A Sewing Life

Triple Test: French darts, Burda 7287 and Modal Knit

2012-02-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

Today was an exciting day in the sewing room, as I was in test mode. I'm coming to understand that I prefer exploration to straight production (which would certainly explain why I wasn't quite content during my recent drapery workroom venture). Continually seeking out new questions and their answers is not the path to perfect technical skill or speed, but it does seem to be a pretty good formula for making me feel happy.

Long have I read about the mysterious properties of french darts. Here is a pithy definition from Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing: "French darts, as you may know, are diagonal darts side seam darts that start a couple inches above the waist and end near the apex of the bust." I've always thought of french darts as also being curved, though I'm not sure whether that's part of the technical definition or not.

So I've wondered: can French darts improve the fit of my t-shirts? And, perhaps more to the, cough, point, can I mark and sew them properly in a knit?

Burda 7287 has been in my consciousness since it came out in the fall. One thing I've noticed recently, and to my dismay, is that I have been sewing wool knit dresses and then NEVER WEARING THEM. In summer I live in dresses, but this winter it is just not happening. When I stand in front of the closet and try to figure out how to pile on enough layers to stay warm, plus tights and boots or flat shoes...well, it just seems too complicated. How can this be, as I've always felt the advantage of dresses is their simplicity? It probably boils down to footwear: I am not willing to accept any tiny degree of discomfort any longer. So pants it is for now.

Back to Burda 7287: I realized I can shorten it to a top length! How revolutionary yet totally obvious! Then I can try out the french darts and also the lovely high round neck (warm).

The third testing factor: a modal knit from FabricMart. I can share this with you because they have lots!

If this garment is successful I will be buying more of this knit in the brown, the sand, the white and the navy. It is wonderfully, delightfully soft. Like those bamboo knits. Which I hate because they are also limp and droopy and saggy. So I decided to buy one yard of the modal to test. I have prewashed it once and it did great. Now I plan to sew it up and then wear it hard for a week, ideally with multiple washings. That seems to be the only way to know whether a knit will give good service. I just can't pamper a t-shirt.

From my one yard I got the t-shirt (which I hope to show you tomorrow) and also a pair of underwear. The undies are heavenly!! I do so hope that this fabric works out. It would be great to stock up on a hardwearing basic knit. Especially if FabricMart has a terrific sale (hint, hint).

Kwik Sew 3693: Something I Like, But Not A Whole Lot

2012-02-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

Pattern Description:

Open front cardigan with no closures. View A has angled hems and no pockets, View B has pockets and a hood. I made View A.

Pattern Sizing:

XS through XL

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

It looked like the pattern envelope photo, which was good in terms of Kwik Sew doing a good job of depicting their product, but maybe not quite so good in terms of being rather bland.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Excellent instructions. As usual, Kwik Sew does not overcomplicate things. Unlike some other waterfall-type cardigans, the neck and shoulder construction was straightforward, well-explained and unfiddly. The construction of the pointed tips of the angled fronts was also easy and perfectly illustrated.

Great tip for creating fusible stay tape
Sorry I can't seem to link only to the post on making fusible tape, but Pam Erny featured a great way to use her Pro-Weft fusible, torn into strips on the crossgrain, as a tape. I happened to have some of this interfacing on hand and it worked great! I have a three step process: 1. Before sewing the front points, but after sewing the side seams, press up a 2" hem all around the fronts and back. 2. Serge the fusible tape to the wrong side of the hem, fusible side up. With Pam's method, you can make any width of fusible tape. I made mine about 3/4" wide--not the whole depth of the hem, just enough to stabilize the stitched edge. Stitch the front point miters and press that short seam open carefully. 3. Press the hem into place. Topstitch. On the brown knit, I used a twin needle. On the boiled wool, I used my industrial edgestitch foot to just catch the inner edge of the hem.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Really like that it is so easy and quick. Also, it is warm and comfortable. The high neck and generous front overlap make it a cozy garment when made in a warm fabric.

Fabric Used:

The brown and gold stripe is a poly lycra knit from Hancocks. It has a bit of a crepe texture. Although it was inexpensive and it certainly isn't warm, it feels pretty good to wear and it was very easy to sew. I have been very inspired by many of the recent stripe trends, but I find it a bit challenging to find stripes in good colors for me. The very graphic black and white stripes (which I love the looks of) seem too harsh for my coloring. So I have been on the search for lower contrast stripes. I bought two yards of this 60" wide knit and I have enough left over to make a camisole to wear with the jacket.

I could have done a better job with matching the stripes at both the side seams and on the sleeves. I need more stripe layout experience, it appears!

The second version is in a fairly stiff, but surprisingly light in weight, boiled wool knit bought from FabricMart two years ago. I think I also got some in burgundy, which I enjoyed wearing in a different sweater style but which did not flatter me! I had in mind to make this fabric into a more structured jacket, but then I wondered if it would have a kind of Eileen Fisher vibe in this simple shape. I guess it does, somewhat.

The navy wool version really is warm. A little scratchy around the top of the neck just at my hairline, but I can wear it with a mock turtleneck for cold days at home to eliminate that problem.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I didn't change much. I cut out an XS, then removed 3/8" at each of the following places:
-Top of back armhole (tapering to original seamline by midway down the armscye)
- Top of front armhole (tapering to original seamline by midway down the armscye)
- Inner edge of back neck (redrawing curve)
- Inner edge of front shoulder
- Center back neck seam

Basically, I reduced the neck and shoulder area by another size, creating an XXS. No need to do that through the torso and hip area, I'm afraid!

I also shortened the sleeve slightly.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I'm not sure. It is a nice, useful, quick and comfortable garment. But I'm not sure the angled front idea suits me too well. I am small in the shoulders but larger through the waist and hips. What's more, I am bigger front to back. That is, I have a "deep" figure. I am not sure this shape, with its trapeze-like projection to the front, is such a great idea for me. But I might try the other version, leaving off the hood. Maybe straight fronts would work better. And I would love the pockets!

Conclusion:

I like these two jackets and I know I will wear them, but the shape isn't my favorite. Nonetheless, a well-conceived and executed pattern from Kwik Sew.

Simplicity 4032, Russian Princess Inspired

2012-02-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

Shams of Communing With Fabric provided all the inspiration for this project: fabric, trim, general shape. Shamelessly copying her choice of a shoulder princess cut, I decided Simplicity 4032 would make a good starting point for my rip off.

The wonderful fabric, a treasure from FabricMart Fabrics, is a poly fleece with a sculptured design. Per Shams, I decided to use the fabric's selvedge as a matching trim. This stroke of genius, which I would never have thought of, really elevates this garment.

Pattern Description:
Unlined jackets with front shoulder princess seams and neckline and trim options. View E shows a vest; other views have long sleeves, which feature a well-placed elbow dart.

Pattern Sizing:
8-16. How I wish this went down to a 6. I took out oodles of width across the chest!

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
My jacket is more of a sweater coat, as I lengthened View B by 11". Also, the printed fleece I used gives a different appearance than the solids shown on the pattern envelope.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
As I recall, the instructions were fine.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I think the drafting of this pattern is superb. I was surprised by how much I liked the shaping, the sleeve cap, the elbow dart and the nicely curved collar. The pattern also seems extremely versatile. The fabric notes say that regular wovens can be used, and other reviewers here have shown some great versions in wovens. I want to try a woven version soon!.

Fabric Used:
Fabulous sculpted fleece from FabricMart Fabrics. I had been admiring this fabric, but then I saw what Shams at Communing With Fabric had done with it, I had to copy her ideas.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Hmmm, quite a lot. Some of which I can quantify, others of which I can't. First of all I tried to grade this down to about a size six by reducing the princess seams about 1/2" from the shoulder through the bust point. Nice try, but not nearly enough. I think I also narrowed the shoulders at the armhole. I did a swayback tuck of about 1" at the center back (tapered to nothing at the side seams) and added the 1" back at the hem. Lengthened the pattern 11" to make it a sweater coat length. Used a shiny satin for the undercollar and front facing, interfaced with Sew Exciting ProWeft Fusible.

Per Shams, I cut off and used the fabric selvedge as trim for the collar and cuffs. This design change, which I would never have thought of on my own, makes the garment and has gotten so many compliments.

So, I loved the coat when it was done, but it was truly enormous in the upper body. I pinned out the excess and literally took 1" off each side of the princess seams through the waist. I had to add a shoulder dart to match that decrease on the back. After taking it in and reattaching the facings, the shoulders sit on my shoulders and the fit is comfortable and flattering. Oh, I think I also took in the center back neck seam somewhat, too.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Planning to sew it again for sure. I have been working on finalizing my alterations in the pattern tissue, but I don't want to chop off too much. Looking forward to using a woven wool next time, probably with the flounce in view D.

Conclusion:
Well, gosh, I love this sweater coat so much, and I wear it at least three times a week. It is warm, it is comfortable and it has all of "my" wardrobe colors for the fall and winter. I absolutely love it and it is one of my top projects...ever!

My advice: shamelessly copy Shams. She will not lead you wrong!

New camera, meet New Look 6071

2011-12-31T15:05:00.000-08:00

Somehow I convinced myself that a Canon Rebel EOS T3i is essential to my consulting work in the coming year. Well, it is true that I will be photographing pretty much the entire inventory of The House of Fabrics in preparation for creating a new website for them, so I guess it wasn't an enormous stretch.

These photos are from my husband, who is a good photographer but not a good fashion photographer. The camera still makes them look pretty good. Excited!!!

New Look 6071 is part of the Fall 2011 collection. It's a criss-cross design with a slight empire effect.

Funny facial expression below. The fabric is an ITY polyester knit from FabricMart. This was part of an order from one of their recent 30% off sales. After the discount, I think the fabric must have been about $5.50 per yard. I liked the russet tone of this brown. It's a little brighter than the more common dark brown.

Here's a better view of the neckline. New Look's instructions for constructing this crossover were very clear and un-hard. The only thing that I would do differently (and did in fact pull out and do differently this time) from their instructions is to tack the center fullness after attaching the crossover pieces at the sides. If you do the center first, it's very hard to judge how much fullness to pull through the slot for the pieces to drape nicely.

A problem with New Look for me is that so many of their patterns start at size 10, and that is too big. This one started at 8, which worked out fine, but I would have preferred to have the six for the shoulder and neck area. I tapered to the 10 below the waist. Other adjustments included narrowing the sleeve by 3/4" on either side at the wrist (tapered to the original seam line at the elbow), shortening the sleeve 1", taking a 1" swayback tuck at the back waist and then adding 1" to the center back hemline (tapering to nothing at the sides). I think that's all! On my next version, I plan to remove about 1/2" on either side of the back neck seam to tighten up the neck area.

Oh, and of course this dress is far too low cut to wear sans camisole. I made a little matching one using Kwik Sew 3115. This was the first time I had used the camisole pattern from this envelope, and I was unsure about the size. I knew the circumference of the XS would be tiny, but I was worried about the width of the chest. Went with the XS. There is a shelf bra in this pattern. Ha ha ha. I had to cut that right out--it was way too tiny and tight. But the width of the chest was still actually too wide from arm pit to arm pit. Next time I will reduce that 1/2" on each side...and then add some room through the waist. And a whole lot of length (like, 3") to the bra component, if I use it.

A Fellowship Cloak

2011-12-27T03:55:00.000-08:00

There wasn't a great deal of right-up-to-the-last-minute Christmas sewing this year (though if there had been the pajama situation would be improved), but the important thing got made. That's five yards of Shetland wool fabric from Fabric Mart.

My first attempt, based on my own interpretation of how such a cloak ought to be made, was a failure. Off to the internet, which I should have consulted first. The wonderful instructions here did the trick and had me slapping my forehead at my ill-conceived original approach. The cloak is cut in a huge half-circle, with the front edges on the selvedge, and a circular hole cut out for the neck. The long pointy hood is constructed from four kite-shaped pieces.

During the sewing, I had to keep trying it on, as swirling about the room was so much fun. The amazing qualities of the bias are very much at work in this simple garment.

New Feature at Fabric.com

2011-08-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

Will they never stop expanding their online fabric juggernaut of good service, free shipping, low pricing and fun features? Hope not.

Just discovered their Fall 2011 trend report; it's a compilation of current color trends, textures and patterns drawn from their vast website. I loved browsing this page, especially the Teal grouping. Of course I could have done a search on "teal" in the search box, but I didn't think of it. Thank you, internet-replacement-of-my-mind.

