Tailoring a Man's Jacket and Yarn Store in Pleasanton

I spent a good part of my Saturday working on a jacket pattern for my husband, Mark. This is my first attempt at making any sort of menswear, so I opted to purchase a commercial pattern rather than drafting my own. I have always liked the fit of Burda patterns (I subscribe to the magazine), and was lucky enough to find a good, basic jacket pattern (#7842) at Joann Fabrics. In my experience, Burda patterns (and quite possibly other European patterns) have a slimmer fit and cut, which I prefer.

After taking his measurements (chest is most important), I traced out all 21 pieces, which took a good chunk of time. While it is always tedious to trace patterns onto white pattern paper (especially all of the seam allowances!), I find it critical to the process, as all fitting/alterations can be done and marked on the paper while I preserve the original pattern sheets. Also, it gives me time to study the pattern pieces and work through the best way to construct the garment. Burda is notorious for having "light" instructions, so having the extra time to scrutinize the pattern pieces is definitely a good thing!

The next step is to check the initial fit of the paper pattern!

I recently visited a yarn shop called Knit This Purl That in downtown Pleasanton, California (San Francisco Bay Area). It is a tiny little shop, but the people are friendly and not overly aggressive, and the selection of yarns was nice given the size of the space. I found some beautiful Malabrigo yarns that were so soft, and of course the colorways were amazing. I was tempted, but I have so much yarn in my stash... The alcove of books and magazines was really nice and inviting, and I liked all of the cubbyholes full of yarns. They have a full selection of knitting needles, which was good to see. The one negative point was that there was a class during the time I was there, and they were all sitting in a circle in the middle of the main room, so it was difficult to really browse without getting in the way of the class attendees. Overall, it is a cute shop --- just best to visit when there isn't an ongoing class!

Welcome Back with a New Mac

As embarrassing as it is, this is my second attempt at maintaining a blog. I opened my original attempt, which detailed a trip to Santa Barbara last year --- the one and only post --- and decided that I needed to start anew. So here we are!

We purchased a new iMac for Christmas, and it is absolutely fabulous! The screen resolution is so clear, and the sound quality is top-notch. I still haven't delved into all of the features (Santa brought me a new Viking sewing machine, so I've been preoccupied with that!) but am looking forward to it.

I have a couple of projects that are in progress at the moment. The first is a tailored jacket in a beautiful gray wool tweed that I purchased at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco. Because the tweed has subtle flecks of blue in it, I lined the jacket with a snazzy blue/violet Bemberg lining and found oversized vintage-inspired blue buttons. I just need to finish the hems on the sleeve linings and I'll be finished. I made a matching skirt for this as well using a Burda Magazine pattern from a couple of years ago, which I love --- it looks like a pencil skirt from the front but has a shaped and fitted back that flares out in faux godets (replaces the need for a kick pleat). I'll post the photos soon!

My second project is a knit Chanel-inspired jacket using three colors of Twisted Sisters yarn in linen stitch. It is definitely slow-going, as linen stitch is a dense stitch that creates a flat, fabric-like texture. By using three colors, the resulting "fabric" has a tweed look, which works well with the simple styling. I found the yarn at Stitches West last year, and love the shine the strands of rayon, interwoven with cotton, give to the overall look.