Monday After-'toon

Turning Totally Tubular

Between my Dunkins Donuts iced coffee (no sugar, skim milk please) and a bowlful of my pre-lunch lentil soup, I made myself this little tubular jacket. It went laser-quick on my Viking Husqvarna 735. If I could only grow the sleeves with the textile equivalent of human growth hormones, I'd be all set. Well, I'm still all set, although I don't have a set dinner table although I could have a set TV tray if I so chose.

Why the heck am I quibbling about when this project cost me all of $1 (about 92 cents less than the drink I mentioned above)? Here are some things that made it quickety-quick for me:

1) Set the foot pressure to 4. This is a very thin woven fabric, so it constantly wants to slip away, especially under the sewing table and play footsie with the pedal. Don't let it!
2) For those with advanced Viking machines, use a J foot to create a faux-serger stitch. I "serged' all raw edges because this flamestitch fabric is soooo ravelly.
3) Play up any scallops to your advantage. I love the scallops here, even though some of them looked liked they were falling apart. I've use them as the sleeve hem.
4) Fiddle with the neck opening. I did, and it's quite fitted in a way that 1950s seamstress could appreciate, but I'm content with that.
5) Use the iron to finish the project! I pressed out those scallops and the little bit of water in my iron flattened out the scallops and made them pointy as you can see in these photos.

I'm wearing this wearing this with a black top and skirt I made, but it could work with a pair of jeans (and some kind of top obviously). I'm thinking it would be spectacular with a white sleeveless jersey top and matching wide-legged linen pants. Smashing...perfect for a trip to Ravinia, which is where this train line leads if I'm so inclined to make that trip tonight. What are you sewing this weekend?

Spurn After Reading - The Crazy Daisy 50s dress

What's not to love a dress named Caprice? It makes me think of Capri, where I've never been. What if I wear Caprice on Capri, of course, that would depend on whether I could fit this dress in all its fluffy wonderfulness in my carry-on luggage or if I would have to pay to pack (not stuff) it in something considerable larger. But even if this dress never made it off the North American continent, that would be ok, as long as I wear it. Let me amend that: as long as I make it. I just go the 1955 instructions in the mail the other day, after I won it on eBay. It calls for woven edge silk organza ribbon, 10-12 150-yard spools and Morell L'Opera 6-7 balls in color to match the ribbon. Now I'm in a thrifty mode these days when it comes to knitting or crochet and crochet calls for tons of yarns, not unlike this project, but Hancocks has spools of narrow ribbon on sale for like 77 cents right now. Maybe that would work for me and my checking account. That would be just one part of my task. The other part would be to make about 600 two-inch double petal daisies on a Crazy Daisy winder. That would actually be easy to do, especially on a slo-mo no. 22 bus pacing through a post-game Cubs crowd at the intersections of Clark and Addison Streets. I'd probably be done with most of those petals by the time I'd reach my home. Really, I think 600 would go quickly if I just set my mind to it. Somehow, I see this dress as as wedding dress, and I'm not getting married. Not even close. But who needs a wedding to wear a dress like this? It would make a pricey trip to the grocery store more tolerable (our Cook County sales tax just went up). I'd be so busy getting compliments that I would have trouble getting all my coupons in order for the cashier! Who wouldn't like to have such troubles? I would.

Anyhow, this post is going to be super-sweet and short. If you know of any nice and not too expensive 1/4-inch ribbons that might work for this project, just let me know. I need like 1,500 yards worth. If you're interested, in the latest poll results, here there are: 66.7 percent of you have extra large fabric collections; 33.3 percent has what they consider small. Congrats to both groups! I belong to the extra-large collection group. If you're keen on vintage patterns, Woodland Farms Antiques is having a sale.

Shorn, Not Shaven

Today has been an ice cream kind of day. I did have the opportunity to get a $1 fudge sundae at McDonald's earlier, but it was just too soon for something so scrumptious, but I might treat myself later, particularly after I pick up handsome Hamlet in a few hours when he's groomed at Bark Place. I suspect he will be a lot more comfortable in the humid weather once he's trimmed. If you're wondering, I will not be using his fur for yarn. That's gross, besides, he's not my dog - I'm a foster mother, and his real mama might not approve. Anyhow, isn't there better yarn out there?

