“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”

Posted by: mermaids on: 11 March, 07

• In: Ottobre | sewing
• 7 Comments

Ok, so I didn’t gather rosebuds today, but I did gather the neckline of tee. Does that count? This project number two from the newest issue of Ottobre Woman. Can you tell I really, really like this magazine? Thank goodness Finland is far away and very, very cold, otherwise I would have to embarrass myself (and my family) by being a crazed, screaming fan at the entrance to the Ottobre office. I would scribble a big “I (heart) Ottobre” on a piece of poster board and wait at the entrance. Upon spotting an Ottobre employee, I would squeal and gush and babble lots of nonsense until security is called to take me away. If Tuula walked by, I just might faint.

Back to the sewing….. I made design #4, a simple tee with gathering at the neckline. It is amazing how that little detail jazzes up a plain tee. For once, I followed the directions, applying the neck binding according to their instructions. It was easy to do with pleasing results. I have noticed Ottobre is going into more detail in the directions. It is my strong suspicion that they read the Ottobre-English Yahoo group. The question “Do you add seam allowances to the bindings?” has come up numerous times. Lo and behold, this issue of Ottobre explains more precisely where to add seam allowances.

I did not do the puffed sleeves. Being so petite, I feared puffed sleeves would look like I was wearing a child’s shirt. Since I have purchased my clothing in the children’s department, the assumption would not be far fetched. Fortunately, Ottobre pattern pieces are often interchangeable. (Reason #357 of why I love Ottobre….interchangeable pattern pieces make it so easy to hack their patterns.) The sleeve from design #3 fit perfectly into the the armscye.

The fabric is a single knit jersey from a local children’s wear manufacturer. It is a good quality jersey, but I have discovered I don’t really like jersey. I don’t like sewing it and I don’t like wearing it. I much prefer the soft thickness of a nice interlock. Nonetheless, I am happy with this tee and it will work nicely with a couple of summer skirts I have. Naturally, I plan to make this tee again, but maybe as a tank, or perhaps long sleeves.