I Figured Out Something Everyone Already Knows!

Time to sew my knitting. The knit fabric was curling, so I wet-blocked it and started to pin it out. The yarn bloomed and grew, something I've read about, but it was a first for me. Fortunately I had the schematic, so I patted it into place as close to the size I wanted as possible. After it dried, I pinned the knitted fabric to the woven fabric as specified, and sewed. The result was... uninspiring.

Halfway through the second one, it occurred to me that hand-basting it first would solve all the problems I was having with the knit fabric shifting around. As an added bonus, I stopped sticking myself on pins! It was tremendously easier to ease in the extra fullness as well.

I realize all the sewers already know about hand-basting, but for a while today I felt like I'd invented anti-gravity. It was completely worth the tedious time it took to pick out the first seam and a half.

 

 After hand-basting, machine-sewing the seams was a snap, and I am very pleased with the result.

Next up, embroidery!