Two Seams to Go!
Using "seams" in one of the looser senses of the word, but hey, whatever.
Over the last few days I've cut and attached the last bit of trim and inserted underarm gussets in K's bliaut (and why I keep neglecting to just plan for gussets in the first place I cannot tell you, because they're always necessary and yet I keep not doing them anyway).
This
is the reason nothing gets done around here. Also, if you look
carefully you can see that there is indeed a gusset pinned in there.
This involved cutting little kite-shaped bits of fabric, ripping
portions of the side and sleeve seams out, setting the gusset in,
restitching the seams and anchoring all the newly-orphaned pieces of
thread (why oh why is everything I make French seamed?! It's because
it's all super fray-prone linen but still. Restitching French
seams that are only partially ripped is not really on my list of
favorite things to do). But! Now K will be able to move his arms, since a
well-fitted garment made only of rectangular pieces tends to bind a
rounded human rather uncomfortably.
Then
I patterned and pinned the trim on the hem; it started as four pieces
seamed into a long strip so I could pin it on to make sure it'd fit
right. As you can see in the picture above...it didn't. By half a freaking inch.
I looked at it and sighed a bit, because I really thought I'd added
enough to allow for seams and then some, and decided to go ahead and
start stitching, to see if I could stretch the trim just enough to allow
for that last seam.
The trick was to stretch only the tiniest bit at a time, to keep from having the trim spring back once I wasn't holding it in place and making the hem pucker.
And
I managed to eke out another three-quarters of an inch! Just about the
perfect amount to sew another very very tiny French seam, and make a
perfectly fitted band of trim around the hem.
Last
night I finished whipstitching the top edge of the trim down over the
raw edge of the body fabric, so all I have left on the Radioactive Neon
Bliaut is the actual, real hemming, and finishing the raw edge at the
neck. I think I'll be able to do that by Wednesday, and I'll get to mark
off another item on The List. Very exciting. If I'm really
clever, I'll get the pieces cut for the undershirt, too, which will be a
much faster item—lighter weight linen, simpler construction, and I'm
going to cut the gussets along with the other @#*^&#! pieces so I can avoid the part where I think I'm done and have him try it on and realize I've made a straitjacket.
Over the last few days I've cut and attached the last bit of trim and inserted underarm gussets in K's bliaut (and why I keep neglecting to just plan for gussets in the first place I cannot tell you, because they're always necessary and yet I keep not doing them anyway).
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| Helpful Cat being Helpful. |
The trick was to stretch only the tiniest bit at a time, to keep from having the trim spring back once I wasn't holding it in place and making the hem pucker.
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