I made all kinds of progress today on the prototype for the summery silk (this version is in poly) shirt. Sleeves and side seams are in, both with French seams, and the convertible collar is on though unshaped. Actually, this is the second collar after I made a mess of the first one. I wasn’t as ready to go off book on the new catching-in method as I thought! #sewing

Plackets are stitched in, darts are made, and shoulders attached for the summery silk shirt prototype. Glue basting on slippery fabrics is my new favorite thing. #sewing

It’s time to stitch up the prototype of a summery silk shirt that’s part of #ElfkinLaunch. This polyester caftan (that I wore exactly once when I wanted to work a “Mrs. Roper on vacation” look and then promptly shoved into the scrap fabric stack) has found its new purpose in life. #sewing

The military shirt prototype is done! There are plenty of tweaks to be made for the final iteration, which shall be in sky blue ombré cotton, but I’m very pleased with the result. It translates my original sketch really well. #sewing #fashion #ElfkinLaunch

Slapdash topstitching aside, I think I may be a convert to David Coffin’s (completely mind breaking) method for catching in cuffs and collars when attaching. The joins of both to the body of the military shirt prototype are far superior to other methods I’ve used. Thankfully I have five more prototypes to practice on before I get to production pieces!

Today came with an important discovery: the felling foot I bought for my Singer 201 but never used aligns too far to the right and, for lacking any form of adjustment, is as good as useless on a straight stitch machine. So I had to put the side seams into the military shirt prototype using the old skool method of felling. The results aren’t bad, but I’m gonna need some more practice before they’re as perfect as with the felling foot. #Sewing #ElfkinLaunch

Apropos of my previous toot, I had wondered if my old Singer 201 would fade into the background with the arrival of the industrial Pfaff. It turns out the old Singer is still the champ of topstitching. So smooth and nimble on the turns. I cannot say enough good things about Singer’s old machines. #sewing

Sleeves are attached and topstitched on the military shirt prototype. I tried a couple of different strategies for the topstitching. Edgestitch + topstitch with both going over top of epaulette (right) seems the best style choice for the look I want. #sewing #ElfkinLaunch

The recent heat has brought on the water lilies! I especially enjoy how they smell kinda like the Yoplait custard-style lemon yogurt I loved as a kid. #BloomScrolling

Made myself a jig to press in the overlap for felled sleeve seams. So much faster than doing it with a gauge! #sewing