Look Ma...No Hem!

Remember last week I introduced you to the new Waterfall Jacket Fashion Leaflet?  I had plenty of fabric to sew a coordinating tank top to go with it.

The fabric was really interesting as you could use either the right or the wrong side as the finished right side.

 

And the selvage?  Well...it was like a mini-fringe.  It was so interesting that I decided to use it as the hem of the tank top as well as on the diagonal decorative seam.

When laying out the pattern, it meant that the straight of grain line would be PERPENDICULAR to the selvage, not parallel as in a traditional layout.  And I added the diagonal seam going from the right armhole to the lower left side seam.  I wanted the pattern to meet at basically a 45 degree angle when the diagonal seam was sewn.  And yes, I laid the upper bodice over the lower front bodice rather than sewing a traditional seam where right sides are together.  I wanted that fringy selvage to be the decorative element on the front of the tank.

This design was fraught with a few challenges, as when the pattern was laid on perpendicular to the selvage, I discovered that it was not knit on the straight of grain so to speak.  It was knit crooked.  This next photo shows that with the selvages edges together, the fold it created was not totally on grain. 

This meant that the back of the tank hangs a little wonky, but I was willing to live with that so that I could use the fringy selvage at the hem line.

For the bust dart, I simply left it in its original side seam position.  If you want, you could transfer it to the lower side seam but I didn't want it to conflict with the decorative diagonal front seam.

Lastly, I trimmed the neckline and armholes with bias binding cut from the same stretchy fabric, but used the wrong side as the outside for emphasis.

All up, it turned out great.  The General Tank Top directions are basically all that's needed to design this tank from your Sure-Fit Designs Dress Kit.  If you don't already have them, please CLICK HERE.

In case you missed last week's blog on the new downloadable Waterfall Jacket Fashion Leaflet, here's what it looks like with this coordinating tank top underneath.

This tank top is definitely a 'Made in a Day' project.
Enjoy!

The Waterfall Jacket - new Fashion Leaflet

Sure-Fit Designs Blog

You'll love this new downloadable Fashion Leaflet.  All the details and drawing instructions for the Waterfall Jacket are now available.

You'll want to consider using a nice, stretchy knit that drapes well.  The waterfall cascading effect is best shown in fabric that hangs and creates soft folds.
You'll notice in this top photo that I've combined it with a tank top of coordinating fabric.  In next weeks blog you'll see underneath the jacket at the interesting tank top details and how I utilized and laid out this very interesting novelty knit fabric.

Here's is a front view.  I loved the wrong side of the fabric as much as the right side.  You'll see the wrong side is dominantly black with pink dots.  My black tank top, sewn with Slinky, works perfectly underneath in contrast to the self-fabric tank top in the first photo.

In the line drawing above, you'll see you have a choice of a longer waterfall extension versus a shorter waterfall extension.  Those options will of course, be explained in the downloadable leaflet.

The back is pretty plain and simple as this prototype is showing:

 The above photo is a close-up view of the waterfall shorter extension.

For this design, I used the Sure-Fit Designs Dress Kit which so many of you already own.  This is simply another great fashion idea of how to design with your body blueprint.  For this jacket, I transferred the bust dart up to the shoulder line...and it fits beautifully...but you could leave it in its basic side seam position or move it to the lower side seam if you want.

To purchase this Waterfall Jacket Fashion Leaflet - simply CLICK HERE.  Price...just #3.99.

Happy Sewing,

2017 Fit & Sew Retreats

Sure-Fit Designs Blog

This is the perfect time to plan your 2017 sewing events.  If you've ever wanted to attend a Sure-Fit Designs Fit & Sew Retreat, there is one in late March and late June 2017.

March 25 through 30, 2017
or
June 24 through 29, 2017

Come fulfill your dream and sew your passion!  There are currently 2 spaces remaining for the March Retreat and 3 spaces remaining for the June Retreat.

To get an up close look at where you'll spend 6 days, watch this short Facebook broadcast where I tour you through Our Sewing Room - the fabulous facility where I teach the Fit & Sew Retreats.

In the above video, you'll meet the lovely ladies who attended the August 2016 Retreat.  Everyone learned lots, plus fun was had by all.

We sew...

We fit... 

We draw patterns.... 

We have lessons...

We learn...

We help one another... 

We celebrate....

For complete 2017 Retreat details, please Click Here.

Please call to register - (541) 344-0422 in Eugene Oregon.

Hope to meet you soon.

Glenda...the Good Stitch!

 

Forward Thrusted Shoulder

If your blouses, tops and dresses typically ride back on your body and tend to choke you at the front neck, it's very possible that you'll need a forward thrusted shoulder tune-up.  It's generally quite easy to tell if you'll need to make this adjustment.
With your test bodice on, look at where the shoulder seam is sitting in relation to the top of your shoulder.  Does it look like it's riding too far back?  When you look at the shoulder seam, if you were to drop a tape measure down your arm, does it look like you're dividing your arm in half?
In this photo, you'll see a forward adjusted shoulder seam.  Where the tape measure is hanging is now dividing her arm basically in half.

Now, let's take a little closer look at where the original shoulder seam stitching line was.  Notice the red dotted line?  That's the original shoulder stitching line.  Notice that in blue, I've indicated that it is riding too far back on her shoulder.  If you follow the red line going downward, you'll see that it is not dividing her arm in half.

In this next photo, I've emphasized the new shoulder seam line which has been moved forward about 5/8".

When you make this change on your pattern, you also need to consider the effect on the sleeve cap notch.  It too needs to be moved forward the same amount.  To make this adjustment, you can see the V-shaped slash line on the pattern.  The center where the 'V' meets is the pivot point.  The front of the cap is overlapped and the back of the cap opens up the same amount that you moved the shoulder point forward.

The blue notch marks indicate where the sleeve cap notch has been repositioned.  The red line indicates the corrected straight of grain.  (This process of re-positioning the sleeve cap notch is shared by Louise Cutting in How to Fit a Changing Figure).

To see a video on drawing the forward-thrusted shoulder alteration, please watch this video:

For those of you needing this tune-up, I think you'll find the information straight forward and easy to do.

Happy Fitting,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!