Category Archives: Sewing

Flashback Friday

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As with all new projects, ‘Flashback Friday’ is being fine-tuned.  As well as linking back to the original post I am going to copy and paste it into a new post.  So, here goes…..this is from August 2012 just before Izz turned 3.

I have been making a gift for Izz for her birthday.  She has a doll’s bed which has been passed down to her but no bedding.

I bought 2 u-shaped pillowcases recently from the op shop.  Here is one that I have unpicked ready to use.  Note the roll of fabric which is the dismantled and pressed frill.

2012-08-06 01The Duke bought a piece of foam cut to size for the mattress and I have covered that using some of the pillowcase fabric.

2012-08-06 02The next step was to make a patchwork quilt.  I worked out the size and number of pieces I would need.  The plain pink is more of the pillowcase, plain mauve from a piece in my stash of fabric, Dora pattern is a few leftover scraps from the doona cover and curtains that I made for Miss O last year and the pink patterned fabric is from a blouse I picked up at the op shop.  The frill is the one I unpicked from the pillowcase.  The hemmed edge remained intact so I simply regathered it and reapplied to the quilt edge.

2012-08-06 03I bought a large piece of cotton/bamboo batting for a bed quilt I am working on for Izz’s bed so I used a small piece for this quilt.  (I think this is a rather spoiled doll!)  The backing is more leftovers from some op shop fabric.  I quilted it by simply machine stitching along the seam lines which is nothing fancy but seems effective.

2012-08-06 04The finishing touch was to make a matching pillow.  A couple more fabric scraps and some salvaged filling from an old cushion and I had a complete set of bedding for the doll.  Here is the mattress with the pillow.

2012-08-06 05The total cost of things I bought specifically for this project was $6.60.  This is a gift which I know will be loved regardless of the cost.  I am looking forward to seeing Izz’s face when she opens the gift.

Now I need to work on the the bed quilt I am making as well since her birthday is in 2 weeks and I want to be able to give her the present before we go on holidays.

2015-04-03 01In the interests of presenting a complete picture here are a couple of photos I took when she received her parcel.

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Sew My Stash Sunday – 11

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The recurring theme of these posts lately seems to be how little I have done.  This week has been no exception to that pattern.

2015-03-29 01This photo of my ironing board covered in fabric tells this week’s story.  I decided to take a break from dressmaking and make a start on a cover for my KitchenAid mixer which lives on the bench in the corner of my kitchen.  I bought this fabric a few months ago.  It is off-white with black silhouettes of kitchen utensils which seemed perfect to use for this project.  I washed and ironed the fabric this morning and found various pieces of calico for the lining.  I intend to use some bamboo batting to pad it and machine quilt the pieces before assembling the cover.  I have cut out the calico pieces.

The mauve and blue floral top which I started last week has come to a grinding halt as I need to buy some fabric to line the front yoke and cut a facing for the back neckline.  It is not feasible to use the same fabric because the pattern will show through.  I thought I could use some plain white lawn but it shows through a too bright, if that makes sense.  I tested for a suitable colour by placing a pale grey t-shirt behind the fabric and that colour works perfectly so I will buy some silver/grey lawn fabric this week and hopefully will get back to that top before next Sunday comes around.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 10

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Another week has flown by and the sewing had not been touched.  Before I could start sewing I had to do the ironing and there was quite a bit as I did not do it last weekend and had just ironed a few things during the week to keep us going.  I got it all done early this morning and then we headed out for a few hours with our overseas guest.  This afternoon has been wet so it was a good excuse to sew rather than being out in the garden.

I could have finished the hand sewing on the green skirt or finished making the denim one but I decided that I needed a change of scenery.  The first thing I did was cut out a white shirt for my daughter from the pattern I had drafted a couple of weeks ago.

Then I moved on to drafting another pattern.  I have given quite a bit of thought to what style I would use for this piece of fabric.

2015-03-08 02I drafted the top from this ensemble but with a few modifications.

2015-03-22 01The neckline will be a ‘v’ rather than square.  The lower edge of the sleeves and body will have a few rows of shirring elastic rather than being gathered into a band.

