Sunday, December 29, 2013

Swatching

Carpe diem, as they say. Since Adam's Rib and the Sunburst cardigans are more or less tied in your voting I decided to go to the next step before deciding finally.  (Though one commenter suggested I could "whip up" both of them, the pace of my expected progress means I really must choose one...)

I have therefore spent some of my day making a swatch, the phase of any knitting project that follows provisionally choosing a yarn and a pattern and precedes some critical decisions. For non-knitters (and some knitters) this seems to be a tedious and useless task that serves only to use up some of your precious time and materials, producing a scrap of fabric that is good for exactly nothing.

They would be wrong. Swatching is a highly educational step that tells you the answers to some or all of the following questions:

  • How do I make this stitch pattern?
  • Do the recommended needles, with my yarn, produce the gauge (the number of stitches and rows in a square of knitted fabric) that will allow me to knit a garment from this pattern that will have the right dimensions?
  • What are the characteristics of the fabric that I can make with this yarn on these needles, following the stitch pattern?
  • Do I like the results?
  • How does the fabric change, if at all, after I wash it?
The last question is of particular importance with ColourMart yarns, since they are oiled for machine knitting and can change quite a lot after washing removes the oil and the yarn "blooms".
 

So here is a photo of my unwashed swatch. This is the stitch pattern from the Adam's Rib cardigan plus some stockinette.  I made some mistakes in the stitch pattern, because the chart was a little unusual. However by working through it I can see what the pattern is supposed to look like, which will help me knit it correctly when (if) the time comes. 

Unwashed, the yarn feels dry and the ribbing is a little crunchy. I hope that will wash out and the swatch will become more drapey. I wouldn't want a wrap cardigan that is as stiff feeling as this swatch. 

The good news is that the unwashed stitch pattern is almost exactly the size that it should be for the Adam's Rib cardigan. 


Saturday, December 28, 2013

One more to vote on

The voting on my last post is interesting because it's so clearly pointing to one design - the Sunburst cardigan. A reminder - it's this one:


Some comments are giving me pause, especially my wise cousin who notes that it's more gimmicky - well, she actually said I'd probably get sick of it faster than other, presumably more classic, designs. Good comment!  But I love Sunburst too. 

The thing is, I left one possible design out of my line-up!  I want you to tell me what you think of this one:

Adam's Rib by Carol Sunday


I would make it shorter. 

Opinions, please!


Vote on my next knitting project

The Sewing Lawyer clearly needs help. She is dithering. There are 1350 yards (1240 metres, more or less) of a lovely dark blue-greeny yarn, aran weight, in stash.  Its composition is 8% cashmere, 47% merino, 15% polyamide and 30% viscose. It needs to be a cardigan. Would you choose:

Little Wave by Gudrun Johnson 

Little%20Wave     



Girl Friday by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark


Burdock Cardigan by Maura Kirk


Or 

Sunburst Cable Cardigan by Erica Patberg. 


There is enough yarn to make any of these. Tell me what you think!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Keeping the kid's head warm

I'd like to say that I've been too busy sewing to blog, but it would be far from the truth. However, I have just finished a project and I'm so pleased with it that I am presenting it publicly to you, even before I give it to its intended recipient for Christmas.


It's a shearling trapper's hat.

I had a skin of lamb shearling  and a finished hat to use as a model, as well as all the information that could be gleaned from the pictures of the various versions on the www by UGG, among other vendors.  They're expensive, these hats!

So I made a pattern, and then I made a "muslin" using some leftover very thick Berber style fleece fabric, and then I made a hat.

And because of some online interest when I posted an in-progress shot of this hat on Facebook, let me try to give you the pattern so you can make your own.

I tried to take the photos of the pattern pieces from straight above, but if I messed up, you can use the 1" square grid of my cutting board for guidance.  (Click on any picture to make it a lot bigger.)

Sizing

This is a VERY roomy hat, if you make the pattern to the dimensions below.  I made it without the recipient available for measuring or try-ons.  It is too big so I am spending part of Christmas Day taking it in.  For your info, his head measures 23.75” (60cm) and I am reducing about 1.25" (3cm) of width through the seam at CB, tapering back to the original seam line smoothly over the top of the hat. 

