Life gets in the way

Once again, life managed to throw a few curve balls.  I was determined to get in a blog post before November came to an end, but somehow I just couldn’t manage that.  Back up to October.  My trusty old dinosaur of a computer finally died.  It took a few weeks of research, angst, etc., etc., to make the decision of what would be the replacement.   You have to realize – the old computer was about 15 years old.  It served us well.  I am just not used to running out and buying replacement technology at the drop of a hat.  It was a very stressful few weeks.  (How can I survive without my e-mail??  Blog reading??   Etc., etc.)  Then there was the whole process of adjustment to new everything.  Buttons in the wrong places.  Oh – and of course whatever (newer) photographs I had were on the old computer.  My cousin assures me that he can recover all my files, but that requires taking the dinosaur’s pieces to my cousin’s house, and that just hasn’t happened as yet.   On the plus side – turns out this new Office programme has a template for blogs.  So here’s hoping that this makes blogging a whole lot easier/less stressful.  (I was always rather nervous of typing into “space”.

I’ve had other things to deal with.  My mother passed away very suddenly at the beginning of November, and I’ve had (and still have) an inordinate amount of “stuff” to do.  Blogging just seemed to get pushed to the very back of the list.  I’ve been sorting, tossing, shredding mountains of paper.  Sorting “stuff”.  Because Mum lived with me, all of this wreaked havoc on the house.  The smart thing seemed to be to just deal with all of this and then tackle the normal cleaning and putting back everything to whatever goes for normal around here.  So here it is December, and I really do need to try for some semblance of “normal”.  One day at a time is all that one can do.

On that note – new pictures of new (or not so new) makes not yet having happened…  This is what I was up to several weeks ago…

One of the staff at our local branch library decided to set up a sewing machine, so that whoever so wished could play around on it.  Week after week I saw this machine sitting there with one lonely piece of fabric.  More and more stitching was building up on this now rather tattered piece of cloth.   So I dared to ask – just how much interest there was in stitching.  Apparently, quite a few people were trying out their hand at stitching.   Hm – sounds rather boring – everyone stitching on this one “rag”.  Let me make it a tad more interesting…

I stitched up a very simple bag,

 made up an instruction booklet,

cut a stack of rectangles, marked them,

added a handful of ribbons and cords for drawstrings (and thread, of course) and delivered them to the library.

Apparently quite a few bags have been made (some have been kindly gifted to the staff).  There’s a special ed class that comes into the library once a week, who have a fun time with this project.  Now I’m thinking that some Christmas stockings would be in order for some stitching fun, but I doubt my ability to deliver at this time.

An hour (OK – perhaps two) of my time, and a whole lot of little people (and perhaps not-so-little people) have a try at sewing something “useful”.  Bonus – I cleared out some scraps of fabric and other stuff that weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Black and white jeans and a top

Perhaps it's time to stop procrastinating and actually post a few summer makes, before the weather turns so cold that no-one wants to see anything but warm and cozy.
After the Sandra Betzina jeans - way back - I unearthed a jean pattern that I had drafted for a class quite a few years ago.  There were some "issues" - the teacher and I were not in agreement about certain points of fit.  My jeans - I want them my way.  I fixed the "problems" and over the last two (?) years and went on to make several more pairs, which (not surprisingly) were a much better fit than the S.B. jeans.  Fast forward to the latest make...

I finally succumbed to the printed jeans craze.  A rather abstract floral in black and white, but some sort of floral nonetheless.
The fabric was bought with a skirt in mind, but I somehow did manage to fit the jeans pattern.  Not enough fabric for back pockets, but do I really, really need back pockets??  I have front pockets.
The top - a lengthened version of my woven sleeveless tank.  For some interest, I somewhat copied what I'd seen on other blogs - yoke in back and buttons.

