A Work In Progress

April 18, 2025

So, if you read last week's email, you know that I was going to have a new electrical plug installed for my iron only.  Well, I got the date wrong, and it's now this week.  No matter.  It will be done; however, there will be no report on the iron till next week.  

In the meantime, I had this burning idea in my head. Actually, I've had some great turquoise stripe and houndstooth sitting in the stash room, and I finally made my summer turquoise ponte pants.

And this turquoise knit combo had been driving me nuts - one was a black/white/turquoise houndstooth and the other was a dark turquoise/light turquoise stripe - both from Marcy Tilton, which I suspect was from their days when they would do wild combos, which I loved.  (Wish they would do it again!)

So I started with this, and ended up with this.

So we have some problems because this is the sketch I had done.  

The first mistake is that I didn't have this sketch close when I was drawing this out from my core knit top.  It fits, but it's just not quite right.  

Here's the problems:

• Whoa - those shoulders are way off the mark.  This is probably due to several things, but going to have to take those shoulders up.
• The next is what happens below the shoulders, that hopefully the shoulders will fix - actually two things:  1.) the drape (and it's not a good drape) of excess fabric under the arms (because the sleeve is off the shoulders) and 2.) the lack of any sort of silhouette which makes me look like I've gained 10 pounds.  
• The design problem is the cut-out piece on the side doesn't work at all.  This could be as much a problem of the poorly hanging shoulders, and might be fixed by lifting that shoulder line so that it's hanging correctly.  But could also be simply not enough fabric in front like the sketch.  

This last problem is probably the hardest to solve, because I didn't have that much fabric to start with of the stripe, and I probably wouldn't have had enough to cut these any wider than what they are.  

The one success is the cuffs on the sleeves, which look great.

And speaking of the sleeves, they need to come in - they look like long, dragging things, not sleeves.  

This is the "new shoulder" core pattern, so the shoulder dragging this much off the shoulder is confusing.  I'll fix this one garment, but I need to figure out how to cut these loser jersey knits and not have this problem.  I always insert a piece of stay tape on the shoulder, and that would solve this problem, but I already have stay tape there.  That means the back neck is stretching out, so I have to figure out if I can put stay tape there and still have enough stretch to get over my head, or another solution.  

Finally, my design looks great.  I do not know what I was thinking, having to match all those tiny stripes.  I guess I thought I was some executing seamstress supreme or something.  But I did use an interesting technique to get these matched.  

I have this cool light box and with the light over my working area out, I can see right through this fabric and match it perfectly, well as perfectly as I want to.  For this project, it doesn't have to be exact.  

Actually, fixing this isn't going to be that difficult. And I'm looking forward to tweaking all the problems on this top.  

What will be hard is that I have to move my whole hanging thread box that Walt made for me, the ironing board, the iron(s), the chair, and unplug my computer and machines while the electricians do their magic. So, I won't be able to write on the computer or sew tomorrow.

Why is it that whenever you have the machine taken away (taken to the sewing machine spa or to be fixed), you have the time to sew, the project to sew, and the mood to sew?  This is a phenomenon common to all sewists.  So I'll work in the garden tomorrow to keep from going batty, but I get to sew all day Friday!!! 

Ooooooooooooooooooo!  AND with a new plug for my iron.

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

The Path of a Fashion Trend

Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.  Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...

The Style of the Very Wealthy

It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as there is a group of that wants to look....

WOW!

This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...

NOTE:  There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky.  I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else.  If you don't get anything from me, it's probably because the support@sewingartistry.com email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through.  In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.  

As a precaution, please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox.    I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.  

To view in browser along with past emails, click here.

We respect your email privacy.

Follow us!