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.

I had an issue with the waistband being too short on something I sewed recently but I can’t remember what. It was all cut properly and the right size but it was way off. I often have the same problem with collars so presumably I’m stretching the fabric somewhere.

Tomorrow I have a completely free day!

But I have to do my tax return 😭😫

I'd much rather avoid and sew instead. But that would just kick the problem down the road. Is hoping to do it in half a day and sew the other half unrealistic? Motivation at least.

Oh god, I need to do mine too. Haven't done any self employed work for years but still need to fill it in. Going to set myself a reminder now.

I rang them and said I wasn’t self employed any more and they’ve stopped asking for tax returns.

i haven’t been sewing much recently but I have covered some damaged chairs from the hall in our village which looked like it would be straightforward but has been a bit of a pig to do. Upholstery fabric is just so much thicker than the lovely drapey viscose that I usually sew with and it’s been a bit of a nightmare getting it all tucked in. Only one to go thankfully

The problems with my skirt are continuing. After taking it in at the sides so that the waistband could be added, I found that the whole thing is still about a size too big and I’m going to need a massive narrow back adjustment (on top of the 2 inches I’d already taken out). May be this skirt just isn’t the right shape for me? My measurements correspond exactly with a size 12, but it’s a really bad fit 😞

Anyway, while trying to work out what’s going on, I’ve had my head turned by the Grainline Reed skirt. May be that’s the answer 🤔

Well I've done it! I started at 9am, had a quick lunch break and have just finished at 1pm. It's so rubbish to do and every year I promise myself i'll maintain really good records through the year. No time for sewing sadly as I have a call at 2-3 but maybe tomorrow.

Re-upholstering is great @Jins. I've only done 10 dining chairs we inherited from family plus a headboard but I couldn't get over how expensive professional quotes were and how straightforward a process it is/was for us. Very satisfying. Though I did get very sore hands from all the nail (the metal kind) pulling and bashing.

Eugh, it sounds like a nightmare @CrimsonAlligator but you've come so far with it you've got to finish it. How do you know if you need a narrow back adjustment?

I stand corrected, it’s a swayback adjustment I need, not a narrowback adjustment. You can tell if you need one if you get lots of fabric pooling towards the top of the back of the skirt @NutellaEllaElla. This explains a bit more:

www.mariadenmark.com/2017/10/swayback-alteration/

It’s one of the easiest adjustment to make, which is just as well as it’s a standard adjustment for me. I usually wear the skirt inside out, get my DH to pinch out the excess and resew the back seam. Except in this case, as I’d already attached the waistband it’s not quite so easy 🤦🏻‍♀️ I plan to persevere, but may sew a Linden sweatshirt first. Think I need a quick and easy break!

I've just bought a Palmer and Pletsch guide to fitting. Check out my restraint, I held out for several weeks

Yes a palette cleanser will do wonders for your motivation.

I've had my finger hovering over the 'buy' button for that book for ages since seeing Lucy from Sew Essential raving about it. Might treat myself after Christmas. I frequently have to do a narrow shoulder adjustment but I'm sure there's others that would help things fit better.

I have a free day but DD and DSiL are sound asleep in my sewing room! Tempted as I am to ask them to budge up a bit I think I will hold back!

My next make is going to be a waistcoat for DSiL. He is a trainee primary maths & science teacher. The fabric is space on the front with chalkboard maths notation on the back. The lining is whiteboard maths notation. DD has given her approval.

After that I am going to make myself another shirt using the Muna and Broad Tarawi pattern. This time I think I will make it a little longer and look to see if I can do some under bust fitting to make it a bit less tent like.

I managed to make a Linden sweatshirt over the weekend!

In spite of making quite a few garments over the years, I’ve never actually made something that I can imagine myself wearing. There are always either massive fit issues, or I’m not happy with the finish...or I picked a pattern that looked nice on the packaging but turned out to be “just not me” when I finished it. But this sweatshirt? I haven’t taken it off since I finished it! So that’s a massive breakthrough for me 🥳

Now I must return to the Moss skirt and see if I can get that to fit. Not that I think I’d wear that one when it’s finished (the Kermit the Frog vibes are too strong 🐸) but may be I’ll pick up some more fitting skills in the process.

That fitting book sounds really useful @NutellaEllaElla . Sewing has made me realise that my body most definitely isn’t “standard”, which I’m sure is the case for a lot of people. It’s what got me into sewing in the first place as it’s so difficult to find clothes that are actually long enough.

Did you manage to get any sewing done @GnomeDePlume ?

Lovely sweatshirt @CrimsonAlligator , is the ribbing gold white and black? It looks great.

I really struggled with sewing for my style when I first started, I still have heaps of dress patterns I’ve never made and I only wear specific styles of dresses for specific occasions. But dresses were the ‘thing’ to sew in the 2010s, that’s the only thing people blogged about.

