The Selfish Seamstress has been blogging for a little less than two months now, but although she is new to blogging, and relatively new to seamstressing, she’s quite the seasoned expert at being selfish. It wasn’t too long after I began sewing in earnest that I noticed the pattern- things I sewed for myself got finished quickly, and things for anyone else dragged on a bit. Quite soon after I noticed this, I quipped to Dan that I was going to start two lines of clothing, one called “Selfish” that would include all the things I made for myself, and one much much smaller line called “UOMI” which would consist of the things I made for other people (Get it? Get it? Sound it out.)
Not long after, Dan surprised me with some adorable clothing labels that he designed:
Some of the spelling got lost in the translation, but cute, right? Needless to say, I have far more of the YUOMI labels left than the Selfish ones :)
Of course, the last outstanding big piece of holiday S.W.A.G. is the brown cotton velvet sportcoat for Dan. The one I started in 2007. And when I say, “outstanding,” I don’t mean “spectacular” but rather, the last remaining project thing that will not die, as in “outstanding balance” or “outstanding debts.” And debt it is indeed. This the price I pay for having a sweet-natured partner who surprises me with things like clothing labels he designed himself for no special occasion whatsoever. He’s sneaky, that one.
The sportcoat and I have fallen into an uneasy, uncomfortable relationship. It’s like that person at work who gets on your nerves but you never talk about it. Every interaction with the sportcoat is frustrating, and everything about it irritates the crap out of me. I’m generally a pretty laid-back seamstress- usually nothing ruffles my feathers when I’m sewing. If I have to unpick something, I have to unpick it, no big deal. But the sportcoat has found a way to push every one of my buttons. NOTHING has gone right with this project. Tonight, I sat down grudgingly with it and tried once again to set in the sleeves:
On average, each sleeve has been set about 3-4 times. I reshape the cap and trim. I baste and pick and rotate and baste and pick and repeat. I stitch and steam, and kick the walls and scream and yank them back out again. I swear at myself for not having opted a nice cooperative wool and blow loose velvet lint out of my respiratory tract. And now, after having spent every last ounce of patience and a fair bit of impatience as well, I have decided that if I don’t settle for mediocrity, Dan will get a very unflattering baggy brown velvet sleeveless tunic. So this is about as good as it’s going to get:
Sigh. It’s puckery. It’s hard to press. Here’s my rope and I’m at the end of it. If anyone has any clever ideas about this (strangely enough, I have made cotton velvet jackets in the past for myself in which the sleeves settled in quite nicely on the first try – just goes to prove my point about sewing for others being a futile waste of time!), please feel free to share them. I refuse to negotiate further with the brown velvet albatross, but I’m sure your tips and tricks will come in handy once I’ve gotten back to sewing things for my sweet, beloved ME.
23 comments
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December 15, 2009 at 2:46 am
Rebeca @ Small World
Dear SS, one of Gertie’s latest posts deals with the sleeve issue. Check it out, http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/12/coat-vlog-5-setting-in-sleeves.html
I’ve never sewed a sleeved but the way she does it looks like a breeze.
Maybe you should give it a try…
Good luck!
December 15, 2009 at 4:23 am
Marie-Christine
Read the following: http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sleeve_cap_ease_is_bogus/ Now please hack that extra ease off and just setin the sleeve. All you need to do is make it a bit smaller in the front and less high, if you’re wondering how to hack it off. Make sure you measure the armhole on the seamline, and match the sleeve’s seamline exactly to that, not to the cutting line of the armhole which is necessarily shorter. Yes, a flexible ruler helps, but actually just a string is fine if you’re careful.
December 15, 2009 at 4:57 am
lin3arossa
I don’t have any useful tips, sadly, but it’s recomforting to read that even more experienced seamstresses like you make such experience once in a while (and I don’t mean to be mean but if I were, consider it to be the paytoll for your selfishness :)).
December 15, 2009 at 5:26 am
Erin
You’ve pretty much covered all of my tricks for setting in sleeves. (Are you steaming over a pressing ham?) The only one left is to gather the ease and make it look like a purposeful design choice. Doesn’t so much work with sportscoats, though.
Kathleen over at Fashion-Incubator is calling bullshit on sleeve cap ease. I’m inclined to come around to her side.
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/sleeve_cap_ease_is_bogus/
December 15, 2009 at 6:12 am
Denise C
Hi there SS – have a look at the lovely Gertie’s blog – Gertie’s New Blog For Better Sewing – she has just done a quick video tutorial on setting in a sleeve for a coat.
Good luck with it… may it be off your back, so to speak, soon!
Cheers, Denise
http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/12/coat-vlog-5-setting-in-sleeves.html
December 15, 2009 at 6:55 am
Karen in FW
For the sleeve problem you could try sewing a strip of fleece along the seam, making a sleeve head that would fill the space that’s causing the puckering.
Here’s a quick link to images of sleeve heads:
http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=sleeve+head&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=IZUnS7bvN9CCngez_5CiDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQsAQwAw
HTH,
Karen
December 15, 2009 at 7:17 am
Cisa Barry
Have you tried throwing the velvet monster across the room while yelling profanity at it? I find this to be a great help. It’ll do nothing to the sleeve puckers, but damn, it feels good!
