The January project – a reversible apron

For 2015, I set myself the goal of completing one craft project per month. January’s project was a full-length reversible apron for a friend – a belated Christmas gift.

[True disclosure: I finished the apron on January 30, but wasn’t able to post about it before the end of the month because I was away for the weekend and then WordPress ate the first several drafts of this post].

I’ve made a couple of half aprons in the past, including a reversible one for my mother a couple of years ago.

However, this was my first time making a full-length one. For the apron itself, I used fabric from my stash, including a red and green holiday print that I bought at a flea market. I love Christmas aprons, but their really only wearable for about a month evry year. Although the fabric isn’t overly christmasy, I wanted my friend to be able to wear her apron any time of the year, so I chose an abstract stripe in bright colours for the other side. I used a contrasting green with tiny white squares for the neck and waist ties that I found at my local fabric store.

I couldn’t find any apron tutorials online to fit my friend, so I drafted my own pattern based on the one of my own aprons, using XL women’s measurements I found on a website: chest = 43 1/2 inches; waist = 35 inches; and hips = 45 1/2 inches.

I used newspaper to make the pattern, as it was all I had on hand. I wasn’t worried about the newsprint leaving marks on the fabric, since both pieces were brightly coloured with lots of pattern. I probably wouldn’t use a newsprint pattern on light fabric, but it worked just fine for my purposes. When I was finished with the pattern, I just tossed it into the paper recycling bin – extra points for being environmentally friendly.

For the ties, I cut out 2 pieces 32 x 4 inches for the waist and one 22 x 4 inches for the neck piece. I was guessing about the length of the ties. The final measurement is about 17 inches, so I ended up cutting an inch or off both ends of the neck piece – 20 inches would have been plenty long enough. I angled the ends of the waist ties, following the “Big Bow and Sash Sewing Tutorial” on The Mother Huddle. Rather than eyeballing the angle, I measured it out with a ruler and marked it with tailor’s chalk, which made cutting a crisp angle a snap.

Since the main fabrics for the apron were fairly busy, I decided to keep the decorative elements to a minimum. I came across a tutorial from Sew4Home for the citrus holiday hostess apron, that used jumbo rick rack, inserted into the top seam of the apron. I found some pale blue jumbo rick rack at my local fabric store that matched the blue in both main fabrics. The instructions in the tutorial are quite clear about how to put the rick rack in the seam and how to position the neck ties behind the rick rack. Except there’s no explanation of how to position the rick rack correctly so it doesn’t bunch up when you sew up the side seams.

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that there must be some sort of secret rick rack club – none of the other tutorials or resources I consulted provided any directions on how to correctly line up the rick rack so it lies flat in the seam (even my go-to apron resource, A is for Apron only explained how to insert the rick rack into the top of a pocket). I ended up ripping out the rick rack out of the apron 2 times and making 2 samples before I figured  it out. I had to make an emergency trip to the fabric store one Sunday morning to buy more rick rack. Even on my third try, I still had to adjust my seam allowance so the stitching caught the rick rack at the right point. Very happy with the final result.

If this hadn’t been my January project, this is probably the point where I would have tossed the whole thing aside and stuffed it into the recesses of my sewing basket. Once I had conquered the rick rack, I added a red button on the Christmas side, right below the ties, for a bit more visual interest.

I’m not going to lie – rick rack crisis aside, there more than I few moments when I could have cheerfully walked away from the sewing machine and not looked back. A more experienced sewer could have knocked off this project in weekend (or less). It took me several evenings and a good chunk of two weekends to complete the entire project. However, I learned a few important lessons that will hold me in good stead for future projects.

Firstly, tailor’s chalk is my new favourite sewing tool. It allowed me to make much more precise markings than straight pins. After I cut the two main pieces out, I folded them in half together and traced the necessary adjustments directly onto the fabric with the chalk. It rubs off, so making corrections was easy. Tailor’s chalk doesn’t leave any residue on your hands. I was using yellow chalk and it didn’t leave any marks on my fabric.

Secondly, not all online tutorials show you every step of the project. I appreciate that people take the time to post tutorials online and find them incredibly useful. However, in my experience, sewing tutorials often assume the reader has some sewing experience and can fill in the blanks. If you’re a beginner like me, this can create some frustrating moments – when you discover that your seams look wonky because you haven’t pressed them flat or your corners are round instead of square because you didn’t mitre them. I’m still going to keep checking out online tutorials but I’m going to read them very carefully before I start a project. And then re-read them. FYI – I’m working on a step-by-step tutorial on decorating a seam with rick rack.

Finally, my January project underscored the old adage, “practice makes perfect.” The top-stitching on the apron ties is a little crooked. I pulled out the worst sections with my handy seam ripper, but decided not to drive myself crazy trying to sew it in a perfectly straight line. For one thing, the fabric and the thread are almost the same colour and for another thing, you can’t see the top-stitching when the ties are done up. I top-stitched around the entire apron and to my surprise, my stitching was much straighter and more consistent. It was nice to see a noticeable improvement in a short period of time.

 

So that’s it for January. One project down, 11 to go. Haven’t decided on the February project yet – it’s a short month, so I better get busy.

Special thanks to M for taking time from playing MindCraft to take photos of me modelling both sides of the apron.

