Sunday, May 27, 2007

Slow Sunday Sewing



Not a whole lot of progress on the muslin for the Diana Mode top, but that's OK. A slow day feels very good.

So here's where I am — neckband attached to bodice front, neck facing to bodice back and shoulder seams together. After dinner, I'll tackle the sleeves.

One oddity while tracing the pattern was a surprise bust dart. Nowhere on the line drawing or in the photos did I see a bust dart. In my world, it's a teeny-tiny dart so for the muslin I'm just going to ease in the excess when I sew the sideseams. Another glitch was the back neck facing. The pattern piece is partially marked for what I thought was a facing to be created from that mark (and I still think it is). But now I'm not sure if drew it correctly or if I was supposed to add seam allowances at the back neck edges or whatEVER because it didn't fit on the neckline as I was expecting. (Normally, I'd eliminate such a facing altogether, but I think it will look good edgestitched and topstitched down with the same spacing as the front neckband.) I'm glad I'm doing the test sew because it lets me figure out these things as I go without worrying about wasting the good fabric. Another option is a crash course in sewing German but that isn't likely to happen.

As for fit, so far so good. I traced a 46/48 (that's the actual size, not an "in between" tracing) and I'm sewing it exactly as traced with no alterations so I can see how Diana Mode patterns are drafted compared to how I'm drafted. ;-) I can see that I will need to add at the hip for a different fabric but this cotton rib has more than enough stretch to compensate for this tester top. The bust looks pretty good too, but I'll reserve final judgment for when I put it on my actual body and not Zillie's. It does seem like this pattern is drafted for a cup size larger than B, and maybe even larger than a C. Does anyone more familiar with this line of patterns know?

(Hmmm. Two posts in a row completely about sewing and nary a mention of dogs or remodeling. Oh. Oops.)

4 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie, I have this issue at home and in Dutch, which I can read. Want me to have a look for a second opinion on that back facing? It's midnight now and DH is asleep or I'd scamper upstairs to the loft/sewing studio to peek. Good thing you're fickle as I completely passed over this top, in fact the VEST was interesting me, then I saw it was thoughtfully drafted with a lot of pieces and said NAH!

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  2. Looks great so far, Debbie. I like this style quite a bit, the wider facing is a nice change for a t-shirt.

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  3. Looking great so far!!

    PS - You put a big smile on my face when you post pictures of your dogs; they are adorable and great companions in life!

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  4. Good morning Debbie and other passionate sewists. I will introduce myself and stop lurking, cause I'm hooked on Debbie and her doggers, so I'm always checkin' in. I'm a loooonnnng time sewist, consider myself expert, have a full time government job so not nearly enough sewing time. Have just drafted Kenneth King's pant draft and am perfecting the fit. Not going too well! Am itching to actually sew something today, but have too many choices! I guess buying 5 patterns at once will do that. I'm in Victoria, British Columbia by the way, and will be here often.
    Debbie, you have inspired me in many sewing ways. I finally padded out my Cozette to look like my now body and also to find KK draft CD books.
    Thanks Debbie, I'll be around.
    Laceflower

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Thank you for each and every comment. I appreciate them all, but I have to be honest and let you know that I'm usually bad about answering questions. I hope you understand that there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

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