Almost forgot about my blog!

I knew this would happen, I knew I would forget. And I did...

Summer is such a busy time for me. Its nice out (finally!), I have the garden, the birds, county fair, state fair, parties and work. Need I go on? Probably the same in everyones life, I imagine. So I have not posted much lately. In fact, nothing in July. Shame on me. 

Its not like I was busily working on my coat either. She just sat there, neglected on Red (my dress dummy), waiting to be noticed again. Gathering dust and cat hair.

I finally did notice last weekend.  It was well over 90 and humid and I don't go outside in such weather. How anybody can live in that kind of weather is beyond me. I don't go outside when it below zero either. I am not much of one for extremes. So I told my husband and son I would be sewing all weekend, don't ask me to cook, don't ask for anything. 

I got the topstitching all finished! BARELY had enough silk thread to get through it all. You get lucky sometimes. I wouldn't have wanted to reorder 1 spool and have to pay the shipping from Yawitz. It's very subtle, being tone on tone. You actually wouldn't notice it except for the fact it leaves an impression on the melton. 

Also got the body of the lining inserted into jacket. Told you, major progress. That includes the hidden pocket, tacking to the seam allowances, and hand-stitching the lining to the facing. OMG, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I just have to hem the lining, and hand-insert the sleeves. I could have machine-stitched and bagged the lining, but seeing has I was working on a vintage coat, I wanted to do it the old fashioned way. Might as well make it couture while I am at it right? It takes time, but the results are worth it, the lining fits in the coat beautifully.

Of course my house doesn't contain ONE single working AA battery, so I didn't have any pictures to take. I need to buy a package and hide them from my family. The remote, your toothbrush? Who cares!

I will try to remember to buy some tonight on the way home from work and take some pix. After all what is a blog without them?

Respect the turn of cloth

Seems like I have heard this some where before. I probably should have listened better when I heard it. I did run into a small problem with the coats collar. It could have been a design flaw or when I sized up pattern, perhaps I didn't do it right in that area. 

The coats upper collar piece didn't compensate for the turn of cloth. It was made worse by the fact that the wool melton is very thick. Didn't catch it because I have never done a shawl collar and didn't "get " how the pieces went together until construction was well along. So I had a bit of fixing to do. See the solid white line drawn on the back neck facing? 

Thats the seam line for the fabric I had to piece. Quite a bit isn't it? I ended up hand basting piece in to make sure position was right and then stitching it in place. I will have to cover that area with embroidery when I put lining. I was thinking about putting braid over the facing/lining seam or perhaps a embroidery chain stitch. I have some burgundy silk topstitching thread that would be very subtle and perfect. And then a chain of flowers over the seams of my mistake with the collar. It would almost be "on purpose":)

We'll see. What I need to remember here is to make sure to:

1. Check pattern for turn of cloth on collars. It isn't that hard, Kim!

2. Don't get discouraged, you can fix almost any mistake when sewing, just need to calm down and get creative, right?

Till next week..........I have to tack down interfacing and attach shoulder pads. See you then!

The arms are actually attached now.....

I've got pictures too! With summer practically here, I've have really gotten busy with other parts of my life and finding the time to take pictures has been difficult. But not impossible.

So here you go, this is what I did this weekend:

I got the sleeves actually ATTACHED to the jacket! Yeah! This actually may be done by the time the snow flies. I am getting the itch to sew some summer clothes so I have to finish this soon. If I put it aside, it won't EVER be done. I've done that to projects before.

The sleeve were actually quite easy to attach. The wool melton was great to ease into the armhole. I've only set in sleeves a few times before so I was nervous about this. I must have been using difficult fabrics before, because this was a breeze. I just followed the directions in my tailoring book and all was well. You will notice if you look at the sleeves some vertical lines in the sleeve cap. I have not put the sleeve heads in yet. I am thinking(hoping) that that will solve the problem. Could also be the dummy, her arms stick out a bit. I did baste in horizontal and vertical lines to hang the sleeve so I know it it not skewed. We'll see I suppose. 

