Some answers to questions ...

I have had some questions lately in my Comments and have been very lax in answering them - I hope you still want to know! :)

 

From my post on Boxer for the boys

 

Kelley said...

They look great, Sue, very professional. My DH has been after me for years to make some for him, but I think I must be channeling my inner Selfish Seamstress. LOL. In the event that I finally do cave, where did you find the boxer elastic? It looks like that is the way to go.

August 28, 2011 4:09 PM

katherine h said...

These look good. where did you get the boxer elastic? I just bought pants using that elastic and it is very comfortable.

The boxer elastic came from Lincraft - but don't look for any in the Toowoomba store - I bought the last of the roll!   I think I may have seen some online at Crafty Mamas.  I have bought magazines from there but not elastic, so far the service has been excellent.    

From the post about 05-2011-107 gym top   

katherine h said...

I cut my shirts with extra width at the underarms on the back only, grading back to a size or 2 smaller at the waist. This seems to accommodate those lat muscles. You will need to add the same amount to sleeves, if your top has them. Looks good. I'm sure you;ll make plenty more of these. What is the composition of your technical fabrics?      

This fabric is a poly/nylon - it will be interesting to see how it wears in high Summer - it is still coping ok in the cooler weather.   

Summer Flies said... Your last two tops look great .. both colours look great on you. Where do you get that vilene tape from - around here?

I got the vilene tape at Lincraft again (it is amazing what you can find in there).  However I remember it was very expensive.  I have found it on-line here and have been planning to buy some but haven't as yet and have not used this on-line shop so cannot comment on them.  

So this post does not have any pictures, I have snapped a picture of my WIP - my second Simplicity 2599 top in a luscious silk... ruffles to be added....

Embellishment explained...

As a follow-up to my previous post, I am going to try and bettter describe how I sewed the embellishment on my Sunshine top.



The rolleau (hope I have that word right??) is sewn from a 1" strip of fabric cut parallel to the selvedge. I cut 4 or 5 lengths as long as the fabric allowed. Fold the fabric RS together and sew a seam along the long edge and then turn them trough to get long tubes of fabric.

The buttons are simply the ones you cover yourself. I fused interfacing to a scrap of fabric and used that to cover the buttons (the fabric was too light by itself). Then I simple put the top on my dressmakers dummy and played with the arrangement of rolleau and buttons until I was happy with the placement (lots of pins)!

The next step is to set yourself up in front of the TV and start hand sewing it all. It took me a few evenings to get it all done, as I kept stopping to see if it looked right and I needed to unpick it the first time. - pure experimentation, but fun!

Note - I left the ends of the rolleau raw.

If I do something like this again, I will try and remember to take some photos along the way. I was a little surprised at the amount of interest at how it was done - I do appreciate your positive comments - thanks!

Next up is some 'casual week-ender for the cooler days clothes'..

Questions & answers

I have had some questions lately so thought I should answer them as best I can in this post.

My post on Simplicity 2451 skirts had the following queries:

Imaan said...

Looks like a great pattern Sue! Very nice. I have a question about the facing on the second skirt, which you did with the rayon tape. Is that the same as Petersham? And if so, where did you buy it? Is it available in Australia, or did you source it from O/S?

Imaan - it is not the same as Petersham, it is much lighter in weight and not woven in the same way. I bought mine from this ebay seller. It is called Hug Snug. Belinda is the one who got me interested in using Rayon tape and who recommended this seller to me.

Gail said...

I love the grey skirt. Do you know where I can buy some of that hand top stitching measuring tape? Also the tab for the invisible is a great innovation - Could you do a tutorial?

Gail, I received that tape as a gift in my quilting days. I would try quilt shops. Good luck! On the tab, you can get more info and piccies on how it is done in this post. I have this on my side bar under 'My skirt sewing tips'. HTH!

Julia said...

these skirts look great on you! Has Queensland dried out yet?

The water has gone but the clean-up continues. Sadly I think there is still about 3 people missing locally and they are continuing the search for them.

From the post on the Ottobre Katherine top:

Sewingelle said...

love, love, love these tops! Green suits you too.

Did you finish the edges of the ruffles or just let them curl under?

I considered leaving the edges un-finished, but the instructions say to roll-hem the edges, so I used it as an opportunity to make better friends with my Overlocker (we have an un-easy, volatile relationship). Leaving the edges raw would be cute, but the roll-edge gives you the opportunity to use a contrast thread or perhaps a shiny thread to add some more interest to the top.

and from the review on patternreview.com (not sure that o3b will see this, but I thought others may have wondered the same):

o3b said...
I love your tops. I can see the results of your other pasttime love - fitness. You look fabulous in both of them. Did you do an alternate neckline shape on the floral one?

