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Arts & crafts
Sewing, the craft, fabrics, patterns, problems
(235 Posts)I have been sewing since age 6, started on an ancient singer treadle and have sewn now for 68 years. I did have a gap, like many people, clothes were so cheap at one time, it was not worth the sewing effort. I did the clothkits range, the children and I wore clothkits, lovely kits, rugged fabric and everything provided
I went back into sewing properly about 25 years ago, learning a lot of new stuff from craftsy, learnt about lots of new gadgets, many very helpful. Such a change from basic sewing, back and forth, basic zig zag but that was the kind of sewing that tought us very much and gave us a very good basis
Thought I would try my hand at these..... drawstring bags ... never made them before !!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha
I just did another try-on in front of a mirror and can easily lose a half inch from below the waist, I am under 5`. For now I will just cut off the 1/2" exactly measured, then I will re-grade the pattern to lose 1/2 " over the whole under waist length, I want to keep the proper 12/14 grading
I hope these details help someone, I am aware that I am doing a lot of postings
zips, not what they used to be, they used to be easily shortened from the top. I spent an hour yesterday, had a 28" black zip for my drill vest, need 26.5. Then I realised that it had welded on plastic coats as stoppers at the top, could not use it. It is a neat zip, I am sure it is ykk and open ended.
I found a 36" black plastic zip in my stash and using my jewellery tool kit, I started to dismantle. Prised off the silver coloured stoppers, cheap with tiny prongs. I cut the zip to 1" from the length I needed. The zip teeth were a coil and a real potch to get off. Then I put the stoppers back on top, they looked awful and slightly lopsided as was the top of the zip. I abandoned that. 26.5 is impossible to find so I have ordered 26" ykk vislon, chunky with a doughnut head. I shall just make up for the 1/2" , 1/4" at each end of the vest. Note will be made on my pattern, perhaps will lengthen the pattern by 1/2 inch. I can get away with cheap plastic coloured zips on most of my garments but want a good looking quality zip when it is on show
I see that william gee have a very large variety of ykk zips, good prices too. I ordered mine from amazon but will have to wait at least a week. I may well estimate if I can get away with taking just 1" off pattern length and order a few zips at 27". I can see me making the vest over and over
I am up to inserting the zip stage on envigado, what a gorgeous fit, having a shaped top is so much more flattering than straight up and down.
A bag to add to the 1,000000 others... !!!!!
$5 just for today. I already have this pdf pattern. Trousers, joggers, shorts, skirt, elastic waist
www.lovenotions.com/product/allegro
Well, well done to you karmaldy. All the best with the cycling !!!!! In fact I say "Hats off to you."
That is a lovely uplifting bag serendipity, it will bring joy to someone
I have to say that I am utterly loving the construction of my envigado vest. I don`t think I have ever used such a precise and well drafted pattern. I am deliberately going slowly, doing one stage at a time and ticking it off. I have just finished the (easy) hood and next step is collar and zip. I may or may not do that today, I want to go cycling, I need to get the winter weight off me. Small steps, so nice, slow mo is my mantra right now
Bags ☆☆ Bags ☆☆ Bags
A couple of things from yesterday. I shortened by 1.5" and mistakenly did not shorten the side back panel, it was marked byt the pattern was not cut and re-stuck. I only discovered the problem when trying to match the back princess seam. Luckily, the spare piece of fabric was just big enough to re-cut and it all went together perfectly
I used a ham to do the final seam pressing, the front seam is quite curvaceous even a C, that ham gives a good result. I left the sewing after that apart from looking out my grommets, did a practice and then did the 2 grommets for the waist cord. I use a press machine with a push handle, on the floor. Got that and many dies and poppers etc via etsy called kkc store, I am going to use the utility spring metal snaps. It is all very easy with the press
I almost had a `woe is me` There are many pieces in envigado and I had taken the paper pattern off some, had done the tailors tacks. Very confusing but slowly I found the patterns and put a paper label on each cut piece, also ticked the pieces off the given list. One long piece was missing, the drawstring casing, oh no and only a little spare scrap in my box
