A sewing lesson to remember

I think I may have mentioned, though I can’t be sure, that I have been taking apart a pair of Chris’s pajama bottoms so I could make him more. See, Chris is a big guy, and clothing that he likes and finds comfortable – at a reasonable price – is difficult to find sometimes. I thought that since I have all these mad sewing skillz (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek) I would do something to get around that for certain things – like pajama bottoms.

If you’ve ever attempted to make clothing for a man, you know that patterns are few and far between, but they are non-existent for a man who isn’t 180 lbs and 6′ tall. Hence the reason why I decided to pull apart the pants to make my own pattern. Now, the pants were already damaged, falling apart, and after less than six months after we bought them, I was a little a put out by it. It took me FOREVER to pull apart these pants – they were put together poorly but in a weird way, so most of the time it took was because I was trying to not put new holes in them or because I was trying to somewhat preserve the basic design. This was, by far, the most time-consuming part of the exercise. It took me weeks of working on and off to get two of the four panels separated (two for the front, two for the back; I pulled one front and one back from the pants).

Once I accomplished that, I ironed the pieces and laid them out on some pattern “paper” I purchased at Joann’s … only it’s not really paper, it’s more of a cross between a paper and an interfacing – or at least, that’s what it feels like. I drew around the pieces and labeled each one, along with basic instructions, like where the fold lines were for the hem and the elastic casing for the waist, that each piece needed two pieces cut, etc. The only thing I haven’t quite figured out yet is how to get a straight grain line, but I’m working on that one. Then it was time to make the prototype.

I use muslin most often to make prototypes, and this was a soft, drape-y muslin that closely mimics the feel and drape of the madras fabric I bought for the completed pants. It only took an afternoon to lay out the pieces, cut them, and sew and serge them together. My mom taught me ages ago how to make pants in a super-simple way, and it’s the ONLY way I’ll make them now. Here’s the basic instructions …

Pin the front pieces together along the front/crotch seam and sew together. If you have a zipper that needs to be put in, stop at the marking for the bottom of the zipper, and insert as you normally would. Press seam open or serge. Then pin the back pieces together along the back/crotch seam and sew together. Again, press the seam open or serge it. Pin front to back along outseam (that’s the outside of the leg for those who don’t know) on each side and then sew together. Press seam open or serge. Next, pin together the inseam (inside of legs) and sew. I usually start pinning this at the groin area and work down each leg. As before, you’ll press the seam open or serge it. Then you continue on with your waistband and hem as usual. It’s very easy and I can turn out pants by the boatload.

But I digress … back to Chris’s pj’s, or rather, the prototype of Chris’s pj’s. Once they were sewn together, but before I hemmed or did any work in the waist, I asked him to try them on. He did, and I discovered that they were a touch too small, which was perplexing to me. I couldn’t figure out WHY they didn’t fit, when the ones I took apart had fit so well. While talking to my mom last night and explaining the problem, though, she pointed out the problem.

When I drew the pattern out using the pieces I’d pulled apart, I forgot to add back in the seam allowance. Usually a seam allowance is 5/8″, which will add back more than 2″ in the areas where he needed it most (the hips, mainly). Because the hem and waist were folded over and sewn instead of serged, I don’t have to worry about adding the seam allowance in those areas.

This was an important lesson to me, and I’m glad it occurred with the prototype and not the actual pants. This is my first time to attempt to draw my own pattern, but it wasn’t particularly difficult, and I fully intend to do it again. Next time, I’ll definitely remember to add the seam allowance!

Since I have to re-draw the pattern and make the new pants, I’ll try to do some photos to post here. Happy sewing!

 

I have a confession

I am not much of a sewer. I am a quilter, but not really a sewer. I don’t make my own clothing, I don’t have items throughout the house that I myself have made. I can sew, I have just chosen not to up till this point. Well, that’s not really true. I do not really understand fashion sewing, even though I’ve done some of it myself. The truth is, it never really appealed to me …

See, my mother made all of our clothing. And it drove me NUTS, because the other girls were wearing “designer” clothes when I was in middle & high school, and … who wants to stand out when they’re in middle & high school? I wanted to be like everyone else … buy my clothes at the store. So, one year my mother finally capitulated and told me that she would allow me to spend my “back to school” money she would normally use to make my clothes on ready-to-wear clothing from the store. I was thrilled. With the money, I think I got two or three tops and a pair of jeans. Yep, that’s about all I got. Whereas, in the past, I would start the school year with practically an entire new wardrobe, that year, I had almost nothing. My mom loves this story, but it always ends with me coming to her, shamefaced, asking her to make me some clothes. As badly as I wanted to fit in, I didn’t want to have to wear the same three tops to school all year. I never really had to learn how to sew because … well, because Mom did it for me!

