Sewing Vloggers

Friday, August 26, 2011

Home Dec Looming

After making that new ironing board cover I got the urge to re do my studio. I am yearning for a bit more sophisticated look and think black and white and the salmon pink walls will work. Above you some of the fabrics and textures I am considering. I will need to cover another small square ironing surface, make new window treatments, a new bulletin board, "upholster" my stand up lamp, hang up an incredible Dior poster that I have been saving for years, paint some small items, make fabric covered magazine boxes, and I am sure more will come. There are some fabulous strictly functional sewing rooms out there that some of you have but myself, well, I like a decorated look. I guess its a holdover from my years of doing interiors. Add to that years of sewing in dark basements with the clothes dryer thumping away next to me and the smell of grass and gasoline emanating from a nearby lawn mower and you can see why I just want things pretty. 

Some argue that this will all interrupt my design process, all this distraction of color and line. I say poo to you. I find being surrounded by color and contrast to be very invigorating and have never felt it squelched me in any way. If anything, it makes my space more of a refuge, a place that is all mine, all decorated by me. I waited many years for this and revel in the opportunity to work in such a space. Its a blessing, one I wish for all of you. 

I will be leaving early tomorrow for New Bedford, Mass, at the foot of Cape Cod. What? You say there is a hurricane coming? We know. It is the only time DH has off to go visit his ailing mom, something we have to do. We will be staying with DSIL, about a mile and a half from the waters edge but on higher ground than the waterfront. She lives alone so we will be there to help her if needed and I think that will be the case. We are bringing lots of food, containers of gasoline, and a chain saw. Lets hope we need none of this. One of the things also playing into this is that the New Bedford harbor, the busiest in the US, is protected by a massive hurricane dike made to protect the city from a category three hurricane. It has proven itself already in a couple of Cat Ones so we are confident. It is quite an amazing feat of engineering, goes 3 and half miles across the harbor and would never get built today. Its also a great place to sit and watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

I pray all our East Coasters come out of this safe and sound with minimal damage. Please heed all warnings and leave when you are told to leave. Is the PR shopping in NYC still happening? I tend to doubt it. 

I will leave you with good thoughts and a bouquet of hydrangeas from the garden...Bunny


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Original inspiration:
Very fancy, metal frame, crystal kiss closure, log cabin with rose  in the middle, asymmetrical folding, pleating
My interpretation for the real world I live in: 
 Pattern is Butt 5576, again. My interpretation uses wool, silk herringbone suiting, faux tooled leather, and silk dupioni for the red rose. The design is also an assymetrical log cabin with a rose center. It has soft pleats too.
The lining is dark red silk dupioni.
The construction is the same but I thought I would share with you a bit of how I did the interfacing.  I have been using Peltex for the interfacing. The pattern specifies a woven non fusible. I don't think that is firm enough, unless you want a mushy clutch. I do think that when I use a hard fabric like this again, I will use fusible fleece to give it a bit of softness and help fill it out, but that's next time. The deal with Peltex is that it is hard and not easy or desirable to turn inside out so I don't interface the bag from the beginning if I am using Peltex. Once the outer bag is complete I start with the Peltex, first attacking the gusset at the bottom of the bag. 

First I cut a strip of the Peltex the size of the bottom gusset minus a quarter inch. I fuse it to a strip of muslin about an inch or so longer but the same width. The extra bits on the end are your "handles". Pin them to the gusset seam allowances on the sides. Stitch then within the seam allowance, not on the bag. Trim. Turn the bag right side out, which is now easy to do because of the free floating nature of the interfacing. I suggest this technique for any bag needing a hard bottom.
Now cut two Peltex pieces for the front and back. These have no seam allowances and are 1/4 inch shorter on the width and length. This does not include the side, just front and back.  Slide it into the completed bag, glue side to the shell,  and make sure the seam allowances are under the Peltex toward the inside of the bag. Place and put on a sleeve board and fuse.In the pic it is not all fused in yet.


