I was totally saying, “Noooooooooooooooo” when you said you were going to cut the strips on grain. The strips were instructed to cut on bias so that is would drape like a circle skirt. I learned this the hard way when I was making sleeves and cut one on the grain line and one on the bias. Mess. One was weird and stretchy and draped weird and the other was not.
Hahaha I got a teacher who was very strict about bias cutting for reasons like these, so I came here to see if anyone else had similar experience hahaha
Yeah ! I never understood why bias cutting was important ... I ruined like 2 skirts cutting along the grain ... Then I watch a tutoriel on doing a slip skirt and in 2 minutes I got it ! :p
I appreciate you showing your mess-ups and projects that didn’t turn out the way you hoped. I have gave up on so many projects because I run in to issues that I can’t seem to figure out, and I get so discouraged when the end result isn’t even wearable. It makes me not want want to use fabric that I like because I don’t want to waste it.
Just think of how good you'll be at sewing the next time once you've learned to work through those issues. Contrary to popular belief, mistakes make you POWERFUL!!! ....provided you use them to learn from, of course~ When I get asked in my knitting classes why I can tell what mistakes have been made with just a quick glance, my response can only be, 'Because I've made these mistakes.....ALL THE MISTAKES.'
Oh my heavens ! I lololololol so hard I cried! I love love love these sewing realities because we ALL hv them in our sewing life. At age 66 I won't be making this one, but I sure do appreciate your take on the issues. Totally agree! I md one when I was barely in my twenties & had same issues, but I didn't capture the "Oh Hi nice to meet you" flip of the ruffle! I sure needed this lololololol today! You are so much fun! I keep you much in my prayers concerning your health issues! My heart goes out to you sweet & vibrant young woman!
It is SO nice to see a real representation of how sewing and crafting really goes... I've tried so many times to film tutorials for the projects that I make and it always turns out too confusing. Your final result looks adorable and it's great to know that it's not always straightforward to get there!!
I would have made those ruffle strips wider so they draped more, but that might accentuate the clown collar you weren’t going for 😂. Personally, I’m totally on board with clown couture
I THINK making them longer so they drape more, and then tacking them down closer to the sides of the arms, so the can't pop up so far when arms are raised, and instead look more like a neckline when only the 'sleeve' section pops up on top of the shoulders would help, too. No 'close to being around the neck clown collar' look, no 'unflattering it's just a tube under the pretty ruffles that are only attached in the middle' either. Which only makes the clown collar look WORSE, because it suddenly goes from a nice top with off the shoulder ruffles to looking like two separate pieces barely held together in the middle. Sometimes instructions as written aren't the best way to do things.
I made this top and the same mistakes from a different TH-cam tutorial and copying a blouse I had purchased from the store. Some of the things I learned is to make the raffle at least 1.5-2x longer than my shoulder width and long enough to cover the tops of my boobs. I also used elastic that fit just round my biceps. That way when I lifted my arms the elastic wouldn't stretch so much that it pulls the Ruffles up. This kind of top is confusing in that the neckline is sewn raw and with the ruffle and body wrong side to right side. It's finished with the foldover elastic shoulder band. ( or with a casing Channel sewn into a double ruffle)
Me, who has little sowing knowledge but has watched people make doll clothes here on YT. " You need to hand stitch some of those ruffes down to make them artificially behave."
Hey Annika, I have a book full of patterns from the 30ies which is called "the Golden cut". I inherited from my grandmother who went to a house wife's school in the 40ies. It's in German though so I don't know if you're still interested. Maybe you can have a look at "Der goldene Schnitt" which used to be a publication thoughout times of short supply (war, post war aera) in Germany.
@@qwmnable you're supposed to learn how to cook and manage the money your husband gives you to pay for groceries, sew, clean and so on. It was a thing in Germany until the 80ies or so but I think they are not around any more. They were called Hauswirtschaftsschule.
First off that necklace is gorgeous. Second, yes it is comforting for newbies like me to see how even an experienced sewer like you can still make mistakes. I'm genuinely glad that you showed how the first one went wrong and then talked about the redo at the end. Thank you for sharing that!
I don't know if you already do this or not, but it's been a habit of mine of reading the instructions of commercial patterns and visualizing them in my head first to see if I can catch any potential problems, and then writing the sewing steps down (on paper or in a text document) in a way that they make 100% sense to me, and then visualizing them to see if I can catch any potential problems. Once I started doing this I have avoided a lot of problems. Sure, it takes time to write out a working order, and I don't jump into projects like I used to, but it's been worth it. I also started keeping a "mistake journal" in a little notebook I could add illustrations to. I used to think I would just automatically remember all of the mistakes I had made in the past, until I started to get the feeling that I had made certain mistakes before. I couldn't remember all of them so I started writing them down, and then flipping through the mistake journal to find relevant entries before starting a project so I could remind myself "don't do X, do Z instead".
@@carliegriffiths6290 It feels great to be able to store all of that information outside of your head. I flipped through mine yesterday and came across an entry where I wrote down that I applied iron on interfacing by following the instructions (like I always did, the exact recommended time and heat setting) and it turned hard and plastic-y. I ended up using that collar piece on the underside so you wouldn't see it. I talked to the lady who works at the sewing supply store and she told me to always try a scrap of the iron on interfacing on a scrap of your fabric using the recommended heat and time settings and then letting it sit overnight. Sometimes it comes loose during the night (just detaches itself). I wrote that down and it's great advice. Iron on interfacing is not one of my favourite things.
The seam connecting the two ruffles is pointless. Instead of one 5.5" ruffle and one 4.5" ruffle, why not make just one 10" ruffle, and fold it in half off-center so one end is longer? That would reduce seam allowance bulk inside the ruffle casing. EDIT: Okay I just realized the point of cutting two ruffles is so both could have the good side showing. So it's not pointless if the right and wrong sides look different. But it's still a good tip if right and wrong sides look the same! :D Just be sure to hem the ruffles after sewing the casing to be sure the hem goes properly to the back side of the ruffle in both cases.
