Sunday 10 March 2019

#sewdowndewsbury March 2019


I visited Dewsbury to meet up with the Yorkshire Spoolettes on Wednesday 6 March. Ali had kindly organised another meetup - hashtag is #sewdowndewsbury on IG.

In the  morning I took a taxi from home to the station,  Interestingly the taxi driver was a textile graduate from Huddersfield who had left the business in 1994  as the only posts available were on the death of the previous incumbent. He was apparently a thread specialist. We had a bit of a chat about the need for succession planning in these industries.

I started writing this on the train coming back from #sewdowndewsbury. My return trip was easier than my journey there. A points failure in Newcastle meant our train was stuck in the station! A later train was able to to enter and leave by a different route via a through platform - we were eventually transferred across to it. It was a faster train but delayed because of the points failure as some trains were out of place and the passenger transfer and they had to add an extra intermediate stop to the journey, I just missed my connection to Dewsbury in Leeds but my later connection was faster so I arrived only about 30 mins later than I'd planned. By this time I was wishing I had taken the car - but I gather there were problems on the A1 too. Honestly, though, it wasn’t bad and I prefer the train to the car. I wasn't the last to arrive and many had arrived just shortly before me.

My friend Margaret @thecraftycreek had looked out for me in Leeds as she thought I was due to be on the same train.

We all met in Wetherspoons. Kent and new faces. Organised as previously by Ali @akathimberlina. Everyone was still there drinking coffee and chatting. Ali gathered the fabric and patterns for the swap. I took a couple of patterns with me but no fabric as I didn’t want to be left with it or carry it all over. The first time I was at one of these meets the amount of fabric and number of patterns left over was mind boggling so we were all asked to be much more cautious with one or two pieces at the most.

I had two (three?) purchases in mind - peachskin fabric, a slightly beefier striped fabric and ribbing for it. The peachskin fabric is to replace the sandwashed silk in the silk dresses I’ve made for Helen - or rather to see if it would work as I didn’t like the last lot of sandwashed silk at all. The striped fabric is to make a top for #sew50visible though if stretch fabric it would also work for the GBSB sewalong provided I get on with it!

Margaret and I paired up. We didn’t want to be moving around in a big group.

Our first stop was Fabworks. I asked about peachskin fabric but of course that is a finish and not a type of fabric. They didn’t have anything suitable although occasionally they do get fabric with a peachskin finish. I found an organic cotton knit that I loved - lilac striped. The stripe is VERY narrow and so will be difficult to match. There was toning ribbing fabric, wide not ribbing size pieces, which I also bought. There was probably just enough on the roll to make another top.  The organic cotton was reduced by 35% so was very affordable. Two down.

We then moved to Lucky Fabrics. They did have some peachskin fabric but not in a colour that Helen would like so I didn't buy. There was a shade I liked for me but not for anything I wanted to make in the near future. I’m trying to think much more carefully about purchases! I was going to walk away but bought a navy and white striped knit with a wider stripe (easier to match and I liked it anyway) and a floral fabric with a lovely handle in my lighter colours. Both destined for specific makes.



We then went to The Cloth Quarter (previously known as £1 a Yard Fabrics) but didn't buy anything. We had a nice chat with the ladies there and learned that there is a textile college planned for that area. It's running over timetable. Those who live closer to Dewsbury might in the future have access to some interesting classes. The area is pretty rundown as I believe I’ve mentioned in a previous post but there are planned major upgrades to the shop fronts. This shop will apparently be one of the last to be done. The planned college should certainly help.

