The Savvy Sewer Salon at Sawyer Brook

Jenny, it just hit me how perfectly you matched those curved princess seams. I always thought you had to stretch one side which would distort that kind of plaid.? Could you be specific about how you handled that?

Thanks, Alma. There's not as much stretching as you might think in a princess seam. Thought the pieces are curved, the curves on both pieces are about the same length and the shapes are very similar. I was careful to match the top and bottom of the seams as well as marked notches when cutting the pieces. Then, I use a lot of pins to match the plaid when sewing it together. I hope that helps. I'm going to go into lots of detail as I make my shirt, but the plaid is a bit different (Fleetwood is not symmetrical like Tanglewood) and there are no princess seams.

Cutting part 1

There are so many photos that posting about cutting will take several posts. I'm going to start by posting about cutting out my upper fronts and back, which I did this morning.

First, I want to address symmetrical versus asymmetrical plaids. Fleetwood was symmetrical and Tanglewood is not, so there are not as many matching opportunities with this shirt. I'll explain as I go along where trying to match with an asymmetrical plaid is futile. This is a bit hard for me to explain, but I'll try! To give an idea what I mean, this is Tanglewood:

It's not PERFECTLY symmetrical as some colors very in the lines on either side of the main motif, but the geometry of it is symmetrical. I could fold the fabric in half and the pattern would flow across the cut. (I should have taken a photo demonstrating but didn't think of it).

In contrast, this is Fleetwood:

There is no way to fold Fleetwood and keep the pattern uninterrupted across the cut edge. With tanglewood, it would be hard to see the cutline because the pattern would flow across. Please tell me if this makes no sense and I'll try a better explanation.


Ok, on to cutting:

Disclaimer: most of this information, I came up with on my own. My mom helped me cut out a plaid skirt when I was in high school and beyond that, my learning has been mostly trial and error with some books and internet knowledge thrown in. I'm sure there are other ways to do this, and I'm absolutely open to input!

First, I take a good look at my fabric and decide where I want the center front. I don't want a bold red line running up the middle, so I chose a subtle line between a yellow and blue line. My scissors point to this vertical line.


Next, I place the front pattern piece on my fabric and pin the marked center front line on top of my chosen center front vertical line on the plaid. I only do one side at a time, never a folded fabric layout with a plaid.


Smooth out the rest of the pattern piece, pin in place, and cut.


Then, get your "helper" to threaten to cut your beautiful new fabric (optional).


Next, I unpin the pattern piece, flip it over, pin and cut the second side. Make sure to match up the center front vertical line again, and match everything up vertically. Because of the unsymmetrical plaid, the side seamline and shoulder seamline will not match between the two fronts.


Next, I fold under one facing and put it on top of the other front piece, admiring how well my plaid flows across the front.


There was no way to make both sides seams match up horizontally because of the large scale repeat, so to keep my sanity, I chose the same center line for the back. Without folding the fabric, I lined up the center line on my chosen area of plaid, making sure that vertically, fronts would match to back, and I cut out one side. DO NOT CUT THE CENTER BACK LINE!



Unpin the pattern piece, flip it over, line up the center line again, pin and cut, again making sure that vertically the two sides match but not worrying about the horizontal plaid repeat.


Ok, deep breaths. We're done for now. Has this made sense? Please ask if you have questions, and I'll try to answer. Later today, I'll put up info on cutting the lower front pieces and collar.

Jenny, Good job. You are a pro. You ought to give classes. Brenda

Great tutorial Jenny! This will be valuable as more people join the sew along now and in the weeks ahead. We have a new shipment of cotton plaids coming tomorrow...we hope. Weather has played a factor in receiving these goods. We're excited about the variety of color and of plaid designs. Here's a quick pic of my sample box to whet your appetite!

Oops I said cotton, but actually the red/white check is silk douppioni.

Oooh, Barb! Thanks for the sneak peak. I love that top right blue one (#3, I think). Would that be a good weight for a summer dress? I'm thinking bias-cut...

Cutting part 2

Thanks for the encouragement, Brenda. Explaining parts of this is a bit trickier than I thought it would be, but it's fun to document.

This second installment will go a little faster since we've laid the groundwork already.

Setting the position for the bottom front is a bit tricky because I did match the plaid pattern. To do this, I looked at my top front pieces, located the center front line, and measured up 5/8" from the bottom (seam allowance). I marked that with a pin (a white pin actually - a bit difficult to see in the photo). This spot of the plaid must match the adjoining spot on the bottom front piece - 5/8" down from the top of the center line. Clear as mud? Ignore the folds on the bottom front pattern tissue. I folded out some fullness to avoid gathering and billowing over my tummy.


Smooth out the rest of the pattern piece, keeping the center front line on grain. Cut one side, unpin, flip, and cut the other half, as we did yesterday.


The lower back is cut exactly the same.

Positioning the sleeves is similar. There is no way to line up the plaid all the way around the sleeve cap. I pick one spot to match it and the rest of the front of the sleeve will look pretty nice. (The back is a free-for-all). I match the plaid at the front sleeve cap notches. On the top front piece, I measure in 5/8" at the sleeve notch and mark with a pin. That spot on the plaid is where I line up the sleeve piece, 5/8" in from the corresponding front sleeve cap notch.


