Hubby and I dressed up in clothes I've made

One more pic ... the official pic of hubby and I before going into the banquet last night wearing a bunch of clothes I've made:

dressed up in clothes I have sewn

If you've read this blog even just a week, you know what I am wearing: B5355 tunic in silk charmeuse (yes, I was petting the sleeve hems during the speeches) and the Butterick 5221 knee-length shorts in linen.

Hubby's shirt is much older ... the first thing I sewed for him last year.  It is Simplicity 7030 in an offwhite linen/cotton blend, and he still loves it because it is lightweight, cool, washable (he dripped chocolate sauce on the sleeve during dessert!), and best of all he picked out the decorative stitches and was able to ask for two pockets instead of the standard one.

I have to confess: yesterday afternoon as I was ironing hubby's shirt I was cringing.  Ye-ouch ... it looks so sloppy to me now, but almost a year ago I was quite proud of it.  When I remarked on this to hubby, his response was oh-so-predictable ... make him a better one!  He'll still wear this one to tatters because he likes how it feels.

So, along with all my other want-to-sew-now projects, add in a new dress shirt for hubby ... and about four more casual shirts that I already have fabrics for.

Pics of me wearing Butterick 5355 in silk

First some gushing - this IS SILK CHARMEUSE, after all!  (I believe the current exclamation is "Squeeee!!").  This fabric is so light and airy ... even a light breeze catches it:

wind catching silk sleeves

It brings to mind the old joke: "Flap your wings and FLY!"  As y'all can see, my hair is barely moving in the breeze ... and my hair is still baby-fine in texture.  More views:


B5355 front view



Side view of B5355 - my favorite pic

B5355 silk - now I know how the back looks

The pics show me how the side and back of this tunic look.  I definitely have a case of "bra strap peekaboo" going on.  If hand basting doesn't work tonight with bringing the neckline binding in enough, I will need to resort to small safety pins.  The side view and windy pics are my favorites, as the angle of sunlight hits the fabric just perfectly.

Just a note: silk charmeuse is definitely a bad choice to use as a self-fabric sash.  The sash slides against the body pieces and migrates from my underbust down to below my waist and back ... just as a I breathe or move!  I keep petting this slippery sash ... and the hems ... because (duh!) it's silk charmeuse.

I also have to admit I am currently loving just how slimming this tunic looks ... before the pics I felt as though it was clinging to every lump and bump, but it instead is skimming over them and hiding them.  Color me happy overall - in black, white, purple, and green!

B5355 silk tunic done? Maybe

So I bit the bullet (after spilling coffee on myself earlier) and attached the sash carriers and finished the neckline ... Pic first then commentary:


Butterick 5355 raglan tunic in silk charmeuse

First up: using the sleeve casings was not a good idea.  Bias binding would have looked much better.  I may be able to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat ... right now a tiny thought from one of my two last working brain cells is whispering about handbasting embroidery thread around the top and gathering it in just enough to persuade it to lay flat against my neckline.  Maybe this evening ... so if anyone wants to sound the "bad idea!" warning you have most of the day to do it.

I moved the sash carriers down from where the pattern has them marked ... and they still feel a bit high when I put it on.  Or maybe I should have graded the hips out a little, considering I went down one size from the measuring chart.

Another observation: silk charmeuse makes a very poor self-fabric sash!  Then again, the charmeuse would probably slide against fine grain sandpaper (might be an exaggeration) but I am thinking a sash made from a fabric that stays tied may have been a smarter choice.  Despite this, I still like how it looks ... except that neckline.  If my handbaste-and-gather idea works though, I will be pleased.

Final note: The neckline is still wide even with going down one size, and I will need to be careful about the bra straps playing peek-a-boo.  I do like this pattern, so will probably make it again.

B5355 progress pic

Maggie has shown great restraint in chat the past couple evenings, not "bugging" for an update pic on this Butterick 5355 silk charmeuse blouse ... so I thought I would throw her a bone (photo) as I have only two things left to do on this silk tunic: the neckline finishing and attaching the sash carriers.  Here's Mathilda showing off my progress so far:

B5355 in silk charmeuse - almost done!

