Sewing with Velvet: Auuuggghhhh!

I am still plugging away at the little velvet dresses as I kick myself for ever thinking this was a good idea. But I digress... 

These dresses are proving to be a challenge because

1. nap
2. pile

Along with the fact that I should have started this months ago.  

Velvet has a nap which requires greater yardage. In the velvet that I chose for this project, it had a narrow width and I had to be careful on the placement of my pattern pieces. With a fabric with a nap if you hold opposite ends of the fabric against your body and look down on it you will notice that one end will appear darker and richer in colour than the other end. If this is the case take care when cutting. You may want to mark the end where it appears darker and richer in colour as the "top" and then mark the top of your pattern pieces so that they face the "top" end of your fabric. Did that make sense?  

Velvet also has a pile where you can find the "top" of your fabric by rubbing your hand back and forth over the fabric. You will be able to feel which direction the pile lays and determine the "top" of the fabric. Here again the "top" of your fabric should be matched up with the "top" of your pattern pieces. 

The pile on the velvet has been creating a challenge when it comes to sewing as well. As you can imagine this fabric likes to slip and slide all over the place as it runs through the sewing machine. Special tools are needed.  

The presser foot on the left is my regular presser foot. And it does not work well on this project. The middle presser foot is what is recommended in many of my reference books for sewing fabrics with a pile. And for the most part this roller foot does work. But I will admit that it was challenging to use when I was sewing the darts. I then used the third presser foot shown so that I had an unobstructed view as I sewed the darts. I do have a walking foot that provides two sets of feed dogs to shift the fabric along but regardless of which presser foot I use, there are challenges presented with the pile.  

Auuuggghhhh! This project may drive me to drink or it may make me slow down and do some serious hand-stitching. There are three basting methods are are recommended when working with velvet.  

1. double basting
2. back-stitch
3. diagonal basting

The hand-stitching won over the drinks. And I have chose the diagonal basting method. Especially when it comes to sewing the lining fabric to the velvet along the neckline on the second dress. 

The drinks might have to wait until these dresses are done. Stay tuned, more to come.  

Happy Sewing!  

In Sewing News Today...

I'm a little freaked out that it is eighteen days till Christmas. 

I had big plans to work on those little velvet dresses this weekend but instead I'm fighting the mother of all head colds. I was in bed at six last night and slept straight through for over twelve hours. I don't know when the last time that happened without the aid of codeine infused medication. Panic is setting it as I don't have time to be sick. I have some serious sewing to get done!  

In other sewing news, sewing club ended last week but some of the students decided to stay in for recess to work on their stockings. 

I'm still finding students trying to thread their needles with six strands of embroidery floss! I did a lesson on the blanket stitch that was very well organized. So I thought. What I didn't anticipate was the level of excitement and enthusiasm that would sabotage the lesson. 

Instead of threading their needles with two strands of embroidery floss one young gal decided it would look better if she used the whole skein of embroidery floss. And she told two people and so on and so on. Kids will always listen to their peers first. The stockings are looking adorable by the way and the young gals and boy have been a delightful group. I'm going to miss the sewing club.   

I sold another pattern at the Etsy.com shop and almost fainted at the post office.  

Almost. I can't believe how much postage has gone up. I lost $2.30 sending this one on its way. And I'm going to have to rethink my shipping rates. At least it is on its way to someone who wants it and will hopefully enjoy making these dresses.  

Well, that is all in sewing news today... 

Happy Sewing!  

Sewing With Velvet: Pressing

Actually, never press velvet! Sounds crazy when you think about the fact that there is actually such a thing as a velvet press board.

A velvet press board is a wooden or canvas board covered with very fine, short, wire bristles. It is used so that the pile on the velvet fabric lays on top of the needles and "pressing" is done on the wrong side of the fabric. In this position the nap of the fabric can rest on the needles without the pile being crushed.  

In all my years of sewing, I have never come across a velvet pressing board. And I was around when these were all the rage.  

Velvet blazer, circa 1970s

The 1955 edition of Sew a Fine Seam clearly outlines how one is meant to be used.

Lay the velvet, pile down, against the wire board.  Lay a dry press cloth against the wrong side of the velvet.  Lay a damp cloth over this.  Bring a warm iron close to the damp cloth (do not rest the iron on the cloth). The steam will penetrate into the velvet and flatten seams or edges (Messer 82).  

