My next project

FtForger wrote:

snip

Where I am really unsure of this (without having the parts in my hands)
is in attaching the collar to the body. Maybe it will be clear once I
get to that part, but any comments any of you have will be appreciated.

Mike (FtForger) blacksmith and sewing newbie

ps: I intend to get this done by mother's day...

Mike, when I was a beginner, I had lots of trouble attaching collars because I
used to pin them onto the blouse as if the *edges* of the fabric had to fit
together. It took me ages (and some well-pointed advice from a friend) for me to
realise that I had to pin the collar *along the stitching line* and then baste
it. Basting can be a pain, but if you're a new sewist or if you're faced with
slippery fabric or a painstaking curve to fit, it's sure worth the effort!

When you pin your collar in at first, make sure the ends sit well and butt up
correctly against the front neck opening. Pin there. Next, pin the centre point
of the collar to the centre point of the garment. Now, continue pinning each
section at its mid-point (ie. halving the distance between each set of pins, if
you get my drift). In this way, you're easing the collar onto the blouse evenly
and proportionally. Hopefully, you won't end up with a great bubble of excess
fabric to find easement for and can continue to the next step, which is running
a quick basting thread along your line of pins. Secure it at each end of the
collar, stitch carefully and make sure you secure your stitching at either end
as well. Withdraw the basting thread and make any nicks or cuts (eg. into
corners or to release curved edges). Check the lie of the collar and then trim
the seam allowances if necessary.

I don't have a pic of your pattern, but the above method works for most collars.
The secret is to remain relaxed and patient.

Best of luck to you and let us know how you get on! :-D

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

OK, I finally finished Jill's pj's. She really loves how they fit and
how they feel. My next project is going to be a bit more complex than
the PJs. I'm making a top. The pattern I've selected is Simplicity 9411,
view E with short sleeves. Hopefully one of you has the pattern and
either has enough experience to get this without having done it, OR has
actually worked with it...

I've spent a couple of hours looking over the pattern and instructions.
I'm planning on getting started today. I need a few pointers. So far, I
ran a line of stitching about 1/2 to 5/8 inch from each cut end, and
washed and dried the material. Its a light weight cotton. I think it
qualifies as broadcloth (much finer weave than oxford). I got some
fusable interface, and matched some thread to a swatch. It may get a lot
more clear as I assemble it, but I want to make sure I understand what
some parts are telling me.

Where I am really unsure of this (without having the parts in my hands)
is in attaching the collar to the body. Maybe it will be clear once I
get to that part, but any comments any of you have will be appreciated.

Mike (FtForger) blacksmith and sewing newbie

ps: I intend to get this done by mother's day...

FtForger wrote:
OK, I finally finished Jill's pj's. She really loves how they fit
and how they feel. My next project is going to be a bit more
complex than the PJs. I'm making a top. The pattern I've selected
is Simplicity 9411, view E with short sleeves. Hopefully one of you
has the pattern and either has enough experience to get this
without having done it, OR has actually worked with it...

Congratulations on the pj's, and making Jill happy.

One note of caution, Mike: The bottom of the slashed neckline opening
should be reinforced with iron-on interfacing, as it forms a weak
spot. The instruction probably tell you to run a line of stitching
along that area before joining the facing, but do the interfacing,
too. Also, when you sew the slash, sew down one side, and with the
needle _down_, pivot the fabric 90 degrees, take just one _tiny_
stitch, needle down again, pivot 90 degrees and sew up the other side.
When you cut the slash, be very careful not to cut that stitch at the
bottom.

Let us know if you run into difficulty with the collar.

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

BEI Design wrote:


Congratulations on the pj's, and making Jill happy.

Thanks Beverly. Thats why I started this...makes me feel good to make
her happy. Must be why we are still in love, approaching our 23rd
wedding anniversary.


One note of caution, Mike: The bottom of the slashed neckline opening
should be reinforced with iron-on interfacing, as it forms a weak
spot. The instruction probably tell you to run a line of stitching
along that area before joining the facing, but do the interfacing,
too. Also, when you sew the slash, sew down one side, and with the
needle _down_, pivot the fabric 90 degrees, take just one _tiny_
stitch, needle down again, pivot 90 degrees and sew up the other side.
When you cut the slash, be very careful not to cut that stitch at the
bottom.

Thanks for the pointers. I'm not sure about the interfacing. There is
inferfacing that I'm going to bond to the front facing, and the facing
gets stitched to the front before making the slash. Yes, I'll still do
the reinforcing stitches, but do I need another piece of interfacing
anyway? Since the facing has to be flipped back to the outside to put
the collar on, and then flipped back in for the finishing, can I work
without the reinforcing stitches and add them as one of the final steps
in making the top?


