A Tiny Serger, New Fabric

A while ago (more like months) I came across a Singer Tiny Serger and snatched it up. I found it in Savers, a local thrift store for $10. It was a little splurge, but I had been wanting to try using a serger to see if I wanted to save the money to buy one. This little thing was the perfect solution! Really, it only does the overlock stitching and not the cutting. You have to trim the fabric back yourself. Now, I'm addicted to the machine and have decided that when this one stops working, because how long will a Mini Serger last when I give it the workout of a lifetime each week, I will invest in a real serger! I suppose I should start saving now...

I also hit upon Goodwill's 50% off Saturday this past weekend and got a bag of fabric for the princely sum of $4. In it is 4 yards of some lightweight black twill, which could be something like chino but I am so ignorant in fabric types I'm not sure. Also a few yards of black crepe backed satin that I may use for Ed's Halloween vest if there is enough, some scraps of some purple polyester junk and some cotton print that is pretty, but totally not my style. Those will probably get made into jammie pants since I'll never leave the house with them anyways. There may be about 2-3 yards of that.

So, overall a nice haul!

I've also been working on my Victorian skirt and have finished the vest. I want to take a picture of them both together, because otherwise the vest would ride way too high on me with normal clothes on, so patience my dear readers. The skirt is heavy to begin with since it requires so many yards, but I'm also lining it so I don't have to have my body touch the icky polyester feel, which just adds onto the weight. I can't imagine what the ladies of long ago had to endure when they got dressed. I mean, I'm only going to be wearing this thing for a few hours; they had to wear it all the time! With all the layers, it's like you are wearing armor.

Thrift Store Find - Book

I found in a thrift store the other day, Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book from 1970. I'm sure this little gem sat there for some time before I came across it. It is actually a binder book, similar to what you use in school, with pages that come out. But it is filled with a ton of useful information that I couldn't find in my other (admittedly a limited selection) sewing books.

It talks about things like how to make a ribbon waistline so that your dress doesn't pull out of shape, and how to line a garment, which I really needed to know! I've been looking for a book about lining for some time now.

The illustrations and explantions are great and put across their point. I haven't even finished reading it yet and in love with it. I think I'll be referring back to it quite often, as I do with "Fit for Real People". Plus, the little line drawings of the ladies are just too cute, aren't they?

Steampunk Halloween - a long post

This Halloween Ed and I have been invited to a steampunk Halloween by one of our Browncoat buddies. A few Saturdays ago the invitee and I went on a thrifting and craft store hunt for pieces of the steampunk costumes. She walked away with gorgeous dupioni silk (albiet from JoAnns) and some pretty red tag sari fabric. We also hit some of the local thrift stores and found some tablecloth things that were edged in scalloped eyelet, which was just perfect for the bloomers she had in mind. This Sunday she came over for a fitting and walked home with the things that just needed a waistband put in or something.

The silk has been turned into a skirt that has been pulled up in front to come above the bloomers so 'er knickers show, and has been bustled in the back. The hook and eye's we chose are large and brass and probably belong in something home decor but she though they were steampunkish so we're adding them to the back. Since we only have 6 of them and there are 8 points in the back that are pulled up, some of the bottom row will have regular, smaller hook and eyes.

I've planned for Ed and I to dress in shades of gray and black. Not the most exciting, but I think I can make some fun things using that palette. It also happens to be that I have found more fabric in gray and black that will suit our Halloween needs than any other...

My costume will consist of a 70's vest, a skirt with a bustle I'll make that ties around the waist to floof out the tush area and some kind of shirt (I haven't decided on the shirt yet but am thinking Simplicity 3990 with the pleated front). The vest is one that I graded! My first time grading anything actually. I got a tutorial from here to help me muddle through things. The original vest pattern is McCall 5297 from 1979. It contains, among the very dated pants, a princess seam close fitting vest that was perfect for my idea. The vest comes to points at the hem in the front and back. The weird thing I found was that the facings (yes, I graded and changed those too) connected neck to front to back, so all around the edge is a facing. Perhaps this is common with unlined vests since I've never made one before and I just don't know.




I went out and bought a tummy tucker thing, almost like a corset except that I have to pull it over my head (and isn't that a sight; I got stuck in the fitting rooms with nobody to help me when I first tried it on). I almost bought a corset type thing but the price just drew me off; this whole Halloween needs to be done as cheaply as possible but without looking cheap. This isn't a piece of undergarment that I will use repeatedly. My style of clothing does not consist of me wearing uncomfortable underclothes. Like ever. So, my hourglass figure (yes, I have one of those, although a little curvier than most) will be sucked in, although my ample busom won't be. I'm going for the tiny waisted Victorian look, but...not so tiny waisted that I need armor under my clothing like the days of old.

