a little detour

they look enormous but they're size 42 eu which is average size. found them in the proverbial drawer  and why not draft the pattern?

so here i am in such an elegant procrastination mood instead of sewing the pants with the pattern i have.

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yet some more sewing

scads of  short narrow handwoven fabrics which cannot make a whole garment.what to do,what to make? found some narrow linen that i had bought in nara which could be pared with the silks ,but had no further idea.so grateful for pinterest. thanks to it will be drafting a pattern for a pieced top.

here's yet another one  this time re purposed linen from a much loved  dress. the skirt was box pleats so i'll have enough for something else.let's see what i find in pinterest   <(￣︶￣)>

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frankon patterning

my favorite japanese pattern and my most pinned pin from my pinterest merged into one dress. a gorgeous wool voile sourced in tokyo will do the rest.

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of widths

                                                                  sleeve pattern                                                 

one thing is clear: if i want to continue making cloth for apparel either a new wider loom or dress japanese style. their looms are narrower than mine and their system is minimum  cloth waste.
researching the net for kosode history and patterns i spent a good morning finding all kinds of information.
from there i developed my take, a short top with the  length  of fabric i have.

making a muslin first to avoid hand tremor as i cut the fabric.the pattern is extremely straightforward however.
i can even use the length of fabric i have folded over and opened in the front, as it has a separate piece that conforms the collar.
let's see how this fits i'll be sewing the toile tomorrow. sewing used to be summer activity as my studio was an oven.
still haven't get used to having a cooler temperature. although i have to say temps are expected to go to the high twenties or even 30. poor people here,they are not used to these temps. still much,much better than barcelona because nights are cool.


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on altering

same pattern, this time it's going to be a sleeved top. the pattern comes with sleeves, good thing because i do not feel like dealing with drafting sleeves and adjusting armscyes at the moment. still have a half concocted pattern to finish.

the only hack is to raise the neckline and draft the collar which is going to be stand up -scroll to the bottom to see the drafting instructions.

the muslin. as the rest has been tried i just needed to check the neckline. think it still needs a bit of work.

the fabric.medium weight wool felt. i don't know what's with me and this color.it's like a new me.

"Life is not like water. Things in life don’t necessarily flow over the shortest possible route."

Haruki Murakami
1Q84

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of ramblings

once i finished drafting the dress block i am now immersed in high manipulation in order to get this.
the instructions seem clear, but i don't know with my present knowledge, or lack of it i'll succeed. but hey, she who doesn't risk...  we shall see.

moving on. why is it that drop clothes 

-nerdy term for the cloth in which you cover your table- 

or papers are serendipitously more successful than any purposely painted surface? can't believe the richness of this paper; it begs to be turned into  a piece

 maybe adding a small piece on the side?
some stitching?

moving on further.who says blogs are dead ?now facebook and instagram, not to say twitter: try to better all this rambling. HA!ಠ ಠ

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about darts

this is cut and spread method.
a good reason why i should have paid more attention in geometry class.
( had it been explained in a practical exampled way)

have a great weekend.







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those manipulative darts

 this is my bodice block, drafted all by myself.i know someone somewhere is going to whine about some kind of infringement, but onward i go. there is a gap  on the shoulder  to collar line, this is the bust dart.there's another dart at the bottom. 

this gap is a dart that has to be closed .the bottom dart needs to be slashed open and manipulated so it ..

..fits the dart on the front skirt block. the dart on the skirt also needs to be moved to match the bodice.they have to be the same width.then you join both blocks to get your dress block.

so far it's pretty ordinary, but what if you want to move the bust dart to the armhole? whoa!!
we're talking big leagues here; there are various methods for manipulating darts, slash and open pivoting, but despair not as there are awesome tutorials.

the shortlist:
http://www.ohsewfashion.com/p/main.html
http://www.ohsewfashion.com/2012/11/dart-manipulation-pivoting.html
http://www.ohsewfashion.com/2012/11/dart-manipulation-slash-spread.htm
http://www.sew2pro.com/dart-manipulation/



it just takes a bit of patience and a lot of erasing. once you get your basic dress block it becomes the foundation for creating any style you want.i am closer to making my final pattern  ^_^




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sometimes two is bigger than four

especially when talking fractions ie:1/2 vs 1/4.not only did the other day i read on line that a person was heatedly arguing that on forth was bigger than one half because four was a higher number than two,but later on the week i wanted to draft a skirt block and the instructions called for drafting one fourth of the pattern as then you would place it on a folded cloth to make the whole pattern.

