'll make this pattern again.

VPLL Checklist

1.  Pattern Name - Ladies Spring Mantle, 0189
2. Sewer’s Skill Level: Advance, Intermediate, Beginner - 'advanced' beginner
3. Pattern Rating: 1-Not a Fan, 2 – So-So, 3 – Good/Average, 4-Better than Average, 5-I LOVED IT! and why?  I rate this a '5' since it is versatile and fairly easy given patience, and willingness to be detailed.
4. What skill level would someone need to sew this pattern and why?  Bias trim sewn to a bias edge makes this pattern a bit too difficult for a beginner who is not accustomed to the potential for stretch.
5. Were the instructions easy to follow? If not, what needs to be changed? I would add pictures to the gusset instructions, and clarify the 'trim tube'.  Also, I'd recommend stay stitching in the instructions.
6. How was the fit/sizing?  Did it correspond to what you thought?  I made major size changes so N.A.
7. Did you make any pattern alterations? If so, what alterations did you make? Where they fit or design alterations?  As above, I made major size alterations.  I also added a darts for the larger size, and a welt pocket because I thought it would be cute.
8. Other notes:  I made photo and written notes of all my changes in the two blog posts.  

VPLL 1912 Mantle, 0189 - L

 (this post will be a compilation of many posts on this project)
Next up on the VPLL 1912 project is the Spring Mantle.
It's a straight forward build with a lot of fussy work pleating the trim around the edges.  I chose it because I think it would make a cute casual jacket for everyday using modern fabric.  The challenge for me will be making the pattern fit my body while maintaining the proportions.  I did a quick set of measurements from the actual pattern and compared them to my measurements (which don't include wearing ease):

Bust    37.5          Me    47.5
Hip     39.5          Me     43
Back   16.5          Me    16
Upper arm  15      Me    15


So I'm a lot wider than the pattern (no surprise there!) except across the back.  I could only estimate the width from the edge of the gusset though and I will want some ease so I'll add there, but only a little.  Most of the add will be in the bust and hips.  I'll add the bust volume in front but have to spread the hip add around the bottom.  I need to do this without making the waist too baggy.  And I think the solution will be to add darts under the arm where they won't interfere with the kimono sleeve.  The only darts in the pattern are two small darts at bust height in the center front (under the trim).  I'll keep those too.

Sleeve length from neck is 23 inches.  That takes the sleeve to 4 inches above my wrist bone.  I want to add about an inch there but will wait until I have a muslin that fits my torso in case the FBA changes the sleeve length a bit (it shouldn't but, yeah...)
The angle where the sleeve meets the body of the jacket is different in front and back.  I'm curious how that will hang.  I will make sure and maintain the angles in the muslin.

The body of the jacket is nearly the same length as the sleeve and looks to hit my upper hip.  I would like it longer, but will wait until I've done the FBA and hip adjustments to figure out how much.  This pattern is just a single piece cut for right and left with a seam in center back and under the arms.  There is an underarm gusset for ease.  It will be a BIG challenge to modify without turning it into a big baggy mess.  I may have to add underbust darts too just to keep some shape.

For fabric, I picked a pewter linen hopsack fabric that promises to ravel like crazy.  The lining will be an ivory with embroidered black spots (textural).  The trim will be a soft black lightweight cotton.  I think it will look good with a slacks or a skirt and still be perfect with jeans.

Part Two - THE FBA and associated modifications

I've done full bust adjustments before, but never actually followed the really cool process that you can find on the internet.  And NEVER with a kimono sleeve before.  After reading Leila's fantastic post on the subject, I decided I would give it a try.  I took a lot of camera pictures to demonstrate my process.
Are you ready?

The original pattern piece.  Yes, I already cut it up, but I've shoved it back together neatly.

Per Leila, if the sleeve is removed, a routine FBA can be performed.  I held the pattern piece up to my body and determined that the center front was 3 inches from MY center front.  So I need to add that to the pattern.








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Here is the sleeve, cut off.  The red arrow is the width of my shoulder (a logical determination of where the sleeve should start).  I used the slash line for the gusset as an under arm indicator and just drew an approximate armscye on the paper.
In addition, I've marked my bust point on the pattern.

I cut straight up from the bottom of the pattern to my bust point.
The grainline marked on the pattern was a great guide.