Now, a couple years after high school is over and Mom has stopped making my clothes, I have begun to realize that ready-to-wear doesn’t really satisfy me anymore. Once accustomed to the perfect fit and the one-of-a-kind aspect of the clothes Mom used to make, it’s been a rough transition to ready-to-wear clothes. And wow, are off-the-rack clothes expensive to buy or what?! I was appalled to find that suits cost upwards of $400 … and even on sale they are still well over $100-200 in many cases. Back when I first got out of high school, I could buy suits all day long for less than $75 (ok, so maybe it’s been longer than a couple years since I got out of high school). And those were NOT on sale! When we recently looked at shorts for my husband (who is admittedly a large man, and whose clothes cost more as a result) and found that the average price of shorts for him was $45-50, I lost it. I mean, how hard is it to make shorts?? What to do, what to do?

Well, the answer seems obvious, doesn’t it? At least, it does to me. I have one of the better equipped studios of anyone I know. Maybe it’s time to put the studio to use for something other than quilt construction. I even have many of the tools of fashion sewing. But … there are a couple of problems with this. First of all, I haven’t done any real fashion sewing since my daughter “graduated” from the fifth grade. Seriously, she was in the fifth grade! I made her dress for the ceremony, and it turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I’ll have to see if I can dig up some pictures of it; I know I took some because I was seriously proud of the outfit. So, it’s been a while since I have done any fashion sewing. And frankly, I was never really “into” fashion sewing, so I never really learned a lot … like how to set buttonholes and buttons to match up, how to put in a zipper, and I never really understood how to set sleeves. I NEVER learned to alter patterns, and I certainly have no idea how to make my own pattern.

That’s a lot to overcome just to make some shorts and stuff, huh? But I am determined. I bought a Threads magazine last night, and in this issue, they have a sidebar about a new online video series they have called Teach Yourself to Sew. This morning, I logged into the site and watched the first few videos. These covered basics such as the purpose for the course, what equipment you will need to sew (a sewing machine is necessary, a serger, not so much), and the notions you will need. It then moves on to patterns and buying fabrics. Then there is a project on how to make a jewelry bag. I haven’t made it that far, yet, but I intend to follow along and make every project they give … I think it will be a great way to learn, and they are still adding episodes. Later episodes include things like how to make darts and how to hem (I cannot do a proper hem, I’m sad to say; I never learned).

If you’re new to sewing, or if you’re self-taught, or if you’ve forgotten more than you know, check it out. So far I’ve really enjoyed it!

 

My weekend in the studio

Let me preface this by saying, I know the techniques for fashion sewing; I’ve employed them with some success in the past. But my first love is and always will be quilting. I am likely never to give Ralph Lauren a run for his money in fashion design. That said, however, I have, in the past, done a fairly good job of making clothes following patterns.

The thing is, it’s probably been at least five years since I made anything to wear. It’s possible that it’s been even longer than that. But armed with the knowledge that I once possessed the skills to make some pretty decent clothes, a four day weekend and a pretty good sale at a major fabric store, I was ready to try my hand at a few blouses. I started by taking my measurements (which were far from where I would have liked them to be) and determining that most of the patterns I had in my boxes were not going to fit. Off to the fabric store I went, armed with my coupons and sales flyer, a few pattern envelopes and a debit card.

After going through the McCall’s pattern books (they were on sale for 99 cents, limit 10), choosing a few, and retrieving the ones they had in stock, I was ready to hit the fabric area. I walked around feeling fabrics, checking sales prices, and looking for yardage requirements on the pattern envelopes. I chose peach, tan and seafoam green colors from the georgette that was on sale, and a very pretty navy blue silky solid. I was flying high when I walked out after spending less than $40, which included some new Gingher scissors and threads to match each fabric.

Once home, however, I realized that I was missing thread for my serger that would somewhat match the fabrics I had purchased. A little wheedling and I was able to talk my husband into riding with me back to Joann’s where he would wait in the car while I ran in for the thread I needed, and to return the scissors – I had accidentally purchased knife edge instead of pinking shears. I jumped out of the car, found the scissors I wanted quickly and then looked around. I couldn’t find the serger thread! I asked someone, thinking it had been moved to some obscure location. No, they no longer carry the Maxi-Lock brand I was searching for; all they had was some Gutterman, which was twice as expensive and less than half the thread. When I mentioned it to the girl at the register, she said they were told their store “doesn’t fit the profile” in order to carry the serger thread anymore.

(Insert a look of incredulity here)

So off I go in search of serger thread. I knew there was another major chain in the next town over, so I figured I would try there. Sure enough, they had it, and I was back on the road after waiting in line for an eternity.

Back at home, I iron my first piece of freshly-laundered fabric and laid out the pieces of the pattern. But the pins didn’t want to go through the fabric! I managed to get it all pinned down and cut out and got ready to assemble the top when I read the first line of the instructions. “Unfold bias tape and … ” Bias tape? I didn’t have that, and I wasn’t going back out, so I gathered up the pieces of the top and took them out to the game room to lay them on the pool table to wait. I went back and laid out another top on the same fabric (I had bought this fabric originally intending to make a dress but changed my mind). I cut out the front piece and the two smaller pieces, but when I laid out the back, I didn’t notice that I had pinned down the pattern in such a way that it was over a part of the already-cut fabric.

