First off I want to thank
Kathleen C. for the helpful tips she left me in the comments section yesterday. One was a hemming tip that seems to make hemming evenly pretty easy - I will definitely put that one into use. The other tip was for the zipper and that will get tried out either this afternoon or tomorrow when I get to that point in the pattern.
Now, The Problem......If you notice in the above picture, the width of the lower skirt pattern is quite a bit larger than the width of the fabric. Now before I went to buy the fabric I did not measure the pattern pieces - are you supposed to??? I looked over the instructions, figured out my dd's measurements, looked at the back of the pattern envelope and decided how much fabric to purchase adding on some extra just in case. Adding on length does not add width - I have now measured the pattern piece - it is 43" wide. My fabric which stated the width on the end of the bolt as 44"/45" in reality is only 41" wide but not all of it is usable because of selvages. I did wash and dry the fabric, but is this amount of shrinkage normal? I'm not sure what to do - the grand total short in width will be approximately 10". I am thinking that I will need to cut an additional piece of fabric 10" X the length to make up for the shortfall.
This is my progress to date. I am happy overall with the pattern and the instructions so far. This part has gone together very smoothly. Now to put on the upper skirt, zipper, and collar facings. I am looking forward to finishing this part as then my daughter can try it on and we can fine tune the length for the lower skirt portion.
Now, The Problem......If you notice in the above picture, the width of the lower skirt pattern is quite a bit larger than the width of the fabric. Now before I went to buy the fabric I did not measure the pattern pieces - are you supposed to??? I looked over the instructions, figured out my dd's measurements, looked at the back of the pattern envelope and decided how much fabric to purchase adding on some extra just in case. Adding on length does not add width - I have now measured the pattern piece - it is 43" wide. My fabric which stated the width on the end of the bolt as 44"/45" in reality is only 41" wide but not all of it is usable because of selvages. I did wash and dry the fabric, but is this amount of shrinkage normal? I'm not sure what to do - the grand total short in width will be approximately 10". I am thinking that I will need to cut an additional piece of fabric 10" X the length to make up for the shortfall.
This is my progress to date. I am happy overall with the pattern and the instructions so far. This part has gone together very smoothly. Now to put on the upper skirt, zipper, and collar facings. I am looking forward to finishing this part as then my daughter can try it on and we can fine tune the length for the lower skirt portion.
2 comments:
Oh, no that makes it so much more difficult!! Good luck!
What you have done so far is awesome :)
I think from looking at the pattern that if you piece your fabric so it will be wide enough for the skirt pattern, no one will ever know. I don't know if your fabric shrunk that much - widths vary and quality of fabrics vary - one can never tell how it will all play out. Every project is an adventure.
On the zipper, I echo Kathleen C about an adhesive for the zipper. I do all my zippers as centered zippers, AND to hold them in place, I use a glue stick. I used to use a fabric glue stick, but now I just use any glue stick, like Elmer's. Works just as well. And to guide your stitching on the right side of your fabric, use a piece of half inch scotch tape over the seam where you are putting in the zipper - it acts as a sewing guide so your top stitching will be straight and impressive! Please let us know how it goes.
Post a Comment