Then I measured about 1/3 up from the underarm (per Leila) and cut from the bust point to that spot.  BUT not through.  I will need that to stay connected!
Then I separate the pattern by 3 inches at the bust point.  (Remember - I needed to add 3 inches!).  I know it looks crazy, but breasts have volume.  You need to add width and length.  This actually will take the bust point out, not the down that it appears.

If I had a dart, I would cut from the center of the dart into the bust point (BUT not through!).  In this case I don't.  As I mentioned above, with a larger chest I think I need to add one.  So I just picked a logical location and cut in to the bust point.  Again, it needs to stay attached!  The I pivot the lower side to be parallel to the center front.  I made a red line where I pivoted and then another to show where the pattern needs to be parallel.  You don't need to worry about the distance between the parallel lines, just that they are parallel.

 Now you may have noticed that the center front portion is shorter than the side front portion.  Simply cut straight across that center front leg of the pattern (perpendicular to the grainline) and bring the lower part down to match at the front hemline.  It's hard to see here because the front is curved.  There's a red line to show the location of my cut.

That's it.  Done.  All that's left is to put some tissue or paper into the gaping open spaces.  Then you have a new pattern piece that should fit you.  I am so awesomely confident!  I haven't cut my muslin yet!

 Here it is with some striped tissue paper glued in.  Just for contrast.  I also messed around with altering the angle of the curve down the front.  My current plan is to cut the top of the curve 'as is' and leave extra fabric at the bottom of the curve.  That would let me alter the 'V' impression in the front and have less of a gap in the lower front.  Not a part of me I plan to emphasize.

Next up, re-attaching the sleeves.  Urg.  Sleeves are my nemesis.

Here is the main pattern piece.  I have moved the sleeve back into the general vicinity of where it came from.  Hmmm.  No match.  Please note the perplexed look on the sleeve's face.

By adding volume with a bust dart, I've curved the armscye too much for a kimono sleeve (IMHO).  Next plan (thanks Robin) is to shift the bust dart to a french dart.  That should help.  Also, instead of worrying about making the sleeve piece fit back in, I'm going to recreate the underarm angles I saw in the original pattern.  I can use the lower half of the sleeve piece to preserve the arm trim placement which is cute.  I need to make sure I make the sleeve length appropriate for me, and for the look of the pattern.


Out comes the scissors and tape, and its time for dart changes...AGAIN.

I slashed the pattern two inches lower than my first dart, taped closed that first dart, and added tissue for the new one.  The new dart starts about an inch above my waist even though it doesn't look like it.  I also added about an inch in the length in front (I held it up and determined the front was too short, relative to the back).

I taped in the sleeve and made a muslin.  Sleeves were too tight.  I cut the pattern from neck to wrist down the shoulder line, and added about an inch.  Then I cut another muslin.

Was I tired of it yet?  Oh, yes!  I always struggle at this point.  It's so easy to just saw 'good enough' and start cutting my fabric.  But there is no point in making something that doesn't fit, or fits so badly that I'll never wear it (recall that I want to do a modern take on this pattern).


Here is the final muslin, front and back:

 I'm pretty happy with this.  I'm wearing a tank top AND a light weight cardigan under the muslin to make sure that it will actually function as a jacket (worn over a blouse or other top).  For the record, it's very difficult to take a picture of your own back in a mirror with a phone camera.  I held it pointing over my shoulder and 'hoped'.  Its tough to see, but I also pinned out a bit of the flair at the lower back.  I just didn't like it.  Next I cut my fabric.  I'll post a picture of the final muslin that I'm using for a pattern as a comparison to the original pattern piece.

Here is the final pattern piece laid out to cut, with the original pattern picture next to it.
The red circles highlight the only structural changes I made.

The large circle shows the dart I added as part of my FBA and the small circle shows another tiny dart that took up some volume in the neck area (the muslin just wasn't laying flat).  Separately, I added a bit the the center front lower curve in case I want a little more belly coverage.  If I don't like it, I can trim it off before I add the trim. Here's what it looks like after I leave the room for a moment.  Looks my 4 legged helper had a slide...

The gussets...  I finally read the instructions AND other participants posts.  I get it.  I was confused because the gusset is CUT as a square.  But SEWN as a triangle.  I simply slashed the fabric and top-stitched two sides of the square over the slash.  Did that on each side of the arm and then sewed right up the middle of the gusset fabric.  Trim the extra fabric once you're done!  I really think some simple illustrations would help the pattern instructions.  Forgive my crooked stitch lines.  Those embroidered dots are thick and sometimes would knock me off course.  I'm happy this is the lining.  See!  The shell was more even!

