2020-Sewing in a Time of Pandemic

Well what a year 2020 turned out to be!

It’s been such a tough time for so many and being a part of the wider sewing community has been a very real lifeline for many people. Those of us that enjoy making our own clothes already realise the obvious benefits this can give us; total freedom to choose types, colours and patterns of fabrics as we wish, the ability to emulate high-end or high street fashion at the price-point we can afford and the skill to make clothes fit our own particular body type, to name but a few. It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that the wider world, whilst searching for activities to entertain and occupy them during the long weeks and months of lockdown, discovered (or rediscovered) that home sewing can be creative, absorbing and rewarding which is a VERY GOOD THING! Who knew there was a link between doing a creative activity and a more balanced sense of well-being??

To be honest it doesn’t matter what that activity is, or whether you’re really any good at it, the fact that it can take your mind away to other less stressful places for a time is what matters.

But at the start of the year none of that was of much interest to most. I was extremely fortunate in January to go on a cruise to the Caribbean so I made a couple of new things to fills ‘gaps’ but mostly I took old favourites…cue multiple photos of 3 versions of The Maker’s Atelier Holiday shirt on heavy rotation! One new item was the Trend Square dress I made in fabric given to me by Dibs from Selvedges and Bolts the previous year, I got a lot more wear later on in the summer.

Within a couple of weeks of getting back, Judith Staley and I hosted the very first Sew Over 50 meet-up in London. We very much hoped, and expected, that it would be the start of many more such meet-ups between followers of the @SewOver50 account all over the world but it wasn’t to be…not yet anyway.

If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while you’ll know that as well as meeting up for sewcials with fellow sewers I really enjoy my visits to exhibitions and galleries. At the end of February I caught up with Janet Poole who is a fellow Lamazi blogger at the Stitch Festival in London, I had such a lovely day shopping and chatting with her, and her friend Great British Sewing Bee winner Juliet too. We didn’t realise it then but we were very fortunate to be able to attend the event at all and I wouldn’t be surprised if others who went didn’t catch the-virus-that-shall-not-be-named because it was so crowded.

About a week after this I was able to go to the stunning new Kimono show at the V&A and, although we didn’t know it at the time, that was to be the final outing for several months…

I wore the new Homer & Howells Cissy dress (and failed to remove my coat from shot which I chucked on the floor!)

So then we entered the first long lockdown and that’s when sewing (and some baking) became my primary occupation. During this time I had some blogging commitments for Simple Sew Patterns and Lamazi fabrics to complete. For my first Lamazi post I made a Trend patterns Bias T-shirt dress which was a tough make, not because the pattern was difficult but because I was making the dress for a wedding that never took place. And worse than that, I was making the Bride’s gown too so I still have an almost-finished dress waiting for the day that the wedding can happen.

In all honesty I hated how I looked in this dress because I had piled on weight and felt very self-conscious in a fitted dress. It was a lovely pattern made in beautiful fabric but I felt I was doing both a disservice. Eventually I did wear it in September by which time I had lost weight and it was a delight to wear! I’m sure I’m not the only one whose state of mind has fluctuated wildly this year and my self-confidence was rockbottom when this picture was taken.

I know I’m very blessed in that I have little to actually complain about in my life but that does not mean that these months of lockdown didn’t take their toll mentally so, when the call to help make scrubs came, it was something I could actually do! Eventually I made 10 sets, I believe they were headed to a maternity department in a London hospital.

I continued to keep busy by doing a few refashioning projects because the desire to make new things that weren’t going to be worn outside the house was just too depressing. I love the act of making clothes, the planning, the cutting out, the sewing, because that was taking my mind off what was happening in the real world but how could I justify making new clothes that I had little use for? Even dressmaking was starting to become a negative because I felt guilty about it. By doing some refashioning projects using things I already had, other than new fabric, I made a few items including pyjamas for my final Simple Sew post and another pair using the PJ pattern in the Great British Sewing Bee book written by Alex and Caroline of Selkie patterns and for which I had made a couple of samples. I used 4 old work shirts of my husband’s which were very well worn! I also made (eventually) two pouffes as well which took care of loads of scraps and off-cut furnishing fabrics and were extremely satisfying! I also refashioned a very old and redundant heavyweight cotton curtain into a Dawson coatigan by Thrifty Stitcher.

Early on in lockdown I had the pleasure of talking to Maria Theoharous for her Sew Organised Style podcast on a couple of occasions. I’ve set up a separate page so you can access this to be able to listen to her inspiring SewOver50 guests every week. One of our chats revolved around how we each arrive at our fabric choices for specific purposes or projects, I wrote this topic up as a post which you can read here, and I also wrote a further post which came from when I was guest editor on the @SewOver50 account and we talked about our cutting out processes-did we cut and make one thing at a time, or cut several things and have multiple projects on the go? Scissors or rotary cutter? Pins or weights? It was wide ranging and fascinating with so many excellent ideas and practices. I hosted another discussion about a variety of hem finishes later in the year and you can read that one here. Incidentally, by the end of this year @SewOver50 has reached an incredible 25,600 followers!!

hem finishes

batch cutting, or not?

