Naturally, it was my first choice to make a pattern of.

This is the first iteration. I used the colonial print weaver’s cloth that I printed (wow – it’s been that long) in July of 2006. Altho, a heavier weight than what appears to be the lightweight silk, Irene used for hers (I believe Claudette’s is a lightweight cotton), I wanted to see how the print size worked out for proportioning besides, it was handy.

Here are images of the test smock pattern run:

Front View: Buttons are from my husband’s grandmother’s sewing box. She had 5 lt blues and 5 pinks. I used pink at the top and blues for the other 5.

Back View

Another back view

Cuff Side View: I wanted some glitz, so what else, but some glitz brand rhinestone buttons. The original sleeves were a regular button cuff long sleeve. I hate rolling up sleeves, so I made 3/4′s and added angled cuffs with piping and buttons.

Inside seams. I don’t like lined yokes because they are restrictive. I added the curved facing (it seems there was one in Irene’s smock also) and hong kong’d the back yoke seam. The rest is just serged.

Armpit view: You can see where the piping – pipes up. That will change in the next draft.

Here are pictures of the pattern pieces (with changes noted in colors, that were made during sewing on the test garment):



Back facing pattern piece



Modified back and collar pieces. Collar shortened along the red line and waistline lowered an inch on the back.



Modified collar angle.



Modified Front. Changed the raglan edge draft to curve over the pectorals and lowered the armscye and collar edges.



Modified Sleeve reflects changes for raglan draft and added a small seam allowance at center shoulder to avoid dart pucker.



Yoke and cuff. No changes.



Modified Pocket and Facing piece: In the original, it seems that pocket and facing is a one piece pocket cut, with an additional pocket facing cut and sewn. The top is folded down onto the pocket. I forgot that part while cutting, so I added piping and treated it as one big patch pocket. That will change in the next pattern iteration.

The steps:

I started the pattern using a basic block that fit me.

I cut 3 slits from the bottom up to the shoulder on each side of the front and back pieces for gores. The gores don’t work out so well on this heavier fabric, so I’ll make a pattern just for a heavier weight fabric with less gorey details.

A standard raglan draft came too high on the collar bone and armscye, so I lowered them as noted on the pattern pieces above. I also cut in the neckline about a 1/2 ” from each shoulder down to the front – evening to the center back pivot.

The raglan draft also, did not work for the shoulder of the sleeve (on this draft anyway). I ended up cutting that portion seperate and sewing it back to get the angle right on the front raglan. Hence, the sleeve cap became a regular draft. I’ll be changing it back to a raglan draft as noted on the changes on the pattern pieces above. I also will be dropping the armscye abt. a 1/2″ and blending the piping across so that I don’t get that upshot into the armpit.

Originally, I had a pattern piece going from one sleeve, across the back to the other sleeve. Unless Irene had access to some really wide yardage, I don’t see that this was possible. I’ve come to believe there is a seperate back yoke. So, I drafted a back yoke and cut the sleeves to a set-in. However, I’m not going to give up on the intergrated raglan. That, I believe, was there.

As all creative endeavours go, I ran out of piping. Originally it was going to all be navy. I had red, so I used it (after all it’s a colonial print, why not throw in a little patriotism). I’m wondering if Irene had couched in the trim to resemble a raglan, but wasn’t actually.

My piping is at the seams, whereas on Irene’s, noticeable at the collar, is laid within a 1/4 above the seams. I can’t help but wonder if that is really a raglan draft as the folds of the fabric follow down from the raglan to the bodice. I won’t know until I make several more iterations in different fabrics, altho, I suspect it was a true raglan based on her own smocks she wore, with just an offset collar trim.

The final change to be made is to lower the length a few inches to mid thigh so the pockets are proportioned better. There wasn’t enough fabric to lower it this time.

I haven’t seen a smock from this era with raglan sleeves and a back yoke together. A bit reminiscent of a cheesemaker’s smock I saw once. Most smock patterns of the era are either curved half circle yokes, or cut straight across as seperate front and back yokes. It’s easy to see why Irene loved the raglan sleeve. All in all – it was a fun excercise and it only gets better from here.

Since Slobo has a handy recorder setup to capture images from the TV, I decided this was the year to figure out what exactly it is that draws me to Irene’s designs. With just capturing the first images, it dawned on me that I like (and sorely miss) the dressmaker details. For giggles, I decided to practice my patternmaking skills and replicate items for either myself or my doll figure. #1 is the smock that Claudette Colbert wears, in her photo-developing lab, in the movie ‘No Time For Love’ (1943) :

Here is a raglan draft from http://www.vintagesewing.info:

Here is a strap shoulder and it’s draft:

The trim appears to be sewn in between the seam, continued on the back yoke portion, and abt. 1/4″ inside from the seam allowance on the collar.

The entire pattern body of the garment seams to be cut & spread by about 4″s beginning up into the front yoke. This spread is readily seen here:

The armhole is also cut deeper as you can see under the arm here:

and here:

I’m not sure about that bunching at the back of the armpit.

