Off the Clock

I've finally finished New Look 6643 - my Little Orchid Dress. It is far from perfect but overall I think I am satisfied with the final result. There are a number of things I would try to do differently if I make this dress again. It is possible I may rip it apart to replace the lining.  Or I may just live with it.  I think I need to wear it once to see how I really feel about it.  Here's the scoop: I'm guessing a lot of my frustration with the lining came about because I made alterations to the dress, altered the paper pattern to match, cut out the lining, then made more alterations to the dress. So the lining wasn't exactly the same as the dress by the time I went to put them together. I now need to go over my paper pattern and make all final adjustments so that next time (?) I can cut out the dress and the lining in one go. In hindsight I should have gone a size down, at least from below the darts up, the same as I do for my knit tops. I was worried that would

The inside of the dress fully lined I haven't spent much time in the sewing room this week. Unfortunately that's becoming a trend. I actually snuck away for a few hours yesterday to try and make some progress on New Look 6643 . This simple dress has turned into a bit of a nightmare. That's because my mom suggested (rightfully so) that it would be much better if I lined it. Unfortunately I didn't put as much thought into the lining as I should have. The dress fabric is a lightweight woven suiting with 3% spandex so it has a nice little bit of give.  This allows me to make the dress a snug fit.  The lining I bought was basic lining with 0% give; minus 0 if that's possible. Not to mention super slippery and shreds like no one's business.  Not so good for a snug fit.  I considered tossing the lining but I am nothing if not stubborn. Eventually I got it put together. It's not perfect, but realistically no one else will see the flaws.  And I have to admit that

Meet Jenny – Jenny Janome. She’s my new Coverpro 1000CPX. Yes I know, I don’t need another machine. But the truth is I haven’t really been happy with any of the hems I’ve done on my knits. I know the twin needle thing looks like a coverhem from the good side, but the threads still pull and slide back and forth. The inside of the seam leaves a lot to be desired. So I decided a “Happy Mother’s Day to me” gift was in order. Someone’s got to stimulate the local economy, right? I spent a few hours last night rearranging and organizing things in the sewing room to make room for her. My new sewing desk is getting a little crowded lol. There’s Jenny on the left, Sergio in the middle and Phoebe on the right. Betty is stashed on the shelf below Phoebe. And Gertrude is on the far right modeling New Look 6643 -in-progress. This morning I tore out the hems on two tops I’ve recently made and redone them with Jenny to take her for a test drive. This knit fabric is so thin and drapey t

Ripstitcher's Bag I fell in love with this bag from Ripstitcher as soon as I saw it. I think it will be the perfect thing to keep my stuff organized on my sewing desk without things rolling onto the floor. Ripstitcher has also made a video that shows how really well thought out this bag is. And - woohoo! - my local fabric store (LFS) has a 50% off everything sale for members this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to report back shortly with some progress on this. Vogue 1204 I have the jeans from Vogue 1204 cut out. I'm just waiting for some inspiration to get started stitching. I guess I'm a little intimidated by the whole "make your own jeans" concept. I do have the "Sewing Designer Jeans" tutorial from Angela Wolf. I guess I just need to jump in. I did pick a brown and black striped denim so that if they don't turn out perfectly it shouldn't be so obvious that they were supposed to be jeans. The other advantage is that I can fo