Earl Nightingale's Definition of Success

I plan to work on my blouse for a short while tonight, but I am rather tired already and it's only 8:30pm.  :)  I'm excited about the coming year though because I plan to have some major breakthroughs in my sewing.  Over the next week I will be sharing with you my written goals and how I plan to achieve them.  Earl Nightingale, in his audio "The Strangest Secret", defines success as "the progressive realization of a worthy ideal".  This is a terrific definition for a seamstress to have posted close by their workspace.

Another Blouse by Simplicity

Simplicity 2936 has 6 different views.  My last project was view C and tomorrow I will be starting view F. The blouses are the same with the exception of the collar and the sleeves.   Again, I am working with some similar fabric as the last project, but the colors are tans/grays/black with gold thread.  I initially took a picture of the fabric, but the lighting and picture does not do the fabric justice.

Finished The Blouse

I finished up last night and it fits nicely.  I will get a picture of me wearing it in the next few days and post it.   Yesterday I had to run out and purchase the buttons.  It seems like such an easy task, but not always as easy as you think.  Our local fabric store, G Street Fabric, has the most amazing button selection.  For some reason though, as hard as I tried I could not find a proper blue button in the 'blue button' section.  After nearly 20 minutes of comparing, I walked to the far end of the wall and found the most random blue button with dark edges. It's as if the buttons were made for this fabric. :)  

By the way, I like using stabilizer when I make my button holes.  I laid out a piece of water soluble stabilizer and marked the distance and placement of where I wanted the button holes.  The product I use is called Super Solvy.  Then I simply pinned the stabilizer strip against the front facing of the blouse.   I sewed the button holes directly on top of the stabilizer and then clipped away the excess stabilizer right up close to the holes.  When I wash the blouse any remaining tiny bits of sabilizer will wash out.  The use of stabilizer will give your button holes a better finish and it becomes a terrific guide for perfect hole placement.

Weekend Project

As it so often happens, many things came up this weekend and I got a late start on the shirt.  So far it's turning out rather well.  Still left to complete are the collar, buttons / button holes, and hemming the bottom.  I will model it later this week once I have finished.

Simplicity 2936

Good morning.  I am so excited to start my weekend project.  The fabric has been sitting in the same bag I purchased it in for quite some time now.  I love the fabric because it is a beautiful piece of woven cotton.  In addition, it is highlighted with some very fine silver thread running through the lengthwise grain.  The right side of the fabric would be difficult to detect after prewashing so I have put a small safety pin near the selvage on the right side.  Even though it probably wouldn't make a difference if I got it wrong, I  like knowing it was done properly.  Since the fabric store folds the fabric with rights sides together, this was easy to determine.

Vogue Tailored Skirt - V1021

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This particular pattern did not call to be lined, however most skirts such as this would probably benefit from a lining.  In this case, the fabric is a beautiful soft lightweight 100% wool.  I did not hesitate to line it with 100% silk.  Yes, it takes almost twice as long to line but well worth it.  Remember, when you sit down in a wool skirt, the fibers get stretched and they don't return to normal easily.  The result will be that you are going to have a butt print in your skirt if you have to sit down for any length of time.  In addition, a nice quality lining provides body and form to your garment.  My second piece of advice is to use sew in interfacing.  It's always the quality way to go when sewing. 

Sewing With Lycra

This was a fun little Lycra top to make.  Yes, you heard me.   Fun and Lycra can be used in the same sentence.  :)  Don't let stories from other seamstresses intimidate you.  Here are the rules. 

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  Use Polyester thread.  It stretches and you need the thread to stretch.
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  Wind your bobbin thread slowly.  This makes for a looser wind.  Very important.
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  Use a "new" ball point needle.  I used a size 80/11 for this project.
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  Adjust your top tension down.  Mine was pretty low for this light weight thin Lycra.
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  Sew a test strip to check your tension and quality of seam.  If the stitches break when pulled or your fabric puckers, your tension is too tight.
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  Sew slowly and allow the fabric to naturally feed through under the presser foot.  Do not pull or stretch fabric as you sew.
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  You may use straight stitch or zigzag.  Either works fine.

Remember.. on any tension adjustments, avoid touching your bobbin tension unless you really know your machine well and you know what you are doing.  I never adjust mine.

If you find you're having problems with the fabric slipping or not feeding properly under the presser foot, try the following.  Pin a piece of tissue paper on top of the fabric and sew directly on top of the tissue.  After you finish sewing, gently tear away the tissue. 

The below picture is a truer example of the colors in this fabric.   Big difference...  I think the flash had something to do with it.  I am taking my pictures with my Blackberry and I'm not able to get very good pics, but wanted you to see that sewing with Lycra is possible, it's easy, and you should not be afraid to work with it.  This pattern is a New Look #6464.

 

Designing Your Own Patterns

I've always been intimidated by designing my own patterns but the other day I decided I would wing it and see what happened with a skirt I had in mind.  The first thing I did was to rummage through my daughters room and find an old jeans mini skirt.  I used the skirt primarily as a guide to trace out size on a piece of tracing paper.  I divided the front into 3 panels and left the back as one piece and added a narrow yoke with a side zipper.  What really excited me was the fact that my waistband turned out perfectly.  I decided it simply could not be as hard as it looked.  As I went about the task of tracing and cutting, I tried not to overthink the whole process.  I would encourage anyone to make an attempt at something like this.  This project was exactly what I needed to gain confidence and take me to a new level of visualizing fabric, design, and fitting.

V2973 (Montana, Vogue Paris Original)

Currently I don't have anyone reading this blog so it's really more of a diary at this point... but who knows.  I am hopeful that one day I'll figure out how to get this blog up and running and open to the general public. :) 

The jeans are finally done! Wow, this turned into a much larger project than I anticipated. The biggest problem was that the sewing machine I used was not deisgned for heavy fabrics. I broke 3 needles and almost broke 2 machines while trying to complete the jeans.  I don't think I would try this again unless I happen across a more industrial style machine that can handle the seams and top stitching.

The things I liked best about this pattern were the front pockets and the knees. The directions were pretty easy to follow, however I did run into some issues with the waisteband that I was not able to resolve as I would have otherwise liked.  Other than that, I would add a back yoke to the jeans. This particular style tends to flatten out my butt. I believe having a yoke might give the back of the pants the proper ease which would give a more flattering look from behind.