On these two days at Sew Green, I pretty much worked on my shirt. I realized that I couldn't double face the collar, and ripped those seams out, settling for a rolled hem, and then continued on to the bottom hem. Then on Thursday, I sewed on the sleaves. The sleaves took a while, since I went slow, but were not bad at all. The only problem is that they are sewn with the wrong side out (it was curling, and easier that way!)
I'm really excited to start the Nest dress. I have the zipper, the tulle, and even the pattern! Autumn is copying the pattern so that we can start immediately on Tuesday. Yay!!
By the way, in case you were wondering, I left on Thursday slightly early so that I could go to Carrie's presentation.
Showing posts with label Sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sewing. Show all posts
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sew Green 5/19
Gir forgot the pattern :( But she says she might be able to bring it on Monday. I should have gotten her cell so I could remind her, even though I don't have texting I could have called. I'm so glad she's letting me use her pattern. It's going to be so exciting. I should thank her somehow...
I worked on my t-shirt pretty much the whole time. I fitted the sides, which now fit very well. I then ripped a lot of seams around the neck, trying to have the collar lay flat, and each time I needed to finish them by sewing over them so they wouldn't come undone. It took a long time. Thankfully the cloth was forgiving, allowing me to rip the seams slightly easier, but the ends of the seams were difficult to take out. I then tried it out, and decided to fold he collar in half so that it's double sided, shorter, and more like a collar. Though it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, and I'm thinking of ripping it out. The ends of the cloth kept on curling, making it very difficult to sew, and when I ironed it, the iron was too hot, and the cloth got shiny :(
I'll fix it next time!
Oh! I forgot to add... I've become a lot more comfortable sewing now. I don't know when it happened, but I can now jump on a machine, and not feel intimidated. I think that that is the biggest step of all.
I worked on my t-shirt pretty much the whole time. I fitted the sides, which now fit very well. I then ripped a lot of seams around the neck, trying to have the collar lay flat, and each time I needed to finish them by sewing over them so they wouldn't come undone. It took a long time. Thankfully the cloth was forgiving, allowing me to rip the seams slightly easier, but the ends of the seams were difficult to take out. I then tried it out, and decided to fold he collar in half so that it's double sided, shorter, and more like a collar. Though it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, and I'm thinking of ripping it out. The ends of the cloth kept on curling, making it very difficult to sew, and when I ironed it, the iron was too hot, and the cloth got shiny :(
I'll fix it next time!
Oh! I forgot to add... I've become a lot more comfortable sewing now. I don't know when it happened, but I can now jump on a machine, and not feel intimidated. I think that that is the biggest step of all.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sew Green 5/17
Normally I don't come to Sew Green on Tuesdays (though I was supposed to add Tuesdays on as I got more free in APRIL!), because I always seemed to have something going on, and believe me, I tried. But this Tuesday, I got done from my French Competition award ceremony on time, got a ride home, and drove down to Sew Green (it was rainy!).
At Sew Green, I met many other apprentices, and although the music taste was much quieter for this group of young girls, the conversation and enthusiasm was much more extreme, and there were more people than on Thursdays. Thankfully, my project wasn't occupying as much of Autumn's time as usual, since it was a pattern, and I sort of knew what I was doing.
Autumn was relieved that I hadn't cut the cloth yet, since she was worried that the head opening might not be big enough. I added more cloth when cutting, so that there was room for error. When I first folded the cloth in half, and laid out my pattern (which is only for half the shirt, by the way), I realized that I was pretty much cutting a hole in the middle of the cloth, and wasting a lot of fabric. So I folded it over twice, so that I was optimally using the fabric, and cutting out both the front and back of the shirt at the same time. I traced the pattern, and cut, and it worked like a charm. I then pinned the head opening and tried it out, and it worked just fine.
I proceeded to sew the shoulders and sides (though my machine's tension was a little messed up- the thread had come out of the bobbin tension), and then it was time to go already. I tried it on quickly, and realized that the body was WAAY to big! Well, at least it's not too small. I'll have to fix that next time...
Last thing: Autumn says that she can come to my WISE presentation. YAY!!!!! I'm excited and nervous too!