The skirt I already have material for and I found it of all places at WalMart for $1 per yard. I bought the whole bolt which was only a little over 7 yards. It's some icky polyester but the fabric pattern is perfect for something a little steampunk.



The fabric has a large black grid that is filled in with kind of a puffy gray fabric. As a skirt, it should do fine. As a short lived costume it should do even better since the fabric really is kind of polyester-y to the touch. If I'm feeling ambitious enough I may even line it, but I may not have the time.

The fabric for the vest is another $1 per yard beauty and I'm still not sure which side I want to use since they both would work for my needs:



Ed's costume will be a Vogue vest pattern for men. Vogue 7488 has a doublebreasted vest pattern that suits the need for him:



It will be done in black with a copper top stitching, which will be my first time top stitching with actual top stitching thread, which will probably be much different than the "top stitching" I do with regular thread. I know there is some adjustment of tensions with top stitiching thread. In any case, we'll just do a fancy dress shirt for him (perhaps in gray, which he already has in his closet) and some black pants (which too he already has). Ed will be sporting a handmade walking cane and a top hat.

The top hat, frankly, was kind of hard to research. There aren't many good tutorials for making a top hat in real size and all the old ones are very expensive. What we're going to do is make a base in poster board, like this link. After we finish the base we will glue or adhere a satiny fabric to it to mimic a real silk top hat. I think for a night of Halloween fun, which I may add is our favorite day of the year that supasses even Christmas, it should hold up fine.

I won, I won!

I won free patterns from The Hem Line that is. Lisa at The Hem Line has a weekly pattern drawing for free patterns. If you are in the US you pay nothing in postage, if you live in Canada or in other parts of the world all she asks is postage costs (which are mentioned each week in the post). I was the lucky winner of this:

What I wanted the most was that pattern without the envelope of the ponchos and capes! Those just rock my socks. But, how can you resist that look on the fella's face in the hat pattern pictures? It looks like he was eyeing some juicy morsel out of sight of the camera. I can only guess what kind of juicy morsel it was!

Lisa also has an etsy shop of fabric and notions and an extensive ebay store full of patterns. A very serious temptress!

Here There Be Pirates!

This is the pirate costume from Simplicity 5446, the adult size, medium. I had nobody to model the children's pattern for me, so it will go unphotographed until I get pics back from my family. It is a tad big on Ed, but we were able to pin the pants so they fit. The vest is supposed to be the correct size for him though, had we made this for Ed instead of my brother for whom it is intended.

You can see our little picture pal Lily in the background of the second photo. She just wanted to get in on that attention!

Anyways, the pants are made of some cotton/poly blend that really could stand a few more washes to make it a little softer. I have no idea what it's original purpose was since I found it in the thrift store, but the pattern sure makes good pirate pants (or prison pants if you were going for that look!). The floofy pirate shirt is made of a recycled queen sized bed sheet and the vest is some faux suede fabric, again found at a thrift store.

The vest material was actually a huge pain to work with because the minute you touched the fabric your hands turned brown! It practically oozed dye. I gave it a soak 3 times in the bathtub with some Woolite before I judged it had released enough dye that it could stand a turn through the washing machine.

After it came out there were white spots (probably from the fabric softener that was in the detergent) that I had to scrub out with a brush before I was satisfied of it's appearance. Definitely something I do not want to work with again if I have to, which is a pity since the fabric itself is so pretty and suede soft.

All in all, the pattern was pretty easy to work with. I had some trouble with the vest lining, and I do blame that on the vague instructions. If I had lined more things I probably wouldn't have been so confused I think. But, other than that one mishap, the pattern was very fun and quick to work with. I would recommend this pattern if you are looking for something piratey, or even to use as a Ren Faire costume since the pants and shirt could easily be from that time period. They are pretty versatile!

I know, I know, I owe some pics

But, I don't have them yet. I have finished the tops and bottoms, both man and child for the pirate costume. AND I still haven't posted a final photo of the Superman jacket (which I still haven't sent off because of that reason). I also have made a pair of cargo pocket capri's that I need to show, and...no wait, that's it. ;) I haven't started on anything else yet.

I was asked to make bloomers and wide legged shorts for a Halloween costume. Ed and I will be attending a "Steampunk Halloween" with some Browncoats we know. Browncoats being fans of anything Serenity, Firelfy or Joss Whedon; you know, they guy who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer and more recently Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. Ok, so I'm a fan... Anyways, a gal I know has asked me to do the culottes and bloomers so that the bloomers peek out at the bottom. I'll be adapting Simplicity 9871, which is a pj bottom pattern that I use for myself.

Pics to come!

Ahoy me mateys!

