Sew Distracted

Caftan #2

Well, the second caftan is finished.  As I suspected it is not as blatantly elegant as the first, but that large graphic print did wonders.  I still like this one though.

This fabric is also from Emma One Sock and is a cotton/lycra knit.  It is much heavier than the first knit, still quite drapey but with a substantial feel to it.  It therefore hugs the body much more closely on wearing. 

I cut the sleeves narrower on this caftan, tapering out about 2 inches at the wrist leaving the shoulders and the basic shape of the garment the same.  These fit much more closely around the wrist and I like this much better.

I also did a double row of twin needle stitching around the hem as I felt this garment needed a much weightier hem than the first one.  I really like the way it turned out and the skirt has a nice drape and swing when I walk.

Second Caftan Cut

I cut out the second caftan last night.  This cotton print is heavier than the first and much busier.  I am having grave doubts and am wondering what I was thinking.  I knew I loved the print (why oh why??) and could not imagine wearing it as an actual garment.  If I could not picture this fabric as a top or sweater set in my mind's eye, why did I think I would like it as an even bigger garment like a caftan.  I know that I like caftans out of large, gaudy even, prints that I might not otherwise wear, but this, this may have been a serious miscalculation.

Well, since I started, I am going to go ahead and finish.  Who knows, it might be nice. 

Once again I ran out of fabric and did not have quite enough for the sleeve.  Since I purchased the two caftan fabrics together and they both have Lycra, this was anticipated, although I was naively hoping that the first knit was an exception.

Two points here:  First the sleeve will have to be cut on the cross-grain even though the garment was cut on the lengthwise grain.  I wonder how that will affect the drape of the sleeve and the join of the sleeve to the garment.  Secondly, as you can note in the photo, there is a little piece missing about mid sleeve, roughly in the elbow region.  I decided to piece the fabric so I would have enough to cut the sleeve:

There will be a little pieced in area under the arm.  I am hoping it will not be particularly noticeable. I may be acting on totally blind faith.  It would have been better had there been a way to piece the fabric at one end or the other, but I see no possibilities there.  I briefly wondered if I should have but the entire garment on the cross-grain; it may have been tricky as the garment is 58" long: with shoulders and hem it probably would not have fit.  Too late now anyway.  I suppose if I had not started this process at 9:30 in the evening I might have thought of these things before I cut.

First Caftan Done

The first caftan is done.  It was a pretty easy project, it just took me a long time because I only worked on it a little bit each day, and I dawdled.  I would say that I spent about 4 hours on this, and would have finished it in 3 except for a bunch of stupid mistakes and frustrations in the home stretch this evening.  Even then, if I  had used faster techniques and just sewn more efficiently, it would have taken less time.

As I said before though, it is not a contest.

I think it turned out really well.  It is very loose on top, which I realized from the pattern dimensions,  and with some fabrics I might want to take some of the bulk out of that area and cut a smaller size, probably an 8.  With this drapey knit it is fine.  Also the sleeves were long enough, even with a couple of inches chopped off -- I have short arms what can I say .  The shoulders are so wide that the sleeve seam is about 4 1/2 inches below my shoulder on the arm, again, nice on this thin drapey knit but not necessarily  in everey fabric. 

Actually the sleeves would have been long enough but I had trouble getting them hemmed without either stretching out , or not being stretch enough to push up, or just not looking right.  I redid them so many times, I wore a hole in the fabric and had to cut a bit more off.  Then I just put elastic in a casing so they would stay up at my elbows and pushed them up.  The fabric does not have enough body to be a push up sleeve unless I made it very tight, which is not the case with these sleeves. 

In fact, the sleeves are too wide and I have made a note to narrow them considerably at the wrist.  In a knit they would be nice, even a little long, if they were narrow because then you could get a rippling effect at the wrist.  In a woven, I might have to put in a button so I could have them more closefitting or I might make them shorter, bracelet length maybe and a little more fitted.  I would have narrowed the sleeves down on this caftan, but then I though I would like them longer and I just didn't feel like adding the extra fabric.  The caftan is really nice as it is and I love wearing it.

Honoring the stitch

The super-stretch stitch is such a wonderful little thing, truly a modern marvel, yet we take it for granted.   My old Elna does not have this kind of stitch and even with the various possibilities for knits, there is nothing remotely like it, something that lays flat yet stretches with the garment.  Oh, I remember all the years I have battled popped stitches.  Oh super-stretch stitch I embrace thee.

It seems to take forever to sew.  The machine hums along, the needle going up and down at almost blinding speed and yet, the fabric moves forward ever so slowly, creeping onward at an almost invisible pace.  You wonder if the fabric is moving at all.  But eventually you are done and the seams stretches with the fabric and then returns to its resting state, flat and perfect. It seems amazing that you have spent so long on such a simple seam, one you wouldn’t even normally think about.  You think " I could have sewn the entire garment on the sergeer by now"; but then you do think about it and look at the tiny stitches and marvel.

I don’t think we spend enough time marveling at the simple little things that make life so wonderful.

