Rosalind Tee, part one

This week, I am beginning my SWAP outfits. SWAP = sewing with a purpose. See a few posts down for more info.

Last night, I started sewing the Rosalind Tee from Ottobre 3/2009. This lovely fabric is from Chez Ami and it is so thick and soft that my daughter immediately commmented on it when she tried it on. As you can see, the top is starting to take shape nicely and fits her well. It still needs sleeves and button trim, but it looks great so far and I am proud of myself!

Sewing this top has been a fun adventure because I have never sewn with knits before. I have sewn for 30 years but I have stuck mostly with simple things like curtains or basic skirts. I take a sewing class once a week where we work on our own projects but an instructor is available for help as needed. Last night, I learned a couple of new stitches! I don't know why I thought that knits were hard to sew with. They are actually easier because there is so little unraveling! Even though I don't have a coverstitch machine, my sewing instructor taught me to use the twin needle to make the binding on the neckline. My first attempt, luckily sew on a practice piece of material, was not so great. It was lumpy. But I kept trying until it looked neat and then moved on to the top. As you can see, it is not perfect, but it is good enough. It lies flat on the body and will look better when the buttons are sewn on to distract from the slightly uneven stitching. This was a fun stitch to learn. I will be using it often now.

I also learned how to use different zig zag stitches to sew the rest of the garment together. Here is a picture of the inside seam closeup. This looks very nice from the outside and I am pleased with this stitch.

All in all, this is a nice garment to make. I still need to sew the sleeves and button trim on but that will be done as soon as I figure out the best way to do them. The problem with sewing from a pattern translated from Finnish to English is there are sometimes directions that are unclear! So, I am waiting for advice on how to make the ruffled edge of the sleeve and then I can finish this thing up!