One of the things I love about  bag making is re interpreting the same style in distinct ways. Each time I learn something about how to best interpret the fabric and style. This time I learned that I am not totally crazy about working with the hard fabric, the herringbone wool, and would use it again but soften it with some fusible fleece. FWIW... I do think this is a cute bag in the end and love the colors. I will do more as I have decided this will be the  gift of choice for me this Christmas. I think something with bows will be up next, maybe...

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Isn't this yummy? Yesterday I discovered a new fabric shop, quilting and yarns, up here in the North Country, called Fiber Options. It had the usual cottons but some fabulous yarns. I will go back. I purchased this border print and coordinate for Sophie's Christmas dress. I think it will be so elegant . I am thinking classic little smocked dress with the silk dupioni sash. This one is still marinating in the mind.......Bunny

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

On a roll...


  While changing my linens on our bed yesterday, it occurred to me that our nice white wool blanket would make a fabulous stuffing for the ironing board. I snuck it down into the cave and started cutting, no guilt! I was repurposing when I didn't even have to! I have had my eye out at the local thrifts for wool blankets but they are rarer then hen's teeth. Anything wool is rare at the local stores. Some one is out there beating me to every piece of wool, I just know it.  When I made the bed yesterday, I officially gave up on finding one at Sally Mae's  and went with what I had. A bird in the hand...... I also wanted a check of some kind so hustled down to Joanns. Nada, zip, zilch. Then it occurred to me that I had this wonderful cotton/lycra woven check that would be perfect. It did mean I would never make my Divine Details dress from it, but, I have never been able to get the pattern, OOP. Shouts of "just cut it" reverberated in my head and now I am happy to say I have a new ironing board cover. This is making me rethink the studio. Its been 5 years so maybe time for a home dec redo. You will be seeing a fair amount of home dec on the blog  in the future. DD #2 has put in her orders and I am waiting for the shipments to arrive. We have lots of window treatments and window seat cushions to do. For several years, way back when, I designed and sold custom window treatments. I learned a lot about construction working with the workroom. I was the only designer they had that new anything about sewing so they generously shared a lot of knowledge with me. It was a great experience. Hopefully, I haven't lost my touch. 

Today I started on another clutch. I am near finished and hopefully will have it done tomorrow. These are so quick and easy and I am on a roll here. I figure I will make some Christmas gifts while I am in the mood. Hopefully it will be completed and up on the blog tomorrow. It's "different".

It seems the pin tucked shirt was a big hit. I like it too! Thanks, every one for your kind comments. They really do egg me on to new heights and are greatly appreciated. I do hope some of you try this blouse pattern. It is really simple, no collar stand, plackets, etc. I think it is a wonderful pattern for someones first "Great White Shirt"....Bunny

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Mc6076, Near Disaster!

 
When is the last time you saw me with a wadder? I can't remember either. This one came very close. But if you have been reading here for some time you know I am persistent if nothing else.  I am glad about that as I now have a shirt I love. 

Pattern: McCalls 6076. I did a size 8 morphing out to a 12 at the hips. This is a classic shoulder princess style, one that I love because of all the opportunities for fit. Everyone should have one of these in their arsenal, all tried out and true. They are really simple construction if you stay basic.

Fabric: I used a 100% cotton oxford cloth, warp was black, weft was white. I chose to do my stitching with white thread. Interfacing in the collar and facing is a Pro Weft interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply.

Construction: This is where it gets interesting as well as nearly shot in the trash can. This pattern was inspired by one on the Yasmine sight, loaded with pintucks. I knew that would take up the fabric but I also needed my design to work around the princess seams which remained to be fitted. In the end I cut my seams wider  and did just a few tucks before I fit. Once fitted, and it fine, I did the rest of the pintucks and moved on to the collar and facings. When that was complete I tried it on again to judge the shoulders. It was tight, too tight. WTH? Whatever reason I went into panic mode for about a nano second as my tucks were all done and so much time/effort were invested. I measured my armscye. I measure my sleeve cap. As suspected from just looking at the cap there was way to much ease in the sleeve cap and I knew this fabric would be a stinker to ease nicely. Once I figured out I had ease to waste I decided to cut a godet and install it from the top to the bottom of the side seam. I figured out how much I needed and added half inch seam allowances.
I think it looks fine and with all the stitching and seams it appears intentional. It now fits perfectly, tragedy averted.