One of my stranger tasks this year was to carry out a socially-distanced dress fitting on a doorstep! Before lockdown started I had been commissioned to make a dress for a work colleague of my daughter Katie. Thankfully I’d opted to make a toile of the bodice which I’d fitted just before lockdown kicked off so I managed to get the dress to a good stage of completion. However, I got to a point where I definitely needed her to try it on because even if she couldn’t wear it for the event she had hoped to, it would be nice for her to take delivery and wear it around the house!! So I went to their place of work and handed the dress over at arms length to Tracey to put on in the staff toilet, then she came out onto the porch where Katie, under my direction, pinned the dress for me. I took a few photos for reference too. From that I was able to finish and deliver the dress and my client was delighted with it…phew

One of the regular sewing highlights of the last 4 years for me has been the Sewing Weekender which generally takes place in Cambridge, UK in August. The organisers took the bold decision to put the whole event online instead which meant that many more people could ‘attend’ from all over the world. Myself and Judith Staley were delighted to be asked to contribute a video message each which was very nerve-racking but it turned out alright in the end. I published a transcript of mine here, along with the original video (you’ll notice that I had abandoned my signature pink hair by this time because, quite frankly, what was the point of bothering!) The Online Weekender also raised a significant amount of money which was divided between 4 charities. 

As lockdown started to ease in the summer I was able to get out and about a couple of times. I joined an al fresco rag-rugging workshop in Hertfordshire run by Elspeth Jackson of Ragged Life which was so enjoyable, and I visited a couple of exhibitions in London including the Kimono show again, plus Andy Warhol at Tate Modern and Tricia Guild at the Fashion and Textiles museum both on the same day. Since then though things have been shut down then reopened, then shut down again. My heart goes out to everyone who is trying to run a business or an organisation that relies on visitors through their doors to make them viable, their future is very uncertain.

I’ve made a few other garments during the autumn which I’ve been really pleased with including the Prada-inspired shirt dress and a pair of Utility pants by Trend Patterns (not blogged yet) but I feel I’ve run out of steam with my sewing right now and I never thought I’d say that. My own teaching classes restarted for a total of 5 weeks in October but they’ve stopped again. I know some have adapted by using Zoom or other platforms but it just wouldn’t work for me, I feel dressmaking is too hands-on and needs real assistance for tricky bits, holding things up to the camera isn’t good enough sometimes. And being part of a group and all that shared enjoyment is a huge part of it too. I’ve had fairly regular online catch-ups with some of my lovely sewing friends and that has been a joy, albeit not as good as seeing them in the flesh.

Mr Y was the lucky recipient of a few handmade garments too during 2020 when I made him another two Kwik Sew 3422 shirts, and not one but two Thread Theory Finlayson sweatshirts! I’m happy to say he’s delighted with all of them and I’ve got plans for another sweatshirt for him in the new year.

I’m working on my own pattern which I’ve self-drafted so hopefully that will be something positive for the new year but I need occasional assistance from more expert friends and that’s making it a drawn-out process which would have been so much more fun person-to-person.

One final project I was commissioned by a friend to make was a Christmas chasuble for her to wear as she presides over her Christmas services in church. A chasuble is essentially a fancy poncho which the priest wears over their other vestments and Wendy wanted me to create one with a Nativity scene on it. She sourced the base fabric with my advice, and a printed quilting cotton Nativity which was sent from the US. This was square so I carefully cut it into approximate thirds with the central third featuring the stable scene and the star for the front, another third with Bethlehem for the back and the remaining third I cut into two parts to use on the stole, which is the long scarf priests wear around their necks. All of these I attached by appliquéing around the black outlines (I was literally making it up as I went along!) Wendy is delighted with the finished result (thankfully) and I’m sure she will enjoy using them during the Christmas season.

As I finish writing this (2 days before Christmas) we have no idea what lies ahead…some countries seem to be slowly recovering whilst the UK as a whole seems to be sliding further and further into disaster, or maybe not? I should try to think more positively as scientists have worked tirelessly to make a vaccine which will gradually be rolled out. Personally I’m a long way down the list for it but that’s absolutely fine, we must protect the most vulnerable first.

I’m making an effort to look cheerful in this most recent Lamazi blog make, but the wine was slightly off watered down Rosé from my daughter’s fridge and it was 10.30 in the morning! I’m genuinely pleased with the dress though and in spite of everything I’ll wear it on Christmas Day because there’s plenty of room for expansion!!

This has probably ended up not being a-not-entirely-coherent post but that’s kind-of appropriate I reckon! Wherever you are and whatever the new year brings for all of us I’d like to thank so many of you for reading my posts, sending me lovely or encouraging messages. Being a part of the online sewing community and Sew Over 50 in particular has been an absolute joy and a lifeline at times. We need to lift each other up more often, call out injustices when we see them but not to the extent that it becomes bullying of individuals, that isn’t right either. 2020 has been a year of huge upheaval, I plan to restart 2021 with fresh sewing plans to help me to feel more positive about it…it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Until next time, stay safe!