Smooth out the sleeve pattern piece on grain, pin and cut. Repeat for the other sleeve.

The last plaid I match is on the sleeve cuffs, using the same general idea as the sleeve caps. I locate the bottom of the main sleeve piece - the notch to match it to the cuff, measure in 5/8" from each notch and make sure they match.


Thus, our plaid matching is at an end! Yippee!!!
I do not bother trying to match any plaids on my collar or collar stand. There are too many moving parts once the shirt is made up, and it's just not worth the hassle, personally. All I do is use the same center line as the front and back pieces.


The little odds and ends are all placed willy nilly. So freeing! I cut pockets (not sure if I'll use them or not), sleeve tabs, and the continuous lap pieces (not shown) on the bias for interest. The straight-grain sleeve tab pieces are for facing them and to provide stability.


Cutting is complete! I much prefer sewing, and it's finally time to get started.

It's been a productive evening! I assembled the top pieces and put on the collar. Best of all, I found the buttons for my vest today and finished up that project! If it's cool enough in the morning, I'll wear it to church. If not, I'll have hubs take photos when we get home. I hope everyone else is having a productive sewing weekend.

Most f the plaids in the sample pic are shirting weight. #3 is a fine cotton yarn-dye that would work well for a lightweight dress. More details on others coming soon.

Here are the final photos of my Tanglewood vest.

Jenny, what a beautiful vest, and what a great job you did matching the plaid, especially in a garment that has so much shape. The buttons look great too. You must be getting a lot of compliments on it.

My plaid shirt is coming along. The sleeves have a fitted armhole which works well because the fabric's linen/cotton blend has some crispness. This may wind up being an unlined summer jacket, worn open, but I do like the way it looks buttoned up with the modified v-neck collar.


The sleeve fits me better than the mannequin so hopefully when it's all done I'll post a picture wearing it.

Lisa

Lisa, it's looking beautiful! Perfection on that back yoke matching, of course.

I just downloaded pics of my sewing... deleted them from my camera... and then iPhoto died... erasing all the pics... going to cry now.

I have stopped getting SA notifications so I'm sorry I just saw them today.

Jenny, your instructions have been very clear and useful. You picked a pattern with many "moving parts", making the matching even more exciting.
I do love your Tanglewood vest. It has a nice dropped collar and the buttons are really perfect for it. Maybe you found them the same day I found my seam ripper .

Lisa, as always a great job. You reminded me that every year I wish I had more lightweight jackets...I need to do something about that.

Jenny I do sympathize with your photo misadventures. One of the problems I have with my tremor is that almost everytime I post I inadvertantly erase whatever I've written...sometimes three times , so go ahead and cry and start over tomorrow.

Thanks for the nice comments on my vest. It's one of those projects where a vision just appeared in my head of what I wanted to make with my lonely yard of Tanglewood and then everything worked out as planned. Now it's definitely a unique piece in my wardrobe but one I believe will see a fair amount of wear, both with a skirt for church (as in the photos) as well as with jeans and a brown sweater for warmth.

The buttons on my Tanglewood vest are from Sawyer Brook a few years ago. They are actually from my first ever order from SBDF... for a jacket which is still sitting in my sewing closet without a lining. I love how they look with this vest, though.

I snapped a few photos tonight after putting in my sleeves. Tomorrow I'll assemble the bottom body sections and re-document the plaid-matching since iPhoto ate my first attempt.

I know why my sleeves don't match my fronts as I said they would. I measured in 5/8" at the front notches and matched the plaid there. However, I didn't measure that 5/8" at the correct angle on both pieces to ensure the match, so it's a bit off. Oh well. Live and learn. It's a casual shirt, and I'm not making new sleeves.


cuff


side seam

Jenny, the center front plaid match is so well done--both in the exact match, but also in where you chose to separate the plaid. The shirt flows beautifully and I'm looking forward to seeing the "eaten" pictures, especially to get some tips on how to keep plaid from slipping while sewing. You've done that so well.

Buttons and buttonholes went on my shirt yesterday. One thing about sewing plaid is that it gives exact lines where to sew the buttonholes, making it much easier than usual. For buttons I used a small blue button that may have been in my stash for 30 years. One day I knew they'd find their place and now they have.

Here is the jacket the way I will probably wear it most often, except that the turtleneck will be replaced with a white t-shirt. Shown with it are the navy pants I made a few years ago and have never worn. When I put this jacket on over them, it became clear there were two reasons why I have never worn the pants before. First, they are too plain with just a t-shirt. And second, having one's backside covered is so much more comfortable. As soon as I put the jacket on, the pants felt instantly comfortable.

Believe it or not, the day lilies are pushing up outside in the garden. It was 18 degrees this morning and is heading up to the fifties over the weekend. It's that up and down time of year and time to get out the small hand spade to pull those first weeds before they multiply. This year my plans are to keep it simple and easy in the garden. More sewing time.

Lisa