Here is the armhole from the inside. I pressed the seam allowances between the notches into the sleeve. Below the notches, I cut to the staystitching every 3/4" and pressed seam open, then hand stitched the seam allowance under the arms back onto itself so it would stay tidy. This is supposed to give me more room in the armhole.

Note all the stitching on the back of the armhole. There are 3 rows here and 4 underneath the arm hole. There is one row just on the body of coat(2 underneath the notches) for staystitching. I used this in place of taping the armhole. I was worried about bulk with a 4 layer seam already. The other 2 rows are the actual joining of arm and body. Had to go around twice, didn't stitch quite deep enough the first time and the staystitching showed on the outside.

And heres a side view. Note the cool retro cuffs, they rock! I am pretty close to lining this coat actually. I just have to finish the saddle stitching on the front of the coat,permanently attach the shoulder pads, make the headers, and permanently baste the hymo in place on the front.

Not too much going on....

Haven't been writing as there is not too much going on lately. I suppose, it being spring, that I should be hopping. I am busy, but not working on the things that I write about on this blog.

The garden is full of weeds. I haven't put anything in the ground in two weeks. 

I haven't touched my coat in the same amount of time. I need start the sleeves and can't bring myself to start. I will never have it done by the time State Fair, I know this now.

There are only 16 chickens left at the house. It is so lonely without any young ones around. I have 8 in the incubator with a week left to go. They may hatch, but the temperature has been very erratic, I hope they hatch. I need a new incubator, but they are expensive.

What have I been doing? Working on house repairs, and moping around. Repaired the floor under the toilet after we discovered it had been leaking for years. Fixing the bathtub faucet. Working on the kitchen sink also. Fixing the waterline for the icemaker. TRYING to find a new job. Short hours, paycuts and temporary layoffs at mine and my husbands jobs are taking their toll. We're broke. I'm scared. If my job goes away, it will be hard to replace. I work in a dying industry and people who do what I do are not in short supply.

I may end up in retail again and working until I die. 

Yeah I'm depressed today, can you tell? Maybe tomorrow will be better, you never know. 

Right?

Still no pictures!

I said I would take pictures, but I guess I lied 'bout that one. Oops..... I have been meaning to do it, but I got a little carried away with life. First the chickens, then the garden (which is not blogged on either) and then the dog. What dog, you say? You've never talked about a dog?

We have a Brittany Spaniel named Woody. Awesome pet, awesome pheasant-hunting machine. Super intelligent, easily bored when in the house. So he can get naughty when left alone. Our solution to this? Get another dog! Well there were other reasons, valid ones, honest..... My husband has always wanted two hunting dogs, and he is absolutely DEVOTED to Woody. Couldn't ask for a better dog owner. How could I refuse him? I love dogs too, truth be known. 

So, the sewing pix went out the window. I did manage to fix the facing by the collar and add some extra cloth to add length. Remember, the pattern didn't allow for turn-of-cloth and my upper collar and facing was a little short in length. I will embroider some viney stuff to cover up the seams. It'll look "on purpose" I hope that way. Also sewed up the sides and pockets. Next week, I'll be hemming. After that, the sleeves, then the lining. I'm pluggin' along!

I did find the time however, to take a picture of the canines in my life. Until I take a picture of that coat, here's one of the boys, Woody and the pup, Dash:

Made some real progress this weekend

Its amazing how bored you can get being sick. If you are used to being active and getting stuff done at home, having to slow down and rest can drive a person to desperation. 

I had a whole week off of work to rest my back and all I wanted to do was work on my coat. Only thing I could do, actually. So in small bites, separated by naps and pain pills, I worked on the applying the edge tape to the lapel and stitching the facings on. I got it done too! 

I do have to put the decorative saddle stitching on the edges and fix the upper collar. The pattern didn't give me enough room for "turn of cloth" of the upper collar. The edge that is supposed to be stitched to the lining is unfortunately now halfway up the collar on the inside. I will have to patch in a piece of wool and hope for the best. Maybe some decorative hand stitching over the seams of the patch to hide it?