 

Refashioning a summer blouse

Last summer, in the midst of a heat wave, I went shopping for a lightweight sleeveless shirt. Rather than a knit, I was looking for a loose casual blouse in a woven fabric that I could wear on days when the mercury was pushing +30 degrees Celsius. As it often happens, I’m either ahead or behind the fashion curve and I couldn’t find anything sleeveless that fit the bill. Sweaty and tired, I headed off to Value Village to see if I could find a shirt that I could refashion.

Truth be known, I’m not a big VV fan. As thrift stores go, it’s expensive and I find it disorganized and grubby. But I found the perfect shirt on my first trip – a light pink woven cotton blouse from H&M with a black and cream floral pattern and buttons down front.

It cost $9, which is a bit pricy for a thrift store blouse, but it’s nice fabric and cheaper than making a whole new blouse. It had cap sleeves and was too big for me, but seemed like a reasonable refashion project.

 

Once I got home, I got out my seam ripper and took off the sleeves.

I hemmed the armholes and realized I needed to shorten the shoulder straps, as it was still too loose.

 

Looked easy enough and I figured it would take me and hour, two at most to finish the blouse.

As usual, I vastly underestimated the length of time it would take me to finish a sewing project. This was pre-Staples dress and I was fixated on perfection. Taking the shoulder straps apart to shorten them was easy; sewing them back together was finicky. After numerous attempts to sew the shoulder straps together so the centre seams matched on both sides of the strap so it would lie flat, I gave up. I stuffed the blouse in my sewing bag and quickly forgot about it.

Fast forward to this summer. This time around, I basted the edges of the front and back of the straps together before I sewed them together.

This held the two pieces together so when I folded the wrong sides together, I had a reasonably flat straight edge. In short order, I had sewed both straps together and top-stitched the outside edges. Except for the hem, I was done!

When I looked in the mirror, however, I realized one strap was about an inch longer than the other. Plus the blouse still looked baggy on me.

Back to the sewing machine. This time, it was a slog. My mother hemmed and hung a curtain and had made and eaten her lunch by the time I was finishing up my blouse. My machine kept eating my thread, so I would get to the end of a seam to discover there was no stitching – this happened 3 times on one seam alone. I was getting really frustrated until I discovered that the bolt holding the needle down was loose. This seemed to fix the problem and I was able to sew complete seams with thread.

To improve the fit, I took out nearly 1-1/2 inches on either side of the bottom half of the blouse – I recently bought some tailor’s chalk and it’s a great for marking out the stitching line.

A quick machine hem and a second row of top-stitching along the edge of the armholes, so they would lie flat and finally, my blouse is finished. It’s fits nicely but it’s loose enough to be comfortable on a hot day. I’m checking out the weather, hoping for a nice sunny warm day to wear it.

 

 

 

 

More adventures in sewing – upcycled laptop case

About a year ago, I bought myself a MacBook Air. I take my little beauty with me to the cottage, to visit my mother, or any where there’s WiFi. I don’t have a sleeve or a bag for it, so I usually stuff it in a bag and carry it with me, sometimes wrapped in a t-shirt.

Not anymore. Fresh off my Staples dress success, I have been busy at my sewing machine and now have a funky zippered case that fits my laptop perfectly.

Making a case for my laptop was one of my goals for 2014 (and the year’s barely half over). Plus, I added another skill to my sewing repertoire – putting in a zipper. Hitherto having previously avoided any pattern that involved any type of closing, I’m pretty chuffed that I managed to put in a zipper by myself (still a few kinks to work out – more on that later).

For the laptop case, I used a tutorial by Char from Crap I’ve Made that was featured on Skip to My Lou, as part of the 2010 Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along. I came across the tutorial on Top Dreamer – Easy DIY Laptop Case Projects. I liked it because the directions were relatively straight forward and the case itself is pretty simple. The outside fabric is an old pair of cords of my husband’s, while the lining is made from 2 fat quarters of Acacia Pixel Dot in Honey from Tula Pink. While I’m not a big fan of yellow, I love dots; plus the colours go really well with the grey/green colour of the corduroy.

My laptop measured 26-3/4 inches (long edge) by 19 inches (short edge). As the tutorial indicated, I divided these measurements in half and added 1.5 inches for seam allowance – 14-3/4 by 11 inches. I cut a section off each leg of the pants, somewhere below the knee, where the material was worn and shin and then cut open each piece along one leg seam and removed the side seam and the hem.

This left me with two rectangles of fabric with a seam running from across the short side of each piece. I trimmed the rectangles so they were approximately the right measurements and the same size, making sure the seam was closer to the top of the fabric. One of the seams wasn’t lying very flat, so I decided to cover it with a 2 inch strip of the lining fabric, which I top stitched to the outside of the corduroy, right along the seam line, so it wouldn’t be lumpy (totally optional, but I haven’t totally given up my perfectionism). I rooted through my big jar of vintage buttons and found a gorgeous big green one that I sewed on the outside front.

 

Up until this point, I had more or less been following the directions in the tutorial and had already attached the fusible fleece lining to the wrong side of the corduroy. I could have sewed the button on through the lining or after the bag was assembled but I wanted to avoid any lumpiness where the button was stitched on (that perfectionism thing again), I pulled up the fleece a little bit, just enough to I could get the needle and thread through comfortably – when I was finished, I re-ironed the fleece back onto the corduroy.

