ILX Sewing!

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I am happy to report that I am currently working on a stupidly easy apron and it is turning out perfectly! I bought this ridiculous Dennis the Menace fabric for a dollar and it is not letting me down. I have attached pockets, sewn hems, and it's looking pretty, pretty good.

Oh, and I went to the fabric store yesterday and became overwhelmed which led to my purchase-less departure. I overheard a woman discussing how she has sewn some of Dolly Parton's clothes (she was looking at the fake fur section), and I decided I need to come back when I'm feeling a bit more confident. How sad! Attack of low sewing-self esteem!

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:39 (seventeen years ago) link

Holy shiiiiiiit, those patterns!

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Okay, I take that back, I thought there would be more of them...and that fewer of them would be for unhemmed jersey shift dresses with miniskirts. I might try the hoodie, though.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:46 (seventeen years ago) link

I would love to be able to make my own jeans

― . . .and a soda on the side (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link

I also realized printing those patterns would be a bitch. Kinkos? That involves extra effort. No thank you.

That wrap skirt though... I may be coming into a stash of old cordoroy, so perhaps I will attempt that.

I feel much better after having created something successfully. I was Suzie Downer for a while (also fueled by raging, emotional PMS, which made me sob at random TV shows, including, but not limited to: Extreme Makeover : Home Edition"),

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link

I dunno, I love wrap skirts but I think that one is awkwardly long. Of course you could shorten it but...it doesn't seem to hang right for its width/length. Hard to tell from those few pictures...I'm sure the extra ease makes it better for biking in, sitting on the ground in, etc...but it looks worse when standing. Hmmph. There's got to be a way to hide the extra in some side pleats or something....

I have a very, very good wrap pattern that's easy and I've made it twice and you could embellish or add pockets or change the closure to anything you wanted (it's supposed to be long skinny ties but I've also made it with a D-ring buckle).

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Hmm, now I can't find the pattern online. Will look at home.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

Extreme Makeover : Home Edition

the show is scientifically engineered to make you cry. it's evil really.

― . . .and a soda on the side (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

See, I'm 5'10, so long doesn't bother me so much. Honestly, wrap skirts don't really "do it" for me, but it looks easy, and I probably could make it without dire consequences.

Oh! And you're totally right, Laurel: pressing seams makes a world of difference. I felt competent yesterday while making my sad little apron!

Sidenote: everyone of my family members is getting an apron for Xmas.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:18 (seventeen years ago) link

UM YES, pretty much everything will look like SHIT unless you press as you go!! Esp darts. This is why you need a mini-tailor's ham.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link

I saw one for 8 bucks yesterday at the fancy fabric shop. I don't know why I didn't buy it. I was emotional. They had a bunch, so I'll go back. It looks like a giant shoulder pad, no? They had another that looked like it was for sleeves, and this one (which I assume was the tailor's ham) that looked like it was used for shoulders.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah, I've never made anything with long sleeves so I never needed a sleeve one. Although if I did, I would probably put a layer of felt or batting over a big wooden dowel, in a pinch.

Regular ham:
http://www.bblackandsons.com/store/media/product-images/pressing_supplies/PS-04.jpg

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:35 (seventeen years ago) link

Super! That's what they have!

I think, after I complete my apron, I will try something non-threatening like a tote-bag. I think I may try this:

http://www.supereggplant.com/archives/000216.html

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 16:02 (seventeen years ago) link

what is the ham for?

― . . .and a soda on the side (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 17:14 (seventeen years ago) link

It's for pressing any seams or parts of your sewing that aren't flat or straight! Especially bust and hip darts. Also comes in handy for pinning things together sometimes when one side that you're attaching is straighter than the other and you need to make both edges line up with the least amount of distortion.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 17:18 (seventeen years ago) link

Plus you can stick pins into them to hold the fabric in place while you do things, and the top (plaid) side is a little bit fuzzy so your pieces don't slip off it. It's kind of genius.

I've also read that, if you want a skirt hem to float REALLY nicely for a special occasion, you can iron it out section by section on the ham rather than flat on the ironing board...it will give it just a little more rounding and body. Of course it's also more work.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 10 October 2006 17:20 (seventeen years ago) link

hooray for my finished apron! no unfortunate accidents! a certifiable success!

http://static.flickr.com/101/271857434_a8edf1035b.jpg?v=0

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 00:57 (seventeen years ago) link

It's very hard to sew around a zipper - to sew it in place, but I tried my best.

― youn (youn), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 01:23 (seventeen years ago) link

I have not yet tried zippers. Guaranteed to be a disaster with me.

CAT PICTURE ALERT:

http://static.flickr.com/98/272187119_94969efab5.jpg?v=0

Gertrude LOVES the sewing light.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 11:16 (seventeen years ago) link

that's awesome Molly! I have to try my skirt pattern.

― . . .and a soda on the side (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 12:07 (seventeen years ago) link

How did your zipper turn out, Youn? Can we see?? :)

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 17 October 2006 13:16 (seventeen years ago) link

three weeks pass...

I bought a pattern for pajamas over the weekend that I'm going to try and make this weekend. the ladies nightshirt piece is to be sewn in knit fabric (like t-shirt I assume.) Is this hard to work with? Do I need a special needle?

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:32 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, get a needle for knits, Sam. You could probably get along without it but it will make your project better/easier. I think that needles for knits have a slight ball-point so that the needle head slips between the strands of yarn instead of splitting them -- so if you need to rip out any seams, it won't tear the fibers.

