In Sewing News Today...

Today started off with the heartbreaking news that Nancy Zieman passed away early this morning.

Back in September, not long ago, she wrote a message to her viewers that she would be retiring from her program and that the next fifteen new episodes would be her last. It was a terribly sad good-bye as she hinted that the end was near. I don't have a lot of words other than the sadness felt at this news.  Rest in peace gentle soul.  

  

Pleated Skirt: OOP Vogue 9951

Sometimes you just feel like breaking the rules.  

I made this skirt with out-of-print Vogue 9951, circa 1996, in a canvas, almost denim, weight fabric. But that is not where I broke the rules. This Vogue pattern lists view A and B pleated skirts as "unsuitable for obvious diagonals, plaids or stripes." 

It's the first time trying out this pattern and the fabric was a bargain find at Ikea. So I thought what the heck and gave it a try. I won't say that I dislike it, but I'm not loving it either. It will be a good item to kick around the house in. It would probably look better in a different fabric. The pattern suggestions are for a light-weight gabardine, wool crepe and light weight woollens. It would look nice in those fabrics.  

This was all about trying the pattern. I had to make some adjustment to the size, and to be honest, I can still do some tweaking there.  I omitted the waistband only because it would have sat too high.  Instead I finished off the waistline with left over seam binding. I did the same for the hem. I wish this skirt had pockets. Pockets would have been great.  

All and all, it's a pattern worth revisiting at a later date. In the meantime, I think I can get some use out of this skirt.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  1.6 metres 

Zipper:  1 - 7" invisible zipper

Basting Tape:  0.36 metres

Seam binding:  2.5 metres

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 9951

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, scissors, measuring tape, ruler, tailor's chalk, sewing machine, invisible zipper foot, regular zipper foot, serger, iron, and ironing board.

Happy Sewing!  

Panties: Simplicity 8229

I'm revisiting Simplicity 8229 this evening. 

I made a few for Mama R a few months ago but she asked if I can sew a few with the elastic on the outside. She doesn't find how the elastic is inserted comfortable to wear. This insight has me confused because I haven't found any issue with how the elastic is sewn. But who am I to argue with how someone feels in their clothes. Comfort is everything. Before I go into production mode with these I thought I would try out a sample to see if this will work. Fingers are crossed.  

The fabric is a recent purchase. Mama R complained that the other pairs don't stay up well. And I'm certain is has to do with the fabric she chose. This cotton knit is the one that I use for my own panties so I went to pick up some more hoping that it has the amount of stretch that she finds comfortable. I found it in the discount section at Fabricland and it's currently marked down to 70% off. The picot elastic used at the leg openings came from Northwest Fabrics and boy did their stock of picot elastics sell quickly. Hopefully they'll get more in soon in a colour that better matches my fabric since I picked up enough fabric to make several pairs of panties. Since Mama R complained about how the elastic was sewn on I decided to try a lightweight lace elastic sewn on the outside of the waistline. I'm not sure if she'll like it or not but my hope is that this will be more comfortable.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  0.5 metres of cotton knit  

Elastic:  2.4 metres

Thread:  1 spool was finished off during this project

Pattern:  Simplicity 8229

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, scissors, thread clippers, pin cushion, sewing machine, walking foot, serger, iron, ironing board, good tunes and tea.  

Happy Sewing!  

Time Will Tell

Word out on the internet is

NEWS FROM OUR PARENT COMPANY: We are excited to announce that CSS Industries, Inc. has just purchased Simplicity Creative Group. The Simplicity family of brands includes wonderful sewing patterns, of course, but also Wrights® trims and sewing notions, as well as terrific crafts brands including Boye®, Perler®, Dimensions® and American Girl Crafts®. These brands—combined with our existing CSS brands, including Offray®, Lion Ribbon™, C.R. Gibson®, La Mode® buttons, McCall’s®, Butterick® and Vogue Patterns®, and our creative and dedicated employees—will continue to bring our consumers an ever increasing variety of products and innovation all within the CSS portfolio of brands.

I'm not sure what this is going to mean for consumers, only time will tell. I'm sitting on the fence right now. Maybe I'm surprised. But there are a lot of speculation and strong opinions as to what this will mean. 

There is hope that it will mean Canadian consumers will have access to Simplicity patterns without having to fork over a small fortune in shipping and exchange rates. Or travelling across the border for a pattern run.  Fabricland stopped carrying Simplicity and New Look patterns years ago. I'm not so sure if they will reappear since even though Butterick, McCall's and Vogue are offered at Fabricland stores, they do not carry Kwik Sew which is also under the MBV umbrella. Time will tell.  

Personally, this news is greeted with the memories of what happened to the NY Collection when McCall's was picked up by CSS Industries. The short lived NY Collection designs changed once they were under the Vogue label and then they disappeared. I remember the sizing changed as it was a time when I was able to get smaller sizes than was available under Vogue. I like the fit of Simplicity patterns, I just hope they don't mess with the fit.     

Fear has also been expressed on McCall's Facebook page that this will mean less competition and higher prices. Followed by comments on how expensive not only patterns are but also that the price of notions and fabric have sky-rocketed recently. I have to agree, I've also noticed an insane increase in prices. Certain brands of zippers for example that more than doubled in price. So, I can also appreciate the fear expressed by others.  

I guess time will tell what this will mean. Until then I'll be hoping for the best.  

Happy Sewing!  

In Sewing News Today...

The sewing machines have been humming this weekend. I've been busy sewing for the upcoming holiday season and stocking up the Etsy shop with more microwave cozies.  

There are more to come. The Campbell's soup print has been the most popular but I'm running low and sadly the store is out of stock. So, I'm branching out into some sports themed prints. It's fun mix and matching with some new prints.  