The market seems to be thriving. I say that because one of our local markets - in Chester le Street - is shrinking dramatically and now Immanuel Fabrics (Burnley) who have gone there on Fridays for years  are stopping - although there is still a market and there is still a space for them, they would have to put up their own stalls which just isn’t possible given the volume of fabric they bring. They will be going on that day to South Shields market instead; an additional day as they already go there on a Saturday. I was at the Chester le Street market a couple of weeks ago and was saddened to see just how run down it is and completely missed seeing the fabric stall. I went to South Shields market the following week to catch them (there is only one fabric vendor, though they have several stalls), when I learned of their plans. Probably only a quarter of the market space was used in South Shields - even a couple of years ago, it was full. Locals put it down to Amazon. However, in Dewsbury, the market seemed full and there were several fabric stalls

In the market I bought 4 cones of overlocker thread in a shade to match the cardigan I was wearing and I succumbed to the geometric fabric Margaret bought having turned my back on a pretty floral, also in my lighter colours. Interestingly, the prices for fabric in the market were higher than I see in our area. I got a few fabrics in a particularly good quality cotton range in South Shields for £2/m that I saw in Fabworks today for £6/m. Our market prices tend to be £2/m whereas in Dewsbury they were £4+/m. I’d like the extra choice though!


We were hungry by this time. We were due to meet up in the Creative Craft Centre with its new cafe for a bite to eat and the pattern and fabric swap a bit later but we decided to go a bit earlier to see if there was any ‘proper’ food rather than just coffee and cakes. We ordered soup and sandwiches and were glad we were early as our numbers (varying at times but up to 15, I think) overwhelmed the tiny cafe and service was extremely slow.

I hadn’t previously visited this centre. Previously it was around the corner from its current position, and I passed the old shop on my way from the station to Wetherspoons and found a dark and derelict building, not realising it had moved 18 months ago.  I hadn't been in previously because I thought it was largely a yarn shop. They now appear to do a range of classes and groups and sell Simplicity patterns, though not fabric. They still primarily deal in yarn though as far as I could see.

Others arrived and we had nice introduction to those we didn’t know and plenty of chat. No-one was really bothered about the slow service though a couple had to leave early for other appointments so couldn’t wait to be fed. We swapped IG details with others who didn’t already have them. Jen taught us (the older dinosaurs!) how to get details from someone else really quickly, not something I was aware of before. We heard about her terrific new creative space - TeesCreative in Middlesbrough, which sounds well worth going to. Accommodation is available for space users - so a weekend course, as they did recently, making Ginger jeans, becomes very possible. Middlesbrough is not that far really - easily commutable, especially at the weekend when there is less rush hour traffic, but a nice place to stay if there are a few of you. Up to 6 of you. They do dressmaking, quilting, candlemaking. The space is available for hire.

By the time we left a few others had gone but we were far from last in going. I took one pattern from the swap but no fabric.


My journey home was uneventful. I walked through my door just 2 hours after leaving the Creative Craft Centre. I did take a taxi from the station as it was raining heavily. Another interesting taxi driver which makes the 15 minute ride fly by!


Monday 4 March 2019

Cashmerette Concord V neckline alteration


Cashmerette Concord V neckline
 I took my Cashmerette Concord tee tunic with V neckline to class a few weeks ago as I just couldn’t wear the top - the neckline was just so loose and baggy, due to me having used too long a band length. I took apart, tried to redo - but it was no better. I decided that if I could find the fabric, I would re-cut the band to the length I measured after pinning it appropriately -  a lot shorter than it was originally. I also planned to cut the band slightly wider as I find the neckline too low and too wide, despite having raised it. However, after lots of searching I couldn’t find the fabric. I think I may have given the rest away when I thought I had finished the top. I now give fabric to Chris for her pouffe (stuffing) but at that time I was destashing scraps elsewhere so there is no option to retrieve. The end result was that I HAD  to make this band work somehow!
 
This time, I uses a zigzag stitch around the neckline -
first time, over the overlocking, I could only get a straight stitch to work

Each term in class, we choose some goals. My goal this term should have been armhole and neckline finishes! I’ve had so many problems with them...

I managed to get the original band, now shortened by around 4”, to work on the Cashmerette tee.

