Sewing, the craft, fabrics, patterns, problems

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One of my clever friends at my craft group made this out of old ties and a vase.

That is clever whiff.

Does anyone remember the days when we made skirts from old ties and does anyone remember making ties in the tough old days

Sewing room tidy and machine clean starts today. Will be having a gap , for a while and get back to it over the christmas break when it will be slow and steady and a bit more complicated: envigado by itch to stitch, harlene dungarees by merchant and mills and a style arc petra coat in red boiled wool (stashed from germany in 2006) .

4m arrived today, £9.99 a m in the sale. I didn`t know the composition at the time but did a burn test earlier. Definitely wool with a bit of man made. I see now actually 80% wool and 20 nylon. Good

I wanted it for a warm, good quality dressing gown and have already bought the long zip. It will also make something else to keep me warm

I dithered but never get clothes dry cleaned, so I washed it. Too heavy for wool wash. It went on delicate, even though I knew it would get less tlc. In my mind the worst that could happen would be a bit of felting and tightening and that is exactly what happened. What I wanted really. Delicate is above the wash I would normally use, which will be wool wash in future. It is a lovely colour

www.rainbowfabrics.co.uk/collections/aw22/products/blue-navy-herringbone-italian-wool-mix?variant=43277326811328

It is spread over two airers in the kitchen as flat as possible

That fabric is looking and feeling better as it is drying, the water was making it heavy. I am sure it will be good for my dressing gown/housecoat. I have made the pattern a couple of times and see that it is no longer available, kwik sew 3209

Yikes, I will trace the pattern tissue tomorrow. I need to keep that pattern and it needs to last, it fits really well and is so comfy and easy to make. There is no pattern like it, zip all down the front, big pockets and a hood. I have a wool one at the moment, thinner wool. The previous one was fleece and everything I touched gave me a shock. The present wool one is more spring/autumn weight

The new fabric was fraying so I overlocked before washing. This bit of felting has stabilised the fabric and I think I will get away without overlocking to finish the seams

I was going to pause my sewing but this fabric would take up a lot of space so might as well use it now. Might even get a style arc logan shacket out of it too

That wool fabric will be dry today and I will cut it this week. It feels lovely now, softer and thicker than when unwashed. It will be perfect for my new cosy dressing gown. I have the zip, grey and 34"

I also checked the pattern, it is in very good condition and was carefully folded. No need for me to trace

Fabric tightened from loose weave and is now 20cm narrower and 40 cm shorter. I don`t think I will get anything else out of it, only my houserobe/dressing gown as I am keeping the hood

That looks as if it could be good for bag making karmalady. Do you think it would be?

yes definitely it would. I will save offcuts Daisyanne, in case I ever get the bag-making urge, noodlehead patterns I believe. Thanks for that

Last spend now, I ordered a roll of 30mm folded printed bias binding, to cover the zip tapes and seams within the robe and also in the petra coat I intend to make. I can make bias but cannot be bothered as I would need a lot

Progress to date:

cut out am, sides of fabric inwards to be as conservative as possible. Bear in mind I am < 5` and there was no length of fabric left at all. All pieces squeezed out. Anyone taller would need more for a long robe. 1/4" SA (difficult)

Very thick fabric, did some experimenting and decided to overlock single edges where possible, overlocking full seams would give me an unwanted ridge. So 1/4" overlocking, woolly nylon in the loopers for a pretty edge and thankful that I did not cut a smaller size as I will overlock first then join with a 1cm seam, maybe. Test first and press to see if flat enough, otherwise 1.5 seam

Walking foot essential for zero fabric slippage. I found my humper jumper, did not need it. Pockets finished and sewn on. 5 layers of thick fabric in the corners. Sewing machine was solid as a rock, did not hesitate

Taylors clapper made a big difference and flattened fabric nicely. Differential tests on overlocker, I went with +1.5, edges neat after clapper use and steam

Machines used, bernina 380, bought 2011 and babylock evolve, bought 2005. Both coping well

