And another pair... with a mini tutorial

I'm in sewing mode around all of the nasty allergies. It's been particularly bad this year between the drought and the wind, and everything seems to have pollen hanging all over the place.

But this weekend I actually had a clear enough head to add another pair of navy trousers to my rotation. It's a linen, and was wonderful to sew and I'm sure will be wonderful to wear. I love linen when it's hot outside.

I used my typical Don McCunn pants draft for the trousers, but with this pair I added in the David Paige Coffin in-seam pocket instead of my usual quarter pockets. A friend mentioned that the instructions in his book were confusing to her, and since they were to me too... and yes, the pockets were completed before I realized I'd not moved them in quite far enough and they would be caught in the seams effectively leaving me with no pockets. As I ripped them out and resewed, I went ahead and wrote up my own mini-tutorial on them.

I don't think I'm stepping on David Paige Coffin's toes with my tutorial. BUT... if you don't have his books, Making Trousers, and Shirtmaking, and you ever sew either, buy them! They're wonderful and give more information than you'll ever find without tons of really extensive research on the web!

Making Trousers:  http://www.amazon.com/Making-Trousers-Men-Women-Multimedia/dp/1589234499/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1405996635&sr=8-1-spell
It's available for Kindle but with the paperback you also get a DVD.

Shirtmaking: http://www.amazon.com/Shirtmaking-Developing-Skills-Fine-Sewing-ebook/dp/B00243GMOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405996635&sr=8-1&keywords=David+Paige+coffin

I've probably learned almost as much from these two books as the entire rest of my library!

So... long and picture heavy, but here goes:

Inseam pockets ala David Paige Coffin

When cutting your pants, be sure to cut a “pocket outlet piece” that extends 1 1/4” past the normal seam allowance. AKA a strip that is 5/8” past the edge of the pants with a 5/8” seam allowance by about 7 ½” long.

Interface the pocket flap to about ¼” past the pocket opening with fusible tricot or a soft interfacing.

Place pocket piece wrong side to wrong side of pants front with edge of pocket lining up with side seams. Secure in place with pins or hand baste. Mark in 1 ¼” from pocket edge towards center front, and in 5/8” from edge of flap on the pocket piece, making a cross.  

Cut along seam allowances from top and bottom of flap to 5/8” mark and then cut in to the edge of the cross mark. (5/8” inch from the edge of the pants seam allowance.) You can curve if desired as per the first photo, or just cut straight.

Sorry this one is really out of focus! 

Fold in the flap over the cut pieces. Press into place. Be sure to check that it is offset from the edge by a fat 5/8” to avoid catching it in the side seam.

Zig Zag flaps onto pocket bag only, being sure not to catch pants front in stitching.

Turn pocket to inside and press well. Topstitch along pocket edge. Press again to set stitching.

Place remaining pocket piece right side up under front piece matching waist and side seams.Flip pants front up to show pocket bags. I like to press the pocket bags flat at this point. Pin pocket bags together. Don’t worry if seams don’t align exactly.

Stitch pocket bags together. Finish seams with overlock or tight zig zag stitch. Press.

Baste pockets to side seams and waist seam. If desired, bartack pocket at top and bottom to avoid pulling apart. (This is the first time I've done this, and it looks like it to me!) 

Move on to zipper installation and finish those pants!

Hope this is helpful and you also get some amazing pants for your wardrobe plans!

More later!

It may not be as hard as before! Muslin #1

Yesterday I started my cardigan jacket draft. It has some issues. As expected.

Most notably, I had forgotten how unhappy I was with the armscye/sleeve/shoulder of my sloper. Those issues may have caused a few more issues that I was unaware might happen.

I have the shoulder seams at the right spot, but the back armholes are just wrong. They need to be altered and I'm going to have my husband mark on the fabric with a sharpie so they hit the right spot on my body. I also think the darts should be closer together than they are.

Other than not getting the bottom of the bodice front pressed correctly, and pinned, I think the front is overall okay. It will never be worn buttoned.