Though feature-laden and innovative, Fabric.com is often endearingly dorky. Just take a look at their blog for abundant evidence. The project selection and outcomes are all over the map! And I really like that. Sometimes the very high level of taste, technical execution and photography exhibited in the blogosphere can be daunting (for me at least). No fear of that at Fabric.com--it's very accessible.

Now that I have a sewing-related business, I recommend Fabric.com all the time to customers looking for upholstery and drapery fabric. They have turned me into a raving fan (and significant purchaser in my own right). This adoring testimonial kind of makes me feel uneasy (as in, do I really like them this much?), but there you have it.

Oh, to balance things out, some of their rayon knits--which have such cute prints I could die--are horrible and not worth sewing or stashing. But then again there is the return policy.

From the Attic, August 24, 2011

2011-08-24T12:35:00.001-07:00

From the Attic, August 24, 2011, a set on Flickr.

More wardrobe musings, and seasonal closet changeover! I pulled some things out of the attic to continue the process of clarifying what I have and what I need to have for the fall and winter.

Note to self: need new charcoal gray tights! And probably brown, too, while you are at it.

Anyone have good recommendations for warm, durable, comfortable brands of tights? Could be wool, could be cotton. I am just 5'2", and getting a good fit has been challenging.

Hmm, I thought my whole Flickr set would show up, but I guess not. Any suggestions for making a photo grid using an online program?

Fall/Winter Wardrobe Thoughts

2011-08-23T18:27:00.000-07:00

If what I wear can be called a wardrobe...

Sometimes it seems far too much of a mishmash to be worthy of such a term. My closet contains items left over from my professional days in Boston (now six years ago), things I have made and things either handed down to me or thrifted. For some years now there has not been much "shopping for basics".

That's not a bad thing; I'm thrilled to have the luxury of time and space to sew and thrift! Shopping in retail stores is super-boring, and shopping online is a real shot in the dark in terms of liking/sizing.

Speaking of which, check out my new thrifted brown velveteen jumper!

Another lucky, lucky part of my recent wardrobe history is that my sweet mother has taken me shopping for the one thing I can't make--yet--shoes. My feet are trouble, and they demand the best.

But I've been doing some thinking about how I need to do some thinking. I pulled out some fabrics today. Here are two of the many of them:

Green ("iguana") wool jersey from Fabric.com, 3 yards.

Gray wool jersey from Fabric.com, two yards.

I'm excited about these two knits. Too excited, as I am paralyzed with indecision about how best to use them.

So I'm brainstorming here.

What do I wear in summer?

Preferentially dresses
Skirts with woven or knit tops (usually pull-over wovens rather than button-up blouses)
Rarely pants
Almost never shorts

What do I wear as soon as there is a tiny hint of chill in the air?

Jeans with tops, cardigans, pullover sweaters and sweater jackets
Dresses with layers of long underwear and/or tights below and cardigans on top
Less frequently skirts, as getting all of the pieces and layers working together is hard
Infrequently, tailored jackets (of which I have quite a few left over from Boston)
My tan cashmere 3/4 length coat made two years ago
Boots!!

Colorwise, as I settle into my forties, I think I need to reduce the overall contrast and brightness of my color palette. Black, red, pink and bright blue were probably never great colors for me, but now I have to go all out with makeup, accessories and frequent hair colorings to keep these strong hues from washing me out. So although I've long intended to move more in the brown direction, I need to get serious about it. Must. stop. relying. on. black.

What is worn out (or missing altogether) and in need of replacing?

Jeans
Long sweater coats and cozy cardigans
Brown bag
Brown low heeled boots
"Color columns" in durable, washable medium warm brown and toasty caramel knits
What is in the color column? Not sure; is it a sleeved knit top and leggings or top and knit pant or top and full skirt?
Note to self: you rarely end up wearing knit pants or gathered waist skirts
Color columns to be topped with sweaters, cardigans and maybe jumpers

Additional dilemma: the color gray. I love gray. Actually, I love it much more than black. But when I see myself in photographs wearing gray, I generally think it looks sad and dreary and, dare I say it, frumpy.

But I love it and want to wear it and don't dislike it in the mirror on me. So I don't know. Maybe if I pair it with a warm color like toasty brown? With a bright color there is too much contrast.

I also created a Pinterest board to collect some fabrics and (it is to be hoped) other ideas from around the web.

This is all being very helpful. I think. Tomorrow I am going to pull the fall and winter clothes down from the attic and do more thinking/list making/photographing/planning/playing with Pinterest.

But I have the feeling it's all going to come down to new jeans and some fresh tops and sweaters.

New Look 6901

2011-08-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

New Look 6901, a cowl neck top and flounce skirt for knits, has been a successful pattern for me and quite a few customers of the fabric shop where I work. A testament to the pattern: I wore it today and we sold two more patterns and fabric for two tops!

High atop the fitting stand in the "bridal room" of the shop. These shoes are from Gentlesouls and no, I did not wear them all day. The fabric is a slinky knit originally manufactured by Chicos. Even though we had three bolts, it has since all sold out.

A closer view of the top. I made the smallest size at the neck and shoulders (I think it was the 8) and still did an additional 3/4" narrow shoulder adjustment. I added a weight to the center of the cowl on the inside. I used a metal ring left over from bag making, tucked into a little self-fabric pouch. I often put the weight inside the front of my bra, which holds the top against my chest and prevents any exposure. Also, I extended the short sleeve pattern to just below the elbow. The sleeve and lower hems are left raw, which works wonderfully in this fabric. No bulk and very comfortable to wear.

The 6901 top with a rayon skirt from a very similar pattern (Kwik Sew 3032).

More Little Shoes

2011-08-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

Because they are really fun, and I might just keep on making them!

For our new little friend Eleanor.

For a friend-yet-to-be. I struggled to draw a template for oak leaves, then realized there was an oak tree just a few steps away. Traced directly from nature!

Simple Yet Effective: Kwik Sew 3032 Skirt

2011-08-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Kwik Sew 3032 was used for these two skirts, but lots of other patterns share the same basic shape. New Look 6901 is another (and the one I've used in my sewing classes). The New Look flounce is a little bit fuller and flouncier. The Kwik Sew is more understated.

The basic features of this skirt are a straight upper section with a very slight flare, a circular flounce and an elastic waist with a casing. The wonderful Van Gogh Rayon Challis has just popped up on fabric.com--it sold out from the fabric store where I work, Asheville's House of Fabrics. I wasn't sure how this print would work until a teen customer made a skirt just like this--only much, much shorter--in a skirt-making class. Obviously, she inspired me. This version went to one of my son's teachers, Katherine, who has amazing blue eyes and wears blue beautifully.

On the same day of making, I cranked out two of this white on black rayon swirl skirt: one for me and one for my son's other terrific teacher, Kelly. Not shown from the same day's production is a fourth skirt in two cotton prints.

You see what I'm getting at here: fast and easy. And not only that, but also comfortable, flattering and easy to fit. I had no fitting information on my son's teachers other than seeing them every day, and they are not the same size and shape. Even so, they immediately put their new skirts on and, according to my son, wore them the rest of the day. Folks I've had make this in sewing classes have all looked good in their finished skirts. It's a winner.

Other thoughts: for the two skirts shown, I used 1/2" double fold pre-made bias tape for the elastic casing, just to give a different look to the waistband. That was fine, but maybe not a huge difference over turning down a casing at the top edge. Also, rayon challis is a lovely fabric for these skirts. Then again, so are many different knits. I've made two in black slinky knit (one a store sample, one for my mom) and one in a cotton/lycra knit (also for my mom).

The hems on these are a rolled-edge serger hem. Fast, flowy and attractive.

Works for me.

Silk Pillows: Interlining Required!

2011-08-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

My workroom client Kim loves silk dupioni, and she seems to want some of it in every room of her house. Her latest addition is three large, bright dupioni pillows with a small, 3/4" flange. My pictures (taken in overly bright sun, as the pillows were headed from my home studio to her home) don't do the silk justice, but I know you know how appealing these silks are. One of Kim's pillows is pink, one is glowing orange and the third is reversible from pink to orange. She brought me some excellent quality down-and-feather forms that really fill out the pillow covers beautifully.

Though the tensile strength of each individual silk fiber is enormous, dupioni, with its slubs and variations, is anything but rugged. Recently, as I browsed in Waechter's Silk Shop, another customer showed a staff person in the store a dupioni duvet cover that had shredded along its entire width. The fabricator of this cover had used velcro as a closure without stabilizing the silk at all. After a few uses, the silk fibers pulled apart and the cover was in a sad state.

So dupioni requires stabilization. Yet fusible interfacing changes the character and texture of this cloth, and not in a good way. I like to use an interlining of firmly-woven cotton, such as drapery lining (though it could really be anything that is stable and does not show through to the face of the fabric).

Basting interlining to your face fabric is simple, but it can so easily go awry! Pinning both at the edges and at the center and center area is always necessary for good results, in my experience.

Once things are well-pinned, I use the serger to baste the two layers together. A three-thread stitch works fine, since this seam will eventually be totally enclosed by the flange. Actually, even if it were not enclosed, a three-thread finish would still be just as good as four. I leave the center area pins in place until the pillow is complete, to be completely sure that the layers remain flat and behave as one piece of cloth. Sometimes I have used a temporary quilt basting spray (like 505), but mostly I tend to think that pins are just as easy and certainly less toxic.

Interlined sections, right sides together, with zipper inserted, and ready to be joined.

After pressing the seams open and turning the cover right side out, the flange is sewn. Without a walking foot things could shift around. If I didn't have one, I would pin the layers together (can you believe the overkill?) even though the first seam has already been sewn.

Lapped zipper at the bottom edge of the pillow.

Luckily my client does not have rowdy kids, and her dogs are well-behaved. These pillows should give good service in her peaceful home, but they will still be vulnerable to fading from strong sun and also to surface wear as time goes on. I'm glad to know the silk is well-supported and that the seams will not give way under the minor stresses of opening and closing the zipper and folks leaning against them on the furniture.

Two Dollar Jacket Becomes...

2011-08-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

Shoes for Lila Elizabeth, my new second cousin.

Shoes for Nash Alexander, my other new second cousin.

Shoes for me, less cute.

A flute case for my mom's new native American instrument.

Naturally, I neglected to get a before photo--someday I will learn, but it doesn't look like it will be anytime soon. But the jacket in question came from a smashing yard sale. Somehow I passed it up the first day of the sale, then kept thinking about it, then thought how crazy I was being over $2. Really it wasn't the two dollars, it was more the fear of buying piles of great stuff for making great stuff and then not doing it and feeling overwhelmed by all the great stuff sitting around and yet to be made.

But I decided to risk it, and then promptly dived in. The erstwhile jacket: suede, a really nice color of green, about a size 12, princess seams, antique brass snaps up the front, lined. Even though it was too big for me, I worried that I might find it hard to chop it up when the time came. Another fear conquered.

The baby shoes are from this free pattern at Tacky Living. I liked the nice drafting and clear instructions. My only quibble was that the lining did not enclose the raw edges on the inside of the shoe. Now, I don't know how it would, but I wish that it would. Perhaps I will try some other patterns to see if they address this issue. I actually made the girl pair with the ribbon trim second, and those I didn't line. I'm just as happy with the unlined pair if not more so.

Having become swept up in the barefoot walking/minimal shoe/generally primal movement, I also wanted to make a pair of soft shoes for myself using this same concept. I made an earlier prototype, using mostly just my foot as a guide, last week. For this pair, I hoped to scale up the Tacky Living pattern and refine the results. Well, I still have a way to go. They are okay but definitely can be better. I took them for a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon, and found that I had skewed the vamp of the right shoe, making it roll under the inner edge of my foot as I walked. Not so good.

Here we see them on my feet. Does it get any sexier?

Quite a few small scraps, plus most of the front snap placket still remain from the two dollar jacket. Pretty good value so far!

Anna Maria to Zebra

2011-01-25T08:17:00.000-08:00

Some cherished fabrics from Anna Maria Horner and Echino combined with Kwik Sew 3749 to make bags for some dear ones.

I would love to have kept all of these, but especially the last one, the Echino zebra and deer print. I had one yard of this fantastical fabric, and I wanted to get two bags out of it. To squeeze the pieces side by side across the printed border, I used the lining pattern for the face of the bag as well as the lining. By eliminating the pleats from the panel, I was able to make more efficient use of this special fabric, and I think I preferred showing the fabric flat in this case as well. The contrast velvet is a remnant from a client project: fabulous, huge, down-filled, purple velvet pillows. The tiny fringe trim you see between the cuff and the body of the bag is the selvedge from the velvet dot fabric.

