What next, you ask? Good question. Based on my last endeavor, I'm still intent on sticking with something simple, but upping the bar a little bit. I know, I'm a little nutty challenging myself so quickly, but I think that's part of what makes it more interesting for me. I won't learn anything unless I challenge myself.
Thus, I've been thinking about it quite a bit. And I decided that I wanted to do another project from the S.E.W. book. So I looked through the book, and thought about what I wanted to make that was not a one-spool (easy) project, but something that was two spools (intermediate beginner), the next level up. I wanted to make something to wear this time, and again, keep it simple. I've been eyeing the tunic in there, the pattern aptly named, "Tunic, or not Tunic?". Before even taking the pattern out of the pattern envelope in the book, I decided to read the pattern fairly carefully, to make sure I wasn't biting off more than I can chew. Well, there's only 6 pieces to the pattern, and less is more that way, so Diana Rupp the S.E.W. goddess says. Makes sense. Having the knitting background I have, looking at the pieces and looking at how the pieces go together, it totally made sense. That part is a piece of cake. I think the challenge will be getting the neckpiece/collar working. We're not talking a normal collar-- it's simple enough. It's just a V piece with the back piece, but getting some zigzag stitching in there and attaching it to the main body of the tunic will be the tricky part. That and the armband parts too. The other trick with this pattern is that the largest size is still too small for me, so I'm going to still have to figure out how to make adaptions. :-S Yikes! I'm not panicking yet. I think it will only be making it a little wider, not so much the longer part. So, I've got that on tap.
I went out to JoAnn's Fabrics, as that's the main and pretty much only fabric shop around here. (Okay, there's a Calico Corners Home down the street, but that's not for the stuff I need.) I am such a smart shopper for the most part. One of the things I mentioned the last time was the need of a magnetic seam guide. Well, I searched the store, and I finally found one in the quilter's section. It was smaller than I expected, but it was only $1.59. Sweet! I'm not sure if it's the right thing, but I decide that I'll take my chances. Eventually, I find the "regular" one in the "regular" sewing section. It's by the same manufacturer, and lo and behold, the only thing that's different is the packaging-- and the price! The "regular" one is $4.59! It's the same exact thing! So yeah, getting the cheaper one was a good idea. I also got interfacing that the tunic pattern required, but found out after I got home (but fortunately before I opened the package) that I got the wrong kind. Oh well! I'll go exchange it tomorrow. I also got some dressmaker's pattern paper, so that way I don't have to totally destroy the patterns. Of course, having a tracer do-hickey would help! I'll have to get one of those tomorrow as well.
Then, I did it. I've been eyeing this canvas-like striped fabric for at least a long time, well before I even started sewing. I've wanted to make some curtains for my kitchen that would coordinate with the plans we have for our kitchen and family room. It incorporated all the colors we've talked about along with some contrasting colors at the same time. It looked like the bolt was almost done, so I bought all that was left, about 2 2/3 yards. Okay, it's way too much fabric for what I need, but I love this fabric. I can probably make some new pillow covers (the old ones are the same as the main fabric of my tote bag) with it, and perhaps some extra tote bags too! LOL So, it looks like I might be making some valances soon as well. Hooray! I hope to get the hang of this enough to make some new mini sheers for my front door soon. The ones that are there are fugly, and were left with the house, but they don't go at ALL with what we have here. I think I've seen some Christopher Lowell sheer fabric with some embroidery that was affordable and would go, so I'll have to work towards that.
So, I have two projects ahead-- a tunic, and some valances for my kitchen. It think it's a plan! Now, to get started...pattern nerves ensue again!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
My first REAL sewing project-- DONE!
Okay, so yesterday I bit the bullet and cut out the material. I started sewing. Tonight, I have a finished project.
Voila!
My first real project, a tote bag made using the S.E.W. book's pattern (or should I say, directions).
I'll say it's not too bad for a first project of this caliber (not that this is a high caliber, but you know), but as much as it looks okay, there are plenty of mistakes as well.
Let's first talk about the stitchwork. I'll admit it-- I'm really, really bad at both doing a basic straight line as well as doing decorative stitches. Not that my machine can do that much in the way of decorative stitches, but work with me here. You can see in the following photo that I might have used that bumpy stitch, but not consistently, on the pocket, and then again on the "ribbon" border.
I know that the "best" way to do it is at 0-1 stitches for length, but the problem is that the feed dogs don't feed at 0 stitches, so you have to move it yourself, so I think that explains the inconsistency. Oh well. That will take some practice, much like just doing straight stitching. Like, look here, at the back-- proof that it is a valiant attempt, but still inconsistent.
At the same time, you may be asking, "Windsornot, why'd you attempt something like that on your very first project?" Well, I'll tell you. Like I said before, my straight stitches aren't very straight. Thus, when I put in the lining for my bag-- YES, I put in a lining!-- the stitches showing on the outside showed how crooked they were. I needed to cover them up somehow, so I made the makeshift "ribbon" out of the same material as the pocket, and attached it with the decorative stitch. Here, take a look-- here's the evidence:
Even so, unless you really look close at it, you can't tell, or it's not THAT bad.
Let's see, what else can I tell you about the project? The material used was all scraps of sorts. The striped material is leftover from pillows and curtains I did in my old house (I have a TON of it left). The red material is actually from other curtains used in my old house, which were transferred to my new house. The lining was from remnant material I got at JoAnn Fabrics recently. I think it's shirt/broadcloth material, and least that's how it feels.
So, what lessons were learned from this?
I can do a sewing project!
I need to learn to iron and cut my fabric much better.
I need to learn to sew straighter seams! The investment of a magnetic seam guide, much to JC's objections of me getting anymore do-hickeys for sewing, might be needed. Also, the cutting the fabric straighter will hopefully help in this endeavor as well.
