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Transcript:

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Caroline: Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s basically all we want to talk about.

Helen: The time has come! Today on the podcast, we are sewing the good fabric. As sewists, we cherish our beloved fabrics and sometimes we get a little too attached. How could we possibly cut into something so precious? Well, we took the plunge and sewed up our favourite fabrics, and we can’t wait to share them with you and with each other.

Caroline: Ooh! If you love to sew the good fabric, this is your show. Yay!

Helen: Yay!

Caroline: Okay. I am so excited to talk about what we made.

Helen: I know.

Caroline: But we have, we have things to say first. We have things to say.

Helen: Yes. Okay. As always, if you wanna support the show, the best way to do that is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions. If you do that, you get access to bonus content every month. Caroline and I get together and we catch each other and you all up on everything that’s happening in our lives and in our businesses and what we’re sewing and pattern releases and movies we’ve seen and all sorts of stuff. It’s super fun and it means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two.

Caroline: Yeah. And if that’s not in the cards for you right now, we totally understand. Thank you so much for being here, for listening to the show, and for cheering us on. We love you guys.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: Alright. We’re gonna kick off the show with some feedback. This is from Meghan. Meghan sent us an article called “The Zipper Is Getting Its First Major Upgrade in 100 Years” in Wired. YKK, the biggest zipper manufacturer, made a tape-free zipper. It’s called “AiryString,” and it’s lighter and more flexible than traditional zippers. You know how zipper tape can kind of stick out when you’re using flowy or stretchy fabrics, or when a garment fits really close to the body? The AiryString is supposed to eliminate that. The teeth are connected by links. YKK worked with Juki to design a new industrial machine to sew them on. I don’t know whether these can be attached by home sewing machine; it looks like the industrial machine is zigzagging between the teeth in a pattern that would be hard to replicate. But I bet it could be hand sewed. As far as I know, individual sewists can’t buy these zippers yet; they’re only available for clothing manufacturers. I have to admit, Helen, when I saw this article and I saw the pictures, I felt like we were living in the future a little bit. I was like, how is this, how does this even work? I don’t, I still don’t understand fully. It’s just a floating zipper tooth string.

Helen: Yeah, it is. It’s so funny, too, ’cause it’s like, “It’s getting its first major upgrade” and I looked at the picture, I’m like, “Well, that’s just a zipper with no tape on the sides.”

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: But I am very intrigued by how they’re gonna sew it on, like, this new machine sounds really cool. And it’ll be interesting to see if that gets adapted into home sewing machines at all, or what happens in the future.

Caroline: I just have questions. Like, how do you sew this on but then have it be attached to something while that, something not getting stuck in the zipper teeth when you open and close the zipper, you know?

Helen: Yeah, right? Fascinating.

Caroline: I need more information and I’m sure that will all come to light as this zipper becomes more mainstream. But we’re…

Helen: Um, AiryString, thank you.

Caroline: Sorry. We’re going to link the article for you all in the show notes for this episode so that you can take a look and decide what you think. Let us know.

Helen: Yeah. Very cool. And next up, we have a question from Amelia. Amelia writes, “Hey there! I recently saw a tutorial that Helen posted of how to edit the Falconer pants from a zipper fly to elastic waistband. I loved that idea and it made me wonder: if there was a pair of pants that are patterned for an elastic waistband but I wanted to have a zipper fly, do you think I could re-pattern it so it could have the fly instead? I have the pattern for the Topo Pants by Leila Makes but the elastic waist is not my favourite.” Ooh, cool question.

Caroline: Yeah. Thank you for writing to us, Amelia. This is definitely achievable, but it’s gonna take more work than making regular waist pants into elastic waist. But we’re gonna lay out some steps that you can follow to make this happen.

Helen: Yeah. First, you’re gonna wanna make a muslin of the pants pattern without the waistband. And instead of widening the pattern from the hip to the waist, you’re gonna be narrowing it. So you’re gonna pinch out the excess at each seam, front, back, and the side seams, so that it fits your waist measurement with enough ease for movement. And after you feel like you have the right fit from hips to waist, you can draft the waistband piece based on that new waist measurement. And you can also play with adding things like pleats and darts to get even more fitting at the waist instead of just using those four seams, ’cause that might not be enough.

Caroline: Definitely. And make sure to leave the front seam of your muslin open where the fly is gonna be so that you can get the muslin on and off your body. You can pin it along the seam line once you have them on, just to check the fit.

Helen: And make sure to move around in your muslin. You wanna bend, sit down, squat so that you know that you have enough ease to actually wear the pants.

Caroline: Yeah, pay attention to the grainline, as well, and the seams of your pants pieces as you’re pinching out and basting. They should all be going straight down your legs without curving or angling. It can be helpful to draw the grain line in the middle of each of the four pattern pieces in marker so that you can really see it.

Helen: And keep track of the changes you’re making to your muslin so you can transfer those changes to the paper pattern pieces in the end. I would suggest copying the fly pattern parts from another pattern just because that would be easier than drafting all of those fly pieces. But if you really wanna draft your own, we have a tutorial that will link up for you in the show notes.

Caroline: And it might be easier overall to mash up a couple of pants patterns to get the look that you want. You can trace off a fitted pants pattern from hip to crotch and blend it with the topo pattern from the crotch down. And then you can use the double fronts and patch pockets from the Topo. Plus, you’ll get that drawstring detail at the hem. If you want a similar back yoke to the Topo Pants, you can use the yoke pattern pieces as a template and trace it onto your fitted pants pattern.

