Monroe and Helix

The Monroe Turtleneck pattern is a freebie from Tessuti, very similar to their also-free Mandy boat tee. It came out in (my) spring 2018 and I downloaded it almost immediately. I even traced off a size 3. Then I tucked it away to wait for cooler weather in the northern hemisphere. And of course, I forgot about it.

As is often the case during these COVID times, I find myself most inspired by online sources of eye candy. I routinely visit Pattern Review and Instagram for ideas. The Monroe was recently reviewed on PR and I loved what I saw. She rates it 5 stars. Then I read the rest of the reviews of the Monroe. Wow. Not complimentary.

Having made the Mandy, I was familiar with one potential problem. The sleeves on these Tessuti patterns are often too danged tight on me. That is why I had traced the largest size initially. Here are their suggested body measurements for the largest size, 3:

Bust 40-44”
Waist 35-43”
Hip 44-48”

Not close to my measurements, especially now that I've lost weight. Working off their measurements, I belong in a size 1. Of course, the Monroe's problems have nothing to do with bust, waist, or hip measurements, as there is no fit in those places. Rather, the problems are with the neckline, as well as the sleeves. Several disgusted reviewers rated it as a wadder from the get-go.

I decided to give it a go.

SEWING KNITS: I know from sewing knits for years that every knit has a different amount of stretch, vertically and horizontally, as well as differing amounts of recovery. I also know that I do not like negative ease, something that is almost a given in a pattern designed for knits. I'm OK with zero ease in some cases but I'm happiest with a little positive ease.

SLEEVES: Working from my previously traced tissue of size 3, I first pinned the sleeve tissue together along the seam allowance. Then I slipped it over my bicep. That was fine, good news because I really did not want to mess with the armscye.

NECKLINE: Next I took the edge of my knit fabric and wrapped it around my head to see how large the circumference needed to be. That was revealing. I needed 6 more inches than allotted in the size 3! And I will say that my head is not unusually big either. The drafters of this pattern must have assumed a knit with an enormous amount of stretch. They suggest that even a ponte knit would work. May I politely say, no way, José?

Adjusting the turtle neck pattern piece was easy because it's just a rectangle.

The neckline took a bit more work, because it is not linear. First I trimmed about 1/4" off from the front and back necklines. Then I measured with a 12" Curve Runner similar to this one, to see how close I was to the planned size of my turtleneck collar.

After 2-3 more iterations, I was pretty close to the size of the planned turtleneck collar. So finally I scooped out the front a bit, leaving the circumference of the neckline just a smidge larger than the circumference of the collar.

You've probably noticed that mine is not a turtleneck. That is because my knit fabric is quite drapey and so it produced more of a cowl neckline which, frankly, is my preference. I mostly wanted something soft and warm around my cold neck during these winter months.

My fabric is a cooperative jersey knit, 100% polyester. This makes me sad because I never ebd up actually wearing tops made from 100% polyester. Polyester fabrics tend to have static cling in the winter and they are hot in the summer. The days that fall between are days I'd rather wear cotton or linen or silk. It was a good toile and sort of wearable (DH likes it). 

TIP: It had one of those very wide selvages that distorted the fabric. After removing the selvage though, it was a breeze to cut and sew. I used a ball point needle and polyester thread. I also used a leading patch and trailing patch while sewing. This is a quilting trick that I've found prevents light weight fabrics from being sucked into the stitch plate.

Here I'm combining the Monroe top with some new black ponte Helix pants, modified to include a waistband. I seem to always need new black pants!

Happy holidays and happy creating to you!

First Make of the Year

My first make of the year happened fast, even for me. I finished it the evening of January 1!

It was a very easy make. I spent more time figuring out what to make than I did actually making it. I'm still not sure I made the right decision. But this is most definitely one of those cases where Finished is Better than Perfect.

Looks like a tablecloth here!

It started when a sweet friend at church said she had something to show me. A friend of hers had brought her a length of fabric from Viet Nam and she didn't know what to do with it, so she wanted me to "make something." And pay me. Not that payment does much to motivate me these days.

Instead of saying no, I said I'd think about it. And I took it home. Bad idea. Now it was too late to say no. Really. So I said to her, how about a scarf? Or a tote? Or a top? She said, you choose - you know best.

This piece of fabric is, shall we say, unusual. It is pretty clearly hand-woven and prone to massive raveling. I initially thought it must be cotton, but a burn test confirmed polyester. It makes me a little sad to think that some hard-working artisan had to use such materials to hand-weave this piece. The weave itself is quite lovely with a striped effect on either end, and pure plaid in the center.

It was 36" wide and almost 2 yards long, too small for many projects I initially visualized. I finally managed a hack of the Sewing Workshop Hudson top, view A.

Even so, I did not have enough for that cowl collar. I redrafted the neckline, applying a favorite facing technique. I used a red linen remnant for the neckline and sleeve hem facings.

I tried it on, just to see. I really don't mind sending it off to its rightful owner.

I'm delivering it tonight and I have no idea at all what to charge. Another good reason to avoid these situations!

My New Favorite Dress Pattern

I may be a dress convert. This one took me right around the corner. Or the bend.

In the last few sewing sessions, I've made some tunics that were - let me be honest - dresses. Yes, dresses. How can this be?!

The one I just completed is based on a 2018 issue of Sew Confident. I had made the swing tee with neckline and sleeve mods, so I was pretty sure I would like it lengthened.

Lengthening sounds pretty straight-forward but I actually learned something from their lengthening process. If I had simply added inches to the bottom, it would have been voluminous. So I'm glad I had the tutorial.

The tutorial also contains interesting pockets constructed by drafting a side panel and pocket, so well worth the read. The pockets were a little fiddly. I'm not sure I marked enough dots as my pockets are about an inch lower than they should be. Or maybe the fabric stretched.

This version is a toile. My target fabric is a purchase from the Alabama Chanin store in Florence AL. I visited with BSF Ginny and purchased a lovely navy blue knit to make a dress. As you may know, that organic-grown-spun-and-knitted-in-the-USA cotton jersey is danged expensive. As it should be. I'm not quite ready to cut into it. I'm thinking this design would be good though.

This fabric is a poly-something I purchased in Charleston years ago from a tiny fabric and alterations shop right on King Street. I think it disappeared under the weight of high rent as the edges of downtown Charleston gentrified. The fabric reminds me of our many trips there to visit our daughter over the last couple of decades. This is a benefit of stash, yes?

It is a cooperative knit - no curling, no slipping, just a little stretching. I had to play around with needle (ball point), thread (poly, since this is poly), throat plate (straight stitch), and machine foot (mostly walking foot) to get the stitches pretty.

I'm very pleased with this dress. I had occasion to wear it to the reception for an art show I'm in. The show is titled Fiber and Folk at the new Alpharetta Arts Center. These two pieces were juried in. I'm so excited!

I like this dress so much that I made another one.

This is a piece of rayon knit I purchased in Seville Spain several years ago. I think I had a tunic or tee in mind when I bought it. I just barely squeezed this dress out. I omitted the pockets so it was a very quick make.

Now I might make it with the original target fabric - my expensive Alabama Chanin knit. I am not tired of wearing or sewing knits yet, but I will be when the real summer heat arrives.