Category: Sewing

I am happy to say I met my sewing goal this week! The plan was to make both of these fabrics up into cowl neck sweaters with the extra deep cuffs and bottom bands of my magenta sweater above. I should mention I actually have two magenta sweaters, exactly the same. It’s a good thing I don’t go out much because I was wearing a magenta sweater nearly every day and people would have started wondering if I had stopped showering.

The Burgundy Cowl

I made up the burgundy first. I worried that the terry look of the fabric would make it seem like I was wearing a towel or pajama top, but I think I worried for nothing! It was cold here when I finished it so it went straight from the machine to my body.

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This is such a simple hack to make and a quick sew. I started from my pattern for the Tabitha Top. The Tabitha top is meant to have different options added to the bottom so the main body pieces are already somewhat cropped but you could shorten it more if you prefer a more cropped sweater.  I used the piece for the back of the split hem view for my width and increased the height to 12″ for my 6″ bottom band. Front and back at the hip are the same width, so I just cut two.

For the cuffed sleeve all I did was trace out a long sleeve and whap 6″ from the length. From there, I traced the cut-off part so it could be doubled into a cuff which makes an hour-glass sort of shape. The cowl and neckline I traced out from the Laundry Day Tee for this version. In the magenta version, I kept the Tabitha neckline but raised the bottom of the front by about 2 inches. Then I measured the new neckline and made a collar piece just an inch shorter than the neckline and 8 inches tall for my 4″ tall mock neck.

The Mossy Green Cowl

I don’t know if you can see it in the photo, but this fabric has a ridiculously subtle stripe in it. My attempts to lay out my pattern for cutting Saturday morning thwarted by the direct sunlight coming in the patio door, I had to leave it until evening to cut it out. In all the fretting over those barely visible stripes, I managed to cut the body and sleeves with the nap running the wrong way. I don’t care, it’s warm and I’m wearing it.

Assembly is pretty simple so once you have the pattern sorted out, you can sew this up in an hour or less depending on whether you top stitch or not. Top stitching does give it a more finished look, but it’s also just fine without. The sleeve cuffs are pretty fiddly to top stitch, but it’s doable.

So that’s my week 1 sewing goals met. Let’s see how I do next week, but in the meantime I’m amazed to own 4 new this year sweaters that I love wearing and feel good in. Usually I’m lucky to own two at a time because a) I’m a cheap skate and b) I hate shopping for clothing that much.  How did you make out with the short week last week?

I have a few makes planned for this month because I’m still filling some huge wardrobe gaps. I hadn’t bought anything in years that I actually liked wearing so I’ve been steadily replacing the RTW that I did have with me made garments. I’ve also joined the 52 Week Sewing Challenge Facebook Group.  They suggest themes for each week but you can go rogue or off theme and still take part.

Week 1

Week 1 is nearly over, but the theme is “Sew something warm or soft”. In December I took a quick break from working on my coat to whip up this sweater. I had admired Toaster Sweater #1 by Sew House Seven, I even had the tab open on my computer all week and I was debating if I would buy it or not. But in the end I didn’t because I was still struggling to fit tops properly and finally seeing some success. So when it came right down to it I wasn’t in the mood to tape and adjust another pattern.

I added the bottom band, mock neck collar and deep cuffs to my Tabitha Top instead and I couldn’t be happier with it. I plan to sew up this fleece above nearly the same, but swap out the neck and mash it with the LDT cowl instead. As much as I love the neck on my magenta sweater, these fabrics seem better suited to a soft drapey cowl. The pictures don’t do justice to the colors, a deep burgundy and a mossy green with the look of terry on one side, fleece on the other.

I have the burgundy cut and partly sewn, as long as every thing works out I’ll make it just in time for the week 1 challenge.

Week 2

The week 2 theme is “something from the last fabric purchased”.  I snagged these pieces of leather months ago, but the lining fabric below was just picked up last week so I’ll be using it to make a couple of things.

I may or may not have got in the habit of walking into my closet just to smell those pieces of leather sometimes, I love that smell.

