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Itch to Stitch Islares Top. I bought this pattern because I love a square neckline even though they are not recommended for an inverted triangle shape. I also like raglan sleeves as long as they fit well and don't twist. We'll see!
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After tracing size 10 to best fit my shoulders and neck, I pinned the sleeve tissue and gently tried it on to see if the sleeves were going to be super long. With a raglan you can't measure from a shoulder seam to hem. My preferred length is 23".
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For a muslin I only had enough to cut front, back and part of one sleeve. I couldn't sew the sleeve seam but only a few inches under the arm. I decided I need more room at the side seams and will likely need to shorten the sleeves.
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This muslin is a cotton/lycra and I'm going to use DBP (double brushed poly) but I can clearly see the side seam is pulling forward. Definitely need more room there, and the bust darts are too high.
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I added size 12 side seams below the bust and cut out the dart to move down 1/2". I have it pointing toward the apex over an inch away. Next time I might move the dart down slightly more and shorten it some.
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I like that along with the full bust option, which I used, the front is 3/4" longer than the back as well. This is an alteration I always do but don't have to on this pattern! The front and back hems should end up level.
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My preferred back length is 23" so I had to lengthen both front & back 1/2" at the lengthen/shorten lines. The front had 2 lines, between bust/waist, and above the hem. Compared to my RTW tee I decided to use the lower line and keep the curve in place.
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From my muslin I decided to shorten the sleeve 3/4" by taking a fold at the lengthen/shorten line. The hem is 3/4". This turned out to be the perfect length!
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I took a tip from Karina at Lifting Pins and Needles. She mentions in her video of this pattern that she blocks interfacing. In other words, interface a piece large enough to place your facings over. Much easier and precise!
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Here are my facings for the square neckline cut out. The interfacing I used was Pellon EK130 lightweight stretch (sometimes called tricot interfacing). I have a ton of this in both white and black.
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For the front and back neckline I used a stable staight, as opposed to bias, Design Plus Fusible Stay Tape. It should be placed so the needle will stitch through it. Seam allowances are 3/8".
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The raglan sleeves are part of the neckline, so they need to be stabilzed the same as the front and back. I know from my muslin that I can easlly put my head through so the neckline itself doesn't need to stretch. The sleeves have a shoulder dart. Yay!
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Shoulder darts on raglan sleeves give shape at the shoulder curve. They're an odd shape due to the fact the end is cut open on the pattern.
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It didn't take long to realize my DBP was slipping under the presser foot. I raised the pressure up one number to 4 when working on 2 layers. If interfacing was involved I turned it back down to 3. That worked well.
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Here is how they want you to press the shoulder darts. Fiddly with my soft wiggly fabric but doable. They look weird! Lol.
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I have my facings sewn together and pinned on. Since I could no longer see my original dot marks, I measured in from each corner and placed a dot. This did not work well and wasn't precise. It only took me a minute at the machine to realize this.
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Using a ruler I made intersecting lines at the 3/8" seam allowance on all four corners. I could follow the lines and see exactly where to pivot. This way worked great! Next time I'll mark these BEFORE it's pinned on.
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Sewing the facing on using the free arm. It's not just for sleeves and pant legs. I use it for everything in the round to keep the fabric flat and easy to handle. Both my sewing machines, serger and coverstitch have a free arm.
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I cut to but not through the stitches at the corners, then clipped them into a "V" shape. Doing everything I can to get nice crisp corners on this soft knit.
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After clipping the corners, press the seam allowance toward the facing and understitch to keep the neckline seam from rolling out. I use an edge stitch foot. You stop before each corner, backstitch, and resume on the other side of the corner.
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My sleeve board was perfect for pressing after the facing steps were complete, especially those corners.
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My corners look great! I'm so pleased there aren't any puckers. The seam allowance is causing a ridge from pressing but usually that comes out when laundered.
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This is when I noticed a flaw going halfway down the left sleeve. It's a dark line. I didn't cut single layer since I wasn't trying to match the print, so didn't see it. Wish I had because I had enough fabric left to cut another one.
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This part made me nervous, stitching down the facing around the edge. I decided to hand baste as Karina did in her video. I'll use this as a guide to machine zig zag. This part has to stretch!
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I followed the basting stitches and also felt with my fingers to topstitch over the serger stitches. I used a 2.0mm X 2.0mm zig zag. The instructions have you do this from the inside but I was worried about puckers with this soft fabric.
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Well, oops! When I came to the corners I had to cut and release the basting because the corners bunched up. After the corners I continued to follow the remaining basting stitches.
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Here is the finished topstitching. Generally speaking I don't like the look of zig zag but in this case because of the needed stretch it had to be done.
