Great fabric,...

I’m currently looking for a pattern for a tunic—I have a big folding box full of patterns lying around. This is a linen-cotton blend, wonderfully soft, and it’s already been pre-washed, because this kind of fabric tends to shrink a bit during the first wash, so it needs to be pre-washed.

Hugs, Inge

How’s it going?

Yes, thanks, Josefa, I’m just in the middle of trimming the pattern to fit my figure :-) It’s always a huge effort to erase those few centimeters in such a way that the armhole still fits, but it doesn’t *bulge* in the bust area between the shoulder and the bust, and instead fits just as well as on the left side, where it already fits the way it should. That can easily take an afternoon, and the pattern piece can turn into a TfT if it doesn’t fit right away. Because in the end, it comes down to millimeter work.
I sew the piece together following the original pattern, try it on, and then my husband pins off whatever is sticking out and I sew that down. I keep doing that until everything fits properly, then the piece is carefully taken apart and a new pattern piece is made. It takes a lot of time, but it has to be done if you want it to fit well and properly. But then I can also use this pattern for all kinds of tops, because it becomes my basic pattern based on my current measurements. And that’s why I need a new pattern adjusted to me every year. Often only a few millimeters have changed, but I can see that on the finished piece; a layperson wouldn’t notice at all. :-) But it would really bother me.

Grading is what you call changing the size markings on a pattern. Depending on whether it needs to be made smaller or larger, you have to mark or draw the measurements inward or outward. If you want to know exactly, ask Aunt Google.

Best, Inge

What’s a TfT?

TfT = Trash (because it went wrong or didn’t work out for some other reason) :-)

Hugs, Inge

Oh, I see :-)
Are there any new photos of the tunic or the pattern?

No, not yet, it doesn’t happen that fast, Josefa. The pattern is on the table; I just first looked at how the pieces go together, and now I’m getting out my *practice fabric*, and then I’ll get started.

Best, Inge

So what are you going to do with the practice tunic? Can you actually wear it?

No, you can't wear it afterwards, because it will then be used to make the sewing pattern that fits me. But I've crossed off the one I picked out yesterday
and sewed from the test fabric, because when I had the
test piece on for pinning, I said there is no way I'm wearing it
like that, I look like an XXXL barrel because of the boxy neckline
and the yoke; that pattern really didn't suit me at all.
Sometimes it's really good when you have to sew a test piece first; I would have been incredibly
annoyed if the beautiful fabric had been ruined. I've now
picked out a pattern from my stash that is tried and adjusted
and I'll use it to sew the tunic for myself, except that this time
I'll have continuous pieces, which can also be embroidered, and I will
do that too. I already know the motif; I have a great one on my
embroidery machine, also nicely tone-on-tone.

Best regards, Inge

OK, show us some pictures when you’re done :-)

I’ll do that anyway :-)

Kind regards, Inge