A word about fusible fleece lining: in anticipation of making a laptop case, I had already bought double-sided fusible fleece lining. It adhered very nicely to the cord fabric, but also to anything on the other side. Through trial and error, I discovered that covering the fleece lining with an old t-shirt and then ironing worked best. While the fleece will stick lightly to the t-shirt, it’s easy to pull off and will protect your iron from getting crap all over it. If you forget and put heat directly on the fleece, rub the sticky residue off your iron with the t-shirt while it’s still hot (in the interest of discovery, I tested the effectiveness of technique more than once). If you’re using single-sided fusible fleece, it’s probably a good idea to do a test swatch to make sure you know which side will stick.

I deviated from the tutorial by installing the zipper along the short, rather than long edge.Although the tutorial recommends using a zipper that is 4 inches longer than your laptop, I used a 16 inch zipper which gave me 5 inches extra, 2.5 on either side. On the advice of the lady at the big box fabric store, I used a heavy-duty zipper. I chose orange for the contrast with the exterior and lining fabric (I originally wanted a zipper in dark turquoise but it wasn’t available in the right length – the orange adds just the right amount of pop).

 

Next time, I would use a regular zipper, as they aren’t as bulky and would be easier to sew down (plus they come in a wider range of colours).

The tutorial’s directions for inserting the zipper into the laptop case are probably fine for someone who’s actually done this before. Since I had no idea how to put in a zipper, I didn’t find the instructions or the pictures in the tutorial to be very helpful, except for the part about snipping the edges of the zipper so it will curve around on each side.

I couldn’t find another tutorial that explained how to insert the zipper so it extends down each side of the bag for a couple of inches (the wider opening makes it easy to get the laptop in and out of the case). In the end, I followed the directions for using the zipper foot in my sewing machine manual and winged it. The first time I sewed the zipper in backwards. With a little help from my husband (I’m a bit spatially challenged), I figured out how to position the zipper so the raw edges were captured under the seam. I ended up sewing too close to the outside edge of the teeth on both sides, with the result that the lining fabric has a tendency to get caught when I zip and unzip the case.

I could fix this by top sewing along the outside top edge of the case – I did a text and didn’t like the results (could change my mind if it starts driving me crazy).

I found it hard to sew down both ends of the zipper with the machine (the industrial strength zipper is very bulky). I fixed this issue by hand sewing the edges of the outside fabric together on both sides.

While I measured it before I put it in, the zipper isn’t perfectly centred and extends a bit further down on one side. But it opens and shuts (with at little attention to make sure the lining doesn’t get caught). Not too shabby for my first ever zipper installation.

I ran into a couple of challenges sewing the outside and the lining together. I discovered that I’d trimmed a bit too much fabric off the bottom of the front piece of the corduroy and I had to add a couple of inches to the bottom. I had to do the same to the lining, but it ended up being too long and I had to turn it inside out and trim and re-sew it several times so there wasn’t a lot of extra fabric wallowing around the bottom of the case.

Sewing the fleece into the seams will make them thick and lumpy, but I found manouevering around it to sew to be a pain; next time, I would iron on the fleece lining after I had the zipper in and the sides sewn up. I’d moved the fleece on one side around so much that it was loosing its shape and stickiness, so I tore it out and ironed on a new piece – you can’t tell from the outside.

 

I also learned that sewing when I’m tired is totally not worth it. One night I had to rip out the same seams three times; it took me only a few minutes to sew it properly the next morning.  Now when I feel my energy flagging, I tell myself: WALK AWAY FROM THE MACHINE. Words to live by.

In addition to being thrifty, the old pair of corduroy pants was a good choice for the exterior fabric. Not only is it a sturdy material, it’s a neutral colour, which means it will never show the dirt. If I was to use corduroy again, I would add a seam allowance of 2 inches to take into account for the fact that corduroy frays like crazy (I kept a pair of scissors handy to trim off the loose threads) and it makes for a thicker seam when it’s turned. However, it’s easier to trim the edges after you’ve sewn it rather than having to sew a narrow side/bottom seam and run the risk that it will tear out (I minimized the likelihood of this happening by double stitching the side seams in the exterior fabric). Although the tutorial doesn’t mention it, cutting away the excess material on each corner as close to the stitched seam as possible will help minimize the thickness of the seam and ensure a smooth looking corner when you turn the case inside out (exterior fabric showing and the lining tucked inside.

This is more important when you’re using a heavier fabric, like corduroy or canvas, as opposed to a quilting weight cotton. I used the end of my stitch ripper (a chop stick works too) to poke out the corners.

My laptop case is not perfect. Not only is the zipper not centred properly, it isn’t lying completely flat on one side.

Thankfully, no one will ever be able to see my inside seams – even uglier than the pockets in my Staples dress.

However, the case fulfills it’s intended purpose – to protect my laptop when I travel. It cost about $10 to make (zipper, lining material and the fusible interfacing). I haven’t seen a lot of cases for the MacBook Air and the ones I’ve found were ugly and/or  expensive (often both). Mine has just the right amount of functionality and detail, not to mention a pop of colour.

