Stitching a lapped, piped seam
I’m teetering in that awful mid-project spot, peeps. I’ve hit a few snags—pattern match? Fail! Where’d all that ease come from?—it’s hard to imagine it being awesome when it’s done. The promise of the pattern illustration has faded, and the reality isn’t winning me over yet.
Yeah, that pattern. That promise.
Usually, I rely on momentum to get me through this phase (and really, while not all projects have it, it’s pretty common). But I’ve been sewing at the pace of a snail lately, what with constantly running into “I could sew but I need THAT”, with THAT being everything from piping (no, Tanit, one package is never enough) to lining to that pattern piece I had last week, dammit.
And with the whining out of the way—fitting photos! Because that makes everything better!?!
(Click image to view larger)
So, re fit—the left-hand side under the arm is the opening and I did a piss-poor job of pinning it shut, so focus on the right for the fit. Aside from the complete pattern-match fail at back and the fact that it’s way more high-cut than the picture seems to suggest (and no, I did not do any preemptive petiting here), what do we see?. The biggest thing that’s annoying me is that blousing in the back. I don’t get along well with blousing. I can certainly take it in, either at the CB seam or the sides. The waist seems a bit long at the sides, not so much at the CF. Maybe shorten all around the waist except at the CF? The hip yoke seems really short, too. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to re-cut the skirt pieces as I think I cut them WAY short (since I was expecting the yoke to come down to, oh around my hip crease….) That might be a good thing, though, as I can try again with the plaid-matching. There’s lots of material left, fortunately.
I was planning to not pipe the waist seam (I prefer not to emphasize my waist) but to pipe the bottom of the yoke.
The fact that Osiris got Skyrim for Christmas might just have a little bit to do with my slow going.* I’m a sucker for an open-world Fantasy RPG, even if it does have a few too many load screens… and while the thrill of discovering even more mysterious zombie-filled ruins may not outweigh the thrill of a new dress, when it’s accompanied by hunny-cuddles and laziness, well, I’m distractable, especially when the dress is being problematic.
Bodice, flat.
That being said, I’m cautiously pleased with how the piped yoke went together with the lapped seam—I suck at lapped seams bigtime, but they are infinitely easier with piping and lots and lots of pins. Oh, and a stitch-in-the-ditch foot/attachment, courtesy of my Pfaff 360′s attachment kit (which you can kinda see in the very top photo). I generally pin as little as possible, but I don’t trust myself to keep a lapped seam together without it. There was too much length in the bust panels along the bottom seam, so I wound up gathering them a bit at the lower-centre corner. I could’ve skipped it and just trimmed off the excess length from the side, but I kinda like the gathering. I don’t remember any extra length from my muslin (which I graded differently, /headdesk) so I’m not sure if the problem is the pattern or me…
What do you do during that mid-project slump? I’m fighting the urge to start something else tooth and nail, because I loathe UFOs…
*Seriously, I am the Ultimate Gamer Girlfriend(TM). Not only do I like the videogames… I like watching him play them! Yeah, I know, embarrassing.
PS I feel like this was the whiniest of whiny posts ever, and I’ve gone over it fifteen times and I can’t seem to de-moan it any further, so bear with me, k? Or better yet, share your latest whine in the comments. 😉
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Isis, you are a Goddess, worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic- the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, and the downtrodden. You listen to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats, and rulers. You are married to the King, you have children. YOU ARE BUSY. You deserve downtime of any sort that pleases you. You may whine to your adoring minions as you see fit. No one will notice pattern matching, blousing etc. due to the extreme blinding aura surrounding you.
Aww, /blush! 😉
Sometimes you just need a good whine. It usually calls for a little wine!
I call the down times losing my sew-jo. I fall out of love with my fabric or pattern. I try to remember how great a finished project feels. Maybe throw in a mini-project so I get that completed feeling again.
Feel free to whine anytime!
You know, I don’t mind a bit of a whine in other peoples’ posts. I guess I just wish I could end this one triumphantly. /sigh. Hopefully I can figure out which way to go on the dress soon, then I’ll feel better. Thanks for listening! 🙂
Oh, I know the whiny feeling. I’ve had a sewing disaster today, and I literally cried.
