Making dress shields

The name for this post, on the photo file, is: It's the Pits, but I just can't make that be the headline.
Because some of this is referencing other folks' thinking, which is NOT the pits.
It's a link party, because they did it better than I can

https://historicalsewing.com/how-to-be-a-shield-maiden

I read a lot of 'let's make our own' and this one makes the most sense in terms of construction and materials.

(I found the original source, but yes, I discovered this image on Gertie's page)

I had no idea Kleinert had such a stranglehold on the market of pits.

http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/10/lets-talk-about-sweat.html

I like Gertie. Fight me. She gets people to sew. Her books are well considered additions to the canon. And she's funny.

"Reader, I was not Sure"*

This however takes the cake. 

https://thompsontee.com/blog/how-to-make-dress-shields-at-home/

It's an advert for tshirts, with a sewing tutorial as carrot.

All of the things they mention "scissors" "ruler" "pencil" you need are affiliated links to Amazon. 

Clever!

They get bonus points for sweat related links on their pages.

Here are my jacket shields. Lining and flannel.

Made a moon shape.

Cut them, stitched them, 

I had thought about making them this way

That is, cut a couple of squares of flannel, and pin them/attach them with snaps on the bias over the bottom of the armscye. If I were in a real pinch, this works (I've seen it done on costumes, pinned into place) but I am making a set for one jacket that will fit it and feel nice.
I think it was Kenneth King recently who wrote about a sleeve that feels nice to slip your arm into.
And I admit that is guiding my thinking on this. So mine are a little overdone.

my cardboard pattern is in the center.
I took it's shape from the underarm seam on the target jacket, but I'll wager it will work for any of mine.

I sew them together in chains, same for serging the bottom edge.

I pinked the top seam of each after I sewed the pairs together,

Fold them over the jacket seam and pin at the edges.

I only pinned through the seam allowance, and after I took this photo, undid this pin so it angled away from the center and towards the shape of the armscye. Just one on each side, nothing on the sleeve or body seams (you could). And I could put snaps in, but I was in a bit of a hurry and I think my arm will hold that shield in place against the seam. And if it doesn't, I'll come back and fix it AND this post to reflect that.

The finished product. No top seam under my armpit, no top stitching, no flat feld.

Boom, done.

Yes, the idea of making dress shields for that one jacket is great. And I do wear that jacket a LOT. Although it's Sag Harbor label, it's soooo Chico's Chic, and makes me Instant Grownup. Chenille upholstery fabric. 

I shortened it, and hemmed it with ribbon to finish it nicely, give it a little reinforcement, and cover up some nasty mended fraying action

And yes, I am sewing myself something similar, but it's taking too many toiles to get done in a reasonable amount of time.

Which is fine. Everyone needs a hobby hole.

*Jane Eyre has a go-to joke construction here. Reader, I cannot resist it.

Mom, Black Velvet Ribbon Hunt, Burda 6932

Alterations and my mom

My mom was flat, teeny, without noticable body fat.

This was never a good thing.

Sitting was a challenge.

V-necks? Forget it.

No hips? Pants fall down.

She did get the mom tum, though. Weird!

Because she did stay the same size for decades, whatever she bought or sewed, she kept.

And when she got cancer, those clothes needed to be comfortable and finished properly. No tags, no clunky seams, no raw edges, no pointy bits.

It's kind of quality sewing meets careful finishing.

It's my mother's birthday; she would be 91 if she'd made it past 54.

I don't have many photos of her

There she is in the back. Nice housecoat.

Miss you mom. I promise I'll go find the photos now.

On the other side of sewing, I got my ten yards of black "velvet" (more like plushy) 2" ribbon from some Amazon sub-supplier in Nevada. Deadstock from Hendler's Ribbons. I'm making belts for the choir dresses, so just has to have some heft and flex (unlike florists ribbon, which won't last. We've tried.)

I spend the better part of an hour checking and yes, Hendler's is closed, but their website and all other things just imply they are hibernating. Any attempt on Yelp to mark them shut has been deferred,  so go figure. Anyone who knows more about their situation, let me know.

Mood was out, but not marked as out of stock.

So what I want to know is: was there some cosplay or character that involves 2" black velvet ribbon? I could be selling it out of the back of my car if I had some. 1 1/2", or any other color, there's lots (in the narrower range, you can get the good stuff (the soft velvety stuff)).

The plastic reel was broken so I had to make my own

Ah, IKEA furniture parts to the rescue...

More dresses to hem, one to resize, and one to ....graft from.

Nothing wasted around here.

Also mostly making a jacket for my son

I'm cutting a new seam in the front for a pocket, so I'm slicing and adding seam allowances and making new pockets with the yellow flimsy tracing paper

Yup yup yup. Apparently I haven't taken any pictures of the actual sewing. It's going well. No surprises for once.

Except the original pocket

The central seam is to the left. The pocket is slanted away from the direction the hand is coming from (the right).

Unless these were designed to be reached into opposition-aly. 

Oookay Burda 6932.....

Some people do go both ways