Wednesday 28 March 2012

Post 5: Sewing shoulder, side seams and hem

Easy peasy today which is probably a relief if you have just made it through the placket!  This is stage 4 and 5 of the pattern instructions.  Sewing the shoulder seams and side seams and your first opportunity to try on.  There is not much I need to say as you are basically sewing straight lines here.   I did find I needed to stretch the shoulder back sections to get them to fit to the front sections but as there is a bit of bias in the fabric here that was easy enough.   My shoulder seam is below, after seam neatening but try on for fit before finishing your seams!
In terms of altering fit by the seams, there is only a little room to play with in the seams but on the shoulder and the side you could move out by 1/8 to make them a little larger and inward by as much as you need.  Finish your seams by serging/zig zag/3 step zig zag- this is good for fine fabrics like lawn and voile/ pinking sheers.  Jenny suggests stitching the hem now, I left mine until the end so I could get the whole effect of the style before I changed it.  I ended up taking off about 3 inches on each Tova but  I don't suit a longer style top so I was expecting that
And the hem is easy, I tops stitched on the edge side close to the fold.
I'll be back at the weekend and we will be setting the sleeves and finishing the cuffs- both easier than the inset!
sib blog

3 comments:

  1. I know Jenny suggests it but trying the top on before setting in the sleeves doesn't give a great indication of fit (I guess unless it's much too small or enormously large). Mine seemed OK at this point but was tight once the sleeves were added. Have just re-sewn the armholes with a teeny seam allowance - so glad I opted to make a toile instead of cutting into my good fabric straight away!

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  2. I'm up to the same point as the sew along now- started it last night and I may continue tonight following Jenny's instructions if I feel so inclined... :)

    Size small does seem quite big, but then it's supposed to be a baggy fit I guess, and I'm used to closer fitting garments. Would look great with a belt to bring the middle in

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    Replies
    1. The sleeve post is now up. It is a loose non waisted garment but the placket area and chest should be a good fit, not baggy, maybe you need to go down a size?

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