At Sew Green, I met many other apprentices, and although the music taste was much quieter for this group of young girls, the conversation and enthusiasm was much more extreme, and there were more people than on Thursdays. Thankfully, my project wasn't occupying as much of Autumn's time as usual, since it was a pattern, and I sort of knew what I was doing.
Autumn was relieved that I hadn't cut the cloth yet, since she was worried that the head opening might not be big enough. I added more cloth when cutting, so that there was room for error. When I first folded the cloth in half, and laid out my pattern (which is only for half the shirt, by the way), I realized that I was pretty much cutting a hole in the middle of the cloth, and wasting a lot of fabric. So I folded it over twice, so that I was optimally using the fabric, and cutting out both the front and back of the shirt at the same time. I traced the pattern, and cut, and it worked like a charm. I then pinned the head opening and tried it out, and it worked just fine.
I proceeded to sew the shoulders and sides (though my machine's tension was a little messed up- the thread had come out of the bobbin tension), and then it was time to go already. I tried it on quickly, and realized that the body was WAAY to big! Well, at least it's not too small. I'll have to fix that next time...
Last thing: Autumn says that she can come to my WISE presentation. YAY!!!!! I'm excited and nervous too!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sew Green 5/12
Today in Sew Green, I came in with my purchases from my Wednesday shopping session at JoAnn's, very disappointed with what I had bought. Autumn pulled out some stretch cotton (or Jersey) that she had saved up (so I will return the linen), and so now I have white cloth for my painted dresses. We also discussed what I would like to work on now that my dress is almost finished. I'm going to be working on my chinese shirt next, which should take very little time, since we can use a basic sloper (design for a shirt), and adjust it. After that, I'm going to start working on my burlap inspired dress (see the Nest), and use the tuil that I bought for that. It turns out that Gir has the perfect pattern for that dress, and I can just use hers! It's really fantastic, because I was having difficulty finding the right pattern, and she just happened to have the perfect one. She's going to bring it in next Thursday.
I then finished off my dress by cutting off the 8.5 extra inches of cloth, shaping the bottom like I had wanted it to be (like shirt tails of a man's collard shirt), which I did by hand, since it was faster, and easier for me (it came out pretty even!), and then doing a rolled hem along the bottom. The bottom seem is not perfect, since doing a rolled hem on a sharp curve is very difficult, but you can't really tell from a distance. Once the hem was finished, the dress was SOOOO much better! You'll get to see it next Thursday!!
Afterwards, Autumn and I set off to work on the shirt. First we took the basic sloper, and traced it on this thin, brown paper. The dart that was already pre-drawn on the template was elimated by rotating the sloper, and getting rid of the gap, since the cloth was stretchy, and had no need of a dart. We then measured my own body, to adjust the width of the pattern, extended the neck for a turtle neck, and made small cap sleeves (tiny sleeves on some t-shirts that only just cover one's shoulder). The sleaves were pretty much like small semicircles, which used the same curve as the arm hole curve of the sloper (which had been made steeper since the shirt would be a t-shirt, not a sleevless shirt).
I then cut out the pattern, and took it home along with my cloth to hopefully cut it over the weekend.
I then finished off my dress by cutting off the 8.5 extra inches of cloth, shaping the bottom like I had wanted it to be (like shirt tails of a man's collard shirt), which I did by hand, since it was faster, and easier for me (it came out pretty even!), and then doing a rolled hem along the bottom. The bottom seem is not perfect, since doing a rolled hem on a sharp curve is very difficult, but you can't really tell from a distance. Once the hem was finished, the dress was SOOOO much better! You'll get to see it next Thursday!!
Afterwards, Autumn and I set off to work on the shirt. First we took the basic sloper, and traced it on this thin, brown paper. The dart that was already pre-drawn on the template was elimated by rotating the sloper, and getting rid of the gap, since the cloth was stretchy, and had no need of a dart. We then measured my own body, to adjust the width of the pattern, extended the neck for a turtle neck, and made small cap sleeves (tiny sleeves on some t-shirts that only just cover one's shoulder). The sleaves were pretty much like small semicircles, which used the same curve as the arm hole curve of the sloper (which had been made steeper since the shirt would be a t-shirt, not a sleevless shirt).
