Neue Mode these days: print-on-demand (looks like)

Unrelated to anything I'm currently working on, I tried ordering a few printed Neue Modes¹ while Sewingpatterns.com² had a rare sale on them last month.

My guess is these come from the same digital sources as their downloads do. I don't know how the originals would have been digitized (if they didn't start out that way), but just to see, I tried ordering patterns of various ages—the site has a few that look to be from the late 70s or so, many from the 80s, and possibly the complete catalogue from the 90s–2000s. It seems the image quality for the newer ones is slightly higher, but not by a lot. They've all got at least a bit of fuzziness, just like downloads from Printsew—not that impressive, though not unusable. I haven't yet attempted to check whether they're printed at the correct scale. I should hope so.

The paper is fairly heavy, kind of like old Kwik-Sews' but maybe not as smooth and flexible. Instructions aren't included; you have to download the PDF of them yourself from the site. Since it's possible to do that without ordering, I think it's well worth checking if the instructions for a particular pattern are to your liking before you decide whether to buy. Some of their oldest patterns have only German instructions.

The patterns are placed in large white envelopes with the original envelope image printed on, usually scaled up slightly, with the sharpness suffering as a result. Since the pattern paper is not very compactly folded, nor folded to match the size of the envelope, the result is rather bulky, similar to what I've seen from some small indie outfits.

All in all, I think the quality is fair. I'd prefer it over having to print out a download, myself, but it certainly doesn't match the polished presentation of the old Neue Modes.³

Are they worth full price? Well, how much do you really need a specific pattern? The reason I've gone to the trouble to get Neue Modes in the past is the quality of the drafting, variety of styles, and good construction methods, particularly for things like coats—those have the most complete set of pieces for interfacing and lining I've seen in home sewing patterns. The pants fit is similar to Burda's, and the sleeve cap shapes are (if anything) better, with a pronounced swoopy curve in front. The instructions are also similar to Burda's, which may be a dealbreaker for some.

I've now collected more Neue Modes than I care to admit, and these may be the last I buy. If you want to try this brand but aren't set on any particular pattern, you can still get some deadstock originals from some other sources. I've had good experiences with The Sewing Place. There are also some here and there on various resale sites, with (unsurprisingly) more being available in Germany, where they originated.

¹ Backstory: Neue Mode stopped designing and printing new patterns about 2007-8. I don't know what exactly happened then, but sometime thereafter, it looks as though Sewingpatterns.com got the rights to reprint their patterns and to sell them as downloads.
² People have had, shall we say, mixed experiences with Sewingpatterns.com. I've never had problems getting print orders fulfilled, eventually, but they aren't very communicative to say the least, and I wouldn't want to order from them if I had a deadline. The site is also not too professional-looking and hasn't had its design updated in the past several years, if ever—although I sometimes find site design updates gratuitous, this one's gone long enough that I have to wonder what else about the site hasn't been updated. They take PayPal; I would strongly suggest using it, if you do order from them.
³ In the past year or so, "new" Neue Modes have come out. I don't know who drafts them, and since the original Neue Mode drafting was what I appreciated, I haven't tried any of these others. You can tell them apart by their different instructions, which lack diagrams and seem rather Lekala-like.

Activewear

Being bored with what I currently have, I made a couple of things. The fabric was some sort of gray "technical" type I got from ELingeriA before it closed. I couldn't tell you what it was, except that it clearly resists water on one side and absorbs it on the other.

Now that I've worn the FOs, I figure it must've been meant for a warmth layer of some kind. Anyway, I got two projects out of it. Second things first, Kwik-Sew 2779, so out of print it isn't even on their website anymore. I cut it as long as I could with what was left from the first project. I'd also lowered the rise and cut the waist elastic rather long so it would sit lower than the original design intended.

The first project was Kwik-Sew 3835. As my fabric was less stretchy than what the pattern intended, I cut all the bands in much larger sizes. They still stay up quite well. I also erred on the small side for the main pieces, since I felt all the volume wasn't really needed. That all meant the main pieces could be eased, not gathered, onto the waistband.

