Outdoor Fabrics from an Outdated Stash

It happened in a matter of a few years: my fabulous outdoor wear stash is hopelessly outdated.

As some of you have deduced I have an extensive stash of technical fabrics from PolarTec LLC, which was still called Malden Mills when I purchased them prior to the 2007 buyout and are now not the latest and greatest in outdoor fabrics technology.

In order to find out which fabrics would be most useful for early Spring gardening chores in keeping out wind/rain and for kneeling or sitting in soggy soil I have done some research on the newest PolarTec fabrics and would love to have the new NeoShell fabric in the stash.

Here’s a rundown on NeoShell used in the new stretch Neo jackets offered by retailer Rab. Terry Abraham, backpacker extraordinaire, has an extensive blog review of his NeoShell jacket performed. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Apparently, the industry standard is “eVent”. A pair of eVent rain pants from REI sells for $189 But I understand that the eVent fabric makes crinkly-crumply sounds when it’s worn. So, being a loyal MM/PolarTec customer I lust after the stretchy and quiet NeoShell. Discovery Trekking Outfitters in Canada sells it and many other wonderful PolarTec fabrics.

Here in online US I found minimal sources for anything beyond fleeces: RockyWoods.com has PolarTec fabrics as does SeattleFabrics.com And of course you might try the PolarTec fabric outlet Mill Direct Textiles but I didn’t see anything remotely new and revolutionary in their online stock but they might know who is retailing their more technical fabrics. Maybe.

But here’s what I have, all are outdated prototypes of these fabrics: WindPro, Windbloc, PowerStretch, PowerDry and numerous fleece varieties. My fabrics are older versions and I could find no photos that reflected what I actually find in the stash. Nothing I have is truly water proof so I can count on soggy knees and derriere. I did find a length of an early GoreTex that can serve as a ground cover I move around with me as I work.

I also have another 1980′s type of workout suit fabric that was supposed to be “water resistant”. Hmmm, it not at all resistant, it started absorbing water immediately

Glad I tested it before I used it on soggy ground Out it goes! It’s so outdated I will feel no remorse in tossing it, rather than making a trip to the Good Will donation bin.

And, of course, there’s always the old plastic sheet or a garbage bag for a ground cloth. I’d prefer to use something that can be thrown into the washing machine with the rest of the muddy clothes like the GoreTex.

I haven’t decided which I’d like best: a bib and a number of polar fleece tops or a whole covering like a true overall.

Rosie’s Workwear has some cute ideas, including the use of velcro for quick shedding of muddy clothes. I love the facings on the cuffs and collar, don’t you? Rosie’s coveralls are not waterproof or even water resistant but they are designed to be worn over a whole set of clothes, hence they are “overalls”. For $80 I could buy a pair of water resistant, UV blocking pants from Patagonia But I’d be out an amount of money and still have these other fabrics in the stash. I think I’d better choose stash over the new stuff or my stash will soon rate with the dinosaurs in fabric development history.

I have 3 yards of an awesomely thick wool with poly/cotton as the weft yarn that is far more water resistant than Windbloc Power Dry described below. The tightly woven wool is super at resisting water!

but after an hour or more the droplets suddenly vanished and all that was left was a wet spot

I hesitate to use it though, since once wool becomes too dirty is grows less water resistant. I may cut pair of bibs from it just the same and be careful with getting it too dirty. I did throw a 6″ x 6″ swatch of it into the washer with other fabrics and washed it in cold water: it shrank .5″ in length, none in width and came out so soft and yummy.

I tested the Windbloc PowerDry and it absorbed the water droplets within approximately 15 minutes but the moisture could barely be felt on the inner side of the fabric. It will absorb sweat away from the body and is super soft and stretchy and dries by hanging in 2 hours or so. It will be excellent at blocking the cold winds. Here it is. The lighter, fuzzy side is the side to be next to the skin so it will be super comfortable and might make up into a wonderful set of bibs.

Well, I’ve done my research and I have made no hard decisions yet since it seems I must make compromises when using any of the stash fabrics. So now I need to come up with the pattern and pick the first fabric to cut.

