Ok, so I'm bad at blogs

It has been FOREVER since I last posted and I am so sorry for that. I have been mega busy these last few months. I did finish my "yellow" inspired collection and it turned out fabulous! I also created a few other things. Right now I'm working on dog coats for our local Humane Society. I found this awesome pattern on Martha Stewart's website (can be found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/doggy-coats?lnc=bb1e0f7ef140f110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=article2content_pets&rsc=related_test) I am almost finished with the first one and I will post pics as soon as I can. I have three more planned, each a bit different. I have to say, this pattern is extremely easy. And if you don't like using bias tape around the edges, there is a way to bag this pattern so you don't have to deal with them.

I figured out who it was

Here is the link to my inspirational blogger who is using yellow this year in her sewing:

http://sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/

She is an experienced sewer and I love reading her posts. Check it out!

PICTURES!!!!

Yay! I finally have pictures to share!

First up is the jacket I attempted to modify -- the pattern turned out very well... it was the stupid fabric that drove me crazy.

First picture is the scratches that were in the fabric. By the way, I realized that it wasn't my fault the scratches were there. I originally thought that I had inadvertently pulled the fabric across a piece of masking tape on the edge of my table. But this was not the case at all. The fabric, it turned out, was riddled with long scratches all over the material. I never noticed it, of course, until.... I had already sewn half of it together. That's what I get for cutting out a new project at night, I guess. I ended up lining the entire jacket with self fabric because the scratches were on the front and the yoke on the back. I recut the pieces I needed and used the original facing pieces as my jacket pieces... putting everything together as needed. It worked out well, for the most part.

However, part two of my problems was the fabric -- peachskin polyester. I will not.... WILL NOT... ever use this fabric again. Except perhaps as a lining fabric.... MAYBE. This fabric was awful to work with. It is worse than acetate or satin. Not only did it fray, but no matter how much I lowered the tension on my sewing machine, it STILL puckered when I sewed it.

First up, here are some of the scratches I found:

The material appears orange here because of my flash and because I worked the image so the scratches show a little better. If any of you have worked with peachskin before you will know the type of nap/shine it has going in one direction. This is probably how I missed it the first time. These scratches were found in about 8 different places all over the fabric.

Ok, so after I reworked the jacket to ensure it was fully lined, then I had to deal with the problem of sewing this kind of fabric. It sewed up terribly!

The next picture is the fabric puckering on the front of the jacket after I finished topstitching it with a -3 tension (the lowest I can go on my Singer):

It is a bit wrinkled from being stuck back on the shelf for three days after I got frustrated with it and began another project.... oopsie.... but you can still see how it puckered around the edging where I topstitched the edges. It was awful!

Here is the pattern I was working from:

Now, I hate, hate, hate admitting that I may be wrong about something..... (who does?), but, while this fabric is awful to work with, I have finally come to the conclusion, after thinking about for several days... that perhaps the fabric wasn't THAAAAT bad. Perhaps it is my MACHINE that is awful. I did purchase it at Wally World, after all, and we all know that sometimes companies will create a product specifically designed FOR Wally World... and said product is sometimes, well, not the same as the regular product that is sold elsewhere (case in point is their HP computers and Dell computers -- those bundled packages for such a GREAT price are made specifically for Wally World and no place else on the planet). So, anyway, I am going to play around with the fabric again (not the jacket, it is a lost cause because the topstitching cannot be pulled out without ruining the fabric, unfortunately.... I tried), but my scraps. I have over a yard left, too, so I think I will play around with different stitches and see exactly if it might be the fact that my machine won't allow a lot of tension adjustments. It will only allow adjustment for the top tension, not the bottom and the feed dogs can't be adjusted at all. Maybe it is the machine and not the fabric. I may have to begin saving up for a better machine, even though I paid around $180 for it.

