Posted on 16/01/201823/05/2021 by mavenpatterns — 7 Comments

The French Dart Shift – BOILED WOOL

The French Dart Shift | BOILED WOOL

Lovely Nicky (@nickynackynoo_) sent me an Instagram message back in the middle of November asking would the French Dart Shift work in Boiled wool? Now, I always get quite excited when someone asks or suggests a pattern variation/hack I hadn’t thought of – oh, the delights and benefits of sharing ideas on the internet! That particular day was freezing here in the UK, and as I had bemoaned frequently that I never find any jumpers that I like, I ordered some fabric that very day and did a test. And it worked beautifully if a tad itchy, but absolutely fine with a skinny t-shirt underneath. And was just perfection on a recent trip to Paris (in a chilly January!). It was très Chic, in fact!

THE FABRIC |

Boiled wool is a knitted fabric that has been washed and agitated, so the fibres have a tighter felt like finish. There are lots of options regarding fibre content and weight.

I used a grey boiled wool from Backstitch in smoke. (Weight: 368gm², 60% viscose, 40% wool – 142cms wide.)

The care instructions on the Backstitch website are to dry clean (but it is meant for a lined jacket or skirt, so fair enough). And the general advice for pre-washing boiled wool is not to wash and just give it a really good steam to shrink it, and then allow to cool. Which is fine if you’re making a coat or something similar. (You generally should allow stuff to cool after pressing to help stop it stretching and creasing while still warm.) The Colette blog recommends a damp towel and a tumble dryer method, but I don’t own a tumble dryer so not a method I could test, but sounds a good plan.

I eventually decided to ignore the general advice and wash it in the machine. My theory being I was making an everyday jumper style top, I knew this fabric would shrink (probably a lot) and I knew I would NEVER be bothered to handwash it, and I really wouldn’t be bothered to dry clean it – I would, in fact, chuck it in the machine when I had to. And my friend Maria told me to do it.

So I did as I was told and chucked it in the machine on a short wash at 30°. It felted up a little more, so felt slightly thicker, but was still quite delightful! I did get a few of these bobbly bits, but they pulled off easily enough. What I didn’t do at the time was check how much it had shrunk. A post-cutting garment calculation puts it at about 20cm on 1.5m length (roughly 14% length shrinkage, never thought to check the width shrinkage!) I didn’t allow for that much shrinkage when I bought my fabric, but I managed to squeeze my top out. I had to do ¾ length sleeves rather than the full length ones I intended but hey-ho, such is life!

*I feel like I should put a disclaimer on bunging your boiled wool in the machine…it worked out fine for me, but I wouldn’t want you to ruin some hideously expensive cloth. Consider carefully how you will treat the finished garment, is it something you’ll chuck on the floor (me: “yes”) or is it one of those garments that you’ll hang up carefully and cherish. Be warned there are no guarantees when going against the stated care advice!

SEWING WITH BOILED WOOL | tips

Boiled wool is quite an easy fabric to sew with but there a couple of things to be aware of.

The thickness of the fabric: it’s bulky, so best not to have too many seams and details. Also, it’s easy to overpress it, which can lead to shiny marks or a stretched garment.

*Stabilise seams to prevent stretching

*Use a ballpoint needle

*Longer stitch length (I usually stitch on 3 and went up to a 4, test on a scrap of fabric for your machine)

*Walking foot: I tested on a scrap first without a walking foot and my sample was fine. Then as soon as started to stitch the garment – it wasn’t a happy bunny, it just didn’t want to feed through so I had to do a quick machine foot switch-a-roo! (My machine is pretty knackered now though, I’ve had it since 2001 and the stitch length is, shall we say, is inconsistent at best.)

* Boiled wool doesn’t fray, so doesn’t need neatening! Wahoo!

*Boiled wool doesn’t fray, so it doesn’t need hemming either!

*PRESS on a low heat, press gently and sparingly. Use a pressing cloth to help protect the fabric as you press.

*Do not drag the iron (you may stretch the fabric) – that’s why it’s called pressing your garment and not ironing your garment.

*Press all the seams OPEN and trim/grade the bulky bits.

