Best Refashion Project EVER!

Have you checked out the latest refashion project by Katja over at Of Seams and Dreams? She took nine of her husband's shirts and created the most fabulous dress.

Seriously, you must check it out over here!

There is Nothing Like a Good Needle!

I started sewing my niece's graduation party dress and yikes! I made a horrible mistake, I forgot to check my sewing machine needle. What a beginner move! What occurred was some damage to the smooth finish of the fabric.  An oops! that sent me back to the cutting table to recut the bodice back.

So here are some tips that I have gathered to help avoid my beginner move.

1. Keep a good supply of needles, you never know when you are going to replace your sewing machine needle.  
2. If your thread breaks, you might want to check your sewing machine needle. It could be caused by a dull needle.  
3. Avoid sewing over pins. We've all heard this one before. Even if sewing over pins doesn't break your needle it could dull the point that could lead pulling and damaging your fabric.  
4. Make sure you are using an appropriate needle for your fabric. There are a variety of needle types out there including speciality needles. My 1980 edition of Vogue Sewing has an excellent needle and thread chart found on pages 172-174.
5. Size ranges of sewing machine needles from size 9 to 18. Typically, the smaller the sewing machine needle size the finer the fabric. A fine size 9 needle would be used for lightweight fabrics whereas a heavier size 18 needle would be used for very heavy and firm fabrics.   
6. Consider changing your sewing machine needle every 8 hours of sewing. Or at the very least test your stitches and needle with the fabric you plan to sew before diving into a new project.    
7. Sharp-pointed needles are recommended for most sewing. But ball-point needles are recommended for knits since the rounded point tends to slide between the yarns rather than piercing the fabric.  
8. A blunt needle may cause of thumping noise as it enters the fabric. This is something to listen for as it may result in pulling on the fabric yarns or it can cause skipped stitches. 
9. Skipped stitches can also be caused by a dirty or bent needle.
10. Along with testing you needle and thread you will also want to consider you stitch width. As a general rule the heavier the fabric the longer the stitch whereas the lighter the fabric the shorter the stitch. Be sure to test these general rules out before starting a new project.      

Now that I have opened a new package of "Microfibre" size 9 needles I'm ready to get back to work.  

Happy Sewing!   

Me-Made-May '12: Week One Round-up

May Day! Tuesday, May 1st.  I started off Me-Made May '12 trying to shake a horrible cold-gone-bad that knocked me off my feet.

White Terry Robe:  Simplicity 7417  

Socks:  SmartWool, best gift ever!

Betty Boop PJ bottoms:  Gift

Skechers Tee-shirt:  Gift

Wednesday, May 2nd.  Yes, I did. I wore the same thing two days in a row.  I did change things up and change my tee-shirt and socks.  

White Terry Robe:  Simplicity 7417

Betty Boop PJ bottoms:  Gift

Leonard Cohen Tee-shirt:  Gift
Socks:  SmartWool, again, best gift ever!

  

Thursday, May 3rd.  


Daytime:  Back to work on a rainy, chilly May morning. It didn't end up raining the whole day as predicted and by the end of the day I felt somewhat over-dressed.  

Dress:  Vogue 7794 

Plaid Tights:  Sarah Borghi
Glasses:  DKNY

Watch:  Mio 

My Oh-So-Sexy Knee Braces:  Ossur
 Shoes:  Josef  Seibel 

Evening:  Stayed-in and got rid of my oh-so-sexy knee braces and tights. I was able to fit in a wee bit of sewing before entertaining the neighbour's kids who unexpectedly dropped over with their folks for a visit.  

 Friday, May 4th. 


Daytime:  Working at the school.  I wore my new tee-shirt because it had pockets to hold pennies.  

Yes, pennies.  Today was the last day that the Royal Canadian Mint was producing pennies.  So I shared this piece of trivia with the students and offered them a penny if they expressed how they felt about the penny's demise.  "A penny for their thoughts." 


The pocket for the tee-shirt was perfect, I thought. But the weight of the pennies threatened to drag the neckline down over my shoulder.  So I looked for a cup to hold my pennies.  

Black Skirt:  Refashion pants to skirt project

Melon Tee-shirt:  Butterick 5679

Glasses:  DKNY

My Oh-So-Sexy Knee Braces:  Ossur
Black Shoes:  Groundhog (shown here) 

Evening:  Stayed-in with a good book, Mordecai Richler's On Snooker: The Game and the Characters Who Play It, and my sweater blanket.  Evening Cocktail:  Gin Caesar, hold the celery and the gin (stupid antibiotics for this stupid sinus infection).  

Saturday, May 5th.  Cloudy, rainy Saturday.  

Daytime:  Running errands, shopping, eating, drinking coffee, resume/cover letter writing and reading newspapers... 
Evening:  Cutting out the next sewing project and drinking Chai lattes.  


I was bad, I wasn't feeling the Me-Made-May vibe today. I briefly tried on the denim Burda skirt but I wasn't feeling it.  So I changed. Sorry. I didn't even get a picture.  

Black Skirt:  Refashion pants to skirt project 
(see Friday's skirt)

Red silk print top:  Jones New York

Jean jacket:  Buffalo Jeans 

Shoes:  Mephisto

Sunday, May 6th.  Woke up to a cloudy sky but the sun came out trying to tease me outdoors.  

