World's oldest UFO

Breaking news!  Today I am shoveling out the sewing room sorting my possessions, including those stashed carefully in the deepest corners of my sewing room, and I found the colour-work knitted vest I started in the fall of 1985!

The only things missing are the buttons and the garter stitch bands for the arm openings.  I knitted the bands, just didn't sew them on.

I think I stopped so close to the finish line because it didn't fit as illustrated (see below) and the closer fit didn't suit my 80s sensibilities.  I could probably block it a bit bigger, but now the fit seems just fine.

I inspected it with the benefit of additional decades of life (if not knitting) experience during which time I have become far more picky.  
I am impressed by the knitting.  My tension was great and the floats on the back are nice and relaxed.

However, I did a bad job on the assembly.

I wouldn't choose these colours if I was starting this project today, but methinks I'll resew it to meet current quality control standards chez The Sewing Lawyer, and finish it (finally).

The pattern is "A sleeveless cardigan for Sir or Madam" from The Man's Knitting Book - classic patterns from the '20s to the '50s by Jane Waller, now out of print.  If you come across it, it's a really nice collection.

This pattern is from the roaring '20s.

Hits and misses

I'm working on my latest dress (yes, yes, there has been progress) and, as usual, have needed to try it on periodically.  This one has a side zipper.  I haven't done a lapped zipper in any location, let alone a side-seam zipper, since before the turn of the century.  It went in OK and all that, but the combination of a side zipper, not extending right into the armhole but just below it, and a close-fitting skirt means that this dress is not easy to get into.  Which worries me about whether I will like to wear it.  Which in turn leads me to ponder what exactly it is that makes a sewing project a real hit.

If we can identify the magic criteria, I could perhaps ensure that I'd have more hits and fewer misses. 

Not that I have an indecent number of misses.  But there are definitely items that I turn to again and again, and those that stay hanging in the closet.  Have a look at these jacket projects, which all date back to 2007.      

First some hits:

Jacket is #108 from Burda WOF, August
2006.  Top is OOP Vogue 2683

I love this jacket.  I wear it constantly in the winter, along with the simple bias-cut matching top.  In fact I've made the top (Vogue 2683) so many times I lost count.  I wear the pair with a long pale grey skirt or with plain brown wide-legged pants.

What I love:  The fabric - the leaves are woven into the fabric - purchased at Tissus Tuéni in Montreal.  The colours - mix of warm brown and beige, and cool greys.  The fit.  The piping.  The collar.  I like being able to throw on the jacket and top for an instant ensemble.  I like being able to take the jacket off if I overheat.

Vogue 1472 - Paris Original (ca 1959) 

Next, what about this jacket, made from a vintage Vogue Paris Original Christian Dior pattern, found (uncut and including the Vogue label with the Eiffel Tower) at the Fabric Flea Market one year?  I made a skirt to mimic the one in the pattern but with some room so I could actually walk, climb stairs etc.

What I love:  The fabric - lush wool with a woven-in design, purchased at the Wool House in Toronto.  The somewhat boxy but still refined fit.  I appreciated the couture details, like the fact that the collar is cut so that the corners are perfectly square and on-grain (CB seam is off grain as a result), and that a perfect amount was already included for turn-of-cloth.  The buttons are vintage glass, purchased from a local collector.  I did a good job on this jacket, pad stitching and all.  Bound buttonholes, even on the non-working sleeve vents.  (More photos here.)

This is a very feminine suit, but still (am I deluding myself?) powerful.  I wear it often with a little shell.  A jacket and sleeveless top combo is very practical in my office.

Unfortunately, doing a great job sewing-wise isn't the ticket to a hit for my closet.

Vogue 7908 (Claire Shaeffer pattern)

This jacket fits, it's well-made (more pictures here), and it combines orange and teal in a tiny woven-in pattern. I love the colours and lined the body with orange silk.  However from a distance the colour is less interesting, and the jacket fabric is a little stiff.  I think it is a wool blended with some synthetic.  The stiffness carries into the very structured collar (I think I used a fusible hair canvas) which fits very close to my neck at the sides.  This isn't completely uncomfortable but detracts somewhat from the feel of the jacket on.

There is an unsuccessful matching skirt, which is seamed in a way that makes it impossible to turn into something else, unfortunately.  So the jacket is a bit of an orphan.  That's a problem.  I like it, in theory.  However it doesn't get worn very much.

Do these garments reveal anything to you about my style and preferences?  Want to see more ancient (pre-blog) projects from The Sewing Lawyer's closet?

Scattered in spring

The Sewing Lawyer can't even use gardening as an excuse for her absence from this blog since DH is the gardener around here.  He's very good at it!  (More pictures here.)

This first long weekend of the season, I have found that it's extremely pleasant to knit on the deck.  Even when a tiny special stitch marker dropped directly into the gap between two cedar planks, into the inaccessible abyss below.

What are the odds of that happening?  Apparently 100%.

However, this delightful sock is emerging.  I took a day off work a week ago to learn sock-knitting from one of the masters (mistresses?) - Cat Bordhi.  She's a knitting genius.

Knitting a sock from the toe up, sculpting it without seams or even picking up stitches into this astonishing 3 dimensional shape, reminds me of making a shirt with every seam perfectly felled, no raw edges anywhere, entirely by machine.

And for those of you who are contemplating unsubscribing to my blog in disgust at finding (again) no news of actual sewing, I promise you the machines have been in use today also.  Please don't go just yet!!!