With the wicking properties, I was concerned about the orientation of the bands. If I'd followed the intended construction, they'd have been water-resistant against the skin, not a great feeling. If I'd made them inside out, I can only imagine what stink would get trapped inside. So I cut them in two along the length and assembled them so as to put the wicking sides to the insides (er, patient inside) on both.

The gray is not an exciting color, but the gathered pair is very different from anything I have, and I like its drape. Now if only I had a cooler fabric for summer. The main parts can be made in a woven; I think they'd be nice in a crinkle gauze.

Favorite Things Pins & Needles: a Tardis knitting needle case

I got this Tardis fabric at Gala in Victoria. The pattern is pretty much a simple rectangle that folds and rolls up.

I made a zipped closure for the small pocket (at lower right), instead of a Velcro flap, because of what I had on hand. Also, I feel the zipper is unlikely to allow stuff to dump itself out.

 

To keep the needles in, the case just folds up. This isn't the neatest thing ever, since the flap ends up being a bit big and loose relative to the rest.

But it's simple and does the job.

I also made tie ends instead of using the elastic-and-button closure, figuring elastic could wear out and not really wanting to bother choosing a button.

Other things to note about this pattern:

• Directionally patterned fabric (a.k.a. "with nap") can be an issue because the main piece is just folded up to form the pockets and the flap.
• The pattern has you stitch twice through the different pockets. I think it would be difficult to get both stitching lines in the same place, plus it's more work. I only stitched through all layers once, after positioning all the pockets.
• It's probably best for straight needles and maybe DPNs, rather than circulars. Personally, it holds all my straights, and I don't plan on acquiring more. It won't also hold all my DPNs; as there's a chance I may buy more and/or find ones I've misplaced, I've punted on any sort of elegant storage for those, for the time being. But I think the stitching line spacing and/or pocket size might need some reworking if you want this to be mainly a DPN case.

This should be my last quilting-cotton accessory project for a while.

Burda 8409

This is an out-of-print pattern I got discontinued (thus the X) several years ago. My notes say it's from 2005 or earlier. It's probably not going to be as easy to find in North America as an OOP Big4 would be, although I do see one on eBay at time of writing.

The reason I decided to make this up is that I had these old H&M cargo pants, on the left, that I'd got a lot of use out of, but that finally bit the dust—first the drawstring kept breaking (they never fit all that well in the first place; the rise was too short and the waist too big, so the drawstring must have taken a lot of strain to hold them up), then the zipper got somewhat unreliable, and lastly they got a nice big hole on the butt. The longer view of the Burda pattern is similar in design, if you don't look too closely. I added view B's back pockets onto view A, but otherwise didn't do anything to up the similarity. The H&M pants have bellows pockets with (rather wrinkly) flaps, more rounded bound hip pocket openings, and back knee seams and front knee darts. The latter especially is an interesting detail, but as I was making these looser, I thought it wouldn't serve as much purpose.

My version is in sage green Tencel twill. The color is less versatile and the fabric may not be as durable; it's a little heavier weight but much drapier than the original's cotton. But it's extremely comfortable and feels cooler to wear. I was waffling between two sizes, but decided on the larger one in case of durability issues and because the fabric has significant drape. The larger size sits lower on the hips; if I'd gone smaller I might have had to lengthen the rise substantially. On the other hand, the waist does grow with wear, so I'm not convinced I made the right decision—and I regret not having added belt loops.

I shifted the lower parts of the legs inward as recommended by Jan Minott for knock-knees. In hindsight I probably didn't need quite as big a shift, especially on the front, but this does make the fit much more graceful in back, as otherwise I get diagonal wrinkles there. I didn't alter the length at all, with the result that these are probably a little puffier at the hem than they're meant to be, but I actually like that. At least some extra length should be kept in any case, because of the drawstring hem.

