Ethel's - Palmer/Pletsch Publishing

Ethel’s
SUMMER
WARDROBE
I love the new wardrobe pieces
Pati and Marta made for me
while filming their new video!
We chose colors that enhance
my eye color for the soft jacket
and the lowlights of my hair
color for the three-piece suit.
The little blue over-shirt covers
my tummy perfectly and will be
great worn to work in.
Look for the new
Palmer/Pletsch DVD
Fit for Real People Basics
at www.palmerpletsch.com
22

Ethel’s
SUMMER
WARDROBE
Ethel’s pendant
is a perfect
compliment.
Ethel’s Tencel loose-fitting
unlined jacket is sewn
from McCall’s
Palmer/Pletsch
M4842. The back has a
slight flare. The cuffs roll
up to your favorite length.
We used PerfectFuse
Medium interfacing on the
facing and both upper and
under collar. For more
about PerfectFuse see
page 34.
23

Ethel’s
SUMMER
WARDROBE
The wool crepe suit is from
McCall’s M4391.
The front is interfaced with
PerfectFuse Light. The pants are
lined with our favorite lining from
Logantex, Ambience. It makes the
pants feel heavenly!
Ethel’s fitted shirt is McCall’s M2079 and is made from linen/cotton
blend. The interfacing on the front and under collar is PerfectFuse
Sheer. The essence of darts in the back adds a slimming shape—
nice if you have a full tummy.
24

SEWING
Pati
WITH
Palmer/Pletsch
McCall’s M4785
Are you wondering if I made all the things I told you about in our Fall/Winter 2005 issue.
OK, I sewed MOST of what I was planning to sew. Did your parents ever tell you “your
eyes are bigger than your stomach” Well, all of us fashion sewers are the same! We pull
out more projects we can sew that season. But, I decided that what I am sewing is fairly
classic and I will get several seasons wearing these pieces fashionably. And, I LOVE them
and they FIT me— TODAY anyway.
I have a few winter things I didn’t finish, but I will keep at it and have them for this fall.
That’s OK! I loved EVERY MINUTE of time I spent sewing this season and wonder why I
don’t treat myself to such a pleasure more often. It is the ultimate in creativity.
We donate to the national Make It With Wool contest every year. I do it just to read the
thank you notes, often accompanied by photos of the winning garments. From young to
older, it is great to see FASHION SEWING is alive and well. Those who love it really
LOVE it. Don’t you wish we could bring it back like quilting, which was nearly dead in
the 1960s and look at it now. Will FASHION SEWING ever do that If so, what do YOU
think it will take. I’d love your feedback!
25 McCall’s M4785
McCall’s M4598
McCall’s M5064

SEWING
Pati
WITH
Purple
wool
crepe
suit
Palmer/
Pletsch
McCall’s
M4785.
It is difficult to find beautiful wool crepe today.
If you find one that is soft, springs back when
you wrinkle it up in your hand, and drapes well,
grab it! I was a little disappointed in the quality
of this one as I have been spoiled in the past.
Your best bet is to find a store that buys excess
fabric from top designers. However, the good
news is “this is wool crepe” and it is my favorite
fabric as it is easy to sew and just molds to fit
your body.
Pin-fitting to alter a too-tight jacket:
We let out each seam only
1/8” in this princess-seam jacket.
Being a size 12 on top and size 18 on the bottom, I usually don’t
wear short jackets. But this one has lots of places to fit to your
contours. There are darts in the front as well as front and back sideprincess
lines. I made the darts narrower to allow for my fuller tummy,
but I allowed the back seams to give me a little shape. I let all seams
out a bit more after trying the jacket on with the pants and blouse.
The worst look is for a jacket to be too tight through your middle.
I made the collar double, but with no interfacing. It was still a little
stiff, so I folded it as shown and steamed to make it hold the cascading
folds I wanted which are a little different than shown on
the pattern.
The jacket front is fused with PerfectFuse TailorUltra and the
back with PerfectFuse Light. I used white so I could see my
dart markings, but then needed to use a black permanent
marker along the inside of the machine buttonholes
to cover the white peaking out. We’re excited
about our PerfectFuse interfacings. For more
about them see page 35
I used our easy-set-in-sleeve technique from our new
tailoring book, Jackets for Real People. Instead of tie interfacing to ease the cap in,
I used self fabric. It worked like a charm! For how-tos, see the next page.
I rounded the neckline on the tank top to make it easier to add a bias facing.
FABRIC IDEA: Make this suit from silk crepe de chine and fuse the front and back with our new Perfect
Fuse TailorUltra. It makes lightweight fabrics tailorable, yet they retain their softness.
The pants are from McCall’s 4842 as I wanted a flat front pant instead of a
trouser. I also wanted to try the contour waistband. I fused PerfectFuse TailorUltra to
the band and sewed Sta-tape in with the seam when I attached the facing. This will
prevent stretch. For contour waistband how-tos, see page 28.
26