Definitely the easiest place to take it in (or let it out if you have a truly gigantic head) is the seam at the centre top of the crown.  Just remember that if you do this you should divide the amount to take in by 4 and reduce the width of each crown piece by that amount (that is, my 3cm reduction would translate to a narrowing of .75cm on each seam allowance for a total of 1.5cm at CB and the same at CF).  I am taking it in at CB only and leaving the front alone because I am not taking the entire hat apart! Of course you will also have to change the length of the ear flap piece at CB and perhaps the brim at CF (though here you can fudge) to correspond. 

The Pattern
Crown - Centre piece - cut 2

Centre Crown - This piece started life as a rectangle measuring 7.25cm (2 7/8") by 31cm (12 1/4").  As you can see, I added some shaping by slashing it in 4 places and spreading to add 1cm (3/8") at each point.

You need two of these.

Crown - Side piece - cut 2
Side Crown - To complete the crown of the hat, cut two of these side pieces.  The important measurements are the base of 19cm (7 1/2"), the height of 11cm (4 3/8") and the outer curved seam line of 31cm (12 1/4") which is identical to the length of the concave edge of the centre piece of the crown.  Curve the ends of the base up slightly as you can see in my photo.

By the way the seam allowances shown in the photos are 1cm (3/8") .  No seam allowances are needed along the lower edge of the ear flap piece or the outer edge of the brim if you are using shearling leather.
Ear Flaps - cut 1

Lower Back/Ear Flaps - This piece measures 46cm (18 1/8") along the top edge.  The flap is 20cm (7 7/8") deep at the longest point (measured from the seam line) and 7.75cm (3") deep at CB.  The upper edge is very slightly curved by slashing in two places and overlapping the tissue by approximately .6cm (1/4").  You could overlap more, in which case you might not need the elastic I added at the lower CB to cinch the hat in at the back neck.

Brim - cut 1
Brim - Finally, you need a brim.  The base should be the difference between the complete bottom circumference of the crown, minus the top length of the ear flap piece. In other words, it should completely fill the gap at the front of the hat from ear flap to ear flap. Add a bit for insurance. As you will read below, I had to do some fudging to fill in a little gap. The height of the brim doesn't matter so much. Mine is about the same as the side crown pieces. 

Sewing Tips

I referred to an article in Threads 104 (January 2003), p.42, on sewing shearling.

I used ordinary thread, and had the best luck with a jeans needle.  Lighter needles caused skipped stitches.

Mostly I used a 3mm stitch length.

To topstitch, cut away as much of the fleece as you can in the seam allowance of the side that is being turned under, to reduce bulk.  You can topstitch on either side of the seam or (as I did) fold both seam allowances to one side.  If your topstitching will cross intersecting seams (i.e. the seam attaching the ear flap piece to the crown) do additional trimming to reduce the bulk of 7 layers at these seams.

If you  have a Teflon presser foot, so much the better.  I don't and my topstitching is less than even.

Uneven stitches are happily quite invisible.  They sink into the leather and totally disappear in the fleece.  To further hide the stitching in the fleece, use an awl to pull the hair out of the stitching and fluff it up around any stitching.

This hat took less than one lamb skin and scraps of lamb leather.

Sewing Instructions

1. Sew the two centre crown pieces together along the outer convex curve.  This seam runs up the CF, along the top of the head, and down to CB.  Topstitch this seam.

2.Sew the crown side pieces to the crown top.  Topstitch, folding the crown pieces under (i.e. toward the top of the crown).  

Leather edging strip on brim
3.  Make the brim. Because I wanted the brim not to be limp, I cut one layer from shearling and one from some leftover lamb leather that I interfaced with fusible weft interfacing (use clean paper as a press cloth, normal heat and NO steam).

Sew the shearling and the interfaced leather together along the rounded edge, WS together.  I added a nice leather edging to the outer edge of the brim by cutting a strip about 2.5cm (1") wide, sewing it (stretch slightly) about .5cm in from the edge, and then wrap it around and sew in the ditch more or less.

4.  Sew the lower edge of the brim to the front of the hat, centring it at CF.  The seam allowances are between the brim and the outer front of the hat.

5.  Sew the ear flap piece from the edge of the brim on one side to the other, centring at CB.  The seam allowances are inside the hat (you need to clip the crown seam allowances at the point between the brim and the earflap on each side).

