Mantua musings - it just makes sense.

[janestarz]

Last night I started on the pattern for my mantua (Reconstructing History 708). I tell you, this is going to be one huge thing. The paper was huge (respect to you, Kass, for working with such huge sheets of paper. You told me your printer is in the attic, and I just had this vision of someone staggering up the stairs with a huge pack of paper!!) and so was the pattern.

At first glance it didn't make any sense. Lines seemed to be missing.
Then you 'zoom out' and you get the big picture. The lines aren't missing, the mantua is just that big. It's huge. It's a challenge! We have never turned down a quest such as this and we're not about to start now! *cue righteous laughter*
Flexing of muscles ensued. The brain fired up.

Laying out the pattern piece was fun. Just to see if I 'got it' we put the paper piece, folded over the shoulder, on the floor and put the turning gore and the side gore in place. "So this goes there...." "No, you put the turning gore over there, and then you sew this there and place C on C there!"
Some five minutes later, things clicked and it all fell together. It was there all along. The shape of the side gore suggests that it should be 30° that way, but it isn't! And it all makes sense!

Still, it's a huge thing and I have great respect for Kass to actually draft such a pattern with intricate sleeves and tucks and folds and darts and pleats and duuuude!
It just makes sense.

Now to just cut the damned thing already.

Comments

[kass-rants.livejournal.com]

It's really quite a simple pattern -- a big "T" -- but it is huge. It's more paper than I put in any other pattern. Carrying it down the stairs isn't the problem. Folding it is the "fun" part!