Daytime:  Housecleaning, laundry, cutting and marking the next sewing project, finished reading the weekend editions of the newspapers.















Evening:  More laundry, television watching, blogging and tidying up the sewing area.

Dress:  Vogue 1234 

(the most comfortable dress in my closet)

Glasses:  DKNY
Braclet:  Vintage Rafael

In Sewing News Today...

Graduation Party Dress:

It has been many, many years since I sat down to sew a dress for my niece. As she once announced, "What do I care about fashion, I'm a jeans and tee-shirt person." Those words almost crushed my heart. Teen-agers can be so cruel.

The little gal in the photo is her, she's all grown up now and in less than a couple of months she'll be graduating from high school. Seriously, where has the time gone? 

I'm working on a dress for her graduation party. Can you believe it, the gal who doesn't "care about fashion" is allowing me the pleasure of making her graduation dress. It seems surreal that so much time has passed since this photo was taken and that her graduation party dress fabric is now sitting on my cutting board.  

I've never been so nervous about sewing a project. It has to be perfect. I won't stand for anything less. There is a great deal emotion invested into this project. I'm trying to impress someone who could care less about fashion.

Every stitch will carry my energy and wishes that all her dreams come true. And maybe she's like the dress so much that a little part of her might care about fashion. Don't worry, I know that's a bit of a far stretch. She's grown into a remarkable person even though she almost crushed my heart.  It's all good because I get to make her dress!

How Vogue 8709 turned into a Garden Party Dress:

I'm putting my own projects away until the graduation party dress is done. But I do have the next project picked out.

Fabricland was having a sale last week, I know. I fell off the wagon yet again.

Doobee over at Doobee's Creations had the idea that we should find bold out-there fabrics and make another version of Vogue 8709 at the same time. I like the idea! Hence, the fabric shopping.

I didn't find a "bold out-there fabric" for the jacket/top...

"SQUIRREL!"

I mean, I can be easily distracted.

... but I did find a floral print that I thought would make a sweet summer dress.

I found the floral print in the home decor section of the store. It is a medium weight 100% cotton fabric and it looks like it has a sateen finish.

The print reminds me of these beautiful flowers that were everywhere on the island of Sao Miguel, Portugal. So Sew, I thought it would be perfect for a summer dress. I am trying to decide on which pattern to choose, McCall's 6554 or Vogue 8667. I'm leaning more to the McCall's pattern. What do you think?

And then the search will continue for a bold out-there fabric for Vogue 8709.

Anyway, that's all in sewing news today.

Happy Sewing!

    

Butterick 5679

Close, but not perfect.  

This is Butterick 5679, Misses' top.  The pattern envelope description reads, 

Slightly fitted through bust stitched hem.  A, B: Self-faced collar.  C: Loose-fitting, shaped front panel with pocket, raw edge finish.  

There are some things that I love about it and then there are some issues.

Where to begin?

Oh yea, the neckline. What the heck is going on here!  

I sewed this top using my knit stitch on my Janome but it wasn't falling flat. What a mess. Over at Pattern Review others related issues with the neckline too.

One of the suggestions someone made that worked for them was taking in the seams at the neckline 3/8" and using stabilizer tape around the neckline.

I'm thinking maybe a shoulder dart too could help.

Yes, I am thinking about making another one.

I won't agree with the description that View C is a loose-fitting top.  I wasn't disappointed with the fit, but I wouldn't call it loose-fitting.

The length is perfect for me. I know, isn't that crazy? When was the last time I made something that I was pleased with the length. Yea, never!

Not so crazy about the raw edges.  I did sew a hem on the upper edge of the pocket. The lower edge of the top I used my serger and left it. On the next one I will tweak the pattern panel and pocket pieces to have a hem finish.

Talking about the pattern's panel and pocket feature, love it.  It is the reason I want to give this pattern another whirl.

Burda Style #7517

This is my latest dress. I used Burda Style #7517, the easiest dress pattern ever.

The pattern has pleats and tucks on the front and back. I left the back plain, no tucks. I wasn't into drawing attention to my back end. But I do love how they make the front of the dress look.

I also left off the ribbon trim that wraps around the waist.

It has a boat neckline and facing pieces. The armhole is finished with topstitched bias-cut stripes.

The pattern calls for a zipper at the side seam. I was going to sew in the zipper when I realized that it will work as a pull-over dress. Sew, I thought why bother with adding a feature that wasn't necessary.  

The dress is super comfortable. I'm glad I left it a little loose in the back. I think this will work as a cute summer dress to kick around in.

The fabric is 100% polyester. I know it is not the coolest of summer-time fabrics but with the loose fitting style (and air-conditioning) I think it will work.



  

An Oldie But a Goodie

This is my favourite bathrobe.

Actually, it is my only bathrobe. I made it, using Simplicity 7417, many moons ago. It is something from my past that makes me feel good. The pattern is from 1996 and I think that is actually when I made it, there or about.

I also made a second one for my  sister-in-law.

I made the robes in a 100% cotton terry. It was a real mess to work with (it frayed little terry fluffs everywhere!). But I have to say the mess was worth it once I serged the seam allowances because this robe was built to last. I trimmed the inside of the hood with cotton white lace.

Anyway, I thought I would share an oldie but a goodie with you. If you can find the pattern, go for it, it's a good one!