Excuse the hair. New haircut trying to figure out styling. Also no makeup. It was a day off. 

To me the darts on the front appear to be sited correctly. Same old, same old with the sleeves, and these were the altered ones. However, the shoulders are narrower than the last jacket, so I guess I need to add some more onto the cap. The neck is odd because I only had some really old, way too wide shoulder pads here. I have to make my own to get the size right for my body, and these weren't them! 

Side view not that bad other than the sleeve issues. I think once the darts are sited correctly on the back, that odd fold will disappear. It may be because I had not straightened it correctly. When Dale's taking pictures, I have to hurry before he gets too impatient. Someone who will spend half an hour taking a picture of a dragonfly may not be the right person for a fashion photographer. 

So I'm much more hopeful that I won't have to do a dozen muslins to get this one right.

Any input on things you see is greatly appreciated!

More later!

Have you seen the OWOP over at Handmade Jane?

For me that's an ideal concept! One week, one pattern, many garments. Check out the post at: http://www.handmadejane.co.uk/

Since my lifestyle is pretty much set, and I wear blouses/tees with slacks and a jacket of some sort, I already pretty much do this. But since I'm still in the process of my SWAP which may not be finished before December, I thought it would be fun to just play along with others. 

As I was thinking about this during the week, I was also working on my latest tee. Identical to the last one, only royal blue instead of dark navy. Sorry the color isn't true in the photograph. You'll have to take my word for it. It's royal blue. 

I also will be making a few others from my Pamela's Perfect Tee pattern with different necklines. But basically the same shirt. And another pair of trousers, these linen in navy. Same but different than the last. 

Since I don't work in a set environment like many of you, I rarely see someone more than once, or maybe if it's a Realtor, once every few weeks or months. They don't know what I wear, and so long as I always look nice, I'm neat and clean, and my attire fits into professional clothing for my career, it's no big deal. 

I've also begun drafting a cardigan jacket. Between my Sure Fit Designs bodice sloper and the Helen Armstrong book, with the input of my blog friends and hopefully Jo Anne, I'm hoping this will be an easier process than some of the past ones. But I am willing to put in the effort to having a pattern that fits well and will become another  TNT. 

I was greatly heartened by another blog friend. She probably doesn't know I'm her blog friend, and I'm a huge admirer! Here's her blog: http://yousewgirl.blogspot.com/ What made me an admirer and made me feel better about my own sewing was this post:  http://yousewgirl.blogspot.com/2014/07/kwik-sew-2895-jean-style-jacket.html

The first couple of sentences got me to be a lifetime fan! "I make a lot of muslins.  A lot.  I don't want to cut into my 'good' fabric until I'm satisfied with the fit.  I once made a total of nine muslins (4 of one pattern, 5 of another) for a cocktail dress.  The ninth muslin was the one that worked and I used it to produce a lovely dress for which I still get compliments when worn.  I never blogged about it; perhaps I should."

As I've been doing this, I've been thinking a lot about BeeJay's post of last week. http://ontheroadtosewwear.blogspot.com/2014/07/do-you-take-random-comments-personally.html and the comments, and this week's follow up post. 

I think most of us take random comments personally, at least part of the time. I may be self-confident about certain things, but others, or at a specific point in time, or something else that may be influencing my mood at that specific moment will cause me to get my feelings hurt, or get angry, or whatever emotion pops to the forefront at that time. Her statement follows: "The comment that had me so riled was about the lack of effort put in to their sewing by a lot of new bloggers"

As I was working on my pattern, and starting the muslin, I got myself all "het up." How could someone so randomly put a post like that out there into the blogosphere? 

How could that person know how much effort the sewist has put into that garment. Yes, it may be a basic garment. But does she know what their fitting issues might be? Does she know how many other garments were made trying to get one that worked on her body? Does she know how many muslins the person made, does she know what it's like to have a strange body every time you make a garment? And yes, it's the same body, but has changed in indefinable ways. The shirt that fit so well last time, now has strange folds going to odd places. Why is that? How can it be fixed? What alteration do I need to do to correct it? Why isn't this covered in my pattern instructions, the multitude of fitting books I own, somewhere on the internet, or in a video or anywhere I can find?  

