Tova Sew Along- Post 3: Cutting/Alterations Part Two

The basics of cutting out are covered in part one.   Now we get a little more advanced... 

Making a Narrow Collar with Rounded Ends

I wanted a narrower collar so reduced the height from the top of the collar pattern piece by 1/2" - you can see my new cutting line below.  I also rounded the ends using a cotton spool.  The dashed line was my size so that is where the rounding fits- nice and simple!   Remember the dseam allowance will make the curve tighter than the line your draw.  Cut out the pattern piece using the new lines.  The lower line stays the same as this attached to the Tova.

Altering the Length of the Sleeves

I like the look of 3/4 length sleeves but I don't like wearing them, I always feel like something is missing!  As the sleeve pattern piece stays the same width all the way down the main section you can easily lengthen or shorten.  Obviously if you lengthen, you will have to allow for extra fabric!  For lengthening or shortening, go to your wardrobe and fins a shirt you like with a standard shoulder seam.  Put it on and measure from the shoulder seam to where you want the seam to finish.  The Tova cuff will add on about 1/2".    I chose a finished length of 22 1/2" sleeve  including cuff, that makes the sleeve without cuff 22".  Now add on 3/4" for seam allowances.  Result: the sleeve pattern piece needs to measure 22 3/4" at the longest point- the grain arrow marks this on the pattern piece.  I pinned my pattern piece on and drew the extended length at the bottom using Frixion pen- you can see it faintly in red below.  As the sleeve is longer, the cuff may need to be narrower.  I recommend you cut your cuff using the pattern piece and reduce this later.  I will cover this when we come to sew the sleeves.

If you want shorter sleeves on a dress or a top, these are versions that Wiksten designer Jenny Gordy came up with. Dress with short sleeves and cuff...

Top with short sleeves and cuff.  Jenny used fabrics that look the same on both sides which means an easy turn up cuff for the end of the sleeve, this is like the hem on the Tova but shows on the outside rather than hiding on the inside.  For this, find the total sleeve measurement you want e.g. 8".  Add on seam allowance for the top and for tuning under on the cuff-3/4", then add on the length you want the cuff to be, maybe 2"?  Total sleeve length to cut= 10 3/4"Similar method to working out the length.  If you want your cuff on the inside, you could use the same hem as the bottom of the dress and top, so for a sleeve of 8" add seam allowances of 3/4" and hem turn up of 1"-total of 9 3/4".  You can either draw your new higher hemline on the pattern and trace off a new sleeve or cut you pattern- up to you!

Cutting on Wide fabric and Striped/Patterned Fabric

If your fabric is wider- the voile I used was 54", you will be able to fit more pattern across the width of the fabric but I did this in sections.  You can see in the photo below that there are two folds, one on each outside edge.  I pinned the raw edges because I was matching up my stripes so the top and bottom were the same.  It helps to do this for stripes of larger plaid/check as when you cut out a pair of pieces e.g. sleeves, they will be the same each side.  This fabric was just for the front and back.  I placed my pattern loosely on the fabric first to work out how much i needed and then cut across the length so i was working on this section only. The fold lines will be the centre of the front and back of your Tova.  You could have a stripe as your centre point or a row of squares in a check.  I choose to have the wider blue stripe as the centre.  Depending on your pattern and size you may be able to fit your front and back pieces like this- depends on both these things.

My patterns fitted but you can see how they are running in opposite directs.  This only works when you pattern runs in both directions- it doesn't have a right way up!  It didn't work with the Lotta fabric I used on the white version.  You can see the arrows follow the straight grain of the fabric.

For the sleeve I went back to my length of fabric and again I made a fold, partway along the width of the fabric, wide enough to allow the sleeve centre line (the grain arrow works for this) to be in the middle of a blue stripe.   I pinned the raw edges and the far edge where a selvedge  is.  You can see on the left edle of the sleeve it is very close to the fold so there is hardly any waste on that side.  On the right side there is a little more wastage but it worked pretty well!

For the inset placket I knew I would never get the lines in the right place on the bigger places so I placed them so the stripes ran across.  You could also do this on the bias for diagonal stripes or plaid/checks.  I also lined each piece so there is a second piece underneath and I basted round the edge as the voile is really thin.  I would also recommend you did this for bias cut pieces, line them with a straight cut piece or a thin piece of matching cotton underneath cut straight grain to stabilise the bias which stretches so easily.    For this method of lining, you treat the two layers as if they were one piece of fabric.  These are small pieces of the Tova so they can take a bit of playing with the grain.  it is like fussy cutting for clothes.

This is my finished voile version and I absolutely love it.  I wear a lot of blue so it goes with a lot of my wardrobe  and the soft silkiness of the voile is so nice to wear.  The lining on the inset section means it is not too see through, the darker colour helps with this too.  I am going to enter it into the Made by Rae Spring Top Sewalong .  A great idea for all those Tovas that are going to be made!