As for other design changes, I left the zippers off the lower legs, since they aren't really needed and would interfere with the drape. I also made sure to get zippers with dangling pulls for the side pockets, so those hang down even though those zippers are sideways. (Maybe that's going a little overboard, but why not take advantage of Dressew's zipper selection?) Instead of having the drawstrings come out by leaving the bottom of the seam open, I put in grommets. The drawstrings are meant to be made of self fabric, and let me tell you, turning them is a real pain even with a Fasturn. Afterward I also found I could easily whack off several inches (didn't want the bows dragging on the floor) so could have saved myself some of the turning hassle. I'd recommend folding and topstitching them instead, or better yet, if you have an easily matched color, buy twill tape. 1/2" is about the right width. Lastly, I used a hook and bar instead of a button on the fly—no buttonhole and no color match required.

In conclusion, I'm pretty happy with these. They may not be quite as versatile as the originals, but the fit is certainly better and I'm happy to have a working zipper. (Actually, I suppose I could've just sewn the fly shut on the old ones, since I certainly didn't need it to get into or out of them. But they're beyond repair at this point.) If Burda fits you well, I would recommend this pattern if you have or come across it.

Burda 8544 (and a swayback alteration I didn't end up doing)

One of my few recent finished projects is this nightgown.

I'd considered doing a form of swayback alteration, which would have shifted the back neckline down, lowering the shoulder-neck point and requiring the shoulder seam to be redrawn. The new cutting line would have been as marked here:

The idea is to remove the extra length at CB by taking it out all the way up at the top of the pattern piece. (Incidentally, I'm not sure my issue is really a swayback so much as a high round hip that can't easily be fit by patterns without princess or waist seams.) In any case, I pin-fit this and found it seemed unnecessary; I think the cut, in my size and this fabric, is roomy enough in the hips that it isn't an issue.
The fabric is a navy jersey of some sort, and the lace is one of the last ones I bought from ELingeriA in Germany before it closed. Here it is in more detail, but less accurate color:

The fabric is meant to be cut away underneath, but I didn't do that here. The lace pattern shows up better against this dark fabric. I also made the long sleeves the usual tapered shape, instead of adding the circular flounce as intended by the pattern.

This pattern is long out of print, but it seems the main details should be easy enough to imitate. It's essentially a loose, lengthened T-shirt with the lace applied across the front, covering the bust darts. The back is plain, which ordinarily might bother me, but I think in this case it's just as well not to put any potentially fragile lace there.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The weekend's Sewaholic/Fabrics Etc. meetup, and a new project.

This past Saturday I went to the meetup at Fabrics Etc., where Tasia from Sewaholic Patterns was speaking. Well, that makes it sound all formal; I guess I should call it more of a friendly chat/Q&A. I'd heard of her patterns but hadn't really been familiar with them. Although they are available both printed and in PDF, while I was in Germany I put off buying any: I didn't want them to go through customs, as printed patterns would, and I didn't want to print the PDFs if I'd be able to buy the printed patterns once I got back to Canada (which was "any month now" much of the time I was there). I'm not a big printing-PDFs person, though it does have other advantages and I'll occasionally go for it especially if the pattern is small (lingerie, for example).

Anyway. I like her thought process: my understanding is she's more interested in the construction, and making fairly classic designs that work well in real life, rather than creating very avant-garde or over-the-top styles. The patterns are proportioned for the (so-called) pear shape, probably more of a pronounced one than I personally have, so I might have to size down the hip area for once, rather than sizing it up. I'm most interested in the Granville shirt with its back princess seams (I need either those or a waist seam to fit into the small of my back nicely) and the retractable hood on the Minoru jacket.

As for what I'm starting at the moment, it's a slip from Kwik-Sew 2394. I got some Antron tricot from Bra-makers' Supply, plus some ribbon and lace from Dressew, and I'm making View B, but cutting 4" off the short length, my current problem being that most of my RTW slips are too long. I may do a tricot-vs.-Bemberg faceoff one of these days, but here are my thoughts on the tricot as of right now.