My oldest daughter turned 49 this month. Whew! Can't believe I'm that old. But I began sewing when I was pregnant with her. For many, many years I was a self-taught sewer. I didn't know the first thing about making a muslin, understitching, clipping curves, French seams, Hong Kong finishes, lining, or even interfacing quality and that there was more than one type. If it didn't tell me on the pattern envelope or in the instructions, it just wasn't known. I had no idea how or why patterns were drafted the way they were. Too long? Why bother cutting it on those silly lines. Just take it off the bottom! Too narrow...just add more across. Who knows or even cares what an FBA is when they are learning to sew unless someone tells them? 

And the bottom line was I made things. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't but I never had any idea why or why not. I didn't have a supportive sewing community, and the only other person I knew that sewed was a sister that lived too far away for consultations, or for help, even if she'd known how to do things. After all, she'd had one sewing class in high school that taught her everything she needed to know. And fitting wasn't on the syllabus. 

Fast forward multiple years. About the early to mid 1980s I was perusing a community college schedule that came in the mail, and I saw sewing classes. I was getting to the point where RTW was not to my liking. It still fit in those days, but the styles, fabrics and the colors in the stores were not my taste. So I decided I could make my own clothes in the colors and fabrics I wanted. Who cared if they were trendy? I just wanted to look good and feel good about my clothes. 

An obsession was born. I started gradually hearing about altering patterns to fit one's body. Still not a lot of input into how to do it, but I heard that people did figure out how to make patterns fit themselves. I learned how to use my machine and about fabrics, needles, and threads. Got my first serger and learned about knits. It was still at least ten years before I found a class that was about fitting my particular body. What an eye opener to learn I didn't actually have short arms, but that narrow shoulders were what caused all my sleeves to be too long. And the body I learned to fit then, is certainly not the body I have now. 

Never even thought about "couture details" until the last few years. I did like having the insides of my clothing look nice, but the serger generally did that. I did learn about linings and that helped too. 

Now after approximately 45-50 years of sewing, I'm finally learning Hong Kong finishes, French Seams, bagging linings, and all the rest. Is it about time. Yes... but over the last 10 to 30 years, I've made the majority of my own clothing that was worn in public, to work, to events, to live in, without knowing the fancy stuff. Did I look like I was wearing couture? No, but it was my colors, my fabrics, and in general fit my ever changing body. That to me, means I'm a winner, no matter whether someone else thinks so or not. She doesn't know how much effort I put into just getting a garment to fit, finding the right fabric, finding the right details, finding everything that makes it just mine and no one else's. 

Everyone should be encouraged to experience their creativity in their own way, make whatever they want, at the level they are, with the fabrics they can afford and be given kudos for trying. If they want to push themselves, good for them. If not, that's okay too. I'm reminded of my friend Kathleen who has been sewing for 45+ years who decided she wanted to learn proper tailoring. She's got multiple books, videos, taken Craftsy classes, and all the rest. She has practiced making hand worked buttonholes for a few weeks, only to find that they didn't look appropriate for the fabric she's using for a summer jacket. 

For all of us, failure is always an option. The only way I know of to really learn something is to fail at it so you have to work out how to succeed. So long as we are learning and growing and putting our efforts out there, we should be proud of ourselves and let the people who don't get it sit alone in their room waiting for perfect garments with lots of effort that they feel meet their high standards. I think they'll be waiting a very long time! 

Jumping down off the soapbox now. 

I hope you're having a marvelous time with your sewing. I hope all your efforts are rewarded with wonderful, wearable garments. If not, I hope you have leaned something to further your knowledge about your chosen craft! 

More later!

A quick update for July so far.

The three dresses are complete. One is a smash hit, one is a no way, and the other is "okay."