Does yr machine have special settings/stitches for knits? Might be called a "stretch stitch" or similar.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:39 (seventeen years ago) link

i doubt it as it's el cheapo. I think I only have four stitches.

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:47 (seventeen years ago) link

If you don't have a stretch stitch, make yr thread tension as loose as you can without it tangling or going wrong somehow...cos when you pull that nightshirt over your head the fabric is going to want to stretch but the seams won't and if you pull hard enough, the threads will snap. Esp true in neckline, hemline, armscyes.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 16:51 (seventeen years ago) link

i just bought the amy butler book 'in stitches' on a whim & made this potholder over the weekend:
front:
http://static.flickr.com/104/290224431_ba94a94e9c_m.jpg
back:
http://static.flickr.com/115/290224437_7d37551981.jpg

It's my first time trying to follow a pattern . . . but it's a nice, simple one that I can improve upon when I try again.

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:08 (seventeen years ago) link

cool, like the quilting.

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:10 (seventeen years ago) link

oops. i meant to shrink the back down.

thanks! the quilting was one of the easier parts . . . you use masking tape as a guide & it just happens so quickly. the border was really hard. it's cut on the bias & the corners are mitered. or supposed to be . . .
i'm going to try again anyway. we need potholders.

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:14 (seventeen years ago) link

Kelz, I love all those fabrics! Wow. Nice color combinations.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:20 (seventeen years ago) link

thanks, laurel! it's a little much in person, but i figured i should start with something that i could get excited about. actually, i think i only regret the stripes. i should have gone with something more polka dotty or something.

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:22 (seventeen years ago) link

I just bought the Sew U book so I can try to give myself a refresher course before starting to sew again. I would like to try to not buy any clothing in stores for awhile and see how that goes. But I do get to buy clothes on ebay and alter them to my liking. I have taken to buying vintage dresses and cutting them into long shirts.

― eatadick.com (Carey), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:22 (seventeen years ago) link

Carey, let me know how you find the patterns in that book? We publish it and I have a set of patterns but no instructions to go with. Also I am going to try another shirt pattern by BBW soon (from Simplicity).

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:34 (seventeen years ago) link

I want to hear how that book is! I almost bought it in a moment of over-ambition . . .

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:36 (seventeen years ago) link

it seems the best reviewed for what i wanted on amazon, outside of those complete guide to sewing books. i seriously don't need a book on how to alter a t-shirt 100 different ways.

― eatadick.com (Carey), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:51 (seventeen years ago) link

The Mason Dixon Knitting ladies highly recommend that book (In Stitches). I'll probably end up getting it too.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 17:53 (seventeen years ago) link

hmm, more things for my wishlist.

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 19:53 (seventeen years ago) link

Well I'm a total dork b/c it was because of the Mason Dixon ladies that I bought that book in the first place. I read their online thingy & fell in love with the potholder one of them made & it seemed to intersect nicely with my thinking about sewing a lot but not doing any of it.

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:38 (seventeen years ago) link

i actually don't own any great knitting books except for the vogue reference. I was looking at stitch-n-bitch at patita's and wished I had bought it when I first started. maybe the mason-dixon is worth getting?

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes! That's exactly where I saw it! I immediately went and checked it out on amazon.

Yeah, Sam, I'd recommend Mason Dixon knitting! It's not clothes-heavy, but for some semi-practical stuff, (dishcloths upthread), it's really nice. Lots of fun afghan patterns too.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:45 (seventeen years ago) link

Shit. Not upthread here. I forgot which thread I was on.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:46 (seventeen years ago) link

too much needle crossover!

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Fiber overload!

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Get that knitting talk where it belongs.

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:49 (seventeen years ago) link

xpost

http://s133702574.onlinehome.us/pictures/blog/colonblow.jpg

― Sam rides the beat like a bicycle (Molly Jones), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:49 (seventeen years ago) link

Clearly, I cannot keep these threads straight. I talk about crochet on the knitting thread, and knitting on the sewing thread.

My brain is feeble.

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:52 (seventeen years ago) link

not to exhaust the needle talk, but there are sites like knitty for knitting - do similar sites exist for sewing? all i have to sew with is the 'in stitches' book . . . i think i need to expand my resources.

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:06 (seventeen years ago) link

Dude, yes! All kinds of crafty sites/blogs! First two that come to mind:

Sew Wrong: http://mena.typepad.com/dollarshort/sew_wrong/index.html
Not Martha: http://www.notmartha.org/index.html

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:10 (seventeen years ago) link

Fantastic! Thanks Laurel!

This is an apron blog:

http://angrychicken.typepad.com/tieoneon/

― molly d (mollyd), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:18 (seventeen years ago) link

thanks laurel! thanks molly! this is great . . . too great!

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:20 (seventeen years ago) link

I haven't done the patterns yet in Sew U since I am taking it slow and really need to get acquainted with everything again. It does have really good cheapo alternatives though that I would have never thought of, like using a rolled up towel instead of a ham, or stapling stuff, which I have done.

Laurel, where do you go in the city/brooklyn, for fabric, tools etc. I want someplace that is well priced, non specialty, where i won't feel intimidated by tons of design students/designers.

― meandmahoney (Carey), Monday, 13 November 2006 15:08 (seventeen years ago) link

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