Naughty Stripes

At first glance my striped fabric appeared to be an even stripe, meaning that the stripes were symmetrical. After a little study, I decided that it was in fact an uneven stripe. Of course I had to prove this to myself with the mitered fold test. Hopefully the blue stripe on my ironing board cover won't confuse this too badly.

First, I folded the stripe back on itself at a 45 degree angle to get a true bias fold:

Next I folded it up onto itself and looked carefully at the result.

 

You can see that the biggest stripe is symmetrical, but the smaller stripe is not. This is one of those things that can create absolute havoc if you don't discover it before cutting out your pattern. I use this same test on plaid fabrics also.

 

Ask me how I know.

 

In other news, I am still putting together ideas for the wardrobe and I bought Burda 7189 during my recent trip to Joann's.

 

This top has a neat folded effect in the upper bodice as well as a very interesting sleeve treatment in the cap sleeve version. It's also a cute dress (which I really have no need for) and a nice long sleeve version. The front button band has a great little detail also.

I'm going to work up a muslin of this top in the next couple of days. I want to see how the Burda armhole will work for me. I've been thinking a lot about armholes and sleeve caps lately. And crotch curves. And crotch depth. And princess seams.

And mostly, I've been thinking about stripes.