Fast Fashion Summer Essentials: Floral Cowl Neck Tee

I love sewing this cowl neck tee shirt.  I've made it four or five times now. It's a quick sew and dependable. I also like the look of it with my rose embellished denim straight skirt - which photo'd a little dark here. The details of the skirt show up a little better in this post - actually the skirt looks blue in the other posting ! - but the dark color above is more true to life.

Sewing Summer Essentials - Singing the Blues Tee

My newly created Singing the Blues Tee Creation

I'll work for you.
I'll slave for you.
I'll be a begger, or a knave for you.
If that isn't love, it will have to do.
Until the real thing comes along!

Billie Holiday knew how to sing the blues! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday

 I'm continuing to work with the tee shirt pattern I drafted from the moulage I created in my French Pattern Drafting class. Who can't use another comfortable, pretty, feel good tee over the summer?

  

Sewing summer essentials keeps me from 

feeling blue,

 even when I find myself singing them.

Enchanted By Sewing Audio Podcast - Episode 32 - Parlez Vous French Pattern Drafting ? http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2015/05/ench-by-sew-32-parlez-vous-french.html 

My Damson Plum Private Eye Tee, was the first shirt I made from my tee pattern - http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/04/damson-plumm-private-eye-nibbled-that.html 

Damson Plumm Private Eye - Nibbled That Tee

Damson Plumm Private Eye is, as you might imagine, inspired by bounty hunter Stephanie Plum

Remember when I blogged about Lynda Maynard's French Pattern Drafting class starting to pay off? Yes, I am indeed mighty happy with this plum purple tee shirt I created from a pattern I drafted myself. It was based on nibbling away at  the moulage fitting pattern that came out of Lynda's class. I also really like the royal plum-purple rib knit that I used to make the tee. Can you believe I found this material in my fabric inventory? ( Fabric inventory sounds so much better than fabric stash.)

What did I learn while creating this tee? 1) Don't fit the front and back first and then add the sleeve. I thought this top fit so perfectly, after mocking up just the front and back, that I sewed over the basting stitches in the side seams and then went on to
a) Redraft the sleeve pattern- making it much narrower
b) Cut out the reduced size sleeve
c) Sew those nice narrow sleeves in.

Uh oh....Taking in those side seams would have been fine, if I'd wanted a sleeveless tee, but I didn't.

Hardy har har - you should have seen my arms looking like sausages, unable to move. And we all know how fun it is to pick stitches out of knit fabric!
2) So, good thing, I had already learned to  ... cut super wide seam allowances when I'm playing with new patterns I draft myself. Thank goodness I had made my seam allowances 1 and 1/4 inches wide. I wouldn't have had enough fabric to rework the underarm seams on my sleeves otherwise- because of course I'd redrafted the sleeve to be so much narrower, after I'd fitted the front and back together, taking in the side seam allowances by quite a lot (smaller than the original moulage indicated).
3) Even though I wasn't in the mood, I measured all the changes I made on this tee and prepped a complete new pattern, all ready to try out on another tee project. Because another thing I've learned is that I don't always remember what changes I made, and I can't always find the last garment I made from a pattern when I go to use it.

  ~ ~ ~

Damson Plum is, as you might imagine, inspired by bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Stephanie is younger than me, even funnier than me and has a grandmother who drives a hard-working gal crazy, but I still identify with her.

Damson Plumm Private Eye is inspired by bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

Way back when, I created a Damson Plumm Private Eye label for my home made plum jam (using my home grown damson plums). And now, thanks to my new pattern drafting skills, I've drafted the pattern for, and sewn, my own Damson Plum Private Eye tee shirt. I'm sure it's the plum-purple that Damson always wears, that helps her crack those tough cases.

Pattern Work:Parlez Vous Tee Shirt? French Pattern Drafting Class Begins to Pay Off

Moulage Pattern - a fitted tee, Sloper - looser fit

I have  created a moulage, sloper and sloper sleeve patterns in Lynda Maynards "The Art of French Pattern Drafting" class at Cañada College.