The fabric would make a wonderful coat/jacket if lined

I will finish this evening and it has been a very enjoyable, slightly challenging, sew. I eventually did 1/2 inch seams, pressed them open and top stitched each side. I only have the hood and hems to do

The zip went in like a dream. I bought a jaycotts plastic grey zip in 34". Much better for the fabric weight than a lightweight coil zip. I decided to pre-stitch the edges over before putting the zip on and then I steamed the fold and clapped it. It did get flatter. I also used the humper jumper as I was sewing over hugely thick humps due to the pockets being combined in the front with the zip. It is all very straight and the pockets match perfectly. I did double lines of stitching, each side of the zip and the wooly nylon overlocked seams look very nice

This garment is heavy and what I wanted but many would be better off making this in eg a sherpa fleece. I have just ordered a decent wooden broad coat hanger for it and will be hanging it on a rail, not on a door hook.

Value for money? yes very much so, would be very expensive, if I could buy one

This arrived 15 minutes ago and I have ordered the pdf. Absolutely love it and will definitely be making it. It will be a slow long sew as it will have many parts and is fully lined. Most definitely not a beginner sew and lovely to have something to stretch me. I will be ordering the AO version as a printed copy, from the foldline

itch-to-stitch.com/product/winterthur-jacket-digital-sewing-pattern-pdf/

btw, new robe worn this morning and fulfilled my hopes, very nicely warm and enabled me to reduce heating thermostat as hoped. It is quite roomy but I can very easily reduce the sides in the future. Now hanging on my door on a lovely wooden hanger that is deep enough to support it properly

Knickers

I already posted a link to meghan nielsen free pdf pattern for acacia knickers which are loved by many

They are not for me and my mature figure, I love sloggi maxi but I want to make my own well-fitting knickers, I always have enough scraps of cotton/elastane fabrics in my scrap box

I took out a pair of well worn sloggi pants and have unpicked them. A slightly different construction, in that the seam is at the back. The seams are very narrow, can easily be done on my overlocker.

I shall draw around the parts later today and then make a slightly narrower pattern, to allow for long use and loss of stretch, best done by folding in half and overlapping the folded edge over fabric fold by 1/2 an inch or so

The cheapest sloggi are around £8, depends on the fabric. Home made knickers from scraps will cost me very little

Been sewing since I was a small child, Grandma had a saying that "the devil makes work for idle hands". So when I visited and we had finished afternoon tea she would ask "Have you brought any mending child?" and was quite prepared to find me something to occupy me if I failed to get out something useful. One day I spent over an hour with my hands outstretched holding skeins of wool unravelled from an old sweater so she could wind it into a ball. I never forgot my "mending" again.

"Mending" could be anything from sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet and so on. I learned all my sewing skills from grandma. She taught me how to darn socks, make rag rugs, and do patchwork (English piecing) the old fashioned way with paper templates. I still do it that way because I dislike machine sewing. I love the feel of the fabric under my fingers.

When she tried to teach me knitting I told her that I didnt want to do that because I was just following someone elses pattern. "Hoity toity Missy" she said. "I see you have your own ideas" and I assured her that I did.

Like most sewers I have a huge stash of fabric. Most of it was recycled from charity shop finds. I love the mid century fabrics and enjoy unpicking the old dance dresses.

Knickers are going to be my 2023 "thing". My aim will be to "make" a good basic pattern and then work from there to some pretty specials. More concentration on the necessary in '23 so some nice nightwear is on the list too.

What's on everyone else's wish list?

Nice to read your posts biglouis and Daisyanne. Biglouis, bet your grandma got lots of bits from paddys market, like my mil. She recycled everything

The pattern from old sloggi was horrible and now abandoned. I dug out a jennifer lauren trixie pdf that I had already printed in size 18. I do have old jalie patterns and one of the big 4 but wanted to try JL as I rate her patterns

I used leftover micro modal from a nova jumpsuit kit that I bought 18 months ago, wish I had not btw, jumpsuits are not me but I will wear it

Very stretchy so had to cut with a roller and I did various sews and unpicks. Tried twice with a narrow picot elastic. Nope it kept slipping, then tried with stretchy fold-over elastic, very nice result, from ebay but everywhere became coloured from the elastic, hence I had to scrub machine and hands. I am going to test wash all darker elastics from now on. That was very good, I changed sequence a bit and used that foa before seaming

