our sewing forum

I am waiting for an extra Ikea table so I can give my new machine plenty of room. My mum died in February and I have bought this from what she left me, so it's her final present to me. It both sewing and embroidery and its the embroidery carriage that needs the room so I should be able to get sewing soon without that on. First job is making pyjama trousers for my very tall daughter! At the moment I am keeping myself going by reading what you are doing and what people on my FB groups are doing. Thank you for that.

Having moved in January it's been a bit hectic - I managed to get a kitchen in before lockdown thankfully. I thought I had to have a "guest" room but am really pleased that I decided not enough people come often enough and made the small spare room a sewing room. When I can get trades people back in to do the rest of the flat I shall shut myself in there

Thank you Craftyone for setting up this thread .I bought a new sewing machine during lockdown - the last time I tackled dressmaking was 40-odd years ago but had Mum to hand then to help me out! So have made some face masks etc Anyway following advice on YouTube I got a pattern for pyjamas So have made a the top tank top style in T-shirt material - pattern stated for knits only. So main issue (apart from rolling edges was that the armholes were far too big! So I've now taken in the sides but think I should’ve done something at the pattern fitting/cutting out stage but have no idea what! Any advice gratefully received. Am now going to tackle pj bottoms is cotton poplin too thin? Cheaper than cotton lawn but don’t want any expensive mistakes. confused. Sorry for the ramble - thanks in anticipation

An overlocker is scary loud and so fast when you first use it, I learnt all my stuff about overlockers sergers) from craftsy and Janet Spink. She did downloadable lessons, many of them and in progression ie they started very simple with always something to make.

She was doing this when evolve was in production and she based her lessons on babylock evolve. I made sure I copied everything and value it so much. She used to be a demonstrator and went on to do these fab lessons. She is from norfolk and did tuition. I found a phone number but I really don`t know if she is still there and working
bramerton.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/creative-overlocking-tuition-15868351.html

I am going to start work on the covers after lunch today, I have been making compost in the garden this morning and my arm is recovering from heavy scissor use, My finger joints are complaining

She seems to stay in the south Susie42 but what a good range of confidence giving courses. Perhaps someone will invite her to Yorkshire eventually.

If you are looking for a class on using an overlocker check out Ruth Jarman's website to see if she has any classes in your area.

I meant to say, one more good tip and it refers to any sewing. The side piece was on top and was stretching a little bit, this is common because the feed dogs are at the bottom. Just hold the fabrics in a curve upwards as you feed it in, they then even out

I hope you are ok with me posting so often, I am learning some very good stuff as I go along.

The zip plackets were fine to do and I do recommend continuous zip, it was the medium weight and is absolutely suitable for clothing etc. It works out very cheap. One tip is to have the zip longer than the plackets at both ends. You have to put the slider on and it is fiddly, there is a video

I have serged every raw edge, it added a lot of time to the work and a thick cotton would not have needed it. The bias was very worth making, it went around the corners very neatly. I have attached one edge to the cover and have 3 to do, I ended up with a scary 1cm seam. The zip foot was fantastic for sewing all the layers together and the machine made light work of very thick bits

One tricky bit was to join the piping so that it was very neat. All those iffy bits went at the back on the zip end. Side one is superb, very very good. The zip foot did a marvellous job of hugging the piping through the layers and it led me around the corners. You can actually do the whole piping job with a zip foot but piping foot 12c was excellent, very glad I bought it

Tomorrow I have the 3 remaining portions and then the two covers will be finished. I can see how easy it is now to change the look in my living room and have already sent for some patterned samples in a thick cotton. Job satisfaction in spades today

rubysong, just give it an airing with the sun on it, its a compomise and it will freshen it after all that work

My seat covers are going ok now. I have serged all 4 bias piping casings, all 12m and they are hanging on the banister, 4 joins on each. Next job is to take some of my seam allowance off the other cover pieces, I allowed too much and then I will serge them.. I can stick with 1.5cm seam allowance later. I`ll make notes because now I am underway, it seems to be straightforward and I may fancy making some light patterned seat covers in the future

This is so much better than getting rid of a perfectly good sofa base. It is tetrad shackleton in a darkish brown. It is a good size for me for a doze and the covers and new cushions will re-new it. I still have a horrible mess of frayed ends all over the place, including on my bed where I measured the lengths

All the fabrics in the 'lockdown' quilt had been prewashed and I pre-shrunk the wadding, which was cotton. What a faff that was but it worked ok so I'm not worried about it shrinking. I just wondered if it was the 'done thing' to wash a quilt when it was finished. I shan't do it any time soon as it will need a sunny breezy day and it's very wet and cold here at the moment. Thanks for all the hints.