Smash hit:

She loved this one~ the third. I had redrafted the skirt pattern as I thought the second dress was kind of wonky in the skirt. This one it was the colors, the fabric, the fit. She's wearing it to work this week. It's a light weight cotton jersey from Hancocks.

The others, not so much. The first one with the cross over top didn't get a picture taken darn it! I find cross over tops to be problematical, and the first dress was no exception. It was good in the heavier fabric, but in the light weight rayon jersey, there are a lot of unexpected folds across the bodice.

The third was not good at all. She didn't like the color nor the print, and with the initial pattern draft , it looks just wrong. Hemline is wrong and the pattern, which really was on grain the way the initial pattern was cut looks like it's going downhill and all I see is a big "frowney" face. And visions of a  long past pregnancy? Not good at all.

But for my picky daughter, one out of three is a good ratio! LOL

Once those were done and delivered on the 4th of July, I set to making myself some long wanted items. I have in my mind that I'm doing a summer six-pac along with continuing with my annual SWAP. I like the concept of making multiple garments in a colorway that will at least go together well increasing the amount of outfits without using all of the closet space. To that end, my first navy core grouping in a while. Pants were made Saturday and finished off Sunday, and the tee was started and completed on Sunday.

The top is a luscious rayon-lycra jersey, purchased from Emma One Sock back in April. I got three pieces of this and wish I'd got every color I wear. It was wonderful to sew, and wonderful to wear. It's my TNT Pamela's Perfect Tee Shirt pattern altered beyond belief.

The slacks are a very light weight (4 ounce) stretch denim purchased (on sale!) last November from Gorgeous fabrics. It's perfect for a pair of summer trousers. Pattern used is my custom draft made from the Don McCunn "How to Make Sewing Patterns" book. They're my go to. Can make them in about 5 hours total including pockets and fly front. That's a win for me!

Today I'm starting on the second piece of EOS rayon jersey. It's a royal blue and will have a vee neck as the only change. I'm hoping for a tee shirt marathon to put my summer six pac on the fast track.

Hope your sewing is going well!

More later ~

Number two in the queue

Here's the first dress from the borrowed pattern. I have since made a few changes to actually have it work like it is supposed to, but I think she'll be pleased with this one. Again, excuse the hanger shot, hopefully I'll get actual pictures with her in them soon.

Third one is cut out and on the sewing table to get completed shortly. I'm hoping this trio of dresses will help me hit the trifecta in the daughter's dress lineup. 

More later!

One down and one or two to go!

Hooray! My daughter's birthday is July 3, and she's been bugging me for a dress for a couple of years. The problem is she doesn't want me to measure her, she won't sit still for fittings, and I'm just supposed to guess based on what she looks like. As all my sewing friends know, that doesn't work so well.

A couple of posts ago, I showed a "wearable muslin" I had made her hoping it would fit, and of course it didn't. BUT, when I took it over and she tried it on, I was able to do a couple of measurements, lots of photos, and get an idea of what needed to be done to make it actually fit her properly.

At the same time, she "loaned me" a pattern from her favorite dress that she literally wore out. It was an inexpensive knit from Target or Old Navy or some similar shop, but she loved the fit and it was comfortable. I kept trying to get her to let me have it so I could copy it, but she wouldn't let it out of her sight. Fast forward to the disintegration of the dress. My non-sewing daughter cut it apart, made a pattern, and borrowed a machine from a friend and made herself another one, all without asking one word of advice or even mentioning to her mom that she'd done so. Pretty funny, huh?

Well yesterday, I finished the first dress for her birthday which is the original dress altered to fit. Sorry for the hanger shot, but until I see her on the fourth, that's all I have.

It's a royal blue rayon jersey from Girl Charlee. It's pretty light weight, and should be really comfortable for summer use even with the 3/4 sleeves.

I also ran over to Hancock's on Saturday and got another couple of pieces of knit to make her "favorite dress." Since she had to wait a few years for a dress, I figure two or three are in order. So the next fabric is on the cutting table waiting to be cut out and sewn up.

