Lucky me, living in NYC, I get to fabric shop every now and then with some of my fave ladies from blogland. And last week I made the trek to midtown for a little coffee (tea for me; I'm on the wagon!) and giddy shopping with oonabaloona, Susan from Moonthirty, and Angela, a recent transplant to NYC. Just before I had to head back to the Bronx for kindergarten pickup we were joined by Clio and Devra, though my wallet was sewn shut by then.
My best find of the day was this black silk printed with pins from Chic Fabrics (don't bother looking for it; Susan ran back and bought the rest of the bolt!):
How appropos for a sewist, right? I thought hard about what to make with this silk, which cost $15/yard (ouch!). Obviously at that price I don't want to waste this lovely find on something I will rarely wear, so I'm thinking....silk bomber jacket.
Of course, Papercut Patterns' Rigel Bomber is the obvious choice for this. But after dropping $45 on the fabric I don't have $30 to spend on a pattern (no matter how well it is presented). And, I realized, I have a perfect hoodie pattern I drafted myself a few months back. Can I use it as a base to make a raglan-sleeve bomber pattern? Here's the hoodie I made:
I love it and wear this hoodie every other day. Surely I can achieve a likewise good fit by turning this into a raglan sleeve pattern, adding some ease to account for the fact I'll be using a woven not a knit? Here's how I started, by lining up the shoulder seams and tracing all three pieces:
There's more to drafting a raglan sleeve than you might think, as evidenced by the tortured underarm on my first muslin:
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| It hurts just to look at it |
Looking at that was enough to make me search all my pockets for a spare $30. But no, still broke. So no Rigel for me. I clearly have a few changes to make on my pattern, though it's not all terrible:
Blergh.
The process of drafting and testing your own patterns is enough to make you appreciate a well-drafted commercial pattern. In fact, weighing it out value-wise, I would probably be better off buying the Papercut Patterns' bomber pattern; if I only spent five hours perfecting this pattern, I would have to value my time at $6/hour in order to justify taking on this task. (In fact, I will probably devote much more time than that to this). Alas, I have more expertise (and spare time) than I do money, so I will press on with this project. Patience, little grasshopper.
Here's my second draft in paper pattern form (I've yet to cut a muslin). I dropped the armhole a lot and added length to the underarm seam. I also reshaped the raglan seaming:
Anyone have raglan-drafting wisdom to share? Please do in the comments below!
I don't but after thinking about turning the Plantain into one, so that it maybe fits me better, I went and consulted all the sewing books on my shelf! I actually was inspired by the stripey raglan you posted recently, I want one so bad!
ReplyDeleteThe stripey raglan is a great pattern, which I'm going to review later this week: the Jolly Roger T-shirt pattern by Patterns for Pirates. It's actually a kids pattern, but the largest size fit me.
DeleteRhonda did a tutorial on making a raglan sleeve here: http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2012/10/sleeves-on-saturdays.html
ReplyDeleteInteresting. That sleeve pattern tutorial is very different from the one I have in my pattern-drafting book. I think my next draft will be better, so we'll see if my book has me on the right track...if not, maybe I will go back and try these instructions instead!
Deleteokay, weighing it out timewise ALMOST had me clicking over to the papercut website. but since my intended fabric was a whopping 50 bucks, i'll pay myself sweatshop wage.
ReplyDelete(that's looking great. i can stealz your pattern?)
Yes, you can stealz my pattern. I will even hand-deliver in exchange for a cocktail..
DeleteI really admire you for your patient to draft your own pattern. I always learned a lot more about fiiting, when I drafted my own pattern instead of using a commercial pattern. But in case you become to frustrated, there are a few bomber patterns at BurdaStyle for $5,99, but of course I'm optimistic you will draft a wonderful raglan pattern :-)
ReplyDeleteI considered that Burdastyle pattern but wasn't in love with the baggy sleeves and a couple other details. I figured the time I spent altering that pattern could be better spend on making my own...I might regret that decision soon!
Deletei've occasionally had the thought to turn regular sleeve to a raglan, but whenever i looked at the pattern pieces it made my head hurt! perhaps it would be easier to step from regular sleeve to dolman sleeve to raglan... or try burda. i know there is a raglan bomber there that i plan to use when i get around to making one myself!
ReplyDeleteI have done a raglan sleeve before — a couple years ago in patternmaking class, but I'm a little rusty! I figured if I could do it then, I can figure it out now (hopefully I still have as many braincells still?)
DeleteYah, I've started down the path of doing that maths several times, it never works out favorably! And I have to remind myself that I don't sew to save time...or money...so yay! unmission accomplished. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou're reeeeally going to do the glorious fabric justice! I've petted mine several times, but it hasn't told me what it wants to be yet... Hmmm. Looking forward to seeing your next muslin!
Looking good! I think you're on the right track, so I don't have much raglan sleeve tips to share. Can't wait to see the final product!
ReplyDeleteOOh, good luck with drafting this! I am jealous of that fabric (too bad we met up as you guys were leaving Chic!!!)
ReplyDeletei've made a few rigels and i would consider making that armscye curve a little flatter - more ease and an easier underarm seam. just my .02.
ReplyDeleteMust it be a raglan? I've been eying up this pattern for more than a year (http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/blouson-jacket-022013). I think it looks just as good as the riegl and you can make it with the existing hoodie pattern! There's a more recent Burda raglan bomber jacket, I think the sleeves are far too big but it might be a better place to start: http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/plaid-bomber-jacket-032014
ReplyDeleteYour hoodie looks really good. Maybe if you compared your pattern to a raglan top pattern (if you have one already)?
ReplyDeleteOoh, a bomber in that silk will be amazing! This was such a fun day, and I'm so glad I found your blog!
ReplyDelete