The pintucks were all done with a pin tucking foot, perle cotton for cording and a 1.6 double needle. No problems there. I used my Frixion pen throughout the construction and must say I love the fine line that it gives and how it just disappears with the iron. I am a convert. The pintuck top threads were all brought to the back and tied off with the bobbin thread and cord. Here's a view of  some back detail. You can see that I made the princess seam one of the pintucks. I also pintucked the under collar so that when I wear the collar up it makes a continuous line with the CB pintuck, just as in the original Yasmine shirt.

Another change I made to the pattern was the hemline. I am finding that a shaped hemline is much more flattering to me.  No big skill needed here other than picking the right size dish from the cupboard to help make the curves.

As far as other fit issues, I did my usual "petiting" to the pattern

This is what I call a hard fabric meaning it is not a fabric that will ease nicely. I helped the pressing along with my new tool, a broken kitchen spoon. You can stick the spoon edge right into the cap seam and press away.
Other than the pintucking, this pattern, as it comes out of the envelope is  really pretty simple construction, quite classic in look, and I would highly recommend.
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Last night DH and I came in the drive from an evening out about 11:00pm. Darting across our field, like it was on the Serengeti, was one of these captivating fellows:
A Bobcat! He looked just like this picture. It all happened so fast there wouldn't have been time to get a camera if we wanted to so I am sharing a very similar nighttime photo from Google. He was quite large and we think he weighed between 30-35 pounds. He truly ran like he was flying across the Serengeti. We were quite thrilled. We have often heard about these bobcats but have only met one person who ever saw one. Now we have! ...Bunny

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Nancy Zieman Collar


I started watching Nancy Zieman on public TV maybe about 20 years ago. In those days it was all about garment sewing. She was the only game in town and I consumed every word she uttered, taped every program, and bought every book. I truly have learned so much from her, much that has stuck with me for many years. Her approach is to use the simplest methods to get the most professional results. She is not into couture but more making it look like couture. Ever since I saw her do this collar I have been using it pretty much ever since.
My current project pattern, like most,  has you put the collar together stitching the three sides not attached to the neckline first. Not Nancy! With her method you sew only across the long outer edge of the collar.
  Grade this seam and press as sewn, then open, then to the undercollar side.  You will then understitch the undercollar using a triple zigzag stitch. Make sure you set up your presser foot so that you don't stitch over the edge onto the upper collar. Give this another good press.
Love that stitch. This will prevent your undercollar from rolling out on the outer edge as well as give you a really flat edge. Once the long edge is all understitched, put right sides together again, matching the unsewn corners. This is where you will now check to make sure all edges are even and equal. Are they? If so, and that's rare, put right sides together and  proceed to pin the short ends of the collar together. If  not, like most collars I have sewn, a bit of the edge is off, it is time to fix it. Ever see collars that have uneven points when you look straight at the garment? Nasty. Fold your collar in half matching the long edges and corners. Trim the edges so they are equal. Your collar needs to be perfectly symmetrical. Double check front and back. If you are doing a tailored garment, like a wool coat, where you need to favor the undercollar, once the edges have been evened, cut the undercollar back a fat 1/16th of an inch across the neckline edge only. When you install the collar you will still match the edges but the undercollar will be pulled a hair tighter, preventing roll out. On a thin shirt fabric the zigzag understitching alone should take care of any undercollar issues. Once all even, pin the sides and stitch starting at the neck edge. A half inch from the point dial your stitch length down to 1.5. You don't want to secure the end with back  stitching. Actually you don't ever want to do that. It makes lumpy, uneven seams. So always go to a shorter stitch length to finish off the seam. In the case of a collar where you will be trimming very closely this is doubly important.