Mens Toiletry Bags

This year I was literally sewing gifts Christmas morning. I don’t want to do that again so I intend to make a hand-made gift each month to tuck away for the big day. One of the things I want to make my boys are some nice leather toiletry bags, I intend to use the two smaller pieces of leather for that which will give me some practice sewing leather before I attempt making my heart’s biggest desire. I have all the fabrics I need for this project but may need some zippers.

A Hand Made Leather Purse

I used to have a leather hand bag I adored. It was huge, made in Canada, and I bought it on sale for about $50. Then a little over three years ago I forgot my purse in my car one night and someone stole it. When I was looking for a replacement I found out pretty quickly that the cost of a leather purse had gone up – a lot. So since then I’ve made do with fake leather or fabric, but I really want a leather purse. When I found those pieces of leather I felt like I had won the lottery – all four pieces came to just $20.

I’ve spent the past couple of months searching off and on for a pattern I like. I think I’ve settled on using the instructions for Miss Maggie’s Handbag from Emmaline Bags. From there I’ll make this Handy Purse Organizer from Sew Can She. I’m set for fabric but may need to buy some zippers and hardware.

Week 3

Sew something to make sewing easier is the week 3 theme, I have a lot of ideas that are quick little projects, but I’m not sure how much time my week 2 goals will take. If I have time, I would love to make a scrap catcher for my serger and ID tags for my traced and rolled patterns. Another idea that would be nice to make is a grab bag for cutting out patterns.  I do all of my cutting at the kitchen table so it would be nice to have those items all together.

I have a few fat quarters kicking around and some nice prints along with all the notions I’ll need except for some magnets if I make the grab bag. The magnets are for the bottom so the bag will stick to my dryer and not vibrate off when the washer is in spin cycle.

Week 4

Sew something for a boy is the week 4 theme which is perfect timing. I made my youngest three slim fitting sweaters over the holiday and that will give him enough time to wear them a bit and decide if he needs any changes before I make the next batch. He works outdoors so I like to use this type of fabric, fleecy on one side for warmth but smooth on the outside to make it easier to add another layer over top. It’s been bitterly cold here, so I may bump this project ahead a bit. Again, I have all the fabrics and notions I need for this project.

Week 5

The theme for week 5 is sew something from a newly purchased pattern. I may shuffle my purse making to this last week since that was my most recent pattern ‘purchase’ even if they were actually free. As far as garment patterns, I’ve already got what I need to fill my wardrobe gaps so I doubt I will buy anything new this month.

And I also want to make a couple more pairs of jeans. Back in the fall I made myself about 7 pairs of jeans using the Ginger Jeans pattern from Closet Case Files. Now that I’ve worn them and loved them for a couple of months, I want to steadily add a couple new pairs to my rotation every few months. When the denim is only $6 a meter and I can get two pairs from 5 meters, how can you go wrong? I have all the fabric and notions needed for this project, and jeans are perfect for batch sewing. It really minimizes thread swapping to sew a couple of pairs at a time.

It seems like a pretty ambitious month, I’m curious to see if I’ll fit it all in. What are your goals for the month?

My venture into coat making started with a bolt of bright red Softshell fabric on the bargain shelf at Fabricland. At $6 a meter I took all of it and then turned to the internet for advice on coat making. I decided that whichever pattern I used, it had to have Thinsulate. Softshell fabric is wind resistant and fleecy on one side, but if I’m making a coat, it’s going to be warm.

Coat patterns all assume you will be using a wool coating or synthetic wool-like coating. This meant I could find patterns for lined coats, but I couldn’t find one for an interlined coat. Even the internet has very little to offer and next to nothing on working with Thinsulate.

Working with Softshell

Wool coating, or even a synthetic coating, is not practical for me. My lifestyle calls for a coat I can wash. Wool is generally dry-clean only or hand wash very carefully and synthetic coating turns into a limp rag after a few rounds through the washing machine. Traditional coating fabrics aren’t very wind resistant either and I’m not a fan of drafts up my back.