Setting in the Sleeve with a Sleeve Head—
THE “QUICK METHOD”—A BRIEF OVERVIEW
Marta first discovered this 2-in-1 QUICK METHOD in the
1970s, using a loosely woven men’s tie interfacing as a surefire
way to set in a sleeve in hard-to-ease Ultrasuede. A sleeve
head is used to fill out the ease area of a sleeve cap or “head.”
In this method, you sew in the sleeve head BEFORE setting in
the sleeve.
Purchase 1/4 yd. (25cm) of Armo-Rite or take apart an old
tie! You can also use linen or loosely woven wool. Cut one
bias strip 10-12" (30cm) long and 1 /2" (4cm) wide for each
sleeve.
12”
27
1 1 /2”
Place the strip on the wrong side of the
sleeve cap at the ease point notch.
Lower the needle in the 5/8" (1.5cm)
stitching line. Using a 4mm stitch length,
start sewing.
Begin to pull on the bias strip firmly
while stitching. It will get narrower as you
stretch it so that it will be about 1/4” (6mm)
from the edge of the cap. That is fine
as you want a smaller amount in the seam
allowance and a longer amount hanging
down into the sleeve.
As you sew, make sure the edge of the
cap stays next to your 5/8” marking on the
machine.
The sleeve cap is
automatically eased
and ready to sew into
the armhole.
If it seems awkward
the first time, simply unstitch and redo.
With a bit of practice, it will be easy.
Excerpted from Jackets for Real People,
available at www.palmerpletsch.com
A FEW
MORE TIPS
FOR THIS
METHOD
The area you will
ease is the upper
half of the sleeve
cap.
Lower needle into
bias strip, which
is even with edge
of sleeve. Begin
stitching with a
4mm stitch
length.
Then pull
firmly on
bias strip. It
narrows so
is now
about 1/4”
from the
edge of the
cap.
The sleeve
cap is slightly
gathered.
Even if
sleeve is
still a bit
large for
the armhole,
the
additional
fullness
will ease in
smoothly.
Pin the sleeve
cap to the armhole
over the
curve of your
hand with the
sleeve on top.
This will help it
ease in evenly.
The bias strip
helps fill in
the areas
that would
normally want
to pucker.
Machine baste
from the bias
strip side. Use
your fingers to
smooth out the
ease as you go.
The cap is
pucker-free.
Always push
the seam
allowances
toward the
sleeve.
SLEEVE
ARMHOLE

