March in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Left to Right:  Cotton Trapeze Dress, Merchant and Mill's; wool plaid scarf, no pattern used.  

March was a slow month at the sewing machine.  The scarf was just a project that I made to use up the last bit of yardage from this skirt project.  I've surprised myself with how often I've reached for this scarf as the weather warmed up and it worked well with this coat.  The dress has a sixties vibe that I adore.  I took it out for a spin pairing it with a turtleneck sweater and it's so comfortable.  This may become my go-to summer dress.  Although, I do like my Eva dresses and they will likely not be replaced.  

And there was a wee bit of mending to a piece of furniture that needed some care.  These sweatpants have a tiny hole in the left back side that needs to be closed.  I plan to mend them today.  Otherwise things were quiet in the workspace. 

Stash busting

This month 2.4 metres of fabric and two spools of thread were used from the stash.  I did pick up 2 metres of fabric this month.  And I quickly regretted the purchase even though it was on sale.  

It's a man-made knit with a metre long sticky tape residue at the centre fold and right side of the fabric. It's not the kind of fabric I go for but it was a good deal and I thought that I could use it as a toile fabric.  I didn't realize it was damaged by the tape residue when I took it to the cutting table and the sales clerk did not point it out when she measured it.  If I had noticed this, I wouldn't have picked it up.  I should have known, the sale price was too good to be true.  Thankfully, after three tumbles in the wash and a heck of a lot Shout stain remover, the tape residue is no longer noticeable.  But I digress.  

When the addition of toile fabric is considered, I didn't do much stash busting this month.  And there were some new patterns added to the stash.  Three new patterns from The Assembly Line (The Tulip and Balloon skirts and the Puff sleeve top) and a new Style Arc pattern to test out with the above fabric.  I hope to get to those projects soon.  Hopefully, April will be a more productive month.  

Stand Strong, Elbows Up and Keep Sewing!

Home Décor Sewing: Foot Stool Repair

 

It was about twenty-five to thirty years ago I had this piece commissioned after spotting a similarly shaped foot stool in an Eaton's flyer.  I fell in love with the height of the foot stool but at the time I couldn't afford the one listed in the Eaton's flyer.  I found someone willing to build one at a fraction of the cost and had it upholstered in a fabric found at Peach Berserk in Toronto.  The foot stool fabric was picked to match an antique chair.  Despite having the same fabric the two pieces don't match.  The feet on the foot stool are more modern where the antique chair has darker wood and a more delicate shape.  Even though the feet on the foot stool were not what I personally would have chose, it's a very comfortable piece.  And the feet eventually grew on me now that I don't use the two pieces together.  

Fast forward to a couple of years ago, a wee little gal was happily playing on the foot stool.  And then she discovered that she could flip it over and started climbing on it when her foot went through the underlining.  Thankfully, she escaped without any injuries but that wasn't the case with the foot stool.  I finally got around to mending the underlining after talking myself out of removing all those staples and replacing it.  That will do, no one will see it while it's in the upright position.    

Now, I'm distracted by the piping on the upper edge that is starting to fray in some parts.  Otherwise, the fabric is holding up on the foot stool.  Although it had started to fray on the seat of the antique chair many years ago.  I'm thinking that maybe I should attempt to make a slip cover for the foot stool?  There is still some leftover upholstery fabric left over from this project.  However, it would mean piecing together the fabric to cover the circumference of the foot stool.  I can live with it, as is, by just throwing something on top of it until I made a decision otherwise.  But it just might become a future sewing project.  

Stand Strong, Elbows Up and Keep Sewing!

Stash busting: Merchant and Mills Trapeze Dress

I do love a loose A-line style dress so when I saw versions of the Trapeze dress from Merchant and Mills popping up I was sold and wanted to make one of my own.  I've been holding onto this pattern for sometime and finally can check this off the sewing wish list.  I like the nineteen sixties vibe of this style.  

The pattern is a simple dress design with a few variations.  You can make it sleeveless, with short sleeves or three-quarter length sleeves that actually would be long sleeves on me.  I did want to have sleeves but after reading review I thought that I should try this pattern out in the sleeveless version.  

