The Making of a Raincoat – Part 3 – A Tale of Two Sleeves

Posted on March 18, 2013 by edges

Just as anticipated, the answer to the sleeve dilemma appeared when I least expected it…in the form of a petite white-haired woman who walked into the store.

We chatted for awhile, and I invited her to join some other customers in having a little cookie treat in the back classroom. I sat down with a cookie myself, and almost thinking aloud, I mentioned the “speed bump” I had run into using vinyl-covered fabric. It’s actually a dream to work with. It sews and folds and presses just fine (with a pressing cloth). But vinyl-covered fabric doesn’t have a lot of “give”.

When setting the sleeves on the muslin and on the lining, I had no trouble because I could ease the fabric. Not so with this. So I ended up with two sleeves that appeared to be too big for the armhole.

The petite woman looked at me. “Why don’t you undo the sleeve seam and the side seam, attach the sleeve, and then sew up the sleeve seam and down the side?”

I looked at her, disassembling and reassembling the coat in my mind. It was an obvious solution – and I never would have thought of it. “That just might work…” I said slowly.

“Mmm-Hmmm,” she said, taking another bite of cookie. “I used to do a lot of garment sewing, and you know, you can forget about pattern instructions.” She waved her hand dismissively, with a twinkle in her eye.

Sure enough.

The next day I went back to work on the project, and tried what she suggested. Voila! Two (almost) perfectly set sleeves.

Onward to the next set of challenges.

And a special shout out to all the women who help other women every day. You make the rockin’ world go ’round!

The Making of a Raincoat – Part 2 – The Saga Continues

Posted on March 14, 2013 by edges

Even though I don’t have much time to work, I’ve been diligent. At this point, I have completed the lining and facings, as well as the hood.

So far, so good. I also got most of the piping created, as shown below.

Yesterday, I started on the body assembly. I had to stop last night because no matter what I did, I could not get the sleeves to fit the bodice. I finally put down the work and went to bed. Unfortunately, it will be a few days before I can get back to it. I’ll have to think about what is happening with the sleeves and see what adjustments can be made.

Never fear. At this point, it’s just frustration. I haven’t stitched a bit of the sleeves, so no “unsewing” yet, just pinning. A day or two from now, it will all become clear. So I will wait until the project is ready to advance. I suppose it’s good practice–learning when to step back, take a break, and wait.

I’m not good at stepping back or waiting. I’m good at barreling through. So for now, I will let the rain coat take the lead. I will let it rest. And when we’re both fresh, we’ll pick up where we left off, and the rest will be easy.

The Making of a Raincoat – Part 1

Posted on March 8, 2013 by edges

I’m nervous. I’m nervous because I have never made a raincoat before. I’m nervous because I’ve never used a fabric quite like this before. And while I’ve made some t-shirts, skirts, vests, things like that, I don’t consider myself much of a garment sewer.

But there’s a time for everything I guess. And I plan to learn.

This particular pattern is in the current issue of “Stitch” magazine. The fun part about getting a pattern online is that you get to print it out one page at a time and piece it together. This pattern was 66 pages…nice round number. But a heck of a lot of sheets to get in perfect registration and piece together!

It’s impossible to work from a pattern that’s taped so the next step is to trace the master and create solid pattern pieces — both lining and main fabric.

Next comes the task of sewing out a “muslin” or a test pattern. My muslin is of the outer fabric only. I just want to make sure it will fit properly.

I have a “body double” which I used to work on the assembly. So far so good.

Once I got the main pieces sewn together, it was obvious that it was too long. The rest of it seems to fit OK for a jacket. I wanted it to be roomy.

Muslin is complete, but I’ll have to lop off about 3 inches from the hem–I am slightly vertically challenged. Stay tuned. Ready to start with real fabric! It’s supposed to rain for the next two days.

Maybe that’s a sign.

Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day – Thursday Jan 24

Posted on January 24, 2013 by edges

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” –Erma Bombeck

That quote stands 3 or 4 feet tall, posted high on the wall of our local quilt shop, Sew Generously in St. Charles.

I have seen first hand the heart, soul and plain old hard work that goes into running a small business. I have seen the dedication of owners and the passion of associates, teachers, artists, craftswomen and friends. I have seen fabric purchased based on the creativity and vision of youthful designers, classes and events offered to inspire, genuine support given to each other and to those in need. I have seen gentle encouragement of the next generation of sewists, artisans and leaders.

It is good.

So run, don’t walk, to your local quilt shop tomorrow. Show your support, let yourself be welcomed, and join in the community.

Machine Embroidery Digitizing — An Experiment

Posted on December 31, 2012 by edges

I love machine embroidery. I love it because of the technology involved. I love it because it is mesmerizing to watch. And I love it because I can design and create my own work, and, though I learn from others, the field is wide open to creative possibilities.

But I wanted to try some slightly different things, and have a little fun with my machine and software.

Special thanks to Amanda Whitlatch, Bernina of America Educator, who teaches their Software Sampler webinar. It will be available Jan. 19 to the public. Find out more here www.sewgenerously.net

I was determined to digitize the new 780 machine. I started by creating a sketch from a decent photograph of the machine. I wanted something like a mechanical drawing of it, since I knew I also eventually wanted to create a stitched outline (or redwork) of the machine, as well as an overall embroidery.

In the V6 software, I added colors and a store-bought background design (Damask Etchings) for my first attempt. That design took over 2 hours to stitch out and I learned a great deal about the limits of the software and the limits of my patience. Still, it stitched out OK and I certainly have a useable design. If I were to stitch it out again, I would go back into the software and “tweak”. A lot.