December 15, 2009 at 7:43 am
Liz
Take it to a tailor and have it finished for you…!
December 15, 2009 at 7:50 am
beangirl
I wasn’t going to post a comment (having absolutely nothing useful to add… although of course, that’s never stopped me before) but… OMG I love Liz’ (Liz’s… Lizz’??) comment. She is a genius. I think I love Liz.
Actually, I do have something to add: finish the jacket as is, give it to Dan. He will A) be so happy to get something from a self-confirmed Selfish Seamstress (knowing that it is only for the most cared-for people that she sews) and B) you can impress him further by saying “I have plans to make you something else too!”
Just be sure that you DON’T tell him that you aren’t very happy with the sleeves. This is surely a case of “didn’t notice until you mentioned it”. I mean really, who doesn’t love love love a brown velvet jacket?? I’m pretty sure Dan will regardless of the teesy tiny puckering in the sleeve.
Wow. I had way more to say about that than I thought. Sorry.
December 15, 2009 at 8:23 am
missceliespants
Ummm, are the youomi labels going in your shop too? Because they are fantastic.
December 15, 2009 at 9:17 am
Elizabeth
Does your husband design labels for others too? ;) Where did he get them printed?
I can’t help you with the sleeve head issue, but I hope you are able to move on to more appropriate sewing, like for yourself.
December 15, 2009 at 9:19 am
Myrna
One thing I’ve learned lately is to get rid of all the extra ease in the cap. That makes a huge difference. Not sure why it’s there but it’s definitely not needed.
– Myrna
December 15, 2009 at 9:20 am
Sunni Standing
I love the sewing labels.
Hmmm, about the buttery velvet sportsjacket, well I always have trouble with sleeves when I sew with fabric that has alot of body. You might try a strip of sew-in interfacing to help stabilize and avoid the puckering. Also, though I’ve never tried one, when sewing with velvety fabrics its good to have a needle board to press with. These are rather difficult to find though. Also called a velvaboard nowdays.
Keep going though, it looks beautiful!
December 15, 2009 at 9:45 am
amber
I’ll ditto Celie – I think those labels would sell like hotcakes! Sorry the jacket is causing you fits. At least the sooner you finish it, the sooner you can start sewing pretties for yourself again, yes?
December 15, 2009 at 11:50 am
susan
Where, oh, where did Dan find those fantastic labels? I have been looking for some for myself for a while with little success.
December 15, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Linda
I agree with Karen. I’d try a sleeve head first. You don’t have to take out the seam to add one.
December 15, 2009 at 11:12 pm
violet
What a shame you don’t see puffy sleeves in menswear…
December 16, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Meredith P
youomi labels…want :-)
December 16, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Chantelle
Love the labels… and agree with everyone that says to get rid of more of the sleeve ease. Or add a sleeve head to fill it out. Sleeves are a pain, and velvet isn’t known for its ability to ease nicely. Like wool does.
If you can’t take out the ease, then pin the sleeve to the body using a kabillion pins and use another kabillion stitches to baste the seams in place.
Of course, if it was me sewing it, I’d throw it across the room and then leave it there for a while, until I was ready to look at it again… or he asked for it.
Good luck.
December 17, 2009 at 5:52 am
Mimi
The labels are great! Would love to know the source where Dan had them made up for I would like to have some of my own made. Hard to find at a reasonable price and lot size. As far as the coat goes…I had one of these “white elephants” in my stash…piped, western pockets just about drove me nuts…needless to say I finished it, gave it to the guy…thankfully never had to think about it again! ;-)
December 18, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Dawn
I don’t have any sewing suggestions; setting in sleevees is one of my biggest pitfalls, too. I do suggest that, if your wonderful male eyecandy has seen you struggle with this beast too often to pretend you’re happy with it, you take him with on your NY fabric spree. Let him pick out a sensual, cooperative wool and a physique-flattering pattern for a man-project you would enjoy sewing.
Then stuff the brown velvet albatross in the bottom of your stash. >:)
Aurora
Empress of Evil
July 16, 2010 at 7:14 am
What do you do… « Tanit-Isis Sews
[…] may have created a monster. I need to get some “u owe me” labels like the Selfish Seamstress has. Ones that come with an itemized list. Posted in Sewing | […]
November 5, 2010 at 10:50 pm
The Big Blue Shed
Well, I know this post is nearly 6 months too late… but Ive just started reading your blog, Prof, so I dont know where this little story goes.
I would first of all get out the pattern & have a look at it. Measure the length of the sleeve (cap/top end) at the seam stitching line and then on the same point on the pattern. Are they the same – is there a difference? Did you cut both pattern (sleeve jacket front/back) pieces the same size? Not saying its your fault but it will show you if this is what has caused the problem.
You need to find where the excess in the sleeve is coming from, just the cap area or is it in the whole sleeve?
If that shows you where the problem originated then I would:
Lower the armhole (IE: cut the offending bit of fabric) if the excess is in that area of the sleeve, so you are in effect making the armhole larger.
Or trim the cap of the sleeve, so that it is in effect not so large in that area.
Miss Fashion Incubator has some very good things to say & ideas. She has helped me with many problems.
Good luck, you will work it out.
Catherine