Sew Essentially Sew
Sunday 6 October 2024
Oversized Wool Pull-over Top: Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater
Tuesday 1 October 2024
Sewing Some Weight Loss Motivation: OOP Butterick 5790
Monday 30 September 2024
September in Review
The most marked new theme to emerge in the intervening time is best called the new politics of stuff--when sewing for yourself is part of the desire to reduce ready-made consumption, to be a thoughtful and well-informed consumer mindful of the potential exploitation of people and the planet (15).
Well as far as celebrating the theme of Sew Sustainable, I went as far as leaving a smaller footprint with the small output this month.
Stash busting
Stash busted this month:
- 2.5 metres fabric
- 7 metres elastic
- 65.5 metres fabric + scrap pieces patchworked together to create new fabric yardage
- 14.4 elastic
- 5 metres of knit binding / trim
- 8.6 metres interfacing
- 6 invisible zippers
- 2 metres Knit 'N Stable tape
- 6 metres trim
- 8 sewing labels
- 25 buttons
- 5 leather spools
- 4.3 metres basting tape
- 5 leather toggles
- 14 thread spools
- 11 sewing patterns
- 10--20 mm buttons
- 7.8 metres trim
- 15 metres fabric
- 1 second hand cover stitch machine
Monday 23 September 2024
Stash busting: OOP Simplicity 8229
I finally finished the batch of undies I started last month. Life and a late summer cold turned this into a slow sewing project.
The fabric has been in the stash since the time when Mitchell Fabrics was open, pre-twenty seventeen. You don't find cotton knit like this in the remaining fabric stores in the region. It was a pleasure to sew and it's a comfortable knit to wear. The picot elastic was found many moons ago at Marshall Fabrics but it's been years since I've been able to find picot elastic like this locally. I'm grateful that I had the materials to make these panties and at the same time sad that it's getting harder to find these items.
Project details
Seams: Knit (lightening bolt) and zig-zag stitch
Seam finish: Serged
Fabric: 2.5 metres
Elastic: 7 metres
Pattern: OOP Simplicity 8229
Additional Tools and Supplies: Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, Janome sewing machine, Janome serger, Janome CoverPro, threads, thread clippers and tea.
Happy Sewing!
Sunday 1 September 2024
September is National Sewing Month: Keep on Sewing Sustainably
This year's National Sewing Month theme is a continuation of last year's "Sew Sustainable" theme.
Be Mindful of Sources
This one is a tough one in today's retail climate. Often we make choices based on autopilot. Or are you aware of the decisions made while searching for the perfect fabric and supplies for a project. We all want to make "better" choices but there are so many challenges along the way. Bolts of fabric are rarely labelled with information that might sway our decisions.
Let's look at cotton production.
When was the last time that you found the source listed on a bolt of cotton? It's a rare sight. But consider if a country's human rights or environmental record would affect your decision on whether or not to pick up a product. What guides our decisions in the fabric aisles or are we being set up to operate on autopilot without considering questions we may have along the way.
Use Fewer Materials
These past decades, there has been a steady decline in the RTW market of using fewer materials when constructing a garment. It all started with less buttons appearing on a shirt and the growing trend towards pullover or pull-on pieces that eliminate the need for closures altogether.
I'm not advocating for this, it's just an observation. Although, I do like an easy access garment now-a-days while strapped into the back brace. But I digress. Instead, this point can be summed up as avoiding wastefulness. Recently, I was able to use fewer materials with the appearance of a second hand Cover stitch machine. When sewing knits pre-Cover stitch era, I used a lot of Knit 'n Stable to help me sew a neat and tidy hem on knit garments. Now-a-days, there is no need to stock up on Knit 'N Stable tape and spend all that time pressing it in place.
Recycle and Reuse
There are many opportunities in the sewing workspace to recycle. From sourcing fabric from other places than the fabric store aisles to reusing fabric from a previously make garment that no longer fits. I have a collection of fabric scraps and pieces that I patchwork together and use as a new-ish fabric source.
And we all have button tins, right? A collection of recycled buttons to be used in a new project down the road.