More soon!

Vogue 8757 Wool Doubleknit Pant

Jan 21, at the same time that I cut my gray Wool Double Knit Pants from my custom pattern, I also cut a olive brown double knit that is a bit lighter in weight. Now that I’ve struggled through the fitting of the first pair, it is apparent that a slim-legged pant is not the right pattern for knits without lycra and to attempt it in a lighter weight would be ridiculous. Both fabrics are luscious and from GorgeousFabrics.com but I only got 3 yards each so I couldn’t re-cut a new style.

Enter Vogue 8757, via a great pattern sale and the US mail

I laid the pattern pieces carefully over the cut pieces, matching the grain lines, and found that the front piece needed 2″ more inches the full length of the pant and the back only needed about 1.5″ and that was just at the waist. I spliced in an extra strip on the side seams that the front needed and decided to take a chance on reducing the 3 darts in the back of the pant and steal more from from the 5/8″ seams.

I love this pattern! It’s easy to sew in the double knit wool, has great instructions and a lovely, comfortable cut. I haven’t hemmed them yet, do you think the length is about right?

It’s true: the back did need a bit of extra width, every lump and bump shows horrifically with this lighter weight fabric. So, you all are spared yet another “Why would she post THAT shot” picture this go-round.

I’ll be starting on the pattern’s jacket and a cropped shirt to go with these pants this weekend. Did I mention that I love these pants??!!! Wish I could wear higher heels with them but that’s not possible any more for me.

Doubleknit Wool Pants

Every so often when blog cruising I see poorly sewn or fitted garment photos that are posted and ask, “Why would s/he post THAT on the blog?” Here’s my version:

I am not declaring these pants done right, I am saying I am done. Doubleknit wool is not my favorite for pant making.

See, I can decide to stop and admit I won’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Every new pose brings new wrinkles and I have been making myself crazy trying to fix them.

My intent for these pants is to make something to wear under tunics so really the badness of this pant will be covered by a top layer that will fall to the thigh. That was the original plan and in spite of obsessively diagnosing and unstitching and restitching, I must save myself and move on.

I have completely reshaped the legs to be a very slight boot cut, skinnier to the knee and then flaring 3/4 inch to the hem. The boots I usually wear in winter have higher heels than these (yup, you saw that, right?) sandals with socks. Oh, I am shameless today!

OK, some thoughts on further construction:

I removed the over-locking through the crotch and did not “stabilize” the seam. As it is now, the seam is stiff and continues to fold, twist and bunch, no matter what. Adding more fabric or thread would only exacerbate those problems.

My original draft was a tracing of a pant made 5 years ago from a woven wool. I intentionally made 1″ seam allowances in the cut and then removed much of that extra fabric in the tweaking. As you can see even a fairly hefty full bodied knit falls too close to the body for a woven draft.

I cut these after a couple month’s worth of cold/virus/whatever and I had lost weight. Much to my surprise food seems to be a good idea again and my size has since changed. These pants are now too tight through the upper hip. Eating will do that! But it is so good to want to eat again, that I’d rather have this pant problem than to be back in bed, guzzling water.

I have another pant cut at the same time, in a bit thinner fabric. A new pattern is coming in soon that may save me from further angst with doubleknit wool. This pair took too long and the fit is like a 80′s sweat suit. On to making tunics.

So, Folks, that’s all I have to say today on the subject of doubleknit wool pants.
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The obligatory dog show. Gaely GoLightly is a fun snow dog! She disappears into the landscape.

She loves to roll in the snow.

No disappearing in her dog coat! And dressed, she still likes a good snow roll

Fabric on The Road, Seriously

Last night we returned from our last sales trip of the year 2011, this one to Troy, Michigan. I didn’t find the right fabric to bring home but

Fabric found me,

Road Fabric, that is.

Friday night, this truck was parked outside our motel room. Really. I had to blink twice.

What the heck is a GeoTextile?

