June in Review

Sewing, Mending and Alterations 

Top L to R:  navy cotton sateen pullover top (Closet Core's Ebony), cotton caftan (McCall's 8516), denim gardening apron (Tessuti apron).  Bottom L to R:  cotton shirt (OOP and vintage Simplicity 7840), cotton butterfly print shirt (Butterick 5891), cotton sateen pull-on skirt (The Assembly Line S:403).  

This month I've been working on summer-time appropriate garments but it feels like we have skipped summer and went straight into one fierce mosquito season.  Locally, the area has seen a lot of rain, perfect conditions for mosquito breeding and hanging out indoors at the sewing machine.  

Mending wise, broken stitches were repaired on pajama tops.  No alterations, although the gardening apron was made from a recycled skirt that no longer fit.  

Sewing Challenges

This month I participated in #sewcaftan2024.  I actually picked up Vogue 1886 a couple of years ago and then never made it after reading a pattern review that advised it wasn't suitable for petite sized women.  And then McCall's 8516 came on the scene and I thought since it has a shorter version that I might give it a try.  At first, I wasn't sure about it until I put it on and now I'm a caftan convert.  It's very comfortable.  Now I want to give the Vogue caftan a try.  

Stash-busting 

Stash busted this month:

• 12.1 metres fabric + recycled skirt
• 16 buttons
• 1 metre elastic
• 2 sewing labels
• 4.3 metres interfacing

Stash-busted totals for 2024:

• 58.5 metres fabric
• 8.6 metres interfacing
• 6 invisible zippers
• 2 metres Knit 'N Stable tape
• 6 metres trim
• 8 sewing labels
• 25 buttons
• 5 metres elastic
• 14 thread spools
• 4.3 basting tape

Total additions this year:

• 14 thread spools
• 11 sewing patterns
• 10--20 mm buttons
• 7.8 metres trim
• 15 metres fabric
• 1 cover stitch machine.  

Happy Sewing!

Denim Apron: Tessuti Apron Pattern

This denim gardening apron is made from recycled and fabric scraps.  

The lower part of this apron is recycled from this skirt project.  The straps and upper portion are made with scrap pieces left over from this jeans project.  This project was all about using what I had around the worktable.  

The pattern is Tessuti's free PDF apron pattern.  It's the second one that I've made.  The first version was created without any changes.  This version was extended six inches and the back lower corners were curved.  There are currently no pockets, I'm still deciding on the style and placement of pockets.  The edges were not finished with a roll hem, instead I left the edges serged.  This pattern comes in only one size.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight seam

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  Recycled

Pattern:  Tessuti Apron 

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, fabric scissors, thread clippers, seam ripper, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, Janome serger, threads, iron and ironing board.  

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!

May in Review...

Sewing

Four out of the seven projects sewn this month were for others, the shirt (McCall's 7940) and pear print dress (The Eva dress by Tessuti patterns) and the black wool cardigan (OOP 4192) were for moi.  Gifted projects were the cotton slips (Kwik Sew 3645), men's pull-on pants (Kwik Sew 3663) and dress (Simplicity 2372).    

Stash-busting

  

All of this month's sewing projects were made with fabric and notions found in the stash.  Stash busted this month:  12.4 metres fabric, 10 buttons, 4 packages of seam binding, 1 - 55 cm invisible zipper 0.2 metres of Knit 'N Stable tape and 1 metre of elastic.  

Me Made May 2022 

My MMM pledge was all about editing my wardrobe and trying to figure out what I want to do with the lesser used / loved / don't fit anymore pieces in my wardrobe.  My focus was making my wardrobe function for my current lifestyle.  Some items were fixed, altered or replaced.  

And I continued with wearing my me-made clothing and accessories everyday.  I've been working hard at trying to lose weight.  Since this time last year I have lost fifteen pounds and I would like to lose another seventeen pounds to bring myself to a healthy weight.   This year, I am wearing me-made items that I wasn't able to wear last year.  That feels good to bring them out to wear again.  But I must say, other than wearing me-made pajamas most often, the knit wrap dresses were my go-to comfortable item to put during this year's rainy MMM season.  

So, what did I learn about my me-made wardrobe.  Well for one thing, the older I get the more I appreciate easy access clothing.  Back zipper dresses are not my favourite to pull from the closet.  I'm not as flexible as once upon a time.  Give me a wrap dress or pull-over dress over a fitted back zipper dress any day.  And dealing with arthritis in my thumb, which was behind my wrist pain but that's a whole other story, makes me appreciate buttons that are not itty bitty and cute.  There is nothing cute about button struggles.   This leads me to my favourite accessory this year, a thumb brace--replacing the face mask of 2020-21 as the must-have fashion accessory.  The thumb brace is a game changer at the cutting table and sewing machine.  But it also leads me to consider picking clothing that I can fit over the brace.   My Me-Made-May 2022 wardrobe choices are all about easy access and comfort.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

It's day six into Me-Made-May (MMM) 2022 and so far I've rescued three items and let go of two shirts that just don't quite fit / look good anymore.  Actually, the shirts are at the cutting table waiting to be turned into part of a future patchwork project.  And the buttons have already been harvested for a possible future project.  

