Kwik Sew 3789 - A Confidence Builder

Woo hoo!  Kwik Sew 3789!  I'm done.  A little groggy from the lack of sleep, but I'm done.  I was so excited when it came out of the dryer, I spent 10 minutes trimming the fraying.  Of course this was after I had already vacuumed.

Isn't the fraying cool?

This was supposed to be done so I could wear it Friday evening.  Where did I go wrong? Trying to adjust for my pearness.  When I made the muslin without any adjustments, it was shamefully tight in the hips, thighs and rear.  Another person could have shared the waist while I was wearing it.


To fix all of this, I first tried bringing in the waist by grading some of the pieces from a L to an XL.  That didn't work for the waist and of course not my hips.  Next, I slashed the skirt from the waist down in the front.  I ended up with an out of control A-line.  This happens each time I try this because of my front thighs.  I then tried to retrace the pieces and draw XXL lines.  I thought this worked until I tried to pin the musllin Friday morning.  


Screw the tracing; I didn't have time to trace.  I broke my cardinal rule and used the original pattern pieces.  I used the XL cutting lines for the entire pattern and killed two birds with one stone:  by changing the basting from 1 1/4" from the edge to 7/8", the skirt fit and I made the design detail look better.  (I topstitched 1/2" from the edge once instead of topstitching 3/4" and then 1/2" from the edge.) Problem solved!  


Now by the time I figured this out, there was no way the skirt and I would be ready in time for the event, so I resolved to have my own personal Friday Night Sew In.  I didn't even know it was already an official FNSI!  The collective spirit from all the participants must have been what gave me the extra push when I got sleepy:-)


Nia, my new Pfaff 2058, and I finally got to spend some quality time together. I love her!  I really love the extra presser feet I purchased.  Yea for the seam guide foot and adjustable guide foot!  Super yea for the low bobbin indicator and twin needle program.  I can tell her what size needle I'm using and she automatically adjusts!!! That may be standard on all computerized machines, but it's new to me and I love it.  Special shout out for the IDT; the built in walking foot is killer.  Okay. Enough sewing machine love.  


The waistband casing method was new to me.  Instead of sewing the casing and feeding the elastic through, you sewed the elastic together and stitched the casing over it.  This would have been totally cool if I had been confident in my sway back and high hip adjustments.  I tested them while pin fitting the tissue, but I was afraid to cut the fabric.  I ended up trying skirt on with the elastic and pulling a significant amount of fabric over the elastic. (I should have had more faith in Fit For Real People. After I basted the casing, there was no way I was going to undo it to refit. I sewed over the basting stitches.  


Unfortunately, I ended up stretching the elastic.  I read in The Complete Book of Sewing New Edition that you can steam the casing to get the elasticity back.  Hope it works!  (I so wish Santa would bring me my steam iron now!)  Of course I needed to overcast the new edge of the casing. A little difficult after the fact, but doable. 


My other difficulty was the twin needle topstitching.  I finally got the tension right so that there is no ridge!  I had to rip out about six inches of stitches once I discovered this tutorial, but knowledge is power!  Or so I thought until I made the same mistake on the flounce.  However, I decided I like a little ridge at the bottom of the skirt.  These were stretch triple straight stitches, so ripping them out was not an option!  One should not try new things at 1 a.m.!


After washing to get the fraying, I've noticed a couple of things I should have done differently.  I did not overcast the trim seams.  Top top it off, I trimmed them way to close.  Here's the result:

My other error in judgment was the waist casing.  I should have overcast the edges of the pieces that formed the casing.  Always go with your first thought.  The fraying isn't the same there and it looks odd.  I trimmed it off and I'm still not completely happy.


Lastly, totally my fault, but I used a ton of thread.  The overcasting, topstitching (and ripping out) used 2+ spools of 100m heavy thread.


Now you have the back story.  Here's the review:


Pattern Description: 
Long Patchy Skirt
Pattern Sizing:
XS-XL.  I made what is probably a large at the waist and an XL+ for the rest!
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Exactly. I made view B.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes.  Kwik Sew always has well-written directions.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love the length, asymmetrical patches and frayed look.  
Fabric Used:
Medium weight denim from Fabric.com
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

You are supposed to baste the pieces the pieces  1 1/4" from the edge and use the basting as a guide for overlapping the pieces.  You then toptstitch 3/4" and 1/2" from the edge.

I changed this by basting 7/8" from the edge and topstitching 1/2" from the edge once. I didn't like the way their topstitching looked -- two rows with 1/4" between the rows.  I thought that much space between the rows made the skirt look less contemporary.  This worked out great because I needed the extra room for my super-ample pear self.  I did a single row of stretch triple straight stitches.


I also made attaching the trim over the flounce seam easier.  Again, I didn't like the amount of space between the topstitching rows and at 1 in the morning, it was no way I was going to sew two rows.  Enter denim twin needle. Worked great once I got the tension right.  I also used the double needle to finish the bottom of the skirt.  


I also attempted a sway back and high hip adjustment.


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
This is such a distinctive skirt; I probably won't make it again.  I would definitely recommend it to others.  
Conclusion
I love it!  As a beginner, this was a little time consuming with all of the overcasting and topstitching, but worth it.