Let us know if you run into difficulty with the collar.

I'm sure I will...the instructions seem to switch from fairly easy
normal english to "sewing geek" in that section

"FtForger" wrote in message
...

Thanks for the pointers. I'm not sure about the interfacing. There
is
inferfacing that I'm going to bond to the front facing, and the
facing
gets stitched to the front before making the slash. Yes, I'll still
do
the reinforcing stitches, but do I need another piece of interfacing
anyway? Since the facing has to be flipped back to the outside to
put
the collar on, and then flipped back in for the finishing, can I
work
without the reinforcing stitches and add them as one of the final
steps
in making the top?


I would (and I _do_) add a small bit of light-weight bondable
interfacing to the area near the point at the bottom of the slash, on
the _blouse_ fabric. Think about it, the "seam" in that area tapers
to _nothing_. A little strip of light-weight bonded interfacing might
just get the blouse through several washings before it frays out. You
don't want your work to end up in the rag bin. ;-) If the
interfacing is light-weight, it won't add bulk, even though it's on
both the blouse fabric _and_ the facing.

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 16:27:20 GMT, FtForger wrote:

OK, I finally finished Jill's pj's. She really loves how they fit and
how they feel. My next project is going to be a bit more complex than
the PJs. I'm making a top. The pattern I've selected is Simplicity 9411,
view E with short sleeves. Hopefully one of you has the pattern and
either has enough experience to get this without having done it, OR has
actually worked with it...

Mike, good job on the pjs. And three comments on the new project...
Does she have a similar shirt in her wardrobe, with a front slit? If so,
you might measure it and compare. Some patterns get a bit enthusiastic
about the length of slits, while others offer just barely enough room to
get your head through. Also compare the measurements of a woven shirt
that fits her well to your pattern (and don't forget the seam allowances!).

Also, I'd suggest you take a couple of pieces of scrap fabric and stitch
them like the front opening, complete with shorter stitches near the point
of the V, and then clip, turn and press it. Some of the gotchas for this
include not clipping close enough to the stitching, which makes a lump;
clipping through the stitching (my favorite!) -- use scissors that cut
nicely to the tips and clip only one layer of fabric at a time, and you
won't go though the stitching line!; and not pressing so the facing side
gets just a bit of the fabric from the front rolled toward it (sometimes
called "favoring"). I suspect you'll find a wet presscloth will improve
the pressing there nicely.

Collar shouldn't be hard. If you want to save yourself some effort,
trim the seam allowance on the outside edges of the collar (not the
neck edge) to 1/4", and the neck edge to 3/8".

Make sure you use good interfacing. In fact, it's not a bad idea to
press some on a scrap and wash and dry it a few times to see what it does.
before going further. Fusible interfacings will feel pretty wimpy when
they're not fused, but firm up nicely when fused. If you use too heavy
an interfacing (a common problem), things start looking "wrong".

Kay

HI Mike,

FtForger wrote:
OK, I finally finished Jill's pj's. She really loves how they fit and
how they feel. My next project is going to be a bit more complex than
the PJs. I'm making a top. The pattern I've selected is Simplicity 9411,

Well done on the successful PJ's.

Although I don't have your pattern, some advice I have recently read and
implemented on collars with success was as follows:-

Stay stitch the blouse body pieces round the neckline - this means if you
are using a 5/8" seam, you should sew round the neckline at 1/2".

Now clip to the staystitching but not through it, more clips on the really
curved bits, less on the straighter bits (I usually put more clips in the
shoulder area).

This means you can now temporarily straighten the neckline area - which
makes getting the collar on that much easier!

As the others have said, line up the collar and check you have it centred
and that its fits BEFORE you sew - I learnt this one the hard way - please
accept my assurances that you don't want to do it! ;-).

HTH, Sarah

Trish Brown wrote:
FtForger wrote:

Mike, when I was a beginner, I had lots of trouble attaching collars because I
used to pin them onto the blouse as if the *edges* of the fabric had to fit
together. It took me ages (and some well-pointed advice from a friend) for me to
realise that I had to pin the collar *along the stitching line* and then baste
it. Basting can be a pain, but if you're a new sewist or if you're faced with
slippery fabric or a painstaking curve to fit, it's sure worth the effort!

Oh, trust me...I know why basting is important...you should have seen
the first turkey I roasted...oops...wrong basting... Since my first
project was some nylon undies for Jill, I learned the importance of
basting..keeping that slippery nylon lined up really needed the basting.

