This month my New to Me's are all gorgeous grandson related :)
I have been wanting to try my hand at making a shirt for the gorgeous grandson for a while but hadn't come across a pattern that I liked (and that looked doable for my limited dressmaking skills!). Recently, though, I came across the website YouCanMakeThis which sounded pretty encouraging, and found this shirt pattern by Pox Couture which seemed to fit the bill. One download later and I was all set.
I had some sale fabric in my stash that was perfect for my first attempt at a shirt, so set to work.
There were a couple of moments where I was a bit confused by the instructions but I suspect that a seasoned dressmaker would have had no problems. I was feeling very proud of myself - until I was sewing on the last button....... when I realised that I had managed to put the buttons and buttonholes on the "wrong" side!
Still, it is at least recognisably a shirt :)
Spurred on by this success I pulled out more sale fabric to create a second holiday shirt for the boy. Second time around all of the confusion felt in the first attempt was gone and it was a really straightforward process.
Until I got to the buttons and buttonholes!
For some reason the automatic buttonhole function on my sewing machine refused to co-operate on one of the buttonholes. Every time I tried it on a spare piece of fabric it was perfect and then it stopped in the middle of the process every single time on the actual shirt! The only thing that I could think of was that the pocket was somehow stopping the foot from moving properly to create the stitch, but even when I turned it around it wasn't any better. The solution in the end was to turn the shirt inside out and work the buttonhole from the back instead of the front. Not ideal I know but by this time I was ready to throw the machine and the shirt in the pool!! I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the finished shirt but I am sure that you get the picture :)
Of course, during all that angst what I had also failed to notice was that despite checking several times I yet again managed to place the button and buttonholes on the "wrong" side again !!!!!!
Fortunately, my other New to Me for this month was a happier experience :)
I am listed in a catalogue for the first time!
The organisers of the Embroiderers Guild Page 17 exhibition decided to create a catalogue for the exhibition as a lasting reminder of the range and style of the exhibits, so I was asked if I wanted to include the details of my piece in the catalogue (Yes!!) and to purchase a copy (Yes again!!). It arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago so I have something to show our son and daughter-in-law when they wonder when they are ever going to see the embroidery based on Hairy MacLary that has been promised for several months now for the grandson's wall!
So those are my New to Me's now it is over to you to link up and share your experiences good or bad (!) when trying our anything new this month. As ever the link up will remain open until the end of the month so there is still time to try out that new technique and let your fellow bloggers know how it went. As always too check out the linkers and give them some plaudits for moving out of their comfort zone even if it wasn't entirely successful!
Great shirts, and the little fellow won't notice!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that in years to come male and female shirts will button up on the same side. Why on earth this tradition was started, and it to this day continued - who knows. Your dress making skills are coming along in leaps and bounds. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI have to take my hat off to you, having the patience to finish a shirt and embarking on another, deserves my appreciation and admiration. For the problems you encountered, I have had many, so these are the reasons I hate machine sewing. I try to do as much as I can by hand, especially for my dolls and clothing.The shirts are beautiful, love those fabrics.
ReplyDeleteThose little shirts look great and it's wonderful to see your embroidery in the catalogue - congrats :)
ReplyDeleteThe New to Me is a nice way of keeping up with things. I’m going to be following your blog, Fiona. Congratulations on being included in the Embroiderers booklet. I’ll be sewing you on Endeavourers.
ReplyDeleteHi, those shirts are great. I can't count how often I've put in the button holes on the wrong side. Congrats on having your work in the catalog. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe shirt look fabulous, Fiona! Congratulations on being in the catalogue. I would think it would be a no-brainer when they asked if you wanted to be included :)
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