'If i listened earlier i wouldn't be here'

Today i struggled with putting the sleeves in and making them fit.

I made my first mistake by over-locking the seams of my sleeve before i was done making it up which was a mistake for several reasons. Most importantly it means there's less seam allowance to work with so its more difficult to match design lines and get everything to the same length and the right size. Secondly, by over-locking before you press the seams open you bruise the fabric and press the over-locking into the fabric so that it shows through on the right side of the fabric.

Initially i thought that this would save me time but really i was only making more work for myself as i had to unpick part of the over-locking in order to get the gathered part of the sleeve to fit the armhole. So lesson learnt this week - DO NOT overlock seams until the very end!

I also found myself still making silly mistakes purely because i was rushing and not concentrating properly - when it came to putting one of the sleeves in i pinned the whole armhole into position only to realise afterwards once i'd already machined it that i'd sewn it on inside out! Mistakes like theses, which i'm aware of making before i make them are still a problem which i'm hoping to eliminate altogether by the end of SDP.

As a result, today i appreciated how patience is a virtue and how its better in the long run and overall to take your time the first time, instead of cutting corners and making more work for myself.

Fitting the sleeve gusset and machining the made up sleeve to the shirt front and back did require a certain skill and technique which i managed to achieve the second time round. Because of how the gusset piece is fitted it was very difficult to machine and avoid puckering the corners at the same time.