Just like in knitting, sometimes my inner instincts are good in trying to make corrections.
In the end, while it's not perfect in any shape or form, I still feel that my first true sewing project came out pretty well, so I'm pleased with it, and more importantly with myself.
Even JC thought I did a good job. And even Drew helped with the project here and there. JC was also impressed with the little set-up I had going in the guest room. He said it's looking like a real sewing room, with my little table and everything set up as it is. Now, if I could only get legitimate space for a craft room! But that's for another posting someday.
Now, the question is, do I make my next tote bag for my friend as I had planned, or work on something else first? And if I should work on something else, what should it be? Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.
Voila!
My first real project, a tote bag made using the S.E.W. book's pattern (or should I say, directions).
I'll say it's not too bad for a first project of this caliber (not that this is a high caliber, but you know), but as much as it looks okay, there are plenty of mistakes as well.
Let's first talk about the stitchwork. I'll admit it-- I'm really, really bad at both doing a basic straight line as well as doing decorative stitches. Not that my machine can do that much in the way of decorative stitches, but work with me here. You can see in the following photo that I might have used that bumpy stitch, but not consistently, on the pocket, and then again on the "ribbon" border.
I know that the "best" way to do it is at 0-1 stitches for length, but the problem is that the feed dogs don't feed at 0 stitches, so you have to move it yourself, so I think that explains the inconsistency. Oh well. That will take some practice, much like just doing straight stitching. Like, look here, at the back-- proof that it is a valiant attempt, but still inconsistent.
At the same time, you may be asking, "Windsornot, why'd you attempt something like that on your very first project?" Well, I'll tell you. Like I said before, my straight stitches aren't very straight. Thus, when I put in the lining for my bag-- YES, I put in a lining!-- the stitches showing on the outside showed how crooked they were. I needed to cover them up somehow, so I made the makeshift "ribbon" out of the same material as the pocket, and attached it with the decorative stitch. Here, take a look-- here's the evidence:
Even so, unless you really look close at it, you can't tell, or it's not THAT bad.
Let's see, what else can I tell you about the project? The material used was all scraps of sorts. The striped material is leftover from pillows and curtains I did in my old house (I have a TON of it left). The red material is actually from other curtains used in my old house, which were transferred to my new house. The lining was from remnant material I got at JoAnn Fabrics recently. I think it's shirt/broadcloth material, and least that's how it feels.
So, what lessons were learned from this?
In the end, while it's not perfect in any shape or form, I still feel that my first true sewing project came out pretty well, so I'm pleased with it, and more importantly with myself.
Even JC thought I did a good job. And even Drew helped with the project here and there. JC was also impressed with the little set-up I had going in the guest room. He said it's looking like a real sewing room, with my little table and everything set up as it is. Now, if I could only get legitimate space for a craft room! But that's for another posting someday.
Now, the question is, do I make my next tote bag for my friend as I had planned, or work on something else first? And if I should work on something else, what should it be? Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Biting the bullet
I've been hesitating starting on my first real project. Why, you may ask?
Well, I'm weird. I'm excited to learn to sew, yet scared to start on something. I think it's because I'm thinking so far ahead, even with simple stuff. And because I'm thinking ahead, I'm already anticipating problems that I don't know how to deal with it. I know, it's a little bit of putting the cart before the horse syndrome, but it's different with sewing than knitting. With knitting, if you goof up, you can always frog it and start over on a section if you messed up. There's literally more flexibility, and once you know how to read a pattern, and you know how to knit and purl, you are on your way for the most part. Sure, I know a lot more now than when I started, and there are still things I don't know. I wouldn't call myself an advanced or expert knitter, but I'm not a beginner either.
I think I'm like this with anything new. I've very hesitant and unsure of myself. And until I do the first project or two, get the hang of it-- even if it's very simple-- I'm terrified of failure, even though I know failure is part of the learning process. I think part of it too is that there is a lot more complicated stuff going on with sewing than I expected. Understanding knitting helps, because I understand garment construction a lot more than if I didn't knit, and having already learned to make adaptions in knitting (some of which are a lot easier to do), I'm anticipating having to make adaptions for sewing patterns, and really screwing things up. I'm sure in time making some sewing adaptions will be normal, but for now, I don't know what I'm doing.
I kept re-reading the section of my S.E.W. book on how to read patterns, and I understand some parts, and not others. How much yardage? Check. How to lay out the patterns on the fabric? Check. How to sew this part or that part? Well, not so much. And to top it all off, I come to find out that sewing pattern sizes are not the same as store sizes. So, I could be a size 8 at the Gap (I'm not, but bear with me) and a size 14 via the sewing pattern. That screws up everything for me, because I'm not exactly small to begin with. I know they make plus sized patterns, but still, what if I still need to make adaptions to that as well? And one of the reasons I wanted to learn to sew was because I think I don't fit a size per se. Like my back is one size, but my front is another size, and I have a waist, and so on. So I'm freezing up mentally on this, when I shouldn't. I should just seize the day and start simple. But even the simple tote bag that I plan to do is seizing up my brain. And my logical brain says that's dumb, but my emotional brain is panicking. I don't understand my brain sometimes.
So, I had a little chat with one of my co-workers today, and was mentioning that I was starting to learn, and part of the difficulty was that nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever showed me anything about sewing until my lesson with Sandy. My mother had a machine when I was a kid, but I really didn't learn anything from her at all, and I wouldn't say that in any way was she a sewing person. I think, in retrospect, it was because she didn't learn properly herself, because after reading some of the problems that can happen with improper care of your machine and accessories, I think that was the problem. But the co-worker was very enthusiastic and encouraging, and assured me that even making basic stuff was satisfying, as that's what she would do for her kids when they were smaller, and just make costumes and toys and chatchkes and stuff. With that kind of encouragement, I don't know...I just decided that I needed to listen to my logical mind instead of my scared little girl mind, and yes, bite the bullet.
