Hold your excitement. . . Dishtowels

Dear readers,

Between ruining my waistband on my pants and finally fixing it - I was sew restless!  So, what did I do - bought some Moda by United Notions (5.49 yard) dishtowel fabric from a local store and made gifts!

I also made two pillowcases (no pictures but similar to previous pillowcases). . .one tool bag for knitting (a later post), blind-hemmed suit pants (super easy with my blind hemming foot) and tailored an anthropologies dress to fit better (lots of ripping).
I had a difficult time finishing the dish towels, I tried my binder foot, my roll foot, my hemmer - nothing worked exceed good old fashioned folding and top stitching. . . so not perfect - but my first try.
I've decided to do the Colette Anise Sew-Along.  I am getting my tailoring tools today or this weekend from B. Black and Sons, Shoulder pads, sleeve heads. . . I'll set up a post so you can follow along - I expect plenty of disasters!!

This will probably be my last bit of winter sewing - and after this - I'm onto the Spring?  Has anyone ventured into Spring sewing yet?

P.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cuffed Pants Hem Tutorial

Image
I bought some great pants from Ann Taylor recently, a rayon/cotton/spandex blend herringbone fully lined in poly, with cuffed hems.  For $40, thank you additional 40% off clearance rack. When taking them apart to re-hem, I really liked the way they did it, so here for your future assistance (or total confusion, we'll see) is the method.  This creates a 1 3/4" cuff, I'm sure you could modify the numbers to make it wider or narrower but I'll leave the math to you. (If you're starting with already hemmed pants, you need to rip out all the previous stitching.  Yes it's a pain, just get it over with and then pretend it didn't happen.) 1.  You need a 3" hem allowance.  That means 3 inches of fabric below where you want the pants to stop.  Easiest way to figure this out is measure the inseam (inside leg seam from crotch to hem) on a pair of pants that is the length you want.  If you don't have any to measure, fold up a hem and secure with pins, then try...
Keep reading

Bernina Aurora 430! & Embroidery - Yeah or Nay?

Image
Dear Readers, Yes, with a portion of my tax refund - about three months ago I bought a Bernina from a dealer that was retiring (after 50 years) and received a significant discount.  I chose the Bernina Aurora 430.  I didn't really need a new machine - but I did want to upgrade at the discounted price and try a Bernina.  It was a difficult decision in terms of what model to buy and I didn't have a lot of time to think about it. I list the pattern review HERE.   I am happy I bought it - make not mistake - this is a luxury.  After purchasing it I gave my Janome TB30 to my brother's fiance because her machine broke.  I love it.  It handles lightweight fabrics better than my Janome.  The stitches and stitching power is greater and certainly it is more accurate (once you discount the user:)). One big difference is the metal bobbin (like my straight stitch Featherweight 221) - I believe it is more precise than the Janome - but to be honest the Janom...
Keep reading

New Look 6166 - Pendleton Fabric Shawl Vest

Image
Dear readers, Finally, this project was a LOT more difficult than I expected.  This is New Look 6166 -- a wonderful pattern.  I based it on the following inspiration below: It's not exactly the same.  I missed buying it (and it was pricey) when it came in last season. This year they also have another evening star-ish vest on their Fall line right now: A little closer view of the matching and fitted arms.  Boy, there is a reason that these Pendleton garments are expensive.  This fabric - Evening Star, a light to mid - weight blanket fabric was unwieldy and difficult to put together.  I ripped out the sides six times the first time I tried to match up the pattern.  Finally, I put in pins and actually sewed over them (no needles broken in case you were wondering).  This is after using jeans needles and a roller foot.  I thought it would take an hours to put together - NOPE.  Two days after cutting.  I picked up the f...
Keep reading