Velvet pressing boards are not a relic of years-gone-by, they still exist and can be found for sale online for a king's ransom.   

Margaret Messer also mentioned a thing called a "velvet press kit" that were once found at sewing centres. Google the phrase velvet press kit and you'll discover it has a totally different meaning today. According to Messer, back in her day, it referred to a "specially prepared plush press pad and special press cloth." 

In the nineteen seventies there appears to be a name change. The 1976 edition of The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing refers to pressing velvet with a "needleboard" as does the 1980 edition of Vogue Sewing. 

Into the next decade Roberta Carr uses the term "bristled press cloth" in the 1993 edition of Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing. She also mentions another product, June Tailor's "Velvaboard" used to protect the nap of velvet fabrics.  

Sandra Kelly wrote an article in The Victoria Advocate back in 1979 offering a cost saving alternative to a velvet pressing needleboard bristle pressing cloth ah, lets go with velvet pressing board.  Her suggestion is to use another fabric with a pile.  

I am both too cheap and lazy short on time to make a velvet pressing board to slip over my ironing board just so I can press some velvet. I'm going with a simple terry cloth draped over the ironing board and it seems to be working just fine.  

Happy Sewing!  

Yes Virginia, there is such a thing as cotton velvet!

I've cut out wee little dresses in this beautiful teal coloured fabric. Shhh, it is someone's Christmas gift. Actually, I'm okay since it is going to someone who doesn't read sewing blogs.   

This fabric has a nap, dense pile and comes in a ridiculously narrow width. Thirty-seven inches wide if you're wondering. It looks like velvet but it doesn't have the same drape as the other velvets in my collection. Now I just assumed that if a fabric with this kind of pile were made from cotton, it would be called a velveteen fabric. But did you know that there is such a thing as cotton velvet? I thought that velvet meant the fibre content would be either silk or rayon. 

According to Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide, there is such a thing as cotton velvet!  

The velvet pile will unravel on the lengthwise grain between two warp rows.  

And I learned something new today!

Happy Sewing!

  

Marsala

What do you think of when you hear the word marsala?

Do you think of those warm brown spice colours found in garam marsala that flavour delicious curries? Or do you think of wine?  

Pantone would like to to think of marsala as the 2015 Colour of the Year. They describe it as "earthly wine red." 

I believe this will be the first year that I'm set for this "new" colour. How about you, what do you think about marsala?  

Happy Sewing!  

Monochromatic Winter White

Stash-busting 2014:  Holiday Dress

Fabric:        3.4 metres

Bias Tape:  5.2 metres of 5/8" wide satin bias tape

Pattern:      McCall's 7028

 
This pattern, McCall's 7028, didn't strike me as something that I would want when it first came out. It was a review that I stumbled on that made me think twice about it.

My favourite part of this pattern is the flared side pieces and side pockets. I do have some dislikes though. I'm so over the high-low front-to-back hemline. I did not like that the centre front sits six inches higher than the centre back. If I noticed this on the pattern pieces before I cut out my fabric I would have made a design change. And the neckline I thought I would like more than I do now that it is done.

To avoid losing more length in the front by hemming up the dress, I used 5/8" wide satin bias tape which I also added to the hem on the sleeves.

I also finished the neckline facing in a different manner than suggested in the pattern instructions. I interfaced the facing, serged the edge and hand-stitched it into place.

The fabric is a medium weight cream coloured polyester knit that may have been in my stash for about a year. To be completely honest, I'm guessing here. I do know that I found this fabric at Fabricland.

I do like my dress and I like the way it looks with my cream coloured jacket. With the way the hem is finished, I do feel like it is an un-intentional holiday dress.

Happy Sewing!

Santa Baby

Some days you just can't say no to the kids in your life. Today was one of those days.  

One of the little gals at sewing club really wanted to have a Santa Claus on her stocking and this morning was the last official class. She didn't want to do just an outline of Santa (I tried) rather one with all the details. She was quite persuasive as you can see above. 

I told her that I would make her an appliqué but she would have to stitch it on her stocking herself. Little did I know this would take me the whole evening to do! I was tempted to use my sewing machine but that just didn't seem right when their stockings are all hand-stitched.

I hope I scored major brownie points with St. Nick and there will be a brand new coverlock machine under the tree. That or I'm just a big sucker when it comes to helping out an enthusiastic young stitcher. I do believe it is the latter. Although, I'm still hoping for a new machine under the tree.   

Happy Sewing!