Upcoming

I've traced my next pattern, but my scissors are off being sharpened, so I can't get started. Instead, I poked through my pattern and fabric stashes to see what's next. What's actually next is TROUSERS - I figure if I start them after this shirt I might finish them at some point in the winter. If I'm lucky. But after that! So here are a few options.

I bought this silk blend in New York at one of the few fabric stores that was open on Memorial Day. There are 2 other projects in the book before this shirt, though, so it'll have to wait.

I bought this random piece of overdyed paisley at a garage sale. I have visions of making a summery top with wide ribbon straps. That's right, I'm going to attempt making my own pattern ("pattern"). I suppose I should do that before summer is over.

Owls! I haven't looked closely enough at the pattern to see if the owls would be right side up. And I don't have quite enough fabric for the length I want. But I'm going to see if it works.

I want to try another Sencha.

 

I'm not convinced this random soft material will work for this shirt. Maybe the top view?

I also have a few other pieces of patterned material. Most of the rest of of my patterns are for dresses, though, and none of the fabric has enough yardage. I guess I need to go shopping!

When is a pattern not a pattern?

I've hit a small bump in February's project: I just discovered that I don't have an invisible zipper foot. Not that I mind getting one - I'm sure I'll use it lots, especially since it seems to be the preferred zipper for Colette and Sewaholic patterns - but I'm not totally sure where to buy one. I'll have to look into that this weekend - this is my last weekend to get this skirt done and keep on track!

Meanwhile, a peek at what I've done so far.

In my sewing classes, and what I remember from watching my mom sew, cutting a pattern is pretty simple. You pin the pattern to the fabric, and then cut it out with scissors. Which is what I did for my first few projects. But then I started reading (there it is again, reading above my level), and there was a lot of "no! don't cut the TISSUE! what if you want to make a different size? and think of the future!" Instead there was talk of pattern weights, and rotary cutters, and tracing, and templates. Too much.

But, I thought, if all the cool kids are doing it, I should see what it's all about. So I bought some "pattern weights" (washers, because there's a Home Depot right near me) and some posterboard (because there's a Staples right near me) and got to tracing.

The tracing was easy, if time consuming. I simply put the tissue pattern on the posterboard, held it in place with the washers, and drew over my size with a thin felt, which bled through to the posterboard. As a bonus, I didn't have to do this part on the floor! Score.

See the pink line?

And here it is after the tissue is gone

Then once I'd traced out all the patterns and copied all the markings, I cut out the posterboard and ended up with a bunch of templates.

Sadly, then I had to get back down on the floor, to lay out my fabric and the pattern pieces.

Look Ma, no pins! This part makes me really happy - I always find it kind of painful, getting the pins in. I have delicate princess hands, clearly. And an amazing ability to instinctively avoid using whichever finger has the thimble. It's uncanny.

Finally, I traced my template pattern pieces with tailor's chalk, and cut the fabric. It occured to me after that if I were very careful, I might be able to moved the chalked fabric onto the table to cut it out. My knees would certainly thank me for that.

So, was it worth it? I guess that depends on whether I end up liking the pattern. If I do, I've got this great, sturdy set of pattern pieces that can be used over and over again. The tissue patterns are definitely not long-lasting - I've used the men's shirt pattern twice and it's looking a little ragged. But it's a process and it takes time away from actually sewing, which is the part I like. So I guess we'll see!

Future projects

I'm very close to the end of the shirt that I've been making forever. Side note: it's very depressing to see that you only have 2 steps left in the instructions (woo!), only to realize that one is a ton of hand sewing, and the other is make buttonholes and sew on buttons. Sigh.

Anyway.

I'm very close to the end of the shirt, and not quite as close to the end of the dress that I'm making in class. Side note #2: this is taking me way longer than I expected. It's embarrassing to admit, but I thought I'd be faster than the rest of the class. Not that I'm a super fast sewer (I'm actually incredibly slow), but I have made a few things on my own, so I figured I'd just need a little help with the fitting and then I'd be off. Oh, the irony! I think I'm probably the farthest from finished in the class.

