Lots and lots and lots of Google, my friend. And annoying my MIL with questions. And Craftsy, believe it or not. One of the "So Many Professional Techniques" classes featured the mesh insert -- I just took it a step further and used two layers of mesh to form a pocket, rather than just leaving it as just an accent. (Note: "Sew Like a Designer: Fashion Details" is the actual class. =) )
I also credit Craftsy with helping me get over the fear of using my serger. The beginner serger class was really good, breaking things down, and helping me get comfortable with the machine by doing a few simple projects. After buying an embroidery machine last year, it's apparent I'm going to have to do the same thing there, too, even after the intro class with the sewing machine shop!
For Widow, Got a later start today, after venturing out to take care of the real life necessities -- food, an oil change, and picking up a pintuck foot. Okay, so the pintuck foot isn't a real life necessity, but I'll need it in a day or two when I finally get to the shoulder insets.
Before I had to go and get ready for the show last night, I was trying to get the inset corners for the front panels done, and get the front panels themselves assembled. When I started running out of time, I decided, "Okay, how about just
one panel done?" I kept working much later than I should have, and ended up getting very frustrated with the convex-concave fit of the underbust seams. Thus, I was
not looking forward to getting started this morning.
A little rest did help me tackle the problem with a clearer head. Part of the problem is the Simplicity pattern: This is one of the first spandex/stretch knit patterns I've seen that have a 5/8" seam allowance. So, because of the differences in existing fabric of the two curves at the 5/8" allowance, trying to get them to align was going to be touchy. Googling a few things reminded me -- "Hey, dummy! You can reduce the seam allowance to help get them to fit!" To quote Grue, "LIGHTBULB!"
Reducing the seam allowance to 1/4", I tried again and BINGO! It worked:
With one side done, I then went back and did the inset corners with the mesh, and pieced together the opposite front panel.
I repeated the seam reduction procedure on the side front panels, though I had to be more cautious: I only get one shot with the leather. If I screwed up, I was cutting more pieces. Ugh.
And, because I shifted to the leather, no more pins. It was time to bring out the clips -- lots and lots of clips:
Once I got the side front panels stitched up, I was finally able to go to step 1 in the original pattern directions: Stitch pattern front and pattern side front together at the princess seam, then press. The leather, of course, complicates things, as does the need to make sure that the underbust seams line up as perfectly as possible. I ended up dragging out the WonderTape and using it to baste the underbust seams in alignment. I then stitched down from the underbust seam before turning everything over and sewed
up from the underbust seam, not unlike the inset corners I did yesterday and this morning.
The underbust seams aligned perfectly, and I was stoked. Because of all the curves in these pieces, however, pressing on a tailor's ham is not optional. I grabbed mine, the stand, and my invaluable rajah press cloth and went to work.
Once pressed, the end result looked like the pic below -- a bit rippled when laid out flat.
It looked a little better on the dress form, though it was definitely missing the support and stretch from the other panels.
The underbust looks a bit low here, but that's mostly because my dress form isn't
quite the same at the underbust, nor at the bust (they're off a bit, vertically), even with the help of one of my old bras. I also planned a bit of a gap, knowing that the power mesh reinforcement on the torso would hug the waist a bit more, requiring a bit more room to fit over the bust. Even if I overestimated, the damage is done now... but at least I wasn't quite as overenthusiastic as I was with my Sif armor last year. =D
So it's coming together, but a slow and steady pace is necessary for this part. The back will be slightly easier -- no inset corners -- and the pants will be a
lot easier, though I still need to resolve what I'm going to do about the waistline. I rather suspect I will simply add some wide-ish elastic as both waistband and turn it under for facing, too. It's going to be hidden beneath the jacket and the velcro I intend to use will ensure it stays that way!
Now to have a little down time before I try and crash for the night. More updates tomorrow, I suspect...