Pullover woven shirt gets one last detail or two

The pullover shirt continues. 

In playing around with the basic shirt, I did change the neckline.
 I needed more opening to accommodate the bad right shoulder/ get the shirt on and off over my head. 

It splits to the side.

The whole neckline is finished with bias trim, down that split opening and around.

It overlaps enough for modesty's sake. 

Did you know there are five different yellows in bias tape right now?

Opens enough to give me the stretchable space to pull this off over my head with little struggle.

The lengths I will go to in avoiding buttonholes...

 The process is a little easier to see in the second fabric version

I staystitched around the neck and down to where I'm cutting (also securing the facing, love a 2fer)

Clippin'

Bias binding around the collar and the placket

I sew over pins. I work on costumes for youth groups. I live on the edge, baby!

And I wear glasses, so eye protection!

I forced that bulge at the corner; a slight wearability fudge for gap prevention. One I did not need to do with this version.

The difference between the first blue edition and this gold dot edition is the staystiching I did around the collar. Because I had some stretching and distortion the first go-round, I made sure that I faced and stay-stitched the collar opening as soon as possible, while the work was still flat on the table. 

Yes, I have been sewing for about fifty years, but I have been a sloppy one for about forty of those. And most of the fabrics I have used have let me get away without such niceties.

Not the upholstery fabric jeans.

You see that bulge below the yoke on the left side? That is a result of the crotch seam stretching out on that piece almost two inches from being handled and not staystitched. I cut the seam back and the interior stretched out fabric had to go somewhere. 

That bulge didn't show up until I put the pants on and took this photo.

I cried.

So staystitch already!

On reflection, I think I want a facing behind the opening (sewn to the upper flap from behind) because I really am about as modest as you can imagine)

I could have hand stitched it, but I'll be honest: I am an uneven hand stitcher. I would rather have the tiny errors with a machine than the overall uneven effects of my handwork.

I made a covered button and a tiny bias tube for a loop.

I did make enough bias trim to hem the whole gold version; it's a reversible woven dot shirting I got at District Fabrics. Where all the good things come from!

Okay so this one goes the other way

The print asked me for two tone button stacks. This is where the big jars of buttons come in handy.

Many auditioned, few were chosen.

The bias tape is pretty stiff and unforgiving on that corner turn. Needs work with a screaming hot iron. Or just cover it with the button.

This was the first version, back off!

And no, I'm not modeling it for you until I remove that unfortunate bias trim that slices me in two in a really unfortunate spot.

The other thing I did relates to the widening I did towards the bottom of the 3/4ths sleeve.

This is the version with a contrast bias hem. My hand is not that color. Really.

It made it easier to take on/off, but felt too open at the hem

So I folded it over a little and stitched it

It hits just below the elbow and looks pretty good. And allows me to use the selvage at the sleeve hem (from the nifty wax print I got two yards of at Seattle Art Museum's gift shop).

Finally, some successful sewing! Now let's go make more horrible mistakes!

With a raincoat!

Bias Tape - Whatever gets it done is goodness

While we wait for me to finish the summer job and finish the sewing job and start poking more at the denim hat

(Hey one of my kids came home for the weekend from college to see ME. Of course I went for fries with him at midnight, are you nuts?)

I am reading the latest Seamwork from Collette patterns, and while they are KERAAAZY for Liberty bias tape, you could make your own.

I went over this as part of another post from three years ago, and instead of repeating what I wrote, 

I'm just going to link to it

http://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/04/cleaning-up-and-preparing-for-next.html

Yes, that's a pink marker line. No, it's not washable. Sometimes I use a sharpie. I end up cutting it off later when I'm using it. Whatever makes this job happen faster is all good.

I may be lazy, but that means I take steps that count.

I cut the bias pieces, I sew them together so the seams all angle the same way, I don't match up the patterns unless it's a plaid, I cut them about two inches wide, and I iron the seams open. That sets the thread.

And then I roll them up. I don't iron it, because I'm going to be ironing them again later, and I don't use the same seam allowances for everything.

And I'm lazy. And it gets it done.

As I said, whatever gets this job DONE is good.

More samples at the link above.

