LDT

Not to be confused with a LBD, the LDT can also, in fact, become a LBD. However, I turned it into a turquoise t shirt. LDT stands for "Laundry Day Tee" and it's hype is that it's quick and easy, faster than doing a load of laundry. It's from Love Notions and you can get it free by joining their Facebook group.  Free patterns are a great way to try a designer's style and fit. Facebook groups are a great way to see the designs on real women. I have been eyeing the "Lane Raglan" from Hey June, but  after seeing it on real people, I know the underarm wrinkles will bother me and that they are near impossible to eliminate.

  I came across the LDT on Stitches & Seams blog.  I found her write up to be excellent and knew I would have the same concerns. My front and back are not the same! I deal with this in knitting patterns ALL.THE.TIME. Sewing designers seem to understand this though, but I have found that many will "cheat" when working with knits. Cause knits stretch, right? So just stretch that t-shirt tight across the girls. Why not? The question about doing a FBA comes up a lot in the FB group. Some women do it, some don't. Most women seem really happy with the t-shirt. I wonder if unhappy posts don't make it?

I opted to go ahead and just give it a try. I found this wonderful turquoise burn out knit at Fabricland in their clearance section. The label said it had dye spots, but it was rolled up and with a paper band. It was 50% off the $15 price, I think it was a full meter, 60" wide. Once home, I opened it up and found these dark spots. I scrubbed them, and used OxyClean, and hoped for the best. Those spots did seem to disappear....but apparently I missed a few. I was able to work around them. The shirt sewed up quickly. I did a cheater FBA by tilting the pattern on the fold.

 Does that glare off the chest mean it's too tight?!

 Here is where most of my issues are. It almost seems a little snug at the armpits, but then not in the middle of my upper back. And it's droopy around my lower back. And the sleeve hems are cut straight across, so once sewn in, they angle upwards. The New Look 6735 that's become my TNT doesn't have this issue (some do seem to have a bit of an angle, but not this much). To me, sleeves should be straight when worn. Am I out of date?

And this. The sleeves are cut on the fold, which means they are symmetrical. Are your shoulders/upper arms symmetrical? Ever forget to flip a (full) sleeve pattern piece for the second sleeve and then try to sew it in and get surprised that it really does matter?  Look at those diagonal/vertical drag lines. Sad. And all to save paper and pattern prep and cutting time. I will say, when I've been trying to piece a NL 6735 on a small piece of fabric, I would have loved to have sleeves cut on the fold. But I also appreciated seeing the pattern piece fully laid out, to see if there were any issues with the pattern/print layout (like a flower growing out of your armpit).

I did a twin needle finish, with woolly nylon in the bobbin. It worked great for the neckline, not so great for the sleeves. I realized that the neckline has three layers of fabric, and the hems, only two. So when I started the bottom, I decided to try the wax paper trick. Only I was in the basement and didn't want to go upstairs to find wax paper (don't think I have any) or consult google as to how to actually do this. So, I saw some waxy paper from fusible webbing. I started with that and it was working, then I tried ripping it off, and I felt I was pulling at the stitches too much. What else did I have in the basement that could work? Toilet paper? Why not?! It dissolves when wet...

It did work quite well. I pulled off the large bits, and figured the washing machine would take care of the rest. It's been washed twice, I think, and there is still TP in the actual zig zag bobbin stitching, but none on the edges. Before I do this again, I will get proper wash-away interfacing. Or, on a bottom hem like this, just do a straight stitch. It's not stretching to go over my head!

So. I don't think I'll bother with this design again. I'll go back to the NL 6735 and doing any hacking from it.