No Sewing, A Little Talk

My last project was a plain shirt that I will get pictures of soon, but I've currently been busy making beads. I have a few orders that need to get done and I fell sick the past few days, so it is slowing it even more.

I woke up the other morning with a swollen throat and uvula. Seriously, a swollen uvula (that thing in your throat). It never happened to me before. Now it is less swollen but I'm dragging and all nasal. Woe is me!

But, after all the business of making beads gets done, I have a plan to stencil/paint a Dalek onto some black fabric (white paint with perhaps some red somewhere) to then sew onto Ed's school bag for next semester. He has a fondness for Dr Who and all things Dalek and created his own rendering of it while bored at work one day (shhhh, don't tell his boss). If he'll touch it up a bit so that it can be printed, I'll turn it into a stencil and make something cool. Right now it is his Yahoo avatar, so a bit small.

I tried stencilling onto tshirts a while back and they came out ok. I used regular acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium, but it made the white paint a little less than opaque. One day while wandering the aisles at the craft store I saw some fabric paint and on the back it said it was good for covering black fabric, so I picked it up (with a coupon!). I have yet to try it, mainly from lack of time or space.

Our craft area is turning more into a storage area for art papers, scrapbooking papers which I make cards and bookmarks out of, and other crafty things like the paper cutter, cutting mats and of course the pencils, paints and regular stuff that belongs there. So, it is a bit of a mess and until I can get it clean, or beg it of Ed, this project may have to wait a teeny bit.

Thankfully I have a seperate sewing area, so if I choose to sew in the mean time, I can.

A Pin Cushion For Me

Tired of dragging my tomato pin cushion around with me when I go from my cutting and pinning table to my sewing machine, I went browsing JoAnns the other day for a wrist pin cushion. What a poor selection! Not to mention I figured I could make one for about 50 cents, when they were selling ugly ones for about $8. So I did just that.

From the front: I used some scrap fabric and scrap elastic. I doubled the fabric thinking that it would hold up more. My tomato pin cushion is starting to wear in a certain spot where I stab my pins into, and I didn't want that happening to this one. But, the drawback is that it is almost too tough to poke a pin through easily. I have to touch a finger to the pin cushion to steady it while putting the pin into it. Not a big deal though since sometimes I have to do that with the other one anyways to keep it from sliding away from me.

From the back: Yeah, I know you can see the thread. I wasn't going for looks, just functionality and I have a bunch of little bits of thread on the spools left that need to be used up. I usually use them for the hand sewing that I have to do if it either doesn't show or doesn't matter if it does.

Anyways, what I did was cut out 4 circles of suede and blanket stitched them together. The layers of suede are a safeguard against poking myself. The leather should stop it if it gets down that far. Then, I sewed the suede circle onto the pin cushion by tacking down around the blanket stitch, going through a little leather if I could. Finally I sewed the elastic onto the pin cushion and sized it to my left wrist (I'm a righty and pin with my right hand), gave it a couple zigzag stitches to secure the elastic and I was done!

So, my first and very own handmade wrist pin cushion! It is coming in very handy and I've already used it several times.

Jeans, For Her

I finished my jeans, at last! At last! I finally dragged them out and did the hems. But rather than have Ed help me do the hems I just measured from an existing pair that I have that fits well and used that to find the best inseam measurement. Quick and dirty I suppose. But, it came out well.

The pattern is McCalls 5142:

I used red for the topstitching. I've always worn jeans with the typical yellowish/gold topstitching thread and wanted something different, especially since I saw that there was a nice variety of colors to choose from. So red it was!

The photos are a little washed out, but it is because we took them outside in the blazing sunlight. The sun here is intense! The denim is darker in real life than in the pictures; a very navy denim color.

Front


Side


Back

I also realized as I was doing the hems that I didn't topstitch the outside seams. I don't know if I forgot to do that, or if the instructions skipped it. Next time I will topstitch the outside seams, but for this pair, they are done!