The pattern is a peach. Straightforward, perfectly drafted and a great canvas for all sorts of alterations and extra features. The separate panels for the cuff and the side panels provide opportunities for using contrasting fabrics or different portions of a printed design. On the blue Anna Maria Horner fabric, the print has columns of a floral design alternating with columns of dots. I like the way this bag design allows us to relate the features of the print to the structure of the bag. I wish my photo illustrated this point more clearly!

Inside the bags I ramped up the pockets a bit from the pattern suggestions. Instead of one big pocket, I placed a separate cell phone pocket in the side panel of the lining and then a large divided pocket on the inside of the main panel. I also added a key loop. One of the recipients has commented on how she enjoys the pencil slots sewn inside the large pocket. I find all the little details in bag sewing to be, quite honestly, tedious, but there's no denying that the user really appreciates them.

In total I made six of these bags. They would be quicker if not for the curved seam sections and the interior details, but still I found them rather quick. Maybe about three hours from cutting to finish? If you are able to use a heavy upholstery fabric for the exterior, you will probably be able to do away with the interfacing, which saves a good bit of time. Some of my bags required interfacing, some did not.

Oh, I almost forgot! The pattern doesn't say much about pressing your seams open as you go. Skip this step to the detriment of the finished appearance of the bag. I tried it both ways and pressing made, as always, a quantum difference.

Coffee Sacks for the Home

2010-11-11T14:46:00.001-08:00

Burlap Buckets
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

Well, I'm not really suggesting that you run right out to find some coffee sacks. This fabric gives you splinters, emits noxious fumes and makes a terrible mess of your sewing room.

But it does look so cool when it's all sewn up into, in this case, a kindling basket and a large shopping tote.

Marimekko Wall Hanging

2010-11-11T14:43:00.001-08:00

Marimekko Wall Hanging
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

My husband and I treated ourselves to this wonderful piece of Marimekko fabric for Christmas in, oh, 2007 or 2008. It took us a couple of years to get it on the wall after that!

First Eric built a frame from 1" x 2" lumber. Then we covered the frame with drapery interlining (think thick, napped and natural in color). Without padding the frame, we could see it through the face fabric. Then we carefully stretched and stapled the piece. Definitely a two-person operation.

I have loved living with this bold graphic, and I'm eager to make more fabric art.

Ikea's Fabric, Let's Face It, Rocks

2010-11-11T14:36:00.001-08:00

01-2010 Ikea Black 1 of 2
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

And it doesn't need much more than some swirly free-motion quilting to make it into a fine pillow.

Can't Get Enough Ball Fringe, Ever

2010-11-11T14:34:00.001-08:00

11-2010 Crazy Log Cabin in pink and mustard
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

Loving pink and mustard together these days.

A Bevy of Patchwork Pillows

2010-11-11T14:32:00.001-08:00

Patchwork pillows stacked
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

It's so much fun to make a series of subtly different patchwork pillows. Backed and corded in natural linen, these pillows are two of eight I made from a handful of Amy Butler fat-quarters from her Love collection. Oh, yes, there are a few tidbits from my stash thrown in as well. Silk Matka, fine cotton voiles. These have been on display (and for sale!) in downtown Asheville's Atelier 24 Lexington.

New Look 6861

2010-11-11T14:28:00.001-08:00

New Look 6861
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

In Erin McMorris's Irving Street flannel, simple and cute flannel pajamas in girl's size six. This is a versatile pattern from New Look. If you go for the gathered sleeves with the band, realize from the outset that sewing the gathering onto that tiny little band is fiddly! The band is much too small for even a narrow free arm. Serging the sewn seam is even more of a trick.

Wish I could wear these myself!

A Very Popular Apron

2010-11-11T14:20:00.001-08:00

Butterick 4945
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

This sample has sold at least twenty copies of Butterick's cute pattern. I recommend cutting the lower ruffle from a contrast fabric. Although Butterick's version is also sweet, showing off that lovely bias ruffle with a coordinating print highlights the best part of the design.

The gathered patch pocket is not included in this pattern. I believe I lifted it from Colette Pattern's Ceylon dress. Any patch pocket you fancy will work!

Sewing notes: to hem the circular ruffle, I serged 1/4" Stitchwitchery to the edge, turned and pressed, and then stitched the hem in place. Much better than struggling with any other variety of narrow hem.

Be sure to mark all the construction dots. I didn't, and that made attaching the neck and waist ties harder than it needed to be. Or, follow Linda Boyd's great advice and make the curved side sections as a casing. Then thread a long self-fabric tie from the waist at one side, around the neck, down through the casing on the other side. Then you won't have that silly bow at the neck and the apron will be much more comfortable to wear (not to mention easier to adjust).

Vogue 8672

2010-11-11T14:10:00.001-08:00

IMAG0013
Originally uploaded by vintagevirginia473

Made as a sample for the House of Fabrics in Asheville, NC, this darling skirt is made from Nicole Miller stretch animal print fabric with black satin piping at the seams.

I added boning to the waist, but perhaps needn't have bothered, since the skirt turned out too big to fit me. Taking apart the waistband with all that piping: not so eager.

Looks good on the wall, though!

Catching Up

2010-11-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hello blog! It's been a busy sewing and scheming, though not blogging, life these past few months. The short version: my husband and I have decided to launch a soft home furnishings workroom. Activity has abounded. From the extremely exciting (new industrial sewing machines! a 12-foot-long work table!) to the rather mundane (accounting software, rewiring electrical outlets), we've been working away.

I've been scratching around the new phone and Flickr to find some material longing to be seen. It's coming.

Shirt for My Little Fellow

2010-06-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

I don't have too much to say about this pattern, Burda 9593, but all of it is good. A very nice basic shirt pattern for boys in sizes 6 through 12, with pocket and yoke options. I carried this pattern home from work at the House of Fabrics because it has a collar with a stand and a double yoke. It has recently been discontinued.

The fabric is a lovely bottom-weight twill cotton from Anne Klein. It's somewhat too heavy for a shirt, but I wanted to experiment to see if it would hold up better to the abuse it will receive. Interfacing is fusible Pro-Tailor Deluxe from Sew Exciting.

The whole thing went together very easily and well. I much prefer constructing the collar with a stand over a convertible collar, even though the latter is considered the simpler option.

Instant Shoulders--Just Add Silk Organza

2010-05-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Here we have Simplicity 2501, a fitted blouse with a set-in waistband and a peplum. How I love a peplum! Even though it's quite an odd word, peplum. Odd or not, I think it's the ultimate sway-back fitting solution.

This is one of Simplicity's patterns with cup sizes. I could rhapsodize about that, too. A great public service, the patterns with B-C-D cup size pattern pieces included.

Even though they may be just a tiny bit extreme, the sleeves certainly do add a lot of volume to my underwhelming shoulders. Mostly to help the **five** tucks in each sleeve to hold their shape through a day of wear, I decided to try underlining the sleeves with silk organza. I wasn't counting on quite so much puff, but what the heck. The other advantage to this strategy was that I was able to hem the sleeves by hand, catching the underlining, for a beautiful hem finish with no visible line of stitching. Binding the armscye seam in bias tape became a necessity, as a serger seam finish would not have totally mitigated the itch of the scratchy organza.

Another simple change I made was to self-line the peplum rather than turning a narrow hem. I had plenty of fabric, and I thought that adding more body to the lower section would improve the hang of the peplum around the hips. If you want to do the same, cut out two sets of peplum pieces, join each set at the side seams (so that you now have two peplums), sew them right sides together, turn and press. I topstitched 1/4" from the edge to make future ironing easier.

Finally, inspired by Gertie, I created a convertible collar rather than any of the lame collars provided by Simplicity. I loved Gertie's tutorial, but decided I wanted both an upper and an under collar rather than a folded collar piece. I found a collar on a vintage Simplicity pattern that looked right, but was much too short. I cut it apart at the center back fold and added five inches to match the measurement of the neck edge seamline on this blouse. It worked out very well, if I do say so myself!

Luckiest Girl in the World

2010-04-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

That's me today, because I have a genuine vintage Vogue Patterns cabinet! Ah, Craigslist, you have been good to me before, but this $20 find takes the cake. Even though my long-suffering husband had to drive me to the back side of beyond to get this (as the seller was giving directions, he said, "Now here's where it's helpful to have a four wheel drive truck"--how fortunate that we do), and even though wrestling it into my sewing room closet was extremely difficult and even though I had to reorganize all my precious closet stuffings, I am completely thrilled.

The Vogue Pattern Company of years gone by was no slouch when it came to specifying a cabinet. The action on these drawers is smooth. Now I can thumb through my patterns with the greatest of ease.

And don't worry--only two of these drawers hold patterns. I do have a goodly collection, but not five drawers worth. The top drawer has leather, the next is interfacing (what heaven to have a good place for it!), then patterns, then gifts and sewing machine repair stuff.

In actual sewing news, I am so pleased to show you this blanket. The sixties-era wool was a $6 yard sale purchase, and the similar-vintage butterfly print came from the sale of a fabric collector, Lisa Shoemaker. I love the two together so much. I know that binding a blanket in cotton isn't the typical choice, but really, why not? This binding tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts tells you nearly everything you need to know about how to make a binding. I wanted to see as much of the butterfly print as possible, so I cut a 6" cross grain binding for a finished binding width of 1 1/2".

I get that quilters favor handstitching the binding on the back side, but I don't totally understand why. This three-step zigzag looks good to me.

A Wee Green Machine

2010-04-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

She's really not wee at all. She's a hulking chunk of nearly solid metal. And she sews with all the solidity one might expect from an almost-50-pound-supposedly-portable machine.

My SuperFriend McKenna Linn could not face lugging this sewing machine through an upcoming move (she has a couple hundred other vintage beauties to relocate). So she looked around for an adoptive home...there I was!

McKenna had found this machine in a thrift store, but hadn't done any work on it before passing it along to me. When it arrived at my house, the handwheel wouldn't turn, but everything looked very clean. Ah, the needle was striking the needle plate. The needle was inserted incorrectly and was bent almost 1/4" to the front!

Then I discovered that the hook had been broken and repaired with Superglue. Imagine.

I borrowed a hook from another machine (it is the Singer 15-class type) and we were almost in business.

The tension was and remains a bit of a challenge. It was simply spinning around and around in its socket. I managed to fix it up for a while, but it's now gotten out of whack again and the thread is jumping out of the top hook on the tension assembly. I think maybe I don't have the wire loop in the proper position.

The machine has a wonderful 1.5 amp motor. Lots of power, but even better, very smooth. It takes standard low shank feet. I quickly got tired of moving the low shank snap-on adapter between this machine and my Juki to allow those two to share my collection of snap-on feet, so I purchased a generic low shank snap on adapter from Gone Sewing, an eBay seller.

This is a left needle position machine. I have two other left needle machines, my Necchi BU and Universal Deluxe, but those are high shank. Left needle means that, when set for straight stitch, the needle is in the left half of the slot in the needle plate where the needle goes down to interact with the bobbin. The needle position is not adjustable on this machine. Presser foot pressure is fully adjustable with the common push-button, pop-up assembly. There are two nice spool pins and two thread guides (nice!). But the machine doesn't do parallel rows of stitches even with a double needle (such as you would use on a hem for knits), since it is the older needle arrangement with the eye facing to the side.

The stitches on offer are straight stitch, zigzag and blind hem. The machine takes cams, but arrived here with only one on board. The chances of finding compatible cams seem low, but who knows? They are a top hat design, in light sage green.

Consew is known as an industrial name, and I haven't yet found other examples of a Consew-branded domestic. Do you know of any?

A Very Fine New Tool

2010-03-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

I present...the Tandy Round Hole Punch!

Attaching leather straps to leather bags is a bulky undertaking, and I've been inspecting bags and photos of bags to see how the industry gets such a nice finish. Answer: lots of ways. But rivets are one, so I invested in a hole punch, a set of Rapid Rivets, and a rivet setter. Believe me, every one of these elements is completely necessary. You also need a pounding surface (in my case, a block of scrap wood) and a mallet. A hammer would really be too rigid for this purpose; a rubber, plastic or (best of all) leather mallet is needed.

The size 2 (1/8") hole punch seems to be a perfect fit for the small size of Rapid Rivets. It was also terribly helpful for installing purse feet through a layer of leather and a bag bottom.

