Sewing for babies is fun
Do you also fee like everybody around is having babies? The newest baby in my circle of friends is only six weeks old. Before I left Tokyo, I made this set of baby clothes using two patterns from this Japanese sewing book
When shopping for the necessary materials for the set, I was amazed by the amount of "baby stuff" in a local craft shop - from the super soft baby-knit fabric and knit bias tape, to pre-cut round baby-velcro which does not irritate the skit and simply glues to the fabric!
Thinking how babies grow fast, I've cut the bigger size for the set. But still, it looks so tiny! Sewing this set was like sewing for a fairy or some little creature :) I really enjoyed the process as well as the fast that I was not concerned about the fit. Sewing for kiddies should be more rewarding and less stressful since they don't care about the perfect size, don't you think?
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Sewing Social Twitter Chat
Hello fellow bloggers and seamstresses!
Do you sometimes feel like you’d like to talk about your passion for sewing outside your blog in real time? For this reason, Tilly from Tilly and the buttons organized a Sewing Social Twitter chat some time ago. Next week, she hosts another one for Europe and the US, and I’ll coordinate the chat for APAC.
When?
Sunday 18th November 2012
2-3pm Tokyo / 12-1am South East Asia / 10.30-11.30am India / 4-5pm Sydney / 6-7pm Auckland
And for the chat for Europe and America hosted by Tilly on the same date:
8-9pm London / 3-4pm New York / 12-1pm LA etc
Where?
On Twitter using the hashtag #sewingsocial
My Twitter name is @thewallinna, and you can find Tilly under @TillyVanilly.
Tip: Tweetchat is a really useful platform for following hashtag threads without having to refresh the page
What shall we talk about?
The theme for this Sewing Social is fitting sewing into a busy life. So often I hear people say that they’d love to sew but they’re too busy. In fact, I often say this to myself too! Yeah, we’re all busy – work, children, social lives, life changes, admin, housework, second jobs... But if you really want to do something you can make time for it. There are lots of strategies to help make sewing part of everyday life. What are your top tips for staying motivated and sewing regularly? Let’s discuss on Sunday!
Are you in?
Do you sometimes feel like you’d like to talk about your passion for sewing outside your blog in real time? For this reason, Tilly from Tilly and the buttons organized a Sewing Social Twitter chat some time ago. Next week, she hosts another one for Europe and the US, and I’ll coordinate the chat for APAC.
When?
Sunday 18th November 2012
2-3pm Tokyo / 12-1am South East Asia / 10.30-11.30am India / 4-5pm Sydney / 6-7pm Auckland
And for the chat for Europe and America hosted by Tilly on the same date:
8-9pm London / 3-4pm New York / 12-1pm LA etc
Where?
On Twitter using the hashtag #sewingsocial
My Twitter name is @thewallinna, and you can find Tilly under @TillyVanilly.
Tip: Tweetchat is a really useful platform for following hashtag threads without having to refresh the page
What shall we talk about?
The theme for this Sewing Social is fitting sewing into a busy life. So often I hear people say that they’d love to sew but they’re too busy. In fact, I often say this to myself too! Yeah, we’re all busy – work, children, social lives, life changes, admin, housework, second jobs... But if you really want to do something you can make time for it. There are lots of strategies to help make sewing part of everyday life. What are your top tips for staying motivated and sewing regularly? Let’s discuss on Sunday!
Are you in?
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Not so perfect t-shirt
My growing interest in knits could not be outshone even by couture sewing. During the week at the seminar, everybody (including Susan) was wearing knits on a daily basis. Nobody can deny that knits are much more comfortable for an active lifestyle; they don't need to be perfectly fitted, they are easy to look after and not difficult to sew. I asked Susan many questions about knits but she does not sew with them much and suggested that I take a Craftsy lesson or read books regarding this subject. When I returned home from New York, I purchased this wonderful book by Kerstin Martensoon, It's easy to sew knit and stretch fabric.
This book helped to dispel a couple of myths about sewing with knits which I had previously believed, such as the idea that one should only sew knits with specific thread for knits, and that a serger provides a better finish. As a test knit garment, I took on this t-shirt from the HomeSewn book which I previously reviewed here. The design is very simple: one front piece and one back piece with integrated sleeves + bias binding around the neck.
