AilbheIt's so much easier to cut out when the whole piece fits on the surface at once. OMG. #Sewing
Today I started by stitching the cut ends of three new pieces of fabric so that they don't fray when we wash them at 90C to pre-shrink before making them up into anything. #Sewing
I have also stay-stitched the neck and arm holes on the dress pieces and started pinning the long seams, matching the stripes, but I've ground to a halt because I remembered pockets. I need to make and place pockets now, not add them in later.
I am not the most sensible person. I have pattern-matched the stripes on the pockets so that if they are turned inside out it will look stripy. Before I even start on the sleeves. *whimper*.
Chose thread colour, pinned things, did NOT attempt to pattern match the stripes on the sleeves, now I'm at the stage of actually SEWING. Wish me luck.
Pausing to eat but the pockets are done, the side seams are fauxverlocked, the neckline is finished, and I've hemmed one sleeve. I've lost my needle threader so tidying the threads on that hem will have to wait. I still need to hem the other sleeve and the skirt.
(I gave my spare needle threader to the offspring teaching themselves bookbinding, because of course I did.)
Almost all hemming done, all that's left tomorrow is a bit of thread tidying. I can do all that by hand without clearing my sewing space (boxes of fabric and piles of haberdashery live on the chair and table beside the sewing machine, and move to the bed for me to use it).
I finished the dress! It's Ellie and Mac Slow Sunday dress with mid-scoop neckline, fuller skirt, and short sleeves. I added the pockets to the pattern myself because they were inexplicably omitted by the designer.
I was going to make the high neckline but it would have needed a complete Full Bust Adjustment, whereas with the mid scoop neckline it just needs a decent bra.
After finishing the dress, and eating a curry while wearing a white shirt, and rinsing the white shirt in cold water and putting stain remover on it, I ironed five metres of 150cm wide linen. That's enough for today.
Ironed 3m of 1.5m wide shirting cotton. Lying down now. But there's only one big piece of newly acquired fabric left to iron.
Today I looked again at the princess-seam, button-front top/dress I'm trying to adapt. I learned things since I last looked at it and I'm going to do slightly bolder adjustments before giving up entirely and finding a new starting point. #Sewing https://mastodon.art/@artbyailbhe/110300145057261071
Ailbhe (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image Stage one, the bust alteration is good. Next, waist alteration, I think.
So today I avoided adjusting the top by starting on a pincushion I can wear on a finger so it's handy when I'm fitting things or ironing things.
Long long ago, when I made facemasks, the fabric layout resulted in a lot of same-shape scraps. I kept them because they looked like leaves or feathers or something. #Sewing #ScrapBusting
I pinned some together and with 2.5mm seam allowances it takes eight to make a ball. And obviously a flat ball is a flower.
When I sew, I put my thread offcuts into a little bag clipped near my sewing machine. Very tiny snippets of fabric go in there too. Only 100% natural fibres though, because of the reasons.
I got my cardboard bobbins of old basting thread, which I save for handsewing, and started stuffing and quilting the ball. #Sewing #ScrapBusting
I finished my pincushion! Now we find out if it's better than holding everything in my mouth until I get back to a table. #Sewing
Yesterday I went back to this top. I slit all the seams from hem to under the bust, and pinned wildly. I clipped a few curves to make things work better. Today I'm going to sew up the amendments and have a think.
https://mastodon.art/@artbyailbhe/110300145057261071
https://mastodon.art/@artbyailbhe/110300145057261071
Ailbhe (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image Stage one, the bust alteration is good. Next, waist alteration, I think.
I started by sewing yesterday's modifications and taking photos so I could see. It's basically the right size -- the places where it was much too big have been almost eliminated. After taking these photos I spent the rest of my sewing session trying to fix the shape of the bust, but I stopped before I got tired enough to make mistakes. Even before modifying today, it fit the various essential measurements well enough to allow for following my basic shape and allowing movement, breathing etc.
I did wake up tired today so it was all very slow. But that's an #mecfs thing, not the fault of the garment.
