August 2, 2007

Project # 11      A  Summery Nightie

This month Rachel  writes her own narrative telling us

 her experience using silk!

Pattern: McCalls pattern 3432

Fabric: Parfum de Jour

also  thread     lightweight interfacing     silk pins

Techniques to learn: turning thin straps, working with slippery silk

Parfum de Jour Trio $24.95/yd.

Because the fabric is silk, it was very difficult to lay it out according to the cutting diagram on the pattern. The recommended layout for 45 inch wide fabric required that you fold it so the selveges meet in the middle. When doing this, it is very important that the cut ends are even and that the width of each side is the same from the middle to the fold (both sides don't need to be the same, as long as each is consistent). An easy way to do this is to line up each fold with a repeating pattern in the fabric; we used the sides of the upside down purple perfume bottles. This ensures that the print will not be crooked in the finished product.

Throughout the project, we had to use silk pins instead of regular pins because they are thinner and don't snag the delicate fabric.

We followed the directions up to right before finishing the bottom edge of the facing. I tried to do it on the serger, but there were holes, and missed spots, and it just didn't work very well because of the curves. When something like this goes wrong, the best thing to do is to take it out and try something else. The zigzag stitch on the sewing machine was much more forgiving, and much easier.

Attaching the facing wasn't too hard; I just had to go slowly along the curves.

The straps were the fun part! To turn them right side out after stitching, attach a safety pin to one layer of fabric at one end and put it up inside the tube. Push it forward, then pull the bulk back. Repeat until the safety pin comes out the other end, and your strap is ready to go! Make sure you try on the nightie before sewing the straps to the front- I had to shorten my straps two inches! If you do need to shorten them, don't cut off the excess until after you've sewn them and tried it on again in case you need to make more adjustments. 

When you finally attach the straps to the front, turn the facing so it and the nightie front are right sides together. Attach a safety pin to the end of the strap and thread it up through the hole so the end of the strap is sandwiched brtween the nightie and facing. Pin it in place at the correct length, then gently turn the nightie just enough to make sure the strap is not twisted. Then, just stitch across the strap!

(Make sure you zigzag all the seams because the silk ravels.)

The directions for the hem looked pretty complicated, so I just ironed the hem under half and inch, then folded it over again and stitched all the way around. It's not perfect, but I don't mind. I gave the whole thing a good press, and voila! A nightie!

~zigzagger

sew4u  sew4u   sew4u   sew4u   sew4u  
 

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 Teach Yourself to Sew!  Threads magazine recently published a sewing guide for newbie sewers.  To download a copy click here.

http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/nmt060_sewing_rev.asp

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