Sue

A Simple Sew Cocoon dress hack

I had made two Simple Sew Cocoon dresses without alteration when the pattern was first released a couple of years back, and you probably know that I love a bit of a pattern hack so I decided that the style would be good for an adaptation. I’d drawn a few sketches of ideas and had a rummage in the stash for some suitable fabric when a funny thing happened…

I found I had already cut out a hacked Cocoon in the past!! I realised I must have done it easily two summers ago but then abandoned it because I decided it would be too short. I remember it was a limited amount of fabric, probably 2 metres, but I put it to one side and forgot about it. 

Fast forward to now, I wanted to make it up but I needed to lengthen it in a way I was happy with. I had truncated the bodice at Empire line just below the bust and then the skirt was two widths of the fabric, a simple dirndl. I’d cut the facings too but there was literally nothing else left except small scraps.

There’s a centre front seam in the bodice, I cut the dress horizontally under the bust at about Empire line

I went through various options including adding extra frill layers but to do that you gradually increase the amount of fullness needed for each layer, in other words, layer 1 would be 1.5x the waist measurement, layer 2 could be 2x the length of layer 1, and layer 3 could be 3x the length of layer 2. In simple terms this means longer and longer strips of fabric are needed to form each frill to be sewn to the previous one, and the longer the length of the dress the more layers you might need. Basically I couldn’t make the skirt any longer with what I had because it was already cut, and because of the lockdown I couldn’t go out to look for a suitable plain cotton. I returned to the stash and eventually found 50cms of cotton poplin which I know I bought at the same time as the original, I must have intended it as a contrast but never used it.

By cutting the 50cms piece across the width into two 25cms pieces I could join them at the side seams to form a loop and then fold them in half to create a 12.5cms deep band which I would sew to the hem of the dress! Simple! 

Once I’d worked all this out I sewed up the bodice, rather than hemming the cap sleeves I used some binding from my stash so that I could maximise their length. I planned to twin needle some top stitching in various places and I used two different coordinating threads for this. 

Bias binding sewn onto the sleeve then understitched

bias binding turned back

The completed sleeve with twin needle topstitching

I did the same around the V neck once the facing was sewn on, in order to get a pristine join at the point I carefully unpicked a couple of stitches and secured them on the reverse.  

I wanted side seam pockets (of course) so I had to cut them out of some plain cotton scraps, each piece was added to the side seam and then the side seams sewn up. 

The new band was initially slightly wider than the lower edge of the skirt so I restitched it until the two were the same width and matched exactly at both side seams. I used the overlocker with four threads to join and neaten the band in one step, I pressed the seam upwards and then twin-needle topstitched it to decorate. 

the band folded and pinned to the lower edge of the skirt

The final step was to run two rows of gathering stitches at the top of the skirt then sew it onto the bottom of the bodice, matching at the side seams. I pressed this upwards too and topstitched it as well.

For a dress which had languished with not much hope for two years I’m really happy with it!! I loved the fabric (which was from John Lewis originally I think about 4-5 years ago!) and I was so cross I’d cut something which I couldn’t imagine I’d wear if I sewed it up. By adding the deep band the skirt now has weight as well as length. It’s been so comfortable in the hot weather, why did I wait so long?!

we were heading out for our exercise hence the unsexy shoes!

we have a Henry Moore sculpture on loan for the duration of the centenary year of our town, maybe we can keep it for an extra year now that all the summer celebrations are cancelled?

Coronation Fountain

yes I have got water coming out of the top of my head!

Lockdown is easing in the UK since I originally finished this dress but I hope, as always, this hack has given you an idea of how simple it can be to take a section of a pattern you already have and give it a twist to become a different garment. I had very limited fabric with a print which still needed to match everywhere, by adding the hem band I’ve given it the look I was after…it just took a couple of years to think of it!

Until next time, happy sewing,

Sue

Simple Sew Chelsea Collection blouse hack.

A lot has happened since I wrote my last Simple Sew blog post, Christmas for one thing, and I had a lovely holiday in the sunshine too but now we are all confined to our homes because of Covid 19. Without wishing to trivialise the gravity of this situation, one of the side effects of it is that you might have more time to sew. 

I’ve had a rummage through my Simple Sew patterns to find one which I haven’t already shown you, and which has opportunities to hack, and I settled on the Chelsea Collection. This is a capsule wardrobe of a short sleeve blouse with two variations, a pair of trousers and a button-front skirt in two lengths. I liked the blouse with it’s shirred sleeves and keyhole back detail but I decided to mix it up a little by adding a button front. Normally we are able to select fabric from a couple of generous sponsors but I wanted to ‘shop my stash’ to find something this time. I found a very pretty vibrant floral John Kaldor cotton lawn which I think I picked up from a swap table sometime and I knew would work well for the blouse. 

I didn’t want the blouse to be overly tight so, after checking my measurements I opted for a larger size than I’ve made previously. If you’ve been a regular reader of my posts you’ll know that I tend to check Simple Sew patterns for any discrepancies before I start. There didn’t seem to be any glaring ones but I just added a slight curve to the back hem so that it dipped in the same way as the front and I trued the shoulder seams so there was a smooth flow from front to back. 

