Monday, March 6, 2017

Another Batch of Raglans

  I've learned something. I should definitely not say that I'll be back with a specific post, because it might take me over a month to get photos of some of the items for that post. That's why you haven't heard from me since January!

  Anyway, back in... oh, September? I made some modifications to the Lane Raglan pattern and sewed one up. After changing the shape of the armscye and pinching out bits here and there to reduce the wrinkling, I added a bunch of width at the center front and gathered it to the neckband, with some elastic thread shirring a little below my waist.

  The result is kind of a different silhouette for me... more drapey and feminine, instead of the fitted styles I usually wear. I kind of like it though!

  I used a pretty, but poor quality, rayon blend jersey from Sincerely Rylee... which made it even more girly! All of my modifications gave me a slightly better fit around the armscye, but I totally forgot to take care of the fabric pooling at my lower back! (And forgot for subsequent versions too.)

  I really like this one belted.

  I made it with the straight hem, but I wish I'd stuck to the curved hem because it's a bit shorter in the center front and center back on me this way. I lettuce-edged all of the hems on this shirt.

  This one has been worn quite a bit!

  Then, in November, I made a hooded sweater using my modified pattern!

   I used the lower neckline so the hood would fit, and added the thumbhole cuffs because the construction looked interesting.

  The way they are put together is pretty clever... if you don't have the pattern Adrianna posted a tutorial of her method here. They are a tad uncomfortable though... I should have made the sleeves 1/2" longer for these.

  Also, I used a pretty French Terry for this shirt (Nala, from Sincerely Rylee) but forgot to size up to account for the lack of stretch! So it's too tight, particularly in the sleeves. As a result of that, this sweater has only been worn for photos, which is disappointing because I really like the fabric, and it was on the expensive side for me. I'm keeping it around in case I magically shrink or something. ;-)

  I dislike the hood that's included in the pattern. It isn't trued, and in spite of the huge amount of fabric the pattern piece takes up, it feels too small (although part of that might be the mass of hair on the back of my head...).

  In addition to which, there are no notches and no set amount to overlap the front, which means the neckline could end up pretty different on different versions. I modified the hood by adding a lining.

  I added the grommets, but never put the drawstrings in for this one:

  And finally, I made another plain raglan from more low quality rayon blend jersey, this time from Girl Charlee. This one fit really well, and I really liked it in spite of the thin fabric. Unfortunately I managed to splash the front with bleach a couple of weeks ago, before getting photos.

  At least the back didn't get bleached! ;-)

  And that's the last of the regular clothing I made myself last year!

Thanks for stopping by,

6 comments:

  1. Bleach the whole thing!!
    I love your mods to the first one--especially the little gathers near the neckline. I don't have much luck with that pattern--the fit just doesn't seem right to me. I don't know if it's the neckline or what, but I don't love it at all.

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    1. I should!
      Thank you! I know what you mean about the fit... I still can't decide if it's the pattern or just the way I'm shaped, but I'm glad I could make it work a little better for me.

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  2. I love the gathers on the first one!

    I have a hard time with hoods as well. I love them but the fit is never perfect. Though if I'm perfectly honest, I like the look of hoodies best when I'm not wearing the hood up so fit doesn't matter all that much...

    I would be so sad about the bleach! The print is so pretty.

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    1. Thank you!
      I'm the same way about hoods... I prefer them down, but I do like the option to actually wear them if I need to! =)
      I love that print too! I think I'll try bleaching the whole thing and see if it helps. I'm a little nervous that will eat holes in the fabric though.

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  3. Aw! The bleach is unfortunate. :(
    I really like the gathering on the first one. I literally said "Oooh! Yes!!" out loud when I saw it with the belt, too. It completes the outfit perfectly!

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    1. Thank you! I love the way belts look, although I usually find them pretty uncomfortable to wear. Maybe I need to make myself a comfortable, stretchy belt. ;-)

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