What Was I Thinking in 2024?

Hello, it's been awhile.  

Boas Festas (Happy Holidays) to those celebrating the season.  I haven't been sewing, still taking a break.  I thought I would pop in with a look back at some of 2024's sewing bloopers.  

I started off 2024 with this top which ended up being gifted.  It was way, way too roomy in the bust and arms.  I have hips so I was okay in that region.  I don't know what I was thinking after all the reading all the reviews that recommended going down a size or two with Vogue 9330.

What was I thinking when I drafted this foam cover?  Good grief!  The first sewing blooper of the season was this self-drafted foam cover.  

Another project, Vogue 2000, that I started out making for myself but ended up gifting because it didn't fit.  What was I thinking when I decided to cut my good fabric without sewing a toile first?  

What was thinking when I made this denim gardening apron without pockets?  And why did I make it so long?  Maybe if I remove some of the length and make a pocket I might get more use from this next gardening season.  The pattern was from Tessuti patterns.  

What was I thinking when I made these sleeves so short?  I tried to use this make as a pajama top but I found that my arms were always cold.  And then I just stopped reaching for this top.  And this cotton knit fabric was too heavy for this Closet Core pattern.    

What was I thinking when I made these barrel leg pants for my short petite sized legs?  The pattern used was vintage and out-of-print (OOP) McCall's MP349.  

What was I thinking when I made this dress?  Oh yes, I wanted to use up the last of the nautical print fabric but there wasn't enough to make another top.  But it didn't turn out as I envisioned the project.  It looked like a nineties throwback and not at all my style.  Made with SD Patterns.  

 

What was I thinking?  I really wanted to make a caftan and that it might be something I could wear over the scoliosis back brace.  In reality the armhole openings were so big that it didn't hide the brace.  Even though it didn't get worn as intended, I did enjoy wearing the caftan at home.  The pattern used for this project was McCall's 8516.  

What was I thinking when I thought that a cotton sateen version of the Closet Core top designed for knits would be a good idea?   I thought that it could be worn under the scoliosis back brace  

What was I thinking when I broke my 2024 promise to sew no more polyester?  This was my last sewing project of 2024 and I never wore it.  It quickly ended up in the donation bin.  Made with a satin back polyester crepe and OOP Vogue 1730, a pattern designed for knits.  Everything about this project was just wrong. 

Happy Sewing!

Testing It Out and Stash-busting: OOP Vogue 1730

I was wondering if out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 1730 might work in a woven fabric since the skirt pattern is cut on the bias.  

UPDATE:  This one made it in the donation bag shortly after making it.  

I tried it out with a polyester satin back crepe that has been in the stash for way too long.  With some changes to the pattern, it worked out.  The changes were necessary because the last time I made this skirt, I cut the pattern in my then size.  I'm currently no longer that size and am trying to lose weight.  Fingers crossed.  In the meantime, I did use another skirt pattern by The Assembly Line to adjust the waistline.  I kept the hemline the same as the original pattern not shortening it at the hem.  I did manage to shorten the length when I folded over the waistline to create a casing for 1 1/4" elastic.   

I know I should address the fabric and that fact this is in a polyester garment.  I pledged earlier this year that I wasn't going to sew anymore polyester but that stuff is everywhere, even my stash.  It's actually the first polyester garment made this year.  My bad.  Even though it did work out as a woven, I'm not actually smitten with the fabric.  This fabric was in the stash for someone else who has since changed their mind about it.  So, it sat in the stash for years.  It wasn't my first choice, I just didn't want to use some of my natural fiber fabrics without knowing if it would work.  It's a little fancy, maybe it will be something I will put on during the holidays.  We'll see.  Now that I know it can work in a woven fabric, I don't know if I want to make another one.  That might be that I had to cut this project on the floor and my poor back and knees were too happy about it.  

Project details

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.2 metres

Elastic:  1 metre

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 1739

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, Janome serger, threads, thread clippers, safety pins, iron and ironing board.  

Happy Sewing!

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: 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!   

No More Polyester! Campaign in the News

CBC Radio had a segment on the local afternoon radio program, Up To Speed, titled How Well Do You Know What's in Your Closet?  It aired on January 15, 2024 and it was an interview with Elise Epp, Canada's coordinator with Fashion Revolution regarding the No More Polyester! campaign.  You can listen to it here.  

Epp raises some interesting facts about polyester in the seven minute interview about the dangers polyester poises not only to the environment but our health as well.  

Let's face it, many of us discovered in our sewing journeys that polyester is not the gold standard of fabric.  But it's loved and cherished by cheap clothing and household / bedding manufacturers and the people who peddle this fiber in their wares.  It a filler that allows them to fatten their profit margins and leaves you conned into believing it is something good.  

I've been conned into believing this in the past.  Even the recent past.  

It's hard to escape polyester's domination even in the fabric store aisles.  Today, I stopped by one of the few fabric stores in the city, the local Fabricland, to pick up some thread.  And I would easily say at least 90% of the store was filled with fabrics and other products that were polyester or polyester blends.  Even thread.  The selection of cotton threads is overshadowed by the polyester selection of thread.  

And then I stumbled across a few rolls of silk noil, not the quality of silk noil of days gone by and certainly not the price that I've seen it listed for in the past.  These thinner rolls of silk noil were priced at $80.00 Cdn / metre.  Prices like these for natural fiber fabrics make those cheaper polyester fabrics appear to be more desirable in these challenging economic times.  It's not worth it.  

Do you know polyester allergies exist?  A person can experience a skin reaction when coming into contact with polyester fabric.  And miscarriages have been tied to polyester underwear in a National Institute of Health study.  Polyester has a dark history that parallels the one described in Fake Silk, a look at the history of viscose rayon.  

This challenge, I thought might be hard when I first thought about it.  I'm not feeling that way today, I'm even more determined and energized to keep my 2024 sewing projects polyester free.  Have you signed up for the challenge to kick polyester to the curb?   Are you thinking about it?  

Oh and that thread, I picked up a 100% cotton spool.  Small steps hopefully will lead to big change.