The finished article, a leather version of Amy Butler's Swing Bag, lined in Techno Taffeta by Vera Wang.

I Match My Sewing Room Curtains

2010-03-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

This beautiful silk from the 1960s proved somewhat difficult to use. It had quite a noticeable fade line in the middle of the 44" wide yardage from being stored on a bolt for fifty years. The gathered curtains in my sewing room were one good use, and I think this blouse has turned out to be another.

In this second rendition of Simplicity 2599, I still haven't gotten the sizing quite right. I did a 1/2" petite adjustment between the shoulder and the bottom of the armhole (and then forgot to make the corresponding adjustment to the sleeve!), but it's still a bit too big in the neck and shoulders. I believe this is a size 10 with the C cup front. Crazy, since the bust measurement for the 10 is 31 1/2 inches. My high bust is right at that measurement, so there really is no good reason for it to still be so roomy, especially with the length adjustment. But down to an eight I go on the next pass.

I put in both center front and center back seams to avoid the fade line in the center of the yardage (and to allow for a sway back adjustment in the back), and I replaced the neck facing specified by the pattern with a bias binding that extends to make a tie in front. Another change, and one which I do heartily recommend, was to cut four sleeves so that each tiny sleeve could be fully lined. On these short little sleeves, the hem and sleeve seam are often visible when the garment is worn. So much nicer to have a finished right side of the fabric showing than the underside of a hem and a sleeve seam.

Naturally I didn't think to take step-by-step photos of the sleeve construction, but if you aren't familiar with this procedure, here is what I did:

1. Stitch the lower edge of two sleeves together with right sides facing one another.
2. Press the seam allowances toward whichever sleeve you designate as the lining or undersleeve.
3. Understitch the seam allowances toward the undersleeve.
4. With right sides facing, stitch the sleeve into a tube (or, said another way, stitch the underarm seam).
5. Fold the sleeve so that the wrong sides are together and all seams are enclosed.
6. Baste the seam allowances for the armscye seam together.
7. Stitch sleeve into armscye (after sewing side seams).
8. Finish armscye seam with a serger or with bias binding. Or sew a French seam, which I don't know how to do on an armhole and intend to learn!

My apologies for the blurry pictures! I believe the fault lies with both the photographer (me, using a tripod) and her aging Canon Powershot A80. The screen is so tiny on this camera that I never know what I've taken until I download the shots into the computer. And by then it's too late to get re-dressed and go back for more.

Jalie Coat Unveiled

2010-02-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

Gosh, the whole drama of the fitting of this coat, when it really heated up, played out over on PatternReview's message boards and didn't make the blog at all. Now I find I just can't bring myself to bring things up to date by adding photos of the saggy, draggy, wrinkly effect of the sleeves as they were drafted. On me. On others, and in another fabric, perhaps they are fine.

But thanks to PatternReview members, most especially Belinda, aka sew4fun, I am able to report that it all worked out in the end. Generally I am tragically stingy when it comes to fabric, but I happened to have three yards of this gorgeous cashmere. At first it looked as though my mother, the prowling rug hooker, was going to make out big with a whole yard of my extra fabric. But no! I had to cut new sleeves. And then I nixed the hood, so I had to cut a collar. Not so much left for rugs now, but I can't say I feel too guilty.

And cashmere is such a dream to wear! Soft and warm. I am very happy with my coat. It fits me; shoulders are right, sleeve length is right, no bunching in back at my swayback, no pulling around the tummy and hips. Take that, ready-to-wear!

More Coat Notes

2010-01-20T04:24:00.000-08:00

Memory being what it isn't, I want to record the specifics of my coat-making so as to improve the speed of future efforts.

Jalie 2680 is designed as an unlined coat for stretch fabrics. Judging from the reviews on PatternReview, I am not the first to use it as a point of departure for a more tailored coat. My mostly-cashmere fabric is very soft, and preserving that lovely drape and hand is a goal. But I do want it to last for at least ten years (barring disaster), so some inner support also seems like a good idea.

I have interfaced the yoke front and back, the front facing and the back facing, and the inner (folded up) portion of the sleeve and body hems. I have also stayed the front and back neck edges with straight grain fusible tape. Following Sandra Betzina's recommendation, I used fusible interfacing on the pocket openings and facings (thanks, Sandra--I think I'll be glad you told me to do that).

The pattern specifies cutting the pocket pieces from the fashion fabric, but I think I'll recut those from cotton flannel to reduce bulk. I am thinking of applying a strip of some sort of bias fabric or interfacing to the sleeve cap as an aid in easing and as a form of a sleeve head. I have some very tiny shoulder pads to insert between the coat and lining.

Lining, yes, that's coming right up. Not cut out yet. Lucky, since I was planning to use some very standard poly lining from Fabric.com in a close color match. But then my latest Fabric.com order came in. The Retro Gold crepe that I meant for a blouse is wonderful with the coat fabric. Very shiny, slippery and luxurious. If my patience holds out, I will add a tiny piping of either a silk charmeuse print that I've had forever, or the olive green silk/cotton that also came in the latest Fabric.com order.

Working on this coat is a pleasure, but it does have many more steps than most of my recent projects. And I'm nearly out of thread!

Note to self: today is the day to decide whether we'll be going for bound buttonholes or not.

Coat Progress!

2010-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

The coat is cut out. I have high hopes for this pattern: winter coat, spring rain jacket, long cutish jacket.

I love that it has a hood, and I hope I will actually love the hood itself. What could be more practical than a hood? Hats are worse for mussing the hair and not always there when you need them.

Here are some dumpy photos of the muslin/pattern sewn from the row cover fabric I described in the previous photo. Two disadvantages of this material I forgot to mention: first, it is difficult to mark. A Sharpie or similar pen will definitely do it, but it will also bleed through and mark what's underneath. I decided that I was okay with a few pen marks on the master pattern, but the resulting markings on the row cover are indistinct. You really have to look for them when cutting out the fashion fabric.

Second, like all poly products, the row cover is susceptible to static cling. This is rather helpful when cutting out the fashion fabric, since the pattern pieces stay put, but can be annoying at other times.

I wore this bulky sweater (Banana Republic via thrift store) underneath for size purposes, but its pattern makes it difficult to see the muslin. Live and learn.

My conclusions from the muslin exercise are: add back 1/2" to sleeve length, take a 1" swayback tuck, add 1/2" to side front and back seams at hip, add 1/4" to center back seam at hip (total 2 1/2" extra circumference at hip).

The plan is to baste the cut fashion fabric together to check fit before proceeding to final stitching.

New Coat Directions

2010-01-11T03:23:00.001-08:00

Coat projects are difficult to time. The ideal month for making a new winter coat would be August, according to internet sewing wisdom. August?! The coat spirit does not move me during hot weather. Plus, there's a lot happening in the garden in August and I am generally just barely (or just barely not) keeping up with the harvest.

Then the fall moves in and I get energized about long sleeved tops and sweaters. Then the sudden realization that Christmas is rapidly approaching dawns. Before you can say Bob's your uncle, it's early January and then, well, does it make more sense to sew a winter coat or a spring one?

This kind of thinking leads to beautiful cashmere coating languishing in the fabric stash for year after year.

I have been making a brave effort to break this cycle. I traced the cute short coat from the 5-2009 Ottobre Woman magazine.

And then, pulling out all the stops, I made a muslin in a heavier weight upholstery fabric to approximate the hand of the wool I planned to use. I know I should have taken pictures, because it's not fair not to share, but I couldn't make myself do it. The style looked simply awful on me. The muslin and the carefully traced pattern went straight into the trash.

Next up, Jalie 2680, a recent pattern purchase from fabric.com.

So far, so good. Being newly out of tracing paper, I tried something different. On PatternReview, there has been discussion of using "soil separator" cloth for tracing. This utilitarian-sounding item can reportedly be found at hardware stores. I had something in the garden shed that is probably similar: floating row cover. This material is a very lightweight, very strong, white non-woven polyester intended to protect plants from frost and insects. It's inexpensive considering the size, easy to see through for tracing and, I know from using it in the garden, durable.

Preliminary results are encouraging! The material will not wrinkle. This property should be a good thing when folding it up and putting it into an envelope for storage. The downside is that it also doesn't crease, say, when you want to take a tuck in your pattern for making an alteration. Every fold that you would like to have stay folded will need to be taped thoroughly or sewn.

Yes, sewn. The material is easy to sew. I tested it out with a long stitch length (the 4 setting on my vintage machine, its longest) and a very loose upper tension (1). The stitches come out easily with just a tug and then you cannot even see where they were. Could this be a combination tracing tissue/muslin material? Well, I sewed up my tracing this morning and tried it on. True fitting will have to wait until I'm dressed and ready with the digital camera on a tripod, but I am very excited about the possibility of a material that allows me to tissue fit without all the pins.

I traced a combination of sizes R, S and T. R at the shoulder and neck in front, S at the shoulder and neck in back, tapering in front to S at the waist, tapering to T the hip on front and back pieces. Pattern adjustments so far include: reduce length of front and back yokes by 1/2" and corresponding adjustment to front facing, forward shoulder adjustment of 3/8" and corresponding adjustment to back facing, reduce sleeve cap length by 1/2", reduce lower sleeve pattern piece length by 1".

The length and sleeve length look good. I'll have more to go on once I've taken some self-timer photos.

Singer Straight Leg Treadle Cabinet

2010-01-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't much to say about this cabinet yet. The treadle turns wonderfully smoothly, though I know it must need at least a little cleaning and oiling.

I had thought that I might declare this my official treadle cabinet, given its very smooth operation and good looks. But now I'm not so sure. My "restored" White treadle base does make more noise than I like, but its width means that I can sit centered to the needle. Since I mean to really use my treadle setup a lot, once temperatures are again in a range to make the basement habitable, the ergonomics are important. But it's difficult to put the two treadles to a side-to-side sewing test without doing a lot of reconfiguring, belt shortening, hinge pin hole enlarging and so on.

Hmmm.

Can This Sewing Machine Be Saved?

2010-01-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

My son has gotten hooked on prowling thrift stores lately. He loves the randomness and allowance-friendly pricing. And maybe the casual attitude. Heck, the stuff is pre-broken. Touching is allowed.

I love it too, but gosh, it's dangerous. Here I go, peering hopefully around the Goodwill. I spy a sewing machine! I close in, a Morse Zigzag. Very cool but terribly rusted, missing parts, not a good candidate. Sigh of relief. Wait, over there, in that darling (delapidated) treadle cabinet, what's that?

A Singer 201, that's what.

I got confused. I know that some 201s can be treadled and some cannot. I was just so wowed that this machine was in a treadle cabinet that I leapt to the conclusion it must be one. Yes, I saw that there was a motor and a foot control, but I was somehow thinking these were later additions.

I tell my husband I'm buying this sewing machine. He sighs and looks resigned. I pay, hound the employees about being super-careful with this item that no one else wants and we take her home.

Internet research ensues. This is a 201-2. Potted motor. Not treadle-friendly. Probably will need rewiring. Rewiring! Yikes.

So I'm thinking this all over. Thinking, rather than dousing with kerosene, because it's been just too darn cold even for the obsessed among us to be puttering about with broken-down sewing machines outside or in the basement.

The machine is now in the halfway disassembled state. The only part that is missing is the cover to the rotary bobbin area.

Can this sewing machine be saved?

I'll post about the treadle in a day or so.

Cascading Cardigan and Top: Simplicity 2603

2010-01-07T03:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, 2010 is the year of wovens, but this project was started in 2008, then finished on January 2. Those knits are sneaky. I'm sure my sewing room will still be seeing quite a few of them this year.

Since the 80s, I have been drawn to drapey styles with angular points hanging down. Also since the 80s (or, more accurately, since birth), I have lacked the height and build to wear them to best effect. But heck, what good is it to be 40 if you can't just cut loose and make something even though you know it's not your best style?

This pattern has achieved extreme popularity on PatternReview recently, but I didn't see many modeled examples of the look worn by shorties like me. So that added to my interest in making and reviewing the cardigan, in the name of public-spirited education. You can see my full review by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Darn it all, as soon as I finished the thing, and was really itching to wear it, the weather turned so cold that I haven't. The fabric is a lightweight rayon kni t from fabric.com. They have sold out of the black, but some nice colors remain. I am sort of considering the rust. Except that 2010 is the year of wovens.

Anyway, I get cold and, while this fabric isn't super-thin, it isn't thick fleece or wool, either, so it must wait for warmer days. Speaking of super-thin, want to see something that is?

