In Sewing News Today...

There is a new pattern on the market. Have you seen the Alma Blouse? I think it is too cute with the peter pan collar and long sleeves. It is the latest pattern by Tasia over at Sewaholic. 


Without the peter pan collar it would be a perfect blouse for work too.  


I've just added this to my want list. 


It Fits!

This morning I un-expectingly ran into my friend and massage therapist. Well, I had to run home and pick up the dress. She had her little girls there sew a trip to the bathroom took place, with fingers crossed. And the dress fits!

I'm so pleased and she likes it too. Bonus.

On my run back home I returned with some other patterns that I have that are Mom approved. I can't wait to get working on a few more dresses for her girls. I have to say, that sewing clothes for little people is fun. I do love the vintage patterns that Mama R had in her collection. Next up a denim shirtdress, circa 1970.



And the Vogue 1309 Issey Miyake pants fit, but not perfectly.

It didn't stop me from letting them out at the centre back seam, so that I could breath. And then it was off to Fabricland this morning pick up some pant hook & bar sets to finish these off. Despite not being a perfect fit, they are good enough to kick around the house once I finish the hem.

I'm mentally working on the next pair and how to fix the fitting issues. Sew another pair of these will be in the works for August.

August. Can you believe it is August? I can't believe the summer is half over and the fabric store is emptying out their summer stock.

Yup, Fabricland is having a big sale that ends today. Another 10% off already reduced fabric. They are clearing out the summer fabrics and bringing in Christmas themed prints. Christmas. I don't want to think about Christmas. Not yet anyway. But I guess with Christmas being less than five months away it is the time to start on that Christmas sewing projects.

Not, all the fall fabric is out yet. That was in the works while I was there. And what was out, even though it was lovely to look at, wasn't on sale.

Sew, I walked right by that display and I picked up the bolt of black silk that was 60% off. I'm not doing well on that stop-adding-to-the-fabric-stash resolution. Sometimes, I wish sewing notions and sewing fabric were found in two different buildings. It would certainly cut down the temptation factor.  

Anyway, that is all in sewing news today. And I have some stash-busting to do.

Happy Sewing!  

July in Review

Wow, I can't believe that it is the end of July. I'm still fighting the cough-that-won't-quit and despite being sick this month I did manage to pull off a few items. I'm kind of impressed but then again, I am laid-off from work for the summer. 

There was no sewing for me today, even though I'm itching to finish the pants. I'm busy re-drafting a new resume and cover letter to see if I can get a least one job interview this summer. It is a tough job market out there. Sew, the Vogue 1309 pants will have to wait until I have a new functional resume sorted out and will likely end up in the August in Review listing. Wish me luck.  

And Happy Sewing!  

The Project Runaway meets Fashion Star Dress

Fabric:   2.9 metres cotton fabric (Discounted quilting fabric), $16.24
Interfacing:  .5 metres, $2.80 
Pattern:  McCall's 6554 (reused), $0.00, Simplicity 1880, $13.46
Thread:  $4.87
Buttons:  (50% off)  $3.19
Total Cost:  $40.56
Times Worn this Month:  twice
Time Investment:  (including humming and hawing) 12 hours
Tools Needed:  Sewing machine, serger, measuring tape, fabric shears, ball-point and universal sewing machine needles, pins, seam ripper, tailor's ham, sewing needles, iron and tailor's chaulk.
Would I make it again? Quite possibly.  


Vintage Child's Dress

Fabric:  1 metre stretch cotton sateen (left-over from a previous project), $7.87
Pattern:  McCall's 9794, Gift from Mama R, $0.00
Thread:  $4.26
Zipper:  $1.06
Trim:  $1.12
Basting Tape:  $0.41
Total Cost:  $14.72
Time Investment:  5 hours (includes hand-stitching)
Tools Needed:  Sewing machine, serger, measuring tape, fabric shears, universal sewing machine needles, pins, tailor's ham, iron, sewing needles and tailor's chalk.  


Goldilock's "Just Right" Dress

Fabric:  2.4 metres 100% cotton (Discounted home decor section), $13.44
Pattern:  Simplicity 2372 (reused), $0.00
Thread:  5.36
Zipper:  Gift from Mama R, $0.00.
Basting Tape:  $0.63
Total Cost:  $19.43
Time Investment:  5 hours
Tools Needed:  Sewing machine, serger, measuring tape, fabric shears, universal sewing machine needles, pins, tailor's ham, iron, sewing needles and tailor's chaulk.  

The Dressy Dress Version

Fabric:  2.4 metres Satin-back Crepe (Bargain Centre find), $9.60

Pattern:  Simplicity 2372 (reused), $0.00

Thread:  $4.38

Zipper:  $2.63

Basting Tape:  $0.63

Total Cost:  $19.24

Time Investment:  5 hours

Tools Needed:  Sewing machine, serger, measuring tape, fabric shears, universal sewing machine needles, pins, tailor's ham, iron, sewing needles and tailor's chaulk.  