I decided to make a prototype before cutting into my new fabric that I bought especially to make this top.  In the spirit of using up my stash, I found a pretty piece of lightweight fabric which was given to me a year or so ago.  Despite much thought I had never been able to come up with an idea of how to use it and there is just over 4 metres of fabric.  So at least some of it is now the prototype.

To get an idea of how it might look I decided to simply baste the pieces together in the first instance.

2015-03-22 02This is not a particularly flattering photograph but it gives an idea of the style.

Things I discovered:

I can easily get it over my head
The neckline is perfect
I will cut the sleeve a bit longer next time
I am going to recut the front body as there is too much fullness in the front
When I cut the pattern in the good fabric I will straighten the side seams and take out the little bit of shaping at the waistline

Even though this is just a test run, I really like the fabric and I am sure it will earn a place in my wardrobe.

Old News

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While I have been sorting through the blog photos, I have come across some that I took to use in blog posts that never eventuated.  Maybe it was because something more exciting came up or I simply did not get around to it.

Anyway, here are some that were sitting in a folder just waiting for the story to be written.

2015-03-17 01I noticed these small holes just below the collar on one of The Duke’s polo shirts.  It was where the label was stitched on and it was beginning to tear away as there was only a single layer of fabric and no facing.  2015-03-17 02

I carefully unpicked the label.

2015-03-17 03The next step was to iron a small piece of fusible interfacing to the wrong side.  This helps to reinforce the fabric.

2015-03-17 04I then stitched over the holes using a zigzag stitch.  The thread was a close match and the mend is barely visible.  It is certainly an improvement on the holes that were there.

2015-03-17 05Finally, I trimmed the interfacing back close to the stitching and the repair was complete.

In future, I think I will remove any labels that are on a single layer of fabric when the garment is new to avoid this happening.

Oh, and you may have noticed that ‘The Duke’ still exists.  Thank you for your suggestions and I have have come up with a couple but none of them really captured his imagination so I will ponder a bit more.  It is enough of a challenge to change once but I do not want to find myself in the same position in the future.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 9

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I have made steady progress this week with my sewing.

I cut out and have started sewing my next skirt.

2015-03-08 01The pockets, side seams, yoke and facing are stitched.  I had hoped to get more done today but Miss O and Izz came to stay.  It is pretty well a full-time job to keep them fed and entertained so sewing took a back seat.

The green skirt now has a zip.

2015-02-22 03I actually added to my stash early in the week when I bought this piece of fabric.

2015-03-08 02

The photograph does not really tell the full story.  It is lightweight with a variable texture and is 100% cotton.  I paid $35/metre which seems a lot but for $52 I will have a gorgeous quality blouse to wear with the green skirt.  This will be my ‘good’ outfit if we go out in the evening when we are in Singapore.  I have not made a final decision on the exact style of the blouse yet.

My other achievement was to draft the pattern for a long-sleeve shirt for my daughter.  I hope the cut it out next week.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 8

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Sadly, I have not done any sewing this week.  I had a particularly busy week at work this week so the weekend was mostly devoted to household chores like washing and ironing.  I probably could have squeezed some sewing in today but instead I helped The Duke build another raised garden bed.  More about that another day.

2015-03-01 01I have also been working on re-installing the photos into all of the old posts.  It is a slow process but I am making progress.

So, I lieu of any new sewing projects I thought I would share this blog post from 2012.  It sounds as though nothing much has changed – I am still trying to tidy up my sewing room and complete some projects!

Sew My Stash Sunday – 7

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Here we are back at Sunday evening again so it is time to share what sewing I have done this week.

Firstly, this is what I have finished.

A pair of bloomers as part of summer pyjamas – Size 4.

2015-02-22 01A pair of boxer shorts for pyjamas for me.

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I have been working on my next skirt.  I can’t do anymore until I get the zip.  Then it will just be the facing and hem that need to be handstitched.

