Stitch and bitch thread #6. What a yoke!

[NutellaEllaElla]

The other thread is so painfully slow so lets hope a shiny new one will run a smoothly as a well behaved sewing machine. Pin your places here my lovely stitchers

@NutellaEllaElla it’s not as bad as it sounds. I’m toiling with the facings and have only made one wearable (garden only) toile. Although I did wear the red toile when I picked DS2 up from work and two of his colleagues have text him asking if I’ll make one for them 🤣

I’m clearing up ready to get going on the actual dress. It’s a black and white ditsy floral viscose challis (what else?) and I’ll decide later whether to elasticate the bodice if it’s too drapey. There’s a bit of versatility to Sauvie and I can see it being my staple summer dress pattern

I had some sewing lessons at secondary school but I think we were probably plagued by the lack of machines as I only ever finished the gym bag we all had to make first. I never got on to the pleated PE skirt!

But since I started 8 years ago I've barely looked back. If instructions are sketchy I either do what I think is right or look for a blog or a video.

I've worn my Arthurs twice this week. Even the husband said they didn't look home made. Which is high praise! And someone at work said they were going to ask me where I'd bought them! Chuffed!

I think I'll make some more. I definitely have enough length of some rather nice red needlecord which might be rather wonderful. I will alter the pockets though, they're not very deep and my phone falls out if I'm not careful!

Shame cos I obviously love machine sewing now and surely lots of tween girls' interest could have been captured by creating their own clothes.

One of the ways I got into sewing was making dresses for my Sindy doll!

Interesting to read how everyone got into sewing. I only started because I can’t stand frills and glitter on my clothes and some years that seems to be all you can get in the shops. Oh and I’m too tall for most clothes in the UK, so that came into it too.

I’ve never had in person lessons, but learnt so much from my DH whose mum was a very good seamstress. Even though he’s never done any sewing himself he knows a surprising amount about different fabrics, how to read a pattern, how to make simple adjustments etc.

And the rest I learnt from the magnificent Ms Pam Howard (as she likes to call herself) on Craftsy. She specialises in couture techniques and the first thing I ever sewed was a button down shirt, complete with everything that entails. What can I say, I like diving in at the deep end!

@DollyParkin what you said about TATB patterns are my thoughts exactly.

I can never understand how she’s managed to be so successful, other than via clever marketing. She was a rank amateur in the original Sewing Bee series compared to Lauren, who’s Learn to Sew book is a thousand times better written than Tilly’s initial offering. I’ve recommended it to a few friends over the years. It’s not even a case of Style over Substance. 😂

Has anyone read and successfully used the Freehand Fashion book by Chinelo Bally (series 2 of sewing bee)?

She clearly understood how to design and fit clothes properly to the models without relying on ready drafted patterns. I’m wondering though, if her techniques work for all body shapes?

I’ve not read Chinelo’s book though I’m interested in it. I did find this on YouTube last year where she shows how to draft patterns from your measurements

Do you think these beads https://www.kolibribeads.com/Beads/Seed-Beads-and-Miyuki-Beads/11-0-1-6-x-1-3-mm-miyuki-delica-japanese-seed-beads-7-2-g-vial-metallic-purple-green-gold-iris-db-1001 would be ok to put on the bodice of a dress, or would it cause trouble when I machine wash it?

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar those would be fine, I made a dress with those on many years ago and the beads are fine. If you can, put two stitches through each bead and use decent thread.
If you're worried about catching just wash inside out.

I’m not sure about washing beads. They are lovely.

Sauvie finished up to hemming and I’m letting it hang overnight first. It’s definitely looser in viscose but that’s ok. Photo is unpressed. I may tweak the side seams but I’m happy to wear it tomorrow as it is

That's lovely Jins

That fabric and dress are a lovely combination, @jins. Well worth your perseverance. I love that that pattern is bra friendly but it's not my scrawny, flappy upper arms that stop me from wanting to make it, it's the fact that my shoulders would burn in about 3 minutes in it, even with sun block!

The best way to find out how well your beads would wash, @BlackAmericanoNoSugar is to stitch a few to a piece of your fabric and do a trial wash. It should be no different to washing plastic buttons but you can't predict how well the metallised bits would wash. They're often added to knitted and crochet items, though, so should be fine with a delicates wash.

I’ve made a Merchant and Mills but as it was my very first make, I can’t comment on how it compares! It was the Factory Dress, I like it.

