Spring Smiles, Favorite Summer Dresses & Need Sewing Advice for a Problem Shirt

Happy Spring! I hope you seeing some nice weather, it’s so pretty here right now. Remember the flowers I used recently in a table setting? The lilies are starting to open and they are sooo pretty!

 

The birds are pretty happy with our spring weather. I glanced out the window of the dressing room upstairs a few days ago and saw this handsome fella perched on the roof of the front porch. I have a feeling the bluebirds are nesting in the dovecote that’s closest to the house again because it’s only a few feet away from the front porch. Looks like Mr. Bluebird is standing guard nearby. Soo sweet! I love bluebirds so much!

 

I’m always saving cute things I find online to share with you. I came across this on Instagram a few weeks back and loved it! I especially love Library Mouse and Ink-drinker! lol

 

Recently I came across a few goodies that were similar to items I’ve used in tables in the past, so wanted to share those with you in case you were hoping to find those for your spring or Easter table settings. Last year I used this raised Bunny pedestal server in a table setting to hold a small cake.

Upside Down Bunny Pedestal Cake Stand

 

I spotted this one recently online for a really great price. You’ll find it available here: Bunny Pedestal for Cakes and Cupcakes.

 

 

I also love this one! It’s available here: Bunny Cake, Dessert Stand. Either of these two stands would make a great spring or summer server for cakes, cupcakes, or really any kind of dessert or appetizer.

 

If you need a sweet gift for a little one this spring, I love this adorable Peter Rabbit who plays peek-a-boo. Soooo cute! You’ll find him here: Peter Rabbit Peek-a-Boo Bunny.

 

 

Thought this dress was beautiful and the price is definitely right. I also like that it’s mostly cotton. I’m not a big fan of polyester dresses. I don’t mind a blend as long as it’s mostly cotton since that helps with avoiding wrinkles, but I never like how unflattering polyester fabric lays against the body, not to mention how it’s not breathable for summer. This one is at least 65% cotton so that sounds like a nice blend. You’ll find it available here: Spring Summer Dress.

 

 

My favorite places to shop for summer dresses are Talbots and Tommy Bahama. I have a good many dresses from both stores but I can never resist adding a couple of new ones to my wardrobe each spring. I love this one! It’s silk and just so beautiful. I want to be where that dress is right now! You’ll find it available here: Summer Dress.

 

Always love a tropical style dress! This one is available here: Tropical Dress.

 

Are you a Micky or Minnie Mouse fan? Take a closer look at this adorable dress. Notice anything?

 

Hidden in the foliage are cute Micky and Minnie Mouse images-figures. I love this! You’ll find this dress available here: Dress with Mickey Mouse Figures.

 

I think I’m going to add this dress to my summer wardrobe. I love how flouncy and flowing it looks! It looks like the kind of dress I would want to wear every day all summer! You’ll find it available here: Cotton Embroidered Dress.

 

A Minor Problem I’m Having with a Shirt

All you dearhearts who love to sew, wondering if you can make a suggestion for a small problem I’m having. I purchased this pretty “Coastalina Valley Of Flowers” linen shirt last spring from Tommy Bahama and I absolutely LOVE it. (Here’s the listing for when it was available: Valley of Flowers Shirt.)

I initially purchased this shirt in a size Small which is my usual size for tops but it was really big on me when it arrived, so it’s definitely oversized. I was able to exchange it for an X-Small which fits perfectly.

One of the features I loved about this shirt when I first saw it online was how long it is. I love long linen tops and wear them a lot in the spring and summer. It is split up the sides so it can be worn out casually, plus it’s way too long to tuck inside pants or shorts.

 

So here’s the problem I’m having with this shirt: Every single time I wear it, as soon as I sit down, the lower hem in back wants to curl up. It pretty much happens the very first time I sit down after putting it on for the day. I’ve tried tucking the hem underneath me when I sit down in an effort to keep it flattened out, but that doesn’t work at all–it still curls giving me a little ducktail all day. lol

 

I was thinking of taking it to a seamstress and seeing if they can add a bit of facing (or whatever it’s called) along the hem in back to perhaps give it a bit of extra weight and keep it laying down. I have a lot of long, linen shirts that I’ve purchased from Talbots over the years and none of them do this but I think it’s because none of them are as long as this shirt is in back. So I’ve never run into this problem with a linen shirt before. I love the airiness and lightweight feeling of linen, but need to figure out a solution for the curling up problem I’m seeing with this particular shirt.

