WARNING: This entry is a lot of ramble. Feel free to SKIM! :)
Yesterday, despite my physical state (super tired), I worked on getting my shirt band on. To say the truth, I got a tinge of boredom after I learned that I had to move the darts. First, I had no clue what I was doing ... (geez, I forgot to take a photo of the new darts - I'll get to that for next time). Then, I put the new darts in TWICE, and decided that the entire shirt is going to be too big and that's that. A pang of discouragement came onto me and I sulked a bit. I didn't get back at it until after I went to Hancock's and got some new tools. :D Tools always make me happy!
What I learned about darts is this: they begin at a point of fullness on the body and end just at the beginning of the next fullness point on the body. :) I'm not sure if mine look funny, but if they do - I'm sure someone will tell me. Like I mentioned, I'll get the photo up for you to see.
After the darts, the next step was to construct the shirt band. The directions seemed pretty clear, but I kept reading them over and over and over again. It was the stupidest thing. Yes, "stupidest" is a word. Heh. I decided to just get the needle to it to find out if I understood the directions correctly or not. From the look of my next photo, I DID understand them just fine. :)
My edge-stitching looks very nice, although not perfect, of course. I wonder if anyone will be able to tell if it was "home made". I'll soon learn. (I didn't take an up close photo of the stitching here either. My brain isn't quite working. I'll get that later too.)
The sides of the yoke are wrinkling. That's MORE fabric that I take up in a dart, but I'm not going to. I'm going to make note of it on my pattern directions though, in case I decide to make another one of these shirts.
Just in case any readers are interested in buying a new machine, I want to mention that my Kenmore 19233 has a gage on the left side of the needle plate for times like now (sewing on the shirt band). I LOVE IT! I wanted to start sewing at a specific edge, which is uncomfortable usually, but it was a tad easier knowing that I had a guide to follow. Go KENMORE! Although, I don't know if this is a standard feature for machines today or not.
My next step on the shirt will be to apply the collar to the shirt. Sigh. My fingers are crossed.
Done with shirt talk and onto a tip I learned from my Threads magazine. I painted my needles with nail polish to keep them easier to grab. I'm a mess when I switch needles. I am in a hurry and usually set two down on the table and then I get all screwed up. LOL Hopefully this will help me stay organized.
I bought this basting fabric glue at Hancock's too. I glued some fabric together, but I haven't sewn with it yet - so I don't know whether my needle is going to get sticky or have a tough time getting through the fabric or not. Putting it on seemed fine - maybe I put too much on. The directions didn't say whether I let it dry or not, either.
Part of my motivation to get my shirt band on, and skip the side dart fitting, was that I have new patterns that I want to make. Hancock's sale was $0.99 for all Butterick patterns. YAY! I got 5 of them. Pattern 1: This T-shirt pack - Shirt fitted, semi fitted, and fitted. I need a basic T.
Pattern 2: An easy A-line skirt. This is perfect for cottons. I'm looking forward to a basic pattern that I can use with fun prints for summer, spring and fall. :)
Pattern 3: I liked this next pattern for the basic sleeveless top. I'm huge on sleeveless, but I've been wearing the ribbed knit tops that have a sporty look. That's okay for Reebok shorts, but I'm going to be wearing more skirts now, so I need a good style match.
Pattern 4: This is TOO CUTE! I like view B - the brown shirt on your left, in the front. I saw a substitute teacher wearing one at work this summer. I fell in love with the light cotton fabric. I was quite happy when I saw the pattern in the book. I actually went LOOKING FOR IT. :) Yeah, $0.99!!! It's designed for broadcloth - so that'll be a quite inexpensive top for sure.
Pattern 5: I love the hat in this pattern. It's sort of hard to see in this photo, but the rim in the front is larger. I also thought the small apron for my sewing room would be nice too. I don't like hanging things from my neck, but I love using pockets for stuff. The long apron on YOUR left is for gardening, I may or may not make this one.
You know, I was thinking. What is it about sewing my own clothes? I mean, WHY do I want to do this so badly? Well, I suppose it's for the fit, ultimately. I know if I keep at sewing, I'll eventually get my fitting right from working with different patterns. But it's also more than that - I can't stand the fabric designs on so many of the clothes in the stores. I want more selection and better quality fabric. I guess I want to "express" myself too. I'm not going to get all freaky or do anything bizarre. I like lacy and more feminine looks. I like trimming and hearts, pleats and gathers. Who cares if I look like some weirdo from Pretty Pretty Princess. LOL ... okay, I'm not THAT bad. Do you know what I mean though? I want nice and quality. I want my garments to wash up nicely. I'd rather wear my crappiest (yes "crappiest" is a word) craftsmanship around until I get better, before I spend any more money on someone else's crap. LOL
Anyways... moving on.
Last photo, this has nothing to do with sewing. Check out this squash! I couldn't believe my eyes. It was growing along side the garden fence post so we both missed it when we'd harvested previously. I put some scissors up next to it to show the size. CRAZY! I wonder if it'll be any good. We'll probably have to make some more SQUASH SOUP! Mmm....
All right, I guess I had a lot to say tonight. That's it for now. Until next time -- HAPPY SEWING! Or HAPPY ANYTHING that you do! :)
2 comments:
That's some squash!!!
When I express concerns about the quality of my sewing, my mother always says that I'm the only one looking so hard at it. Perhaps, to a point... Unless you make something so eye-catching that someone's really checking it out, LOL. But you're right about the stuff you buy off the rack - some of that's crappy. Sloppy stitching, doesn't wash well, etc. The idea (note I say "idea") of making something unique does appeal to me. And when you love fabrics, you can't help but want to use them to make something! Good luck with the darts and the collar.
Great deal on the patterns! I'm interested in making a tunic top - but I didn't see any that looked both easy AND appealing on the Simplicity & McCalls sites, so I'll check out your Butterick pattern.
Laura, I added some pattern sites to my "links" tab. Maybe you want to browse a couple for your tunic. I think finding patterns are easy - but making them fit is the most difficult. (I'll be adding more links too that I found in my magazine.)
Does your mom sew? My mom sewed when I was young, but she ended up just mending garments while I was growing up, and that was mostly while I was in school.
I think people look at seams close up after they know it's home made. lol. I'm not going to tell anyone until they tell me how cute something is that I'm wearing. LOL...
I might want to make something crazy to wear at some point, but my personality likes to stay behind the scenes most of the time. I don't like to wear anything that calls too much attention to myself.
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