I have big arms. They are long and strong, but they are bigger than a lot of other women's arms and have always been bigger even when I was super fit and running and lifting and doing all sorts of sporty stuff. I know I'm not alone when I say that there are a lot of cute tops I've had to pass on because I couldn't get the sleeve all the way up my arm. This, friends, is one of the reasons why I make a lot of my own clothing.
I tend to look for tops with roomy armscyes or stretchy fabrics. The other day, I picked up a cute little summer t-shirt dress. I couldn't try it on (see: Covid) but I was pretty confident that it would be fine because t-shirts are comfy and easy to wear, right?
Well, no. Not this time. I could get it on and wear it as long as I never had to raise my arms higher than my chest. So much for driving.
I was irked, but I mean, this is why I got Rosie, my sewing machine. It was either do sewing or leave it to languish in my closet (it was on final sale, so returns were out of the question).
I figured it would be cute if I added some kind of panel to widen the sleeve. I had no idea how I was going to do this, so I let the idea stew for a while this week while we went on a short vacation a little further north on Vancouver Island to Qualicum Beach. It was so hot that I only have one photo of the beach that the hubby took while I was taking a refreshing swim in the ocean:.
The only other photos I took were of a super early morning walk with the doggie in the nearby park:
And of Seymour trying out the hotel-supplied doggie bed:
I think he wants one for home:
Anyway, we got home on Wednesday, and over the next couple of days, I mused a little longer on my t-shirt dress problem. Yesterday, I pulled it out and laid it on the table to look it over:
I took out another shirt that had arms that fit me properly and compared it against the dress. It looked like I needed another 2 inches of depth:
Then I got an old shirt that I was going to get rid of and measured out the 2 inches, plus an extra inch just in case. I still had no idea how I was going to do this, so I figured extra fabric would be a good idea. Also: I've been marking all my fabric using washable marker, but it's hard to see against the grey of this fabric:
Then I measured out the length of the existing sleeve on the dress and marked out the same length on the spare shirt, plus an extra inch just in case:
I measured the same for the other sleeve, then I got out my rotary cutter and a quilt ruler and cut them out. I got two triangles of fabric out of it:
Then I took the dress and pressed a crease into the sleeve to match each shoulder seam. I took a big breath and cut along each crease. Then I put everything down and went for a swim at the beach:
The water was a bit choppy and I kept getting salt water up my nose, so instead, I treaded water and thought about what I was going to do next. I surmised that the triangles weren't quite the right shape, but I figured I would just sew them on and then fudge it with hand stitching if it didn't quite work. And that is exactly what I did: I used my machine to stitch each triangle into the sleeve until I reached just below the shoulder, then I threaded a needle and hand-stitched the top in until it looked pretty ok:
From the front, you can't really tell it's a diy job:
And while I would have liked the triangle/wedges to be centered on the shoulder seam, you can only really tell if you look closely. It's not perfect, but you know what it is? It's wearable... not just for around the house, but heck, I can also wear it and lift my arms drive at the same time. That's a win for sure:
Meanwhile, I have been making steady progress on a laceweight project. I think it's going to be a summer tee, but it took me so long to decide on a lace pattern I liked and on a gauge that would be wearable that I'm really just taking it as it comes:
The yarn is a linen/silk blend from Ancient Arts Yarns called Indulgence. I love a good yellow:
This project is based on Anne Hanson's Butternut Scarf pattern which I've knit before. I love the elegant, undulating simplicity of it. The current plan is to knit a whole panel that will become the back and then knit the front in simple stockinette, but I'm not sure I want to knit an entire front panel in stockinette with laceweight yarn with size 2 needles. That is a plan that is certain to evolve as I work my way through this:
The thing I know for sure? I know for sure that THE SLEEVES WILL FIT. I'm quite sure that's why some of us became knitters in the first place: to have sleeves that frigging fit us properly.
In the meantime, it was nice to be off work for a week, but I've been struggling with severe cramps in my left calf muscles so I haven't been sleeping all that well. I've got one more day before I'm back to work, so I think I'm going to go settle down for a nap. I hope you are all well. Have a great week.
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