1. It only comes in a few colors, none of which are really to my taste. I'm guessing since the trend has been away from synthetics for the past several years, and it seems to be getting harder and harder to find even RTW slips, there's not enough money to be made by dyeing this in anything other than basic colors. They've got white, ivory, pink, and black. It's all nylon so it should dye well, but I'm very skittish about that, since I rent and my entire apartment is light colors.
2. If you're looking for opacity, you're not going to get much from the light colors (not that you necessarily would from Bemberg either).
3. It has some stretch. There are several older Kwik-Sew patterns designed for tricot that must make some use of that: they tend to also allow you to use wovens, but only if you cut them on the bias.
4. It should be anti-static. I'll need to give it a real-life test to know how it compares in that regard to Bemberg, but at least so far it's behaving well and doesn't seem to be sticking to itself at all.

New Buttericks

The Winter/Holiday collection is out. Overall I like it better than some of the others that came out recently from the Big4. There are some more fitted, semi-casual styles as opposed to a profusion of loose boxy tops and coats, or red-carpet-style eveningwear. Maybe still not much that I personally would have to add to my over-large collection, but here are a few that caught my eye.

6128 is a wrap dress for wovens. It has a waist seam, which would make it much easier to level the skirt and fit the waist regardless of the wearer's posture.

6127  is another woven dress with optional lace contrast and like 6128, could be either eveningwear or work wear. I like how the lace gives the effect of a separate jacket. With both these patterns and coat 6143 they appear to be ticking the applied/contrast lace trend box.

I like the look of blouse 6134 from the front, but really wish they had used princess seams on the back as well; that would have made fitting easier.

I don't really do asymmetry, but there is a lot of it in this collection. Jacket 6140 is a good example. I would probably just look unkempt wearing such a thing, but on the model it looks good in all its different variations. It seems that boiled wool has been suggested for a lot of recent patterns, this one among them. It would be nice if it became more readily available in North America.

Kwik-Sew 3473 almost in one piece

Do you track your sewing progress by how many separate pieces your item still has? I do. Right now I have this dress, technically, all in one piece except for the optional bow.

The floppy strip around the neckline is the bias facing. I've made much more bias than was necessary, obviously. I now have that slipstitched to the inside on one half of the front neckline, but that will be slow going. The hems remain to be done, the waist seam needs to be pressed and finished, and the armscye seams need to be finished in some way too. The French seams in the outer skirt might be acceptable enough not to re-do. I did finish the optional bow piece as well (one big bias strip), but it will need to be tied attractively and tacked on, should I decide to use it.

I'm glad I rotated part of the waist dart to the side seam, by the way. It makes for less of a cone shape. The original dart looked rather obtuse and although I didn't try actually cutting and sewing it, I think it might have been a little pointy even in this relatively lightweight, limp fabric.

Kwik-Sew 3473: bodice underlined

So, the bodice of this dress is all backed and sewn together, and the seam allowances serged. Here it is, albeit not quite in focus.

I'd like to have been able to place the print in less of a near-repetitive way, but it was difficult getting everything cut from of my yardage, especially with the big bias skirt pieces. It could be worse — at least I don't have two round motifs each precisely centered you-know-where.

Here's the plan for the rest:

• The sleeves are unlined and have been French-seamed. They have elbow shaping, which is nice. I have yet to decide exactly what I'll do with the armscye seam allowances.
• I will probably do a bias facing on the neckline, but I may put that off until I put the dress together and see how low it is. It's staystitched so at least the stitching line area shouldn't stretch. Fusing something to it might have been more effective, but that's the problem with not knowing in advance where the neckline is going to end up — I wouldn't want to have to rip the fusible off if I had to change it.
• The two skirt layers are each assembled, the lining with plain seams and the shell with French seams. The latter are not wonderfully well done. I gave them a good steaming, which might or might not be enough of a save. If I think they still look too objectionable, I will redo the second pass of each seam. I also need to decide whether the plain seams on the lining are enough. Because of the (near-)bias cut they don't seem to fray, but this should survive hand washing at least.
• Once all those issues are decided, the layers should be sewn together at the waist and onto the bodice. I am somewhat concerned about bulk here, though the darts are also four layers and don't seem too bad.
• Both skirt layers and the sleeves will have to be hemmed. I will have to decide the relative lengths of shell and lining for the skirt. The whole thing looks quite long at the moment but we'll see.
• The CF may get the optional bow. I have the pieces cut in self fabric; I'll sew it up and see how it looks.