You might be interested in the wardrobe architect series on the seam work blog: blog.seamwork.com/wardrobe-architect/

It goes through defining your personal parameters for what you like wearing, and thinking it through really helped me start narrowing things down for me. So now, much as I love seeing people posting and wearing things on Instagram I just won’t get that pattern - eg the saguaro set which was everywhere a little while ago - I don’t generally like elastic waists, and I’m not comfortable showing my stomach, so I know even if I made it in beautiful fabric and it fit perfectly and it was lovely I would never wear it.

@CrimsonAlligator excellent sweatshirt and amazing to get it done scross a weekend.

I agree with you about fit. I am a beach ball shape and do really need to put more thought into fit. I tend to be nervous and err towards garments which cover everything and flatter nothing.

No sewing this weekend as the sewing room is still occupied by visitors.

The sweatshirt looks fab! I'm trying to stick to patterns and colours that I will actually wear, having made too many things that have languished in my wardrobe unworn. But equally I like stepping out of my comfort zone from time to time.

Last week I wore my Megan Nielsen Ash jeans, Tessuti boatneck tops and Sheridan sweater several days running, along with a Drops jumper I knitted earlier this year, and got loads of compliments. I feel very smug when people are amazed that I made my own jeans 😁

That sweatshirt looks fab CrimsonAlligator . I need to be tougher on what patterns and materials I buy - most patterns I have are for dresses as it seems to be what indie pattern makers 'make' and what don't I wear on the regular? Dresses. In reality, what I need are a) nice shaped t shirts (varying necklines and sleeve lengths) b) relaxed trousers c) easy wash/wear blouses.

Successful (ish) weekend for me. Made a dress out of leftover material for friend's 3 year ol daughter from a Sew Over It pattern, and made a Xmas party top out of some cheap pound a metre jersey with a slight silver sparkle to it.

Thanks all ☺️ Ah yes, don’t get me started on the number of dress patterns I have in my collection...

That’s a great link @SBAM . I think I’m reasonably ok when it comes to knowing what shapes suit me, but get totally lost when it comes to style and colour. I’ve made so much stuff that I would never even look at twice if I saw it in a shop, except for may be to marvel at the garish colours 😂

It must be so nice to regularly wear things you’ve made yourself @dubyalass . I too am impressed that you’ve made your own jeans! That’s aspirational stuff!

If you can make trousers, you can make jeans! It's just thicker fabric and loads of topstitching.

Ah, I've ditched my cords for now, topstitching and all. I am altering my DDs Winter Formal dress. It's sequinned, stretchy and lined so hitting all the difficult boxes and in true teen style she's given me less than 24 hours to do it on a working day. It now fits but the insides are carnage and I've still to take up the hem.

That's a fab sweatshirt @CrimsonAlligator. I've used that cuffing before on a set of T&TB jogging bottoms. Stupidly I used it as a waistband and they keep falling down. I keep meaning to alter them as they are made out of the cosiest woolly, probably 100% polyester fabric.

I've also been playing with my new Cricut Maker, which can cut out fabric. Any other Cricut users here? It's only going to be useful for small pieces but I thought I could use it for really fiddly pieces like collars, where you want them cut out carefully and symmetrically.

I've finally got some child free time so I may attempt a little sewing if I manage to get all the Christmas stuff I haven't done yet done (I've done nothing, still have every present to buy and every card to write!).

although I have managed to do a few bits and pieces recently, and I'm finding more and more I'm making wardrobe staples so it's now a rare day I'm not wearing something I've made.

like discussed above I've finally figured out I need to sew stuff I'm actually going to wear rather than things that look pretty (the saguaro set being a perfect example!)

for me that seems to be a variety of jumper dresses, brumby skirts and pinafore dresses with Breton tops. I'm basically a walking advert for TATB at times

Yes, I’ve had Cricut for over 20 years!! Got the Maker the week it was launched, I don’t use it massively but love it every time that I do. I mainly use it for vinyl and HTV but have also used it to cut out letters for bunting.

Interested in the cricut chat, do they cut felt?

What’s a Cricut chat?

I know about the Joy, which I think is too small to be of optimum use. Personally I would go for an Expression, but only if you can’t stretch to the Maker. I know the Mkaer is the most expensive but it also does the most.

The Maker cuts off many different kinds of fabric including leather while the cheaper Explore can cut out bonded fabric such as felt I believe. I’ve only used it on paper and vinyl so far but it comes with a rotary blade that you use for fabric.

I think the issue with cutting felt would be how quickly it ruins the mat with fuzz, I have read that you can use sticky backed plastic wrong way up to protect the mat but wonder if this creates a problem with thickness?

There’s quite a lot fabric based projects on the Cricut design space site, mainly quilting and the likes.