I was thinking the same thing when I was watching. If she had left it inn the bias it would have laid a bit better too. But it still turned out cute as the video was fun watch. 💖
That is in fact, just an off the shouler blouse struggle, not a mistake on your part! If the feeling isn't too irritating for you, you can try what i did with all my off shoulder tops recently, which is to sew a piece of elastic sort of right across the underneath of your arm, so it sits snug at the arm pit (this is kind of hard to explain, sorry cjdjdhfnf) It will keep the ruffle in place off your shoulder when you lift your arms! I used some soft fold over elastic that's usually used for lingerie so it wouldn't be irritating next to my skin. There's a 'hack' floating around for this using a hair tie and some safety pins, i just adapted that to make it more permanent. It might make more sense if you look it up tho 😅
I had this pattern saved since June and I was wondering if I should sew it. It's the simple things that will push you over the edge. I'm glad you saved me from any possible future headache with this video.
The ruffles probably wouldn't lift to your shoulders if you had measured the elastic without stretching it. So it just sits on your arms instead of being stretched out. Kinda defeats the need for elastic at all but 🤷 also if you look at the photo she's wearing the ruffles right at the apex of her shoulder and not down on her arms
I wonder if an alternative solution for the ruffles would be to make them taller? like i feel they are too short and maybe that's why they stick up? * thinking emoji *
I agree. I think it would make the top a lot more flattering and possibly even eliminate the problem of not cutting the ruffles on the bias (maybe not, though.)
I think the flippy ruffle is just the nature of this beast. You could try sewing it down at center front/back to see if that helps, but not sure it would. I personally wouldn't do this top cuz i know it wouldn't flatter my shape, but it looks really cute on you (even when the ruffle is trying to be a clown collar lol)
I love you making mistakes and accepting it. It kicks me out of my beds to create something for myself and don't worry about mistakes. I really really enjoy your and I laugh a lot 🤣
Thank you so much for posting this. As someone who’s been sewing for *years* I mess up projects more often than I succeed and it’s really disheartening. But seeing someone who I look to for sewing advice and prowess also have mixed successes on projects is reassuring and reminds me that I’m not alone in my endeavor. So, thank you for making me not feel so alone, Annika!
Hey girl your ruffle problem is because you didn't cut them on the bias. They will not drap nor lie down cut on grain. I hope that helps! I like the pattern but not sure i'll make it. I love the top, but i have sloping shoulders so off the shoulder tops don't flatter me.
I just sewed my own figure skating dress and watching you problem solve and make mistakes made me realise that I am not a bad sewer and that it is part of the process. I had to do a lot of problem solving but it turned out really nice and I'm super happy with it.
Thank you for up loading this! I had a shitty day, cause I had to stop working. I felt bad for kind of failing. But to see somebody who is very, very good at something not complete a project perfectly helps not feeling alone. I don't like to see things go wrong, but a perfect illusion doesn't help anyone.
If you cut semi circles for arm holes, you would be able to see the ruffles til that point so they will be less likely to slip up. Just remember if you do this, to add length at the waist as it will lift up the waistline, Also, placing a few strategic tacks on the center front ruffle to the main piece will help with the unwanted “flick” up of the ruffles. They look adorable on you Annika and thank you for another awesome video!
Annika, you really inspire me. I really want to try to make this top now! its super cute. Also, I often feel super happy that I finished a project but then all I see is the mistakes. I think if I didn't watch you make this with all the mistakes pointed out I wouldn't know anything was off. It came out super cute!
Looks great! Experiments are always worthwhile. The ruffles should be cut on the bias and also needs to be a light fabric. To keep the ruffles from sliding up on to your shoulder, when the top is on you, add a small length of ribbon to go from the front to the back immediately under the armpit on the top of the ruffle. I’m going to immediately look through my saved vintage patterns and send you what I have via Instagram.
Hey Annika, I love these little tops, they both look so nice on you. I think the floral is the prettier of the two. I had a bit of a think about the flipping-up ruffle problem, and came up with the idea of stitching the ruffle across more of the bodice...when attaching the ruffle, sew it on the full width between where the armholes would be, that way it has a more secure attachment, not just a couple of cms/inches. Also, make the ruffles a little bit wider and definitely cut on the bias, it'll help stop the flipping-up and will drape a bit better as it 'll have the extra weight that comes from the extra width...if that all makes sense? :-] I really enjoy watching you discover the joys(?) of sewing and garment making. It can be a rewarding time, even when we get it wrong. There are no mistakes, just simply learning experiences... :))
After spending all day yesterday dealing with technical difficulties with my non-sewing projects, it's honestly kinda nice to see that I'm not the only one struggling!
it looks really cute! but yeah, every off the shoulder shirt i've tried on with elastic like that just ends up creeping up the shoulders. i feel like it'd be better off with small regular straps to hold the shirt up and then have the ruffles drape around the shoulders without the elastic
So sweet! Great job! Agree with the ruffle being in the bias. Plus I think I would cut the ruffle a little bit wider and use a lightweight drappy fabric.
I wonder if the reason why they made the elastic 37" around the shoulder is so it would maintain that nice ruffle, but not be so tight in order to keep it from springing back up over the shoulders?
I'm kinda in love with this top! I would make the ruffles an inch or 2 longer. So they come past the bust when on. Then hand sew them further towards the sides so the arm holes are smaller. Which in my hopes would help keep them off the shoulder in place better.
Same. I can measure 3 times before I make my cuts, and it still ends up slightly off if I’m cutting rectangles. Not so bad that I can’t fix it when hemming and such, but enough to annoy the bejeezus out of me!