So, tonight, with scrap material in hand, my cutting board, rotary cutter and scissors, my ruler, my tracing pencil, and the directions in my S.E.W. book, I cut out my first "pattern" for the tote bag I decided to make. I'm doing a trial run with scrap material I have first just to get the hang of it before I make a nicer one later. I think this one won't be perfect, but it's a good start. I'll admit, I didn't press any material, although I definitely should. I decided to make a pocket at the last minute, so I started with that. While I didn't have an iron on hand (I'll have to bring the iron and ironing board upstairs from the basement), I used the Elisa method of marking (in this case, spit to make creases. I know, bleeh, but it's my bag, so it's my spit. Deal with it! I stitched up the pocket, and while it's not perfect, it's not so bad either. After a little bit of work on it, Drew came up, and he helped me with it. He likes using the "accelerator" for me, and he's getting rather good at listening to what I need, such as go slower, go faster, STOP, and go medium. He likes helping and watching, so that's good. He asked what I was making, and I told him a tote bag. He asked if he could have it when I was done making it, and I said sure, and he was excited about that. Of course, I have to finish it first!
So I think if I do any sewing stuff this weekend, I'll have to bring the ironing board and iron upstairs. I wanted to get a mini craft iron, but JC is getting weird about me getting all this stuff. He feels I've already spent too much on things, and I can just use what I have. Geez, okay already. We have two regular irons anyway. I think if I have time, I will be able to get the bag done this weekend. We'll see. There's a lot going on, and I really need to attend to my house and getting it cleaned up. It's time to change the seasonal clothes, and perhaps that will help tell me what some of my future clothes projects that I want to do will be! I know I want to make shorts for both Drew and I, that's for sure. But I need to assess what he and I have, especially since he's growing so fast.
But I did it! I finally cut the pieces of my first pattern, and have taken steps to finally make something. I need to follow through on this now, because if I don't, then it's been a big waste of time and money. I can do this. I know I can!
Well, I'm weird. I'm excited to learn to sew, yet scared to start on something. I think it's because I'm thinking so far ahead, even with simple stuff. And because I'm thinking ahead, I'm already anticipating problems that I don't know how to deal with it. I know, it's a little bit of putting the cart before the horse syndrome, but it's different with sewing than knitting. With knitting, if you goof up, you can always frog it and start over on a section if you messed up. There's literally more flexibility, and once you know how to read a pattern, and you know how to knit and purl, you are on your way for the most part. Sure, I know a lot more now than when I started, and there are still things I don't know. I wouldn't call myself an advanced or expert knitter, but I'm not a beginner either.
I think I'm like this with anything new. I've very hesitant and unsure of myself. And until I do the first project or two, get the hang of it-- even if it's very simple-- I'm terrified of failure, even though I know failure is part of the learning process. I think part of it too is that there is a lot more complicated stuff going on with sewing than I expected. Understanding knitting helps, because I understand garment construction a lot more than if I didn't knit, and having already learned to make adaptions in knitting (some of which are a lot easier to do), I'm anticipating having to make adaptions for sewing patterns, and really screwing things up. I'm sure in time making some sewing adaptions will be normal, but for now, I don't know what I'm doing.
I kept re-reading the section of my S.E.W. book on how to read patterns, and I understand some parts, and not others. How much yardage? Check. How to lay out the patterns on the fabric? Check. How to sew this part or that part? Well, not so much. And to top it all off, I come to find out that sewing pattern sizes are not the same as store sizes. So, I could be a size 8 at the Gap (I'm not, but bear with me) and a size 14 via the sewing pattern. That screws up everything for me, because I'm not exactly small to begin with. I know they make plus sized patterns, but still, what if I still need to make adaptions to that as well? And one of the reasons I wanted to learn to sew was because I think I don't fit a size per se. Like my back is one size, but my front is another size, and I have a waist, and so on. So I'm freezing up mentally on this, when I shouldn't. I should just seize the day and start simple. But even the simple tote bag that I plan to do is seizing up my brain. And my logical brain says that's dumb, but my emotional brain is panicking. I don't understand my brain sometimes.
So, I had a little chat with one of my co-workers today, and was mentioning that I was starting to learn, and part of the difficulty was that nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever showed me anything about sewing until my lesson with Sandy. My mother had a machine when I was a kid, but I really didn't learn anything from her at all, and I wouldn't say that in any way was she a sewing person. I think, in retrospect, it was because she didn't learn properly herself, because after reading some of the problems that can happen with improper care of your machine and accessories, I think that was the problem. But the co-worker was very enthusiastic and encouraging, and assured me that even making basic stuff was satisfying, as that's what she would do for her kids when they were smaller, and just make costumes and toys and chatchkes and stuff. With that kind of encouragement, I don't know...I just decided that I needed to listen to my logical mind instead of my scared little girl mind, and yes, bite the bullet.
So, tonight, with scrap material in hand, my cutting board, rotary cutter and scissors, my ruler, my tracing pencil, and the directions in my S.E.W. book, I cut out my first "pattern" for the tote bag I decided to make. I'm doing a trial run with scrap material I have first just to get the hang of it before I make a nicer one later. I think this one won't be perfect, but it's a good start. I'll admit, I didn't press any material, although I definitely should. I decided to make a pocket at the last minute, so I started with that. While I didn't have an iron on hand (I'll have to bring the iron and ironing board upstairs from the basement), I used the Elisa method of marking (in this case, spit to make creases. I know, bleeh, but it's my bag, so it's my spit. Deal with it! I stitched up the pocket, and while it's not perfect, it's not so bad either. After a little bit of work on it, Drew came up, and he helped me with it. He likes using the "accelerator" for me, and he's getting rather good at listening to what I need, such as go slower, go faster, STOP, and go medium. He likes helping and watching, so that's good. He asked what I was making, and I told him a tote bag. He asked if he could have it when I was done making it, and I said sure, and he was excited about that. Of course, I have to finish it first!