Adding a curved hem to the back, I measured the distance from the lengthen/shorten line on the front then made the back the same amount, curving the line gently upwards to the side seam.

trueing the shoulder seams

As I wanted to alter the front significantly I had to make some changes there first. In order to create a button-stand I simply added 2.5cms to the centre front all the way down what would have been the fold. [2.5cms was a fairly arbitrary figure because it depends really on what size buttons you’re using, a general rule of thumb is that the bigger the button the bigger the button-stand needs to be so that there’s enough overlap and the garment doesn’t end up too tight because the overlap isn’t big enough.]I was able to do this by drawing directly onto the tissue before cutting the piece out as there was enough space to do so.

adding the button stand to the front

If you’ve already cut a pattern that you want to add to just stick some extra paper to the centre front fold line, or trace off the whole piece again adding the extra. The original front had a facing for the neckline so now I needed to create a new facing which would neaten both the neck edge and the button-stand. To do this I simply traced off the whole of the new front opening including the neck edge and made the facing a depth of 7cms all the way down from shoulder to hem, with a smooth and gradual curve. The photo should make this clearer. The back neck needed a new facing too because the existing one took the armhole into account. Again I traced off the section I needed making it 7cms at the shoulders to match the front facing. 

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The final change I made was to lengthen the sleeve a little and add some more fullness to it. I started by making the sleeve 5cms longer and then I drew 3 vertical lines on the pattern at approximately the front notch, back notch and shoulder seam points. [Depending how much extra fullness you want to add to a sleeve you could use more places than this but do try to space them evenly apart.] Next I cut up each line from the bottom until I reached almost the top, I left this very slightly attached. With the piece flat on the table I spread the bottom of each slit by about the same amount, probably about 4 cms, then taped slithers of paper into each gap.

First I added the extra length and then drew the vertical lines where I wanted the extra fullness.

Next I opened each part to add the extra being careful to keep the pieces flat and not twisting or wrinkling up, put extra pieces of paper under the gaps. Once you’re happy tape them in position,

Once I had added the extra I cut the piece out.

If you don’t want to cut the pattern up you can do the same process by still marking the vertical lines on then pivoting the uncut pattern at the top of each line, use a pencil or your finger as the axis. Draw or trace around the first section, which remains stationary, then each subsequent section after you pivot it to so that you get the extra fullness being added at the hem. Opening up the wedges in this way means you’re adding fullness to the hem but not the crown of the sleeve, if you want extra fullness in the crown spread the whole piece more or less parallel. The grainline should run equidistant down the centre of the new piece (unless you want to cut it on the bias)

Having done all this I cut it out and was ready to sew! 

I started by joining the shoulder seams of both the blouse and the facings (which I’d interfaced and neatened) then I attached the facings to the neck edge, turned, understitched and pressed. The keyhole back calls for a small rouleau tube as a button-loop which needs to be inserted at the same time as applying the facing although you could choose to make a hand sewn thread loop and stitch that at the end. In fact it isn’t even vital that this is a functioning loop if you’ve got a front opening, the keyhole is purely decorative now. 

I put the blouse onto Doris to check it was looking OK and this was when I found that the keyhole appeared to be bagging outwards quite significantly. I decided not to do anything at this point and I would check again once I had sewed the side seams and put the sleeves in, then I would get a better idea by trying it on myself. 

Checking the front neck

With the loop pinned I discovered that the keyhole didn’t sit flat.

It seems to stick out quite significantly on Doris.

If the button isn’t done up it would look like this.

I made three rows of shirring on the sleeves next, using my quilting guide to make sure the first row was 5cms from the bottom edge, the next two rows were then sewn parallel to the first. [Refer to a previous blog post on how to sew shirring if you haven’t done so before] Next I sewed up the sleeve seams and pin-hemmed the bottom edge to give a neat finish.

I positioned the needle 5cms from the cut edge and the quilting guide helps me as a visual marker to keep it parallel all the way.

Shirring is stitched from the right side so that the elastic is on the reverse. Use a long straight stitch, secure both ends and then apply plenty of steam to shrink up the stitching further.

finished sleeve

After sewing up and neatening the side seams I inserted the sleeves. At this point I tried the blouse on again to check the keyhole on myself and, with real shoulder blades under it, it didn’t seem so noticeable. Two other things struck me though, the blouse was a little too big so I took it in on the side seams and also the blouse was a bit shorter than I expected. In order to take as a small a hem as possible I made some bias binding from offcuts of the fabric then stitched it (folded in half lengthways and with the cut edges together) to the hem using a narrow 5mm seam allowance [This is a useful finish to any hem or edge where you need every spare centimetre of fabric.] Have a look at the photo which shows you how to get the ends of the binding enclosed within the front facing. I turned the binding up and top-stitched in place. 

If you’re adding binding when there’s also a facing pin it like this so that the end is neatly enclosed inside the facing when it’s turned right side out.

Finally, I found some ‘vintage’ buttons amongst my treasure trove and there were just the right number meaning the whole blouse had been sourced from what I already have!

