Red plain shirt post, next to last one

Okay, so what did I learn by making the red plaid shirt?

1. White writing paper is not a substitute for pattern tissue. I'd rather draw patterns on gift wrap tissue next time than white paper. I couldn't see through the white paper and while it was a dream to draw on and make adjustments on, moving seam and cut lines around and erasing mistakes, I should have then traced onto tissue to use to cut the garment. There is a reason patterns are printed on tissue, even if it is fragile.

2. Don't add size to the shoulders when you really only need size in the gut. And, that's enough about that. The shirt hangs off my shoulders like an extralarge ready-to-wear shirt would and my size is large. So, I'll be using the original pattern pieces for the two front panels and for the shoulders in the yoke. I can still add size down the center of the back and yoke to add some extra size to the collar, which on the pattern is too tight. I can get some size in the gut by cutting the sides of the back and the sides of the front panels in straight lines rather than the fitted curves in the pattern. Should give me an inch and a half around the middle.

3. Bulk is bad. Not much to add there either. I showed some really bad seam lines a few days ago and I took all of them out and cut away all the bulk and put them back in and everything worked out much better. There's more about this process in the pictures below.

4. Don't cheat on the flat felled seams. Just do it. The right way.

So, here is the story of how I make my flat felled seams. Or at least how I made them the second time.

First, I put the wrong sides of the fabric together and sew the seam with a quarter inch seam line. This is just the first seam line, so don't worry that it's not the seamline on the pattern. I trim this seamline down to an eighth of an inch. I know, that's not enough to hold a garment together, but it's not the seamline that holds the garment together, so it's okay.

Then, I fold the shirt right sides together and sew another quarter inch seamline, capturing my original eighth inch seamline inside. When I did this, the excess fabric kind of "unwove" and flattened out nicely inside it's protective sheath.

And, then I sewed that sheath down a quarter of an inch away from the second seamline. All of this is inside the garment...

So what you see from outside is a nicely flat felled seam. Tee-hee.

Not that you can see it because the tiny plaid of the shirt confuses the heck out of my cheap camera.

Last night, I picked out the seams on the second side of the shirt and this morning, I redid them and got all the buttons sewn on. Now, when it's hemmed, it's finished. That's why this is the next to last post. There'll be another where I show me in it, soon as it's hemmed.

Okay, so that's what I learned from this shirt. Now that I have a second one under my belt and am more sure about sizing my pattern. And, now that I've learned several things not to do when making a shirt, I think I'm ready for the next step of Peter's sew along. And, not a minute too soon.

Oh, and Sydney retook the spanish test yesterday and feels very good about it. Now, we're working on getting some missing homework assignments finished and turned in before the grading cycle is over. A parent's work is never done.

Have a Great Tuesday. It's a special day for me, so it should be special for everyone. I declare it to be so! Let all of mankind be happy in celebration of my birth!

Or not.

Lane