Now all my time and effort look like they are beginning to pay off. Using my moulage pattern, I've begun work on a  pattern for a fitted tee shirt. This tee will be no-dart. We've learned to do that by the 'nibble-away' process. Here is an example of a classmates moulage back being nibbled away. Had she used her sloper pattern the tee shirt would have included more wearing ease, and been a little bit looser. 

The red nibble-away lines show where the fish eye and shoulder dart take-up is being removed from the far edge. In the case of the fish eye dart, you can see that the take-up is removed from the side seam. This creates a pattern that reflects the shape of the curves that a dart, necessary in wovens but not in a knit fabric.

I'm looking forward to showing off my first tee test garment, hoping to have the basic construction (without neckline band) done in time for class this coming week. Yes, I already have plans for several more!

                                                                          

Fitted Red Tee in Time for Christmas, Valentines, and Any Day I want to feel cheerful (Vogue 8323)

I'm loving my "Princess Laurel" tee from Katherine Tilton's, Vogue 8323 so much that right after I made it up in floral velour, I repeated the deal in this Christmas'y/Valentine'ish light weight, red, interlock knit. This Katherine Tilton pattern, Vogue 8323, is a princess-seamed, very fitted, tee shirt.

There's more about my experiences sewing this tee in this month's December audio/podcast, Enchanted by Sewing - Festive Holiday Tees and Tea (#27)

Terminado! My Princess Laurel Tee

There's more about my experiences sewing this tee in this month's December audio/podcast, Enchanted by Sewing - Festive Holiday Tees and Tea (#27)

Hoping to get another photo where the center of the shirt 
doesn't pull up on me! It isn't really THAT fitted.
I've been wearing this princess seam tee quite a lot for a week (layered)

I call this my "Princess Laurel" tee because

1) It's named after myself

2) It has princess seams

3) When I was little, my older sister Trisha kept me entertained with stories about her flights to Treasure Land. Apparently she went there every night after I went to sleep. She had a magic plastic comb with genuine diamels that she used to transport herself! One day she brought me a pair of shoes decorated with sequins, that looked, oddly enough, like my old slippers that had gone missing! In Treasure Land, amazingly, there were two princess that looked exactly like us - Princess Laurel and Princess Trisha!

I was a true believer in Treasure Land, and begged her to take me along one night. She promised she would when I was a little older, but I think the comb was lost when we moved and I never got to go.

This floral velour tee shirt is named in honor of the royal garments that Princess Laurel once wore, 

I really like wearing this Katherine Tilton  Vogue 8323, princess-seamed, very fitted, tee shirt. I made this first version in a floral velour (I think that's what it is - the fabric was a freebie from donations made at school), that I think is probably mostly polyester with some spandex. I've been wearing the shirt over a pale pink turtleneck or a black turtleneck, as it's not very warm. It looks pretty without them though, and I look forward to getting a photo of those.

I embellished the shoulder seams with
pale rose glass beads and twists of fabric

I added some pink glass buttons and twists of fabric on the shoulder seams, for fun embellishments. Isn't it great sewing your own clothes and doing stuff like that? Impromptu embellishments like that are just one of many things that keeps me, enchanted by sewing!

The pattern work was harder than I thought - getting the fit lines to mirror my body. I've found that my dress form Conchita is pretty good for getting basic fit areas, but when it comes to absolutely fitted, nothing beats putting the garment on my own body and checking it out in the bathroom mirror (or with a buddy like the day Susan H came and she marked all over the inside for me). One thing I learned was, not to make the adjustments to the princess seams permanent before I added the sleeves! The sleeves pull the fabric back, over and all which ways. Baste, Baste, Baste!  Oh, I had some fun with Auntie Seamah Rippah and all the seams I thought were ready for regular stitching but really weren't!

I employing my lesson about basting while making another plain red version of this tee, which I look forward to blogging about. It's almost done. Of course being a different piece of knit - a kind of fluid interlock, the red knit had to be taken in a little more. And of course the self-fabric neckband had/has to be fit differently.