Another pattern from my past

The Sewing Lawyer developed an early interest in tailoring. It's hard to believe, but in those ancient days when she was in high school, a course in tailoring was in the public school curriculum.  Thus, as has been mentioned before, in grade 12, she made a plaid coat.

When you are young and fearless, you just carry on and do the most amazing things.  So I went on tailoring, not realizing that this was actually pretty hard to do well.  Attending the University of Toronto brought with it an introduction to the wonderful nearby garment district and the mysteries of the stores that supplied real tailors.

And in the 1970s, it wasn't considered all that strange for a student to wear a 3 piece suit, on occasion.

In my memory, it was perfect.  Luckily I don't still have the suit.  I'm pretty sure the tailoring wouldn't measure up to my current standards.

This pattern is on offer at Lanetz Living today.  Only $3.00.

The zipper

I've had a few questions about the zipper I used in my all-black colour block dress.  Mostly, the questions break down into two types:  where/how did I find the exact perfect length zipper, and is it comfortable to wear a dress with a big metal zipper that runs from neckline to hem?

I had no great desire to add the zipper to the dress until the perfect zipper, a silver-coloured metal two-way separating zip presented itself to me in a tiny semi-basement Toronto store stuffed with fascinating notions.  I blogged about my flying trip to the Leather and Sewing Supply Depot here.

Now the zipper wasn't the right length - it was too long by about a foot.  But when you're dealing with zippers, too long is not really a problem.  If you have pliers and aren't too intimidated, it's pretty easy to remove teeth and replace the zipper stops where you need them.  There are how-to videos on You-Tube and other sites.

Replacing the slider if you accidentally pull it up above where you removed the teeth (oops) is a little bit harder but also not a show-stopper.  I had to do this - not, I hasten to say, because I pulled the slider off accidentally, but because the zipper I bought had the top slider on the inside of the zipper so I had to take it off and replace it on the other side.  I would explain how I did it, but I'm afraid it would be pretty incomprehensible.   My advice, if you ever need to do this, is to search for a video on line.

As to wearability, apart from the first little frisson of cold when I put the dress on, the zipper is completely comfortable to wear - it's not even noticeable.

And on another zipper-related topic, today is the 132nd anniversary of the birthday of the inventor of this ubiquitous and essential notion. His name was Gideon Sundbäck.  Google commemorated this great event with one of its animated home pages.  Enjoy!

My new dress (to be)

I was going to call this post "introducing my new dress" but I decided that would be cruel.

A bit further along than flat folds

At least it's cut out...

This will be the sleeveless dress with the asymmetrical faux-closure from February's Burda.  I'm making it from turquoise wool crepe, which will be underlined with silk organza. The bodice lining is the China silk print and the skirt will be lined with slipperier Bemberg.

Since taking this photo, I finished basting the underlining in place and construction has begun.

"Harmony" knitting pattern
by Nadia Zarrouk - available
on Ravelry

However, again I've been sidetracked by knitting.  My new project is a pattern found via Ravelry.  So far I've done the 2nd cable twist row and it's looking good.  I have some stash fabric lined up to coordinate.  More on that later.

I'm making the top from a silk and linen blend (70-30%) fingering weight yarn, which I ordered from ColourMart.  Oh my, if you are a knitter, you should check out the CM site!  They have lots of really luxurious yarns (cashmere, fine merino, silk etc.) for very down-to-earth prices. Four cones, each about 500 metres of 100% silk yarn for $22 (shipping included), were delivered to my door on Friday.  

100% silk DK in maroon

Here's one of them, auditioning with a scrap of a beautiful wool bouclé from stash.  Did Chanel knit?

Stylish stretch pants?

Another TSL living room view
I thought there was only one errant thing
(a musical instrument) in the background.  But no!
Spot the shoes...

Is there such a thing?  The Sewing Lawyer likes to flatter herself that the answer may be yes.  See the evidence for yourself.

I may have mentioned before that the February, 2012 issue of Burda Magazine is probably the very best in more than a year.  I'm in the process of confirming that, as these pants are the second garment made from that issue.  I could use more of these!  They are comfy, fit nicely, and, made from a black rayon-poly-lycra ponte knit, will go with almost anything.

However, you have to really look for this one in the magazine; it's a gem that Burda seems to have deliberately hidden. They do it fairly often, in my experience.  A brilliant pattern is shown only once (the pattern insert says twice, but in fact they seem to have substituted another pattern for these to coordinate with the grey sack-like top, yellow socks and clunky loafers).  And there, it's outshone by the other flashy garment it is being shown with (the "Miss Butterfly" kimono on p. 17). Bonus: it's sewn up in black, so its features completely disappear on the page.  Why, Burda, why?

I know you may think I am also guilty of hiding the many virtues of this lovely pattern by sewing it up in black, but at least I've tucked in my top so you can see the basic outline.  Here's another view and the line drawings again.


I think you can click on these to enlarge them tremendously.

The side/back, showing seams

So, as you can see there's a deep V back yoke, high waist and fly front opening.  The sides are a strip approximately 10cm (4") wide.  I traced with 2.5cm (1") seam allowances just in case, but after trying them on, decided they fit if sewn on the intended lines except at side front, below the waist.  So in effect, my pants are 4cm bigger around than Burda intended at the hip, and 2cm in each leg.  In the result, they are slim but not tight.

I used a woven cotton for the fly shields and facings to reduce bulk and eliminate stretch.  As I've been doing recently, I constructed them on my sewing machine using a tiny zig-zag (1.5 x 1.5 mm), rather than on the serger.

I can't think of anything else to say, except:  Run and make your own pair!