March in Review...

March turned out to be a pretty quiet month at the sewing table.  Although, I did manage to de-stash over twelve metres of fabrics. It doesn't really seem possible, does it? Mostly items for work (chess board mats) and others (scrub caps) with the exception of something for moi (reusable grocery bags). No garment sewing this month. Unless you count mending. There was quite a bit of mending happening this month.    

Output

Fabric:  12.1 metres (March) + 20.4 metres (previous months) = 32.5 metres

Zippers:  0 (March) + 1 - 55 cm invisible zipper (previous months) = 1 

Seam binding:  0 (March) + 7 metres (previous months) = 7 metres

Knit 'N Stable tape:  0 metres (March) + 9 metres (previous months) = 9 metres

Twill tape:  0 metres (March) + 0.5 metres (previous months) = 0.5 metres

Spools of thread:  1 spool - 275 metres (March) + 1 875 metres (previous months) = 2 150 metres

Sewing machine needles:  1 sewing machine needle (March) + 1 sewing machine needle and 1 serger needle (previous months) = 3 

Hand needles:  1 hand sewing needle (March) + 0 previous months) = 1

Input

Fabric:  0 metres (March) + 24.7 metres (previous months) = 24.7 metres 

Sewing Machine Needles:  0 (March) + 1 package of 3 serger needles = 3

Buttons:  0 (March) + 10 (previous months) = 10

Sewing patterns:  2 Named Clothing patterns (March) + 0 (previous months) = 2

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

All is quiet at the sewing machine. I think I'm traumatized by the Vogue release of this pattern in their new Spring line.  

What the heck is that, Vogue?  Besides being scary.  Apparently, they didn't read Globe and Mail's On Trend piece a couple of weeks ago that read, "as fashion adapts to a more casual and cautious world, the list of must-haves for spring 2021 are appropriately subtle" (Pizzimenti, P4). I guess Vogue Patterns outlook for Spring 2021 is go big or stay home.  

The only Vogue pattern that I like from this collection is the Marcy Tilton pattern, Vogue 1784, but then it reminds me of some previous Marcy Tilton top patterns. 

Only mending has been happening of late. And replacing elastic on some face masks.

Well, that's all in sewing news today.  

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!  

In Sewing News Today...

This weekend's sewing was all about mending and scrub caps.  

There was enough black and white print fabric left over from this project to cut the top of the cap and one of the bands. The facing band piece was cut from left over from this shirt project. 

I'm not sure how I overlooked this leftover piece of fabric from this dress project. There was enough length to cut out the two band pieces. These two scrub caps will be added to the box and sent off tomorrow.  

This past week there has been a lot of media reflection on the year living through the pandemic. It feels too soon for reflection as we're still living through it and there are still concerning Covid trends, deaths and positive cases appearing every day. 

The only thing that I'm willing to reflect on this week is how grateful I am for the sewing ability, supplies and tools that kept me busy during this past year. Sewing scrub caps and face masks for others has been a welcome distraction during the challenging times we find ourselves living through. Even though my sewing mojo took a hit, I'm glad I had this to keep my hands busy.  

Slowly, my sewing mojo is coming back. I'm finding myself thinking about projects that I would like to work on next.  

We'll see how this turns out. I'm not willing to put a timeline on when I hope to complete these projects. I'm just taking sewing as a welcome distraction from what's going on with the pandemic. Until then, stay safe and happy sewing!  

Practical Sewing: Chess Mats and Shopping Bags

I made a prototype "mat" to help implement a pandemic-safe chess club. It was decided to go ahead with the plan so this weekend I finished cutting out five more mats and serged the edges.  

They're nothing fancy but they will help with movement of the chess boards so the students can play safely with a shield between them. They are made with a sturdy heavy weight canvas that was gifted to me many moon ago.  I previously used this fabric for a laptop cover and I still had some fabric left over after the chess board mats. Not wanting to put the remnant back into the fabric stash I used the last bit for another practical project.  