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Well I hope now that I’ve made it that I’ll have a chance to wear my Chelsea blouse somewhere other than in my own garden this summer, who knows? Maybe you’re reading this long after the emergency ended and life has returned to some sort of normality, although it definitely won’t be exactly as it was before.

Sewing our own clothes is an activity which gives us so much enjoyment for a variety of different reasons and, right now, the simple act of creating something is chief amongst them for me. It’s absorbing and the problem-solving gives me something else to think about.

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I think the keyhole back is, by and large, just about acceptable when I’m wearing the blouse. I also think the cure could be to add a centre back seam instead of cutting on the fold so that the point of the keyhole could extend beyond the centre back line, this would hopefully bring the button and loop closer to one another when they are done up…this is just my theory based on experience and I haven’t tried it out. It’s such a nice little detail that I’m disappointed it hasn’t worked out quite right. I also regret not reading my fellow Simple Sew bloggers reviews of the blouse because then I would have known how short it comes up, personally I would add a minimum of 8-10cms to the length next time.

The sleeves are pretty and feminine but maybe they are a little too girly, the jury is out…

Until next time, happy sewing

Sue

Pfaff Coverlock 3.0

It’s been almost a month since I was loaned a Pfaff Coverlock 3.0 to try out so thought I would give you a ‘half-term report’ on how I’m getting on with it.

First thing to say is that it’s quite a beast! It’s a very substantial piece of machinery and so is fairly heavy as a result. That being said, this is normally the case with coverstitch machines because they are generally bigger than overlockers so the weight isn’t unusual. It does have a good-sized and comfortable carrying handle though.

Ok, so, the Coverlock 3.0 is a combination machine in that it is both an overlocker and a coverstitch machine. I’m sure you already know that an overlocker will trim and neaten raw edges and often sew the seam as well if you have 4 or 5 thread version. What you may not know is that a coverstitch machine doesn’t trim any edges, it will sew two or sometimes three rows of top-stitching on the outside of a garment whilst covering the edge of the fabric on the inside with loops of thread to ‘cover’ it. It has the advantage of being stretchy too. If you’re still not sure what I’m talking about have a look inside the hem or cuffs of a RTW jersey garment and you should see.

The first thing I had to do was not only rethread the machine as it didn’t arrive pre-threaded but I also needed to change it’s function from coverstitch to overlock. A major part of what I want to assess for you is how quick and straightforward it is to go between the functions. This is partly why I didn’t plunge in with a review as soon as I got it because I didn’t think it would be balanced or fair. Indeed, I will certainly write another review in due course after a decent amount of time and usage has occurred.

Yay! I threaded it successfully!!

Because the machine was merely delivered to me without any demonstrations I’ve needed to use the instruction book a fair bit. If you have difficulty following written instructions and/or diagrams this may not be ideal for you but there is a (silent) DVD included with very clear animations of exactly what you need to do for each of the stitch variations possible. [I didn’t find this straightaway though so I muddled through with the booklet! I’ve also since found a few very helpful You Tube videos which were useful]

I’m not going to lie, it does take a bit of time to make the changes because you’ll need to remove and reinsert the needles to different positions as well as thread the machine in different ways depending on the function. This will eventually take me less time and I’ve added Post-it notes to the relevant pages in the book so that I don’t have to keep searching for the two I’ve favoured most. The machine is capable of up to 23 stitches using 2, 3, 4 or 5 threads and up to 3 needles. So far I’ve only used the 4-thread overlock and the coverstitch but I will endeavour to use more, including the flatlock, and report back.

I decided on making a hacked version of the Tilly and the Buttons Nora top which I’ve made a couple of times before as I didn’t want any nasty complications by attempting an unfamiliar pattern with a new piece of machinery!

The beautiful jersey with an amazing ‘tie-dye’ print is from Lamazi fabrics and was my choice as a July/August maker of the month [it could be you if you tag them on Instagram] I cut the sleeve to approximately 3/4 length and also cut two cuff pieces which were again approximate, initially about 20cms in length and then my wrist measurement at one end and my mid-forearm measurement at the other. I added a couple of centimetres for seam allowance to all sides.

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I’d definitely say you need to do a bit of forward planning if you intend to use both the overlock and coverstitch functions on a project because of the swapping between the two. For example, on my Nora I needed to coverstitch just the cuffs and the hem, everything else could be sewn either directly using the 4-thread overlock or on my Quilt Ambition 2.0. I opted to sew the top together first and complete the hems at the end, in the usual way although there may be times when it’s better to hem first, we’ll see.

I’ve been very impressed so far with the quality of the different stitches.

If you’re merely changing the thread colours it can be done in the same way as regular overlockers by snipping the threads near their spools, tying on the new colour and pulling each of them gently through, plus rethreading the eye of the needles. On one occasion when I altered the function I completely rethreaded but the stitch was much too loose-what had I done? It was all done correctly and yet it was way too loopy. I checked the manual for hints on troubleshooting but it didn’t make much difference. I was starting to pull my hair out when I realised I had threaded the machine without lifting the handle out of the way-the threads MUST go under it or they don’t sit in the tension discs! (Had I watched the helpful YouTube video first I would have known this…) Another thing I learnt the hard way was when the spool holder kept falling off the back of the machine and I was ready to chuck it out of the window I noticed it has to be slid sideways to click securely in position-doh!