Break time, while I rest my cutting shoulder. I did another test and that straight grain fabric does not take piping nicely around corners, even with a slit, which would always be the weak point

I have one square left and have decided to bite the bullet and make bias strips, all now 4 sm wide and I will need over 6m per cushion. I will go to the end of the square so there will be mega joins. If I cannot get enough strip then I will join bias strip to straight grain strip to at least bias bend around the corners. It has become messy!! I hope I get enough so that the only straight grain would may be only on the zip end, in that case 4.5 x 2 m would be enough. I stopped adding up when I got to 6m so very much fingers crossed

I wish I had done more homework and got a bit more fabric

I have an overlocker piping foot and have made a piping strip, I had to use the cutter so the strip seam is too narrow to be inserted easily between the box side and top, It would be too difficult on my sewing machine. Ok that was a good test but back to the sewing machine and the awaited piping foot and back to my original overlocked edges before I start

The fabric plus piping going under the overlocker foot was thick and bumpy so I started with a folded bit of spare and butted up the piping strip

My next try will have to be after the piping foot arrives. I am going to test another strip, put the piping cord in but use the normal overlocking foot and no cutter and I will overlock both edges together. When the foot arrives I will stitch with it to enclose the piping. I think that will work. I need to go up and just do the first stage now and then I wait

So why does my room get into a mess when I am fiddling with things. Yes it has become messy, again. Probably because I had dumped things onto my overlocking sewing desk and they are now dumped on the floor, together with my overlocking feet

well I got the wrong end of the stick, so now I am going to have to make casing for my piping first and I will have to make it from straight grain, not bias, because that is all I have got left and I will have to join some strips. I will be sailing close to the wind here. The alternative is that I don`t do piping, just plain, so I have an escape route which makes me feel better

I have overlocked a short practise strip on each long side for piping and btw the differential feed lever had been knocked up so the first side was not a good look. I fixed that and the second overlocked side is nice but I did a wide 3 thread overlock and a narrower one would be better

I pinned some piping into the strip and it does bend nicely around a corner, the fabric weave helps. I have to wait for the piping foot to arrive but doing some practise samples is good. I thought I had had a good look at the original cover piping but had not noticed that the two edges had been overlocked together

I am not sure if I have a piping foot for my overlocker. I will have a look soon and if so, have another practise to see if I can do the same. It would make it easier. I am not using the cutter on the overlocker, it would get blunt, the fabric is thick

I will probably have to re-think the dimensions on the top, bottom and side pieces as I don`t want to use the cutter. I will probably have to stick with 1.5cm seams, I had been minded to use the cutter to get a very neat edge but I will do a mini seat cover first, very mini with no zip

The zip placket will be the easiest and I will insert the puller after the zip is sewn in. Some areas of the sides are going to be pretty thick because of joinsin the piping strip. I have a babylock overlocker, at least 16 years old now and it is a very strong, reliable machine. Overlocking both edges of the piping will flatten it down a bit and make it easier for my sewing machine when it comes to final assembly

I quite like all this new learning btw

Good idea re blueprint craftyone. I'll get in touch with them.