The most worrying part was the point of the V, which had extended - that is, the snipping appeared to be longer and the fabric was wider at that point. However, I stay stitched to the new point. Then, using the length I had chosen from the previous attempt, I stitched the two ends of the band together as per Cashmerette’s instructions. I marked off quarters on that and on the neckline. The band was narrower in some places where the previous overlocking had cut some off, so I had to be careful to pin accurately - at least as well as I could.

I panicked that I had got it completely wrong, as my band seemed MUCH too short, until I realised that by machine basting the two layers of the band together at the seam edges, I had stopped it stretching. After I removed that stitching , all was well. (my original band was hand basted, and while it could stretch more than this machine basted one, perhaps that contributed to the band being far too long)

Then I chose to follow a particular stripe while I was sewing, using a very narrow zigzag stitch.I didn’t  get my wish to make the band wider as that just wasn't possible using the original band  - but at least it’s not too much narrower!

As the seam at the back, that is between the band and the body of the tee, is much narrower than previously as the fabric had previously been trimmed and overlocked, I chose not to overlock it this time. I then top stitched around the neckline using a wide zigzag stitch in pale blue, as I did on sleeves and hemline. Clearly, a coverstitch machine would have given a much nicer and more professional finish - but I don’t have one.

It’s finished - at least as much as I’m ever going to do on it. I still find it too low for my liking so I may choose to wear a scarf or a big necklace with it! At least it seems to lie better. Only time will tell, of course.

The finished neckline. It is far from perfect but is hopefully now wearable



Guess What Followed Me Home!


Changes to Blackwood Cardigan (tester version)

I previously blogged about my test Blackwood cardigan, which I love - and which fits so much better than the original. I now have the modified pattern - modified after tester feedback but I may stick to the tester version (that way I don’t have to stick together another PDF pattern!)
Finished tank and Blackwood cardigan on Madame

However, I hadn’t finished the inside with overlocking as it was a test garment and I didn’t realise it would fit so well! I think I mentioned that the sleeve was a little tighter than I would like when worn over a sleeved garment. One of my sleeve seams came apart a bit - I’d used too large a stitch in it - I'd forgotten I had just machine basted to see if the width was okay. At the time, I thought it was.  I took the opportunity of the small separation in the sleeve to partly dismantle the cardigan and re-sew and overlock the raw edges - just looks so much nicer. I also took out the large stitching in the sleeves and re-sewed and overlocked with a slightly narrower seam allowance to give that touch of extra space. I didn’t touch the shoulders, however. That was a step too far.

Also, to properly overlock the front band, I thought I would have needed to take out all my top stitching and I decided that wasn’t necessary - so the band wasn’t going to be neatly overlocked to the cardigan. However - see later - my topstitching on the tank wasn’t going to match so I wondered about taking out the top stitching on the cardigan to take the opportunity to overlock the band. I decided against that!

I wore the cardigan and was very conscious of the unfinished inside, which was liable to be exposed if the bands folded back. So last night I ended up overlocking the raw edges as best I could with the top stitching still in place. Not ideal, but a big improvement.

The inside is now overlocked rather than having unfinished edges
Sneak preview of tank!


Tank for Blackwood cardigan

I had a little - not a lot - of fabric left over. I decided I would like to make a tank for underneath it. I looked at two possible patterns I had - Kwik Sew 3232 (bought primarily for the skorts though I love this outfit for golf)  and a Simplicity pattern (sorry, forget the number and can't lay my hand on pattern today) to see what would be better. With Lyn’s input, I chose the S rather than the KS.

The view I chose was sleeveless with a scoop neck. The armholes to be finished with facings and the bottom hem to be turned over.

