Saturday, May 21, 2011

You can't deny your geekhood once you've made more than one miniature lab coat...

Current Mood : So very sleepy...


I'm not complaining (for once), just sayin' - Beloved Hubby's Airsoft friend left at 5am this morning. We had a great time hangin' out and nobody wanted to quit talking, but that was one long day ! Today was the Airsoft game Beloved runs, and he was bowing out since we were both exhausted...but the other back-up game runner, Honey Butt, was out sick, so he ended up going anyway. Even Dearest Son, who'd gone to bed much later than usual, was wiped out and draggin' around.


If I sat still for more than five minutes, I'd drowse off, which happened over and over, even after a quick three-hour nap once Beloved had departed. So I didn't get a lot done. Mentally, I was right at 'can successfully navigate button fasteners' and 'reads with limited comprehension', but I kept trying.


Finished up Lab Coat 2.0 - just had to put in the hem and sew down the facings. Even though I'd altered the sleeves before I even cut it out, and once again once I saw they were too long, they're still a bit on the long side. I like the Dolls Ahoy one, it was easier to put together - that's the one on Frankie. Need to try it on the guy dolls before I make any other alterations.


But, for all its PITA collar ways, I prefer the McCalls one, Lab Coat 1.0, that's on Cleo. The small darts help it fit better, the length is right where I want it, and it just somehow looks more professional to me. It helps that, since I took the last photo of it, I hemmed up the sleeves and sewed down the facings on it, too. May make two or three more, just for practice. My collars look OK in photos, and they're sewn well enough, but it's a huge struggle for me, so I could use some remedial work on 'em.


Since I wasn't much up for new challenges, I decided to sew some snap fasteners on a couple not-quite-done pieces. Original Cleo's green blouse and black Toreador pants needed more than pins holding 'em together, so I sewed three on the shirt, one on the pants. While I had it, I took the blouse's sleeves apart and took up the hem - I'm slowly coming to realize that over-long sleeves bug me. Ripping up two finished items and re-sewing 'em is highly unusual for my 'eh, it's done' attitude, so those sleeves must bug me more than I originally thought.


I know it's just me bein' cheap and lazy, but sometimes, I really like sewing 30 seconds of Velcro (tm) and being done with it. Those four snaps took me nearly half of a re-watch of UHF to get done, and half of that was re-threading that blasted needle. I'm so monumentally cheep that I was using recycled thread. It's true. Often, I run a line of gathering-length stitches on the quarter-inch line, as a quick marker for hems. Only takes a couple of seconds to stitch, and it really keeps my hems straighter than ever before. A quick tug once the smaller-stitched hem is done, and the marking stitches are gone, but I have a pair of long threads...what better way to use 'em than on snaps ? Provided the darn needle cooperates...


I have one more outfit that needs snaps, and I hope to get to that tomorrow. and perhaps altering a Barbie outfit, those are always fun to change.


Speaking of changes, hugs to our own Smidge-chan, as one door gently closes on her superlative store, and another set of luxe French patio doors swing wide to welcome her skills ! Good luck, Smidge !

1 comment:

  1. Awww, Dorrie, you're such a doll, thanks so much! :) Fellow nerd, here, I love the lab coats-- and your collars always look great to me! Collars are what made me hang up my doll clothes needles, lol-- not that I had much luck with hems or sleeves either... ;)

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