Sunday 26 April 2015

KCW: getting carried away is what it's all about

Thursday evening came around and I didn't really have any plans for the rest of Kid's Clothes Week. But what I did have was two cut out, ready to sew garments that Sarvi had posted me a while ago. One was a little white shirt with no known pattern...


That seemed like a fun challenge. No marked notches, no instructions, no known seam allowance....

From the shape of the front pattern pieces it was clear the plackets were to be folded back twice by about an inch. There was a single back yoke, long sleeves with cuffs and little single piece plackets and a pointy collar. Pieces identified. First phase complete.

I guessed at a 1/2" seam allowance and started sewing. Then I decided I couldn't be arsed rethreading the overlocker in white and wouldn't it be an extra fun challenge to make the shirt entirely with French seams throughout. I'd never done that before, but the fabric was nice and light so I figured it should work.


There could have been gathers, pintucks or a box pleat at the back there. A box pleat seemed an easy solution.

I didn't like the super pointy collar after I'd sewn it, so I rounded the ends to get this Peter Pan-ish collar. In doing so I found a neat trick for getting an on-the-fly collar adjustment to be symmetrical. I drew the shape I wanted on the interfaced wrong side of one collar point with a ceramic pencil then folded the collar in half so the pointy ends lined up perfectly and then rubbed firmly enough for the pencil line to be transferred to the other side of the collar. Voila, matching rounded collar ends. (not that the next picture demonstrates this)


At first I thought the collar was meant to be sewn right to the ends of the placket, but no way was that going to fit. I made up my own solution, but I realise that of course it was meant to stop at the placket edge as that's what gives the "double point" when the collar is open. Only mine now has a round and a point.

The bias binding of the collar seam was because I was too lazy to hand stitch the underside of the collar to make it nice and invisible. At this point I was still envisaging this as a plain white shirt, so this little bit of colour was a nice addition.


The sleeve plackets had me bamboozled. I've done simple one piece plackets that are just rectangles (such as the Music Class or Sketchbook patterns) and I've done neck plackets with two pieces, but I'd never seen a single piece, asymmetrical placket like this one. It looked a bit like a skyscraper church. Tall on one side and tall with a steeple on the other...

 
I made something up and came out with this. It looks fine and obviously would have complimented the very pointy collar, had I left that alone, very well. The inside is not as perfectly neat as I'd have liked but given I hadn't a clue what I was doing, I'm happy enough.


Saturday morning rolled around and kid's Clothes Week wasn't over but my plain white shirt was finished....

While I'd been sewing it I'd been thinking of a white shirt in a Japanese embroidery magazine that had a series of really cute little animals on it. Why not? After all, every Kid's Clothes Week needs a completely nuts and over-ambitious project, right?

The original picture had four little animals holding balloons, some flying birds, more animals reclining on clouds and a mouse on the back. I whittled the cast down to just two main animals and the mouse. After consulting A the rabbit and elephant were chosen and the hand stitching began....


The Japanese pattern kindly suggested stitches and thread colours for every part. .I could only locate about a third of the stitches in the glossary and just used some topstitching thread that I could find at Spotlight.

The main characters are back stitch with French knots for eyes. the balloon string is a twisted chain stitch and the balloons are mostly chain stitch in different formations.

 
You can see the fabric best here. It's a very nice, finely woven cotton with these tiny embroidered squares. There's just the tiniest hint of a hole at the centre of each one, so I guess it's technically an eyelet? It held up very well to the embroidery and I didn't put any interfacing behind it while I sewed.
 
Once or twice I got a bit tangled and had to cut and reknot my thread. I became a bit concerned about the feel and security of knots on the back, so I ironed some lightweight interfacing on after I'd finished all the stitching. I'll see how that holds up to washing. It may need some tiny white stitches to hold it in place.
 
 
I forget how much fun it is to sew by hand. Last night, Flipper was watching a movie and I could curl up on the couch and stitch away and pretend I was watching the movie (don't ask what it was about, I haven't a clue).
 
When the Tour de France starts I'll have to begin a huge project so I can abandon all sewing machine sewing and just stitch and watch the Tour for three weeks. Any suggestions?
 
 
Although these little critters are far from "wild" with their dresses and bows, it's somewhat on topic with the Kid's Clothes Week Wild Things theme.
 
 
So there we are. One mystery shirt, probably size 4, presumably an eyelet cotton, with some likely mistranslated Japanese embroidery. Thanks for the unfinished project Sarvi!
 

Now, I need to pack up my sewing things before I get the itch to do anything more tonight. Kid's Clothes Week is officially finished at our house! How was your week?


