Since dear daughter and I could not settle on a halter maxi-dress pattern for her, and since her fabric did not arrive anyway, I made a shirt for me.
This fabric is again Hilco, but much thicker, with no burnout, and not as stretchy as the last shirt. It sewed together easily.
The pattern I made has different lengths marked on it, and different neck holes. Even the sleeves have different lengths. Almost made a ruffle to go on this one, but changed my mind at the last minute.
It even fit more closely than the extra stretchy one. After wearing it a couple of times, I realized that the stretchy shirt really needs to be worn over a tank top. This one does not.
One neat helper I found for sewing anything stretchy is Vlieseline Formband, or Vilene bias interfacing.
It's a bias-cut iron on interfacing that has a chain stitch going through it. You iron it to the stretchy edge, then turn it along the stitching to give you a beautiful curve that can be easily sewn. I imagine this will work as well for quilts as it does for clothing. Here's a video of the interfacing.
Just had to comment on this because it struck me as weird.
In Fayetteville, near Aby and Tracey, there is a struggle to keep out racists who seem to be trying to influence the soldiers at Fort Bragg. Neo-Nazis seem to be a real presence there.
Link is http://news.yahoo.com/u-army-battling-racists-within-own-ranks-050115179.html
Made this shirt yesterday in half-darkness. Certainly couldn't open the blinds too far, because the sun would beat down directly on the floor. Couldn't run too many lights, because electricity generates heat as well.
This jersey I found at Hilco (nice fabric outlet store for clothing and curtains, although their very small quantity of quilt fabric seems to be quite old, link is http://www.hilco.de/ look under Privatkunden).
It sewed up like a dream. I've always rather struggled with knits, but today I was determined to use the right tools, tension, etc. and develop this skill.
First I drafted a pattern from a shirt that fit nicely. Folded it in half, laid it on a large piece of paper, and traced the important elements. That made 2 pieces, a sleeve and a body. No need for collars, I'll add those details later.
On the body pattern piece I marked several options: at least 3 different lengths, and I marked the back piece and the front piece on the same pattern. Then I added 3 different neckline styles.
This finished shirt has the shortest length and the widest neckline. I think I'll add an even narrower neckline, maybe a collar or two as well. But I won't make any more changes until I've worn this shirt and washed it a few times - make sure it really works well for me.
The best thing about sewing this shirt is using the jersey. Woven fabric can be tugged a little to fit those little differences in cut, but jersey is so supple it can be stretched and smoothed to fit.
I used the Bernina overlock foot 2A and the basic overlock stitch. That is the same stitch that serger sewing machines use, but is on my domestic machine. There's a tiny little pin that the fabric goes underneath, and the overlock stitch really covers the edge of the fabric.
The neckband was easiest of all. I pieced some strips together, and sewed it on just like a quilt binding, only easier, because there were no corners and I could stretch the binding any direction I wanted.
The hems I finished with a stretchy decorative stitch.
Judy asked how this is done. There are two basic variants, and plenty more if you think about it a little.
First way, flip the backing over and sew it down.
Second way, flip it over and use a double-sided fusible to iron it down.
The last time I did this, I cut 3/4 inch wider on all sides than the top and ended up with a binding about 1/4 inch on a small quilt. This was with a very thin batting.
Here are some tutorials from other people on how to do this. None of these show the fusing, but really, it's just a case of folding it over and fusing it to the top instead of sewing it.
You can also do something similar to create a border.
So the borders are pretty well defined for my Ula BOM Farbkristalle. I digitized one of the stars and will embroider them for cornerstones. At the midpoint of each border I'll put a few strips of the contrasting fabrics. I like the way it will look, and uses up a number of the scraps which naturally occur with paper-pieced quilt blocks.
Made a rectangle from scraps. I'm putting it in a stash, so I can make a zipper bag quickly the next time I need one. Really enjoyed using my circle tool to quilt circles on the piece. Also used the backing-fabric-as-binding technique, and really like it. Am also in LOVE with the Clover Wonder clips. It felt so good to know that the binding was nicely the same width everywhere.
Practiced using the Sashiko stitch on my big machine. It's a little fiddly, and I don't have the energy to try to perfect it at the moment. I'll learn more about it later.
Also drafted a pattern for some shirts, based on an existing shirt that I love. Now to get used to sewing knits again. (no picture, wait til the shirts are there)
It starts out quite innocently - the building where our guild meets needs some potholders. I've got scraps.
Step 1: Strip piece freeform, then enjoy a little meandering.
Step 2: Square up and bind. Oops, the binding is a bit wonky. Oh well, they'll just get stolen one day anyway.
Step 3: Time to practice sewing the binding on by machine. Uh-oh, not very good at all. Definitely need to work on that skill.
Step 4: Oh. Need a loop. Hey, why not try a wider loop and see how it looks? Oh.My.Goodness. That's a real mess.
Step 5: What to do? Fix the loop? Nah, too much trouble. Throw them away? No way - they're perfectly functional. Decision: finish the other one and own the ugly.
(I still have my fingers crossed that they get stolen sooner than later.)
