June in Review...

Sewing

Bags, pajamas and mending is the sewing that happened this month.  All practical sewing projects.  It felt good to add this items into the rotation.  The pajama set (Butterick 6296 and OOP Vogue 9217) and the yellow grocery bags (OOP McCall's 4851) were personal items and the silver bag (self-drafted) was a charity / gift project.  Sadly, the silver bag was only used for a short time and then discarded.  I'll have to rethink the design and edit.  

Stash Busting

This month 7.5 metres of fabric, 4 metres handbag straps, 5 buttons, 1 metre elastic and 2 spools of thread were stash-busted this month.  

Possible Future Plans

This fabric is sitting on my work table as I try to decide what it will be turned into.  I turned to you for help and between the comments via found on the blog and Instagram, it's a tie between the DVF wrap dress or another pajama set.  Thank you for your help, I leaning towards the wrap dress.  

A denim jacket is still on my wish list.  I've been wearing the unfinished version in the cooler days earlier this spring.  I would like to dust off my vintage Brother sewing machine and see if I could finish top-stitching the cuffs.  

And then I would like to give another jean jacket pattern a try, OOP McCall's 5191.  There is some left over black denim in the stash that might be enough yardage to try out this pattern.  

I've been inspired by I'm always inspired by Maria's (Finishedseams) creations.  And lately, she's been sewing some beautiful versions of Issey Miyake designs previously available in Vogue patterns.  One of her latest creation posted to Instagram and PatternReview was out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 1204 that she shortened eight inches.  It's gorgeous!  Of course, I'm partial to anything with pin tucks and seeing her version shortened eight inches and her pattern review that the pattern ease is generous makes me consider this make even though my copy only goes up to a size 12.  

We'll see if there is enough time to get to these want-to-sew patterns next month.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

What Do You Think? Llama Pajamas or Another DVF Wrap Dress

I'm pre-shrinking / treating this fabric right now.  It is a cotton knit that I picked up over a year ago and even though I love this print I can't seem to decide on what to turn the fabric into.  This is where I'm turning to you for some help.  What do you think?  

Should I break out my go-to pajama pattern pieces and sew a pair of Llama pajamas?  

Or should I revisit the iconic DVF wrap dress pattern and make a fun, playful version of the wrap dress?  

Any thoughts?  Or do you think I should go a completely different direction with this fabric?  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

Last night I found myself on the Vogue pattern website.  

Swooning over vintage reissue Vogue 1886.  

Interested even more now that there is a Vogue pattern sale.  

Until I saw International shipping rates.  

Their shipping rates went up again!  

No longer interested.  

It's a good thing.  

I really don't need a caftan.  

It just looked like a fun project to sew an iconic look.  

I'll have to find another project because I'm not paying that shipping rate increase.  

Certainly not with these inflationary times.  

Maybe I'll sew something more practical?  

There are patterns in my stash that I still haven't sewn.  

Perhaps the jean jacket that I've been talking about for way too long.  

Or a cotton knit slip?  

It will fill the needs on my sewing list.  

Why is it that we're sometimes drawn to sewing "frosting" pieces?  

I'm craving a sewing project that will satisfy my creative side.  

I feel like my sewing makes lately have been more on the practical side / "cake."  

But less satisfying that cake.  

Mmmm, cake.  

Okay, now I'm hungry.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

Canada Joins in the Global Plastic Bag Ban Movement: OOP McCall's 4851

I've been sewing reusable cloth bags for awhile.  And now that Canada is joining the list of countries around the world that have banned plastic bags, there is even more of a reason to sew these.  Another two are today added to the collection.  

These are exactly the same as the previous one finished earlier this week.  There was only enough to make two more, I was hoping to sew three but I was short just a wee bit of fabric.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

Reusable Grocery Bags: OOP McCall's 4851

 

Out-of-print (OOP) McCall's 4851 has been my go-to tote pattern for reusable grocery bags.  And with yesterday's announcement it just seemed like a good time to break out this pattern and sew a few more in celebration.  

The fabric is a 100% cotton canvas that I found in the discounted home décor department.  I really like the yellow in this print.  It was pretreated with a tumble in the washer and dryer before hitting the iron board for a steam pressing.  

There was just one small change, I straightened the top edge when I cut this one out.  The previous ones dip a bit towards the center.  There is possibly enough fabric to cut three more bags and I will duplicate this small change.  I used handbag straps material (100% cotton).

Project Details

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch 

Seam Finish:  Serged 

Fabric:  2 metres (enough for 4 bags)

Strap:  1 meter -- 1 1/4" cotton 

Pattern:  OOP McCall's 4851

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, scissors, pins, pin cushion, ruler, tailor's chalk, sewing machine, regular presser foot, threads, serger, thread clippers, iron, ironing board and tea.  

