Another Cynthia Guffey Skirt

I hope everyone is settling into the new year and sticking to those resolutions.  I have only two this year:  sew more garments and try to spend 30 minutes each day doing some handwork (Lord knows I spend twice that wasting time on the internet).  Today marks the second anniversary of my blog.  I'm grateful to all of you who check in and read what I have to say.  I'd like to post more frequently than I do, but the reality is that it takes time, something that is in short supply these days.  This year I hope to further improve my photography and post in a timely manner.  I should have written today's post back in November when I completed this skirt.  My memory of the details is a little fuzzy but here's what I've got.

This is one of the more complicated patterns I have attempted in a long time.  Cynthia Guffey has drafted a 12-gore skirt with yoke whose detail is really pretty spectacular.  I first saw this skirt in person at the Sewing Expo a couple of years ago; it is an architectural marvel.  Each gore is cut on the bias twice the finished length and seamed together with a French seam down the center of the gore.  This leaves a little scallop along the hem.  The gores are then sewn together.  All of the seams are finished to the outside, adding even more interest.

I chose to make the skirt from a knit instead of a woven fabric.  I decreased the seam allowance on the joining seams and left the edges raw.  I constructed the seams by machine but stitched all of the visible exterior stitching by hand.

I finished the waist with foldover elastic, zigzaging along the edge through both layers.  This makes a wonderfully smooth and comfortable waist finished.

I like this skirt A LOT and might even consider making another if I can think of a variation that wouldn't look like the same skirt.

I find myself in an unusal place tonight.  I'm finishing up another skirt that I have been working on for a long time and I don't really have another project waiting to go when it's complete.  I usually have a long list of items to be completed, but with no pressing deadlines I want to take some time to think about what's next and come up with a project that will take some planning and thought.  Maybe I'll make use of something I've learned in the past year.  I don't know, but when I do, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Cynthia Guffey Shawl Collar Jacket

This week’s featured garment comes from a pattern by Cynthia Guffey, #5010, Shawl Collar Jacket.

This short jacket with shawl collar ends with one button at the waist line and four curved bust darts that originate in the armscye in the front and back.  Cynthia's instructions are pretty bare-boned and assume a certain level of sewing expertise. These were fine for an intermediate to advanced sewer (which is who this pattern is rated for).

Things I particularly like about this jacket:   It is a great short length (my favorite), is well-drafted, has attractive and unusual curved darts in the front and back and a shawl collar that goes together perfectly and is very flattering.

I also loved the hem finish which, by the way, has no instructions other than "Hem the jacket". There is a cut out along the CF hem so the facing can be folded to the right side and sewn with a seam, then the rest of the hem turned up. You would have to know what to do here since the instructions don't tell you. If I were to make this jacket again I would line it.

Fabric Used: The jacket is made from a brown wool with a twill weave. The collar is made from a plush corduroy (almost chenille-like) both purchased from Guss Woolens in Baltimore.

I particularly like that Cynthia's patterns fit me very well with almost no altering.  Several years ago I spent a week with Cynthia in Louisiana learning her pattern alteration method. I used that technique to alter this pattern. I increased the shoulder slopes and added a small upper back curve. I shortened the length of the sleeves. I redrew my own facings rather than make the alterations to those pieces, too.

Conclusion:  A great little short jacket with lots of style and good drafting.