While Selma Sack Dress is under construction I’ve got summer singlets and a cringe-worthy story: For a while now I’ve been growing more and more comfortable with sewing knits, maybe even starting to think I’ve got this thing nutted out. Except for the hemming. No matter the stitch length, or how slow and carefully I go, I always end up with puckers. I couldn’t understand it, I’ve been using a walking foot. Haven’t I? Well, last night I found my real walking foot. The one I’d thought was the walking foot was actually my regular foot, and I assumed it must be the walking foot because it moves up and down like, well how a foot walks. It gets worse. Here is a quote from my Kniterview at Made By Rae: ‘I can put all knit sewing success down to the walking foot’. A Kniterview where I was presented as some sort of authority on knits? Someone even went out and bought one on my recommendation. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I make wild sewing allegations in public. But now I’ve actually found and used the real walking foot, it really is fantastic so I am officially re-recommending it.
After the great success of ‘man with antlers’ tee for Vintage May I’ve been itching to make more transfer tees using Leslie Rylie’s unbelievably amazing artist transfer paper. I’ve stocked up on fantastic vintage images like squids on a sofa and a steampunk airship from here. Addicted? Just a little. And Rae’s flashback tee makes the perfect canvas. I should probably be starting to leave sleeves on things but have been swept up in summer singlet action…first inspired by Kristin’s vintage strongman, then Inder’s stripey version and I’m loving the colours and style of Jessica’s singlet here. Kristin’s has a very helpful how-to for modifying the flashback tee to a singlet, which is not just a matter of shearing the sleeves straight off as I would have probably done.
I’m down to the last of what’s been a really great pile of thrifted fabric and having used up most of the bright stuff, am left a muted palette, like these two. It’s kind of refreshing. Maybe it’s the weather getting cooler. Another thing in favor of a good basic like the flashback tee is the fun you can have with mods. Sleeves or no sleeves, patterned or plain, embellished, colour blocked, ribbing or no ribbing. Instead of using regular ribbing for arm and neck bands, I wanted the same fabric as the shirt for the squid one and a contrast stripey knit fabric for the other. Since neither of these knit fabrics are as stretchy as ribbing, the length of the bands are only 1/2 ” shorter than the arm and neck hole measurement instead of the recommended 1″ and it seems to work well. I couldn’t love these any more. Oh, and good news…one just came out of the washing machine with the image intact!