Beginners, here are the skills you'll practice:
-  Waistband casing and inserting elastic.  I'd never seen this method before.
-  Topstitching.  This is how you seam the pieces together.  You'll be an expert when you finish.
-  Seam finishing - overcasting raw edges
-  (Because of the topstitching and overcasting, have extra thread on hand)

Butterick 3526 Unwrapped

Well, I finished the skirt!  Just in time, well actually a little late. I missed the sound check, but I made it in time to sing with the choir.

It's all about fit.  I got the hips perfect and the butt was really close.  Where I fell off was the waist.  No matter how I tried, I couldn't get it small enough.  At the 11th hour, I came up with a new design element - an asymmetrical wrap skirt!  (Necessity and desperation are the mothers of invention.) I was able to get the waist tight enough and it gave me more length in the front (advantageous when sitting in an elevated choir stand).  I actually like the way it looks.

I added a snap to the front and tacked the skirt in place.  I think the left side looks really cool.

The choir's uniform was a summer color blouse and denim skirt.  I wanted either orange or pink.  I decided to get my shoes from eBay and I figured orange would be easier to match than pink (how wrong I was.)

Aren't these cute?

Shout out to Sears for the only orange shirt I could find within the State Street shopping area.  Who knew coral would be more popular than orange right now?  I needed it in medium, but all they had was a small.  I went online and searched at every Sears. Small was the only size left in Chicagoland!

I don't know if this was the right thing to do, but for seaming, I used a heavy duty C&C thread.  None of the denim threads on the market were dark enough.  The fabric was a stretch denim, so I used a 90/14 stretch needle.  Why aren't there there any 16/100 or 18/110 stretch needles?

The topstitching was no problem; I used two strands of orange thread and a topstiching needle.  There are maybe five places on the entire skirt where one of the threads wasn't pulled tight enough in the stitch.  I wonder if it's because of the stretch fabric.

Anyhoo, I'll keep adjusting this pattern until I get it right.  I'd like to have this in khaki and black denim (both without the asymmetry).  I'll be on the lookout for a dark wash denim in a lighter weight too.  Three should get me through the summer and my choir needs.

Butterick 3526

I know I've been quiet.  It hasn't been because a lack of activity.  It is a lack of understanding how to fit myself.  I have about seven patterns traced and in some stage of alteration. Most were thrown to the side when I got stumped on a fitting issue.  There go the maxi dresses I planned to wear on vacation :-(

I decided I was going to go back to what I could kinda get right -- knit tops.  I was in the process of making KS3740 as a tank with a cowl neck, until I found out that my June 27 choir uniform was supposed to be a denim skirt and a shirt with at least 3/4 length sleeves.  This was June 19.  I figured I could make both.  (I know. I am completely delusional at times.)

The skirt I chose was B3526.  It was supposed to be very easy, there were no issues with it on pattern review and I already had the fabric.  Sold!!! I didn't get a lot done that weekend for various reasons.  Saturday wasn't much better.  But, I had Sunday and Monday to myself. Yep.  I took a day off work to sew.  (I usually skip church on Mother's Day and Father's Day.)

Good Lord!  How hard it is to fit me! What do you do when you have full thighs, hips, butt, sway back and a small waist?  I almost forgot about the high hip.

I spent a lot of time with three books:  The Perfect Fit: The Classic Guide to Altering Patterns, Fit for Real People: Sew Great Clothes Using ANY Pattern (Sewing for Real People series) and  Fast Fit.  I still struggled.  I did remember that I owned half-scale practice patterns (the one Sewing Expo I went to years ago).  Here's my first alteration attempt:

I have no idea if that would've worked or not!  I then decided to just add 1" seam allowances everywhere and see what happened.  Now, I've had Fit for Real People: Sew Great Clothes Using ANY Pattern (Sewing for Real People series) for a while.  For the first time, I finally saw the protruding butt adjustment on page 180!  I thought the only one was on the previous page.  Duh.  I decided to try the cut and spread adjustment on page 180 and add 1" to front piece's seams.

The butt adjustment worked wonders!  The back was now level! That was by the grace of God.  I had no scientific way of determining how much length to add.  I did manage to cut the pattern at the fullest part of my rear.

Smooth sailing from here, right?  Heck no!  Apparently I added way to much in the butt.  Then came the hips.  I gave up on tissue fitting.  I couldn't figure out how to do it with a wrap.  I cut a muslin.  It looked crazy too because of the butt adjustment, but I knew I could pin out the excess.

I cut my fabric and spent two days pinning.  First, I realized my pattern no longer fit on the fabric.  I was making view B.  Now it's B without the ties.

It took me a second to figure out that I couldn't pin fit the fabric on the wrong side.  Perhaps this is in a book somewhere, but I missed it.  Then it was absolute torture trying to pin fit my hips.    Sure, it's real easy to pin down a seam, but my thighs are huge!  (I found out the right one is an inch larger.)  It took several, and I do mean several, attempts to pin the seams both far enough back and straight.  Jeez.

Those are the seam lines on the back pieces.  On the fronts, they appear to be straight.  Now, I gotta figure out how to make tailor's tacks, so I can get this marked and sewn!

Oh yeah, the markings you see are from when I realized the pattern didn't fit the fabric after I traced my first piece.  Sewing can be quite an adventure :-)