The first rainbow prototype I made a couple of weeks ago had some serious issues. I sewed my strips together, one after another, and was left with more fabric than I needed at the end of each seam. By the end of the scarf construction, I had to cut off around 7 inches of fabric from the last strip. This being a prototype, I kept going with the construction and pinned the final seams together to see just how much distortion this would cause.
I was left with a scarf that curved like a banana. Now whilst there could be a certain charm in a scarf with a Pride theme that wasn’t straight, I wasn’t happy with the end result. Back to the drawing board I went – several times.
I made alterations to the construction method, the stitch length and tension went through several adjustments, a new foot pedal and presser foot were ordered, sewing technique changed, and changed again. I made up several improved samples over the last couple of weeks, and and finally I have solved the problem – another prototype half finished tonight, and my first design is perfect!
The sides have been pinned together for the final seams, and everything matches and measures up perfectly. I will get it finished tomorrow and subject to passing my final checks, I will be photographing the scarf and listing this first design on Etsy tomorrow! After this one is finished it is simply a matter of making samples of the other designs up to photograph, and then listing my first collection.
For the last few weeks I have been dreaming about sewing rainbows – tonight those dreams will be sweet.