Sunday, September 29, 2013

Work in Process, a Toile TSW Liberty with a Twist


My latest project is a bit more time consuming, but I have been chugging along with it and enjoying the process. The Sewing Workshop's Liberty Shirt requires precise sewing. Plus, I added pattern matching across the front. It's an extra touch I've added on most of the tops I've made over the past couple of years. The difficulty depends on the fabric but is not hard on a stable cotton like this one. 

This toile is a fun one that I discovered at a Material Girls session recently. We meet at Ann Silva's Bernina, which also sells a pretty good assortment of quilting cottons, of which this is one. It's an Alexander Henry fabric named "Midnight Pastoral", and that's where the twist comes in. It's a fairly classic toile, until you get up close...


Can you see it yet?


Because I love Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, it's a wonderful choice.

I made this pretty much as before, including a self drafted collar vs. the curved bias one that the pattern has. It's almost done. I just need to make buttonholes and sew on some buttons, but I have to decide what buttons and switch machines first. 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Simplicity 2416 View D



This is a circa 2010 Khaliah Ali pattern that's still on the Simplicity website. I made View D, which appears in green on the top row of drawings and in blue on the bottom row. It's a 4 panel gored skirt with the addition of a front overlay. Since I usually wear my tops out, I skipped the skirt's sash.




The fabric is a Kaffe Fassett "Milleflore" print on rayon that I bought from Fabric.com. Beautiful stuff, and perfect for this pattern as it has a soft drape. I basically sewed it according to the pattern guide with the addition of serger techniques. I also changed the casing to accommodate 3/4" wide elastic vs. the 1/2" recommended. It was very simple to sew together and went together in no time.

I wear a lot of the colors in this print, so I already have several tops that'll coordinate. A nice addition to the wardrobe!

Monday, September 16, 2013

TSW Eureka Skirt and Another Kwik Sew T





Both of these are patterns I've made before. The skirt is from TSW's Eureka Top and Skirt pattern, that I originally made last winter from a cottony knit fabric.




This time, I used a poly knit I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics some time ago (no longer in stock).  Since brown is not my best color, I knew it would have to be a skirt. I love the drape but oh man, was it difficult to sew! I'm sure that some of the difficulty was self-inflicted--I tried a stretch needle and a universal, neither of which worked very well until I started placing strips of water soluable stabilizer between the fabric and the feed dogs.  I probably need to look into purchasing some ball point needles? In spite of all that, the skirt was fun to make. There are 2 basic pieces, each cut twice, that fit together like a puzzle. The first time I made it, I cut the lower piece on the bias. This time, I didn't bother and it worked fine while using a little less fabric. Because the drape of the fabric was so nice, I didn't bother to finish the hem edge. Works fine, as this is a knit that doesn't curl or run. 

The T is from my usual T pattern, the OOP Kwik Sew 2565 you've seen in many previous incarnations. I discovered this knit in my stash--it has a cottony hand with synthetic threads mixed in. It's not as sheer on me as it appears on the dress form; it's actually thicker than a lot of knits I work with. I'm not sure if this will be the ultimate pairing of top and skirt, but this is a T that can be worn with a lot of items in my wardrobe. 

Monday, September 9, 2013

A Field Trip to the Fashion Incubator

Another event in the past, but a treat.

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to meet Kathleen Fasanella in person and visit her work space through the Material Girls group. Kathleen writes the Fashion Incubator blog; although it is oriented towards manufacturing, it often covers topics of interest to home sewers as well. She also literally wrote the book: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing.

Quite a facility! It's not a factory, per se, more of a manufacturing lab. I found it an interesting peek into  a world of sewing different from my hobbyist's setup.

Some of Kathleen's assortment of industrial machines. We had the opportunity to give them a spin. Industrials definitely take some getting used to!


Pay attention to the foot setup on this machine. You don't have to change the feet, just spin to the next type.


This is the industrial serger. I liked how the surface was flush with the tabletop. There was also a scrap catcher that went straight to the waste basket.


A steam generator iron. Similar to mine but more heavy-duty. Take a look at the templates hanging behind the ironing board, which has the ability to blow air into or out of a fabric.


My favorite machine. This is a commercial buttonholer with numerous types programmed in. Once you've set the fabric in the machine and hit the pedal, it does it all in seconds--from sewing the buttonhole to trimming the threads to cutting the fabric. Beautiful! If they ever manufacture a home version of this puppy, I will be the first in line.