Now that I see my own back in the picture - perhaps I should have made a longer yoke.  Oh well!  Next time.  The fabric ... who knows.  For some reason I thought that there was a fair bit of cotton content.  Given the fabric's absolute refusal to hold a press, I now rather doubt that.  Probably mostly polyester.  It's loose, and therefore cool enough for hot and muggy weather.
Two more pieces of fabric used that had previously been marinating in the fabric cupboard!

7 Years in the Making

the front

In 2007 (yes, I had to look it up to remember how long ago it was) there was an exhibition of Russian quilts here.  I translated at some of the classes.  One of the quilters was showing jackets that intrigued me.  Up to that point, the quilted jackets that I noticed around were rather oversized bulky things that did not appeal to me in the least.  The "Russian" jackets were fitted, much more stylish.  Upon inspection, they were not really "quilted", but pieced together right on the lining with no batting (foundation piecing?).  I had to have a try.  Pieces of fabric were bought (cotton batiks - at least I had a definite idea about something!), fanned out on the table.  I'd squint at them, walk around the table, squint some more, put the fabrics away.  Buy more fabrics, lay them out, delete some, add some.  This went on for, literally, years.  Fast forward to 2013 - enough is enough - I finally decided that I could continue this process for decades and never put together this jacket.  Out came all the fabrics - I finally made choices.  What I had envisioned as being a "brown" jacket, ended up being more orange, but that's the way it goes.  The jacket pattern ended up being a combination of bits and pieces from various patterns, and I really don't remember what I stuck together.  My main goal was to have very simple pattern pieces to stitch on the patchwork.  I had some kasha lining, and that was my foundation.  Pattern pieces were traced, and then (another long process) I had to decide how to piece.  I had many brilliant ideas - log cabin, crazy quilt... it could have gone on again for years.  Another kick in the behind to myself, and I decided random width strips would do just fine.  If I didn't start stitching, I would manage to drag this out yet again.  I was so very glad when I finally got to the stage where I was actually cutting and sewing jacket pieces!

the back

For some reason the sleeves just refused to be fitted into the armholes.  I simply put in a few pleats at the top of the sleeves.  The collar needed a bit of pizazz...

so I pieced it from little squares (Seminole piecing?).

And then... don't know what happened... the sleeves turned out a bit short.  Never fear - there's always a solution - more little squares...

Oh - just in case you're interested - all the main seams were sewn wrong sides together, then bound and topstitched on the right side.  Nice clean finish on the inside.  Anything sewn right sides together was bound on the inside.

Edges all bound.  Needless to say - I was very happy when this jacket was all done.  There really was no need to make this into such a drawn out project, and I really have no idea why I become absolutely petrified when I dream up something like this.  Next time...

Men's Shirts

Let's try this yet again.  I never did manage to keep journals, write diaries, and obviously that reflects in my abilities to keep blogging.  I am determined, however, to try again, and perhaps this time I will actually manage to keep going and to post at fairly regular intervals.  How difficult is it to write something, say, once a week?
I do apologize for not having responded to comments, and at this point, I'm sure, that any reply would not make any sense any more, so I'm starting over - clean slate.  I will attempt to be a much more interactive blogger.

Men's shirts.  In the fall I had a class on simple men's shirts.  (I am now getting quite a few men in beginner's classes!  Only fair to gear the topics for their interests.)  Obvious recipient of class samples would be my son.  Unfortunately, he's at the other end of the country, so sizing becomes somewhat of a guessing game.
Here's the shirt and the pattern.  Blue linen with grey buttons.

 I actually followed directions - just because I have to set an example for students!  Well, except for the finishing of the bottom of the collar inside...

Instead of tucking the raw edges into the bottom of the collar, I sewed straight across, then finished with a strip of bias.  Much easier.  Much more secure, especially on such a loose weave.

The next shirt was to be a birthday present.  Birthday is in February.  Shirt(s) were sent just recently.  What's a few months?

My son likes the look of steampunk clothing, but he's not too keen on wearing a "costume".  Perfect shirt would be...