The amount of fabric I had available really limited the length I could make the top in order to keep the grain in the same direction as the cardigan and the pattern horizontal. I found the back of the top was extremely wide - I folded out a 1” tuck on the pattern, so taking 2” out. I realised that I wouldn't have enough fabric to make the front if I went by the sizes on the envelope. However, I looked at the size of the cardigan, in the same fabric, and decided to go down 2 sizes and cut the seam allowance to ⅜” instead of ⅝”. I had enough fabric for this.

I cut out the top, back and front only and tried on for size. I thought it was fine. I had taken to class and the others thought it was too short, saying that I would feel really uncomfortable. As a result, I accepted the advice and made a band for the top to match the bottom edge of the Blackwood cardigan - extending the length of the top by around 2.5 inches. I didn’t, unfortunately, have the cardigan with me that day - turned out the top was now far too long for the cardigan! I also found it heavy and bulky with the additional double band so I decided to remove it.

After trying to remove the 4 thread overlocker stitch and getting a bit frustrated, I decided just to cut off the overlocking - much faster!! Now everyone felt that the top was the correct length for the cardigan - no band at all needed. It will just be turned and hemmed with a twin needle. I don’t have a coverstitch machine - David was going to buy me one but I didn’t think I’d get enough use out of it. Was I wrong? Perhaps - I’d certainly have liked it here. I started doing a lot of coverstitch machine research. I was tempted by Juki and BabyLock but that’s megabucks.

Anyway, I was really short of fabric as I had mentioned. This top should have had facings on armholes and neckline. I redrew the facings as the ones in the pattern were not the correct size after my alterations. I found the changes needed were going to be ore than the changes I had made, which surprised me. Then I found I didn’t have enough fabric to cut out facings without a lot of piecing. Of course, the obvious solution was bias strip facing. Lyn recommended that I use self fabric facing rather than commercial bias facing. The long band I had made for the bottom and no longer needed came into its own.

I failed rather spectacularly in stitching the bands and the hem. I didn’t have any more of the thread I used to top stitch the cardigan - the number was missing and I couldn’t trace more. I decided on dark grey topstitching for the tank, which will match with the design. I wondered if this was telling me I should take out the top stitching in the cardigan and redo with grey!

I’m getting ready to topstitch the bias facings on my tank but am just wondering how best to do it. Zigzag stitch? Twin needle? I’m not sure so at the moment I’m procrastinating by writing this! (Though I don’t know when I will post it!)

Fabric tunnelling

I previously posted on IG photos of the most dreadful tunnelling with a twin needle on my stretch fabric (I'm not sure how to repeat them here). I was - am - making a tank to go with my Blackwood cardigan and ‘just’ had to finish the hems and neckline.

Because of the difficulties I was having with tunnelling using a double needle, I decided to research how to improve it.

In summary:

  • I read lots of articles and watched YouTube 
  • I consulted my tutors
  • I asked my dealer, who telephoned Bernina head office for advice (2 mm needle; loosen bobbin tension a lot). Only 2.5 and 4 mm needles are available in stretch twin needles.
  • I tried all of the following (all of which various people and sites had recommended even though some are in direct opposition to the others). I tried them on their own and in combination.
  • I tried a 2.5 mm and a 4 mm twin stretch needle
  • I tried shorter and longer stitches
  • I tried loosening the top tension - and increasing it
  • I tried stabilizer
  • I reduced the bobbin tension
  • Some said there would always be tunnelling
  • I feel there were other things too but I’ve forgotten now!
  • Some were worse than others but all had tunnelling
  • The best finish was actually with a single needle doing a fancy stitch, but I didn’t feel it looked very professional and wasn’t carried through to the cardigan.

I don’t have samples - or rather I do and can’t remember which was which! None was satisfactory.

I bought a second bobbin case as I didn't want to start adjusting the one I had in case I had problems getting it back to where it was.