Getting the neckband on this floral version in right such that it didn't gap and wasn't too tight was a real challenge. I basted a lot with pins and by hand. I also laid it over my duct tape dummy (remember Helen?) to get a sense of how the neckline would fall on my actual body. Boy, no neckband is the same.

Also I think since this neckline mostly curves at the center, then shoots up almost straight, I think the trick is a slight stretch on the curvy center part, then less stretch as it goes up. 
Great tee. I have fabric for a few others that I hope to make soon, while the alterations and fit challenges are fresh in mind. Also I just love the way it looks on, so I want more!

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

My Early Pattern Work on V8323 http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/10/princess-seamed-tee-shirt-pattern-work.html

http://www.katherinetilton.com

Ench By Sew-027: Festive Holiday Tees and Teas - Our best holiday episode ever!

Crafternoon at Marilyn's House
We promised not to clean house when we get together, but we never agreed not to get out the pretty dishes!

Hey! 

The latest Enchanted by Sewing Podcast has been published!

Socializing at this time of year, sharing a cup of tea and a light meal, admiring something a friend has made, engaging together with a sewing project, and getting advice on it, that’s the kind of thing that keeps me . . . enchanted by sewing.

Our best holiday episode ever!

Of course, every year it's better than the last :-)

Listening Option I) You can listen to the show right on the web (while sewing perhaps?:-) by clicking on this link

http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/FINALcastFestiveTeaAndTeesdec2014.mp3

*****

~ OR ~

Listening Option II)  Click on this link to iTunes  to download this and other Enchanted by Sewing shows to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) free from iTunes 

( https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enchanted-by-sewing/id566370325)

The Enchanted by Sewing Podcast is, an extension of my regular sewing blog - Me Encanta Coser,  (http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com) which,  roughly translated means, Enchanted By Sewing 

My blog is written in English. The name celebrates the historical and modern use of the beautiful Spanish Language in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where I live. 

This show is created, produced and brought to you by Laurel Shimer. 

This month’s show  is  *Festive Holiday Tees and Tea*

1) Holiday Tees and More 

* Crafternoon - Finishing my beaded cap, started in Vancouver

http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/12/holiday-crafternoon-tea-finished-my.html

* Three Tees - Tee Shirts 

i. Rumpelstiltskin Cowl Neck Top (M6078 - tried and true pattern) http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/12/spinning-straw-into-gold-my.html

ii. Two versions of the Princess Laurel Tee V8323

FUTURE LINKS UNDER CONTSTRUCTION - When I blog them, I'll add them:-)

1. Floral velour (Test Garment - but I'm wearing it all the time!) http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/10/princess-seamed-tee-shirt-pattern-work.html

2. A plain Red version - still a little work to do finishing up the neckband. Perfect for Christmas and Valentines day, but it will see plenty of other use.

* Ivy –A new shirtdress from my tried-and-true M3623 pattern, Inspired by Mrs. Obama!

- http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/11/terminado-ivys-ready-for-holidays-raw.html

- Mrs. Obama’s Arms Inspire Shirt Dress Sewing http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/11/romancing-dress-mrs-obama-arms-inspire.html

- Fabric from a favorite local and online store – Exotic Silks/Thai Silks http://www.exoticsilks.com

- Wrap-up posting about my first shirt dress project, "Peaches and Cream" http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/09/terminado-completing-peaches-and.html

* Julia Morgan – Arts and Crafts movement architect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Morgan

YWCA Hostess House in Palo Alto, built in 1918 and later to become the site of the MacArthur Park Restaurant[17]

 

*Technicos – Green Sewing Gifts* Covered books and chou chous

Use up those beautiful remnants and scraps

FUTURE LINKS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - When I blog them, I'll add them:-)

I created a pattern for my fabric book cover from a paper bag first. 13 step tutorial http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Paper-Bag-Book-Cover

