Stitch and bitch thread #5 This whole thing is fabricated.

[NutellaEllaElla]

Welcome back seamsters! It is soon to be September and Autumn is on its way.

Thanks @NutellaEllaElla - having a very lazy morning so far but am feeling a bit more up for it today. Just about to cast on a new knitting pattern so that’ll keep me busy if I’m no good for sewing.

Good to hear you’re a bit more up for things.

Still no sewing for me. I’ve been making cheapskate thermal curtain linings out of space blanket.

I've been frustrating myself trying to patch together toile pattern pieces out of remnants. Even sewing remnants together while trying to avoid ugly, obvious seams to keep the possibility of it being wearable. It's a bit tedious but I want to use up leftovers.

I've managed to make most of a jersey top! Just got the sleeves and bottom hem to do. I had to redo the neckband because the first one I did was too short and resulted in me looking, er, matronly. Dreadful. So I made it more of a scoop neck, cut a longer neckband and it's much better.

I picked up my dress again, and sewed half my invisible zip on backwards. Unpicked, and resewn now and all good. Next up: the dreaded buttonholes.

Well done on your sewing Dubyalass despite not feeling great.

Zips are my nemesis. I watched every video tutorial going and still can't get them right.

buttonholes used to be as well but I quite enjoy them now I have a machine that does them automatically.

nutella that is very dedicated of you. I'm a very lazy sewist and wouldn't have the patience at all!

I'm pretty new to zips so have been getting in some practice on the basics making Christmas cushions.

@pastabest my new (to me) sewing machine is good at the first buttonhole but then seems to get in a mess with subsequent ones. It seems to need a rest between each one. Perhaps it's me who needs the rest!

@dubyalass I hope you are feeling properly better soon.

I used to be ok with zips but I’ve not sewn one for decades as I can’t bear wearing clothes with zips. There’s one bought top in my wardrobe which has a zip and no trousers at all since I grew out of my last pair of jeans.

I like doing buttonholes but my machine occasionally plays up on viscose so it’s always a test of nerves.

i dress like a toddler really

I have to watch an instructional video by Made To Sew every time I do a zip, the addition of an invisible zip foot has been an absolute game changer as well.

Well done on your brilliant progress everyone.

Thanks all! Feeling much better.

On the zip front, I've watched endless videos and I still can't quite get them right. They do what they need to do but they ain't pretty.

I would love to join this group in the hope that I might be inspired to make something. I used to do a lot of sewing, mainly home furnishings rather than clothes, but have done nothing in the last ten years.

I have an ancient Singer electric machine that doesn't even do zigzag let alone anything else fancy, which is probably why I prefer sewing things with straight lines, although I have also made a few outfits for the GC over the years. Never anything for me as I have never learnt to adjust patterns to fit.

My knowledge extends to O Level Needlework back in the 1970s - I loved sewing at school as it was about the only thing that I could do well! I have a passion for beautiful fabrics and always buy lots of remnants, but for me the cutting-out stage is the most daunting as I hate cutting them up!

Welcome Plantstrees!

With an O Level in needlework you're better qualified than me!

I haven't done any sewing for a bit, just don't have any weekends still :(

Welcome @Plantstrees I hate cutting pretty fabrics as i'm sure i'll do it wrong! Not so bad with cheap toile material

@Jins do you have velcro shoes

I intended on cutting more than one pattern out yesterday but spent ages faffing with scraps but I did cut out one whole toile and if it goes well, it could be wearable.

Thank you for the welcome fellow sewing enthusiasts. I have some beautiful fabric that I want to make into a bench seat cushion so I may try and get started with that. I quite like the French mattress style so will need to find out how to do that as I have only done very plain ones before.

Do I have to stabilise shoulder seams with clear elastic? I don't have any and i'm sure i've heard you can use seam stabilising tape (I mean, the clue's in the name right?) or even ribbon cut off store bought tops.

I've used ribbon to stabilise shoulders on TatB Coco. You do need it if you're sewing knits that aren't very stable.

@NutellaEllaElla woven ribbon is fine, or twill tape. Anything that won’t fray or stretch really. Maybe pop a bit of fray check on the cut ribbon ends though if you have some.

I hate sewing clear elastic.

I’ve used ribbon fairly frequently. Clear elastic isn’t my favourite thing to sew with.

(No I don’t have Velcro shoes but I have changed laces to elastic ones 😂)

I mainly sew for me and with stretch fabrics. I haven’t stabilised the shoulder seams and never found I needed to.

I had one tshirt that really needed it's shoulder's stabilising, it was one where the short sleeves were actually part of the front/back pieces , so you literally cut out a T shape. After a while the shoulders did start to slump and stretch. I think a lot of it is weight of the fabric/how good the fabric is at recovering.

I generally do as i'm told so if it tells me to stabilise, I will but I cba to buy elastic when something else will do.

By the way, if you sign up to the True Bias newsletter, they're giving away a free t-shirt pattern. I'm sure there are loads of free t shirt patterns available online generally so i'm not sure this motivates me but thought i'd pass it on.

I’ve sewn with viscose jersey that would have benefited from stabilising the shoulders, so I guess like kitty says it’s down to the qualities and recovery of the fabric.

My daughter has a ‘dress up as the 50s’ day at school next week, so I’m going to see if I can whip something up (the slowest whipping anyone will have ever seen)

Dressing up as if from the 1950s is an interesting project @SBAM . There seems to be a lot of emphasis on the waist whether with a narrow or full skirt. Also the age of age of the pedal pusher trouser.

Printed the instructions for my next make: Chandler trousers from Untitled Thoughts. I have a big piece of denim left from making a coat. I'm not brave enough to try making jeans yet.

@GnomeDePlume she’s only 5, so I’ve had my grandma send me some pics as she was a child in the 50s, it looks like a blouse with a Peter Pan collar and a pleated or circle skirt will be the way to go.
I’ve got a few hours free this morning so I’m going to ignore the housework and see what I can get done.

Circle skirt would definitely look the part. Would an Alice band be 1950s? Ankle socks and flat shoes would be appropriate