I love the large buttons (7 of them) and the pockets flaps that gradually angle down.

These appear to be lined patch pockets with a fold-down facing.

It seems there is a facing on the inside. Granted, Claudette Colbert is wearing this over a fitted suit with pretty hefty shoulder pads. But here I can barely see the outline of what might be a facing in the back yoke portion (see arrow):

Here’s my take on what the pattern must be like. It’s details like this that make we want to own a smock like this!

(one of these days I’ll learn to do these posts inside of five edits!)

Before I share that here’s some fun:

Did you know you too could own a Zoom-O bobbin winder? You can play AND wind a bobbin for the cost of only 10.00 at Wally World!

Of course, the kids might fight you for it!

Speaking of kids. Here are pics of my ‘unsuccessful’ attempt at sneaking downstairs today. The three J’s followed me down. It was too cold for them to play outside for long and Daddy needed to concentrate. His “if you want to keep your job” project is due in the morning, so he was feeling just a ‘little’ pressure today.

I keep boxes (color-coded) under my cutting tables of scraps from previous projects. The kids and I pull from them when we wanna play. Today – they decided to tailor some clothing for the family while I cutting.

After making small stapled pockets and purses – they turned their attention to their favorite fit model, Stitches!

I’m not sure he appreciated his new clothes – but his outfits were stunning!

Now for the Pattern Notes:
Let me say right off that I DO like this pattern. It seems these ladies have some notion of pattern making – more so than a big three pattern.
What I like:
I like the white paper, the overall pattern making skills shown, and the handwritten labeling (nice touch).
What I don’t like:
There were some things I’d like different, for instance nesting the sizes.
If not nesting – then at least color coded lines for cutting. It was hard to follow sizing lines.

See what I mean from the above picture? It’s confusing to figure out which one is for your size. Do-able obviously, but still, confusing. If you want to make multiple sizes and keep your pattern readable – you MUST trace it – not cut it.

Since I make clothes for family (different sizes) it’s a pain to trace – that’s why I don’t just haul out my drafting blocks and make my own patterns all the time. Sometimes, I just wanna pay 12 to 20 bucks and be able to cut it with a few minor changes. I don’t think I should have to pay for all the extra paper or to interface the pattern to keep separate sizes.

With that said, I am willing to pay more for a pattern I liked, like this one, if the pattern-maker could make it in different colors or it took more pages. At least when patterns are nested, I can save the cut pieces and just tape on the next size in two minutes and be ready to go. Not to mention that it seems every two years, I am making the next size up for all of us!

— okay —- enough of that

In the following photos, I show my own personal block I made a few months ago, compared to the pattern. My block is not drafted with easements or seam allowances. Mine is shown in the following photos underneath the pattern tissue. It aids in addressing changes I need to make.

In general, this pattern is drafted more accurately than most of the patterns I’ve run into. The shoulder extensions tho do seem a bit longer, tho for both front and back. I’m not sure that my underarm won’t end up parallel to my bust point.

The usual changes I need to make for the front are:
My shoulder ridge slopes more than the average – an extra 1 1/4″. In order to be more comfortable, I also like a deeper armsyce. Not too many pattern-makers get the armsyce correct for the average figure. This one came the closest. At least there is a definite difference between front and back!

Here are the differences on the back piece:

—- Okay – one more complaint here (even tho minor) —-
See – they spoiled me because they made a full pattern piece for the front. The back tho, is a half-back. I don’t know why that was done – other than for clarification on the front placket piece, but I’d like to have the full back too. lol. See here:

I liked the sleeve draft. The biggest issue again, was lack of cutting line clarification. I almost cut the wrong sleeve size at the top, but caught myself an 1/8″ into the wrong cut and was able to fix it back easily enough.

The Sleeve length was spot on! Way to Go!

Now, it is difficult – really difficult, to hand draft those scallops and have them neatly line up. I’ve done it for a bedjacket I sell. So – for the scallops I give great big kudos!!!

The pattern / fabric layout reference sheet only shows front / back and sleeves. It doesn’t show the 5 additional pieces, like these (not a big deal for me because I knew there should be something else there, but a novice might be really caught off guard on that one) BTW – These pieces ARE accounted for in the yardage requirements. So you won’t get caught on that.

Speaking of getting caught off guard. I buy most of the family’s clothing fabric needs at bargain bins, so I do expect problems. I hadn’t noticed this one before tho. The kitty fabric (2.00 a yard at Wal-Mart), was sold as 44/45″ yardage, but in actuality it measured 42 and 1/2″ wide, which really messed up the scalloping at the lowest edge for me (YES – the big girl size!)

So, if you make this pattern – it’s probably a good idea to either set yourself up to have to deal with by adding some, changing the pattern, or heck – just go out and buy yourself some of that really nice fabric! After all, when you buy a top of the line pattern for yourself – why not treat it to some gorgeous – evenly woven – fabric!

