Ottobre 5/2014

Ottobre – 5-2014 #5 New Boheme Jersey Tunic

This is technically version 2 of this shirt, but I’m only documenting this one. 🙂 I messed up on the neckline of the first shirt so this is my remake.

Things I Learned

  • Pockets – I needed extra help understanding the understitching of the pockets and thankfully found a tutorial for the kids’ Flycatcher tunic that describes the same process: How to sew understitching for pockets.
  • Neckline – I didn’t fully understand the instructions for the neckline facing.  I believe that I was supposed to turn the entire facing piece to the inside of the shirt, but I was worried it was going to make the neckline too wide for my tastes.  I’m so used to doing binding that I just stuck with that.  Unfortunately, either because of my fabric type or user error, the front of the neckline is a couple of small waves.  😦  This won’t prevent me from wearing it at home, but may prevent me wearing it out and about.  We’ll see.
  • Sleeves – I really like the batwing sleeves!  I was skeptical at first, but once I tried it on I can feel how comfy they make it.
Ottobre 3/2012

Ottobre – 3-2012 #26 Hula-Hoop Bubble Shorts

Things I Learned

  • Pockets – I really like this pocket design!  Love that they are on the side of the shorts and have elastic on the top.
  • Faux fly – I’m pretty sure I followed the instructions correctly, but I don’t know that I like the results.  I am questioning why the pattern goes through the trouble of including the faux fly panel when in the end it’s folded to the inside of the shorts and you have to top stitch the outline of it.  I ended up having to manually draw the outline so I could topstitch it correctly.  The faux fly has an opening and I just knew I would be annoyed that it would always be hanging open, so I closed it up with some Stitch Witchery…
  • Waistband – This was the first time I made an elastic waistband where the fabric wasn’t all ugly and scrunched up in my stitches!  I learned the secret: pull the elastic so the fabric is taught as you sew the casing closed!
  • Belt loops – My first time doing these.  Turned out ok.  The instructions hinted at looking to the “design illustration” for locations to place the loops, but there was no picture of where the back ones should go.  It also seems like their illustration has them lower down than mine so they must not have put them in the waist seam like I did.
Ottobre 4/2014

Ottobre – 4-2014 #16 Mushroom Jersey Top – Version 2

 

Things I Learned

  • Pockets – I tried to improve upon my pocket construction this time around. I was hoping to get the ribbing to be a little neater and flatter. It did turn out better… at first. Then after washing the ribbing was all wavy again. Maybe I need thicker ribbing? The stuff I used was pretty thin and stretchy.
Ottobre 4/2014

Ottobre – 4-2014 #16 Mushroom Jersey Top

 

Things I Learned

  • Pockets – I had never done welt pockets before and struggled so much trying to understand the Ottobre instructions.  I finally decided to take some scrap fabric and do a test.  It really helped me and made a couple mistakes on it that I was able to do correctly for the real shirt.
  • Flatlock stitching – I also hadn’t done flatlock stitching before. I had to practice a bit on before attempting it on this shirt. I’m happy with the results! Kind of a neat effect. I was worried about the stitches being too loose and coming undone over time, but it has survived a lot of washes.

This shirt was pictured on a boy in the magazine, but I think it looks great as a girl’s shirt as well.