Vogue 8332 - Progress is being made

Woo hoo! I got to spend some time this weekend working on my current project - Vogue 8332.

I spent a fair amount of time on Saturday cutting all the bias strips out. I started pressing those, but realized part way through that it was going to take forever and not look particularly nice unless I used one of those bias tape makers.

I hunted some up online, and unfortunately, the shipping to get one would cost more than the tool itself. So I set the bias strips aside to wait on a quick trip to Joann's some evening this week.

In the meantime, I spent my sewing time on Sunday piecing side 1 of the jacket together. I've got everything put together except for the pockets and the sleeves. The sleeves though are one of the last things to be done - after sewing up side 2.

Side 2 will be interesting as that's the side that is sewn up with the seams facing outward and then bound with the bias tape.

Paperclips

One of the things I'm trying to work out for my current project is how to cut and mark fabric without using pins.

I have a couple reasons for this. First, some fabrics just don't take pinning well, and I want to learn a method for handling those.

Second, I want to keep my patterns in good shape and multiple pinnings do take their toll.

I've gone back and forth with using pins, using weights, and using a combination of the two.

Part of challenge is my cutting method and mat. I don't cut very well with scissors. I'm just not very good at it. I much prefer using a rotary cutter. I'm able to control that better and end up with much nicer lines. So, I use a self healing mat along with my rotary cutter to cut fabric.

The problem is that my mat is fairly small - usually smaller than the pieces I'm cutting. So I have to move the mat as I'm cutting. Pins handle this fairly well. Weights are trickier. On my initial attempts, the fabric would slip around at bit as I was moving things around if I did not put in at least a few pins to anchor things down.

I recently read a thread somewhere on PatternReview about using clips to anchor fabric instead of pins. I wish I could find the thread again, but I can't. But it did get me to thinking and I decided to try to use a combination of paperclips and weights to see if that would work.

First, I set the pattern down on the fabric and held it there with weights:

In case you're wondering, those are pieces of petrified wood that I'm using as weights.

Then, I cut along the bottom and sides as far as my mat let me. After that, I carefully papercliped the fabric and the pattern edges together. Then I slid my mat over and finished the rest of the cutting for that piece.

The fabric still slid up a bit as I moved the mat, but with the paper clips there, I was able to smooth it back out again. BTW, I tried this with fairly slippery fabric.

How did it turn out? There was at least one problem; the end points of the paper clips would sometimes catch on the fabric if I wasn't careful in removing them. It also seems like the fabric moved around too much in general.

The more things I try in my efforts to make cutting and marking more precise, the more I think that the ultimate solution will be to get a larger mat! But this little technique may tide me over for a while.

Thanks for a good man

Sewing has become my sanity. I do a lot of project management at work. Projects that rely on different people in different groups to do what they need to do so that I can do what I need to do. And while this is very challenging in a good way, it can also be very, very frustrating.

Sewing is an activity that lets me create nice things for myself and for my loved ones, challenges me creatively, AND lets me work on projects where I get to rely soley on me. I plan my projects from beginning to end and I do all the work. Everything that goes right is my achievement, and everything that goes wrong is my fault. And, as I've mentioned before, the tasks are various enough that I'm not having to do the same things all the time.

So where does the good man come in?

He comes in like superman just when he's needed.

I didn't get to do any sewing yesterday. With this, that and the other, the evening got by me and before I knew it, it was past time for bed. I was very disappointed because if I had worked things a bit differently, I would have had at least a few minutes to unwind with a little fabric cutting.

I've also had a trying few months at work, and getting to do just that little bit of sewing during the week is better than a shot of whiskey for unwinding - and probably a little better for me too ;)

I wasn't going to get to do any sewing this evening either because I was to take the kids to their monthly 4H meeting. DH does most of the homeschooling, but he needs a break now and again, so the 4H gig is mine.

I really didn't want to go this evening though and I whined a little this afternoon. Not a lot, just "gosh I don't feel like going".

Then out of the blue he pipes up and says "I'll take them".

I was SO relieved. It was like a weight off my chest. I hadn't realized just how uptight I was about having to go until he said he would go for me. I was feeling a just a little Sally Fieldish (He loves me! He really loves me!)