Once the short seams are sewn, grade them, cut the fabric away at the points at an angle. Press as stitched then press open. I use the handle of a wooden spoon to press these seams open. Once pressed open, turn right side out, admire your sharp point and flat seam, and press again. Thank you, Nancy!....Bunny

ETA 6-19-21: I still use the wooden spoon handle to press open the seams. I also now use the tiny flat head screw driver that comes with your machine to push out the corner if needed. I slide it along the seam and under the graded seam allowance. It's flat, blunt end slides right in making a nice square point. Usually however I don't need much coaxing as her technique pretty much takes care of nice corners. 

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

MCCalls 6076, Yasmine Inspired

Yasmine is an incredible designer who lives in Tibet. Nearly every garment she designs utilizes major surface design. I could own or enjoy making everything I see on her site. She has a white linen shirt that really caught my imagination. The picture is locked  but you can see the image here in the summer collection. I knew I could do these tucks but at this time of year I am not up to a white linen shirt. I have stash of shirtings and decided on a black and white, read gray, oxford cloth. Oxford cloth always has a white weft. The warp thread determines the color, or maybe I have that backwards. Because the weaving is so fine you end up seeing a third color, in this case, a soft grey.


For a pattern I decided on this McCalls 6076.  Like the original there are shoulder princess seams, but you can see the collar differs. I have an idea for that. I also like, as usual, the 3/4 sleeves, flattering to anybody. Cuffs bug the crapola out of me so you will see almost every top I make is 3/4 length.
I had to figure a few things out before planning out and stitching the tucks. I wasn't sure what color thread to use or even what type. Did I want to  try more rayon? And how would red look? I did my usual sample effort and decided on simple white thread for the tucks. I also had to experiment on how to work the tucks that were directly on the princess seam lines. They actually worked out beautifully just stitching down the center of the seam. Sometimes I am trying so hard to complicate things! You can see I used a double needle and a 5 groove pintuck foot.
The tucks are corded with pearl cotton.On my machine, a Pfaff, you can see there is a place to put your cord so it is perfectly lined up as the tuck stitches. I also have a "cording tongue, a tiny little thing that holds the tuck up nice and tall while you stitch. I always forget to use that! I use the double needle, tighten the tension bigtime, and use the pearl cotton and the tucks get dimension. You don't ever want a flat tuck. What's the point? 

So this afternoon I got the back bodice tucks done and now it will be on to the front. They are being stitched in the flat. Whenever I do princess seams I use one inch SA to have some room to fit. Another reason I did the samples was to figure out what the amount of takeup was on the tucks compared to the flat pattern. It was actually barely a 1/4 inch per section. So that with the wide SA caused me to do nothing else to accommodate for the tucked fabric. So far its looking pretty good. I will be shaping the hem as well, as in the designer original. Too bad I didn't think of this when PR ran the knockoff contest.
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Glad you all liked the wool bag. It was a VERY fun project. There will be more bags coming soon  as I get ready for the holidays. Once in a while I get a comment about my having so many bags. I don't. I have my few favorites but most are given away, either as gifts, thank yous, or for barter. So these are what I call figment bags, sewn for people who are only figments of my imagination at this point. Its rare I make a bag specific to the eventual owner, 'cept moi!...Bunny

Monday, August 15, 2011

B5576, Wool Clutch Bag

Luvin' it!

Pattern: Butterick 5576, four views of a very simple to make clutch. 
  •               Easy construction, would recommend for beginning, eager bag makers
  •               No zips, pockets, thick strap issues. 
  •               Love the style. It may be "Mad Men", it may be a throwback to my long gone youth, but     lately I have been experiencing clutch craving. 
  •               Highly Recommend this pattern
Fabric:  The turquoise blue is from an old jacket I made in the early 80's and decided to take apart and felt by throwing in a hot water wash and hot dryer. I cut off the buttons and lining first. The flower and strap were made from some wool I dyed back around the same vintage as the jacket and never knew quite what to do with. Those were the days when fabulous fabric waited in the stash for a fabulous design that never seemed to emerge. Now, nothing is sacred. No matter how big, small, expensive, or old or new, I have learned to just cut it. This change in attitude, which occurred a few years back, has set me free. There is always more fabric to buy so why "save" stuff? As the seamstress for Nike says, "JUST CUT IT."