As for the pattern, I think it is an excellent pattern. It shows you how to fit yourself and gives ample seam allowances (I believe 1" seam allowances) for the "perfect fit". Seriously, I will be using this pattern again and again. Paired with the book, Pants For Real People, by the same people that created the pattern, I think that this will be a pattern that I turn to over and over again when I want or need a new pair of jeans. And since I live in jeans, but it is hard to find the right size, this is a perfect pattern for me. Good job McCalls and the Palmer/Pletsch team!

Home Dec - Table Cover

I don't do much home dec sewing, mainly because I'm not into interior design and whatnot. We like a modern look and that doesn't use things like ruffles and frilly fabrics. But, we acquired a table from the side of the dumpster (yes, we "dumpster dive", although rarely do we actually get in one unless there is something awesome in there). We live in a college aged apartment complex and we've found that college aged people love to throw perfectly fine things away. Actually most of the furniture in our apartment is used or from collecting things that are on the side of the trash. The folding table I use for sewing is one of those items!

In any case, we got this cute, retro looking table. It was absolutley filthy with old wax from candles all over it, along with the dust that any outdoor item here in the desert accumulates. After a through cleaning and some elbow grease, the table emerged clean but with a few scars on it. Since the gouges were a little large, but didn't actually go into the table (just into the veneer) I decided to make a table cover for it.

But, the table is round. That means math doesn't it? Yikes, I hate math. But I was determined, so I went in search of the formula to find circumference. Measuring the diameter was a simple as measuring from one end of the table to the other. Entering that measurement into the equation gave me the circumference so I would know how much fabric I would need.

Keeping with the retro feel, even though I will be covering the table and the retro details I decided to give the table cover cording and rick rack. But since I had no cording that was as thick as I wanted I had to make my own. That was only a matter of covering the cording with bias tape, a very simple task.

This is the finished result:

The covering is a tad large and the cording doesn't sit at the very edge in some places, but that was from my late night sewing job rather than from the measuring. There are a few places where the cording slipped to the edge of the fabric circle because I didn't use enough pins. My bad. But, it is still perfectly functional and only I will notice that flaw.

The only problem now is that when you sit in the chair at the right there is a hummingbird feeder above your head, so our little hummingbirds won't feed because we are so close! Note: the chair to the left is the chair that our dog lays in when she suns herself, isn't she just the queen? She has her own THRONE.

Pants For Real People - Like Me

I've been sewing jeans on and off for a little while. I've completed mine and they fit ok, although I think I need to take in the waist a little. I didn't account for the stretch in the denim. Those STILL need to be hemmed though.

But I also completed Burda 7733 for Ed.

The jeans came out ok. Those too need to be hemmed! Can you tell it is one of my least favorite sewing activities? I didn't pattern fit him, figuring that he is pretty normally shaped. When he tried the jeans on they were skin tight in the thigh and the crotch was so tight it looked uncomfortable. The waist is really low on him as well, but I think it is because he has such a nice behind (lol, he's going to hate me for writing that!) and it isn't flat like most men. I'm not so great at altering pants since I haven't made that many, so with Barnes and Noble gift cards in hand (that we got free through Mypoints) we journeyed to B&N only to find that they didn't have Pants For Real People. So, off we went to another B&N only to find there that all they had was Fit For Real People, which I already have, and love.

We ended up ordering it online and having to pay for shipping. Why do I hate to pay for shipping so much? It seems to take away from the fun of using a free gift card. But, I digress. After reading some of the book, I realized that I needed to adjust the crotch by sewing it deeper. I also ended up adjusting the thigh area, although when I originally sewed it, I had trimmed the seam allowances (which I shouldn't have done in the first place, but hey, it happened) so I didn't have much to work with. Because of that, some of the overlocked edge shows where I came thisclose to the edge of the fabric. I don't know how long the seams will last on this pair of jeans, but I can always sew Ed another pair can't I?

Once the jeans are hemmed, which I hope to get done this weekend for both of us, I will post pics. In the mean time I suggest checking out Pants For Real People if you are planning on making a pair of jeans. I really like the idea of pattern fitting, although it is a slow and time eating process, but once it is done, you have a great altered pattern to work from.