I'm really focused on editing my wardrobe this MMM but I am tracking what I'm pulling out to wear as well.  

These are a selection of some of the me-made items that I wore and used in the first four days of MMM.  Me-made items not shown here would be undergarments (knickers, slip and socks).  I'm still wearing facemasks when I am out around people.  I've been doubling up (me-made mask or medical grade along with a KN-95) since most people are not following mask and social distancing recommendations since they dropped mask mandates and testing.  

Now that spring has finally arrived I'm really missing a jean jacket that fits the way I like.  You might remember that I recently finished this one but it's not what I'm reaching for when I need a jacket.  The sleeves are too long and it's on the verge of hitting the editing table.  I am looking at trying another jean jacket pattern, out-of-print McCall's 5191.  

Right now I have a Palmer Pletsch shirt pattern that I am currently working on and I do like the fitting suggestions.  That makes me hopeful this jean jacket pattern will have the fit I'm searching for.  

Well, that's all in sewing news today.

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

Alterations / Mending Project: OOP Butterick 5263

Many moons ago, an apron left the sewing work space and since then it returned for some alterations

It came with a request for a lowered neckline and an alternative to the stitched back.  I cut off the seam binding just below the top-stitching and reinserted another row of seam binding widening the width of the neckline.  

The original pattern calls for a buttoned closure but since this is a single layer of fabric a button and buttonhole closure was not the best option.   

A medium sized snap worked best for this change to an opening in the back from a pullover style.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

Strawberry Fields Apron

I picked up this strawberry field print quilting cotton fabric and seam binding yesterday to make Mom an apron. She's been waiting for an apron for a long time a very long time. Mama R really liked the apron I made six years ago with OOP Butterick 5263. Except she didn't want a reversible one. She said it was too heavy to wear.  

She just wanted a simple single layer apron that could protect her dresses when working in the kitchen. I still used OOP Butterick 5263 to recreate one for Mama R. Instead of sewing two layers together, I finished the edges of the neckline, armhole and hem with red seam binding.   

I had some really cute buttons that I wanted to put on the back but Mama R wasn't having any of that, insisting that she's just going to pull it over her head and wouldn't want to fuss with buttons. The back is stitched closed, after using my seam ripper to remove the first attempt at a buttonhole. 

And look at how cute she is in her new apron!  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  2 metres 100% cotton  

Bias Tape:  2 packages of pre-made bias tape.  

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5263

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, scissors, ruler, measuring tape, sewing machine, walking foot, buttonhole foot, tailor's chalk, iron, ironing board, serger, 4 spools of threads (cotton for the sewing machine and polyester threads for the serger), seam ripper, and coffee.  

Happy Sewing!  

Retail Therapy...

Okay, my birthday was low key this year. First year in almost a decade that I worked on my actual birthday. This is great news because I'm usually laid off for the summers. And lay-offs are difficult. But my birthday also fell when one of my oldest and dearest friends was packing up and moving away. Of course, I wish her and her husband well but it's sad to see them move. So, some retail therapy was in order. This is my excuse for breaking my fabric fast this month and I'm sticking to it.     

I found these lovely fabrics at my local Fabricland store. They are going to be made into things for others but they just make me happy.  

Seriously, how awesome is this print? I want to frame it but instead I'm going to turn this fabric into some reusable shopping bags. It was one of the home decor fabrics.   

This one is a quilting cotton that I'm reserving for some more microwave bowl cozies.  

Same with this fly print, I wish the colour showed up better, the background colour is actually blue. I thought it's a hilarious print for soup bowl cozies. 

I love this strawberry field print, another quilting cotton but this one is reserved for an apron for Mama R.  

I did do some selfish shopping as well. A little birthday present for myself.    

I do love a paisley design and this red and black knit caught my eye. It is part of the new fall line showed up at the store. And I picked up two metres to make myself another Marcy Tilton skirt, Vogue 9060. Now, I just need to get to work.  

Happy Sewing!  

Let's get cookin'!

Front view, rooster print side

Yesterday, I had an afternoon of sewing at my disposal.

Back view, rooster print side

And would you believe that it was enough time for a coffee run, short trip to the grocery store along with time to cut, sew, rip out the side seam, and complete the Butterick 5263 Apron!

It really is an unusual event to have that span of time devoted to a start-to-finish project.

This was seriously a luxury and I was in sewing heaven.

Pocket

The apron consists of three pieces: the front, back and pocket. The apron is a size medium and it has a very generous fit.

I did tweak the pattern for the pocket though.  I like the shape but instead of putting seam binding around the edges I added another 1  1/8" to the top edge and a 5/8" seam allowance. I also adjusted the placement slightly from the pattern markings.

The apron has four pockets altogether, two on each side.

Back button closure

Same with the buttons, there is a two sets of buttons sewn on reverse sides.

Reverse side button closure

I found it easier to sew one button at at time and then wrapping the thread around to create a make-shift shank before moving onto the reverse side.




