The anti-tutorial
Even though some of you think I’m a sewing rockstar I can definitely tell you I’M NOT. I fail all the time – just like yesterday. My intentions were good but the execution sucked big time. I tell you upfront: THIS is NOT a tutorial – I want to show you exactly what you shouldn’t do. (hm… when I think of it it’s a tutorial after all)
So I have this great shirt by Diesel. It’s plain white with violet font. But it’s too wide as I bought a men’s size M. I didn’t know they had the shirts for women, too so that’s why I bought it. Though I like my shirts a little roomier these days that shirt was just too wide and so I decided to make it a bit smaller. Couldn’t be that difficult and it actually isn’t. Basically what I did was fine and worked well but let me finish this post so you can see.
What you need to do is really easy. You turn the shirt inside out and pin the edges so that the seams are all straight.
Then you make the mark away from the seam according to how small you want your shirt to be. I tried the shirt on and thought 3 cm on each side is ok so I marked at 2,5 cm. You have to consider the seam allowance.
Then you cut the shirt in pieces. Here I made sure the needles were still holding the shirt together after cutting so that everything stays in place.
Until here everything was fine and all this took 15 minutes. Now that it came to sewing I made TWO big mistakes that I wasn’t aware of until I saw the result. First bummer was that I sewed straight. The problem here is the material. The shirt is (to be honest a very cheap) jersey – which is elastic – which the straight sewing stitch is not! After I sewed the first line I had this tension in the fabric and somehow it didn’t feel right. And what was even worse – I could see the fabric was having micro small holes right by the sewing line. I googled and found the solution. For jersey you need a zig-zag stitch so that the fabric stays elastic by the seam line. OK. I did use the zig-zag stitch on the other side and realized that was way better. BUT the holes would still be there. I googled. Again. And THERE was THE answer. Jersey needs to be handled with a jersey needle. Uff. I didn’t know that.
Now I learned my lesson. Next time – before sewing with a material I’m not familiar with – google FIRST. What needle, what thread, which stitch!
Here you might see… the shirt is tighter now. I wanted to cut the collar as well and make it a bit bigger but I couldn’t bother anymore after fearing loosing my shirt any minute. It survived a party though. Next time I pass by an american apparel store I’ll buy a good quality shirt and sew the design on the shirt. This actual t-shirt is a mess and I wouldn’t wear it at daylight.
But it proves that I’m stupid :-) Basically I didn’t actually fail. I just found a way that doesn’t work! Â Next time I know better and now YOU know, too!
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12 comments
awwwwwww sorry the shirt redo didn’t work out as well as you’d hoped! i just learned how to make a zig zag stitch the other day and it’s pretty important for “stretch”. and a jersey needle?? wtf is that all about??? i think there is a needle for like everything…. =/
Lou – this is exactly why I think you’re awesome…..because of what you said here: “Basically I didn’t actually fail. I just found a way that doesn’t work! Next time I know better”
That is seriously the best way to look at things…I need to use your thoughts more often. I fail at something and I swear, it’s the end of the world :)! I love what you said here…you should make it into a print :)!
.-= Piper´s last blog ..{shake it up – week 20 scoop} =-.
Well even if you ‘failed’ the second image is def. much cuter! So much of what I do is trial and error!
.-= Erin @ SYL: Slipcover Your Life´s last blog ..Announcing Veneer Designs! =-.
I’m about to start using my sewing machine for the first time and I’m super nervous! I hope it goes well.
YAY Chaucee. You don’t have to be. It’s just a machine. Put in the thread and go forward. :-)
And thanks Piper, you make me blush. You always have to remember “everything is going to be ok at the end. if it’s not ok, it’s not the end!”
@ Erin, it’s just part of a process, right?
@ Sandy, YES the needle is the secret. i just bought a pack of 4 but didn’t try yet. i learned the tip is different. you can’t see it though. i’ll let you know the difference as soon as i tried.
LOL, Lou I’m sorry for your shirt, but I loved the anti-process of this anti-tutorial!
Out of jokes, this was more interesting and helpful (and fun!!) than many sewing tutorials out there, I didn’t even know jersey needles existed!
Ciao!
Suze
.-= Suze´s last blog ..Hello, little news and Beautiful Today: Sandra Suy prints =-.
Hi Lou
Youre so clever :) I admire you persistance and patience. As a sewing novice (i have just bought my first grown up sewing machine) I will be looking to you for inspiration…
Have a lovely day/night – i think it is over there
Daniele x
Oh, first thanks so much for your lovley comment…lieben Dank für deine netten Worte…;)…ich fühle mich ein wenig besser, aber lass es die Woche echt langsam anngehen.Ich war auch auf diesem Markt. Es war sehr inspirierend, aber auch saukalt…;)…Das mit deinem T-shirt tut mir leid, aber ich liebe deine Art mit den Dingen umzugehen…immer positiv…und geradeheraus…einfach du…das ist so schön…Hab eine ganz tolle und nicht zu streßige Woche…bis bald…und sei gedrückt…cheers…i…
.-= frauheuberg´s last blog ..Healthy weekend wishes… =-.
So proud of you for trying and for having the gusto to post your mess up. However I can’t tell that it didn’t work out :)!!
.-= Emily´s last blog ..Tune Tuesday =-.
That is such a great idea! I hate it when shirts are too wide on me. I never knew about the zig-zag stitch, when I sew jersey I will have to remember that! I think when I sew stretchy material I pull the material tight while stitching it so that when it shrinks back the stitches are kind of loose, but it’s still able to stretch? I don’t know if that makes much sense, haha!
Hello Mishabelle, I knew about zig-zag but not what it was good for :-) Your way sounds good, too. I will try zig-zag AND jersey needle now and tell you the difference. There MUST be one!
Cute shirt! Yes, sometimes we have to make mistakes to do it right the next time (especially w/ sewing!).
Mishabelle is also right. I use a straight stitch (a bit of a longer stitch, but not a basting stitch) and stretch the fabric when sewing jersey. It seems to turn out better for me than a zigzag, but it could be that my machine isn’t good at zigzag stitches. You do have to be careful when you do it this way, though, that you don’t stretch the fabric too much and get it out of shape. With cheaper and lighter jerseys, the fabric it does have a tendency to stretch out of shape. The jersey needle is a ball point, so it sort of slides between the threads of the fabric without piercing it and making holes.
.-= MelanieO´s last blog ..Quilt Market Edition =-.
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