Jalie 2005 - next round

I guess my focus is on tees at the moment :-)

The next version of Jalie 2005 was finished Sunday. This post would have been too, if I hadn't misplaced the post-it note I used to write down everything I did !

So, with the green tee (and its pattern) in hand, literally, I pulled down my fitting books and got to work. Fast Fit,  Fitting Finesse and The Perfect Fit were all put to good use. I looked up and tagged all my wrinkles everywhere I could find 'em. Not all the books showed them all but where they showed up in more than one book, I had choices in how to fix them.

Fast Fit was a good start - at the beginning of the book there is a specific order of alterations list.  I followed it step by step and did the alterations I needed. This is the summary (the sticky has lots more notes - it's amazing what you can fit on a 3x3 inch square piece of paper LOL)

• Forward shoulder - another 3/4-inch - shoulder seam is still not on shoulder bone
• Body length - I had already added 3 inches - no change 
• Sleeves
• Sleeves need more length - they feel too short - added 2 inches 
• Sleeves need to be more tapered at the cuff - they're too wide. - decreased 1-inch at each side
• I used PhatChick's (Thanks !) directions for adjusting the sleeve with a forward shoulder adjustment. I found these while digging around on PR.
• Diagonal wrinkles on sleeves - oops, forgot about these - they're still there :-)
• Narrow shoulder -  3/4-inch - armhole seam is still not quite right over shoulder bone.
• Narrow neck - by 3/4-inch and also lowered the V-neck down 1-inch
• Bust
• FBA - 1/2" - not sure if it was enough after all - but there aren't any horizontal wrinkles to show the bust is too tight - so I think it's ok (note - it did NOT help the horizontal underarm wrinkles - at least not much).
• Body
• More width in the body - completely forgot this too, but it doesn't feel as fitted as the green one does.

I did the alterations one at a time over the week, a little bit each evening. By Friday, it was ready and so I went right home to work on it. Got the main seams done Friday and the 'fixing' done Saturday.

Once it was made up (no, I didn't baste, just serged it all together, sleeves included, except the neckband) I tried it on. It seemed ok except the shoulders both gaped right at my neck. I ran the shoulders through the serger taking off 1/4-inch at the neck tapering to nothing at the shoulder point - and those all-important sleeves that were already attached.  That worked, no more gaping. Quite happy with the neck on this one.

Neckband was next and it was so EASY. The Jalie technique again. The basting didn't shift. The point of the V stayed put and the serging was so smooth and even.  I have to say, each version of this top has been made with a thicker knit than the previous - from the lightweight print to a lightweight (but heavier than the print) cotton interlock to this cotton interlock. There's not much recovery and not so much stretch, but man, is it ever easy to sew !

Here's the result:

The back could use a swayback adjustment. I don't want a CB seam so won't worry about this. Also, I used wonder tape to do the hem and it's not washed out yet so the hem is tighter around the hips than it will be after a wash.
Those diagonal underarm wrinkles are another story - I don't mind some wrinkles but I'd like to reduce these at least some.
Do I need to lower the armhole ?

The front: still have work to do. The only thing I'm completely happy with is the neck.
There's diagonal pulling pointing to the shoulder point.
The wrinkles above the bust are less and in the side pics below you can see there are still vertical folds at the underarm.
The shoulder width is not narrowed enough - yet.
The sleeves are extra long on purpose, but in this sturdy knit it created the wrinkles all the way up to the elbow.
The diagonal wrinkles at the top - more sleeve cap height ? maybe

The sides: you might be able to see my shoulder point is still forward of the shoulder seam as well as all the extra fabric at the underarm, both front and back.

Back to the drawing board. But this one will be worn as well, indoors anyway. It's heavy enough to feel like a cosy sweater. :-)

Sewing in progress - back soon

how's that for accountability ?

Have you mapped yourself ?

Knowing just how much I enjoy my meetups with Connie, Sue and Reethi, I thought this was very cool !

Another Sewing Scientist set up this map the other day and it's already full of pins. Go check it out :-)

Jalie 2005

Hey everyone - I didn't plan on a long break, but it's been a weird start to the year. Not bad, just wasn't getting much done...especially sewing.