Helen: Ooh! Totally. Okay. Good luck with this project, Amelia. Such a great idea. Anything is possible in sewing, you know? If you, you’re like, “I wonder if I could do this?” The answer is “Yes.” It just takes a little finagling, a little experimentation. You could do it.

Caroline: It’s the beauty of sewing. Anything is possible. Alright, Helen, should we get into the show?

Helen: Yes, please.

Caroline: Okay, well, in case you all don’t already know: in our We Sew episodes, we each sew a project according to a theme, and then we reveal them to each other on the podcast. It’s thrilling for us and hopefully you, as well. And the theme this time around is “the good fabric.” So, it’s a common thing among sewists to save your favourite fabrics for the perfect time. The problem is, the perfect time might never come. And then your coolest fabrics are just sitting in your stash. So a lot of sewists like to say, “Sew the good fabric!” and that’s just what we did.

Helen: Yeah, it was such a fun opportunity to look through my fabric stash and gather a few pieces that I would consider to fit this mould of “the good fabric.” But it also got me thinking about all the different ways that one could interpret this idea of “the good fabric.” There’s fabric you picked up on vacation. There’s fabric you received as a gift. There’s fabric you got from your parents or your grandparents. There’s just beautiful fabric you bought at the store that you think is so pretty, you can’t cut it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It just runs the gamut. There’s so many different kinds of good fabric out there.

Caroline: I feel like, for me, it’s either something that’s really expensive that feels like it holds a lot of value, or something that I know I cannot get again, mainly, like, deadstock things. Those are some of the things that I hold onto the most, is like, if I know, even if I searched high and low, I would never be able to find this again. That makes it “good” for me and it makes me not want to touch it and to kind of, like, treat it really carefully and make sure that I am doing it justice.

Helen: Totally. I think like a lot of the pieces I pulled when I was looking at my good fabric were very unique, too. Like, they weren’t solids, they were like flashier things, more interesting prints that you wouldn’t necessarily see on the day to day, more exciting colours that you don’t encounter, like some kind of, like, weave that was really interesting. I consider those fabrics to be more precious, just ’cause they’re more exciting, I guess.

Caroline: A hundred percent. Yeah. And actually, when I was thinking about this challenge, I thought that you might pick something that you got on vacation. ‘Cause I know you’ve purchased some beautiful fabrics on vacation before. So I’m, like, so excited even just to know what fabric you picked.

Helen: I know, I’m so excited to share. I think we should talk about the fabric first and kind of reveal that to each other, and then we’ll talk about what we made with it and we can do a second reveal.

Caroline: Okay. I love this. We’re doing this in stages. Okay. Do you want to go first?

Helen: Sure. Okay.

Caroline: Ooh, wait. Wow!

Helen: Okay, I’m gonna talk about it while you look. So when I was looking at all these fabrics I could choose from, I realized that I was most scared to cut into a couple of fabrics that I’ve gotten at the thrift store over the years. These feel really precious to me because they’re really unique pieces, one-of-a-kind, like, off-chance that you were there that day, you saw this fabric, you bought it, who knows what its story is, you know, like, that’s exciting, too. So I ended up choosing this piece of upholstery fabric. I think it was a curtain ’cause it has, like, tassels along each end. And it’s kind of like a big wide panel, basically. And it’s really gorgeous. But I will say, it is also kind of fraying. It was a little worse for wear. It smelled kind of bad. Like, it’s not by any means, like, you know, super fancy, but it is, like, a jacquard weave and it has these gold lilies on it. Like, they’re actual metallic thread lilies. They’re really shiny. The background’s kind of a cream colour and then there are vines and leaves between the gold lilies and they’re also metallic greens and reds. It almost has, like, an Art Nouveau feel to it. And because it’s a jacquard, the back’s also really pretty. It’s more of, like, a red background with pink lilies. And part of what has always paralyzed me about using this fabric is that I love both sides and I could never choose which side I wanted to use. But for this episode, I was like, “I’m sewing this fabric. I have to pick one.” So I went with the “right side” of the fabric, which is the gold lily side.

Caroline: Okay. This is really in your colour wheelhouse, too. I feel like it’s gonna incorporate really well with the rest of your wardrobe. Okay. I have to say, I’m super surprised. This is not what I was expecting.

Helen: You could not have predicted this.

Caroline: You totally threw me a curveball here. I can’t wait to see what you made with it. Can I give you my thoughts on what I would make with this fabric?

Helen: Ooh, I would love that.

Caroline: Okay. I think I would do some sort of jacket or coat or, like, shacket situation, like a, like an oversized thing. And use, potentially use the tassels somewhere.

Helen: Ooh. Mmhmm. The tassels are very intriguing. They’re, like, made up of the fabric that was woven to make the jacquard. So they kind of continue off the end and then they’re, like, very loose thread kind of tassels. They’re not, like, corded tassels. And a lot of them were very tangled and kind of mangled, so…

Caroline: So you would’ve needed to, like, brush them out and stuff?

Helen: Yeah, right. Yeah. It is upholstery fabric, so it’s quite stiff. It frays like crazy. It feels like polyester. So that’s another reason I’ve never made anything out of it, because that’s intimidating. Like, what do you make with something like that?

Caroline: We also didn’t even determine, like, if these episodes need to be garments. Like, our…like, you could have gone total curveball and made a home decor item with this.

Helen: That’s true. I could have. I could hang it up and just be like, “I made a curtain.”

Caroline: Like, it’s about sewing the good fabric. We’re not saying what you’re sewing with it, so…

Helen: That’s true.

Caroline: This could be anything. Wow. I can’t wait to see what you made.