Leave a Small Footprint
The dictionary defines this phrase as "to have a significant or lasting impact on someone or something." It can also refer to a lifestyle choice minimizing one's ecological impact on the environment and community by reducing resources and space requirements for daily living or sewing. Simply put, embrace simplicity.
How to do this?
- Focus on quality over quantity. I've recounted so many times on this blog that I fell for those trendy fabrics made from man-made fibers and they are not worth the hype. I'm thinking of scuba knits as one example. Natural fiber fabrics will hold up and last longer than any polyester.
- Maximize the efficiency in your work space to reduce waste. Could your worktable also work as your cutting table? How about the space that your sewing machines occupy? Smaller spaces use less energy. Mind you, I do dream of a large sewing studio. Ah, to dream. But then again, with a smaller space there is no chance the fabric stash can get out of control, right?
Saturday 31 August 2024
August in Review
Sewing, Alterations and Mending
Clockwise L to R: Reversible wool winter jacket (OOP Vogue 2571), cotton patchwork garment cover (no pattern used), cotton knit panties (OOP Simplicity 8229). |
the winter of 2024-25 should see below-normal temperatures for about two-thirds of the nation, from east of the Rockies to Ontario.
Winter temperatures will be coldest from the Prairies into the Great Lakes region. The coldest outbreak of the season will come during the final week of January into the beginning of February when frigid Arctic air brings a sharp plunge in temperatures especially across the Prairies. [Source: Canada Winter Weather Forecast 2024-2025 - Farmers' Almanac (farmersalmanac.com)]
This reversible wool winter jacket and a pair of ski-pants will keep me warm enough to survive this weather outlook.
Replenishing undergarments have certainly been on my want-to-sew list this month. The wish to sew a new batch of panties only yielded one pair so far. Currently all my sewing equipment is put away but once the equipment comes out so will OOP Simplicity 8229.
As far as alterations, I did spend some time with a seam ripper and try to alter this skirt hoping to make it fit. But it ended up in the scrap fabric pile instead. If the skirt couldn't be altered, the plan is to save and reuse the fabric.
There is a big mending pile that was neglected this summer while I tended to the blessings from the garden and fruit trees.
With the exception of the ricotta cheese, all of these were shared with others. The ricotta is saved to use in lasagna which will likely be shared with others. It was fun and exhausting working in the kitchen but I will admit I miss having some time to sew. Although, after all that hand-stitching on the winter jacket it was nice to have a bit of a break and let the sore fingers recover. Maybe now that it's approaching the end of harvest, I might get a chance to tend to that mending pile.
- 4.5 metres fabric + scrap pieces patchworked together to create new fabric yardage
- 2.4 metre elastic
- 5 leather toggles
- 5 metres of knit binding / trim
- 4 thread spools
- 63 metres fabric + scrap pieces patchworked together to create new fabric yardage
- 5 metres of knit binding / trim
- 8.6 metres interfacing
- 6 invisible zippers
- 2 metres Knit 'N Stable tape
- 6 metres trim
- 8 sewing labels
- 25 buttons
- 5 leather toggles
- 7.4 metres elastic
- 18 thread spools
- 4.3 metres basting tape
- 5 leather toggles
- 14 thread spools
- 11 sewing patterns
- 10--20 mm buttons
- 7.8 metres trim
- 15 metres fabric
- 1 second hand cover stitch machine.
Saturday 17 August 2024
New Batch of Undies: OOP Simplicity 8229
Oversized Wool Pull-over Top: Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater
This is a late arrival to the Toaster Sweater party. The first review for this pattern appears on Pattern Review in 2016 and since then it...
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I finally finished the batch of undies I started last month. Life and a late summer cold turned this into a slow sewing project. Simplic...
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This is a late arrival to the Toaster Sweater party. The first review for this pattern appears on Pattern Review in 2016 and since then it...
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This is my attempt at recreating a favourite make from back-in-the-day when I was fit and a healthy weight. And even though I picked up vin...
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Sewing, Alterations and Mending It's hard to believe that the end of September is here and all that I managed to sew this month are five...
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Out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 8887 has become more than sewing a pair of trousers. It's an act of slow sewing. I just want to sit and reflec...