Im the same. I csn get close with pattern weights (aka random heavyish things at arms length) and a fresh blade in the rotary cutter. With scissors i have no chance!
It's good to see mistakes because it shows us you're human. It also shows us mistakes and what you did to fix them! If you sew more of the ruffle onto the body of the shirt, it should help to prevent it from moving around as much.
I found a tutorial for a similar top last year and did a bunch of these. the trick is to make a curve for your armhole at the sides so the "body" of the top just isn't a straight rectangle, so the top and the back comes a bit higher up on your chest, and helps anchor down the ruffle to more fabric. also, a wider ruffle tends to not spring up but kept down by gravity :) really hope all of this makes sense XD
This does look pretty! The tweaks I would make? 1. Make sure the top comes up a little higher. Having it too low will cause the band of ruffles to sit lower so you're more likely to end up with a stiff collar when you raise your arms. 2. Make the ruffle strips wider by at least half an inch, if not a full inch. This will add a little weight so they don't want to stick up as much. Alternative for 2: Use an EXTREMELY thin fabric just for the ruffles. The thicker the fabric, the more it will want to stand out stiff when ruffled.
I think if the width of the ruffle fabric was bigger, it would be heavier and lay better? Either way even with the mistakes you make this look sooo easy!
Just sat down to relax after spending hours sewing and unpicking most of what I sewed, when I stumbled onto your channel. Anneka! You are such good fun:) hilarious in-fact & highly entertaining too. I can’t tell you how much I laughed as you battled with that ruffle! It was very funny - I literally cried laughing. You are hilarious & now my fav go to person on TH-cam. Love your work 🥰😭😂🤩
I would make the ruffles wider, I’m mean this is just me, I love that your so honest about posting videos with mistakes, no one is perfect. Keep it up, I learned a lot from you
it looks good!! i’m glad you’re posting your progress and mistakes :D it’s very encouraging for someone who also makes a lot of mistakes that seem very very silly once you realise what you’ve done lolol off the shoulder tops tend to just. be annoying like that unless .. maybe the elastic is a bit looser? so that it would sit down more rather than spring up when given the chance
I recently did a 1942 crochet pattern for a hair snood. Super interesting and fun but also odd to try and do with limited instructions. I found mine on Trove. I actually think a vintage snood would look really good on you, and go with your vintage vibe. It's also great for days when you don't want to do your hair. I'd be happy to send you a crochet snood.
On making mistakes: this past weekend I was making my 3rd mockup of a pattern and while cutting into the sleeve while it was on, I cut into the shirt I was also wearing underneath ☹️ still haven’t succeeded with the 4th mockup either
Thanks for being real. I have been sewing for decades and I still have learning experiences and challenges :). If you lengthen the ruffles (vertically, making the individual ruffles taller) they will sit flatter. Not sure if that would be the look you wanted but something to try... Should you wanna make it again.
Interesting how you mentioned when zigzag stitches came in. Reminds me how I learned to sew on a 1960s sewing machine my grandmother bought when they came to Australia. I ended buying a new machine for knits because I just kept getting frustrated with it. Modern machines are so much easier. Dad still uses the old one though.
I like this pattern because of the simple geometry! I wore several tops like this this summer and I have been wanting to make some! My favorite one that I own has much *much* longer ruffles. I find that not only is it prettier with a longer ruffle (and I don’t mean the strip is longer, the strip is wider, so it hangs down longer on the finished top, if that makes sense), but it also sits flat easier because of its own weight, and it also is long enough to cover my underarms when they ride up to my shoulders. I also find that the looser it is around my arms, the better, because then it’s much less likely to ride up. So if you decide to make a third top, I’d try making your ruffle strips twice as wide, and making the elastic for the ruffle a bit longer! 😁 You may or may not like it, but it might be worth a try haha
Thank you for sharing your mistakes here, I have seen this diagram on Pinterest and considered making it myself so it’s nice to be able to learn from your mistakes. I think I might make the ruffles wider so maybe the length of the fabric keeps them from popping up so much.
Ooh about the seam allowance: on the left side it says "1/2" seams have been allowed". Maybe thats why the ruffles look so short? I really like this video and it inspires me to also sew this top! I really struggle while sewing like aaall the time and it will probably take me like 2 days to make this. Please please please if you can and want to continue those recreating videos (also loved the japanese book one btw :))
Tip for anyone making a similar top: The key to getting off the shoulder shirts to stay properly is all in the grain line! If you cut it so that the front center line is on the bias and the top shoulder seam is on the straight grain, and the back is on the straight with the shoulder seam on the bias, it will sit nice and tightly off the shoulder and you won't have clown-collar problems.
There's a trick with off the shoulder tops where you use hair ties & safety pins to pin the ruffle to itself under your armpit. It's a total game-changer for off the shoulder tops!
I think you could also concentrate the majority of the gathering around the sleeve area by securing the ruffles (but no the elastic) on the front and back at the beginning and end of those seams, with the amount of ruffle you like there, so that those ruffles are fairly stationary, but the elastic can still move around and the remaining ruffles are loose. This would also likely help the popping up issue. I hop this made sense. It's hard to explain in words.
A trick I use when using safety pins to feed elastic through is I use a second safety pin to pin it to the outside so it doesn’t get pulled in to my project.
Yay! So happy to see another video from you. I feel like I'm missing a friend between videos, and I always love what you post. Hope you are going well.
