Battle of the Turtlenecks: And the winner is....!

This has to be one of the sorriest sights I've ever photographed (click pic to super-dupersize).

On my way home from the flea market this morning, I spotted this dilapidated sewing machine table (with someone's trash on top--merciful heavens) outside the former entrance to the garage that formerly housed the indoor Chelsea flea market on weekends.  The building was purchased by Marriot months ago but, so far, remains an ugly eyesore (and dumping site).







In happier news, I received my Uniqlo turtleneck shirt today, in a box large enough to hold two dozen of them.



I purchased a size Small.  While the fit is trimmer than the L.L. Bean turtleneck, it's still somewhat roomy.  Let's see what it looks like after washing a few times.





This is a cotton/poly blend (the L.L. Bean version was 100% cotton), though I can't tell the difference by touching it.  Overall, I like it.

UPDATE: The label on the shirt reads "100% cotton" as does the paper tag.  Good news!



My one gripe: no cuff on the sleeve.  I think a cuff belongs on a turtleneck shirt sleeve -- it seals the warm air in, you know what I mean?  Also, the sleeve on the Uniqlo shirt is nearly 2" too long.  If it doesn't shrink in the dryer, I'll hem it.  I guess that's how they can afford to sell these for $7.90 (well, normally $14.90).



Michael went online to pick one up for himself and discovered they're nearly sold out: just a few Extra-smalls in white, so I grabbed one.

In other news, last night I laundered and preshrank my denim: the new stuff is the lighter blue on the right.  To the left is denim I picked up during the summer.  I may use them separately or combine them.



And that's it.

I hope those recovering from too much Thanksgiving stuffing (he he) are on the mend.

Have a great day, everybody!

Michael likes no cuffs, go figure...

This and Hat

To those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to you.  To the rest, happy Friday!

I spent the holiday as I do every year, with family in the East Village, and apart from my mother's absence, it was the same as it always is: delicious food, great conversation, warm hospitality.  My mother is coming along slowly -- some days are better than others; today she skipped physical therapy because she said she felt woozy.  She has a full week of rehab ahead of her so hopefully she'll rally.  Michael's dad joined us again this year for the holiday and he has become part of the family tradition.

In the spirit of Black Friday, I went fabric shipping after visiting my mother today and returned home with some beautiful indigo denim. I  haven't sewn with denim in years and I may put the wool melton aside for now.  As you know, I've had trouble with my coat pattern and I'm not sure if it's me or not: see the big gap in the undercollar below?  That's how far off the collar was from fitting the neckline.  I cut it down the middle so I could measure how much more collar/collar stand I'd need.



In other news, I found this cute striped wool watch cap (below) on eBay earlier in the week and it arrived today.   I love presents, especially when life is stressful.  As you can see, I am slowly morphing into a Japanese male fashionista from Free and Easy magazine. 



And how about my glasses?  I discovered a marvelous vintage and vintage-inspired eyeglass frame store in the East Village called Fabulous Fanny's -- no personal connection or kickback for the endorsement, if only.  A woman I know who sells her line of reading glasses there told me about it, and I swung by last week en route to the hospital.  These are kind of a modern take on a more traditional 1920's style.  The brand is Kala and they're made in the USA, which is always a bonus from my perspective.



I don't wear glasses other than to sew with, so these are strictly for fashion, which is OK by me though I know to some it's akin to walking with crutches just for the fun of it.  Eyeglass frames contribute something to a person's face (and overall appearance) that a pretend wooden leg does not.  This is especially true when, like me, you don't have much hair on your head.  I think of it more like having a fake tan.  Tan skin (for the fair-skinned) is the way our skin protects itself from burning, and it was once a sign of someone who had to work in the fields.  Coco Chanel made it a status symbol (a sign of a life of leisure).  So is a fake tan an affront to those who still have to labor in the fields?  Perhaps it is.  

Anyway, I love my glasses and if you want a fake tan because you think you look better with one, you won't hear any criticism from me.  

And that's about it.  Not sure what I'll do with all my denim: probably a monochromatic outfit that might include a vest and/or jacket.  I have the whole winter to work with wool and to figure out just what went wrong with that balmacaan coat pattern.

Have a great day, everybody!

PS - If you can think of a better metaphor for wearing glasses when you don't need them to see with, please share it.

Back It Goes + Coat Muslin Progress

The vast majority of you who commented yesterday will be happy to know that the light blue L.L. Bean turtleneck I modeled yesterday is headed back to Maine, free of charge (to me).

A number of you recommended Uniqlo, so I checked them out, and they were selling cotton/poly turtlenecks for $7.90, no tax, no shipping.   I thought $22.95 was low but $7.90 is ridiculous.  I'll keep you posted on the fit/quality when it arrives.

In other news, today I was able to add seam allowances to my traced mens balmacaan coat pattern pieces.  Most of the allowances are 1.5 cm., or roughly 5/8".



