Monday, November 22, 2010

Hawaiian Shirt Help!

Can anyone help me with this problem?



I hate the back/underarm shirt wrinkle!  I started working on Victoria Jones pattern 220 for my Dad's Christmas present:


I made a muslin and its a little small.  That is easily fixed, but I hate the back arm wrinkle.  The picture above is actually from a RTW shirt my dad owns.  The muslin did the same thing.  I read somewhere that it is because the armsyce is set in too low because of the drop shoulder.  

What do I do to fix this? Is it even necessary? My dad has a rounded back too. Could this be amplifying the problem?  How would I fix this in a shirt with a back yoke?

 I realized that I see this men's shirt wrinkle everywhere, on mostly hawaiian style shirts.  My Sketching I instructor has the same problem :)  

Any thought/comments would be most appreciated.  I need to get this thing made before Christmas.  He's been waiting for this shirt since our trip to Maui in July when we bought this fabric:

The top fabric.

Thanks Blog Readers!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

FINALLY! A little time to sew...

ie.  Homework Procrastination.

Sorry for not posting ANYTHING!  School has been kicking my ass. (Actually, I've been kicking its ass, but it's been taking up almost all of my time).  I finally gave in and sewed something and now I have something to post even though its completely lame.  

My mom bought doll clothes patterns for the American Girl Dolls.  She is giving a doll to my niece for Christmas.  Well, my mom started working on some of the clothes, and I decided to help. I stopped working on my Fashion Sketching homework to sew something for the first time weeks other than mini samples for my Industry Sewing Class.

This is what we made:






I cut out the pattern, my mom made the p.j. bottoms and I made the top.  I did not really use the instructions for the construction.  I tried to treat the top as a mini version of a real pjs.  This way I got practice on not using instructions and clean finishing the seams.



My mom cut out the pattern for this cute little dress, started sewing it, and I finished it.  I was really unhappy with the instructions on this one so I took apart what my mom had started and treated the dress as a real garment.  The facing was inserted the way I would a real dress and everything was clean finished.  Because they are just doll clothes, I pinked some of the SAs and the bottom of the facing.  


The clothes just barely fit the American Girl dolls!  Maybe, we made the S.A.s a smidge too big.  That's the only thing I can think of.  The top fits great, the bottoms and dress are snug.  Any suggestions other than cutting the pattern a little bigger and using smaller S.As?

Here is the Pattern Review:


Pattern Description:

18" Doll Clothes including top, camisole, vest, skirt, pants, jumper

Pattern Sizing:

one size.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you 
were done sewing with it?

Yes, for the most part.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

The instructions were awful.  Very confusing and made construction more difficult than it needed to be.  I wish the instructions were more like instructions for real clothing patterns.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Clothes were cute.  Many variations.  They were very snug on an American Girl Doll.  Almost couldn't get the jumper on the doll.  It would be very difficult for a child.

Fabric Used:

Cotton flannel for the pjs, quilting cotton and rick-rack for the jumper.
Velcro for the closure.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

Nope.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

It's snug. Probably won't sew this pattern again unless I use smaller SAs or cut it out a little bigger.

Conclusion:

Instant gratification project.



And thank you Rachel and Penny Pinching Pixie for becoming my most recent Blogger followers!

(As I was typing that a little spider crawled up my arm! EEEWWWW!)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

CSN Giveaway winner!

Congrats to Pixie! Random.org has selected you.  You have won $35 to the CSN stores online!  I just need your email address so you can get your gift certificate code!



Please email me at rofishman [at] [gmail] [dot] [com]!


I will have my awesome zipper giveaway soon!  I still have to take pictures of my scarf.  I miss sewing so much! I do have an awesome tutorial in the works for pin-less curved seams.  They are easy!  You'll  never cry over sewing a Princess seam again.

Pearl loves the blow dryer. :)
Voting for Pearl's Halloween contest ends soon!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Vote for Pearl!


It's Election Day and its time for you to go to the polls at Pattern Review to vote for your favorite puppy in Blogland, Pearl.

Voting starts today and ends Novemeber 11th!

Oh, don't forget to vote in your state elections too :)