Did you catch that there was some quality seam ripping time devoted to this project?


Yes, I was not paying attention when I was attaching the rooster print to the polka dot print apron pieces together.

First, the apron front and backs were attached by sewing the neckline, back curved edges, armhole curves, and bottom front.  Everything looked great so I clipped the edges and pressed the apron.

Just need to sew the side seams together. Simple, right?

So I thought, and quickly went to work not noticing that while I transported it from the ironing board to my sewing table to pin it I managed to twist the the pieces. I was finished sewing the side seam when I realized that it was twisted. Oops, my bad.

Luckily, I keep the seam ripper close by and it all worked out.

On today's menu:  more sewing, Butterick 5561, and the pattern give-away!.

In sewing news today...

Project Runway

I know from last season that no good can come from giving up sewing time to watch the program. But I felt that I was drawn to look at a car wreck when I should have been keeping my eye on the road.

No I didn't go looking for it on-line, I saw it in New York, The New York Times to be exact. I couldn't resist to take a peak at the article.

Bed Sheets

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The first challenge involved bedding? Okay, sewing with bed sheets isn't that "wacky". Sounds like a yawn for a season premiere. The idea has been around for decades.

And there is so much fabric at your disposal with a bed sheet. I think the real challenge for the designers came in the form of waking up and functioning at 05:00!

Back to bedding, I often check out the designer sheets when I'm shopping at Winners. Some of the fabrics are gorgeous and perfect for summer dresses. And lately there have been some sweet retro vibes found in Liz Claiborne bedding collection. Why not? Besides, there has been some pretty nice deals in the bedding section lately.

You can even find knit fabric bedding! It's like a little mini-fabric department minus all the quilt worshipping and polar fleece. Nothing against quilting or sewing fleece, but do stores really need to dedicate more than 1/2 of the floor space to these fabric types? But I digress...

Do you sew with sheets? If so, what have you made?

Back to the drawing board


Remember the housedress?  Yup, that housedress.

Well it ended up on my sewing table with a whole list of alteration requests. I knew it!

The old bias tape above and the new neckline with the new bias tape.

Of course, one of Mama R's requests was to adjust the neckline! So Sew, I've been busy trying to make it work for Mama R. How can I say no to Mama R? Impossible really, she's too cute and the best mom a gal could ask for. I'm lucky to have her in my life. So, back to work.

Since I had to reshape the neckline, I thought I would nix the store bought seam binding that I initially used. I cut and pressed new seam binding from left over fabric. I'm pleased with like the look of matching bias tape.

Then it was onto the hem, she wanted about an inch taken up. Can you believe that there was actually a fitting for the initial hemline? I guess Mama R just wanted to try it out.

The Baby Jumpsuits

The baby Jumpsuits are finished, finally.

They actually have been done to the point where no more machine stitching was needed, just some hand work.

I was saving the hand sewing of the snaps for my quality outdoor time. I have to say there is no better light to sew in than sunlight.

I should whip up a couple in blue (or a gender neutral colour) soon just in case the expectant babies turn out to be boys!

Domestic Armor  


I made some chicken stock the other day, a Jamie Oliver recipe that I found here, (and that I would recommend). And while I was straining the stock, I was thinking that I really could have used that apron that I was planning on making a few weeks back. (That was a long winded sentence, wasn't it?)

I was distracted with house dresses. But now that I have no more excuses I really should get to work on this project this weekend.

I'm going to change the fabric choice up a bit before I cut it out.

I'm still going to stick with the rooster print, who couldn't use a little good luck in the kitchen?

I decided on a light green and white polka-dot print fabric for the reverse side.



And that is all in sewing news today (in this corner of the world)... back to sewing!

Back to the basics

After my weekend of epic fail sewing experiences, don't get me started on trying to sew Simplicity 3744, I decided to step away from the sewing machine and head back to the cutting board.

I first had to find a very easy pattern to build up my confidence. Yes this is it! An apron. How can I mess up an apron? Okay, maybe let's not answer that.

I've had this pattern in my collection for a few months. I'm planning on sewing version A, on the left. It is a reversible apron with contrasting fabric. There are no ties (I'm trying to avoid flashbacks to the Colette wrap dress ~sob).

Instead, it has two buttons at the back neckline and flares open in the back with curved edges.

Apron A reminds me of the aprons that Portuguese women wore in Toronto while they were hanging up their laundry on their backyard clothes lines.

But besides wanting to look like a older Portuguese woman I think the apron is a little different and cute.

The next step was to head to the fabric store. Where else should I go if I were going to back away from the sewing machine and try to regroup?

I didn't need any fabric, I'm sure I could find something in the stash of fabric I have at home. The fabric on the right came from my home pile, but I was looking for something to go with it for the reverse side.











I wanted a fabric that had a food theme to it, but do you think that I could find any? Not today. I found something better, roosters!  

There is no better print for a Portuguese style apron. I love it!

The iconic rooster image is the Portuguese symbol of luck. This is perfect for my next sewing project, I thought as I carried the bolt to the cutting table.

Well, wish me luck, just in case I need it.