I cut a rosey pink solid flannel (44″ btw) with changes to the armsyce and shoulder ridge – and this kitty cat flannel using the unmodified original pattern. I couldn’t get to sewing it up today and have to be at Mom’s the next couple of days, but when I get them sewn, I’ll report back on the fit. Besides being a record for me, I hope this helps another soul out there.

UPDATE: 10/01/09 It only took me 9 months to get around to sewing these (all great things take 9 months, right?) and another month to take pictures of them (sheesh – sounds more and more like newborns), but here they are.

I disliked the placket instructions but beared with them for the pink gown. When I got to the kitty gown however, I just went my own way. I used a velvet ribbon trim from Walmart for the neckline. It’s worked out well and looks beautiful despite constant washings.

On this one, you can really see where the shortage of a few inches really affected the scallops. Next time, I’ll just cut them off like I did for the pink gown. Even tho I was not short on the pink flannel, I had lost time and patience with sewing, turning, and pressing scallops. Enter – Big Sheers and a more peaceful day of sewing.

They are super comfy and I have already purchased enough cottons to make 3 more for next summer, after all in August it will be 9 more months….. Here’s hoping!

This pattern is from the paisleypincushion.com Slobo bought it for me out of the newark_dress_supply catalog as a birthday present. It came in the mail today which couldn’t have been timed better! After digging up the garden today – sick with a head cold, hiding out in the sewing room tommorrow will be a welcome relief. Cuddling up in my new nightgown tommorrow night – priceless!

I can’t wait to get started.

I used the naugha patent leather from one of our son’s old costume boots . It was backed with foam, which I peeled away – as it made it too thick. The liner was the black nylon that was backing it. I would recommend a cotton muslin tho. The pattern with instructions is from sewing.org I used the adult size pattern (no scaling). In case their site is down, here is the bean bag pattern gif . I cut open a beanbag chair we had in hopes it had the little beads in it… but alas … the thing was filled with shredded egg cartons and paper pulp! WHO KNEW! Since the chunks were too large to use in this small beanie, I used the only small dried beans I had in the pantry – Lentils with a garlic herb scent. LOL. Now when Slobo lies in bed to watch his videos at night – he gets hungry! Hey – At least no vampires will get him!

If you make this pattern, I would suggest making it about a 1/4″ larger on all sides so that you end up with a beanie that’s a little bigger. Also, prepare to hand sew the circles on top and bottom. They are too small to get into a sewing machine and chew lots of licorice while trying to see to hand sew them. They are a bit of a booger.

Also – I highly suggest using the poly beads. The beans come out to a bit of a stiff bag. Might even want to use some cotton fabric too, as the nylons / polysters etc. can transmit a static charge which we all know can be deadly to an electronic circuit. The patent leather turned out to not be needed for grip as the bag settles down to conform to the shape anyway.

Think I’ll knit him another one – it might be great practice for some short row shaping skills.

I had to take a break from knitting the shapely T and use some other muscles. So, I decided the new truck needed some seatbelt cozies. Color matched! These work up really fast which helps the – ‘I need a finished project like right now!’ syndrome.

Crochet hook size: H
Yarn: 1 skein Caron’s Simply Soft
Puffball: in both loops, Yarn over 4 times, draw yarn through all loops.

Seatbelt Cozy

beg. ch 23 (increments of 7×3 + 2 turning)

each row:

double crochet 6, in the 7th hole – make a puffball by yarning over 4 times and drawing through all loops, double crochet next 6, in the 14th hole – make puffball, double crochet last 6, ch2, and turn work.

I did mine for 12 rows. Fold in thirds lengthwise, attach velcro or snaps and that’s all there is to it.

The puffball at each 7th position should fall on each edge of the seatbelt and make a ‘cushy’ edge against the neck.
I haven’t tried these in the truck yet, but if they slide – my intention is to put a couple of drops of liquid rubber on the backside to keep it in place. I don’t want to be retrieving them from under the seat each time the kids get in the car!  I’ll let ya know if it’s needed.

Next thing on the ‘truck’ accessories list is a quilt for the backside.

When we folded out the seat to change the tire on the old truck, I couldn’t believe the food and garbage the kids had squirreled under there!!! It’s rather like pulling out the fridge or stove to clean! Shocking! The quilt is going to cover the back and seat portions in one piece this time, and will definitely get a waterproof backing so no other lab experiments grow under it hidden from view!

Technorati Tags: crochet, seatbelt cover

Yes, being a slow knitter, I’ve started working on Christmas presents. My sister’s shapely tee is coming along at about 8″ of length on the front. I decided to frog the brown alpaca yarn and just make the white one. The alpaca was driving my allergies crazy, so I’ll save that for fall, when I’m not so allergic, wear gloves and a mask, and crochet it – I can crochet alot faster than knit.

In the meantime, I have three brothers that are just crazy about golf. One in particular loves anything Irish, so I’m going to make him some golf club cozies out of bright green yarn with a shamrock on the end for good luck.

My SIL will have to get the clubs to go with it. haha. Sis, if you are watching, here’s a link I just got for a place that seems to have it all. Callaway golf