The only two changes I added to the S size was to lengthen sleeves and bodice by 2cm each. I used mainly zigzag and tricot stitches and I finished the hems with a double needle. For the bias binding, I used pre-made band. Only after I started attaching the band did I realize that my t-shirt looked like the American flag, but I hope it's not that bad after all.
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| Sticker shop in our neighborhood |
Only after putting the tee on did I notice multiple flaws. I am not sure whether it's because I did not make the muslin or because something is not quite right with the pattern. Could it be both?
If I make this t-shirt for a second time, I'd definitely take off some armsye fullness, add a couple of centimeters at the bust and reduce the waist a bit.
P.S. I won't post for the next few weeks. When I came home from the sewing class in Baltimore, I discovered that my mom has breast cancer and that she needs surgery. The six-week sabbatical scheduled for sewing and relaxing is extended until the end of the year, most of which I'll spend at my mom's side. Of course, we never think that something like this will happen to us, but when it does everything changes and life takes a new turn. It's probably a very stupid thing to say, but if you or your mom have not had a mammogram in a long time, please do so! My mom is a doctor yet she had never gone through this procedure before, and now one of her breasts will be removed.
Hopefully everything will go well and I'll give you an update soon!
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Thimble quest
I've been doing a lot of hand sewing lately. In the beginning I refused to use a thimble, stubborn as I am. But after a couple of hours hand-stitching, my finger was not happy. The tip of my finger became irritated and even red (I took this photo the next morning, so you don't see the redness) and the skin came off. I needed to protect my finger from further pain.
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| By the way, if you would like any of these for decorative purposes, I am more than happy to send them over to you. Leave a comment or email me directly! |
One of the biggest craft shops in Japan, Yuzawaya, offers a wide range of thimbles, including this leather one. The look of this thimble is pretty creepy. Don't you think it looks like a hangman? Spooky! On the positive side, it does the job: the thimble hugs tightly around my finger and its soft texture provides me with a good grip of the needle. It only took me half an hour to get used to it
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| My new thimble made friends with the threader |
What about you? Do you use a thimble when sewing? What kind of thimble is it? Are you familiar with the ThimblePad? I WANNA KNOW!
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All about corners
This dress by Matthew Williamson has altogether eight corners. As you can see from the technical drawing, the two front corners are the most prominent and require a lot of attention
I had a hard time sewing, ripping and sewing again the two main corners. Here's the corner technique which Susan Khalje showed me.
Step 1:
Especially if you do it for the first time, mark the corners (symbolically) as pieces X and V due to the shapes they create.
Step 2:
Fold both pieces in half to determine the center. Also decide the seam allowance for both pieces: it should be equal! Then staystitch piece X along the seam allowance pivoting at the top center. See, it creates an "X" :)
Do the same with the piece V. Be very careful at the top to make the needle pivot at the very center.
Step 3:
After you have staystitched piece V, cut into the fabric as close to the stitching as possible. Don't worry, it won't unravel!
Step 4:
Pin both pieces right sides together starting from the corner.
Because you will pivot at the corner, pin your fabric so that it will be easy for you to remove the pins as you sew. See how the pin heads are placed? I start from the bottom left towards the corner, then pivot and go down all the way along the right seam.
Step 5:
Here you go, your corner looks perfect (almost)!
Step 6:
Never underestimate the importance of pressing!
Have you ever come across difficulties in sewing? What helped you overcome them?
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| Please ignore the wrinkles as this dress is still not sewn together! |
I had a hard time sewing, ripping and sewing again the two main corners. Here's the corner technique which Susan Khalje showed me.
Step 1:
Especially if you do it for the first time, mark the corners (symbolically) as pieces X and V due to the shapes they create.
Step 2:
Fold both pieces in half to determine the center. Also decide the seam allowance for both pieces: it should be equal! Then staystitch piece X along the seam allowance pivoting at the top center. See, it creates an "X" :)
Do the same with the piece V. Be very careful at the top to make the needle pivot at the very center.
Step 3:
After you have staystitched piece V, cut into the fabric as close to the stitching as possible. Don't worry, it won't unravel!
Pin both pieces right sides together starting from the corner.