I used an old cotton/poly sheet for a muslin.



I was very careful to trace the correct size and to add the seam allowances accurately, so you can imagine how disappointed when two (of three) raglan sleeve pieces, which are supposed to look like this...



...ending up looking like this:



Some of this may be due to the fact that a cotton poly sheet doesn't ease, but it annoys me nevertheless.



Everything else looks fine though.  I need to add the collar and front facings and test out the pocket.  It's actually a very basic coat, which is why it bothers me when I suspect there are drafting issues.



Not much to share about my mother; she has begun intensive rehab but is still very depressed.  The social work staff seems to believe this is normal and, hopefully, her outlook will improve soon.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with family in town tomorrow (preceded by hospital visit with Michael and his dad).

So how does Uniqlo manage to sell a shirt for $7.90?  You can read more about the company here.

Have a great day, everybody! 

Keep or Return? or "The Unbearable Cheapness of Bean"

Is it me or have men's cotton turtlenecks nearly vanished from mainstream fashion?

I know you can still find them here and there (Ralph Lauren, L.L. Bean, Lands End), but they used to be everywhere.  How are men keeping their necks warm these days?

I was looking for a good quality cotton turtleneck last week and finally ordered one from L.L. Bean: $22.95 with no tax and free shipping.  When it arrived, however, I was disappointed.  While the cotton is soft, the fit is way off.  I'd ordered a size Small.  The torso is narrow enough, but the sleeves are wide enough for a pair of legs - make that two pair -- and the armholes hang down to mid-chest.  I mean, I know different brands use different fit models, but this is weird and nothing like the size Small turtlenecks I remember from the past.





Also, the cuffs and collar aren't particularly elastic -- not much stretchier than the regular jersey.   A look inside shows that the side/sleeve seam is serged, and I could easily tailor the shirt for a better fit.  I pinned a bit -- though not nearly enough -- to get a sense of how it might look if I took it in.





Here you can see the slightly tailored sleeve on my right.



I hate the idea of having to re-do RTW, but I know many people do this as a matter of course.  The shirt was cheap, and I could probably do a good job without too much of a time investment, but still, it irks me to have to restitch a brand new shirt.  The alternative would be to return it.

What would you do?

In other news, today I started tracing my coat pattern and boy, is it a chore.  I don't mind tracing per se, but seam allowances have to be added and this pattern calls for different seam allowances on different pattern pieces -- the lining pieces in particular are hard to figure out.





I'm hoping in the morning, when I'm fresher, I'll be able to make sense of all these numbers.





And that's it!  I hope to have everything traced by tomorrow so I can spend the rest of the week on the muslin.

This pocket alone (below) may take an afternoon!



In closing, aside from hemming a pair of pants, do you often have to tailor your RTW (ready-to-wear) clothing purchases?

Have a great day, everybody!

On With the Sew

Readers, thank you so much for your many words of support regarding my mother's injury.

She asked me to send along her thanks as well.  My mom's doing somewhat better: eating (not enough but some), pushing through her exercises with her physical therapists, and even -- this is a big one -- accepting phone calls and visits from a few friends.  I see her most days and I'm actually enjoying the trips, believe it or not.  Being able to bicycle to the hospital (well, near it) helps too.

But life is not all fractured femurs, thank goodness.

Today I managed to squeeze in a visit to the fabric store in preparation for my next big(gish) project, which I believe will be a men's raglan-sleeved overcoat -- a style known formally as a balmacaan.  I'll probably use a pattern from Ryuichiro Shimazaki's men's coat pattern book, the one I used last year to make my peacoat(s).  Hopefully I can complete a muslin this week.









I set out for the store thinking solid navy or gray for this coat but stumbled upon this dusty rose melton -- I'm calling it "light liver" for now -- which I love. This was was of those popular institutional colors in the 1950's -- think church basement linoleum and school lunchroom trays.  (I grabbed matching thread at Sil Thread.)





Longtime readers may be reminded of Cathy's 1940's topper, which I made from a vintage blanket three years ago.  Cathy and I have very similar coloring so I'm hoping what works for her will work for me too.







In other news, I received another color-related book (actually, this is more of a color guide) which a number of you had recommended, Joen Wolfrom's Ultimate 3-in-1 Color Tool.  What I like about it is that it's compact and portable (it even comes in its own plastic case) so you can easily tote it to the fabric store (the cards are all attached at the bottom right corner).











The back of each color card lists the colors that match best.







I have lots of other topics I hope to address this week.  These include:

1) Why is it so hard to find a good quality men's cotton turtleneck shirt these days? (They were ubiquitous when I was in high school in the 70's.)

2) Are perfect-sighted people who choose to wear glasses just for the look of it hopelessly vain?

3) How many Singer Featherweights does a person really need?

Don't respond to these now -- save your thoughts for later.

Have a great day, everybody and, once again, thank you for your support.  I'm off to the hospital!