*Come on over for holiday tea and sewing* In the show, I share lighter holiday offerings, inspired by three sewing and tea parties I've gone to or been hostess at recently. I wish you could have come too!

a. To drink I'd offer Roibos tea with milk and  Easy Microwave No-Sugar Cocoa (you can have sugar if you want!) made with soy milk or non-fat milk 

  I like these cocoa powders (non-sweetened varieties) Cadbury, Schafen Bergen, Ghirardhelli, Trader Joes, Droste

b. Laurel's Holiday Lights Pumpkin Gingerbread 

http://simpleromantic.blogspot.com/2014/12/holiday-lights-laurels-pumpkin.html

c. Blueberry muffins (Whoops! Not the Mayo Clinic it's from the Harvard School of Public Health - chock full of blueberries!) 

I substitute white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose. Love the texture of the almond meal and the flavors of the orange zest and blueberry. Made them twice in short order. Very popular with my family.  

 http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/blueberry-muffins/

d. Persimmon oatmeal cookies - I didn't have the psyllium husks and substituted some applesauce for the persimmon when I ran short. They were great anyway!

 http://www.food.com/recipe/healthy-persimmon-cookies-recipe-322630

e. Laurel's London Loaf - A very light schoosh-of-oatmeal and lemon peel bread http://simpleromantic.blogspot.com/2010/08/for-anna-london-loaf.html

f. Harry Potter's Bath Buns, like Hagrid never made

http://hpcooking.blogspot.com/2012/07/bath-buns.html

I have the The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook  this Bath Bun recipe came from  (someone else has typed up on this page) and I made these buns for supper one night, along with a nice meaty beef stew. I used golden raisins. Many recipes in the book are heavy on the butter, but this much less so. Delicious, very holiday tasting with the caraway seeds.

g. Laurel's Dried fruit truffles

Quick Recipe Recap, For more description, listen in to the later part of this month's podcast

Food processor -  Take out all pits! 

- 12 dried apricots, 6 medjdool dates, 6 dried plums/prunes

- 2 full graham crackers, 2 t almond meal (optional)

- zest of one orange or lemon 

Pulse the food processor till all broken up

- drizzle in enough honey to get mixture to hold together (maybe 1 teaspoon?)

- Press plain cocoa powder (no sugar or fat added) through a sieve so that it's all a fine powder

- Roll mixture into a lot of little balls

- Roll balls in cocoa

- Store in your cutest tin!

A local very tasty cocoa

Cadbury Cocoa is sold in London
Haven't found it closer to home

Princess Seamed Tee Shirt (Pattern Work)

V8323

Last week I wrote about the pattern work I'm doing with the cowl neck knit/tee shirt pattern for the remainder of my black and white polka dot knit. At the same time, I'm working on altering this pattern for a princess-seamed tee shirt. I have two pieces of fabric I'll be using for this tee. One is a heathery gray, somewhat heavy cotton knit. The other is a print of roses in a kind of heavy velourish sort of fabric. The rose print was a freebie, so I'm less clear on it's history.

I'm hoping both tees will work well in our temperate fall and winter climate, in the San Francisco Bay Area - if we ever get any cooler weather that is! Right now the weather gods seem to think it's still summer - actually a warmer summer than we usually get. 

So far I've traced and dated the master pattern (view C) on drafting paper, leaving in more than enough seam allowances for altering. I'll probably use some commercial tee shirts for muslin/patter testing. I hope that, even though this is a knit, I can still get some idea with the help of my dress form Conchita, as to where shoulder and side seams need to go.

I believe that Marcy Tilton Thomas' sister Katherine Tilton, designed this pattern. Here's a newsletter where Marcy talks a little about the pattern http://www.marcytilton.com/index.php?cid=1050

Draping Holly: In Progress - Valentines Day Already!

Not too long ago, I posted about Holly, the tee shirt I quickly draped for the Holly-days.

For those who haven't yet been bitten by the draping bug, here's the way it feels for me, when I'm creating a work of fabric art. 