Holiday weeks are usually slow for me at work, so I anticipate having both of the new ones done before her birthday. The other dresses are just basic knits with a slightly raised waist, and slightly full skirt; she wants 3/4 sleeves, and I'll do my usual self fabric bound neckline. Hopefully they'll be quick and easy and not take much longer than a basic tee shirt.

More later!

Hmmm....

Well, I've finally got the second blouse don3 and hanging in the closet with a probable wearing today for the first time. I'm still not quite happy with the neck/collar area, and the dye job is a bit uneven. But I do have the fit down almost perfectly now, and that's a big bonus!

That said, my friend Kathleen scolded me roundly for focusing on the negative and not appreciating that I have a blouse that fits me, I dyed myself, and I should consider the color differences are like slubs in silk.

Without further ado...

My next quick sewing job will be a dress for my daughter. Her birthday is July 3rd, and I've been promising to make her a dress forever. I'm using Burda 7828, and have already got the alterations completed due to an unfortunate muslin that I had misjudged the shoulders on. I'm hoping it will turn out perfect and she'll have a new dress to love. 

Here's a photo of the unfortunate "muslin". 

It's a basic cross over top with a high waistline, and she wanted 3/4 sleeves so it could be worn almost year around. Somehow or another I got the shoulder width too narrow by about 1 1/2", so this one isn't really fixable. Too bad because this was a nice heavy weight knit from my stash that worked really nicely for the dress. The next one will be a royal blue rayon knit from Girl Charlee. I think this is my first purchase from them so we'll see how I like working with their fabrics. Everyone seems to rave about them on the blogs and Stitcher's Guild. 

In other news... I found a company in San Francisco via an article in the San Francisco Chronicle called Bootstrap Fashion http://www.bootstrapfashion.com/ that will draft a pattern to your measurements and send you a PDF file. They have a lot of patterns to choose from, and in general are $10 each. Right now, they have a promotion whereby if you buy 3, you get a $20 discount by inserting the name Bootstrap in the coupon box. 

I was told over at Stitchers Guild that Lekla patterns from somewhere in Eastern Europe have the same fashions and the same business model for much less money. I'd heard the name but knew nothing about their patterns. I figured I'd rather support a local company, and give them a try. So to that end, yesterday I purchased three patterns. A pair of crop pants which I've been wanting for a while, a cap sleeve blouse, and a cross over top. As promised, the patterns were in my inbox in about 15 minutes after placing the order. I haven't printed them out yet, but intend to do so hopefully this weekend if all goes well around here. 

I'll do a muslin of the cap sleeve shirt without making any alterations whatsoever and see how it matches up to my body and if by purchasing with the proper measurements, it makes my life easier or more difficult. Here's my first one:

I'm hoping for some good blocks of sewing time this weekend, and have multiple things on my list... not the least of which is a trial pair of the Barb pants from Style Arc, a new pair of denim slacks, and there is always the tee shirt marathon awaiting. I am also planning on morphing my TNT tee shirt pattern into a ruched front style ala the Sangria top by Bresnan Studios.

I won't do the ruched sleeves as my biceps are already quite large and don't need the bulk, but I am hoping the ruched front adds length and subtracts width visually and will be attractive.

I've also got a few jackets lined up in my head as well as multiple other garments! If only I had as much time as I do imagination about what I can sew! LOL 

Hope your sewing is fulfilling your needs for creativity right now! 

More later!

Close but no cigar for this one. Darn it!

It's been a long few weeks, but we're almost there. There will be and have been changes made for the next version, but I'm okay with this one. It will be worn with a jacket in public, so the minor issues I have with it will be invisible to anyone else. At least I hope so!

Since I don't fall "exactly" in any particular size in this pattern, with bust slightly larger, and waist closest to a 2X, and the hip between a 1X and a 2X, and knowing I was going to have to make multiple alterations anyway, I started with a 2X. My lovely friend Jo Anne, who has done a fashion degree and works with custom clothing and alterations daily, says with commercial patterns to start where your measurements fit closest to the size, so that's what I did. Then I started with the alterations. 