So I think if I do any sewing stuff this weekend, I'll have to bring the ironing board and iron upstairs. I wanted to get a mini craft iron, but JC is getting weird about me getting all this stuff. He feels I've already spent too much on things, and I can just use what I have. Geez, okay already. We have two regular irons anyway. I think if I have time, I will be able to get the bag done this weekend. We'll see. There's a lot going on, and I really need to attend to my house and getting it cleaned up. It's time to change the seasonal clothes, and perhaps that will help tell me what some of my future clothes projects that I want to do will be! I know I want to make shorts for both Drew and I, that's for sure. But I need to assess what he and I have, especially since he's growing so fast.
But I did it! I finally cut the pieces of my first pattern, and have taken steps to finally make something. I need to follow through on this now, because if I don't, then it's been a big waste of time and money. I can do this. I know I can!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I'm such a gearhead sometimes.
Well, the machine is here! And oddly enough, it matches the decor of the room it's living in right now, ha ha. That wasn't done intentionally, especially since I plan to redo that room. I've been playing with it and having a good time practicing stitches and learning the quirks of my very own machine. It took me a while to get the hang of the automatic needle threader (not so automatic), but once I got the hang of it, it's gold. Also, for a non-jamming bobbin, I can tell you for a fact that it DOES jam. The other thing is that the feed dogs don't move on this machine, so I have to manually move the fabric myself much more, which I didn't have to do on the loaner machine. All things I've learned the hard way, you could say. Yes, I looked at the manual. After the fact, of course. :-P I did figure out how to use the one-step button hole maker. That was pretty cool, and yes, it DOES work. The other problem is not so much the machine as much as the table it's on. It's just a collapsible small table-- a folding table, if you will, and while it can support the machine just fine, when you get to sewing, (I almost said "knitting" there for a moment out of habit!) the motion of the machine causes some serious vibrations of the tabletop, hence the machine is bouncing up and down on the table, kind of. So, I supposed there is a learning curve involved here. But that's okay. I have a good foundation to build on.
In the meantime, I had some JoAnn's Fabrics coupons (I'll probably be saving those up now, like I do the Michaels and AC Moore coupons for yarn now and then), and decided to invest in a pretty rotary cutter and a cutting board. I also bought some more remnant cloth for practice or possibly making something. I received my fancier Fiskars Pinking shears that I won dirt cheap off eBay today in the mail. (It was worth about $31 and I got it for a third of that price including the shipping.) I'm no thinking that I need to get a magnetic seam guide and a tracing wheel as well. So I have LOTS of gear at this point for a beginner sewer, don't you think?
Here's the thing, though. Other than that pincushion, I haven't made a damn thing. Not one item. I've played with stitches and such, but I haven't made something from a pattern of any kind and produced an actual finished product. How pathetic is that? Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. I think that I need to get on the ball. Part of me is very anxious and excited to do that, and part of me is scared out of my mind to make it. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? The worst is that it would come out badly, and yet I know that comes with the territory of learning. But I want to be super successful with my first project-- is that so wrong? I already decided that I'm going to make a practice tote bag with "scrap" fabric that I have first, then make the nice one for my friend. Oddly enough, I'm scared to make the practice one. Bleeh! I need to get on the ball, and stop buying gear and MAKE SOMETHING!
In the meantime, I had some JoAnn's Fabrics coupons (I'll probably be saving those up now, like I do the Michaels and AC Moore coupons for yarn now and then), and decided to invest in a pretty rotary cutter and a cutting board. I also bought some more remnant cloth for practice or possibly making something. I received my fancier Fiskars Pinking shears that I won dirt cheap off eBay today in the mail. (It was worth about $31 and I got it for a third of that price including the shipping.) I'm no thinking that I need to get a magnetic seam guide and a tracing wheel as well. So I have LOTS of gear at this point for a beginner sewer, don't you think?
Here's the thing, though. Other than that pincushion, I haven't made a damn thing. Not one item. I've played with stitches and such, but I haven't made something from a pattern of any kind and produced an actual finished product. How pathetic is that? Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. I think that I need to get on the ball. Part of me is very anxious and excited to do that, and part of me is scared out of my mind to make it. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? The worst is that it would come out badly, and yet I know that comes with the territory of learning. But I want to be super successful with my first project-- is that so wrong? I already decided that I'm going to make a practice tote bag with "scrap" fabric that I have first, then make the nice one for my friend. Oddly enough, I'm scared to make the practice one. Bleeh! I need to get on the ball, and stop buying gear and MAKE SOMETHING!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Field trip to the Fabric store.