I have ordered good quality 13mm picot from beyond the pink door, I have lots of foa in various bags and will cut some more knickers from the same fabric today. 18 was a little too big so I have made a 16 pattern. These may well become my go-to. I also ordered 10mm picot from ebay seller with good feedback, I will still be pre-washing as it is black

satisfying project on a nasty weather day. 3 more pairs of JL knickers cut, only diddy scraps left. Last pair was tricky but I cut the backside as single layers with a teensy bit extra for a back seam.

Also several extra white cotton gussets cut and in with my pattern file. Ready to sew but not roday

Projects for this winter, no indoor tops or dresses, I have plenty. I have already prepped two of envigado vests by ITS, I have made one already, fab fit and will also make a petra coat by stylearc and a winterthur jacket by itch to stitch. Out of fabric stash. Maybe a toille of pietra pants by closet core. All are slow mo sewing, many pieces and careful sews, satisfying stuff

Does anybody have any suggestions where I could find winter weight sweatshirting fabric? I want to make a sweatshirt dress for myself and I’d like to try sweatshirts for my grandchildren.

www.myfabrics.co.uk/hoodie-sweatshirt-fabrics.html have some nice-looking ones Allegretto.

I bought some French Terry from Croft Mill last winter and have been very pleased with it. Not the cheapest but it's good quality.

Thank you DaisyAnne and Susie. I am off now to have a look. Hopefully I will be back to report when garments are made!

I have also had good quality from croftmill. Lots of warm sweatshirting about, eg jelly fabrics, minerva

I had the nieper catalogue today and home sewing to a good standard is comparable. I only use good quality fabrics, having gone down the living and learning route in my younger days. I easily make my own for around 50% of their prices

Knickers, yes the pattern is good for me. I eyed up my pima cotton nightie the other day. Could easily get three pairs out of that. Sloggi from £12-16-24, the £24 pairs had a bit of extra lace on them. One pair from each redundant t shirt. Pima cotton= beyond lovely

I do have some synthetics; these are leftovers from shortening and other processes, mostly the silky kind used for curtains. I avoid wearing fabrics made of polyester these days in order to reduce pollution top20plus.com/how-are-baseball-bats-made/ Our neighbourhood has a hospice store that focuses on homeward etc. It offers a wide range of cotton end of roll curtain fabrics at incredibly low costs. I still have some leftover material after making some new Roman blinds. In order to create a set of table mats as gifts, I intend to purchase more.

my dressing robe was incredibly worth making, yes it is not light as a feather, as is fleece but it is very warm and like wearing a blanket all around me. Making a very big difference this winter. I cannot and will not, wear fleece as it make me have shocks when I touch anything. Anyway I don`t buy that environmentally unfriendly stuff these days

I dug out 2 unworn long sleeved supima nighties yesterday, a smaller size than my older one, I knew I would get down to that size eventually. Now M and the last one was XL. That xl one is now washed and dried and will be placed handy so I can cut 3 pairs of knickers from it. I will use a roller blade on a cutting mat, one piece at a time as it may be a squeeze to get three pairs. That is my last sewing prep for this winter, will be bagged and set aside

My machines are cleaned, oiled, covered and I am closing up my sewing room until spring. That room is clean and is holding my spinning wheels while my visitors are here and I am going to turn the radiatior off in there. Wooden shutters closed and insulating blind down.

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Goodness me karmalady! Your skills and productivity are astonishing!
I do love reading about your achievements 😊

BB I am finding it so hard to sit on my hands but I must. My whole wardrobe is almost full of me-made. I have two unworn bought warm fleece tops in there, going to the cs with them tomorrow and thinking that someone, not sensitive to electrostatics, will benefit from their warmth. A dil and a dgd have both taken up sewing, one is 50 and going to classes (complicated methods), the other is 14 and winging it which I like as she will learn fast. I have bits put to one side for both of them

I have reported the spam post above BB post

Happy christmas to you all