What it is

Softshell is a tightly woven fabric laminated to a fleecy layer. I found its drape similar to a good garment quality suede or leather. The fleecy layer grabs everything, I was constantly picking off pet hair and stray threads. It also grabs at itself, so I definitely found it easier to cut right sides together.

Cutting and Marking

The exterior fabric is so tightly woven that it is wind and water-resistant, but it also shows pin marks. That was a bit of a challenge for me because I usually  pin transfer all of my pattern markings. Whether due to the tight weave, or the laminating process, there is almost no fraying to worry about. Which is good, because it’s thick enough that I had to grade seam allowances a lot more aggressively than usual.

Best Needles

I tried a few needles before finding ones that worked well, #12 Microtex needles were best for minimal thread shredding and skipped stitches. The #14 Microtex were a no-go, along with universal, top stitching and denim needles. Even with the Microtex needles, top stitching was tricky. I actually started out top stitching with black on red and ended up cutting a new front for my coat. I could get good enough for coordinating thread but I couldn’t get anywhere near the perfection needed for contrasting thread. I gave my seam ripper a work-out on this project.

Pressing

When it came to pressing my fabric, I thoroughly tested my iron on some scraps before starting my project. I worried about delaminating the layers. The fabric doesn’t hold a crease well, something to consider in your pattern choice. A clapper helps but I don’t think you could get good results without top-stitching your seams. A walking foot would have been nice to have but isn’t necessary. I’m using a vintage Singer Slant-O-Matic and the only walking foot I could find for it is crap, but I do miss having one.

Working with Thinsulate

The internet really let me down when I went looking for tips on sewing with Thinsulate. I was surprised considering how long it has been around. Add that to the fact that there isn’t a lot of info on interlining a coat and I made it up as I went. So if anyone has better methods or if I’ve done something that is just wrong, please share in the comments. This is just how I did things and there are definitely a few things I will do differently on my next coat. That said, my best information came from this document here.

What it looks like

Thinsulate looks like a bunch of cobwebby layers sandwiched between two layers of thin non-woven. I’ll give you a really important tip here – the non-woven stuff is melty so don’t touch it with your iron. It’s easy to see why the stuff is so desirable for outer-wear, it’s not at all bulky and it’s pretty easy to work with.

Quilting Thinsulate

My Thinsulate was fused every 6 inches and 3M recommends you quilt it every 6 inches for washable garments. What little information I could find on interlining a coat called for attaching it to the lining, so that is what I did.

To keep it in place for quilting I used fusible hem tape to attach it to the lining. One blogger mentioned using washable quilt basting spray, but at $50 a can that just wasn’t happening for me. I fused my lining to my Thinsulate, pressing from the lining side. Honestly you just don’t want to touch it with your iron, it makes a big mess.

Once it I fused it, I stitched through both layers lining side down, and using the existing lines in the thinsulate as a guide. This was another area where a walking foot would have been helpful but it worked without it. The one thing I would do differently here? Don’t quilt into your hemlines, seam allowances, or any area that will be pleated for wearing ease. That way it will be easier for you to debulk those areas when you assemble your lining.

Once I had all of my lining pieces quilted, I treated each piece as one. I found it easier to sew than I expected, even setting in the sleeves wasn’t too bad.

One other suggestion…

Thinsulate is pretty thin, but it still adds bulk. If I make another coat, I’ll take all my measurements with a bulky sweater on and a layer of thinsulate wrapped around. I do find the sleeves on my finished coat fit more tightly than I would prefer.

And that’s that! The ins and outs of Softshell and Thinsulate explained. I hope you found it helpful.

My biggest sewing project in December is finally complete – I made a coat! Not just any coat either, but a coat that is fully insulated and lined, which is a really big deal considering it was my first attempt at coatmaking.

I’ve always felt that whatever your hobby, there’s always that one special ‘skill’ project. Usually it’s a highly intricate and involved project and its main purpose is to show mastery of a technique – which is why I call it a skill project. In sewing, there are several of these projects. Jeans would be one and bra-making seems to be another sewist dream. I feel coatmaking is part of the group too, because this was a really big project.

