November in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Sewing activity was slow at the sewing machine but it was busy at the cutting table.  I managed to cut out more projects than I actually sewed this month.  I did manage to sew a copy-cat body sock with long sleeves to wear as a pajama top when wearing the scoliosis back brace.  It's been on my want / need to sew list for awhile so it felt good to get it done.  And I refashioned a turtleneck dress into a wool skirt.  

Mending has also been taking a back seat to project cutting and pretreating fabric.  This vest needs a button reattached and there is a hole in a pair of socks that have been neglected this month.  

Stash busting

This month I stash-busted two metres of fabric, 1 metre of elastic, two spools of thread and recycled a dress into a skirt.  There was one new pattern addition into the stash, OOP and vintage McCall's 2465.   

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Part Two: Sewing Sleepwear to Wear With a Scoliosis Brace / Vogue 1852

Finally, I can present my new pajama top made with Vogue 1852.  

For over a month now, I've been planning on sewing new sleepwear to accommodate my latest fashion accessory.   Instead of labelling my slowness as procraftination, I'll call it my devotion to research.  I fell off the RTW fast and picked up some custom made undergarments from Brace Buddies, a Canadian company.  They are amazing, period.  I really like that they are long in order to cover the outside of the brace and protect the clothes from the Velcro straps.  Super love that all of the tanks are custom made in cotton knit fabric.  I took one of the tanks as my inspiration for my new pajama top.   

I like the underarm flap, it protects a region of my body that is prone to abrasion wounds.  What I miss in a sleepwear garment is sleeves.  Especially in the winter.  I need sleeves.  BRRRR!, because it can get cold during the winter months.  

This make is a combination of the Brace Buddy design and Vogue 1852.  I extended the length according to the Brace Buddy design.  

The extra length is so that the hemline could be lift up to cover the brace, protecting the bedding and other clothing from ruin by the velcro straps.  

Just one small adjustment is needed, to narrow the width at the hemline.  It is not as fitted as the Brace Buddy version where it is supposed to be pulled up.  It's a simple fix.  I tapered the width from about 2 1/2" below the underarm to about an inch from the hem.  It was narrowed about four inches in width from the bottom hemline and now it is nice and snug when pulled up over the brace.  

The fabric is a medium weight cotton knit that has been in the stash for many, many moons.  I found this fabric at Mitchell Fabrics which closed down in 2017.  I used some of the yardage previously for underwear and there is still some yardage left.  Maybe enough for some leggings or pajama shorts?  We'll see.  

Sewing IS Still Political

This is another Canadian 🍁 made and tariff free sewing project.  The fabric was from a pre-Trumpian era and purchased from Mitchell Fabrics, a now closed Canadian fabric outlet.  Vogue 1852, circa 2021, was designed during the Trumpian era, however it did not have any added tariffs that would support the convicted felon's economy.  So, I will not count this as an elbows up lapse.  The pattern was picked up during a clearance sale as Fabricland (a Canadian company) is discontinuing the sale of paper patterns.  There were no tariffs added to the discounted price of the pattern.  Although it is sad that we will no longer be able to pick up Big Four patterns at a brick and mortar store if the day ever comes that the convicted felon ends his tariff war.  Oh well, there are enough patterns in the stash to keep me busy until the end of my sewing days.  The fabric scissors used are from Merchant and Mills, an United Kingdom company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads were pulled from the stash and are many moons old.  

Projects details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2 metres

Pattern:  Vogue 1852, circa 2021

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, paper scissors, pins. tailor's chalk, pin cushion, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, threads, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, thread clippers, iron and ironing board.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Refashion a Dress into a Wool Skirt

Oh, I am so thrilled with this new skirt.  It was once a turtleneck dress made with OOP Vogue 8939 nearly five years ago.  In that time, it shrank in the length and the armscye seam became distorted.  But what also happened was the merino wool became almost felted into a lovely texture.  And it still fit in the width.  

I just cut and tried to see if it might work.  

And thankfully it did.  I serged the upper edge and sewed a casing for the one inch wide elastic.  And the best part is that it is now part of a matching set.  Actually two.  I can wear the skirt with this cardigan sweater or this pullover Toaster sweater.  All three pieces are made in the same wool fabric.  

Project details

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1 turtleneck dress

Elastic:  1 metre

Additional tools and supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, iron, ironing board, safety pin.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.