Here it is and here is a link to the album showing the making.
Valentine oven mitt album
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
The Oven Mitt for Valentines Day
I made an oven mitt. This is for a local competition in our own SWRI meeting tonight. As a first try it's fine and I will next make one for the Federation show in May, removing some of the flaws.
Here it is and here is a link to the album showing the making.
Valentine oven mitt album
Here it is and here is a link to the album showing the making.
Valentine oven mitt album
Sunday, 10 February 2013
The Western Shirt
THE IDEA
John wanted a Western shirt. My father had given him a bola tie, and he now wanted a western shirt. Now, I haven't be shopping to a lot of places in Scotland, but I had not seen any western style shirts in any shop windows. And I was just as certain that we weren't going to find one that fit John. So I showed him a few patterns on the internet and he chose. It was still a few months before I managed to get the fabric, but I thought it would be a nice birthday surprise for him in December.
THE START
Started in September 2011 The pictures will show a few details in this sewing project. It's fitted to John and isn't a real western yoked shirt, but it is in a heavy denim so it's more of a jacket than a shirt. I altered several things on the pattern (size XL) prior to cutting.
In assembling, I also added a overlapping tab for the cuff closure. This solved two problems: the cuff was too narrow for his wrists, but also the cuff fabric, being a heavy denim with a heavy interfacing, would have been far too bulky if the cuff had it's original design of the overlapped cuff with a button.
The collar was also very difficult at the neck closure. He wanted snaps, and found large enough pearl snaps for the front placket, but the cuff and collar were to wadded up with seem allowance and interfacing. I might have tried to trim the seam allowance more and trimmed the interfacing so it wasn't right up to the edges, but I'm not sure how that would stand on the assembled shirt. I thought it might look a bit bedraggled.
THE FINAL PRODUCT
Today: 10 February, 2013. Today it is finished. The shirt-tails are hemmed with a seam binding because the fabric was too heavy for John to wear as a shirt (his intention) and tuck the tails into his trousers. I used a narrow red seam binding - 1/2" single fold, but the heavy denim leaves it as a narrow half-inch. It looks good out, because the red piping following the yoke is mimicked the the red hem. So it has doubled it's purpose as a design detail.
The collar snap was the final piece. The cuffs and shirt pocket flaps have brass denim snaps, instead of the pearly ones, so he could get a little bigger size snap for the denseness of the layers used in those places. The same applied to the front collar closure, and I didn't think the even the large snap was going to work. The fit was great, but the thickness of the fabric was so bulky. However, after two tries, John got the snap to stay in and be secure.
THE DEBRIEF
I will try another. With cotton, and a western plaid. I would have liked to make a real yoke, but the denim (I do complain a lot about this fabric) was too much. I also should have used a flat fell seam throughout but ... same old story. I also might have used a red thread, it may have been too much, though, so it's done anyway. I also never made slopers or a muslin mock-up, that was really a mistake because I had to remake every single cutout of the pattern at least twice.
John wanted a Western shirt. My father had given him a bola tie, and he now wanted a western shirt. Now, I haven't be shopping to a lot of places in Scotland, but I had not seen any western style shirts in any shop windows. And I was just as certain that we weren't going to find one that fit John. So I showed him a few patterns on the internet and he chose. It was still a few months before I managed to get the fabric, but I thought it would be a nice birthday surprise for him in December.
THE START
Started in September 2011 The pictures will show a few details in this sewing project. It's fitted to John and isn't a real western yoked shirt, but it is in a heavy denim so it's more of a jacket than a shirt. I altered several things on the pattern (size XL) prior to cutting.
- The waist is 15.2cm longer
- The back is 3cm wider, as is the collar (this allows more room for his posture)
- The sleeves are 6cm longer
In assembling, I also added a overlapping tab for the cuff closure. This solved two problems: the cuff was too narrow for his wrists, but also the cuff fabric, being a heavy denim with a heavy interfacing, would have been far too bulky if the cuff had it's original design of the overlapped cuff with a button.
The collar was also very difficult at the neck closure. He wanted snaps, and found large enough pearl snaps for the front placket, but the cuff and collar were to wadded up with seem allowance and interfacing. I might have tried to trim the seam allowance more and trimmed the interfacing so it wasn't right up to the edges, but I'm not sure how that would stand on the assembled shirt. I thought it might look a bit bedraggled.
THE FINAL PRODUCT
Today: 10 February, 2013. Today it is finished. The shirt-tails are hemmed with a seam binding because the fabric was too heavy for John to wear as a shirt (his intention) and tuck the tails into his trousers. I used a narrow red seam binding - 1/2" single fold, but the heavy denim leaves it as a narrow half-inch. It looks good out, because the red piping following the yoke is mimicked the the red hem. So it has doubled it's purpose as a design detail.
The collar snap was the final piece. The cuffs and shirt pocket flaps have brass denim snaps, instead of the pearly ones, so he could get a little bigger size snap for the denseness of the layers used in those places. The same applied to the front collar closure, and I didn't think the even the large snap was going to work. The fit was great, but the thickness of the fabric was so bulky. However, after two tries, John got the snap to stay in and be secure.
THE DEBRIEF
I will try another. With cotton, and a western plaid. I would have liked to make a real yoke, but the denim (I do complain a lot about this fabric) was too much. I also should have used a flat fell seam throughout but ... same old story. I also might have used a red thread, it may have been too much, though, so it's done anyway. I also never made slopers or a muslin mock-up, that was really a mistake because I had to remake every single cutout of the pattern at least twice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)