The Bottom Line

Hurrah! The end of the marking is [sort of] in sight!

One of the papers I marked today amused me greatly- the student hadn’t managed to get much right, but had written some wry comments. Here’s my favourite:I’m very slightly ahead of schedule though, so I rewarded myself with an hour or so sewing before bedtime.

My belly v.vbuttonholes…guess which won?

The parrot shirt got its first outing on Friday, and it needed a quick fix- one of my first 2 buttonholes was a tad too large, and unfortunately was the one taking the strain of my considerable belly. Bad combination. I’ve put a couple of bartacks across the buttonhole, looks fine.

Secondly, I decided that the considerable belly was acting against the 2 front darts. So I unpicked them. I hope that the stitching marks will wash/press out OK, but if not, such minor imperfections are the least of my worries! All went well apart from a minor brain burp that led me to start unpicking a side seam instead of a dart. Doh.

One down. Next on the list, my precious blue leopard ‘Flat Bottom Flo’trousers. They’ve been getting a lot of wear, along with the pale blue twill ones. I made them on the same day, cut to the same size…the leopard ones have grown. On their last outing, I felt as if I was wearing an inflatable sumo suit…they were actually puffing out at the crotch as I walked. Scarey effect! Kind of like this, but bluer and baggier. Ew.

Wife said I was exaggerating [I’ve told her a million times…], and that they looked fine to her. Right. I laid the leopard ones over the blue twill. Blimey! More than an inch gaposis all round.

There’s very little stretch left in them, it’s all expanded. Sigh. I had to unpick those side/front seams, and all the topstitching, cut away the edges, sew a whopping seam grading from 3/4″ at the top to 5/8″ at the hem, then trim and fell it down. Then I had to faff about with the waistband to remove just enough so that I could stitch it back down without pleats.

They fit great again now.

My final job was a quick repair to wifey’s red tartan leggings. The fabric is very cheapo, market bargain jersey, and I’d warned her that I didn’t think they’d last very long. They’ve started to get those teensy holes all along the bum seam, so I did a fast and dirty inside patch using a scrap of the fabric, extending it all along the crotch seam, and zigzagging it down. The pattern’s busy enough that it doesn’t look too bad, and they’ll last a bit longer while I try to source some good quality stuff in the same tartan.

Finally, a couple of snaps from the garden, and one of the boys doing a synchronised swim on the comfy cushions.