day eight: teeny weeny tucks

When I first saw the Viborg shirt, I thought that the diagonal lines on the front were pieced.

they are not pieced. so very much not pieced.

Then when I realized they were not pieced, I thought they were just stitched.

they are not just stitched. oh, nay nay.

They are teensy, tiny, wee little pintucks, made to look like a seam. False seams show up all over the place, particularly in the Greenland gowns. I was so nervous to try and make these little pleat/tuck/false seam bits, because it’s only the outer layer that’s tucked. The lining is flat.

they really didn’t make it easy…

I was really worried about it. As it turned out, while it was fiddly, it really wasn’t that hard. The one thing I needed to be sure of was that as I creased the diagonal line, I didn’t stretch it and pull the outer layer out of shape.

I think I managed it.

I pinned the living daylights out of it and basted along the edges

I sewed with linen thread the other night, and it drove me crazy. It came apart while I was sewing with it. I just wasn’t having it anymore, so I decided that while I waited for a new order of linen thread to come in, I’d just forge ahead with silk.

Once I started stitching, I went through three needles before I found the right one. Two of the three needles I tried to get through the three layers of linen were too thick, and I managed to find a milliner’s needle in my drawer, which, while a bit more flexible than I’m used to, was certainly thin enough to slide through all three layers and allow me to stitch some really satisfying little pintucks.

I honestly thought the corners would be sharper, but I’m really happy as is

I got the upper edge of the front done tonight, and should get the bottom edge and the sides of the tucks on the front done tomorrow, now that I know how. I can’t wait to press it — I don’t dare right now because I made my marks with a Frixion pen, and they’ll disappear if I iron it. I plan to thread-mark the neckline, which I laid out in order to position the front square.

I’m so happy tonight. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have the time to rewrite Day Seven and talk about putting the shoulders together. I think I’m well on my way to getting this shirt done in time.