I am to the point where I will cry my eyes out if I hose things up.  There is no picking stitches out of this silk, especially not with a 1.6 stitch setting!  I abandoned the casings for the sleeves after noticing I could see the black through the white patches of the print (also the darker parts of the purple and green) so I intend to use the casings I sewed to finish the neckline.  I like where the neckline is as cut and don't want to turn it down (not to mention, that is a pain in the *donkey* as I discovered on the hems).

Speaking of hems ... my hems aren't exactly even due to the slipperiness of the silk ... but if anyone can actually see that I will be asking her/him for tips!

Another cup of coffee to work up the nerve to place those sash carriers ....

New thread test SUCCESS!

Since I still wasn't quite satisfied with yesterday's thread tests for the silk charmeuse, I looked again at the thread section at Hancock (yes, hubby also included hitting Hancock as part of yesterday's anniversary outing).  Something *shiny* caught my eye this time: Sulky viscose/rayon embroidery thread!  They had two types, and I got the high quality one (after all, this IS for silk charmeuse) with the 943- in front of its SKU number.

I just finished a test on one of my few remaining scrap pieces, and am pleased.  I have found the right thread for this project!  Other than forgetting to trim the edge on the french seam, this one came out pretty much perfect:


Sulky rayon thread on silk charmeuse

 If you click through to the larger image, the label on the spool came out in focus and is readable.  I'm getting a better feel for pressing the silk charmeuse as well ... I just need to let the iron sit on top of the press cloth a little longer than other fabrics.  Pictured is my best seam so far ... and it even looks like the thread smooths out a bit when pressed.  Did I mention the rayon's shiny sheen closely matches the silk charmeuse's shine?

While exploring Hancock's thread section, I discovered the problem with the Gutterman cotton thread: I bought the wrong kind by accident.  In our local Hancock, the 200m spools are handquilting thread.  The 100m and 800m spools are for machine use ... strange.  But it does explain the stiffness in the seams.  I have moved this spool and what remains on the bobbin here to my desk where I do all hand sewing.  The Gutterman machine cotton thread looked like it would probably work, but it didn't have the shine that the rayon thread does.  "Shiny for the win!" as my hubby and son would say.

NOW I am finally ready to put this blouse together ...

Scrap thread testing - silk charmeuse

Maggie is wanting in progress pics ... fair enough, since I did bug her about progress pics when she was working on her denim corset.  LOL  I waited more than 48 hours before bugging though .... but in her defense, she does have this same silk charmeuse so I can understand her interest in this project.

I spent yesterday testing thread, stitches, and practicing french seams on scraps of the silk charmeuse ... and I am starting to run low on scraps!  I tried out different stitch lengths on my Brother CS-770 (my daily driver and delicate fabric machine) and decided 1.8 setting is too long as it starts to have a gathering effect on the finished seam (note: this may come in handy for the neckline).  The 1.6 setting looks good - little puckering, but not the too short bulletproof look that begins to resemble perforation that the 1.4 setting started to look like.

Now, about the thread itself ... I had gone out and bought Gutterman cotton thread on Nay's advice, because she has done bridal work and sewn much more silk than I have (recall this is my first time sewing silk!).  She verified in chat that I had the right thread by its color number, so that part was good ... the problem I am seeing is this thread seems too stiff for this silk charmeuse!  Honestly, it has a "light boning" effect, especially on french seams (where it is sewn twice).  So I tried what Gloria recommended: embroidery machine thread.  While it still is stiffer than unsewn silk, the effect is noticeably less ... here is my *attempt* to capture this on pixels:


Machine embroidery thread versus Gutterman cotton thread

The stiff part shows, but the curve on the machine embroidery thread sample isn't as obvious.  This is after trying to press both samples, as well.  About that ... this silk charmeuse does not like taking a press.  I should have guessed that when I laid it out and there was hardly any wrinkling even though I had to hide this fabric in a box to keep inquisitive and destructive felines away from it!  I am using a press cloth (don't want any accidental marking of the silk from my more-than-a-decade-old iron) but am just not brave enough to try increasing the heat beyond the silk setting.  I don't have enough left over to cut any new pieces.  (Go ahead and call me chicken!  LOL)

Now, for a little fun and fabric acquisition with little expenditure: here is the "to iron" pile on my ironing board, with my newest acquisition on top: the rayon floral Maggie mailed me left over after she made the very lovely classic keyhole tunic last week (that she hadn't worn as of last night!). 



