Thursday, April 30, 2009
Back from DC and no fabric
I did get some great ideas for blouses with ruffles. I also saw a blouse costing over $100 with the worst sewn ruffles ever on a blouse. I wanted to take a photo of it with my cell phone but sales lady kept hanging around while I looked. More about this later.
Back to the office today!
Friday, April 24, 2009
KS3633 on AlmaMarie
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Slow but steady progress
I do think that the back neck line is going to be too high once I attach the stand collar. I will have to baste fit that to test that. I am thinking I will have to cut down that area so the stand collar will not rise to high.
I like the look of the ruffles down the front. I think that it lengthens the look of the top. I am going to do what Cennetta-The Mahogany Stylist- did with the same dress for her daughter and use a longer zipper in the side. I debated when cutting this out to add a back seam and put the zipper there but I like the dress the way it is designed with the side zipper. I am trying to visualize using an invisible zipper instead of regular. I think that I will do better though with the lapped zipper for this dress.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
G Street
The metro is available also. I do plan to travel to a mall-Foggy Bottom?-about three stories of shops. Can you tell I live in a small city, that does not have a Nordstroms or any other big name store?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Upcoming business trip
This is all subject to change but that is my thinking for today.
Front ruffle
This is a shot of the front ruffle on the dress. I kept trying to play with the photo so you could see the ruffle better with not much success. After putting it aside and then looking at it last night, the ruffle looks better than I thought it did on Sunday.
Gwen asked if the ruffle was single or double fabric. I liked how she described in her comment to Sunday's post how she did a ruffle on her blouse. Gwen be sure to post that!
This ruffle is a single piece of fabric that you stitch two lines of gathering stitches. The gathering stitches are noted on the pattern piece. This is where pattern and instructions did not sync up and created an issue for me. You stitch a gathering line about 3/8 of inch down one edge of the fabric. You then are to attach, by basting, this edge onto a marked line on the front pattern piece, then pull up your gathering stitch so piece fits between marked dots at top and bottom. My error was I did not mark the line well on front pattern piece, thus required me to measure and mark on the front piece. When you baste the piece to the front and pull up the gathering stitch that also tends to pull the front fabric piece. So rip, rip, rip out the basting stitches, then gather the piece, then attach to front piece. That was my method. Also before attaching the ruffle, you are to turn under about 3/4 on the other side of the piece and press under. Now there are gathering lines in this area also. Only I failed to mark those. Yet looking at the drawings you can see a basting stitch down the center of the folded under piece, so I decided to run a basting line down that piece to hold the fold in place. This was actually a gathering stitch.
The instructions do not tell you to stitch this gathering line though the pattern is clearly marked for this second gathering stitch line. Then you turn that ruffle piece in half and line up the pressed under folded edge to the center of the dress and pull your gathering stitches to fit this side between top edge and bottom. You also need to make sure that the facing piece is turned out so you do not stitch the ruffle to it. Then you stitch this down.
So to answer Gwen's question it was a single piece of fabric, that is folded over thus doubled. I think is necessary to give the ruffle some body. I think there is an easier way to do the ruffle and if I use this dress top again, then I will try a different method.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sewing update-4-19-09
Today I began working on the dress top. The ruffle for the bodice front was painful. One was because I did not do a good job of marking the stitching lines for the sewing of the first gathered edge and thus had to spend time measuring and pinning the ruffle to the front. I also ran into an issue with this same piece as the instructions, I believe, are not as explicit as they need to be to instruct the sewist on how to complete the second step in the attaching of the ruffle. After reviewing the pattern piece several times, looking at the drawings and re-reading the instructions, I finally got a clue what I needed to do.
After attaching one ruffle to one side, you then of course attach to the other front piece. Getting the ruffles to resemble each other is a fiddly task. After doing this, the top of the ruffle on the second side is not lining up with the neckline as it should. I can feel some ripping coming up next.
I will share some photos later of the work in progress. I have some family issues to deal with now so any other sewing for today may not happen.
Another online fabric store going away
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Simplicity dress
With a little more spring in my step and an energy boost, after dinner with DH, I finished cutting out the Simplicity dress pattern. I cut out the skirt portion plus skirt lining on Monday and now the top part is cut. I am planning to underline the bodice front and back as I find the fabric I am using a little sheer. But I have to say that the feel and the ease of cutting this fabric was a pleasant experience.
I am looking forward to sewing the dress this weekend.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Jacket from the Past
Here is a shot of the back. I think I ran out of patience and/or time (most likely patience)thus I did not do a lot of decorative stitching on the back.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Coverstitch hem
I finally did it!
I had to do some rearranging in my already cluttered and small sewing room. I have this machine sitting next to the serger and my embroidery machine is at the other end of the table and can easily be pulled forward to do embroidery. I have to admit I am not doing as much of that as I use to and have thought long and hard about selling the machine. For now, I am holding on to it.
Friday, April 10, 2009
KS 3617 View A-Wore yesterday
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Next project-Simplicity Dress
Monday, April 06, 2009
Shots of other sewing projects
Additional snap setter information.
The tricky part is aligning the snaps on each front piece. I truly worked hard to make sure that they lined up.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
KS Cardigan with snaps
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Sewing going on here
I decided to take care of some UFOs. I stitched the facings to the lining on my skirt and sewed on the hook and eyes. I plan to wear the skirt and maybe the green top to work on Wednesday and then to our ASG meeting. I have not done a show and tell at one of our meetings in some time now.
I purchased some pastel colored snaps recently from Nancy's Notions. I have a Snap Setter Tool that I purchased perhaps five years ago and have never used it. Don't know why, just never did. The KS cardigan and tank top I made recently still needed buttons. But I have yet find what I wanted in my limited button universe. So I decided after seeing several similar cardigans with nice snaps that I would try this. The pastel snaps are blue, green, yellow and pink. The yellow snaps are perfect for this. I practiced on a knit piece of fabric with binding tape sewn on it to replicate my cardigan. The snap setter worked perfectly on the test.
I had to put aside my sewing to get ready to go out shopping and dining with DH so hope to attach snaps to the garment tonight. That will complete my UFOs for now.
I will start on the KS tri-color dress next. I have already planned my next two garments and will show case the fabric and my selections soon.
Later.
Friday, April 03, 2009
I am still here
I did buy the green thread that I ran out of and maybe will hem the top that is still waiting to be finished. Tomorrow DH and I are visiting his mother so the AM will be shot. I am so happy though that I have a garment ready and waiting to be sewn.
I also had a few patterns to arrive earlier in the week. Like I really need more patterns. I have to stop buying them, SERIOUSLY! I also have another item that arrived at the dealers but not yet at my home. More on that soon, I hope.
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