I left yesterday morning at 7:30 and didn't get home until 1:00 in the afternoon. I took Aryck to work, Kyle for his blood test and then to school, met my friend for breakfast and then we went to Fabricland and the plant store. It was a long, and expensive, morning BUT... exciting. Sharon used to sew. In fact, at one time she was the manager of a fabric store but she hasn't sewn in years. I was teasing her that this exposure to fabric might suck her back in. It did. She bought leopard print flannel and a house coat pattern. Maybe... just maybe...
Last night, around 8:00, I finally pinned the adjusted t-shirt pattern to the fabric. It's a trial run to see if this version is better than the one I developed before. It reflects the discoveries I made with the sloper. The fabric is from my recent trip to visit my daughter. It was $1.00 a meter. Total cost, $1.50. No great loss but a gorgeous teal color if it works out. Perfect for a - hopefully - wearable muslin.
The pattern on top is the previous version of the t-shirt. With it, I took a 1" tuck through the armhole. There's a seam allowance at center back but even so, you can see that the back is too wide, the armhole needs more scooping and to be raised, and the shoulders should slope more. Interesting.
The green lines in this image represent a new tracing of the pattern - New Look 6735 - in a size fourteen. The green dotted line is the back seam allowance. The red dotted line is my muslin. Up at the shoulder, I've circled the back dart so I remember why that shoulder appears to be too long. I ended up cutting it this way and will ease the front to the back to allow for nicer shaping.
The front was intriguing. The method that Lynda teaches doesn't use a computer generated sloper for comparison. I could have followed her method but I wondered if there was a possibility of change that might mean less work. Her method would have me take out 1 1/2" between the armhole and waist to align the shoulder points. Then, I'd have to make a full bust adjustment. It seemed like I would take tissue out only to add it back so...
By matching up the waist, keeping center front aligned, slicing the traced pattern, and moving the top section down only to where the shoulder points matched, I've basically done the full bust adjustment. By tracing the armhole as is, I can now use the sloper sleeve cap as well. It's an experiment.
In both cases, the armhole was raised about 1", a difference of my body to the commercial pattern that I've come to expect. THAT was fabulous learning. Realizing that I was shorter through the armhole made sense of a lot of the fitting issues that I was having. In her book, Lynda suggests leaving the armhole alone. Obviously, that's not always possible if you need a petite adjustment. Nothing is set in stone. All the techniques we learn need to be adapted to our specific situation and as you learn more, you'll re-make previous decisions. That's just how it goes.
With this comparison method, there are always things to be aware of like the shoulder dart shown above. In this image below, I measured to see if the difference between the traced pattern and my sloper at the side seam is equal to the width of that waist dart. It is. From there, I worked to get a smooth transition from the underarm through the waist and hip and down to the hem where I widen considerably. That line can take work to smooth out. Now to sew the t-shirt and see how it looks.
It's raining again. I live in - or at least I used to live in - a semi-desert area so I'm not used to a lot of rain. This is weird and wet. It didn't prevent work on the patio yesterday. I hope it doesn't again today because it's looking fabulous. Although it's still dirt, you can see the improvement from my studio already. Howard and I have been discussing ways to transition along the slope that will be more attractive. Getting the slab in place first will help. We'll know the exact levels we're working with.
Earlier this year, I bought three large pots at Costco. We wanted them for along the far end of the porch to act as a wind break and to block the not so lovely view of our neighbour's chimney and junk. They store their garbage cans, recycling, and assorted stuff along that side of their house. Not pretty. These are much better. I'm not a gardener. I just decorate with flowers in the spring. These are a mix of trailing flowers, a geranium, a daisy, coleus, and something else I can't remember. Hopefully, it gets full and lush.
I need to go back to the plant store and get a base for this pot. It didn't come with one and this plastic tray is UGLY. So is the hydro meter. It's on my list of things to do to paint it the color of the siding and blend it into the house. I have three tomato plants left to pot. If it stops raining later today, I can do that.
More tomorrow about the fabric and patterns. I know I have only one choice for the Vogue/New Look combo but hopefully more for the others. With all the fabric I have - which is an embarrassing amount at this point - that's surprising. Perhaps as I dig, I'll find more.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - happy, lime green pots
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Personal Growth - Yesterday's Oprah was about re-connecting a family that had gotten so caught up in electronic gadgets, the mess that was their home, and their over busy schedule that they'd stopped being a unit and simply co-existed in the same space. That's a sad reality of our time.
Our family eats dinner together every day. I really enjoy that. Otherwise, I wish we were more connected. I often feel as if we come home, go to our spaces, and stare at individual boxes (sewing machines). In part, it's because we are all introverted and need that down time from our busy day however...
Peter Walsh (organizational expert and author of It's All Too Much) talked about the importance of our home nourishing us and being a place of peace and calm and re-energizing. I so agree with that. It's why raw edges wear on me. I can't relax. It's also why I'm a minimalist. Too much stuff truly is too much. I've reached that point with my fashion fabric. There's too much and it's not contained on the shelf as it used to be. It's spilling everywhere. While I'm looking for fabric for the dress, I'll be thinking through my options. I want my home - and definitely my studio - to nourish me.
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