Now it's time to sew! Here's my fabric, washed and ready to go:
I drafted my pattern on some newsprint I had lying around and cut out all of my pieces. Then I had to work on the embroidery design. I opted to hand stitch the M onto my front piece, partially because I like hand stitching details, but mostly because this was a guaranteed way to ensure the M wound up in the exact position I wanted. After that I used my sewing machine to create the wavy lines in my design (notice the different thread weights creating different types of topographic lines!). Finally, I hand embroidered the legend looking design on the hem. This design also functions as a ruler, something that I'm definitely getting a kick out of because it's useful in a really unconventional way.
Then it was time to learn something new! I did a little research and discovered a type of seam called a flat and felled seam. If you're wearing a pair of jeans right now, check out the seam on the inner leg to see what a flat and felled seam looks like. While researching, I discovered that there's a version of this seam used frequently in tops and shirts called a run and fell seam. I opted to learn this seam since it's perfect for my purposes. Here are the basics for those who would like to learn too!
Sew your fabric, right sides together, with a large seam allowance ( I used about 3/4")
Trim one side of your seam to about half the length of the other
Fold the longer side down and around the shorter side. Pin in place. I recommend using a lot of pins for this part, especially if your fabric has a loose weave like mine
Sew a single running stitch along the fold to secure the fold in place
As you can see, the finished seam looks very clean and professional. I'm calling this a success!
After that, I also decided to try a new technique for sewing sleeves onto a garment I had read about in a sewing magazine. Normally, when you attach sleeves, you assemble your top and sleeves separately and then attach the sleeve by putting it into the arm hole of your top and sewing in a circle. For those who don't sew and think that sounds tricky, it certainly can be. My first time attaching sleeves I probably sewed my sleeves on inside out three times before I got it right! This technique eliminates the need to sew in a circle entirely, so I was curious to try it out.
First, you sew together your shoulder seams (done above). Then you lay your sleeve piece flat and pin it to the shoulder piece like this:
This can be a little tricky because you're pinning to curved edges, but it can be done! Then, you go ahead and sew where you pinned. When that's done, you should have something that looks like this:
Lastly, you fold your piece in half and pin up the side of the top and down the sleeves to make a long, L-shaped seam. Once that is sewn, you have a top with sleeves attached! I really like this technique, but I have a hunch that it only works really well on loose, boxy garments. If I were to make something more tightly fitting, I would definitely use the normal method.
Once all of that was done, I attached the hood and my hoodie was done!
And to top it all off, here's a picture of me wearing it. I love how comfy this thing is! I also love the design a little more every time I look at it.