I promise to take a picture when I get a moment to breath. Now that I'm better I have a lot of "ketchup" to do. It looks better than I had hoped, maybe in another 6 months it'll be done!

A lesson in patience

Have made still more progress on my coat. I just haven't had to time to talk about it until now. I managed to give my self whiplash! Betcha didn't know that was possible. Neither did I until I managed to pull it off. I was moving a half-built dog house through a too-small door to the kennel. It was quite heavy and awkward. We did manage to get it in the kennel, but at the cost of my neck.

2 weeks, 2 doctors, 3 prescriptions and a missed week of work and I am feeling better. Please remind me never to do that one again. Dumb, dumb and dumber..........

I did manage to do a little bit of work on the coat in between pain pills. Good thing I had lots of hand sewing to do. Its a lot harder to hurt yourself with a needle than with a whole sewing machine. And it was good for me to, to be patient and hand padstitch the lapels. I mean, you have to patient to get better and patient to get a nice lapel. Now I don't know if mine is good or not, but I sure was patient sewing it! I still have the edge tape and bridle stay to apply.

I am faithfully following my book, "Tailoring, traditional and contemporary". I feel sometimes like I study 1 hour to sew for 10 minutes. But it is paying off, the book is very complete and thorough. I would recommend it highly as a reference.

Seriously I think this kind of sewing is good for me, it is teaching me to value a good garment over a hastily constructed one. Oh yeah.............I was the one who made the dog kennel too big for the door. Like I said, dumb, dumb and dumber!

Finally started sewing

I finally got the sewing machine going this weekend! The lining and interfacing were ordered and have arrived. I did end up ordering from Ely E Yawitz. As soon as I posted that I was considering another company, their answer to my email arrived. Figures....

I got the hymo, fleece backed lining and silk topstitching thread on Thursday. It's very nice. Being used to the type of lining you get at JoAnnes or that is put in a coat you buy at the store, I was thrilled with how substantial the material I ordered is. My lining (if I sew it right!), will not rip out of this coat. I did end up getting black. Not very original, but black does go with everything, right? I used it in the pocket above. I will be using the topstitching thread for handwork, saddlestitching the front edges of the coat and the yoke in back.

So yes, I put the back of the pocket on. Twice so far as a matter of fact. Soon to be three times, seeing as I sewed tape to the back of the pocket for reinforcing instead the front, where it should be. At this rate I will be done by Christmas. The instructions on this pattern, being older, are vague. Women just KNEW how to sew 50 years ago. Didn't need detailed instructions. So the modern woman, of course got it wrong. 

I do have a book I am following, "Tailoring: Traditional and Contemporary Techniques", by N. Marie Ledbetter. A little dry, but very comprehensive. Well worth buying if you want to tailor, it'll be well worth it. I just need to read it before I start a section of the coat like I had planned. I just got excited and dove into sewing, so I will have to restrain myself for the rest of this project.  Good thing it was just the pockets :).

Cleaning up small projects this week

Not too much going on Butterick 4213 this week. I just finished thread tracing the fronts. That's it. I had picked out my fabric from Ely Y Yawitz, but had some small questions on what I was ordering. So I emailed them last Thursday from their website. It said they would reply the next business day. Well its Tuesday and no response. So now what? Do they really want my business? I am not going to buy something from somebody who is not interested in selling it. 

I am considering Greenberg and Hammer now. They don't have online ordering yet, but I suppose I can bear to call in an order. Just downloaded their catalog and am perusing it now. 

So what did I do last week? Cleaned up the small projects. Put in a new zipper in my Mom's coat. She has ripped 3 zippers out this winter!!! I hate alterations. HATE, HATE, HATE... I did a crappy job to boot, the fabric stretched from pulling out the bad zipper and made sewing in the new one painful. No pictures of that butcher job!

