January in Review

After a couple of months away from the sewing machine, I found my way back after tackling some repair projects.  

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Undershirt to wear with a back brace (OOP Vogue 9057).

I managed to make one top this month.  I hope to make a few more exactly like this one.  Otherwise, it was mending and repair work.  

The sagging bottom was repaired on this armchair

The biggest project this month was a saggy bottom upholstery repair.  This was a new-to-me project and one I put off for some time.  It was sourcing the materials that presented the biggest challenge.  

One of the items pulled from the never-ending mending pile.

  In Other Creative News

  International Sweatpants Day was celebrated on the twenty-first of this month.  There was no sweatpants sewing this year to mark occasion.  Instead, I wore my favourite comfy sweatpants made with Vogue 8909.  This is a pattern that I would highly recommend if your looking to sew a pair of sweatpants with a relaxed fit.  There is a desire to draft and sew a dropped crotch version of sweatpants one of these days if I can find the time.  

   January also marked National Hobby Month.  Even though there wasn't much garment sewing done this month, I did partake in some other hobbies.  I just started reading Sharp Notions this week after reading Melanie's review of the book.  I was able to find a copy of this book at the local library.  A few pages into this read and I'm hooked.  After reading Carol Off's At A Loss For Words (highly recommended if you're into politics and culture), Sharp Notions is a welcome read while I try to tune out the news and all the chaos from south of the border.  

    When I am cheating on my sewing hobby, I'm usually spending time in the kitchen.  Who knew that it's so easy to make sun-dried tomatoes at home?  Until recently, I was not aware of this fact.  If I'm lucky enough to spot a jar of sun-dried tomatoes on a grocery shelf, it usually stays there based on food inflation.  I made this jar of sun-dried tomatoes in the oven and it worked out great.  And I was trying to make a healthier and high fiber vegetarian calzone that took me on another kitchen adventure.  Spinach calzone = yes.  Zuchinni in calzone = nope.  There was some experimentation with using more whole wheat flour in favourite recipes.  There is definitely a learning curve involved in this one.  

That about sums up all the creativity I mustered up this month.  I feel like I dabbled in a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  And that was good enough.  I will just leave with a few stash-busting stats.  

Stash-busting

I used 1.4 metres of yellow French terry fabric and finished three 1,500 metres spools of yellow serger thread.  One previously used sewing pattern (OOP Vogue 9057) was used this month.  

The upholstery project required a run to the fabric store for supplies.  Added and used were 1.4 metres of outdoor upholstery fabric and an upholstery staple gun.  

Happy Sewing and National Hobby Month!  

Undershirts to Wear Under the Scoliosis Back Brace: OOP Vogue 9057

This pattern, out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 9057, has been a go-to for t-shirts so, I thought I would revisit it to make a more fitted version of an undershirt to wear under the scoliosis back brace.  Just a side note:  this pattern was re-issued as Vogue 1733.  The first step is to create a pattern piece for the underarm padding and adjust the neckline.  

The back brace comes too close to my underarm area and without padding, the brace gives me abrasion wounds.  Not fun, but it worked on the previous top so I'm recreating it here as well.  I made the pattern piece covering the front and back pieces under the arm, but then I had to cut it where the side seams were to construct it the way I wanted.  

The shoulder seams were sewn right sides together but the armhole and side seams were sewn wrong sides together.  I did this so that I won't have to deal with any uncomfortable bulky seams against my skin while wearing this t-shirt with the scoliosis back brace.  The neckline was raised one inch all around and then top-stitched with a 5/8" hem around the neck.  

This time with this pattern, I did not add any extra ease, it is a straight size medium with no other adjustments.  It fits perfect, even the sleeve length.  I really wanted a undershirt with sleeves.  It's winter and the one I previously made with short sleeves is not keeping my arms warm enough and I'm not brave enough to throw a sweater over the brace with all the metal and velcro.  

Notice that little blue square near the hemline.  It's not decorative.  I noticed that there was a flaw in the fabric half way through the construction process.  

The "made it" label by KATM is to patch up the hole.  It really wasn't necessary because once I put the brace on, it would be covered.  I like the way it turned out though and I am glad I patched it up.  

I'm not disappointed with the fabric even with this small hole, I picked it up for $3.00 (Cdn) a metre.  A real deal considering that it is a French terry.  There are some other flaws in the yardage but I can work around it.  I really like the comfort provided with the French terry fabric I used in the last version and since I have a lot of it remaining in the stash, I'm will also be revisiting the same fabric.  The plan is to make more now that I found a pattern that is the perfect fit.  

