More Reflective Sewing and Things

Although some might call my interest in All Things Reflective an obsession (or bizarre), to me it’s an art. I think about it all the time, collect pieces of value, and am discerning when it comes to what I like. But this art collection is one I wear, not hang on walls, display on shelves, or hoard for no one but me to enjoy. And to share with you, of course! So today I want to share a few more reflective things, including the pants I just made, as well as some reflective fabric travel plans.

For starters, I ordered some reflective Red Heart yarn from Amazon. It’s my favorite color, so I couldn’t resist! My mother knit me an infinity scarf from gray a few years ago, but I thought a spring color would be nice. I’m hunting through the millions of options on Ravelry to find another knitting pattern for her. Luckily my mother is willing to knit for me!

Peacock blue reflective yarn

Brilliantly reflecting peacock blue reflective yarn

Then, while I was hunting around on Amazon, I found this reflective thread – it’s by Hatnut and shipped from Germany. I looked up the company after the package arrived, and they do some cool yarns, as well as this reflective stuff. I had hoped to be able to topstitch the hems of the pants I just made with this thread. The test stitching worked pretty well, but when I tried to actually sew, the thread got caught up and shredded. It’s fragile, not like your regular Coats & Clark or Gutermann thread. I’ll play around with it a bit, but it could be a hand sewing only type thread. Now I just need to learn to embroider – wouldn’t that be amazing?! Now, about those reflective pocket pants. I had purchased the McCalls 7547 pattern to try Version B, the skinny leg pants, to see if I could improve my attempts to properly fit pants, and replicate some of my favorite pants.

(Kinda scared of the flared overalls…)

I opted for a gray twill, something inexpensive that would work as a “wearable muslin,” aka, a test pattern that I can also wear out of the house, in a color that goes with a fair amount of tops I’ve made. And then I decided to make two back pockets, and to make them out of the reflective camo fabric I have. It’s not the perfect color match, but for a muslin, I don’t really care. And I love the idea of fully reflective back pockets for the spring and summer evenings when I’m biking (and walking) around. This pattern happens to be the McCalls Pattern Company’s Spring Sewalong, too. I happened to mostly make these on our surprise snow day last week (woot!), so I’m waaaaay ahead of the sewalong, but I had to take advantage of the time off. I posted a rather unflattering set of photos on Instagram to show my initial progress, and get some tips on how to adjust the fit, and thankfully, Amanda, Sewalong co-host and sewing blogger, had some good tips.

Oof – humility. Posting unflattering photos of one’s behind for the whole world (of my Insta followers, at least) to see!

So I spent the weekend adjusting and altering and refitting. I am pretty pleased with the results, although I know the crotch fit is not perfect. Once I released the side seams to accomodate my thighs, the crotch fit was much better. I also dropped the front 1/2″ as Amanda suggested. I tried “scooping” the crotch but I’m not sure I was doing it correctly. I tried three different ways to put in the side zipper, and ended up with a terrible center zipper. I did the pattern instructions method first, but then needed to let the sides out, so replaced it with an invisible zipper, which couldn’t go in properly to save my life (and I normally prefer them because they are so easy!), then gave up and did a basic and still imperfect zipper. Whatever. It’s the muslin. Now that the pattern is at least altered, the next time it should be easier. I don’t know how to take out a fisheye dart on the back of my legs as Amanda suggested, but I’ve recognized for a while now that I need to do that.High-waisted pants are on trend at the moment, and somewhat more flattering on my tummy, but I am not sure how often I’ll actually tuck in my top. (Confession: I’m feeling bad about how out-of-shape I’ve gotten now that my sewing has overtaken my biking as my main hobby, so I’m a bit self-conscious about how everything is fitting these days.)

Nevertheless, these pants go with many things in my closet, so I’m sure I’ll get alot of use out of them. And see? Even something as simple as a practice piece can be art! Why be plain when you can be flashy?!?