2015-02-22 03 I mentioned in this post that I had discovered that the polo shirt I was making for The Duke was too big so I would have to recut it.  I tried that today but unfortunately it was not successful as even when I got the width of the body right, I was not happy with the shape of the armhole and sleeves.  I decided to cut my losses and that is going to the op shop in the hope that someone else is the right shape for it.  In the interests of my sanity, the pattern is going as well.  If it did not work this time it will not be any better in the future.

My next foray was more successful.  This is a piece of fabric I bought about 6 weeks ago so it is not strictly part of my stash but if I don’t make it up soon it will end up being added to the pile.  I bought it to make a top for myself.  It is a knit fabric but not super stretchy.  I found a basic pattern to use in the pattern-making book. and here is the result so far.2015-02-22 05The original pattern had a round neckline but I prefer a vee.  I have done the basic construction and now need to finish the neckline and hems on the sleeves and lower edge.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the results of my sewing for this week.  I wish I had more time to sew as have so many things planned and I am just itching to get started.

A Laundry List

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Tonight I want to share a germ of an idea that has formed gradually over a period of time.

Some people have an ongoing shopping list to which they add items as they find that they are required.  Others keep a list of what is stored in the freezer and cross things off as they are used.

I am thinking of creating a laundry list. I have this cupboard in my laundry.  On the left-hand side are the assorted brooms and the vacuum cleaner (not shown), hangers for knitted items and dispensers for plastic bags as well as the racks on the inside of the door for laundry liquid and presoak and the rag-bag.

2015-02-16 01The right-hand side has the laundry hamper with shelving above.  This holds various cleaning items as well as spare light globes, batteries, rubbish bags and shopping bags.  However, the door is clear and this is where I could put my list.

2015-02-16 02I envisage a write on/wipe off board and am thinking of making one myself from a sheet of coloured A4 card and laminating it.

So, what am I going to write on this list, I hear you ask?  It will basically be a reminder of extra jobs that need doing such as ‘stain on white trousers’, ‘scrub cuffs of mauve shirt’, ‘hem of black skirt’ or ‘darn striped sock’.  They will be all the little things that seem obvious at the time but by the time I am doing the washing/ironing it can be overlooked.

What do you think?  How do you keep track of the extra laundry jobs?

Sew My Stash Sunday – 6

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The only problem with having a commitment to a weekly series is that the weeks fly by incredibly quickly.  This week has not been completely devoid of progress as I have cut out the mint green linen skirt.

2015-02-15 01Belle was here today and was most impressed with the skirt I had completed.  I showed her the pattern drafting system and some of the pattern choices.  She commented that she wanted some long-sleeved shirts for work but that she finds that the ready-made ones are not long enough to stay tucked in.  We delved into the stash and found a piece of fabric which would be suitable and she has chosen a pattern so that has been added to the list.

2015-02-15 02Meanwhile, I had a couple of bits of mending to do so I completed those jobs and can now get back to the skirt.  I darned a sock for The Duke.  There is nothing fancy about my ‘darning’.  I use a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine  which is not particularly pretty but is effective.

2015-02-15 03Then I patched (yet again) a pair of his trousers.  These are his stylish weekend wear when out in the yard and there are now patches on the patches!

2015-02-15 04This is the inside of one leg with no fewer than 3 patches!  I guess there will come a time when they are more patches than trousers but in the meantime they remain perfectly serviceable.

Project 333 – One In, Two Out

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I think we have all heard the mantra of “One In, One Out” in order to keep the clutter under control.  This week I have gone one better.  I made this skirt last week.

003Now I have sent these 2 skirts to the op shop.

2015-02-05 02I bought the navy/white one when we were in the USA in 2012 and it is wearing out.  The lightweight fabric is pulling away from the seams at the sides of the waistband and I noticed that it has actually split along the fold of the hem in a couple of places so definitely time to go.  The red/white skirt is one that I made a while ago.  I attempted to make a pattern from the navy/white skirt.  It was reasonably successful and I have certainly worn it many times but it is far from perfect.  Now that i have a perfect pattern I will be using that for future skirts that I make.  Time for these to go.