Stash busting: Instead of Curtains...

This morning it was back at the sewing table to make a narrower width of the curtain.  This one will fit more like a panel over the window.  The final decision of gathering or not is for someone else to make.  Although I do have an opinion on which one I prefer.  This is purely a gift sewing project so I'm leaving it to the gift receiver to make.  I'm done at this stage, I just have to finish the bottom hems once a decision is made.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  left over piece from yesterday's project

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

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: New Silk Curtains

There was some more home décor sewing happening this afternoon.  This curtain panel was made for a tall narrow window.  It is seventeen inches wide and eighty-eight inches long.  The fabric is a home décor silk fabric that I found in the discounted section many, many moons ago.  Held up to the window, it did let more light through than wanted so this was double for more coverage.  Another easy peasy project.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  The fabric was pulled from the stash and entered before the convicted felon started his trade wars with the world.  This beautiful silk was found at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  No pattern used but there were rulers and measuring tapes utilized and were from the stash as well.  The fabric scissor used to cut this project are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K company.  They were purchased from The Workroom another Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads were all pulled from the stash and were likely picked up from Fabricland.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2.3 metres

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, tailor's chalk, straight ruler, measuring tape, pins, pin cushion, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, regular presser foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers, seam ripper, iron and ironing board.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Knit Stirrup Pants / OOP Vogue 7630

Last month I made a pair of stirrup pants to wear while doing yardwork and hopefully prevent tick bites.  Yeah, that is a thing now.  But I digress.  The stirrup pants are so comfortable, I've been wanting to make another pair but not for yardwork, just for everyday sort of wear.  

This time around, I used a cotton knit fabric.  I like how they turned out, they feel like they have more ease than the first pair which was made with a non-knit fabric.  I could certainly tighten up that waistband elastic but I'm waiting to try these with the back brace on before I commit to cutting down the elastic.  The pants were shortened just like the first pair.  I did reshape the ankle side widths, used a machine blind hem along the edges and then added the elastic.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  The fabric has been in the stash for many years, well before the convicted felon started threatening the world.   It came from Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The Very Easy Very Vogue pattern is a made in the USA product but did not contribute to the convicted felon's economy.  It was a vintage find, circa 1989, purchased from a Canadian reseller.  The label is from Kylie and the Machine (KATM), an Australian company.  The scissors used in the making of these stirrup pants are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased at The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads and elastic were pulled from the stash, purchased at Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.8 metres

Elastic:  0.8 metres

Label:  1--"me made" KATM label

Pattern:  OOP and vintage Vogue 7690, circa 1989

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, measuring tape, scissors, thread clippers, canned air, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, regular presser foot, threads, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, safety pin, clips and warm milk with honey.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Scrap busting: Kyoto Vest / Tessuti Patterns

This is my wearable toile version of the Kyoto Vest by Tessuti Patterns.  

The pattern has been sitting in the stash for nearly a decade.  I don't know why it took so long to finally sew up this project.  Maybe it was fear of cutting into the boiled wool or cotton fleece sitting in the stash without knowing if the pattern would work?  Silly me, just like the Eva and Lily dress patterns by Tessuti Patterns, the Kyoto Vest is a gem.  It's quite simple to sew, only one pattern piece.  There are no side seams.  The edges are supposed to be finished with binding.  The pattern has wonderful instructions and photos on how to finish this vest.  However, I didn't follow them and finished the edges with the rolled hem feature on my serger.  

I pieced together the left-over fabric from this coat project.  Not quite enough length but I did patch together pieces to make enough yardage and get this cut out.  I trimmed the seam allowance and then top-stitched along the seam using my Coverstitch machine.  If I was more caffeinated during the cutting and piecing process, I would have sewn the seam with wrong sides together instead of right sides together, this way the top-stitching would have been on the wrong side of the fabric on that big beautiful shawl collar.  None-the-less, I'm just being picky, I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  I will be wearing this toile for sure.  If I make another, I think I might lengthen the shorter version a bit or give the longer version a try.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  The incredibly beautiful and warm wool coating fabric came from Winnipeg Sews, a now-closed Canadian fabric reseller.  It came with a tag dating it all the way back to 1984, this is a vintage treasure.  I'm sad they're closed and that this type of quality fabric is rare to find.  A trip to Fabricland to see the new fall offerings recently was a huge disappointment as many of the labels were polyester, polyamide and viscose blends.  I did not find a mention of wool in the new selections offered this year.  But I digress.  The fabric scissors used were from Merchant and Mills and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads used in the sewing machine, Coverstitch and serger were Gütermann Threads and are labelled as made in Greece.  They have been in the stash for quite some time as Gütermann Threads stopped labelling where their threads are made.  This lack of transparency is so not cool.  The threads were purchased at Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  3.0 straight stitch + coverstitching to patch together pieces