Helen: Yeah, I know. I’m so excited to share. One other thing I wanted to mention about this fabric is that the price tag was still on it when I pulled it out of my stash, and I only paid $12.99 for this.

Caroline: I know. That’s so funny ’cause I was like, “It’’s the expensive fabric” and you came in with, like, a Value Village thrifted find. Which is amazing. I love that.

Helen: Yeah, the good fabric doesn’t have to be the expensive fabric, but it also often is, so, whatever.

Caroline: Okay. I don’t have a video of my fabric, I just have a picture and I’m really curious if you’re gonna recognize it.

Helen: Ooh, I do recognize it. Okay. I don’t remember when you guys had this fabric. But this is gorgeous.

Caroline: So this, the name of it is the Designer Dead Stock Fruit Bowl Cotton Sateen. So it’s a hundred percent cotton and it’s a sateen weave, so it has a little bit of a subtle sheen to it, but it’s not too shiny ’cause it’s cotton. I got this from Blackbird in April 2021, so it’s been in my stash for over four years. And I love how striking the print is. It is directional. So that was something that I had to keep in mind. But it has this, like, subtle watercolour look and really brightly coloured bananas. The other fruit are a mystery to me. I think it’s, like, plums. There’s maybe some cherries and then a mystery, like, orange-red fruit. I don’t know. What do you think that is?

Helen: Um, like kumquat, maybe?

Caroline: Maybe. Yeah, like, some kind of interesting fruit that I, I’m not super familiar with.

Helen: It almost looks like a grape tomato, but it has a stem on it, so I feel like it’s not a grape tomato.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s, like, a sort of oval-shaped, reddish-orange fruit or potentially vegetable of some kind. Anyways, I really love this print. I’ve had it in my stash, obviously, for a while, and when I bought it I knew I wanted to make something really special with it. And I think that the main reason why I’ve been saving it is just ’cause it’s, like, so unique and I know I can’t get it again. So I’ve really been saving it for the right moment.

Helen: It’s so pretty. Mm. Oh my gosh. I’m so excited to see what you did with this. This is also not your wheelhouse, colour- and print-wise. Like, it’s pretty bold. This is, this is more my street.

Caroline: I know, I know, I know. And I can’t wait to tell you where I am hoping or when I’m hoping to wear what I made with this fabric.

Helen: Ooh. I have an idea. We’ll find out. Cute.

Caroline: Oh, okay. So should we reveal our makes?

Helen: Yes. Okay. Why don’t you go first. I’m absolutely dying to see what you made with this.

Caroline: I’m gonna send you…

Helen: Especially these bananas. Were you worried about where to place these bananas?

Caroline: I tried not to overthink it too much.

Helen: Ooh, A closeup. A little wiggle. Ah! Oh my gosh. It’s so pretty. Wait, I recognize this dress. I feel like I know which pattern this is

Caroline: So this is the Elbe Textiles Gibbons Slip Dress.

Helen: Yes, Gibbons Slip.

Caroline: It’s a bias-cut dress with a deep V in the front and a higher V in the back. I made view A, which is a midi length, but I used view B’S neckline, which originally has buttons up the middle. But I omitted the buttons and I instead did a tie, which is a hack that I’ve seen around Instagram. I believe Claire from @clairemadeit did it, and then a couple of other people were inspired by her and did it.

Helen: Cool. Yeah, it’s really cute.

Caroline: So I really loved that hack. So it’s fully bias cut and I really do love it so much. I’m so happy with it. I made a whole muslin and we’ll, we can talk about that journey in a second. But it turned out really, really well and I think it, it fits. All the adjustments that I made were, were great, so it fits really well.

Helen: Yeah, it’s hot, hot, hot, girl! It is so cute. And the pattern placement’s perfect. And it looks so good on you.

Caroline: Yeah. Not too bad, right? And I mean, it was, the pattern placement was, I didn’t think about it too much ’cause it was bias-cut, too. So I kind of, like, I only had, I think, three meters, which was enough, but I couldn’t really be choosy about how I placed my pieces. So I had to kind of go with it, you know?

Helen: So cute. Oh, it’s really gorgeous. And this bright, bold print really looks fantastic on you. It’s so, so pretty.

Caroline: Thank you. Thank you. I know, I’m so pleased that I was kind of, like, forced to sew this fabric up ’cause it’s been in my stash for a long time and I often pull it out and look at it and think about what I would make. And yeah. This pattern, as well, is one of those patterns that I’ve sort of had my eye on, waiting for the right moment exactly. And this was the moment, so.

Helen: Amazing. So cute. I love it. Okay. I can’t wait to hear more. Should we do my reveal?

Caroline: I wanna, I wanna do your reveal and then let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Helen: Okay, love it. Sending.

Caroline: Ah! Oh my gosh!

Helen: You totally nailed it with the jacket.

Caroline: Yes. It’s a blazer!

Helen: It is.

Caroline: Helen! Oh my gosh.

Helen: Not me wearing a blazer.

Caroline: Not you wearing a blazer for your work-from-home life. Look at those buttons. They’re so beautiful. Wait, what pattern is this?

Helen: Okay. So I made the Heather Blazer by Friday Pattern Co., which is kind of a community TNT, a classic, and I can totally see why. It’s my first time making it. But it’s such a simple blazer pattern. It has minimal shaping, minimal details, and I, I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just really straightforward and it gets the blazer job done quick and easy. Like, if you wanna try a blazer, this is the one. Super fast to sew. But it has a lining and it has just a nice shape to it and it really, yeah, gets the job done.

Caroline: Look at your pattern placement.

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: It’s so good.