DUH???ಠ ಠ  ಠಠ

1/4 +1/4= 2/4=1/2. and i'm not good at math!

here is the evil one fourth of the pattern, wish there were classes that taught giving instructions.

the right pattern block + ease added as per these instructions, something quite uncommon.

from the basic block i am aiming to develop this number. nothing like a challenge to keep your mind focused.

and if you're interested in unusual pattern developments the blog and facebook page are absolute musts. warning: not for wimps.!

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you can tell it's getting cooler

more studio time! i am presently going through a flurry of pattern tracing, altering and eventually sewing. this pattern is tessutti's eva dress which i previously made this spring.  not an easy sew for  someone suffering from mild dislexia, but  a pleasure to wear. this time i am following this lead because i want a jumper for  fall-winter. i am picking some of my friends' brains because i want to use a *gifted knitted fabric*. more about that  tomorrow. today's  devoted to pattern altering and tracing. while at it i might consider tracing the lily dress as well. the future's calling me.

neki desu
 

good grades,bad grades and passing grades

what happens when your favorite pattern is off by two sizes and losing weight seems not  an option?
you make it larger of course! and not by adding at the seams, as every  sewster knows from experience.

 although not difficult,it is quite a science enlarging  patterns without rendering them shapeless. it's called size grading.
and now without further ado links that will get you there:
burda
threads (excellent!)
casey brown scroll down to the bottom and read up

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ladi-da

been spending time learning the ropes of a wonderful java applet. your pattern wishes can come true, provided you go through the learning curve without skipping any step in the tutorial. difficult for me because when i see numbers i get bored and switch off. but as the saying goes no pain, no gain.

 a link to the applet can be found here http://mysite.verizon.net/jeremy_erwin/ .

it comes with pdf instructions and a tutorial. 

another excellent find was this 50's pattern drafting book provided by the perfect nose. there's a link for downloading it after the review. 

the weaving yardage is on its last stretch, that infamous las meter which seems to stretch endlessly.

and in case you're wondering what the photo has to do with the post; nothing. but don't tell me it's not a cool photo.

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playing bill bailey's wife

i'll do the cooking honey, i'll pay the rent......

cajoling an architect into believing that drafting a clothes pattern is the same as drafting a house plan.

the image i wanted him to draft,

never mind the sulking  model

fell in love with it and thought this fabric would  work well. actually, it's  a take on a kosode, don't you think?

i finally got husband san to draft the schematic pattern. he still doesn't see it and keeps wondering how i'll get the back. gave him the shoulder measurement  and what i think i need to do now is scale that to my measurements re shaping it. the kamikaze seamstress strikes again.

sewing people ideas most welcome! 

weaving the ai-kakishibu yardage progressing happily

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on my way to the fourth

three toiles later each one slightly improved from the previous and i still do not get what i want.

i want a scoop neck bodice to attach to this skirt and make a dress from this fabric.

drafting the bodice  pattern block was relatively easy, especially after getting my patternmaster ruler.

if you want to draft your patterns do yourself a big favor and get one.

ambition  always blinds me and attaching the bodice to fit the skirt, especially when it has side panels is more than a challenge to my present skills.

perseverance, perseverance. hoping to get it before summer ends. after all it is a summer dress.

happy 4th to ya'll in the u.s.!

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get your paper, ruler and pencils

and here we go. homework for the weekend.
have a nice one!

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at the study hall

been studying the book and slowly learning some
new skills.i am sure that if geometry had been explained  in useful less abstract terms such as what i am dealing with now i would have understood everything. 

my first mumblings with pattern drafting. ambition has blinded me and i want to make a dress from this pattern. encountering difficulties  because i need to make the top with enough ease to fit the front. the front  is made of two pattern pieces,front and side, and  the bodice needs ease yet it has to be  shapely. and we are there right now.

more pattern drafting resourceshere  and here.

absolutely ecstatic because i found a tailor's ruler locally. yes, madrid counts as locally no matter what they say.

marriages come and go,but divorce is forever

nora ephron 1941-2012

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