So adieu my friends for a while. I've got a date with a newly arrived original "Star Trek" series disk (gotta love Netflix), some fabric, my iron, my pattern and my rotary cutter. It's going to be a relaxing evening.

And thank you, thank you my lovely DH! You are worth your weight in gold and jewels.

Vogue 8332 - Progress Made So Far

So far, I've traced out all the pattern pieces.

I currently trace patterns using a not-so-handy window, and butcher paper. Eventually, I would like to try something that doesn't require the window. It's very hard on my back and neck, and of course, I can only trace pieces when there's light outside.

For this pattern, I made my standard alterations. I started with a size 18, then widened the sleeves in the bicep area, and widened the waist and hip areas.

I've also cut out the main fabric side pieces of the muslin, as well as the 1st contrast pieces and applied the interfacing to those.


I tried something new with the interfacing for this project. Previously, I had followed the pattern instructions and cut the interfacing using the pattern pieces, then applied the interfacing to the fabric.

As you can see from the pictures, this time I applied the interfacing to the cut fabric pieces, then trimmed the excess. I think this way is going to be easier for me most of the time. The only thing I need to be careful of is that the edges of the interfacing stick to either my presscloth, or the ironing board cover. Overall though, this really worked out for me.

My muslin fabric for this side is a cheap plaid flannel I picked up off the $1 table at Walmart.

Lastly I've done a first pin fitting.



The pins make the seams look a little puckered, but the fit feels good overall. I fit the sleeve pieces separately and I think I may have some trouble with those. The upper sleeve felt a bit tight when I bent my elbow and may need to be widened a bit more. I don't think I'll make the final decision on that though until I've sewn this first muslin up.

Right now I'm cutting the pieces for the reverse (contrast #2) side. For this side, I'm using a lightweight jacquard I picked up off ebay.

As soon as I get the reverse side cut out, I'll sew everything up and see how it turns out. If everything goes well, I may move directly into the real thing. If not, I'll assess what needs help and do a 2nd muslin.

Vogue 8332 - Divine Details Jacket

This is what I'm currently working on:

I'm nowhere near finished with it though. I'm still working on muslin #1.

My inspiration for this jacket was some very pretty paisley brocade I picked up off ebay back in the late summer.

The fabric has an "Asian" flavor to it, but I didn't want to do a standard Asian-style top or jacket. I read a good article in Threads magazine about using different kinds of fabrics for "jean" jackets and went hunting for something like that.

My goal was and is to end up with a jacket that could dress both up and down. I hunted all over finally found this pattern.

True, it's not a "jean" jacket, but it appealed to me because I thought I could do one side in denim, and the other in the brocade. I've since changed my mind about that. As time moved on, I started to doubt the wisdom of mixing the denim and brocade with this pattern.

Why? The brocade is medium weight to begin with and fairly thick. The denim is also medium weight. The pattern calls for lighter weight fabrics. It seemed like the thing might be too bulky. I mulled this over for a bit, and was brought to a solid decision to change things around by a review of this pattern over at PatternReview.

I do plan on keeping the brocade for the contrast side. But for the fabric side, I'm going to switch to something much more lightweight. I think I can get that to work out. We'll see.

And what to do with the 20 yrds of denim I had already purchased (through ebay of course - got a good price on it)? I think with that I would like to make a real jean jacket, and maybe use some of the left over paisley, or some other nice fabric, to mix in with it. There are a few different patterns I have my eye on for this.

Simplicity 5562 - Drawstring Pants - 1st Project - Completed July 2006

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Before I took up sewing in July 2006, the only garment I had ever made was a pair of elastic-waist crop pants that I made when I was in my early teens.

So for my first project, I went for crop pants again, using Simplicity pattern #5562. I made View C.

This was one of several patterns that I found by going through Simplicity's online catalog. I really like being able to search for patterns that way, versus having to go to a fabric store and troll through the paper catalogs.

One thing you get with the Simplicity site is a very nice "Design" view of the pattern. With it, you can see the front design picture, line drawings of the front and back, and a view of the back of the envelope. For the last, you will need the Adobe Reader installed on your computer.

With that information, I was able to get an idea of the size I would need, and the amount of fabric I would need.

Lesson #1 - Don't let the pattern sizes throw you!!!!

