2015-03-31

Adjusting Neue Mode 22716 skirt flare

This pattern is only slightly A-line and has a CB slit (not shown in the illustration).


I wanted a little more flare, and didn't want the slit, so I adjusted the pattern by closing the darts.

First I tried closing the darts all the way. (I'm not showing this step-by-step here; there's already a huge amount of information on dart manipulation to be found on the Web. Search for something like "skirt flare dart manipulation", for example.)

The yellow layer is (approximately) the original pattern, cyan the new one, and green where they overlap. Closing the darts all the way made the hem circumference somewhere around 64 inches. I looked at some illustrations of other patterns I had with similar circumferences, and decided this was way too much. Looking at my other patterns, I thought 46 to 48 55 inches looked about right.

That's around 8 inches more than the original pattern. So I closed the darts partway. I also added 4" to the length, to make the skirt cover the tops of a certain pair of boots I have. Again, this is how the new pattern compares to the original:

 

The darts are about half as wide as they were, still wide enough not to look odd. The CB slit is now unnecessary.

2015-03-21

Neue Mode 22716

This is my next project.


It isn't the first time I've considered sewing this pattern. For some reason I don't recall, the pattern cover and instruction booklet are water-stained. Or maybe it was tea or coffee. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have affected the pattern tissue.

Back when I used to stalk Neue Mode pattern numbering (there used to be a site selling their discontinued patterns, cataloguing them by collection, that made this much easier), I concluded this one might have been from around 1999-2000. Nonetheless, at time of writing you can still buy it, and see the instructions, here.

Sewingpatterns.com sells lots and lots of past Neue Mode designs, some of them almost as old as I am. They've now also got a small line called "Neue Mode USA"; I can't tell if those are new designs or if they're just new illustrations of old ones (which I'd almost prefer, actually, since they'd be more likely to have the same fit as before). Long story short, I really like Neue Mode's drafting and fit; I'm less enthused about Sewingpatterns.com's downloadable PDF system. I haven't ever tried ordering their printed Neue Modes, though IIRC I've heard they're fine. Almost all of my Neue Modes are pre-2007 paper patterns.

Anyway, the previous attempt was going to be a red printed linen, but somehow that didn't work out. I got bogged down in something or other having to do with alterations, which might be just as well, because that color and print wouldn't have been at all to my taste now. As I recall it was a fairly warm, saturated red, and the print might have borne a certain similarity to a tablecloth.

This time the fabric will be the dark floral moleskin I got from last November's Our Social Fabric sale, the one second from right. Not very spring-y, but then neither am I.

2015-03-17

An overwrought overlapped V neckband, and how it could have been avoided

One thing I liked about the Kwik Sew 304 top I made the other week was the overlapped V neckband.

But wait, you say, isn't that just a regular V neckband with a seam down CF? Well, it is, it turns out, if you look at the Vintage Patterns Wikia's picture of the envelope front linked above, and I suspect if you try to follow the intent of the instructions (which are not the clearest).

The funny thing is, my envelope shows a definite overlapped neckline. I wonder if the illustration was changed to match the instructions? I suspect it was — my envelope style, with its mention of Sew-Knit-n-Stretch instead of Kwik Sew at the bottom, is probably the older of the two.


Anyway, I tried to make a compromise between the instructions and the result that is shown on my envelope. For whatever it's worth, I documented the process, but this is certainly not the simplest way to do it. Skip to the end for that.
First, the band is attached most of the way around the neckline. This pattern marks CF, shoulder seams, and CB on the neckband piece. The proper right side of neckband is stitched on all the way to the corner (most patterns would mark this with a dot). The left side is left free for a bit more than the width of the neckband.
To see how this will work: the proper right side of the neckband -- here seen at viewer's left -- will be on top, meaning that where it's being folded under here will be where you want to stitch it to the neckline. 

This particular pattern happens to have you cut some extra length past CF in the neckband; I would guess many others would give no more than the seam allowance.
This is where we want the stitching line on the neckband to match the one on the neckline. If anything, slant it a bit short at the folded edge, to tighten it up -- but not too much, or it will pull at the neckline.
You may as well clip the neckband to the dot now. 