By the way, I recklessly used the iron shoeless on this, with no press cloth, on the silk setting (well, not that recklessly — I did test first, briefly). There was no problem with shine or anything. Both layers are rayons, the shell supposedly viscose and the lining definitely Bemberg.

Schnittquelle Oslo preliminary fit

I compared this pattern to my block today.

It should be noted that I bought a size smaller than some of my measurements would have called for. To the best of my recollection there used to be a more detailed measurement chart on their site, and my decision was based in some way on that.

Anyway, here's what I'm noticing about this pattern so far.

• It seems pretty close-fitting, at least in the upper torso and the sleeves. Since I'm using a relatively thin boiled wool with a fair amount of stretch, this may not be a bad thing, but if I'd used something heavier I'd probably have wanted to start with a bigger size. (The site does say it's fitted.)
• It seems like the side seams are placed fairly far forward. I get the impression this is more typical for German patterns than American ones. In any event, I did a fairly substantial FBA to add a lot of width to the front, and I added the same width to the upper part of the skirt to match (and to shift its decorative dart toward the side to match the shifted dart in the bodice). I rotated the FBA dart into the shoulder dart. I hope it doesn't end up too pointy, but the give of the wool should help.
• There's a lot of flare in the hips. You can see some of this in the back photo on the website.
• The shoulders are kind of sloped compared to my block, which probably means they're about average. I squared off (raised) the back shoulder tip quite a bit.
• The sleeves seem kinda narrow at the biceps for an overcoat, but I guess YMMV depending on your arm size. The overarm seam would make minor alterations easier. For my wide biceps, I did two separate Nancy-Zieman-style alterations to add width to the front and back sleeve. On the back sleeve I allowed that extra width to impinge up into the cap, to match my squared back shoulder seam.
• The sleeves also don't seem all that long. I would definitely recommend double-checking the length. You don't have a hem allowance to play with if they're too short.
• The waist length is not that long either, nor is the armhole depth. I'm thinking this pattern is actually rather like a Kwik-Sew, but with a neater fit than those usually have.
• I made Jacke Malmedy some time ago, and for me, the upper back seemed pretty far off: a little too wide and a lot too long. I actually ended up recutting the upper part of it by shifting the pattern down to take the extra length out. It remains to be seen how this pattern will behave in actual fabric, but so far I don't see the same problem here.
• I think it will be substantially longer than knee length, but I wasn't paying a lot of attention to that, so more on that later.

Kwik-Sew 3473, all tacked together and ready to hibernate

It feels like I've been dragging my feet on this project. Partly it's that what I've been doing on it just takes a long time (single layer cutting, lots of basting) but I also dithered on what sorts of finishes to use. The shell fabric probably has a lot more shear than the lining (we'll see in the next several days) so I didn't think I wanted to flatline the bias-cut skirt. I could have done so with the bodice, but what would have complicated things is the CB zipper that the pattern would have you use.

But. It turns out the zipper might not be needed. The bodice isn't that fitted; the waistline seam angles up in front, so it's on the bias there; and the entire skirt, again, is bias and flared. So it seems there's enough give in the waist to possibly make a pullover work. At least, it seems to so far, without the sleeves; if those cause a problem I think it would work to have the zipper in the bodice only.

I should mention that I'm somewhat used to struggling into vintage dresses with side zippers, so this may not work for everyone, but I had no trouble getting it onto my non-collapsible dress form. Apologies for the dizzying combination of print, mirror, and background stuff. The skirt may look crooked, but really, it isn't. I'm a little disappointed in some of the motif repeats, but there isn't a whole lot I could have done without running out of fabric.