JoAnns (yes, I know some hate the place, but it is one of the few places to buy fabric locally) is having a 50% off sale on denim on Sunday I think, so we're going to hit that and I'll have another 3 yards to make Ed a better fitting pair of jeans. He will be going through a pattern fitting, of that I have promised (or threatened? I will be wielding sharp pins...) because I think we will get the best fit that way.

All in all I think Burda 7733 is a pretty good pattern. The instructions were relatively easy to follow, they include seam allowances and what I created looked just like what the pattern looked like, with a few topstitching alterations on my part.

Now I just need to work on that topstitching...

Vogue 1107, Got It!

I got a steal on the Vogue dress 1107 that I spotlighted in this post. The description says it is a lined, A-line dress, fitted at the bust, above knee length. It has edge stitched princess seams, welt pockets with flaps, pleats with underlays and bound buttonholes. It says it is "advanced", but never to shy away from a pretty pattern I think I can tackle it.

I will probably do it in a black as the pattern front shows, mainly because I am partial to black. I don't have the fabric yet and may save a bit so that I can get better materials to work with. It suggests Peau de soie, lightweight garbardine and shantung with china silk for lining. Since I sew on a budget I probably won't be getting silk, but some compatible fabric with the same drape. Most likely I'll sew this first in a poly satin of some sort or find a lightweight garbardine as suggested. Lining will be poly, no doubt.

I don't know when I will get around to sewing this but it only goes up to a size 20 and I'm a 22 so I will have some alterations to do on it to grade it up to my size.

I also managed to pick up another 3 yards of denim to make another pair of jeans. I know I have yet to post about them, but it is coming up. I still have yet to hem them.

Fun with Boxers!

Ed loves it when I make him boxers. It means he doesn't have to shop for them, lucky man! Since the pattern I use only uses 1 yard of fabric sometimes he gets rather interesting (or ugly!) boxers. 2 of these 3 pairs are pretty fun. Apples and airplanes; what more could a man want?
Kwik Sew 1672 which I ordered off eBay and is probably OOP now. It looks like it is from the 80's truth be told. They also have a "high cut" version that has a rounded hem rather than a straight. Not that Ed would ever be caught dead in a pair like that, so that version doesn't ever get made.

The pattern is extremely fast to make and you can do it assembly line if preferred, although I do them one at a time. The elastic waist is pretty fun to do, although the first line of stitching can be tricky, which it wouldn't be if I pinned the elastic more than I do. The seams are 1/4 except for the waist and I use my Singer Tiny Serger (just an overedger really it doesn't do any cutting) for all the seams to that they will stand up to the abuse that undies can get. The fly stitching can be a pain, but really I'm not that accurate with it. I could do better on the fly stitching, but seriously they are just boxers so why bother? I hate unpicking, so if the stitching line goes a little further than it should who is going to notice? The only person looking at Ed's boxers is Ed and myself, lol!

For now my cutting tables (card tables) are on loan from a charity yard sale we did last weekend for a group of Firefly/Serenity fans that we belong to. So, I can't cut out anything else for a few days and my rivets still haven't arrived. I'm project-less, egad!

Some Actual Sewing For a Change

I've actually been sewing! I've worked on a great pair of jeans that have yet to be hemmed and am working on another pair for Ed. We bought some rivets for them online and are just waiting for them to arrive. Until then the project sits undisturbed.

But, I sewed my butt off last week and made 4 little girls shirts for my neice. Her mother commented to me that she could never find school shirts that fit her (she is in between a size 1/2 and 1 in kids - sewing pattern size that is). She is 3 years old and in some pre-k program at her big brothers school and they require all children to wear uniforms. Either tan or navy shorts with a plain colored shirt. Not terribly restricting but everything that comes in an XS for the girl is always in a print of some sort. So she doesn't have a great variety of school shirts to wear.

