sewing101 | Entries tagged with check-in

Hi sewists! Happy New Year! What have you all been doing with textiles recently?

Since our last check-in I finished my crinkle linen top and am very pleased with it. (In fact I’m wearing it right now.)

I also finally got my hand-dyed patchwork quilted and made up into a cushion cover (photos on Mastodon).

I did some experimentation with strip-piecing, using the contents of my “too small even for patchwork squares” scrap box. The backing (not visible) is made from partly-cut-up polycotton pyjamas that had been sitting in a carrier bag in a friend’s house for more than 20 years! This is going to become a bag, once I finish making the second side.

And I did some experimentation with fake pintucks (using a twin needle, inspired by an article by Jean Liittschwager in issue 78 of Threads magazine) and with curved piecing (following a tutorial written by Helen Butcher). These were all done with pieces left over from making toiles that were too small to cut down into any more pieces for toiles.

I want to try out the fake pintucks on different fabrics, since I dislike the rippling and want to figure out a way to make it not happen. Ultimately I’d like to do these curved pintucks on some otherwise-plain fabric that I will then make clothing from. And I want to practice the curved piecing a bit more and then do it with some of my hand-dyed fabric for my next cushion cover.

nou

Hello sewists! What’s up? Have you finished anything recently? Started anything new? Learned a new technique or read a new sewing-related book?

I finally got all the stupid crinkle linen cut out and have started assembling it. I’m using french seams because it’s very inclined to fraying, but I’m doing them a bit differently from usual. I stay-stitched all the edges on the individual pieces at (not inside) the seam allowance with soluble basting thread, then sewed the narrow part of the french seam at the width I wanted it to be, rather than sewing it wider and then trimming. The stay-stitching meant that (a) sewing an extra-narrow seam to start was easier than it would have been otherwise, and (b) I could see exactly where to sew on the second pass.

Still to do: bias binding on the bottom hem, elastic casing for the sleeve hem (I want to be able to push the sleeves up and have them stay where I put them).

I also made myself another silk pillowcase, since only having one was annoying (you’re not supposed to dry silk in direct sunlight, so getting it washed and dried in between getting up and going to bed could sometimes be challenging).

nou

Hello sewists! What have you all been up to recently?

I’ve been very very slowly cutting out and doing the darts in a top for myself from the oil-green crinkle linen I mentioned in our last check-in. It is such a monumental pain to mark — it doesn’t like to take the chalk at all — but my top pattern has eight darts in total and I like to mark them all. Sleeves and front are cut and darted, just need to cut the back and then sew it all together.

nou

Hi sewists! What have you been sewing? What are you planning to sew soon? Are you stuck on anything? Anything to show off? Any cool new techniques learned or tools acquired?

( My doings and photos are behind the cut. )

shermarama

Hiya! How's it going out there in sewing land? What have you been up to, what have you learned, what are you eyeing up next?

I have taken on another jersey / knit fabric pattern, this time for some joggers - the Waves and Wild Field Trip Joggers, in the adult female fit. This is for fabrics with less stretch, 20-50% widthways, and I have my eye on it for making winter trousers out of some heavy merino / polyester mix I got cheap from a local deadstock specialist, but first I made a test version in some fabric I've had sitting around for ages.

The fabric is a light-to-mid cotton / elastane knit, and it's a white base printed with a mostly solid black surface, apart from the pseudo-constellations, planets, moons and unicorns (yeah, no idea) in turquoise. I can no longer remember when I bought it, even, but it kept looking at me from the stash. Given the dark print on a light base, I wanted to use it in a garment where it wouldn't have to stretch much and have the light part show.

I sort of dislike print-at-home patterns because there's so many stages to printing, glueing, and tracing, but then also this is quite compatible with the size changes I need to make to things so it's not all bad, and I find once I've got to the point of having cut-out pattern pieces, I can just leave it a couple of days and then it's like arriving at a new pattern that I didn't have to do all that work for. So I did that with these, adding 2cm to the rise, but below the line of the angled hip pockets (so I wouldn't have to redraft any pocket lines) and added a straight 12cm all in one go just below the knee, since I reckoned that width would sit comfortably past my calves.

The waistband has you stitch most of it on as a big loop, then feed in elastic that's almost as wide as the waistband, sew that into a complete loop, and then finish sewing up the waistband; I made the elastic a little longer than suggested, and it's come out well in terms of being firm enough to stay up but not so firm it's constricting. Because the fabric is on the light and stretchy side compared to what was specified, too, they're very free-moving all round, really, without being loose enough to be annoying.

So... especially with the turquoise cuffs at the bottom, basically I've made pyjama bottoms, but ones that I can just about get away with wearing out of the house :D The biggest problem I'm having with that at the moment is that most of my wardrobe is variations on greens and browns, passing through yellow and orange and red if they're warm ones, and most of it doesn't really go with turquoise at all. But, hey, for something to wear around the house on a slow morning, they're a winner.

nou

Hello sewists! What have you all been up to recently?

I finally finished making test sleeves and made a REAL clothing item with ACTUAL sleeves, and all of that long slog was 100% worth it because they’re the most amazing sleeves I’ve ever made. They fit me beautifully and they have a great range of motion. The first day I wore the top, I couldn’t stop staring at them in the mirror because they’re so good. (Overall it took about 9 or 10 test sleeves to get this result, but that’s OK because now I have enough muslin scraps to do more dyeing.)

The pattern is now completely unlike any sleeve pattern I’ve seen before, since it has a dart in the sleeve cap and another dart in the back seam. Long sleeves do sometimes have elbow darts, especially in couture, but this is a short sleeve which ends at the elbow and hence traditionally would not have any darts at all.

