Off the Clock

Vogue 1204 I ended up moving the beltloops closer to the sides Well I finally did it - I finally finished my first pair of jeans.  This is Vogue 1204 , designed by Issey Miyake.  I wasn't sure which pattern to go with for my first try but I settled on this one after seeing Ruth's version  at CoreCouture.  She did a really good review of the pattern and answered some questions I had - such as do the front pockets gape when you sit down (no not really) and what is the rise (medium, not too low - the front sits about an inch below my belly button). I'm pleased with the pocket topstitching I decided to use a brown pinstriped stretch denim for the first pair so that I could focus on fit and construction without worrying about any distressing techniques. I have watched Angela Wolf's Jean Tutorial but I was still feeling nervous about this. I think I cut the fabric out almost two months ago but was having trouble getting started. I used jean topstitching thr

Edited July 12, 2014: After washing and drying this top seems to fit better than it did around the neckline.  I think I will leave it as is for now to see how it wears. New Look 6735 I'm sure you must be sick of seeing New Look 6735 but I have a couple more incarnations of it to show you. I had the sewing bug the other night and was up until 1:30 finishing up these two tops. It's funny that no matter how many times I make up this pattern I keep learning from it. That's a good thing, I'm thinkin'. So What did I learn this time around? It is amazing how much different fabrics affect the fit even though I am cutting out the exact same pattern. The first one shown above was made with a mystery knit from my stash. This was something I bought probably ten years ago and I am guessing it is just cotton. The recovery is not that great as there is no lycra in it. When I use a rayon/lycra blend I end up with a very fitted top. But the above pic shows the to

Yes, I know I already made a dress for my graduation , but as much as I think it is ok I'm just not loving it. I just picked up some beautiful cotton weave fabric with 3% spandex that I was itching to get sewing on. The fabric was not cheap at $27 a meter (although I did get it on sale for half price and then paid for that with a gift certificate so I guess it was free lol) but in the end I have a dress that I love for much less than I would have paid for a ready-to-wear version. I think the biggest disappointment with the previous dress is that I had bought a woven suiting fabric with 3% spandex and then lined it with a woven rayon lining - zero stretch. I should have used a knit lining. So Grad Dress 2.0 didn't get lined at all. I didn't have a lot of time and I will just wear a slip with it. It's amazing how using a pattern for the second time can be so much better. I guess that's the reasoning behind making a muslin first. The pattern is already fitted and

Me, the one who never wins anything, actually won a $100 gift certificate from my LFS. Woohoo - go me! So Mom and I went stash shopping. I ended up with fabric for four short sleeved tees, four 3/4 sleeved tees, and two dresses. Not a bad haul if I say so myself. I prewashed all the fabric and made up another version of New Look 6735 . This has become my go-to tee pattern. I love the shaped back, I think I have the neckline fine-tuned to be work-appropriate but not too high (I hate a neckline right at my neck), and I am happy with the overall fit. I have previously made this top up here and here . I'm even playing with the idea of a colour-block one for leftovers once I get through a few more of them. We will see. I used Jenny to coverstitch the hems. I did run into some problems doing the neckline. First I sewed the neck band to the top with a straight stitch on Phoebe, then tried to coverstitch to contain the raw edges on the inside. To put it bluntly I made a dog's

After the challenge of the Bionic Gear Bag I decided I needed to do something really simple. I was straightening up the sewing room when I ran across the hamburger fabric I had bought to make bandanas for Thor. I had made the hotdog bandana as a triangle and attempted to do rolled hems. After the first side didn't turn out right I just did a three-thread overlock for the other two sides. I had thought the rolled hems didn't turn out because I didn't use wooly nylon, but later realized that I had forgotten to remove the stitch finger from Sergio. Doh! So yesterday I did the rolled hems with much better results. I took my time threading in the loose ends and using a little fray-check on them. I also made these ones as a large square to be folded in half rather than a triangle. I'm not sure which I like better but Thor doesn't seem all that impressed with either one. There's two so I may cut one into two triangles. Less fabric may not be as annoying for him.

The Completed Bionic Gear Bag EDIT: Link to the second bag I made almost seven years later   Well I finally finished my Bionic Gear Bag .  What can I say?  I laughed, I cried... This pattern makes a very cute bag and overall I am happy with it.  On the other hand I did run into some hiccups and perhaps my timing could have been better with purchasing this pattern.  The Bionic Gear Bag was designed by Sally AKA Ripstitcher .  She had purchased a similar pattern from Craftsy , made it, reviewed it on her blog, designed her own version that met her needs better, and put it up for sale on Craftsy.  The internets went crazy and  major drama ensued . Now I will be honest and say that the first pattern caught my eye in the first place because I saw Sally's review of it.  When I then saw the design Sally came up with I thought it would better suit my needs, so I bought it.  Unfortunately when I bought it the drama was at its height and even though there was email communication from