Up at 6:30 the next morning and the trucks were gone!  However later that morning a couple of trucks returned and I was able to document the rolls of netting and mysterious fabrics and bundles on the flatbeds

How curious. The trucks were pulling machines with spray nozzles that were covered in drippy, gooey, tarry looking black stuff. So this is what the future of textiles looks like? I was too shy to interrupt the crew members and interrogate ask them about the process.

So Gaely and her shadow just circled the wagons

puttering around, doing what a woman and a dog do on a sunny morning and trying to mind our own business. Gaely had no trouble with this.

That afternoon I tried to buy fabric, really I did, at Haberman’s in Royal Oak, MI. I found the perfect piece, a smooth, hard, gray wool jersey knit by Michael Kors but there was only 1.25 yards left, not enough. The store is fabulous, the fabrics are great, ohhhh, the buttons, the patterns, the boning! but nothing was exactly what I was looking for. I walked out of a fabric store empty handed. That’s right. It happened.

I’m home and there are no more sales trips on the 2011 calendar. I think it’s safe to unpack the suitcase until 2012.

And I will have time to sew. Most likely sewing will happen.

Promise!

Must Have: Mohair Boucle at Gorgeous Fabrics dot com

A couple of people have asked me where to get this fabric. Mine was originally purchased from The Wool House (Canadian vendor at a sewing conference) a few years ago

I believe GorgeousFabrics.com has a similar mohair right now, but it surely won’t be available long.

Outstanding!

Sandra Betzina’s Vogue 1058 Cardigan

I’ve made 3 of these cardigans and sent one off as a gift.

I kept two: a blue version and one in salmon. I love how the thin acrylic of the blue one feels. It fights off the chill of the air conditioning we have to have running for 2 months solid.

The salmon acrylic fabric is thicker. I did not fit it as closely as the blue and it looks, well, dowdy, don’t you think???

Let me tell you my theories as to why the blue is a tiny bit more chic, if that word could even apply. The side seams and sleeves are the last seam sewn before hemming and I stitched an extra deep seam allowance. The salmon is sewn at the 1 inch side seam and 5/8″ sleeve seam provided for in the pattern.

This last seam on the sides and sleeves is where the adjustments for the stretch of the fabric is made. Even though I chose one size smaller than my measurements, there is still plenty of room for wearing a thick garment underneath the salmon sweater. I may some day adjust the salmon to fit more tightly but with the thickness of the fabric I don’t think I’ll ever be totally pleased.

And the salmon is a denser knit that doesn’t drape well. I like the blue fabric so much better. I think a thin knit looks better in this pattern.

But the ties are going to be inappropriately thick, no matter what. Easy to explain: there are 5 thicknesses of fabric in there. The shape of the inserted ties provide a “hidden” bust dart so there is a tie front and a tie facing that sandwich in the cut edges of the bodice top and the bodice bottom. But that’s the price paid for invisible shaping and no buttons and no button band.

I chose to not use ribbon for the ties since I didn’t want to have to do unusual maintenance at laundry time. But if I were to make this pattern up for a stylish outfit I would definitely consider using the option given for a ribbon tie.

I really didn’t enjoy sewing this pattern, I spent more time picking out seams than sewing them. I got confused at every seam whilst constructing the front inserted ties. Oh, I was as careful as I could be, laid everything out ahead of time, and, darn it, sewed them together wrong. It was like I couldn’t do anything right, over and over again! T.h.r.e.e. t.i.m.e.s. Talk about questioning your own mind! LOL. But I pushed on through. Maybe that’s why I have little drive to sexy up the fat sweater?

Anyway…..

They are hard to keep attractive when worn. The front points tend to hang unevenly because of the twists involved in tying the ties. The tie insert is in an awkward place. It hits me at the lower bust, not underneath the bust. That contributes to the dowdy factor, I think. I top stitched the ties into place rather than hand stitching the inner seam down as the pattern instructions would have you do, but still the sweater fabric is too thick for a sleek look.

So, these sweaters are my secret guilty pleasure. I love having sweaters at hand.

