Happy 2021!!! and a recap of Holiday sewing

 Happy 2021!

I have arrived into 2021 feeling renewed and full of personal hope. I am so very glad to have sewing and creativity in my life, having this stability to fall back on has been a wonderful thing for me. A place where I can go to be happy and calm and express my creativity which helps to make me a better person overall.

My life has calmed down a bit since the end of 2020... Like many people "stuff" has been going on and the 2 big P's- Pandemic and Politics have not made anything easier. We sure are living through quite a bit of history. I truly hope that when we, as a collective, emerge from the other side, we are stronger and better!

I wanted to share a couple pictures of some Christmas Sewing that I did for 2020.

Since Christmas was being spent quite differently this year I decided to make special lounge outfits for my daughter, granddaughter, myslef and for Arya! We had a fun time taking silly pictures! All day was spent lounging in our coordinating outfits while we watched movies and played games and ate food on the couch!

The fabric is all from Natures Fabrics and are dyed with eco friendly dyes The pants and cardigans are made from the Cotton Velour which is so lovely to work with!! 80% cotton and 20% poly. Washes and sews lovely!! The T-shirt watercolor rainbow hearts fabric is also an eco friendly cotton jersey that is also so lovely!

All the pants were made from True Bias Hudson Pants pattern, with the cuffs and pocket detail in the knit tee fabric. The adult tank tops are from Cashmerette Saybrook Tank and the Cardigan is the Helen's Closet Blackwood Cardigan. The kids T-shirt is Misusu Pattern's Rowan Tee and the Cardigan is Ellie & Mac The Chapman Cardigan.

The doggy tee shirt and sweater are part rubb offed from an existing sweater and part self drafted.

 

And no worries anyone... we were at a complete halt on Lake Shore Drive for about 15 minutes when we took this!!

I also sewed fun pillowcases for my brother and his family in the Netherlands and then some dinosaur ones for my granddaughter.

Plus I did some hand crafting (great for those times when I really need to just rest) and made 2 birds. One for my Nephew and his wife who are expecting a baby girl at the end of April and one for my sister to enjoy. :)

I did do one large sewing related project to start off the year. I purged my fabric collection! This has been something I have been meaning to do and now just felt like the right time! We all have those fabrics in our collection or stash that just dont suit us. Either our tastes have changed or maybe it is a beautiful fabric that you would never wear or perhaps it was given to you or picked up in a swap or trade. I decided that I needed to get rid of those fabrics that my hands always pass over in favoor of something more appealing. SO I got rid of quite a bit! It was also easier to do since I was giving the fabric to a wonderful young woman who is starting her journey in fashion design. She is a person that really deserves all the good that the world can give her!

Happy Sewing!!

WIshing everyone peace, health and happiness as we navigate our way through another historic year!

I jumped on the Jumpsuit train! The Anitra Jumpsuit by Style Sew Me

 First off I want to say I was soooo happy this past Saturday when the election was called for Biden/Harris!!

Happy Dance!!!

On a Sunday afternoon a couple weeks ago my local Neighborhood Group, Sew Chicago, from the Chicago Chapter of American Sewing Guild got together for a 4 hour Zoom Sew Along. There were seven or eight of us and we started with a quick chat about what things we were each working on and then we sewed and zoomed!! Stopping periodically to chat or ask questions about something or other. It was quite fun! I decided to try this jumpsuit and I had pre-cut it out so that I could just have fun sewing and chatting!

 

Pattern: Anitra Jumpsuit by Style Sew Me Style Sew Me is a new to me indie pattern company that a friend mentioned to me and I decided to check out. I ordered 2 print patterns and this one PDF jumpsuit. I was very happy with the jumpsuit and there was even a YouTube tutorial to go along with the jumpsuit.

Fit Changes: None! I graded between sizes from top to bottom but certainly could have used one size smaller in the bottom. I used a large on top and XL on bottom but all large will be fine. In next version I will shorten the length about an inch or inch and a half.

Design Changes: None! I LOVE that it has pockets!!

Fabric: I wanted to use fabric from my collection but did not have enough of any one fabric for the entire thing. I used 2 different knits. The patterned knit for the top and the side back leg pieces and pockets were from an ITY border print. The leg/bottom back and front are from another mystery navy and black knit from my collection.

Both of these knits are opaque but lightweight. I would not recommend a bulky knit since there is so much gathering at the waist for the pants.

Pattern print on the fabric makes the back bodice very interesting.

Interfacing: none

Notions/Buttons/Zippers: 3/4inch elastic for the waist. I also tried to using the Coats Eloflex thread. This thread is supposed to be a ‘stretchable’ thread for knit fabrics to be used in the regular sewing machine. My machine does not seem to like this thread… It is almost like it is getting stuck in the tension discs and causes this squeaking noise!