Seam finish:  Serged + rolled hem

Fabric:  0.40 metres + remnant pieces stitched together (the pattern calls for 0.90 metres of fabric for the short version)

Pattern:  Kyoto Vest by Tessuti Patterns, circa 2017

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, ruler, tracing paper, pencil, paper scissors, fabric scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Jean-a-ma-jag™, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers, Janome 1000CP, iron, iron board, clapper, snacks and good tunes.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Scrap busting: Cotton Panties / OOP Simplicity 8229

There wasn't an urgent need to sew anymore pieces of underwear, just a wee bit of left over cotton knit fabric to use up.  This white cotton knit used in this project is left-over from this slip project completed last month.  There was enough left over fabric and picot elastic in the stash to make two more pairs of panties.  The pattern:  out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 8229.  This has been a go-to panties pattern for several years now and is highly recommended.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  The fabric had been in the stash for decades and came from Fanny Fabrics, a long-time closed Canadian fabric outlet.  The elastic, found in the stash, came from Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The scissors were from Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The cotton thread used in the sewing machine are Gutermann threads, made in Germany.  It has been in the stash that long!  Gutermann threads were appearing in the fabric stores labelled "made in USA," but lately there is no longer any country of origin label on their spools.  Not cool Gutermann.  In a time of global tariff wars, this is important information that affect consumer decisions about price increases and quality.  The spools used in the serger have also been in the stash for many years, and did not contribute to the convicted felon's tariff economy. The serger threads are Surelock brand, made in India, by Madura Coats Private for Coats and Clark in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Oh what a tangled web these threads weave.  All of the threads were found at Fabricland.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (Lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.8 metres (made 2 pairs)

Pattern:  OOP Simplicity 8229

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, thread clippers, threads, iron, ironing board, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, good tunes and coffee.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash Busting: Cotton Sateen Curtains

One more set of curtains rolled off the worktable this weekend.  This pair is made out of 100% cotton sateen sheet fabric.  I'm not upcycling here, this is a new fabric that I pulled from the stash.  Well, not really new, its been there for years.  But I digress.  

The open panel shown here is one 1/2 of the width of the fabric.  I actually cut it down the centre.  Same finishing as the previous version, a three inch upper casing for the curtain rod and a two inch hem.  

Sewing IS Political

This is one more Canadian made and tariff free project.  The fabric was in the stash for many years and was discovered in the home décor section at Marshall / Northwest Fabrics, a western Canadian fabric outlet.  The thread was pulled from the stash and is another item that has been there for years since I stopped purchasing Coats and Clark thread.  The fabric scissors used to cut the fabric are Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.   

Project details

Seams:  3.0 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.5 metres

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, ruler, measuring gauge, measuring tape, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, walking foot, thread clippers, iron, ironing board, back brace and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.   

Stash and Scrap Busting: Back-up Curtains

 

There was quite a bit of yardage of this home décor fabric in the stash.  There was not fixed project in mind other than it was a discounted to the point that I couldn't resist the bargain.  It first made an appearance here last week when I made a pair of curtains.  And at that point I knew that I was going to make a second pair.  Tada!  

I still have 0.49 metre left over and I think I will be able to squeeze out one more reusable grocery bag with the last bit of fabric, we'll see.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free set of curtains.  The stash fabric was discovered at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  All the measuring tools (ruler, measuring gauge, measuring tapes) used have been in the workroom from a pre-trade war era.  The Gütermann threads used in the sewing machine and serger were sitting in the stash and are products of the U.S., purchased prior to the convicted felon's 2.0 tariff war.  The threads were purchased at Fabricland and future thread purchases will, obviously, have to be scrutinized more closely.  Maple washing is not just happening at the grocery store.  The fabric scissors are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased at The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  3.0 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  3 metres

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, tailor's chalk, straight ruler, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, thread clippers, ironing board, iron, back brace, pins and pin cushion.  