I wear them constantly in the house as I don’t like air conditioning. I wear them on the dog walks that by necessity, have to take place after the sun goes down and dusk has fallen. I wear them when being fashionable is not an issue.

But now, you’ve seen them. They’re not a secret any more!

If you make this pattern, pick a silky thin fabric. That’s my best advice. I do hope you don’t have to do as much unpicking of seams as I had to do.

Really!

Chiffon Top

Work continues on the Edith Head pattern.

I suppose I will make the turban. I may not find a way to wear it but what is non-commercial sewing if it cannot be enjoyed? I just don’t know when or out of which fabric. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

The fabrics chosen for the top and the jacket had to meet a couple of criteria:

1. They must be in the stash

2. The colors must work together

3. The fabrics must be suitable for warm weather

4. They must complement the polished look of the satin wool skirt

5. The raglan sleeved jacket must be made from a semi stiff fabric that will work with more casual separates in the wardrobe

The jacket fabric is a silk/linen with a sheen but the color is really difficult to photograph accurately. I found a chiffon with the color of the skirt in it and have constructed (and now deconstructed) a shell of very white Japanese cotton. This chiffon will also work with a few other “orphan” skirt/jacket fabrics in the stash. So that’s a good thing.

I draped the silk chiffon over the shell and came up with the idea to have a diagonal drape across the bodice. I used the whole width of the chiffon and cut the shoulder, armscye and side seam shaping from one side. Then I moved the fabric all the way over and cut the neckline, shoulder, armscye and side seam shaping on the other side of the fabric, leaving 4 inches extra length in the whole piece so that the diagonal drape could be gathered into the hem.

A diagonal drape was not the smartest solution in terms of the time it will take to make the draped folds behave themselves but I like having added some movement to the design.

While musing over how to command the draped folds into a more distinctive pattern over the front it hit me:

This top is sleeveless. It will never be worn without a jacket over it. I am not going to endanger the public health by the sight of uncovered upper arms. The drape in the top will only be seen through the center opening of the jacket so it doesn’t matter. Some things must be forfeit in the pursuit of a home made wardrobe.

That realization stopped the worry and I shall start putting the top together. Hard pleats will have to wait for a different project.

The top in the original pattern is very tightly fitted but I’m not a good candidate for “tightly fitted” at the moment. Not the wasp waisted creature in this shot of a Charles Creed suit, oh, no, not like that!

I’d put all the work into fitting and then my weight will change. I am sure I’ll be taking this top in or wishing I could let it out so I finished it at semi-fitted level by removing the darts in the back and narrowing the waist darts in the front.

Happy sewing!

Not Gray: Fabric Knot

I have not been buying fabric for the past couple of years and especially this past year but I did so want to use gray this Fall 2009 and Winter 09/10 that I went online and ordered some gray fabrics: one in a metallic jersey (top fabric in the stack) and another in a steel gray ribbed look woven. Neither fabric was what I had in mind so I kept my eye out for a stabilizing piece that would allow me to use the other two as complimentary fabrics for tops or dusters.

What I received was Not Gray:

Not Gray taken with a flash

I thought I had found the perfect piece at The Fabric Club and bought the piece offered as 3 1/8 yard of Pendleton’s Charcoal Pure Wool Gabardine. I wanted Pendleton because it is needle ready and planned a skirt and jacket.

As you can see above, it was not gray. I wrote the company pointing out this fact and telling them I’d be returning the piece, asking what they’d like me to do to get a refund.

I never heard back from them and I decided that the fabric could be used after all, just not within the Gray Capsule.

Yesterday I forgot that the piece was Pendleton and processed it to reduce shrinkage. I folded the piece in half lengthwise and laid it out to dry. This morning I flipped over the piece to find fading on the outside fold and moth holes along the center fold

You know, I rarely complain about vendors. If I am disappointed I go back to check the description and usually find that I have not paid close enough attention. I would never post about problems before I have given the vendor a chance to make it right with me.

Over the years I’ve had some good experiences with The Fabric Club purchases but this is an abomination. This vendor gets crossed off my list.