Randomness (read "lazy")

Yesterday, I visited Etro at Prime Outlets – San Marcos. They have beautiful stuff, I tell you. Just beautiful. The fabrics and colors spoke to me. Of the items there, the shirts made the biggest impression. All had the same, classic styling but with bright, detailed prints and made from silk. I almost cried looking at the well-made buttonholes......

I purchased the “Shirtmaking” book by David Page Coffin a few months ago and I am just now getting a chance to read it. There is a wealth of practical information offered and I look forward to incorporating some of the variations into my shirt pattern.

More on the shirt interfacing: I fused the interfacing to the fabric for the collar, stand and cuffs before cutting those pieces out. In the past, I always cut the interfacing pieces separately from the fabric pieces. No matter how careful I was in cutting the pieces out, the interfacing pieces never matched the fabric pieces. I often fused the interfacing overhang (and there always is overhang!) to the ironing board. Fusing and then cutting is better.

Another improvement that I have been thinking about is using a rotary cutter, a self-healing mat and the accompanying pattern weights instead of scissors and pins. I already have a small rotary cutter and mat that I had used for crafty things a hundred years ago. I need to create a few prototypes of the weights and see what works best. I have seen diverse items used: canned goods, large washers, small bean bags filled with uh, beans…..I need to think about it.