If you have a gap between the brim and leading edge of the ear flap (I did) you can fill it in nicely by sewing a strip of fleece (hair side out) around the leading edge of the flap.  To do this, sew the strip to the flap, leather sides together, with a zigzag stitch (about 2.5mm wide).  Sew at the extreme edge for a very narrow seam, with the zigs in both layers of leather and the zags falling off the edge.  Then fold the strip back and around to the outside of the flap.  Stitch it down at its very edge to the ear flap, using the same zigzag stitch.

6.  Trapper hats are usually made so that the ends of the ear flaps can be attached to each other, holding them up on top of or at the back of the head.  This can be done with any type of buckle, snaps, or even tie ends.  I had some plastic clips in stash.  I made two short leather straps to fit and attached one strap to each side of the clip.  Sew the straps at the lowest edge of the ear flaps.  They need to be just long enough to hold the flaps securely out of the way, but not tightly.

7.  Finally, I cinched the CB in a little bit with some elastic under a leather patch.  I used beefy elastic and pulled it in about 2.5cm (1").

8.  Tack the brim to the crown of the hat in a few places.


That's it!  If you have any questions ask away in the comments.  If you make this hat, please post a comment to let me know how it went.

Merry Christmas!


Saturday, November 16, 2013

Etherial squared

Since I was on a roll I made another bra from the remains of the blue stretch lace from Merckwaerdigh.  I had enough to cut the entire bra from lace, and even to match the motifs.  It's fully lined with the same light nude coloured fabric that has found its way into several bras here recently.





I promise not to clutter up these (virtual) pages too much with lingerie sewing, but here are some photos showing the inside, and how it's made.

Giant roll of
strap elastic
The straps are cut from my giant roll of silvery strap elastic.  I sewed them between the upper band elastic and the front of the bra to secure the ends at the top of the cups.

I let the scalloped edge of the lace be the lower edge of the bra band pieces, which meant I had to finish the band elastic a little differently.  First, I attached the lower band elastic to the lining only.  Then I basted the lace and lining (wrong sides together) at the top edge, folded the lower elastic to the inside, and finished the lower edge with triple stitch zig zag through all layers. The stitching is practically invisible on the face of the lace.

The top of the cups is finished similarly with very narrow but very snappy elastic from Merckwaerdigh since they supplied enough for two bras.  I'm pretty sure I've never seen similar elastic here so will have to give some thought to different ways to finish the cup top edge if I'm using lace again.  And I might; I'm pretty pleased with the look of this bra.

I attached the strap to the inside of the back band at both top and bottom for stability since the band is fairly narrow and the fabric fairly flimsy.

This is the end of the blue lace, but I still have quite a lot of the paisley mesh, and some blue elastic, and 1,000,000 metres (minus about 1) of strap elastic for some more bras.  And some more fabric from my ample stash.

I actually have another bra cut out, but think my blog audience might have had it up to here with the underwear by now.

I do promise to make something to wear on the outside soon.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Not utilitarian

Etherial, more like.


This is quite unlike The Sewing Lawyer's usual undergarments.  It's more colourful and lacier.  More ... delicate?

But still sturdy enough.  Here is a shot of the inside.



The mesh fabric and stretch lace (ordered on-line as a bra kit from Merckwaerdigh in Rotterdam) are pretty flimsy, when you get right down to it.  So I lined the entire bra with a light stretch mesh acquired a forgotten time ago from a forgotten source.  Luckily, I have lots.  Because I think I've been bitten by the lingerie bug. There was enough of the lace to cut out another bra.  The next one will be entirely blue lace, but lined like this one.  I have a RTW bra that uses stretch lace, with scalloped edges intact, for the side pieces.  I'm copying that.

A word about the supplier - Merckwaerdigh's supplies are reasonably priced and (I hate to say it) less expensive even including international shipping than Bra-Makers Supply in my home province. The kit included enough lace for two bras - even enough to mirror the motifs for both, enough printed mesh for at least one pair of panties plus bra(s), elastic - 4 kinds including for straps, stable mesh to line the bridge (you can sort of see it in the second photo) - enough for dozens more bras, a little piece of crotch lining, hooks & eye for the bra, loops and sliders for the straps, and wire casing.  And the shipping was quick, and you can save on shipping (relatively) by combining items.  I also bought a set of findings in white and wire casing in 3 colours (white, black and nude).  I'm a satisfied customer.

