 |
[SIGNUP - FREE Membership & 1 FREE Sewing Lesson ] [Sewing Classes|Shopping Bag  |Login|Help] |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Copyright © 2010 PatternReview.com® , OSATech, Inc. All rights reserved.
Conditions of Use | Posting Guidelines | Contact Us
Hi, I checked out your blog too, thanks. I've admired this pattern and I appreciate the "heads-up". It looks simple enough to copy once you have a t-shirt that fits like you want it to. Too bad that raw edge thing doesn't show up in the pattern's photographs.
4/13/08 0:31 AM
Thank you for the very honest review. I also read your blog info on this pattern. I was going to buy this at the next Vogue pattern sale in my area, but I am going to stay away from particular Marcy Tilton pattern. I'm not interested in a boxy t-shirt nor do I want to spend the time trying to make it look nice. This sounds like a wadder to me.
4/13/08 1:07 AM
Yes, the review of a poorly executed pattern isn't exactly the Sewer's Delight, i can tell. But it is tremendously helpful, and courageous, too. I salute you.
4/13/08 1:26 AM
Interesting review. I have this on the drawing board so am anxious to see how it stitches up. Hope to get it done in the next week. I'll keep you posted.
4/13/08 9:55 AM
I, too, checked out your blog & I am sorry this didn't meet up to your expectations. Sometimes, we have such high hopes for patterns and they just seem to fall flat for us. I am interested to hear from other PR members to see what their experience was like. Thank you for reviewing the pattern even though you didn't think the results were glowing; it benefits all readers !
4/13/08 11:33 AM
I brought this pattern also. Thanks for the "heads-up"
4/13/08 12:56 PM
Oh, it looks so much better now that you have altered the collar and have tapered the side seams. I'm glad that you followed the instructions as written, but I'm also glad that you were able to make it work. I bought this pattern at the last sale, because it I liked the t-shirt varieties--I'm very happy that I can learn from your sewing experience.
4/13/08 1:22 PM
Thanks for the heads up. Glad you were able to salvage it.
4/14/08 4:49 PM
Sorry, it didn't work for you..I wonder if Marcy does the pattern instructions, and pattern placement.Yours does look similar to the T-shirt on her website.I will be wary when I cut & sew mine..Thanks.
4/18/08 1:29 AM
Bravo, Noile! I love your blog and am most interested in your review. Here is some feedback on what have gone wrong. I've made this top many times, in many different knits. (and sometimes I struggle with a fabric too). In my classes and on my CD, I tell folks that there is one knit fabric I NEVER use....and that is a cotton or cotton/poly interlock---from the photo, it looks like you might have worked with this kind of fabric. The problem, is twofold: 1, no lycra, and 2, the super short fibers used to make the yarn for this fabric. Lycra is the secret ingredient to knits (and wovens too). It gives not only stretch, but drape and recovery. For it sure looks like your t-shirt stretched as you worked....especially the neck band. Did you tissue fit the pattern to see how the proportions relate to you? That is the place to catch the wrong length or to correct the neck shape, size, placement. After tissue fitting to get things right, or as close to right as possible, I do a lot of fitting as I sew, and with knits, I stabilize areas likely to stretch as I go (shoulder seam, neck edge etc). Then, I fit as I sew, this is the way to eliminate unhappy surprises, to catch glitches as they come up. Every fabric is different and I do this on every t-shirt in spite of the fact that I have made it dozens of times. Regarding the 'boxy' shape. Correct this by pinning in the side seams, wrong sides togehter, pins running on the stitching line....try it on and shape the side seam the way you want itl Then, there is the issue of the stretching at the hem. That happens when machine stitching the hem/hip---happens to me too. If the fabric has little stretch recovery or if it stretches a lot when topstitched on the cross grain, you have to compensate for it by making the garment smaller and allowing for the stretch. That said, using 505 spray to hold the hem in place, using staystitch plus when sewing, and sewing with a lightweight stabilizer behind the topstitching, all contribute to a smoother and less distorted hem. In a factory, there is a different machine for every part of the garment. As home sewers, we have to invent ways to create a similar or better effect using the machines and materials at hand. Hope this helps, I am so appreciative of your detailed reviews, your point of view is very helpful to me as a teacher and designer. warm regards, Marcy
4/19/08 12:09 PM
Marcy -- I am so honored by your very complete response to this review and your kind words! Your suggestions are very helpful; and yes, you called it perfectly, that is a cotton knit. I love lycra and prefer to have just a little bit of it in everything I sew, as it not only gives better results, but is also more comfortable to wear. But I had this fabric on hand . . . I wish Vogue had mentioned lycra on the pattern envelope, as I took the recommendation to use "cotton knit" to mean that mine would be fine. It looks as if we need more "Marcy" on the back of the envelope! I did use stabilizers when assembling the top, and one of the interesting things is that, in person, the hem does not appear at all distorted; it actually stitched up beautifully. I went back tonight to compare the tissue with the finished garment, and discovered that there is essentially no difference between the size of the finished front and back pieces and the tissue pattern -- with one exception: there may be a very slight stretching of the narrow band on the left shoulder where it joins the right side (under 1/4 inch). However, much to my horror, I discovered that my neckline is, indeed stretched out: that edge is a full 2 1/2 inches larger than the pattern! And that's completely my fault: it's the one place I didn't use stabilizer. Because the band fit perfectly on the neckline, it didn't occur to me that there had been "creep", and I never thought to check it. (After all, it did fit - it was just larger than I expected.) Why didn't I use stabilizer there? I haven't got a clue . . . but I won't be making that mistake again. When I did the side alterations, I got a much better result. My husband also suggested that I may have contributed to the boxy look by shortening the sleeves too much. I love this shirt, and one of the things I did this evening was to shrink the cotton knit for the next version. It's going to have to become something else; I'll try your tee next time, incorporating all I've learned, in something with lycra. I love your designs and admire your imagination and artistry enormously. Now that I'm sewing again, I think I'd better look into a Marcy Tilton class or CD; I want my "Marcies" to look as smashing as the Vogue photos. Thank you for a fabulous dialog, and for sharing your knowledge and your love of your creations with us so generously.
4/20/08 0:55 AM
Your updated t-shirt looks much better. Your blog and Marcy's comments were very informative. I said I wouldn't get the pattern, but I did buy it afterall - unfortunately I made a mistake and bought the smaller of the two sizes wherein view C is way too narrow, so now I will have to wait till the next Vogue sale to buy the larger size.
4/22/08 8:07 PM
Wow...great responses and feedback on this pattern. Your altered top is a great improvement. This pattern looks very interesting and one could have a lot of fun with the creativity it allows. I'm off to get this pattern.
4/26/08 7:42 AM