If you're concerned about fraying or stretching, you may want to have staystitched the V before beginning; many patterns will tell you to do this. I don't think it's that crucial on a firm knit like this, especially if one handles it as little as possible after the clipping.
The stitching line on the band matched up to the stitching line on the opening, with the other end of the neckband held out of the way. This is slightly awkward. Stitch from the corner (so you just meet up with the end of the previous stitching — at the dot, if the pattern has one) to the folded edge of the neckband.
Then the left neckband goes flat on top, and you stitch again over the just-previous stitching, through left neckband, right neckband, and neck opening. Also be sure this stitching closes up any remaining hole between the left neckband and the neckline.
It should look like this from the outside. The remaining end of the left neckband is not yet stitched down, so as you can see in the right of the photo, that side of the band looks a little loose.
Now the proper left neckband is stitched, roughly perpendicular to the band, down along the first stitching that was done to attach the right neckband to the neckline. This stitching is analogous to the one was chalk-marked on the right end of the neckband, and again, the neckband can be shorted slightly toward its folded edge.

As this pattern had some excess length in the neckband, that can now be trimmed off. (I actually cut the pattern piece a bit short on one end, for lack of fabric.) Again, I would guess many other patterns will just give you the seam allowance, and that step would then be unnecessary.

Now that I've gone and said all that... I drew out the steps far more than necessary. Instead, you could just [reinforce and] clip the neck opening, lay out the neckband with the overlap as it should sit when finished, and attach it not all that differently from how you'd attach a round neckband — you'd just have to start and end at CF. This method would make it much easier to use a serger as well. The only disadvantage I can see is not being able to adjust the tightness of the neckband along its folded edge, but I think that's just as well done in the pattern in the first place.

As for what this says about older Kwik Sew patterns: I feel that as far as instruction quality and overall polish, Kwik Sew really hit its stride sometime in the mid-to-late 80s. By then, their patterns had cutting layouts, very professional-looking flats and construction diagrams, and completely reliable (if not necessarily glamorous) illustrations. Even so, I would say many of their older patterns are really unique and worth seeking out. Their swimwear, knitwear, and lingerie in particular were more varied than the other American brands'. The company still exists — since 2011, as part of Butterick/McCall's/Vogue — but I feel that it's really drifted away from that niche in the past few years. You can see many other vintage Kwik Sews on the Vintage Patterns Wikia.

2015-03-09

Using up my red knits: Vogue 2506 et al.

I don't know about you, but I don't like changing the thread in my machines. Even more so if it's the serger or the coverstitch and has at least three cones to change. Honestly it isn't that big a deal, but still, I find myself avoiding it. So my past four projects have involved sewing up all of the reddish knits that I have. One was the streaked red knit that I used for the McCall's cardigan in the last post. There was enough of that left over to do something with, but not anything I'd really want in a moderately warm fabric like that (i.e. long sleeves were not going to be possible). So I used it to test an old Kwik Sew pattern, 304. More on that later, but to put it briefly, it's much boxier than it looks and I wouldn't sew it again without a pretty major redesign.

The second fabric is a viscose/wool/angora blend; I have what've turned out to be a few major wardrobe builders made from this same fabric in other colors. This one's a slightly duller, softer red, partly because of the slight heathering from the angora, but the serger threads were close enough (and maybe as close as I'd be likely to find in that weight, not living in New York). For this I used a newer basic top pattern, Kwik Sew 2619, that I'm much happier with. Again, more on that later; I may end up comparing it to 304.

Lastly, what I'll actually show here is Vogue 2506. It's a 2000 sweatshirt pattern that I got discontinued (thus the X) several years ago.

I made something like the version shown in off white, but split it down the front, left out the drawstring, and closed it with hooks and eyes only at the neck and the diagonal front seams. I've given it a bit of a "flyaway" pose on the form. It does need another pressing, and I'm debating whether I like it closed at the lower hook or not, but of course that can just be left undone.
With the extended shoulders and the very straight cut, I'm glad I used a drapier fabric than shown in the sketches. In fact, it's very oversized. This is probably just as well for an unlined cardigan that will have to be dragged on over other things.

So that's it for my red knits. It's nice not to have to rethread, but I'm also relieved to be able to move onto something else. Maybe some wovens will be next.