I had a rough idea of my measurements when I started and OMG!!!! According to those, I needed to get a size 20!!!! I figured "Holy Smokes! That can't be right!".

Well my friends, it is right - well mostly right anyway. There is a standard sizing method that all the major pattern makers (and most of the independents too) use to size their patterns. The result is that the size you need to get in a pattern rarely matches what you normally get in a RTW (Ready-To-Wear) garment.

Sometimes the size you need will be smaller. Most of the time though, I think people find their pattern size is larger than their RTW size (mostly because of RTW "vanity" sizing). The best advice I've heard for this is to buy the size you need. You're making the garment yourself - no one need ever know what size you used to get there.

I ended up going with a size that was closer to my RTW size (size 16). As it turned out, it was the right size to get, but for the wrong reasons. I didn't learn about why until after this project was done though.

I picked my initial set of patterns up at WalMart. While I was there, I picked out some fabric for the project. My DMIL had made my DD a cute little circle skirt out of a fabric with a butterfly print. There were two variations of that fabric available and I purchased some with a blue background (my DD's has a black background).

Oh yeah, and I picked up my sewing machine too while I was there. :)

Lesson #2a - Read the instructions...

With this first project, my goal was get through the basics. So I read the instructions beforehand very thoroughly and followed them very closely during construction. The only thing I changed was the pockets.

Lesson #2b - but feel free to deviate as needed or desired

I wanted the leg finishing on View C, but not the cargo style pockets. The pockets I wanted were in View D. It looked like a simple enough change to make and it indeed turned out to be relatively simple. When doing this sort of thing, you want to be sure to notate the changes, or mark them directly on your pattern instructions. That way you don't get lost in the middle of construction.

With one slight exception, this pattern turned out to be a great beginning pattern to work with. I knew a little about sewing before I started, and the instructions were pretty complete and complimented what knowledge I had very well. The pants are fairly loose and the pattern seems to forgive slight mistakes easily. So this is definitely a pattern to try out early on in your sewing adventure.

Lesson #3 - However, pattern instructions are not always perfect.

About the one problem I had. I did not understand the instructions for putting the back pocket together. I ended up with something that looked wrong to me. Instead of the pocket top having a nice fold, I ended up with a "mini-pocket" inside the main pocket. I have yet to figure out if the problem is with the instructions, or with me.

So, you might be asking, how did they turn out? I thought the pants themselves turned out well, especially for a first attempt.

However, as you can see from the picture, they don't fit as well as they could. The pattern says that the waistline falls 1 inch below the natural waistline. As my body proportions are not "average" the waist is lower on me. I also have a bubble-butt, so the waist in the back tends to pull down quite a lot when I sit down. Lastly, the leg bottoms came out a little wide for my taste.

Let's just say that making these pointed out to me very quickly that I was going to need to do more than just follow patterns out of envelope.

Overall though, I really enjoyed the experience. I found I that really like that sewing projects have multiple steps with tasks that are sufficiently different to keep the whole thing interesting. I have other craft hobbies, such as crocheting and knitting, but I tend to pick those projects up and put them down over the course of years because much of the work is really repetitive.

I can certainly say that this project was enough to put me fully on the path of becoming a sewing junkie!

Don't Wait for Perfection...

My last post on "Thinking Outside the Box" immediately triggered another thought that has been wending it's way through my head the last couple of days.

So here it is, not well thought out, but down on paper, as it were.

Don't wait for perfection.

As a beginning sewist, I find myself struggling with perfectionism. I don't want to start a project until I know I can finish it successfully. I want to know at the beginning that everything is just right, even before I start a muslin.

But I'm not "good" at sewing yet. Sewing, like all skills, has to be practiced. Not only that, but sometimes, the mistakes you make become the best learning opportunities you will ever get. Lastly, when we make mistakes in sewing, as with so many other things, we get the chance to exercise our creativity by figuring out how to turn that loss into a win.

Just something to think about.

Thinking "Outside the Box"

I spent a portion of my lunch hour today over at PatternReview perusing their "Tips and Techniques" section. I found a tip that I really liked and then realized that I had thought about doing the same sort of thing myself.

Then I realized, I didn't do it because I thought there might be a reason why I shouldn't. It was "against the rules".

