Uh-Oh!

September 5, 2025

Yes, even professionals make mistakes, and when they do, they are whoppers!  This week, I had two errors that were completely out of the norm for me.  

One was really simple and could have been prevented by stopping and continuing on the next day, and the other was something that hadn't happened in forever; in fact, I don't think it's ever happened.  

Thomas Pink Shirts are made in England and have for a long time been a standard in fine shirtmakers of England.  I had seen one in the 70s in Bergdorf Goodman's in New York.  Back in those days, metro cities had wonderful department stores:  I. Magnin in San Francisco, Bullock's in LA, Marshall Fields in Chicago, Saks in New York, Neiman's in Dallas, and Bergdorf's was really something special, and they sold Thomas Pink shirts.  
 

It all started with a white collar on a striped shirt, then Brooks Brother's and Ralph Lauren picked it up and went crazy, so Thomas Pink went one better - a pattern or some other print on the inside of the shirt that wouldn't show, till the gentleman took off his tied, and flipped up his cuffs, then it was party time.  I had seen some pretty wild versions at Bergdorf's and ever since have loved doing a ladies' shirt with something on the inside.

This time I did this paisley-esque on the inside, with a classic stripe on the outside.  The combo turned out very "Thomas Pink-esque," and was pleased with it, except....

When I was doing these buttonholes, I didn't see anything wrong, until I stood in front of the mirror, and thought maybe there's something wrong, and didn't know if I was having a stroke or what!

So, it's time to get out the measuring stick.  The first buttonholes are spaced correctly, and that's it.  The third is too far down, and the fourth is too close to the third.  I kept thinking all I had to do was raise the third and lower the fourth, but I had already cut the holes for the buttons.  So there really no way to correct this, except to replace it.  

Fortunately, I had a strip of fabric left, and the other fortunate thing is that the strip is 1¼" wide (that's 2 times 5/8ths), so that means I could cut off the old strip at about 5/8 (that was the edge of the buttonhole) and attach a new one (with a 5/8th seam allowance) and have enough fabric seam allowance under the whole strip to cover the full 1¼" wide placket.  

In this case I sewed the new placket with the wrong side of the shirt fabric to the right side of the placket, so that the placket would fold to the front (covering the seam allowance) and press nicely to copy the same look on the other side of the shirt (the button side).  This way, no one even knows that I replaced the placket - even me!

So, catastrophe once again averted, and everything is right with the world.  

Or so I thought.  

Cleaning is the worst thing you can do but we are taught that dry cleaning is probably the safest way to clean our clothes, no matter what the fabric content.  I'm not sure that's so anymore after my experience with my BRAND NEW Armani pants.

So I was fixing one of my fav recipes in my InstaPot (don't get me started on how much I love this thing), and everything was going great till I started chowing down, and poof, a grease spot on the pants.  

No matter I have some very good stuff to use on those types of things when I'm not sure what the fabric is.  Only this time....tragedy occurs.  

I usually use K2r that is a powdery substance and it just flakes right off, but this turned my fabric dark and it coagulated the fabric causing it to be stiff and...well... just pretty much ruined.  I tried soaking it in water with a little of my gentle soap, and no good.  

It was literally as if I had spilled a jar of clear nail polish on the fabric and let it dry.  Nothing was going to get that mistake out of my pants.  Check out my Instagram post for a video demonstration of how this looks.
 

Sometimes, you have to admit defeat and get on with your life.  Live and learn.  The K2r will be tested from now on, and I'm not sure I like using it that much.  Back to the stash to find another Armani-like fabric, and sure enough, found a beauty.  It's like a very subtle bird's eye and light as a feather.  Not as drapy as the other pants, but extremely light and makes up beautifully.  

On the left is the old pair of pants (now ruined), and on the right is the new pair.  It has just a bit more body, so I did a little more shaping on it.  I've also found another drapy fabric in my stash, and will take the old pants apart, make a pattern, then it's gone!  Then cut out the new fabric from this old pattern, and make another pair with the newly traced pattern from the old fav pants.  

The upshot is that because I sew, I can create almost the same look again without losing too much sleep over the whole fiasco.  With purchased pants, about all I could do was return them to the store and argue over getting a refund - I might get one, might not, but I definitely wouldn't rebuy another pair of pants.  

More than anything, I notice how many beautiful things I have in my stash, and going through them with the explicit intention of using something in the stash, is by no means settling for something of lesser quality.  For decades, I've been of the mind that I will use it later for something really special!  And the fun thing about reaching my age (and still having most of my wits) is that I not only deserve it, but if I don't use it now, I might not have any place to wear it except on Bingo night at the home.    Although I can't see myself doing that, I will most likely be causing trouble and creating some new concept for the rest of my life.  Asking questions like: "Why do we do it that way, when this way gives the same results, and takes so much less time?" or "Just because that's the way grandmother did it, does not make it unequivocally right!"  I will never stop spending 90% of my time trying to figure out an easier way to do things, which seems like a very reasonable pursuit.  

There's also an ease to this time of life, in that I'm not so much worried about garnering an excellent reputation (I already have that), or concerned that I won't have clients next week (I most likely will, it's whether or not I want to take them on that's the question, not if I will have any).  I recall older family members talking this way, and they were entirely comfortable with it.  

I can also remember a time when making mistakes was not only forbidden but also something that had to be avoided at all costs.  The time spent making the error, correcting it, and redoing it the correct way was not a good way to spend one's time.  Now, it's like, 'Okay, I did that wrong; let's see how we can fix this.'  I've learned that just about every mistake has at least one fix, if not several fixes, to make it right.  

Making mistakes is a part of the creative process.  It's a part as much as sketching out a design, thinking over the correct color, perusing through fabrics to get just the right look, and that we don't falter on all those design decisions, is a miracle.  In fact, making a minor or otherwise repairable mistake is really part of the process.  I've learned to be okay with that and to let it literally run off my shoulders, not carry it on my back for the rest of my life.  There's so much more to create rather than carrying one or two errors around to guilt me into never trying anything again.  

There are way too many things to create to be burdened by past mistakes.  That's not to forget them, just to let them hold their proper place in our sewing mind.

From last week, one short caveat that Susan reminded me of.  Whenever you're doing a placket in your sleeve, it's much easier and prettier to do this before setting the sleeve in, certainly before the underarm seam is sewn.  

Alas, if you don't do it then, it's not only much harder, but the placket needs to lie flat, and it's tough to get that placket flat when you're working with a sleeve sewn in, and especially when it's sewn up.  Of course, you can take it out and then take the sleeve off, and that will hopefully teach you not to do that again!  

So just do it the most efficient and easiest way - before you set the sleeve it!  

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)
 

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