A trick I've came across to stop off the shoulder tops becoming clown collars, is put a little strip of fabric/elastic/clear elastic e.c.t. under the arm and sew it front and back and that should stop it rising up onto the shoulders
Wow! When you said everything went wrong, I thought the end result wouldn’t look good. BUT I LOVE THESE BOTH! The white shirt looks so crisp and I love the ruffles. I really love the second shirt too. It looks so chiffony and flowy! If you want less flipping up, you could try a bit more slack to the elastic so that it drapes lower/looser on your arms. I’m not sure how it would look though. Does anyone know if that helps? I love off the shoulder tops but the few that I have always slide up my arms as I’m living my life. It’s a constant struggle. I suppose I could double sided tape them to my body, but that seems like a lot of work too.
Both tops looks great. I do agree about the ruffles. The top looks like it should be a little bit higher up or that the ruffles should be sewn on to more of the top than just the center front and back.
I absolutely relate to the process in this video! Thank you for sharing the reality of what it is like sewing! I don't have this, so I am going to use this.
You could tack the centre front and maybe also the centre back of the ruffle down, I think that might solve the whole sticking up problem and it might make the top look better when the ruffle does end up on your shoulders
if you sew a line of stitches down the bottom ruffle near to you armscye, they should be hidden by the top ruffle, it helps with the ruffle not flipping up and the ruffle not becoming a ruffled collar .. my mom used to do this to my tops back in the 80s.. (and yes I am that old lol) You did, as always, a great job showing the process in a way that we can follow along BUT is so very entertaining. I hope the warmer weather thats coming for you helps to lesson some of your pain. Please take care of yourself.
Even when it seems pointless, it's usually best to follow cutting instructions, especially on a clearly marked pattern. It will minimize problems when sewing.
I have my grandmother’s singer featherweight from the early 50’s. She’s straight stitch only but there’s a zig zag attachment that is the size of a small car.
To keep the sleeves from riding up, if you want to wear them where you are in this video, you’ll need to see them further along the top of the shirt to just before where there armscye (sp?) would start/ end. The instructions are for if you want to wear the ruffle at the apex of your shoulder, so if you want to wear it lower it needs to be adjusted accordingly! Also to fix the flippiness of the ruffle, I would blind stitch it down along the bodice
Try safety pinning a piece of elastic to run from the ruffle in front of each shoulder, under each arm, and to the ruffle in back of each shoulder and see if that stops the ruffles from riding up. If it doesn't work, you can always undo it, but if it does, it solves the problem with off the shoulder shirts forever.
This isn't something I would wear but Love the top on you! Thank you for showing this one even tho there were errors. I have learned a lot from watching your videos.
I loved the mistakes, we can't learn without them! I make a similar top to this last year, I had the same problem where I realized I don't care for off the shoulder tops.
late to the party (stupid algorithm). I see a lot of people confirmed your bias suspicions, but I think you could probably make your existing shirts less flippy if you tack the ruffles down in a few key areas. best way I've found is to wear it to find out where the ruffle wants to lay when your arms are down, then pin just the part that's already touching the shirt down and tack it in place. (this is a trick used on doll clothes because fabric is almost always too stiff in small scale, lol) Either way, they did turn out really cute! I like the floral one a lot. 🌸🌼🌹
I was totally saying, “Noooooooooooooooo” when you said you were going to cut the strips on grain. The strips were instructed to cut on bias so that is would drape like a circle skirt. I learned this the hard way when I was making sleeves and cut one on the grain line and one on the bias. Mess. One was weird and stretchy and draped weird and the other was not.
Hahaha I got a teacher who was very strict about bias cutting for reasons like these, so I came here to see if anyone else had similar experience hahaha
the diagonal seams also make it less bulky!!
Also gives the fabric a bit of stretch so it will lay better
I had the same thought!! I was wincing at that bit, especially given the title!
Yeah ! I never understood why bias cutting was important ... I ruined like 2 skirts cutting along the grain ... Then I watch a tutoriel on doing a slip skirt and in 2 minutes I got it ! :p
I appreciate you showing your mess-ups and projects that didn’t turn out the way you hoped. I have gave up on so many projects because I run in to issues that I can’t seem to figure out, and I get so discouraged when the end result isn’t even wearable. It makes me not want want to use fabric that I like because I don’t want to waste it.
Same xD
Make mock-ups they help a lot and you don't waste your nice fabric
You could put the words (and then everything goes wrong) to title pretty much every one of my sewing projects thus far. 😂
Same ❤
Just think of how good you'll be at sewing the next time once you've learned to work through those issues. Contrary to popular belief, mistakes make you POWERFUL!!! ....provided you use them to learn from, of course~ When I get asked in my knitting classes why I can tell what mistakes have been made with just a quick glance, my response can only be, 'Because I've made these mistakes.....ALL THE MISTAKES.'
I’d add a couple tiny stitches to tack down the ruffles in key spots so they never flop up.
That's what I was thinking too! And maybe she could see more of the top of ruffles closer to her shoulder?
My thoughts exactly, tack it near the armpit, right before it leaves the torso. At least if it flops up, it won’t do it in such a ridiculous way lol
Agreed, that would help with the style and comfort level lot more
About a third way down the ruffle, middle of front and back, and 2 at each arm, also front and back. Very cute.
10:19 Bernadette Banner would say “there’s no such thing as historical accuracy anyway”
Oh my heavens ! I lololololol so hard I cried! I love love love these sewing realities because we ALL hv them in our sewing life. At age 66 I won't be making this one, but I sure do appreciate your take on the issues. Totally agree! I md one when I was barely in my twenties & had same issues, but I didn't capture the "Oh Hi nice to meet you" flip of the ruffle! I sure needed this lololololol today! You are so much fun! I keep you much in my prayers concerning your health issues! My heart goes out to you sweet & vibrant young woman!
Just before the video is done- you serve some LOOKS in this video! The librarian-chic look with the purple top and the glasses is just *chefs kiss*
girl really has a whole dang joann's in her sewing room
It is SO nice to see a real representation of how sewing and crafting really goes... I've tried so many times to film tutorials for the projects that I make and it always turns out too confusing. Your final result looks adorable and it's great to know that it's not always straightforward to get there!!