Alterations/changes made to original pattern (Straight Size : 2X used initially)

• Narrowed shoulders by 1"
• Initial sway back adjustment 1 1/2"; an additional 3/4" after other adjustments were completed.
• Narrowed center back seam by 1" all the way from neck to hem.
• Added 1" in length across the back at approximately shoulder blade level.
• At shoulder seam, lowered 3/4" front and back at outside edge, tapering to zero at the neck edge.
• Added one inch to back shoulder only. (I don't think this was the thing to do as now the "shoulder seam is down on the front of my body.)
• Removed additional 7/8" at back princess seam from armscye tapering to zero at about 13.5" down from armhole.
• Revised back armhole to remove excess fabric along edge, starting at shoulder seam and creating an arc with a maximum 5/8" indentation about the center of the upper back, ending at revised back princess seam. 
• Moved front princess seam 2" closer to center front. 
• Full bust adjustment of 1 1/8".
• Cut neckline down by 1" at shoulder joint and front, tapering to zero at center back seam. (This will be changed on the next version to add back in about 1/4".)
• Raised neckline edge by 3" to eliminate "oops" factor.
• Starting 3" from back princess seam at armhole, straightened seam to about 13.5" down. 
• Raised under arm at armhole seam 1 3/8 " at side seam tapering to zero at princess seams.  

WHEW! That was a lot of work for a simple sleeveless blouse, but I think in the long run this will be well worth it. 

So now the issues that will be addressed: 
1. Shoulder seam in the right location. 
2. Figure out why the under bust seam is wonky and fix that. It curves towards the side a bit and I think it should be about 1 1/2" towards the center seam at the hem area. I may need to add a piece at the bottom of the seam over the tummy area. 
3. Add about 1 1/2" to the side back seam and remove same from front as the side seam is way back from the center of my body. 
4. Neckline as noted above. 

Once completed, I will use this same pattern to revise my Hot Patterns Plain and Simple Princess Shirt and also will be using it for my Hot Patterns Great White Shirt. It will give me a good starting point to once again modify my jacket pattern. So I will be in much better shape TNT pattern wise once I get these alterations set. I'm thinking the previous post for the sleeve cap length is going to get added into my Pamela's Perfect tee TNT also. I will probably be considering the length of my sleeve cap in all of my future patterns. That alteration on the jacket was mind boggling to me! 

In other news, yesterday I took a fun quilt class at my favorite quilting shop, A Quilted Heart in Vacaville. It's called the 1600 Jelly Roll Quilt. You basically take a jelly roll, stitch every piece together, and then start sewing all of those pieces together until you have a quilt top. This one ends up at approximately 48" X 64", so I will be adding to it to make a queen sized quilt. It was fun, and in a few hours, you can have a great quilt top. The designer of the quilt, does a "1600 Jelly Roll Race" and there was someone that finished this in 35 minutes! (Of course, all the ends were already pieced and cut, and the pieces had all been seamed into the long strip before they started the "race.") Because I'm still figuring out this quilting thing, I am a BIT slower than that. 

Just in case you're interested, Here's a basic tutorial from the Missouri Quilt Company: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bEJLnaZQOU

But if you want to see a fun video, check out the race: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EomX7t7to_o

I'll post the 48" X 64" top later after I get it put together and before I actually start adding to it to make a queen sized, which I now have the directions for, based on this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdiUxlglZH4

Unfortunately, I didn't find them BEFORE I started sewing this together, so I'm going to be adapting the process to get something that will work for what I want. We'll see how well that goes as things progress!

Very odd to me that with this particular quilt, you don't trim, you don't press, you don't do anything but sew until you've completed the top. So here's mine without being evened up, without being pressed, or anything. Just all the jelly roll pieces sewn together:

I used a Bali Pops precut Jelly Roll called River Rock. AND I am so enamored of this quilt and the speed of making it, I've bought several more Jelly Rolls for future use. :P}}

If you're in the States, Happy Memorial Day. If you're elsewhere in the world, Happy Monday!