Some more video games sounds like a good solution to me! Personally, I’m going for wine and DVDs, and maybe hopping back on that sewing horse tomorrow.
Was that the jeans? I’d cry, too. Tomorrow, for both of us, then. 🙂
It was indeed the jeans. And I did get back to it the next day 🙂
I am just glad we are all human and everyone has a whine sometime but I don’t think yours was really very whiney. Good work!
Thanks… maybe I was more successful at de-whining the post than I thought. 😉
It’s something in the air – I did the whiniest post ever yesterday too, and that was after my mood had already been much improved by your sound advice on the fit of my Briar t-shirt (thank you!) Bring on spring, basically.
I think you’re completely right with all your fit diagnosis – and the piping looks BRILLIANT. As for getting over the sewing slump – I’d leave it a day or so, or as many as you need, and just try not to think about it. Wine, games, whatever, at some point the urge to get the bloody thing finished will grab you, and then once you’re going again it’ll be much better than it feels now. I hate UFOs too, I could almost cry when this happens. Actually, scrap the almost – I do cry. And then drink 🙂 #sewingastherapy
Hope you have a nice happy weekend 🙂
I’m glad you found the T-shirt comments helpful! We all have our moments, right? Also, at least where I am it’s a decidedly whiny time of year… 😉
It’s ok to whine sometimes, we all do and we understand ! Plus you saved it all by showing what a GGG wife you are, watching Osiris play!!!!
LMAO! I hadn’t thought of it in quite those terms… 😉
eh sorry it isn’t working out. I’d suggest pin fitting everything before spending any time on it at all. Or place your sloper over the pattern (doesn’t have to be one you drafted-it could just be a knit tshirt or a knit top pattern that fits well) and folding away all the excess except 2 cm for ease (which you can eliminate later, if need be by increasing seam allowances incrementally). Also, you have a mannequin do you not? At worst, trace the half pattern onto muslin with no seam allowances and stick it together over yourself/ a mannequin and fold/ pleat away the excess. Or.. measure across with a tape measure before starting.. Best of luck
Yeah, those all might’ve been good suggestions. My mannequin is inadequate for tissue fitting even if it weren’t stuffed in my MIL’s garage. I think there should be enough seams to play with to get this fitting as is, I just need to figure out what I want to do with it. 🙂
Yeah, I’m at at mid-project slump too with M5661 – and also trying to resist the urge to start something new! So I shall be watching these comments with interest.
Nonetheless, don’t underestimate the importance of quality cuddle time, even if it is less blogworthy 🙂
Good luck with your slump—let me know if you figure out a way through! 😉
I’m so glad to see you sewing something for yourself! Piping has near-magical properties, doesn’t it?
I’ve never really thought about project momentum before, but you are totally right about how it can get you thru the mid-project set backs. When I lose steam I tend to take a break before diving back in since I get mistake prone when I don’t have my mojo. But sometimes a good old fashioned kick in the pants helps, too. 😉
PS – I am such a great sports girlfriend that I once beat out 113 other people in a football pool as a side effect of sports watching cuddle time. So, I hear ya on this one!
Yes, I already feel like I’m kinda plowing ahead without thinking, which is not always the best strategy (although it’s pretty typical for me…)
Phineas is lucky! Sports-watching, I don’t think I could do. 🙂
I totally also love watching video games, and if that’s what you want to do, then do it. The dress will still be there when you get done.
But what is “done”? It seems like there’s always another side quest… 😉 (at least in the good games!)
I just sewed a big meh, so I can sympathize! I tried it on halfway through for Mr. Cation and he and I were both so unenthused it was difficult to finish. The only thing that kept me going was that I couldn’t start on my next project until that one was out of the way.
Also, I love watching someone else playing Skyrim too!! That was last summer for us, and boy is it fun! Totally agree with you about those load screens, though. If only we could all have Lydias follow us around doing things for us so that we could sew properly!