KEY: FDS | French Dart Shift S/A | seam allowance RST | right sides together CB | centre back

FOR REFERENCE | what I did

I cut a Size 10 (my usual size) with a finished CB length of 60cm with no hem allowance as I was leaving it raw and unfinished.

¾ sleeves with a finished length of 46cm and 3cm hem allowance. I’m short – you’re going to want to check those measurements for you, measure something that you like to wear. (tutorial for lengthen a sleeve here!)

UPDATE – I didn’t bother hemming it and 3 years later, it’s fine!

I left out the back darts: I marked the darts with tailor tacks, but didn’t stitch them so I could try on the top first. The shape was nice without, so left them out to reduce bulk.

Changed the collar pattern (see below).

COLLAR | cuttingThe collar for the French Dart is normally cut on the bias grain and then folded over – giving you 4 layers of fabric. I think we can all agree, in boiled wool, that was going to be a smidge thicker than comfortable so I cut it half the depth to eliminate the roll-over part of the collar. (Keep the length of the collar the same but you can make it any depth you fancy: pattern = finished depth of collar x2 + 6mm S/A to attach & 1cm S/A on the other edge). With boiled wool being a knit fabric that has been felted, I cut it on the straight grain. And I only cut the notches on one side of the collar (the one with the 6mm S/A to attach at neck).

STABILISE THE SEAMS |

The neckline of the French Dart is taped to prevent it stretching, but when making in boiled wool you will also need to tape the shoulders and the armhole to prevent them stretching. To find the measurement – mark your seam allowances on the pattern and measure the stitch line/finished seam lengths. We don’t want to tape into the S/A as we don’t want to add any extra bulk at the seams.

For the neck and armholes I used a lightweight stay tape (I always trim the width in half for the neckline), follow the instructions how to tape the neck. Tape the back shoulder seam and position the tape so when you close the shoulder seam you will be stitching through the tape. For the front and back armhole, I cut some ½” wide (1.2cm) strips of knitted fusible interfacing on the bias and ironed them into place. Because it’s cut on the bias it follows the curves nicely. I purposely made them a few millimetres wider than the seam allowance of 1cm so when stitching the sleeve into the armhole you will be stitching through the interfacing to control the seam. (Actually would have been OK to cut them a smidge wider at 1.5cm.)

BUST DART | sewing

Stitch the French dart, and cut open the S/A a bit further towards the apex and gently press OPEN. (The pin marks the end of the dart.)

BODY | sewing

Close shoulder seams, side seams, underarm seams of sleeves.

Trim the bulky bits away! This is where the dart intersects at the side seam. Press open.

Set in the sleeves.

HEMMING | sleeves and the hem

If you are going to hem the sleeves and/or the hem, trim away the bulk and blind hem by hand. (Follow the instructions in your pattern for hemming, but leave out the neatening stage.)

Or Just leave your hems raw and unfinished.

COLLAR | sewing

Close CB seam of the collar and gently press open.

With RST attach the collar to the neckline (as described in instructions). Press neckline seam OPEN.

NOTE: I edgestitched the seam allowance on the body side of the seam, to flatten it a bit. Personally, I prefered the look of the garment without the edgestitching, but if you have bouncy seam allowances that won’t behave, edgestitching them flat is going to be the answer. You could actually twin needle the seam, with a row of stitching either side of the neck seam.

Fold the free edge of the collar to inside side to cover seam and allowances. Stitch in the Ditch of the seam from the right side to hold the collar in place.

Tah da!…..Or……

just leave the collar to flop over!

Posted on 13/06/201707/08/2023 by mavenpatterns — 2 Comments

The Frill Sleeve Pattern Hack

Sleeves and frills are apparently the ‘thing’ this season.

source images: gingham / pink / black / navy / stripe / ivory

As you can see from the mood board, frill sleeves are all the rage and anything goes! All you need to do is look for inspiration and decide the length and fullness you want. Take a close look at them…what will it be? The ivory one has a shorter sleeve length and longer frill compared to the black top which has a long frill and full length sleeves. Or the contrast stripe direction with a Breton feel. Maybe a double layer of frilly-ness is your thing. Personally, I love the gingham and the seam stitched to create a ruffled top edge. If you look carefully you can see a peplum at the waist done in the same style. If you want to create this yourself it is the same principle as the method below – a rectangle gathered up and just stitched on. This is a very simple pattern hack that will give you extra mileage out of The French Dart Shift pattern (or indeed any pattern). And here’s the real joy…when you are fed up with frills at your elbows, just chop them off and you are left with a classic top that you will be able to continue to wear for years. No wasteful transient fashions for us!