I had a lot of fun seeing how fast Holly went together, especially compared to Lucy. Lucy is a linen dress, my final project for draping class. I like her a lot, but she was quite a lot more involved than Holly.

In Lucy's case, I created a pattern I can reuse. Holly is a one-off. No other tee shirt will ever be quite like her! I draped the fabric directly on the form - just like the really fancy, schmansy couture customers get. Nobody else will ever have a tee just like Holly! :-)

With a change of necklace,
I'm already in a Valentines mood

So far I've worn Lucy once and Holly four times.  And, as you can see,  I've already swapped necklaces and turned her into the perfect Valentines tee. No, it's not too early!

Hummmmmmm. Yeah, both were worth the effort I put into them.

I can see that draping is another newly developing skill that's going to really keep me.....

Enchanted by Sewing!

~ ~ ~
Resources

Draping: But What is It?
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/11/draping-but-what-is-it-pattern-altering.html

Terminado! Draping Holly - http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/12/draping-holly-squeezing-in-holiday-shirt.html

Terminado! Draping Lucy - http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/12/draping-lucy-terminado-new-dress-and.html

Tee Time: Spidahhhh (Web).... Rose, I'm home again Rose!

Spidahhhh Web Rose, I'm home again Rose

Without a Sweetheart to My Name

Spidahhh Web Rose, how everyone knooooows,

 That I'm am

Hoping you're the same!

Sung to the tune of "Lyda Rose", of Music Man fame

  You know that song, don't you? 

Here's a great rendition on youTube 

I'm having a good time this evening, catching up on a few sewing journal photographs. I've been pretty busy sewing, and working on the October show for the Enchanted By Sewing Podcast * (not to mention school, work and domestic activities) that I'd gotten behind on displaying some of the pretty things I've created recently. 

It's a lot of fun getting a chance to show off. Personally, I never get tired of that.

I made this boxy tee from 100% cotton interlock knit. We all used the same Qwik Sew pattern, for our first project, in my Fashion 110 sewing at Cañada College. (Note the darts are not original to the pattern, but I wanted a little more shape in that zone.)  I usually sew more fitted tees and I wasn't in love with this tee, until I added the spider-web rose I learned about by watching a Hot Patterns youTube Video. Golly, they have a ton of great technique videos. Thanks Trudy and Jeremy!

It was lovely following through on one of my September goals (I'd mentioned wanting to try this embellishment out in the September Edition of the Enchanted By Sewing podcast), and even lovelier to find that the rose worked great. I've worn this tee quite a number of times since I finished it a few weeks back. 

Of course I've made rather a point of telling people about the embellishment whenever I get a chance. If I don't toot my own horn, who will?

Techniques: I followed Trudy's idea of the radius of 5 large stitches, weaving a rough strand of knit over and under around and around in a circle. However, though Trudy's roses seemed to work fine done loosely, and with (I believe she says) the big wheel of stitches left in place, I needed to do it a little differently. I think that is because I did a tighter, smaller rose. So, I hand stitched the rose (and it's tail - isn't that a darling addition?) in place - everywhere. 

Fabric Stability: Trudy did her spider web roses on the Hot Patterns Cabana tee shirt. I noticed that looked like it provided a kind of stable background for her roses. I got my rose-bearing-oomph from my deep hem. I cut it 3 inches deep (the original pattern has a 1 inch hem), and did 3 rows of stitching for a channel affect as well as some good body and stability.

* You can find this show by searching in the iTunes store using the phrase Enchanted By Sewing. I expect to finish up, and publish the second, October, episode, later this week. The show is monthly and garment themed. The September show was titled Tee Time. October will be Romancing the Dress.

My October Sewing Basket

Last month I posted the list of sewing I hoped to get done during September. I normally only keep this list on my iPhone, but it was fun sharing it.

Herein....

1) What I'm planning to sew in October

2) What I got done in September.

1) What I'm planning to sew in October

- Finish the basic much needed camisole I worked so hard on in September. See notes below.