This past October, I 'quickly' (never a good thing) sewed up a Jalie 2005. I really wanted a 'sewn by me' something to wear with the girls in Toronto. Yeah, so it didn't work. Too tight, too short, too everything.

This is the second version. Same fabric as the October wadder. I like it, I'm glad there was enough for a 2nd attempt. It's not perfect, but comfy and I wear it all the time. There were a lot of adjustments. I winged the tracing. It's sort of a T at the shoulders, kind of a V below the armscye, a little wider at the hips. Forward shoulder adjustment. Lengthened, a lot. The body by maybe 4-inches. Lengthened the sleeves from 3/4 to full-length. Widened the sleeves at the bicep - but not enough. It's a really snug sleeve LOL - only wearable because the knit is so soft. I thought it needed an FBA - did I measure ? *snicker* um, nope - I thought and guessed and picked a number. Oh, and I completely forgot how to do an FBA...course I've only done a couple. Did I check my book ? nope again LOL I remembered where the lines go but did not cut them right so when I spread the pattern nothing opened up properly. So I kind of smooshed it down, used lots of tape and crossed my fingers. You do NOT want to see that pattern piece. It's a wonder this thing actually resembles a t-shirt at all. Anyway, here it is.

I used the Jalie instruction for a V-neck and it worked out pretty well. It's even all round - color me surprised.

So, while I could call this a success, there's plenty wrong with it. The print is hiding wrinkles. The neck feels wide. The shoulders are hanging a full inch or more from my shoulder point. Sleeves need a 'touch' more room.

Next version - I decided to be more methodical. I took my measurements and picked a different size. I measured in at a W. Ok - but there was no way I could start with W in the shoulders so I kept T there and swung out to W at the underarm. W all the way down. Grabbed a solid knit I picked up from Fabricville's liquidation table ($2/m I think) and sewed it up.

The question in your minds should be 'did you check it against your previous version before you sewed it up ?' I believe we all know the answer to that :-)

Alrighty then, here we are. Version 2. Worse than the last one. Or at least all the problems are visible ! Isn't it a rule or something, that each version is supposed to get BETTER ?



Mucho wrinkles - Pic below shows them in all their glory - here's what I think:

• First things first - don't look at the neck ! It was not the success the first one was LOL
• FBA needed. It 'might' also help the horizontal wrinkles at my underarm.Diagonal wrinkles on either side of V-neck. I'm thinking these may be less if I narrow the neck a bit - an inch ?
• Diagonal wrinkles on sleeves - just notice them - need to recheck the books for the fix.
• Vertical wrinkles at armhole - shoulder needs to be moved in to the shoulder point where it should be.
• Sleeves need more length - they feel too short.
• Sleeves need to be more tapered at the cuff - they're too wide.
• Forward shoulder - another 1.5 cm
• More width in the body - it's a bit snugger than the first one.

Did I miss anything - over-think it ? Don't think so. But I finally did pull out both versions of the pattern tracing and match them. Guess what I found ? After all my tweaking of my original T/V sized pattern, that original is the right body width and the right width over the bust. Both of which I would have known if I'd checked first - someone slap me. The armhole is also a better shape (because of the funky FBA) and I don't have the horizontal wrinkles above the bust in that tee. oy !

My success of the week ! You know I was looking for a multi-grain bread recipe. Well, I tried 5 and haven't made any since the end of September. I got sick then Christmas cookie baking took over. Last weekend, I tried a no-knead, bake in a dutch oven bread. FAIL ! Sunday, DH asked what I wanted to do. Well, I had bread making on my mind and decided to go back to square one and start with what I knew. My sister has a FABULOUS recipe for regular white bread. If you remember I made it with my Dad a while back Here and Here
Well, I switched out 2 cups of white flour with 12-grain and made up a half-recipe. The toast was so/so but the bread !! OMG the bread is really good :-) Next time I'll use 3 cups 12-grain flour but the only thing I'm going to try to actually change is the crust - I'd rather a softer crust. Now THIS was where I should have started !

We booked an extra long weekend and I've enjoyed every minute of it - 4 grand days ! Tomorrow it's back to work.