silk – kelly hogaboom

i can’t give you anything but love! – in silk

July 8, 2015

by kellyhogaboom sewing journal

I have put together three patterns from Bootstrap Fashion in the last couple weeks, and I am impressed. For those stitchers not yet in the know, Bootstrap uses algorithms to craft a custom pattern. You measure yourself, plug your body’s specs into their fields, and receive a pattern via PDF – in whatever printer width you require! (Um, joy!)

I wouldn’t go so far as to guarantee nothing will go wrong – but in three garments of varying levels of complexity – nothing has gone wrong. The sheath dress with asymmetrical draping shown here fit my daughter perfectly!

Most people would have a hard time sewing with this fabric. But treating the silk – and the lining – appropriately yields great results.

And I made a video – my first-ever! Check it!

So, there are many ways to work with silks and what non-sewists might call “fancy” fabrics – in fact, I’m enrolled in a Craftsy course on sheers. People will fiddle with starch- or gelatin-washes to get the fabric to behave in a more paper-like fashion. And I’ve done those things – with decent-enough results (although please note: not every fabric is starch- or gelatin-friendly and not everyone will want to use gelatin). Stabilizers (wash-away, tacky or non-tacky, etc) also can help – and y’all know I’m a huge fan of using those!

However I’ve found that superior silk and sheer results can be accomplished by a few guidelines:

1. selecting the highest-quality fabric you can afford (always! honor your craft!)
2. cut pattern pieces in a single layer – without folding, ever
3. cutting via rotary (so as not to lift the fabric) and using a sheet of paper under the fabric while cutting
4. making sure the fabric is entirely supported while cutting, sewing, serging, pressing, and interfacing (in other words – that it isn’t sagging off the table)
3. using the proper needle (usually a sharp, for a sheer woven)
5. not disturbing the garment pieces after cutting; sew them as soon as possible
6. sewing slowly! take your time to really love the experience!

On that note: notice above, the edge I’m turning up to set a tailor’s tack. Like I said: paper works well for not just cutting, but handling. In this case, the static electricity of the paper under the fabric “glues” the fabric and keeps it from shifting while I apply these tacks. Using paper yielded pieces cut accurately and perfectly on-grain, so I was able to confidently underline with a rather annoying exciting fabric – a Bemberg rayon.

For the bodice: in every way except the neckline, the bodice is underlined. The neckline – which I created after stitching the shoulders of both shell and underlining – is stitched, graded, and understitched. Maybe you’ve asked – “but how do I get a beautiful invisible zipper installation, Black Dynamite?” Well I’ll tell you! You interface your shell, you serge-stitch that seam allowance together for a tidy 3/8″ (and hide the serge-tail at the neckline), and your zipper tape will hide the beautifully-finished seam! BOOM!

This dress pattern featured seamless cap sleeves. A baby hem was out of the question – the curve around the armscye wasn’t playing! Instead I cut 1 1/4″ bias strips and made enough length to comfortably finish both sleeves. I sewed staystitching at the seamline (3/8″ allowance), trimmed to 1/8″, then measured and finished the bias-strip binding via diagonal seam (in other words, made a tube of bias-strip). Then I pinned around the armscye, stitched, pressed, and carefully hand-tacked the bias fold to the underlining.

The hem – easy-peasy. I let the dress hang for a bit (keep in mind the asymmetrical draping of this dress will make a perfectly-behaved hem a bit of a challenge), then put the dress on my model – in her correct undergarments and heels – and marked the hem, pinning the underlining to the shell. I then sewed 1/4″ from the marked hemline, trimmed off excess, finger-pressed, then flipped again to stitch a hem. Beautiful!

For the belt, I used a pumice-colorway sateen and tore along the grain to get the perfect strip. I used a 7/8″ grosgrain to give body to the belt, and applied snaps in a colorway that matched the dress: (OH MY I am loving oyster/bone/pumice/etc colors this summer!)

And of course: a hand-crotcheted belt carrier – shown here at one of the dress’ two invisible zippers. Since I don’t like the look of a zipper in the skirt of a dress, and since this bodice is quite fitted at the waist, I needed another zipper:

I am not even lying that I owned that invisible zipper installation – with a cheesy plastic invisible zipper foot, too! I even installed the side-seam zipper in the side with the large gathers! #bigPimpin

The dress fit is amazing. The hand, drape, and breathability of the fabric is the loveliest I’ve seen in a while. I think I might have to make myself a dress like this – then wait to get asked to a summer wedding or formal event.

All told: a success!

hot medium-brown wool action!!!

May 7, 2014

by kellyhogaboom dailies export sewing journal

Yeah that’s right, you have entered BLAZER COUNTRY. Who knows how many damn blazers I’ve sewn. All I know is, after I made this one (since Nels had grown out of Nolan, although it was still going strong!) I decided to trace one of my most-used blazer patterns in every size (that’s seventeen pieces by eight sizes, so one hundred thirty six pieces) and then color-code and cut and punch and reinforce and hang them all. And then I decided once I finished this rather ambitious project, I would reward myself by sewing a blazer. So now I’m almost done with a new blazer different than this one.

SOMEONE SEND HELP

OK so here’s a cool detail – elbow patches in a wool/silk blend. I hand-embroidered the concentric ovals, then cut the patches, fused them to the sleeve, black-zig-zagged them firmly to the coat, and then hand-embroidered the very outer oval. Adorable and I think they will look even cooler as they wear!