I loved this rayon knit print (also from fabric.com). I got the gray stars and also a graphic plaid type of print. Wow. This fabric is as sheer as my sheer living room curtains. I made up the gray as a kind of muslin, checking out the shorter length (views C and D). I didn't like the length, the color did not flatter me and the knit, for all its lightness, was not very stretchy. This version turned out tight in the shoulders and arms.

So, on to the black I went. I really do like this version. I took all the good advice in the many reviews at PatternReview: I cut the pieces on the floor with a rotary cutter, so that the front edges and hems could be left raw. I sandwiched the elastic at the back of the neck between the wrong sides of the seam allowances. Copying Tany (an excellent person to try to copy: she is leagues beyond me and a wonder), I used the sleeve cuff pattern and instructions, and I love this detail.

I would say, overall, this style doesn't seem to be a disaster for a short person. Tying it up controls the volume. In my house, tying it up tightly to the back might also prevent it sweeping through the dust. Worn loose, this is a highly impractical garment for a stay at home mother!

Copying Quality

2010-01-07T03:06:00.000-08:00

Back in our pre-child, two income, exploding stock and real estate market days, we bought several pieces of fancy furniture. Those still with us have survived three moves, said child and the changes of fashion, mood and use that twelve years will bring. This Wittman chair has been a great favorite. To me the lines are subtly something special, yet undemanding. You don't have to take notice of the chair as an object to appreciate how comfortable it is for sitting, but you are free to appreciate its cozy curves if you choose.

When we bought this chair from Adesso in Boston, its "removable" cover was a great selling point for me. The salesperson claimed that the cover could simply be unzipped and replaced at whim. Well, you could buy a nice new armchair for the cost of the cover, so it would have to be more than a whim, but still it appealed to me.

A decade and then-some on, the cover was in bad shape. The depradations of a now-rehomed cat made replacement a necessity. I signed up for an upholstery class at our local technical college, sure that with my sewing skills I would zip through this project in less than the nine-week session.

First of all, making this cover turned out not to be an upholstery project at all, but rather a slipcovering project. Second, the cover was removable, but only in the sense that it could be removed after extracting about 300 staples and ripping the cover and all of its clever supporting flanges off of the foam structure of the chair. This cover was so extensively adhered to the foam that I would never have had the courage to remove it without the upholstery course instructor's assurances that I was not destroying the chair in the process.

Working on furniture is hard physical labor. I guess I should have known that, but I was surprised at the contrast with other types of sewing.

After removing the cover, the instructor had me separate the pieces gradually. He said that if I just ripped all the seams at once and laid them down flat, I'd never figure out how to get the thing back together. What good advice that was!

Slowly I ripped and picked the thing apart, and slowly I cut and sewed its replacement together. It was a joy to see the wonderful construction and craftsmanship of this cover. On every piece, the centers were notched, as were key match points. By copying these, I found that I could sew the pieces together with relative ease. Every seam was topstitched to hold the seam allowances flat. The cover was put together like a detailed and beautifully thought-out garment.

At the end of the course (attending eight sessions and working at home on the project several hours as well), the chair cover was finished and the chair was dressed, with the much-needed assistance of the instructor. The only thing left was the cushion cover. I brought my mostly-refurbished item home, threw a piece of fabric over the cushion, and so it stayed for many months.

I've read on many sewing blogs that having one's basement sewing space become uninhabitable during particularly cold periods is common. My sewing operation has moved temporarily up to the living room, where a Singer Copenhagen cabinet holds one of my vintage machines. My husband finished installing our Craigslist woodstove three days ago, and now the living room is the place to be.

Seeing as how the sewing machine and the chair were within ten feet of one another, the time to make the cushion cover had clearly arrived.

Disassembling, marking and pressing the original cushion cover took a couple of warm hours. Cutting, marking and sewing the new one took another couple. But how satisfying is the result: a truly finished project that fills me with pride. This cover really stretched my skills. It confirmed, once again, that home decoration projects are not my favorites. In copying the cover, I was inspired by the workmanship and design of the original.

This is a commercial fabric by Knoll. Commercial fabric is rated for the number of "double rubs" it can withstand before showing wear. This one had a very durable rating of something like 100,000 double rubs. Special-ordered, it costs something like $40 a yard. My upholstery instructor runs the refurbishing operation at our local Office Environments, a high-end contract furniture company. He sold me a five-yard remnant for this cover for $15. Total. If you have home dec projects (particularly those requiring smaller yardage), an office furniture supplier might be a good source for fabric.

2010, The Year of Wovens

2010-01-06T03:56:00.000-08:00

Reading the sewing resolutions of others on blogs and PatternReview has become one of my favorite activities of the new year. It's time to jump on this bandwagon.

My broadest resolution for the new year encompasses more than sewing. "Be happy with what you have" is my new refrain. Through all the striving and tasks of each day and week, I intend to remain aware that everything I need to be content is already present in my life. And I intend to subject new projects, new wants and new ventures to close scrutiny, making sure that I am fully using and enjoying what I have before deciding to add something new.

Moving on from that lofty goal to the practical: 2010 will be the year of wovens. In 2008 and 2009, I was seduced by knits. Easy-ish to fit, comfy to wear, easy to care for. But I notice that when I put on a nice woven dress or shirt, I look better. And I love sewing woven projects. My vintage machines do great work on wovens, and I can use my new treadle setup to sew shirts, coats, pants and home items. So I resolve to resist the siren song of knits and focus on adding more wovens to my wardrobe.

To that end I want to improve my skills in shirtmaking and tailoring. I have purchased the Islander Sewing Systems Shirts, Etc. dvd set and I am ever-so-slowly watching my way through it. Why slowly? I'm having lots of problems with getting the dvds to play. Even though I've tried three different players, both volumes of the set just keep hanging up and refusing to advance. Must email the company today. I hope to get this resolved, because I have in mind to order the whole series of Islander videos. They are expensive, but they seem like the perfect form of instruction for me. I've learned a lot from my beloved sewing library, but seeing a whole sewing operation from beginning to end adds another dimension to my understanding.

The Islander System promises gains in sewing speed and efficiency, which I would welcome, but I'm even more interested in improving the quality and consistency of my garments.

My second sewing-specific resolution is to develop a plan for a small dressmaking business. I have dabbled with sewing crafty things and bags for sale in galleries and craft fairs, but I find that my heart isn't truly in it. I love sewing garments and things that have both beauty and real utility. I love making things for a specific person, rather than trying to guess what will appeal to a large audience. And I love the idea that clothing can express a different point of view than the one offered up by the mass market.

Practically speaking, I have amassed and refined a very nice sewing setup in my basement sewing room. Last week I added a cutting table (commandeered from storage), with the help of my husband. There should be no lack of machines or notions or space to work.

Even typing the resolution to present myself as a dressmaker brings on a wave of nervous doubt. I worry that my skills are not as advanced as they will be in the future. Isn't that silly? Of course my skills will improve in the future, God willing and the creek don't rise.

My Great Great Aunt Ethel was a dressmaker. The family legend is that well-to-do ladies would send their car and driver out to the farm to pick her up and bring her to their homes for fittings. Her greatest achievement was making a dress that was worn on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Yet I once asked my grandmother (who also lived at the farm) about Aunt Ethel's creations. "Well, they looked all right on the outside, but you wouldn't want to see the inside."

Aunt Ethel wasn't a perfect dressmaker. She worked under pressure, without a serger, long into the night. Her clients could choose whether to hire her or not. If they weren't satisfied with a garment, something could be worked out. That's good for me to remember.

Simple Christmas

2009-12-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

The path of least resistance led to a simple Christmas this year. And I don't just mean that we didn't buy much, though we didn't. The boxes of ornaments stayed in the attic. Our son got his long-time wish to have a live tree, which we left outside and decorated with pine cones, dried amaranth from our summer garden and cranberrry rings.

These two ornaments spent just a few moments on its branches before being gifted to friends who stopped by on Christmas Eve. They are very simple, but they were fun to make with scraps of linen, cotton and ribbon. And sweet, I think.

Two Years Later, I Wear this Dress

2009-12-20T16:53:00.000-08:00

I actually made this dress, according to my note on the pattern envelope, in December 2007. I just wore it for the first time on December 13, 2009. Why the delay? First, I simply didn't have the right occasion. The lovely fabric, with its gold threads and colorful pattern, seemed to demand an especially festive event. Second, the neckline was just too low to wear without a camisole. Believe it or not, I didn't have a large enough scrap after cutting the dress (in a single layer layout) to make a modesty panel or cami. I just couldn't get into the idea of pairing the dress with black. I wanted to keep it all happy colors.

The breakthrough came when we found out we would be traveling to Portland, OR to celebrate the wedding of my brother-in-law. Festive? Check. Cleavage? I decided to cut up a lovely top I had made in a gold fabric that turned out much too small (very little stretch in that stable metallic knit). The camisole from the 2-2009 Ottobre Woman magazine was perfect, as it had a bodice panel piece which I could just fit onto one section of my repurposed fabric. The unseen, princess-seamed portions of the cami were made from two kinds of black knit scraps from other projects.

Interestingly, at the wedding party, I looked around a room filled with black and gray clothed revelers. Wow, did I feel like a Southerner at that moment. It had never occurred to me that my bright dress would be very different than a typical West Coast urban evening dressy dress. But I don't mind being different! I just went with it.

With Kwik Sew 2948 cardigan

Closer view of fabric

Pattern Description: Knit dress in two lengths with bodice variations.

Pattern Sizing: Sizes 4-12. I made a combination of sizes 8 (at shoulder, neck and sleeve) and 10 (below armhole).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it's a pretty straightforward silhouette.

Were the instructions easy to follow? As I recall, now two years on, they were easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the lovely results seen on other PR reviewers of different shapes and sizes. I could see that this is a forgiving design. I actually have decided that I don't particularly care for wrap styles on me. I never seem to feel completely secure in them, and they tend to place an emphasis on the bust line. I should have shortened the neckband slightly, which would have made the neckline more secure and lessened the need for a camisole underneath.

Fabric Used: Beautiful slinky knit from EmmaOneSock, described as having come from Chico's. I believe there were only one or two cuts of this print and I was thrilled to score one. I really had to work hard at the layout to get the dress out of the two-yard piece with the gold stripes running the way I wanted them. I cut a duplicate of each unfolded pattern piece and a full version of each on-the-fold pattern piece so that I could lay it all out before I began cutting.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made a 3/4" FBA and shortened the midriff and midriff overlay by 1". I chose the shorter skirt length (D), and I don't believe I shortened it further.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'm not sure whether I will sew it again. Even though I like it and I feel like the fit is good, the fact that it took me two years to wear the dress makes me wonder whether this is a style that I feel comfortable wearing. But looking at all the lovely results PR members have gotten from this pattern, I can definitely recommend this pattern.

Sewing, Imagined and Actual, in Portland

2009-12-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

The first day in Portland, Oregon, I was pining for my sewing machines and sewing room. Catching sight of this front window in the neighborhood of Sellwood cheered me immeasurably. I saw the seamstress, too, but I lacked the courage to photograph her, sewing paparazzi style. A lovely lady with upswept white hair. Quite the match for her pretty sewing space.

In the midst of all the dreaming came an actual sewing task, albeit not one I consider my strength: altering! My sister-in-law had purchased two dresses, both of which had been altered and neither of which turned out quite right. I had on hand two needles, three bobbins of thread (black, cream and olive green) and a pair of nail clippers. Not enough to take in the bodice and shorten the balloon hem of a white satin cocktail dress. Off we went to JoAnn's (most interesting, as we have no JoAnn's in this area). I bought a tiny $50 crafter's machine, knowing it might not actually sew, but thinking that it also might be able to handle the few small areas I needed to unpick and restitch. There was a little set of accessories included in the box, so I didn't purchase a seam ripper or pins. I did spring for a spool of Gutermann thread.

When I returned the (utterly useless, unsuitable even for sewing the thinnest of fabrics, utter garbage) Singer PixiePlus, the woman who helped me said, "I don't know why anyone would ever buy this machine." Well, gee, sorry to purchase a product JoAnn's sees fit to stock. I told her that the handwheel fell off after the first seam. She replied, "What's the handwheel?"

Well, anyway, I did the sewing by hand. I deeply missed my beautiful sewing machines at home (not to mention a usable seam ripper and pins), but it seemed that the fixes were somewhat successful. The dress stayed on the bride, and the hem fell at her knee as desired.