Which brings me, in a bad segue, to the fabrics you see above. I've been thinking about the blue-toned flamestitch number on and off (and off and on) all day. I've got 2 1/4 yards of this 56 inch wide fabric; I feel so lucky to have it. It was the only remnant in this colorway at Vogue Fabrics' remnant table. Right now, I'm really loving just about any textile and piece of jewelry that has turquoise, brown and beige. This particular fabric has a surfeit of each! It was a steal (at least in my checkbook) at $6.73 pre-tax! I've been thinking about making it into an asymmetrical hem skirt, something swishy that makes the most of the scalloped edges. I'd even consider turning it into a dress with the right pattern. I've no idea what pattern would work with this very lightweight woven fabric, which is kind of ravelly (not Ravelry). I was actually thinking about emailing Ann Smith or even Sandra Betzina for their suggestions. I trust their taste, and somehow I believe both would appreciate the beauty of this fabric. If you've any brilliant ideas, please leave them in the comments.

The other fiery fabric you see above? There's only 1/2 a yard at 47 inches wide. Yes, very small! I got it for $1 in the Angel remnants section also at Vogue. (Everything with a Red angel stamp is a buck.) I'm thinking it could work as a tube bolero jacket, much like this one, but considerably smaller. If that doesn't work? Well, I'll work it into another garment, some way or another. Do you know I have at least two other iterations of this same flamestitch (also called bargello) fabric in my collection? I'm obsessed with it in the warped way that I adore 100 percent cotton eyelet, which I also collect. Oddly enough, there's some really nice white eyelet with a beautiful scalloped edge on the store shelf that I have not purchased, largely because I already have something similar and uncut from Anne Klein in my closet. Those other two bits of fabric I will likely turn into summer-weight sweatercoats.

By the way, those of you who are in Chicago at the end of July, a group of Patternreview.com members are planning to meet up with Deepika at Vogue Fabrics! I'm certain we won't have to try very hard to get her to add some fabric to her own collection. I will attempt to be generous with what's in the remnant section. The operative word is try, of course, which might mean that I ensure that there's nothing there that I would like first, especially in the knits and stretch lace departments.

Robin Hood Meets Black and White Brushstrokes* Part II

Thanks LindsayT, Everyday Sewist, Christina and Sewer-Sewist for the kudos on my Robin Hood Meets Black and White Brushstrokes top. I still have to hem it, which got me thinking (which is hard to do on this day after the Independence Day weekend): Should I make a matching skirt or is that going to be just too dizzying? Vogue 2977's pull-on skirt C has elastic at the waist and free floating panels. Ann Smith did a great job on her matching top and skirt. Then again, I already have a dress in this fabric - am I ready for a third garment in this stretchy, cottony jersey (which, by the way, is very comfortable in our hot and humid weather)? Part of me is ready to move on like the fabric's old beau, but then again, another chunk of me is curious about how black and white would look full-blown from neck to knee. Would it just be an invitation for a graffiti artist to embellish me with a spray can of paint? Or would somebody just hand me a paint brush and tell me to stop goofing off and get to work? In any event, this fabric is LOUD and demands attention much like handsome Hamlet does when he wants to go outside. But my knit doesn't bark, whine, jump and scratch the door. It just simply hangs there, which is understandable because it is inanimate or it was the last time I looked at it. My other thought is to stitch up the top in this jewel blue-toned zig-zag fabric that I bought at Mood Fabrics a couple of years ago. I suppose I could scan that, then I could get your opinion, but I feel lazy right now.

Since I've officially abandoned the crochet skirt pattern (but I could return to in a triple-step heartbeat if I found a great yarn deal), I'm mulling my next knitting project. I'm really loving this Knitpicks cloche pattern. It looks so easy - strictly stockinette from what I can tell, but still somewhat challenging. It calls for Timtex for the brim. From what I can tell on Ravelry, no one else has done this particular pattern. Yippee! I love being the first (or at least apparently so - someone could have tried the pattern but just didn't review it online) to test out a project. The yarn output is small, so the cost isn't a big deal. Of course, I would use something soft, like the suggested Andean Treasure alpaca. Now do I buy it online? Or go local if only get the live help if I need it? This does look sufficiently simple that I should be able to wing it on my own for the most part with some intermittent SOS calls on Ravelry. It also appears this hat doesn't need to be blocked the way the "Romantic Handknits" ones do. (I'm chickening out on hat blocking because my headform block is buried somewhere in my storage locker and I don't want to go there now.) It's either that or a knitted bolero jacket that I could really use and would look great over this dress or paired with jeans. I just don't know. Maybe the cheapest, easiest project win! Aaack!