What I want to know is, I've seen references to machine basting. My
machine doesn't specify any such setting. So just set to the longest
stitch, and set the top thread to "loose" (I forget now if thats a lower
or higher number on the dial, I suspect lower, and I will check before
I do anything)? I'm assuming that should be right because the loose
setting would allow the bottom thread to get pulled out and then with
nothing holding the top thread in place except the friction of the
thread through the material, it should also pull off easily...


When you pin your collar in at first, make sure the ends sit well and butt up
correctly against the front neck opening. Pin there. Next, pin the centre point
of the collar to the centre point of the garment. Now, continue pinning each
section at its mid-point (ie. halving the distance between each set of pins, if
you get my drift). In this way, you're easing the collar onto the blouse evenly
and proportionally.

Similar to pinning the waist or leg elastic into the panties, yes? In
general terms I mean. I would have suspected aligning the back center of
the collar, and then work around to the front of the collar, to check
for fit. I am fairly patient, so I'm not against pinning and then
unpinning if I've screwed it up.

Hopefully, you won't end up with a great bubble of excess
fabric to find easement for and can continue to the next step, which is running
a quick basting thread along your line of pins. Secure it at each end of the
collar, stitch carefully and make sure you secure your stitching at either end
as well.

Backstitch or tie it off?

Best of luck to you and let us know how you get on! :-D

Thanks!

Mike (FtForger) blacksmith and sewing newbie

Kay Lancaster wrote:

Mike, good job on the pjs.

Thanks. I think I POd my younger sister though...she's been sewing for
years and still has a hard time stitching in a straight line...

And three comments on the new project...
Does she have a similar shirt in her wardrobe, with a front slit? If so,
you might measure it and compare. Some patterns get a bit enthusiastic
about the length of slits, while others offer just barely enough room to
get your head through. Also compare the measurements of a woven shirt
that fits her well to your pattern (and don't forget the seam allowances!).

Close enough, I think...she has something thats a polo style shirt. I'll
check some of those critical measurements. Thanks for the pointer...

Also, I'd suggest you take a couple of pieces of scrap fabric and stitch
them like the front opening, complete with shorter stitches near the point
of the V, and then clip, turn and press it.

Hmm...I'm a bit concerned about this. I don't think I have any scrap
similar, or large enough. Guess I'll have to buy a yard of something
similar to practice on. Necessary to use stabilizer on the
scrap/practice material?

Some of the gotchas for this
include not clipping close enough to the stitching, which makes a lump;
clipping through the stitching (my favorite!) -- use scissors that cut
nicely to the tips and clip only one layer of fabric at a time,

Mental note: get another pair of scissors...Jill's gonna love
that...I'll have two collections...scissors and smithing hammers...at
least the hammers stay outside in the forge shed...

and you
won't go though the stitching line!; and not pressing so the facing side
gets just a bit of the fabric from the front rolled toward it (sometimes
called "favoring"). I suspect you'll find a wet presscloth will improve
the pressing there nicely.

Collar shouldn't be hard. If you want to save yourself some effort,
trim the seam allowance on the outside edges of the collar (not the
neck edge) to 1/4", and the neck edge to 3/8".

Lets see if I get this:

1 2 3 4
| | | |
| | | |
| | | | garment
| | | |


4 is the garment layer, 3 is the neck edge of the collar, 2 is the
interface layer, 1 is the outside edge.



Make sure you use good interfacing. In fact, it's not a bad idea to
press some on a scrap and wash and dry it a few times to see what it does.
before going further. Fusible interfacings will feel pretty wimpy when
they're not fused, but firm up nicely when fused. If you use too heavy
an interfacing (a common problem), things start looking "wrong".

I had some help picking out the interfacing. Nice older lady in the
sewing/craft department..saw the material, knew what I wanted it for (ie
collar, facing etc) and showed me what she used...


Thanks thanks thanks

Mike (FtForger) blacksmith and sewing newbie.

Sarah Dale wrote:

HI Mike,

Hi Sarah,

Well done on the successful PJ's.

Although I don't have your pattern, some advice I have recently read and
implemented on collars with success was as follows:-

Stay stitch the blouse body pieces round the neckline - this means if you
are using a 5/8" seam, you should sew round the neckline at 1/2".

Yep, I know about stay stitching....

Now clip to the staystitching but not through it, more clips on the really
curved bits, less on the straighter bits (I usually put more clips in the
shoulder area).

Had to do this on the bias tape I made for the edges of the neck and
armholes on Jill's PJ top. (Yes, I made my own bias tape...)


As the others have said, line up the collar and check you have it centred
and that its fits BEFORE you sew - I learnt this one the hard way - please
accept my assurances that you don't want to do it! ;-).

Sure will