That said, I'm pretty sure I have enough lingerie notions now to last the rest of my natural life so they may not get much more of my business.  Especially since I came across about 9,000 metres of 1cm wide elastic at the Value Village on the weekend (exaggerating, but only slightly). See previous post re SABLE.

And a word on the pattern.  It's totally customized.  The cups are from an ancient Burda WOF (as it was) swimsuit pattern, much tweaked.  The side piece is from a Bra-Makers pattern.

And because I want to reward you for reading this far ...


Thanks to the skin-tone lining, it looks even more etherial than it really is.  But it's really not see-through.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Unfinished business

I owe you, my loyal readers, with some further explanation of my somewhat elliptical comments about the dress I made from V1183.

First, let's recall the photo of the dress from the pattern envelope, and have a look at the line drawing.


There is one difference between these two that can readily be seen - the corners at the upper CF edge of the bodice meet in the photo but lie apart, allowing a V to form, in the line drawing.  The drawing is an accurate depiction of the pattern; the photo is not. Perhaps the photo is of an actual Kay Unger dress rather than of the pattern made up. Luckily, I like the little V at the neck!

Next I'll shame myself by posting a photo of my original muslin, made in (gasp) 2010.  At the time, I weighed about 15lbs more than I do now, most of which was at or below the waist.  This had led me to add approximately 1.25" (3cm) of width at the back skirt princess seams, and to grade the pattern out from size 10 at the waist to beyond size 12 at the hip side seams.  I had also split the skirt front at the darts to make princess seams that allowed me to add more room at the hip.  The skirt was still too tight at the time.  Even though I'm slimmer now, I was comfortable keeping almost all these changes when I put the muslin back on.   Maybe I just like more ease than Vogue intended

More serious were the fitting problems in the front of the dress where the midriff piece interacted with the bodice above and the skirt below.

I've annotated the photo of the muslin using Skitch to illustrate the fitting problems inherent in this pattern.  I say "inherent" because some variant of these problems is evident in just about every example of this pattern I've seen in my internet travels.

The red and blue arrows point to some awkward pulling in the CF bodice pieces coming from the points where the fronts overlap.  These pieces are not sewn together.  Many who have made this dress had to stitch the overlapped side down to prevent the entire front from gaping open.  This may in part be because they needed a FBA, but it is also due to the fact that there is a drafting problem with these pieces.  The bodice felt and looked too short on me (and I've never needed an FBA!).  The green arrows show the distortion that translated to the midriff piece from the fact that the bodice was too short between the princess seams.

At the same time, the skirt below the midriff felt and looked too long.  It was pooching out.  The black arrow shows the tuck I had pinned out to get rid of this extra length.

My friend G, who has a lot of experience fitting and sewing, commented that if the bodice was too short and the skirt was too long, it was probably the midriff piece itself that was the real problem.  She is probably right, but the midriff piece seemed to be the right shape, and for me it was easier to adjust the pieces on either side of it.

Once I added length (about 3/8" or .75cm at CF, tapering to nothing near the princess seams) to the lower edge of the bodice pieces and shaved approximately the same amount off the top edge of the front skirt pieces, the whole thing settled into place, as you can see at right.  Phew!

To answer a question in the comments to my last post, the overlapping front is very secure and does not gape open, once it fits properly!

Next up: more info on construction.  This dress is fully lined and as already noted, the bodice front overlaps.  This means that the bodice fronts had to be finished to the CF edges before they could be attached to the midriff.  You cannot construct the outer shell and the inner lining and attach them at the edges.

Vogue's instructions say to sew the front and back bodice pieces together (including topstitching) and join them at the shoulder, and then do the same with the bodice lining.  Before the fronts are connected to anything, you can then machine sew the lining to the fashion fabric at CF and neck edges, and at arm openings, and turn it right side out.  Then topstitch the CF and neck edges.  All good.  However, then Vogue wanted me to fully construct the other two vertical components i.e. the midriff and skirt, in each case sewing the side seams together, before attaching them at the horizontal seams.  The midriff edges are supposed to be topstitched in one pass all the way around which makes for a nice smooth line at the side seams.


