The April challenge for The Monthly Stitch WAS “put a bird on it”!
Well it is too late for that now … my cats chased after them and they all flew away – all that’s left is the feathers!
Guilty as charged! Just look at them!
Beginning of April, I purposefully went to my fabric shop to buy fabric with a “bird on it”. Nothing was to be found. I did, however, find a lovely light polyester chiffon with a colourful feather print. Luckily, I already had a solid white polyester in my stash. I used my Butterick pattern, B5988, tried ‘n true. It is such a TNT that I left the pattern pieces and instructions in the envelope and just used my traced pieces.
I wasn’t too sure how the fragile fabric would hold a seam so I French seamed all the chiffon, including the arm holes, like this:
Sew the wrong sides together!
Fold the seam over, iron, trim, and sew again, sewing the right sides together this time. As an added precaution, I zig zagged the seams too.
Finished French seam!
At the neckline, I sewed together both layers – the see-through chiffon and the solid white polyester. The only other place I attached the two layers was a couple of stitches under both arms. Then I bound the neckline edge with single fold bias tape.
Sewing single fold bias tape on the right side.
Folding it over the edge and sewing it on the inside.
I then realized after flipping and turning and sewing and some more flapping, the edges of my sleeves and hem were fraying. I spent a few days staring at my top trying to decide the best thing to do. I didn’t want a large hem. I would prefer to have no hem at all! Wonder Tape to the rescue!
So I trimmed the mess off. I applied the Wonder tape to the wrong side at the very edge, folded the hem up twice and sewed the narrow hem down. The Wonder tape gave my narrow hem some body, but was not stiff at all.
Just right! Now I have a lovely white top. This is probably the last time you will see it really white though, after I get through a day wearing it, who knows what colour it will be…. spaghetti sauce anyone?
Lovely shot of my big elbow.
Lovely shot of my big veined hand.
Does anyone else have any hints on sewing polyester chiffon?
Happy Sewing!