I am still working away at my Sauvie, you have done it so quickly! Today I had to buy a second reel of thread as I have used so much on it. Lots of unpicking. I am on the side vents and bottom now so nearly there. My neckline is nothing like as neat as yours and I don’t know how to tidy it to make a sharper edge. I do like it though and might make a second, different version.

I think I am going to make a camisole top next, possibly the Ogden.

@Chewbecca It came together quickly because the construction is very similar to the Ogden and I’ve made a few of them 🤣

I think my next Sauvie may be the same length but with the gathering. I’m still debating adding elastic to this but I think it’ll be a lot cooler as it is

Tried on my Springe jumpsuit and the length is pretty spot on, although I think I should have added the extra length on the bottom part of the bodice rather than above the bust point. I’ve also redone the bust gathering to reduce the pointy boob effect, and it’s much better but still needs work. The topstitching has gone to shite as a result but only I will know and this is a wearable toile so who cares.

Printed several top patterns at work (shhh) so that’s the plan for tomorrow.

Ok so I might be reeling back my tantrum. For some reason the sleeves on the second Eve dress are smaller than the first. I think I probably used a 1cm seam allowance last time then realised this time it is 1.5. I also had a lot of of puckering. The good news is that my sister tried it on and it's not too small for her, thankfully because I don't have more fabric and unpicking it revealed obvious marks from sewing the seam.

Now I just have to re-set the sleeve in without puckering. The sleeve head is very narrow and the area marked out for gathering is small so I have to gather a lot in a small area. It's really hard to avoid puckering?!! Any advice??

Tips for setting in sleeves:

• use a longer gathering thread than the pattern suggests. I tend to see a line (with released tension) from the start of the up curve on the sleeve head - pretty much from the arm pit up.

*I saw a great tip on Pinterest: see this easing line exactly on the seam line, then when you come to see the actual seam, you see exactly on that ease/gather stitched line, so it magically minimises puckers! (On my phone so am incompetent in linking but when I get home I’ll try)

• clip the arm scye edge on the body of the garment. Stretch the arm scye (gently) as you ease in the fullness of the sleeve head.

• I then pull the ease stitched line, and gather the sleeve head smaller than you think you’ll need.

• Pin twice as many pins as you might think you need! (And of course pin at 90 degrees to the seam line).

I start with pinning each edge of the sleeve to the body (ie underarm point). Then I pin the shoulder seam to the highest point of the sleeve head. I usually use 2 pins close together.

Then I pin, ease, clip, gently while trying to keep calm.

Then I see along the ease stitching
line - I sew with a 5/8 of an inch seam allowance.

Then press it out really fully. This is where a tailor’s ham is useful. But really stretch and mould and shape the fabric with steam and iron heat.

I tend always to add a small line of padding along the arm scye even if I’m not using shoulder pads - it gives a nice definition to the sleeve head.

The other way I do sleeves is to sew up the shoulder seam, but not the side seams on either sleeve or garment. Then I see the sleeve to the body easing etc as above, then I press hard, then I see the side seam of garment and sleeve all as one, carefully managing to match the underarm seam points.

This is a particularly good way to make shirts because you can do a neat flat-felled seam on the arm scye/sleeve seam and a French seam for the side seam of sleeve and body of garment.

But a tailored 2 piece sleeve can’t be done this way!

I do like setting in a tailored sleeve. There is something satisfying in getting that sharp defined shoulder line. This is where putting a little line of wadding (I use old jumpers) along the arm scye is also good (I learnt this from a blog about couture techniques).

HTH

My phone hates me and has changed sew to see. I hope my post makes sense

Thank you @DollyParkin, it makes sense to me to gather a longer area than the pattern says, i'll have to ignore the side notches. I might search pinterest for that tip.

Finished some baggy, comfy, soft tracksuit bottoms today, but it was far too hot to wear them for any longer than it took to check the fit, so a picture will need to wait.

You have reminded me of a particularly bad youtube sewalong. The presenter was constantly correcting themselves: cut here, no I mean stitch here, wrong sides together, no I mean right sides together.

I don't know why they didn't just edit these out, it was so confusing.

I've just been down a rabbit hole on this site, she has some great blouse patterns. https://tianascloset.com

Some things look really nice but man, her website is a hot mess!

It's more of a blog than a website, blogs are always a tedious pain in the neck if you don't read them regularly and have to go back through all the posts. Plus there's always loads of ads and you always have to scroll way, way down to get to the useful bits (so that you see all the ads). It's the same when I look for recipes. The most recent 10 pages or so are the best, her earlier stuff is less interesting.

Some interesting stuff, there, but that Norah flutter sleeve dress looks like one of those weird Chinese photoshop jobbies on the model.