And the zipper comes dead last.  No way!  It's harder to sew in a zipper after the dress is fully constructed in the round. I decided to build the entire back and sew the zipper in flat before attaching the bodice fronts at the shoulder and clean finishing the bodice edges.  Long story short, I completely finished the front and the back and sewed the side seams last which is completely not how Vogue wanted me to make this dress.  I was very pleased when I was able to get the lines of midriff topstitching to line up almost perfectly at the side seams.

Take that, Vogue instruction-writers!


Monday, November 4, 2013

Kay Unger dress - completed!

For some reason I had a terrible time getting any decent full length pictures of me in my new dress, and the other photos were all hit and miss.  It could be due to:  a dark November evening; a short window in which to fiddle with my camera; inept fiddling with my camera; an unpredictable flash; or all of the above.

 It's late so I will save comments on the pattern and the many adjustments I had to make to it for a later post, if I have the energy.

On the plus side, I love the finished dress.  It's soft and the cotton underlining somehow makes it kind of cozy.  The colour looks pretty with this jacket.  It does fit me well, and so it's very comfortable to wear.  I would even consider making the pattern again.

And I love the shape of the midriff, now that it actually works with the pattern pieces above and below it.  Just look at this side view.  Not bad, especially when you consider that I sewed the side seams last.

This soft wool and cashmere suiting looks wrinkled in all the pictures.  You'll have to take my word for the fact that the dress looks better in real life.


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Why the Sewing Lawyer was MIA

When one gets to a certain stage of life, one's parents are necessarily at a more advanced stage.  This led to The Sewing Lawyer giving up a week of sewing and knitting (and blogging) to help her parents reduce and recycle.  The re-using will have to wait until they have relocated.  In the course of that exercise
, some family heirlooms were unearthed.



A christening gown.  Not worn by me.  It was apparently considered too fragile in the 1950s.  I tossed it blithely into the washing machine and ironed it, except for the sleeves.  They are so tiny I couldn't figure out how.


It is machine made but quite lovely.  Every edge is either encased in a tight scalloped hem stitch, or in a French seam.

To the right are the embroidered motifs from the skirt, and on the bodice.


And who doesn't need white cotton guest towels, complete with monogram and crocheted lace inset at each hem?  I now have a matched pair.


Soon, I'll post my just-completed version of Vogue 1183.  What with the time change, it may be a while before I can get any decent photos.  In the meantime, here's a teaser in-progress shot of the insides of the dress (inside-out on my dress form).  You can see the lining (light blue Bemberg), fashion fabric (dark blue wool/cashmere) and interlining (striped cotton).  


Sunday, October 20, 2013

It's official - The Sewing Lawyer has hit SABLE


Intellectually, I knew it, but yesterday proved that I have internalized the truth.  I have more than enough fabric in my personal stash to last me the rest of my time here.

What caused this revelation?  The annual Fabric Flea Market.  For past devotees of this blog, you've read about this fabriganza before, in 2010 and 2011.  My camera didn't come along with me yesterday, but the above scene from last year is an accurate rendition, believe me.  Hundreds of happy shoppers, the buzz of conversation, punctuated by squeals of delight and laughter as new finds and old friends are located.

Much of The Sewing Lawyer's extensive stash, including fabric, notions, patterns and miscellaneous tools, was found at this annual event (yesterday was the 19th).  Every year, I spend the Friday before sorting through donations (this is a fundraiser event), which leads to the perk of being in the right place at the right time to scoop those delicious things that, if only I had known it, I had been looking for all those years.

It was different this year.  Not only have my friend G and I graciously and apparently successfully eased out of the role of being "The Organizers", we both left the venue early with (in my case anyway) very little in the way of stash acquisition, and pocketbook mostly intact.  And not exhausted, another very good thing!

The stash remains ample.  I did have to go to a real store to buy some more thread, but NO MORE FABRIC!




Monday, October 14, 2013

Meh - a knitting project

Back in late July I mentioned I was swatching for another knitting project, the Vitamin D cardigan.  This is a hugely successful pattern if the  numbers on Ravelry are to be believed.  Then, there were just over 2,300 projects; now another 175 have joined the throng.

 "Look Ma, short rows!"
Including mine.

I'm hoping this grows on me.  I like the drapiness of it (a ColourMart linen and silk blend of unknown proportions) and hope the neutrality of its colour makes it a useful addition to my wardrobe.