Contour Waistlines
The contour waistline has the
look of the faced waistline, but it
shapes the top of the pant with a
separate curved band fitted to the
body rather than being shaped
with darts. Usually the contour waistline sits below
your actual waist.
Fitting a Contour Waistline
A pattern’s curve may not match yours. To fit, try on
the tissue.
1. If you do not have a full front and back pattern
piece, make one so you can fit both sides of your
body.
2. Pin the side seams
together with seams
sticking out.
3. Alter the pattern to
fit your shape.
If your waist is larger than the pattern measurement,
slash from the top to, but not through, the bottom in
several places and spread. Have someone else help
you. Tape over the
slashes right to
your body to hold
the spread.
After altering, take the waistband off and place it on
tissue. The tape will stick. Add more tape as necessary
and trim away excess tissue.
28
tissue
If your waist is
smaller than the
pattern, slash from
the top and lap the
pattern pieces. Pin
or tape.
If your high
hip/tummy area is
larger than the
pattern, slash from
the bottom and
spread. Tape.
If your high hip/
stomach area is
smaller than the
pattern, but the waist
fits, slash from the
bottom up and lap.
Pin or tape.
Sewing a Contour Waistband
1. Cut two front and back pieces for the band
and its facing.
2. Fuse interfacing to wrong side of band with
stable direction going around your body.
Prevent stretch by taping upper
and lower edges of waistband on
wrong side with Stay-tape or other seam binding
centered over the 5/8” seamline. Shape
seam binding first by
curving it under the iron
as you press. Machinebaste
in place 1/2” from
the raw edge.
3. Pin waistband sections
right sides together,
with pins parallel to the
edge in the seamline.
Wrap band around your
waist to make sure you
like the fit. Adjust sides
seams as necessary.
4. Sew the band
side seams
and press
open.
5. Sew band
to pants.
Press seam
allowances
toward band.
6. Sew facing
(which you cut
from same
altered pattern
piece) to band.
7. Trim, turn and
press. Turn under lower edge of facing and slipstitch
in place.
Excerpted from Pants for Real People, available
at www.palmerpletsch.com
seam binding

SEWING
Pati
WITH
Palmer/Pletsch McCall’s M4785 Suit
McCall’s M4785 Blouse
This wool tweed is from the same jacket
pattern as the purple suit, McCall’s M4785—
but without the collar. A cardigan is so quick
to sew. Use the same fitting techniques
mentioned previously. I fused the front with
PerfectFuse TailorUltra and the back and front
facing with PerfectFuse Light.
The blouse is from McCall’s M4921 and is a
silk charmeuse. The only thing I did was to
eliminate the princess
seam. Use the dart
transfer technique
from our fit book, Fit
for Real People. Lap
the princess seams
from the armhole to
the bust. The opening
below is like a
dart. Either sew the
dart or take the width of the dart off the
side seam which is what I did. Silk
charmeuse is best with as few seams and
darts as possible. Marta made the same
blouse, but kept the seam. See page 33.
29

RETRO
RETRO
RETRO
McCall’s M5064
This is our new pattern that started with a 1950s swing coat found in a thrift shop in Portland, Oregon by my friend who volunteers
there, Brenda Boyd. I sent it to McCall’s and they were wowed. It was updated for “today” and it is now McCall’s M5064.
EASY TO SEW—EASY TO WEAR!! And, I used my new favorite fabric, Pago’s Santa Cruize. It is polyester, rayon and linen.
What a great combo for the look of silk suiting with easy care properties. I don’t preshrink it as it seems not to shrink enough to
make a difference.
I made the short version with a back box pleat, shawl collar and raglan SEWING
Pati
sleeves. I used the blouse fabric for the back pleat inset.
WITH
The silk tank top is from McCall’s
M4785 but rounded.
I made a
Dior rose
bouquet
from the
Couture
book for my
flower pin—
a very new
look today.
The pants
are from
our pant
fit pattern
McCall's
M3740
using the
trouser view.
Don’t forget
to check out
our book
Pants for
Real People
for fit and
sewing
details.

McCall’s
M4598
blazer
I sewed our blazer
pattern McCall’s M4598
while we were writing
the new jacket book. I
chose the shawl collar
version as it is not only
easier, but I felt it was
dressier and
would work
well with my
gold buttons.
31
The pant
is from
McCall’s
M3740, our
favorite teaching
pattern. I
lined the pants
with our
favorite
Ambiance
rayon lining.
SEWING
Pati
WITH
I found this great fake fur trim at the Fabric Depot
in Portland (www.fabricdepot.com). It blends
beautifully and can be temporarily pinned or
tacked to the collar for a very different look.