MAKE A FRILL SLEEVE – METHOD

S/A: seam allowance | RST: right sides together

Trace the sleeve pattern. Decide the length you want the sleeve to finish without the frill. I wanted my frill to sit just above my elbow so I made my pattern 24cm nett (without seam allowance) in length and then added a 1cm hem allowance to attach the frill with. Check you like the hem circumference width, if you need to adjust it, now is the time but remember you need to be able to bend your arm. I made the size 10 pattern with a 36cm finished hem circumference. (I’m 5’2″ so you may need a longer sleeve than me :/ Just measure your overarm or a garment you like.

Next, decide how much fullness you want in your frill. I worked on a 2:1 ratio so there is twice the length of fabric for the frill compared to the NETT hem circumference of the sleeve. You can add more if you want, it depends a little on your fabric. A finer fabric might want a bit more gathering than my linen. I did a test to check what it would look like before I cut out my garment.

The one on the left is 2:1 ratio (20cm length gathered onto a 10cm piece of fabric) and on the right 2½:1 (25cm length gathered onto a 10cm piece of fabric)

To make your frill pattern:

It’s not complicated, it’s a rectangle and you’ll need to cut 1 pair.

To calculate the width of the frill pattern: take the NETT sleeve hem measurement (without seam allowances) and multiply by the ratio amount of frill.

The depth of the pattern is how deep do you want your frill to finish – I made mine to finish 10cm.

EXAMPLE:

In my case with a 2:1 ratio – PATTERN WIDTH is 36cm (nett hem width) x 2 = 72cm and depth is 10cm.

or for more fullness with a 2½:1 ratio – PATTERN WIDTH is 36cm x 2½ = 90cm and depth is 10cm.

Then add 1cm seam allowance all the way around the pattern piece. The grainline runs in the same direction as the sleeve, so along the shortest side of your pattern. You can change the grainline to run along the width if that works better for your fabric. If you are cutting stripes, they would look very nice running around, rather than down, the sleeve.

MAKE:

Make your garment up following your usual instructions. We will make the sleeves completely before setting them in.

SLEEVE: With RST, stitch the underarm seam, overlock and press open.

FRILL: With RST stitch the fold the frill in half so the shortest seams are together. Stitch with a 1cm S/A, overlock and press open.

Run 2 rows of gathering along one edge and pull up evenly to the sleeve hem measurement.

Divide sleeve hem and frill into quarters, by folding in half and then half again and mark these points. With RST pin frill to sleeve hem, line up the at seams and the marks you just made to keep your gathering spread evenly. Attach the frill to sleeve hem with 1cm S/A. Check its all even and lovely before overlocking the seam and pressing upwards towards sleeve.

Overlock frill hem. Turn and press overlocking to the wrong side and edgestitch hem.

Give a press and then carry on and set in your sleeves and finish your garment.

And don’t forget when this frill sleeve trend has passed, don’t hide your French Dart Shift in the back of the wardrobe – chop off the frills and give it a new life!

Posted on 18/10/201623/05/2021 by mavenpatterns — 2 Comments

Sewing The French Dart Shift in jersey!

|SEWING THE FRENCH DART SHIFT IN JERSEY |

I may have mentioned I like to get some mileage out of my patterns and when I was asked about sewing The French Dart Shift in jersey, a Ponte Roma knit to be specific, I thought let’s see! (And Elfi did make a rather splendid jersey one.)

A few things to remember…

Firstly, this pattern is not designed for a jersey. So the darts are staying and the knit fabric is more for cosiness and comfort, rather then body con type fit!

Second point…I bought this Ponte online and I’m not a huge fan of it. It feels very acrylic-y but for a toile type garment, it does the job. This particular Ponte reminds me of my girls’ school uniform sweatshirt fabric, although it actually sewed up quite nicely.

