Dear serger, can we be friends now?

My little serger…we’ve had some trouble getting to know each other. Between tension issues and a screw that likes to come loose if it’s on the table when Gnomey is working, it’s been some hard work getting acquainted. I’ve had to walk away several times and down quite a few pots of tea to console myself. Of course, being stubborn, I decided that the two of us (her name is Josey) needed to make peace.  I realize that I’m not alone in having issues with my serger at first, but it’s still frustrating.

Enter this wrap dress. This really was a pretty simple pattern to follow. I did another FBA with no issues (though I perhaps could have gotten away with a size smaller bodice). I tranferred all of the marks for the sleeves and they magically came out perfectly.

I was so happy–setting in sleeves is my least favorite thing to do. I shortened the ruffle 2″…I should have shortened the skirt as well, but with this very lightweight rayon jersey, it doesn’t seem to matter that the hem is a wee bit lower than is optimally flattering on me. Besides doing all of the inside work beautifully, I did a rolled hem on the serger. It was a good choice with this jersey plus fast, easy, and it looks nice too. The only thing I’m not super happy about with this dress is the facings. I decided to use a very lightweight bias tape to face the edges of the bodice–far too heavy and it distorted the edge a bit too. I need to practice facings on lightweight fabric to see what I like. I just took Patternreview’s facings class, which was excellent. The teacher suggested making a lot of sample facings…though time consuming, I think ultimately it would save me time. I suppose I’ll do that in my “spare time.”

No more garments for me until my new iron comes.  I’ve been using this cheapo iron I borrowed got from my parents–it works really well but it doesn’t have an off switch and I’ve melted a few too many things on it and it won’t come clean any more.  It is just as well.  The stash, she looms in the closet and I need some simple projects to whittle it all down to a more manageable state.

Summer Top

As promised, I finished my top today. I’m totally sold on full bust adjustments now. I don’t think I’ve owned a top that fit me so well as this across the chest that wasn’t terribly large everywhere else.  I’ll be doing fba’s from now on.

I love the way the sleeves turned out too–I think they’re too wide to be straps, but it’s probably a matter of semantics. At any rate they have a lovely crisp feel to them. I lined them with muslin which feels very nice. The fabric is Joel Dewberry chesnuts in white. As a rule, I’m not a fan of quilting fabrics for clothing because I think the drape fee;s a little weird to me, but it being summer and me not being able to find a lot of prints this year, I broke my own rule.  At any rate this is wonderfully comfortable and cool which is much needed in the heat.  It makes me want to grill something tasty.

It’s time to admit to myself

that I’m no where near flat-chested.  I wasn’t before Noah came, and I certainly am not now after Noah.  This has presented some issues with clothes pretty much since always.  Things that fit me across the chest don’t fit me anywhere else…things that fit me everywhere else don’t fit across the chest leading to gapitits/impressive work with safety pins.

I know it’s not a bad idea to buy clothes that fit your widest part and have them tailored down after that, but frankly, if I’m spending $50+ on a button-down shirt, I really don’t want to pay to have it tailored after that.  This is why I started sewing for myself and am spending time learning how to fit.  So, what with me admitting that I have a full-bust, I set forth on this project:

My first full-bust adjustment.  If you don’t already know, commercial patterns are drafted with B cups.  Burda patterns I’ve been told are drafted with C cups, and some patterns have C cup and D cup options in the envelopes, which is really nice.  So, if you’re larger than a B cup, chances are good that you’ll have to learn to do a fba.  I’ve been able to get away with not doing this alteration before now because I’ve only made wrap tops and dresses which I always wear with a camisole anyhow, and I’ve found that maternity patterns are graciously very roomy in that area.  The alteration to the pattern was pretty straightforward.  The original pattern did not have any bust darts, but through the process of my full-bust alteration, I added some which really helps give this cute, but otherwise pretty shapeless garment some dimension–which you need if you’re full-busted…think about it: The flatter you are, the less 3-dimensionality you have to your chest, so you can get away with styles that are less shaped in the bust. 

This will be my version of the Sweet Chemise from Simple Sewing with a French Twist.  The original pattern has a casing with ties that run through a casing at the top, thus gathering at the top of the bustline to tie to back ties.  Very cute, but since this element didn’t do well covering certain undergarments, I decided to draft my own strap.  I was inspired by this top.  I’ve sewn the top up to basting the side seams, but I need to have my husband help me fit the sides and the back of the straps as they flare out too much and I can’t really pin by myself accurately.  Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to finish things.