Project details

Seams:  Serged and lightening bolt (knit stitch)

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.4 metres (1 1/2 yards)

Label:  1--KATM "MADE IT" label

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 9057, circa 2014

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Folding table, fabric scissors, paper, measuring tape, pins, pin cushion, black fine tip marker, paper scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, iron, ironing board, and a few breaks.  

Happy Sewing!

Hand Sewing / Repair Work

 

In the spirit of saving money through a repairing before replacing work ethic, these socks ended up on the mending pile.  The worn down areas and one hole were patched over with some heavy "wool sweater knit" fabric from Marcy Tilton.  

Cutting patches from old sweaters or knit fabric is my preferred method of mending socks.  And it's more comfortable to have a bit of extra padding on the bottom of the socks.  

I've also been mending some pieces of clothing that have long been stored away while I ventured into obese territory.  And then came some unwelcomed news at the doctor's office that lead to eliminating sweets from my diet, processed foods and cutting back on the amount of fruit I was eating.  Right before Christmas.  It didn't ended up being as hard as I thought it would be.  Sure, I missed eating those sweet treats I used to enjoy and I did have to leave the room when people didn't respect the personal decision I made not to eat sweets.  "Just taste," someone would say.  So not cool.  I even avoided church gatherings that were a minefield of sweets.  But I made it past Christmas and I'm fitting into clothes that I haven't worn in years.  And I'm feeling better.  All thanks to God.  I can't believe that I'm no longer in the obese range, hello overweight category.  That means that I still have weight to lose and I'm determined to get to my healthy weight.  In the meantime, it feels like a whole new wardrobe has been welcomed back into the closet.  It's been so long since I've worn some of these pieces.  

This cotton sateen skirt, OOP Vogue 1247, had the snap re-stitched in place.  I guess it gave way as my waistline was expanding over the years since I made this skirt.  I'm so happy to have this one back in rotation, those pockets and the fit are the best features of this out-of-print pattern.  I might have to revisit this pattern now that I know it fits again.  

And these wool pants, OOP Vogue 1325, required the hook to be reattached.  This might be the first time in a long time that I was happy about mending.  

Happy Sewing!  

National Dress Up Your Pet Day!

Five years ago I wrote a blog post on National Dress Up Your Pet Day and I started off with how "the pet market for pet products and services is a multi-billion dollar market."  Oh my goodness, how much the headlines have changed since that time.  

This news story appeared a year and a half ago.  And twenty twenty-five continues with this trend.  It's not just a local issue, BBC also wrote about the same issue as well.  Yes, times are heartbreakingly tough for a lot of us with the price of EVERYTHING going up and the newly re-elected and soon to be president of the United States threatening economic hardship towards my country.  Things are well past the sticker shock phase of inflation and price gouging and threats of tariffs.  It has lingered into eye rolling and walking away territory.  And sadly, according to animal shelter employees and these new articles, it is happening to beloved pets.  

So maybe on National Dress Up Your Pet Day, instead of sewing up the latest pet attire let's think about the poor abandoned pets as well.  Maybe, this year we might consider helping a local shelter care for the animals looking for a forever home.  

Of course, celebrate our pets and even dress them up, maybe just add a different twist to the celebration this year and help out the ones looking for a forever home.  

Happy Sewing!  

Sewing IS Political

Wow, every single time the newly re-elected soon to be president of the United States appears on the television or on my computer screen I turn the channel.  Sorry if you voted for him, but I find him and his rhetoric repulsive.  But today, that person the people of the United States elected as their next president made economic threats to my beloved country.  

Wow.  

Just wow.  

I might be just one person but listening to his economic threat today just makes me never want to purchase anything that comes from the United States.  Ever again, at least, not while that re-elected soon to be president occupies the white house.  

I guess that is my new sewing goal for 2025: no more sewing supplies or fabric or patterns if they come from the United States.  

Sewing IS political.  

A Departure From Garment Sewing

Happy New Year!  

The end of the year had me reflecting on what I have and need to fix.  Top on the list is this saggy bottom arm chair.  

It's been in need of repairs for years, many years now.  It was an antique store find from back-in-the-day and once I removed the covering from the saggy bottom it really showed it's age.  

I carefully removed the burlap ribbons hoping that I would find a replacement in the upholstery section at the local fabric store.  No such luck.  They did have burlap fabric by the metre but no where as strong as was found in the interior of the chair.  

Thankfully, none of the spring were broken.  All I needed was to cover them up.  Instead of burlap, I found an outdoor upholstery fabric that was strong enough to hold the springs in place.  

I didn't start the year off with much sewing or even some pretty stitches.  I didn't even match the thread.  It was mostly a staple gun and tool box kind of project.  Two layers of new fabric, some fray check and a whole lot of staples there is no more saggy bottom.  

It feels good to have this armchair repaired.