Apologies in advance for this photo-free update, but the camera is over there, and there are 2 cats on my lap. What can you do?
I got some gorgeous Liberty of London fabric for my birthday, and then an announcement of a super cute dress pattern in my email today. And I have a wedding to go to in August. So clearly it's fate. Although we'll see if that's actually enough time to get it done - I am a super slow sewer still.
Meanwhile I'm *thisclose* to finishing a skirt. I was zipping along until I...got to the zipper. Mostly because I accidentally used the zipper intended for this skirt over Christmas. So I had to go get a new one, but I forgot to check the length and so bought the wrong length, and had to go get another zipper. Etc. etc. I really want to finish it before I move! I don't want this to be like the last skirt I didn't get finished before I moved, which then sat in limbo for 2 years.
I also (because I was in a sewing mood but hadn't picked up the second zipper) started cutting out a shirt pattern. I'm scared of sewing a shirt for myself, so I grabbed an old bedsheet to make a muslin first. Look at me, like a real sewer.
So, in conclusion, I am in the middle of a couple of things and dreaming of another. Maybe next week I can actually put thread to cloth!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Christmas catch-up
Well, my Christmas sewing was a huge success. Yay! The project that I didn't mention was the 5 drawstring pouches and zippered bags I made for friends (one set was already in the mail when I took the photo).
Aren't they fun fabrics? It was so much fun picking them. Although if you can believe it, these were much more trouble than the shirt and skirt - I had to buy more fabric twice, once because the fabric I bought was far too stretchy to work with and I needed something different (the top blue flowers), and once because I bungled it so badly I had to start again (the stripes). But I got them all done in time, hurrah.
And then there's the presents for my parents. I didn't get a picture of the skirt for my mom before I gifted it, mostly because I was sewing the buttons on Christmas Eve, and the skirt didn't look like anything without them. (I got the shirt buttons sewn on minutes before leaving to catch my flight out.) But here are my parents wearing their new clothes.
No, I'm not such a terrible photographer that I cut their heads off. Close, though. Both things fit perfectly (yay, again), and they both seemed genuinely thrilled, not just with the thought, but with the final product. I was awfully happy.
Now I can do some more sewing for myself! I'd bought some fabric in the fall to make another version of the skirt I did for my class, because I liked it so much. So I pulled that out today, and struggled through the effort of prepping the fabric (side note: this is the most time consuming part for me. so annoying). In then end I decided on another pattern I had, just for fun. I layed out the pattern and started pinning, but didn't get very far - it was very hard (and painful!) to get the pins through this fabric. After putting multiple dents in my fingers I figured it was enough for the night. But still, it feels good to start another project, even if it is, yes, one more skirt.
Aren't they fun fabrics? It was so much fun picking them. Although if you can believe it, these were much more trouble than the shirt and skirt - I had to buy more fabric twice, once because the fabric I bought was far too stretchy to work with and I needed something different (the top blue flowers), and once because I bungled it so badly I had to start again (the stripes). But I got them all done in time, hurrah.
And then there's the presents for my parents. I didn't get a picture of the skirt for my mom before I gifted it, mostly because I was sewing the buttons on Christmas Eve, and the skirt didn't look like anything without them. (I got the shirt buttons sewn on minutes before leaving to catch my flight out.) But here are my parents wearing their new clothes.
Now I can do some more sewing for myself! I'd bought some fabric in the fall to make another version of the skirt I did for my class, because I liked it so much. So I pulled that out today, and struggled through the effort of prepping the fabric (side note: this is the most time consuming part for me. so annoying). In then end I decided on another pattern I had, just for fun. I layed out the pattern and started pinning, but didn't get very far - it was very hard (and painful!) to get the pins through this fabric. After putting multiple dents in my fingers I figured it was enough for the night. But still, it feels good to start another project, even if it is, yes, one more skirt.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
I made a shirt!
I feel like I just reached a new level in the sewing video game.
I have a bunch of half-started posts talking about this shirt, waiting for me to upload photos. (I clearly haven't reached any advanced levels in the blogging video game.) So here's how it started: I decided to make presents for my parents. My mom used to sew quite a lot, so it's not like a handmade shirt would be a novelty for my dad, but I thought they'd both appreciate the concept. So I found a shirt pattern and a skirt pattern (I wanted to make a vest for my mom, but thought that might be beyond me if I couldn't actually fit it on her).
Pinning and cutting takes me *forever* because I have to do it on the floor, and between the cats and my creaky body, it's slow going. So I did them both before starting any sewing. (A smart idea, as it turns out, because now it's the beginning of December and I haven't started sewing the skirt for my mom, but at least I'm not staring at a giant piece of fabric!)
The shirt was interesting - lots of stuff I hadn't really done before, like the collar. When I went to put the collar together, I realized I'd misread the pattern piece, and had only cut one when I was supposed to cut two (duh). And I didn't have enough fabric to cut it out in the direction it was supposed to go (not to mention that the fabric is striped, so it would look odd if I cut it in the other direction). So I ended up cutting two halves and sewing them together first to make one piece, then checking every three seconds to make sure the Frankenstein half was on the underside of the collar. But it worked! You can barely even see the join.
