Friday, June 4, 2010

Ruby Shorts update: Welt pocket

So, made my first welt pocket ever today. The results were "meh." I'm going to go ahead and pass the buck here and blame it on the Ruby instructions. I had trouble understanding them as I was going through the process despite the fact that I'd read them five or six times beforehand. It wasn't until after I finished the pocket that I finally understood what the directions were saying, so I figure now that I know what they meant to say Ruby Shorts #2 in fabulous purple should have a better looking welt pocket.  


Above is the welt (or piping as the Ruby pattern calls it, or pleated pocket if you prefer-- Whatever floats your boat) before I sewed the pocket flaps on the back. My basting stitches are are still there, though they weren't really holding anything because I didn't fold the welts back far enough. Oopsie. As you can see I've got some serious puckering going on. I figured out why later. When I cut through the fabric to open a hole for the pocket I should not have pushed the little triangles it leaves on the horizontal sides of the welt in. That should be done last, I did it first. So, I feel like if I don't have to mess around with those things while trying to align my piping next time things will be much smoother.. 


Pocket flaps sewn on, no problem here. 


Inside of the pocket. Looks good. No problems there. 


And the final welt. It's mediocre at best. There's a little too much pucker on the right hand side for my taste, but I suppose it's not horrid for my first welt pocket ever. I'm debating on trashing this piece and skipping the welt all together on the pink Rubys. I have enough fabric to cut myself another front panel. I probably won't though. I want to see how the welt will lay when I actually have the shorts on. If the pocket lays funny I'll know not to add one to the purple Rubys. And I don't really mind the pocket  the way it is since it's small, plus I think little imperfections give it that homemade touch. 

You might also note I finally got around to making a new header graphic for my blog. Looks much better than the fake title I had up there before.  

8 comments:

Kelli said...

Love the new header! And for your first welt pocket I think it looks great! Making welt pockets normally scares me off a pattern all together so I applaud your efforts!

~Kelli @ Smidgens

Jana said...

You had the guts to try the welt pocket, you should be proud of it. I think both of your shorts are going to turn out awesome.

Tasia said...

Welt pockets are tricky, not too bad for a first attempt! And every time you do them, you will get better and better, like on the purple pair!
The new header is fantastic!

Alyssa said...

I've still yet to try one and I went to college for sewing, so there you go.
Looks pretty good to me!

Ali said...

You have every right to blame the BurdaStyle directions (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!) I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to figure out the facing/underlap business (I avoided the whole welt business altogether, so perhaps I have no right to complain;). Looking forward to seeing them in action!

jennywren said...

Welt pockets are a pain but look great if they come out right. I remembered this which might help (havn't checked out her link though but she is usually spot on.
http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/04/why-hello-handsome.html

Eleanor said...

I love your new header! It really brings everything together. :)

In my opinion, your welt pocket looks awesome. I'm skipping all the pockets on mine so I commend you for your awesome welt pocket, miss!

-Ele

Jana @ Weekend Vintage said...

Welt pockets are so tempremental-I think yours turned out nice :)
Jana