Seam construction and seam finishes: Majority done on the serger with a 4 thread overlock stitch and a differential feed of 1.3. I changed up the directions for the gathering of the pants waist just a tiny bit. Since the seam allowance is 1 inch, I ran 2 rows of gathering stitches. One at 7/8 and one just slightly in from there. This let me gather the fabric right at the seam line and control the fullness as I sewed better. I still left the gaps at the side seams to reduce the bulk in that area.

Hem Finishes: Some of the hemming was done with a zig-zag on the regular machine and the neckline was coverstitched. I would have preferred to coverstitch the entirety of the hems but my machine is a convertible serger/coverstitch and too much of a pain to change in the middle of construction. But I am thinking there may be a way start with the coverstitch of the long leg pieces, change too serger and do all the construction and then go back to coversticth to finish the neckline and sleeve hems.  OR… just buy a coverstitch machine!! LOL!!

no wardrobe malfunctions!!!!

Overall Thoughts: I was quite surprised by how much I like this garment!! I was afraid that it would feel maybe vaguely like having too much fabric between my legs. But NOT AT ALL! I think this is because the depth of the crotch drop. It keeps the fabric from bunching.  It is very comfortable and super fun to wear!! I have worn it several times already and now thinking that maybe I can add sleeves for a more winter version. This is such a comfortable addition to my ever growing pandemic wardrobe of comfy clothes!

Happy Sewing!!

I hope everyone is staying safe! Washing hands, wearing masks, staying socially distant, no unnecessary indoor gatherings. I think it will get worse before it gets better. And to top it off my pancreas has decided to remind me that she rules the roost! Oh well, such is life with a chronic illness, never really know when it will show its ugliness.

My girls!!! The Princess and her mother!

 

ZOOMing through the pandemic and other online sewing fun!

As this pandemic continues to go on and on with no end in the near future, I thought it would be nice to share some of the sewing, design and fashion related things that have been keeping me going!

The biggest contributor to my staying sane throughout this great period of Sewcial Distancing has been Sarah Veblen and her twice weekly Live Video classes via zoom. Sarah started giving these in early April and has continued them ongoing. Every Tuesday and Thursday I look forward to these live zoom classes. Many of us in the classes have gotten to know each other and it sure brings a smile to my face to see them every week. SO far, I have participated in 30 of them. The great thing is that they are recorded and if you have registered for the class you get a private link to the recording. 

 

The photos below were taken during a class about collar design.

Sarah has done a variety of classes that range from common fitting issues to pattern work and design concepts. The format is very nice and done as part lecture and part group discussion and Q&A. I ALWAYS learn something new from these classes! I encourage you to try them out- you can find more information at  https://www.sarahveblen.com/online-classes-1

I also took a hands on 4 hour Zoom workshop with Gail Yellen on using my Coverstitch machine.. This workshop was a lot of fun and Gail was very good about sending the upfront instructions so that participants were ready to go! Gail has a 2 camera system set up and switches from seeing her or her presentation and then switches to a camera directly pointed on her machine bed so we can see exactly what is being done. Quite nifty!

The photos below show the set-up I had at my home and samples that I made in the class.

I have also been enjoying my collection of books during these months and have added 3 new ones to my sewing and design library. All 3 of these are designer books but also all have some actual technical information and pattern schematics in them. I love to see what the pattern pieces of interesting garments look like! The technical aspects of flat pattern making and draping are fascinating to me. 

I highly recommend the Charles James and Madeleine Vionnet books. The Halston is more about the designer but also a very nice addition to my library.

 

Madeleine Vionnet

 

Charles James - The Couture Secrets of Shapes

 

 

Halston - An American Original

 

Podcasts have also been a constant companion! I highly respect these wonderful women who take the time to make these great podcasts. These 9 podcasts are all about sewing, fashion, fashion history, design and sustainability. They are mostly made and produced by women, they deserve our support!

If you like podcasts or are interested in learning more about them I recommend these ones.

Sewing: Sewing information and interviews 

Love to Sew and (monthly Patreon Bonus episodes)

 

Stitch Please (Periodic Patreon bonus episodes)

 

Sew & Tell

 

Sewing with Threads

 

Clothes Making Mavens (these are fun but don’t drop regularly)

 

Fashion History:

Dressed - The History of Fashion

 

Sustainable Fashion:

Wardrobe Crisis with Clare Press

 

Conscious Chatter with Kestrel Jenkins

 

 

 

The last place and a somewhat newer space for me to use is You Tube. My biggest issue with YouTube has always been wading through all the content and finding high quality good content. It has been fun to take some time to explore and find these resources, some have been around for a while and some are new to pandemic times.

My favorite You Tube channels for sewing, fashion and design are:

The National Arts Club

Gail Yellen

The Sewing Workshop

Zoe Hong

Bernadette Banner

J Stern Designs

Plano Texas ASG

Fashion For Good

I’d love to hear back from you on what things have been helping you to survive the pandemic!

It will be a wonderful day when we can all get together again in classes, retreats, workshops, textile tours and more! Until then stay safe, practice sewcial distancing and wear a mask!

Happy Sewing!!

FaceTime kisses from the Princess :)