Helen: Yeah, I had so much fun deciding where to put all those pretty gold lilies. And I ended up making a blazer ’cause I wanted a structured jacket but I was a little worried about the fabric, the fraying, the way the pattern would look if I cut it up into small pieces. So The Heather Blazer caught my eye because it’s so simple. Front, back, sleeves. And the pockets are patch pockets. So that was preferable to me to, than welt pockets, ’cause of the fraying.

Caroline: Yeah. And you’re not breaking up the pattern too much with the different pieces.

Helen: Yeah. But it did come with a lining, which I wanted, because the fabric’s kind of rough and scratchy. So I wanted to have a nice, soft, slippy lining.

Caroline: I have to toot your toot for a second because you perfectly mirrored the lilies on the collar, on the pocket. Like, you’ve cut it out so beautifully,

Helen: Thank you!

Caroline: Like, it’s such a simple pattern; it was crafted so well. I love the contrast of the, you use the backside for the underside of the collar so you can pop your collar and see that little pop of maroon. It’s beautiful. And the structure of the fabric works so well with this pattern.

Helen: Yeah, I think so, too. It really worked out. And I said on a recent episode that I wish I was a blazer girl ’cause I really like the look, but I have nowhere to wear them. So this was kind of, I was like, after I said that on the show, I was like, well, I might as well just, I should just make a blazer, ’cause why not? And it doesn’t necessarily have to be something I’d wear every day. And this fabric screams special occasion, holiday, like, fancy night out kind of vibe. So it’s not something you’re gonna wear every day anyways. So it’s perfect for this kind of project.

Caroline: I also feel like this fabric can lean almost, like, art teacher vibe. Like, I think if you styled it with a lot of, like, earth tones and even, like, layered over, like, looser silhouettes, like, it could work maybe for more of a casual look. It really suits you. I love it. I love it. It’s so cute.

Helen: Thank you. I am really happy with how it turned out. It was really fun to use this fabric, finally, and to bring it to life in this jacket. I feel like it still captures the curtain upholstery vibe somehow. It’s, like, the maroon lining and the gold button. It’s giving, like,
Regency smoking jacket or something.

Caroline: Yes, it so is. Yes. Oh my gosh. It’s really cool. It’s really cool. I can’t wait to hear about how this pattern went for you and your fitting journey and all of that.

Helen: Yeah, same. Okay, let’s get into that. Why don’t you start and tell me about your process from the beginning and the fitting and everything.

Caroline: Yes. Okay, so I did make a muslin for this. Originally, I was like, I’m just gonna do, like, a quick and dirty muslin of just the top ’cause I wanted to make sure that the chest fit well. However, when I thought about it, like, the way that bias cut dresses hang, like, the weight of the fabric pulls everything down. And I wanted to also use a fabric that would be comparable to, like, drape-wise to the fabric that I was using. I needed something drapey. Ultimately, I decided to sew a full other dress in nice fabric because I was like, “If it works, I can wear this again.” And I didn’t want to cut corners and I didn’t wanna use muslin fabric. I wanted to, like, use something that was a little drapier. So I went with one of our gingham yarn dyed linens. I didn’t take a picture of it, but it did have some fit issues. So I don’t know. I’m gonna need to do some work on it if I want to actually wear it out, but it was good. I will say, like, the first try on, I was like, “Oh, I don’t know if I like this.” I was stressing a little bit about it. So I’ll tell you the adjustments that I made initially, like, right from the jump. I graded between sizes. So I graded, I can’t remember, ‘cause they’re letter sizes, so I can’t remember what size, but I think I graded two sizes between my bust and then, like, one size up for the waist and then two sizes up for the hip. So I was, like, spanning four sizes. And you know when you grade between sizes on a side seam that’s sort of, has like a hip dip curve? It can be really easy to end up with a big hump on your hips, like, on the side seam where it’s like…every body is so different. It’s really hard to, like, eyeball that, you know?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: So when I first tried it on, it was, like, really loose around my hips. And because it’s bias cut, that adds to the, like…fabric just doesn’t behave the way that you think it will when it’s cut on the bias. Yeah. Like, when you’re holding it up, it, it can like stretch so much width-wise, but then when it’s on the body it sort of hangs down and you don’t really know where things are gonna fall, exactly. So right away I took in the side seams where that hump was, and I basically just eliminated the hip, I keep calling it a hump, but…

Helen: The curve.

Caroline: The hip curve. My hump!

Helen: I eliminated the humps.

Caroline: And then I also, a very, very standard adjustment for me, I took in a little bit in the, like, arm, underarm kind of side seam area, ’cause I always have a bit of gaping there. So I did that quick adjustment. I tried it on; it still wasn’t quite right. And again, like, bias cut, it’s hard. So I ended up making a bunch of adjustments to the pattern and then I just, like, went for it. ‘Cause I was like, I’m just gonna, like, let go and let God and, like, hope that it’s, like, worth the good fabric.

Helen: Good for you. With the good fabric.

Caroline: With the good fabric. So I took out a wedge in the back neck line ’cause my back neck line was sort of, like, gaping a little bit. I shortened the shoulders, so, ’cause they were, felt a little bit loose. I ended up just making the whole skirt more A-line. So instead of, like, a curved side seam, I just, like, brought it out straight from the waistline. I also, and this adjustment I should make on all bias-cut things and I, I always forget, but I actually dipped the back hemline down an extra inch to accommodate my bum. ‘Cause I find, especially with bias-cut garments, because of the way it falls and because of my larger bum, like, things just sit higher in the back. And so my hemline kind of goes up in the back. So adding that extra inch really actually fixed that completely. And it was just, like, I just kind of curved down that hem line, like, in a really kind of natural way. And I lengthened it. I think I just lengthened the whole thing by a couple inches. But yeah, and all those adjustments, like, miraculously worked.