Before I changed the settings on my new bobbin case, I marked the starting point with permanent ink. I thought I had loosened it a lot - around one and a half full turns - and didn't see any difference. I decided to look at my original machine bobbin case to see how it looked in comparison - and found a crack in the spring where the screw gets loosened/tightened. I was most concerned about this - and wondered whether this was the cause of all the buttonhole problems I’ve been having. I had found that even on free areas where there should be no problem with the buttonhole, the thread would start stitching all in one place and the foot would not move. Very difficult to unpick!

A trip to my dealer was called for. He’s relatively local but transport and parking costs are such that I had asked for the previous items to be posted to me as that worked out cheaper (another reason was to avoid seeing coverstitch machines!!)

I had, therefore, two reasons for visiting
  1. The crack in the spring of my bobbin case and
  2. Advice re twin needle sewing in order to avoid tunnelling 
  3. Look at coverstitch machines (yes, I know that’s a third!!).

In order:
I took the offending item to my dealer who agreed the crack was a problem and could possibly be part of the reason I've been having so many problems with buttonholes. He replaced it for me from another case he had available as this is classified as a consumable item and not replaceable under warranty as he found when he was trying to get a replacement under warranty  - my machine has a 7 year warranty.

I didn’t take my machine with me - the Bernina 750 QE just isn’t one you carry around unless you really have to!  At this stage, I’m not sure whether the bobbin tension is okay for normal use as I’ve still to try that. 

I assumed that there would be a machine in the shop on which he could demonstrate the twin needle sewing (I had taken my fabric, twin needle etc). However, as mentioned before, he phoned head office for advice and loosened my spare bobbin case a lot more than I had. I have yet to try that.

Coverstitch machine

My dealers (a family business now with two brothers) had previously recommended the Janome CoverPro 2000cpx; they said it was an easy recommendation and an easy choice. I have 3 friends who advised against Janome; 2 of them have BabyLocks, the other has a Juki but none live near me (one in Canada and two on the south coast). They were recommending that I get a Juki as the BabyLock, although great, is rather pricey, to say the least. I trust their views.  My dealer actually sells all of the brands I was looking at - Juki, BabyLock, Brother and Janome but not all are kept in stock or are available for testing.

I couldn’t trace a Juki dealer with the coverstitch machine available for testing - apart from the dealer my southern friends used. I phoned lots of Juki dealers whom I could conceivably visit. Cost wasn't a key issue or certainly not for David though I was thinking of price per use to some extent. The Janome is just over a third of the price of a BabyLock, with the Juki sitting in between. I felt the Juki was where I wanted to aim - if, indeed, I went for one. I was unable to visit the Knitting and Stitching Show (end Feb/beg March) and can’t visit the Sewing for Pleasure Show (mid March - this weekend coming, in fact)

When I was in the shop, I asked about the Juki and BabyLock coverstitch machines. Of course I did!! John could get both machines in for me. Despite being a Juki dealer, he didn't tend to run with the Juki due to few sales of it. It's a small dealership. He was recommending the Juki over the BabyLock because of easier and faster access to accessories and parts. He said they had sold lots of the Janome machines and had not had any problems. He would have recommended that but felt I might not be happy with it having heard some reports about skipped stitches from my friends.

He took the Janome off the shelf and demonstrated it. He used my fabric and it hemmed it beautifully. The hem was very stretchy and I could not find fault with it. The machine sounded nice, threading was straightforward, it had a bigger throat space and a free arm. Most importantly, it was being recommended by a dealer I trust and who is local. I could've seen the others elsewhere but would not have wanted to buy from elsewhere so this isn't really fair. I most definitely wanted to buy locally. In the UK prices are the same everywhere so there is no advantage to going elsewhere based on price and certainly not when you consider transport and access to a local dealer.

David has wanted to buy me a coverstitch machine for a while and I have said no. I don’t sew that much stretch fabric, though it is increasing tbh. I thought of the space it would take up - of the cost per use - of the learning curve.

Update - I am now the proud owner of a coverstitch machine. I have a bit of a learning curve ahead of me. I'm not too sure how to adjust sewing order etc to take account of using a coverstitcher.

