Stitch and bitch thread #10. There’s a pattern here

[NutellaEllaElla]

Time for a new thread as the weather starts to turn.
Welcome back oldies and come on in newbies!

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Hello!
Does anyone have any suggesti0ns for a v neck blouse?

You were all so helpful with the dress ideas (I've bought a pattern, and have fabric) I'm hoping you can help again!

Fabric is some lovely Nerida Hansen

www.beyondthepinkdoor.com/en-gb/products/nerida-hansen-fine-poplin-eden-navy?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=e5e33d65f&pr_rec_pid=9785186222414&pr_ref_pid=9785184321870&pr_seq=uniform

Ideally no buttons, no side zips - too ample of chest. I've got some round neck patterns but fancy a change...

Although next on my To Be Made pile is a trench coat. And then the dress everyone was helpful with. I need to hurry up with my sewing so I have time to actually wear these clothes I make...

Ooh, a challenge. Being cotton poplin it will have quite a lot of structure so nothing too puffy, unless you like that style.

I quite like puffy sleeves. Am slowly working my way up to enormous sleeves!

For a simple style, there is the Megan nielsen Dove blouse.
It would look gorgeous as a tea house top but it's short sleeved.
Maybe the Grainline Augusta.

It's actually hard finding stuff with a v-neck and no fastenings that doesn't need some drape, or else I would have suggested the Nicks top.

Itch to Stitch Seychelles top?

Tricky indeed. How about:

Liesl & co Verdun (there’s a v-neck option)
Liesl & co Geneva (this one has buttons, but it also has lantern sleeves! Never even heard of those before)
Atelier Jupe - Zoey (probably better suited to something more drapey)
Friday Pattern Company - Donny (short sleeves, is that a problem?)

Style arc Zalia would have sleeves with major volume!

If you like 'feature' sleeves, have a cruise around on the Fibre Mood website - they always seem to have magnificent sleeves.

I'm too clumsy for feature sleeves - theres a reason they're known as custard catchers in my family.

I wonder if anyone can help. I had a problem with the sleeve cap on my 1st Archer shirt, which I would ideally like to solve before moving on to the next one.
After staring at the pattern & getting my ruler out, I think I can see what’s causing the issue, but I also feel like I must be missing something.

In true MN style, I’ve created a diagram!

The front part of the sleeve cap is longer than the front arm scythe. That’s as expected, as it allows the sleeve to be eased in.

But the back of the sleeve cap is SHORTER than the back arm scythe. That’s not right is it?! The only option I can see for fitting the sleeve into the armhole is to move that centre notch further towards the back, but that causes pulling because the sleeve doesn’t quite end up where it should be.

Am I missing something here?! IF I’m not being stupid and there is indeed an issue with the pattern, any suggestions for how to fix this? Do I remove fabric from the back arm scythe? Make changes to the sleeve?

Most of the V necks I can think of have already been mentioned but there’s always Vivace dolman which works well with bold patterns and can be made in woven or knit

@CrimsonAlligator I don’t know without looking at some other patterns but you could always email them to ask? I’ll have a look at a few of mine later this evening.

Break it down, @CrimsonAlligator and compare between the notches, on the top of the shoulder and below the notches, towards the underarm. Remember to measure at the seam line.

Is it just your fabric pieces that don't line up? Are they still the same shape and size as your pattern pieces? Did you stay stitch your diagonal edges?

Just another thought - is your seam allowance correct? 1/2" for this pattern.

It’s the pattern pieces that don’t appear to line up @PickAChew. Good idea to measure smaller segments. That should help to isolate the issue some more. I can’t see anyone mention this particular problem in the reviews, so I suspect it’s me, rather than the pattern.

Off to do some more measuring! And no, I did not measure at the seam line either. I’m feeling a bit silly already 😅

Just remembered that I have the pattern @CrimsonAlligator . If you line the top shoulder notch up with the seam between the yoke and front, as one of the sewalong I saw suggested, you'd be 1/4" short in the smallest size. It needs to be lined up with this notch on the edge of the yoke.

@PickAChew you are a genius!!! That should teach me to read the instructions more thoroughly next time 😬 Thanks so much for having a look at your pattern.

I even managed to fold it back up again 😂

Glad it’s resolved!

Had a fun evening at sewing club and made good progress on my Phen. Sleeves on, hems done, just need to overlock the sleeve heads then sew and overlock the side seams. Oh and add cuffs. Then buttonholes and buttons and it’s done! Should finish it tomorrow evening.

i rarely sew garments with sleeves so I’m going to file this away in my head for future use.

I’ve more or less finished my trousers. I think the fabric was some disappointing ponte I bought from poundametre. It’s still disappointing but it’s made trousers I can wear for gardening and housework and not feel embarrassed to open the door.

I’m finding the low light levels are making things difficult at the moment. This is the first winter since my eye problems occurred. I’ve got work lamps but I’m still struggling with flashes and floaters so they aren’t really helping much.

It's frustrating, isn't it, @jins - I no longer have the kaleidoscope effect since I had my cataract removed and I cope much better with low light and dark fabrics but it's still quite fuzzy and much more prone to dryness than it used to be.

I have broken my self imposed dressmaking fabric buying ban. This one sung to me. It's a Nani Iro brushed cotton linen that The Draper's Daughter had on special. Colours don't photograph well in artificial light (it's so dark, today) but it's swirly blues and greens. I have a shirt in another kokka cotton linen blend and it's so comfortable to wear. Not sure what it will be, yet, but I bought 3m of it.

Frustration is exactly it @PickAChew. I love that fabric.

As it’s nice and dark today I’ve been playing with my projector. The cats have enjoyed it!
I found I can get the test square the correct size by having the projector about 2,3m away and it’s quite clear. Bonus

@CrimsonAlligator ding ding ding ding! Atelier Jupe Zoey is perfect!
Thank you!

I have one of these @Jins which makes a massive difference for me, but admittedly I don’t have the issues you’re describing. Just a lifetime of below average eyesight. Think it’s the frequency of the light that makes things much easier. It’s literally brilliant https://www.cassart.co.uk/daylight-lumi-task-lamp--c/

That fabric looks like it was worth breaking your fabric buying ban over @PickAChew. Brushed cotton linen and a gorgeous colour too (for as far as I can tell from the photo obvs).

In my fantasy world, online fabric retailers would list the HEX code for all the fabrics they sell, so that you can work out for definite what the actual colour is. Greens in particular are so difficult to photograph and some retailers (looking at you Minerva…) appear to be a little colourblind when they label their fabrics.

That looks like a good lamp @CrimsonAlligator. I’ve tried a few at the lower end of the price scale but haven’t found the one yet. I have dug out my old 70s anglepoise lamp and replaced the bulb with a spotlight in an adapter which is the best so far but it’s heavy and not easy to move around. I’m told that my brain will see past the floaters in time but the white flashes will take longer. They have improved a lot but are still very annoying. Coincidentally a lot of my old school friends have had the same thing happen this year (posterior vitreous detachment) so it’s definitely another thing to chalk up to aging.

I’ve rethreaded my overlocker and coverstitch ready to make a batch of T shirts. It feels like I’ve done a full days work

I have this one that I like for its flexibility. It's useful during school holidays because Ds2 won't let me have the overhead lights on and comes in handy with my machines with less than useful lighting.
daylightcompany.com/product/duo-pro-clamp

Ooh another good choice.

I bought These when they were reduced to silly money at Tesco and they have been invaluable for threading the coverstitch. All the important bits are buried in the body of the machine and I can’t use the pull through method when I’ve snapped the looper thread or cut it too short