It’s fun, but not too cute. Perfect for me.

Links for this post include: Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes ; Monday Link Party at Craft-O-Maniac; Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple; Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. ; Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou ; Market Yourself Monday at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff; Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today’s Creative Blog; Tuesday To Do Part at The Blackberry Vine: Take-a-Look Tuesdays at Sugar Bee Crafts; Wednesday Wowzers at oopsy daisy; Flaunt It Fridays at Dotted Line Crafts; The Cure for the Common Monday at Lines Across My Face; Six Sisters Stuff – Strut Your Stuff Saturday

 

The Staples dress – week 3 (say yes to my new dress)

My Staples dress is done! It’s really cute. I will definitely wear it once I cut off  some extra threads and trim/press inside seam (and get my legs waxed).  I was concerned that the dress would be a little too short for me. so I decided to add a solid colour hem. I lucked out at the fabric store and found some green lawn that matched the colour of the dress. After discussing it with Megan, I added about 8 inches of the solid green to the bottom of the dress, to give it a colour block effect. While I like the printed material, the contrast with the solid colour makes a big impact. A little less “sewing project 101” and more “fun summer dress”.   My idea was to cut a strip of the green and add it to the bottom of the dress. However, Megan set me straight and walked me through the steps. She also made sure the front and back pieces of the solid colour were the same size – I would have gotten there eventually, but with Megan’s help, I didn’t fall too far behind the rest of the class (having properly calculated the amount of material required for the dress, the other ladies didn’t need to fiddle with the length). Left to my own devices, I would have sewn the two pieces together so the seam was on the inside, but Megan suggested an outside seam to enhance the colour blocking. It was easy to do and a useful technique for future use. I sewed and pinned the bias edgings onto the neck and arm holes without incidence. Once again, I found the Bernina very easy to sew with, particularly in terms of sewing straight(ish). When I’m sewing with my Kenmore, I tend to go slowly to ensure I maintain the requisite seam allowance. Even though I was rushing to keep up with everyone else, my outside seams are straight and tidy. Adding the shirring was super simple. The trick to getting it to bunch up nicely is to back-stitch at the beginning and end, so the elastic thread doesn’t slip. I added a second row of shirring to give the waist a bit more definition, which had the added effect of improving the fit of the top of the dress.Since it doesn’t have a zipper or buttons, the top needs to be fairly loose so you can pull the dress over your head. There’s a big difference between “loose” and “baggy” – with only a single row of shirring, the dress looked a bit more “paper bag princess” than I liked. (note to self: in the future, patterns will likely need to be adjusted to take into account my narrow shoulders, slumpy shoulders and small bust).

Taken with an iPhone at the end of the class (a bit blurry)

The dress got a thumbs up from my mother (the Queen of Seams). Ever the sewer, she turned the dress inside out and examined the construction. She pointed out a couple of minor issues, like the fact that I didn’t iron out the side seams before I attached the arm holes binding and my binding isn’t folded the same width all the way around on the inside of the neck.   The little imperfections don’t bother me – it makes the dress mine (pretty bold talk coming from a perfectionist!). It’s also the first garment I’ve ever made without my mother’s supervision – sad, but also explains why I haven’t sewn much since I left home. Through the process of making the Staples dress, I’ve discovered that my mother’s sewing machine casts a long shadow and I’ve been letting it follow me around for years. I realize now that I’ve learned a lot from watching my mother sew over the years, but there’s no rule that says I have to use her techniques. I was never so taken with sewing that I bothered exploring how I could make it my own. So now, at the age of 55, I’m finally figuring it out. I’m still not sure if I love sewing enough to seriously take it up. I do know that if I want to get better at sewing, I need to practice (i.e. make stuff). To sum up, the Staples dress is an easy beginner project. The pattern directions are well-written and easy to follow. Even better, the pattern is fairly forgiving – witness my pocket mishap. If you’re at all nervous about sewing, I highly recommend taking a class to make the dress. While I probably could have sewn it on my own, having an instructor on hand to explain the pattern and trouble shoot for me, helped boost my confidence level about sewing. I’m already planning on making another Staples dress, using a light-weight purple rayon. Megan is teaching another class later this summer, featuring the Wiksten tank.   I’m thinking it would look cute in this pink polka-dot fabric I picked up on sale recently. The world is my (sewing) oyster.

Staples dress – part 2

Week 2 was all about sewing. Once I figured out how to wind the bobbin and thread the machine, (a Bernina), I started sewing the pockets onto the dress. I hadn’t been very careful about transferring the markings on the pattern piece onto the fabric, so I checked the paper pattern and stuck a pin to indicate the start and end to my stitching line. I was carefully tying off all my threads but Megan told me that if you back-stitch over your seam, you don’t to have to do this. Good tip.

Then the shoulder seams. The pattern calls french seams which I always thought were hard. Megan walked us through the steps and they were much easier than I expected. A french seam gives you a flat, finished edge and probably adds a bit of shaping to the shoulder.

The next step was to pin the dress together and sew the side seams together. Here’s my laissez-faire attitude towards transferring the pattern markings cam back to bite me: my pockets didn’t line up. Rather than ripping out the seams and re-sewing the pockets to the dress, I decided to make the pockets smaller. No big deal, but a good reminder that the pattern markings are there for a reason. Smaller pockets means I’ll only be able to keep a single kleenex is each pocket, instead of stuffing them full (a necessity for me, given allergy season is in full swing).

