In two weeks, I’ll be in Mesa, probably awake early and anxiously getting ready for Day 1 of Phoenix Comicon 2017.
It’s not my first Phoenix Comicon–my 6th, actually–but I still get excited all the same, just as if it was the first. The anticipation of the crowds, the cosplay, the panels, the celebrities, etc., is exhilarating.
The only problem? Yeah, yeah, you guessed it: cosplay crunch. I still haven’t finished my husband’s coat for his steampunk Cyclops. I have no doubt that I’ll get it done in time, but I feel stupid for letting so much time go by. I have only myself to blame. I try to blame my broken foot for the delay, but let’s face it: we had these cosplays planned way back in September when we were at DragonCon. I didn’t break my foot until the end of January. So yeah, overall it’s my own procrastination that’s got me hustling.
I kind of do better when I’m rushed, though. I mean, I managed to crank out all of the sewing on the steampunk Dark Phoenix in less than two weeks, so what’s one little coat? Except I hate coats. Coats have sleeves. As much sewing as I’ve done, I’ve never managed to figure out how to “ease” a sleeve into place. I’ve had it explained to me a bunch of times, but I just don’t get it. Sew it with a special stitch then pull the bobbin thread? What? So I do it “my” way, which is totally not the “right” way, but it gets the sleeve on there. Sure, there are, like, bunched up parts in places, but the job gets done and that’s what’s important.
I don’t have any photos of the jacket yet (mostly because I’ve only cut out the pieces and haven’t started the ironing to put the interfacing on where it needs to go), but I should have something to show in a few days. Or a week. Before Phoenix Comicon definitely. Hopefully.
Aww, who am I kidding? I got this.
AJ Mullican, Author 
You have got this! The best advice can give about easing inset sleeves is to sew three lines of loose running stitches along the top curve of the sleeve as if you were gathering it. Carefully scrutch up the gathers towards the middle by pulling and sliding the fabric away from the long tails of your bottom threads (so the back of your fabric if you’ve sew the stitches right way up. Pin the mid point on the middle of the shoulder (ideally match the dots to dots) and then slowly slide your fabric back along the loose threads until your notches and dots all align up. You can then pin the sleeve in place, play around with the gathering / tucks of fabric, then stitch along the seam allowance. I usually do another stitch closer to the edge just to be sure everything’s secure, then pull out the running stitches. You’ve probably seen this sort of stuff before, but I thought I might offer some help.
This link to the Aster Sew-along covers sleeves and might be adaptable to your coat – https://www.sewalongs.com/aster/sewing-and-setting-the-sleeves-aster-v1-3
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Yeah, see, I’ve been told all that before, but it just won’t click 😦
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