Stand strong, support local, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Another Curtain Project

Here's the latest curtain project.  I really like this blue printed cotton fabric.  The plan was to turn this fabric into a dress with my eye on McCall's 8090.  And then once again, plans changed.  The fabric was used for a set of kitchen curtains.  The lightweight 100% cotton fabric was previously pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer and was ready to hit the cutting table.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  The fabric has been in the stash before the convicted felon's tariff and trade war.  These are times for sewing the stash or just plain reconsidering a project as fabric prices continue to increase.  Even threads are hit with price increases that makes one reconsider colour matching.  A close enough colour of thread will do just fine, as in this case (blue thread for top-stitching and beige threads for the serger).  The fabric was an end of the season discounted item from many moons ago.  I found this fabric at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The Gütermann threads were pulled from the stash and also came from Fabricland.  The fabric scissors used to cut out this project are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet. 

Project details

Seams / Top-stitching:  3.0 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:   2.5 metres

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

Stand strong, elbows up, support local businesses and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: New Curtains

This is a simple project after measuring and cutting out the fabric.  This gifted project came to be after it was spotted in the stash and dreams of new curtains started to materialize.  I, on the other hand, saw this fabric at the store as a potential coating toile fabric or perhaps some more reusable grocery bag fabric.  The curtain project won in claiming this fabric.  And I think they turned out lovely, so I am glad that plans changed along the way.  

The fabric was a discounted bargain find in the home décor department.  It was such a great bargain that I bought the remaining bolt deciding that I will figure out its future at a later time.  It now looks like another set of curtains will be made with the remaining yardage.  The curtains are fifty-four inches long, have a two inch hem on the bottom and a three inch opening on top for the curtain road.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  Everything used to make these curtains were found in the stash.  The fabric was a bargain find in the home décor section at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  No pattern needed but the measuring tools used to measure the fabric has been in the stash for years, circa pre-Trumpian economic warfare.  The scissors used to cut the fabric are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads are all Gütermann threads pulled from the stash.  

Project details

Seams / Topstitching:  3.0 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  3 metres

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, rulers, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome 2000D AirThread serger, threads, thread clippers, iron, ironing board and a good cup of Canadian coffee.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Trending and Stash Busting: Stirrup Pants / OOP and Vintage Vogue 7630

Honestly, I had no idea that stirrup pants were trending this year.  And I swear I didn't go searching for a stirrup pants pattern to be trendy.  Here in the Canadian prairies, land of sweatpants, jeans, and shorts with t-shirts country, we're not well known for being a trendy or a fashion centre.  

This project ended up on the work table because I am trying to find yardwork clothing that will keep me covered up to, hopefully, prevent tick bites.  Something I can tuck into a pair of work socks and rain boots.  Man, I miss winter.  And words can not adequately express how much I miss the tick free summers of my youth.  But I digress.  This is not a post about climate change.  But here I am sewing clothes because of the effects of climate change.  

History of Stir-up Pants

Stirrup pants are a tapered style of pants with its signature feature of a strap or loop attached to the hem that sits under the foot.  This design feature helps to anchor the pants in place and prevent it from riding upwards.  They became popular as equestrian clothing in the late 19th century and were adopted as women's riding wear in the 1920s.  In the following decade this style of pants moved into other sports, such as skiwear, marked with an appearance in the 1936 Winter Olympics.  

In the 1950s and 1960s, stirrup pants remained in wardrobes moving into casual everyday wear.  

Stirrup pants returned to its athletic roots and reinvented itself into aerobics wear in the 1980s where its evolution continued into a mainstream fashion wear.  The pants became known as a wardrobe staple moving from sports and dance spaces into everyday wear.  

And then it quietly disappeared from our everyday wardrobes, but not for long.  Stirrup pants are showing up on fashion runways and according to British Vogue, stirrup pants "are replacing tailored trousers."  I'm not ready to go that far, these stirrup pants are entering the wardrobe as strictly work pants styled with rubber boots not heels as styled on the fashion runways.  

I was over the moon when I found this vintage pattern, OOP Vogue 7630.  The closest thing to stir-up pants found on the Simplicity website are patterns for leggings.  But there are a lot of stirrup pants patterns found via Etsy and eBay resellers of vintage Burda, Vogue and Kwik Sew patterns from back-in-the-day.  

