8% shy

While going down the rabbit-hole as I tend to do, this post really grabbed my attention. Novita, longtime blogger and extra cutie-sweetie, shrinks pdf patterns to best fit her frame! Genius.

I’m a shortie too, and fit is always an issue. I’m constantly having to hem my clothes. In fact this summer I had a crop-a-thon for all my shirts. I always thought that improving fit was more about proportion than just chopping off a few inches, which is why I love this petite hack. Of course I had to try it out myself. 

Bringing me back to the Scout Tee! This one is 92% smaller than the original!

Since the scout is such a simple pattern with only 4 pieces, I thought it would be perfect for this experiment. I love my earlier scout, don’t get me wrong, but in terms of fit, this petite version is such an improvement. The collar and hem just fall at better places for me. 

 

I used my original pattern pieces to help me figure out my new petite size by placing the original pattern piece on top of the uncut print-out. Turns out I’m a size 12 in this petite conversion. The pattern piece on the left is the petite 12 while the right piece is the original 6. Besides the overall length, I feel like the differences between these two pieces are super subtle. Novita lengthens the arm scythe a bit in her petite conversions. I didn’t do that in this instance. I’ll need to figure out if this is necessary for me too.

For this scout I used a bright orange linen. Something in my stash that I bought awhile ago from Paron Fabrics. Seeing as how this is an experimental sewing project, I thought I’d also experiment with incorporating brights into my daily wear. My lack of brights in my wardrobe are for various reasons:

1. I tend to wear the same things over and over again, like a uniform! I feel that brights would call attention to this.
2. My work is rather dirty. So I wear a lot of indigo which I think hides dirt well. I should probably wear an apron. On the other hand, dirt on indigo is more like a patina, right? 
3. I’m a bit of a slob, especially while eating! So I leave a lot of stains my clothes, and I feel bright colors show stains. I guess cutting down on my re-wears and again wearing an apron would help.

 

This hack wasn’t a perfect experiment. The seam allowance shrank with the pattern pieces, but I kept them at the original 1/2″ while sewing up the garment. Novita’s petite hack is only possible on digital patterns, so all my old Burda magazines, paper patterns, and Japanese sewing books will never undergo this petite conversion. Still, I’m super happy with the results and totally looking forward to future sewing projects!

 

hello!

Hello! Welcome to my fledgling craft blog. Here I’ll be showing off the things I make. I love visiting crafting blogs and admiring all the work by all the talented people out there in the world. Some sites are great sources of inspiration and some really helpful! I’ve been thinking, “I sew. I knit. I wanna share my projects and experiences too!” So here it is. Please bear with me while I figure this blogging out.

The first project I’d like to share is my very first scout tee! The Scout Tee is by Jen of Grainline Studio. Jen is an incredibly talented designer, and while this is the first pattern I purchased from Grainline, turns out my first ever online posted project (in 2008!) was one of her earliest published patterns. So it’s fitting that the first project on this blog would be from her as well!

First thing first about Grainline patterns, I love that they include seam allowances! No time spent adding them to all the pattern pieces! I was able to choose my size (a size 6), tape, cut and transfer. So quick and simple. The scout tee pattern is only four pieces, so adding seam allowances wouldn’t have been a huge undertaking, but for more complicated projects with lots of pattern pieces, already having seam allowances is just a thoughtful, time-saving detail that might also eliminate sources for possible errors.

For this scout tee, which actually is a wearable muslin, I used a Japanese linen chambray purchased from Miss Matatabi. I bought this fabric almost two years ago! (Gotta love my digital paper trail.) Since I only had a yard, one possible reason for it sitting idle for so long was finding a good project for it. This scout tee was like kismet!

The linen chambray has a nice twill weave, giving the rather stiff linen some fluid movement. Even before I finished cutting the pieces I decided to staystitch the front and back at the collar to prevent them from stretching out. Since I already had basting thread on my machine, I also did the gathering lines on both sleeves.

The twill weave also made this chambray seem denim-like, so I decided to try out flat felled seams. I followed this great tutorial on the Colette blog. Since I was using leftover bobbin thread that was a different color (shh!) all my stitching had to be from the front. A 1/4″ quilting foot helped keep things neat.

I also followed the Grainline tutorial on bias facing for the collar. What would I be without online references? Less spiffily dressed for sure.