Sewing, the craft, fabrics, patterns, problems

Karmalady your sewing room sounds really nice, as I was reading your msg I thought a nice floor rug might help, then in the next sentence you bought one!! Aren't steam generators the best invention? I put the big ironing board in a cupboard and bought a small felt ironing pad which is much smaller and perfect for quilting or dressmaking.

My sewing room has a tiled floor and I bought a floor rug but one with a low pile so thread etc doesn't get trapped in the pile, it didn't break the bank either so that was good and it's nice underfoot all year round.

I bought another machine a few days ago, so am just in that horrible state where the room is a mess with one being unpacked and trialled, while others await their future. My room also overlooks the garden which is great eye exercise in changing your focus often.

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Magic da-daaaa ..... abracadabra ☆☆☆☆☆

Thats so lovely Serendipity22

Eilarose, you summed up my sewing room vibes for me, "my sewing room is my happy place". It is for me too, away from news and trouble and strife, overlooking old higgeldy gardens and wonky red roofs. The window is lower and I can see out well over my potager garden. I have an identical room across the landing but much smaller, I put my easy comfy chair in there and a reading lamp, this is going to be where I spin and read, to again, get away from the world

My sewing room is not quite complete, From the door, going clockwise I have a good built in cupboard full of shelves and a hanging space, mellow matt white and 4 to-ceiling doors, a tall curved corner unit with curved doors, gosh I struggled to put that together after I moved but the curve is good feng shui and I am glad I managed it, then a horn hideaway with my 380 bernina on top, window and radiator, 2 pegboards framing the window which has cream wooden shutters, to the right is my old upcycled desk, on top of which are my babylock overlocker and coverstitch and a reading lamp. Back of door I hang, my quilting and curved rulers which are invaluable altering patterns. Large ironing board is leaning against the side of the tall cupboard and I have a super duper steam generator iron, light to hold and will steam continuously

The missing link is a bit of colour on the oak coloured quickstep floor and yesterday I ordered a cheap rug

Happysexagenarian, I think you and I started crafting at the same age. I am 74 now and only stopped for a time, when the children were teenagers. I have many stylearc patterns, very good patterns, not exactly suitable for an absolute beginner as instructions are minimal. Those stylarcs are always reliable, I use them if I am prepared to do an fba, just to add an a little bit, depends if the top is fitted and the dart position. This was my first ever stylarc and I made three of these in linens, They still come out every year and I mix and match with three linen skirts

www.stylearc.com/shop/sewing-patterns/maddison-top/

I tend to buy the pdf single size, which always comes with the size either side, I then print on A4 if a top and cut if I am confident about my alterations, or trace on swedish paper. If a dress then I get AO printed at guthrie and ghani if I place a fabric order

OnwardandUpward

Ooh lovely bags Serendipity22! Are they gifts for people?

It didn't start out as them being gifts, it started out in the lockdown, not being able to go anywhere, weather terrible and my mobility is poor, too poor to go for a nice walk ( we live in the countryside)

Sooooo, i started to sew (( for something to do )) and the amount of bags grew and grew hahaha. I posted them on my Instagram and people asked can i buy 1? .... i replied no, you can HAVE 1.

So Christmas came along, i made bags with Christmas theme and filled them with allsorts of goodies (( chocolate,soap, bubble bath/shower gel, scented candle .....)) and gave a few for Christmas presents.

Even the regular neighbour walking past dont get away without choosing a bag hahahahaha.

So THAT is the story of the lockdown bags...

There's a lot to be said for having a good fabric stash, mine has been a good investment with some pieces being 30 yrs old, although I do still buy fabric online, in fact one piece was delivered on Friday and some leather should arrive on Monday. The latter will be a handbag or tote, not sure yet until I see what is there, as leather is sold by weight, so it's a little more difficult to gauge how much you will need.

The other two fabrics have been washed/preshrunk and waiting in the sewing room, one for a soft, silky blouse and the other a pair of taupe jeans to wear with the blouse.

My preference for storing thread is 3 drawer bedside units which I attach casters to the base so they slide under the sewing table so they aren't affected by light or dust. Embroidery thread I store in tupperware-type containers which seal well so the thread doesn't dry out, these containers are on shelves which I attached to the wall just above head height, and again, are protected from light and dust. Each container has all shades of one colour, making it easier when choosing colours for embroidery designs.

A small sewing room with Ikea tables and storage-shelf-legs where I store books etc. I cut and installed shelves in a coat cupboard near the front door and this is where I store fabric, all of which is washed as soon as it comes into the house, that way when I want to sew I know the fabric is ready to be cut. No point in putting all the work into making a garment, only to discover the colour runs or the fabric shrinks in the first wash.

My sewing room is my happy place would be better if it was larger, but better than nothing.