As part of the Software Sampler project, we created a notebook cover for a pad of paper, playing around with different fonts. But since I wanted to make further use of the machine design, I included the outline design of the machine. As you can see, the front/back cover is linen, while the inside picks up the bright colors.

Finally, I decided to re-digitize the machine in a little cleaner way and add it to the outline designs to make a tote bag. You can see the result. Here is also a pic of the machine sewing out the embroidery design of itself!

I have so many other ideas of things to digitize, I almost don’t know where to start. It is somewhat time-consuming, but what craft or skill is not? I find that as I get excited about a project, the time flies. Experts would call that “flow,” that time when you are challenged enough to lose track of all time, yet not so frustrated by the project as to give up.

So many people now have told me that sewing is their therapy.

I hope that you, too, have something in your life that causes you to lose all track of time.

Just Like Grandma Used to Make – Almost

Posted on November 25, 2012 by edges

This time of year, I really long for some snow. Like everyone else, I’m really sick of it by March, but late November, early December, give me a little bit of holiday cheer in the form of weather.

At a recent community supper, I was lamenting about the lack of snow and how much I wanted to see it this year and global warming, blah, blah. A friend looked at me and said, “As long as the weather stays moderate, I can work outside. Working outside makes for a decent income. When weather gets cold, we need different kinds of contracts–indoor work. And while I can still get that, it’s never enough. The longer I can work outside, the better.”

Oh. Now I see. (I was blind and now I see.) I don’t need the weather outside to be frightful, even though a fire is so delightful. I’d rather see people keep their jobs and income.

As for snowflakes, I can make my own. Grandma used to make wonderful doilies by hand, some of them no larger than the palm of your hand. I still have a few. But times have changed a bit, and now I can make ornaments with basically the same look, only they are done on an embroidery machine. Free-standing lace is what they are called. No teeny tiny crochet hooks. Though I love the look of handwork, too often, I just don’t have the time.

I used two layers of Aquamesh Washaway stabilizer. Once the design stitches out, cut away the bulk of the stabilizer, and rinse the rest under warm water. It disappears almost instantly. I prefer Aquamesh over Badgemaster, having used them both now. Badgemaster has a gummy, gooey feel to it as it rinses and does not seem to rinse as easily. But in a pinch, it will work just fine.

Then just lay them flat and pin them onto a piece of styrofoam. They dry out overnight, and maintain a slight stiffness. Whenever I do this part it reminds me of the way my mom used to wash out doilies (she made plenty of them too). But she had to starch them to get them to hold a shape, while mine will have a slight residue of the stabilizer to keep them in their shape. It’s a little hard to see the pins in the photo, but they are essential to maintaining the shape and flatness of the ornaments. Free standing lace embroidery is everywhere these days, and I’ve seen some gorgeous designs for the holidays.

Most of these came from a collection by OESD called Snowflake Elegance #12429.

And I guess they are still homemade, though I have been contemplating exactly what that means. If it’s made on a machine, is it really made by hand? When I ask myself that question, I think about what Grandma might have done if she could have gotten her hands on a machine like I have. I think about my mom and her knitting machines. And the question then becomes not whether or not I should make use of technology, but with my heritage, why wouldn’t I?

Done

Posted on October 8, 2012 by edges

Finally. It’s done.

I wish I were able to follow a pattern without making modifications and adjustments and tweaking in different ways. It might all be easier. Then again, it might not be so much fun. On this pattern, I doubled the amount of ruffles (because once I started with the ruffler, basically, I couldn’t stop). The bag has nine yards of pieced and bias-cut ruffles ON EACH SIDE.

Of course, it made the pattern bulkier, but very touchable. Really. Whenever I walk past the bag, I just want to run my hands over all those delicious ruffles. And sometimes I want to hug it. (Possibly because it’s stuffed with a pillow). I worried it would be too heavy, but turns out it’s just fine.

If you want to see it in person, stop by Sew Generously in St. Charles – any time after Tuesday Oct 9.

You may want to hug it too. Or make one of your own. The bag is modified from a pattern created by Kay Whitt in her book Sew Serendipity Bags.

I see a pillow in my future.

Some Things Never Change

Posted on September 28, 2012 by edges

I bought a new attachment for the sewing machine –a ruffler. And I have been having a wonderful time. I want to add ruffles to everything I own. Shower curtains, book shelves, pillow cases. I’m hooked. If I can see it, I want to add ruffles. Right now, I’m working on a handbag pattern.

If you’ve never seen a ruffler, you will get a kick out of it. It is straight out of the industrial age. To see one in action, check out this video. I found it even more fascinating that this contraption hasn’t changed in over 50 years.

While at our church’s rummage sale a few years ago, I picked up a Singer sewing machine from the 1940’s. Or the 50’s at the latest. Now normally, I bring a lot of stuff TO the rummage sale and nothing back home with me. But on this particular day, I bought an old sewing machine. It came with a box full of accessories, and lo and behold, one of them is a ruffler.

Now, if you haven’t noticed, sewing machines have changed quite a bit since the 1940’s or 50’s. Today they are complicated pieces of electrical engineering and computer design with sewing mechanisms attached. They accept USB sticks. You can buy optional digitizing software. You plug them into a UPS, and make sure they are unplugged when not in use to avoid a power surge. They get software and firmware updates. They come with training classes and webinars, and their screens are in HD.

Yes, sewing machines have come a long way, baby. But when I opened the box of accessories for this antique sewing machine I recognized the ruffler immediately.

See for yourself.

Apparently it’s hard to improve on perfection. Some things never change. Good to know that in some cases we keep what works.

On the other hand, on a whim I looked up “ruffler” in the Urban Dictionary. Yup. Some things never change.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Category Archives: sewing