Grocery shopping bags! These were made with Nancy Zieman's out-of-print (OOP) McCall's 4851 tote pattern. The pattern calls for the bags to be lined but these are unlined and the handle length were shortened.  

The two green bags are made from a vintage canvas that a teacher gave me when she was clearing out her cupboards before retiring. She had a collection of fabrics used to cover bulletin boards before fire department regulations were updated and nixed that idea. I'm guessing from the print and the vibrant green colours that it may date back to the 1970s. Despite it's age and it's a lovely quality cotton and perfect for this project. The width on this piece of cloth was narrow so I wasn't able to cut the two out of the lengthwise grain. Only one is cut in the original size (same size as the red one) and on the grainline. The other was cut on the cross grain and made a wee bit smaller so that I could use up as much of the fabric without leaving behind any scraps. That meant there wasn't enough fabric for handles.  The handles are wide grosgrain ribbon I found in the stash.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch length on the bags

Seam finish:  Serged   

Tip:  Zero waste sewing projects like replacing single use plastic bags with environmentally friendly reusable bags are a quick and satisfying projects that can be made in an afternoon. They are perfect for using up small pieces of yardage and beginner sewing projects.  

Fabric:  4.3 metres

Thread:  Finished off another spool of thread

Ribbon:  2.4 metres

Patterns:  No pattern used for the chess board mats.  OOP McCall's 4851 for the grocery bags.  

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, scissors, thread clippers, sewing machine, serger, threads, iron, ironing board and tea.  

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!  

National Dress Day!

There are some who will say that a good fitting pair of jeans are the way to go but for me, it's all about a dress. 

The Assembly Line's Tulip dress, circa 2021

There is nothing in my closet that I would rather throw on other than a dress.  A dress is the most comfortable piece of clothing that I can put on.  

OOP Vogue 8939, circa 2021

Dresses are versatile. They can be dressed up or dressed down. 

OOP Vogue 9081, circa 2016 

Dresses can be worn to celebrate special occasions like the Euro World Cup win!  There are so many reasons to throw on a dress.  

Happy National Dress Day!  

Unexpected Pandemic Sewing: Chess Board Mats

Thank goodness for a fabric stash! This heavy weight canvas was gifted to me many moons ago and it couldn't have been more perfect for this project.  

I'm trying to work out in my mind an idea to see if a chess club is even possible during a pandemic.  If I have a shield between two players lifted above a chess board the question remains, how do the players move their pieces during the game?  

That's where the idea for a chess board mat came to be. At first, I thought to make it smaller with handles at each end and the players could use the handles to move the chess board to their side of the shield to make their move.   

But then there's the issue that I'm not all that fond of ironing. So I thought, why can't a longer mat work, like a table runner? It would still be possible to move the chess board and I wouldn't have to iron, top-stitch and sew on all those handles.  

So, that's what I did, made a chess board runner / mat by finishing the cut edges with the serger. Off to bounce the idea off some co-workers and see what they think.  

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!  

More Slow Sewing: Scrub Caps

There were six more scrub caps sewn this weekend.  

All six are made with 100% cotton fabric of different weights. The gray print fabric was found in the home décor department but surprisingly is a softer cotton than the brown, green and white printed cotton. The white cap is made with a light-weight cotton and the xo print is a quilting cotton. All fabrics are left-over from other projects. 

Project Details

Seams:  2.6 straight seam length

Seam finish:  Top stitched

Tip:  Clean your scrub caps on-site if the option is available.  

Fabric:  3.6 metres

Pattern:  Free PDF Covid-19 Cotton Ponytail Scrub Hats pattern and tutorial

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, tailor's chalk, computer, printer, paper, tape, curved ruler, fabric scissors, paper scissors, pins, pin cushion, sewing machine, threads, seam ripper, iron, ironing board, thread clippers and a break here and there.  

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!