Icicle Silver Slinky in Butterick 6247

One of my fondest memories of the holidays as a child was decorating the Christmas tree with silver icicle strands.  Does anyone remember these? 

I was reminded of them when I saw this metallic silver slinky fabric at Hancock fabrics spot the bolt table last year.  It was $2.89 a yard and I got 3 yards of it.  Slinky is what knits that are made of acetate are sometimes called, and the name fits it well.  The fabric just likes to slither away from you when you try to press it.  Thank goodness it doesn't wrinkle much! I don't want to give you the wrong impression- it wasn't that hard to sew with, but the pressing was really impossible. I've seen this kind of knit a lot in travel catalogs because of it's wrinkle resisting qualities.  It used to be very expensive to buy by the yard, but I don't see much of it around in the fabric shops these days.  Probably because it is just so slithery to work with!  Emma One Sock has some great tips for sewing with slinky here.

Anyway, I felt like I was getting a steal based on what I remembered this type of fabric selling for in the past.   I wasn't sure what I would make with it when I bought it,  but then I saw Butterick 6247.

I thought "How great would this be made up in the silver icicle knit?"! The pattern is a bit of a fabric hog and the view that I made takes a full 3 yards of fabric.  I made the medium, but added extra at the sides just in case this fabric was clingy. 

View D is really two separate shirts that you overlay one on top of the other.  Because slinky is so heavy, I stabilized the should seams of both layers with twill tape.  Next, you sew on the cowl collar and the sleeves.  I used the selvages for the edges of the front overlay so that I wouldn't have to hem them.  Then I serged the hem also instead of folding it under.  I cut off 2" off the underneath layer, so mine is possibly a little shorter than they intended. 

It's super, super quick to sew, and I think it will be warm enough for an Illinois winter.  I really like this pattern, and intend to look around for some other fabrics that would work for this design.  I suppose you could mix fabrics as well if you didn't have the full 3 yards in one.

I've been trying a new alteration lately that I wanted to share with you.   I got this idea after looking at the pattern draft of one of Connie Crawford's patterns.  In her sleeve draft the back of the sleeve cap is significantly longer than the front.  So, I've been slicing the sleeve to add length to the back and at the same time spreading the sleeve cap so that I can add a little more width to the bicep.

I think that this works for me because most of my arm bulk is in the back of my arm.  Then I add the same amount of length to the back.  

This part is similar to a high round back adjustment. This particular combination of alterations accomplishes two things for me- it keeps the sleeves from being too tight, and it really helps keep the neckline from sliding back,.  I've not seen this particular combination in any reference books, so I don't think it has a name.  If you've seen this before, please let me know.  Whatever it is, I'm going to continue using it because it's working great for me!

What are you sewing for the holidays?  Have you ever sewn with Slinky knits before?

Cheers to you during this holiday season!!

Happy Sewing!

Ann