I bought the Janome. I am happy with it. I have also been in virtual contact with others who love theirs too. 

I had read only positive comments about the Juki and the BabyLock. It seemed that the Janome was a bit of a Marmite machine! I joined a Coverstitch FB group and watched a number of videos, some specifically for my machine and read articles of a slightly more technical nature on coverstitching.com (written by the main administrator of the Coverstitch group- Hilde). I discovered that many of the people who had said they were getting slipped stitches had not threaded their machine properly! This is of course crucial, as is using the correct needles, adjusting tensions for the fabric used etc. Now, I’m an instruction book reader - you guessed that, I’m sure! However, I do better having things demonstrated as I don’t always follow the little diagrams in the manuals. I had misthreaded my machine! I had missed an important part of the thread path of my looper. I thought I had threaded, but it hadn't caught - and it seems that some others asking questions or commenting on the videos (The Last Stitch) had done the same. It’s not the most obvious thing - and I found it difficult to get the thread to catch behind the hook, though now that I know how to do it, it should be easier (it was!). I made the previous samples and adjustments before I discovered this so they needed to be redone.

That pesky tank

My first try at hemming the tank with the coverstitcher wasn’t successful.  My hem, having had the overlocking cut off, was rather narrow in places such that some areas were a single layer of fabric and others double, with some borderline. That is, the hem was raggy with an uneven allowance. In coverstitching, the hem really needs to be even. There was a bit of tunnelling with the narrow coverstitch at those single fabric points, only (but see above  - I had misthreaded the machine) - I read about the technical reason for this and how to adjust the machine (altering the tension in the one needle off the fabric, though I didn't need to do that). On a properly turned hem, there would be no problem. On the positive side, I got to find out first hand how easy it is to remove the coverstitch, except at those places with the minor tunnelling.

The triple needle looked great but I decided that wasn’t what I wanted for this tank. Oh, I used a matching thread to the cardigan, a pinky cream - I bought 4 cones of this thread in Dewsbury Market on Wednesday past. The inside of the tank and the cardigan are overlocked in dark grey.

Narrow two needle coverstitch on neckline

Narrow two needle coverstitch on hemline

After a lot of thinking about how to do the hem on the tank, I decided that I wasn’t going to add a facing or a bias strip, which I had considered as this would maintain the length yet allow an even hem allowance. I decided to even up the hem even though that meant shortening it further. Overall it’s probably ½” shorter.

Tonight (Saturday) I successfully modified the hem fold and - yes - coverstitched the hem with the narrow two needle setting. No problems. I had tested tensions etc on spare fabric.

I unfolded the bias strips on the armholes and coverstitched them too.

Flushed with success, I coverstitched around the neckline, without unfolding the band. I'm not sure if this was sensible - but it worked!

Inside the neckline

This all went well.

I used the narrow two needle stitching throughout though realise that I could have used the wide needle two needle version. My machine does have three needles.

I tried on the tank and am afraid it’s not the most attractive item I have! David said it’s too baggy - and he’s right. I think this is partly because I’ve lost a stone in weight since I started making it! But only partly. It’s also a bit shapeless and boxy - I definitely need more waist shaping. Considering I started with two sizes smaller than recommended for my sizes AND took 2” out of the back, I find this surprising and certainly wouldn't recommend the pattern and won’t be making it again. However, worn with the cardigan, it’s fine. I won't be wearing it on its own.
Rather cropped and boxy for my liking#Not another loose thread in the photo - how come I don't see them in time?


I might have lost a stone but it sure ain't from my rear!!
The tank looks lopsided here but I think it's too wide at the shoulders and across the back despite my changes

So I have another twin set. I love them, as I’m sure you’ve realised by now! At least I love these ones. I'm putting this forward as my entry to the GBSB Sewalong - not because I think it's great but simply because it's finished, and in the correct timescale. Although I started previously, it has been finished today, in the week of the sewalong which is the important thing. It's finished and it's wearable. Another UFO off my books.