And... this is about as far as it's going to go for the next week, at the very least. I want to give the skirt ample time to drop. The whole thing is hand-basted together, with machine staystitching at the appropriate edges. Both lining and shell fabrics are in there; the bodice layers are tacked together and the waist seam sewn through all layers, but the skirt layers are independent of each other. The skirt seams are basted with long single threads knotted only at the top. I hope this will let both fabrics drop freely in the skirt, without weighing down the bodice excessively.

There are a couple of reviews of 3473 on Patternreview already; I think at least one of them mentioned that the skirt came out far longer than it looked on the pattern envelope. I agree; this should have been a bit more than knee length judging from stated measurements alone, but that's bias for you. I think the results could be very different with, say, handkerchief linen.

WIP: Kwik-Sew 3473 in "chiffon-crepe"

Having dug myself out from a lot of work, I've started cutting this pattern. The fabric came from Alfatex back when I was in Germany:

I don't like the print as much IRL as I did in their pictures, for two main reasons. Firstly, the colors are clearer, brighter, and cooler than they looked on the site. Secondly, though it's meant to be a tossed (i.e. somewhat random-looking) design, the repeat is not very big, and it isn't offset diagonally, so you can see obvious motifs marching down the length. I'm hoping that the bias cut of the skirt in this pattern will mitigate the latter problem to some extent.

The print looks imperfectly registered, too, but since there are other white outlines in it that are clearly meant to be there, I can't tell if that's intentional or not.

Notwithstanding all that, I'm sewing this anyway because I do like the drape and fiber content (supposedly viscose, and I believe it; the selvedge fringe looks very much like viscose threads). It doesn't seem that easy to find high-quality lightweight woven rayons these days, so I might well settle for something like this in RTW, even if I wasn't completely happy with the color. The actual, structural quality of this fabric seems nice enough. Alfatex called it "chiffon-crepe"; I might call it georgette.

The pattern is odd in that the bodice, and only the bodice, is lined. Evidently it's their way of finishing the neckline without needing a facing. Because this fabric is semi-sheer, it will need a lining or a slip anyway, so I'll line either the whole body or none of it. For a lining I'd use dark gray or navy Bemberg from stash. That should complement the outer fabric, and with luck, tone down the colors slightly.

I don't have quite as much fabric as I'm supposed to for the long-sleeved version, but we'll see — I think I can get the skirt cut out more efficiently than in the given layout. If it comes to it I'll use the short sleeves and/or leave the bow off.

New(ish) Marfy

There've been new fall patterns coming out from several brands. This is just one of them, and they aren't really "new" per se; they're just newly listed on the Vogue and Marfy websites within the past couple of weeks. About Marfy

Currently, Marfy issues one catalogue per year. The 2014 catalogue has close to 200 pages of patterns; the first 70% or so is the spring/summer collection (including most of the eveningwear) and the rest is fall/winter. Much of it looks very formal compared to what I would say most Americans or Canadians wear. Part of that may be a reflection of what people want to spend their time and money sewing (or having sewn for them) but part of it may well be that Italians do tend to dress more formally in general. It did seem that way, the one chance I had to compare.

This year's catalogue includes 20 multi-sized patterns, which you can see on the Marfy website. I think this is a great idea on their part, because it provides more of a reason to buy the catalogue sight unseen, even if you never end up ordering any of the other patterns in it. It also gives people a chance to try out the sizing, which is important, as the other patterns you can order are single-size. (From the few patterns I've tried, I'd say for the same approximate body measurements, Marfy tends to use less ease than many of the American companies, and they also seem to design for a fairly tall, long-waisted, long-legged person, as I'd have expected from their size charts.)

The catalogue claims it is inspired by the 50s, 60s, and 80s, and that does come across in many of the designs.  In this latest collection I also noticed a lot of interesting dart placement and diagonal seaming: what I'd call a Y-dart here and here, a related but more complex set of crisscrossing darts, an H-dart (really a French dart with a crossing horizontal seam), and some pointed insets on this long jacket.