Ooh lovely bags Serendipity22! Are they gifts for people?

Callistemon21 May I ask which Brother machine you have? My new machine is a Brother Innovis V5 which embroiders as well. It has two bobbin holders, one for ordinary sewing and the other for embroidery. If you use the wrong one it can cause needles to break or even damage the machine. When I've been in a hurry I've sometimes forgotten to swap them over and it soon lets me know! The new electronic machines are so high tec and sensitive that even the wrong needle or thread can cause breakage.

I know what you mean about the supplied screwdrivers being too long, it's very frustrating. I found a screwdriver from an old Singer machine, now long gone, and DH cut it down to fit.

I hope you can learn to love your Brother machine with a little more practise, they really are nice machines. I also have a Janome, twenty years old now but still working well. The only machine I can't get along with is my Brother overlocker. I don't use it much and to be honest it scares me a bit!

My Nan taught me how to use her Singer hand-crank machine when I was about 4, even before I'd started school, and I was doing cross stitch before that. She had no idea what she was starting!

Over the following 67 years I have sewn everything from dolls clothes to my own clothes, curtains, blinds, loose covers, clothes for my children, a wedding dress (not my own), soft toys, bags and quilts. Along the way I also ventured into various types of embroidery. Back in the 60s I'd look at clothes in the boutiques that I couldn't afford, then go home and copy them! John Lewis fabric department was my second home.

I remember making lots of trousers for our boys when they started school because they were always knocking the knees out of them. I've used most of the pattern brands over the years, Vogue was probably my favourite especially for trousers. Now that I'm no longer a standard size I have to alter patterns, and Stylarc are easy to adapt to my size and shape. I also have computer software that draws up patterns to the measurements I enter, I then get it printed on a large format printer. I still create my own patterns sometimes, more for toys than clothes, in fact that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Like most sewers I have a vast collection of fabrics. Last week I came across a half bolt of fabric that must be 30 years old that I have never used. I now have a project in mind for it. I buy fabric just because I like it without any idea what I'm going to do with it.

I still have, and use, my GM's old singer machine, but last year I bought a quilting and embroidery machine. What a revelation! Rarely a day goes by when I don't sew something. I'm currently on a mission to make a quilt for each of our grandchildren. Four done, six to go!

you busy bee serendipity, you make lovely things

Well I just had an e mail from lady Mcelroy fabrics and they are putting their prices up. Here we go

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..... and MORE !!!

MORE bags !!!!

I envy you your craft rooms, we have 2 spare bedrooms but they are for the GCs when they come to stay, so everything is either in boxes stacked in a corner or under the bed in crates.

The bedrooms are under the eaves , so no room for cupboards.
Sigh…………

About 45 years ago I made dolls, mostly for friends and relatives of my Mums, made so many I ended up hating it, the kind that was a posh doll, but if you flipped it upside down there was a maid or some such underneath.

Recently MissOops asked if I could make her one, not sure what happened to hers, anyway……..

Obviously I didnt remember how I did it, it was so easy so long ago, this time round I’ve had to sew and then unpick it all, all the way!

At least I’m not using kapok this time around, horrid stuff, I used to sit with a hanky over my face to stop breathing the bits in.

I’ve had to send off for wool for the hair, so I’m a bit stuck, but I can start to bejewel the ‘posh lady’ from my stash of vintage bits and bobs. It’s been sitting partly made in a box under the bed in the spare room for over 2 years so I’d better get on with it.

about those pizza bags, they stored a lot of my fabrics while the house was being done, absolutely perfect for that job

I find that I can get a lot more fabric in a space if I roll them, they don`t really crease either and I can see what I have

Sewing room is pretty well finished and I have started on my wood carving gouges. I have a few big insulated pizza containers, ebay or amazon, like big zipped cubes. Best of all, they fit under a spare bed, my gouges have gone into two of them as well as other carving stuff. I don`t feel like carving any more but nor do I want to lose loads by selling on ebay. Out of sight, out of mind. The children can deal with them in due course. They were in a sewing room cupboard

I have to keep going while on a roll and next job today is to make sence of the spinning fibres and all my knitting paraphernalia in another bedroom cupboard. At least tomorrow I can wake up knowing that, at long last, I have no mess to deal with, its been a long six months.

I found organising my sewing room a quart and pint pot situation too karmalady. Rather like your pegboards, I found going up on the walls the answer. One of my best investments has been tilt bins. These are from Deflecto and I built them up over time.

