My poor abandoned blog

This blog has seen no activity for the last five months. I haven't done much sewing either. I've gained 10 to 12 pounds (which is a whole size), and bought a bunch of stuff at PR Weekend LA. Now there is no excuse. I need new work clothes and have a stack of new fabrics.

PMB4 pants have been printed and a test sample done. They fit wonderfully. I found a way to eliminate that under the bum slanted wrinkle. When you drop the waist in PMB4, just drop the side seam 1/4 inch less and it's like magic. The under the bum wrinkle goes away. My first pair of pants is partly cut out and ready to begin.

The jacket. Last Post on the subject.

Well the jacket is finished. It has been a great learning project for me. I genuinely believe the next jacket will be wearable, but this one just doesn't quite make it. DH likes it, but I don't feel comfortable wearing it out in public. The sleeve caps still have a little too much ease, the collar is a little lopsided and the bottom front sags. I will definitely make this jacket out of a better fabric.

I've also signed up for Shannon Gifford's stitch and flip jacket class. I'm looking forward to that.

In the meantime, I'm working on a jumper. I know, I know. I'm too old to wear jumpers.

The jacket is in serious danger of becoming a ufo. It's hanging in the closet. All that really needs to be done is completing the attachment of the lining to the sleeves and hem, and putting in buttons and buttonholes. I'm still waffling about working on the sleeves a tad bit.

In the meantime, it's time to start working on fall pants. The first prototype has been put together and it had twisted legs. That's an easy fix. Otherwise they don't look bad at all. It's amazing what a quarter inch on one side of the bottom of a pant leg will do.

It's a wadder

I've been working on the @@#$%%&& jacket forever. Someone said (I believe it was Gigi) that life is too short to work with inferior products. They are sooooo right.


Cheap fusible and cheap poly rayon that was probably mismarked ends up being a jacket that will not take a smooth curved edge. It could be worse. It's hanging in the back of the closet. However, the fit is great and it looks good on me. I believe that it can properly be made out of a nice woven natural fiber fabric.

I have a couple of pieces of silk and a couple of pieces of wool. It will not be made out of a poly rayon.

It's a wadder

I've been working on the @@#$%%&& jacket forever. Someone said (I believe it was Gigi) that life is too short to work with inferior products. They are sooooo right.


Cheap fusible and cheap poly rayon that was probably mismarked ends up being a jacket that will not take a smooth curved edge. It could be worse. It's hanging in the back of the closet. I believe that it can properly be made out of a nice woven natural fiber fabric.

The fashion fabric has been cut out and the outer part is fused with fusible interfacing and sewn together. The lining pattern has to still be modified and cut out. The fabric is a pale buttery yellow poly rayon from fashionfabricsclub.com that was originally purchased for pants.

The lining is a pale yellow poly lining material from Jennys. All they have is poly lining, but they do have every color there is. I'm still on the hunt for buttons.

The fitting modifications that were made to the pattern ended up being:

Start at the shoulders with a size 14.
Graduate to between a 16 and 18 at the high bust level, size 20 at the waist and add 3 to 4 inches to the hip measurement.

Also lengthened the jacket by 1 1/2 inches and shortened the sleeve by 5/8 inch. Did a full bust adjustment. (Who'd have thought!!) Performed a dowager's hump alteration in the upper back. The FBA and dowager's hump adustment will be the key alterations on all future patterns. It made the back lay down like it's supposed to and the shoulders of the garment sit where they are supposed to sit.

I think the hips are a bit narrow on this pattern because if one compares my hip measurements to the Vogue hip measurements, only two inches should have been needed.

Took a dart out of the center back neck and put it into the seam. It removed some of the wrinkles in the back. Also I think it needs to be lengthened by a couple of inches. As it stands, the jacket will cut across my widest spot and emphasizes my pearishness. Without the hem turned up, it's a nice looking jacket, so I think I will just redraft an additional hem on the bottom of the jacket pieces. It will be ready to go I think. Now to just decide what fabric to use.