Ok, on to funner things (is that a word?) ---

Here is the project I stopped the jacket for:

I purchased a blouse from C.J.Banks (my absolute favorite clothing store of all time) a few months ago that I absolutely LOVE to wear. I wanted to duplicate it with other colors and fabrics so I found this pattern and modified it accordingly. The blouse is almost done and then I believe I will make one more in another color before I move on to my sunshine yellow linen wardrobe projects. Here is the blouse so far. The neckline needed adjusting because the pattern was actually cut very short (more like a juniors), so I added 2 inches to the top all the way around (raglan style sleeves on this, so it was fairly easy). Then I added two inches to the bottom and took out the rounded bottom, straightening it up. I also put in a bit of a rounded back adjustment and also widened the bottom so it would flare nicely. I plan on smocking the top section a little bit (maybe) and then adding a tie string that goes from the sides to tie in the back. This should add a bit of interest and waist definition. I wanted to add something around the neckline, but didn't want to add ruffles or anything too frilly because the pattern is overwhelming enough. I thought about a bow, but I'm not sure. I figured I'd play after I get it together.

Then, for the coup de grâce ----

This is the wardrobe I want to make with the sunshine yellow linen, the pastel striped linen, and the pale yellow cream lace. Let me know what everyone thinks. It will be mix and match. I'm not sure which should be which, but because of one of the other sewing bloggers who is making a lot of items in yellow this summer, I was inspired. I don't have the link to the blog right now, otherwise I'd say who it was (it is on my other computer) and right now I can't decide between 2 possibles....

Here is the selection of fabric I chose:

It looks a bit more yellow than it really is, I think because of the lighting. If you notice the pattern picture above, also looks a bit yellow, so I think that is what happened.

I hope these look good together. I will have to modify the patterns a little for things like rounded back, etc., but I am getting to be a pro at it now since I bought that Fit for Real People book. I highly suggest it if you have problems with fitting your patterns to your body shape.

Well, that's all for right now. I will update as needed in the next few days as I finish the blouse. Sorry for the long post! And sorry for having to wait for pictures!! Have a wonderful weekend all!

Free patterns

A quick post to let everyone know where to get a few free patterns. You give them your name and email address and they email you directions on how to print the pattern. There are a few McCall's patterns in the selection. Most of them are dresses. I think they switch them around once in a while, too, so check back every once in a while.

Click here to go to Sewing Patterns

Yes, I know it is the weekend and I am working on getting my pics on here. I spent the day sewing yesterday. I can't wait to finish that jacket I am making. I will post the pics later today....so check back!

profile change

I noticed after my last post that I will now have to edit my profile with the following changes:

Instead of 22 chickens, we now have 21. -- A fox killed one of our favorite chickens the other night. Poor Dotty, she was so sweet!

Also, instead of 10 cats we now have 8. Eighteen year old Troi died two weeks ago from a tumor under her tongue. And sweet, French kitty Pierre died four days ago from pulmonary edema due to a tumor near his heart. He was only 11, but had a long history of severe health problems.

I cried for two days over Pierre this week. It has been a rough one. I will now go edit my profile..... let's hope this is the end of the deaths around here. I don't think I can take much more!

Decisions...

After reading the book I was talking about in my last post
(Click here to read it), I decided to continue working on the easier, out of print pattern for a simpler jacket. I still used the book to make a few alterations, though, and they worked like a charm!

1. I moved the shoulder dot forward (shoulder roll), took some of the sleeve cap off the back (about 3/8") and added it to the front of the cap.

2. I widened the back yoke to accomodate my rounded back.

3. I took 1 inch off the side seams accross the waist area to make it more of an hourglass shape on the sides.

I know I have yet to post any pictures, and I sincerely apologize. My stupid computer SD slot is not working and I haven't had time to mess around with it so I can post actual pictures of my creations. I promise, promise, promise to get them up by this weekend!

One thing I did discover while working with my peachskin polyester fabric --- never, ever, ever, ever purchase slinky polyester for less than $10 a yard again. It was such a gorgeous red and it was so nice when draped over my arm... however... this type of peachskin poly is completely ruined when you accidentally scratch it with anything harder than your fingertip. I ruined two pieces of it already by dragging it on the corner of my sewing table (which, by the way, is taped off and covered so it is completely smooth). I now have to use some of the original pieces as the lining and recut my back piece. Good thing I bought 5 yards of this crap! I WAS going to make a skirt to match, but I'll be lucky to get the jacket made without ruining it and swearing like a truck driver whenever it touches something. I'll post pictures of the color and the scratches this weekend, too, I promise!

