Lent Sewing: Table Runners

What started off as being a request for paraments (alter and pulpit cloths along with table runners) was edited down to three table runners.  

There just wasn't enough fabric (just shy of six metres) for everything that was on the wish list.  And the fabric provided for the project was a light-weight crinkled polyester fabric with some drape.  Not the idea fabric for possibly getting away with a single layer table runner.  So, it was two layers stitched together, turned and pressed.  I think that pressing it with some starch might give it some more body but it might also distort the crinkled texture of the fabric.  I'll leave the pressing issue to another volunteer.  

Sewing table runners might sound like an easy peasy sewing project.  But there were challenges.  The biggest was cutting it out.  The church basement and some folding tables provided ample space to lay out the fabric.  The challenge was cutting out the light-weight slippery polyester in a straight line.  That took some time and a steady hand hampered by a bout of arthritis in my thumb that has been acting up recently.  I'm giving all the credit to God that it was done.  

I cut the pieces about an inch wider than needed so that I could stitch the two end and one lengthwise seam first.  Then I laid out the runner and trimmed down to a 17" width + 5/8" seam allowance for the opposite lengthwise seam.  This way, I tried my best to have a smooth seam with a fabric that was a little slippery to work worth.  The extra work was worth it because they did turn out well despite working with a challenging fabric.  There is one more to make, this last one will have a 16" width.  But for now, I'm going take a break and hopefully finish the last one this weekend.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  None

Fabric:  Provided by the church

Pattern:  None

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Folding tables, cutting table, clapper (used as a weight), pins, scissors, pin cushions, thread clippers, iron, ironing board, measuring tape, pad of paper, calculator, pen, tailor's chalk, sewing machine, walking foot, thread and thread clippers

Stay Safe & Keep Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

I have often said that I will not see equal pay in my lifetime.  

And today, International Women's Day, is just another example of why.  

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I've been asked to sew some alter clothes and table runners for the church.  

Of course, I said, "yes."  

And I was thrilled when the person who asked said they would help me cut the fabric during the initial phone call.  

Today, I found out that meant they would "hold the fabric as I cut."

Oh my gosh!  [insert laughter here]

Gotta laugh at non-sewing folks perception of help.  

I've been dealing with hand swelling and pain so I was hoping for some actual scissor action.  

Foolish me.  

I also asked if it would be okay to sew a rolled hem and the person said, sew whatever hem you like, followed by instructions that it be two layers, turned and pressed.  

Obviously, hem techniques were not part of their vocabulary or understanding.  

Drats!, because I have a really nice rolled hem feature on my serger that would have saved a lot of time.  

This is not going to be as quick of a job as they initially presented it.  

It never is.  

I'm just grateful that the church has the fabric.  

With the price of everything going up lately, I wouldn't want to be shopping for sewing supplies.  

I'll just have to get it measured, cut and get to work sewing the pieces.  

The church would like the ambo and altar cloths done before the end of Lent.  

Not much time.  

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In other sewing news...

Did you hear about the new Pfaff sewing machine coming out later this month?  

It's equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.  

It will respond to voice sewing commands.  

Not kidding!  

I hope it understands what a rolled hem is and other sewing techniques.  

You can read more about it here.  

Well, that's all in sewing news today.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!

Pleated T-shirt: OOP Simplicity 2372

I didn't want to pack away the left-over piece of cotton knit from the previous project since there was enough to sew a t-shirt.  And the fabric was too beautiful to pack away.  This is what became of that left-over piece.  

This item has been gifted and well-received.  It is sewn with out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 2372, a favourite and much used pattern in this part of the sewing world.  

The centre front and back seams were eliminated, cut on the fold, and the sleeves were lengthened. The hems were first finished with Knit 'N Stable tape, serged and top-stitched with an one inch hem.  

Project Details

Seams:  Lightning bolt / knit stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1 metre

Interfacing:  0.20 metre

Knit 'N Stable tape:  1 metre

Pattern:  OOP Simplicity 2372

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, pins, pin cushion, scissors, thread clippers, tailor's chalk, ruler, clapper (used as pattern weight), sewing machine, walking foot, iron, ironing board, serger and decaf coffee.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing

National Dress Day

Over the years, I've sewn a lot of dresses.  And I wear them too.  I find them comfortable to wear.  I would rather throw on a dress than pants no matter the weather.  Some have been gifted.  And some have been refashioned into other things.  Here's a look back at the dresses I've sewn over the past year. 

The Eva Dress, Tessutti Patterns

The Eva Dress pattern has been a long time favourite.  It's all about the comfort of a pullover dress that is easy to wear.  And it has pockets.  Gotta love a dress with pockets!  Right now this cotton dress is packed away waiting for warmer temperatures to arrive.  

Little Girl's Shirtdress, OOP McCall's 8548

I first came across McCall's 8548 about a quarter century ago when I made a version of this dress for my niece.  So, it was with an enthusiastic sense of nostalgia that I revisited the pattern.  

 

Sweatshirt fabric made a toasty warm winter-ready dress,
OOP Burda 8848

I do love a turtleneck dress and I really wanted to try this pattern for it's raglan sleeve design.  Of the two versions of this pattern I made, I prefer this one all because of the fabric, it has kept me toasty warm during a bitterly cold winter these past months.  