Currently, I am looking at accessible storage for threads. I have a lot! I don't like the boards with wooden pegs. I feel sure I would break the odd peg off so I am looking at the sort of herb storage rack that is intended for the back of kitchen doors. Has anyone tried these?

serendipity, beautiful things

lovebeige, wow, wing backed chair, awesome that you have had a go and even more awesome that it fits well enough

Pantglas, a lot came up when I googled `egyptian themed fabrics` some lovely fabrics

I am needing a break, such a palaver trying to neatly fit a quart into a pint pot, in my sewing room. Almost there, I usually overlock ends, wash and catalogue fabrics, otherwise they would be hard to find. Trouble is that minerva had a sale and also me being in their club, I got extra money off. I have had my eye on expensive fabrics, on sale at good prices. Several weeks ago I bought loads and have had to dedicate a full shelf inside a solid cupboard, to unwashed and uncatalogued fabrics. I also had guthrie and ghanie and vintage sweetheart fabrics to put on that shelf. Hah, at least I won`t have to spend money on fabrics for years to come and they are inflation-proofed, better than savings right now

I like to prep lots of garments at once, the patterns, cut out the fabrics to fit and then box. I have 12 of these boxes plus 3 sinclair bondi t, made one last year and lovely fit. Forget me not, sabrina skirt, ready to sew, I made one last summer and I have never had such a well fitting straight skirt, curvy short me. One ready in a medium denim mix. I need to work through summer stuff next.

It is a full 6 months since the painting started and I have not sewn since, I hope I haven`t forgotten how to use my overlocker. Tweaking what is where will come in due course.

Onward, I remember making my own longer dowels, so that big overlocker cones hang safely.

Hoping my sewing superiors can help me out...

Due to having new DG window fitted, I’ve just washed a small decorative swag from my bathroom window which has an Egyptian theme - feature tiles, vase etc. The white material had silver hieroglyphics printed on it which haven’t survived the wash!

Anyone have a remnant approx 1200 x 500 similar? Any colour would do as long as the hieroglyphics are visible?

Oooh how fabulous Karmalady I love those peg boards
Yes I am a huge fan of natural fabrics and eco fabrics from the shop I mentioned, but I don't know when I'll get my sewing machine out. It usually happens around Easter that I start wanting to sew summer things. Last year I managed to finish a dress for the summer, but I seem to do less each year.

It is nice to see that the sewing thread is still fairly active. I don`t know if I said but I use natural fabrics these days, cottons, linen, viscose and mixes of eg linen/viscose which gives a lovely flowy fabric

Today after 5, I can at long last, start to get my sewing room in order, the painter will finish by 5. I can start with re-screwing a shelf extension that I added to the back of an ordinary, old-style heavy desk, oak. I already took the keyboard shelf out and just a few months ago, lay the desk on its back and cut 2" off each little leg. I tested the height with my usual folding sewing seat and I am going to be much more comfortable as well as tucked under. I did have a big rolling office chair in that room, thankfully transferred to dd

No sewing done at all for 6 months, such a long time for me, I have had the whole house interior painted in the same warm white, mineral paint. It looks very cosy now that my pictures are up. I have my drill driver ready, my box of screws and cannot wait to start on my sewing room. Desk extension and then the big pegboards tonight The pegboards were expensive but one of my best buys ever, I have one on each side of my window and a wider narrow one over the desk. I made more dowels and hang overlocking cones, scissors etc on them, Tubs of needles, clips etc on the shelves.

kreisdesign.com/collections/peg-boards

I bought these as a moving-house present to myself, better for me and cheaper, than a holiday

I dislike generic fabric so I favour online shop, Spoonflower because they do eco printing and have such an amazing range of fabric.

At the moment my sewing machine is put away, but I'm starting to get impatient as I'm seeing projects online that I want to make!! I really want to try Sashiko embroidery as well. It would be my best goal to make a top from lovely fabric and embroider the neckline.

Then about 10 years ago DD turned the saying 'if a things worth doing it is worth doing well' completely on its head and said 'if a thing is worth doing it is worth doing badly' meaning if it is worth doing, it is worth doing even if you cannot achieve perfection.

I learnt the same lesson from my GCs M0nica. I was showing my DD and DDiL my latest make and was just about to point out the "not completely perfect" bits. I must have said something self-critical when my GD piped up "but is that your 'personal best' Granny (they are very into sport . My answer "Do you know, I think it is" changed my whole outlook. I wonder who made us think we had to get everything perfect straight away?

There is so much help on the internet these days. I subscribe to a couple of Youtubers and learn something from each of their demonstrations. My latest learning has been that you don't need to make a complete toile for a garment. My very favourite "O" level was History of Costume and Dress Design. We had to make toile - we didn't actually make the garments! This demonstrator was saying to look at the pattern and decide which bits you think will be tricky. Then just do a test run on those. So, so much more sense.

I don't use my sewing machine much only to put together my cross stitch creations if needed. I sit at the table on a comfy chair but always end up with back ache. Sewed a cushion and height chart yesterday. Have been awake most of the night with my back. Any tips for experienced users of sewing machines?