Is that a pincusion on his head?

Basically Blue Buttons...

Basically Black Buttons....

I remember when...

One of may favorite outfits as a child was red wool plaid skirt and matching vest.  Back in the day, skirts were short and I was very small. The outift was constructed and sewn from a pair of women's pants.

Are those thimbles?

Costume Construction Crunch!

The flapper dress is done. Adding the fringe was the final task. Deciding how to line up the fringe was the biggest challenge. I put the dress on the cutting board and placed long pieces of tape on the lines and flipped the dress over to repeat the process. I had to put a piece of cardboard inside the dress to prevent sewing the front and back together. The true test now is in the final fit.

Twist and Shout!

There are only a few things that are more annoying than twisting elastic in the waist of skirts or pants. To prevent the problem one set of pattern instructions provided the following directions:  Try on the garment and distribute the waist gathers evenly and to the wearer's preference. Pin at the side seams. Stitch in the ditch to secure the elastic.

I have used many elastic waist patterns before settling on my favorite to use as a sloper and only on one do I recall seeing this particular set of instructions. I have secured the elastic with a button on the front. The button served two purposes: securing the elastic but only in one spot and to identify the front.

Costume Construction Crunch

The black dress is complete for the flapper costume. The next step is to attach the fringe. I am hoping the weight of the fringe will not cause the dress to sag.

The black stretch lycra was easier to sew than first imagined. The twin needle kept tunneling so I had to abandon it after several attempts. Instead I used a straight--two rows or zig zag stitch. Both were acceptable but not the same as using the twin needle.

Oddly enough, the practice stitching with the twin needle on woven fabric came out flat and attractive but not so on the knit. After some research, it seems that wash away stabilizer or tissue paper will help prevent tunneling or perhaps using knit interfacing.

Costume Construction Crunch time does not allow for much time to be spent on experimenting. There are deadlines...Halloween only comes once a year.

Costume Construction Crunch

While the practice garment is totally wearable, the costume itself is not. The seams were finished better but the fabric did not have enough stretch to fold over the armhole and neckhole. I tried using a stretch satin so it would not sag with the weight of the flapper fringe. The original pattern called for two way stretch; one way did not work. There is still time.

Costume Construction Crunch

Halloween is only a few weeks away. I just completed a muslin for the flapper costume. The fitting garment came out surprisingly well and is actually wearable. It is made of a mauve glitter two way stretch knit. The garment is made from Kwik Sew Patttern 3876. The pattern instructions call for a  1/4 inch seam but I used a 3/8 inch seam instead. One of the nice aspects of the pattern is that it is very versatile and can be made with only a yard of 60 inch wide fabric. I think in the future I am going to stay stitch the neckline and arm holes for a bit more stablility. I used a twin needle for the first time and will be using more in the future.    :)

Baby Blankets

Jungle prints are very popular now as a baby theme. This fabric was selected for a friend who is not planning to find out in advance whether she is having a boy or a girl. My troubleshooting thread set makes the perfect combination for this particular fabric. It is almost invisible because the colors blend so nicely.

Serging

I just completed a full set of six blankets and a dozen burp cloths for a baby present. The tension was a little off but I continued with the project because it did not negatively impact the overall project. I switched out the threads so that I could adjust the tension before starting another project. I had purchased a multicolor set of thread...red...blue...yellow...and green just for the purpose of learning and troubleshooting. Wouldn't you know... now the tension is good. The rethreading must have reset the threads in the tension discs so that the overall tension did not need additional adjustments.

Luckily, my multicolor threads were more pastel...pink...light aqua...light yellow...and spring green... so the serger will work as threaded for baby blankets.

Serge Finish

Baby Blankets

Cotton flannel is one of the easiest fabric to sew. It is also a comfort fabric and evokes pleasant memories. Choosing fabric and making receiving blankets for friends having babies is enjoyable and satisfying. I made my own pattern so that the blankets will fit the standard hospital bassinette.

ZONA ZOO...BABY GIRL

ZONA ZOO

When Ready to Wear is NOT!

We found this cute all cotton shirt while back to school shopping. In the dressing room, we also noticed that two buttons were missing and one extra came with the shirt. The salesperson offered a 10% discount as is. The style and fabric are difficult to mimic so a purchase was made. The discount did not even cover the cost of the thread and buttons purchased to make the garment wearable. Never the less, it provided a great opportunity to practice thread and button matching as well as handsewing. Of course, an exact button match could not be found so we moved the cuff buttons to the front of the shirt and replaced the cuff buttons with clear buttons.

Serging Ahead

My serger is back from the shop; cleaned, serviced and ready to go. After a lesson, I am now able to thread and run the machine.

Soft Trousers

I just completed a pair of soft trousers using a herringbone cotton flannel. You can see how I marked the front pieces as both sides looked the same after awhile. Unique to this project is that I finished all the seams using a small zig zag stitch before I sewed the pieces together. More pictures to come after the outfit is complete with a white tunic tank and soft black cardigan.