Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Back at it ...

Well, the weekend is over and the Pilot has gone away again for another week. The dining room is 3/4 painted and I managed to get to the shop for an hour tonight. I have transferred the FBA and hood changes to all the pattern pieces. I am going to cut one more muslin so that I am sure of the fixes prior to cutting the cashmere. I have some waffle cloth that I had on the classifieds, but since there are no takers, I am going to use that. If it fits well enough, I have a very fashionable hooded HP bathrobe! I "tried on" the windbloc liner fabric today and it was lighter in weight than I thought which will work out well, I think.

I was looking through some back issues of Threads tonight and found an article on shawl collars. With respect to interfacings, there were 2 options, soft or tailored. The tailored option was favoured for coats. For that option, I can either hand baste in hair canvas or use layered fusible interfacing and roll tape. Since I don't have any hair canvas, guess I am using the fusible. No roll tape, though, do I really need it? My thought process is that since I am adding a hood and will have the collar slightly raised when wearing the hood, I don't necessarily need a definite roll line (not there is one marked on the pattern anyway ... more on patterns below).

I also Ann's article on welt pockets once again. I used her method on my Jalie jean jacket and loved it! It was so easy to follow and the results were so great. Again, my brain is working overtime, but isn't a bound buttonhole the same as a welt pocket without the pocket bag? Can I use the same method for my buttonholes? Something to try out on scraps before I do anything for the buttonholes.

Now, on to a general rant about patterns and people's expectations. I refer to myself as a novice sewer. As I have not yet sewn a tailored jacket and there are numerous techniques I have yet to learn, I would not call myself advanced in skill. What amazes me is that there are people out there who call themselves "advanced beginner" or "intermediate" and yet they publicly froth over having to add seam allowances, or they rant about small inconsitancies in pattern markings. On the HP design I am working on now, the markings are lighter in colour than the rest of the lines. There is no roll line marked for the shawl collar. Am I complaining? No. I don't need/expect to be handed it all on a silver platter. Sewing is an escape for me. I often call it a mindless exercise because I am able to completely dump all that is going on in my life and just focus on the project at hand. Does that mean that I don't have to think? Not on your life. Do I expect the detail of the pattern to be commensurate with the price of the pattern? No. I recognize that the reason indie patterns are more expensive is a scale issue. They limit the numbers so they can keep costs down. Since when is quality a function of cost?

Sorry for the rant, but I was disturbed by something I saw today and am amazed at the things some people can write. I am not going to say anything more as I don't want to give anymore time to this. I have just been holding this all in for a long time and today, I can't do it anymore. So, I am off to have a glass of milk and go to bed to read about the linings once more before I start to cut. Tomorrow is a day for muslin #2.

PS. Cross your fingers, I am bidding on a new serger on eBay. It is a lovely little machine that somebody I respect highly also owns. Two more days to go ... I am going a bit beyond my comfort zone in bidding, but this little beastie will be so worth it! A nice early Christmas present if it happens!

2 comments:

  1. You are not a novice sewer. I'd rank you at intermediate or high intermediate. If you were making tailored jackets, I'd rank you as advanced.

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  2. I've pretty much given up on all sewing boards. I really don't care to read the thoughts of some of people who are frequenting them.

    ReplyDelete

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