Sure serging

What with as many clothes that I’ve been making and will continue to make, I decided it was time for a serger to take up residence in my house.  The wee little card table that I sew on is perhaps a bit too small for 2 machines, but it’s not really that big of a problem.  I was not prepared for the serger though.  Gnomey seriously is the nicest little machine.  So intuitive to use, so simple, so sturdy.  Just. Great.  Not that the serger isn’t…but sergers truly are a bit finicky.  All the threading and tension–it takes some time to get used to.

So far, I’ve used the serger for finishing the a shirt that I haven’t bothered blogging about though I like it very much and my purple dress.  Today Noah has been rather sleepy, so I took the opportunity to make my Craft Hope blankets (just a single layer of flannel edged with bias binding).  In addition to the blankets, I made some handkerchiefs which Craft Hope is also asking for with my serger.  I figured it was a simple project for me to practice serging on because let’s face it–though it’s necessary to practice on scraps before you start serging, it’s a bit boring.  So by the 8th handkerchief (the bottom sample in the picture, the top is the 1st one I made), I think my ability to serge a decent rolled hem has improved considerably.  The fabric is some beautiful calico from Nathan’s Grandma’s stash (she was kind enough to let me raid it).

Additionally, Ann tagged me to list 6 unimportant things that make me happy. Here goes:

1.  Chopping big piles of vegetables and mise en place: A big knife, some music, and things smelling lovely in the kitchen–really, can your day get better?

2.  Accordion:  Can you be grumpy and polka?  I think not.

3.  Opera:  The marriage of every art imaginable executed at a wickedly high level of expertise all wrapped up in tremendous music.

4.  Baking: There’s nothing quite like a tray of perfect cookies or the beauty of a well-executed sponge cake batter.

5.  Playing video games with my husband:  Lego Star Wars just might be about the funnest thing ever.

6.  Making my son smile: honestly, I never thought I was such a ham.  It’s so amazing to see his little face light up.

I will tag Lauranie, Susie, Nils (if you have a chance getting used to married life and all) and Dawn.

Tea tin tidying tutorial

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I am a tea junkie.  I must have my little pot in the morning before I can function.  It’s not so much about the caffeine as it is about forcing myself to slow down long enough to sip a pot’s worth of tea.  It just might be the only time of day that my brain isn’t going 80 mph.  Here’s the problem though:  we have VERY little storage in our kitchen, so all of my teas just sit on top of the refrigerator in some glass jars or in the paper packages I bought them in.  It’s not so attractive to look at, and when your space is small, I feel like the things that you must look at should be a little cuter simply because you have to look at them.  Here’s my solution:

Fabric Tea tins

Materials:

Small glass jars or tea tins

Pinking shears

Fabric scraps

Matte Mod Podge

Foam brush

Acrylic paints

Take a scrap of fabric and cut enough to wrap around one of the glass jars plus a little bit extra.  Use the pinking shears to cut along the bottom and top of the scrap.  Using the brush, paint a thin layer of ModPodge on the outside of the jar and attach the fabric, smoothing as you go around the jar.  When you get to where you started, fold over the raw edge (that’s why you cut a little extra) to finish the “seam.”**  You can add fabric to make the tops of the jars a little nicer, or you can paint them with acrylic paints.  Seal the paint with a couple layers of Mod Podge.  Fill the jars with your tea and enjoy how pretty they look the next time you make your morning cuppa.

**You could put some more Mod Podge over the fabric to make it nice and shiny, but note that it will make it feel a bit crunchy–you can sand some of this sensation off with fine grit sandpaper, but not all of it.

                                      Before

 

                                      After

The purple dress goes to the ball

or at least two weddings in the past week.  My sweet cousin got married last week to a truly swell guy and everything was beautiful, but she most of all.  So, so many people were blessed enough to witness all of this.  It was a wonderful time to spend with my family and see all the new babies.  I’m so glad that my cousin had such a great day as her wedding day.  She truly deserves it.  Today, one of my dear friends also married a wonderful guy.  The two of them were just overflowing with joy–just the kind of wedding you want to go to.

In honor of these two amazing ladies and because I thought this pattern was beautiful, I made my celebration dress–the Parfait dress from Colette patterns.  I made it in a purple cotton sateen which is lovely and cool but still has a “go to the wedding” finish on it (I’ve obviously sat down though from the wrinkles in the photo ).  Overall, this was not a difficult dress to sew and it was quite fun–no frustrating moments were had because the directions and diagrams were very simple to follow.  The pockets are my favorite detail…especially in this fabric–they just gathered themselves up into these lovely little entities that feel so good to pop your hands into.  I’m not happy about how the facing turned out, but that was user error I’m sure.  Go give one of her patterns a try–you will not be disappointed with the results. 

The hairpins are from Dandyapple.