When To Quit

September 13, 2024

This isn't an homage to triskaidekaphobia but a fundamental question we all have to ask periodically.  Further, I need to be upfront about this subject because my very nature is not to give up.  That means I equate giving up with quitting - at least for me.  Once I give up, quitting is inevitable.  

I love sewing problems and working through the solutions.  Mostly because in sewing, like math, the solution is more finite than in art.  Art solutions can vary from blow-your-mind creative to just passable and still pass the smell test.  In sewing, because most of us have two arms, two shoulders, one neck, one waist, and two hips, we can pretty much narrow down the parameters of what our clothes need to look like.  

But there comes a time when you need to let something go.  I discovered this recently with a jacket that I've really wanted to work on, and I've been working on it for about 3 years.  
 

But this never worked - it was too bulky around the waist, and when I tried to take it, it would pull around the hips.  The scrunchiness of the collar was never satisfactory, and basically, the neck, shoulders, and waist just never worked.  
 

Here's a video on my dilemma.

I wanted this to look like a comfy more casual jacket - something along the lines of an old gentleman's jacket.  Recently, Walt and I watched Midway - the 1976 version, with Hal Holbrook playing an eccentric cryptographer whose idiosyncrasies were indulged because he was so gifted at deciphering code.  And here he was in this smoking jacket in the bunkers in Hawaii, which seemed like a colossal anomaly but worked to enhance the character's peculiarity!  Funny, but it worked.  

Here's the original inspiration from a picture on Pinterest.  This is so old that the site no longer exists.  This is another good reason to keep photos on Pinterest.  Often, sites come and go or change or are gone forever, but if you save the pic on Pinterest, you have it forever.  This is great on sites that sell clothes that will change seasonally, but you'll still have the photo's inspiration.  That's the case here.  

Doesn't this look just all gushy and warm and cozy for winter?  I thought so and that was my original intent for the jacket that has bit the dust!  

After having gone through the experience of trying everything from inserting multiple layers of silk organza to pad stitching in some great tailoring horse hair canvas, I can finally see what I was doing wrong.  The whole idea of the collar is that it's scrunchy and very buttery.  At the same time, it's clear that this fabric has some body and some heft to it, which appeals to me since I'm usually cold below about 80° - OK, not really, but sometimes I feel that way.  

The bottom line: I wanted a jacket that would act like a throw but be flattering and cozy to wear. That's not that hard, because there's a picture of what I want above, so I have to be able to do that.  

I've just pulled some magnificent heavyweight cotton from my stash with a nice hefty feel.  It's from OrganicCottonPlus.com. Take a look here and here. The first one is what I purchased, and it is pictured below.  This is a lot more costly than what I'm used to paying, but the fabric is a lot heavier and sturdier than what I'm used to getting.  So the cost is well worth it.  I ordered samples for the color range, and this color (Syrah) is just barely in my warm color range.  It's a little on the cranberry side of oxblood red, but it still works.  Not only that but the exact grosgrain ribbon matches.  Why is that important - coming up. 

This may look a little cranberry, but it's not in person.  It's in my range and will work great.  

Now to the problem solving.  Here are the issues.

• I will not make the same mistake again on the collar - so I need to rethink the whole idea of this slouchy collar look.  Looking at the inspiration photo from Pinterest, it's clear there's only one layer of the fabric.  Immediately, I realized that was why the other ponte had never worked.  I was trying to make two layers (collar and facing) work and act like one layer, and at that thickness, it wouldn't work.  That means giving up the old jacket is logical.  I was asking that fabric to do something it couldn't - ever!
• One layer is fabulous for this fabric, BUT it rolls on the side, so it will need some stiffness or stability to make it not roll.  A rolled hem doesn't work here - it will just roll up more.  A stitched hem, serged, and then folded over with a top stitch (not a stretch stitch) won't work either.  It will be too stiff and could be just as likely to roll as the rolled hem.
• Enter the grosgrain ribbon that matches this red very well, and I have a great solution.  Grosgrain binding often offers just the stabilizing effect needed for a garment's edge.  That's why you see it on so many garments.    Remember, the edge of a garment needs interfacing:  cuffs, front button, collar.  In the olden days of the 50s and 60s, hems were often interfaced, but not so much today.

Although this doesn't look like it had much shape, it was gorgeous and my first Chanel jacket.  I wanted to learn how to bind in the grosgrain ribbon, so that was the real lesson I was learning here.  This was also some beautiful silk tweed I had purchased in Hong Kong, and the fabric was so elegant and well-made (back in the 1990s) that it was a bargain.  The buttons cost more than the whole jacket fabric.  It was a great suit, but I grew out of it, but I still have the buttons today.  I learned how to apply grosgrain ribbon as a trim - how to miter corners and curve it because grosgrain ribbon can be manipulated to curve, which is another reason to use it.  

