A Cowl and A Pep............................................................Do'h

This is my last variation on my basic t-shirt before I move onto wovens. I wanted to try something again that was all my own so I decided to do a top with a cowl and peplum. For this peplum I added more fullness by slashing and spreading pattern piece that I used my last top and then using some basic knowledge that I got from studying a ready to wear sweater, I drafted the cowl using the neckband as a starting guide. My Homer Simpson Do'h moment didn't come until I was attaching the cowl and realized I didn't lower the neckline so the cowl was not as big and as low as I wanted. I was in such a rush that day and it was not one of my usual sewing days. It was more like when ever I found sometime even if it was five minutes I went into my room and did something but nothing to focused including the pattern drafting. By the end of the day the top was complete but with that huge mistake and I did not have enough fabric to try and recut another cowl so I just left it , just call it a curtle (cowl turtle mix) LOL. I do plan to try again but first I want to move on a little bit with some woven tops.

The cowl look that I was going for

This is also my first item in the Autumn 6PAC over at Stitcher's Guild. I decided to do a mini wardrobe completely drafted by me.  I am also thinking about the upcoming mini wardrobe over at Patternreview since the rules appear to be a bit relaxed, just four items sewn in four weeks to make four outfits.

Quick Info:

• Self drafted t-shirt pattern
• 5 pattern pieces (front bodice, back bodice, peplum, sleeve and cowl)
• Thin cotton knit
• Sewn using both sewing machine and serger

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I know that fitting with wovens is a bit more involved so be patient with me on the next few garmants.

Until next time, happy sewing

T-Shirt Restart

So I have finished the first three skirts in Design-It-Yourself Clothes, and now I'm returning  back to  T-shirts the second lesson I guess you can say. Again I have drafted the T-shirt more times than I can remember but not all drafts made it to the muslin stage. The last ones I worked with for a while but still after three muslins I still was not completely happy but I learned a lot. Mostly where and how to measure my body. I was hoping to sign up for Cal's t-shirt drafting class over at Creativebug during their last $9.99 sale but had issues when it came to payment and now it seems to be no longer available. So on my own I guess it will continue to be.

A quick run down of my last attempt, my first muslin the neckline was way too high for my liking and both the shoulder length and sleeves too long.

Muslin number two: sleeves still too long, shoulder length still too long and forgot to shorten the neck band so after it was attached it stood away from my body.

Muslin number three: a little be better on all adjustments but still not happy. With each muslin I just adjusted the original pattern never redrafting the pattern. This time I'm going to start a new draft. To help me I studied a few ready made patterns in my collection and retook some of my measurements.







































These are the three patterns I studied to figure out shoulder length, neckline shape, sleeve length, and armsyce shape. I DID NOT COPY ANYTHING, just to let everyone know right now. So I'm working on a new draft now and hope to have something to show with in the next few days.

Until next time, happy sewing...

McCall's 5105 Muslin done

Well its done and it fits better than any other tee that I have right now. So now I'm going to run with it. I do want to to refine the fit just a little bit more but its not a huge problem for me. At first I did what was suggested from Where did you get that T-shirt and just added a little at the side seam for a larger bust but I still was not happy with that in the tissue fitting. So I ended up doing and FBA and just easing the side dart to fit. I also raised the neck line about two inches. Another book that I used during my learning to work with knits was