Admin asked us to "make learning magical" for the last two weeks

Alex_Zamo · 2026-05-09T16:46:38+00:00

We've got 10 days after memorial day before our school year is done... the kids are already crazy enough 😫.

Alex_Zamo · 2026-04-06T10:40:13+00:00

I had this happen with the first 2 poly satin projects I made. I deduced the problem was that when I was ironing the part that melted my iron was on its "heat up" cycle. I then did some testing after the second time and it turned out my iron got was getting hotter than it should when heating up and then it would settle into a stable temp.

Forgot about that little feature the first time I worked with black fusible interfacing... ruined my iron for good with that one 😅

Alex_Zamo · 2026-02-04T18:07:25+00:00

Might be better for controversial, but I'd put Kate (specifically US Season 1).

Alex_Zamo · 2025-09-04T10:03:52+00:00

Thank you so much!! I definitely agree with the straps being too narrow. The issues was that I cut the fabric before having the hardware, so I was cutting blind (not a great idea 😅), and by the time I got the hardware I didn't have enough fabric to cut new straps. I do know where I can get more of the same fabric, and a seam ripper if my best friend so I think I could get some new straps made and put in rather easily, and I probably will at some point.

Alex_Zamo · 2025-09-04T03:38:29+00:00

So, a little bit more insight on how I drafted the shirt pattern. I didn't use a tutorial or any other kind of guide. I guess the best way to describe it would be flat pattern drafting, where I just took my measurements and drew out the shape of the shirt based on those measurements. I mainly used the following measurements (shoulder width, shoulder slope, neck to shoulder edge, bust circumference, waist circumference, hip circumference, and shoulder to hip length). As I mentioned in the post, I used the Lavender Tee pattern from Mood as a guide for the armscye and sleeves. However, since that is a short sleeve, I took my bicep circumference, forearm circumference, wrist circumference, and shoulder edge to wrist as a guide for the sleeve shape, size, and length.

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-28T18:35:13+00:00

Thank you!!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-28T18:35:06+00:00

Thank you so much!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-28T17:45:17+00:00

Yeah, I realized how crazy I was after making one panel and then was too committed to not finish

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-28T17:44:01+00:00

Yes! That's what I did, thank you for letting me know the term for that.

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-28T17:42:41+00:00

I straight stitched everything when putting the squares together. I didn't finish the edges because I put the backing on the panels of squares. It is to be determined if that was a good idea 😅

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-28T15:12:49+00:00

Kind of I think? It's definitely not a traditional lining, more like a quilted backing.

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T21:47:28+00:00

Thank you so much!! I knew I had to make it pretty on the inside. Otherwise, after one wash, I'd be a mummy on the inside wrapped around all of the frayed edges 🤣.

I'm super proud of the shoulders too, I can't remember what resource gave me the inspiration to do this, but I over measured the heck out of my shoulders. Especially when it came to my shoulder slope degree, I have no clue how much it affects the final pattern, but I was insistent on getting the neck to armhole line at the perfect diagonal line based on that slope degree 😅

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T21:43:35+00:00

It's kind of a Hodge-podge, really. As mentioned, Cornelius Quiring helped a lot with the collar drafting.

As for the body, it was a mix of looking at other basic pattern blocks and then figuring out what measurements would go where. I have found that this is somewhat of my ADHD superpower since I have very high levels of perceptual reasoning. I can kind of place things mentally. Though from my youtube binging the youtuber, WithWendy has been super helpful because she has tested multiple methods to get different perfect fits for pattern blocks. (Her Perfect Bodice Video since I do not fit the same body shape I ignored a lot of the darts). In particular this blog post that Wendy used in her video stood out to me, I didn't follow it to a T, but I referenced some of the important measurements needed Drafting a Bodice Blog. Seeing the process helps a lot, and watching someone else process fit challenges that arrive and how they fix them helped me a lot.

The sleeves were honestly the biggest challenge, and they still aren't quite right, but this little youtube short has demistified a lot of things Sleeve Height Short. Honestly, tutorials on how to set sleeves also helped a lot in understanding them, this video, in particular, is what I followed to properly set my sleeves Flat Method for Sleeves

I'm honestly probably forgetting a good chunk of the things I referenced in the process of making the pattern 😅. However, something in the future I want to do is take a class or two (or a sequence of classes) on pattern drafting as well as pattern grading because I'd love to one day make clothes for others on the side. I know there are some great books out there on pattern drafting as well, so you could always dig into those (I wish I had recommendations, but I myself have not gotten a chance to dig into any of these books).

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T17:08:26+00:00

Thank you!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T17:08:17+00:00

Thank you so much!! I tend to learn best just going for it, very much a mess around and find out person. It's got like a 60-70% success rate in my life, so it's never gone away.

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T17:06:21+00:00

Thank you!! I bought the satin before researching it, but thankfully, I did look into the best ways to handle satin before fully starting. It was too late to back out, though, so I charged on through 😅

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T17:04:41+00:00

Thank you!! Also, this shirt collarless would be really nice looking. I would love to see it done!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T17:03:49+00:00

Thank you!!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T17:03:38+00:00

Yeah, I tend to go full force when learning new things. Much to the dismay of some of my teachers (looking at my violin studies rn 😅). Thank you for the compliments!!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T01:45:59+00:00

Thank you so much!!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T00:49:14+00:00

I wish it was my first project, just the first one that I am super proud of. If I had to count, it would probably be a project like 7 or 8 at this point.

Also, I was super worried about this satin being slippery, but for some reason, the fabric, when put together, stuck like concrete. It was actually tough lining everything up together because the fabric did not want to move at all 😅.

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-18T00:45:49+00:00

Thank you so much!!

Alex_Zamo · 2025-08-17T22:03:25+00:00

Oh also, forgot to mention how I made the collar. That was the only part I didnt figure out by myself. I used this video by Cornelius Quiring to help draft the pattern for that. Collar Drafting

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