I discovered that even when you’re taking an instructor-led class, reading the pattern directions is a must. I was blithely following the verbal directions, only to discover I was supposed to sew the pockets together separately, rather than in a continuous seam from neck to hem. With the help of my stitch-ripper, I fixed the problem and the pockets look pretty good.

However, it a good thing the seams of the pockets are hidden inside the dress because the stitching is ugly.

Despite some minor challenges, I enjoyed the sewing. Some of this is likely attributable to the machines I was using; I have a very basic Kenmore, so sewing with the Bernina was like driving an Audi when you’re used to a Kia. I tried my best to focus on enjoying the process of making a dress on my own, rather that worrying about whether my seams were straight. I recognize perfection is my default setting, especially when I’m not 100% comfortable with what I’m doing. I did have to remind myself more than once that my goal was to learn to sew. All the better if my dress is wearable but that’s a secondary objective. I will say having an instructor coach me through the various stages of the construction of the dress helped enormously. Not just in terms of the technical aspects of sewing from a pattern but also in terms of keeping me from getting frustrated.

My Staples dress is taking shape.

One more class to go – I need to iron it out and finish the neckline and armholes, shirr the waist and finish the hem. Once more into the breach!

 

The Staples dress – week 1 and a revelation

Week 1 of sewing class. To recap, we’re making April Rhodes’ Staples dress:

I forgot my camera so no “in-progress” photos. By the end of the class, I had cut out the pattern pieces from the fabric, which puts me substantially further ahead than I ever got with the Crepe dress. Interestingly, Megan, the instructor, isn’t a big fan of the Crepe dress. She’s an experienced seamstress and agrees with me about the fit of the top (or lack of it).  She’s going to bring her dress to class next week, so I can see the finished product.

About the Staples dress: it’s a relatively easy pattern. It has 2 main pieces, plus a pocket and the bias tape pieces (for neck and armholes). The pattern pieces for the front and back of the skirt and top are cut separately and then taped together before cutting the fabric – saves paper, which I appreciate. The dress has a relaxed fit, which means that I don’t need to make a muslin (loud cheering). The only adjustment I made to the pattern was to go a from an extra small to a small at the waist. Easy peasy.

Here’s what went right: I chose to trace the pattern onto tissue paper, rather than cutting up the paper pattern. Since I opted to pin the pattern to the fabric, as opposed to tracing it with tailor’s chalk, cutting out the tissue pattern was easy. Since you cut one front and one back, it’s easy to see what the finished dress will look like.

Having cut out the fabric, I can say that the colour and design really suit the pattern.

The challenges:  getting the selvedge lined up on both sides. It looked easy when Megan did it. Being the perfectionist that I am, I wanted the edges to match exactly – I carefully pinned both edges together, which created a large wrinkle along the folded edge. After a couple of attempts to straighten my fabric, I asked Megan for help. She promptly took out all the pins, gave the material a good shake and declared it good enough.

The second challenge was entirely of my own making. When I signed up for the class, I asked how much fabric I needed for the dress. According to my recollection, it was between 2 and 3 metres. Using my mother’s tried and true method, I measured the fabric length between my nose and the end of my arm – not quite 3 metres. After pinning the pattern for the front of the dress to the fabric, I realized that I didn’t have enough material to also cut out the back along the folded edge. In actual fact, I barely had 2 metres of fabric. Megan saved the day with some fancy folding and I was able to cut out both pieces, as well as the pockets and pieces to finish the armholes and neckline. I lost an inch or two on the length, but not enough to make a big difference (I’m already contemplating adding a ribbon hem to add another inch or so).

Note to self: double-check the amount of fabric required on the pattern envelope and measure the length of the fabric with a proper measuring device (sorry mom!).

The real take-home from Lesson 1 is that in order to pursue sewing, I’m going to have to dial back my perfectionist tendencies. In addition to fussing with the selvedges before I laid down the pattern, I spent a good 10 minutes trying to get the grain line arrow on the pattern piece for one of the armhole piece perfectly lined up against the edge. Megan wandered by and saw me compulsively checking that the distance between each edge of the one inch grain line arrow and the edges and told me not too worry so much. Apparently a difference of less than half a millimetre won’t throw the pattern off. Left to my own devices, I’d probably would have spent an hour or so trying to get the pattern pieces lined up perfectly against the edges and then given up in frustration.

Loosening the reins on my perfectionism isn’t easy for me. I’ve gradually come to accept that when I make a piece of jewelry, every wire wrap doesn’t need to be identical; however, I’ve gone through a lot of headpins and wire to get to this point. I took a card-making course with my sister-in-law last year and she made 3 cards in the time it took me to make one. Yes, every piece of paper and the embellishments on my card was perfectly lined up. However, no one else looking at my sister-in-law’s cards would have noticed any differences. The odd crooked edge or wonky bow adds, rather than detracts, from the fact that it’s a hand-made card. I still like to take my time with my cards, but I try not to sweat the small stuff.