The Red Skirt

Fabric:  1.5 metres Stretch Cotton Sateen (On sale at 50% off), $13.44
Pattern:  Vogue 1247, (reused), $0.00
Thread:  $6.37
Zipper:  $1.68
Basting Tape:  $0.63
Seam binding:  $1.20
Total Cost:  $23.32
Time Investment:  4 hours
Tools Needed:  Sewing machine, serger, measuring tape, ruler, fabric shears, pins, iron, sewing machine needles, blind hem foot, walking foot and tailor's chalk.  

Ice Pack Cover

Fabric:  Scraps for the scrap pile, I'm going to say $0.00
Pattern:  Winged it, $0.00
Thread:  Just whipped it up with what was in the machine, I'm going to say $0.00
Total Cost:  $0.00
Time Investment:  15 minutes
Tools needed:  Sewing machine, serger, fabric shears, sewing machine needles.  






Additional Costs:  
Sewing Machine Repair:  $70.00 

Okay, I can work with this...

Vogue 1309 is coming along. It is not a perfect fit but I can work with this.

I was surfing the internet to see if anyone has made the pants but I was unable to find some words of wisdom or warnings.

Without a lot of pant making experience under my belt (I know bad pun), I went to work with fingers crossed. The pattern is divine. I like the menswear influence with the front fly zipper.  The curved waistband fits snuggly. And the pockets are deep and perfect.

It is not a perfect fit but I am not discouraged at all. To make this a perfect fit for me there are some changes that I will have to make.

Quoting Michael Kors, I am happy to report that there is no "crazy crotch" going on. That is a huge relief.

Now, there seems to be some problems with the side view. I should be able to fix those with some lunges and sit-ups. Seriously, there seems to be some pulling across the pant front side. According to Fantastic Fit for Every Body I should be able to alter the pattern around the centre front and back curve to make it work.

And there was that issue of the centre back that was a wee bit tight and had to be let out.

It looks like I'm going to have to adjust the pattern for my full tummy and derriere by adding to the centre front and back to get the pants to hang correctly on my body.

That should correct my fitting issues and eliminate the need to let the centre back seam out next time around.

Not too much to tweak before I come up with a nicely fitted pair of pants. I'm almost there.

Have you sewn any pants lately? Do you find them easy to sew or do you also have fitting issues to negotiate? I would love to hear about it.

Happy Sewing!

Front Fly Fun (try to say that fast)

It has been a few years since I've sewn a front fly zipper. I'm presently sewing a front fly zipper on the Vogue 1309 Issey Miyake pants

For this I sought out some additional resources. The 1982 edition of Vogue Sewing states "that the placket in women's garments always laps right over left, just the opposite for men's" (332).

The Issey Miyake pattern has instructions and pattern pieces for a front fly zipper typically found in menswear sewing. And indeed when I turn to the menswear sewing section found in Vogue Sewing the illustrations and instructions read with a sense of familiarity. Even the Issey Miyake right fly pattern piece looks like the one in the menswear sewing section of my book.

Sigh of relief.

With all the pattern pieces that I had to sew for this small section of the pants, I will admit came some fear. That is why I reached for the Vogue Sewing book. This wasn't like any of the "women's garments" that had the fly piece built into the pant or skirt pattern section. There was no need for the reference book other than to reassure me that everything will work out fine and that the Vogue 1309 pattern came with excellent instructions.

Although, one difference from the pattern instructions and the Vogue Sewing instructions is the placement of the zipper height. The Vogue pattern instructions suggest that it might be necessary to make a new zipper stop in order to shorten a 7" zipper. In the Vogue Sewing book the zipper is noted as extending above the front fly opening.

Sew far I'm quite pleased with this pattern, here's a photo journey to show how it turned out.

New Tripod = Vogue 1247 Action Shots

I finally snapped some photos in the Rachel Comey skirt, Vogue 1247.

I'm wearing the red one that I added twelve inches to the hem length. I wrote about it here.

What took so long to post pictures was not having a tripod for my camera. My old tripod was mysteriously found broken on the coffee table. I finally got around to replacing it.

I took these pictures using a JOBY gorillapod SLR-Zoom. It is a flexible tripod, coolest thing ever. The camera, while snapping these pictures, was hanging off the side of a plum tree branch. I won't be leaving this one lying around the house. Come to think about it, it might be safer on the tree branch?

Anyway, I should get back to the sewing projects on the table and listing new patterns for sale on the etsy shop.

Happy Sewing!

Jean-a-ma-jig!

Have you used or even seen this little piece of plastic? This is another sewing aid that I discovered recently discovered during the sewing class.