• If pressing won't hold down this thicker edge, I may apply some stitch-witchery (you can buy this in strips) and attach that to the knit edge. Between the grosgrain and the stitch-witchery, I will have enough stability to keep it from rolling.  
• The last problem to solve is that grosgrain offers stability, but it also doesn't have much give.  That means no stretch on the grosgrain ribbon, so if I want this lay with a drape, I will have to ease in a generous amount around the collar.  The shawl collar is normally circular, like this.

So this shows how I'll cut this out and sew this together.  There will be no traditional facing, only the collar, which will most likely be wider than this collar.  But you can see that the grosgrain ribbon will have to curve all the way around the edge.  Keeping the edge draping without the edge rolling means that I will have to ease that curve so that the outside will have more distance than the inside of the binding.  I do NOT want this pucker in or be in the least bit smaller than that outer curved edge.  That sounds hard, but not with grosgrain.  There are some techniques to use to do this.  (Follow along cause I'll document this as I progress!)  

I also know exactly how much to ease and how to make it look neat without looking sloppy.  This jacket has a fine line between gushy/comfy and sloppiness. The grosgrain will help with that, but I have to make sure that my application is neat and crisp-looking.  

One last question:  Why not knock off the entire jacket from the inspiration photo?  The first reason is that it won't look good with how I want to wear it.  I'm wanting to wear this with some fur-lined leggings this winter.  That whole look is gushy/comfy, and warm but not sloppy.  That look above might look above good with my Barb StyleArc pant, but that's not a really comfy look.  I'm looking for something I can wear 15 or 20 times this winter.  

Or are you like me?  When I first make something it's all I can do to keep from wearing it every day!  I'm enormously pumped about this project because:

1. I've finally given myself permission to let the other one go, which means also letting go of the fabric, which I really liked a lot.
2. I've got something out of my stash that I've wanted to do in this warm, gushy/comfy look, but I felt it would look too much like the old jacket.  Letting go of this old project and getting it out of my head, means it's out of my wardrobe and creates a hole I need to fill.  Some folks like to keep things like this to learn from their mistakes.  But I prefer to get it out and make room for something practical, flattering, and comfortable that makes me feel great!

That's the primary benefit of letting go of a project that won't work.  After you've been through all the options and possibilities, realizing that not only is the design not going to work, but it's never going to look good on you is the final realization that frees you to go onto other projects and not be daunted by a minor failure. 

One of the best ways to overcome a setback is to quickly start a new project that has a good chance of success - even if it's something simple and basic that you've done before.  It's the determination to succeed, the most recent memory, that is key.  

So get back on that horse and start riding!

For Those Who Aren't Getting This Emails....

Yeah -  I know that title sounds weird, but sometimes readers get the emails, and sometimes they don't - it's a crap shoot.  I'm taking a chance some of you will be receiving this, and for those who don't, hopefully we can find another way. 

I've heard from some who are saying they don't get my email even though they are signed up.  I've responded; however, my emails either bounced or were not received.  More likely, my responses aren't received just like the weekly reports aren't received.  What's more frustrating is that when you, who aren't receiving the emails, try to sign up again, you're already on the list.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!  So frustrating.  

So here are some solutions:

1. First check your spam and your trash folders.  I know to do this too if I'm not receiving emails, and I think I've already checked it.  But then I go back and check it and there it is.  So you may have to check it more than once.
2. Second and this may be the only solution even when you aren't seeing anything, so into your address book and make sure that support@sewingartistry.com is in your address book so that your email client will know it's something you're wanting even though it can sense that there are hundreds going out.  
3. If all else fails, there's a link I can send you and it's located at the top and bottom of all my emails.  Unfortunately if you aren't receiving the emails, that's not any help.  But I am in Instagram a lot as @SewingArtistry.  (You can also click the Instagram icon on the bottom of my emails to get there as well, of course that would either be an old email.) I find it to be a friendlier happier place than other social media. You can PM me over there and we can talk that way without having to go through the riggors of email spam controls.  

I know this is frustrating, but between Instagram PM-ing and here, hopefully we can still stay connected.  Once I get your PM on Instagram I can send you a link that you can at least keep up with the current posts without the email.  

I know that email servers, clients and providers are really trying to work at cutting down on spam, and for those of us who send out regular emails to folks who want to hear from us, it's a real chore to jump through all the hoops we have to, just to send out our messages.  It's the world we live in unfortunately.  

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

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