I spent this weekend thinking about seams - two very different types.
I'm in the middle of sewing my Future Dress, since my additional fabric - a beautifully drapey rayon challis - arrived during the week. Given how light weight and potentially ravel-prone I thought it would be, I decided that french seams would be the best finish for the dress.
French seams are time consuming since you basically sew and press them twice. The slower and more carefully I sew and press, the better they come out. Oh. And did I mention that this dress has 12 very long seam? Yeah. My work was cut out for me, and there were a few set-backs. It was nearly impossible to figure out which was the right side of the fabric. Also, I sewed one or two seams together with the incorrect sides facing because "sew right sides together" is so ingrained (for french seams you start with wrong sides together.) I used my seam ripper a lot and I'm still not completely finished with the dress.
That said, despite the effort I didn't hesitate on the decision to use a complicated seam option, nor did I procrastinate working on it. I also didn't try to cut any corners no matter how frustrating my french seams became. This was not the case with the other seam I should be working on.
My other project is a baby blanket ('tis the season for baby gifts again). I finished the actual knitting several weeks ago. It's the Baby Tree of Life Blanket by Lion Brand Yarn. I just love classic heirloom style ecru baby blankets.
Anyway, the whole center area is knit separately from the leaf trim, as you can see. Then you seam the trim around the perimeter. The seaming doesn't require any fancy stitch or handy-work, and yet I spent the entire weekend procrastinating to a point where I only have about 4 inches done.
I'm feeling uncertain. For many knits, you should block before you seam. But this pattern actually suggests seaming as you knit the trim (ie: pre-blocking). I didn't do this. So, now I have 96 inches of trim to seam.
I have no explanation for my behavior; it makes no sense. I happily spend hours toiling at a complicated sewn seam, but can't seem to do a simple knitting seam, which I could even do while in front of the television. In fact, as I write this, I have the Harry Potter marathon on. I suspect that once I get going and feel like I've made progress, the blanket will speed along. But for now, I procrastinate.
Do you have any strange and inexplicable crafting behaviors?
I'm in the middle of sewing my Future Dress, since my additional fabric - a beautifully drapey rayon challis - arrived during the week. Given how light weight and potentially ravel-prone I thought it would be, I decided that french seams would be the best finish for the dress.
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| Future Dress Tutorial by DaughterFish.com |
French seams are time consuming since you basically sew and press them twice. The slower and more carefully I sew and press, the better they come out. Oh. And did I mention that this dress has 12 very long seam? Yeah. My work was cut out for me, and there were a few set-backs. It was nearly impossible to figure out which was the right side of the fabric. Also, I sewed one or two seams together with the incorrect sides facing because "sew right sides together" is so ingrained (for french seams you start with wrong sides together.) I used my seam ripper a lot and I'm still not completely finished with the dress.
 |
| Turquoise and navy challis with french seam |
That said, despite the effort I didn't hesitate on the decision to use a complicated seam option, nor did I procrastinate working on it. I also didn't try to cut any corners no matter how frustrating my french seams became. This was not the case with the other seam I should be working on.
My other project is a baby blanket ('tis the season for baby gifts again). I finished the actual knitting several weeks ago. It's the Baby Tree of Life Blanket by Lion Brand Yarn. I just love classic heirloom style ecru baby blankets.
Anyway, the whole center area is knit separately from the leaf trim, as you can see. Then you seam the trim around the perimeter. The seaming doesn't require any fancy stitch or handy-work, and yet I spent the entire weekend procrastinating to a point where I only have about 4 inches done.
I'm feeling uncertain. For many knits, you should block before you seam. But this pattern actually suggests seaming as you knit the trim (ie: pre-blocking). I didn't do this. So, now I have 96 inches of trim to seam.
I have no explanation for my behavior; it makes no sense. I happily spend hours toiling at a complicated sewn seam, but can't seem to do a simple knitting seam, which I could even do while in front of the television. In fact, as I write this, I have the Harry Potter marathon on. I suspect that once I get going and feel like I've made progress, the blanket will speed along. But for now, I procrastinate.
Do you have any strange and inexplicable crafting behaviors?
