Back on track, weekend sew-a-thon!

Well the week prior to Easter and the weekend of Easter was a bust. I didn't get nearly as much accomplished with all the travel, mainly becasue I did not want to check a bag to bring my sewing along. In retrospect I should have but I am glad I didn't becasue I didn't have to waste 30 min waiting for my bag to arrive.

So this weekend was sew-a-thon. 7 specials on military tactics, countless movies and who knows how many Discovery channel shows I wrapped up about 8 pm last night to have dinner. The best thing about sewing is I don't snack and I probably lost 2 pounds! I started on Sat morning about 11, sewed until 8 or 9 that night accomplishing the rest of the boning channels and attaching the backs to the sides.

Started 10am on Sunday and sewed most of the day, took a short nap around 2 finished the book Atonement then finished the sewing the sides toegther, and tried it on. I needed to make a few sizing adjustments to smake the garmet a bit smaller around the wasit. As you can see, I left the fabric I brought in (alittle less than 1" on both sides) attached so I coul let it out if I need to at a later date.

I am starting to understand why garmets were adjustable! It is much easier to build them with a little room to grow or shrink than it is to build a whole new set!

So, I finished up any of the small tailoring and decided that I would try out adding the boning. As from reading other blogs I followed advise of soaking the reeds in steaming hot water, but devaited from the plan when I decided flexibility was probably better to stuff these suckers into channels than stiff, unwaxed (I don't want to stain the light color linen with beeswax) reeds that can break and splinter.

I put 4 strips of reed into their thier hot tub and took out one reed when I saw it uncoil on its own. So me and the reed moved to the living room to start out afternoon project about 4:30.

• After trying to stuff a blunt end into the fabric I thought a tapered round end would be more productive, which it was


• I cut the still damp reed into the aproximate length and rounded the entering end and wiggled it into the channel


• If a 1/4" reed was too wide, I cut the reed length wise to fit


• Damp reed was much easier to work with becasue it damped the fabric making it more adjustable


• The reed would sometimes it would get stuck and I would need to strech the fabric by pulling or lifting it away using a seem ripper very carefully

I boned about 1/2 way in less than 2 hours then went back and trimmed down the reeds to the proper height to add my binding tape.

• I cut the tips slightly rounded at the ends.


• I found that the dry reed splintered much more and I had to replace a few of the reeds that were already cut.


• The channels were much easier to restuff, as the fabric dried with the reed holding the shape
  

Addtional notes:

• I had to re-sew the channels on the front peices becasue my stiching was much neater toward the end of the project, and I sewed that peice first. So start sewing in the back and do the front peice last next time.