I don't travel much, but if I did, I'd be in the market for a tiny machine to pack in my suitcase. In fact, I'm tempted to consider a little Elna Lotus. If I get one, I might never go away overnight without it.

To Ease the Way

2009-12-08T14:20:00.001-08:00

Maya's travel pillow was one of those projects. One of those projects that make me say, "Now why didn't I think of that?" It's such a simple idea with such great appeal. A pillow. With a handle. Really Maya's version is even sweeter, with its little pocket to hold a doll or note to comfort a little voyager. But my little voyager doesn't so much go for sweet as for soft.

I cut the front from a rummage sale cashmere sweater (seventies-era! made in Scotland!) that didn't look as great as it felt on me. The gray wool for the handle, piping and back was a gift from my mom's stash. So everything that is visible was essentially free. But the insert inside was a fancy one, so soft, from Hancocks. Don't tell.

Believe it or not, because this is silly, I agonized over whether to add a zipper. Normally I like all pillows to have a zipper. Somehow the envelope style never looks quite symmetrical when it is stuffed. On my pillows, that is. Other people's look nice. But in the end I slipstitched the opening closed at the bottom. I was worried a zipper might scratch or otherwise catch on something when the pillow is being toted about.

He's slept on it every night since the last stitch was sewn. We'll see how it does on its five-and-a-half hour cross-country flight coming up later this week.

The dog likes it too.

Belated

2009-12-02T12:01:00.001-08:00

As an only child, I might have thought to marry someone with lots of brothers and sisters. But, well, other considerations (such as compatibility and emotion) won out. And so I have but one very dear, very far away brother-in-law. And he got married more than one year ago, with little fanfare, to a beautiful only child in Portland, Oregon.

Finally we are flying out to a belated celebration of their wedding! This little quilt and pillow will fly ahead of us, and I hope will make up for the delay.

The fabric is Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks (that woman is a right genius). The pattern is Amy Butler's Lotus Path. The quilting is...from the heart?

The quilt makes me happy just to look at, so it seems right for commemorating a union. A small family is just fine, when you love every member so much.

Air Quality for the Sewing Room and Beyond

2009-12-01T04:04:00.000-08:00

I've spared the blog the sad tale of my recent basement flood and the subsequent sewing room mayhem, but the funky smell has lingered long after the destroyed rolls of fabric have made their way to the landfill.

Our friends Liz and Sam have invented an industrial-type air filter that goes into your regular heating system. When our flood occurred, I was using a regular garden-variety Home Depot filter because I happened to have it on hand. But a few days into the cleanup, I noticed that the sour smell was permeating our whole house. I reminded myself of the size that was needed and got a new Safe Home Filter. Wow! Within a few hours, the smell was bearable on the main level of our house, and within a day it was gone.

The filter removes all kinds of other nasty things as well (dust and fiber, chemical toxins, allergens, mold, pet dander), but just getting rid of the smell was benefit enough in this situation.

The basement is still rather rank despite quite a lot of professional carpet cleaning and drying, but we really can't expect the filter to have an effect on that when our HVAC system doesn't serve the basement.

Since installing the filter I have also noticed that cooking and pet odors have truly vanished. The filters are fairly expensive compared to ordinary filters (close to $40 per filter vs. about $6 for a standard filter), but so much more effective and convenient than a standalone air cleaner. One filter lasts for about three months, and I have an insider tip that can extend their life: vacuum a dusty filter and reinstall.

One-Yard Wonder T-Shirt Tutorial

2009-11-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

Last winter, I made a bunch of t-shirts with 3/4 length sleeves. That length seemed to be in style, and I was loving that I could make them out of just one yard of 60" wide fabric. But do you know what? I am cold, cold, cold natured these days, and I need a whole sleeve, darn it!

Even so, I persist in buying just one yard of fabric. It's easy to get a smaller sized front and back out of a yard, but obviously two 22" sleeve length from shoulder to hem can't be cut from a 36" long piece of fabric (I'm short, but I do have two arms!).

But there is a way to get that yard to yield long sleeves, and the way is called cuffs. Cutting this out is a bit improvisational for each piece of fabric, but I've tried to give you an overview of how I have gone about it. Prewashed fabric may shrink, your cut may have been off grain and you had to straighten it, your arms may be longer than mine: I can't guarantee that you can get a true long-sleeved shirt out of one yard. But now that I've done it four times, I have to say I think you have a good chance.

First, here is a sketch of the general approach:

After cutting the front and back, I fold the remaining fabric in half from top to bottom and mark the center of the fold. One sleeve can be cut above the mark, one below. Measure the distance from the top of the fabric to the mark. Knock of a half inch or so just to give yourself a tiny bit of wiggle room. Measure from the top of the sleeve pattern to that measurement and make a mark. That is your cutting line for the sleeve. You can fold that bit back so as not to cut your pattern. Then cut two sleeves. I try to stagger them in order to leave a larger scrap to one side for cuffs. Don't forget to turn the pattern over for the second sleeve!

Look how close I had to cut it to get my two sleeves:

Now you will make your cuff pattern. Lay your sleeve pattern flat and place a piece of tracing paper on top of it. Trace the part of the sleeve you omitted, but fold up the hem allowance. Add two seam allowances at the top (1/2" to 1", depending on what you like). I say add two because you didn't add one to the upper sleeve section.

Then make a duplicate of this piece and put the two together in an hourglass shape, like this:

Now, wherever you can fit the whole length of the neckband on the crosswise grain (from selvedge to selvedge), go ahead and cut that strip.

Assemble the t-shirt in your normal fashion. After applying the sleeves and stitching the side seams, you will be ready to attach the cuffs. Here is a view of the cuff seam folded right sides together, and then beside it the cuff folded in half.

Attach the raw edges of the folded cuff to the end of the sleeve, fold it down, and your sleeve is full length...and hemmed!

With this busy print, the finished cuffs are hardly noticeable.

But in a stripe, there are lots of options for playing up the cuffs as a design feature. Notice that the sleeves are cut with the stripes on the bias. I couldn't get even two shortened sleeves from one yard with the stripes running horizontally because I couldn't work out the repeats properly. Now that it's done, I am so much happier with all the crazy stripe directions than with a standard stripe layout.

Necchi Mirella

2009-11-19T08:46:00.000-08:00

A few months back, I spotted a Necchi Mirella on eBay. As is so often the case, the photos were few, dark and fuzzy. It was difficult to know what I was bidding on, but I was eager to see one of these machines up close. The very unusual thing about the Mirella is that it is designed for both motorized and hand crank operation. Switching between the two is simple and requires nothing more than loosening the motor clutch, pushing in a button and attaching the crank.

In no particular order, here are some things I've learned about the Mirella:

Straight stitch only, with reverse
Rotary hook
Mirella-specific bobbins required; no longer made and very scarce
Low shank, but Singer attachments don't seem to work well
Motor is difficult to access
The body is made of aluminum, so the machine is extremely light and easy to carry
The free arm is accessed by unscrewing a knob underneath the machine and removing the extension. A separate cover is provided to protect the bobbin area.

Accessing the gear area on a Mirella, or on one of its sisters (such as the Lydia or the Silvia), requires loosening a set screw in the knob located in the middle of the handwheel. Then the knob can theoretically be unscrewed by holding the handwheel steady with one hand and loosening the knob with the other. In actuality, this proved very difficult. I eventually got the knob free by removing the set screw, oiling with Tri-Flow through the set screw hole, cushioning the knob with a rubber jar gripper pad, grabbing the pad with pliers and applying force. It took some effort!

With the end plate removed, you can see the very simple inner workings of the machine. If this were a Lydia or a Silvia, you would see the nylon camstack between the top and bottom gears. This camstack is very often cracked and is no longer made. It is my understanding that repairs are all but impossible. If the crack is small, the machine can often operate and perform some of the stitches but not the ones controlled by the cracked area.

Ta Da--A Treadle

2009-10-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Craigslist generosity of David, of North Street, Asheville, and the carpentry skills of my husband, Eric, I can treadle!

But, um, I need a lot more practice to get good at it.

This, as much as anything, I love about the project: it was free save for the three cans of spray paint required to coat the rusty base. We were able to repurpose the center section of a now-unused drop leaf kitchen table for the top. All tools were on hand, even the fancy-schmancy Forstner bits necessary to cut the round holes for the hinges. By the way, Necchi-lovers, the White hinges matching the treadle base fit perfectly into my BU, with no alteration (such as is needed with Singer hinges).

Thank you, Eric and David.

Variations on a Theme

2009-10-16T16:59:00.001-07:00

Simplicity 2614 again. Now that I've tried out a new sleeve, a new sleeve cuff (both lifted from the Everywoman's Favorite Cardigan from the 2/2009 edition of Ottobre Woman magazine), a center back seam and covered buttons, maybe I'll be able to try out a new dress pattern. Goodness knows plenty of them are calling from my pattern stash!

This version is Sophia knit (polyester, rayon and spandex) in teal. Currently available, along with any number of other items that just keep arriving on my doorstep, from fabric.com.

It Has Happened to Me

2009-10-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

A free haul of vintage sewing treasures...or trash. Hard to say which! The listing for two free machines and a treadle base showed up this morning on our local Craigslist. I called the moment I saw the ad, only to find that I was fifth down the list, and that someone else was on the way to pick up the machines.

I expressed my appreciation for the owner's generosity in offering the machines and went on with my day. Thirty minutes later he called back and said the first person had taken a look and passed on the machines. He happened to have my number handiest in his cellphone and called me back first! I threw on my clothes and hustled Finn into the car.

I can't lie: the machines as found in the basement were in daunting condition and covered with rust and cobwebs. I don't know how functional the machines will be or whether I will want to restore them. But they are so beautiful! I can't wait to clean up the painted surfaces to see those gorgeous designs.

Even better, the treadle turns like a dream, despite her rust and grime. I think she's lovely, and I know she will clean up and function well.

Not a Dress

2009-09-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

But rather half of a World War II paratrooper outfit. Strict historical accuracy not demanded. Ability to withstand frequent laundering essential.

Trying to purchase a dark colored, long-sleeved, woven twill shirt in a boy's size is amazingly difficult. Seems so basic, but apparently not the variety of basic that retailers think we want this year. My young trooper was quite specific in his requests, and he seems happy with the result.

Except that now he wants the matching pants...on the double.

Director of Buttonhole Operations

2009-09-22T02:29:00.000-07:00

"A Sewing Life is pleased to announce the promotion of Singer 128, originally of Elizabeth, New Jersey, from Mysterious Vintage Attachments Specialist to Chief Buttonholer. Mr. 128 has overcome a number of challenges in his rapid ascent with the operation, including musty smells, tension shortcomings and chronic snarling in the bobbin region. His triumph today over Bernina 160 and Necchi BU is made all the more impressive by his recent conversion to hand crank operation."

Many bloggers have posted helpful tutorials and videos on vintage buttonholers, but the one who posted the very morning of my successful first run was Brian. Thanks for the information and inspiration! One of Brian's insights was that using the provided feed dog cover can make for tight quarters underneath the buttonholer, and I found that to be very true. In the case of this wool jersey (Vera Wang, from fabric.com), the attachment had no trouble moving the fabric around, but it was a bit nerve-wracking getting everything lined up without distorting the knit. Since Mr. Singer lacks a control to drop the feed dogs, using the cover was mandatory, but happily, everything worked out well in the end. For two of the buttonholes I used some water soluble stabilizer to smooth things along, but it simply added another layer to wrangle and didn't seem to improve the result.

Brian also showed using a center needle position buttonholer with a left needle position machine (in his case, a Kenmore). I bought a Kenmore-branded Greist high shank buttonholer that refuses to attach to my Necchi BU (the shape of the needlebar seems incompatible with the groove in the buttonholer?). Inspired by Brian, I decided to test the Kenmore buttonholer with another recent machine acquisition, a left needle position Japanese machine from the 1960s. All went well until we reached the top left edge of the buttonhole, when the needle hit the rim of the buttonhole opening (the rectangular area where the buttonhole is created) and broke. Too bad! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The real investment in these vintage machines is not the purchase price (small), but the time in researching and testing the various combinations and settings.

Pending better light for modelled photographs (rain, rain, rain here in Western North Carolina for the last four days), here is a preview of the finished cardigan, from the 5-2009 issue of Ottobre Woman.

Thrifty Guilty Pleasures

2009-09-20T02:55:00.000-07:00

Yard sales: I have conflicted feelings about them. I love the thrill of a good find as much as the next person. And it is wonderful to get things we need from someone who no longer has a use for them rather than from a big box store. But it is still consumption, still buying and still stuffing our perhaps-already-overloaded storage spaces with yet more surplus.