The lining is one of those poly brocades from Joanns. They have some heft, the price is right, and I find that make a luxurious lining. 


Construction: This was easy, peasy. I do recommend a couple of things now that I have some hindsight.
  • You need to account for turn of cloth for the flap lining. I cut the lining 1/8th inch smaller on one short and one long edge on the lining. I should have cut more off of the long edge of the lining to account for the turn of the flap when closed. What I did cut back made the fashion fabric turn just a tiny bit to the wrong side, which is what I wanted. But you can see the slight excess in the flap lining which is not a huge thing to notice when the bag is closed but I know about it and that it could be better. 
  • Understitch your seams on the lining top edge. The pattern does not instruct you to do this. It will help those edges turn nicely and look much sharper. 
  • All of the lining pieces are interfaced before cutting. 
  • The bag bottom is interfaced, and this is not in the pattern, with a strip of Peltex fused to a piece of muslin. The Peltex is a 1/4 inch smaller than the bag bottom. The muslin is an inch longer. Center the  Peltex on the muslin and fuse. This will leave a half inch on each side that will be a handle you can stitch into the little triangle seams you make to square off the bottom of the bag. The pattern calls for non fusible interfacing, not my choice as to me, a clutch should have some serious structure. All of this interfacing business had to be thought out because Peltex is a biatch to turn. By stitching those little handles it is flexible.
  • The front and back of the bag was interfaced with the Peltex when all was well pressed and only the lining remained to be installed. Before doing that I cut two pieces of Peltex, no seam allowances, to fit into the front and back of the bag, only, not the sides. These were then fused to the completed bag quite easily. Make sure the seams stay free of the Peltex. You want a crisp, flat bag. 
  • Remember to also fuse some Peltex into the flap. I forgot,(blush). I was just zippin' right along and everything about the flap was done and attached and I forgot to add the Peltex. So the next bag will be crisper. The good news is that the lining was interfaced with a decent fusible so its not a limp dishrag. Hey, we are all entitled to a mistake now and then. My Amish friends tell me that to seek perfection is a waste of time here on earth. You will only achieve this in heaven. In the meantime just do the best you can. If you do land on perfection, feel free to throw in an intentional mistake as they sometimes do so as not not offend the Lord.... Never use seam allowances with Peltex. It will drive you nuts if you do. 
  •  I used 40 weight Sulky rayon thread for the topstitching and love how it looks. It glows more IRL than in the photos.   I did samples, as always, and decided on a triple stitch. This is the stitch that looks like a straight stitch but it actually goes back and forth over the stitch three times before moving on to the next stitch. It makes really nice topstitching and I think I will be doing this more often.

  •  Next time I make this, and that may be tomorrow, I will use a thinner strip of fabric for the wristlet strap, thinner as in narrower. 
  • If you missed the flower tute it is one post back. Making that flower goes very very fast. 
Opinion: Highly recommend. It's quick, easy, destined for embellishment and just too dang cute.  I hope you try this one out....Bunny
   

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Felted Wool Flowers

There is a lot of info out there on the net about how to make felted wool flowers. They are pretty much the same technique so it is hard to credit anyone in particular for the originality of making a fabric flower. I think the clearest, most thorough info came from this site, Creative Cain Cabin. There were lots of great ideas on this blog so please check it out. Here is my own spin on the flower making. My final flower does not really look like a flower but does look really cool. We'll call my flower stylized, not realistic (smile.)
I had some lovely hand dyed wool in this garnet shade and I liked the way it contrasted with the blue. I did make a flower out of it. It was too big and the color did not work as well as other hand dyeds I had. What I ended up using for the bag flower were some hand dyes I did myself, all wool, a long time ago, in my "dyeing period". I thought the colors gave the bag and flower a whimsical look.

