Short note about bias tubing

This pattern I'm working on has you sew bias tubing using a scant 1/4" seam allowance. I don't have a problem with that in theory, but the thing is, you're using a bias strip 1" wide and you're supposed to stretch it while sewing. In this case, at least with the particular fabric I'm using, you'd end up with the seam allowance being too wide to fit flat inside the tube.

I think a better plan for these narrow-ish tubes (if you're turning tubes at all — RTW doesn't bother with this quite as often as home-sewing patterns seem to; sometimes they just fold and edge- or topstitch) is to focus on keeping the seam allowance just slightly narrower than the tube itself. So you're sewing just a bit over half the width of the folded strip from the folded edge. For thick fabrics, the seam may need to be slightly closer to the cut edge than for thin ones.

 
Ideally the seam allowance width will stay consistent throughout, but if you haven't cut perfectly accurately, it's more important to keep the stitching the same distance from the folded edge. No one will see the exact width of the seam allowance once it's inside the tube.

This is all assuming there isn't a very precise with the turned tube must be, but in general, tubes made this way will end up about a quarter of the width of the cut piece. These particular ones are meant for tie ends and are 1/4" wide finished.

Patterns with optional set-in sleeves

Generally, if you're making a set-in sleeve, you want more armhole/-scye depth than you would on a sleeveless version of the same thing.

Very often, home-sewing patterns with sleeved and sleeveless views do not take this into account. I've just cut (out-of-print) New Look 6387, which is no exception. In this situation, it's usually a good idea to raise the bottom of the armhole if you're not adding the sleeve.

How much? I find an inch or so tends to be about right, if the pattern is fitted, and assuming the armhole started out at a good set-in-sleeve depth for the wearer in the first place. You might get away with tightening the side seam slightly too, if necessary, but IMO it's best if anything sleeveless is fairly fitted in the shoulder/underarm area to begin with (meaning the right amount of dart shaping, and not too much bust ease). Otherwise, gaping is a likely result. An 80s/90s-style boxy, drop-shoulder, low-armhole top would not be the best starting point for this.

What's next

I have finally finished setting up the sewing room. I should be able to get back to sewing things shortly. Here's what I'm considering doing in the near term:

• Summer sewing. I don't have all that many summer fabrics left, but I may as well sew one or two of them while they're still appropriate for the weather. One example is this cotton lawn. There's only 1 meter of it, so I don't have a lot of choice as to what to do with it. I may use New Look 6387. 
  
• Knit tops with various sleeve lengths. These should be fairly long in the body. I have a lot of RTW trousers with poor fit that needs covering up, and I can sew a knit top much faster than I'd be able to replace them all. Besides, I got rid of a lot of tops before I moved, and I don't have much for the sort of in-between weather that's more common here.
• Jeans, for a bit later in the year.
• Some bookkeeping regarding the fabric stash. I gave away quite a few pieces in May, so it's gone down a bit.
• Possibly getting a new steam iron.
  I have only dry irons at this point, having dropped my Black & Decker Classic a few too many times, and having given away the basic steam iron I got in Germany to replace it (it wouldn't have worked here anyway — yes, I did have step-down/step-up transformers I could've moved back with me, but IIRC the iron was 2400W, too much for any of them).
  For the moment, I've been making do with a Continental dry iron and an old Sunbeam, both of which work fine for regular ironing. I'll see how it goes for sewing.
  I'd consider (a) a cheap household iron, on the sad presumption that most things these days won't last much more than a year anyway; (b) a nicer Reliable household iron; (c) a gravity-feed iron, if I can find a place to buy one.
  At school, the latter worked fine with well-padded, heavy, non-vacuum boards. While separate steam generators/boilers and vacuum tables seem ideal, I very much doubt I can trust anything that high-wattage with the circuits I've got available.
• Possibly looking for a coverstitch machine. All of my experience has been with ones that were very temperamental. I'll want this only if I can find one that isn't.

Cowl sleeves

So, the latest Vogue Patterns catalog has this Guy Laroche, which, as far as I can tell from the flats, may have cowl sleeves. (I won't be absolutely certain until I have it, which probably won't be for a month or so — if anyone's got it already, correct me if I'm wrong.)

I don't see these often. Have a look at the Vintage Patterns wikia (if you block or don't mind all the ads) for a few; they seem restricted to the 30s and the 80s.

Like a neckline cowl, they can be made with or without pleats. Rhonda Buss drafts an example of the latter type here. Pattern pieces tend to look either squared off or forked at the top of the cap.

Far left: short pleated cowl sleeve on the blue dress; far right: both long sleeves are cowls, the green one having an opening, and the pinky-beige one pleats. (The brown sleeve on the upper left is not really a cowl; it just has a slightly droopy pleated cap.)

They're not the most classic, restrained look, which may explain why they don't show up often. I probably won't make the Laroche in its original form; I mostly want to experiment with it. It looks different from all of the above styles in that the pleats are nearly all in the underarm seam, not the cap, placing the fullness much further down the arm. So maybe it's a true cowl, or maybe it's just got some extra length being pleated up. The pattern piece will tell.