I did this. F**k knows.

The inside curve would usually mimic the crotch curve but the Barry design isn’t a straight leg so I I free wheeled the curve guided by the following inspiration…:

Subsequent to finishing these pants. I came across this illustration.

This is the problem with t-shirts and a lot of the tops Ive been making lately, this pucker at the armpit/sleeve at top of bust, and it cant be solved with a traditional dart or a dart at this this weirdly placed area

French darts go from the lower side seam toward the bust and eliminate the bunching at the armpit on me. It does mean changing the side seam by adding back the amount of dart you’ve taken as it pulls from the front but you can wing that. I have sometimes added a godet to fill the gap as shown a few pics down

Donna pinned this top while I was wearing it. Its tricky to do it yourself. I thread traced from her pinning and made a cut-out template of that dart and now transfer that to any new top I make and see if it works or if I need to tweak it, but its so far been pretty accurate. A bit amazing. Ignore that the template shown below has a crazy swing out at the bottom of the side seam. With this method of dartage, you can also slash & spread to make a swingy top but still have it fit better

I know there is a tutorial on the Assembly Line blog about adding a dart to this pattern but it looked like a bit of numbers were involved so I didnt get onboard with that, panic was threatening to overcome me. And I have Donna, my friend who knows everything (she does) to sort me out with fitting issues, shes infallible.

I hacked into a t-shirt I’d already made, to do a French dart because I liked this t-shirt but I couldnt handle the armpit bunching. Consequently had to install a godet (a wedge of fabric) to make the side seam match up because the dart had removed some and its fine, totally unnoticeable

BUT, be aware that in order to balance everything, you will likely need to shorten the back piece by taking out some excess as below

This back pattern piece adjustment obv doesnt work when you’re trying to fix an existing shirt.

I now close Granny Corner by saying that you will have to toile to find it, but when you have that basic French dart worked out, you can pretty much move it across most tops as a fairly accurate guide. I’ve done it three times now including the Cielo top and it already has darts. Turns out it needed the French ones as well.

Changing the subject, The Ryde market.

Camie Lyons. I was in some crazy good company in this art prize

London 2009. Our eldest is autistic and to say he was passionate about Ancient Rome is to understate the situation. Obssesed is accurate. Therefore it was a regular thing, making them Roman helmets and shields from paper before school, so we consequently had a surplus that they felt the market could absorb

For a long time, for years, I made Roman armour from A4 printing paper & sticky tape. Most mornings. I say almost all mornings because I cant remember days when I didnt but they must have happened.

Our house backed onto Hampstead Heath so there was good foot traffic for the pop-up, as the punters walked by on their way to the Heath pathway entrance a couple of doorways down. It was one of those super hot days that can happen in London so we also sold lemonade from the Pimms jug we nicked from the bar when at the jousting tourney at Blenheim Palace. It was a fun day. We had a lot of fun days.

We took them and their paper weaponry to Rome and Nimes, Rome was obv crowded but Nimes, my goodness! If you want quality ancient Rome they have a cracker amphitheatre and many gardens and fountains. Perhaps the most beautiful city Ive seen. We also had a map of all the Roman ruins in Britain so…lots of road trips. Lots. We saw Rome all over the place. I do not exaggerate the Rome thing

The nursing home has provided these handy language cards as she increasingly falls into her first languages

They have beautiful trees there during the day AND at night.

We saw Ed Kuepper. All I feel is the sweaty nights at the Qld Uni rec club and Ed Kuepper playing in an actual electrical storm. Magic nights that last forever

Slowly saying goodbye to this place, where my dreams came true. Sous le Soleil closes December 17th 2023. Magic time

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