Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Lebrechaun (Shirt)

 Time to give him a shirt. I decided that I wanted to have some color and pattern. I know its not terribly Irish but I liked the plaid so here we go.
Cut two sleeves longer than the arms and wide enough that there would be some puffiness to the sleeve when done. The edges are hemmed and they are sewn into tubes and turned right side out. Be sure the tube fits over the hand!
The sleeve is slipped onto the arm and glued at the wrist (about 1/2" from the hem so the end of the sleeve is loose) then held in place with a twist tie from a bread bag until the glue sets. You can also do this by basting a seam around the sleeve and pulling it tight to the wrist.
The sleeve is now pulled back down the arm to cover the glued area at the wrist and create a puff of sleeve over the cuff.  A thin layer of glue is applied to the top and side of the arm then the sleeve is pulled back up the arm and pressed into the glue lightly.
 This gives the sleeve a more natural hang from the arm. Real clothing rests on the upper surface of the arm then gravity pulls the cloth down to hang below the arm. By tacking the cloth to the upper part of the arm, the cloth will hang a bit more like it should without using stiffeners.
You will notice the puff around the base of the cuff and wrinkles and folds in the sleeve at the elbow.
The bodice of the shirt is sewn together so it can be slipped over the head and then seam the sides. I add the collar in place after this step.
The bodice is glued in place around the sleeves, neck, etc...
 The sides are stitched together (or glued) and a collar is made and glued in place. The top of the shirt is tacked to his chest and upper back (again, we want it to hang like real clothing) and it is glued and tucked into the waistband of the pants leaving extra to create a puffiness as if the shirt had been pulled out a bit as he moves.
The back.
Next time we will make a cape and hat. Have a great day!

1 comment:

  1. Love the way the fabric drapes on this little guy. You're a natural at combining colors which is not such an easy thing to do. Great textures in the assortment of fabrics. Can hardly wait to see more...
    Yeay! Such fun!
    xxx
    Morena

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