Another SFD Top and A Video for Klutzy68

Alright, my anonymous friend won't give me her name, so I am going to make one up for her.  I am going to call her "Nony" (pronounced No Nee), which is just a shortened "anonymous".  Nony asked me why I don't make dresses or skirts or SOMETHING other than a thousand blouses.  Yesterday, I remembered the reason.

The reason is, I have spent the last two years LEARNING how to make the clothes I make fit me.

I have miles of fabric, most of which I bought on sale, and I decided to use the fabric up as LESSONS IN FIT.  Obviously, finding Sure-fit Designs was a great solution, BUT that doesn't really teach me how to fit a commercial pattern.  That is what I wanted to be able to do, because I am not good -- yet -- at making new styles up with SFD.

ALSO, another reason was that I have this $12,000 embroidery machine sitting here as a very large paper weight on my sewing table, and I wanted to be able to apply some designs to my tops without distorting the shape of the top.

When you put an embroidery design on a piece of fabric, it pulls it -- sucks it up -- and the pattern piece is then distorted.  SOOOOOOO, I wanted to be able to have a pattern that was so perfect, I could cut out a pattern piece with insurance all around the sides -- apply the design -- put the pattern back down, and cut it out less whatever insurance was left.

I decided I wanted one design on my shoulder and another on the opposite hip.  Here are the designs I chose after HOURS looking for them on line.

I picked out a SFD top I had made before, and I changed the neckline and decided to make it button down the front.

I had enough fabric to cut larger-than-the-pattern fronts so I would have room for fabric-suckage from the embroidery designs.

Then, I MISTAKENLY decided to use Sulky Ultratwist to sew the one-color designs with.  I SHOULD have know better!  I thought by doing it BEFORE cutting the exact shape of the fronts would prevent fabric distortion, but I think it got distorted anyway when I put it in the washer and dryer.  I was really shocked to see it in the pictures.  I THOUGHT it surely had shrunk to its maximum with me applying tons of hot steam to the finished designs, but NO!  I am so disappointed.  Check it out:

Look how the LEFT side of me (right side of pic) -- with the embroidery up at the top pulls up over my boob!  You can see 5 stress lines pulling out from the buttons. 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at this picture.  I was VERY upset. 

I took several more pics, and it looked the same every time.  I would think the prewashed fabric shrunk again, but it is only on one side.

The right side isn't too bad.  I suppose that is because that design is smaller.

This is why I hardly ever use Sulky thread.  It shrinks and it fades.  Such a shame, because it is so pretty.  I am going to cut this same blouse out again, and I am going to use Isacord thread for the designs. 

Hopefuly, I can find fabric in a close enough color to reuse those nine buttons.

And, YES, I can see that the dart is way too high.  The funny thing about that is I had a note written on the pattern piece that the dart was "too low".  How odd!  I held the paper pattern up to my chest, and the dart seemed fine, so I left it where it was.

I really like the embroidery though.

I will keep trying -- of course -- and I will call this "Muslin #1".  It isn't the fit that is the problem since it is SFD.

Obviously, the seamstress has some serious issues with imperfection!

This morning, I had a comment on one of my videos from a new subscriber.  She found me via Sure-fit Designs.  She told me she had seen my "red tee" at SFD, and she really liked it.  She asked me to show her what I did to change the original blueprint.

First, I went to SFD to try to find the red top.  I didn't see it anywhere, so I don't know how she found it. 

I went through my pattern envelopes, and I found the ONLY red tee I have made.  Below is a video I made just for you, Klutzy68, showing how I changed my SFD blueprint to make the red knit top.

Here is the same top in a zebra print.  I am sitting in this goofy pose to show you the FRENCH DART that goes into the side seam.

This video probably has more information than you want or need, but I wanted to explain all the oddities about my patterns so as not to discourage the entire world from ever wanting to sew!

Gotta go. 

I asked Jerry if he would take me on a date after work to go buy some ivy plants.  I LOVE ivy because it grows like a weed, and it is so GREEN. 

Hugs, Joy