done! sencha take 1, cinnamon slip

i finished the sencha in the free fabric. it's good! it's...ok. It's very practical, which is to say that I feel like an adult wearing it, but it's a little interesting. and I can bend over without exposing my underthings. that's a plus.

with as-designed darts

it's a little iffy, but i think this year's garments are going to mostly fall into that category. uh. so let's just talk about what happened on this project:

aaaaaahh wiggly bad tension hem

1) i could not get the tension right on my machine to SAVE MY LIFE. i just took it in for maintenance <2 years ago, and have sewn steadily now for barely 2 months. i want it to be reason to get a new machine, but think it's actually a cue for me to take a detour into machine knowledge.

hello, flattering.

2) the darts were too short, leading the shirt to ride up until they hugged my bust. so i spent a lot of time tugging it down in my first wear. they were also hard to mark on this fabric! anyway- i extended all 6 of them (both front and back) about 1.5 inches last night, and now it stays in place, mostly, and makes my boobs look HUGE without stressing the fabric. double win? sure. BUT: How do i know if i apply this to every sencha i make? i suppose i just will.

3) cute buttons, no? my buttonholing skills are ass. i'll cross that bridge when i care more. don't the buttons mostly cover them anyway? well, that's what i thought until i saw this picture. damn!

4) finally, what the hell is up with this armhole? how am i supposed to finish it and have it all flowy with a big ol' row of stitching? I don't get it; i left it unstitched. the top is hand sewn to the collar interfacing, so here's hoping it stays put. ohh. now i see the stiches. ok, maybe i'll go back and fixeroo.


CINNAMON!

1) i love lingerie.
2) this stuff is not silk. it is textured like dupioni, but it seems like poly. cool- less pressure (it's a wearable muslin, who cares)!

we will now abandon list mode and opt for regular storytelling narrative.

i cut & hung it, as directed (for a week!? it was agony; those pieces all silky and staring at me). then, i had a crazy day at work. then, i had a cocktail or two, and then i had a beer with the neighbors. but i wanted to MAKE SOMETHING so i came home at 10:30 and started sewing.

look at those neat seams. note that tension was fine on this one. ?

I finished my seams! because here's a garment someone else may be getting very close to. hehe.

pretty bodice insides

 it's so pretty. i went with one fabric for the whole thing cause i just wanted to finish it, and not screw around debating for another week. it's really nice as is.

the first version was way too hourglass for my wide waist- so i basically eliminated the seam allowances in the waist area and let it out. so smooth. 

so ok, i still have to hem it. whatevs! it's perfect. i may even take an action shot, even though I'm carrying a fair amount of extra cookie weight on my tum. wooo!

xo r

ps dear friends, i am working on photoshop. i hope to replace these poorly lit photos with heavily edited ones later today. if not, know that i know and that i am workin on it! xo 4e

pps hey look i did it! There's one awful one left, just so you know where we started. <3
bon weekend, cheries.

UPDATE: I tightened the bejesus out of my bobbin thread, and now we have tension nirvana. whoop!