First find yourself a round shape to copy. The garnet fabric used a 2 1/2 inch bowl, to big for a little clutch bag. I switched to a 2 inch bowl for the final flower. Mark your circles by tracing around the bowl. I found the best marker on this fuzzy wool surface was a chalkoner, the yellow thing you see. It is filled with powder and has a serated edge to give you a sharp line. Yes, that was a circle cutter I showed you last night. It works great on paper, but on this thick fuzzy fiber, no way. So I used my scissors to cut out the circles. When cutting out the circles try to move the fabric, not the scissors. You will get a cleaner curve with no points. When I made both the larger and smaller flower I found 7 circles was enough. You can squish in more but you want your "petals" to show and not be smashed. You also need one circle, same size, to be your base. Interface that one circle.
Here is where you get to make a choice. My garnet flower was all stitched into place. My "whimsical" flower was put together with the good old glue gun. Most websites showed the glue gun to make the flower as well, but when you are a stitcher, you stitch. Use the glue gun. Put a pea sized dot in the middle of the circle.
  Fold the circle in half then in half again. Ouch, did you burn your fingers? Hope not! Directions said to use a clothes pin to keep your centers together until the glue dried. I did on all my circles. Then, when I went to take the clothespins off they were glued to the flower! A healthy snap and off they came. Some had a teensy bit of splinter but all that is hidden by the finished flower.
Next get your interfaced circle. Working back and forth on opposite sides of the circle, put some glue on to the corner of the folded circle. Put that point into the center of the base circle. Put one circle on the base with the two folded edges down and one next to it with the two folded edges up. When you get in about 6 of  these, unless you are squishing in more, glue another corner and stuff it right down in the center of the flower. It will probably sit strangely above. It is easy to cut back and make your circle a nice symettrical dome. Use your scissors to remove and stuck glue and to even off any edges. Once I had my flower complete I pinned it to the bag flap. Then I back stitched all around the base circle to attach it to the bag. It's as snug as a bug in a rug. Cute, huh?
I am having all sorts of visions with these flowers. The thicker the fabric, like this wool, the nicer they curve. While I haven't tried this with thin fabrics, you don't have to stick to wool, just something with a bit of weight. You could always steam a seam two thin fabrics together. That's got lots of possibilities. I can see flowers that have black, white, and black and white tweed petals. How about cream, tan, and white or brown. How about just two opposite colors or a whole mess of textures? The ideas are endless and with flowers being the big rage this season you can put them on headbands, pocketbooks, or just add pin backings to use as a lovely adornment for a jacket. Just too much fun! You'll see more of these!
We have been having some crazy, stormy then sunny weather lately, all changing on a moment's notice. The other day these big clouds just sat above the trees seeming to explode into larger puffs as we watched. The sky behind us was very black from serious storm clouds. It was only five o'clock. I ran and got the camera....Bunny

Saturday, August 13, 2011

A Felted Clutch Bag, B5576

This sad lump of fabric was a Geiger inspired jacket out of a wool I purchased from Sawyer Brook way way back in the early 80's when they were in Amherst , NH., really! I bought this when the original owners of SB ran the store, a small operation focusing on a mail order catalogue more than retail. Anyhoo, these jackets were all the rage back then and I did wear this a lot to work. On a recent closet purge I decided to take off the buttons, rip out the lining,  and throw the whole thing in hot water in the washer and dryer. It felted, to say the least. The way you see it here it might fit my 6 year old granddaughter. Enter the next project!
I have been wanting to try a clutch type bag for some time. While they are obviously pretty simple, this bag goes about it a bit differently than most I have seen and I can't wait to start. I cut the jacket apart and ironed out the pieces. There was enough to make the bag. It has you line the flap with the fashion fabric. I will use lining instead. What view will I do? I guess you could say the one with the bow. But mine won't have a bow. I think and hope it will be something prettier. I will be using this and this.