While there’s nothing wrong with striving to do your best, making a “perfect” dress or bracelet is a pretty hard to achieve. The more rational among us would say it’s impossible. Practice certainly gets you closer – the more wrapped links I make, the better they look. Although I want my sewing to look as good as my mother’s, the rationale part of my brain acknowledges that this isn’t a fair comparison. The fact that my mother has been sewing for over 70 years explains why her stitches are so straight and why she can whip up a well-fitting garment from a Vogue pattern without making a muslin. Her pattern adjustments aren’t obvious to me because they’re so routine for her.

In cutting out my Staples dress, I realized the extent to which my perfectionism has pretty much killed any enjoyment I might have derived from sewing over the years. It’s also been a barrier to improving my skills – why do something I don’t enjoy? Whether I actually like to sew is still an open question. I have a limited amount of spare time and lots of hobbies. I’m not prepared to give up jewelry and card making. I spend most of my weekends during the summer in the garden and I’ve always got a stack of trashy novels next to my bed. Sewing may not be for me. However, I’m going to use my Staples dress as an opportunity to explore the pleasure of sewing and not get too caught up in whether or not my stitches are perfectly straight.

The real test will be Lesson 2, when we start sewing the dress together. I’ve got my pockets pinned and I’m ready to go.

I’m optimistic that I can keep my bliss. Luckily for me, I’m handy with a stitch ripper.

 

Sew it again

One of my goals for 2013 was to improve my sewing skills. We’re now well into 2014 and I can honestly say that I haven’t made much, if any progress, in this area. My one serious foray into sewing, ended in futility and frustration, when I took a class to make the Colette Crepe dress. Despite making 3 muslins under the direction of a sewing instructor, I couldn’t get the top of the dress to fit. I later discovered that Colette patterns tend to be generous in the bust area. Since I’m barely a 32B, it may not have been a good choice for me. I didn’t even get as far as cutting into the fabric.

Needless to say, the experience put a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm for sewing. Since then, I’ve had my sewing machine out a few times, but I haven’t finished anything. I even stopped visiting fabric stores.

The fact that I was so easily discouraged by one pattern mishap may be a sign that sewing is not for me. However, I’n not ready to give up quite yet. I’ve decided to give sewing lessons another chance. Another dress, but a much simpler pattern – the Staples dress by April Rhodes.

According to reviews on Pattern Review, the Staples dress is a good pattern for beginners. It has no darts (the Crepe dress has 6) or zippers. It’s loose-fitting, with a shirred waist. Thanks to ShannonSews, I already know that since I’m long-waisted, I’ll need to lower the waist line. Relatively easy to do with a shirred waist – just a matter of moving the sewing line for the elastic down a couple of inches.

The dress takes about 2-1/2 metres of fabric. Before buying new fabric, I decided to check my stash. Voile seems to be a popular choice for the Staples dress. I knew I didn’t have a piece of voile that was big enough – for reasons I haven’t figured out, it’s a hard fabric to find in my local fabric shops. After consulting with a friend who’s an experienced sewer, I choose a light-weight cotton with a funky print.

I have no idea where the fabric came from – it’s probably a fabric flea market find. I doubt I paid more than $10 for the entire piece (there’s about 3 metres). That would be on the high side, as I tend to be quite cheap when it comes to flea market purchases, fabric or otherwise. Even though it’s woven, the fabric has a nice drape. I like the geometric print – it’s vaguely reminiscent of the late sixties/early seventies.

Sewing the dress will take place over 3 classes, starting next week. I’m optimistic that this time, I’ll actually cut into the fabric and sew the dress. In the meantime, I’m taking my inspiration from Kristen, who wrote a great blog post about sticking with a sewing project. She’s made 6 muslins for her current project and she hasn’t chucked it in the garbage bin. Sewing, it seems, doesn’t always come easy.

My kid is failing art…should I care?

Picasso (Photo credit: Nathan Laurell)

M got his first term progress report last week and I was pleased to see that he was doing reasonably well in most of his classes. Except art. According to the teacher’s notation, M hadn’t handed in any of his work. Not surprisingly, she rated him as “does not meet expectations.” Basically, he’s failing art.

How can anyone fail art?” You draw  or paint what ever the teacher tells you to do and you pass. I know it’s not M’s favourite subject – he indicated at the beginning of the year that he didn’t think he was very good at art.  His dad and I told him that he didn’t have to be good. His teacher, we explained, didn’t expect him to be Picasso – he just had to do the work. We did suggest he talk to his teacher, which he did, but I gather she wasn’t very sympathetic.  She told him that she’d heard the same thing from other kids in previous years. She added that many of these kids had ended up liking art. Apparently M remains unconvinced.

From time to time, I asked him how art was going and M would grumble about his fact that the teacher wasn’t very nice to him. I didn’t pay too much attention, as M has never been a “glass full” kind of kid – if he doesn’t like something (or someone), then it “sucks,” no matter what anyone tells him.

A couple of weeks ago, his homeroom teacher called to say that M was having problems with some of the other teachers at school. If a teacher M didn’t know and/or liked asked him to do something (or not do something), he was frequently rude and confrontational. Not a big surprise to me – M’s not a big fan of following instructions and he rarely does something just because an adult tells him to do it. In elementary school, he often got into conflicts with supply teachers because they asked him to do things that he was unaccustomed to doing (sitting still, for example) or in a way that was different from the normal routine (such as standing in a line, rather than always being first).