LOL! Slightly embarrassingly, he first played it before Xmas 2011, when it first came out, and I watched plenty then but it was so glitchy on PS3 that it was hard to get into. It’s much better with the patches since then…
A big part of the attraction of WoW was the near-absence of load screens (except for dungeons, anyway…)
I hate it when project starts out working, but then mid-way through becomes a jumble. It takes the steam out of your desire to finish! The piping does look fantastic! What about if you put a dart in the back to take in some of the “poufing”? Good Luck with it!
I’m not sure if it’s excess length or width in the back (I guess part of why I’m out of steam…), but there are darts and a CB seam, plus the waist seam, so I have lots of alteration options. Just need to decide what I want to do… 😉
I have to admit that getting an Xbox and Skyrim for Christmas 2011 took a fair chunk of time out of my sewing 2012, and not because I was being supportive girlfriend (for my boyfriend couldn’t care less about video games) but because I, myself, get totally sucked into open world RPGs. So, for your sake and mine, I’m going to say that it’s ok to let yourself get distracted sometimes!
OK, I’ll go with that. 😉
Well, The record for losing momentum on a project is about 2 years in my sewing corner/dungeon, and having the games in the same room is VERY distracting. *shrug* But both are fun! Love that piping – it’ll come along on it’s own time. I’m glad to see you sewing for yourself again!
Hmm, I think I’ve got one or two like that…
It feels nice to sew for me. And yet, stressful. 🙂
Pls! That’s not whiny. That’s just “real”.
Okie dokie. 🙂
I have my very own whinefest tag, which I use quite often, so no judgement here. Besides, I think we can all relate to how it feels when something doesn’t quite measure up to the awesomeness on the pattern envelope.
I too like to play games, though I’m not up on my gamer terminology enough to know the term for what I like to play (but it looks like RPGs are my fave too–along with old school Mario 😉 ). And watching can be fun too (unless you are watching your 6 year old do the same thing to get killed 30 seconds in a hundred times before I have to just take the controller away–that is SO annoying….or I’m a terrible mom, I’m not sure which.)
Yeah, my “whining” tag is not the smallest font in the tag cloud. 😉
I agree about watching kids play… our kids rarely get to play video games for this reason. 🙂
My attempts to play the original “Pong” were a big fail, in the 1970s. I never picked up another video game after that. It has remained a foreign language to me, one I never intend to decipher. Y’all seem to have fun with them, though. My solution to sewing problems is to start sewing on another sewing project, lol. As for lapped seams, I hate and despise them, and will do almost anything to avoid them, including setting in complicated curves and/or multiple corners. The many seams on this dress should offer you lots of places to alter for a proper fit. Using piping (and its kinder cousin, folded bias without stuffing) is an excellent way to disguise a less-than-perfect pattern match. Although, anyone who takes the trouble to point out your less-than-perfection in public deserves to be hit with some powerful sort of magical weapon and instantly reduced to ashes, no?
I got to the end of this and then had to re read to try and detect this mythical whine of which you speak. Nope, still don’t hear it. Sounds like an honest telling of a bunch of frustrations to me. I wish I had a nifty trick for getting over the slump but really, all I can think of is that you should follow your desires and do what you like. It’s a hobby afterall! Not an obligation. If snuggles with husband watching him game is where it’s at, then enjoy it. Also, watching video games is awesome!
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Ahh the slump – we’ve all been there 🙂 Sewing – like anything – is easy when things are going smoothly but when you hit road bumps, it’s so much easier to just do something else, isn’t it? 🙂 You watch games, I play ’em – either way, it can be a good way to reset your mind 🙂 You’ll get back to it when you’re ready – and you’ll rock it for sure 😉
A whine once in a while is ok 🙂 I’m whinging about Ceylon at the moment, have sewn so many wrong pieces together, and overlocked, before realising it all has to come apart – again!! Good luck!!
Go whine away. Its cathartic and necessary and we all totally understand. Its your blog!! I hate that slump in the middle of a project too, though my projects are way less complicated than yours.
My avoidance is blog reading. Gardening. Cooking. Anything but housework.
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