Jacket Muslin
Well, here it is. I think Zillie's bra needs a bit more stuffing because this fits my bust better than hers and hers used to match mine better. Must've gotten squished during previous fitting sessions (hers, not mine!).
Good things:
1. It mostly fits and I think I like the style lines on my body. The jury is still out, though, until the fit is improved. I think I may need to lengthen the peplum just a bit since I like where it's hitting now and there's no hem sewn.
2. It goes around me and the center fronts meet.
3. The real sewing will be mostly easy (see note below on new instructions).
Bad things:
1. I did something seriously wacko with the sleeve and will investigate that within the hour. The sleeve on its own fit with me sliding it up my arm. The sleeve after being sewn in feels (and fits) like it's sewn in backwards (which could very well be!) and I notice the seams didn't land per the line drawing of the back. Definitely operator error on this one.
2. The lower section of the sleeve is also weird. It's flared, and the photo and line drawing are not. Possibly I sewed it upside down. Another thing to check, which I'll do by comparing those teeny-tiny little numbers on the pattern pieces (and which I probably should've done before sewing). This whole sleeve business is made harder with WOF's scant instructions and severe lack of illustration. I pulled out some better instructions last night and will go over those this morning. Another thing I should've done first.
3. There's still a little too much length between shoulder and waist, I think, but I can't tell for sure until the sleeve is out or corrected.
4. Upper pocket flaps. Not sure this is a good look on me. I'll decide after the fit is finessed.
5. Shoulders are too wide, but I was expecting this since I didn't narrow them yet.
Good thing this is only a muslin.
Odds & Ends
1. Lorna asked for the links for my book splurge: I bought from Abebooks.com, and Amazon.com, after using Google to search on a few authors/titles to get started. Abebooks is a middleman for other sellers, like Amazon's used booksellers, and had the most titles/best prices. I left plenty for you.
2. New cutting mat: I don't know the brand, it's not marked. I don't think it is Dritz because that would be printed on it somewhere, don't you think?
I do like the way it feels when I'm cutting but I still prefer the softness of self-healing mats. I'll see how it goes as I get used to this new one. I can see that this mat will get roughed up as it's used (the con of non-self-healing), but with a 40% off coupon and my extra 10% off ASG discount, I won't have a problem spending the $30-or-so to replace it yearly, if necessary. The size and color push it ahead of the self-heal mats so far, although my end-all, be-all would be a HUGE white, self-healing mat. For those of you who have a mat like this, do you use something to smooth out the cuts every now and then?
It's still not completely flat. Too bad they have to be shipped/stored rolled up tight in boxes. So I sprayed the table with temporary adhesive spray and stuck the mat down. Where there's a will, there's a way. ;-) Now that my mat covers the full table surface and is white like the tabletop, I don't think I'll need to take it off anytime soon. If I do, and the stickiness is a problem, I'll just wipe it off with rubbing alcohol, which is another sewing room "notion" BTW. I use it all the time to take Sharpie marks off my fingers and table.
In case you're wondering, I prefer the white color underneath when tracing anything, or taping computer patterns together. I always took my other mats off the table when doing those things.
3. Replacing the zipper in DS's pants ... yeah, I know I could've taken it to the cleaners and had them do it for a reasonable price. But, I wanted to see if I could and DS makes me feel happy with his response when I mend something of his. So, totally selfish project even if at first glance it didn't seem so. ;-)
4. Pincushions ... it's been fun seeing all of yours after my Old/New post. Keep the pics coming!
5. No shopping this morning. ;-)
Thanks for the link, Debbie! The only one I need is the Margolis Tailoring book ... I'll be shopping at Abe's. That is a new site for me.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear that I am not the only one that makes mistakes. My favorite is sewing the right side to the wrong one. After looking at your stash, I am wondering when you will be having a sale. There must be a few you will never want to use. I guess you use the "uglies" for muslins. The other day somebody mentioned that Fashion Fabrics does not ship to Canada. I checked and they wrote back to say they do. I don't know what the shipping charges would be, but it is worth a look. We all need more fabric.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
ReplyDeleteRegarding your new cutting mat. I've had a hard mat for about 10 years now and haven't felt the need to "smooth" it. When I first got it it was suggested that I not tighten the rotary cutter fully. That however, caused wobbly seams as I couldn't seem to control just how loose/tight it should be. I have a couple of small self healing mats too. But I think I like the hard one for big projects better. Not just for the size but it seems easier to work on.
I hope you learn to like yours as much as I do mine.
Pamela MI
I bought a Dritz (huge) sized mat at a garage sale for $5!! Women were literally following me around and waiting for me to set it down. No way!
ReplyDeleteI wondered about how to smooth it down. I asked DH about fine sandpaper and he checked it and said it really didn't need it.
Nancy's Notions or Clotilde each sell a "mat smoother" but my guess is it's sandpaper on a holder and too much money.
So....I have a *fuzzy* mat. But it's not fuzzy enough to bother me.
But then again, I'm not OCD like others I know of!!! :)