I chopped my dress pattern shorter (by 12″) so it would be a hip-length top without pockets and made with a 3/4 length sleeve (tutorial here). I had ideas of looking Audrey Hepburn-esque. I stitched the hem in red so it would show up, but school uniform Ponte combined with red stitching actually makes this top look less Audrey in Paris and a little more like British Airways crew outfit. Enough of the styling tips and on with the tutorial…

| SEWING JERSEY TIPS |

Always use a ballpoint needle so you don’t get skipped stitches.
I used a walking foot, which helped but I don’t think it was essential.
Use a stretch or ballpoint twin needle to create a faux coverstitch for the hem.
Use a stretch stitch.
Test your stitching on a scrap bit of fabric first. Stitch in both directions, along the selvedge and across the width of the knit, to make sure your stitches don’t crack when you pull them. Tension and stitch settings will vary dependant on your machine and your fabric. Sorry, but you need to get friendly with your manual!
Don’t pull and stretch your fabric as you sew.
If your seam goes a bit wavy after stitching, very gently steam and press flat.
My machine tried to swallow the garment into the footplate at the beginning of a seam, so I placed a piece of paper under the garment before stitching. I had some heavy tissue paper handy but the off-cuts from printed Indie sewing patterns would be perfect!

| STITCHES |

There are a couple of options for stitching your seams.

TEST YOUR STITCHES ON A SCRAP OF FABRIC FIRST! I have since written a post on SEWING WITH KNITS – HERE.
stretch stitch (sometimes called lightning stitch)
zig zag on a narrow width and 2.5-3mm length (I used this as was quicker than the lightening stitch, and set my stitch width to 0.5 and stitch length to 2).
I also tested just using a straight stitch, and it was OK on this fabric (stretch as you stitch) but probably not very reliable on a stretchier jersey.
Overlocker – you can cut, sew and neaten your seams all in one go. 3 threads are usually just used for neatening seams, 4 (or 5) threads for all in one seam stitching as it makes for a stronger seam. The pattern has 1cm allowances for the body and 6mm at the neckline so be sure not to cut off more than you should!
To neaten your seams either use a zig-zag or overlock together. You could in theory just stitch and leave them raw as the fabric doesn’t really fray, but it seemed a bit lazy.

| Sewing The French Dart shift In Jersey |

| METHOD |

RST: right sides together CB: centre back S/A: seam allowance

FDS: French Dart Shift WS: wrong side

(Refer to your Maker Instructions for detailed descriptions of general methods.)

Pre-wash and press your fabric, lay up and cut out carefully.

The collar would normally be cut on the bias for a woven cloth. For a knit fabric cut instead on the straight of grain with the shortest edge of the pattern parallel to the selvedge.

Tape the neck as described in your FDS Maker Instructions. (This style has a wide neck and we don’t need (or want) it to stretch. If you are ever making a t-shirt style that stretches to pull over the head DO NOT TAPE the neck!)

Make all the darts.

| TAPE THE SHOULDERS |

Measure a piece of stay tape against your pattern by laying on the shoulder line, including the seam allowances. Pin the shoulders with RST and place the tape in place on the stitch line and stitch the shoulders together through the stay tape. Press the shoulder seam open.

Close the side seams and underarm sleeve seams. Neaten together.

Set in the sleeves.

| ATTACH THE COLLAR |

Stitch CB collar seam, do not neaten. Press seam open.

Fold collar in half with WS together, so raw neck edges are aligned and the seam allowance is enclosed inside the collar.

With RST pin collar onto the body, align collar and body notches and CB collar seam with CB neck.

Stitch together with a 6mm S/A, neaten and press S/A towards the body.

| OPTIONAL |

Ready to wear t-shirts and sweatshirts often have a row of stitching at the neckline to hold the seam allowance flat. You can twin needle or edgestitch the neckline to mimic this if you wish. Confession: Proceed with caution, I broke my only twin needle when I hit the CB seam, so I continued with an edgestitch. Both look good!

| HEM |

The pattern has a 3cm hem allowance, press to the WS.

Twin needle the hem (I overlocked the raw edge first), again follow your machine guideline and test. My machine and a twin needle meant not using the walking foot and sewing at a slower speed.

| POCKET |

As I made a top it was too short for pockets. Side pockets in jersey generally ring alarm bells for me. It’s perfectly possible to do the pockets but also possible the weight of the jersey bag will be lumpy or droopy under the dress or the pocket mouth will stretch and not sit flat. The final result is really going to depend on your fabric and your sewing skills.