Helen: Thank goodness.

Caroline: And I think maybe also, like, the print and the fabric itself worked better for the pattern. I do like, I love our yarn-dyed linens, but with a bias cut and the gingham, it kind of, like, distorts it almost. And because it’s so fitted, it makes, like, everything show. Like, I don’t know, it just, like, wasn’t quite working for me. And maybe the colour I picked, that, like, artichoke colour, that’s like cream with, like, a dark green, and maybe it felt like it kind of washed me out. So anyways, the final version, like, everything came together and it worked really well. And then the modification to the pattern, just, like, the hack that I did, was basically eliminating, I think there was like four buttons down the front with like little loops that you insert into the binding, I just fully took those out and then, then I just made long bias-cut ties with extra bias binding. And I just sort of sandwiched those in right where it curves at the top. And then just tie that. So it was a really easy modification.

Helen: Cute. I really like that front bow. It’s so sweet.

Caroline: Yes. I know. I really love it, too. It’s, I love a bow. I’ve been sewing so many bows into my clothes these days.

Helen: Yeah,

Caroline: But yeah, I, I really love how it turned out. It was definitely, like, tricky to work with the fabric, tricky to, to sew binding, so much binding on this pattern.

Helen: A lot of binding. And the, like, bias on the fabric itself, too. So it’s just bias everything.

Caroline: Yeah, but I just really took my time and it wasn’t as slippery as, like, a satin would be ’cause it was cotton. So yeah, overall, I think it went really, really well and came together. But yeah. I wanna know, how did it go for you? What was your fitting experience like?

Helen: Well, I did make a muslin. I feel like sewing the good fabric, you know, I, you kind of, you don’t have to, but…

Caroline: You gotta.

Helen: But you gotta. So I did make a muslin. I was between sizes and that meant that I was actually between ranges because I was at the top end of the smaller range and the bottom end of the larger range. So I decided to go up and do the larger range and I made a muslin of the 1X size and it fit really well. It was a little bit big so I took it in slightly at the hips. And then I just went with that because I wanted a roomy feel. And I knew I’d probably wear this mostly in the winter time because, again, for me it just feels like holiday, feels like fancy, New Year’s kind of vibe. So maybe that’s just ’cause that’s what, what’s coming up, too. So I’m imagining wearing it that time of year and I’d probably have a sweater on underneath or something. So I thought oversized would be good. And also oversized blazers are always cool, right? Might as well go too big than tight.

Caroline: Yeah. I was gonna say, it’s already, like, a boxy style, so it makes sense to size up instead of size down. Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, so that was easy. That was really the only modification I made. Again, it’s a pretty straightforward pattern, so it was relatively easy to do a quick muslin and just have a look and make sure that it was all good. And I didn’t even lengthen it. It actually felt like the right length in the muslin, so I didn’t add length. I am pretty tall. I’m almost 5’10” and I didn’t feel like I needed to add any length to it. So that was kind of nice not to have to do that adjustment, but do know that this blazer’s a little bit long. But I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to do much fitting on it and I could just get right into cutting out my jacket and working on all of that nice pattern matching.

Caroline: Yeah. So how did you do the pattern matching? Did you just cut flat and cut, like, one side and then flip it, line it up and cut the other side, like, as a mirror?

Helen: Exactly. And it was such a big piece, like, it was at least like 70 inches wide. Like, it was not a standard fabric. Obviously, it’s a big curtain panel, so I had lots to work with and I could easily, like, mirror the front and back. So yeah, I cut flat and I was really careful about placing the lilies. Like, I knew I wanted a lily around the buttonhole area. And then I wanted a lily on each of the lapels and the collars and the pockets. So that was kind of my main goal. I focused mostly on the front. I was not as successful with pattern matching the back ’cause it’s, like, a curved blazer seam and, like, curves at the neck and it curves at the waist….

Caroline: Right.

Helen: And so things got a little distorted back there. But it still looks pretty good. Like, it was not so bad. I think, sometimes, with pattern matching, you just have to pick your battles, decide which area you’re gonna care about, and then not everything is gonna be perfect. But I am really happy with how all of those lilies look, especially the ones on the lapel. It just, like, there’s like a swoopy vine that comes up from the lapel and it looks so good.

Caroline: It’s so pretty. Yeah.

Helen: I really like that. And then I did add the lining. And I’m not really a lining sewist. Like, I historically just avoid them. I don’t like sewing them. We don’t have any patterns with linings.

Caroline: Oh, wow!

Helen: I know.

Caroline: Even your jacket, the Spindrift, even?

Helen: Spindrift, no. Unlined. All our jackets are all unlined ‘cause it’s Helen’s Closet and that’s what I like, baby. No, I do. We’ve done a, a couple hacks on how to line our patterns but I’ve never done, included a lining. And we’re actually working on a jacket pattern right now that does have a lining. So it was fun to sew up this blazer, too, and do the whole lining. And I do love a lined piece, like, especially a jacket. That luxurious feel of a slippery lining and you put it on and just the way it finishes all the seams and encloses everything. And I even enjoy the process of, like, bagging a coat and, like, birthing it out the little coat hole. Like, that’s fun. I don’t know what it is. I have this, like, block in my brain with linings. Or I’m like, “Oh, it has a lining? I don’t wanna do it. I don’t wanna do that.”

Caroline: It does just feel like an extra step, even though when you don’t line something, you have to finish all the seams really nicely on the inside. Lining allows you to not do that. But it just feels like, well, I have to get a whole other fabric. I have to cut out so many more pieces.