If anyone knows of any help with this type of fabric, let me know. I tried wetting the scratches, but to no avail. I also tried a soft brush to perhaps try to brush them out, thinking that maybe they were like the shine you get with ironing. Nope. Nada. Zip.

I look forward to my next project, that is for sure --- pale, sunflower yellow linen and pastel stripes linen --- a complete wardrobe to mix/match. Dress, jacket, shell, and pants. Oohhh, I can't wait to start on them!

Ok, so I gave up for a while...

I got so frustrated with that jacket I was working on, I gave up for several days and decided to make a different jacket, an out of print mccalls that is not as fitted and has only a few pieces. Feeling very inadequate, I went to shopping this week and actually ended up finding the book "Fit for Real People" http://www.amazon.com/Fit-Real-People-Clothes-Pattern/dp/0935278435 by Palmer and Pletsch, the two women who actually created the pattern I was so frustrated with!

To make a long story short, I bought the book after looking through it and realizing that not all of the possible alterations had been given on their pattern and there are two specific problems I have:

1. As a plus size, I have larger arms, but even though I made a change to the pattern for my bigger arm circumference, I should have thought to raise the sleeve cap on the sleeve pattern. It isn't deep enough and when I raised my arms on the toile I made, it pulled across the front and I felt like I couldn't lift my arm all the way. (That SHOULD have been clue 1)

2. I had made the slightly rounded back alteration. As a teacher and previous secretary and bank teller, I have worked with computers and at a desk for many years. However, I didn't think to rotate the arm hole on the pattern. I believe this is actually my biggest problem and after I make the change (on my 3rd toile!) I hope beyond words that it fits correctly.

If anyone else has any other suggestions for me, I'd be happy to try anything because I love, love, love this pattern, but I will be forced to give it up if I can't make the proper alterations. Like I said, that only problem I have now is that the arm isn't fitting well and pulls horizontal creases across my upper chest if I lift my arm while wearing it. Of course, I could just walk around without raising my arms, but what if I need to hail a taxi or something....?

No pictures

Ok. So I lied. I wasn't able to post my pics of my linen pants. Unfortunately, my computer's SD card slot isn't working and I can't get the pics off of my digital camera. Grrr. It is frustrating to say the least. I will get pics up as soon as possible. I swear.

On a sewing note -- after finishing the linen pants, I made a crinkled cotton pair of pants from the same pattern I created, and now I'm working on a McCall's pattern M5597( http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5597.htm?tab=sportswear_suits_jackets_coats&page=2 ) I'm almost done with the toile, after having to make several adjustments to the back, sleeves, and front bust dart. The pattern is really nice, but the sizing, even for a fitted pattern, seems to run about a size too small. And, if you have a bust larger than about 38, don't bother using the size 20 or 22. You will probably have to rework the pattern like I did.

Sew much fabric sew little time

I began sewing when I was much younger, but gave it up when I became too busy with life. The last two years, however, I realized that I needed to make time for the little things in life that I enjoy "sew" much! Sewing was one of them. I'm a teacher, though, with a son, and I haven't had much time to teach myself the techniques and skills I want. The last few months have been dedicated to doing just this.

Just this month I created my own "made to fit" pants pattern and with it I finished my first pair of linen wide-leg pants. I hand stitched everything before finishing it on the machine. I am so thrilled with the details I put into it. Being a plus size (pattern size 22, ready-to-wear size 18), it has always been very hard to find pants that fit well. I'm also very short (5' 4") so this made it even more difficult.

Tomorrow I'll post a picture of them on me. This weekend I'm just finishing up another pair of the pants, this time in light blue crinkle cotton. Then it is time to start my business suit. I am looking for a new teaching position and I need something to wear during interviews (hopefully I get some!). I chose a silky polyester in cranberry red. The pattern I chose is McCalls M5597 (you can see it here: http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5597.htm?tab=sportswear_suits_jackets_coats&page=2 ). I should have the pattern cut and ready to be pinned on to the dress form by Sunday (if I don't spend the weekend outside or going to see Terminator -- last weekend I saw Star Trek , awesome, by the way!). I've never done a lined jacket before so this ought to be interesting! I will keep you all posted (with pics, too) as I progress through it. Wish me luck!