Basting Tape

Knitting went really well yesterday. In the morning, I did several inches on the fronts of the little sweater. I'm knitting them at the same time. In the evening, I ribbed and ribbed and ribbed the cuffs of the socks and still have quite a bit of yarn left on the balls. I'll try them on today and see how much further I want to continue. They're looking great so far.

Last year, I knit a sweater out of Rumor yarn and a little girl's coat out of Stampata. Both are slightly thicker yarns than the sock yarn I'm using now but would work for cozy, curl up socks. I have enough left over bits to make a pair from each - I think. I'm seeing that yarn has "scraps" just like sewing does. It'll become a challenge trying to figure out what to do with them. One friend makes children's hats. Hmm....

In the afternoon, I worked on the skirt. Today, I'll sew the side seams together which is a lot further along than I thought I would get, probably because it's a pretty basic skirt. Below is the center front seam before stitching it to the yoke. The seam was stitched, set, and pressed open, the edges finished , and any thread ends trimmed away. It's neat, flat, accurate and ready for the next step.




IMHO - you will have a much better end product if you learn to work neatly in a step by step progression. I first learned this way of working with fashion sewing and then took it forward into quilting and textile art. Now, I'm using it in knitting. It's an attitude aimed at success because a habit of working neatly leads to producing a better product in part because of the desire to do so and in part because of the attention to detail.

In their book Pants For Real People, Palmer/Pletsch shows several different ways to insert a zipper using basting tape. When I took the pant workshop in Portland last year, this was one of the "worth every penny" tips that I brought home with me. The tape in the pictures below has to be removed. You can also buy a wash-a-way tape. Both are on the fourth line on this page at A Great Notion.

I used a lapped zipper. I stitched the seam, pressed it flat, removed the basting thread to open it back up again, and shifted the one side by 1/8". Above, I've placed the basting tape along the right hand side of the zipper. It has a paper coating that is removed leaving the shiny tape you see in the image below.

The zipper is then stuck to the fabric in the correct formation. Below it is under the edge of the lip. I then stitched right next to the zipper teeth using a zipper foot. The tape kept the fabric and zipper from moving around without the interference of pins or the necessity of basting. Works like wonderful.

For the top layer, the tape is placed along the edge of the fabric which is then folded back into place. No pins are necessary and I could easily match up the line of the yoke. I then used 1/2" Scotch tape to mark the stitching line on the top of the zipper. I took a picture of that for you however, you can't see any of the details with the lines of the fabric. Trust me - if you've been frustrated by zippers, get the tape and the book. It's well worth it for just that tip alone and there are many more included.

This morning, I'm off to the optometrist. My eyes have been going rapidly downhill lately. I'm sure I'll be getting a new prescription which means a new prescription for my distance and my up close glasses as well as for my contacts and the magnifiers I wear over them to work or read. You can imagine how much "eye stuff" I take when I travel. It rivals my make-up kit - LOL.

I'm hoping we can resolve the contacts plus magnifiers question today for two reasons. I want to wear contacts more often because my eyes are one of my best features and I'm leaving next Friday for a week and I doubt that I'd have my new glasses by then so at least the contacts would have an up to date prescription which would - ideally - make it easier for me to see what I'm working on. Always good. I'll see what he says this morning.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - today is my friend Lori Jane's birthday. I'm thankful for her friendship. I call her my black & white friend. She will always tell me the truth. I appreciate that.