Another twin set

Noting else to say!

Back view of cardigan

I like the coverstitch machine too. I will get around to constructing something in the best way for optimum use of my overlocker and coverstitcher. I've pre-ordered a book on coverstitching Master the Coverstitch Machine: The complete coverstitch sewing guide which comes out on Monday 18 March - less now. It's written by Johanna Lundström,  who also authors the Last Stitch blog and videos. I'm hoping this will help me master the machine.








Saturday 2 March 2019

The ugly duckling turned into a beautiful swan... Well not quite!


This post follows on from my post about the hastily - too hastily - finished shirt for the GBSB sew-a-long.
I made view D but had problems with shoulder line, sleeve head and collar - they looked awful.
I have since removed sleeve tabs to make the shirt a cross between C and D

I fully intended to wear it as an over-shirt and everyone agreed that was most appropriate for the style. I realised however there was no way I was going to wear it because of the major wrinkles due to extremely poor fit around neckline and shoulders. I felt unattractive.

On Wednesday past  I asked Rory's advice - saying that I felt I needed to pull the front of the shirt up at the neck edge, on both sides and I explained that the collar had been too short for the amount of shirt to fit in it - or rather that there was too much shirt. She thought I was correct and the shoulder angle was a culprit but wanted to see the collar off. She thought the sleeves could perhaps be eased in and asked for the top of the sleeve to be released.

I spent the bulk of the time in our group unpicking the collar  (stitched, trimmed and topstitched) and the whole of both sleeves (edges overlocked but fortunately not cut down)- this was easier for me than fiddling with a little part. While unpicking, I took the opportunity to remove the sleeve tabs which I just don't like. I know that sleeve tabs are useful in holding sleeves up in an attractive way, or can be, attractive that is - and I like the look on others. I don’t like it on me.

Rory agreed that the neckline side of the front only of the shirt needed modified - pulled up and about 1.5 cms removed at the neck edge, tapering to nothing at the sleeve edge. She marked this.

She said there was 4 cm of excess in the sleeve head and suggested trimming the sleeve head down to see if that would work. Looking at it, she felt it was preferable to adjust there rather than at the underarm, another place she would normally adjust. She suggested where it should be removed and marked with a Frixion pen - which I unfortunately removed when I pressed the sleeve flat after taking out the lines of ease stitching! Oh well! One second it was there and the next - pouf! It was gone

On Thursday, in Lyn's group, I started to reconstruct. There is no doubt in my mind that it is harder to reconstruct a taken apart burrito yoke than it is to make it in the first place! Fortunately, I had access to the inside via the neckline, which I stay stitched again, the previous stitches having been cut away.

I felt like it was working with origami! I have quite a bit of difficulty with these kind of things but eventually worked it out and sewed the first seam on each side. That seam had easy access. I then really smoothed the remaining section of the three and marked just outside the previous stitching line to see where I needed to sew and how much fabric needed to be trimmed away. Quite a bit!! The stitching was done through the neckline - effectively I was turning this third section over the seamline of the first seam but rather than top stitching through all layers which would have worked, I suppose. I was turning to the inside through the neckline so I could stitch from there. It worked,

I stitched trimmed and pressed. The shoulder line was looking much better.
 
This is the right shoulder. Sleeve head looking nice.
Slight stretch lines where shoulder line meets collar - though not as bad as before!

Before


Sleeves next. Lyn helped me identify how much to trim away. I trimmed some then had to trim more. Probably as much as 1.5 cm from the top, tapering down to the sides of the sleeve head.

I had trimmed off all the markings during my original sewing and trimming.. Lyn helped me recreate these and said she wouldn't ease the whole sleeve head from notch to notch as I heard done previously to try to get all that excess sewn in. She showed me how to identify the top of the sleeve with notch and where to start and stop my ease stitching. There were no markings on the armhole either. The top of the sleeve would no longer be at the shoulder seam, but slightly off due to the changes made. My fabric didn't ease all that well.