Robin Hood Meets Black and White Brushstrokes*

This pattern, Today's Fit by Sandra Betzina, has been described as looking on Pattern Review as something like Robin Hood might wear. If you look at the envelope cover, yes, the short-hair model does look like she might be Robin's female alter ego: short hair, a grass green top and matching skirt and brown boots. The only thing that's missing is a hat with a feather.

However, don't let the sketch scare you off. This top, Vogue 2977, is my new winner. Sandra likes to talk about how the waistband is great for camouflaging a tummy that isn't quite flat. And she's right. You can eat all the sushi you want in this top, and hide it easily. You can all the $1 ice cream fudge sundaes at McDonald's and no one would know. Finally, you can eat a blue cheese burger and salad with blue cheese dressing at Moody's Pub (my favorite) and wash it down the sangria, and not a soul will notice.

So that's what the pattern has going for it: some visual tricks. Here are some things I really liked about this particular selection:

* Betzina's suggestions in the instructions are wonderful. Why can more pattern directions be more conversational and less technical? Before today, I would peel off the paper on my Steam-A-Seam2 and it would get all over the place. Betzina suggests otherwise: place the fusible strip on the fabric, iron, then peel off the paper. Fold over fabric, press again. My life just got easier, now I'm less prone to walking outside for an appointment with bits of fusible interfacing on my clothes. Phew!
* She talks about using a woven fabric for the bodice, and stretchy one for the waistband. I haven't done this yet, but I think it would be a really striking combination. I imagine a flamestitch fabric like this with some of my favorite jersey. I think it would be very ingenious to make a skirt that matches the waistband of this top, so you would get lots of coverage, and virtually no possibility that your tummy will show even when you sit down.

What I don't like:
* The letter sizing on this top. It was a little bit confusing to be cutting out a size B on the top (34" bust) and to have an actual pattern labeled B. (By the way, I did cut out a size C on the waistband, which translates to a 38 1/2" inch hips on the pattern. I'm actually a little larger there but the streeeeeetch happily and comfortable accomodates me.)
* The facing pieces. I ditched them from the get-go based on this pattern review. I simply turned down the raw edges of my neckline and tacked it down with Steam-A-Seam2. Then I screwed on my stretch twin-needles, set my machine for a straight stitch and dropped then tension down to 2 to lessen any tunneling I might get. I also put teeny notches at the V, so the fabric would lie flat.

That's really about it. Two pluses and two minuses, adds up to a 0 and a fantastic kimono-style top in my notebook! I didn't have to make any adjustments for my long waist. I'm not completely done just yet with this top just yet - I still needle to fuse the the hem on the sleeves and the waistband bottom. I'll put the twin-needle (Schmetz Stretch Twin 130/705 H-S ZWI) when I'm ready to head home on this baby.
* Finally the fabric. You might recognize it from this dress.

There's More Stuff Besides Stitch Witchery

Some sewers still talk about this stuff as if were the only fabric adhesive around, it's kind of like they're in a 1970s time warp and the last time they used a sewing machine was in 1976 to sew a Bicentennial flag or something else. Fast forward 22 years to 2008! Suddenly they're in front of a sewing machine again, and contemplating making something incredibly complicated like the Roland Mouret dress. The first thing they think of is the double-knit fabric (because it's what their mothers and grandmothers used in the "Brady Brunch" era) and Stitch Witchery, which is in their outdated Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing. I'm only talking about Stitch Witchery because I read about it too much on the Internet, and I virtually never see it on the notions wall at Vogue Fabrics. Okay, maybe it's there on the bottom, close to the floor. Maybe the Stitch Witchery folks don't have the leverage (read $$$) to have their product displayed at eye-level like all those big-bang food producers do at the local grocery store so that you will pick up a mega-sized box of Cheerios staring at you in the face and march to the cash register like an automaton. No, there's all sorts of sticky-stuff out there that I'm guessing was originally invented for Space Shuttle missions and whatnot, but now has been reinvented for sewers keen on making Project Runway dresses.