- A new pair of pants, either light weight denim or beige twill - I've got 3 yards of each. I'll be using the same patterns I used for The Lady Wears Shorts, which I've got fitting pretty well. I'm taking a "Pants Construction" class at Cañada this month, and the project is due by the end of the month. Well, that will keep me on schedule!

- Trace, tissue fit and toile a Vogue blouse pattern. I'd like to say get it sewn too, but given time.... I'll be happy to just get going on this project.

- Start in on the next project for my main sewing class at Cañada - elastic waist linen pants

- I'd love to get at least one tee done, either one of my new Hot Patterns or another of the Stretch and Sew 333 tees I sewed for class in September, but that is a bit too much blue skying.

2) What I got done in September
I didn't get absolutely everything done, but - I'm happy!

My September goals included:

         - One pair of green shorts. Done!

          - A cloche style cap, like the one I now wear almost everyday (It needs break and a bath!) . Refer back to "Chewing a Bun with Tuppence" (an earlier posting)Done!

Please check out both shorts and cap in this earlier posting.


           - One test pair of unmentionable nether garments! Done! NO PHOTO, they aren't very cute, but I learned good basic techniques in my Sewing Lingerie  class.
          
 - A mostly sewn buttercup purse (See my "Do You Like Butter?" posting) Done!
I've really been enjoying carrying this purse for the last couple of weeks. Isn't it cute?

I also completed the first project for my sewing class at Cañada, a Kwik Sew #333 tee shirt. No photo yet, but I'll post it. Of course I spent a lot of time on it because I was working on technique - not my usual sew and go mode. I included an embellishment I'd been meaning to try. I'll post more about that shirt soon - hopefully with a photo.

          - A beige lingerie type camisole to go under a very pretty sheer, burnt-knit, dressy yellow tee shirt I finished recently. (No, I can't take a photo of me in it because it would only look appropriate in the kind of establishment I don't patronize! You probably drive by them too.) Believe me, Ineed a camisole under that tee. Still in progress....

Man alive... This camisole has been a lot more work than I expected. I was pushing hard to get it done this evening, but I made a study committment  for my independent study work (apps development) to always put a minimum chunk of work in every day, and I like to keep those promises to myself. I should have that camisole ready pretty durn soon. It's crucial for wearing under that sheer yellow tee I made a month or two back, and I plan to sew one or two more sheer tees out of a couple of pieces of stretch lace I bought from fabric.com. So I really need that girl done. I picked up a couple of techniques while taking the Lingerie class that came in handy. They included: neck edges for v-necks, the baby hem, and plaited straps out of spaghetti straps (see the Jan Bones Lingerie book). I also drafted the pattern for the camp using the Jan Bones book. It was my first experience drafting from scratch. The front worked pretty well, but I made some errors in the back. Fixing and accomodating those errors added a good chunk of time to the project.

More time was eaten up because I made the cami  out of beige 2-way stretch knit (swimwear/dancewear type stuff). The regular presser foot grabbed the fabric a lot. also I was using a ballpoint needle, which I thought meant knits, but I guess it didn't. Finally, I switched to a needle that actually said "stretch", switched my presser foot to my 'teflon foot' and things went much more smoothly. 

Pensamientos: The ubiquitos tee shirt, today's calico dress

The ubiquitos tee shirt plays much the same role in my closet, as the  calico dress did in my great-great grandmother's wardrobe.

Can't you just see those pioneer gals, my anglo-saxon foremothers,  donning their fresh new frocks and hopping into the buckboard with their husbands? They were headed off to the recently opened lands across the Alleghanies, to drive out my native-american foremothers and their husbands from the western territories. When the cultural clash was over, they settled into planting, sowing and reaping, clad in the latest fabrics. Those calico yard goods, so recently imported from India, were much more affordable and comfortable than the heavy-weight serges, woolens and linsey woolsey fabrics their mothers had worn. Why at this price, a girl could maybe have two or three dresses whereas Mama had needed to be content with one. The soft fabric was practical, but also moved in graceful, fluid folds that made it a pleasure to wear. They were so charming too! The bright colors and pretty designs of the frontier woman's favored dress, beat the old plain, severely colored fabrics all hollow.