I found that previously when I added lines of ease stitching I hadn't used a loose enough bobbin thread tension.  Eating was so much easier with the bobbin thread tension set at 2 (normal being 4).

Lyn kindly pinned in my sleeves (beautifully) and I sewed them in place, first basting to see if they were okay. I was extremely happy with the result. The difference was night and day from the previous stitching. Fortunately first time I realised my sleeve insertion was poor and I hadn't trimmed off any fabric when I overlocked so stitching was easier than it could have been. This time I overlocked, at home, trimming off appropriately.

A quick look at the collar suggested that I was perhaps going to be able to reuse it and not have that dreadful bunching of fabric. I quickly pinned it in place and confirmed that this was the case. Unfortunately, the collar and shirt and been trimmed rather more than the sleeves had been.

I made the assumption that the collar had not stretched unevenly and marked the centre. I also marked the centre of the shirt back neckline. Using the centre marks and the end points, I pinned in evenly. There was no excess of fabric in the shirt now - hurrah!! I didn’t have to clip the shirt but in retrospect think I should have perhaps done so at one point as there remains a slight tightness. I’m not sure if that was the solution. I had very limited scope for re-stitching as the earlier seam allowances had been trimmed.

Nevertheless, I was much happier with the shirt. The collar isn’t perfect, I’m sure, but is satisfactory for the purpose. The left shoulder line is nice but I'm less happy with the right shoulder line - this is the shoulder I most often have problems with. I think that following a shoulder injury, I have a bit of a forward shoulder more on that side than the other. When I try on RTW, it's always this right shoulder that gives me problems. I clearly have to learn how to fit this shoulder rather better than I have done. This alteration was a quick fix
 
Left shoulder line - nicer than right.
I was going to edge stitch the collar as I had done before but decided instead to slip stitch by hand (as per pattern instructions, as it happens!!). Last night (Friday) I did this while watching an old episode of father Brown.

I still remained set against additional buttons and holes on the band and collar as I definitely won’t be wearing this shirt closed. Though it sits better with a closure.
 
Not pressed or washed but you can see it's better although right shoulder still has problems
I need to take photos. I’m trying to decide whether to wash first to get rid of the marks I made with chalk and the marks to place the sleeve tabs. I might take a couple now - then at least it might get done! It also needs a good press but I'm afraid to press in some of the marks I made - unlike Frixion marks which disappear, others tend to become permanent. So I will do a couple of photos pre-wash and pre-press.
 
Not pressed or washed but you can see it's better although right shoulder still has problems

I feel that I have saved this shirt from one that would never but never get worn to one that has quite a useful life ahead of it. Additionally, I'm  sure that most of the problems I had were user error and not the pattern's fault. I won't make this particular style again but I do like shirts, so I'll chose a similar style but shorter and probably with a collar or a convertible collar so I can wear it open at the neck -I have learned that I really don't like shirts closed up to the neck.

I've been wearing the shirt while creating this post and trying to sort out my photo issue (see later) and it's comfy so will get worn.

Next time I will spend more time making toiles and trying to sort out my shoulder issue.

I'm having problems taking photos. My PC doesn't like my camera photos; although it can open them, there is tremendous barrel distortion. My camera software on the PC won't export in a form suitable for uploading here. I have Photoshop Elements but it won't open my Sony RAW files - perhaps a more updated version would - I have version 15. You can see some of the barrel distortion on the photos I have put here (my window and curtains look curved on left) though I cropped out the worst bits. I'll have to work out what to do as these are not satisfactory.

This was the shirt previously


How Do You Read Blogs?

It's a while since I've posted a blog,  lots of reasons. I'm thinking of starting again. However,  I used to read the blogs I fo...