I then cut out the pattern, and took it home along with my cloth to hopefully cut it over the weekend.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturday Sewing
I bought a pair of jeans last week, but they were way to long. Today, I decided that I would use my sewing skills to fix another hem. But before I changed the thread color for my jeans, I would finish the rest of my dress.
I needed to change the needle from last time, when I had broken the needle in frustration (I had forgotten to put the needle up as I tore the dress from the machine in my frustration. Really really really bad!)
I finished the side seams completely, all the way to the bottom. They weren't symmetrical, but by that time, I was done because the usual problems of cloth slipping, needle tripping, etc. had caused me to have to rip seams about five times.
I wound the bobbin perfectly (but with the sewing machine instructions just in case) with the new thread for my heans, and moved on to my jeans. I changed the needle to a denim needle, and tried to use the thick thread commonly used for jeans, but it quickly got jammed in the machine. Thankfully everything survived. Using the same denim needle, but with normal khaki thread. It was difficult do to the side seams, which buldged and got in the way.
I had to rip seams about three times because wasn't perfect (hem wasn't even, or just got impatient and rushed it), and even then, it was still uneven.
I then ironed it out for a flat, even hem.
At least it still had its gorgeous flare!
Maybe I'll undo the hem in the future so I can wear the jeans with heels (I think that's what they were meant for, because they are the perfect length with heels).
I needed to change the needle from last time, when I had broken the needle in frustration (I had forgotten to put the needle up as I tore the dress from the machine in my frustration. Really really really bad!)
I finished the side seams completely, all the way to the bottom. They weren't symmetrical, but by that time, I was done because the usual problems of cloth slipping, needle tripping, etc. had caused me to have to rip seams about five times.
I wound the bobbin perfectly (but with the sewing machine instructions just in case) with the new thread for my heans, and moved on to my jeans. I changed the needle to a denim needle, and tried to use the thick thread commonly used for jeans, but it quickly got jammed in the machine. Thankfully everything survived. Using the same denim needle, but with normal khaki thread. It was difficult do to the side seams, which buldged and got in the way.
I had to rip seams about three times because wasn't perfect (hem wasn't even, or just got impatient and rushed it), and even then, it was still uneven.
I then ironed it out for a flat, even hem.
At least it still had its gorgeous flare!
Maybe I'll undo the hem in the future so I can wear the jeans with heels (I think that's what they were meant for, because they are the perfect length with heels).
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sew Green 5/5
Fuel burned out! Will finish this soon...
walked- gorgeous trees/light/flowers- inspired!
got in, showed hiddeous mess of a dress I had messed it up at home (see Side Seams from Saturday)
ripped seams- actually becoming fun! This material is easier to rip out seams than others
tried to fit The dress wasn't laying down the front symmetrically. Something was not right
laid it out, averaged numbers- still not look right Turns out the averages were completely wrong anyway (just looking at it, you could see that it didn't fit the curve of a body. Pretty much the dress had been wrapped around, and totally asymetrical.)
Asked if we can measure body instead I actually took measurements of my bust, below the bust, waist and hips, and then measured how far down from my armpit each of these sections were, and then mapped them out on the cloth. This was by far the best part, since I could see the outline of a body forming as I charted it out.
much better curve The result
took LONG time I was charting out each and every point
finally pinned together two sides I had to pin together the two side seam lines, which is a lot harder than it seems, since they are on opposite sides. So pretty much I placed my finger on one side, and tried to match it up with my index finger on the other side. It didn't work perfectly, but oh well.
arm seam not long enough I didn't sew far enough up the side to the arm
SEWED SIDE SEAMS BIG accomplishment!
arm hole not meet properly... back and the front not sewed up to the whole way, so the arm hole was connected unevenly
oh well!
finish bottom at home? bottom = bottom hem
bye bye!
okay, I'm looking at this later, and realizing that it is sort of cool. It's like poetry. I want to keep my journal entry this way, since it's raw, but has all the main points. I've added some clarifications so that people understand what's going on
walked- gorgeous trees/light/flowers- inspired!
got in, showed hiddeous mess of a dress I had messed it up at home (see Side Seams from Saturday)
ripped seams- actually becoming fun! This material is easier to rip out seams than others
tried to fit The dress wasn't laying down the front symmetrically. Something was not right
laid it out, averaged numbers- still not look right Turns out the averages were completely wrong anyway (just looking at it, you could see that it didn't fit the curve of a body. Pretty much the dress had been wrapped around, and totally asymetrical.)
