Spatial Reasoning FTW!

[sarahmichelef]

-or- yes, I DID deserve to pass 9th grade geometry!

First off, let me say that I find sewing SO grounding.  It's the polar opposite of academic work - the direction you need to take is fairly straightforward (or maybe there are two or three options to weight the merits of, but it's not all nebulous and squishy), and the results are immediately visible.  Which is why when I was feeling weirdly anxious about "what comes next" in my "real" work for the day, I took a quick sewing break.

I'm finishing the neckline of HRH's gown with bias tape.  It's my first time making my own bias tape (not that the mechanics of making bias tape are all that hard...).  It's a keyhole neckline, which meant that I could:

1. tape only the curved part of the neckline
2. tape the curved & straight parts of the neckline with separate pieces
3. tape the curved & straight parts of the neckline with one piece, mitering the corners where necessary

I of course chose door #3, the option that would challenge my brain the most.  What can I say?  I like to live on the edge.  This, however, had the possibility of doing the polar opposite of grounding me, if it went wrong (as in, if I got befuddled by the mitering of the corners).  But, but BUT!  I got it right on the first try!  I figured out how far long the strip I needed to do the first miter and sewed that.  Then I matched that corner and pinned most of the way around the neckline.*  That let me figure out exactly where the second miter needed to go AND have it point in the proper direction on the first try.  I had to un-pin to about the center back seam in order to have enough room to maneuver the fabric to actually SEW the miter, but FIRST TRY!

I'z so proud of me.

In other news, it has been SO LONG since I worked with anything with any poly content at all (this fabric is an 85/15 blend) that it is making me CRAZY.

*This also meant that I had to make some decisions about seam finishing, because I was going to be sewing over the seam allowances.  Another win - figuring that out BEFORE I started attaching the tape!