Back at the weekend with the first sewing- sewing the inset to the front- the hardest bit of the whole Tova so lets get it out of the way!

Tova Sew Along- Post 3: Cutting Out Part One

  This post covers basic cutting out and transferring paper pattern marks.  Part two covers more advanced stuff including simple variations like rounding the collar, altering the sleeve length  and making Tovas out of patterned, striped and plaid/check fabrics.   I think cutting out is best done in a single session so set yourself a couple of hours to get all your Tova pieces cut out in one go. These are my cutting tools of choice.  

Your fabric needs to be prewashed and pressed.  If you are using 44"/115cm wide fabric, fold your fabric in half so the selvedges meet and press along the fold so the fabric lies flat and the grain runs straight.   It is worth taking time to get this done really well, it will save time in the end.  It is easier for this pattern to place the fold on the right of the surface that you are working on as you can see in the picture below.   If you are cutting from wider fabric, I will cover layout of the pattern pieces in part 2.   My fabric pattern is directional so all my pattern pieces will need to be the same way up- if I put the back piece upside down, the print would be upside down on the top when it is finished.  If you are working with plain fabric or non directional pattern like spots, you could turn your pattern pieces round 180 degrees if you wanted to.  Jenny shows a layout sketch in the Tova instructions which is suitable for this width of fabric and I mainly followed that.  There will be variations according to the size of Tova pattern you are working with but for the main pieces like the front back and sleeves, the layout will be as her sketch.  If you look at all the pattern pieces in the picture, you can see they all have an arrow- this is for the grain of the fabric. There are times (see post two) when you can play around with this-e.g. cuffs could go across the grain for a variety of pattern but the main pieces must be along the grain arrows, in this pattern they are all on the straight grain.  Look at the sleeve cuff and the placket,-both narrow strips but the arrows are in different places so the cuffs lie horizontally and the placket vertically.  Both benefit from the extra stretch in the cross grain of the fabric by being placed like that,

You can see in the photo above that the front piece is lying right on the fold, the back piece needs to do the same.  I pin the pieces loosely to the fabric just to check they fit together correctly.  Then I pin them more carefully and line the grain up properly. To do this, use a tape measure or a quilt rule, measure from each end of the arrow to the selvedges- it should be the same distance for each.

After you have pinned and checked all your pieces you will have a choice on how you cut out.  You can cut carefully round each pinned section.  Pins can distort the paper so this is not always totally accurate.  I prefer to take the pins out and draw round the paper using Frixion pen which will disappear under the heat of an iron.  I then use a rotary cutter with the ruler always inside the line on the piece itself to cut usign the pen line as my cutting guide.  You could use weights like wing-nuts or metal washers, trace round and skip pins altogether.  Any tricky tight bits I cut with scissors, big and small.  After cutting I pin the fabric together again to keep everything in one place.  But before you cut, there are some vital marks to add!

 Luckily on this pattern, there are very few marks to transfer but there are some important ones that really need atention.  You will see a T mark on many of the pattern pieces.  These vary in position according to the Tova size but all sizes have them.  I highlight all the T marks in my size on the pattern pieces.  You can see my pink highlight below and another mark, the dot in the cirlce that I'll mention in a minute.  So back to the T- these are marks to help you match up the seams where the different pattern pieces will meet.  The easiest way to transfer them is to make them into notches on the edge of the pattern pieces.  Where you see a T add a triangle, the width of the T to the cutting line.

This is the same mark on another pattern piece, I have just moved the paper pattern back a little so you can see it more clearly.

 You need to use little scissors to cut these, they are fiddly but you will be so glad of them.  I used very sharp embroidery scissors.  You can cut them out roughly as you are cutting the pattern piece out and then neaten them afterwards if you prefer.  The triangle notch on pattern piece should go outwards, you can see this above the scissors in the pic below- the inward notch is what is left behind on the remaining fabric- below the scissors in the same pic.

Now the other pattern mark needs to be transferred- the dot in the circle on the front which marks where the front inset panel will fit.  I choose to use tailor's tacks are here as they are easy to remove and leave no residue.  I have a youtube tailor's tacks tutorial here.  

I fitted the sleeve close to the selvedges as it didn't need to go on the fold.

As the sleeve cuff and the plackets look the same but run in different direction, I kept the paper pinned to them after they have been cut out so I didn't muddle them up.

Pieces cut out, ready to sew.  This is how my first Tova ended up- just so you can get an idea where we are heading and how a quilting fabric looks as a Tova.  I altered the collar- and made it narrower and rounded.  I lengthened the sleeve and I took a few inches off the hem as well.  That is covered in part two of this post.  It is a great fit.  I made size small.  My chest ( complete with generously padded bra) measures 34" and I am a UK size 8-10, I think that is size 4 in USA and 36 in Europe.  I am shortish in the body so needed a shorter hem length to make this version look like a top or a tunic.

Visit part 2 for alterations and cutting striped, checked/plaid fabrics.

Questions will be answered in the comments thread, do feel free to chime in and help!