Asked if we can measure body instead I actually took measurements of my bust, below the bust, waist and hips, and then measured how far down from my armpit each of these sections were, and then mapped them out on the cloth. This was by far the best part, since I could see the outline of a body forming as I charted it out.
much better curve The result
took LONG time I was charting out each and every point
finally pinned together two sides I had to pin together the two side seam lines, which is a lot harder than it seems, since they are on opposite sides. So pretty much I placed my finger on one side, and tried to match it up with my index finger on the other side. It didn't work perfectly, but oh well.
arm seam not long enough I didn't sew far enough up the side to the arm
SEWED SIDE SEAMS BIG accomplishment!
arm hole not meet properly... back and the front not sewed up to the whole way, so the arm hole was connected unevenly
oh well!
finish bottom at home? bottom = bottom hem
bye bye!
okay, I'm looking at this later, and realizing that it is sort of cool. It's like poetry. I want to keep my journal entry this way, since it's raw, but has all the main points. I've added some clarifications so that people understand what's going on
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Slippery Side Seams
Today I tried to finish my dress. And failed. And gave up and threw it in a sack to be looked at during the next Sew-Green session. It was a mess
The first time I tried to sew it, I happily sewed along the pins in nice, symmetrical curves, and then found out that I had sewn the inner layer of the cowl straight across, making a the dress a size -.5 instead of a size 5. The stitches were also unfortunately very tight. So I made the stiches looser, and struggled to undo the seams for a good 45 minutes. I then tried again. And had pretty much the same problem. So I sewed the inner layer to the front of the dress before sewing the back and front together. And somehow I still failed. It was asymmetrical, tight, and when I tried to put it on, it looked like I had tried to squeeze myself into a tube of fabric. BAD!
I realized then that it was time to give up, and quietly put it away. I learned that sometimes, you have to set things aside and give up for the day, instead of struggling until you rip the dress in half.
The first time I tried to sew it, I happily sewed along the pins in nice, symmetrical curves, and then found out that I had sewn the inner layer of the cowl straight across, making a the dress a size -.5 instead of a size 5. The stitches were also unfortunately very tight. So I made the stiches looser, and struggled to undo the seams for a good 45 minutes. I then tried again. And had pretty much the same problem. So I sewed the inner layer to the front of the dress before sewing the back and front together. And somehow I still failed. It was asymmetrical, tight, and when I tried to put it on, it looked like I had tried to squeeze myself into a tube of fabric. BAD!
I realized then that it was time to give up, and quietly put it away. I learned that sometimes, you have to set things aside and give up for the day, instead of struggling until you rip the dress in half.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sew Green 4/28
Today I walked in to Sew Green hoping I would get to finish my dress. But I didn't. I almost did... sort of. However, I took my time and did my best. I first sewed the arm holes with a rolled hem. This takes me forever. By the time I finally finished, for some reason, it was almost time to go! Autumn quickly fitted the dress so that I could sew the side seams at home, and I happily packed up and headed home. It was a good day of work, even though I didn't get finished. Next time!!!
Also, for those of you who are interested (thank you Mr. Byrne), I did not get to walk to Sew Green :( My parents were out for a week, and I wouldn't have been able to have been able to get a ride home, so I took the car. Shame, shame on me! It was really hard to park because of an event on the commons too!
Also, for those of you who are interested (thank you Mr. Byrne), I did not get to walk to Sew Green :( My parents were out for a week, and I wouldn't have been able to have been able to get a ride home, so I took the car. Shame, shame on me! It was really hard to park because of an event on the commons too!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Sew Green 4/14
All righty! I've gotten a move on!
So I started out by showing Autumn my sketches based on the cloth I had gotten last time. I had done a Chinese-style turtleneck (which will be posted soon), which I actually really like. She thought it would be really cool and really easy to make, which was a confidence booster. I have all the materials for it as well (including the buttons!), so that makes it even better! I wasn't able to design anything for the blue cloth, and was going to give up, when I remembered I had had the idea of using it for my blue jay skirt. We had a short brainstorm, and then Autumn came up with the awesome idea of using different colored blue denim pieces for the skirt. It would look fabulous! I was really excited. So Autumn has some old jean fabric in her studio, and I have brought in an old pair of jeans that will be cut for their pattern, and then also used for the skirt. Turns out my project will be pretty green after all!