Anyway. Again.

I'm very close to the end of the shirt, and not quite as close to the end of the dress that I'm making in class. And I need to get started on the shirt I'm making for my dad for Christmas. But I can't help thinking of starting new projects. And despite my best intentions, I seem to have developed a stash, both patterns and fabric. So I decided to do a little matching, indulge my interest in starting something new, and plan my next couple of projects.

I'm not convinced that this is the best fabric for the shirt, being just a basic cotton, but I think the pattern would look so cute.

This is from the Colette Sewing Handbook - it's a sewing guide arranged around a series of patterns that increase in difficulty. This is the first one. The fabric is a fairly heavy cotton so that the scallops will hang properly. And it's purple, if you can't tell - purple is so hard to photograph well.

Is that not a ridiculously cute pattern and a ridiculously cute fabric? I bought it to make for a wedding this summer. If I start now, maybe I can finish it in time for next summer.

This is the other pattern I bought for the class. I would really like to learn to make trousers.

This is one of the first patterns I bought. I think it's time to use it. I might buy some other fabric to make the contrasting bottom band.

I've been putting this one off because fitting issues, but I still like it.

So, what do you think? Which one should I start first? And by first, I mean probably not until January.

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:

Simplicity 3750

Butterick 4985

...three dresses, two of which are possibly odd retro patterns that were $2 each:

Colette Crepe

Butterick 4790

Simplicity 3833

...and a bunch of skirts, some of which I'm not convinced would actually look good on me:

Butterick 5613

McCall's 5431

Simplicity 2152

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):

Vogue 1027

Vogue 1194

 And a dress I love that is a little beyond my skills right now. But one day!

Colette Rooibos

What do you think? Have a favourite?

Onward and Upward

I have patterns! And also fabric and contrasting fabric for another skirt, notions for the shirt pattern I got, and a Fabricland membership. Also, much less money. I think it was the patterns. I should really start looking for sale fabrics, though, to keep the costs down.

So, if you're keeping count, that's seven fabrics I now have in the house that I intend to make things with. Luckily, I actually have patterns/plans for six of them. I also have three more patterns here and two on the way. Surely this will keep me entertained for a while?

Pin me baby one more time

I skimmed through a couple of pattern alteration/perfect fit books from the library last night. Eep. They seem really complicated! Of course, I've only finished one skirt so far, so maybe I was being a tad precipitous in reading the books.

It's a bit of a pattern with me. [Pun not intended.] When I get interested in something I tend to read a lot, and in detail, before I actually *do* much. Because reading is easier than doing, right? So I tend to know a lot about things (yoga, bellydance, running) that I'm still very much a beginner at. This time, however, I'm going to just make a few more things, without muslins, before I try to make them all fit perfectly.

Cut once, measure...4 times?

Last time I was at Fabricland I bought some fabric that was on sale without having a project in mind. I've decided to make a shirt, which has brought up 2 issues: 1) shipping on patterns (specifically Simplicity patterns) to Canada is ridiculous! I was trying to avoid making the loooong trek up to Fabricland again, but I'm not paying as much for shipping as for the patterns. So I have to make another trip north.

Also, 2) measuring. I fit perfectly into one size on the bottom. When I measured my bust, it seemed to be a size smaller; no problem. And then I started reading about Full Bust Adjustment, based on the fact that patterns are supposedly all built around a B cup. Which I am not. According to my reading, if there is a difference of more than 2 1/2" between the bust and the high bust, you should do a FBA. But when I made those two measurements, there was only 1" difference. Which, visually, seems suspect, if you know what I mean. So I measured again...and got completely different numbers. Third time, third set of numbers. So clearly I don't know where I should actually be measuring, which is frustrating. I guess I should take the highest numbers for each? In which case my bust is right in the same size as my hips (lookit me, a perfect pattern fit), and I *do* need to do the FBA.

Whew. Just wait until I get to fitted shirts and dresses, when I have to shorten the back by 2 inches.