Did I mention I was making the blouse to wear to a wedding on Saturday? Yeah. So I ran down to my closet to see what I could find that I could wear to the wedding, because it was obvious I wouldn’t finish my top in time.

Finding something suitable there, I waited until this morning to return to my studio, where I unpinned the back and repinned it correctly. I cut it out and started to assemble it. All I can say at this point is, I really need to do more fashion sewing, if only to keep my skill level at an acceptable threshold. Sewing is definitely a skill one needs to practice regularly in order to stay sharp, so to speak.

I started the weekend with the idea I could get at least three tops made, four if I was lucky. Now I’ll be happy to get one done!

 

Beware the person of one book

Or so the Latin proverb goes. I love books – books of all sorts, but I really like books about sewing, quilting and other crafting techniques. I love them because it gives me the chance to see multiple ways to see how different people handle the same issue or concern, and I can use or modify whichever technique suits me the most. Like a cook who doesn’t follow a recipe to the letter, I seldom follow a pattern completely. I am, as a friend succinctly put it, a sewing hack.

Not a hack in the traditional sense of not knowing what I’m doing, but rather a hack in the sense that if I find, know or conceive of a better way to do something, I will do it. And like a good cook will tell you, experimentation has it’s limitations – sometimes you have success, sometimes rousing failure. But it’s always interesting (fortunately for my family, if something I do in the studio doesn’t work out like I intend, it doesn’t usually affect their dinner!).

Now, a confession. Several of my general sewing books – the “how to” sew books – have been lost. I don’t know where they are or what happened to them. My guess is that they ended up either left behind in my last move two years ago, or they’re still packed away hiding somewhere. And that is extremely frustrating to me. I haven’t rebought them yet because everytime I consider doing that, I convince myself that they may yet turn up. However, I know the books very well, and which ones I like the best, so I’m going to share a list of sewing books with you today.

So, here are my top five picks for books for new sewers, in no particular order …

1. Sewing for Dummies – yeah, I hate Dummie books too, but there is some really good advice in this book and it’s well worth the price. A must have for someone who’s a complete novice. I’m not a novice and I keep this one close all the time. It’s the one book I’ve replaced because I missed it and couldn’t live without it. OK, that’s not true – someone actually gave me a second copy, and I was actually quite happy to receive it.

2. The Sewing Book – I want this book, after reading it far too long at B&N recently. It starts out fairly simple – how to interpret patterns, measurements, etc., and then gets more detailed – invisible zippers, blind hems, and so on. It’s a book that will grow with you, definitely. And it’s a great reference for those who are a little more advanced in their technique without seeming too basic.

3. S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop – I bought this book for my daughter a year or two ago, because she wanted to learn to sew. She didn’t, but it wasn’t because of the book! It’s clear, easy to understand, and gives you some projects to practice on. I like the section on setting up your workspace – since my daughter is VERY disorganized, this was one part she actually followed, and it worked very well.

4. Simplicity’s Simply the Best Sewing Book – I don’t know if it’s really “the best” but it’s good. My mom gave me this one when she ordered it by mistake. I’ve used it a couple of times, but a friend of mine raves about it. She says it’s her “go to” book all the time.

5. Singer – The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing – This may be the only thing that carries the Singer name I would dare to recommend these days. My mother “won” an older version of this book several years ago and passed it on to me, as she didn’t feel she needed it. This has been MY go to book for ages now. I see they have an updated one, so it might be time to buy a new copy – mine’s pretty worn. I haven’t looked at this new version but the old one I have is a treasure trove of wonderful illustrations and directions – it only scratches the surface, but seriously, what book is going to be really in depth anyway?

I have to admit – I caught my husband looking at this book last night. At first I thought he was just trying to be funny, but then I realized that he’d actually read some of it. He was only in the first few pages when I emerged from my shower, and he looked thoroughly confused with the picture of the serger, but he had actually learned about bobbins, for all that he still didn’t completely understand how they work. LOL

There are a few others I want to check out but haven’t had the chance to do so just yet – Complete Photo Guide to Sewing, Sewing 101, A Beginner’s Guide to Sewing … Also, if you can get your hands on an older version of the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, snap it up. The new one I’m not so impressed with but the older version was incredible. I never bought one myself because I was too poor, but I must have had the library’s copy out at least half the time. LOL I have intentions to check out Half Price Books to see if I can find the older version because it’s well worth the investment of time and money.

For those who are interested in books about using your serger, I offer a short list below.

The Complete Serger Handbook

ABC’s of Serging

Serge with Confidence

Each of these books is wonderful; I don’t have enough good things to say about them. If you’re looking for something to help you with your serger and learning to use it, or if you know what you’re doing but just want a good reference, you cannot go wrong with any of these.

Hopefully soon, I will have a completed baby quilt to share with everyone. I sort of run into a small problem with it that I’m having to fix, but hopefully it will be ready to go by the end of this weekend. I can’t wait to share it!