There you go: conflicted.

My son loves yard sales, and they do make for some good entertainment. Yesterday, he came home with a large plastic pipe (for creating a bazooka), while I (the anti-consumer, you know) netted four pieces of fabric and a rolling cart.

The cart comes at a welcome moment. I've been eyeing rolling sewing machine cases. They look handy, well-designed for protecting the machine and very expensive! Not to mention quite glaringly unattractive. I had been turning over in my mind that there are many, many cases and carriers for all manner of baggage in our attic. How could it be that a solution didn't exist there already? I decided that the missing elements were a frame and wheels, in a configuration that could accept a sewing machine in a hard case. This American Tourister cart is sturdy, so I know it is up to the job. And only $2. Shown with the Capitol Deluxe rummage sale find of three weeks ago (ahem), and a divine piece of vintage wool plaid blanketing fabric from yesterday.

Probably the best fabric find was this Viyella. Only 36" wide, but nearly three yards, so enough for a blouse. Viyella is a wool and cotton blend of high quality.

Sent from Lace Heaven

2009-09-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this shirt from the Boden kids catalog, I went in search of stretch lace for trimming tees. I found myself in Lace Heaven. It was an exciting moment when that promising envelope arrived in the mailbox.

I would love to say Lace Heaven had every color my heart could desire, but my heart has many, many desires, one of which is stretch lace in a narrow width in chocolate brown. Didn't find that, but there were many jewel tones to compensate. I am excited about giving these a whirl on some fall t-shirts.

In the past week, I've completed a second version of the Ottobre Woman Pigeon Gray dress, this time in a black and white loosely woven sweater knit, as well as a quick pair of yoga pants in black Powerstretch to go with the dress and the other tunics I'm making. Look for them soon.

Simplicity 2614: The Knit Version

2009-09-09T02:59:00.001-07:00

Using a knit fabric to make up a pattern designed for a woven has been on my list of things to try. Simplicity 2614 was the base for this dress, but the neck binding was inspired by Onion 5038 and the pocket is from design number three of the hot-off-the-presses 5-2009 edition of Ottobre Woman.

To make the blouse-length pattern into a dress, I simply added about twelve inches of length to the lower front panel, tapering out a bit more at the side seams in the hip area. All the pieces can be cut on the straight of grain rather than the bias, since the knit provides the stretch. For the back, I split the single back panel into two pieces at the same level as the empire seam in the front (adding a seam allowance to upper and lower piece). The lower piece I cut with a center seam and a swayback adjustment. I'm not completely convinced that this is the last word in how to best fit the back for me. I like continuing the empire seam around the whole dress, so that it functions like a waistline. On the other hand, using a center seam down the entire length of the back would allow for more control of the swayback curve. I can't see using the empire seam plus a center seam from top to bottom, creating a + motif in the middle of my back.

The hem was finished with a simple serger rolled hem, as I'm thinking of wearing this as a dress until the weather turns decidedly cooler, then shortening it to tunic length to wear over jeans and a long sleeve shirt for winter.

Love the way this turned out! I also made a three-quarter sleeve version in a black colorway of the same print (from fabric.com). Pictures will be forthcoming.

Necchi BU Review

2009-09-02T03:34:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Zigzaggers? It's a very fun site for those of us interested in vintage sewing machines. I contacted Krista about reviewing some of my (growing) herd of machines, and she very kindly sent me the questionnaire. Since the Necchi BU is currently the alpha sewing machine around here, I'm starting with it.

Love it, hate it, or something in between?
Oh, I certainly love it, but that's no great endorsement, since I seem to love all of my machines. I first got interested in trying out a vintage Necchi when the circuit board on my Bernina 160 failed. I surfed the internet reading various reviews and just happened across a couple of glowing accounts of vintage Necchis on Pattern Review. Their enthusiasm led me to the Vintage Necchis Yahoo Group. After reading along on this group for a couple of months, I had to have one. What they said is true, there is a quality to this massive chunk of Italian machinery that is quite unlike any other sewing machine I had used before.

When did you buy this sewing machine?
Summer of 2008. I had to wait until the fall to actually try it out. Read on...

When was it manufactured?

According to the Vintage Necchis Yahoo Group, this model was manufactured in Italy between 1948 and 1953. The easy-to-spot differences between this model (BU) and its successor, the BU Nova are the VN (for Vittorio Necchi) logo on the machine bed, and the plain chrome face of the tension assembly. The later model had the newer cartoon-style N logo and a black face on its tension assembly.

The BU is a flat bed machine with an oscillating hook and manual zig zag (which I believe means you select zig zag by shifting the stitch width lever rather than pushing a button). Necchis designated as BC, BCJ or BF are straight stitch only. The BU was manufactured in black or green. It is a very simple, very heavy cast iron machine with no plastic parts whatsoever.

Where did you buy it?
I had been watching eBay for a vintage Necchi for several weeks. This machine was listed by a damaged freight company. As far as I could tell from the very indistinct photo, its spool pins were bent, and the plastic modern case it had been shipped in was cracked, but otherwise things looked okay. It turned out that it came with no power cord or foot pedal, or attachments other than the bobbin case, one bobbin and the all-purpose presser foot. I had ambitions of resolving the power situation myself, but in the end I took it to a local sewing machine mechanic who was backed up for seven weeks! The replacement foot control he provided is okay, but it does have a tendency to race. Since I sew clothing, I like to go slowly much of the time, and I find that I don't have the control I would like. I've heard of others with similar problems with replacement foot pedals. When the perfect treadle table comes along, I plan to convert this machine to treadle operation.

I don't have a base or a cabinet with hinge pins for it. For this heavy machine, the extra stability of one of those would help reduce vibration.

How much did you pay for it?
I paid $55, plus $30 shipping, which was a good deal, but then I spent around $100 for the mechanic's services and the foot pedal, and $40 for a set of attachments belonging to a BU Mira. My total cost was higher, and my gratification much more delayed, than if I had bought a complete outfit to begin with.

In hindsight, I would not recommend buying a machine over eBay in unknown condition as one of your first vintage sewing machine purchases! A complete setup from a local source, or a well-established eBay seller, might have been a better way to go. In the year that I've been on the hunt, I've only seen two Necchis in my state (North Carolina). One had a broken part that is no longer available, and the other was the same machine I have, but after I had already bought this one.

How many projects have you done on this machine?
Quite a few, but other machines have happened along since, so it hasn't been my only machine. I pieced a twin quilt top and made my son a pair of jeans as the first pair of projects. I have made a couple of denim skirts for myself, several cotton blouses, a rayon dress with piping and six very wide and long sheer curtain panels.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. This machine is wonderfully well-suited to a wide variety of woven fabrics. It handles light fabrics just as beautifully as very firm and heavy fabrics. I am not sure, in all honesty, that it pierces heavier fabrics any better than my modern Bernina 160 (which I did have repaired, to the tune of $250!). And I have not had great luck at all using it on lighter weight knits, such as jersey.

What do you like and what do you hate about it?
The sewing experience on this machine is fantastic. The BU gives me the feeling that together we can push right through nearly any project. It handles thick topstitching or upholstery thread in the needle and the bobbin much, much better than my Bernina. I love that it has an adjustable needle position (left, center and right). My Bernina probably has 10 different positions from left to right, but I love the simplicity of the three, which turns out to be plenty for any need. I like that it has adjustable presser foot pressure, which two older Berninas I used to own did not. I like that the feed dogs can be dropped for free motion work, though I haven't explored that much yet. This machine is a high shank model, so it can use many industrial presser feet. These feet are rugged, very specific to a purpose and cost between $5-$10 per foot. Compare that to between $30-$60 per Bernina foot!

Somehow the visibility of the sewing surface and the ease of reaching it on this machine are both great. The "head" of my Bernina seems to be higher and come forward more, and I feel like I hunch over more when using it. The ergonomics of the Necchi are terrific for me. It's awesome to set the levers in one position and know that they will stay put until I change them. On the other hand, it isn't so easy to change back and forth between different settings on the fly.

I wish it handled knits better, and sometimes I wish it was a pink and cream Supernova with the circular needle plate and a full set of cams! This machine does straight stitch and zig zag, forward and back, and free motion work. That's all. That's enough.

I haven't seen a lot of discussion about the way the needle mounts on these vintage machines versus the more modern arrangement, but it presents an issue for me. The needle mounts with the flat side to the right. Threading goes left to right. This is not just Necchis, but actually all of my vintage machines. It's easy enough to thread, and easy to insert the needle once you learn which way the flat side goes, but it doesn't make two parallel rows of stitching with a twin needle. Instead the twin needle makes a sort of a shadow effect vertically. I like to use a twin needle for hemming knits, so I have to hold onto a modern machine for this purpose.

Vogue 9668, Take Two

2009-09-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you so very much for your votes! In response to some gentle nudges at Pattern Review, I am posting a couple of additional photos. You were right, the previous photo didn't give enough information to really judge the length. If you vote today, please base your opinion on the photo from yesterday, to keep things consistent. So far, shorter is winning!

Above you can see the hem pinned one inch shorter than shown yesterday.

I also agree that these shoes look too clunky with the dress. They are my last remaining pair of Danskos, which I used to buy thinking they were a comfort shoe, but finally realized aren't even particularly comfortable for me.

But do you know what? The pictures don't lie, and I can't help but feel like the real problem is that this particular dress just doesn't flatter me. My fitting isn't great (especially the bust), and that could be worked on, but I am thinking it's maybe not worth it. The color is so blah, and the black piping just drags it down rather than perking it up. I don't wear cream or beige well. I thought the black would counter the cream enough, but I am just not feeling good about the result.

I had to narrow the sweetheart cutout by almost an inch on each side to enable me to wear a bra with straps (very much necessary), and that too detracts from the cuteness of the dress.

In a more cheerful vein, I must recognize the good photography work of my 10 year old son on today's photos. His pictures have so far worked out much better than either my mom's or husband's. I'm impressed!

So it sometimes goes in a sewing life...

Hemming and Hawing

2009-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Your opinions will most definitely be appreciated! I have been working on Vogue 9668, described on the pattern envelope as: "Lined dress, below mid-knee variations or lower calf, has neckline variations, fitted, self-lined bodice, midriff, tapered or flared skirt and back zipper. View A: short sleeves."

One day last year I ran out to buy this pattern (which is still in print). I had to have it right that moment! I was going to start it the very next day! And then it hit me that fitting the bodice would not be easy at all. It's taken a long while to work up the courage to wrestle with it. Even though this dress is far from perfect, at least it goes around me without falling off my shoulders. I started with an 8 in the upper chest and added ever-so-much width and length to the bust (and width to the waist). In fact, now I know I overdid it with the FBA, but no way am I ripping out all that piping and lining and stuff. This version will be good enough for itself.

Now I just want to hem it, review it, and move on to another version. My mom very kindly crawled around on the floor marking an even line and pinning up a hem. She even went so far as to take a photo. I wish we had gotten a front view, but I hope you get some sense of it from the side.

I'm worried that this is a touch too long and a bit more matronly than siren. I'm also worried that I need much more powerful underpinnings than those pictured, but that's another issue. My mom favors this length. What do you think?

There I Go Again

2009-08-30T03:43:00.001-07:00

As the nice lady at the church rummage sale said, "You must have a soft spot for the old ones."

Yes, I must.

My late father was a lover of ingenious things, a pack rat, a tinkerer, an envisioner of possibilities. I always thought I was very like him in many ways, but not in that one.

Above is the "before" photo. I gave the Capitol DeLuxe a good cleaning yesterday (using my new vacuum attachments! and a lot of Tri-Flow oil), but this is how it appeared in the wild. For $20, I received fifty-some pounds worth of machine, a foot control, a battered-looking yet extremely sturdy base and case, 15 pattern cams, a ruffler, various feet and the usual complement of dusty thread and rusty pins.

I'm still figuring things out, as no manual came with the machine, and there are some mysterious moves that must be made with various levers and dials for simple operations such as changing from straight stitch to zig zag.

But does this one ever run. Yes, it goes through lots of layers of canvas without a hitch, and doubtless sews thick leather and soda cans and whatever else people show their machines doing on eBay, but that's not really the main thing. I detect almost no vibration or hesitation whatsoever. The machine is completely responsive, from a very low speed to top speed.

And can you believe the paint color and the design?