The fabric is a medium weight woven cotton with some stretch.  The fabric's stretch did not meet the pattern envelope stretch guide suggested amount of stretch, but none the less, this fabric worked out well for the pattern.  The fabric was previously pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer before hitting the ironing board for a press.  

There were some alterations to the pattern.  They were shortened a lot!  I'm not hitting five feet at this stage of my life's journey and if I wanted the ankle design to work on the stirrup there was some adjustments to be made.  The casing for the elastic was sewn with a one and a half turn down and I used a one and a quarter inch elastic.  I made these in a size sixteen since my fabric didn't meet the recommended stretch and cut the crotch and ankle curve at a size fourteen.  I could have cut the crotch at the size twelve line but instead if I revisit this pattern, I will shorten the crotch length.  Again, Vogue patterns are not designed for the petites in mind.  This pattern did not contain any finished measurements on the pattern pieces and thankfully, the adjustments worked out just fine.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project as the convicted felon throws more tariffs at Canada.  [Insert eye roll here.]  But I again digress.  Everything with the exception of the pattern was found in the stash.  The fabric has been in the stash for years and was found in the discount section of Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The vintage Vogue pattern, circa 1989, was a recent Etsy find purchased from a fellow Canadian.  The fabric scissors are from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The elastic was also pulled out of the stash, not sure where it was purchased, could be Fabricland?  The label is from Kylie and the Machine (KATM), an Australian company and were purchased from another Canadian Etsy seller.  Side note:  KATM labels are now shipping from Canada--Yippeee!  This means domestic shipping and no extra fees or tariffs to pay.  And the thread, all pulled from the stash, are cotton Gütermann threads and were purchased at Fabricland.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2.10 metres

Elastic:  1.10 metres

Pattern:  OOP and Vintage Vogue 7630, circa 1989

Label:  1 -- "MAKE ᐧ WEAR ᐧ WASH ᐧ REPAIR"--KATM label

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, paper scissors, fabric scissors, pins, wrist pin cushion, tailor's chalk, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, walking foot, safety pin, threads, thread clippers, cello music and coffee.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: White Linen Shorts / Vogue 9191

I actually made something appropriate for the summer season and the heat.  Well, I actually did start off the month sewing a linen dress.  Now, I'm ending the month with a pair of linen shorts.  Maybe, if I can get out of grubby yardwork clothes, I'll have something I can wear that makes me look like I'm enjoying the summer.  Oh, sometimes I make myself laugh.  I'm actually counting down the days until the first frost and joyfully waiting for that first snowfall.  But I digress.  

An easy peasy sewing project, elastic waist shorts using Vogue 9191.  This is a well drafted shorts pattern and I like the fit.  There were a few changes though.  I lengthened the shorts by three inches and sewed an inch hem.  I also went with a wider elastic than suggested in the pattern.  These are sewn as a size large which would normally end up with a too long crotch length but it worked out in that I have shorts that sit at the waistline instead of just below.  I think I may be revisiting this pattern again.   

The fabric is a medium weight linen.  It was pretreated with a tumble through the washing machine and dryer before hitting the ironing board.  There was originally 1.3 metres prior to the pretreatment and afterwards there was 1.23 metres.  It was more than enough for the shorts.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  All of the supplies and equipment required to sew this project came from the stash and workspace.  The fabric came from the discounted section of Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet, back-in-the-day when linen went on sale.  The pattern entered the stash during the clearance sale at Fabricland when the big four patterns were discontinued and after Simplicity Patterns was sold to a Private Equity firm.  No tariffs were paid in obtaining the pattern.  The fabric scissors are from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The Gütermann threads were all pulled from the stash, and were made in Greece.  The elastic was saved and reused from other garment that ended up in the donation bin.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.2 metres

Elastic:  1 metre

Pattern:  Vogue 9191, circa 2016

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

Stand strong, elbows up, enjoy a glass of Canadian wine and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: A New Blanket

More practical sewing has hit the worktable, this time a new blanket.  This fabric entered the stash last year and a bit of it was used to make this skirt.  And then quite a bit a whole lot of yardage sat in the stash.  It was on sale, in the bargain section.  But I digress.  There was once a thought to make this Pace Cardigan to match the skirt and then plans changed.  The skirt has since been donated.  And the fabric sat in the stash until today.  Yes, that's right, in the middle of summer during heat warnings, I decided to turn this fabric into a blanket.  