The neckline does look slightly different in each top but it is the same. I think the different fabrics used has affected how the neckline sits.

And on the post on the Navy dress:

Carol said...

What, no picture of the dress styled with stationery? Only yesterday I styled my low wrap-front dress with a large red paperclip. Perhaps we can start a new trend? Navy is a nice colour on you. I always avoid it because it reminds me of uniforms, but I'm seeing so much of it these days I might have to make something navy.

Carol - I thought about showing the fold-back clip in the photo, but mine was a very dull black!

I also had some comments on the review about trying elastic on the neck edge. I do think this would help, but I am reluctant to un-pick two rows of stitching in dark navy jersey fabric, so will not be trying it on this version.

I also had some suggestions to try it with necklaces and those people will be very happy to know that they totally enabled me to go shopping at the Elk website - love the new necklaces, but I haven't tried them with the dress yet!

I have done some more sewing, finishing my Hot Patterns Sunshiner top and will try and get a photo this week-end. I am also moving onto Autumn sewing as the weather is definitely cooling down. First up are a few pieces to wear at home - comfortable & cute (I so hope!)

And so this post has a photo... who needs a cushion when you have a dog to lean on?

Some questions and a preview to show their is some movement in the sewing room...

I have had some questions lately in the comments and I just wanted to answer them.

Ann-Marie from the Netherlands asked:

Love the way you dyed the fabric, may i ask how you did this?

I have lots of white fabric and my complexion prefers ecru.

I used a dye called i-dye which I can buy locally from Spotlight (a fabric and craft chain store). It is easy to use in the washing machine and has given me excellent results. I now look to buy good quality cottons in white on sale to dye to colours that I can wear (NAYY).

Gail asked where I get my bamboo fabric from:

The bamboo fabric I made into the orange top was dyed fabric I purchased from an ebay seller many years ago. I would not recommend this fabric as it shrinks easily and is very thin. However saying that, I love bamboo fabric and if I were going to buy some now, I would get it from The Bamboo Fabric Store, again NAYY, but I have bought some of their woven bamboo and seen samples at ASG industry days.

The long worked on McCalls top waiting for buttons - now it looks very plain but will look better when I get my black buttons on it - better photos to come.

And this is the next in the queue, Burda wof 12-2009-112 skirt

And these are the fabrics, a lovely plaid from the remnant bin at Gardams and a lovely blue rayon lining (in need of an iron here)

More 'real' photos soon...

To ruffle or not to ruffle?

I love my first McCall's 5522 so I am making another one.

I am making it in a lovely quality cotton with a black spot which was white but I dyed ecru to take the edge of the white.

I decided on the long sleeve (as opposed to the full 3/4 sleeve), with no collar (collar stand only) and a ruffle. This is the bodice assembled with the ruffle basted on and one sleeve roughly pinned on. I have made a rolled hem on the edge of the ruffle in black.

I was concerned the long sleeve would look too much with the spotty fabric but, now I am wondering if the ruffle is a little Poiret the clown. You need to take into account the button band will break it up a bit but I need some help before I proceed. Is it too much, should I take the ruffle off now to ally heartbreak (and a lot of unpicking) later? Any and all comments welcomed (apart from maybe scary clown references...)

Parting shot - Can you pick the odd one out of my cat ornament collection?

Answering some questions...

Much sewing, but no photos as yet... hubby is very busy either working or puttering around the house, preparing for our renovation. Hopefully tomorrow.

I have been sewing much. I have had one wadder - I don't usually do this but after cutting and starting to sew, it went in the bin. Normally I finish things before I decide it isn't working for me...lol!

I started Butterick 5352 the Muse dress. However I ordered the pattern in the wrong size. I cut a 14 (based on bust size 36") and then read the pattern to see the finished bust size is 37.5" - in a knit ... hunh? So why did I not buy a size 12 as I have learnt before? I dunno.... Plus the fabric was a cheapie from our local chain fabric store. It was marked as a 'dry knit' (polyester as you would expect). It was so spongy my machine hated it and skipped stitches all the time! So after trying to put the bodice together and sewing it all twice due to the skipped stitches, I tried fitting it and realised it was going too be way too big on my bust. To save heartache I threw it in the bin, without another thought!

I really agree with Lindsay T's post on using fabric you love!