It is called a Jean-a-ma-jig and what a handy little tool.  

It only measures 4 mm deep, 5 cm long and 37 mm wide.  The cut out portion is 6 mm wide and about 2.5 cm long. 

It is promoted as an item to help jump the bumps where seams are bulky, such as a jean hems.  

Seriously, this little tool can be used with other fabrics that cause bulk. I'm thinking about that section of topstitching that I was not able to complete on the collar section of the Donna Karan jacket, Vogue 1263.

Unable to jump that hump, I simply lifted up my presser foot, raised my needle and shifted the fabric over the section that was causing the issue. If I tried to tug the fabric from behind the presser foot I would risk breaking my needle or worse damaging my plate cover.

If I had the jean-a-ma-jig I could have successfully topstitched over the bulk.

Here is how it works.

As you approach a section in your sewing that has bulk it has an increased height. The front section of your presser foot begins to raise as it tries to sew through the section.

This is when you want to stop your sewing for a moment and raise your presser foot. Slide the Jean-a-ma-jig from behind over the stitching you have already done to give a lift to the presser foot from the bottom.

Doing sew allows the presser foot to be at a even height with the bulk that you are trying to sew over. It works like a charm. You can now continue sewing.

Some tutorials suggest once the bulky section is sew over that you will want to place the Jean-a-ma-jig in front of the presser boot as the bulk decreases in thickness. I didn't find this necessary and it wasn't taught that way in the sewing class I took.

What was I sewing?

I made a little slip cover for an ice pack. I used a flannel Eddie Bauer fabric and some denim that I had in the scrap pile. The two fabrics were of different thickness and that caused some additional bulk at the side seams. But it was all good with the Jean-a-ma-jig.

I'm adding this little tool to my new top ten list of favourite sewing tools.

In Sewing News Today...

My Janome is back home and all ready to sew. I picked it up this afternoon from Quilt as Desired where I sent it off to get serviced.

The timing was off and the needle wasn't wasn't able to pull up the bobbin thread but it is working nicely now. The moral from this story:  Don't sew over pins! Sarai's post today about developing good sewing habits was timely. I guess, I could add this to my list of bad habits to break.

Also in the blogs... there is talk about the release of Vogue's Fall sewing patterns. Or more specifically the styling for the photographs. Shams over at Communing With Fabric had me in stitches this morning with her commentary What the Heck, Vogue? Go ahead and read it if you haven't already, it is well worth the visit.

{Source}

I also thought of Top Model when I saw these goofy photographs. But I just chalked up the styling to an over eager intern who watches too much reality television and was inspired by one of those model search program. Oh, but didn't have a big budget to work with so they put the models up on a window ledge.

I found myself in total agreement with this comment:

Artistically speaking, the photos are great although occasionally humorous. But from a sewing standpoint, not so. (Bunny http://communingwithfabric.blogspot.ca/2012/07/what-heck-vogue.html)

The "artistic" photos did nothing to sell me on the sewing pattern. As a matter of fact, I have to say that it was time consuming to have to click on the photo to get a better view of the details of the pattern they were trying to sell. And seriously, when I'm looking at a dress pattern, I'm really not concerned with whether or not I could do gymnastics while wearing it. But thanks to Vogue and Shams for the good chuckle. It was a nice start to my day.

Talking about patterns, a decision has been made!

Vogue 1309 will be the pattern I'm using to make the pants. I found this link, Making Perfect Pants, that has some pointers on picking the perfect style for your figure.

Follow these basic guidelines for selecting a flattering pant style:

S Shorter-than-average figures look taller when pants and top are the same color.

S  A tall person looks shorter if the pants and top are different colors or textures.

S  Wide legs create an illusion of fullness.

S  Fitted legs are unflattering for the too-thin as well as for the too-full figure.

S  Flared legs are flattering to tall, slender figures.

S  Straight legs are a good choice for the figure with full thighs or a prominent derriere.

S  Gathers or pleats at the waistline emphasize a protruding abdomen.

S  If you have a very curvy figure, select a style that has two waistline darts on each side of center front and back. Avoid a side zipper opening.

S  Avoid hip-hugger styles if you have full thighs and/or prominent hips.

Sew, if I were going to follow these guidelines the Vogue pattern is the obvious choice.

I'm in the process of pinning and cutting the pattern and fabric. I'm going to try it out in a beige stretch cotton sateen. I don't mind if it doesn't come out perfect this first try, beige is not my colour. It only made it into my stash because it was on sale dirt cheap (cheaper than muslin).

If the pattern works out and the pants end up to be a perfect fit, they'll be a good pair for yard work. And then [fingers crossed] I could move on to my preferred fabric and colour choice.

Well, that is all in sewing news today.

Happy Sewing!