When cooler temperatures arrive, this one will replace this blanket that I made last year which has not held up well.  We'll have to wait and see how this new blanket holds up.  

Sewing IS Political 

This is a Canadian made and tariff free project.  All the tools and supplies used to make this project were found in the stash.  The fabric and threads came from Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The clips were made in Taiwan and purchased at Lilax Studio, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

The scissors used on this fabric are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased at The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams / finish:  Rolled hem 

Fabric:  4 metres

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, fabric clips, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: New Cotton Knit Slip / Kwik Sew 3645

Another cotton knit slip is hot off the worktable.  After some much appreciated feedback on the toile, it is time to make another.  

Out-of-print (OOP) Kwik Sew 3645 turned out to be a perfect pattern for this project.  The request was for a undershirt / tank top style strap.  The pattern is designed as sleepwear but it also turned out to be perfect option for sewing a slip.  The changes made on the toile were repeated here; shortened the shoulder seam by three-quarters of an inch, straightened and shortened the hemline and added about two inches extra ease from the hemline by pivoting from the centre back and front neckline points.  I transferred all the changes to the copied pattern piece.  The pattern pieces were cut two inches shorter and three quarters of an inch at the shoulder seam.  Now the pattern can be considered a true and tested pattern.  

The armholes and neckline were finished with Knit 'N Stable tape, serged and then folded over and top-stitched using the knit stitch on the sewing machine.  The hem was turned up an inch, basted and cover stitched.  

This fabric has been in the stash for decades and was purchased at the same time as the floral print knit used for the toile slip.  I bought them together thinking that they would be the fashion and lining fabric for a wrap dress and then plans changed.  It was nice to finally stash bust this fabric and at the same time a bit sad because working with it, it became obvious that this is a fabric from a by-gone era.  They don't sell cotton knit fabric of this exceptional quality now-a-days.  ~sigh~  I was careful to set aside the remnants with plans to cut underwear pattern pieces for a future sewing project.  But I digress.  The fabric was previously pretreated with a spin in the washing machine and dryer before hitting the cutting table.  

Sewing IS Political

This is a Canadian made sewing project.  The fabric came from Fanny Fabrics many moons ago prior to the global tariff war.  Fanny Fabrics is a now closed Canadian Fabric outlet.  The pattern, OOP Kwik Sew 3645, was recently purchased from an American Ebay seller.  The original copy of the pattern that was in the stash is lost.  And sometimes when you are sewing for someone you love, you just sometimes have to forget the boycott for a moment.  There was a search for a Canadian seller who might have this pattern listed but I came up empty.  I tried.  The threads used in the machines and for hand basting were all found in the stash and were purchased at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  Same with the basting tape.  The fabric scissors are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightning bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and Cover stitch

Fabric:  2.0 metres

Knit 'N Stable tape:  2.2 metres

Pattern:  OOP Kwik Sew 3645, circa 2012

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, paper scissors, pencil, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome CoverPro 1000CP, Janome 2000D serger, threads for the machines and basting, hand sewing needle, screwdriver, tweezers, thread clippers, iron, ironing board and ice tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Linen Dress / OOP Butterick 6784

This project is the story of absolute procraftination.  It started with out-of-print (on the Simplicity website) OOP Butterick 6784, a much adored Katherine Tilton design.  I have to note here that this pattern is still available on Pattern Review and via online sellers.  

I have a few versions of this dress, it's that comfortable and it has pockets.  Back in July of last year, I cut out four versions and by September I managed to sew three of them.  And then this one sat in the pile of cut out projects waiting to be sewn as winter settled onto the landscape.  It wasn't the time for a lovely linen dress.  Then other sewing requests pushed their way to the top of the pile.  Of all of the versions I made this past year, one would think that the orange coloured version would be the one sewn first just because,

This orange linen fabric has been in the stash for so long, I'm tempted to call it vintage linen.  I made another dress out of this fabric close to a decade ago and at that point this fabric had been aging in the stash for many years.  It was back-in-the-day when Fabricland put their linen in the discount section at the end of the summer season and you could pick up a bargain.  Oh, those were the days.  The fabric was previously pretreated with a tumble in the washer and dryer before hitting the cutting table.      

