Fussy

The yoke was the least of my worries with that Burda pattern. Sewingpatternreview.com only had one review, and the reviewer noted that the pleated neck detail gave her the most trouble. With that in mind, I carefully marked the lines from the pattern onto the fabric and paid close attention to the instructions for making and anchoring the pleat. Or so I thought.

The fabric is clearance polyester crepe-y something from Joanns. It was giving my sewing machine fits. I changed thread, changed needles, and eventually got the machine to sew it. I need to take my machine in for service. I hit a pin a week or so ago (arrrggghhh), and although the machine seems to sew fine on quilting cotton, the fact that I was having such issues with this polyester is making me wonder if I threw it out of time ever so slightly. Or it could have been the fabric. It is thin and drapey but it does not want to hold a crease, so pressing it is an exercise in frustration. The serger wasn’t terribly fond of the fabric, either, so maybe it’s just the fabric. Sometimes it really is the fabric.

All was going well until it came time to attach the neck facing. The neck facing didn’t line up with the pleat in the front. Clearly, I had done something wrong. I ended up taking out the stitching to release the pleat and worked backwards. I pinned everything at the back neck and shoulders and worked my way around to the V, then re-formed the pleat there so it lined up with the facing. I had sewn the pleat correctly, but the instructions on how to anchor it to the other side of the bodice were confusing (I’m being kind), and that was where I had gone astray. Now that I’ve done it, I see how it needs to go, but that took some work.

Burda instructions assume a lot. There were no further facing instructions—nothing about understitching—but I went ahead and graded the seams and understitched the facing, and after some gentle persuasion, I got the neck facing to lie nice and smooth on the front. In fact, it looks much better than I expected given all the fussiness.

The inside isn’t too bad, either.

I clipped that facing into the V as close to the stitching as I dared. Also, I used the tricot interfacing on this piece and I think I will do that as a matter of course going forward, even on wovens. I think it is an improvement over the woven interfacing.

Marguerite, you were right about the yoke construction. The second yoke piece is to enclose the seams. The instructions say that the inner yoke piece can be hand-tacked to the inside or the yoke can be topstitched from the outside to anchor it. I chose the latter option. If I make this pattern again, though, I will dispense with the second yoke piece, serge the yoke seams instead, and draft a facing piece for the back neck.

I still need to set in the sleeves, but I am satisfied with the way the body fits. (It looks better on me than the dress form, I think.) At least I nailed the correct size the first time. And it’s long enough.

I am trying to be disciplined and make things according to the pattern before I change things. I’m doing that partly because I am totally self-taught when it comes to sewing, so I want to see what construction techniques the designer of the pattern thinks are the best. I learn new ones that way, too. I need to remember, though, that patterns are written for people without sergers and that there are plenty of ways I can streamline construction using mine.

Will I make this again? Eh, I’m not sure. I don’t know if I like it enough to put up with the fussiness of that pleat. I noticed that the sewist who posted the review of this pattern added buttons at the pleat on her top. I was thinking that one big button in that area might jazz things up a bit.

I’ll see how I feel after I add the sleeves. Also, this is teal and I really don’t need Yet Another Teal Top in my closet.

I’ve got the Susie Blouse pattern ready to go, and a pattern for another top that looks like it might be suitable for a flowy rayon. That one has dolman sleeves, though. I’ve got a serious mental block when it comes to dolman sleeves and dropped shoulder sleeves. I avoided those like the plague when I was knitting because they always added so much bulk at the underarm in a place where I didn’t need more. A flowy rayon behaves far differently than knitted sweater fabric, though, so perhaps I just need to suck it up and try the dolman pattern.

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I pruned the raspberries yesterday morning. I think it’s easier to do in the fall when I can see which canes are done bearing. I’m also trying to prune out the thorny variety in favor of the thornless one, which produces bigger, tastier berries. After a couple of seasons of serious pruning, I am making headway, but I still have one section that needs work. The raspberries are determined to spread and I am determined not to let them, so it’s a constant battle.

One of the tomato varieties I got from Susan is called Aunt Ruby, and she reminded me the other day that it is a green variety. The only way to tell it is ripe is to feel it. When I went through the tomato patch yesterday, I located the plant. Thankfully, the label was intact. I also got a Grandma Mary’s paste tomato from her and a Weaver’s Black Brandywine, both of which are producing. I may not save seed this year, though, because I just can’t be sure of some of the varieties.