This one I made from muslin - literally.  It's was very wide muslin with a very silky feel.  I had purchased it with thoughts of a shirt or blouse for myself, but it seemed perfect for this shirt.  Buttons are shell.  I was a little concerned about the size - it is a rather voluminous shirt, but then there's the pleat in the front, and pleats in the back...

The package arrived today, so I'm sure I'll be given a verdict soon enough.
I did stick to directions.  (The front "bib" with the pleat wasn't difficult, but it certainly helped to follow the directions.)
My son's request was to change the sleeve opening at the cuff.  I made him another Folkwear shirt years ago (the Russian one).  The cuff buttoned at the sleeve seam, which put the button right at the underside of the wrist.  Not very comfortable when, for example, one is writing.  This pattern had the same "problem", but I fixed that.

This shirt got regular 21st century sleeve vents.
Now that wasn't so difficult.  I actually managed to write a post and add pictures.  It did not take me all night.  I do apologize for the very choppy writing.  I tend to be very wordy, and here I try to keep things short, and then it all seems wrong.  If I keep mulling this over much longer I won't hit the "publish" button, and then there will be no post!

The Muslin

Found here

When I started to actually think about the muslin for this pattern, I came to the conclusion that I needed to (wanted to?) use something thicker than cotton - something that would somehow mimic the final quilted jacket.  Also, I hoped that this would result in a second jacket, instead of a limp rag that would get thrown into a box.  I dragged out a remnant piece of navy double faced wool - something that I thought originally would make a vest.  With some piecing of scraps (side front and side back are pieced, and the collar was a real scrap project - 3 scraps to make the collar!), I actually managed to fit all the pattern pieces for the jacket.  To make the fitting/pinning process easier, I elected to sew pieces wrong sides together, with the seam allowances facing out.  Once the the fitting was done, the pattern pieces cut down to "my" size - I got on with work on the quilted jacket.

Then it was back to my "muslin".  How to finish it off?  I wanted a clean finish on the inside, and the seams were all sewn already facing out...  I opened all the seams, stitched them down with a twin needle from the wrong side, trimmed the seam allowances (which were rather ginormous), then covered them up with bias strips. These were all sewn down by hand through one layer of the double wool, so that nothing would show on the inside.

This was definitely one of those cases where my scrap hoarding paid off.  The plaid silk dupioni was left over from some flower girl sashes from a wedding that happened decades ago.  Periodically I would unroll these bits of fabric, thinking what on earth am I keeping these for? - then I would roll them back up and pop them back into the scrap drawer.  Guess I was keeping those scraps just for this jacket, though I didn't know it.  The buttons are green leather - yet again one of those things that I wondered about periodically, but elected to keep - just the right number and size for this jacket!  I suppose I could call this my "environmentally friendly" jacket - zero waste (almost) when cutting the pieces, using up stash - not that I'm a stickler for such things, but it's always nice to give oneself an extra pat on the back.  The result is a jacket that wears like a cardigan, and keeps me quite warm - no mean feat for someone who is always freezing.
Aside from the fact that this pattern runs very large - the only real problem, I found, was the way the sleeves were drafted - no differentiation for front and back (same problem I had with the Simplicity jacket), which made the sleeves skew backward.  My very unscientific method to fix the problem, was to pinch in the sleeve...

until it hung properly, measure the amount of extra fabric, then scoop that amount out of the sleeve pattern.

Hopefully you can see my pencil lines on the original pattern piece - I did scoop out the back of the sleeve a little (top pencil line), and the front was scooped out quite a bit more (bottom pencil line).

 

One more view....  Ah... the buttonholes....  I simply made machine buttonholes, putting a piece of black tearaway stabilizer underneath.  It's hidden in the stitching on the wrong side, with the hope that it will keep the buttonhole from stretching out.  Perhaps I should have corded it, but I didn't.  We'll see how that works out in the long run.