I would have made those ruffle strips wider so they draped more, but that might accentuate the clown collar you weren’t going for 😂. Personally, I’m totally on board with clown couture
I THINK making them longer so they drape more, and then tacking them down closer to the sides of the arms, so the can't pop up so far when arms are raised, and instead look more like a neckline when only the 'sleeve' section pops up on top of the shoulders would help, too. No 'close to being around the neck clown collar' look, no 'unflattering it's just a tube under the pretty ruffles that are only attached in the middle' either. Which only makes the clown collar look WORSE, because it suddenly goes from a nice top with off the shoulder ruffles to looking like two separate pieces barely held together in the middle. Sometimes instructions as written aren't the best way to do things.
I made this top and the same mistakes from a different TH-cam tutorial and copying a blouse I had purchased from the store. Some of the things I learned is to make the raffle at least 1.5-2x longer than my shoulder width and long enough to cover the tops of my boobs. I also used elastic that fit just round my biceps. That way when I lifted my arms the elastic wouldn't stretch so much that it pulls the Ruffles up.
This kind of top is confusing in that the neckline is sewn raw and with the ruffle and body wrong side to right side. It's finished with the foldover elastic shoulder band. ( or with a casing Channel sewn into a double ruffle)
Yes, I would make those ruffles longer to give them more weight and draping to resist lifting up
if you cut the ruffes on the bias it'll lie better
Me, who has little sowing knowledge but has watched people make doll clothes here on YT.
" You need to hand stitch some of those ruffes down to make them artificially behave."
Hey Annika, I have a book full of patterns from the 30ies which is called "the Golden cut". I inherited from my grandmother who went to a house wife's school in the 40ies. It's in German though so I don't know if you're still interested. Maybe you can have a look at "Der goldene Schnitt" which used to be a publication thoughout times of short supply (war, post war aera) in Germany.
Du hast nicht zufällig Lust, daraus ein PDF zu machen, oder? 😂
House wife’s school?
@@qwmnable you're supposed to learn how to cook and manage the money your husband gives you to pay for groceries, sew, clean and so on. It was a thing in Germany until the 80ies or so but I think they are not around any more. They were called Hauswirtschaftsschule.
@@kuhttifrutti2826 an kalten wintertagen vielleicht 😉
That is awesome! My german is rusty but i am so jealous
First off that necklace is gorgeous. Second, yes it is comforting for newbies like me to see how even an experienced sewer like you can still make mistakes. I'm genuinely glad that you showed how the first one went wrong and then talked about the redo at the end. Thank you for sharing that!
I don't know if you already do this or not, but it's been a habit of mine of reading the instructions of commercial patterns and visualizing them in my head first to see if I can catch any potential problems, and then writing the sewing steps down (on paper or in a text document) in a way that they make 100% sense to me, and then visualizing them to see if I can catch any potential problems. Once I started doing this I have avoided a lot of problems.
Sure, it takes time to write out a working order, and I don't jump into projects like I used to, but it's been worth it.
I also started keeping a "mistake journal" in a little notebook I could add illustrations to. I used to think I would just automatically remember all of the mistakes I had made in the past, until I started to get the feeling that I had made certain mistakes before. I couldn't remember all of them so I started writing them down, and then flipping through the mistake journal to find relevant entries before starting a project so I could remind myself "don't do X, do Z instead".
Oooo a mistake journal is genius!!
@@carliegriffiths6290 It feels great to be able to store all of that information outside of your head.
I flipped through mine yesterday and came across an entry where I wrote down that I applied iron on interfacing by following the instructions (like I always did, the exact recommended time and heat setting) and it turned hard and plastic-y.
I ended up using that collar piece on the underside so you wouldn't see it.
I talked to the lady who works at the sewing supply store and she told me to always try a scrap of the iron on interfacing on a scrap of your fabric using the recommended heat and time settings and then letting it sit overnight. Sometimes it comes loose during the night (just detaches itself).
I wrote that down and it's great advice.
Iron on interfacing is not one of my favourite things.
The seam connecting the two ruffles is pointless. Instead of one 5.5" ruffle and one 4.5" ruffle, why not make just one 10" ruffle, and fold it in half off-center so one end is longer? That would reduce seam allowance bulk inside the ruffle casing.
EDIT: Okay I just realized the point of cutting two ruffles is so both could have the good side showing. So it's not pointless if the right and wrong sides look different. But it's still a good tip if right and wrong sides look the same! :D Just be sure to hem the ruffles after sewing the casing to be sure the hem goes properly to the back side of the ruffle in both cases.
I was thinking the same thing when I was watching. If she had left it inn the bias it would have laid a bit better too. But it still turned out cute as the video was fun watch. 💖
I like to binge watch your videos because in my mind if I watch a lot of your videos I'll get better at sewing, like I'm a Sim
I genuinely enjoy seeing errors, because it's really cool to see how you problem solve around them :)
That is in fact, just an off the shouler blouse struggle, not a mistake on your part! If the feeling isn't too irritating for you, you can try what i did with all my off shoulder tops recently, which is to sew a piece of elastic sort of right across the underneath of your arm, so it sits snug at the arm pit (this is kind of hard to explain, sorry cjdjdhfnf) It will keep the ruffle in place off your shoulder when you lift your arms! I used some soft fold over elastic that's usually used for lingerie so it wouldn't be irritating next to my skin.
There's a 'hack' floating around for this using a hair tie and some safety pins, i just adapted that to make it more permanent. It might make more sense if you look it up tho 😅
Fantastic, thank you so much!