Even though it appears in the line drawing to be drafted with no sleeve cap gathering, just easing.  There are a few versions out there that appear to have the sleeves gathered into the sleeve cap.  It is not a look I want.  I was also worried about reports that the sleeve opening is tight and I thought if I went with the sleeveless version, alterations would not be so challenging.  

There are also options for the centre back design.  It can be made with a centre back seam or centre back button closures.  I opted for a seamless centre back so that I didn't mess with the circular prints on the fabric and cut my fabric on the fold for both the front and back pattern pieces.  

I am disappointed there is no pattern for pockets included here.  It would have been nice.  Of course, that didn't stop me from adding side pockets.  I borrowed the pocket pattern piece from The Assembly Line's Tulip dress pattern.  There is no marking for where the waist or bust lines on this pattern, so pocket placement was figured out after a fitting.  

I did struggle with turning over the facing.  I am not sure with what I did wrong.  In the end, I cut open the neckline, ironed a narrow allowance on the facing and dress and then wrong sides together I hand stitched the neckline closed.  I guess this wasn't such a simple design or I just needed a cup of coffee.  

As far as the fit, I think I would have been okay going down a size.  I didn't find the armhole opening to be too tight as others have described.  There is good coverage in that area where undergarments are well hidden.  

Sewing IS Political

This project is completely Canadian 🍁 made 💕 and tariff free.  

I don't know if you've been hibernating this winter and just emerged to the news that the convicted felon down south and his cohort have declared an economic war on Canada and other countries around the world.  Right now the convicted felon has a global steel and aluminum tariff and Canada and other countries have rightfully responded with tariffs on American goods.  That means if I go to the fabric store, many sewing and fibre art supplies are more expensive.  I don't know if this was necessary since most Canadians are not touching, looking or buying American goods and add to that Canadians are not traveling down south like they did before.  But I digress.  

Thankfully, everything I need for this project did not originate from the United States and was already in the stash.  The fabric is a Japanese cotton that I picked up a few years ago at a Canadian fabric store, Marshall Fabrics.  The fabric scissors and sewing pattern are from a United Kingdom business, Merchant and Mills picked up via a Canadian fabric store, The Workroom.  There were no Coats and Clark threads that touched this fabric, all threads used were Gütermann threads.  And my sewing machines are all non-American machines.  

The Fabric

A swatch of this medium weight 100% cotton fabric was previously pretreated in the washing machine on the normal setting and the gold dots faded.  This time, I pretreated the fabric on the delicate cycle both with the washing machine and dryer.  It was followed with a steam iron pressing on the wrong side of the fabric.  Thankfully, it turned out beautifully.  I will have to take the same care when laundering the finished garment.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8--3.0 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2 metres

Pattern:  Trapeze dress by Merchant and Mills

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, iron, ironing board, measuring gauge, pins, pin cushions, Merchant and Mills fabric scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers, seam ripper, wrist brace, back brace, tea, and many breaks between episodes of sewing.  

Stand Strong and Keep Sewing.

Stash busting: Wool Scarf

 

There was enough leftover yardage from the latest skirt project to make a matching wool scarf.  It is my latest Canadian 🍁 made and tariff-free sewing project.  This leftover fabric was purchased from Marshall Fabrics, a western Canadian fabric store.  The threads and Fray Check used were in the stash before Canadians started boycotting American products in response to the convicted felon insults and economic threats towards my country.  

Of course, once I finish the Coats and Clark thread and bottle of Fray Check, these items will not be replenished in the stash.  I'm switching to Gütermann threads from now on.  As far as an alternative to Fray Check, clear nail polish will do just fine.  

Project details

Finish:  Machine rolled hem

Fabric:  0.4 metres wool

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Fabric scissors, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, thread clippers, Fray Check, threads and tea.  

Stand Strong and Keep Sewing!

February in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Clockwise from the top:  4 cotton French terry long-sleeved undershirt with underarm padding (scoliosis back brace garments), OOP Vogue 9057; plaid wool wrap skirt, OOP and vintage Vogue 2327; blanket, no pattern used.

This month's sewing projects were a combination of filling a need and stash busting.  After making one undershirt to wear under the back brace, the coverage of the padding was tweaked and four more were made.  I'm set in that department for awhile.  The plaid skirt replaces this one that is no longer in my closet.  Sadly, it ended up in the donation pile before I lost weight.  I am sure it would fit me again if I held onto it.  Needless to say, I hope that the old skirt found a good home and is keeping someone warm.  The blanket is purely a stash busting project, I was just trying to use up some fabric that wasn't quite what I expected.  