More intrigue tomorrow!
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in fields and gardens. They can be found on shrubs, tall plants, and flowers.
Somebody knows how to sew here! This hefty bugger has created a large web amongst my hosta bed. It's a she and she's an inch and a half long. Her name is "Black and Yellow Argiope". The males are smaller and they are the ones that do the zigzag stitching across her web. Wonder what that is all about. Aren't her markings amazing?
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Thanks for all your feedback on the top. I will definitely make it again. I have been wearing it all day and its very comfortable and looks good with my white jeans. Your comments are always so appreciated...Bunny

The web of this spider spirals out from the center and can be two feet across. The female builwhite silk.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Lousy Draft? Butterick 5387

 
I actually really like this and may even make it again. I do think it has major drafting problems as will become clear here in a moment. Unlike some I had no problem at all with the directions and actually thought the text was pretty clear although the tech drawings for #18 could be confusing.  I will run you through a detailed tute of how I did this neckline. (picture heavy)

First you stitch of the center front. I suggest you go up another inch and a half higher unless you really want the girls on display. The CF seam is catchstitched down to the fashion fabric inside before proceeding. There is a lot of hand stitching here. I think that fact could be why many did not like this pattern. It is not a whip through knit pattern. There are hand stitches and tweaking needed here. Also, before I forget, I cut my pieces upside down, so if you are following directions in the pattern, my blouse will look opposite, no biggy. Above you can see the neckband stitched to the bodice with the left and right extensions hanging free. The edge of the under band is shaped and pressed. 
 Here the outer neckband is stitched to the under neckband, still keeping the extensions free. The pleats are basted down and the outer band has the edge trimmed and pressed under
Once the two collar bands are stitched together the underband is understitched. I use a triple zigzag to do that. Learned that one from Nancy Zieman many years ago. It does a much better job at keeping it all flat than just one line of understitching. 
Here you see the completed neckband with the extensions still free. Now comes the part where many  poured that second glass of wine. 
Here you have the bodice laid out looking at you. The pleated extension goes on top of the free band and the non pleated extension goes UNDER the band. Importante!
 
Here comes the infamous step 18. Match the right side of the pleated extension (on top of the band) and the wrong side of the plain extension (under the band). This is your seam. Match at the seamline, not the edge. It should look like this with both extensions facing up. 
Here is where the drafting issues show up. I was extremely careful here but ended up extra fabric looping up from the flat extension. The seamline needed to be closer to the bodice where it connects. You can see here the tuck of extra fabric. The pattern tells you to hand stitch, once again, this area to the neck band. I did, taking the tuck until the fabric looked flatter. 



So when all is said and done here's what we've got: The flat extension requires fiddling because it will not lie flat with the seamline where it is. The pleated extension could use a bit more volume, something many eluded to on PR. I would do this next time by cutting and spreading the pleats further open. The neckline gapes, another sign of poor drafting. Many on PR complained of this too.

But like many on PR, I LIKE THIS PATTERN! I think my fabric pattern helped camouflage these issues to some extent.  l really like the way if fits as well, other than the gape. I did my usual petiting, cut a size 6 above the bust,  Pivot and Slided out to a C up, went back in at the waist and back out to a twelve at the hips. I wish this were a plain Tshirt. I do not like my knits to have negative ease. This just skims the body and I like that. So with some tweaking of the draft, I can see myself making this again. Would I recommend? Well, only if you don't get frustrated at tweaking, can possibly redraft the neckline, and don't mind doing handstitching. This is not a whip out but it took me maybe a total of 4 hours total to pull off.

Bunny with the peekaboo neckline and who just noticed that the print and neckline make one boob look bigger than the other. They are not but even if they were, so what?



Had to Refurbish This One!

    About  6 or 7 years ago , during the dawn of the Zipper Trend,  I bought one of my rare retail items. It was a blush pink and black bord...