I have decided that I don’t like completely serged together knits.  I like to combine the stitches from my sewing machine with serging.  The seams appear to look nicer, at least to me, even if all I do is add a simple straight stitch just inside the serging line.  I don’t always use the super-stretch stitch, don’t need to really, but the knit for this caftan is very stretchy with four-way stretch.

Let's Get Ready to Lounge About

Last night (Monday) I finished working in the iris bed around 5:30 and, being hot, tired, and lightly coated with a fine layer of dusty soil, I thought the first order of business was a refreshing dip in the pool.   When I emerged I wished I had some kind of lounging caftan to pull on, to curl up in while I read a book or just lounged around for the evening.  No serious tasks loomed; dinner was to be cooked on the grill, and I had little inclination to put on real clothes, yet it was too early for pajamas.

Unfortunately my caftan supply is sadly non-existent at the moment.  I have two pieces of fabric, purchased for that exact purpose earlier in the summer, which I washed but never made up.  I was determined to get started.  This is something I will use and enjoy immediately.  Tops and skirts can wait.  Yes I will wear those, but the caftan is something just for me, something to look forward to coming home and changing into, something to help instill the luxurious feeling of leisure.

George poured me an extra large glass of wine with dinner saying it would be good for my sore muscles but I was still pretty alert (it must have been the steak  – does red meat slow down the absorption of wine?). and I still felt like getting started with a sewing project.  I knew I had a caftan pattern which I had never used so I pulled it out and started the prep work.

I managed to get the pattern cut out and pressed and the fabric pressed before it was time for my Monday Night TV break, when I curled up in the knitting chair with my current project and watched The Closer, my television addiction of choice this summer.

After my television break I returned to pattern prep.  This is a pretty basic pattern, straight and oversized.  I am making it in a forgiving cotton/lycra knit.  I never planned on making a muslin for this garment as I think I can just wing it from my block.  It is, after all, a lounging garment and I can cut myself a little slack here.

I did lay the pattern out and check critical fitting points against my basic bodice block, matching bust points, shoulder line and waist line.  As expected, I had to lengthen the pattern by about 1 ½ inches above the waist.  In one sense, since it is not a fitted garment it might not have mattered where I lengthened it, but although oversized there is a gradual flare from the bust down through the hips and I certainly don’t need extra width in the pattern above the hip line.  Lengthening above the waist, where it is actually needed, will preserve the slim lines. 

Even though this pattern is pretty roomy, and the size 12 pattern still had a good 5 inches of ease at the hipline, I added a total of two more inches, tapering from just below the ribcage as there is more than enough ease at the waist and bust.  In a heavier fabric this would not be necessary but this particular cotton is very thin, light and drapey and is likely to cling.  A little extra fabric will probably be appreciated.   

Perhaps it was just anticipation of actually working on a sewing project but I was wide awake and ready to leap out of bed by 6 AM and I managed to cut everything out before George was up and it was time to face the rest of the day.

I got the two body lengths cut out with no problem but the fabric was a little short for the sleeves, about 4 inches short, just slightly more than I took up by lengthening the pattern.  This surprised me because I almost always buy extra fabric and I was pretty sure I had in this case as well.  I decided long ago, what with asymmetrical body parts and lengthening everything that I should just figure extra in all my yardages.  I also decided that if I was considering an expensive fabric and I could not afford to buy an extra half hard or so, then I probably couldn’t afford the fabric and should just skip it.  This plan has worked well for me over the years.

Anyway, I checked my records.  I bought 4 yards.  The pattern called for 3 ½.  I obviously thought this would be enough.  This should have been enough, but I obviously did not allow enough for shrinkage.  I have found that fabrics with lycra tend to shrink a great deal in the wash and I often tend to run them through multiple pre-washes to avoid further shrinkage after the garment is made.  I did not measure the fabric after washing and before cutting, but looking at my cut pieces and the leftovers, I would guess I had slightly less than 3 ½ yards. 

Hmm.  I think I need to remember to buy more with washable lycra fabrics.  I know it will shrink, but I don’t always add in extra for lengthening AND extra for shrinkage.

It will work out ok.  I just cut the sleeves short.  I think I am going to want a 3/4 or below elbow sleeve on this top anyway, and if not, I have enough fabric that I can piece in the lower part of the sleeve, perhaps adding a decorate seam to make it into a design detail.

No further sewing was accomplished today.   I had planned a trip down to White Plains to the Container Store for their shelving sale, there were several things we needed, and to Whole Foods  for a periodic restocking of things I just can't find locally.  I also made a brief stop at Yarn Central as well to get an extra skein of yarn for the front band on a sweater I am supposed to be finishing up.  They were thrilled to see me in a hand-made sweater and Marta recognized that I must have made my red skirt because, she said, that she didn't believe I could find something in the store so beautifully done.  That comment gave a real boost to my day. 

By the time I got home at 4:00 I was too tired to start sewing then and I just had time to go through the mail and grab a cup of coffee before being picked up for Tuesday knitting group.  Still I am happy with my progress.