Fortunately for M (and his parents), his homeroom teacher is terrific. He “gets” M and understands that he needs to know why he has to do a particular task before he does it.  In addition to taking him around the school to meet other teachers, he explained to M that sometimes a teacher doesn’t have time to give him a full explanation of why he needs to get down from the tree he’s climbing or stay on school property. However, his teacher also laid down the law and told M that talking back and being obnoxious was not permitted. I understand this was followed up by a meeting with the principal and the vice-principal.

After talking to the teacher, M’s complaints about the art teacher made a bit more sense. She may have been crabby with him from time to time, but I figured that this was probably a reaction to something he said. However, when I read his report card, I was surprised to find out he hadn’t submitted any of his work in art class. M’s still getting used to doing homework (his elementary school had a “no homework” policy), but all the art assignments were in-class, so he didn’t have a really good reason for not completing anything.

When I talked to M about his art grade, he blamed the teacher – I heard a lot of “she’s not nice to me,” plus some “she’s a terrible teacher.” I pointed out that I’d had plenty of teachers I didn’t like and more than one who were downright awful, but that a difficult teacher wasn’t an excuse for not doing the work. “Not as bad as my art teacher,” replied M. I told him that I’d had plenty of horrible teachers, including, one of my Grade 4 teachers, who was about 101 and had an enormous hairy wart on her armpit. Since she favoured sleeveless dresses, even in winter, I saw a lot of that wart. Plus, I distinctly recall that she didn’t like kids. Then there was my Grade 6 math teacher who yelled at the class all the time.

While M’s rudeness is inexcusable, it does sound like art class is probably not that interesting for him. The last few weeks have been spent learning how to draw lines, which in his words, is “boring.” For a kid with ADHD, who’s already defensive about his art ability (or lack thereof), drawing is probably a tough assignment. It requires patience and practice – neither of which is M’s strong suit.

In the long run, failing art won’t make or break M’s academic career. But he needs to learn how to get along with people he doesn’t like. More importantly, he needs to learn to get along with people who don’t like him. He’s been fortunate to have had a number of very good teachers and he developed very strong relationships with them. However, the further on he goes in school and in life, the more likely he is to encounter people he just doesn’t get along with – and he needs to be able to cope. Particularly when that person is in a position of power, either a teacher or in the future, a boss. I’ve worked for plenty of people I didn’t care for and vice versa, but I still had to show up every day and do my work. It’s not fun, but that’s life.

M also needs to figure out how to manage in all his classes, not just the ones he likes. He has a tendency to give up when confronted with a subject or task he doesn’t like or feels he isn’t good at it. M used to complain about French, but he recently got 100% on a French test and realized that he’s very good at congugating verbs (my least favourite part of elementary and high school French class).

So maybe art isn’t M’s thing. But unlike math, there’s no right answer, so it’s hard to fail. After Grade 8, he never needs to take another art class again. For the moment, he just needs to put pencil to paper and hand it in.

Birdie – a sewer’s best friend

Meet Birdie. She’s my pin cushion. More importantly, she’s my faithful sewing companion.

Birdie didn’t start out as a pin cushion. I bought a bag of fabric scraps at a craft sale for a $1 and was trolling the blogosphere looking for ideas. I came across a pattern for bird mobile by Spool Sewing. I cut several birds in different prints and made a couple. I strung them on fishing line and gave them as gifts. I’m  not sure if Birdie was supposed to be a gift for someone and I just forgot to give her to them. But when I started sewing again last fall, I found it hard to keep my pins organized. They kept falling on the floor. Messy and potentially hazardous to the dog and M, who always goes barefoot in the house. So when I came across Birdie in my sewing bag, I decided to try her out. We’ve been together ever since.

In my opinion, Birdie is a perfect pincushion. She’s just big enough to fit in my hand. She also fits nicely into the pocket of my sewing machine case. When I’m sewing, she sits on the table beside me and catches all the pins that would otherwise end up on the floor.

While she’s a great pincushion, Birdie’s best quality is that she’s totally non-judgemental. No matter how many times I have to rip out and re-sew a seam, Birdie never criticizes. She just offers quiet support. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Birdie on a break

Birdie and a few friends

 

 

Adventures in sewing – part 1

English: NYA: Minnesota:young woman learning to sew. Русский: Молодая женщина учится шить. Миннесота, 1936. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of my goals for 2013 is to learn to sew. Not just play with material and thread, but actually sew a piece of clothing I can wear. Proudly. Outside my own house.

Thanks to my mother, who is an excellent seamstress, I understand the basics of sewing. I have my own sewing machine and I can sew a more-or-less straight line. I can read and follow a simple pattern. However, I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at sewing. A 2-3 hour project takes me at least 6 hours, often more.

If I stuck to simple patterns and projects, I’d probably be fine. But what’s the fun in that?  The beauty and the folly of the  blogosphere is that I when I find an online tutorial for a dress or a skirt. When I see a fun project or  outfits on Tea Rose Home and Stitch Parade, the rational part of my mind understands that these ladies could already sew before they started blogging about their creations. The fact that I’ve never sewed anything more complicated than a pin cushion or an apron doesn’t seem to matter (Never mind that said apron took 2 weeks and 1 and a half spools of thread to complete).

