February in Review

Sewing, Mending and Alterations

Clockwise top L to R:  Tessuti Apron (free download), two cotton sateen dresses (OOP Simplicity 2372), foam block cover (self-drafted pattern), raw silk dress (OOP Simplicity 2372), foam block cover (self-drafted sewing blooper).

Mending projects kept me busy this month.  There was a small tear and undone stitches around the pocket and elastic openings of my pajama bottoms that needed some attention.  These black wool pants were hanging out in a pile of clothes that didn't fit until I lost some weight, tried them on and welcomed them back into the wardrobe.  They just required a new hook and eye stitched back in place.  This dress has been only worn once so far and ended up having two inches removed from the hem.  I hope to get more wears out of it now, it's a very comfortable dress.  And another fitted sheet had the elastic replaced.  

2024 Challenge

I can not call my pledge to sew #NoMorePolyester a win this month.  I still have quite a bit of thread and zippers that contains polyester.  And these were used in some of my projects.  Fabric wise, it was cotton and silk that ended up on the cutting table.  

Stash busting and Additions

Stash busted this month:

• 8.8 metres of fabric 
• 0.9 metres of interfacing 
• 5 --- 55 cm invisible zipper
• 3.30 metres of basting tape

This month's additions were:  

• 10--20 mm black buttons
• 4--1000 m spools of blue thread
• Hannah Top and Dress pattern (PDF) by DG Patterns and the re-issued DVF wrap dress (Vogue 2000) were added to the pattern stash

So, that means that the total stash busted counts this year are

• 21.8 metres of fabric
• 2 metres of Knit 'N Stable tape
• 6 metres of trim
• 2.8 metres of interfacing
• 3 sewing labels
• 4 buttons
• 2 metres of elastic
• 8 spools of thread
• 3.3 metres of basting tape
• 5 invisible zippers

And the total additions this year to the stash:  

• 10--20 mm buttons
• 9 spools of thread
• 6 patterns
• 7.8 metres of trim

Happy Sewing!

Stash busting: Tessuti Apron / Free Downloadable Pattern

It is rare that I pull something from the stash and transform it into a project that I first envisioned for the fabric.  This is such the case.  

The fabric, originally thought of for a dress, turned out to be perfect for this apron project.  It is an 100% cotton canvas from the home décor department.  It was pre-treated with a spin in the washing machine and dryer before hitting the ironing board for a steam press.  

The pattern is a free download from Tessuti Patterns.  It is also available as a hard copy for purchase.  The instructions are well written and photographed.  The project is easy and well suited for a beginner.   

Project details

Seams:  3.0 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.1 metres

Label:  1 -- "You Can't Buy This" label from KATM

Pattern:  Tessuti Apron Pattern

Time:  3 hours spent cutting fabric, sewing and pressing; 1 1/2 hours for printing and taping pattern, plus the time spent pre-treating fabric.  

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, clapper (used as pattern weight), a lot of paper and tape, printer and ink, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, iron, ironing board, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, Janome serger, Jean-a-ma-Jig™, threads, thread clippers, tailor's chalk and a few breaks.  

Happy Sewing!

Stash busting: OOP Simplicity 2372

I'm trying hard to use the fabric that I have in my stash.  I guess, I am on a fabric fast along with a #NoMorePolyester journey this year.  

Inflation and the over abundance of man-made fibers found in the aisles of the local fabric stores have taken the joy out of fabric shopping, even if it's only window shopping.  Current selection of natural fiber fabrics are losing their appeal as more are blended with man-made fibers or just don't feel right to the touch.  And to be honest I have some a lot of vintage yardages that I wouldn't never find in the current retail market.  That's how this dress came to be made out of a cotton sateen fabric.  

This was a vintage yardage.  I've been sitting on this fabric for years decades.  I was on the fence over this time as to what I would transform the yardage into.  And I will admit that I completely forgot about it until I started digging through the stash.  