Okay, it wasn't the only fabric store I wanted to visit this weekend to look around, but I got an extra moment that I didn't expect to go check out JoAnn Fabrics tonight. We were going to a restaurant that was in the same shopping center, so since we had to wait, I asked JC if he minded if I walked over and took a look about while we waited. Sensing I needed the break, he said sure, so I went over. As I mentioned yesterday, the idea of fabric availability, or fabric choices, has been daunting for me. There are certain flexibilities, and certain inflexibilities, so I wanted to be able to look at what was available for myself, without a little boy tagging along making me rush through and not taking a careful look. Well, not that I was looking THAT carefully, but at least more carefully enough to see that everything wasn't shiny polyester, how the store was divided for certain fabrics, where the bottomweights were vs the knits vs the denim, etc. And, for all I said in the last post, I still found some things I liked. I saw some nice twills that I think I'd like to make for shorts and pants, or even skirts. I saw some bolts with a nice lightweight fabrics that would be suitable for a nice blouse. I saw some knit fabric which I could see making t-shirts. I started seeing possibilities. I could see my creativity still coming through in my head, at least. I also looked at the home decor/upholstery fabrics. How is it that I like the motifs on those the best? Probably it's because I've been looking at those types of fabrics longer than I've ever looked at any other kind, since I've been doing interior design for a lot longer than anything else. I was seeing some sheer fabric that I'd like to eventually get to replace the crappy curtains by my front door, and the fabric that I've been oggling for a while for my kitchen curtains and new family room pillows. The other thing I was looking for was fabric for a project out of the S.E.W. book. It's for a sewing machine cover, and it calls for oilcloth. Well, JoAnn Fabrics doesn't carry that. But from what I could see, it looks a lot like vinyl tablecloth material, so I looked at that. I have to tell you, a lot of it is fugly. But, there is some that looks like leather, and I'm very tempted to get some of that! There was one in particular that looked like butterscotch colored ostrich skin leather, even though it was really pleather. Oh, it was gorgeous, and even pricey, even though it wasn't real. I'm still thinking about whether I want to get that for the project. I think having a sewing machine cover that looks like leather would be kind of cool looking, don't you think?
I looked at other things too, like seeing mini irons, which might be ideal to have to iron out seams and such, rather than heat up my regular one. Of course, I don't really have a sewing room to do any of this, per se, but I'm hoping that by the end of the summer (heh heh, right), I'll be able to convert part of my basement into a makeshift craft room, where I can do my sewing and store my knitting supplies as well. If not there, then perhaps I can change up part of the guest room. Either way, I need a personal space, and I don't have that at all except the Master Bathroom to myself. But that's for another rant elsewhere.
I still want to also visit the local Calico Corners store, which has moved closer to my house, and has been renamed "Calico Home". Just to check out what they have. Perhaps one day after work I'll go, because it's literally across the street (namely Rt.1) from where I work. I know it's a home decor store, but still, sometimes I remember them having some fun fabrics, and so I am certainly curious to see what they have, since it's been a while since I've been there.
I am starting to see possibilities now, and seeing the potential of what I can do. I know, I'm still getting ahead of myself, but you know, it's like this...if I don't try to look ahead, then there's no point. Looking ahead is my way of dreaming, and if you don't have dreams, then you have no future, nothing to look forward towards. I'm starting to realize lately that if I don't try and have dreams, then I have one less thing that makes me happy. I'm not one who has lofty dreams that I wish would come true. Well, I do, but I do try to be realistic and practical. And thinking that someday I will have the skills to make my own clothes or do decor around my house on my own is my own little dream. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's what makes me happy these days.
And part of that dream is coming on Tuesday, when my first, very own sewing machine will be arriving. Yay!
I looked at other things too, like seeing mini irons, which might be ideal to have to iron out seams and such, rather than heat up my regular one. Of course, I don't really have a sewing room to do any of this, per se, but I'm hoping that by the end of the summer (heh heh, right), I'll be able to convert part of my basement into a makeshift craft room, where I can do my sewing and store my knitting supplies as well. If not there, then perhaps I can change up part of the guest room. Either way, I need a personal space, and I don't have that at all except the Master Bathroom to myself. But that's for another rant elsewhere.
I still want to also visit the local Calico Corners store, which has moved closer to my house, and has been renamed "Calico Home". Just to check out what they have. Perhaps one day after work I'll go, because it's literally across the street (namely Rt.1) from where I work. I know it's a home decor store, but still, sometimes I remember them having some fun fabrics, and so I am certainly curious to see what they have, since it's been a while since I've been there.
I am starting to see possibilities now, and seeing the potential of what I can do. I know, I'm still getting ahead of myself, but you know, it's like this...if I don't try to look ahead, then there's no point. Looking ahead is my way of dreaming, and if you don't have dreams, then you have no future, nothing to look forward towards. I'm starting to realize lately that if I don't try and have dreams, then I have one less thing that makes me happy. I'm not one who has lofty dreams that I wish would come true. Well, I do, but I do try to be realistic and practical. And thinking that someday I will have the skills to make my own clothes or do decor around my house on my own is my own little dream. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's what makes me happy these days.
And part of that dream is coming on Tuesday, when my first, very own sewing machine will be arriving. Yay!
Friday, April 18, 2008
First "big" project decided, and Fabric Commentary
Well, being the S.E.W. fanatic that I am at the moment, I decided that I needed to make a plan to make another project from the book to truly put my skills to the test. I looked at all the super basic patterns in the book (they are rated from one spool for easy, to three spools for something more intermediate vs. beginner), and decided that I wanted to do the tote bag there. Now, I know what you are going to say. I need another tote bag like I need another hole in my head. But I decided that what I'd do is make it, and give it to my girlfriend for her birthday next month, so she can use it when she goes to the beach in a couple of months with her family. Well, if nothing else, it'll be a quirky looking, fun bag she can use.
So, naturally, I had to find fabric. Because I was going in that direction last night, and because I didn't necessarily want to spend a heap of money on something that I might goof up, I went to the fabric department at Walmart. I know, don't give me a hard time about Walmart. We don't have that many choices around here, and my MIL, who sews, is always raving about the cheap but nice fabrics they have over there. Well, there were hits and misses there, as would be expected. But I did find a few things that weren't so bad. In fact, I found some fabric that I actually liked! I decided to go ahead and get a yard of contrasting fabrics. Specifically, one was lime green with periwinkle polka dots, and the other was periwinkle with lime polka dots. I thought that'd be fun for the beach! I was originally looking for something semi-tacky, like Hawaiian flowers, or surfer dude stuff, or sunglasses, or something along those lines, but I think this will have more versatility in the long run. I got more than enough fabric in case I screw up. ;-) I also found thread that should work well with this, plus I also purchased some extra bobbins (I'm sure I'll have a bobbin collection soon enough), and an extra spool of grey thread, as well as a sewing ruler. I have the gauge thingy, but not the ruler that was recommended. (I'm still waiting to see if I will be winning a pair of Fiskars pinking shears very cheaply!) I haven't started anything yet, because I want to get my new machine here first (it's due to arrive on Tuesday or so!), and I need to clear off my dining room table where I've been working so I have the space. I'm starting to think that I really will have to make space in my basement to create a "sewing room" of some sort, or else do it in my guest room. Something like that.
