Tuesday, February 1, 2011

And Sew it Begins!

It's day one of the Men's Shirt Sew-Along led by Peter at Male Pattern Boldness! 

That's the vintage pattern I'll be using, View 2, the grandpa-looking dude on the upper right, who has a far better mustache than I will ever grow (thank goodness perimenopause has spared me that trauma thus far).

In the background is a vintage sheet that I will be using to make a muslin.  I love the print, but it's not my color, so I'll probably repurpose the muslin into charm squares or strips for quilting when I'm through with using it to check the fit of the shirt pattern.  Or maybe, if anyone wants it, I'll mail it to you and let you have at it. 

Anyway, today is the day we prepare our pattern, starting with pressing it...

...check...and tracing it.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

I am not tracing a pattern that was already cut for me way back in the middle of the last century.  Well, it was probably cut for a gentleman named Arnold or Herb or Frank or Melvin, not me.  What I will have to do is cut it apart to lengthen the sleeves and body when we get that far.  If I were concerned about preserving the pattern, I might think about tracing it for that reason.  I guess I'm not concerned.

What is also supposed to begin tonight is a blizzard, though I think we're on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of snowfall.  But up to 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts causing blowing and drifting does not sound great.  

The wind has already picked up, and a little drift has started to form against the sliding door.  My 100-yard commute to work this afternoon was through drifts up to my knees, about two feet deep. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?  It's kind of exciting!  Oh, and the sew-along too!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I so do not have the patience to do all that. I can understand not tracing, but a muslin too. Must be why I haven't make clothes since the last century;-)

Nice to know I'm in good company with the perimenopause. No mustaches here, but a whole lot of weirdness...hehehe.

blessings,
jilly

SueWis said...

You pressed the pattern? I'm impressed. Just kind of smooth it out with my hands, that's as good as it gets here.

Sarah Craig said...

As inexpensive as patterns can be these days, somehow tracing the pattern seems a little "over-the-top"! But I can't wait to see how yours comes out. I think making a muslin is a great idea, particularly when working with a vintage pattern - they can be so different, size-wise, from what we're used to working with.

Shay said...

What's a muslin for? (Have never made people clothes in my life ) Well not since about 1993 and pj's dont count.

Good Luck with your shirt. I will live vicariously thourhg your ultimate success since patterns and I are so not friends.

Pokey said...

Good luck with the old time pattern, I do hope it goes well. Your shirt looks like it would be a fun one to wear!

I think I'd be going stir crazy in all that snow, P! It's been a few years, but I did live in Nebraska, and was in H.S. in Anchorage. I'm blessed in CA, especially when I see you photos!
:-}pokey

Jill {Sweet Diva} said...

Catching up on responding to comments....thanks so much for stopping by my blog! Now following yours.....a friend at church recently gave me some vintage patters & I was going through them last night! My children found some of them to be hilarious! :)
Blessings to you,
Jill @ Sweet Diva
http://sweetdivamj.com

Anonymous said...

You'll take pictures of the process,right? I look at shirts, and they scare me. Not in a bad way, like a phobia or something (wouldn't that be weird), but in a way like "I could never do that. That's way to complicated."

Watched the storm (on the internet) work it's way through. How much snow did you end up with? I love snow, but some times, living in NC has its perks. We had a little bit of rain. That was all.