My other close-to-wadder is another version of the HP Marakesh pants. This time in another cheap polyester from said chain store. This stuff does not press - yeech! The first pair in linen-cotton fit beautifully - these, are so different and seem to be too tight! I think it is because there is no give in the fabric. Or otherwise I made some mistake cutting or sewing... anyway not totally unwearable but I have not get the enthusiasm to hem them!

Anyway I have other sewing which has worked beautifully including the Jalie scarf neck top but no photos as yet! I am also nearly finished a variation of the Burda skirt 12-2009-122. I really wanted another denim skirt as I love this one so much so I squeezed another out of the fabric left - without the flounce - looking forward to finishing that one! So today I will use this post to answer a couple of questions...

I am planning to make a cord skirt soon and I also looked at that zipper tute by Sandra Betzina. But it left me with one question: what does she do with the zipper head which she leaves extending beyond the end of the seam? And what did you do with it? I am mystified! Please fill us in on the secret! Ruth

Ruth - the zipper is just cut off at the top. Just make sure the zipper is open and the head is on the pant , not the part you cut off. Then when you sew the waistband on, that acts as your zipper stop.

Elizabeth001au said...

I have one question regarding your December Burda issue. I live in Melbourne and subscribe to Burda through the Australian importer (in Sydney, and I am still only up to the October issue!! How did you manage to get your hands on the December issue so soon??
Appreciate any tips on this!
Thanks,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth - order the Burda magazine directly from Burda in Germany. It is much cheaper than isubscribe and you get the current month (not always a bonus as it is the wrong season!) There are threads on patternreview.com that discuss how to do this. I filled in the form, when a letter came from Germany a few months later, I filled out my credit card details and faxed it. Eventually a magazine turned up!

Sharon said...

Love your fabrics and will have to visit this shop next time I visit DS.
Where did you buy your chain for the Chanel Jacket? This is the last piece I need.

Sharon - sorry I didn't answer this earlier - it is probably too late now (sorry!). But to answer your question, the last lot of chain I bought from the Stitches & Craft Show from a jewellery stand. The first lot I purchased through Felicity of For Frock's Sake. HTH!

OK - photos next time, I promise...

A couple of questions...

I have had a few questions/comments lately that I thought I would like to respond to...

Alison said...

I love your fabrics. Would adore to go to the Sunshine coast for fabric shopping!

I've been meaning to ask...what colour is Lulubelle? She *is* a Burmese, right? I have a chocolate one (Melb cup day is the anniversary of when she arrived at our home!) but really really would love a dark brown girl too.

Lulubelle is a brown Burmese. My last cat was my lovely Chocolate Burmese "Coco". She was a beautiful cat and lived until over 20 but passed away last year. It has taken me a while to feel ready to have another cat and I really wanted a Burmese but didn't want another Chocolate one. If you are ever looking for a cat, this is the Breeder - Jovelles.

Rachel said...

That is a gorgeous dress. I like the idea of sewing 30 minutes per day. Do you include cutting out a pattern as part of the 30 minutes?

Rachel, I don't think there is any rules as such and other sewing bloggers use this method, but I have decided so long as it is hands-on it is counted. For example this morning, I re-threaded and cleaned my machines ready for the next project so I count that. However daydreaming, reading magazines or computer time I don't count as 'sewing' time. Even though I haven't done much of this 30 minutes per day, I think it is useful to cut out prior and then devote the week-days of 30 minutes to construction - more satisfying.

Lisa @ The Hem Line said...OMG . . . she is adorable! Is that you holding her? . . . I love the scarf!

Yes it is me holding her - bad head that day that is why it was cut out (bad hair, sinus, not much make-up - not good). The scarf is the perfect scarf for a sewist - no knitting. It is long lengths of different yarns sandwiched in solvy and then sewn in a grid. The solvy is then dissolved away - viola - scarf with no knitting. However as a non knitter I would not have enough different yarn scraps but got this in a kit. It is a great scarf and I have used it for a few years now, and still love it. In fact I have a friend who mentions every time she sees it that she wants a 'pup' when it has one.. lol!

I also had a comment - I think on Pattern Review about sewing knits - knits are not difficult to sew as they are very forgiving (at least fitting-wise). I use a walking foot, a needle suitable for stretch fabrics (ball point or stretch) and generally do not finish edges. Sometimes I sew the seams in a narrow zigzag, check fit, seams, etc. when I am happy I then overlock the seam together. Tidy but safer than going for it with the overlocker the first time.