Now I break sewing "rules" all the time. Most are just guidelines anyway - and there are no sewing police that are going to hunt you down when you don't follow them.

But for whatever reason, I went conformist on this particular item.

"Thinking Outside the Box" is one of those buzzwordy phrases that get way overused. But in this case, it's appropriate.

When it comes to sewing, it's perfectly OK, even proper, to think "Outside the Box". I just bet you'll get some of your best ideas that way. :)

Let's go backpacking!!!! AGAIN!!!!!!

When last we met, I had just completed making some camping gear for the family.

Well, we went on our short backpacking trip last weekend. It was not a bad trip, but I'm a little done in for a while. My DH, however, is not. He's raring to go again already, and has another trip planned for this weekend. My DD and I are taking a pass, but my DS wants to go with Dad.

So, sometime Wednesday evening, DH pipes up and says, "Our son needs a warm hat for this weekend, it's supposed to get chilly. Do you know where DD's green knit hat is?". Actually, the green hat is crocheted, not knitted, but how's DH to know? I told him I didn't know where it was. The conversation continued and I ended up with another item on my sewing to-do list.

Luckily, it was a very small item and only took a couple of evenings to get made up. It's the hat from the same McCall's pattern (4234) I used to make the kids' fleece camp pants. It turned out to be really quick and easy - and fairly cute.

Lessons Learned: The use of kids' washable markers on fleece fabric for making pattern marks is not really recommended.

I tried out one of the kid's washable markers to mark the fleece with. I don't think I'll do that again. Although the marks stayed better than chalk marks, the ink rubbed off all over my fingers as I was working with the fabric. That, and now we have to wash the hat to get the marks off, rather than brushing the chalk marks off. Ah well - can't know if something will work until you try it!!!

When DH and DD saw DS wearing his, they said they wanted one too. "NOT UNTIL I GET TO WORK MORE ON MY JACKET!!!!", says I. ;)

Let's go backpacking!

Am I ever going to get back to my regularly scheduled program? Am I ever going to get to finish talking about the projects and techniques I've learned so far? Sometimes it seems like I'm never going to get there. But SOOOO much has been happening since, oh, about Thanksgiving...

Right after Thanksgiving, I switched from the project I was working on (a jacket) to making Snuglets as gifts for Christmas. As soon as that was done, I started working on the list that my DH made for me.

A while back, he requested that I make some camping gear for the kids and us - some "camp" pants (fleece pants to shlump around camp in), some hiking pants, and fleece liners for our sleeping bags. And he wanted at least some of it in time for a weekend backpacking trip planned for this past weekend. Whew - what a tall order!

I did get a serger for Christmas, so I was able to complete some of the items on list. Yay me! But there was no way I could get all of it done.

I did finish two pairs of fleece pants, one each for my DD and DS. I used McCall's 4234 (view E) for those. The pattern was very straight forward and very easy to use. They took me a day each to finish, including tracing the patterns and making some size alterations. I definitely recommend this as a beginning pattern if you want a nice, easy pair of sweatpants-style pants for the young'uns.

I also made 4 fleece sleeping bag liners . DH and I thought that a plain liner with no zipper would work, but on trying it out we decided pretty quickly that a zipper would be required. I ordered zippers and got them about a week before the trip.

Then I got to go figure out how to insert one. It turned out not to be too difficult - although the finishing isn't particularly nice. But these aren't "fashion" liners - they are not really going to be seen by anyone.

I finished up the last two the night before the trip, with the help of my DMIL and her now working serger (that's another story). She sewed the zippers in with her regular sewing machine and I finished the rest of the liners with her serger.

As it turned out, I need not have tried so hard. We only took two liners, mine and DS'. DH figured it would be too warm for them, but DS' sleeping bag isn't rated for cold weather, and I HATE being cold. Well, he was right - it stayed fairly warm. My liner stayed in my backpack. DS used his liner, but on top of his sleeping bag, like an extra blanket. DS did use his fleece pants that night, but DD had a little accident with hers while trying to use the accomodations (a lovely spot behind some bushes and a tree). (It's no fair, guys have it so easy).

I still have lots on his list to get through, but my list is getting pretty long at this point too. I think I'll get back to work on that jacket ...