Anyway, I realized something about fabrics and how creating with them is SO different than knitting. There's a different flexibility with knitting. For example, say you have a knitting pattern for a sweater that is blue with a yellow flower on it. First, if you don't like the yarn that's suggested for that pattern, you can figure out a substitute, as long as you get the right gauge. Then, say you like the pattern, but the colors are all wrong. You can always change the colors to be what you want them to be. And voila! A custom colored sweater. Now with fabric, sure, there's lots of textures and weaves and other textile qualities. There are striped fabrics, and plaids; plain and polka dotted, and a mess of other motifs as well. The problem is that you are limited to what's available at the fabric stores with the fabric. Say you wanted to make a blouse. There's plenty of appropriate fabrics to choose from. You see one motif you like, but it's pink with flowers and you'd rather have blue with flowers. Well, the store only has pink with flowers. You can't make a substitution, and just say, let's change it to blue. If they don't have the same motif with a blue background, you are out of luck, and you have to find something different. In that respect, it's limiting. And the thing is, with yarn, it's easy to see what attracts your eye. And fortunately with yarn, you can just go with colors alone, and you can create your own motif. With fabrics, you are have more limitations. I'm really fussy with patterns, colors and motifs, so when I saw the polka dotted fabrics in modern color schemes, my eye was immediately drawn to them. So that same color eye was used. But again, sometimes some stuff is so busy looking, or it's the wrong texture (it's fleece instead of cotton) or something that can't be substituted so easily.
In that respect, learning to sew will be a challenge, because as a knitter, it's all about the texture of the textile. Texture plays a part in sewing too, but perhaps because my options are so highly limited at the fabric stores available to me at the moment, I have a more narrowed view. Even looking at fabrics online, it got a little dizzying between motifs and choices, but not a whole lot caught my eye. I'm already thinking about my first advanced beginner/intermediate (two spool) project from S.E.W., which is the Sewing Machine cover. It recommends using oilcloth or some similar vinyl-like fabric, and I even went to the website that the book recommends to see what they had. Nothing really set my heart on fire with it. I think I will have to think about this one, or perhaps make it with a different fabric altogether. I want something funky but fun, but I didn't see anything that made me say, YEAH! THAT'S THE ONE! So, the search continues.
Tonight, since I actually had a few minutes of total solitude (no boys in the house!), I went and practiced on my loaner machine some more. I think I'm starting to get good at threading up the machine now, and I'm starting to feel more confident about what I'm doing. I think it's going to take doing a real project to get things going for sure. Perhaps I'll make a practice bag first (I think I have enough practice fabric to do that) before I make my real one. I thought about trying to sew or at least practice sewing on a zipper (I actually bought two small zippers to play with), but I couldn't exactly figure out which foot was the zipper foot, and got a little nervous, so I decided not to do that. At least not yet. Also, playing with some of the fancy finishing stitches, I'm wondernig if I should have gone ahead and waited to save up for a fancier machine that has more embroidery features on it. Oh well, too late now. Maybe it'll force me to be more creative in doing things like that, and in time, I can saw for one of those types of machines. My MIL has both a regular sewing machine and a serger, so maybe one day I'll have the regular sewing machine, and the embroidery one or one with 1000+ stitches on it. ;-)
But I'm getting ahead of myself as usual. I think I need to make the practice bag first. Since I have so much fabric, I might make it out of that same material that I used to make the pincushion. That would make a cute bag.
I'm also starting to scope out clothing patterns. I know, I'm starting to get ahead of myself, but at the same time, if that's part of what I want to do, then I ought to start looking at the "easy to sew" patterns, and see how they look, how they work, etc. This is something that Sandy and I agreed upon, which is that having my knitting background and having had made a few sweaters in my time, I understand about ease and fitting a little bit, and how shapes work in garments and such, so that concept is something that will come more easily to me. Still, I would be very excited to make something. So, I go online and pour through pattern websites and see what's being offered, and see if there's anything that looks appealing. There are a few things, but I'll wait for now... I have another book that I bought that I'm anxious to try out, but waiting until I'm a little more confident. It's called "Make Your Own Clothes" by Marie Clayton, and part of the reason that I bought it was that it had some great basic clothing items that you could do, but the bonus was that it includes software that you use to put in your own measurements, and it will print out a custom pattern of whatever item in the book you want to make. Sweet! I haven't installed the software yet (waiting until I'm ready to actually use the book), but I read a review of it, and someone said that customized pattern that it spit out was perfect for her, so I'm hoping the same will happen for me! I know, I know, getting ahead of myself again.
So, it's just a matter of the clock ticking away the hours, minutes and seconds until my new sewing machine is here....I can't wait!
