I followed the rules and prewashed my fabric - YAY! I did not press my fabric (it was fairly wrinkle free), nor did I press my pattern sheets. Now, cutting pattern tissue paper is a sad thing. I just wanted it to be over already. Luckily, this version of the pattern has 4 pieces (plus the guide for the elastic), all cut on the fold. There's two facing pieces for the neckline, the front and the back. I decided I don't like cutting around the pattern so I tested my water soluble marker on a small piece of fabric to see how soluble the ink was. When I saw that it washed out easily and completely, I traced out the entire thing onto the fabric, removed the pattern piece, then cut it out.
Next up, sewing the pleats. Boy. Oh. Boy. The pleats.
This is a case of overthinking. I had my daughter and husband both look at the diagram and the shirt to help me figure it out. When I stopped thinking about it and did what made sense, it worked out fine.
When I switched to sewing the bottom pleats, I accidentally flipped my fabric and had sewn on the wrong side. I had to rip those seams out and redo them. We live and learn, right??
After sewing the pleats, I washed the front piece because the pink marker was making me sad. All of the water soluble marker washed away. I didn't use any soap, I just did a rinse cycle and a quick tumble dry. The pleats are done well, not perfect, but I'm pleased with my progress. I still need to press them so...
Now, about this puckering, I don't know if it's an issue with my stitch width, length, tension, etc. I have to research that a bit, after I press out the pleats and see how bad it is.
Tomorrow, I'll finish it up. Facings need to be cut and sewn, then put it all together, add elastic and then hopefully model my new shirt! :)
