Monday, November 19, 2012

argggggh! a wasted weekend of sewing

oh no! i let over a week go by with no post! the horror! i really wish i had the time to post daily. i was shooting for at least weekly, but alas… it's such a busy time of year! and i need to get a new computer. Luckily we got our christmas bonus last week, yay! we don't always get one but things are looking up. so i want to get a macbook pro. a very merry christmas to myself indeed! i must be the biggest apple snob that does not have an iphone! ha ha, my cell phone is a samsung and it was free. sometimes i am very frugal. but i do have 2 ipods. well both were gifts. the thing is, my imac needs to be retired. actually i just need to have a funeral for it. it's so out of date. it's a g3! shock and horror! actually if i wait a little longer i might be able to sell it as "hip and retro." so for right now i can still blame my super slow computer for lack of blog updates. i'll have to come up with a new excuse once i get the new computer. 

anyway, i know i promised not to take any more photos from my bathroom mirror, but… 


i apologize. for your benefit, you don't have to look at my camera, because look - i'm eating a cartoon cheeseburger! yum!

that's my most recent alma top, which i wore, um, a week and a half ago. i got one compliment! and of course i said ' i MADE it!" yeahhh. and she said it looked expensive. i'm blushing.

oh and i got lazy and never made the belt. i wanted to move on. so i did. i traced a t-shirt i had from old navy that fits pretty well and used the pattern to cut up the dress i started to make over the summer. it was pretty smooth sailing until the neckline. let me just say that all of the sewing i did this weekend was wasted. i will have to rip it all out. sad face.


take a closer look at that neckline…


yeah, you can see by that shadow that it's drooping forward. i did not stretch the bias tape enough as i was putting it into the neckline. i was trying to think of ways to save it, but i think i'm going to have to take the seam ripper to it. and at the moment i am not a fan of bias tape. i might just make a facing instead. what do you think? how would you save this?

and here's a photo of me wearing it. and enjoying a lemonade!


yeah i could've photoshopped out the wrist strap, but i thought it was funnier if i just left it in.

anyway, how do you like to handle the necklines and hems of knits? and i can't leave it raw, i'm too OCD. right now i really want to just get back to some woven fabric!! stupid knits.





19 comments:

  1. LOL your cartoon hamburger and lemonade are cracking me up! Wasted sewing, I know the feeling all to well. But really don't think of it as wasted, think of it as a learning experience! I traced a tank top pattern out of one of my own tank tops I really liked. Once I got to the neckline I drew a complete blank. I tried to make my own bias tape. FAIL! So I ended up just folding the neckline over 1/4 inch twice. Ended up with a droopy neckline. Funny thing, the tank top was no where close to even fitting me. I ended up giving it to my friend's 3 YEAR OLD! yes you read that right. I have no clue where I went wrong.

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    1. Glad you were entertained by my cartoon food =) Did you forget to add in the seam allowances on your tank top? Did you ever try to make a new one?

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  2. i would try and unpick as it is definitely salvagable! for the binding, try measuring the neckline and making the bias tape 15% shorter than that. sew up the ends so you have a ring and mark the quarter points. find the quarter points of the neckline (centre front and centre back, and then match them up to find the side points) and match up the quarter points of both. you do need to stretch it as you sew. have a look at maria denmark's freebie kirsten kimono tee pattern for a better set of instructions!

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    1. Thanks, yes i should've made the bias tape much shorter!! Time for a re-do. But boy do i hate unpicking…

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  3. Try using some clear elastic around the neckline. You'll want to give it a good stretch before you use it and then stretch ever so slightly as you sew. The elastic helps the neckline to lay flat against your body. When I use I I place the edge of the elastic against the raw edge of the neckline, stitch the elastic in place, fold over and stitch.

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    1. ohhh clear elastic, i might have to give that a try, too!

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  4. That's so frustrating. That happened to a bro tank I made for an ex-boyfriend. I have read online that you can use clear elastic to remedy the situation. There are lots of blog posts and tutorials available. I haven't tried it yet, myself.

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    1. I'll have to look for some when i'm at the store!

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  5. Hi, that is such a cute t-shirt and I know just what you mean about the neck edge tipping forward a bit. I wrote a post recently and have some info on sewing knit t-shirts.
    http://sunnygalstudio.blogspot.com/2012/09/vacation-wrap-up-featuring-jalie-2805-t.html
    also there is a link in my blog post, to a Threads magazine video. Here it is
    http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3839/video-a-neckline-binding-for-knits

    That video is the best info I have seen for how to do the neckline. It works so well. I suggest cutting out some neck size holes in scraps of t-shirt knits and doing a few practice versions.
    Good luck and let me know how it goes. I just got into sewing knits this past year and now I really like them.
    Beth

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    1. Great tutorial! She makes it look so simple. The way she attached it in the video was different than what i was doing. I'll have to give it another shot.

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  6. I love your finished Alma! It looks so great :) I wish I had some info on how to fix the neckline but I'm not sure. I think I'm going to check out the links Beth shared. Thanks Beth!

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    1. Thanks!! i'll probably make another alma sometime. i was super excited when i got the cuffs to work out.

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  7. Love your Alma! And I'm sure with all this great advice you'll be able to fix that neckline!

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    1. Thanks! I haven't started to try fixing the neckline yet, because i'm dreading unpicking it. but i think i should be able to save it

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  8. So sorry about the knit neckline. How frustrating. What I generally do is add fusible bias to the body portion, then just press the edge over and stitch in place. That fusible keeps it from stretching out of shape, but the bias lets it go over your head.

    Love the alma. I have i-nothing. Seriously. But enjoy your new 'puter. g

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    1. i added ultra lightweight fusible, but then i didn't stretch out the bias tape enough =(

      i grew up on macs, so i'm a little anti-windows. i didn't see any good black friday deals. but maybe there will be a better after christmas sale… if i wait that long.

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    2. Oh I just remembered this: you do have an i-something! An i-ron! Haha. I heard that somewhere. Cheesy, yes.

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  9. I buy christmas gifts for myself too! This way I get what I want! I like the fabric you used on the Alma. I ordered the pattern on the first day of the pre-sale and STILL haven't made anything from it! I sometimes get bogged down with one or two patterns and make repeats of those to the exclusion of all others.

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    1. I don't know why any of my relatives would think i'm hard to buy for, because i always know what i want, ha ha ha. and that gift is a little (ok a LOT) pricey, so i'll buy it myself. I hope you make an alma sometime! I need to sort through my patterns and bookmark some to make next.

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Thanks for reading! I welcome any advice, insights, witty remarks, snarky comebacks, commiserations or just a quick hello. I'd love to check out your blog as well, so let me know where you're posting. Happy sewing!