Monday, April 29, 2013

The Sassy Librarian - Part 2, and finis!

This blouse was so fun to make and the class is a great one to take!  If you missed my last post, this is referring to the class I took on Craftsy.com,  The Sassy Librarian Blouse .  This class is good for beginners and advanced sewist alike.
The instructor, Christine Haynes, is a pattern designer and an excellent teacher.  Even though I say it's good for beginners, you do need to know how to use your sewing machine.  She speaks clearly and shows exactly what she is doing each step of the way.  I like how she lets you know if the next section applies to the view you are making or not and it's easy to skip to where you want to go.  Honestly, sometimes if a technique is known to me, I wanted to hurry her up.  I have made blouses and shirts before, but long enough apart that it's always nice to freshen up the 'how-to's.  It is always nice to watch someone else actually doing the step, and see it done smoothly, before you need to do it.  Also, if she struggles a bit (like setting in a perfect sleeve), then I'm reassured my struggles are normal.
I did take the time to watch every step so my blouse took a lot longer than it normally will to make.
Here is the final product:




When I got to the step of the collar, I was so pleased with how easy it was and how nicely it lay:



For the buttonholes, I went to the blogpost by "Dog Named Banjo".  This tutorial really helped me to go step by step with my Bernina 440 buttonholer.  I tried to wing it, but ended up going back and reading the steps again.  She has it laid out very nice.  I did discover the auto feature isn't working on my buttonholer.  It will do one at a time beautifully, so I just did that.   I'll have to go and have my foot recalibrated, apparently.
Speaking of going to the shop, when I got my serger out to help finish off the seams on this blouse, the poor thing decided to freeze up.  She apparently didn't like the move from Arizona to Oregon.  It's been 2 weeks at the Bernina dealer so I'm hoping she's home soon (and doesn't cost an arm and a leg).
My next project is to finish up my 'muslin mock up' with sleeves and facings and have a 2nd version.  It fits well and I think I will enjoy that lightweight fabric this summer!  When my Serging Bernie gets back I will zip that on up!


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