Blustery day! … and, a few more details:

Bound buttonholes. Here you can barely see the chalk marking the center-front of the blazer – the buttonhole extends 1/8″ in from that mark. You can also at top-left see the pink basting stitch I used to affix the underlining fabric to the wool.

More elbow patches – and along the bottom of the picture you can see the purple triple-stitched topstitching line I used for most of this coat’s edges.

The bone buttons, nine in all (I bought two extra of each size) cost more than the rest of the garment (in part due to how good I am at finding good fabrics on sale). I bought the buttons from M & J Trimming and they shipped quickly! You are also seeing the back side of the bound buttons here. I used a black silk organza for my facing’s buttonhole “windows”.

My preferred pocket method – a fully-lined pocket, interfaced at the top, and then applied by fell-stitch. Here you are seeing the pocket before I turn it right-side out, then stitch the opening at lining and facing closed.

Here’s that hand-stitch I just referred to – inside the pocket. When it comes to a simple coat my kids are going to wear the hell out of, and I am not looking for a print or texture, I use slipper satin from Fabric.com for coat linings. It is a nice weight for a medium or heavy coat, it wears well, and feels very nice.

Echo-stitching on the collar. Basically free-handed. Echo stitching here emulates the elbow patch detail – but it also gives a stiffer hand to whatever you are echo-stitching (in this case, the collar), and gives a great, rugged look and wear.

So there’s Nels’ newest jacket.

Now listen. I’m not going to go into why a blazer really is a killer garment. I’m not going to elaborate on how long and how well my versions hold up. Or even how awesome it is you can pull one off in so many fabrics – lightweight linen, classic raw silk, homey corduroy, handsome waxed canvas, bad-ass melton wool – GAH!! Basically you, blog readers, are in for a blazer-fest this summer and you just need to settle in and DEAL. Will I be sewing other things? Why yes, of course.

Probably.

Oh – and here is the end result of my pattern-tracing efforts for blazers – all marked, color-coded, cut, punched, reinforced, and organized. At left is the pattern, yardage, and sizing information in a clear cover sleeve.

But now I *SOLEMNLY SWEAR* not to sew with wool until the fall. I promise. No, really.

So who’s got some fabulous linens they can point me to?

babies babies moar babies

October 15, 2013

by kellyhogaboom sewing journal

Still drowning in sewing. Thank you for asking! A quick post, though:

First – a gift sent to a friend, who is expecting her second baby. I hope she likes the style of the garment, and I hope to see adorable pictures of her Alberta, CA baby wearing the piece!

Second: two more listings on Etsy – Silk Lagoon and Tiny Creeper. Lots of fins and gills and other such ridiculousness.

celebrating life and possibility

June 23, 2013

by kellyhogaboom dailies

Once I saw a couple awesomesauce photographers at the Sauvie Island wedding locale, I gave myself permission to stop taking pictures and trust that, later, wonderful pictures would come to me. This accounts for the kind of inexcusable lapse in that I don’t have a single picture of the couple (or of my own husband, sister, or mother!) to offer you, this evening. Still, I stand by my choice to be in the experience, instead of recording it. If you don’t know the kind of intense energy that goes into a wedding, at least when you are family or involved in a major way, then – pssshhhfft. I’ll post more photos when they come around.

So, Portland then.

In the house we stayed at, Ralph told me he intended to treat me “like a Queen” all weekend – and he did. Strawberry pancakes, at my request:

Almost better than devouring them (while reading a junky noir novel!) was watching my daughter eat them. Delicious!

Getting ready for fancy shin-diggery. The kids’ togs are all silk and cotton – a silk/cotton blend for the suits, a very fine cotton for each shirt, and silk taffeta for the bowties.

Yes, I made bowties. Yes, it was awesome. And kind of tricky. Bowties, if you want to make real ones, you have to make the exact correct length for the neck. I am now all fired up and ready to make Ralph a few vests and bowties because he looked gooooood. My brother said my entire family was “sharp as a diamond tack.”

Reader, I wore not one but two outfits, changing before the reception. No pictures yet of my get-up, although I offer you my custom-ordered boutonniere, a little nicety I purchased along with a wrist corsage for the mother of the groom.

Wedding gifts: Ralph and I made Jamila a steampunk travelling hat, complete with goggles, lace netting, and homemade wired ribbon and multi-loop bow:

Phee models, after her wedding-morning bath:

My brother, I made an overdyed wool vest. Prick-stitched lining, bound buttonholes, brass buttons, and a secret charm sewn into the pocket. Shhhh!

The back belt:

We also bought them a two-night trip to Sol Duc hot springs!

The wedding was super-lovely and worth every bit of effort it took our family to get there, and get there in style.

Hm, how much do I love this picture? My brother, the groom, looking handsome and happy. Tony checking something in his hand – the ring? His phone? And Chris, marching like a goddamn champion, gripping a bottle of wine. Fuck YEAH.

And yeah I got teary-eyed at the wedding. Of course I did, what the hell is wrong with you?

***

So we had a lovely time, all in all. I got to see my friend B. and her wonderful family, and thanks to some donations from two online friends, we got to hit the Mummies this afternoon, and visit with my sister. This morning I wrote a piece for Underbellie, in large part sparked by gratitude for the blessing of friends and family who, perhaps unwittingly, continue to challenge me in my day-to-day life.

Oh, and this was the first time I went two nights without my dog, since we got him almost a year ago. I MISSED HIM and I think HE MISSED ME, but now we are reunited.