Okay, further thoughts on this:
it just occured to me I could just flip the design; have a centre rear seam (so no problems with the pockets) and put that wide panel and side closure at the front
that will make side pockets a bit iffy though (which is to say: impossible on one side)
unless I put the placket in the centre rear seam, which would be great for symmetry but idk a bit uninspired tbh…
#Sewing
Alright, I've settled on a design. It will have five panels: two back panels as usual, two very narrow side panels which mostly serve to provide a place for the pockets, and a wide, trapezoid single front panel, which will be buttoned to the sides.
Not entirely sure about the closure still; I might make one fake row of buttons and one working row, or just make the top 5-or-so of buttons of both rows functional to create a flap that opens to put it on. Could also just make all buttons functional (do I really want to make that many buttonholes?) so that I can button it however I want.
This way, I get my cake and eat it too: an aesthetically pleasing closure that doesn't require a fly or placket, it's symmetrical, and I can have all the pockets I want.
I designed the pattern in Inkscape and transferred the first two pattern pieces to paper and cut them out over the last six hours. Front, waistband, and pocket pieces left to go, and tomorrow I'll have to transfer the pattern to the fabric and cut it out.
#Sewing
I really should have designed the pattern earlier, not just on the eve of the sewing, and sent it off for professional plotting. Would have shortened the process by, by the time I will be done, probably eight to ten hours.
#Sewing
Paper pattern is cut out! At last… only took around eight hours. Fatigue is a jerk.
#Sewing
Got the big five panels cut out; pocket pieces will be next. After that, a LOT of sewing. Spent most of today just resting and recovering from yesterday.
God, transferring patterns to the fabric is SUCh a pain… I gave up on chalk long ago; it never works for me and I have to exert so much pressure that I might as well crumple the fabric up.
But even so, the fabric just keeps slipping around, cutting mat and fabric weighs be damned. I resorted to using a sharpie for drawing, and some spare wooden strips to press the fabric onto the mat (in place of a ruler, which I don't want to get sharpie on).
#Sewing
If I ever win the lottery, I won't post about it, but there will be signs
#Sewing
Binding the edges of the centre back seam with tape is proving surprisingly tough.
Godfuckingdammit... this 1cm cotton ribbon that I wanted to use to finish the centre back seam edges (so I could leave the seam unfrenched and hence adjustable) is just slipping right off the fabric, despite pinning it at every inch(!). They didn't have any wider ribbon, and even if, using 2cm or wider would eat up all the seam allowance and make the adjustability unfeasible.
I despite overlockers from the bottom of my soul, but right now, I long for one :|
#Sewing
Oh and somehow, despite using 10 cm MORE ribbon than the seam length, I ended up being 5 cm SHORT.
Each time I start a project, I'm full of enthusiasm and think I've finally spotted and fixed all issues from last time, and each time, I run into new problems and come out of the project embittered and vowing to never touch a needle again (finished item optional).
#Sewing
OH COME THE FUCKING FUCK ON
First of all, the tension is suddenly off. Everything warps like hell.
Second, this time I tried to do everything right. I seamed two ribbons together to create a double-width ribbon, I pinned carefully like hell (didn't help, it still warps like shit), and I sewed it on SO CAREFUL
...halfway through the bobbin thread broke.
I fucking can't with this.
This SINGLE FUCKING SEAM has been plagued by more problems than most people's entire projects is2g
And in true me fashion, because I have never ever had a machine that just worked, the machine has once again started to make suspicious clank-clank-clank noises, get stuck, and the motor cries out horrible when I try to sew.
#Sewing
If the fabric weren't so goddamn prone to fraying, I would fucking STAPLE it in place.
I just don't get it. The top thread tension was at 4 (out of 9) and the bottom tension is perfectly fine, and yet the fabric puckers and curves to the top as if the top tension were MASSIVELY to high?! I've reduced it to 2 and the problem persists. I don't get it.
This was a nearly straight edge when I cut it, now look at it. What the hell.
#Sewing
I don't believe in gods or spirits, but since every single sewing endeavour I've tried has failed catastrophically in unforeseen and often heretofore-thought-impossible ways, the conclusion that I must be cursed becomes ever more inescapable.
#Sewing
@amberage@eldritch.cafe
Haha, while I read your planned sewing process and think, "Not in a million years!" Your projects sound extremely daunting, and there's that small issue of a tight timeline. But, keep on keeping on, if you enjoy the process, the product, or both!
Mx Amber Alex (she/it)