26 comments:

  1. Wow! The animals and balloons are just so very much fun! I can't get over how adorable to elephant is! I still have my Sunday sewing to do. I am planning to try to make another pair of shorts.

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    1. Thanks! The Japanese do "cute" so well and I love these embroidery magazines.

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  2. Super cute and beautifully done, Shelley. And I do love those rosy cheeks! As for big projects, my grandmother used to embroider tablecloths. We all inherited a few of them and they are stunning (too stunning to use, in fact). Perhaps such a project would be suitable for the Tour? Don't forget the matching cloth napkins!

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    1. Thanks Marisa. Oh yeah, I've seen those tablecloths, they look incredible but yep, I'd never dare use one either (not that I ever do use a tablecloth).
      Napkins I could handle, or those cute little teacup coasters that are in all the Japanese mags.

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  3. Okay, please please please may I have this for Trixie?
    It is adorable!

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    1. Consider it yours. Now, not only will the embroidery have to hold up, but the white shirt will have to survive my lackadaisical attitude to laundry. Hopefully it will be worth handing on!

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  4. Oh my goodness, what a puzzle - you pulled it off beautifully! The embroidery is adorable and makes the shirt extra-extra special. Perhaps you could take up knitting for the Tour... my mum taught herself to knit when my brother was a baby (apparently he slept all the time) and her first project was a cabled aran minidress. I'm sure you could find something suitable ambitious for a first project ;-)

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    1. It would almost have been too easy if I'd done those kind of sleeve plackets before! My mother in law is an incredible knitter so I don't plan to go there as long as she's keeping the kids supplied with unbelievable knitwear. I should do a blog post of her knitting one day.

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  5. stunning White shirt.... Wardrobe staple I say :-) why not sashiko embroidery on a length of linen? May be a dress later for yourself ?
    Radhika

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    1. Thanks Radhika. White shirts on 4 year olds may not be so everyday. but I love the white shirt I made myself from a Japanese pattern, so of course, you're right. I do like the simple colour scheme of sashiko. it could be an idea...

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  6. Wow Shelley I'm pretty much in awe of this! I would be super stressed by the idea of putting something like this together. You nailed it! And that embroidery could not be any sweeter! <3

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    1. Well, I could have just told Sarvi it had gotten lost in the mail if it hadn't worked out, right?! I'm sure you would have worked it out too, maybe a different way, maybe with some collaboration but it's fabric, it can (almost) always be bent to our will!

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  7. Absolutely PRECIOUS!!! You definitely breathed new life in this unknown pattern :).... And, I will second the "sashiko suggestion". That would be a perfect Tour de France project. You could even sew a bicycle spoke sashiko pattern...to fit the time!

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    1. Thank you. I have enormous respect for your beautiful handstitching, so it's very flattering to receive your compliment. If only this years tour was taking a more pattern worthy route I could sew the map....

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  8. McStitch, you've done it again! It's awesome. Love the Japanese embroidery... I have one of those books but am yet to use it. I must bust it out at some point!!

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    1. :) You've just made me think of Mr Magoo! Thankfully I have much better eyesight, otherwise this would have been impossible.
      I just ordered myself more of this series of books (Stitch Idees - with the word Stitch in Japanese and the Idees in French) from Japanese Amazon. taking care of my birthday and mother's day myself!

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  9. How cute, love the little animals and that fabric is so delicate.

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  10. Oh, this is just darling!!! I love the embroidery and the fabric looks so soft and lovely. It's from another time! Gorgeous. And as far as embroidery, you have obviously found your true calling! Can't wait to see what you do during the Tour de France. :-)

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    1. Thanks Inder. The fabric does feel lovely. It's that perfect tight weave cotton that is so pleasant to sew with. the embroidery is fun. I quite like the Japanese obsession with seemingly meaningless words too. I could embroider things like "fun at the shops" on bags and really enjoy myself. (but then have to give them away as gifts cause I sure wouldn't walk to the shops with a bag like that!)

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  11. Nice! I usually cut pattern piece in front of the tv, other people complain about this work, but it one of the few moments I make time to watch tv now a days. ;)

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    1. Miranda that's exactly what I do too. About the only TV I watch is when I'm on a cutting spree. The problem is my fondness for foreign arthouse movies and I can't cut tricky pattern/stripe matching and read subtitles at the same time!

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  12. WOAH!! way to make it work, what a fun little shirt. she's adorable. :)

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    1. Thanks Kristin! I'll tell her you said so. Make sure you come back Wednesday and you'll see her in full "Baddy" mode! :)

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