If you made a dress version and want to add pockets, I did a test sample. I’ve followed the basic instructions for the FDS pocket but overlocked the side seam together rather than open. *I also didn’t fuse the pocket mouth, unlike the woven version, just to see what would happen really. It was OK but this Ponte is very stable, although next time I would put a small spot of interfacing at each pivot point for extra reinforcement. Again test your fabric to see what works for your jersey, and remember to use the knitted kind of interfacing.

*If in doubt just interface the pocket as the instructions and you could always add an extra strip for the back pocket mouth if you think your fabric needs it.

Attach the pocket bags to the body, but don’t overlock.
Understitch the front pocket bag
Pin front and back with RST and stitch side seam and around the pocket bag. Reinforce at pivot points.
Neaten the side seam and around the pocket bag together.

Overall I’m rather pleased with sewing The French Dart Shift in jersey. The collar is lovely in knitted fabric and it makes a very cosy and comfortable little top now that Autumn is upon us!

Posted on 18/07/201623/05/2021 by mavenpatterns

How to Grade Between Two Sizes

How to Grade Between Two Sizes

We are a unique and amazing bunch of individuals, all different shapes and sizes. Even those of us with the same measurements can be different shapes! You’ll understand them, with the best will in the world, it’s not possible to create a pattern that fits everyone straight off. The best course of action is to arm ourselves with enough fitting knowledge and skills to adjust, as necessary, our patterns to create great fitting garments.

So, what is a girl to do when she falls between different sizes on the size chart? This is where you need to know how to grade between two sizes. This method is also known as blending sizes, and it allows you to use the top half of one size and join to the bottom half of another size.

How do you know?

Once you’ve checked your measurements against the body measurement chart, may well find you cross 2 sizes, perhaps your bust is measuring for the size 12 and your hips are measuring for the size 14.

Take a look at the garment measurement chart – a looser fitting garment may give you that extra you’re looking for. I often find, that for me, this is the case for the waist on a less fitted style – no alteration needed!

You made a toile: perhaps your dress is a little too snug on the hips but great on the bust… then this one’s for you.

WARNING: If your toile is pulling because of a fuller tummy or bottom, or because you actually need to do a full bust adjustment this alteration may not do the trick, this is really just to add a bit of extra wiggle room.

Tools:

your nested pattern
contrast coloured sharp pencil
french curve/pattern master (optional)

If you have a pattern that is layered, use that option to select and print only the sizes you need.

Then all you need to do is draw a line from one size to the next, use a contrasting colour so you can easily see which line to follow later.

In this case I’ve used the bust from the UK size 12 and the hip from the UK size 14.

It’s important to make a nice smooth line, remember bodies are rounded, so keep your lines curved rather than joining to each other in a point. A french curve or a Pattern Master is really useful and a good investment for the long term. But, you can also use the pattern as a guide by copying the side seam shape on to a piece of paper, cutting it out and using it as a template between your sizes. It will need pivoting between points, and the line will change but it does give a good starting point.

Of course it works the other way, to allow for smaller hips / larger bust combination too (but sadly not instead of a full bust adjustment).

Good To Know:

The Chain Effect: Alter all corresponding pattern pieces so they still fit together and the pattern stays balanced.
Front and backs need the SAME treatment.
This dress has a side seam pocket, as the side seam shape has changed, the pocket pattern needs to be checked against the side seam to make sure it still fits and adjusted if not.
Make sure the correct size sleeve pattern is selected, it should be the same size as your selected bust size, so it still fits into the armscye (Fancy word for armhole. Don’t ever get put off by terminology – that is possibly the first time I’ve ever actually used the word armscye , & I’ve been doing this since I was 16!)

NOW CHECK YOUR PATTERN FITS TOGETHER: nice smooth line? side seams the same length?

Well done – NOW, YOU NEED TO DO ANOTHER TOILE!

But, it’ll be worth the effort because you are going to have a beautifully fitted pattern you can use again and again, now that you know how to grade between two sizes!