I have a vision of my great-great-grandmother Lily with her brightly colored, patterned calico-er skirts tucked up in the waistband of her apron. She's out digging up the sod to plant 200 rows of vegetables she hopes to grow for winter canning, after which little task, she maybe has time to start in on the ironing, see to making dinner, and whitewash the hen coop. That's all before midday, of course. Her calico dresses are getting quite a workout.

Nowadays I don a tee shirt before I head out for my own work writing code and studying in class. My tees are practical too. They take me from school to a hike at Edgewood Nature Preserve, or on a bike ride to the grocery store. And I love to sew them up in pretty colors and fabric, and embellish them with unique designs, so that they're more than just a plain workday garment. Tees are affordable to sew too. For the cost + sewing labor of one buttoned shirt, I can create three tees.

All this thought about my favorite garment is setting my heart yearning to sew. Shore do hope I 'git to that sewing machine o'mine afore nightfall.

Tee Time Technique: Stayin’ Stable at the Shoulder

Having made a few tee shirts out of wiggly-jiggly-creeping-down-the-arm-over-time jersey-type knits, I was suspicious that I needed to learn more about stabilizing the shoulder seams. Here’s what I learned about that in class today.

Thanks Rhonda!

Technique

1)  Sew shoulder seams – front to back (maybe you like to sew them back to front, it’s your call :-)

2)  Cut a ¼ inch wide piece of fabric the length of the seam. IMPORTANT cut it the opposite direction from the stretch. If, say, the tee knit fabric stretches left to right (from selvedge to selvedge) then cut this piece top to bottom. As a matter of fact, the selvedge might be a great place, from which, to cut the strip.

3)  Sew this stabilizing strip right on top of the shoulder seam.

4)  Another good, supportive, idea is to topstitch on either side of the shoulder seam, either as the stole method of stabilizing or in addition to the stabilizing strip. 

Since knits don't ravel there's no need to finish the seam edges

Pensamientos: Machine Embroidering Tee Shirt Creations

My machine embroidery setup is not totally modern and up to date. I bought my Viking Iris new maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I had to buy the embroidery designs on cards, not as digital downloads. When I bought the machine I only had the bucks to buy one extra card. There was also one that came with the machine. A couple of years ago I thought I would break down and buy another card and, guess what? I found that Viking no longer sells the cards, because this machine is now considered to be out dated.

I managed to find a few cards on EBAY. The good thing is that I have enough cards now (5 I think) to provide me with enough designs to keep me happy for several years. It's still sad that a sewing machine goes out of style with the manufacturer so quickly. Maybe in 5 or 6 years I will buy a used machine for embroidery that uses digital downloads, probably a machine that is just coming out now. I wonder what technology will replace that and make it impossible to get designs?

I like having the machine embroidery capability and enjoy stitching out the designs and choosing colors, but I don't spend a ton of time doing it. Sewing time is part of my recreation time and most of my sewing recreation time goes into sewing the actual garments. But I've been doing machine embroidery on tee shirts lately. I love making tees because

a) My time is well invested. I get a lot of regular, every day use out of them.

b) I can fool around altering patterns and re-cut inexpensive boxy tees for fabric to test out pattern alterations. I buy two of the same color (which I often find on sale for $2.50 each) and turn those two into one. That allows for darts, gathers, and any other goodies I come up with. These budget fabric test garments are highly wearable, they aren't just toilles. They help build my confidence for sewing tees when I buy a pricier knit, at Fabric.com or that great fabric store in Berkley Stone Mountain & Daughter.

When I machine embroider my tees, they really look like something special.

Technique: What works for me is to use two kinds of stabilizer. I put a regular stabalizing layer for knits underneath the hoop. Then I put the wash-away kind that looks like saran wrap on TOP of the hoop. That seems to work pretty durn well.