Stitch and bitch thread #12. We’re in stitches!

[NutellaEllaElla]

Welcome and welcome back oldies and newbies!

Whatcha doin? What are your plans? I need some inspo. It's been a long time since i've approached my machine for various reasons.My favourite ever make has been a stretch dress, i'd wear it all the time if I could. I live in fear of the day I try to go to Barry's fabrics and it's gone. The Birmingham fabric scene is being decimated. What'll I do?!

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie
@Julieju1
@PickAChew
@MarmiteWine
@Isabelle70
@ClearHoldBuild
@Brefugee
@Twobluechickens
@Jins
@OperationalSupport
@ClearHoldBuild
@Sminty2
@Castlerigg
@Bookbook
@Rosenspants
@PandaCory
@TheBirdintheCave
@InMySpareTime
@Frumpyunicorn
@NotMeNoNo
@alianangel
@TorturedParentsDepartment
@Welshywitch
@Londonmummy66
@CrimsonAlligator
@HollyBerryz
@Kittykarate
@SamphiretheTervosaur
@Whataretalkingabout
@123ZYXMorningmorning
@WWomble
@PinkCamelia369
@Sewliketosew
@Hiddendoor
@OnlyTheBravest
@PandaCory
@Starryskiestonight
@PrincessDonut
@Shirtyllama
@SheSawSeaShore
@Daisiesanddaffodils2
@Paintyhands
@MO0N
@Daisiesanddaffodils24
@EricTheHalfASleeve
@Commontern

Oh, thank you @twobluechickens !
I will watch these and have some practice shots.

I have a burda pattern and an ottobre pattern I've used and their "detailed" tutorials are... let's just say we have different concepts of detailed 😆 videos will be a huge help!

I find written instructions very hard to follow, even with illustrations, so video sewalongs (if they are detailed and close up enough) are an absolute godsend!

@CrimsonAlligator I did it at a class over a day.

It did require a hip curve ruler and a lot of measuring and some fairly straightforward maths, but the trousers I ended up with were so well fitting!

We used the instructions in the Winifred Aldrich book Metric Pattern Cutting for Women…

Definitely worth considering!

I had good intentions of doing a trouser block but Sinclair has done it for me 🤣. If I’m honest I should really try to do one for wovens but I don’t really wear fitted woven trousers any more and much prefer the looser fit, flat front and rear elastic styles.

I’m still pondering my next make. I’d like to do something detailed as a slow sew which brings the Fashionista Jacket to the front but I’m not so sure I’ll get much wear from it heading into winter. I’m also hankering after a fleece but as that requires a fabric purchase I’ll have to stay hankering.

I think it’s time for a pattern stash rummage and I need to get all the indie patterns that are saved to my old phone moved somewhere more secure.

I’m braving a walk into town in the rain to look for some fabric for a Zadie jumpsuit and some trousers (pattern undecided).

I've had a productive few days, distracting myself from the incoming storms. I've seen up my belted cape and then two new tops in my tried and tested v neck top. I am currently wearing one of the tops!

I’ve been mooching on Vinted and came across an item that probably sums up what a lot of people think of when they hear the words hand made. I’m going to try to find a better term for it.

I’ve finally managed to sort through two boxes from my old sewing space and rehome them in the new. I took the view that if I hadn’t needed the contents in nearly a year I probably didn’t need them at all so have kept very little, mostly haberdashery items and very few ‘things that may be useful one day’. After getting rid of a pile of fabrics I’ll never use I’m starting to feel that I’ve got a bit more breathing space. I’m struggling a bit with light in there as the machines are tucked away in the darkest corner so I’m looking for something I can move around. I don’t have a lot of space so I’ll know it when I find it.

Wow. That’s the kind of thing that gives hand made a bad name.

I have made a bag, using up some patchwork that I started and got sick of. It’s not my best work, tbh. I didn’t make life easy for myself, and with hindsight should have just made the plain flat-fronted version. Instead I chose to make the version that has a front pocket, which added extra layers, and also the magnetic flap. Plus, using patchwork meant it got quite bulky in places, and it was incredibly tricky stitching it all together through all those layers. But I wanted to try the pattern, and I wanted to use the patchwork, so I’ve ticked those boxes. The bag itself will probably go to the charity shop.