Geisha jacket take 2

This picture of me wearing jacket took some planning - like remembering to pop my camera in my purse when I went to pick up my cousin to go to the opera, and he graciously agreed to snap this picture.  Back view, because that's the one that counts with this jacket.

Is there some way of sitting in a car without making mincemeat of the back of a skirt?

The skirt (not blogged) is the Hollyburn by Sewaholic - lengthened considerably.  For the particulars on this jacket, please see my previous post.  Continuing information, i.e. the story of the muslin - coming soon.
By the way - did you know that the Met has a fashion blog?  Shows what people wore to the opera.  Rather fun.

Geisha jacket

Thank-you to everyone for such a warm welcome back!
Before I delve into the jacket particulars...
Allison - the dressform came as you see it - it's not actually a form for fitting, but a "decorator" piece.
Sheila - thank-you for checking up on me back in July.  I only just noticed your comment.
Barbara - I'll explain the sleeve fitting fix in a later post - I had to do the same for this jacket.

Back view

Front view

I just happened to walk into the store when this fabric arrived - love at first sight!  Quilting fabric - a panel print with geisha girls in my favourite colour  - brown.  Lots of coordinating fabrics.  Normal people put these all together and make a quilt or a wall hanging.  Not normal people (me) need to figure out how to make this work as a piece of clothing.  Part of the same shipment - this pattern.

It was difficult to choose just three fabrics of the too many choices, but I finally did.  And to be sure that this jacket would actually get made, it was to be a sample for a class.  It still took almost three months to get done in-betwixt and in-between various other goings on.
The pattern was an unknown commodity to me.  There was only a finished bust measurement to help in choosing size, which seemed huge.  Like it or not, a muslin was absolutely necessary, and that's a story for the next post.  The "muslin" became a second jacket.  Bonus.
Once the pattern alterations were done, each piece was traced onto the printed cotton and rough cut.  Then the print was layered with batting and lining (a silk jacquard that was supposed to be a blouse at some point, but it just happened to be the perfect match, and... well... lining this jacket was a greater necessity than a brown silk blouse... at the time).  Each piece was basted, then quilted.  Sounds fairly straight forward and easy.  Not quite.  I dithered and I procrastinated and I dithered some more.  It's a scary process, this quilting business, especially if the result has to be absolutely perfect, because people will be looking up close, and flipping to the inside to have a look, and... ( I do such a wonderful job of making myself fell incompetent.)  Oh, and then there was the issue of how to quilt each piece.  Couldn't run lines of stitching through the faces!  Should I do straight lines? diagonal? diamonds?  In the end, each fabric was done differently.  And no, I do not own a walking foot - I just held the fabric taut as I sewed, and I prayed ... a lot.

According to the pattern instructions, the seam allowances are to be serged.  Not on my precious jacket!  I opted for a sort of lapped seam on the inside - hand stitched to not show on the outside.
What a relief to finally get to the binding.  End in sight!

Buttons with flowers sort of blend in

Then there were the buttonholes...  My original intent was to stitch buttonholes by hand.  I machine stitched rectangles, made the cuts.  (Made several samples on scraps.) Those darn buttonholes looked just awful.  Even with two times around in heavier thread, the batting kept poking through.  After having a bit of a meltdown, then ripping out the stitching, I decided to simply wrap the "holes" in tiny strips of fabric and had stitch these down - a sort of bound buttonhole look.  Could have saved myself a lot of time and anguish, had I come to this decision much earlier in the process.

Inside detail at collar

The class for making this jacket was in early spring.  Interestingly enough - not a single person in that class chose the same fabric as I did, and I had thought that the fabric was the star of the show.  Turned out it was the pattern!
Having lived at the store for almost six months, the jacket now hangs in my closet - as yet unworn.  It just seems too "special" to wear on just any old day.  Perhaps I'll finally wear it to the opera this Saturday, even though "going to the opera" around here, is just going to the movie theatre for a live broadcast from the Met in New York.