So, naturally, I had to find fabric. Because I was going in that direction last night, and because I didn't necessarily want to spend a heap of money on something that I might goof up, I went to the fabric department at Walmart. I know, don't give me a hard time about Walmart. We don't have that many choices around here, and my MIL, who sews, is always raving about the cheap but nice fabrics they have over there. Well, there were hits and misses there, as would be expected. But I did find a few things that weren't so bad. In fact, I found some fabric that I actually liked! I decided to go ahead and get a yard of contrasting fabrics. Specifically, one was lime green with periwinkle polka dots, and the other was periwinkle with lime polka dots. I thought that'd be fun for the beach! I was originally looking for something semi-tacky, like Hawaiian flowers, or surfer dude stuff, or sunglasses, or something along those lines, but I think this will have more versatility in the long run. I got more than enough fabric in case I screw up. ;-) I also found thread that should work well with this, plus I also purchased some extra bobbins (I'm sure I'll have a bobbin collection soon enough), and an extra spool of grey thread, as well as a sewing ruler. I have the gauge thingy, but not the ruler that was recommended. (I'm still waiting to see if I will be winning a pair of Fiskars pinking shears very cheaply!) I haven't started anything yet, because I want to get my new machine here first (it's due to arrive on Tuesday or so!), and I need to clear off my dining room table where I've been working so I have the space. I'm starting to think that I really will have to make space in my basement to create a "sewing room" of some sort, or else do it in my guest room. Something like that.
Anyway, I realized something about fabrics and how creating with them is SO different than knitting. There's a different flexibility with knitting. For example, say you have a knitting pattern for a sweater that is blue with a yellow flower on it. First, if you don't like the yarn that's suggested for that pattern, you can figure out a substitute, as long as you get the right gauge. Then, say you like the pattern, but the colors are all wrong. You can always change the colors to be what you want them to be. And voila! A custom colored sweater. Now with fabric, sure, there's lots of textures and weaves and other textile qualities. There are striped fabrics, and plaids; plain and polka dotted, and a mess of other motifs as well. The problem is that you are limited to what's available at the fabric stores with the fabric. Say you wanted to make a blouse. There's plenty of appropriate fabrics to choose from. You see one motif you like, but it's pink with flowers and you'd rather have blue with flowers. Well, the store only has pink with flowers. You can't make a substitution, and just say, let's change it to blue. If they don't have the same motif with a blue background, you are out of luck, and you have to find something different. In that respect, it's limiting. And the thing is, with yarn, it's easy to see what attracts your eye. And fortunately with yarn, you can just go with colors alone, and you can create your own motif. With fabrics, you are have more limitations. I'm really fussy with patterns, colors and motifs, so when I saw the polka dotted fabrics in modern color schemes, my eye was immediately drawn to them. So that same color eye was used. But again, sometimes some stuff is so busy looking, or it's the wrong texture (it's fleece instead of cotton) or something that can't be substituted so easily.
In that respect, learning to sew will be a challenge, because as a knitter, it's all about the texture of the textile. Texture plays a part in sewing too, but perhaps because my options are so highly limited at the fabric stores available to me at the moment, I have a more narrowed view. Even looking at fabrics online, it got a little dizzying between motifs and choices, but not a whole lot caught my eye. I'm already thinking about my first advanced beginner/intermediate (two spool) project from S.E.W., which is the Sewing Machine cover. It recommends using oilcloth or some similar vinyl-like fabric, and I even went to the website that the book recommends to see what they had. Nothing really set my heart on fire with it. I think I will have to think about this one, or perhaps make it with a different fabric altogether. I want something funky but fun, but I didn't see anything that made me say, YEAH! THAT'S THE ONE! So, the search continues.
Tonight, since I actually had a few minutes of total solitude (no boys in the house!), I went and practiced on my loaner machine some more. I think I'm starting to get good at threading up the machine now, and I'm starting to feel more confident about what I'm doing. I think it's going to take doing a real project to get things going for sure. Perhaps I'll make a practice bag first (I think I have enough practice fabric to do that) before I make my real one. I thought about trying to sew or at least practice sewing on a zipper (I actually bought two small zippers to play with), but I couldn't exactly figure out which foot was the zipper foot, and got a little nervous, so I decided not to do that. At least not yet. Also, playing with some of the fancy finishing stitches, I'm wondernig if I should have gone ahead and waited to save up for a fancier machine that has more embroidery features on it. Oh well, too late now. Maybe it'll force me to be more creative in doing things like that, and in time, I can saw for one of those types of machines. My MIL has both a regular sewing machine and a serger, so maybe one day I'll have the regular sewing machine, and the embroidery one or one with 1000+ stitches on it. ;-)
But I'm getting ahead of myself as usual. I think I need to make the practice bag first. Since I have so much fabric, I might make it out of that same material that I used to make the pincushion. That would make a cute bag.
I'm also starting to scope out clothing patterns. I know, I'm starting to get ahead of myself, but at the same time, if that's part of what I want to do, then I ought to start looking at the "easy to sew" patterns, and see how they look, how they work, etc. This is something that Sandy and I agreed upon, which is that having my knitting background and having had made a few sweaters in my time, I understand about ease and fitting a little bit, and how shapes work in garments and such, so that concept is something that will come more easily to me. Still, I would be very excited to make something. So, I go online and pour through pattern websites and see what's being offered, and see if there's anything that looks appealing. There are a few things, but I'll wait for now... I have another book that I bought that I'm anxious to try out, but waiting until I'm a little more confident. It's called "Make Your Own Clothes" by Marie Clayton, and part of the reason that I bought it was that it had some great basic clothing items that you could do, but the bonus was that it includes software that you use to put in your own measurements, and it will print out a custom pattern of whatever item in the book you want to make. Sweet! I haven't installed the software yet (waiting until I'm ready to actually use the book), but I read a review of it, and someone said that customized pattern that it spit out was perfect for her, so I'm hoping the same will happen for me! I know, I know, getting ahead of myself again.
So, it's just a matter of the clock ticking away the hours, minutes and seconds until my new sewing machine is here....I can't wait!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Welcome to my sewing blog!
As if I don't have enough blogs already, with a shared knitting blog, a home/interior design blog about my house, a taekwondo blog, and a regular blog about my everyday life, yes, now I'm starting one with my newest hobby--sewing.