More later,

Cutting into the good stuff!

Well, I'm happy to report that at this point in time, I'm down to thinking that this shirt is going to fit me better than anything else I've ever owned. There may be some minor tweaking happening on the final product, but I'm ready to move forward. 

Here are the most current pictures with adjustments. I will be making it shorter than this muslin, and have slightly adjusted the under bust area, but overall this is it! 

I have a lovely rayon batik I got as an end cut from Sawyer Brook. I don't have enough for facings, but do have enough for the exterior. I'm cutting into it hopefully tonight! Here's a peak:

It's going to add some much wanted and needed color to my wardrobe. It also lifts my spirits just to look at it! This shirt should go very quickly now that I have the alterations to the pattern done. 

Watch for it! 

Back to the drawing board.

Since the latest adjustments caused more problems, I'm back to the drawing board on this shirt. Slightly frustrated, but not willing to give up or given in until it's right. Not that I have OCD or anything. 

Once I get all of the adjustments completed, I am going to try to figure out how to give you a slide show. It's a lot of adjustments, and a lot of photos! LOL

When I moved the front princess seam in towards the center front 2" and added a 1/2" FBA, then straightened out the back seam and did another 3/4" sway back adjustment, it caused some new strange and puzzling problems with the neck/shoulder area. The neckline is now climbing up my neck, and the shoulders went all wonky again. 

I added in an additional 1" at the back shoulder only, and that made the front lie smoother. I'm going to cut the neckline down until it is lying flat. It appears to be okay at the back, and just too far in at the top of the shoulder right now. 

I still have too much fabric at the back princess seams, which I think need to be straightened somewhat as they are entering the armscye, and I think I need to take the back side seams in just a bit also. 

I'm scratching my head here and will be doing some more adjustments this evening to see if I can get closer. 

 I was sure hoping that the adjustments were coming to an end last Sunday, but obviously it didn't happen. I've had a very interesting week, so not much time for sewing at all, and when I'm tired I do really stupid mistakes, so that wasn't an option. 

I'll be working on this tonight, and tomorrow I will have time in between making lots of goodies for Mother's Day dinner. I'm really excited as my sister and brother-in-law are coming up from San Diego, and we'll have Sunday afternoon and early evening at my niece's house with them, my niece and her family as well as her grown daughter with two babies, and my daughter and granddaughter with partners. It should be a fun group with lots of love, laughter, and great food! 

I did want to wear a new shirt but that's not going to happen within the allotted time frame, darn it! But I would rather have it right than have it done and never be quite happy with it.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend, and to those it applies, a very Wondrous Mother's Day. More later!

I like it, I really, really like it!

Just a quickie this morning.

I have the new muslin partially sewn, with the shoulders and side seams pinned, hopefully to be completed tonight for the next view. I've incorporated all of the adjustments made to date, and will list them with the final showing of the muslin.

Here's the fabric with the Wedgewood Blue over dye. I now love, love, love this fabric and can't wait to move it out of the stash and onto my body! :P}}

The color is darker in person, but you can hopefully see what a difference a day makes!

More later!

Back to the drawing board for a few more alterations

Currently, I have done multiple alterations, and I think I'm almost ready to start the new shirt muslin. Time for another sway back adjustment to get the back fitting right, and I have added a small full bust adjustment and moved the front princess seam in towards center front by 2" so it will actually run across my bust. 

I'm going to cut another muslin out of a heavier weight gingham and then will take more pictures to be sure everything looks right before using my actual fashion fabric. 

I have a linen that was not my color palette, stark white background with big stylized multicolored blue flowers. Color on this shot not exact, the background is REALLY white. 

After draping it against me multiple times it just doesn't work with my coloring. Then the light bulb went off. Dharma Trading Company is only about 45 minutes away. Tah, dah! It is now in the process of getting a beautiful Wedgewood Blue background and will hopefully be a much better candidate for my coloring. 

I'll be back soon with more pictures of the muslin, and some updated photos of the fabric. 

