Queue for the Zoo nightshirt.... Liberty Art Fabrics

Not a lot of frills and still needs a hem, but my machine is giving me the fits.  I may have to do a post on Bernina Artista 730 (an obsolete machine) vs a vintage Singer 15-91.  The pattern was from a very old night shirt draft that mom left in her stash.  The double pockets, which are functional, are there more for modesty than anything else. The sleeves have a very flat cap, because they are wider than they look at the armhole, designed for baggy comfort.  The black piping is not filled, it's just flat, but I like just a touch of black.  The fabric was a swiss batiste purchased a long time ago, and matches the weight of the Tana Lawn. The buttons are dark grey mother of pearl.   See machine issues below... sigh, it's never easy.

There were a couple of considerations with this print, I'm not loving the way the pattern falls down the center front.

I had thought about matching the pocket print to the body print, as I had decapitated a few of the giraffes, but I decided that I liked it better when it didn't match. It also would have required more planning when I cut the pocket out, and honestly, it's only a nightshirt.  I have saved the extra fabric for a future quilt ;) If it had been a shirt, which is what the fabric was purchased for, then pattern matching would have been more important.

Hmmm something looks a little off here, uneven piping anyone?  This was the piping during the first pass on the sleeve cuff.... no this will not do.

The piping was ripped out, ironed, and what had happened was that the bias had shifted when I sewed it in above, but it's much better now.

Then disaster struck, the Bernina, which is still a relatively new machine to me, had a really great buttonholer.  However it was not working, it would only give me giant knots.  I even tried making a buttonhole on a piece of denim, and that didn't work either.  Not happy. Do you see that giant thread knot on the elephant's head?  That's all the machine would do.

The Vintage Singer 15-91, and really old buttonhole attachment, which was new to me, but allowed for an adjustable length, not available on the other style buttonholer with templates.  My buttonholes were slightly smaller than the 1/2" template.

 It had no problems at all, once it was set up properly.  That involved getting the manual out and setting everything, and you can see in the orange thread in the sample above.  It took a bit to get it the proper length and inside spacing but pleased with the result.

So the Bernina is in a time out for now..... sigh

Now for cleanup, and onto the next project..... what will that be? I'll have to sleep on it....