The only thing that's left to do is buttons - they're done by hand, so I can do those at my parents' if I need to. Also I really need to start actually sewing something on the skirt, so I feel slightly less panicked. The pattern looks pretty easy, but you never know. First step: change the needle to the special denim needle I bought (aren't I fancy).
I have a bunch of half-started posts talking about this shirt, waiting for me to upload photos. (I clearly haven't reached any advanced levels in the blogging video game.) So here's how it started: I decided to make presents for my parents. My mom used to sew quite a lot, so it's not like a handmade shirt would be a novelty for my dad, but I thought they'd both appreciate the concept. So I found a shirt pattern and a skirt pattern (I wanted to make a vest for my mom, but thought that might be beyond me if I couldn't actually fit it on her).
The shirt was interesting - lots of stuff I hadn't really done before, like the collar. When I went to put the collar together, I realized I'd misread the pattern piece, and had only cut one when I was supposed to cut two (duh). And I didn't have enough fabric to cut it out in the direction it was supposed to go (not to mention that the fabric is striped, so it would look odd if I cut it in the other direction). So I ended up cutting two halves and sewing them together first to make one piece, then checking every three seconds to make sure the Frankenstein half was on the underside of the collar. But it worked! You can barely even see the join.
The only thing that's left to do is buttons - they're done by hand, so I can do those at my parents' if I need to. Also I really need to start actually sewing something on the skirt, so I feel slightly less panicked. The pattern looks pretty easy, but you never know. First step: change the needle to the special denim needle I bought (aren't I fancy).
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Blame it on the bobbin
My sewing machine and I are in a bit of a war right now. It's probably my fault - I stopped using it for a few weeks, it got lonely, it took revenge. But I've been working on some super secret Christmas projects, and I have never had this much trouble. Needle coming unthreaded, thread breaking, bobbin running out in the middle of a seam (okay, that one might be my fault), bobbin tangling, thread tangling. And then, while attempting to untangle the bobbin at one point, I accidentally pulled the bobbin case out, and it took me forever to figure out how to put it back in.
These are the slowest moving "quick" projects ever.
These are the slowest moving "quick" projects ever.
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| My nemesis |
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Back again
Hello, lovely people in my computer! I've been neglecting you. In my defence, I've also been neglecting the sewing. No sewing, nothing to talk about. It's the time of year, you know? Plus I needed fabric before I could do anything.
However, I went to the giant Fabricland members sale, and now I have PLANS. Meanwhile, a couple of pics of skirts in the real world.
I got a couple of compliments on the skirt - mostly on how cute the rickrack on the bottom is. Heh. The rickrack made all the difference.
I don't know about this look. I am finding this skirt incredibly hard to style. I blame the pink. In any case, I just wanted to wear it, so I pulled out the black, but I don't love black except with other black, so it wasn't my favourite.
However, I went to the giant Fabricland members sale, and now I have PLANS. Meanwhile, a couple of pics of skirts in the real world.
I don't know about this look. I am finding this skirt incredibly hard to style. I blame the pink. In any case, I just wanted to wear it, so I pulled out the black, but I don't love black except with other black, so it wasn't my favourite.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
What next?
I went to do some sewing tonight, and realized that I have no ongoing projects for the first time since I re-unpacked the sewing machine. Horrors! So what do I want to do next? I do have a couple of Christmas projects I could start working on. But my fabric stash for clothes is pretty minimal - the only thing I have fabric for is a summery shirt. And it's not so summery out there anymore.
I do, however, have a rather large stash of patterns. So perhaps I'll pick a couple and then go wander through some fabric stores.
So here's what I have. Two tops:
...three dresses, two of which are possibly odd retro patterns that were $2 each:
...and a bunch of skirts, some of which I'm not convinced would actually look good on me:
And then the things I won't be making now. Knit dresses for when I learn how to sew knits (part of the pattern sale):
And a dress I love that is a little beyond my skills right now. But one day!
What do you think? Have a favourite?
I do, however, have a rather large stash of patterns. So perhaps I'll pick a couple and then go wander through some fabric stores.
So here's what I have. Two tops:
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| Simplicity 3750 |
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| Butterick 4985 |
...three dresses, two of which are possibly odd retro patterns that were $2 each:
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| Colette Crepe |
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| Butterick 4790 |
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| Simplicity 3833 |
...and a bunch of skirts, some of which I'm not convinced would actually look good on me:
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| Butterick 5613 |
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| McCall's 5431 |
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| Simplicity 2152 |
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| Vogue 8749 |
And then the things I won't be making now. Knit dresses for when I learn how to sew knits (part of the pattern sale):
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| Vogue 1027 |
 | |||
| Vogue 1194 |
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| Colette Rooibos |
What do you think? Have a favourite?
Monday, September 5, 2011
Number 3
I'm also wearing the same shirt in both pictures. I think this is a sign I need to stop making skirts with green in them.
This skirt feels much more homemade - the fabric is a pretty light (and cheap) cotton, but it also has a certain amount of stretch, which caused the hem to pucker a bit. Up close it's not the cleanest looking thing. But I love the pattern mixing. I'm not totally sure what I have to wear with it, though.
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