I've decided to bag line the whole thing so I'm going to attach the top line of the trim to the shell, and then wrap the bottom of the trim into the seam as I sew on the lining.  First I have to make the trim.  About 10 yards of bias trim.  Tedious!  Then gather the long sides top and bottom.  More tedious!  You just can't gather more than about a yard at a time without risking knots and tangles and failure.  Once I'd made about half the trim I gathered it and attached some to the cuff.  Step by step next, but I wanted to show the result.  (I'm very happy with this). AND I'm having 1,001 problems adding to this post.  I'm going to start a new one taking up where this one left off.  Clearly the interwebs are telling me this post is too long.  See you again in a moment!

 

Group 22 of 1912 Project High Tea - Lisa

Robin hosted a lovely high tea for the ladies in Group 22 of the VPLL 1912 project.  This was the first time that we had all met in person rather than online. It was to have been co-hosted by both of us but I was waylaid by the real world (work travel).

This was done though she is still quite heavily casted for her broken foot. The tea was perfectly lovely.  There were tea sandwiches, scones, fruit tartlets, lemon curd, and even Devon cream, and, of course, tea (Fortnum and Mason Assam Superb, Irish Breakfast and Earl Grey).  After tea had been consumed, there was also champagne.

The instigator of the project, Janyce Hill, brought some of the source material for the project.  There were actual squeals of delight.  The illustrations were simply delightful.  In addition, there is nothing quite as wonderful as the conversation among a group of like minded people.

I now make profound apologies for being impatient (yet again) and taking pictures without letting Robin set her camera for the intermittent shadows.  I don't care if my face shows up and yet, I've opted against including any pictures of myself in this post.  My dress is already well documented here and I absolutely loathe how I looks in it. (Totally unfair, as I loathe my dress just as much, if not more, than she does.  I think Lisa was taking advantage of the fact that I can't run away right now!)

Here is the group, minus Lisa and Linda, who was not in costume.  Pam (right) is wearing a blouse and skirt created from patterns from the VPLL 1912 project.  Janyce is to the left, and Robin is hanging on to Pam for dear life.




Subjects that we covered:
History of the project
Upcoming patterns
Sewing techniques (and sharing them)
Challenges in updating and modifying patterns
Fabric
Costumers Guild
Costumes from other eras
How much we all love doing this.



Separate from all the tea and fun, there was a little sewing done too. (There was no sewing done on my front as my "sewing workroom", which is the dining room, had to be cleaned up for the party and I spent all my time polishing silver and washing china - R)
I need to finish my renaissance corset in order to even THINK about cutting out a bodice, or making the waistbands for the skirt and underthings.  I also need the neckline in place so I can finish my chemise (sort of made a mistake cutting the neck opening...maybe).

I've got everything done that I can.  Now I need another fitting to determine where to put the center back lacing grommets and boning.  All those boning channels are incredibly tedious to sew.

Success! A little bit at a time

We had a Sewing Day yesterday.  Our plan was to work on Elizabethan corsets.  We also had some odds and ends that needed both brains.  It was a resounding success.  Corsets are hard.  Especially if you are not already thin and firm.  The goal of a corset is to nudge your shape into the 'fashionable' form of the relevant period.  In order for your 'out' to 'fit' you need the inner 'you' to be shoved into shape.  In this case, it's Elizabethan.  We have most of our underthings made, but cannot progress on finishing until we know what our corseted shapes will be.  In addition, we can't move on to our dresses for the same reason.

In my case (Lisa), not only am I bigger than average, I'm also much squishier.  This makes it difficult to know if the pinned corset is actually correct.  In fact pinning the corset on me is quite a chore.  Robin is a bit easier, but it's still not easy.  Aside from basic fit, there's also a lot of decisions around what kind of fabric to use, and how many layers.  We each made a muslin for fitting.  Muslin stretches.  Once we each got a muslin that fit, after at least three iterations, we needed to use the muslin as a pattern to make sure that we accounted for stretching.  We also wanted to keep the layers to a minimum.  We expect to wear these costumes in very warm weather.  We ended up with coutil and linen.  It feels amazing.  The picture at top is Lisa's corset, with both layers cut and the first bone in it's channel.  That's what we wanted to accomplish, and we did.
Here are a couple fitting pictures to illustrate the challenges of fitting:

In the top picture the fit looks like a traditional corset fit.  WRONG.  The instruction clearly state that there should be a 2 to 4 inch gap of the same width all the way down the back.  Do-over!  the lower picture shows a 2.5 inch gap all the way down.  This is the correct fit.  It also demonstrates how hard it is to pin correctly.  As soon as I let go to take the picture, the back slid down, distorting the view.  Also, if I didn't pin very closely, there were nasty pulls that made the the fit look wrong even though it was actually really good.