The next two projects I made I didn’t use the coverstitch function as both the sweatshirts had cuffs and waistbands but I constructed much of them using the 4-thread overlock stitch. I used fabric provided to me by Minerva and they will appear on their blog in the new year. One of the patterns I used was the gorgeous Maxine sweatshirt given to me by it’s designer, Dhurata Davies. I’m going to make another one soon so I’ll write an individual blog on it then. [I got both tops out of 2.5m of fabric!]

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  Maxine sweatshirt by Dhurata Davies

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  Simplicity #8529 which is also the Toaster by SewHouseSeven

For the final project I want to talk about here I took a different approach. It’s an Amy top by Brilliant Patterns and which I’ve made a couple of times before. I had a 1m remnant of loop-back cotton sweatshirting which I bought from Sew Me Something at a show for £8 and by shortening the sleeves very slightly, cutting the neckband in two parts and joining it I got a WHOLE sweatshirt out of the one metre!!

This time I set the machine up with a wide 2-needle coverstitch and I used my regular sewing machine to sew most of the seams. What I did at each stage of construction was to press the seams flat and top stitch them using the Coverlock. This meant that there would be two rows of top stitching on the outside and the raw edges were covered on the inside. This was generally OK although as I’ve yet to ‘get my eye in’ with lining up the foot against a seam or other visual marker a couple of them do waver more than I would usually like. It turns out there is a large removable flat bed included to increase the working area (it was tucked down inside the box and I’ve only just found it!!) this will support your work while you sew but it does take up a bit more room.

I like the two-part upper back of the Amy.

The hem is level at the front and a dipped curve at the back.

So to sum up (for now) I’ve been impressed with the quality of the stitches I’ve used so far on the Coverlock 3.0 and I will definitely look for opportunities to try others whilst I have it. I’ve yet to be convinced about swapping between the stitch-types but obviously, as I get more familiar with it, I should get faster at changing between them. There are few processes which have to be gone through to make the changes but I’ll probably work out an order or procedure to follow to speed it up. If you are short of space a combination machine might be useful, they aren’t cheap though. You’ll almost certainly use the overlocker stitches more of the time so possibly changing occasionally to coverstitch will be sufficient. I would definitely say you should have a thorough demonstration of the machine so that you know what is involved and what it is capable of. Unlike washer/driers which don’t do either job very well this machine does both functions to a very high standard.

Thank you to Pfaff for giving me the opportunity to try out their machine and if you have any questions about my experience so far then do ask.

Happy sewing

Sue

Simple Sew Zoe dress hack

I haven’t written a Simple Sew blog post for a few months but now that Sam Sterken has taken over with the organisation whilst Gabby is having her maternity leave we’re up and running again.

I had a bit of an idea in my head of what I’d like to do using the Zoe pattern which I already had so I chose some medium-weight enzyme washed linen in dark turquoise generously provided for us once again by Doughty’s Fabrics. I was really pleased with it when it arrived as it wasn’t too droopy but not over-firm either. Incidentally, it’s been terrible to photograph accurately, the final outdoor photos are definitely the closest to the real thing [to see how I altered the Zoe neckline so it wasn’t so wide have a look at my previous blog post in early 2018)

I drew a few sketches of ideas which all involved using the top half of the Zoe-initially I was going to extend the sleeves with wide pleated frills and keep the dress straight but I went off that idea as I felt the fabric was too firm for how I wanted it, I thought it would definitely work well with a peg-top skirt instead however. I wanted a shape that wasn’t too voluminous at the hem and by using an inverted A-line shape I could add pleats at the top but keep the hemline slimmer.

I went with option 4

I tried on one of my existing Zoes (I’ve made 3) so I could assess what length I wanted the top section, and took an arbitrary measurement of 34cms from the centre of the front neckline to where I wanted the waist, which is slightly higher than my natural waistline. As the Zoe has centre front and back seams I then measured from the top edge down to the point where I wanted the waist seam and drew a line at a right angle on the pattern across from that point. I took that line across to the side seam but at the point where the line met the side seam I made it a right angle, which creates a very slight curve on the line. Because the back neck sits a little higher than the front I matched the side seams to one another first and created a similar line across to meet the centre back seam. [It’s important that these lines are at a right angle where they meet at the side seams because otherwise you would have a slight V shape rather than a smooth line from front to back] 

I already have a skirt pattern that I’d drafted last year for a similar peg-top shape, it’s essentially an upside down A-line skirt (the hem becomes the waist and the waist becomes the hem) I’d used it gathered though and I wanted pleats on the new dress. Initially I attempted to work out how to get 3 even sized pleats by folding and refolding the paper but I couldn’t quite get it. In the end I decided to cut the pieces in fabric as they were-with a slight modification for the front skirt as that piece was quite different-and then I’d work out the pleats once I was ready to attach the bodice and skirt together.

