MMM Day 11 and some creative sewing space

Friday theme for this week is your creative space.  Since I have done some cleaning and purging I can now show more than just a glimpse in the background of my sewing den.

First of all, creative spaces are inherently disorganized.  I have a sewing 'room' not a 'Studio'  I reserve the right to be cluttered.

My machine faces a beautiful south facing window out to the street in front of my house so that I can spend a rare day off and be completely in touch with the outside world.

Its fabulous for sewing, but sucky for picture taking.  My full length mirror which features prominently in several phone-camera photos is on the opposite wall making for many stinky back-lit horror shots with the flash shining in one corner.


But its great for sewing which is the whole point.

So, the MMM shot-o-day is off to the left, facing the wonderful silk charmeuse 'Den-Of-Color-n-Softness'

For the last Saturday appearance at the office (fingers crossed) I wore my old favorite black denim jeans and my favorite Marfy 2762 blogged about here but never actually finished or reviewed.  Hmmm I really need to do that...

Or I could sew.

I love everything about this except the lack of pockets.  I also need to put the pockets on it.  I really need to do that.  Big patch pockets with yellow zippers instead of flaps.  The shoulders are very flattering.
The ties are kind of an awkward length though, too long for a buckle, but too short to tie into a bow.  I still love it.  Its got a partial lining with hong-kong finished seams and perfect for summer.  Its one of those sewing zen pieces that you just can't stop wearing.

I <3 br="" marfy="">

Marfy 2745 and my first FBA

So, its that time of year again.  Time when the hot summer days get shorter, the morning commute gets longer and our thought inevitably turn to fall.  

Fall wardrobe that is...

Its also time for the Annual PR wardrobe contest.  Once again I have tossed my hat in to the race.

This is out of necessity.  As of September 1 I will need to do full bust adjustments rendering my old tops, dresses and jackets unfitting!  If you don't understand, here's a little comparison with a recently finished garment:

Before   --   AFTER

No, I'm not growing a belt.

I really like that jacket, but when I adjusted the sleeves so they didn't gap so much, there was too much room in the bust area.  Well, I can't have misfitting clothes so I had to find someone to take care of that.  my surgery is Wednesday the 29th (hopefully) I will let you know how it goes!

So, it looks like I will have to learn the FBA.  I fortunately left myself enough in that jacket, I will have to see how it goes.  I should be able to post better pictures next week.

As for the wardrobe contest, I really needed to get started on the jacket if I have any hope of finishing 5 pieces in September.  

OK, a tailored jacket was probably not the best first choice for my first FBA and those new fitting issues, but nothing ventured nothing gained...  

I have always believed in that in sewing you dive right in to the deep end instead of dipping you toe in the shallows.  Cautiousness is for work and accounting, you should sew full speed ahead!

Besides, I have more fabric... I can recut the top of the front if I need to.  I will never know if I need to unless I cut it in the first place, right?

Here is the pattern and my new jersey dress fabric *match-match heaven*  Anyway, they did include an underlay for the front pleat section.  But, they didn't include a full front facing piece, just the little top facing that is next to the magazine!  Boo Marfy!  I can draft my own lining (I probably would anyway) but please, throw me a bone with a full lining piece!

Anyway, I'm off to cut the lining and the interfacing!

New sewing project, Marfy 2762

Hey, I finally figured out the easy way to get pictures from my camera phone downloaded to my new MacBook!  Now I can blog more easily!
So here's an update:
I just happened to have the perfect 2012 shade of *it* coral cotton sateen in my stash and it really screams to be a short sleeved jacket.

I totally love the casual look of Marfy 2762, and cute little jackets are necessary here Houston where summer starts early and drags on.

Here it is almost done with out the hem, belt or the pockets.  I am going to change the pockets to incorporate that yellow zipper that I had to use since coral just couldn't be found.  I think it works for tho year when zippers are the accent to have this year.  If I don't like it, I can change it later!

The pattern pieces are laid out below:

Instead of adding the bulk of a full lining, I decided to use a partial cotton batiste lining in the shoulder area, and finish the seams with a charmeuse hong kong finish throughout the rest.  I really think I will like the light weight, and it should wear for a few more years than just served seams.

The part that really befuddled me, and I am still not totally happy with is the front of the sleeves.  The pattern drawing and the pattern layout both show the front of the sleeves overlapping the under sleeve instead of meeting which made it difficult to tuck the seam intersection (point Z on the pattern)
See how one of the sleeves overlaps much better than the other in the picture above? I think I did one sleeve one way, and the other sleeve another way.  LOL!  you can't change your mind about construction half way through!

The way the front yoke is constructed, you can't really tuck the Z point into the yoke seam, or into the pocket.  The picture below is from before the seam finish, but I think I am just going to finish the edge, the hand baste it to the lining to hold it in place.

Oh, for the pockets I will probably just omit the flap and fold the top edge at an angle and put the zipper at the top.  Or, I could get ambitious and put in welt pockets with the zipper at the top...

Who knows...

I must get back to work for now.  This job is killing my sewing at 7 days a week.  But, it has paid for some nice fabric and RTW, so I  guess I shouldn't complain.

Stay tuned for more updates