Floral rayon - It's MINE now!!

 It's about 2 yards ... just enough for ME to make a classic keyhole tunic just like this one ... except in my size.  Not only did I have fabric envy when she posted this ... I had finished garment envy, and since Maggie is iffy about this project I first had to find out what size she made.  Maggie and I do not wear the same size ... I need a size 18 for my shoulders (too many push ups as a mouthy private in the army ...) so I couldn't trade for the finished tunic.  If she ever gets over her "tablecloth fabric" idea and actually wears this lovely tunic she's made ... we'll have matching garments sometime this summer!  Oh and fabric lovers ... fear not.  This rayon floral is now in a truly loving home, where its beauty and classic print will be truly appreciated.  Did I mention its even prettier in person?  It has a second floral motif in subtle white-on-cream to go along with the very pretty pink themed roses that the camera doesn't pick up too well.  Maggie is getting about 2-1/4 yards of my white handkerchief linen with a couple swatches ... the prop in the first pic.  She hasn't been bitten by the linen-love bug ... yet ... but I am intending to fix that with a sample swatch of the FM couture linen (which I now own four colors of ... they're under the rayon in the to-iron pile).

I may not make much progress today, as it is our anniversary and hubby is taking me out (to include hitting Hancock!) once my clothes dry.  I want to wear my simple skirt, a bright pink matching knit top, and my denim mid-Victorian corset.

New project - B 5355 raglan tunic ... in silk charmeuse!

All those carefully laid (half-baked?) Ren Faire garb sewing plans and corset plans went out the window with Friday's mail.  My son has another sports award banquet scheduled for the 17th, and I have no warm weather nice clothes.  As I've learned more about fitting, I've learned there is just no possible way I can buy clothes at a store that will fit me, so sewing it is!  Besides, I have some really nice fabrics I've scored on sale, that sit and look pretty and inspire dreams of beautiful garments ...

My silk charmeuses are a good example!  I knew when I bought them back in January I wanted drapey-flowy tops of them ... and I have now started on the first one: Butterick 5355 raglan tunic, in this silk charmeuse:

B5355 silk charmeuse

The pattern cries out for drapey-flowy fabric, just as the fabric cries out for a pattern to show off its fluid finery.  And the word "fluid" is especially appropriate for this silk ... it really does want to find its way to the floor!  Getting it laid out is the first major battle on the cutting table, because it loves to slide around on itself, even when folded wrong side together, right side out.  It's ten times worse if you try to fold the right side in ...!

Before I even dug the lovely silk out of its hiding spot, I asked for tips, tricks, and advice on cutting and sewing it in the PR chat room.  Here is what I was told would help preserve what little sanity I have:

• Make sure cuticles are trimmed and fingernails are filed ... charmeuse snags easily!
• Get a pinking blade for the rotary cutter, and have a good mat to cut on ... Olfa was recommended by name for both.
• Silk pins help ... I bought a new (PINK!) tomato pincushion to keep my silk pins separate from the normal ones.  If you are inclined to pin your pattern pieces, do so only in the seam allowances.  I pinned the selvages, then weighted the pieces with votive candle holders.
• Use cotton thread - Gutterman was recommended by name.  Test on a scrap before sewing to see just how small of stitch looks best - 1.5 to 1.8 was recommended (mm, I *think*).
• French seams to sew silk charmeuse, which automatically finishes the inside.
• Quilting gloves called Machingers were also recommended, but I have no way to get them in a timely manner.  I may order them anyway since I do have the two couture silk charmeuses, plus the silk brocades.
• Sharps needles ... I thought I had size 8, but I only have size 10s.  The size 10 Sharps still sew better than size 8 universals in my test.

I'll spare y'all all the whining and blubbering of the past week ... except to say my son looked dashingly handsome in his rental tux for prom, and we had two and a half days rainfree which included the kids getting to prom without getting wet.

A little more coffee, and I'll go wrestle the silk charmeuse into place to cut the wide billowy sleeves .... then the sewing silk adventure will start!