ILX Sewing!

Basting/grid is a good idea, didn't think of that.

Heck, I could ask my friend and/or grandmother to teach me some tricks. :-) (God, that sounds lewd.)

I don't think I'll enroll in a sewing course (yet) as I'm very tempted to take that lacemaking class and who knows next year (and the year after that) might have some changes in the household?

Here's how green I was: Until I got my machine and started figuring out how to thread it, I had no idea that thread came from above and below. duh!

I finally made the second step: buying fabric and some needles and thread.

I had to before my fear turns into a fobia. ;-)

Yay!

I hope to have your giftie in the mail in the next week Nath. I'll stick some sewing goodies in too.

I almost finished my mother's purse this weekend. Except the material is this faux-suede and I kind of jacked up the stitching at the top which means I can't fix it. Because of the little holes. :( I love doing things of my own design but it means I'll usually making it up as I go along and end up having to redo parts.

I think this will be another confrontation with my "two left hands." I felt so stupid in the shop. As they are not extremely friendly and an impatient O was with me, I could not ask for information (re needles and *stuff*). I did notice a pamphlet for sewing classes. I only want to do a few, to get me started. *sigh*

PRESENT? Did you just say PRESENT? WOOHOO! :-D

Urgh, I don't even know how to thread the mothah-frigging machine. I'll ask someone. She has the same machine as I do. Lordie Lord!

Do I need two threads (we call'em under and above thread)? Or can I just do a *main* (above) thread?

You need two. The machine works by interlocking the two threads between the layers of fabric. I forget if you said whether or not you had a manual. This should guide you through it.

I have a manual, just not a brane. :-( I tried with the manual but I cldn't understand what they were on about. Should have taken the advice of the shopkeeper and listened to her explanation. :-(

I attempted to do some stitches and was able to get the fabric stuck. hahahahaha Now I have to learn how to put the "underthread" in again. I have watched YouTube and my fear has developed into a fobia again. I think I'll just be patient and slowly but surely figure it all out. What I *really* would like is some sort of mini course but they don't have it here. :-( I'm not willing to shell out 130 euros (yet). I can't since I do want to do the knitting course and there's a second baby on the way.

GAH!

Be patient and keep trying. You'll get it.

I need some help deciding on an embellished pocket . . .

I'm using this pattern to make the short dress w/ tie sleeves:
http://www.builtbywendy.com/onlineshop/images/BBY-3835_MAIN.jpg
and I'm making it out of this great dark turquoise fabric. I haven't put the pockets on yet in case I wanted to embroider them or something. I can't decide! It definitely needs something to break it up though. Any ideas?

What about a contrasting trim on the hem?

like a different thread color or do you mean like ric-rac or something?

I had thought about doing something more elaborate . . . i saw this photo of a japanese embroidered garden that seems kinda cool. i'll try to find a photo . . .

so kinda like this, i guess:

http://huangfamily.com/craftlog/archives/tinygarden.gif

but i don't think that flowers really fit in with what i like about the look of this dress...

To me the dress looks almost mod/sixties style. So I was just thinking a contrasting color of blanket border or twill tape on the bottom. But that's just my taste.

i'm new to all of this . . . is that like bias tape more or less?

I think you're right though. Less is more with that dress. would it be too much to have a border along the bottom and then maybe trim the top portion of the pocket in the same border?

You could do the ties in a contrasting color, or even polka dotted fabric!

the next dress i'm going to make with this pattern is going to be in houndstooth w/ contrasting ties but the current dress is almost finished already (thus the ties are already turquoise). I'm not that experienced of a sewer, so I wanted to do a practice dress first. but i love the idea of polka dots! i mostly avoid bows & buttons as decor & everything else is game.

is that like bias tape more or less

yes. I almost said contrasting ties too.

for me the embroidery seems too hippieish (and I love embroidering things) but again that's just my taste.

I mainly just sew bags/purses so am not the best reference on clothes styling.

I am the same way. That pattern looks great! I'm still a total novice with the sewing. Was it terribly hard? I bought a pattern a while back from Vogue that looks great, but seems a bit too difficult for me.

I agree that embroidery looks too hippie. I think that's why I was leaning toward the crazier one, but even that would probably clash with the dress.

The next dress I make (with the houndstooth) I'm going to do a contrasting tie but only on the inside so the contrast peeks out at you. That's the dress I'm actually more excited about which is why I'm using this one as a practice round.

As for difficulty, it's surprisingly not too bad! I started with the shirt, actually, and I'm glad I did b/c the dress would've been too much for a first time thing. I also modified the shirt to have longer sleeves (slightly) and no elastic in them. I kept the elastic in the neck though, and it's a great shirt to throw on whenever. I may end up hemming it slightly as I am probably shorter than the anticipated person they made this pattern for. you could totally do it, molly!!