Any ideas? I’ll keep wearing it because I love it so much, but would love to wear it ducktail-free! Ha! Appreciate your suggestions!

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Comments

  1. GLEE FOSSIER says

    Have you tried ironing it with stiff spray starch? Try that before the seamstress. It’s a beautiful shirt.

    • I will definitely try that the next time…haven’t tried that. Thanks, Glee!

    • Glee, I just ironed the hem down using some starch I had forgotten I had. It’s called: Mary Ellen’s Best Press Clear Starch and it made the shirt nice and stiff across the bottom in back. It will be interesting to see how that works next time I wear it.

  2. I wonder if they make a type of weight that you could slip into the seam and then resew it up. You know that is what they put in the dresses for Princess Di as her dresses were always blowing up. lol…you might have to go to a bait shop for a thin weight. just a thought.

  3. I think it is a defect in how it was sewn….the fabric was pulled too hard as the seam was rolled and sewn. So you end up with an on-the-bias situation!
    A good seamstress might be able to help by cutting that hem off and resewing the bottom hem.
    I’d also send a picture to Talbot’s and ask them….

    • Ugh, I will keep that in mind–maybe that’s part of the problem. It looks great right after I iron it and it doesn’t curl up in front, only the back where it’s gets sat on. This particular shirt came from Tommy Bahama…I should call them just to see if they have any suggestions. Thanks, Hope!

      • katherine says

        hope is right. it sounds like a bias problem.

        • Yes I agree with Hope and Katherine as it to being a construction problem. If you wish to maintain its line a suggestion might be is to let the existing hem down and use what they call a ‘serged rolled hem’. Similar to what you see on table napkins. Another possibility is; a false hem be added that has been ‘cut on the bias’ with that portion only being turned under. (I have used the last technique on scooped tank tops as well as sleeveless armholes and it works.) Hope either idea works for you Susan.
          -Brenda-

  4. Maureen Waring says

    I think your idea of having some heavy and wide facing put on the hem in the back might work. It looks to be a very small hem..but being linen that may just happen..it is worth a try

    • It is a very small hem. I don’t mind wrinkles in the shirt elsewhere, that’s def the nature of linen and actually kinda like that. Just don’t want it rolling up in back. 🙂

  5. Anne C Lovell says

    Maybe hem just the back end up a little bit so you don’t sit on it?

    • I thought about shortening it but hate to do that since I love the longer hem. It is quite long, would probably work on someone much taller than me, as well.

  6. Susan I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT. IF I WERRE YOU I WOULD LINE IT TO ADD MORE STABILITY TO THE FABRIC. SEE IF YOU COULD TAKE A BIT OF FABRIC FROM THE BOTTON HOLE AREA OR FIND A PIECE OF LINEN TO ADD TO STABILIZE IT. IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO DOES ALTERATIONS THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

    • Thanks for that suggestion, Carol! I need a good alterations person. The lady I take things to now is great for simple things but not sure I would feel comfortable taking a much loved shirt with a tricky problem to her. Will have to check around to see who is really, really good.

  7. I love summer dresses and can’t wait to pull mine out for the spring and summer! I’ve also been combing through my vintage patterns looking for something retro to make – I love a fitted bodice and swingy skirt in bright cotton fabric. The curling hem could be caused by a couple of things – it could be that it was cut off grain: if so, there isn’t much to be done to fix it. It could also be that the thread is a different content than the shirt (the thread is likely cotton, polyester, or a blend) and has shrunk differently than the linen. If that’s the case, ripping out the hem and re-hemming it may fix it. It’s a pretty shirt, I hope you find something that works!

  8. If the back has been cut on the straight of grain so that is not the problem then the problem with the hem is pretty simple and an alteration would solve the problem this way. The seamstress would take out the hem stitching just on the back edge. Then press it and beginning in the center back begin to press the hem back straight. It looks like either the back is off grain or more likely, the hem was stretched as it was stitched. Once the stitching on the hem is to the left or right of the center it is all bias edges to one degree or another and bias edges curl.

