Thursday, March 29, 2012

Negroni take two

Negroni - take two

I finished making a second Negroni muslin a while back and I almost can't recollect all the details. Let's see. I traced a medium but added length to the body and arms. I traced the largest sized cuffs and tapered the sleeves out to match. The biggest change I made from the original pattern was to change the collar from a camp style collar to a traditional collar and add plackets, which I did using Peter's instructions.

Negroni - take two

The overall fit is much better in the shoulder and the neck fits perfectly. The shirt still creases near the armhole but it looks better than the large muslin in the front and back. I had to use a 3/8" seam allowance to sew the shirt front to the back and at the armhole, since it was a little too snug.

Negroni - take two

The fabric was labelled as a chambray but it really is an oxford.

Negroni - take two

Things to remember for the next time: the shoulder, collar, plackets, cuffs need no change. I need to shorten the collar stand I drafted by about 5/8". I need to sew and press the cuffs more carefully, so that the inside fabric doesn't show! I would add even more length in the body, maybe shorten the sleeves a little. Most importantly, I need to trace a larger armhole, with more room in the shirt body.

Negroni - take two

It isn't perfect yet but it's getting closer with each try!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Weekend gormandising

Fried chicken

Trying to fry chicken or

Fried chicken

how I will never again deep fry a piece of meat without having a thermometer (or two) at hand. Most of the pieces were done to my liking but some pieces were most definitely too rare. The oil was just too hot. What was I thinking?! Not the fault of the recipe, just user error.

Double chocolate layer cake

This chocolate cake more than made up for it, though. Moist, tender, not-too-sweet. I used Callebaut dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet. No special reason, I just felt like eating a slice of chocolate cake.

We are off on a short backcountry ski trip tomorrow to enjoy the last of the snow, although it most certainly feels like spring around these parts. Happy Monday!