Aaaaarrrrrgghhh! sleeves

[lucysmam]

I hate setting in sleeves. Hate it. I am getting very slightly better at it after a) doing a half-day workshop, and b) sticking to purchased patterns for a bit instead of drafting my own. It still gives me the rage though

Hope your sleeves have starting behaving themselves and stopped all their slipping puckering wriggly nonsense? Otherwise, you know, it could be sleeveless - there's always a cardigan...

I have done them, all four of them. Has been years since I've set in a sleeve & had forgotten how much I disliked them in the first place. They really do fry my brain though.

They're far from perfect but dd now has two almost finished school dresses. Just zips to do but am getting dp's mum to do them because my machine doesn't have changeable feet & I cba to fart around doing them with a normal foot.

I didn't do all four that quickly btw! I've been doing them on and off all afternoon.

I always do two rows of basting stitches close together and then lightly press the sleeve on a tailors ham - you can make your own quite cheaply, you just need a bit of fabric and some sawdust from the pet shop. Patterns for ham sare easily found for free online if you want one.

That way the sleeve starts to take on the shape of being a sleeve before you actually pin it to your bodice. It goes in a lot easier ime.

Four in an afternoon deserves a medal for perseverance.

... hams are.

I've never used a ham. Will have a look for a printable pattern I can download & try it on one.

I wouldn't have done them all today but I reeeeeeeally want to start on the Elsa dresses tomorrow. The girls played out all day, dp's watched sport all day so I had peace and quiet to fiddle to my hearts content

There are a couple of bits where it's noticeably folded rather than eased into the hole (iyswim) as I've stitched but I don't think 8yo's are going to look that closely.

Sounds like a nice day . A quick search finds this

www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2012/08/how-to-make-tailors-hams-and-sausages.html

I made mine from an old book, pre all this internet malarky!

It was a very relaxing day. Dp kept looking at me like I was mad to be 'doing' rather than just sitting about but I can't sit still

Thank you for the link - I'll plug in our printer in the morning and see if it'll print black & white...it's very temperamental at the best of times lately