It was all going along so nicely. Sunday was turning out to be a productive day.
And then, I got to the shoulder pads.
I don't know how many times I tried the coat on, pinning the shoulder pads here, there, then a quarter-inch that way. Now, the sleeve seam is puffing out. Let's try some basting stitches to see if that helps.
All I know is, I am burning up from the action of putting on and taking off a wool coat all afternoon.
I'm so glad Google led me to this Simplicity tip on inserting shoulder pads - I would have put it them backwards otherwise.
Anyway, it's good enough, for now at least. I'm going to sleep on it and I hope to see it in a new light tomorrow!
14 comments:
Hi Christina,
Coat looks amazing. did you do any special method of easing sleeve cap? Did you need to decrease ease in the sleeve cap at all?
Hi Cindy,
The sleeve is assembled like a raglan sleeve. Each sleeve is made of two pieces - a front and a back. First you sew the 2 sleeve pieces together along the bottom, then you sew the sleeve to the bodice around the armhole, and finally you sew the top seam of the sleeve and the shoulder seam all in one go. I felt some of the top sleeve seam, right below my shoulder, was too much; I took it in there a bit, but that was it.
I wish I could help but... Sleeping on it is definitely the best you can do when you're in a dead end. I hope you wake up to a bright inspirational light today ;o)
I always use my dressform when I'm placing the shoulder pads. When the placement looks right on the dressform (I pin the shoulderpads in place, the pins are on the outside of the shoulder seam), then I try the coat or jacket on myself, just to make sure. Are you using sleeveheads? I would advise the smaller size for the shoulderpads and adding the sleeveheads to the armscye's SAs, just to make sure you get a smooth transition from the shoulder to the sleeve. There is this article: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_sewing/article/0,,DIY_14144_2278410,00.html by Susan Khalje that addresses this matter. I also wrote about sleeve heads here: http://tanysewsandknits.blogspot.com/2007/02/casaco-orwell-19-aplicao-das-mangas.html ; I'm using quilting foam to make my sleeveheads but you can use loosely woven wool fabric instead. I recently bought some pre-made sleeveheads from Els and I plan to use them soon.
The coat is looking fabulous!
I was looking to the coat again and now I don't know about the sleeveheads... I think the armscye seam goes way by the shoulder point into the shoulder (this is like a semi-raglan sleeve to me) so the shoulder pad extends a little but further than 1/2 inch from the armhole seam, or am I wrong? If this is the case you won't be able to use the sleeveheads.
Tany -
If anything will convince me to buy a dressform, this is it!
You are right, this is a semi-raglan sleeve (I guess that's what you call it). The Burda instructions tell you to use raglan shoulder pads. That's what I got, and they do extend past the armhole seam a bit, so I don't think I can use sleeve heads in this case.
Thanks for your helpful advice though! I have read about sleeve heads but never tried them.
I love this subject of the post, lol. The coat is looking so good!
You know everything looks better in the morning...but from what I can your coat is looking pretty amazing right now!
...that should have been from what I can see your coat is looking pretty good...
You are going to Love, Love, Love this coat when you are finished.
Christina, I love the look of your coat. You are going to be so proud with yourself when you're done and then you'll forget about all the hard stuff - or when you remember it, it'll make you smile because you've conquered it! :)
This is a most gorgeous coat!
Just wanted to let you know, LauraLo on PR just posted a review of this pattern.
Your coat is coming along very nicely Christina! I can understand patiences being tested (but atlas my kids usually do that testing! LOL). Can't wait to see it all finished and modeled on you. :-)
I added your blog to my bloglines account a while ago, but have been unable to read blogs for a while. I'm so glad I had the day off work today, because I got to catch up on several of your recent posts, and you've totally inspired me. I'm making a resolution to take a few sewing classes and brush up on my skills. Your work really is fantastic - thanks for sharing it.
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