Big project or not, it was completely worth it! This coat checks nearly all my must haves.

• It is fully lined and insulated – so it’s warm.
• It’s insulated using Thinsulate – so it isn’t too bulky.
• The fabric is windproof and water-resistant, plus it is very washable.
• There isn’t a speck of velcro on it so it won’t ruin any hand knit scarves I might want to wear.
• Stylish

Usually when I go looking for a ready to wear coat I have to choose between practical & warm or stylish. Generally if it’s stylish it isn’t warm and it’s never practical. I need a coat I can throw in the washing machine and this one is exactly that. Still with all that, I didn’t set out this fall to make myself a coat, it just kind of happened.

The Fabric!

I came across the red soft shell fabric sometime in the fall for a bargain price of $6 per metre. That’s when I started planning to make a coat. I found the lining fabric about a month later, but didn’t get my Thinsulate until November 19th when Fabricland had a 55% of sale for Sewciety members. Considering the regular price for Thinuslate is nearly $30 per metre, it was worth it to wait for the sale.

The Pattern!

I used Vogue pattern 8884, view C. I left off the belt and the sleeve doo-hickeys. Not that I’m opposed to taking the extra time to sew details, but I knew that after the first wash those extras would be living in the bottom of my laundry basket, never to see their belt-loops again. I also shortened it by 4″ to the same length as view A. For size, I went with a 16 graded to 18 at the waist, but if I were to make it as an insulated coat again I would go with a straight 18.

I did cut a second set of sleeves, the first set were too snug. In all honesty the second set aren’t as roomy as I would like either, with the Thinsulate they could use another inch of ease at the bicep.

Cutting the pattern was nerve-wracking. There are a lot of pieces for this coat and tissue patterns are not my favorite. Keeping them safe from my cat meant a lot of extra vigilance. As an extra challenge, pins are a bit of a no-no with softshell fabric, they leave noticeable holes. This made transferring pattern marks a bit of a challenge, but I made it work. There were other challenges too with both the fabric and the Thinsulate, I talk more about that here – Coat making with Softshell and Thinsulate.

How do you fill your time in the winter?

I finished my fourth and probably final, for this year at least, Charlie Caftan this weekend. The fabric is a linen rayon blend which means embracing a few wrinkles. The ones you see here are just from putting it on.

The loose straight fit of the Charlie is not figure conscious at all, which is nice because then neither am I while wearing it, although I do wish I had raised the point of the v-neck just a bit. My body type is fluffy, not busty, so I find myself fussing with it often to make sure I’m not showing off my bra.

I’ve made this caftan in all of its versions, maxi with a gathered front and tie waist, mini with a gathered front and tie waist and the darted version you see here twice. I thought the rayon orange poppy’s were going to be my favorite, but while it’s wearable I wish I had saved that fabric for something else. The crisper linen blend works much better for this pattern than the drapey rayon.

I was determined that on this version I was going to have perfect corners on my front placket, but it wasn’t to be. Still the crisper fabric made it easier to be precise in my cutting and sewing.

That precision may not have given me a perfect placket, but my v-neck is nearly perfect! I used a tricot interfacing this time around and I will probably use it more often in the future.

I’m not especially a fan of side seam pockets, so I switched it up to a front pocket echoing the angle of the darts. Someday I’m going to sit down with some scrap fabric and teach myself how to make welted pockets.

It was a bit of a hoot wearing a dress to Canadian Tire to buy car parts. I surprised the older man waiting on me by talking about how satisfying it was to change the strut on my car myself. I know that particular Canadian Tire has, or at least had, a female mechanic but I guess he didn’t expect someone with painted nails wearing a dress to also work on their own car.

Speaking of nails, Joe Fresh nail polish for the win! Two coats of nude followed by one of Revlon clear and here’s how it looked after I replaced the stabilizer link on my car.