November in Review

Sewing, Alternations and Mending

This month was all about slow sewing.  The jacket, out-of-print (OOP) New Look 6074, was created without a serger.  The top, OOP Butterick 5891, was sewn in small bursts of stress relief sewing while in Covid isolation.  

Alterations and mending wise, small repairs were made to winter scarves and gloves with little holes that needed to be closed.  There are some wonderful tutorials on how to repair holes in knits using yarn.  I'm not at that skill level and can't knit to save my life, nor do I owe any yellow yarn.  So silk thread and a visible sewing technique was applied.  I'm good with it.  The jacket made earlier this month also ended up back on the work table for an additional snap to close a gap below the large button.  

Hand Made November 2023 

At the beginning of the month, I was all into participating in Hand Made November 2023.  Think Me Made May but for our winter wardrobes and then November didn't cooperate.  Where is all the snow?  

Seriously, after one snow fall in late October and a mad rush to get snow tires on the vehicles, this part of the world has hardly seen any snow.  My November wardrobe was starting to look like May wardrobe pieces.  Hmmm, I wonder if we'll have a white Christmas this year?  

Stash busting

This month  6.9 metres of fabric, 1.4 metres of interfacing, 4 buttons and 2 snaps were stash busted.  One spool of black button thread was added to the stash.    

Happy Sewing!

Stash busting: OOP Butterick 5891

Once upon a time, there was enough of this Japanese cotton printed fabric to cut all the pattern pieces found in out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 5891.  Then Covid happened and this 100% cotton fabric ended up on the cutting table to make face masks and scrub caps during the pandemic.  

The denim collar is just because I was short of this Japanese cotton to cut out the collar piece.  Oops.  And sometimes a sewing oops works out just fine.  There is a pair of pants cuts out of the denim used here so it might just end up looking like an intentional design feature.  But I digress.  

These fabrics were in the stash for years.  Which year I can't recall but it was many years before the pandemic.  The printed Japanese cotton was a discounted Fabricland find.  The denim I'm pretty certain originated from Fanny Fabrics which closed down in 2005.  The fabrics were pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer before hitting the ironing board for a steam pressing.  

The pattern, OOP Butterick 5891, is a favourite and an absolute treasure.  I've made a few versions of view D and it is a very comfortable top to wear.  Best part of this design would be the side pockets which I did raise an inch.  That is the only alteration / change made to the pattern.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  3 metres (narrow width)

Interfacing:  0.7 metres 

Buttons:  3 -- 7/8" recycled buttons

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5891

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushions, tailor's chalk, threads, Janome sewing machine, buttonhole foot, walking foot, thread clippers, Brother serger, tweezers, cutting board, buttonhole cutter, hand sewing needle, screwdriver, clapper (used as a hammer), iron and ironing board.  

Happy Sewing!  

Sewing Retro Style: Coat / OOP New Look 6074

I started to cut this project years ago.  It wasn't until recently that I stumbled across the forgotten pattern pieces cut from the coating fabric and finished cutting the lining.   And then I started sewing despite the fact that my serger has been in for repairs for almost a month and I have no idea when it will come out of the shop.  We're waiting for a new needle plate to arrive.  So, I'm sewing retro style, pre-1964 sewing technology.  And it turned out.  Go figure.  

This is a fully lined coat.  The faux lambs wool coating fabric did not fray and the seam allowances were not serged or required any finish.  The cotton back satin lining did fray and the seam allowances were finished with pinking shears.  Retro style.  

Also retro style was the hand worked buttonhole.  The automatic buttonholer on the Janome sewing machine would not handle the thickness of the coat fabric plus the canvas interfacing.  Never mind that it doesn't have the range to sew a button of this width.  The vintage Brother sewing machine might be strong enough to create a buttonhole but the thickness of the fabric wouldn't fit under the presser foot.  So that left me with two options, use a large snap or sew a hand worked buttonhole.  

This hand painted rooster button was the one I really wanted to use so snaps were quickly eliminated as an option.  This lead me to sit down and do some research and reading since it's my first ever hand worked buttonhole.  

This vintage Singer Sewing Library How to Make Buttonholes and Pockets and The Vogue Sewing Book were my go-to resources.  A quick trip to the fabric store for some button and craft thread and I was ready to attempt my first hand finished buttonhole.  

The button was a cherished find that I stumbled upon during a sight-seeing day-trip to Gimli with a dear friend many moons ago.  It was a lone hand-crafted button found at the local quilt shop.  I've held onto this button for years waiting for the perfect opportunity to showcase the rooster design.  The rooster is a national symbol of Portugal and my parent's home country.  Perhaps that explains the attraction to this cherished lone button.  

The Pattern  

Out-of-print (OOP) New Look 6074 was a second hand store find and it's a keeper.  This is a well drafted pattern.  There is a generous amount of ease that will be great for layering this winter.  Best yet, there is enough room for unrestricted arm movement while winter driving.  And I don't mind the dropped shoulders.  I will note the princess seam hits at my natural shoulder length.  

This project was a slow process with lots of hand stitching.  The canvas interfacing was basted in place along with stitching tailor tacks for transferring pattern markings.  I haven't sewn tailor tacks in decades.  Tailor's chalk wouldn't transfer well on the pile of this fabric, so retro style tailor tacks were in order.  It was worth all the little extra steps, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I quite enjoyed sewing this project.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Wool coating fabric is left alone since it doesn't fray.  The lining fabric and front facing were finished with pinking shears.  

Fabric:  3.9 metres

Interfacing:  0.7 metres tailoring canvas

Button:  1 -- 1 1/2" decorative button

Snap:  1 -- medium sized, black

Pattern:  OOP New Look 6074

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, measuring gauge, fabric scissors, thread clippers, hand sewing needle, thimble, button thread, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, polyester thread, steam iron, clapper, pressing cloth, ironing board, buttonhole cutter, cutting board, many breaks for rest and tea.  

Happy Sewing!