This is brilliant!
love this idea :)
Ha, I frequently use the long 'hanger loops' on of the shoulder tops like this to help keep them in place. Works great. Wonderful idea to use elastic!
I had this pattern saved since June and I was wondering if I should sew it. It's the simple things that will push you over the edge. I'm glad you saved me from any possible future headache with this video.
Sometimes, despite our mistakes we need to be proud of ourselves for trying at all
Bonus of cutting the ruffles on the bias: you can get away with not hemming
THE BLACK AND WHITE INTRO OMG I LOVE IT
The ruffles probably wouldn't lift to your shoulders if you had measured the elastic without stretching it. So it just sits on your arms instead of being stretched out. Kinda defeats the need for elastic at all but 🤷 also if you look at the photo she's wearing the ruffles right at the apex of her shoulder and not down on her arms
But it stretch out when she move arms and have the streatch to do it then if not allready stretched
I was just about to suggest that. 🤔 Though off the shoulder tops like that still never seem to work out for me either. Lol
I wonder if an alternative solution for the ruffles would be to make them taller? like i feel they are too short and maybe that's why they stick up? * thinking emoji *
I agree. I think it would make the top a lot more flattering and possibly even eliminate the problem of not cutting the ruffles on the bias (maybe not, though.)
And she could add little curtain weight ball thingies to hold the ruffles down! Like the Queen does to hold the hems of her dresses down!
I think the flippy ruffle is just the nature of this beast. You could try sewing it down at center front/back to see if that helps, but not sure it would. I personally wouldn't do this top cuz i know it wouldn't flatter my shape, but it looks really cute on you (even when the ruffle is trying to be a clown collar lol)
My eyes aren't too good at the whole seeing things thing, so I thought that shoulder tape and necklace were new tattoos at first glance. Haha. 😅😅
I love how michael listen to all suggestion from viewers from last video, loved it so much more this time.
Your doing great, keep up the great job ♥️
I love you making mistakes and accepting it. It kicks me out of my beds to create something for myself and don't worry about mistakes. I really really enjoy your and I laugh a lot 🤣
Thank you so much for posting this.
As someone who’s been sewing for *years* I mess up projects more often than I succeed and it’s really disheartening. But seeing someone who I look to for sewing advice and prowess also have mixed successes on projects is reassuring and reminds me that I’m not alone in my endeavor. So, thank you for making me not feel so alone, Annika!
The floral one looks soooo cute ❤
Maybe to help it lay flatter you could connect the ruffles to the top for one or two more inches near the armpit
I appreciate seeing the mistakes. I know they are frustrating. But it helps to know that others have the same problems I do! Very relatable
Hey girl your ruffle problem is because you didn't cut them on the bias. They will not drap nor lie down cut on grain. I hope that helps! I like the pattern but not sure i'll make it. I love the top, but i have sloping shoulders so off the shoulder tops don't flatter me.
I just sewed my own figure skating dress and watching you problem solve and make mistakes made me realise that I am not a bad sewer and that it is part of the process. I had to do a lot of problem solving but it turned out really nice and I'm super happy with it.
Thank you for up loading this! I had a shitty day, cause I had to stop working. I felt bad for kind of failing. But to see somebody who is very, very good at something not complete a project perfectly helps not feeling alone. I don't like to see things go wrong, but a perfect illusion doesn't help anyone.
If you cut semi circles for arm holes, you would be able to see the ruffles til that point so they will be less likely to slip up. Just remember if you do this, to add length at the waist as it will lift up the waistline,
Also, placing a few strategic tacks on the center front ruffle to the main piece will help with the unwanted “flick” up of the ruffles.
They look adorable on you Annika and thank you for another awesome video!
OH MY GOD YOUR SHOULDERS THO HOW ARE THEY SO BEAUTIFUL
also really like how this pattern works with the floral fabric!
Wow I desperately want a short sleeve button up made from that fish fabric 😍
Literally I've been planning on turning it into that! I just need to perfect my button down pattern, working on one right now!
@@AnnikaVictoria24 Wow, I have the vision!
The bias cut ruffles would drape more smoothly and be less stiffly sticking out.
Annika, you really inspire me. I really want to try to make this top now! its super cute. Also, I often feel super happy that I finished a project but then all I see is the mistakes. I think if I didn't watch you make this with all the mistakes pointed out I wouldn't know anything was off. It came out super cute!
Looks great! Experiments are always worthwhile. The ruffles should be cut on the bias and also needs to be a light fabric. To keep the ruffles from sliding up on to your shoulder, when the top is on you, add a small length of ribbon to go from the front to the back immediately under the armpit on the top of the ruffle. I’m going to immediately look through my saved vintage patterns and send you what I have via Instagram.
i didn't mind the things that had gone wrong in this tutorial, you were still such a joy to watch ❤️
You are my fav sewing youtuber and yesterday sewed a scrunchie with a tie
Hey Annika, I love these little tops, they both look so nice on you. I think the floral is the prettier of the two. I had a bit of a think about the flipping-up ruffle problem, and came up with the idea of stitching the ruffle across more of the bodice...when attaching the ruffle, sew it on the full width between where the armholes would be, that way it has a more secure attachment, not just a couple of cms/inches. Also, make the ruffles a little bit wider and definitely cut on the bias, it'll help stop the flipping-up and will drape a bit better as it 'll have the extra weight that comes from the extra width...if that all makes sense? :-]
I really enjoy watching you discover the joys(?) of sewing and garment making. It can be a rewarding time, even when we get it wrong.
There are no mistakes, just simply learning experiences... :))
After spending all day yesterday dealing with technical difficulties with my non-sewing projects, it's honestly kinda nice to see that I'm not the only one struggling!
it looks really cute! but yeah, every off the shoulder shirt i've tried on with elastic like that just ends up creeping up the shoulders. i feel like it'd be better off with small regular straps to hold the shirt up and then have the ruffles drape around the shoulders without the elastic
So sweet! Great job! Agree with the ruffle being in the bias. Plus I think I would cut the ruffle a little bit wider and use a lightweight drappy fabric.