In other sewing news, I finally used up four metres of cotton velveteen from my stash. I know, after those little girl dresses that I made in velveteen I claimed that I would never sew with this fabric.  

But I still had this floral print velveteen in my stash. Never say never. I picked it up many moons ago when Fanny Fabrics closed down. I actually thought about using it for a coat but memories of sewing velvet and velveteen turned that idea into a dream. Since I have recently discarded several pieces of my bedding in a little experiment I found myself chilled to the bone last night. At least I woke up not feeling stuffed up. But I digress... I folded this piece of fabric in half stitched the selvages together and serged the un-finished ends and there I have a make-shift blanket made out of cotton velveteen.  

Well, that is all in sewing news today.  

Happy Sewing!  

Knit Sweater: Simplicity 8529

Simplicity 8529 is the cat's meow. I'm so thrilled with how this turned out and that I have a wool sweater to wear.  

Seriously, I'm going to get good use out of this one. And the best part is that I was able to make this out of a beautiful 100% wool knit that I had in my stash. I was just waiting for the perfect pattern to come along and this is the one.  

Sorry, black doesn't photograph well. I really like the funnel neck line (view A) and the side slits. The back is a little longer than the front and it actually did surprise me that I like how it looks. Maybe because of the loose fit? Some how it just works.  

Last night I worked on the toile for this pattern (the red version). I copied a size medium and cut it out just as it came in the pattern. I shortened the hem an inch and finished it up and when it came to cutting out the black wool version, I also shortened the length on the sleeves.  

Super easy make and super comfortable to wear. So the fabrics... 

The black wool fabric was a find at Northwest Fabric a couple of years ago when they received fabrics from an out-of-business upscale dress shop. All of the fabrics were marked down to $3.99 / metre and if you bought the rest of the bolt, it would only cost 99¢ / metre. So I bought the rest of the bolt which only worked out to 1.7 metres and it had some damage at the end.  

I took my time inspecting and marking all the holes in the fabric and thankfully I was able to cut out all of the pieces that I needed. Can I just say that this wool knit feels luxurious compared to the polyester knit that I used for the toile. The toile fabric was another bargain find when Fanny Fabrics closed down many years ago. It feels great to finally put good use to these knits. The sweaters were sewn with the knit (lightning bolt) stitch and the edges were finished on the serger.  

The Stats:  

Fabrics:  2.8 metres

Pattern:  Simplicity 8529

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Burda tracing paper, highlighter, pins, scissors, thread clippers, measuring tape, measuring gauge, sewing machine, walking foot, serger, tweezers, iron and ironing board, and tea.  

Happy Sewing!  

Could Some of My Fabric Choices be Making Me Sick?

Okay before you start to assume I'm an over-sensitive eco-lunatic about natural vs. man-made fibres bear with me for a bit. I actually started on the natural fibre journey because I was noticing that natural fibres held up better than the man-made fabrics that I was sewing with and it started my inner calculator to conclude that I really was better spending a little more at the cash register for the natural fibre fabrics. 

CC-licensed image by Flickr user:  Jo Jakeman {Source}

I found this to be the case because they last longer and in the long run, man-made fibre garments actually cost more because they had to be replaced more often. This sewing thing has been a long journey full of little observations along the way.

But then another observation that doesn't have to do with how quickly and badly a fabric is prone to pilling made me start thinking about other natural vs. man-made fibres qualities from another angle. It had to do with my allergies. This past summer I had a part-time job at the local fabric/quilting/home decor/knick-knack store. Yes, my happy place. While at work I spent over seven hours a day handling fabrics in a very dusty environment (and think of all that lint!). One thing that I quickly noticed was that it was not the greatest environment for my allergies and sinus issues. I found that the days I cut large quantities of fleece / home decor fabrics and put them back on the shelves these were the days that I had the most negative and painful issues with my sinuses. I felt like I was sick all the time with flu like symptoms and the tissues were becoming stained red when I blew my nose. I have since left the position and miraculously my sinus issues improved. For the most part...

The observation that the days I worked more closely with fleece and home decor fabric were the worst lead me to wonder if the blanket on my bed could also be contributing to feeling stuffed up when I woke up in the morning.

I made this blanket back and 2011 and it has been part of my bedding ever since even in the summer months. But one day while changing my bedding I started to consider that this simple item that laid on top of my sheets may also be a culprit. I often woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe and I always woke up feeling stuffed up. Could this blanket made of similar fabric in the fleece / home decor department be playing havoc with my sinuses and breathing?

I decided to do an experiment and remove the blanket from my bedding. I made my bed up with just flannel sheets and a down comforter. Would this make any improvement? Much to my surprise (it really shouldn't have surprised me but it did) I experienced a much better sleep (I've actually been sleeping through the night) and I didn't wake up stuffed up. I should add that recently I've been starting incorporating Rhonda's essential oil routine.  But I digress...

All of that was until I made this project.  Another man-made, faux fabric and after handling the fabric for about eight or so hours while I cut, chalk marked seam allowances and sewed, I found myself waking up the next morning all stuffed up. Could my man-made fabric choices of the past be what has been making me sick? Some people are allergic to wool, so can an allergy to the chemicals, finishes and products used in making man-made fibres be such a far stretch?

I don't think that these pieces put together amount to a coincidence. They actually might be worth more investigation. Or at least a little experiment.

I've cleaned out my closet of all the clothes made with man-made fibres and for the next three months I'm going to strive to wear a natural fibre wardrobe. I have another appointment with an ENT specialist next year. So, it will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable change after being more mindful of what I wear and perhaps see if this sinus situation improves with this wardrobe change.

Happy sewing!