My nephew, who is 6, is in love with pirates and everything pirate related. Ed and I were in Hobby Lobby looking at patterns. Yes, Ed looks at pattern books! I send him in search of guy stuff that I can make for him. He was flipping through McCalls costume section when he came across 5446, a pirate costume. We called my brother to see if he and his son would like to be matching pirates for Halloween, and of course he said yes. We're doing the more ruffian type of pirate (the larger image in the pic) than the tailored type, as per my brothers wishes, although I would have liked to make them the fancy coat.


So, we bought the pattern and the next day I went to the thrift store (I go to the thrift stores around here a LOT, as in I think it's another hobby of mine, but I refuse to admit it) and found this great length of black and white, jagged striped fabric that would be perfect for pants. So I've sewn the pants already and they look great, and started onto the shirt in the boy size last night.

I must have picked the wrong fabric to work with. It's some poly blend that is really soft, but a little slinky. I should have known from previous experiences with similar fabric. I just couldn't get this stuff to stay put. The seams were puckered and wavy, when I tired to attach the collar I got little pleats from the fabric straying from it's position, no matter how careful I was. I spent 6 hours between cutting and sewing this thing before I just chucked it in the trash and went to bed. I have another, more losely woven white cotton, similar to the faux linen they sell at JoAnns that I think I'll use instead. It should behave a lot better.

I will keep updated on the costumes and have some pictures to show once Ed gets his new camera up and running. He even bought a macro lens to take close up pictures of the beads I make, for me! What a guy. Of course he too wants to do macro photography, but the bead thing was what sealed the deal for him I think.

Baby Shorts

I don't have kids, but my brother has 2 little ones that are 3 and 6 and they just had another not too long ago. If my sister-in-law ever gets me the measurements for the bigger kids (it's going on a month now...ahem) I can make them some cute clothes and I have a pirate costume planned for my nephew. But, I digress...I picked up a kids pattern at the thrift store for 69 cents and it has a cute and very simple pair of baby shorts or panties, depending on what material you make them out of I guess. So far I've made 2:

One in a scrap of floral fabric that I got in a grab bag that was too small for anything else and another in a light weight denim. I hemmed and hawwed (or is that hawed?) about the denim thinking it may be a little too rough, but I'll let mommy decide that. These are sized to a small since I got the baby's weight and the pattern thankfully wasn't in measurements, which is a little bigger than my neice but babies grow fast, so I figure by the time I have these in the mail she'll fit into them.

And an update to the Superman Project...it's done! I just need to get it washed since it has picked up every since piece of thread it touched, and then photographed. Stay tuned for the grand finale!

Superman Progress Pt 3

The hood is attached! It took a while for me to get it just right. After the buttonhole mishap and having to recut another hood in both the red fabric and lining, I was a little discouraged and needed a small break. But, I pulled the jacket out again tonight and attached the hood. And my thanks to Ed for being a good sport about modelling it for me.

Since the two layers are pretty thick, I needed to use double wide bias tape, rather than regular bias tape, where it said to use it as the neck facing. Since I didn't have the light blue I originally had bought for it, in double wide, I ended up just using black. But that matches too since the Superman fabric has enough black in it, and a lot of the top stitching was done in black. Which brings me to the details that I promised a few posts ago.




The first image is the top stitching I achieved using a twin needle. I am in LOVE with my twin needle! And it makes such a nice finish on the inside as well, which you can see in the second photo. Since I didn't plan well about pocket placement and the hem, I started the hem stitching further towards the back of the pocket, though I did hand stitch to the lining on the inside. Basically it looks like the pocket is placed over the hem stitching, though it's not. I saved myself by that idea! I really didn't want to have to rip apart half the zipper and place the pockets higher up so that I could make a hem.

I realized too late to go out for it, but I didn't have nearly enough elastic. So, the project waits on hold, again, until I can get both more elastic for the hem and cuffs and a drawstring for the hood. I made a point NOT to photograph the buttonholes because those are pretty bad. My idea to put in the buttonholes after the hood was stitched in place wasn't a good one.

A Brief Intermission

I've been a little ill the last few days and haven't been up to working on the Superman jacket. So, I made what we've been needing badly. Zippered pouches to hold our mp3 players. It's hard to keep the earbuds and the player all together in a pocket or a purse without it tangling, so I used this tutorial to make a lined zippered pouch. Mine is on the left and is larger because I wanted the ability to watch movies on my player (which means it has a small screen) if I was sitting in a doctors office, and Ed's is the smaller and just functions as an mp3 player so he can listen to audiobooks at work (he does graphic design work). Both were bought, I might add, utilizing sales and shopping the best deals at the time, and were also saved for, rather than it being a rash decision. The Budget and all...

The larger polka dot pouch has a blue heart lining and uses a vintage zipper, bought at one thrift store or another. The smaller, check pattern (which only matches by chance!) has a red lining to match the vintage red zipper. Very guy, if I do say so. Thankfully I had a small scrap of the check fabric that I got in some large bag of scraps. It wasn't big enough to make much else, except maybe another pouch.