Well done for hanging in there! And very cute crochet top 👀
Something that should help is cutting the ruffles on the bias. Fabric cut on the bias has a better drape.
your fabric room is to die for, its like a little mini fabric warehouse!
I actually laughed out loud when you came out in it at 14:50. Thank you for showing your sewing mistakes, it honestly is very encouraging
I wonder if the reason why they made the elastic 37" around the shoulder is so it would maintain that nice ruffle, but not be so tight in order to keep it from springing back up over the shoulders?
I'm kinda in love with this top! I would make the ruffles an inch or 2 longer. So they come past the bust when on. Then hand sew them further towards the sides so the arm holes are smaller. Which in my hopes would help keep them off the shoulder in place better.
Cutting fabric unevenly is something I made peace with! I freaking suck!
Same. I can measure 3 times before I make my cuts, and it still ends up slightly off if I’m cutting rectangles. Not so bad that I can’t fix it when hemming and such, but enough to annoy the bejeezus out of me!
@@melissak3885 Girl, same!
Im the same. I csn get close with pattern weights (aka random heavyish things at arms length) and a fresh blade in the rotary cutter. With scissors i have no chance!
It's good to see mistakes because it shows us you're human. It also shows us mistakes and what you did to fix them!
If you sew more of the ruffle onto the body of the shirt, it should help to prevent it from moving around as much.
I found a tutorial for a similar top last year and did a bunch of these. the trick is to make a curve for your armhole at the sides so the "body" of the top just isn't a straight rectangle, so the top and the back comes a bit higher up on your chest, and helps anchor down the ruffle to more fabric. also, a wider ruffle tends to not spring up but kept down by gravity :) really hope all of this makes sense XD
This does look pretty! The tweaks I would make?
1. Make sure the top comes up a little higher. Having it too low will cause the band of ruffles to sit lower so you're more likely to end up with a stiff collar when you raise your arms.
2. Make the ruffle strips wider by at least half an inch, if not a full inch. This will add a little weight so they don't want to stick up as much.
Alternative for 2: Use an EXTREMELY thin fabric just for the ruffles. The thicker the fabric, the more it will want to stand out stiff when ruffled.
I think if the width of the ruffle fabric was bigger, it would be heavier and lay better? Either way even with the mistakes you make this look sooo easy!
Just sat down to relax after spending hours sewing and unpicking most of what I sewed, when I stumbled onto your channel. Anneka! You are such good fun:) hilarious in-fact & highly entertaining too. I can’t tell you how much I laughed as you battled with that ruffle! It was very funny - I literally cried laughing. You are hilarious & now my fav go to person on TH-cam. Love your work 🥰😭😂🤩
I would make the ruffles wider, I’m mean this is just me, I love that your so honest about posting videos with mistakes, no one is perfect. Keep it up, I learned a lot from you
it looks good!! i’m glad you’re posting your progress and mistakes :D it’s very encouraging for someone who also makes a lot of mistakes that seem very very silly once you realise what you’ve done lolol
off the shoulder tops tend to just. be annoying like that unless .. maybe the elastic is a bit looser? so that it would sit down more rather than spring up when given the chance
I always cut my elastic to fit exactly, rather than stretching, because I hate when it digs in. It does tend to behave pretty well on the body.
I recently did a 1942 crochet pattern for a hair snood. Super interesting and fun but also odd to try and do with limited instructions. I found mine on Trove. I actually think a vintage snood would look really good on you, and go with your vintage vibe. It's also great for days when you don't want to do your hair. I'd be happy to send you a crochet snood.
On making mistakes: this past weekend I was making my 3rd mockup of a pattern and while cutting into the sleeve while it was on, I cut into the shirt I was also wearing underneath ☹️ still haven’t succeeded with the 4th mockup either
I definitely make at least one mistake each sewing project.
I love how the second top turned out! That fabric is adorable.
Thanks for being real. I have been sewing for decades and I still have learning experiences and challenges :). If you lengthen the ruffles (vertically, making the individual ruffles taller) they will sit flatter. Not sure if that would be the look you wanted but something to try... Should you wanna make it again.
I love your videos so much. You've been a huge inspiration for me since the beginning of my sewing journey! ♥️♥️♥️
Interesting how you mentioned when zigzag stitches came in. Reminds me how I learned to sew on a 1960s sewing machine my grandmother bought when they came to Australia. I ended buying a new machine for knits because I just kept getting frustrated with it. Modern machines are so much easier. Dad still uses the old one though.
I like this pattern because of the simple geometry! I wore several tops like this this summer and I have been wanting to make some! My favorite one that I own has much *much* longer ruffles. I find that not only is it prettier with a longer ruffle (and I don’t mean the strip is longer, the strip is wider, so it hangs down longer on the finished top, if that makes sense), but it also sits flat easier because of its own weight, and it also is long enough to cover my underarms when they ride up to my shoulders. I also find that the looser it is around my arms, the better, because then it’s much less likely to ride up. So if you decide to make a third top, I’d try making your ruffle strips twice as wide, and making the elastic for the ruffle a bit longer! 😁 You may or may not like it, but it might be worth a try haha
Thank you for sharing. I haven't really done much sewing in a long time and I am trying to gear myself up to get back into it.
Thank you for sharing your mistakes here, I have seen this diagram on Pinterest and considered making it myself so it’s nice to be able to learn from your mistakes. I think I might make the ruffles wider so maybe the length of the fabric keeps them from popping up so much.