I ran upstairs, there was a long enough piece of the same fabric in my scrap box. I cannot tell you how relieved I was. Another lesson learnt. I have cut the casing, left the pattern on and ticked it off. Truly there are many pieces in this garment. It is going to have to be a slow and steady project. I hope it goes well and that it fits, it has very useful potential, I did size 12 but graded it to 14 for the hips. I also shortened it by 1.5" and found an appropriate zip online
I finished the PJs, there is about 4-5 inches of ease, good to know if not sure of the size. Good for boys and girls. I actually cut the physical pattern in size 12, if she wants another set later then I can just make a narrow seam allowance instead of 5/8". It is a very easy basic pattern, with a facing, no collar, an enjoyable make. I was not in the mood to trace, I think the PJs were a one-off because of the lovely fabric. The pattern covers several basic techniques, good for learning. It has 4 buttonholes but I used 4 poppers
The machines are threaded with black, obviously the next make for me is envigado, which will not be such a simple make, it has eyelets and metal poppers. I want to get this right, will be doing one thoughtful step at a time. I do get twitchy when doing poppers, I press the lever on the floor (firm surface) and never had a failure but I do a practice first. got the lever and dies from etsy. The eyelets need a hammer and a tool, the tool was also from etsy
I know that if I get a perfect fit, then I will make more of these vests. I am glad it is cut out, no more dithering about getting started
pj`s ie short sleeves and shorts for dgd, cut out and interfaced and ready for the nice bit ie the sewing. The facings are upside down but heyho, will not be seen. I only just had enough fabric
I have not sewn anything for far too long but I am going to set to today. I have a length of cotton, psychodelic horses from the vintage sweetheart and I have a pattern without a collar
jaycotts.co.uk/collections/patterns_pj/products/s1575
I am hoping that this will kick start me, it will not involve any adjustments
I have lots of cottons from VS, I mean lots, bought whenever they had a sale. Easy peasy sewing. Sewing all last summer enabled me to lose weight, stopped me craving sweet things. It was lovely to be sewing all afternoon and into evening. Days were very hot but that east facing room lost the sun around 2pm and I managed to remain comfortable. It was a bolt hole then
One of my most favourite makes was the lyra dress from tilly and the buttons, I made it with short sleeves and a little waist tie. Cotton from VS. I think I will wear it today
Yesterday I got rid of two wearable toiles, I used them when gardening. Both too big in diameter. Sweatshirt was too short and the other top fabric was too flimsy. I wore them together but did not like the colours or fit at all. I only used remnants and was glad to see them go. I have another in the wardrobe that needs to go, a pinafore dress that I made in too big a cup size in a purple cord fabric that sticks to me. It was not the best fabric, a cheapie from croft mill. They are definitely cheaper but hit and miss re quality
lovely chatty post eilarose, feels as though you are in the same room.
Just a quickie now as I am killing a bit of time before going on a cycle ride. I decided to notch down my winter bedding and will be putting a pure cotton throw on top, taking other bedding off, king of cotton santinia, very slightly padded and also very long. I would like it to drape without being all over the floor at the foot of my bed. It is only a simple double fold edge so obviously I will be pinning cutting and then sewing
Cotton and not yet washed so like all cottons, it will shrink. It says 40 and that is what is happening now and it says it can tumble on cool while damp, thankfully it can be put out to remove most water and I will have to tumble as it will add to any potential shrinkage. This evening for sewing but it might just not need it
@Happysexagenarian
I can recommend The Stitch Sisters overlocker classes. They are not the cheapest but are very clear and once you’ve bought them they are always available.
Karmalady it's another Janome...is there any other brand? Haha! I've owned and used Janome machines for just on 40 years, although I do own a Brother straight stitcher which sews a beautiful stitch, super fast and very quiet and it's been the only non-Janome in all of that time. This latest machine is a Janome 15000 V3.0, a combo machine (sewing and embroidery) which will be superseded in the next 10 days as the new super-dooper replacement hits the sewing world. I never buy the first release of anything and prefer to wait until any bugs have been ironed out, not just sewing machines but appliances, cars and everything in between.
