Clothing Engineer

I absolutely love my subscription to Burda World of Fashion…with
the exception of tracing out the patterns. They are piled on top of one
another and require good lighting in order to see the different colored
lines clearly. But worst of all, they don’t include seam allowances.

I’ve read on Pattern Review
that some people just add the seam allowances when they cut, but this
seems too inaccurate to me.  Sewing requires such precise
measurements that having a seam allowance off on a pattern piece by
even 1/8″ can make a difference in how it fits.  I’ve tried going
around the pattern with a ruler and tailoring chalk, but it takes a
painfully long amount of time.  I found a tool that will allow you
to easily and accurately add seam 1/4″ and 5/8″ seam allowances onto
your pattern pieces.  Best of all, it’s cheap.  It is called the Seam Tracer, and is about $3 from Amazon.com.  Basically it consists of two pencils with a two hard rubber holders that space out the pencils to an even 1/4″ or 5/8″.

You
could probably get a similar result of the 1/4″ seam tracer by just
putting two pencils together with a rubber band, but the 5/8″ seam
tracer is indispensable.  I’m surprised I don’t see these seam
tracers in more places.  Seam Tracer from Amazon.com.

This weekend was good for sewing - class is out and once again I
have a few days to work on projects!  This weekend I completed
View B of Kwik Sew 3497.  Basically it is a knit tank top with a wrap-over front.  Shown below is the pattern drawing from kwiksew.com: 

and here’s the finished product:

Since
the camouflage knit I used was more like a t-shirt knit than a jersey,
it was a little too beefy for the clear elastic to stretch like it was
supposed to, and minimize gaping.  I ended up doing a Sewing 911 type of trick, and tacked the neckline in place with a few invisible hand stitches, and put a rosette on top.

I’m
definitely going to make this top again, just out of a more delicate
knit that is more sensitive to the pull of the clear elastic.