Thank you for making the pattern available for download. 🙏🏼
Ooh about the seam allowance: on the left side it says "1/2" seams have been allowed". Maybe thats why the ruffles look so short?
I really like this video and it inspires me to also sew this top! I really struggle while sewing like aaall the time and it will probably take me like 2 days to make this.
Please please please if you can and want to continue those recreating videos (also loved the japanese book one btw :))
Tip for anyone making a similar top: The key to getting off the shoulder shirts to stay properly is all in the grain line! If you cut it so that the front center line is on the bias and the top shoulder seam is on the straight grain, and the back is on the straight with the shoulder seam on the bias, it will sit nice and tightly off the shoulder and you won't have clown-collar problems.
There's a trick with off the shoulder tops where you use hair ties & safety pins to pin the ruffle to itself under your armpit. It's a total game-changer for off the shoulder tops!
I think you could also concentrate the majority of the gathering around the sleeve area by securing the ruffles (but no the elastic) on the front and back at the beginning and end of those seams, with the amount of ruffle you like there, so that those ruffles are fairly stationary, but the elastic can still move around and the remaining ruffles are loose. This would also likely help the popping up issue. I hop this made sense. It's hard to explain in words.
A trick I use when using safety pins to feed elastic through is I use a second safety pin to pin it to the outside so it doesn’t get pulled in to my project.
I like the flower print one, off the shoulder tops are always a pain and you constantly have to adjust them.
You can keep the ruffle down, if you attach a peace of elastic that goes under the armhole.
I hope that makes sense.
Thank you so much for the video.
Yay! So happy to see another video from you. I feel like I'm missing a friend between videos, and I always love what you post. Hope you are going well.
this captures the reality of learning to sew in 20 minutes! we have ALL been there !!
It still looks cute :) If you ever try it again try cutting those ruffles on the bias, as they will fall better and should be less sticky uppy :)
A trick I've came across to stop off the shoulder tops becoming clown collars, is put a little strip of fabric/elastic/clear elastic e.c.t. under the arm and sew it front and back and that should stop it rising up onto the shoulders
Wow! When you said everything went wrong, I thought the end result wouldn’t look good. BUT I LOVE THESE BOTH! The white shirt looks so crisp and I love the ruffles. I really love the second shirt too. It looks so chiffony and flowy! If you want less flipping up, you could try a bit more slack to the elastic so that it drapes lower/looser on your arms. I’m not sure how it would look though. Does anyone know if that helps?
I love off the shoulder tops but the few that I have always slide up my arms as I’m living my life. It’s a constant struggle. I suppose I could double sided tape them to my body, but that seems like a lot of work too.
Both tops looks great. I do agree about the ruffles. The top looks like it should be a little bit higher up or that the ruffles should be sewn on to more of the top than just the center front and back.
I am glad to see your videos . I have been waiting for a new video for awhile....thank you Annika!!!!!
I absolutely relate to the process in this video! Thank you for sharing the reality of what it is like sewing! I don't have this, so I am going to use this.
I like the look of the top a lot! Definitely going to try this myself and maybe make the ruffles longer so they won't flop around 🤔
I’m so excited because I’ve literally been designing a blouse that’s almost exactly this cut and I’ve been trying to find a pattern to use
You could tack the centre front and maybe also the centre back of the ruffle down, I think that might solve the whole sticking up problem and it might make the top look better when the ruffle does end up on your shoulders
if you sew a line of stitches down the bottom ruffle near to you armscye, they should be hidden by the top ruffle, it helps with the ruffle not flipping up and the ruffle not becoming a ruffled collar .. my mom used to do this to my tops back in the 80s.. (and yes I am that old lol) You did, as always, a great job showing the process in a way that we can follow along BUT is so very entertaining. I hope the warmer weather thats coming for you helps to lesson some of your pain. Please take care of yourself.
Even when it seems pointless, it's usually best to follow cutting instructions, especially on a clearly marked pattern. It will minimize problems when sewing.
I have my grandmother’s singer featherweight from the early 50’s. She’s straight stitch only but there’s a zig zag attachment that is the size of a small car.
To keep the sleeves from riding up, if you want to wear them where you are in this video, you’ll need to see them further along the top of the shirt to just before where there armscye (sp?) would start/ end. The instructions are for if you want to wear the ruffle at the apex of your shoulder, so if you want to wear it lower it needs to be adjusted accordingly! Also to fix the flippiness of the ruffle, I would blind stitch it down along the bodice
Try safety pinning a piece of elastic to run from the ruffle in front of each shoulder, under each arm, and to the ruffle in back of each shoulder and see if that stops the ruffles from riding up. If it doesn't work, you can always undo it, but if it does, it solves the problem with off the shoulder shirts forever.
This isn't something I would wear but Love the top on you! Thank you for showing this one even tho there were errors. I have learned a lot from watching your videos.
I have a large bust. Ruffles in that area just look awkward. Also off the shoulder is uncomfortable for the reasons you mentioned.
I have a skirt from the thrift store that could be remade into this style of top. Thanks for the inspiration!
Okay cute but can we talk about how radiant and glowing annika looks recently? Her hair also looks super healthy and beautiful ❤️
I loved the mistakes, we can't learn without them! I make a similar top to this last year, I had the same problem where I realized I don't care for off the shoulder tops.
Sometimes you gotta make it before you realise you don't like it hahahaha
late to the party (stupid algorithm). I see a lot of people confirmed your bias suspicions, but I think you could probably make your existing shirts less flippy if you tack the ruffles down in a few key areas. best way I've found is to wear it to find out where the ruffle wants to lay when your arms are down, then pin just the part that's already touching the shirt down and tack it in place. (this is a trick used on doll clothes because fabric is almost always too stiff in small scale, lol)
Either way, they did turn out really cute! I like the floral one a lot. 🌸🌼🌹