Helen: Yeah, and more pattern pieces, too. Like, as a pattern designer, it’s like a whole other set of pattern pieces.

Caroline: Oh gosh. And more pages to print and, yeah. Totally.

Helen: Yeah. It can feel like a lot. So I, I do feel like I’m growing as a sewist because I am appreciating linings more and more. And we’re gonna start adding them into our patterns, so I’m excited about that.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: Not coming for linings. But I’m sure there are people out there who can relate to my feeling of not wanting to bother.

Caroline: Yeah, I think so, too. So how did you handle, you mentioned this fabric was really fraying a lot. How did you handle that in your sewing process and, like, because it’s lined, did you leave those inner seams unfinished? Or did you finish them, like…?

Helen: I decided pretty early on to serge all of the edges of all of the outer pieces because they were just, like, falling apart and, like, the gold thread was like coming out, especially ’cause it was, like, I dunno, it was almost like plastic, like, it was just kind of popping out. And so I realized that I had to serge everything, which made me feel confident in the final piece because, even though it’s lined, I know that everything on the inside is secure because I serged all those edges. So I don’t have to worry about it unraveling over time. So I think that was a really good way to approach it. And I was also pleasantly surprised with this fabric, that it did press. I was worried it was gonna be, like, a nightmare at the iron with polyester fabric. Sometimes they just don’t hold a crease at all. I had to be careful with the heat, of course. I used my press cloth. I was careful not to burn the gold threads. But it did hold a press. I was able to get it to actually hold creases and I was able to put some interfacing on the lapel and stuff, so that was really good. It was better than expected in that regard.

Caroline: Yeah. A hundred percent. No, that makes a lot of sense. And I, I’m glad you did that ’cause I was like, I’m worried about the fraying on the inside of the jacket, just hearing about it.

Helen: I know, is it just gonna fall apart on the inside? It’s, you’re better safe than sorry. Right? Like, if you think it might fray, just do something about that now. ‘Cause it probably will.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah.

Helen: Did you add any, like, special details when you were sewing your project that you wanted to mention?

Caroline: No, not really. I feel like the design of the dress itself is, like, special, and I really took my time with doing all of the binding. One of the tips I wanted to share was just, when you’re working with a natural fiber, not to overlook, like, finger pressing. I did so much finger pressing with this make because I, there’s so much binding. And it’s like, you sew on the binding and then you understitch it and then you fold it over and then you stitch it again. And, like, there’s just so much pressing involved and it’s very fiddly and if you just use the heat of your fingers and rub the area that you would normally press with your iron, it can really work on, like, a viscose or a cotton, I’ve found. And so I did a lot of that. And linen, too. I did a lot of that for this project where, basically the whole neckline, I finger pressed everything until the final step when it was all done. And then I gave it a good steamy press with my iron and I think it worked really well. I think my binding looks, like, pretty perfect. And then the other tip I wanted to share was: I did the, like, serger method for the baby hem. I feel like tiny little, like, rolled hems, especially on bias-cut fabrics, can be tricky. And so I just, like, finished the edge with my serger and then I used the width of the serger stitch as a guide when I was folding up my hem. So I actually didn’t do it like the quarter inch. I went a little bit more. But it was just so much easier to eyeball it with that serger there. So I did, like, the width of the serger plus, like, a couple extra millimeters and folded that up, pressed it, folded it again, using that first press line as a guide. And it worked really well. And then, you know, a steamy press and it didn’t feel like it stretched out or anything. I think the hem looks really good. So those are two kind of, like, working with trickier fabric bias-cut things that I, I tried out and I thought worked really, really well.

Helen: Yeah, I like doing that too. Adding a little serging along a hem just gives it a bit more structure…

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: And gives you something to hold onto. It makes it easier to handle.

Caroline: Yeah, totally. But no, it was pretty straightforward. I just really tried to take my time so that the finished garment was, like, really nicely finished. And I was really proud of it ’cause it feels just, like, a special, special piece.

Helen: Yeah. It’s nice to take your time when you’re working with a special fabric. You don’t wanna rush and then have regrets about the areas that you could have done a little bit better.

Caroline: Yeah, exactly. What about you? Did you add any, other than your beautiful pattern placement, did you add any special details?

Helen: Extra details. The only things I did a little differently was the undercollar. You mentioned this already, but I put the reverse side of the fabric on the undercollar because I really loved both sides of this fabric and I was kind of heartbroken that I didn’t figure out a way to use both of them in the project or that I couldn’t have a jacket that was both of them. And I had thought about maybe making, like, the upper collar and the lapel, the, the underside as well. But when I kind of mocked that up, just holding it up in my body, it looked a little clownish. So I was like, “I can’t have both. I have to pick one.” And just having it on the undercollar is a nice way for me to have that fabric visible so I can still see how beautiful it is, even though I ended up going with the other side. And yeah, I’m happy with that little detail. I really like a, a pop of colour on the undercollar. It’s one of my favourite things to do in sewing.

Caroline: It is very cute. Even in shirtmaking, I think it’s a really fun detail.

Helen: Totally. I also did lined pockets. They’re patch pockets on the front, so they don’t need to have a lining, but because it was such, like, kind of scratchy material, I thought it’d be nice to put, I just underlined them with the rayon Bemberg that I used for the lining on the jacket so that when I put my hand in it’s, like, smooth inside.

Caroline: Nice. Okay, I was gonna ask you what you used for your lining and how was that Bemberg to work with? Because I have come to kind of hate working with rayon Bemberg after using it to line a few things. It’s just so slippery and it’s so shifty when you’re cutting and it just feels like it never wants to behave.