I don't even know what I'm looking at there @Jins. Is it perhaps for people who enjoy pulling bits of string out of fabric? I'm probably clutching at straws there but I can't see any other excuse for putting that hand-made 'creation' up for sale.

@Castlerigg the bag is beautiful!

My usual sewing space is out of action so I had to cut out a flannel shirt using the good old method of pinning and cutting with scissors, something I haven’t done in years since using cutting mats and rotary cutters. Plus the flannel shifted everywhere and it took ages. Anyway, I need to sew it tomorrow night with Thursday as backup as it’s for a friend’s birthday on Saturday and needs posting to her. Nothing like a deadline to motivate me!

Crikey, @jins that is, er,...er, something.

That would make a great project bag, @Castlerigg !

I made the Style Arc Byron in a 14 - used a £1 charity shop table runner - but I don’t know to resolve the fit issues.
I think I might need to size down as a start. Any ideas?

It's hard to see from the pictures @Mygreyhair but is it slipping backwards a bit? If it is, you might improve the overall fit and the arm hole gaping with some sort of high round back adjustment or prominent should blade adjustment. Think of it as an FBA for your shoulder blades.

If you do end up going down a size, you will need to do a FBA as it's quite snug over your boobs. If I'm correct about you needing more room for your upper back,that would also cause bust tightness as the whole thing is being pulled backwards.

It definitely looks like it’s slipping a bit. Do you think the shoulder seam is in the right place @Mygreyhair?

I wondered if the top may be a little too wide for your shoulders. Do the straps feel like they’re sliding off? If so a narrow shoulder adjustment would be worth trying, but I doubt it’d completely fix the issue at the back.

It also looks like the armhole may be a little too high for you, but that could just be the photo. Do you feel the fabric digging down in your arm pit when you put your arms down? If so that could also be causing issues at the back.

@PickAChew @CrimsonAlligator
thank you! So detailed. I’m away from home at the moment but will do some better pics when I’m back.
yes, the shoulders are too wide. I often have gape at the back of my neck.
I’d love to get this pattern fitting well - sounds like a lot to get my teeth into!

I am a complete novice sewer. I have been given a Janome 4400 without an instruction booklet. How do i insert the bobbin? I've watched YouTube and still no wiser. Help

you can download a digital manual 😀
https://www.janome.com/support/manuals/

page 20 of the manual @ThisSillySquid
https://www.manuals.co.uk/janome/memory-craft-4400/manual?p=20

It’s not a machine I’ve used myself, but it looks like you need to put the bobbin in with the tread end closest to you, with the tail end off to the left. Google image search might be more helpful than a general search. Sometimes instruction manuals are available to download online.

What do you mean tail end?

The very end of the thread.

@Mygreyhairthat fit looks a bit like some of mine a few years ago. I looked at all the possible adjustments but started off by sizing down and doing a FBA even though I don’t strictly need to do one. That went 90% of the way towards a decent fit and I can live with it.

I’m feeling very virtuous as I’ve uploaded all the patterns I can find on my old phone to a new cloud storage app which I’m keeping for sewing and knitting patterns. I’m close to the limit on both Google drive and Dropbox so have gone with the Mega free option with 20gb. I used to store them on my laptop but I rarely use that anymore so needed to find a better solution.

I’ve sent a couple of jacket patterns off to planprinting 24 which should be here this morning but I don’t think there’s much in my stash to make a jacket with apart from some mystery box heavyweight twill in up to the minute chocolate brown. There should also be some grey lightweight waterproof stuff I bought to make a raincoat but that would need to be lined and possibly padded. So I need to focus on something more practical like another pair of Sinclair Helens or a couple of warmer tops.

What I’m itching to make is a Rossi/Fredy with the 4+m of dark green and cream print that arrived in my last mystery box but that’s as far from being a practical and sensible project as I can imagine.

I have all the materials now to make my custom pushbike waterproof cover. Just need to get on and make a toile first.
Any tips for sewing with waterproof canvas like fabric greatly appreciated:)

I would suggest a heavy duty microtex needle as its waterproof - maybe a 90 ? or you could try a denim needle ( either 80 or 90 ) - if you have them . Worth doing a little test first - they are expensive to use if they breal all the time !

Thank you. Ah needles! I didn’t think of them, I am sure I have some denim ones.