Finished off a very small quilt used as a dresser scarve for my husband. Used invisible thread for the first time. My machine doesn't like that thread, its very thin and holding the tension consistent was impossible. It will not go to the fair, thats for sure.

I then fixed my out-of-time Singer 503. That did work well. Shes sewing like a dream now. I like my old Singers. They work well. They are extremely tough and are fairly easy to fix. Quite unlike todays machines which are designed, IMHO, to be replaced, not repaired. The adjusters manuals (available on the 'net) are very clear. The manuals cost about $20, less than the tuneup would be. I also think if you have an idea of HOW your machine works, it makes you a better seamstress, as you know WHY you are making some of the adjustments you do.

So here are two of my girls:

The Singer 403:

The newly tuned up Singer 503:

There is no turning back....

I cut up the most expensive piece of fabric I have ever purchased.

There I said it, it's out in the open. It was easily the most terrifying thing, (sewing-wise, of course) I have ever done. That first slice with the blade, knowing that if done wrong would ruin my project, was the worst. At the end of the afternoon, all 5 yards was all cut and neatly stacked. Finally....

The fabric is a heavy, navy blue wool melton from Fabric Mart. Purchased it for the princely sum (to me!) of $9.50 a yard. That is the most, up to that point, I had paid for a piece of fabric and for a project.  Well worth it though, this is nice stuff. I cut it, per pattern instructions, in half crosswise, and stacked the piece right sides together. I laid out pieces in sections as fabric was wider than my table and I wasn't about to cut it out on floor. Not with a dog and 2 cats to help me!

After I cut out the first piece, I realized that I would have to cut this as single layers. That one piece, a cuff, was off by 1/4" from the top piece to the bottom in the width. This, I believe, was due to the melton having a nap so the layers "stuck"  to one another. Impossible to smooth both out, I tried... So twice as much cutting, having to remember to cut one right side up, and one wrong side up. I was sweating bullets over that one. Check twice cut once, check twice cut once.

I then spent two days staystitching and basting in stitching lines, dart and center fronts and backs. I want this done right, so I'm taking time upfront. Next step is measuring out how much lining material and interfacing I need. I'm going to order from Ely E. Yawitz, they have everything I need at a reasonable cost. Heard about them from Pattern Review, I'll let you know how it goes.

Moving slowly on Butterick 4213

I am still working on this coat, I promise. I told myself that I would try to put something up here every week. It only took a few weeks for that to fall apart. Oh well......

Last week I did finish creating the lining pattern. Seeing as this pattern had lining pieces, I just resized them instead of creating them from the coat pieces. More work, but seeing as I have never done a lining before, I don't want to take chances. 

I also laid out the coat pattern pieces on the floor in a test run of the layout, something I have never done before. I have never found the suggested layout in modern patterns to be of much use anyways, they are not very accurate. I just fold the fabric in half, selvages together and move the pieces around like a puzzle. But this time, I wanted to make sure everything would fit before I cut into that expensive melton. And lo and behold, the suggested layout worked! Perhaps more thought was put into this part of a pattern on the older ones. Here it is: 

I am lucky enough to have a parquet wood floor, with 6" squares. So all I did was mark out a rectangle, 54" x 90"(2 1/2 yards), the size of my 5 yards of melton opened up flat and then folded in half. That's the tape in the corners.  I then laid out my pieces as suggested, all the while dodging the dog and the cat, who picked that particular moment to be my best friends. As it fits with about 1 foot to spare, I am very glad I cut down on width of coat, otherwise it might not have.

I was going to go to Gayfeather Fabrics in Madison on Sunday to look for the flannel backed lining, hymo and hair cloth for the interfacing. Never made it though. I'll just get if off the Internet. It's a shame you can't buy such things locally anymore. Anybody have ideas where on the 'net?

I finally did another review!

Finally, finally, finally! I have been meaning to do a second review of a pattern for a long time. I really do like Pattern Review, it is such a valuable resource for people interested in sewing garments. 