Rose Top from Ottobre Woman 2/2007

2009-08-28T16:43:00.001-07:00

I have purchased a grand total of one Ottobre Woman magazine, and I would guess that I've made between 12 and 14 garments from it. Mostly variations on the six t-shirts in this issue, but also a pair of jeans. Looking through the issue to write a review for Pattern Review, I recall that I intend to make the #12 basic A-line skirt and the #18 rain jacket. This magazine is a great value and I ought to buy another.

The Rose Top (#5) is the most successful garment I've made from this issue overall. It is a knit top with woven, interfaced bands at the v-neck and sleeve hems. I love the combination of comfort (and easy care) with the structure of the woven facings. My first version of this top (now sadly worn out) was from a lightweight (really rather flimsy) knit in the most beautiful shade of teal blue. I interfaced the knit and used the self fabric for the facings, which worked out wonderfully.

As you can see, this version is a bit more exuberant! The Hilco knit came from Banberry Place, which seems to have the largest selection of European knits available online in the U.S. Bunte Fabrics is another source. These Hilco knits remind me of a wonderful t-shirt I once purchased from Oilily. I adored the print (even though it wasn't my best color) and it lasted for several years. When I make a top that I like, I wear it often, and probably hard. It's sad to say goodbye after only a few months, which often happens, even with relatively expensive knits. These European cotton-lycra knits are the answer!

I'll Never Buy Canned Air Again! I Hope.

2009-08-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

Has it occurred to you that canned air is...air? And that it costs at least $6 a can? And that this can doesn't last long at all? These facts have worried me, and I have used this expensive air very stingily. But as I've slowly morphed into a sewing machine geek, I find myself offended at the slightest bits of lint and dust on any of my machines. eBay seller Vacuum Stop offers this set of "micro vacuum attachments" for $9.95 plus $4.95 shipping, and points out that it would be useful for electronic equipment. And how about detailing cars? Dusting antique dolls? Reaching the crevices in your toaster? The mind boggles.

But for me and my house, we will keep this set in the sewing room. Where it will join with the hose of any regular vacuum and completely remove dust and lint from the inner reaches of sewing machines and sergers. And where it will fill me with a feeling of deep satisfaction, knowing that the dust has been sucked out, rather than simply blown around.

Simplicity 2614: Now With Rick Rack!

2009-08-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

This newish pattern from Simplicity seems to be picking up steam and gaining in popularity, judging by the mounting number of reviews on Pattern Review and elsewhere. I was attracted to it for three reasons. First, it's part of Simplicity's A, B, C, D cup collection, with separate bodice pattern pieces for each cup size. I will buy almost any pattern from this collection as soon as it hits the pattern drawer. Second, you have to love a pullover blouse pattern intended for woven fabrics with no closures. Third, I find the design very feminine and reminiscent of vintage patterns.

My first version was made from a strange wonder fabric found last year at Hancock's. If memory serves me correctly, this synthetic, washable, non-wrinkling fabric was $1.98 per yard. I have already worn out a different blouse from this same fabric. It suited the present blouse very well, since there is a subtle grid design to it that nicely accents the bias cut of the lower front panel and the back.

I didn't need to do much adjusting to the pattern. I cut a 10 in the shoulder and neck area, tapering to a 12 below the waist, and using the D cup bodice. My innovation for this version: bias binding at the neck rather than a facing, which would surely show through the white fabric. The idea can't be faulted, but my execution was rather lame. I used purchased white bias binding, but then allowed it to show at the top edge. It looks okay, but next time I must figure out how to handle the vee portion whilst also wrapping the entire binding to the wrong side.

The drapey quality of this fabric allowed the back to hang acceptably with no sway back adjustment. As you will see in the next version, a quilting cotton behaves much differently, even with the advantage of subtle darts.

Version two's innovation is ric-rac. Long have I aspired to incorporate rick rack into a project, yet even as my small stash of the trim has grown, I have delayed. I find applying the rick rack rather tricky. I would ideally like to see just the points extending from the seamline, perfectly consistent in width, with the edge of the fabric just touching the inner curve of the wave. Now that I have used it, I see another issue: the rick rack makes the seam into which it is applied stiffer. No doubt about that.

I've found this blouse easy to wear (works well with skirts in addition to jeans) and to launder. I have other aspirations for this pattern: try out the banded short sleeve, use a knit, lengthen to dress or tunic length. If making a longer version in a woven, a wide fabric will be required, to accommodate the bias cut. Or perhaps the back could be cut in two pieces, with an upper portion that matches the empire line in the front.

Despite the long darts on either side of the back piece, still some wrinkling in this quilting cotton at the swayback area. Perhaps a bit more width at the bottom hem just on the back?

Iraqi Bundles of Love

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was glad to discover this project. Art La Flamme is a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq. He and his unit are collecting bundles of fabric, notions and yarn to distribute to Iraqis. As Art explains on his blog, basic supplies of every sort are and have been in short supply in Iraq since long before the war. Every scrap is put to use. I wish I could honestly say that I so fully honor the raw materials that pass through my life. From this place of abundance, I admire and idealize the skills the Iraqis have developed through necessity and hardship.

Assembling our box helped my son to process and express some of his sadness about events in Iraq and Afghanistan. When he thinks about the situation there, it does not feel distant to him. He enjoyed picking out the needles and buttons for our box, and he urged me to keep the fabrics simple and plain.

Finn's Quilt

2009-08-25T03:13:00.001-07:00

A first (perhaps only?) quilt for a first (definitely only) child. The wonderful Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse inspired me to take my scraps in hand. What I can't understand is how she has managed to sew, in the space of time it's taken me to do one, five of these quilts, one for each of her children.

These patches are 2.5" finished squares, and nearly all are truly scraps. I did purchase four fat quarters of blue fabrics to ensure that my son's quilt would tend toward the masculine, rather than accurately reflecting the true yellow-pink bias of my scrap collection.

The photo above shows the unquilted top, which I must admit I prefer to the quilted finished product. In my attempt to take the least complicated path to the desired end (something to use on the bed), I decided to quilt in the ditch on each seam line. But, in the interest of avoiding tucks and pleats on the quilt back, my dear Bernina presser foot #10 (edge stitching and stitch in the ditch foot) had to defer to the Bernina walking foot. I found it quite difficult to keep my eyes and mind focused on following the seam line for a l l those seams.

Anna quilted her scrap quilts in a diagonal grid. Now I wish I had slavishly copied that, too.

I did, however, take her suggestion for binding, which involves leaving 1 1/2" of backing all around the quilt. Then you fold under 3/4", press, and fold again to the front. I zig zagged it all around. Even though I know this isn't a quilt purist's binding method, I'm very happy with how it looks, and that part of the project was surprisingly quick.

Sewing machine notes: I pieced the top on my Necchi BU (circa 1954). When I began this project (winter of 2008), the BU had just taken her place in the sewing room. We bonded over her comforting, smooth, weighty hum through the nearly-one-thousand squares in this top. Quilting had to take place on the Bernina 160, which felt like a comedown after enjoying the Necchi so much. I did purchase a high shank walking foot for the Necchi for this project, but it ended up not fitting properly. One of these days I'm going to try again.

Gramm's Vintage Fabric Tote

2009-08-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

At the mother of all sewing-related yard sales, I found this vintage drapery fabric. And I have a lot of it. There have been pillows. There will be a wrap skirt. But here we have the tote version. I started out by freemotion quilting the fabric, a skill at which I consider myself a complete beginner. Following the curves of the design, I let the fabric offer its own suggestions for quilting. And then I asked it what it should become.

And then I wanted to keep it for myself, but it reminded me so strongly of my grandmother, Martha Fern. And her house in Port Orange, Florida, looking over the Halifax River. With ornate gilt shelves on white beadboard walls, and curtains with pom-pom trim, and red shag carpeting and a pink bedspread in the master bedroom.

She called from her now-home in Missouri, where she lives with my aunt and her husband. It is far from the ocean and, truth be told, far from anything else. I've been there. It's a beautiful, modest lake community with limestone outcroppings and golf carts and those little signs retired folks put in their front yards: "The Thomases." But no hibiscus. No palms. No Daytona Beach Baptist Church. No newspaper on the screened-in porch at the wrought-iron table with a vinyl cloth.

I don't know if this fabric recalled that other way of life to her, but she surely did seem to love it.

My grandmother was one of those accomplished seamstresses of the fifties and sixties. She had three daughters (and one son, my father). They all wore shirtwaists and poodle skirts and crinolines and swing coats and, later, sheaths of her making. She made our son the dearest crib quilt: pale yellow and gray and white with appliqued pussy willows and kittens.

So, the handles are leather. I want to say: sewing leather is no big deal. The hoopla over a sewing machine that can sew leather puzzles me. All of my sewing machines (four) can sew flexible, reasonable-thickness leather with no trouble. Now when we start having multiple layers of seams and interfacing, as in straps or edges of bags, that can get tough. But the same is true of fabric, especially home dec fabric.

The pegboard on which the bag is hanging is a recent addition to the sewing room. I have always had trouble finding my rotary cutter, scissors and rulers from one moment to the next. They would somehow burrow underneath a scrap or a pattern piece. The pegboard restrains them, and keeps them in sight.

Simplicity 4171: The Crazy Kitties Dress

2009-08-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

Having worn and loved this dress for two years now, it's time to say something about it. The fabric is Smitten Kitten by Alexander Henry. I wish I could reliably find its equivalent in countless other prints. Strange, lively, impossible to stain.

Being short and fair, I am more and more finding that bold prints overwhelm me, especially when I see myself in photos. So I am thinking of taking a decidedly prim approach to pattern in the future.

But not with this dress!

This Simplicity pattern is part of their B-C-D cup collection, which I greatly love. I believe I cut an 8 in the upper portion of the chest (using the D cup bodice), grading to a 12 below the waist. Having now sewn this pattern three times, I've made a few tweaks here and there (a petite tuck above the waist, a little more slope to the shoulder), but on this first version I played it pretty straight, and I still think the result worked out well. I must make a shirt version of this.

The fantastic ribbon I am wearing as a sash comes from a small cache of treasures preserved from my Great Great Aunt Jenny's long-gone dress shop, Land O' Sky Fashions. A place from the past I so wish I could visit! It had been closed for many years by the time I was born, but the old stock remained on the upper story of an old retail building downtown. That is another post. The point here is, this is 4" wide rayon satin ribbon, and it feels like liquid mercury. It also won't stay tied tightly for more than ten minutes. I keep thinking I need to sew in some little snaps or something. I really don't want to turn it into a more structured belt, say with interfacing or buckles or whatever. That seems disrespectful to the ribbon and its inherent ribbonyness.

This dress accommodates a short waist and a swayback with aplomb! I often wear the dress without a belt as a more casual, dare I say "housedress", approach.

A Gone and Golden Machine

2009-08-22T18:24:00.001-07:00

Last week I brought home a snazzy Singer sewing machine cabinet from the fifties. Dark wood, those nifty tapered legs that end in a brass ring, that kind of thing. Within, a sewing machine. What would be my fifth sewing machine. After recently selling two. And buying two more.

This sewing machine, I discovered in my hasty internet research, is not revered. The Singer Touch & Sew series is also known as the "Touch & Swear" mostly, it seems from what I read, for its finicky horizontal bobbin. Fiddling with the machine, I had the impression that Singer's marketing strategy for this series must have been to load it up with so many features that the argument could plausibly be made that the customer's trusty older Singer was completely out of date.

But...but. I liked it. I really did. And some other folks do too. I found an online service manual and managed to actually rebuild the tension mechanism. I was all set to start in on the switch selector mechanism and then, well, then another sewing machine arrived. You can see a glimpse up in my banner, but I will have more to say about that machine soon. So I just decided to list the machine on Craigslist for $25 and hope that some nice person would enjoy it.

And I think that's what has happened. Kelcey called. Her $100 new Singer broke a year after purchase. She wanted a sturdy vintage machine for simple projects. She has a toddler daughter and another on the way.

If you are interested in knowing more about this series, here are some of its features: a chainstitch capability (used for basting and decorative work, I'm told), special stitch cams, a foot control with a sliding speed control lever, a basting cam that makes stitches up to 1/2" long, a buttonholer and of course the range of Singer slant shank presser feet. As with many vintage machines, there is a whimsical nature to the prices they sell for on eBay. I saw a very similar outfit go for $45/$35 shipping yesterday. I also saw a beautifully-presented 600E go for $250 a month ago.

I hope the Singer 640 will be a golden machine for her. It makes me glad to think that it has a new life with a new young family.