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Friday, March 27, 2009

Welcome home old friend


Today I picked my serger up from repair. I've had this machine for over 20 years and I totally abused it. It was not outright abuse but in the 20+ years I've owned it I never, I repeat, never oiled it or even took it in for a routine cleaning. It still had the original light bulb that was working just fine. A few weeks ago it started making a weird sound so of course I doused it with oil. Last week it started really laboring so, filled with shame, I took it in for repair. Then I did the unthinkable...I starting looking at the Viking 936. The only thing about the Viking that was attractive was the coverstitch capability. I was almost hoping the this machine was unrepairable...some friend I am. I was ready to kick this little machine that I've used like a borrowed mule to the curb and spend $1500 just for coverstitch capability. Yikes! Today when the repair guy called and said my machine was ready I forgot all about coverstitching. The complete cleaning and tuneup was only $134. I am oh so glad I came to my senses.

I made two muslins today. The pattern is Butterick 5941. It's probably OOP but it's a simple unlined jacket, below the waist with a collar. It has a horizontal dart at the side seam at well as vertical darts in front and back. I tried making it about a year ago and was not happy with the results. It's a pattern I had a duplicate of so I decided to start over from scratch. Now that I've spent a considerable amount of time studying and learning fit, as I was trimming the pattern I immediately spotted a stumbling block. On what planet is this back and front pattern piece supposed to fit together??



A back armhole is supposed to be only about 1/2" longer than the front armhole! Even with the shaping of the front armhole there is almost a 2" difference. I took a tuck across the back and that did the trick. I made a FBA, wide and high round back adjustment but still need to add about 1/2" at the front armhole notch. I have solved the twisted sleeve problem I was having. Solved that myself as everybody's solution was to rotate the sleeve in the armhole. The problem was that my wide upper back was stealing fabric from my sleeve. Problem now solved. So far this is what I have. After some bust dart adjustment, I plan to cut my fashion fabric tomorrow.

9 comments:

  1. Your muslin looks great. Good job on working out the fit issues.

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  2. Glad your old friend is all repaired and back home! The jacket looks amazing. that color has to look really good on you!! Just the right spring pick-me-up color!! Hope you are feeling well.

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  3. Julia that's my muslin! The color is nice but it's just some ratty bargain table fabric. It was only $2 so I bought nearly 20 yards. I've been making muslins for nearly everything. I'm down now to the last couple of yards.

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  4. Welcome bag to your serger! I've been making clothes with my $1/yard purchases, your muslin looks like it could be a wearable muslin to me. Can't wait to see more!

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  5. I really love my little Singer serger, I give it a little drink of oil every now and then. I had wanted one for so long but was afraid of the cost and the knife. I'm well over that fear now. Although I hate threading it, I Love having it.

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  6. I like the color of your muslin, looks like Spring, can't wait to see the real one. I know you are happy to have your serger back. I hope you are feeling well, I think about you daily.

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  7. Thank you for visiting my blog. I'm glad I found yours, and will continue to peek in and see what all you're doing.

    I want to wish you well with the surgery and treatments afterward. Today's medicine works miracles. I'll keep a good thought for you.

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  8. You are so right about the pockets, now I want to put them on the back of some pants!

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  9. I just found and started reading your blog and came across this post. I wanted to say that in case you ever start thinking about a coverstitch again, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy the Viking 936 for the coverstitch. I have one and while it's a great serger, it is a horrible coverstitch machine (read my review on PR for details). You can buy a standalone coverstitch machine for about $300-800 (depending on Brand) and it's much more convenient to have a separate machine, instead of switching a serger back and forth as you work on a project. I have a Babylock CS and love it but lots of sewers on PR have the Janome CP 900 or 1000 and they love theirs too. The Janomes are a lot less expensive (and weren't yet around when I bought my Babylock).

    OK, back to reading your old posts. :-)

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