If you get it & have trouble, I would be happy to help out. I don't know where you live but this weekend is a 99 cent sale on simplicity patterns at joanns & this is one of their patterns.

Seriously!? 99 cents! I'm so there! Thanks so much! There's a Joann a couple miles from my house. I've been needing a project to A) increase my skills and B) increase my sewing confidence. I really love the top and the dresses. I made a shirt a while back, and it turned out really terribly. I also used some ugly granny fabric from the clearance rack, so it wasn't too much of a wash.

I love Jo-Ann's but it's kind of far from here. I've done about four purses recently from my own design. they were, eh. I've also done a couple of make-up bags that were passable. I'm about to do a tote for myself lined with some luscious taffeta. after that I'm going to try my hand at a messenger bag. I really need an industrial machine.

I bought some great marimekko-esque fabric for curtains, which I really ought to do something with. The extra room in the new place is all set up with sewing table, so it's high time I get something done.

Gah I lost out on some brilliant Unikko-like fabric on eBay by being lazy and not checking, just lost out and it went for a total steal. Chiz. You gotta picture?

Yes! the 99 cent sale starts on the 17th & only goes through the 19th, so stock up! molly, amy butler patterns are REALLY awesome b/c she talks you through step by step. The BBW pattern is easy enough, but it's not quite as clear as the step-by-step stuff. At least, that's been my take on things.
i just realized you've done a top before. this top will be so so easy for you then! and it's so customize-able!

No pictures yet, Sarah. Digital camera is in a box somewhere that has yet to be unpacked. But once I'm done with them, I'll get some photos. I may even take a hiatus from my frantic sock knitting (I'm totally obsessed), and sew tonight instead! Yay, thread revival!

EXCELLENT! I will head to Joann's this weekend, with money from old security deposit in hand and STOCK UP!

Ok, the shirt I made was an UGLY NIGHTMARE. My parents were down visiting, and my mom claimed this was a good pattern. Uhhh, not so much. There was all sorts of weird ruching that didn't agree with the granny fabric too well. It was a dollar a yard, so I justified.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/117/258172322_f0016e6a7d.jpg?v=0

Totally ugly! I don't even know why I thought I would wear it!

I think it has potential!

No Jo-Ann's for me this weekend. Spent $60 there last weekend. :(

I'm trying to get back to knitting as all I've been doing lately is sewing.

I think I'm going to buy pinking shears instead of a serger. I have been really thinking about a serger lately.

Awwh! Thanks! I had big ideas, but it didn't turned out how I'd hoped. The BBY top is exactly what I've been looking for!

Ben's mom has a serger, so I have access to one, whenever I may need one. Wahoo! But pinking shears are just classic.

explain to me the benefits of a serger. I know them not.

would you recommend a serger? i keep eyeballing the brother model (maybe 1030D or something like that?)that has so many positive reviews on amazon.

I really do like your top! I think the style of it is really cute. You should check out some of the other BBW patterns though - there's a cute one with a diamond shaped do-dad in the middle that's really cute and a shirt intended for jersey fabric that's classic looking.

Ok, look at a hem on your clothes. I just looked at my cheapo Target dress for an example, but it's not the best. It makes professional looking hems with the intense stitching.

this might help:
http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/ROYALCOFFERS/serged.jpg

Is it worth getting a whole machine for that (I mean cost wise?) I guess since I don't do much clothes maybe not. I really need to be able to sew through leather and very thick layers of fabric.

I've actually never had the opportunity to use one! I don't even think Ben's mom uses hers all that much. When I was taking sewing classes (they were uber-basic), the ladies at the shop wouldn't stop talking about how great they were for garment-making (the ease, the professional look, etc.).

I think I am romanticizing it since becoming terribly addicted to making clothes. Right now I just do a zig zag stitch up the sides but it doesn't look as nice & I've heard sergers are much faster at this.

My grandmother used to make A LOT of my clothes when I was a little kid, and the zig zag stitch reminds me of this. It also reminds of the time I wore a dress my grandma made for me for school picture day (mind you, it was 3rd grade, and I looked ridiculously awkward - gap tooth, frizzy hair, big glasses, etc.). The notorious mean girl came up to me and said, "What are you wearing? You look Protestant." I think I remember defending my clothes, blah blah blah. But, it was the first time I ever had the "Wow, you're an idiot" moment which one becomes far too familiar with as time goes on. 3rd grade Molly was too nice to say this to her face.

That's such a bittersweet story.