SWAP 2011 - Week 12 of 17

You've probably thought by now I've given up on the SWAP contest, but I haven't.  I've gotten a bit distracted but also have been working on enlarging McCall's 7883.  It's five easy pieces. 

People sew for a number of different reasons.  One of my many reasons is fit.  My shoulders and collars of my tops, dresses, and jackets pull toward my back.  The round neckline of this pattern pushes on my throat giving me a chocking sensation.  This unbalanced problem causes the blouse to look a bit maternity.  The front hem ends up being shorter than the back and poofs out.  I've seen this look on men also.  I found the solution for this in this alterations book from 1976. 

The author, Kerstin Martensson, made the first pattern produced by KWIK-SEW.  The illustrations are fantastic. 

I sliced both the front and back pattern pieces from a point halfway between the shoulder and the bottom of the arm opening all the way across each piece.  I overlapped the back decreasing the pattern by one inch and separated the front pattern by increasing it by one inch. 

I haven't cut the sleeves yet, but I will need to change the shoulder mark.

This blouse is cut from gold silk charmeuse.   I'm using french enclosed seams; a technique I don't use often.   The smaller the seams, the stiffer the seams are.  To keep the drape soft, I started the first seam by placing wrong sides together and stitching 1/8 inch away from the edge. 

I sewed a second seam with the right sides together stitching 1/2 inch away from the previous pressed edge.

MPB Shirt Sew Along ~ Muslin Preparation

My DH is traveling a lot, so his making of a shirt is going to be a slow process because of that and the learning curve.  We did make some progress this weekend.  I started with instructing him about straight of grain, crossgrain, and the bias of fabric.  I had him tear his muslin fabric to get a straight edge and pin the torn edge and the salvage edge.  The fabric looks a mess.  You can see it needs a good pressing, but you can also see how it is twisted, out of shape.

He steamed and pressed the fabric and got it looking straight again.  I explained that if he doesn't take the time to do this, by the end of a day, his shirt will end up twisting no matter how much he has the cleaners press the shirt.  It's ready to put the pattern pieces on. 

My DH spent considerable time cutting out the pattern.  I had him use weights and a rotary cutter.  I forgot to warn him about the dangers of a rotary cutter.  My thoughts were that as a wookworker he would know, since he uses razor blades all the time.  He tried to guide the cutter with his finger and managed to take a tiny, tiny bit of skin off.  Ouch!  I believe people learn from their own mistakes.  He did.  I had to show him the safety button even though his drill has the same kind of thing.  Association is not always evident. 

He did an awesome job with the pieces ~ took his time and did the process with accuracy. 

I am not going to have him make a complete shirt out of the muslin, but I am going to have him do the sleeve placket completely for practice.  It's intimidating looking, but they do go together quite nicely.

Back to Cold Weather

Just yesterday morning, I was walking the beach.  Now I'm wearing my winter coat.  Brrrr!

I've made progress on my DGS's sweater.  I've managed to finished the sleeves.



They were knitted together, so the lengths would be the same.  The stitches are identical to the stitches in the hat.  My only new experience was increasing in the loop between the two stitches.  This sweater has raglan sleeves.   It's important to have two rows of a stockinette stitches along each edge.

I couldn't wait to start the back with all the fun cabling.  The first inch was my challenge.  I couln't see the pattern right away.  However, once I saw what was developing, there were no further difficulties.  It will be knitted straight up with no increases until the decreases for the sleeve edge.  The right and left edges are the same stitches as the sleeves and hat. 

 

Off To The Panhandle of Florida

Tomorrow I'm leaving the cold and snow of NH for the sun and beaches of FL.  Family members and myself are joining my DH at the end of his business trip at Fort Walton Beach.  I won't be taking any sewing projects along, but I will start a knitting one.  Yes, I know I haven't finished the gingerbread socks, but I am saving that for our knitting group, which hasn't met for a very long time.  I'm told maybe we will meet again in two weeks.
 I bought this knitting leaflet a few months back

with intentions of making the sweater with collar and the hat for my DGS.   I actually made the hat as one of his Christmas present.   He looks beautiful in the hat, but he won't keep it on for more than a minute.  He just won't allow any hat on his head.  One day he'll figure a hat will keep his head warm. 

My carpool mate loves this pattern, too, and asked me if I will help her with the directions.  I want to resolve issues before she begins, so I am getting a head start.  The yarn I am using is the Snuggly DK.  It is baby soft and washable.  My gauge is right on with the pattern, which was figured when doing the hat.  It's all packed and ready to go.

Speaking of cable sweaters, my DH and I visit estate sales and yard sales all the time.  Something I was never really into until I met my DH.  We've managed some great purchases.  One is this handmade, cable sweater

 

for just $5.00.  Supposedly, it was never worn, because the young owner was allergic to wool.   An aunt made them for all her nieces and nephews.  The plastic buttons got damaged during the dry cleaning process, but the rest of it held up just great. 

SWAP 2011 - Week 7 of 17

I don't usually make the same pattern twice.  The challenge becomes lost.  I have no TNT.  However, I thought it would be very clever on my part to reproduce Vogue 2987.  My thinking was again that this should go together really quickly, since I worked out all the kinks.  I'd have another SWAP top in no time at all.  I didn't take into consideration the difference in fabric.  

This time around I used a black rayon jersey.  The fabric has a lot of stretch, but that wasn't my first problem.  I very carefully layed out each piece, was sure I had it right.  Only when I went to put the top together did I realize the gathered side was on the opposite side from the last time.  I did figure out what went wrong.  The back was set on the fold, but the right and left sides were layed singularly.  I had the paper pattern right side up, but the fabric was inside out.  Duh! 

The secondary problem was the stretching.  I had to re-do the shoulder seams three times.  I finally read about the differential feed on my serger.  By adjusting it, the shoulders went together nicely.  I took Sandra Betzina's advice from More Fabric Savvy to use a walking foot for topstitching.  I bought the foot last year to prepare for making a faux Chanel jacket this year.  What a pleasant experience.  The foot was a dream to work with.  If I hadn't adjusted the differential feed or used the walking foot, this piece would have gone in the trash.  Instead I have this very soft, comfortable top.