I did my first review last May as part of a contest they had for sewing a fitted shirt. It was actually quite fun and really gave a person incentive to finish a project within a time frame. I have been meaning to post another ever since. I mean, its not like I haven't sewn anything, just been too caught up in life to put it on the web. Everyone at PR was so nice with the first post, I shouldn't have been shy about doing another.  In my defense, it is such a pain to get pictures taken, though. My husband means well, but....  My son would rather take pictures of the dog.

Anyways please see the bottom right hand corner of the blog for a link to Pattern Review with my own reviews on it. The most recent is on top. Got two now, and got photos for two more on Picasa. Stay tuned for more!

Look below. My son does take funny, creative shots of the dog. Me on the other hand, its another story. I'm just his Mom after all.

Alterations to butterick 4213

I finished the alterations to my coat over the weekend! I think to key to a big project like this one is to keep going, even if slowly. So I will try to do some work on the coat every week, even if I am busy. This week I managed to get the sleeves put on the muslin and make the alterations I needed. Only had enough muslin for one cuff, one sleeve looks longer than the other in photo.

This coat hangs from the shoulders (I guess they all do, duh!) and is only really fitted there. Being a swing coat, it just flares out from below the arms. So beyond making sure the armholes and shoulders fit, ain't much to do. The shoulder length, a critical part, was fine.  Everything else seems to fall into place if that is right. I did need to do a forward shoulder adjustment of 3/4". I spend to much time in front of the computer I guess.  I may need to scoop out the back neck 1/4" in back, I can do that when I fit the real thing. The armhole, while high will do just fine. The older patterns are made that way and mine is no exception.

One major change, though. I took some of the "swing" out of the swing coat. Just way to much at the hem. I love the look of this coat, but I don't want it to look like a relic either. I also was worried about the fabric. Wool melton is a thicker heavier fabric that doesn't drape as well as a thinner fabric. All that fabric would just be sticking out all over the place! So I took out a foot from the hem at the center back seam, tapering to nothing at the armhole. Did the same thing at the sides except only took 6 inches out. I think I like this much better. Hate it when the husband is right, I did look like a Jedi.. He often has a funny way of expressing his opinion of my sewing, but he has a pretty innate sense of what looks good. Here are the alts to pattern: 

Next is to alter lining pattern. I have to figure out how much lining, interfacing and interlining I need at that point and find a place to get it at. I am finding that its pretty hard to come by locally. I get a lot of vacant looks from the clerks when I ask. Probably will have to order online. I'll let you know later.

Butterick 4213

Good morning!

Its time for my first post. This will be a blog about the things in life that keep me going, the stuff I want to do, as opposed to the stuff I have to do. Right now there are 3 passions in my life: my sewing, my garden and my chickens. Each varies in importance with the time of year and my mood. It is now winter, so of course the sewing is taking center stage. What better motivation to get into the sewing room than below zero weather? So without any further ado, here is my first project:

As you can see its a coat, my first! Should be done just in time for the warmer weather. (Timing is not my forte) And not just any coat but one straight out the 50's, unprinted pattern and all.  I am making the long version, without the hood. Pattern had to be up sized from a 34" bust to a 42", which took two weeks in itself. You can see upsized pattern in the background of first photo below. I have just hit the muslin stage:

My husband said I looked like a Jedi before the collar was applied. After the collar was on, I was magically transformed into Dracula apparently. Gotta love an honest man! He is right, there is a LOT of ease in this swing coat, the hem is over 3 YARDS wide. But it is growing on me, this is a coat to twirl in. I know bigger girls should not wear over sized clothes, but I think(hope) this will drape pretty gracefully in the wool melton I have. The pattern is drafted well, and I think pretty simple for a first tailoring project. Hope I am right, I would hate to waste the time and fabric, you know. Here is picture of the shoulder pads I had to make for the muslin fitting. It is old school all right, but fun to make:

After sewing a cover on and quilting/ stab stitching the padding together, I cut apart from one pointed end to the other. Voila!, two shoulder pads.