Stay Safe & Keep Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

Did you notice that Vogue patterns released their summer pattern line?  

If I had somewhere fancy to go and were about twenty pounds lighter, I would sew this number up, Vogue 1883.  

A gal can dream, right?  

Okay, I'm not dreaming about sewing or wearing this design, Vogue 1893.  This design screams nineteen eighties bra tops and well, I have no desire to relive that decade or expose my midriff to mosquitos.  But I was quite smitten with the printed fabric used to sew the top and skirt.  Fun print!  Could you imagine that print sewn up with Vogue 1883?  

The pattern that I'm most smitten about is the vintage reissue caftan pattern, Vogue 1886.  I wonder if there is enough yardage found in the stash to sew this project up?   It looks like a fun project to make.  

How about you, are there any patterns from the summer line that caught your eye?  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

Orange is the Happiest Colour: Butterick 6296 and OOP Vogue 9217

The reason I picked this flannel print is the the presence of the colour orange.  I agree with Frank Sinatra that it's the happiest colour.  And then throw in a dog outline print, this fabric is pure awesomeness.  

And it's so soft.  

I turned to my go-to sleepwear patterns, Butterick 6296 for the pajama top and out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 9217 for pajama bottoms.  

Actually, Butterick 6296 is the only pattern that is designed as sleepwear but I replaced the pants for something that doesn't have a back yoke.  The top pattern (view A) is a well drafted pattern and the only change was to shorten the sleeve length.  Vogue 9217, another well-drafted pattern, has an elastic pull-on pants pattern with a dolphin hem.  I eliminated the dolphin hem design and opted for a straight leg finish with a topstitched hem.  

The fabric was a recent score from Northwest / Marshall Fabrics reduced to 70% off during their moving sale.  The buttons are recycled and rediscovered in the button stash.  The elastic is of a vintage age found in Mom's sewing notions stash.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  5 metres (104 cm post-washed width)

Interfacing:  1 metre fusible

Buttons:  5 - 1" buttons

Elastic:  1 metre - 1" width

Label:  1 - "me made" 

Patterns:  Butterick 6296 and OOP Vogue 9217

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushions, scissors, tailor's chalk, thread clippers, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, buttonhole foot, buttonhole cutter, chopping board, clapper (I couldn't find the hammer), Janome serger, hand sewing needle, tailor's wax, threads, seam ripper, safety pin, measuring tape, measuring gauge, iron, ironing board, heater and tea.   

 

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!  

In Sewing News Today...

"We don't understand the true cost of our clothes." 

~Marketplace episode The Hidden Price of Your Clothes

I watched a Marketplace episode hosted by David Common, The Hidden Price of Your Clothes this weekend.  

Unlike most other journalistic pieces on this topic, Common explores the geo-political implications of our ready-to-wear clothing purchases and how forced labour in the garment industry is potentially used to fund North Korea's nuclear missile program.  His exploration of garment industry's labour force abuses is not limited to South East Asia and can be easily found in our own corner of the world.  The episode reveals that the true cost of our clothes is at the very least human and political.  It's a recommended episode if your interested.  

There hasn't been much sewing lately.  I've been thinking about sewing and doing some prep work.  Does that count?  

Some flannel was recently pretreated and steam pressed for another pair of winter pajamas.  It's been sitting on the cutting table for over a week waiting to be cut out.  There's hope that I will get around to sewing a pajama set this week.  Fingers are crossed.  

This flannel is yet to be pretreated.  Also for another set of flannel pajamas for when the cooler temperatures arrive.  And then I think I will be set in the pajama department.  

Well that's all in sewing news today.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing

Yes, That's a Banana in the Pocket.

Okay, let's just call this a fruit bag and leave it like that.  

Front view

This is a prototype for a sewing project to be gifted.  

Back view

This is meant to be a pocket to hang off the arm rest of a chair.  We'll have to stay tuned to see how that works out.  This is my first attempt at a project of this nature.  And it has already made its way back to the work table for revisions.  

The straps were not long enough and an additional piece had to be added.  

Along with Velcro ends for easy adjustments.  We'll see how this fix works out.  

The fabric is leftover from this project made many moons ago.  It is a polyester and linen blend fabric from the home décor department.  It is double sided, both the back and front pocket which made it feel more sturdy and still pliable.  The pieces were sewn together with a rolled hem using the serger (to minimize the fraying) and then secured with a straight stitch.    

Project Details

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch 

Seam finish:  Rolled hem

Fabric:  0.3 metres

Straps:  0.7 metre -- 1-inch wide 

Pattern:  No commercial pattern used

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, scissors, measuring tape, ruler, serger, thread clippers, sewing machine, walking foot, threads and tea.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!