Stitch and bitch thread #9. I have pressing concerns

[NutellaEllaElla]

Welcome welcome!

I've not made anything for ages after I screwed up the same thing twice. I'm gonna have another blimmin crack at it though! I've reconnected with another hobby and work is seriously getting in the way of everything I want to do, darn it.

@Daffyyellow
@rivercobbler
@bookbook
@FletchingStraight
@Tinuviel
@Karatema
@Brefugee
@kittykarate
@Greaterthanthesumoftheparts
@FriendsDrinkBook
@123ZYX
@SparkleHard
@FarEast
@Dellabob123
@Twobluechickens
@SBAM
@InMySpareTime
@Jins
@CrimsonAlligator
@MontyDonsBlueScarf
@Bouncydog
@Hoogieflip
@GonnaGetGoingReturns
@Subolooo
@SleepingisanArt
@GnomeDePlume
@Chewbecca
@Ingefae
@Rosenspants
@Cynderella
@PickAChew
@Wildernesstips
@Pastabest
@BlackAmericanoNoSugar
@Frumpyunicorn
@WickDittington
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@SheWasASkaterGirl
@Isabelle70
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@FloofyBird

Finally finished off my Seasons of East dress!

Version 1 is the grape coloured one, I did the FBA using a method that put in a bust dart, I wasn't totally happy with the result, as it seemed baggy and draggy in front.

Version 2 I added in my 2" extra , but used gathers (approximately under boob) to bring the top bodice back in union with the skirt, also raised the v neck. Much happier with this one.

Neat on top, with something to hide further down sums me up pretty well @PickAChew 😂

I stayed up most of the night to watch the election results and combined it with sewing up the Arlo jacket I cut out a few weeks ago.. It came together remarkably well. I even managed a pretty decent zip insertion around 4 o clock, after a couple of drinks. I’m not entirely sure how I managed that, but I’ll take it!

Those are both lovely dresses @kittykarate , but I agree that the one on the right does look like it fits a bit better. The added gathers really suit that dress style.

Very pleased with the pattern haul from this month’s simply sewing

Thanks for posting that @Jins. I used to subscribe to various magazines but found I didn't use many patterns. It would be helpful if magazine patterns are posted so I could buy if/when anything appeals.

Looks great with your adjustments, @kittykarate

If you have a library membership, @Wilma55 then you might have access to simply sewing online so you can check. It's in borrowbox and Libby.

I finished the Arlo jacket - messed up the collar a bit and the zip is a little too short, but apart from that it all came together smoothly.

I’m pretty excited about this one as this is something I will use all the time (keen gym go-er here). I think I need a few more of these in my life!

Thanks @PickAChew I found it in Libby. Our Borrowbox seems to be audio books only.

I love your Arlo @CrimsonAlligator , I made one a couple of years ago and it's such an easy wear.

Try PressReader or Libby. Your library website should have a list of what you have access to - mine has access to both, but I prefer PressReader

@Wilma55 sorry - I missed that you'd found it in Libby

I try not to buy the magazines as I often don't love the patterns but quite like the swimsuit and dress in that one @Jins

I love the dress @kittykarate and the allotment @CrimsonAlligator

I have just sent 5 patterns off to clc for printing so I am excited about that, as it means I have a selection for if I see good fabric. I have washed my linen and it is slightly softer but still a bit still so I am going to do a toile of the zadie jumpsuit to see if it suits me and then use it for that (if it doesn't I might switch to the dress as I know that should suit me)

I also have an old bed sheet so want to finish the pillowcase pj's and start a toile of the heyday dungarees this weekend

We used to have Libby but our libraries switched over to Borrowbox at Easter and the selection is poor.

Just said goodbye to family and decided to spend an hour with my jumpsuit before going out later. I’m at the zip installation stage and am completely baffled. It specifies a 7” zip and the illustrations show the zip fitting within the fly, yet in reality it’s way down. So, given I’m already tired and a bit irritable, I’m going to put it down and watch a sewalong in the hope that it will enlighten me. I haven’t shortened the pattern pieces at all and it doesn’t indicate that the zip is part of the waistband - so what’s going on??