Reflective Bike Dress Success! Mostly…

It’s been a while since I’ve made a garment that I’ve been so pleased with. My McCalls 6520 chambray dress (Version A in this out of print pattern) has been on my summer sewing list for a while, so I was glad to finally get it done. But not having enough time to sit and sew for days on end, I ended up doing this in pieces and parts, which may be why it ended up being so well made (for me). The pattern called for the waistband on the outside of the dress, so I didn’t make that part up, just used reflective fabric. But I did add the reflective bias to the back raglan sleeve seams! I couldn’t decided and am very glad I did. It looks great! I didn’t alter the pattern much, other than add a teeny bit of fullness to the back skirt part, since I was concerned about it being too snug across my hips and bum. Since the drawstring pulls in the waist, the extra gathers aren’t noticeable when I’m wearing it. I was a bit nervous about the button placket in the front, since I don’t love the button hole function on my machine. But I think they turned out well, and are covered up by the clear flower buttons anyway. Another win! Sure, it’s cute, but how does it reflect and wear?!?!?

Well, the reflective parts are pretty cool. How it wears is the only downside. It’s not terrible on the bike…

…but it’s not great sitting at my desk. The bottom button has quite a bit of strain on it. I try not to think about it being my hips or butt…

See the strain? I’m going to have to reinforce this somehow but haven’t quite decided how.

At least on the bike I can pull it up a bit (and show off my Bikie Girl Bloomers!)

Although sitting in it isn’t ideal I have a sit/stand desk so I just need to make sure I stand most of the day. And not run after a bus or anything. But regardless of this one functional flaw, I really love this dress! It is lovely now in the hot weather and will be cute in the fall with a turtleneck and tights. Three cheers for a multi-seasonal garment!

Also, how cute it is with this little star purse from Target? Found it in the kids’ section.

When You Combine Pink and Reflective Digital Camo

Even with guests in town a few weekends ago, I managed to crank out a sewing project I’ve been planning for ages. I bought this Kwik Sew 4104 pattern last August, and nine months later, it’s done!

Kwik Sew 4104

I knew when I saw this pattern that it would be the perfect garment for the reflective digital camo fabric I ordered from Rockywoods.com, and cut it out almost as soon as I could. Finding the rest of the fabric was a bigger challenge. I wanted something that could be work well with several pieces in my wardrobe, be fun but not an overwhelming print, and still coordinate with the dark gray reflective fabric. I kept returning to this pink/gray/gold Michael Miller Arrow Flight cotton print and finally just ordered it. It’s lined in pink. So much pink…. But it’s Spring, and a happy color combination, so I don’t care!

Just think pink!

I made two muslins for this jacket. The pattern is sized XS-S-M-L-XL, so I cut out a M, and it was HUGE! I pinned alterations all over it before finally deciding to just try the next size down. Cutting out a size S, dropping the waist a 1/2″, and curving about an inch out of the center back resulted in a much better fit. Alas, I was so focused on the torso fit, and didn’t have enough muslin fabric (in fact an old sheet) to put sleeves into the size S muslin, and didn’t realize how short the 3/4 sleeves really were – the elbow dart is about 2″ above my elbow! D’oh! Also, it’s snug across the back, which I would have realized if I’d added the sleeves to the muslin. Oh well. The jacket is fully lined, with side seam pockets, with the cuffs and bottom band faced in the same reflective fabric. The instructions directed to understitch the lining but I edgestitched it instead. Reflective fabric doesn’t press well, so I always topstitch to help reduce the pouf. The jacket doesn’t have a closure, which I suspect will be annoying, especially while biking. However, the bottom band is faced with the same reflective fabric, so if the hem flaps up while I’m biking, I will still be reflective. The reflective cuffs are good for signalling turns as well.  The reflective camo is obviously not 100% reflective, and so as a bias trim in seams, it’s not as reflective as the piping. However, as a large fabric detail, it’s pretty spectacular! I’ll have to order more and think of what else I can do with it.

Initially I thought this pink print would coordinate well with the various burgundy pants I own, but after trying on a few combinations, I’m less convinced. I will start off with gray and see how I feel. But I really love this jacket, or perhaps it’s a bit of Spring Fever and Cherry Blossom Fever that make me completely love this pink jacket. It will be an easy piece to fit into my work wardrobe. I am sure I’ll get a ton of wear out of this!

Happy sewing project face!

 

Sewing Project #15: SF Fog Sweatshirt

To call this top a sweatshirt is slightly misleading. The fabric is a soft, cozy velour, updated from grandmother sweatsuits and collegiate sweats with words across the bum, plus a bit of reflective handmade bias trim. I’ll probably continue to call it a sweatshirt, but I like to think it’s a bit dressier.

