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| Burda 06-2013-113 |
February has been kind of a mixed bag from a sewing perspective (and every other perspective, actually). On the one hand, I made some things I really like and with which I'm really pleased -- my
Paula Pleat skirt and
my "flowers or explosions?" dress are top of the list. On the other hand, I did an awful lot of other stuff that was a dead loss. The latest was a tiny project I decided to cut out for ridiculous reasons a couple of nights ago (more on this below), a princess seamed tee from Burda (06-2013-113 to be exact). It actually went surprisingly well initially. I cut a 44 straight from the pattern, even though I knew the princess seams would probably in the wrong place without at least a little tweaking for my bust size and shape. In fact, though they weren't quite right, they were close enough that I could have lived with it on a casual tee for around the house. However, I won't get the chance because for the third project in a row I had a problem with the neckline. It stretched so far out of shape when I was stitching down the binding that I could fit my shoulders through it. I'd like the blame the fabric -- it was a very soft, very very stretchy cotton tee shirt knit with basically zero recovery -- but three projects in a row means it is probably more likely to be my fault. :|
Some other positives though: even though I tripped, fell on my keyboard and ordered a box of fabric from Croft Mill in January, all my mad sewing in February, and in particular that last little 1m t-shirt project, means I am actually exactly back to where I started at the beginning of the year, hurray! My fabric fasting goal for March is to end up below that number, so I am into a net reduction of my stash. I do have some planned fabric purchasing in mind, but probably not until later in the spring when I need to start filling some spring/summer wardrobe gaps.
In the meantime, my plan for March is all about woven tops -- partly because I am fed up with knits, partly because it's time to embark on round 9490583 of Trying To Get Stuff To Fit. How much of this plan I get done is anyone's guess, especially with everything else going on right now (work drama, PhD drama, endless bloody health drama that just won't do the decent thing and stop). Still, I like to have my grand plans!
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| My exemplar blouse from M&S; McCall's 5522 |
The March PR competition is a Fitted Blouse competition aimed at different skill levels. To be honest, I don't see a lot of point in doing the competitions -- I entered a couple last year and found it mostly unrewarding. However, this just fits so perfectly in with what I want to do that I figure I might as well. Above, the photo on the left is a (terrible, so much for my better photography resolution) shot of my all-time favourite blouse. It's nothing special, it's just from M&S and it's years old. However, even though it's really never fit properly (too small at the bust even at my lowest weight, too short overall, sleeves too short) it's somehow still the most incredibly flattering shirt I've ever owned, mainly because of the way the front panels are set on the bias in this stripy fabric. Next to it, McCall's 5522, a near perfect match, except that the pattern has gathering not darts below the bust (which yuck, no). Assuming I can figure out how to change the gathering into darts, it could be a way to have an ACTUALLY perfect version of my all-time favourite shirt. I just need to figure out, you know, collars, cuffs, buttonholes, fitting, turning gathering into darts, et cetera in the next four weeks (minus the week I am spending at home in the UK). Expect a lot of shirt-making blithering, at any rate, along with probably a random assortment of others things that grab me as the month goes along.
You have my sympathies. It totally sucks when you make multiple wadders. I have a hint for you that will fall into the category of good information, too late, but somewhere, might be in The Ultimate T-shirt Craftsy course, it is recommended to stay stitch the neckline of knit tops too, It makes a major difference. When you can face sewing with knits again. give it a try,
ReplyDeleteI thought about that and googled stay stitching knits after I wrecked my tee, but a lot of people seemed to be saying that if it's a stretchy fabric, the stay stitching process itself stretches it out. But I suppose at least then you've got a thread in the fabric that you can pull on to gather up any stretched out bits. I am thinking I might try fusible bias tape, which I also hear good things about. Or maybe only sew with the kind of knits I know I can work relatively successfully. :|
DeleteI sew with a ton of knits, and *I* will still stretch out knits that lycra or have poor recovery. At this point, I avoid buying those types of knits, if possible, and when I do end up with a knit like that, it becomes earmarked for a muslin or pajama top.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know how you feel about the PatternReview contests. I'll enter one every few years and then be reminded why I don't enter them very often. Unfortunately, I feel like those of us with harder-to-fit figures are at an instant disadvantage with these, especially when something is a "fitted blouse" contest.
That first sentence was supposed to say "knits that lack lycra or have poor recovery". :P
DeleteYeah, luckily I only have some t-shirt knits that are kind of PJ type fabric anyway, plus a couple of others that I will have to figure out a way to use without destroying them I guess.
DeleteI totally agree with you that some of the contests are kind of uneven, and frankly I'm way too A-type normally to make a big effort to enter a competition I have zero chance of winning. I may or may not actually enter my blouse in the contest, but I might as well work on it since it's something I really want to do anyway.