I cut all the bodice/sleeve/neck facings and assembled the bodice first. I’ve found that it’s easier to sew up the shoulders and attach the neck facings as described in the instructions but then attach the sleeves with the bodice open flat before sewing the side seams rather than in the round. The photos should help make this method quite clear. I added rows of contrast triple straight stitch to various seams as I went including around the neck [I used the quilting guide which came with my machine to do this accurately]

the sleeve is pinned on with the bodice opened out flat

the seam is pressed towards the sleeve

then the sleeve is pressed up towards the shoulder

the underarm seam is sewn up, overlocked together and then the sleeve is folded up again and top stitched into position.

On the outside I used the quilting guide on my machine to sew 4cms away from the finished edge of the neck.

top stitching on the neck edge.

the finished bodice

Next I cut the front and back skirts from the remaining fabric, plus I also cut two pairs of pockets for the side seams using the cardboard template I’ve made. [Just choose a pocket pattern that suits the size and shape that you mostly use to go in side seams and then make a cardboard version, mark the grainline and then all you need to do in future is place it on your fabric and draw around it with a pencil or chalk, it saves a paper piece getting scrappier and scrappier with constant use.]

card pocket template

the back and front skirt sections, the back is placed again the selvedge and the front is placed 10cms from the fold to form a whole front, I didn’t cut down the righthand side of the pattern as it looks here.

I made up the front and back skirt sections, adding the pockets to the side seams, then top stitched the CF seams as before, I didn’t top stitch the CB seam at this stage as I wanted to be able to sew in a continuous line with no breaks and I couldn’t achieve this until the hem was turned up too. Incidentally, as many of the seams were going to be pressed open inside the dress I overlocked the edges of most of them first then sewed the seam and pressed open. 

Next I pinned on the skirt starting by matching the centre front, back and side seams. Because I had no other markings now I played around with different positions for the pleats until I happy with how they looked. This will vary according to what size you’ve cut the waist but for mine I settled on 10cms each side of the CF seam for the first pleat and then the second and third pleats were a further 4 cms away from the previous one. I checked all the measurements to ensure that they were each symmetrical and well-balanced before I sewed it all together, overlocked to neaten and added another row of top stitching to the waist. 

Initially I tried to work out using my existing skirt pattern where the pleats would go but I couldn’t quite get my head around it so I chose to try it freehand in the fabric which, in the end, was a lot better.

the pins mark where I would match the pleats to the bottom of the bodice.

finished pleats!

This just left the hem length to check, I had opted for quite a long skirt length because I wanted the dress to be a fairly loose throw-on shape but not too baggy or undefined. I was happy with the length I’d plumped for so I used the triple straight stitch once again around the bottom and then down the CB seam, creating an angled line to define the facing which finished the slit opening. 

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I’m not always super-happy with everything I make (and in truth I’ve positioned the pockets a little bit low in this dress) but I can’t wait to wear this dress during the summer! I’ve only ever worn my previous Zoes with long-sleeved tops layered underneath in chilly weather so it’s a bit of a revelation to realise that the sleeves are the perfect length for a summer dress. I think the skirt shape is more interesting than just a gathered dirndl and the lime-green contrast topstitching is a bit of fun. The linen is a great weight for this too, it will be crumply but that’s part of the charm of linen fabric…I think I may have to make more of this frock!

Until next time,

Happy sewing

Sue

Simple Sew Cocoon Coat update

If you read my blog reviewing the new Simple Sew Cocoon Jacket a couple of months back then you might recall the crazy-big toile I made to start with. I didn’t want the fabric to go to waste and so eventually I went back to it to finish. Because it’s a checked fabric I had cut it carefully to match even though it was only for a toile originally. [Since writing the original blog it’s been brought to my attention that the instructions for joining the front and back pieces together are currently wrong and show the front piece being attached the wrong way up! I’ve done a little diagram below to show how it should be] I’ve realised I thought I’d misunderstood and put it together intuitively, when actually it was the instructions not me, but this isn’t very helpful to you!

This is how the diagram looks on the instruction sheet

This is how it should go together.

 

 

The original HUGE toile back in the summer.

Basically I deconstructed the whole thing by unpicking the seams so that it was the main pieces of fronts and backs again, I hadn’t put any facings on it so this process was pretty quick. Once I’d got the pieces broken down I placed the reduced size pattern pieces from which I’d made my denim version on top of the checked fabric, still matching the checks carefully, and recut them smaller. This time I cut out the facings and patch pockets too.

Then I simply made it up in exactly the same way as the denim coat, I didn’t use any decorative topstitching this time though.

I decided not to use the giant poppers for this one so I had a rummage in my button collection and found two HUGE buttons of unknown origin. This presented two problems, firstly I had to work out very precisely where the buttonholes should be sewn so that when the buttons are done up the checks on the front still match (because I’m like that!) and then I discovered that, because the button was far too large for the automatic buttonhole foot, there were actually NO instructions in the guide book for my machine on how to make a freehand outsize buttonhole. This caused me so much head-scratching! I goggled it on the interweb with no luck but then I remembered my friend Anne, who is an expert sewer, has the same machine as me so I messaged her. She agreed there were definitely no instructions (I wasn’t going nuts!) and whilst I’d have to work out the specifics for my particular buttonhole, she pointed me in the right direction and eventually I had two acceptable buttonholes. What a palaver!

