Sunday, November 15, 2009

Simplicity 4378

We're still not sleeping, so I've been getting grumpier by the day - missing my favorite therapy - so my sweet hubby shuttled me off to the sewing room yesterday, and I go to sew all morning! Turns out, I was working on a second trial of scrubs for him, so we both got something out of the deal. My first attempt at a scrub set for him resulted in scrubs that were too big in the top, too long in the rise and too short. Hmm - not really wearable. He also told me that he prefers a set-in sleeve. Would you believe that I could only find one scrubs pattern that has a set in sleeve!! This is it. Simplicity 4378.
I even checked Kwik Sew, Burda and Ebay/Etsy. This was it.
Anyway, here they are. I made both the top and the pants from the pattern. Tracing Mitch's favorite scrub pants didn't work, since the fabric was so different, it changed the way it felt to him, so I decided to scrap that and start over. These pants had the features that Mitch was looking for, so I gave them a go. We like them! The fit isn't perfect, but he loves the pockets. So did I! The pocket and facings were all one piece, so you just folded it to form the pocket bag. Way cool! The only changes I made were to move the cargo pockets to the rear and added a self-fabric casing. The pattern called for a ribbon, which I thought was weird. They fit fairly well, although I'll add a bit to the width next time, just for comfort. Mitch is a runner, so he likes a little extra room in the thigh. The drawstring, per the pattern is self-fabric with an elastic component. Self-fabric drawstrings don't bear the weight of several pagers and phones well, so I used cotton strapping as usual, but the idea of the elastic was interesting, so I gave it a go. Mitch isn't sure he's sold on the idea, so we'll see how it performs.
From the back, you can see that the top is quite snug across the shoulders.
Up closer - the sleeves are really straining. Good thing I double stitched those seams! The top is going to need some serious reworking. Obviously, I'll be altering the fit in the shoulders. I also really dislike the neckline. It is faced and topstitched, a treatment I have never seen in RTW scrubs. And can we talk about what a pain that was!? I definitely prefer the band, but I may try a mitered binding for the next one, since that is generally what you see in RTW.
Tomorrow Mitch is going to wear them to work for a road test, so we'll see, but I think we are nearly there!

5 comments:

Pam said...

Wow!! That is alot of work!! Congratulations - I know you'll find the perfect "fit" (eventually!).

Beangirl said...

All the scrubs I've owned or seen have had the v-neck band thing... I think that would be what stopped me from attempting scrubs, actually. (I've never done one like that, it looks fiddly, but banded v-necks are on my list of things to try. Sometime. In the far far future.)

These look pretty good so far! I can't wait to see the next incarnation. You're going to have a very well-dressed husband.

gwensews said...

I hear ya' about the sleeplessness. I have 2 grandsons, brothers age 1 and 2. My daughter sleeps an hour at a time,and she works 5 days a week! I'm babysitting right now, with the older one laying on the couch refusing to take a nap.

Did you check Simplicity patterns for scrubs? I looked at them.
S2769 and S4378 appear to have set in sleeves, although the pattern doesn't have a description.

gwensews said...

Sorry my last comment was so stupid. Of course, you made the Simplicity pattern! It was a senior moment!

Tawny said...

I'm glad to see that someone sews like I do. I first do a trial run using the pattern. Then I do a ton of adjusting. The second version is always the best. The first one is always the "test" case. :)

You did a great job!