Personally, my favorite adhesive is Steam-a-Seam in all of its various incarnations. It's perfect for when you miss a spot on your top-stitching and you don't want to redo, or there are some rather large gaps in your blind-hem stitching. The fabric glue stick is not high on my list of "favs" because it can get gunky, all that goop can make it a little difficult to sew. So Steam-a-Seam? Bring lots of it on, even if I have to duke it out with the quilters who like it too for mitering binding on their coverlets. I just noticed on my box of Lite Steam-a-Seam2 that it "virtually disappears into lace!" (their exclamation point, not mine) It certainly did do that when I applied to it the neckline of my Santa Monica Tee, which I continue to admire in the mirror even two days later. "Wow, that twin-needle stitching looks soooo good!" I tell my mirror image every time I'm in the bathroom. I'm certain that Mirror-Image Me will thwop Real Me next time I say that.

It's good to know too, that "Lite Steam-A-Seam2 poses no chronic or adverse health effects when used as intended and conforms to LHAMA Regulations, ASTM D4236-94. Testing is in accordance with guidelines specified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 16 CFR 1500.135. Phew. That's comforting to read, compared to all those artificial colors you read about on a box of cereal.

I must really love this stuff because I periodically find bits of trying to bond with the clothes I'm wearing, not sewing. I suppose it's the 21-century equivalent of having threads hanging off it you. Wearing tiny bits of Steam-A-Seam says, "I sew, how about you?" It certainly makes for interesting conversation if you go out to lunch and your friend tells you, "You've got a little bit of paper or tape or something on your skirt." My friends, this is the time to sing the praises of sewing and Steam-A-Seam. Show your lunchtime companion your fused hem even if you have to get up and show a little leg to do it. Your waiter (or waitress) will no doubt wonder what you're doing, but that's okay. You're doing a little show-and-tell, the adult variety. If your friend is male, he will be amused; female, she will be impressed and want to sew too, even if that means she ends up going to social engagements with bits of you-know-what hanging off her behind or sleeve. I just thought of something. I had a high-school geometry teacher (who nearly flunked me!) who got so passionate about her topic, that she ended up getting chalk all over her clothes. We students would laugh at her. Well, now I understand completely, when I walk out of my home with Seam-A-Steam2 on my elbow, a two-inch piece of black thread clinging for dear life on my light pink top (which I naturally sewed). Granted now, it's not quite equivalent to wearing a quarter-mile expanse of chalk dust, still, it's close. It marks me as the absent-minded sewer, someone so completely absorbed in her craft, she not only forgets time but she ends up wearing her tools, not just using them. That's me in a nutshell. A truly astute friend who sees me with thread bits can simply say, "So...you've been sewing again?"

Now I'm not about to carry Steam-A-Seam with me, but I will bring safety pins to fix a faltering hem that's threatening to trip me as walk across an intersection. (This actually happened to me recently as I was on the way to Martini Park. The hem on my homesewn sweatercoat had a mid-intersection tussle with a Natural Comfort wedgie. Next thing I know I'm splayed stomach first on the crosswalk, my cell phone split in two on the cement. I see cars coming at me and I think this is It. Thankfully, two guys help me off the ground before any of those vehicles come close. I haven't fixed the blind-hem stitch on that sweatercoat, but I should before I wear it again. Right now, it's pinned up because I've got other tops to sew. You'd think I'd learn after bloodying up both knees and ruining my one pair of sheer black stockings.)

Anyway, the best time to stock up on Steam-A-Seam (I nearly said Stitch Witchery. Heavens to Betsy!) is at a sale. I'm certain it will be up for grabs in a marked-down sort of way (40 percent off! 50 percent off!) this weekend when both Jo-Ann Fabrics and Hancocks have their dueling version of Red, White and Blue blow-out sales to commemorate the Fourth of July. If I'm not too busy celebrating, I just might mosey down to either store. This time around, I'm far more likely to pick up more patterns to add to my already gargantuan supply of beige-colored tissue paper in my bedroom.

I'm running out of stuff to write about in this profuse testimonial, but I think I must to go the bathroom and admire the neckline on my Santa Monica Tee. It certainly beats looking at any pimples that dare to mess with my complexion.

Enough of all that, it's time to read the updated sewing blogs on my Google reader. What are your favorite sewing adhesives?