Many thanks to Kathleen for inviting us to her work space!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

First Day of School Project

The collection date of the First Day of School project was at the July ASG meeting. Here are a few photos from the event:





We had an amazing response from the members! We were able to provide over 100 outfits to homeless elementary school students. We also received several donations from the public after our project was featured on the first page of the local newspaper. Definitely worthwhile! We plan to do this project again next year, so I'll be making more outfits during the year.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Artists' Celebration and Show at St. Michael and All Angels



Weekend before last, my church sponsored a show and sale. I decided to participate even though I don't sew for others and don't have any real desire to start. However, I did want to put myself out there and stop being so darn quiet about a craft that I love and spend so much time on.

Let's face it, garment sewing went through a lengthy period of unpopularity; why put yourself in that category? Thankfully things are changing. Also, the economics of custom sewing have been affected by fast fashion too. Non sewers often don't understand the true cost of clothing when it doesn't come from a 3rd World factory. Or they want you to do their mending. For almost nothing

Well, in spite of all that, I put myself out there and received many positive remarks about the clothing I brought to show but not sell. I decided that my purpose would be educational instead of commercial this time around. I brought flyers for ASG, so people could check out a meeting if they had an interest in learning to sew or picking it up again.

I also enjoyed meeting other artists/artisans/craftspeople from our church community. We have a lot of talented people with a wide range of interests--jewelry, photography, quilting, pottery, woodworking, even icon-writing. I picked up a few items for myself--a bracelet, a wooden cross, and a lathe-turned crochet hook .



If I do this again, I think I will make some items for sale. Not clothing, smaller items. After all, St. Michael's still needs to pay off its new building, and part of show's purpose was fund-raising.


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Labor Day Shopping

Sunday was a busy day--church, a hair appointment, and dinner out. I had a little spare time between church and hair, so I visited JoAnn's and Hancock Fabrics. I am trying to limit my fabric shopping for a while with limited success. Less fabric is coming in and I'm still buying, although I'm being more discerning. So partial success.

As expected, sales at both stores...and I'm not on a pattern diet. I found several patterns I actually liked and the price was right. Between them, McCall's, Butterick, Vogue and Simplicity were all on sale.






We shall see what eventually gets made and when. I think I was really in a jacket mode when selecting patterns, though.

Monday, September 2, 2013

The Last of Summer Sewing

What happened to the lazy days of summer? I've been scarce around these parts because I've been working so much overtime! Yes, the extra money is nice, but you do start to long for free time after a while. I did manage to eke out some time for sewing in spite of it all. It's a sanity saver.

The good news is that I did get the backlog done! The white pants and the nightgown are done, and I've moved on to another round of Cutting Line shells to finish out the summer.



This one came about because I had a little remnant of the black cotton. I had it for a couple of years at least and couldn't find any way to use it.




Enter the Hearts a Flutter shell; the neck facing and lower bodice pieces could be fit onto the remnant.



The rest of the garment was cut from a piece of shirting from back in the day when JoAnn had some great surprises in the "red sticker" section.



The piping is ready-made and came from my stash of sewing notions. I know I bought it for something...I took the filling out because it was too heavy otherwise. Yes, the black is not perfectly lined up as I discovered later. But this was a fun project anyway and it's wearable. It will be a good layering piece until it finally gets cold.

The next two are proof that not every piece of fabric I buy ends up in the stash! I found these lightweight linens at JoAnn's when I was shopping for the 1st Day of School project earlier this summer.





Occasionally they do have something attractive, although it's more of a pattern and notion stop for me.




This one is a Pure and Simple shell.


I wish I'd sewn it up sooner. The print is too summery to get much wear this fall in spite of continued heat.


And this one is another Hearts a Flutter shell. I combined the upper and lower bodice pieces on this version. The print is so busy that the seam would be invisible if I had cut it per the pattern. This one will be a great layering piece for fall. I have several cardigans that go with colors in the print, so I'll be able to wear it until cold weather arrives.

I think I'm done with summer sewing at this point, although it will continue to be fairly warm for another 6 weeks or so. I can transition to fall in my color choices and gradually move to heavier fabrics.  I've  already pulled a bunch of fabrics that will work for fall and winter clothing!


I like the idea of continuing with faster projects for the time being. There are several knits in the pile that I plan to make from my TNT Kwik Sew T-shirt pattern. There are also some lightweight rayons that will probably become skirts. Time for cutting, although there are some projects ahead of these already planned and ready to go.