Helen: Yeah. It’s wild. You, you lie, you lay it out perfectly. You, like, do all this work and you’re like, “Okay, you’re good, right? You’re good?” And you cut it out and then you hold up the pattern piece and it’s like, mrgh!

Caroline: I know. I was gonna say, you just have to, like, breathe on it and it, like, shifts outta place. Like, it’s so airy and so delicate.

Helen: Yeah. But it’s so breathable and it’s so smooth. Like, I, a polyester lining is also good but, like, I like something that has a bit more breathability and, like, I don’t know. Rayon Bemberg is the one I always go with. Not that I do a ton of linings, as I mentioned, but when I do line something, I tend to go with rayon Bemberg. And I did find it not too bad for this project. It was a more simple construction so I was able to pull it off without too many issues. But I definitely had some wonky or questionable areas where I was like, “I’m just gonna sew this together and assume that it’s gonna be fine.”

Caroline: Yeah. Honestly, I do often, like, when a pattern piece…maybe I shouldn’t say this, but you know what, I’m just gonna say it. When a pattern piece shifts and you hold it up and you’re like, you know, the “mrgh” thing where you’re like, “Oh god…”

Helen: It’s off-grain or it’s wobbly. Yeah.

Caroline: I usually don’t recut. I’m usually like, let’s just go with it. And I can’t really recall a time when, like, after the fact I’ve regretted not re… like, I just think it usually works out.

Helen: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I’m sure, to a point, it has to be, like, good enough for it to work out. But yes, I agree. I rarely recut, too. I just kind of am like, “Okay, well this should be, this’ll be fine.”

Caroline: Especially in a lining. Like, linings get so, like, sweaty and wrinkly and they just kind of, like, they’re just in there. They’re just doing their thing. They’re serving their purpose. They don’t need to be perfect. Nobody sees them.

Helen: They can get, like, a little bit wonky in there.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It’s no big deal. No, it was fussy though. But it was worth it. ‘Cause it’s this, like, gorgeous, deep,red wine, burgundy colour and it just feels so luxurious. I love it so much.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. I like that it picks up that burgundy that you didn’t quite get to use.

Helen: And then the final detail I did was the button, which, there’s only one button on the Heather Blazer, which, amazing. Love that.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And so I thought, “Oh, wouldn’t it be fun to use, like, a novelty button?” And you know when you go to the fabric store and they have, like, normal buttons, and then for some reason they have, like, a few normal buttons and then they have, like, a thousand weird buttons?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And I’m like, “I finally get to pick from the weird button area!”

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: And like, I went to the rack that has all the metal buttons on it, and they all have, like, lions and, and sword fighters and stuff. Like, they’re so crazy. And I always, I remember when I was a kid, I always loved looking at the buttons at fabric stores because they’re so cool to look at. There’s so many different kinds, especially these metal ones. So I was very excited to finally get to select one of those big honking metal buttons and stick it on my jacket.

Caroline: It’s so cute. Yeah. Remind me what is on this button.

Helen: I think it, uh, it is, like, a griffin. Like a, like a lion. Yeah. So much fun. It goes with the vibe of the gold lilies.

Caroline: Okay. Paint a picture of how you will style this when you wear it.

Helen: Ooh, yes. Okay. I think I’ll probably wear it…I put on an outfit in the video that I think works with this. High wasted pants, probably my Falconer Pants, and then, like, a cute solid coloured top, maybe ’cause I’m imagining winter, like, a turtleneck or something that comes up a bit higher. I think that it would look so cute with a scarf, too. Like a big, like, burgundy scarf would really add to this whole smoking jacket vibe. But an outfit that really lets the blazer shine, literally. And something a little bit more dressy, you know, ’cause I’m imagining wearing this out. When I was making it I was thinking, “Where am I gonna wear this?” And I kept thinking of this theater in town, our, like, main theater. It’s called the Sid Williams Theater. And people get dressed up to go to shows there, even though you don’t have to get dressed up. But like you’re going to the theater. And it’s always fun to see everybody wearing something that’s a little more dressy, a little more formal at events when we go there. So this is my Sid Williams Theater jacket.

Caroline: Do you, do you own, like, a velvet, like, a maroon velvet garment of some kind? Am I imagining that?

Helen: Like a outerwear?

Caroline: No, like a dress or something like…like a stretch velvet. Do you have a stretch velvet something?

Helen: Oh, I have a stretchy, I made a Jackson Tee out of, like, pink velvet.

Caroline: Oh, okay. So I’m like, I feel like this would look really fun with velvet.

Helen: Yeah, it would, and that could all, I think that could work, actually. That pink would probably look really good with it.

Caroline: Mmhmm.

Helen: Ooh, hot tip. I love it.

Caroline: Yeah. It’s so cute. I can’t wait to see you going to the theater in this blazer.

Helen: Yeah, it’s definitely a theater jacket or like a dinner jacket. But like you said, I think one could style it more casually. Go to Costco or something.

Caroline: I think you’d be the best-dressed gal in Costco.

Helen: Hell yeah. I do think this is one of those garments that will get a lot of compliments. Like, it really stands out and it’s so shiny and satisfying to look at. So I think it’ll be really fun to wear.

Caroline: Yeah, totally.

Helen: How about you? Tell me about where you’re planning to wear this dress.