The pattern is the tried and true and out-of-print Simplicity 2372.  I won't repeat myself on how comfortable this dress is, you've heard it all before.  It just feels good to stash bust this beautiful sateen fabric.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  5 metres (made two dresses)

Interfacing:  0.3 metres

Zippers:  2 -- 55 cm recycled invisible zippers

Basting tape:  2.2 metres

Pattern:  OOP Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, measuring tape, measuring gauge, ruler, tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, thread clippers, hand sewing needle, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, screw driver, invisible zipper foot, regular zipper foot, Janome serger, iron, ironing board, tailor's wax, thimble and many breaks and cups of tea. 

Happy Sewing!   

Stash busting: Oops! First Sewing Blooper of 2024 / Self-Drafted Foam Block Cover

 

It is not perfect, but I'm calling it good enough.  I was trying to sew a smaller version of this project.  There was some obvious miscalculations but I didn't catch the error until after it was sewn.  It's good enough since it is a block of foam for my physio.  It doesn't need to be perfect, just functionable.  It's good enough for now.  Maybe one day, I'll try again to achieve a better fit.  

The 100% cotton fabric was a left-over piece from this project.  It was previously pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer.  

Project details

Foam:  1 block, 49 cm x 19 cm x 5 cm

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.4 metres

Basting tape:  1 metre

Zipper:  55 cm invisible zipper (cut to size)

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, serrated knife, cutting board, household scissors, measuring tape, tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, invisible zipper foot, Janome serger, threads, thread clippers, screwdriver and not enough coffee.  

Happy Sewing!

Stash busting: Silk Dress / OOP Simplicity 2372

This fabric has been part of the stash for over thirty years.  It's a vintage fabric from a different era with qualities unmatched in these modern times.  I picked up this beautiful raw silk fabric during the time I was living in Toronto.  It was picked up for a song at a going out of business sale.  Once upon a time, way back in the day, it was an eight metre yardage.  This project was made with the last two metres and some careful and creative pattern placement.  

It is the fabric that makes this project special.  I don't think that my cutting table will see fabric like this again, not at today's prices.  During a recent visit to Fabricland to pick up thread, I walked past a few bolts of raw silk and since this is a rarely seen sight, I had to stop and touch the fabric.  It was much thinner than the vintage raw silk in my stash and it was priced at $80.00 / metre.  What the fudge Fabricland?  The vintage fabric used for this project has a beautiful texture and is more substantial to the touch.  I wouldn't even consider sewing a project with the modern day raw silk currently found in the stores.  

The fabric was previously pretreated and pressed before hitting the cutting table.  

The pattern, out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 2373, is a tried and trusted pattern around the work table.  There were a few changes to be noted, the center front seam was removed, an invisible zipper was inserted in the center back, the sleeves were lengthened, the hemline was shortened and finished with single fold binding.  

Project details

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2 metres

Interfacing:  0.20 metres fusible interfacing

Basting tape:  1.10 metres

Seam binding:  2.5 metres single fold seam binding

Zipper:  55 cm invisible zipper

Pattern:  OOP Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, measuring tape, measuring gauge, straight ruler, tailor's chalk, Merchant and Mills fabric scissors, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, invisible zipper foot, regular zipper foot, Janome serger, threads, thread clippers, hand sewing needle, tailor's wax, tea and a few breaks along the way.  

Happy Sewing!

Stash busting: Foam Block Cover

 

It's an odd shaped pillow, not one that I will be using for laying my weary head upon.  This one is for the back of a chair, made for back care.  It's basically two pieces of foam rectangles on top of each other.  

There is a zippered opening for easy access to the foam pieces when the cover requires cleaning.  

The pattern was drawn onto the fabric by outlining the shape of the foam and adding sides and seam allowances.  An invisible zipper was cut down to fit the length of one side.  The 100% cotton home décor fabric was left over from this project.  It was previously pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer.  

Project details

Foam:  2 blocks, 49 cm x 19 cm x 5 cm

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.3 metres

Zipper:  55 cm invisible zipper

Pattern:  me made

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, tailor's chalk, ruler, measuring gauge, Janome sewing machine, invisible zipper foot, walking foot, threads, Janome serger, thread clipper, screwdriver, iron, ironing board and tea.  

Happy Sewing!