I bought the fabric from Britex Fabrics, in San Francisco, while meeting Melissa of Bike Pretty for the first time. I grew up in Sacramento, and trips to The City always involved Britex – as a young stitcher/costume designer, Britex was like Mecca compared to the fabric stores in Sacramento. (Actually, it still is pretty amazing. New York City fabric stores are totally different, geared towards a different audience.) Since this fabric is from San Francisco and gray, and I love (and miss) the fog that rolls in over the city every evening, I’ve decided to name this project the SF Fog Sweatshirt. You will see why!

I used Very Easy Vogue pattern V9026, version A. Initially I wanted to find some cool digital print scuba fabric for the front panel, as shown on the pattern cover, but the prices were a bit more than I was prepared to pay. The helpful salesperson at Britex showed me this velour, and I was hooked. Better to show off the shape with reflective trim in a simple color, I decided.

Not only did I put this together in one day, it went together fairly smoothly, and I am very happy with how it turned out! I lengthened the torso, partially because I have a long waist, and also to cover more whilst biking, which I’m glad I did, although the sleeves are longer than I anticipated, which is a bit unusual. It is comfortable to wear, and am I happy with the overall fit. I asked my friend ZigZagMags to take some pictures for me, and she did an awesome job, don’t you think?!

I ended up adding more reflective trim than I had originally planned. I added it to the shoulder seams mostly to stabilize the stitching, and since there isn’t much on the back that is reflective, I added tabs on each cuff. I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out, but, well, they turned out great!  (Please note, I am wearing my grandmother’s rings while my wedding rings are in Hawaii getting smaller. I had to take them back to Hawaiian jeweler Na Hoku to get resized, and they were sent to Hawaii to do so. It’s hard to be parted with them; we haven’t been married long enough yet that I forget I’m wearing them!)

So the burning question is, of course, how does it reflect?! I tried a selfie, then The Mechanic took a few while I rode circles on a Capital Bikeshare bike. See for yourself – I’m very pleased with how the reflective tabs on the cuffs worked out! I will probably try this on other projects too.

This was Sewing Project #15 – hard to believe I’ve done so much! You can see some of the others in my Reflective Wear-to-Work Challenge post. I do have some other projects in mind, one for next spring already, but both my sewing machine and my serger are in desperate need of some TLC. It’s probably been 20 years since they had any proper maintenance done, oops. I also need to get my scissors sharpened. Since it is practically the holidays, I might as well do all this now, so that as soon as January hits, I’m ready to jump back into things! If I can wait that long.

 

Reflective Wear-to-Work Challenge, in Review

I did it! I wore something I have made to work for thirteen days in a row! I’m pretty impressed – even I didn’t realize I’d made so much reflective bike fashion!

One of the days was sort of a bonus day, since I only made the reflective sash I tied on over my dress and cardigan, so it was more like 12 +1 days.

Seeing everything like this makes me wonder if I need to be more strategic about my projects. Should I try to design mini “collections” each season, that all work together? Or should I just do whatever catches my fancy, as I have been doing? The two projects I’m working on right now, pants and a fancy sweatshirt, are designed to coordinate, although I’m not sure they will once both are done! We’ll see.

But the point of this whole initial idea was to make things I could wear at the office, as well as just around town. Part of me feels like I need to be therefore more strategic, and consider my work shoes and blazers and so on, to make sure everything works together a bit more. Not that any of this is inappropriate, but I could probably step it up a bit.

I also posted each outfit every morning on Instagram (I’m disguised as @earlettef), and on one of the days, I decided to tag the McCalls Pattern Company. They were interested enough that they asked if they could post the top, McCalls 6792, on their Facebook page. Well of course! It got at least 100 “Likes,” 12 Shares, and several comments. I was pretty pleased by that!

McCalls Facebook Love

I think it also shows that there could be a market for nice clothing that as reflectivity sewn into it, clothing that does even whisper “tech,” that is just fashionable yet functional. But how best to focus that? I’m still deciding.

It’s been fun wearing my own designs, but the rest of my closet missed me, so for a while, I’ll sort through what is left. Now that the weather has cooled off a bit, it means it could be time to dust off the tweed! Yay!

I need to redesign my sewing space and desk, too…