(If anyone else is aware of other sleeve patterns with darts in these places, or discussion of doing so, please point me at it! I’ve tried googling to find other people’s thoughts on doing this, but have drawn a blank so far.)

yhlee

Howdy, all! How's sewing going?

I have been AWOL thanks to work blowing up, but I FINALLY traced the pieces for trunks (Comox trunks by Thread Theory) and am, uh, attempting to cut them with a rotary cutter to baste. I picked this because Smaller Than a Jacket in terms of fabric required and the instructions seemed semi-beginner-friendly.

(I traced rather than cutting the pieces because I am terrified I got the size wrong lol.)

Right now my biggest obstacle that working outdoors on the patio table means taking breaks because of 90 F weather. (I'm in Louisiana.)

What are y'all's projects, or plans for summer / winter (depending on your hemisphere!) sewing?

nou

Hi sewers! What have you been up to recently?

Since our last check-in, I’ve made a bra top, a pair of underpants, a cushion cover, a pair of viscose challis trousers, and a mock-up for a new fancy neckline. I’ll put details and at least one photo in a comment.

yhlee

Howdy!

What have you sewn lately? What are your plans for April? Any extremely pettable fabrics or interesting patterns or techniques?

I have aspirationally picked up a pattern for boxers and plan on tormenting my Long-Suffering Husband by making him be my guinea Joe. :) I've never sewn knit fabric before so this will be an adventure. Also considering a jacket pattern (McCall's M8474) although possibly basting it up in muslin will reveal that I AM NOT READY. I aspirationally picked up the matching pants pattern as well, but in looking at the fabric, uh, apparently I'm okay with my black-with-silver-glittery-things fabric for a jacket but not pants?

In a completely different direction, I am semi-seriously considering making a plush felt model of, uh, the muscles of the arm, complete with detachable velcro'd muscles and color-coding, because I am going to remember the coracobrachialis if it kills me. I took a figure drawing/anatomy for artists online workshop earlier this year and I loved it, but I have no visual memory so diagrams are hard. And this is the "for artists" version where they group things together and it's only surface anatomy!! But I have tactile/kinesthetic memory just fine, so I'm wondering if constructing a model would cement the anatomy in my head?? Y'all may now all flee. :)

nou

It’s nearly the end of February, so let’s have another check-in. What’s everyone been sewing recently? Any in-progress or actually-completed photos to show off? Are you struggling with anything and would like some support, have you had a lovely month of all your sewing going just right, or are you somewhere in the middle? Any new techniques learned? Or anything else to share?

nou

Our lovely admin invited us to make check-in posts at various points, so...

What’s everyone been sewing recently? I mended a sheet (I’ll put a photo in a comment), made a sleep mask from my leftover silk (details will also come in a comment), and started cutting out what I really hope is the final muslin for my latest round of trouser-improvements.

yhlee

I got back from my first Pattern 101 lesson with Andrea Eastin of Fair Fit Studio (local to me)! It was in fact very 101, which was what I needed. :D Cut for length.

( I am such a n00b )

yhlee

(You should know that I am distracted/busy/random, so if someone with a better sense of time feels like making check-in posts at various points of the month, please go ahead.)

What have y'all been up to sewing-wise?

Today I attempted a janky curved seam for practice! This mainly consisted of me chanting, "Parallel to the tangent to the curve...parallel to the tangent to the curve..." to dubious effect. XD (Photographic evidence in comment to this post.)

yhlee

I practiced with my sewing machine for the first time since my lesson last week. I had to download the manual for my Janome Magnolia 7318 (guess who cannot remember where the print one went) but it's still magic that it winds the bobbin for you. I wound SO MANY bobbins (probably very badly) for my mom. :)

Today's report is:
Me: Huh, I was great at sewing accurately and straight as a beginner, but right now it's ALL OVER THE PLACE and the tension feels weird?

Also me, five minutes later: OH. THE PRESSER FOOT WAS UP. :facepalm: :p

I'm hoping to practice some more and then book a "reading patterns, how do??" lesson Fair Fit Studio (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, local to me) as I loved the instructor's "baby steps n00b sewing machine 101, how do??" lesson. :D And then maybe I can destroy some innocent cheap muslin trying to sew a thing. :D

What are y'all working on, or hoping to try in January?

yhlee

...I had forgotten not only that this comm existed but that I'm the mod; looking at the date of the last activity, that's almost certainly because 2016 was the year I was flooded out and lost the sewing machine I had then.

My next attempt at getting back into machine sewing was in 2020. I was gearing up to take lessons and you can guess what happened. :p

However! Tonight I had my first lesson (Sewing Machine 101 for n00bs, not her term) from Fair Fit Studio in Baton Rouge, and I LOVED IT. I brought my essentially unused sewing machine, a Janome Magnolia 7318.

( Read more... )

Signed, I have just dug out my Bunka Fashion Series Garment Design Textbooks in an aspirational kind of way. :)

What have your sewing adventures been? Do you have sewing hopes/plans for 2024?

yhlee

Hello!

This is a sewing comm for mutual support/encouragement among novice sewers/sewists, although more advanced and expert sewers are welcome too (because we would love y'all's advice ^_^).

Introductions: Well, I'll start. I have a Brother CS600i that I picked up last year (?) on advice from

vom_marlowe, I have pretty much zero prior sewing experience (I suspect of everyone currently in the comm I am the n00biest!), and I would someday like to be able to make/alter garments and doll clothes and, okay, pen wraps. For the moment, though, I figure I'm going to start by getting to know my machine, learning to sew seams, and starting with easy things like pillowcases. The text I plan on using is Diana Rupp's Sew Everything Workshop, with maybe some other projects yanked off the web.

How about y'all?