Pleated & Buttoned

ModCloth.com is an inspirational site. The clothes have interesting details and textures. The prices would be pretty good too IF what I wanted didn't need to be imported to Canada. The shipping is outrageous.

A few months ago, I fell in love with the buttoned and pleated details on the Reporting For Duty t-shirt and decided to make my own version with a v-neck and three quarter sleeves. To start, I drew a full front pattern using New Look 6735 - a T & T.




To divide for the buttons, I overlapped Vogue 8323. I made this t-shirt a few months ago and knew that the seam would pass nicely through the bust point. I spent some time working with the shape of the seam line to get it smooth and curving and then cut the paper apart and added a seam allowance to each side.




Once the left front was separated, no more changes were necessary. With the right front, I attempted to space the pleats along the curve so that I wouldn't end up with a button on the end of my bust. I did. Of course. Next time, I'll add another pleat to the top to solve that issue. This time, I added a few extra buttons to each end resulting in a row of buttons that curves over the bust. That helped.

The pleats are spaced 1" apart. After they were marked along the seam line, I extended the lines all the way to the opposite seam allowance. The line goes up to but not through the seam allowance. To prevent the tissue from tearing when inserting the pleats, I taped small bits of tape in the seam allowance to strengthen it.




Next, I cut on each line and inserted a wedge of tissue paper with 1 1/2" between the lines at the seam allowance tapering to nothing at the opposite end. These will form 3/4" folds for each pleat meaning that they won't overlap each other creating unnecessary bulk.




Once all the pleats were in place, small clips were made into the opposite seam allowance and the hem to relax the tension in those areas. Any changes to the shape were redrawn and smoothed. The purple line running through the center of each wedge is the fold line. To get the correct shape of the pattern piece, the pleats were folded along the line and pinned in the direction they'd be sewn in before redrawing the edge of the pattern piece through the folds. You can see this in the image below.




When the pleats are unfolded, each has its own individual hill and valley pattern that will fold neatly and correctly against the seam line.




I couldn't snip into the fabric to mark the pleats since they are on top of, rather than set into, the seam. Instead, I kept the pattern piece pinned in place while I serged the edge and then used chalk to transfer each pleat as I carefully unpinned the pattern. These lines mean something to me - VBG!




The same folding pattern was then repeated and the pleats topstitched into place. Here the buttons are ready to be sewn on. I sewed them on BEFORE I finished the rest of the top because it was much easier to work with a loose piece than a three dimensional one. I was that confident it would work - especially since I was using a tried and true pattern.





The fabric is a black, Vera Wang, jersey that I picked up from FabricMart.com. It has lovely drape and was a bit difficult to sew with. I ended up using a walking foot, longer stitches, and occasionally tissue. In the image below, I've basted the seam and am serging along it with the tissue underneath. The tissue prevents the fabric from slipping all over the place and makes for a more accurate seam line. Afterward, you simply tear it out and any bits that remain are gone in the first wash.

It was especially important to me to use tissue along the neckline because I wanted a neat, clean, serged edge to turn the binding over. I used lots of short little pieces cut from the left overs of tracing patterns. This is table paper used in medical offices.

And here is my finished version. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and - of course - I have a few changes for next time. That's the way of it.




Recently, a friend told me that she thinks I enjoy the puzzle and challenge of figuring things out. When she made the comment, it didn't feel familiar but as I began to think about it more, it's true. I do and then I like to share. That's been one of the hardest things about not having any sewing friends right here in town. I get so excited about what I've made or discovered and then I want to share ALL the details with someone whose eyes aren't going to glaze over and roll back in their head. When I look around - hmm... - the boys just aren't that interest - LOL - but thankfully, there's the Internet.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - My youngest son got a job!!!

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Personal Growth - sdBev wrote - I think you are obsessing about your hips. Please accept yourself as curvaceous. This dress really shows what a womanly woman you really are. Your hips do not look out of proportion to the rest of your body. The dress shows off your fabulous waist. Do be proud of it and your balanced figure.

THANK YOU Bev for sharing and caring and for the heads-up on how my words came across. I thought I'd given myself a good talking to last week when I realized what I was doing and had gotten on with making what I wanted to make. At first, I didn't have a clue what you were referring to and then - quite a few hours later - I realized it must have been the bit about shortening and narrowing the sleeve not to end at my hips. That change for next time is more about my interest in design than it is about my hips BUT.... at one time... you'd have been right on.

In my teens, I had borderline (if not) anorexia. In my early twenties, I was severely underweight. In my thirties, I packed on the pounds and became extremely weight conscious. It was a battle not to slip back into anorexia. That went on for way too long and then a few years ago, I decided enough was enough. I realized this whole fixation on weight would not just go away, that I wouldn't wake up one day to find that I'd outgrown it. Instead, I chose to outgrow it right now.

Since I didn't want my life to be about my weight or my size. I made a decision to be done with pills, potions, programs, and payments and chose instead to embrace my body the way it was. I threw away the scale and did exactly that. It was hard, especially at first and then got easier and easier. Occasionally "it" flares up but for the most part, my attention is not on my weight as much as it is on design - line, shape, proportion. I've learned to really appreciate my body. I wouldn't want it to be any different and I'm thankful for those curves.

It was a powerful decision. I come back to this lesson over and over. I may not be able to control a situation but I can choose my reaction. I'm so thankful for the ongoing learning. Right now, I use that over and over to deal with the unknown around my husband's health. What I find absolutely hilarious is that when I finally got "it" with the weight, I then developed food allergies and lost quite a bit. I tease my husband that these allergies are "all his fault" for surely he was praying awfully hard that his wife would cook. Now I have to. God is way too funny and he has the weirdest sense of humour.