I am VERY much a beginner, but I'm off to a good start. Or at least I think so. (Or is that think "sew". :-P)
I began this journey within the last few weeks. I've been thinking for a long time that I really should learn how to sew, because I really hate to shop for clothes, and I think that if I can learn to make my own to my own specifications, or even learn to make alterations for myself, that would make a happier me. And it doesn't hurt to have this skill for home decor or other stuff too.
In my typical way, research is the key. I research what books would be good guides, and I've found a fantastic new one that just came out a few months ago. Being hailed as the sewing world's version of Debbie Stoller's "Stitch 'N Bitch", "S.E.W.- Sew Everything Workshop" by Diana Rupp has become my sewing bible. I've been reading it and reading it for a couple weeks now, and I'll probably continue to read it and use it as my primary reference.
I've also been lucky since I have a few sewers around me. I turned to my friend Sandy, as she is a professional quilter, and figured that she would be able to best tell me how sewing machines work and how you get X result or Y result. My MIL also sews, but she often rubs me the wrong way with a few things, and there is always the language barrier too (Spanish is her first and primary language). I had my lesson from Sandy a few days ago, and it was great! She showed me SOOOO much, and was great at answering my questions. I should tell her that she should teach a basic sewing class or something. Anyway, she was also kind enough to lend me her "backup machine", which was her first machine of her own-- a gift she got for her high school graduation. And being the pro she is, the machine is in excellent condition and working just fine.
So, I've been playing on it, especially today. My son, Drew, also tries to get involved, as he likes to press on the "accelerator" (foot pedal) for me. (He's really into cars, especially Hot Wheels.) I made a pincushion from the SEW book the other day as a first project. See?
Hopefully not too bad for a first project. The material is a canvas type material with sage green ticking that I used for a valance and some pillowcases for decorative pillows for my old house. I have a ton of that material left, and it just looks very classy. I used leftover material from my current curtains and valances in my living and dining room as sample material to practice my stitches on my loaner machine, and I think after some fiddling, I'm starting to get the hang of this. I've been using a standard presser foot so far, but I think I need to experiment with some of the others, as I'm anxious to put a zipper in something that I knit (yes, I knit too), and possibly redo a zipper in another thing in which I hand knit the zipper before.
Since the SEW book is my bible right now, I'm anxious to try another project -- a simple project. There's no use in getting ahead of myself too soon. I think I should make one of the easy bags. But I have SOOOO many bags, I was hesitant. But then after having an IM conversation with my best friend from college, I realized that SHE is a bag person, and I could make one to be her beach bag for the summer, so I think I will do that. So I'm thinking that once I can get to the fabric store, that will be my first "big" project. Gotta start somewhere.
So we will see where this goes. I'm very excited because I ordered my first sewing machine of my own (if you don't count the little $10 mini machine I have that runs on batteries) today. Got a killer deal-- or should I say made a killer deal-- with a vendor on eBay, and now all I have to do is just wait for it to arrive! I'm really looking forward to getting it, and having my own "baby".
Until next time...
I am VERY much a beginner, but I'm off to a good start. Or at least I think so. (Or is that think "sew". :-P)
I began this journey within the last few weeks. I've been thinking for a long time that I really should learn how to sew, because I really hate to shop for clothes, and I think that if I can learn to make my own to my own specifications, or even learn to make alterations for myself, that would make a happier me. And it doesn't hurt to have this skill for home decor or other stuff too.
In my typical way, research is the key. I research what books would be good guides, and I've found a fantastic new one that just came out a few months ago. Being hailed as the sewing world's version of Debbie Stoller's "Stitch 'N Bitch", "S.E.W.- Sew Everything Workshop" by Diana Rupp has become my sewing bible. I've been reading it and reading it for a couple weeks now, and I'll probably continue to read it and use it as my primary reference.
I've also been lucky since I have a few sewers around me. I turned to my friend Sandy, as she is a professional quilter, and figured that she would be able to best tell me how sewing machines work and how you get X result or Y result. My MIL also sews, but she often rubs me the wrong way with a few things, and there is always the language barrier too (Spanish is her first and primary language). I had my lesson from Sandy a few days ago, and it was great! She showed me SOOOO much, and was great at answering my questions. I should tell her that she should teach a basic sewing class or something. Anyway, she was also kind enough to lend me her "backup machine", which was her first machine of her own-- a gift she got for her high school graduation. And being the pro she is, the machine is in excellent condition and working just fine.
So, I've been playing on it, especially today. My son, Drew, also tries to get involved, as he likes to press on the "accelerator" (foot pedal) for me. (He's really into cars, especially Hot Wheels.) I made a pincushion from the SEW book the other day as a first project. See?
Hopefully not too bad for a first project. The material is a canvas type material with sage green ticking that I used for a valance and some pillowcases for decorative pillows for my old house. I have a ton of that material left, and it just looks very classy. I used leftover material from my current curtains and valances in my living and dining room as sample material to practice my stitches on my loaner machine, and I think after some fiddling, I'm starting to get the hang of this. I've been using a standard presser foot so far, but I think I need to experiment with some of the others, as I'm anxious to put a zipper in something that I knit (yes, I knit too), and possibly redo a zipper in another thing in which I hand knit the zipper before.
Since the SEW book is my bible right now, I'm anxious to try another project -- a simple project. There's no use in getting ahead of myself too soon. I think I should make one of the easy bags. But I have SOOOO many bags, I was hesitant. But then after having an IM conversation with my best friend from college, I realized that SHE is a bag person, and I could make one to be her beach bag for the summer, so I think I will do that. So I'm thinking that once I can get to the fabric store, that will be my first "big" project. Gotta start somewhere.
So we will see where this goes. I'm very excited because I ordered my first sewing machine of my own (if you don't count the little $10 mini machine I have that runs on batteries) today. Got a killer deal-- or should I say made a killer deal-- with a vendor on eBay, and now all I have to do is just wait for it to arrive! I'm really looking forward to getting it, and having my own "baby".
Until next time...
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