  9. I think Celaine might be right with her suggestion. Your hem is curved so as it is stitched from one side to the other it may be pulling the fabric slightly . Re-hemming using the method that Celaine suggested may take care of the problem. Curved rolled hems are not the easiest to sew beautifully on a machine. Good luck with finding a great seamstress. I used to have one but Covid made her get out of the business.

  10. Brenda s. Lawrence says

    I am thinking either a good starching or a weight for your shirt Susan. Other than that, I have no clue. Beautiful shirt, beautiful dresses and I just love the bunny cake plates and especially the Peek-a-boo Peter Rabbit! Hugs, Brenda

  11. Elizabeth Keating says

    It is a beautiful shirt ..You’ve got terrific taste Lady. My Mom had a couture shop and paid a lot of attention to the details..But I won’t claim that I know the problem. From my vantage point is that when the shirt was originally made, they turn the hem they pulled the fabric and created a bias. Here is the explanation of bias from Google: ” The true bias refers to the 45 degree angle that intersects the warp (length of grain) and the weft (cross grain) of a woven fabric. Every piece of woven fabric has two true biases perpendicular to each other. … The bias of woven fabric offers both stretch and malleability, and can easily be molded to take shape”..in your case a ducktail. I think to solve the problem you would have to take the stitching apart (just in that area) and redo the hem. That is my 2 cents…

  12. Thanks for the bunny link! My granddaughter is 9 months old and it’s the perfect Easter gift.

  13. That backside curl is just one of the reasons that I stopped buying linen tops.

    Have you ever worn silk in the summer before? I hope you don’t “dew” a lot. Silk shows everything.

  14. I have a short linen blouse and have the exact same problem, only it curls up even more even though it is not long enough for me to sit on it. I have tried everything and nothing seems to work. I would love to solve this problem too.

  15. Linda Practical Parsimony says

    Celaine is correct. The hem has been stretched when sewn. I bought a table cloth from Dillards that was this way. It had to be rehemmed carefully. You might try a bit of stretchy iron-on interfacing, just a tiny strip under the hem to stabilize it, maybe 1/4 inch wide. I would have this turned up and basted before the rehemming happened. I sew and solved problems all the time for others.

  16. What about taking it to a fabric store and asking them for advice? There might be an iron tape or product that would work. Or they may have weights specifically for that purpose. There is a horsehair braid that comes in a narrow size.

  17. ⤴️ Iron on

  18. Wow – look at all these people who know about sewing! So glad you’re getting advice – it’s a great shirt.

    I’m ordering that lovely mostly cotton dress. Just be sure if you come out to Oregon, let me know so we won’t both be wearing the same thing! 🙂 Thanks as always for the great finds!

  19. Cyndi Raines says

    Mr. Bluebird is precious and so is that bunny platter, but I am out of room for any more dishes. I like all of the dresses, my favorite is the tropical one, it is so colorful! I agree with the suggestion to call about the shirt. I hope they make it right for you Susan.

  20. Beautiful bunny platter! Hope you get your shirt fixed…it’s annoying when you love something and it has a glitch. Love the tropical dresses….dreaming of somewhere to wear them !

  21. You received good advice about the hem of the shirt being a bias issue. Re-stitching will correct the problem. And what great readers you have!

    And thanks for all the information you give us — and inspiration. I’m ordering the bunny plate today. Have a wonderful Easter season. Love the bluebird. Oh, I recently moved to Middle Tennessee from the West Coast and I love the many red-breasted robins that hop around my lawn. So wonderful to have 4 seasons again.

  22. I can’t remember the name of it, but there is an iron-on facing you can buy at fabric stores. Perhaps a bit of that on the tail would give it enough stiffness to lay down.

  23. Yes I agree with Hope and Katherine as it to being a construction problem. If you wish to maintain its line a suggestion might be is to let the existing hem down and use what they call a ‘serged rolled hem’. Similar to what you see on table napkins. Another possibility is; a false hem be added that has been ‘cut on the bias’ with that portion only being turned under. (I have used the last technique on scooped tank tops as well as sleeveless armholes and it works.) Hope either idea works for you Susan.
    -Brenda-

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