Saturday 11 June 2016

Over the Top

I completed my first successful jersey fabric tee shirt!

I has a very large pattern on it, and by luck (i didn't even consider it) the pattern on the front looks OK.   The size is far too big (so I'll try the same size in a non-stretch fabric), and I made a bit of a booboo at the shoulder.... but it's actually not bad at all.

I saw a great blog pot about dresses for overweight ladies - it didn't refer to overweight, that's me - and it was really interesting. Firstly, the lady whose blog it is is a similar shape to me. She was wearing a wrap dress she's made, and it looked really good.   http://curvysewingcollective.com/tried-and-true-pattern-christine-jonson-wrap-dresses/    Secondly,  she talks about how easy it was, and there was a promise of a sewalong (or wrapalong as she called it)

I ordered the pattern (from the US), and it arrived this week.

Following on from my success at the other top, I decided I'd make a top version of the wrapalong dress.   I found the wrapalong posts, and realised that it really should be easy enough to convert it. She also changed the neckline to use binding, which I've now done successfully on two teeshirts, and that suited me.

I got the pattern out, got my pattern paper out and traced off the correct size.  I cut this out,  pinned it together at the seams, and tried on the paper version to see what I needed to do about the length. I decided it needed another 5 inches.

After some debate with myself about whether I shoud be adding the 5 inches directly to the bottom, or whether I should be adding it above the tie.   I opted for adding it to the bottom, as I guessed the tie should still sit on my waist.

I farted about adding 5 inches to the length, carefully measuring vertically at many points then joining them up using my recently acquired patternmaster curve, and trying to get the same shaped curve as the original.  And then I put the back and front together andmade sure that I'd ended up with the same shape and same positioning for both.  

Several hours later, I realised that I could and should have just included 5 inches from the top of the skirt pattern. Doh!

Then I read the wrapalong instructions carefully to make sure I was ready to lay out and cut.  Apparently I need some "knit stay tape".   I found several products which might be the equivalent of the US "Knit stay tape".  I ordered a reel of it, and I have to wait for that to arrive before I can carry on!

Maybe I'll make a oven tee shirt while I'm waiting....although that means I have to prewash some fabric....

Or maybe I'll just wait.


Followers