2 down, 1 leaving me stressed

I finally found time to sew my assembly line tops.

These are the two I've finished. On the first one, I cut of part of the hem, and and replaced it with a band because I wanted to have a tie band top. I don't know if thats what they are called. Gosh I seriously need a camera. My phone really is not the best.

I know I did a good job with this one because my husband did a double take when he saw me in it, and asked me if I made it ( with total disbelief on his face when i said yes.)

For this one I added ruffles at the front. When I made this pattern last time, I mentioned I wanted one with ruffles similar to a Boden top. In the end, I decided to place my ruffles differently, because I did not have enough fabric.

Sun getting the better of me

Now, the last one is supposed to have Peter Pan collars, and that, dear friends, is the source of all my issues with my assembly tops. I actually drafted the pattern for the collar, which was easier than I thought. Attaching it to the blouse is proving quite difficult for me. I don't know what to do right now, and I have just given up on it ( for now). Sewing should be exciting, and I see it as way for me to relax, and when I started shouting at myself every time I did the collar badly, I knew it was time to stop. So I am going to tackle this collar when I get a burst of inspiration. Hopefully that should be before June!!

Has anyone done Peter Pan collars before? Any advice on how I could proceed with this? Come to think of it, I have never made anything with a collar before. This was going to be my first, and I was really excited about the fact that I drafted the collar myself. Oh well!!! 

My goliath

Sewing these tops assembly line style has taught me a couple of things. 

1. Do a lot of planning before you start production. I started out with the intention of sewing the same top with three different fabrics, but then changed my mind after I had already cut them. This resulted in delays. If I was actually in a clothing factory, I would have lost customers because I would not have delivered on time.
2. If you are going to do an assembly line project, you have to make sure the fabric can all be sewn with a common thread. There is nothing more annoying than having to change thread every time you want to sew something else. The purpose of the assembly line technique is to sew all the items simultaneously, and if you have to change thread all the time, you will end up wasting a lot of time, and the experience will not be enjoyable. I was lucky enough that I used black thread for all three of them when sewing the main bits, but I had to change thread when doing the bias binding for the all of them ( not amusing at all).  
3. Following Miss P's advise, I finished off the edges before sewing the pieces together. This was good because that meant I did not have to worry about that later, and it made sewing a lot easier for me. I use my machine to overlock my edges so changing presser feet every time I have to finish seams off is always a hassle. I did all the darts and back seams first, then attached front and back together and did the side seams. From this point I started sewing them individually because they all had different finishes. 

I would definitely try this again, but this time, with skirts. I do not have enough skirts, so this might work. 

The sun is out in full force today in London. I best go out and enjoy it.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

xoxo