Attaching the top collar

As the elves had to redo most of yesterday's work (poor things) there isn't really a whole lot to report today.

They did manage to attach the upper collar on the left side which is shown above. This is attached by hand. I haven't done it this way since my brief stint as a trainee tailor. I think you always think 'eek' hand sewing! But in reality it is TONNES easier than trying to do this by machine. By machine you are guaranteed to have at least one tuck, and have to unpick and have to redo at least twice. At some point, the article in question will be flung against the wall in disgust. Whereas when you hand sew you can see exactly what you're doing. As long as you do enough basting, everything stays where it should be. You can also shape the fabric as you work, allowing fullness in the top collar. 

Why is fullness important do you ask? Fullness is what stops the collar from curling up the wrong way. The photo above shows the tiny edge stitching along the edge of the collar. I still need to do this for the lapels. This is another trick that I learnt as a tailor. It helps the edges from rolling and showing the under material. You can use it on any edge. It only takes a moment to do and makes a pretty finish. I even used this on my wedding dress all those years ago.

These were supposed to be orange and chocolate rock cakes, but they appear to be more like pebbles. They did taste nice, and obviously the elves thought so too!

As I haven't many photos to post today, I've included one I made earlier... This is Nancy sporting her pirate outfit. The blouse has little skull and cross bones on it, and a lovely big eton collar. The dungarees look like a treasure map. I made a similar outfit for Ellie as well, so when I'm in the mood I can dress them both up in matching outfits...