Hope your Sunday is going spectacularly!

What a difference a day makes!

Here's the next set of photos. Remember, this is a process and I'm starting at the top first. I wanted to get the diameter of the garment closer before I start fine tuning the fit and doing final alterations to the pattern.

Alterations made since the initial shirt with a 1 1/2" sway back and 3/4" shoulder width reduction:

Neck width at center back is reduced by 1" each side, 2" total.
Outside shoulder seam has been dropped by 3/4" front and back totaling 1 1/2" reduction.
Side back princess seams taken in by 7/8" on both the side back and center back, tapering to zero 13 1/2" down from armhole edge.
Revised back armhole from shoulder seam, creating an arc of fabric removed from the top down  to the new underarm princess seam.

So this is what it looks like now.

Going to need an FBA and the princess seam moved towards CF

More apparent that the FBA is needed. 

Back still has way too much fabric almost everwhere except the posterior!

Side backs, center back, waistline, etc. still too big.

After I had made the listed corrections, I got a wonderful note from my friend and mentor, Jo Ann, asking if I'd like her to give me some input. Yes, Please! As is her usual, I sent the pictures last night before I went to bed, and had a response before I got to my computer this morning. This woman is one of the most generous people I've ever met and never sleeps! 

If you're wondering, I do know there will be changes made to the back, and haven't redrafted that until I'm closer with the diameter adjustments. At the current time, I'm leaving the odd looking upper back until I have the balance corrected. Once they are closer, I will redraft the back for fine tuning, and have that center back seam nice and straight. But in the meantime:

Jo Ann suggested slashing and spreading the upper back by 1" which will allow the neckline to slide forward to the right location for me. 

As you've probably surmised as it is apparent to almost all of us, she suggested I take in the majority of the back because there is still too much fabric at the back princess seams and the upper center back above the waist. Not sure yet, but I may have to increase my 1 1/2" sway back adjustment even more if the other changes don't correct for that. 

I haven't adjusted the princess seams yet, but look what adding that 1" piece has done to the fit of the back! It's almost as much of a wow as happened when I pulled the neck edge in. 

I am truly fascinated at the difference in the look of the shirt and my body as each adjustment brings it closer to the right fit for me. 
Side view with the strip installed:

I have always read that you look better in clothing that actually fits your body instead of the over-sized tent like things we may chose to hide in, but this is really bringing that point home in a big way!

Tonight I'll be taking in the back princess seams from the top to the hip area, and check to see if/how much the sway back adjustment is affected and what additional alterations need to be completed in that area. Once that is done, I'll redraft the back pattern pieces and start on the front. 

The front is also going to require multiple adjustments, and I will be documenting as I go along. My bust point distance is quite narrow, especially for someone the size I currently am. The front needs to be altered so the princess seam runs across the bust and then down. It appears there will be at least a slight FBA required in width and length. 

Once we get all of these items completed, I'll be cutting a new muslin to look at it before I actually go into fashion fabric. I'm 99.9% sure once all the other adjustments have been completed, I'll have to raise the armhole at least 1/2" to 1" so I don't show off my bra when I'm jacket-less. 

I prefer a "French binding" on my armholes to facings or bias tape, and the way I do that is to attach it without eliminating any seam allowances. In that way, the sleeves will be finished at the same place as they are in the muslin. I think that will make it easier on my poor brain to comprehend the look the changes have made to the fit of my shirt.

Who would have thought that it would take so much work to get a simple sleeveless blouse to fit? Not me for sure! I think going through this process is making me see that each and every one of us who has thought "it fits better than anything in RTW" can actually, with time, practice, LOTS of patience, and input from knowledgeable friends with good eyes, have clothes that go way beyond "better than RTW" and come out the other side as "great fit!"

Virginia... Good eye. That adjustment did need to go all the way to the waist! 
And BeaJay, who would have thought the manual would be on a CD? I want my hard copy so I can look at it. The CD is never where I want to know how to do things! Guess I really need to move into the "teens" as my Grands would say! LOL. 

More later,