Wearing our gowns - Titanic Luncheon

I couldn't find a way to disguise my knee walker!

Lisa in front of the Palace Hotel entrance

 Lisa and I signed up for a Tour of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco with a luncheon following.  This was put on by Vintage Days which we found on Facebook through the PEERS group.  Everyone showed up in wonderful outfits, some hand made, many vintage found, but all beautiful.  Here are some photos of the event.  We even made some new friends! If you want more pics, Jeanine has them up  on her event site:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2849015795703.2110612.1568717895&type=3

Do you think we'll all survive the voyage?

Jeanine, Shannon, Lisa and ?

The Garden Court as seen from the "Ladies Room", not a restroom, but a room where ladies could take off their corsets and relax for a bit.

OK, so I'm REALLY proud of the hat I made for Lisa.  I think it is better than mine.  I guess I used all my creativity on hers and hat nothing left!

Photography is catching on during Edwardian Times!

Architectural detail above Garden Court

A bit more architectural detail.  This is truly a lovely hotel well restored to almost its original glory.

Are we heading for the life boats?  No, just lunch....

Renaissance Farthingale - Robin

I finished the Renaissance farthingale as much as possible.  Until I can stand up on two feet, AND have the corset made, this is it.  The tubing is the same plastic stuff as Lisa used.  I had a difficult time inserting it until I realized that tighter is NOT better.  The tighter I pushed it, the more it wanted to twist.  Once I let the tubing have some ease in the casing, it responded well.

Here's  a close-up of the casing, made with twill tape.  I made the ends cross over, thinking I'd be able to maneuver the ends out to join them.  WRONG!  I ended up undoing some stitches about 3 inches in length to be able to join the tubes.

And just because I am proud of it, here is my first flat felled seam ever.  I used flat felled seams so the tubing wouldn't catch on anything while inserting it and to enclose all the seams.  All seams on Renaissance underwear were enclosed due to the abuse the garments took from washing.  I'm sure my farthingale will be icky grubby from dragging in the dirt at the Renaissance Faire!

Next up for us both is the Ren Corset, which promises to be a fitting nightmare!

1912 Tea Dress - Robin

Here's a shot of Lisa's 1912 Tea Dress after we got most of it together on our Sewing Bee.  Now on to what I did!

I mad a vest for my boyfriend for the PEERS Titanic Ball.  Here are a few shots. Sadly for me, but not for him, he lost weight between fittings and the vest is now a little too big for him.   Why does that never happen to me???

Back view of the vest.  The front material of polyester brocade raveled like crazy, even though I finished all the edges before I sewed the pieces together.  That's why I decided to topstitch the whole thing, for added strength.  That also meant that when I found out it was too large for him, it was an "Oh, well....." moment.  I'm not taking the topstitching out.

I made an evening head dress out of some leftover sash material (that pesky Silkessence that Lisa and I love to hate) and added some beading, recalling the Oriental influence at the time.  Here it is posed on my Gibson Girl wig, not quite the perfect time period, but close enough for my purposes.

Here's the dress, completed.  I went through several iterations of trim before I settled for "simpler is better". To me, it STILL looks like a bad Mother of the Bride dress.  I liked Lisa's take on the dress much better than mine.

I had my boyfriend try to level the hem, but he had a difficult time, as I am in a cast and had to stand on one leg for him to pin. It took him forever and it was still uneven because I kept hiking my hip to support my weight on one leg.  I'll fix that as soon as I can stand on two legs again!

I added some cheap ribbon and even cheaper flowers that I cut off of fake ones from Michaels.  Lisa bought a bunch of different flowers when they were having a 50% off sale. Yay!

We'll get better pics of both our day outfits at the Titanic luncheon, hats included.
This week is taxes and the hat, neither of which is guaranteed to be finished on time.

All in all, I hated working on this dress.  I found the bodice difficult to fit properly if one has anything over a B cup.  Of course, after finishing, I came across a tutorial on how to fit an "all-in-one bodice".  Too late for me now, but at least I'll know what to do next time....if there ever IS a next time for this pattern.