I bought a trousers pattern today, a very easy Simplicity one, elasticated waist, wide leg, no pockets.

I have been sewing for 30 years and I was so scarred from my first and only attempt at trousers I've never made them since. Coats, tailored jackets, any kind of zip, the stuff other people find daunting don't bother me at all. But the trousers disaster was just so awful I've never felt brave enough since.

The plan is to use up my stash, and I need something loose and long enough (I'm tall and now quite fat) for an upcoming holiday.

Wish me luck and send me your tips.

@twobluechickens you need to raise it so the bottom is level with the bottom of the flaps and you will need to trim the top.

Or buy a shorter zip. So many patterns just specify the zip length needed for the biggest sizes.

@Sewingbees use some rubbish fabric eg old sheet to quickly make up the bit of the trousers that would be a pair of shorts. That way you can check the fit.

@SewingBees sounds like you picked a good pattern to conquer your fears!

For a new trouser pattern, if I don’t want to make a toile, I’ll baste the pieces (apart from the waistband) together, with the stitches on the outside of the garment. Try for fit, pinch out any excess and mark the new seam lines (e.g. with pins or washable marker), followed by sewing the trousers together along the new stitch line. I don’t cut out the waistband until I’ve checked the fit as I always end up having to take out excess fabric in the back, so need to change the waistband

The sewalong I watched kept the top of the zip the same, but cut the bottom off. She had a 9” zip which she cut to fit. Interesting that it might be the zip that fits the biggest size, I hadn’t thought of that. But the instructions are so sparse, you’d never know anyway.

@CrimsonAlligator I've been watching you tube videos about getting a good fit so at least I've got some ideas about where I went wrong all those years ago. I'll definitely need to make some adjustments just because I'm so tall so I think I'll have a shot at adjusting the pattern to try for a wearable toile. It might work!

@SewingBees Apart from the inside leg measurement, if you’re tall it’s worth checking the distance between the crotch and where the waistband starts before you cut into your fabric.

If you have a pair of trousers where the waistband fits you where you want it to, put one of the legs inside out in the other one (only the leg that goes within the other one should be turned inside out). That will give you an easy way to compare the proportions on the top half of the pattern and how much height you need to add to the top part. There should be a line on your pattern showing you where to increase/ decrease the crotch height.

It’s an easy adjustment to make on the type of pattern you bought, a bit trickier if there’s zips and pockets involved. I’m way above average height, but don’t usually have to make this change, as for me nearly all the extra height is in my actual legs, not my torso. Worth checking though.

@CrimsonAlligator Fantastic advice, thank you, I'll definitely do that.

I’m the same @CrimsonAlligator , most of my height is in my legs although I do tend to add an inch to the rise to accommodate my ample backside.

34” inside leg is one of the main reasons I started making my own jeans!

1st day of the summer holidays and I have battled sewing machines and projects!

Please learn from my mistakes - when you thread the coverstitch’s lower looper you have to reset the lower looper by pushing it back in, almost 3 hours it took for me to realise and I was ready to launch it through the double glazing!!

Secondly if you cinch in the elastic neckline of RP Olivia top it will gg up the sleeve length 😳

Oh dear, @Daffyyellow 😅 I imagine there were some choice words.

There's a bit that you have to pop out to thread the lower looper of my overlocker but it snaps back in all by itself with a satisfying thunk when you start sewing. I'm sure I would have been caught out by that by now, if it didn't, just as I have broken needles by deciding to "just secure that with a bit of zigzag" while using a straight stitch foot on 2 occasions, now. Thankfully both machines survived unscathed.

i had a day like that yesterday @Daffyyellow I seemed to have forgotten how to do tasks I’ve done hundreds of times before.

After I gave up on what I’d planned to do I decided to toile the swimsuit pattern from simply sewing on the grounds that it wouldn’t matter if there were errors. It’s a good simple pattern and the instructions aren’t too bad so not a bad one to try for a first swimwear project. As expected I need to add some length for a good fit for proper swimming but I’m going to finish it with ordinary elastic as it’ll work well under my paddleboarding gear.