As it stands right now, I think there are two or three options for buying Marfy patterns from the U.S. or Canada. One is Marfy itself. The second is the Vogue website (AFAIK you can only order what's listed on the site; you can't request other patterns that are shown in the catalogues but not listed.) A third is, I think, Fashion Sewing Group. The only things I've ever tried, myself, are (a) ordering patterns from Vogue and having them shipped to the U.S., (b) ordering patterns from the Marfy site and having them shipped to Germany, and (c) ordering the catalogue from Vogue and having it shipped to Canada.

Which is most cost-effective source? Check the shipping and exchange rates. I think the Vogue site is a decent way to get the catalogue in Canada, especially since there is no extra shipping charge for it — if you find it on a newsstand in Europe it's 20 EUR, and Vogue charges $35 US plus whatever tax applies at the destination. In contrast, I saw it in one Chapters branch, once, for 70 CAD plus tax.

New Look 6387 done

... well, except for a final press, especially around the neckline.


My general thoughts on this pattern:

• The neckline looks wider, and the collar narrower, than I would have expected from the flats. (Other differences — shallower armholes, piping, more hip ease, more length, and an extra button — are my changes.) I think the narrower collar would maintain a good scale for view A, since there's the ruffle added to it. I don't know how much all of this has to do with New Look's grading, and how the proportions would look in, say, the smallest size (this is a middle size).
• The way I did this, there was an awful lot of hand work. You can do a lot less if you're fine with topstitching down centers front and around the neckline, armholes, and hem.
• For beginners, the instructions would make this harder than it needs to be. No, the tie ends are NOT made identically to the button loops — you have to finish the ends! Purchased bias tape will look pretty bad on some fabrics, and, uh... I think there was some other questionable thing about them that I can't recall at this point. I'll try to think of it if I get around to reviewing this.
• The tie ends are long enough that they'll go around the front, if you like that sort of thing.
• Worth hunting down? Maybe, if New Look normally fits you well. It seems like there aren't so many fitted, woven blouse patterns these days, so I'm happy I still have some of these old ones.

Patterns with optional set-in sleeves

Generally, if you're making a set-in sleeve, you want more armhole/-scye depth than you would on a sleeveless version of the same thing.

Very often, home-sewing patterns with sleeved and sleeveless views do not take this into account. I've just cut (out-of-print) New Look 6387, which is no exception. In this situation, it's usually a good idea to raise the bottom of the armhole if you're not adding the sleeve.

How much? I find an inch or so tends to be about right, if the pattern is fitted, and assuming the armhole started out at a good set-in-sleeve depth for the wearer in the first place. You might get away with tightening the side seam slightly too, if necessary, but IMO it's best if anything sleeveless is fairly fitted in the shoulder/underarm area to begin with (meaning the right amount of dart shaping, and not too much bust ease). Otherwise, gaping is a likely result. An 80s/90s-style boxy, drop-shoulder, low-armhole top would not be the best starting point for this.

Cowl sleeves

So, the latest Vogue Patterns catalog has this Guy Laroche, which, as far as I can tell from the flats, may have cowl sleeves. (I won't be absolutely certain until I have it, which probably won't be for a month or so — if anyone's got it already, correct me if I'm wrong.)

I don't see these often. Have a look at the Vintage Patterns wikia (if you block or don't mind all the ads) for a few; they seem restricted to the 30s and the 80s.

Like a neckline cowl, they can be made with or without pleats. Rhonda Buss drafts an example of the latter type here. Pattern pieces tend to look either squared off or forked at the top of the cap.

Far left: short pleated cowl sleeve on the blue dress; far right: both long sleeves are cowls, the green one having an opening, and the pinky-beige one pleats. (The brown sleeve on the upper left is not really a cowl; it just has a slightly droopy pleated cap.)

They're not the most classic, restrained look, which may explain why they don't show up often. I probably won't make the Laroche in its original form; I mostly want to experiment with it. It looks different from all of the above styles in that the pleats are nearly all in the underarm seam, not the cap, placing the fullness much further down the arm. So maybe it's a true cowl, or maybe it's just got some extra length being pleated up. The pattern piece will tell.