 

 

Anyway, I finished it in the end and the Cocoon Coat pattern will be officially released in the next week as the free gift with Sew Now magazine and on their website so everyone will get the chance to try this very simple but stylish coat. [I noticed the website does draw your attention to the generous sizing and I strongly recommend you make a toile or tissue fit first] I’ve made both mine in woven fabrics but you could try it in boiled wool or another fabric which doesn’t need to be faced or neatened. What about a double-faced jersey cloth, perhaps with a soft fleecy side? You could add a collar, or turn-back cuffs? So may possibilities for such a simple garment.

I’ve had lots of wear from the denim coat, it’s been really versatile because it isn’t too heavy but there’s room for layers underneath when it gets a bit cooler. What will you make yours in?

Until next time,

Happy sewing

Sue

making a couple of Zierstoff Gina skirts

This is the third Zierstoff pattern I’ve made now, a Gina skirt this time, and I’m really pleased with it. The pattern is just two pieces-the skirt and the waistband, and it doesn’t take much fabric either. I chose to make it in a nice plain Ponte from Backstitch near Cambridge for a first version, there’s no stripe or pattern matching that way., sneaky eh?!

Because the fabric was plain I placed the pattern on the normal grain although if you have a stripe you could also position it on the the bias to get an interesting effect.

I’ve explained Zierstoff’s PDF method previously here and this one is no different. The one thing I’ve changed here is that the skirt is a half piece so you’re meant to ‘flip’ the pattern to get the other half. This is OK if you’re cutting the two pieces [front and back] on the fold but if not-and especially if you want it on the bias-I’d suggest you mirror it into a whole pattern either using spot-and-cross paper, tissue, Swedish Tracing paper or even newspaper.

This was my second version made using the lovely striped jersey from Fabricland in Salisbury. You can see better how I extended the pattern piece using Swedish tracing paper.

There are only two pattern pieces for this skirt (skirt and yoke) so that’s very little printing, you’ll need to cut 2 skirts and 4 of the yoke pieces. At this point I refer to the online instructions which Zierstoff provide with written and photographic plans, I don’t bother printing them off too. I’ll be honest here because I think in a couple of places the instructions suffer a little from being translated from German to English because I found them a bit muddled but seeing as I can’t speak German anyway it isn’t the end of the world-the style is so simple you can probably work it out and the photos really help anyway.

This is a skirt you can put together in no time at all if you’re working in a plain fabric (or a non-taxing pattern) it took me a little longer in these jazzy stripes but not much. Don’t forget to use a jersey, ballpoint or stretch needle if you’re sewing a knit fabric.

I pinned the first skirt piece on top of the second to match it up. Be careful not to pull the piece out of shape though, you don’t want it all wonky.

Join the skirts together at the side seams and overlock the edges (or do it all on the overlocker if you prefer) You could hem at this point too if you wish using a twin needle if you have one. Mine isn’t great and I have to swap to a different machine to do it which is a bit disruptive but it does the job and a good press generally sorts it out.

The yoke pieces are first sewn together at the side seams 2 and 2 and then joined to each other at the waist seam forming a tube.

Cut the elastic to your own waist measurement, overlap and join together. Pin and stitch it to the seam allowance on the waistband. I used a long zig zag to do this. You may need to stretch the elastic a little to fit the seam as you sew.

Stitching on the elastic. I don’t usually have my pins like this but I find it’s better for this process-just don’t sew to fast and go over them!!

Next open out the waist band and stitch through the elastic again as though you’re under stitching it. This will be on the back of the basque and not show on the finished skirt. You can see where the elastic is sewn on here too.

Zigzagging on the reverse and the smooth front.

After I’d finished sewing in the elastic the basque is folded WS together and I machine basted it together along the bottom to hold the two layers together. Simply join the basque to the skirt then and finish the hem if you didn’t do it previously.

So there it is, a super-quick and REALLY comfortable jersey skirt. Although I like this length you could easily lengthen (or shorten) it and because the basque is flat over the tummy it’s very smooth and flattering and other close fitting tops would go over it too.

All finished. I’m wearing the Sew Me Something Imogen top with it. I made this as a wearable toile in a slubbed linen-look cotton which was gifted to me, I’ve made it since their own beautiful coral soft linen fabric too and it’s beautiful-I’ve haven’t blogged about them yet though.

This is last year’s ‘refashioners’ jacket. There’s a separate blog for that here

Back view so you can see the various darts and seam lines on it.

Grey ponte version, I don’t have enough plain bottoms (!!) so this should start to fill that gap.

You could easily buy, print, stick together, cut out and sew this skirt in an evening if you put your mind to it so what are you waiting for? I was kindly provided with the pattern by Zierstoff but the fabric is my own. The opinions expressed are purely my own too. You might be interested to know the pattern comes in children’s sizes too.

Happy sewing

Sue