Wasted Sewing Day
I have been on a roll and sewing quite frequently and am well ahead of my monthly sewing goal. I am trying really hard not to buy any more fabric or patterns until I have significantly reduced my current stash of fabric and have use the patterns that I bought years ago and have yet to touch them.
Yesterday I reviewed my fabric stash to find fabric to make McCall's 6750 view B and found a wine color rayon something with a bit of crosswise stretch.
Notice the pattern says "EASY"? Leave it to me to take something so simple and mess it up so badly. The easier question to answer on this one is what went right. The only thing I got right was the collar and the buttonholes but I don't count buttonholes..
This pattern for me was straight from the bowels of hell. I wasted a day on a top that was supposed to take only 3 HOURS.
My first sign of trouble was when I had to adjust the back length and it also affected the armhole. I should have put it down immediately because I never have to adjust the armhole. I am fairly decent at making necessary adjustments but this one was new to me.
Why didn't I fit with dress form? I tried but I could not get the back lined up properly. I did not realize it then but I forgot the collar was a high collar in the back and I was trying to fit it like a normal collar. I pulled out a pattern that I knew did fit and found the armhole would be ok so I pressed on.
I figured that the only adjustment I needed to make for this pattern was the back length and the sleeve length but I only did 2 inches for the back length but I really needed 3 but I did not want to mess with the armhole anymore. I pressed on.
I shorten the sleeve length by 1 1/2 inches and pressed on and got the pattern pieces cut out. After I finished cutting out all pieces it dawned on me the the armhole needed to be adjusted just like on the front and back bodice pieces.
I had a problem because I had already shorten the sleeve and to shorten it anymore would make it too short. No problem I have extra fabric so I re-cut the armhole with the adjustment and remove the 1 1/2 length adjustment. I pressed on.
I started marking the darts and had a heck of a time because all the lines were running together and I could not make out which ones I needed. Normally a pattern only has 3 different sizes but this one had 5 different sizes. I should have stopped but I marked what I thought were the darts for my size and I pressed on.
I got the darts sewed and they did not look right but I pressed on and move on to the sleeves. Got the sleeves, cuff, and bottonholes done and pressed on.
Got the front and back stitched together and checked the fit and it seemed good so I pressed on. I added the facings and was ready to attached the sleeve.
I did the basting stitches on the sleeve and proceeded to pin the sleeve to the armhole but there was a problem - it seemed I had to do an extraordinary amount to gathering to get it to fit in the armhole. I did the extra gathering and basted in and tried it on. The sleeve was extremely poofy and I knew that was not right from looking at the pattern.
I went and looked at a jacket I made with a 2 piece sleeve. I figured the instructions were wrong so I extended the basting lines to even out the gathers but to no avail. After wasting an inordinate amount of time I decided to take a look at the pattern pieces again. To my horror I realized the front bodice armhole had been cut a bigger size than the other pieces. I was devastated so decided to move on to the rest of the shirt.
I did the hem and buttonholes. The buttonholes went fine. The hem was a hot mess so I ripped it out and this time I pressed first and use double-sided sticky to temporarily hold it in place while I stitched it down.
By now I am totally disgusted with the top and just want a finished product that I know I probably won't wear. I decided to make the top sleeveless and created front and back armhole facings to finish the armhole edges. I ripped apart the sleeves and used the fabric from the sleeves to create them.
I finally got them stitched on and they looked ok but the shirt is a hot mess. The darts are awkward, the hem is just bad, and the back is really bad. The back length is about an 1 inch too long (the inch I decided to leave out.
How I could take something so easy and mess it up so badly I still don't understand. What I do know is this pattern is going in the trash. The shirt will go in my closet until I get tire of looking at it. I will remove the buttons and toss it in the trash.
April sewing goal completed but not wearable.
Yesterday I reviewed my fabric stash to find fabric to make McCall's 6750 view B and found a wine color rayon something with a bit of crosswise stretch.
How I Did It (or in this case how I messed up)
Notice the pattern says "EASY"? Leave it to me to take something so simple and mess it up so badly. The easier question to answer on this one is what went right. The only thing I got right was the collar and the buttonholes but I don't count buttonholes..
This pattern for me was straight from the bowels of hell. I wasted a day on a top that was supposed to take only 3 HOURS.
My first sign of trouble was when I had to adjust the back length and it also affected the armhole. I should have put it down immediately because I never have to adjust the armhole. I am fairly decent at making necessary adjustments but this one was new to me.
Why didn't I fit with dress form? I tried but I could not get the back lined up properly. I did not realize it then but I forgot the collar was a high collar in the back and I was trying to fit it like a normal collar. I pulled out a pattern that I knew did fit and found the armhole would be ok so I pressed on.
I figured that the only adjustment I needed to make for this pattern was the back length and the sleeve length but I only did 2 inches for the back length but I really needed 3 but I did not want to mess with the armhole anymore. I pressed on.
I shorten the sleeve length by 1 1/2 inches and pressed on and got the pattern pieces cut out. After I finished cutting out all pieces it dawned on me the the armhole needed to be adjusted just like on the front and back bodice pieces.
I had a problem because I had already shorten the sleeve and to shorten it anymore would make it too short. No problem I have extra fabric so I re-cut the armhole with the adjustment and remove the 1 1/2 length adjustment. I pressed on.
I started marking the darts and had a heck of a time because all the lines were running together and I could not make out which ones I needed. Normally a pattern only has 3 different sizes but this one had 5 different sizes. I should have stopped but I marked what I thought were the darts for my size and I pressed on.
I got the darts sewed and they did not look right but I pressed on and move on to the sleeves. Got the sleeves, cuff, and bottonholes done and pressed on.
Got the front and back stitched together and checked the fit and it seemed good so I pressed on. I added the facings and was ready to attached the sleeve.
I did the basting stitches on the sleeve and proceeded to pin the sleeve to the armhole but there was a problem - it seemed I had to do an extraordinary amount to gathering to get it to fit in the armhole. I did the extra gathering and basted in and tried it on. The sleeve was extremely poofy and I knew that was not right from looking at the pattern.
I went and looked at a jacket I made with a 2 piece sleeve. I figured the instructions were wrong so I extended the basting lines to even out the gathers but to no avail. After wasting an inordinate amount of time I decided to take a look at the pattern pieces again. To my horror I realized the front bodice armhole had been cut a bigger size than the other pieces. I was devastated so decided to move on to the rest of the shirt.
I did the hem and buttonholes. The buttonholes went fine. The hem was a hot mess so I ripped it out and this time I pressed first and use double-sided sticky to temporarily hold it in place while I stitched it down.
By now I am totally disgusted with the top and just want a finished product that I know I probably won't wear. I decided to make the top sleeveless and created front and back armhole facings to finish the armhole edges. I ripped apart the sleeves and used the fabric from the sleeves to create them.
I finally got them stitched on and they looked ok but the shirt is a hot mess. The darts are awkward, the hem is just bad, and the back is really bad. The back length is about an 1 inch too long (the inch I decided to leave out.
How I could take something so easy and mess it up so badly I still don't understand. What I do know is this pattern is going in the trash. The shirt will go in my closet until I get tire of looking at it. I will remove the buttons and toss it in the trash.
April sewing goal completed but not wearable.
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