Caroline: Okay, so when I was debating what fabric to use, I really wasn’t sure if I was gonna go with this one ’cause it feels so out of season. I was like, “I’m not gonna be able to wear this this winter.” Like, it’s a bright blue fruit print. Like, when am I gonna wear, it’s a bias cut sleeveless dress, like, when will I wear…this is a summer dress. And then I thought to myself, “I have an event to go to next summer. Somebody’s wedding! And wouldn’t it be so great if I’m not sewing my outfit for the wedding the day before I have to leave?”

Helen: You’re already dressed for my wedding. That’s amazing. Almost a year ahead of schedule.

Caroline: I know. So at the back of my mind, I was like, “If this works out, I feel like this would be the perfect”…also, it’s such a you fabric. I was like, “I feel like this would be the perfect dress to wear to your wedding.” So we’ll see if I actually end up wearing it or if I come up with some other idea before…

Helen: Yeah. You might feel inspired the month of…

Caroline: Yeah. But I have this new dress to wear to your wedding! and it goes really nicely with my wedding shoes actually. I have this like cream pair of like little kind of wedges with a really pretty like detail. so I tried it on with that and I was like, I can picture it now. I can picture going to your wedding in this dress, so…

Helen: Oh, I love it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: That’s so special. Also, side note: I don’t know if our main podcast listeners know about my wedding.

Caroline: Wait, did I just spoil it?

Helen: No, it’s not a spoiler. I’m happy to tell people…

Caroline: No!

Helen: But I think we might’ve only told people on Patreon.

Caroline: I’m so sorry, Helen. That was your news to share.

Helen: It’s all good. I haven’t really given it much thought about, like, announcing it and this is perfect. So I’m, I’m getting married next summer!

Caroline: Rewind. Helen, do you have any news to share with our listeners?

Helen: So Sam and I, after 15 blissful years of being practically married, have decided to get actually married.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: And we’re having our wedding next summer, so, in August. I’m so excited. It’s gonna be a little garden party wedding at my friend’s place. And it’s gonna be really special and fun. And that’s all I have for now. I’m probably gonna make my dress, so stay tuned for that.

Caroline: I am so excited for this. I thought my wedding years were over. I, I, everybody I know who could get married was married. I thought it was never gonna happen. ‘Cause you guys have been engaged since I met you.

Helen: Surprise! I know. And I didn’t think, I wasn’t sure if we were ever gonna do it, so it’s exciting to finally be taking the full plunge.

Caroline: Yeah. We’re thrilled. We’re so, so, so excited to come. I know your wedding’s gonna be amazing and, yeah, I can’t wait to hear about your potential wedding dress sewing journey. I know everyone that’s listening is probably dying to know what you’re gonna make, so you’ll have to share it with us.

Helen: I know, I probably should start. I should get started on that, right?

Caroline: I mean, I’m the wrong person to ask. I finished my wedding dress a month before my wedding.

Helen: Oh, Caroline, I have a great idea for our We Sew episode next spring: We Sew Our Own Wedding Dresses.

Caroline: I was gonna say, We Sew Your Wedding Dress.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Perfect. It will be all the motivation I need.

Caroline: It’ll be the sisterhood of the traveling wedding dress sewing. Just tell me what you need and I’ll make it.

Helen: That would be so fun. Imagine if we got a bunch of like community folks together to pass along a wedding dress.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: That’s really cute, though. I’m so happy that you made this dress thinking of my wedding as a place to wear it. That’s so special.

Caroline: Me too. No, I’m so, I’m so happy and I’m, gosh, it feels good to get something done ahead of time, so.

Helen: That’s amazing. How does it feel to have sewn the good fabric? Do you have any regrets? Any post finishing the project feelings of using it up?

Caroline: I have zero regrets. I’m so happy we did this episode. I wanna do it again every season, honestly. ‘Cause I have more fabrics in my stash that I could have used. And yeah, no, absolutely no regrets. It was super fun and I love how it turned out. And I think, even if it hadn’t worked out, it still would’ve felt like a little weight off my shoulders of like, okay. It’s, like, fulfilled its destiny. This fabric, it’s been used. I got to experience it and like that feels good. That feels great.

Helen: Yeah. It does feel so good. I’ve had this curtain in my stash for, like, eight years, probably. So it feels really good to finally have made something with it. I definitely don’t feel regret. I just feel, like, free.

Caroline: Yeah, right? It is. There’s, like, a relief with, like, using it. I wanna encourage any and all of our listeners, like, if you’re saving fabric, just sew with it. Just use it. It’s there to be used and enjoyed. And you can learn from it even if it, the project isn’t exactly what you thought it would be. Like, we always say there’s always more fabric and there truly is always more fabric. There’s always more beautiful fabric. And use it while you love it and while you have it.

Helen: That’s true, too. ‘Cause I’ve had things in my stash that I’ve absolutely adored, and then I’ve kind of fallen out of love with them because trends change or my personal style changes. So there’s no time like the present.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Exactly. No time like the present. Go sew the good fabric.

Helen: Yes, go do it.

Caroline: Okay, so if you do, please post on Instagram. Tag us. We’ll reshare it, even if it’s months from now. We wanna see you sew the good fabric. Sometimes those really special projects take a while, so you can take your time with it if you’d like. And, you know, since you already own the fabric, it’s basically free. So, free new thing to wear.

Helen: True. Yeah, don’t think too hard about that one.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: That’s sewist math right there. That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF patterns. We’re recording today in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That is over 75 hours of Love to Sew. We have so much fun over there, so check it out. You can go to patreon.com/lovetosew or go to our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: And you can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures of our special makes from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, you can leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.

Caroline: Thank you to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next season! Or over on Patreon and Apple Podcasts! Come say hi.

Helen: Come hang out with us!

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Bye.

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