Wool turtleneck maxi dress, OOP Vogue 8939

Have I mentioned how much I like a turtleneck dress?  I imagine a winter without one.  

Seersucker Girl's shirtdress, OOP McCall's 8548

I couldn't resist to make another wee little dress.  Just the cuteness of it make it worth all the work.  

Box-pleat dress, The Assembly Line

Yeah, sometimes I don't get the fit right and a dress ends up as a reusable grocery bag.  

Is it really a wrap dress?  OOP Vogue 8827

It wasn't the wrap dress that I hoped for and the fabric choice was not a good one.  It was gifted and found another life as a robe.  

Can you have enough turtleneck dresses?  OOP Burda 8848

This version of Burda 8848 goes to demonstrate that fabric choice affects the fit.  This one is made with a cotton knit and fits much looser than the sweatshirt fabric version.  

Or enough wrap dresses?  OOP Vogue 1610

Oh my goodness, I found the perfect wrap dress pattern in Vogue 1610.  No wonder Diane Von Furstenberg's version has propelled to iconic status since it first appeared in the late 20th century.  She nailed the fit.  

Take 2, OOP Vogue 1610

Even though the fit is sublime, I am not of Vogue model height.  I shortened the bodice and played around with the sleeve length.  

Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress meets Mondrian inspired print,
OOP Vogue 1610

And that is how I came to sew my favourite dress of this past year.  Do you have a favourite dress pattern that you like to sew?  

Happy National Dress Day!  

The Fabric I Was Too Scared to Cut: Vintage Vogue 1610

I imagine that anyone with a fabric stash has pieces that they are reluctant to cut.  That is what this beautiful Dutch digital cotton knit "Mondrian 2" (#70510), from EmmaOneSock was to me, a too-beautiful-to-cut fabric.  

This cotton / lycra knit entered my collection January 2019.  I knew I wanted to turn it into a dress but struggled to commit it to a pattern.  That was until the DVF wrap dress pattern, vintage Vogue 1610, entered my sewing world.  Once I made the adjustments to the second version, it was time to cut into this fabric.  

I don't know what else to say about this one.  The fabric's print is lovely and the fit on this pattern, out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 1610, is sublime.  I couldn't be happier than I am about this one.  This one has pockets, the bodice was shortened 5/8" and the hem is a one inch top-stitched hem.  Oh and the sleeves were lengthened maybe about a half inch.  

Project Details

Seams:  Lightning bolt / knit stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  3 metres

Knit 'N Stable tape:  2 metres

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 1610

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, tailor's chalk, pin cushions, iron, ironing board, sewing machine, cotton thread (for the sewing machine), walking foot, serger, polyester threads (for the serger), scissors, thread clippers and hand sewing needle.  

Stay Safe & Keep Sewing.  

Reusable Grocery Bag: OOP McCall's 4851

There was enough left-over canvas fabric kicking around from the recent robe project to make another reusable grocery bag.  

Out-of-print (OOP) McCall's 4851 is my go-to pattern for this project.  The pattern is actually for a lined bag with interior pockets but these features are not necessary for carrying groceries.  Straps were also shortened to a manageable length.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch length

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.5 metres

Pattern:  OOP McCall's 4851

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushion, scissors, thread clippers, iron, ironing board, sewing machine, walking foot, Jean-a-ma-jig, serger, threads and screwdriver.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing.  

DVF Wrap Dress: OOP Vintage Vogue 1610

After sewing my first DVF wrap dress pattern, vintage Vogue 1610, I knew there would be more to come.  I pulled out all the knits that I have in my stash to find pieces that had enough length to turn out this project.   First, I made a couple of adjustments to the pattern.  

Most noticeable, this version has long sleeves.  I appreciate the longer sleeve since it's quite not short sleeve weather in this part of the world just yet.  The other change is shortening the bodice by five-eighths of an inch.  I like where the raised waistline seam sits especially if I wear a slip underneath.  I'll keep this change to the bodice pieces in future versions as it also raises the position of the side pockets to a reasonable height.  This version has pockets and will be keeping that as well.  The hem was sewn as a one inch hem and all the hem edges were stabilized before top-stitching.  

The fabric is a light-weight sweater knit that I completely forgot was in the fabric stash.  No idea on the fibre content, where or when it came into the stash.  It's not a cotton knit, that is for sure.  And it did handle the higher end of the wool setting on the iron.  It could be a wool blend?  Perhaps a burn test might be in order?  A ball point needle did not work well with this knit fabric and I did have to change to stretch needle (Schmetz Stretch 90/14).  

It did handle a pre-treatment with a wash cycle, followed by a tumble in the dryer.  It didn't require a pressing before I cut it out but it certainly is prone to static electricity.  I might have to carry Static Guard when wearing this one.  But I digress... 

I will certainly keep the changes made in this version:  the one inch hem and raised bodice.  There will certainly be future makes with out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 1610.  

Project Details

Seams:  Knit Stitch (Lightning bolt)

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  4 metres

Knit 'N Stable tape:  2 metres

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 1610

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, tailor's chalk, measuring tape, scissors, thread clippers, pin cushions, hand sewing needle, silk thread (for hand sewing), measuring gauge, sewing machine, walking foot, new sewing machine needle, serger, threads, ironing board, iron, seam ripper, tweezers, mini-vacuum (for cleaning machines), screwdrivers and many breaks.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!