Let's talk about this pattern.  I do adore a Tilton design, they have been some of my favourite projects and this one is no exception.  Every time I pick up a Tilton pattern from the stash, I'm sad that Butterick and Vogue are no longer carrying their designs.  Out-of-print (on the Simplicity website, currently still available on Pattern Review) Butterick 6784 is one well-drafted pattern and it is a fun make.  Why the procraftination?  Oh yes, the changing seasons.  But I digress.  Only one notable change to the design, the hem length was shorten by two inches once it was pieced together and then a one and a half inch top-stitched hem was sewn.  There was the omission of the small band petal shaped collar pieces.   

Sewing IS Political

This is a Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  The fabric came from Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet, many moons ago.  The sewing pattern appeared in the stash before the elbows up movement.  The scissors are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The label is from Kylie and the Machine (KATM), an Australian company and were purchased online.  

The 100% cotton threads used in the serger and sewing machine were Gütermann threads from Germany and Coats and Clark quilting cotton threads from Eygpt and many moons ago, were picked up from Fabricland.   

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2.5 metres

Label:  1--"Me Made" label from Kylie and the Machine (KATM)

Pattern:  Butterick 6784, circa 2020.  Out-of-print from the Simplicity website.  This pattern is still available from Pattern Review.  

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting tables, pen, Post It! notes, measuring tape, measuring gauge, seam ripper, tailor's chalk, pins, wrist pin cushion, pin container, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers, iron, ironing board, many cups of tea and some procraftination.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing!

Stash busting: Anneli Tee / Named Clothing Patterns

Now that the toile version of the Anneli Tee has been out for a couple of wears, fabric for a second version made it to the cutting table.  And sewn.  

This is one comfortable tee and it does satisfy my love for a wrap design and plays into the ability of styling it with brooches.  The colour of this tee will be perfect to wear with a vintage lemon print skirt I found many moons ago.  And with a little more ease added at the back, it can be worn comfortably over the back brace if I chose a different separate to wear with it.  

Other than the extra ease, I cover stitched the edged of the neckline and shortened the length by two inches.  Oh and the neckband was stitched with a half inch allowance.  

The fabric is a medium weight cotton knit.  It was pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer before hitting the cutting table.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free garment.  The pattern is by Named Clothing and was purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The fabric has been in the stash for years and came from Marshall Fabrics, a western Canadian fabric outlet.  The scissors used to cut this project were made in Taiwan and were purchased at Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  Most of the threads were pulled from the stash and purchased from Fabricland many moons ago.  The exception were Mettler threads for the cover stitch machine.  They were made in Europe and purchased at Lilax Studio, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The sewing label is from KATM, an Australian company and were picked up online.  

Project Details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged, Coverstitched

Fabric:  1.5 metres

Pattern:  Anneli Double Front Dress & Tee by Named Clothing

Label:  1--"Look After Me" label by KATM

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, tailor's chalk, pins, wrist pin cushion, fabric scissors, thread clippers, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome 1000CP CoverPro machine, Janome 2000D AirThread serger, threads, thread clippers, tweezers, iron and ironing board, hand sewing needle, tailor's ham and seam ripper.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Bike shorts / OOP Vogue 1214

There was a request for a pair of bike shorts that came across the worktable.  These are not meant to be seen out in public as they will not be used for biking.  Instead, these shorts will be worn as a layering piece under clothes.  That's the plan.  

This one is, hopefully, a wearable toile.  I'll have to wait for feedback on the fit before proceeding to make these in a better fabric.  

Out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 1214 was used to make these, shortened, of course, to make it a shorts pattern.  A pair of RTW biking shorts were used as the guide for the length.   I cut these as a size 18 and so far they seem to fit in the waist but they are loose in the leg and actually look like regular shorts, not biking shorts or leggings.  They is no skin hugging in the leg and at the hem.  The initial feedback on the first fitting is to raise the back centre seam about 1/4" and to add some elastic at the waistband.   I would like to try and narrow the width at the hemline.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project. The fabric has been in the stash for years and came from Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The pattern is a printed in U.S.A. product from 2010, coming into the pattern stash before the convicted felon started a global tariff war.  It did not contribute to the convicted felon's economy or his economic war machine.  The threads were all pulled from the stash, mostly Gütermann threads and came from Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The fabric scissors used are from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and Cover stitch

Fabric:  1 metre

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 1214, circa 2010

Additional Tools and supplies:  Cutting table, paper scissors, measuring tape, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, hand sewing needle, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, Janome CoverPro 1000D machine, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, walking foot, threads, thread clippers, iron and ironing board.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.