Because you will pivot at the corner, pin your fabric so that it will be easy for you to remove the pins as you sew. See how the pin heads are placed? I start from the bottom left towards the corner, then pivot and go down all the way along the right seam.
Step 5:
Here you go, your corner looks perfect (almost)!
Never underestimate the importance of pressing!
Muslin is an easy-to-handle fabric. Cotton or linen would behave nicely as well. During the couture sewing class, I had my share of trying to handle the corners on two layers of silks: silk satin and crepe-de-chine. It did not go smoothly in the beginning and it took me a while before I could sew some corners of my dress with a bit of confidence.
Have you ever come across difficulties in sewing? What helped you overcome them?
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Report on Couture Sewing School
Where shall I start? How about with the conclusion: the couture sewing course has changed the way I see and want my sewing to be. What I really want now is to dedicate my time to sewing a high-quality wardrobe, regardless of how long it takes. To me, it's like cooking; I can take a $1.50 packet of pasta and add some canned sauce for another $1.50, or I can make the dough and sauce from scratch and elevate my pasta to the level of art. Here's what I am saying: I don't want $1.50 pasta anymore! (Well, maybe only when I am starving hungry!)
If you want to know, my dress is probably only 30% done but the learning experience and the amount of information acquired during one week with Susan Khalje is worth more than a finished dress. What is more, I met the most incredible crowd of couturières: from beginners like me to sewing stalwarts like Marina. We were such a multicultural and multilingual group coming from four corners of the world: the US, Canada, the Netherlands and me from Japan. Within our group, we spoke four foreign languages and shared our experiences both of sewing and life. We drank wine and ate not-very-healthy food from the hotel's restaurant, we sang, we danced, we went to bed after midnight and were back in the sewing room for 7am (some people even earlier)... All in all, I had an unforgettable week and plan to return to see Susan in March for the French Jacket class.
I overestimated my capabilities for this project; it was not that easy as I thought. By Wednesday, I was still working on the muslin: after two fittings, I had to make muslin #3. The trickiest part with my dress was its construction. The designer replaced darts with side panels which shape the waistline. Once I’d tweaked one of the sides during the fitting, I needed to change at least two other sides in order to match all of the seams exactly. After the first fitting when Susan said there were not that many fitting issues, I was extremely happy because I wanted to start working with the fabric! But only on Wednesday night did I cut into the fashion fabric.
The biggest area of progress for me was in working with silks and sewing corners. You can see from the design how many bl**dy corners shape the dress! I have to tell you that some of them I ripped and sewed in more than three times. Susan helped me to sew the main bust corners, but she also had a hard time with them. She was kind enough to reassure me that the corners on slippery fabric are tough even for the pros.
I plan to write more detailed posts on the silks and corners and Couture Sewing School soon, but at the moment I have one more week ahead of me in New York city! Hope you understand!
See you next week!
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Jumping into autumn
The summer is almost over with more and more rainy days. Summer, don't go! Yesterday, we were lucky enough to enjoy a hot, sunny day and it was just perfect for the photo shoot.
I finished this jumpsuit almost immediately after receiving the Home Sewn book. The pattern comes in medium size only: bust 95cm, waist: 78cm, hips 106 cm. Suggested fabric: "one-stretch knit fabric that can be left raw". The quantity recommended by the designer is 3m x 150cm. I managed to fit everything into 250x150cm, sacrificing the belt ;( The making of the jumpsuit went smoothly and I enjoyed working with the pattern immensely. My favorite part was inserting the bias tape!
Fabric: 2.5m knit jersey purchased at Jo-Ann during my last trip to the US. I scored it for $4/yard!
Notions: 1.5m of knit bias tape, 50cm of black elastic band
Cost: $14
Modifications: no changes to the singlet. The pants were a bit big for me so I reduced them by 7cm from each side starting at mid-thigh all the way to the top.
The original design includes a three-meter tie which I found such a cool detail! When cutting the fabric, I had to be economical. Instead, I inserted a piece of elastic band.
If I had to use this patten again, I'd play with the width of the pants but also I might try to convert it into a maxi dress! A singlet pattern can also easily be used to create lots of funky tank tops. Working with knits has become my latest obsession and with the abundance of knit fabric in the shops for the colder season, there's lots of room for imagination!
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Do you also like sewing with knits?
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