In the alterations and mending department, I said goodbye to a pair of pajama bottoms.  They were mended many times over the past three and a half years and it was time.  The pants were cut up to be used as rags but I did hold onto a couple of pieces.  These pieces were turned into pockets for the pajama top which still has some life left in it.  Even though I don't have matching bottoms, I can pair the pajama top with sweatpants or these pajama bottoms.  And of course, more socks were mended with patches of wool added to the soles.  

In Other Creative News

February marked National Embroidery Month.  I haven't been big into embroidery since my younger, much younger days, a life-time ago.  And I do not own an embroidery machine.  So, it is not a big part of the textile arts that I enjoy now-a-days.  But I do like the idea of embroidery mending.  I've become more keen on mending in my twilight years.  This jacket has another small hole appearing along the hemline.  Even though it's nearly a decade old, I still wear it often.  It made it to the work table for some visible mending. 

Stash Busting

There were 9.8 metres of fabric, 3 buttons, 1 snap and 10 spools of thread were stash busted this month.  No new fabric or notions entered the stash.  The Vogue patterns used this month were all from the stash and from previous decades. 

Sewing IS Political

There is a buy Canadian (anything really except American) movement happening here while the country on the other side of the southern border is engaged in economic warfare and disgusting rhetoric against Canada.  I rather do without than buy any American produce at the grocery store and the same goes with sewing as long as the convicted felon and his republican cohort keeps up with the daily threats to hurt global economies and undermine Canada's sovereignty.  We're certainly living in bizarrely disturbing times.  

This is the first time I had no desire to even check out the new Vogue pattern release.  There is no way I want to support the convicted felon's economy even it means giving up my beloved Vogue patterns.  I'm doing this because I love my country more.  

And it is playing a role in what I sew for sure.  There is a white cotton quilted bed spread that I would like to turn into a quilted jacket.  Trying to find a jacket pattern that is not a PDF version or American and that I want to sew has been a challenge.  This might be something that I need to roll up my sleeves and draft my own pattern.  Or do without.  

Stand strong and keep sewing!  

 

Book Review: Sharp Notions, Essays From the Stitching Life

Sharp Notions:  Essays From the Stitching Life

Edited by Marita Dachsel and Nancy Lee

ISBN:  978-1-551552-925-7

Published by Arsenal Pulp Press 2023 

Canadian price $32.95

I discovered this book after reading about it on Melanie's blog post.  It sounded like something I would enjoy and I rushed to see if my local library carried a copy.  Much to my surprise, it was on the library shelf, ready to be snatched up!  Usually, Melanie's recommendations are not found in our local libraries and if on those rare occasions they are listed, there is a wait list.  So this was a real treat that I was able to pick it up right away.   What a wonderful treat to help celebrate National Library Lover's Month and I Love to Read Month!  After reading the beautifully written introduction by the editors, I was even more excited to dive into the essays.   

The essays were mostly about other textile arts than the ones I enjoy but there was a deeper connection and relatability to these often very personal stories woven into this collection.  These are deeply personal essays of loss, grief, longing and celebration.  Many of the essays refer to the isolation of the pandemic eased through a crafting life.  

I can not pick a favourite essay from this collection.  All of them are rich in texture, meaning and relatable as you are moved to journey through the words on page.  All I can tell you is that I highly recommend these essays.  What a wonderful read!  You just might want to have a box a tissues near by for some of them.  

Stand strong and keep sewing!  

Done and Stash Busted: A New Blanket

Last year, I picked up a wool sweater knit from Marcy Tilton.  It wasn't quite what I was hoping for and it just sat in the stash as I pondered what an alternative plan could be for this fabric.  A few, more than a few brutally cold days and nights and it just seemed obvious that it should become a blanket.  

This is my latest Canadian made and tariff free project.  Although the fabric and serger thread are from American companies, they were in the stash before the convicted felon won the election and declared economic warfare against my country.  

Project details

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  3.6 metres

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, measuring tape, Janome AirThread 2000, threads, thread clippers.  

Stand strong and keep sewing!