Even though this machine has low hours on the clock, clearly it had not been maintained as expected so I had it serviced and now it's ready for action and I've spent time these last few days getting my previous emb machine ready for a new owner. I'm really fussy when selling a machine and make absolutely sure the new owner gets what I would expect if I was buying it, then it was packed in the original box so it's ready to be shipped anywhere. Will keep the sewing machine for a while to make sure it's replacement really suits, going from separate machines to a combo may/may not work out, time will tell, but it means more space. Win some, loose some!
I had a look at the Galicia top, it looks really nice but (for me) I would only have the top 2-3 buttons functional and stitch the others closed 'only' because I have a torn rotator cuff and getting the back buttoned would be nigh on impossible and very painful.
Aha, I'm the opposite to you in that I need to lengthen the body/sleeves/legs on every pattern and sometimes I will alter things like adding a collar/or removing if it had one originally or changing features here and there. For example my favourite pants pattern (Vogue 2948) I've converted to jeans, moved the side zip to a front fly, eliminated the tiny back pockets and added jeans type back pockets (even though I don't use them), narrowed the legs and a few times I've omitted the front and back centre leg seams. I really like the curved waistband on this pattern, it's very comfortable and I've got it fitting perfectly, so they are quick to make.
Have you looked at MoodFabrics.com they have a lot of free patterns once you sign up for the weekly email notification.
The Envigado vest is on my list too, it is a nice style. Since Covid I've made a lot of clothes, some not worn yet, but I had lots of fabric collected over many years and it was a good way of staying home, being safe and doing something constructive. I can't sit and do nothing, that would bore me to tears, and I don't do boring.
Rotary cutters are great, aren't they? I bought my first one in the early 80's and have 3 different sizes now. I make all of my clothes so having good equipment is worthwhile, can't remember the last time I walked into a clothing store.
Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your sewing.
what machine did you get Eilarose? I always think it is a bit daunting with a new machine and also daunting after a few months off from using a modern machine or overlocker
I feel safer now that I have copies of all my pdf patterns on memory sticks, also downloaded knitting patterns. I did finish my pattern filing system yesterday, it did take a long time but was very worth it. The business cards in 2 x 300 cardfiles were perfect, just enough space to write a bit and do a diagram. I left plenty of spaces between sections and put cards into categories eg jumpsuits, jackets, underwear and nightwear. I have a lot of patterns for tops. I think galicia is beautiful and love the optional waist darts. Itching to make that but need to sit on my hands for now
itch-to-stitch.com/product/galicia-top-digital-sewing-pattern-pdf/
she has 3 free patterns on her site. She is my go-to for a beautifully designed pattern that fits, also she does different cup sizes. I always need to shorten the body a bit and sleeves quite a bit
Mixed in with tops I have tunics and sweaters and sweatshirts, now all separated out. It is very tricky this year, I have so many clothes, almost all handmade. Lovely dresses and blackwood cardigans, some skirts etc and am so loathe to let my best things go eg my linen skirts that last forever.
I have lots of clothes already cutout, obviously I will get to them first. I need a thin bodywarmer for riding my bike, this is ready in black twill with a colourful lining. I did all the maths, needed to shorten the pattern and bought a shorter zip
itch-to-stitch.com/product/envigado-vest-digital-sewing-pattern-pdf/
The first ever pdf pattern that I did was the hepburn turtleneck and it is so incredibly useful. My best ones are in a slightly more structured stretch cotton with elastane, not floppy on and absolutely brilliant for bike riding. I think I have made 8. I cut my pdf teeth with that, also learnt to use a rotary cutter. The whole top sewed nicely on my overlocker
Going forward, I don`t need any summer clothes but there are spaces for autumn and winter in my wardrobe, especially layering clothes, bearing in mind that I will be keeping the thermostat a bit lower
I just had a look at Trinnie and have to agree, it's a simple style that looks cool and comfy.