Well, I've fixed that. The shirts will go out in the mail probably this week after I put the buttons on the red shirt. I made 4 shirts, all in different colors and using either large scraps or one yard-1 1/2 yard pieces. I guess this could be considered a one yarder project (in fact, so are the boxers I did that are coming up next):

View B

View A sleeves, view B collar

View A

View B

The pattern for the shirt is New Look 6880. It has two views, one for a girl with the peter pan collar and puffy, gathered sleeves and one for a boy with the traditional collar and regular set in sleeves. On one version of mine (the red) I switched things up a bit and gave her the regular collar with the puffy, gathered sleeves.

The collar in view A is a pain to make, which is why I made more of the collars in view B for most of her shirts. They were extremely quick to make and simple. There was no interfacing to be cut anywhere and all the facings were of plain fabric, which gives for a softer look and feel than collars for adults in a similar pattern. View A also has you insert elastic into the sleeve hem, forming a casing. Which isn't a big deal, it actually makes that sleeves bigger so they fit around the arm on my sewing machine, which view B sleeves do not.

All in all I give New Look 6880 a thumbs up. I can't comment on the sizing since I don't have the neice here to try it on for me, but if it does run big I can always go down a size on the next batch of shirts since I think that this pattern is going to be a staple in her wardrobe for school.

Up next...boxers. Stay tuned.

Fabric Splurge

I don't often buy retail fabric. I sew on a budget and most of my fabric comes from thrift stores. But, I've gone into a certain "large chain store" fabric department and touched this stuff every time I've seen it. I finally broke down and bought 4 yards of it:



I figured that 4 yards would be enough to make a long skirt or short dress (or a couple short things), although I'm thinking more along the skirt line since I'm not a very "dress" person. I like my 2 piece outfits better than a 1 piece dress. I think I'm a little neurotic that way. Actually I'm a jeans and shirt gal and I think having 2 pieces rather than 1 keeps me in my comfort zone. Which, I don't like to leave often, lol!

I wear a lot of muted colors. Or as I like to call them, "non-colors". Black, gray, dark reds and blues. I will also wear pastels if they aren't too bright, like in this fabric. This fabric gives me a little cheer to my normally toned down look. I'm terrified of bright colors in the yellow, orange and bright red range.

I got this orange/peach sweater once from my mother because she said that I never wore color. It was hideous. The sweater itself was cute and in a trendy style but the color...oh the horror! I'm also very pale and freckly and this color was NOT a good color for me. I know my mother was only trying to get me out of my box so to speak, but she could have asked me what color range I would wear if I was going to wear bright colors. I think ever since then I've been very stubborn about letting color into my daily wardrobe (that story took place probably over 10 years ago). And yes, I did give the sweater a try. I wore it twice, once on the day I got it and again at a family function. It was "that" sweater to me.

So perhaps in the next few months (I sew slowly and like to procrastinate) I'll have a pretty little piece to show using this fabric.

Intermission - The Good, The Bad and The Hideous

I'm a slacker, I admit it. I promised another post about the shorts that gave me fits, but I just haven't gotten around to taking pics of it (what I really mean is I haven't bothered Ed to take them for me; he's got a lot of school work this week). But yesterday I got an email from Vogue Patterns showing the recent stuff they have out and all I have to say is:

What were they thinking?


This is Vogue 1116. The top isn't so bad, but those pants. Those pants! Is it supposed to be a cross between those parachute pants worn by MC Hammer in the 80's, and some sort of weird chef outfit? I'm seriously puzzled over this one.

They have an asymmetrical top pattern, Vogue 8582 that is pretty cute. The line drawing looks bizarre, but shown in fabric it has a nice flow to it.



And I do really like this dress, although I'm not much of a dress person. I may even see if my local JoAnns has it on their next Vogue pattern sale day (which is coming up I think):


Vogue 1107. I think the pleats in the skirt are really cute and I like how it has sleeves. I've got some arms on me, so I like patterns that help me hide them. There are a lot of sleeveless patterns out there that are cute, but I just like my sleeves I suppose. I know I could adapt a sleeve for a sleeveless pattern, but frankly it is too much work unless I really love the dress. and then I'd probably just bite the bullet and wear it sleeveless.

But man those pants just get me. I can't imagine wearing them, or making them. I'm sorry if some of you out there like those pants from 1116, but I just can't stop laughing!