The One Hour Dress 1920s version

Once I knew what the One Hour Dress was, I saw them everywhere.

http://theclosethistorian.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-one-hour-1920s-dress.html

Go search on 'one hour dress 1920s'. Go ahead, I'm here all week.

https://youtu.be/VImcfqrqWKQ is the You Tube ad for the book (original link is dead)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/163561029X/

but here it is on Amazon.

There are a million variations on the One Hour Dress. I based my pattern on this image I found online, which turns out to be from a pretty nifty pattern on Etsy. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/154191896/1920s-one-hour-frock-pattern-updated

Give her your $3, you won't be sorry. 

the alder shirtdress does it too

It's a pullover design of the early 20s, a tube with  a horizontal slash at the hip that gathers the side fabric extension into the main body as a skirt. 

A one piece pattern that is easy to draft, uses fabric very efficiently.

Probably easy to make from flour sacks.

The versions out there are generally pretty dumpy, but if you look at the illustrations using this style, there's a lot of sweet details.

The slash goes from side to side, and is wrapped with the same white cotton on the vertical appliques

Another slash across the center front, with the red bias finish making either belt loops or something to pull your dishtowel through (seen it both ways).

In both of these examples, the seam is on the 'right side' and is covered with a different fabric trim.

The One Hour dress is on the upper left with the boatneck and the flowers

You're just laying the pattern over prepleated/tucked fabric here

Dear reader, of course I made one...

Yes, you are drafting your own pattern from a formula and measurements.

I should mention that the Superboard isn't the most accurate for cutting precise measurements; the grid gets shortened lengthwise with the folds in the board.

But it gets the job done

drew a neck hole based on my head

shoulder seam line

started drafting from the neckhole out. A plastic sword makes a good paper weight/spreading device

ripped to grain up the fabric, folded it crossgrain and doubled

The one pattern piece laid out

Marked a front and a back neckline; will cut both for the back and then one for the lowered front

I could have used the minimal scrap for a facing for the neck line, or pockets

I haven't added pockets.

Yet.

thread gathered the skirt extention to tack it to the bodice (seam G for those of you playing along at home)

I put black bias tape over the gathered seam G (sewed that with the seam allowance to the right side). Also finished the neckline with the stuff.

All the bits for this came from the stash, for once.

All the interior finishing was zig zag stitch over the seam allowance.

Period would have been pinked, but rayon can be ....capricious.

It is waaaaay too wide (the bodice should be your chest measurement plus 2", NOT plus 8". I also need to find a better place to take photos and find another face to make in those photos.

On the other hand, it's rayon so it's drapey and the finished object isn't out of scale for the period. Kinda a William Morris rose.

It's a sack dress, without darts or extra cuts. It's kinda sweet, kinda frumpy, and I plan on wearing it tomorrow night to the theater.

Not the theatre.

Cleaning up and preparing for the next project

I am not the tidiest person...oh, who am I kidding? Peg Bracken ain't my patron saint for nothin' kids.

I hate housework.

I also hate not being able to find stuff when I'm working, so I do have a tidy ritual with the sewing space.

First, after the project is done, I sew up bias strips. Okay, I cut them out when I was cutting the blouse, but I sew them together at the end. I chain them and then cut them apart

I make the joins all lean the same way (less annoying when in use)

Iron it out

Roll it up on a card or whatever's handy.

Now, in case you think I'm crazy, I use this stuff. I don't waste my time making it into ironed up folded strips, because I'd just be unironing it later. And I use a lot of it for nice accents and a sweet interior detail on a lot of clothes. Sometimes it's a nice way to remember a great project. Sometimes it's what was left when the project was an enormous failure.

The cherries on yellow was  a CLOWN suit, much nicer as bias trim.

The pink with stripes was a nightmare shirt that  was ALL cut for bias

This is a sweet dress for summer and I love having more of it to wear in other things.

I pull the thread FROM THE NEEDLE END (some repair guy gave me great grief about pulling it "backwards") and thread a needle with it. And save it for later.

I clean out the parts I can get at with a huge brush. It really pulls out the fluff and dirt, so I don't worry as much about vacuuming it out.

The usual. Wipe off the throat plate, you know the drill. 

Then I oil it. Take out the needle and run it. Wipe the devil out of it, and let it sit with a piece of something absorbent under the presser foot. And come back tomorrow.

Maybe go read a book....