So this year, I decided to take a sewing class and learn how to sew properly. I signed up for the dressmaking class at fabrications , a funky new independent store, with really lovely fabric that has been hitherto hard to come by in my burg, except by mail order (and huge shipping charges) from the US).

Everyone in the class in making the same dress – Crepe from Colette patterns. Since it’s a wrap dress, with ties, instead of a zipper or buttons, it’s considered a “beginner” pattern (famous last words).

For my dress, I chose a pink and purple paisley – Grace – RubyWine (Cocoon Collection) by Valori Wells for Free Sprit. It’s busy, but I think it’s rich looking and will compliment the simple lines of the dress. Plus, I have a pair of pink shoes that will look almost as cute with the dress as the yellow shoes in photo.

The pattern calls for 4-1/4 yards of material, which even for a total non-sewer like me, seems like a lot of fabric for a sleeve-less dress with a V-neck back. But no worries – I washed it and pressed it  out with the iron. I figured laying out the pattern pieces would be easier without wrinkles.

The course was 6 hours – over 2 nights. For the first class, the instructor told us we would focus on fitting the pattern and cutting out the fabric. On the second night, we’d sew the dress and finish it (once again, famous last words).

The first step was to take our measurement and figure out what size to make the dress. The pattern comes in sizes 0-18, all printed on the same tissue. Each of the sizes is identified by a different cutting line. Based on my measurements, I was a size 0 on top and a 6 at the waist and hips. The instructor did caution me that Colette patterns tend to be generous on top, so I might have to make further adjustments to get it to fit properly.

The second step was to cut out the pattern and make a muslin. Since my mother has always cut straight from the (Vogue) pattern, I’d never actually made a muslin before. In this case, we only made the top, which featured 6 darts, 4 on the front (bust and waist) and 2 on the back. I’d never made darts before either, but the instructor provided very clear directions.

Putting in the darts and sewing the top together weren’t terribly difficult. The dress has a small cap sleeve and the shoulder seam is curved which is was a bit tricky to iron. Other than that, so far so good.

The muslin didn’t fit very well, and as expected, I needed to adjust the pattern. By this time, we’d been working for over 3 hours and time to go home.

At the second class, we worked on adjusting our patterns. The instructor had all the necessary tools and tricks, plus an amazing amount of patience. For me, the biggest issue with the fit were the double darts on the front – very pointy a la Wonder Woman. Not at all flattering (I didn’t have my camera with me, so there are no photos).

It took me most of the class, but I managed to make all the recommended adjustments – add an inch to the length, take out excess material below the shoulder, etc. I made so many changes to the original pattern that the instructor suggested I re-copy the pattern onto plain paper, so I could cut it out properly.

At this point, we were at the end of the 6 hours. Carrie and Curtis, the lovely owners of fabrications, invited us back for another week. We were supposed to cut out our material at home and come back, ready to sew.

Despite having followed all the directions, I wasn’t a 100% confident about cutting out my material from the re-adjusted pattern. I really liked my fabric and wasn’t keen on wasting it on a dress that didn’t fit. So I dug through my fabric stash and found a piece of fabric to make another muslin.

The second time around, the muslin came together quite quickly – much faster than the first time. In class, we’d used tracing paper to mark the darts, but I didn’t find this very accurate – my darts weren’t exactly the same length. Since this makes a big difference in the fit, I decided to mark the darts on my second muslin with thread. This way, I’d be able to tell exactly where the dart ended as I was sewing. While using thread took a bit longer than just tracing them out, I had a much better results – all 6 darts were more or less in the right place and the right length.

However, despite my new-found talent at sewing a dart, the second muslin didn’t fit. In some ways, it was worse than the first one. It was too tight under the arms and pulled across the neckline. Even worse, the darts were too close together. I’d gone from merely pointed to bullet-boobs. Not only was it not pretty (again, no photos), but it was discouraging. I had no idea how to fix the pattern.  There was no way I was going to risk cutting out the material.

Back to the store for the last session. The instructor made several more suggestions and while I re-drafted the pattern, she took apart my muslin, so I could make a THIRD one. Meanwhile, everyone else in the class had cut out their patterns and are busily working on the top of the dress. My fabric hadn’t even been out of my bag.

At this point, I decided that if the muslin didn’t fit, Crepe and I were done. We were never, ever getting back together. If I couldn’t get the pattern to fit after 3 tries and 9 hours, it was not meant to be. Besides, this was the last class and unless the instructor was prepared to make house calls, I had no idea how I could get the pattern to fit. Since I like to know as much as I can about a subject, I’d ordered every book I could find in the catalog on alternations and pattern fitting from the library. But as I’ve learned from experience, reading and doing aren’t the same thing. I was not feeling encouraged.

Muslin #3 was closer. The double dart was definitely not my friend. I was totally prepared to bail, but the instructor re-drafted the pattern while I was sewing up my muslin. The biggest adjustment was taking out that pesky bust dart.

Since the instructor went to so much trouble to help me, I feel obligated to give it one more try. Crepe and I are still together for at least one more day. Just to be on the safe side, I’ve started checking out possible replacements. Suggestions are most welcome. Anything with darts need not apply.