Its fibre, shape and style probably make it more a spring to summer garment than a fall to winter one but I'm wearing it now on this sunny and somewhat unseasonably warm October day, but predict it will soon be packed away to be a surprise sometime around next April.

More details on Ravelry.

By the way, that red knitted top featured in my late July post stretched a great deal after I washed it.  It is at least 4" longer than it was in my July photos, and looser widthwise too.  The neckline became impossibly open.  I have prevented it from being completely unwearable by putting a line of crocheted chain stitch behind the neck ribbing to pull it in, which has the effect of supporting the weight of the whole top and keeping it from sagging too terribly.  I may later have to do something similar to keep the armscye from stretching out any more.  This is the last time I will ever knit with rayon yarn!  It's just too heavy for its own good.

I have also, you may be glad to know, been making progress on my latest sewing project.  I'm loving the topstitching!

I'm not following Vogue's instructions, which want you to complete the bodice, the midriff band, and the skirt in the round before sewing them all together (fully lined), with the last step being ... putting in an invisible zipper at CB.  I'd rather sew in the zipper flat, thanks very much.  That means I have assembled the back (a view of one side to the left) and will sew side seams last.

All well and good, but the overlap at CF bodice requires one to have the inner bodice finished (including at least part of the lining) before attaching it to the front midriff band.  I'm currently working on the topology of how to accomplish this.  In my mind I think I can make it work.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

One project finished, another one started


I put on a vaguely matching hat and took a lot of very bad pictures of myself wearing my new cape.  For some reason my camera had a terrible time focusing on it.

Cooler weather is just around the corner.  Even though this is just one layer of wool with one layer of Bemberg lining, it's warm.

I feel bad for not having many wonderful pictures of this subtle garment to show you. Here's one more that wasn't too bad.

In other news, today I cut out a dress!  It's Vogue 1183, a pattern I purchased and muslined three whole years ago (click to see my muslin and read about the first round of pattern adjustments).

Originally, I wasn't satisfied with the fit, and that's why I set it aside.  It was too tight, too short, and (even though I'm hardly busty) the bodice didn't seem big enough.  Plus there was some strange pulling where the bodice front pieces overlap and attach to the midriff piece, and the front skirt was too long and pooched out.  Checking the reviews for this dress on PatternReview, I notice that almost everyone had bodice issues, and many chose to sew through all layers at the bodice overlap to prevent it from gaping open.

Trying on the ancient muslin again today (after losing a few inches in the hips) it fits a lot better and I felt it was time to tackle the structural problems.

I made some more changes to the pattern today, including lengthening the front bodice pieces slightly, taking in the princess seams at the bust, just above the midriff, and narrowing the midriff to match.  I also took some length out of the skirt front below the midriff piece.  And I added 4 cm at the hem because the unhemmed length seemed about where I would want the finished skirt to land.

I'm using some gorgeous light suiting purchased many years ago on a flying trip to The Wool House in Toronto.  If I remember correctly, it's wool and cashmere, and it's light as a feather.  Because I want a bit more weight to this dress without stiffening it even slightly, I'm going to underline the wool with a soft cotton shirting, and I will line the dress with Bemberg.  All from stash.  I even had the right thread colour in my extensive collection.  Stay tuned.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Tweed


Paco's cape - not mine!
Waaaay back when, I reported the purchase of some patterns from Paco Peralta.  It is embarrassing that the patterns have been waiting so long for me to make something.  Better late than never - feeling the need of an easy to wear outer garment I could put on in between season weather, I made the short version of the "poncho cape".

It's pretty simple to construct - two main pieces, two collar pieces and the back facing.  The pattern is nicely drafted, however.  There is turn of the cloth built into the bias under collar, something I always appreciate.  No lining pieces were supplied, but it was very easy to create my own.  Seriously, the hardest part of this was the hemming, a task that seemed to go on forever.

You'll have to wait a bit to see me model this, as it's dark and the beauty of this fabric is subtle.  It was found by my husband, pro thrift-shopper that he is, a few years ago.  I think it's Donegal tweed.  It's certainly hairy enough!  At first I thought it was pretty dull, but it has delightful flecks of colour, when you get close enough to see them.  I have enough left to make a skirt.

For now, here's a view of the collar.