I've started today by unpicking the seams either side of the back panel, from the hem to near the armscye, and pinning to make it slightly wider across the hips. I think that will remove the triangle in the small of my back. But I'm expecting to need additional fabric, not just what's in the original pieces, so I'll try this on pinned rather than baste. When I can stand, I mean. #Sewing
I pinned the back again and I think this works. I definitely think this works well enough to attempt to make a new pattern. So now I'm going to iron it to eradicate my pen marks and then go over both sides of every seam with marker, unpick it, and trace it.
... first I'm sorting my scraps of tracing paper on case any will be useful
I had used orange frixion pen to mark the fabric as I was pinning it etc so I used black to trace along all the basted seams on both sides before unpicking them.
Then I could lay the fabric flat under my tracing paper, and copy the new black seams in orange. And finally I used the original pattern under the newly traced one to see how different it is -- very. #Sewing
Truly I can procrastinate this process forever. I know doing this work now will lead to years of blissful clothes-making but I want to skip this step.
Yesterday I transferred the pattern to paper and cut the pieces out, but today I realised that I'd been so tired I skipped all the marks, and also I'd cut the edge furthest from me really poorly, so today I fixed that and started assembling. I'm again really tired so I didn't get much done. #Sewing
I did it! It's not ironed but I'm so pleased with myself. I want to finish it off now -- seams and neckline and buttons -- but I'm satisfied that my paper pattern is good enough.
After taking these photos I had a phonecall in the warmest bit of my space before changing out of it and now the underarms are a bit ick. I'm going to rinse them in cold water and then finish sewing. #Sewing
I'm going to try to design a sleeve. The sleeve head in the sheet at the back of "The Collins Complete Book of NEEDLECRAFT" (1981) is about the right size to start with, and there's a diagram of how to change the shapes inside.
I used the green gingham mockup to test my sleeve shape, because I have ZERO spare fabric, and then made sleeves. Tomorrow I might get as far as facings. #Sewing
I'm trying to decide how much I need in terms of facings. I might only want to bind the collar and reinforce the placket to hold the buttons. I'm not sure how to decide.
... I don't have any buttons I like. I think I'm going to cover buttons instead. Somebody stop me.
I've made pattern pieces for neckline facings and cut them out of the fabric scraps.
I've done a button and a buttonhole. I'm so close to finishing. It's just that the finishing is the time consuming, fiddly part. And involves a LOT of ironing. #Sewing
I've typed up instructions so that next time I make this I know what order to do things in so that all the felled seams are neat, and tomorrow I'll do more actual sewing. I need to do buttonholes and attach and cover buttons, fell down the seams, and finally hem it.
Mended jeans -- belt loop tore a hole in the back so I reinforced both rear side belt loops and reattached the flapping one. #Sewing #Mending
Today I mended a duvet cover using my new vintage sewing machine from 1940 (not to be confused with my old modern machine from 1990-ish) and it was SO EASY. The extra space in what I believe we call the "harp" made a huge huge difference.
#Sewing #Mending #SewingMachine (link to thread with pictures of the vintage machine: https://mastodon.art/@artbyailbhe/110780146951341100)
#Sewing #Mending #SewingMachine (link to thread with pictures of the vintage machine: https://mastodon.art/@artbyailbhe/110780146951341100)
Ailbhe (@[email protected])
Attached: 4 images The case of my 1940 Singer 201K handcranked sewing machine. The way the storage and case works is so, so simple and clever. #SewingMachine #Sewing
Today I tried to fell the seams on the top I'm making and when I was trimming the seam allowance I cut through the actual garment in TWO places, though I'll be able to mend it by sewing it down to the folded seam inside, and then when I tried sewing it I went WILDLY wrong. I think my felling foot can only really handle straight lines and *mild* curves, not the bust on this shirt's princess seams. I mean the princess seams on this shirt's bust. I'm so tired.
Yes, of course I'm basting them *from now on*, I just thought I didn't have to. Pff.
Felling down the curves on princess seams for a bust that is 25% bigger than the underbust is *tricky*. #Sewing
EllenInEdmonton 
@artbyailbhe
Eeeh!! Provide progress reports, please. I have princess seam dreams but I think it will take a while for them to come true.
Eeeh!! Provide progress reports, please. I have princess seam dreams but I think it will take a while for them to come true.