I have backups of backups when it comes to patterns and also machine embroidery designs, however a lot in my collection (of both) are freebies but then sites sometimes retire a particular pattern and unless you have a copy there is no chance to download it again.
All of mine are electronic copies, except of course, paper patterns that I've purchased over the years which are in rectangular baskets that fit into the storage cubes on the wall in the sewing room.
Haven't done any sewing this week as I upgraded the main machine, which meant cleaning and servicing an embroidery machine so it can be sold give back some space. Next will be the decision which other machine will be sold...a tough decision!
I'm itching to test the new-to-me machine and have a nice piece of silky fabric to make a blouse.
I misplaced a pattern memory stick so have backed everything up again on another newly formatted usb stick The patterns are worth a lot of money and laptops can break down
I have had a break and will now happily settle to making a small summary of the new patterns, on business cards and any that I haven`t done, mostly freebies from a magazine. After that I will lay them all out on my table as grouping of eg skirts. It will be so much easier to pick a pattern out that way. It is going to rain soon and is not a bad job as I won`t want to be in my garden anyway
I have just ordered trinnie. I like the fitted element at the waist, the gored skirt and the no-nonsense neck, also the underbust and neck gathers so no bust adjustment needed, looks very easy to make.
www.stylearc.com/shop/sewing-patterns/trinnie-woven-dress/
Now I have to go and get changed and stay away
stylearc have got an easter sale, 20% off. I love their patterns and the fit. A bit of what to do, amazon have stylearc paper patterns and 20% is taken off at checkout but pdf from stylearc site is very much cheaper
Sizing is spot on, I smetimes need to grade so eg I get single size 14, which also includes sizes 12 and 16
pdf comes in an immediate e mail so I get a file ready on my desktop for each pattern and I download everything to my desktop, one pattern at a time. Download, then r click on save as, eg bob 14. The wide formats are for copyshop and they are AO. I call the wide format bob AO 14. I end up with 6 downloads per pattern and I then transfer the 6 files to my named file and thence to my stylearc file on my desktop. You do have to be methodical but it is easy. You need to click on the offer code on stylearc checkout page
I have just bought bob pants, mildred jumpsuit and betty top and they cost around £5.50 each. It is worth signing up to stylearc as they have some great offers
I always backup on a memory stick and am trying hard to keep a file of all my patterns, business cards in a small folder. I do a small drawing and some brief details
Today i did my magic ... abracadabra ☆☆☆☆☆
Christmas sewing in APRIL !!
serendipity, another wow from me. 
Eilarose, you are so right about changing eye focus. I heard about the 20 20 20 rule, 20minutes work, look at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds
My rug is very nice, only cost me £36 and is a very low pile. I have not been in there to sew yet, was waiting until I needed something and that eureka came last night. Pyjamas!
I have just the pattern, pdf. I know that L fits me so I r click to open with adobe acrobat and that enables layers, I then only print my size. I then stick the A4s together and will cut the pattern.
www.lovenotions.com/product/ladies-tranquil-nightwear-collection
I already made 3 of their nighties, 2 long sleeved for winter and 1 short sleeved. I have just downloaded the pants and am sure I have the right fabric in my stash. I like a stretch tencel very much, which is what I use for nightwear. I also need knickers and am going to make them from tencel scraps from my scrap box, I already have fold over satin elastic. binding in several colours. The knicker pattern was a subscriber freebie from meghan nielsen, the acacia knicker. I am also going to look through my t shirts, there may be a couple that I never wear, would easily get knickers, or just gussets, from a t shirt. I have to clear the dining table, I specifically bought an extending table for pattern sticking and fabric cutting. I need to lay my cutting mats down because I use a rotary cutter for stretch fabrics
Anyway, I am excited to actually have a sewing aim again but cannot go overboard as I have a knitted jumper to finish too
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