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 for that link - This one looks like it might be the perfect solution for a top for my broad shoulders so I’ll be giving that a go. I love the pintucked cami too.

I did a bit of sewing yesterday but nothing exciting. I bought some ITY last year. It’s really smooth and drapey and I had plans for a dress with it. I cut a strip off it to test techniques and my machine just won’t handle it at all. Skipped stitches everywhere. Even lightning stitch doesn’t work! It’ll have to be a 100% overlocker project.

I’d love to follow you all as well but following me would be pointless 🤣

My children and husband are all out of the house for the first time in over a month!
I’m free until 2:30 - do I give the house a good clean or do I go tidy up my sewing room?

Sewing wins every time 😀

@jins cool, do let us know how it turns out. I've PMd you my insta handle if you do want to follow me.

@SBAM if by tidy the sewing room, you mean use up any bits of fabric you have lying around in some kind of project... Then do that 😁

@NutellaEllaElla no, I meant a literal tidy. I’m a messy sewist and I sewed a lot early summer and then didn’t clear up, then stuffs just been dumped in there over the summer so it needed a good sort out. I do struggle to feel enthusiasm for sewing when it’s a mess, so now it’s all ready for autumn sewing to start!
Deer and Doe plantain tee is first on my list.

Tidying isn't much fun but mess stresses me out so I know what you mean.
I'm thinking of my autumn sewing plans and lamenting social occasions getting in the way 😄. I'm hoping to make and wear a smart dress, to make one or two Gioiello tops (got to overcome the blasted fabric that won't go through the machine at the neck binding first) and have a go at a lace up long sleeved top. Then I've got leftover fabric from the pencil skirt that I want to make into a winter mini skirt. That might be it for now but also seems like a lot as I am a slow worker.

Well, I made my Plantain tee in some viscose jersey I don’t totally love as a trial run. It’s too big, but also seems very low cut compared to pictures I saw on Instagram. Anyone here made it before?

Hi I've been lurking for a while so thought I'd say hi! I started sewing earlier this year learning from YouTube and books-but start a 12 week college course this week to improve further.

Currently working on a toile for the Tilly and the Buttons Stevie dress, does cutting ever get easier? It seems to take me forever!

I've never tried that once @SBAM.

Welcome @Toomuch2019 , I'd be interested to hear how your Stevie dress goes. I've had my eye on it. Does cutting get easier....I dunno. I like using a self healing cutting mat and a rotary blade - that does make it easier I think. But I still get nervous about screwing it up, especially with precious fabrics.

@Toomuch2019 I’ve been sewing around 10 years now and cutting is still tedious!
I mostly use a rotary cutter with weights and a cutting mat, and I have a smaller rotary cutter for doing things that are fussier. Having a height adjustable desk is great, for kids clothes I can do all my cutting stood at a comfortable height but for adult clothes I still tend to do it on the floor.
I quite like to cut a couple of projects all in one go, then the pieces are all ready to sew when I get a few minutes. Lots of my sewing time is after the kids are in bed and at that point in the day I can’t face wrangling big bits of fabric and trying to line up grainlines.

Cutting multiple projects at once it's s good idea. It's also a good thing to do with the TV on in the background or a podcast or something. I can't divide my attention so well when actually sewing because either I'm thinking and can't have the distraction or because my machine is too loud.

Does anyone listen to sewing podcasts? I listen to podcasts on my commute but have never listened to a sewing one before... It doesn't compute in my head somehow! If you do, can you recommend it?

When I'm sewing or cutting I quite like having things like an Agatha Christie or similar on. I know the story so it doesn't matter if some of it gets drowned out by the machine.

I also like a good murder mystery when I'm writing Christmas cards! I'm sure it adds a certain something to my Season's greetings!

Thinking of Christmas, I am thinking of making a Christmas jacket. Not sure yet though. I might run out of time with all the other projects lined up.

I've been getting adverts for fat quarters following me round the internet. Is that for quilters? You can't do much with them for clothes making can you?

You might squeeze some little
things like a sunhat or baby clothes out of fat quarters, but they’re mostly for quilting/craft.

No sewing podcasts for me, I like other podcasts but for sewing I think I prefer visuals so Instagram/blogs/sewing bee.

Ah well it's good to know it's not just me that finds the cutting boring but less good to know it probably won't get more fun. Great idea to minimise the pain of it by doing a few in one session I'm going to steal that!

Halfway through the Stevie toile now, think it's going ok but the material I've used is a bit thin so harder to handle than I would like! Should have used something closer to my final fabric to practice on-lesson learnt!

Christmas jacket sounds awesome @GnomeDePlume!

@LadyCampanulaTottington how is your learning coming along?

@CalamityClam , I hope you are figuring out your top now too.
@SewBiased and@SewinginIreland and @TheFabledSnake, hope you are getting on ok 😊

I usually to listen to (non sewing) podcasts with ear buds in when I'm sewing so I can hear it over the machines but for bigger projects I tend to pick an audio book. It's nice as then every time I wear that item (usually a jacket/coat) I associate it with that good memory of the book as well.

I hate the cutting out part, it's the one activity I do that makes me feel like my body is ageing. I do it on the floor and my knees and back ache for a few days after a big cutting out session.

I'm making good progress with my Jasika blazer. It's in a lovely grey wool tweed which I got for a ridiculous bargain price in a sale about a year ago, and some cotton lawn for the lining I've had hanging around for ages which I'm strangely attached to and not sure why. All the fiddly bits with the welt pockets etc are now done so it's now on to sewing the main body pieces together, the collar and lapels and the lining.

im on IG too, I also post on Minerva occasionally but I'm not a Minerva ambassador or whatever they are called.

My cutting out game has been much improved by the table DH made for me. It is 1.5m by 1m. Big enough but not too big. When the drop leaf is down it is 1.5m by 0.4m so it can be put to the side of the room.

I have an A1 sized cutting mat on top of the table. I use this as a kind of lazy Susan to turn pieces of fabric round for working on.

The fabrics I buy are inexpensive which allows me to buy an extra metre rather than trying to achieve perfect fabric optimisation.

There's a double bed in my sewing room and I have a huge whiteboard (90 by 120cm) I can put on it as a cutting table.
The drawers under the bed are good for concealing the extent of my fabric stash too.

I don’t mind cutting out. I work on the floor and I use the shears I’ve had for nearly 30 years. I like to have a lot of space around me so I can juggle pattern pieces around to make the most of my fabric. (Hence the significant offcut stash)

The bit I hate is transferring markings

@NutellaEllaElla thanks for checking in on me.

I admit I haven’t started yet. We got a new rescue cat last week that needed some medical intervention. Antibiotics and steroids have sorted him so I’m whipping out the sewing machine today.

I bought two cushion fronts and gorgeous teal crushed velvet for the backing. It’s an easy start!!

Thanks for checking in with me. I finished it and I hated the fit. I’d made a toile in a 12 but made the top in a 16. Fit wasn’t great then on the shoulders/armholes but I’ve just realised that shortening the shoulder seams will improve it immeasurably! So that’s my job for today.
I really would like a lesson on pattern fitting.

@NutellaEllaElla you can make a wraparound skirt using fat quarters! Mine is reversible and I made a matching hat!