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. :-)