I got my second wind, yay, I have cut all the parts for the sofa seat covers. The worst bit was the maths, making sure that I had enough seam allowance for the piping and also extra for the zip edges. The kitchen is a mess but it is lovely to have a big enough table. I used my wrights tailoring scissors, they are massive. I bought them when wrights sent out a plea for crowd funding

I don`t have any fabric length left but I have a strip left, just in case. I calculated 3cm seam allowances because I don`t know how much the piping will take up. Tomorrow I will have to overlock all the edges because the fabric is woven and fraying. A basic 3 thread overlock because it does not need any strength. Once I have done that I will relax and practise with spare bits. I have never done this type of piping before

Heck I have just had a waft of a most beautiful sweet scent come past me and a shiver down my back. I have nothing scented in here

Ilovecheese, we cross posted, oh not at all, maybe that is what rubysong needed to hear but tbh the words that would have shouted loud to me were about dyes running, this is one of the reasons I pre-wash all my fabrics. Whatever we make, we make with care and love and they usually take a long time so they deserve to be treated with care

I have changed my mind about my cushion covers, I simply tidied some clutter away and the cutting mats are staying out, with the cushion fabric folded and ready. It was just me, I stayed up too late last night working out how to put my new bike together so it is very safe. I still want to see the much lighter sofa cushions, it will lighten that side of the room. Oh yes I tell myself, I can do it, daunting through it is. I am waiting for the piping foot to arrive anyway. Any excuse not to start

Hope you don't mind me adding my twopennorth Craftyone

Rubysong, the quilt, that could be problematic when washed unless the fabrics have all been pre-washed in the past. Many fabrics shrink a bit and at different amounts. That would leave the quilt crinkly. All that work, I would be tempted to get it dry cleaned

The loops on the edge of the overlocking: if this does not work then twiddle with the tensions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kagpd_DD-SI
I clean mine with tiny tubes on the end of my vacuum cleaner

Ggumteenth, I sent an e mail to blueprint to make sure they knew that I have permanent classes with them. They are working to get copies or refunds to their customers. I wanted to make sure that they knew my e mail address

The two new sofa cushions came and I have so far stuffed one into the old cover and it makes a big difference, no longer soft and low. I like it, very well made. It was a struggle getting the cushion into the cover but in the end it is a perfect fit. It means that I will live with the old covers for a bit, I feel as though I have too much to get done before I start on the new covers. I might well put everything away and do them during the winter months. I cannot do everything and am feeling very tired right now

What I have learnt is that my stitching will have to be very strong with strong polyester thread and good finishing off

rubysong If you do ever think it has started to look grubby and want to wash it, it will probably be fine. Even if you have used different fabrics, they will most likely be small pieces with seams all around, so will not be able to shrink. A cool wash and a couple of colour catchers sheets should solve any problems with colours running into each other.
I have often been surprised at how robust quilts are.

Just transformed second bedroom into my Sewing room, been collecting fabric for years, if not now when, thought came to me, so have enjoyed the last few weeks reconnecting with sewing, it's my happy space, have discovered the world of sewing podcasts and would recommend Love to Sew and Threads sewing podcast

If you find the overlocker going to fast rubysong then do a bit, stop, do a bit stop. It will help you feel more in control. I kept thinking I had to 'go for it' until someone with a great deal more knowledge about them than me suggested that I didn't need to feel I had to do it all at a rush I think it's all about confidence and talking on groups really helps.

Craftyone I notice you have a link to Bluprint. Have you heard anymore about them closing down. I have quite a few classes I have bought from them in the past. Very sad to see them go.

Thanks rubysong for your overlocker feedback. It sounds like I might be better to wait until I can get some tuition. What do you use for when you did?
If your quilt doesn't look grubby I would leave it alone. Personally I would worry about different fabrics laundering differently, maybe shrinkage or colour running, unless you know the scraps you have used won't be a problem.
If you are worried about hygiene, maybe you could steam/iron it.

A question for all you wise crafters. I have now finished the 'lockdown scrap quilt' which used up some of my scrap bag. It was machine pieced and hand quilted. It is to go over the spare bed which lives in my sewing room. Should I wash it before I put it on the bed? It doesn't look grubby but it has been handled a lot.

Hilly N regarding overlockers. I got a cheapish Singer overlocker from Lidl a few years ago. It came ready threaded but I am having difficulty with the tension. It has loops on the edge I don't seem to get rid of. Also they go SO fast! A group of us had a get together to try and learn more but I really need a proper workshop (when things get back to normal) to get to grips with it. I think more expensive ones are probably better and you may feel you need some tuition.

That's my chair, travelsafar!!
I like that cushion - mine are patterned but are partly that colour.