We then moved on to my dress. I pinned the sides of the dress for the side seams and marked them. I also marked the pins for the draping of the cowl, and then sewed the cloth along the pins. I found out that I really like the green sewing machine. It is quiet and smooth, and runs like an angel. I think I'll try and use it from now on. I like it better than my own machine! And also, today I was able to sew perfectly straight lines!Unfortunately the two sides did not come out even. I ended up sewing the seam again instead of ripping it, since it was a pretty tight seam, and then gave up when it was still uneven. One couldn't really tell, and I'm not in a fancy design school. It probably won't even show in the end.
I then learned sewed the hem of the back of the dress. This was hard. One had to roll it over twice, and roll it while you sewed it on a very thin hem. Autumn cut little slits to make it stay rolled, but then the slits got caught when I was sewing it. We ended up taking out the whole seam (Autumn actually took out most of it, saying that she was partially responsable, and though she wasn't, she's way faster at taking out seams than I am, so I ceded responsability), cutting the extra seam allowance (there was too much), and then after she started the first part (so that it stayed down), it was a lot easier to sew, and it ended up looking really professional! We then sewed the front and back sleaves together, and I tried it on like a smock. It was so cool! Next time we are definately finishing it!
I ran into Wendy towards the end. Thankfully, she barely remembered my name. She commented on how my progress was very slow, and I said that it was still awesome that I had almost completed my first dress. She misheard it as awful, but I made it clear that that was the opposite of what I had said.
So I started out by showing Autumn my sketches based on the cloth I had gotten last time. I had done a Chinese-style turtleneck (which will be posted soon), which I actually really like. She thought it would be really cool and really easy to make, which was a confidence booster. I have all the materials for it as well (including the buttons!), so that makes it even better! I wasn't able to design anything for the blue cloth, and was going to give up, when I remembered I had had the idea of using it for my blue jay skirt. We had a short brainstorm, and then Autumn came up with the awesome idea of using different colored blue denim pieces for the skirt. It would look fabulous! I was really excited. So Autumn has some old jean fabric in her studio, and I have brought in an old pair of jeans that will be cut for their pattern, and then also used for the skirt. Turns out my project will be pretty green after all!
We then moved on to my dress. I pinned the sides of the dress for the side seams and marked them. I also marked the pins for the draping of the cowl, and then sewed the cloth along the pins. I found out that I really like the green sewing machine. It is quiet and smooth, and runs like an angel. I think I'll try and use it from now on. I like it better than my own machine! And also, today I was able to sew perfectly straight lines!Unfortunately the two sides did not come out even. I ended up sewing the seam again instead of ripping it, since it was a pretty tight seam, and then gave up when it was still uneven. One couldn't really tell, and I'm not in a fancy design school. It probably won't even show in the end.
I then learned sewed the hem of the back of the dress. This was hard. One had to roll it over twice, and roll it while you sewed it on a very thin hem. Autumn cut little slits to make it stay rolled, but then the slits got caught when I was sewing it. We ended up taking out the whole seam (Autumn actually took out most of it, saying that she was partially responsable, and though she wasn't, she's way faster at taking out seams than I am, so I ceded responsability), cutting the extra seam allowance (there was too much), and then after she started the first part (so that it stayed down), it was a lot easier to sew, and it ended up looking really professional! We then sewed the front and back sleaves together, and I tried it on like a smock. It was so cool! Next time we are definately finishing it!
I ran into Wendy towards the end. Thankfully, she barely remembered my name. She commented on how my progress was very slow, and I said that it was still awesome that I had almost completed my first dress. She misheard it as awful, but I made it clear that that was the opposite of what I had said.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sewing at Home 2
So I finally tried to sew my pants again... and failed, again!
I first pinned them, which took forever, since it wasn't lining up right, and of course, perfectionist me would NOT let a single pin be crooked. I tried them out, made some adjustments, and set to work to sew them. I realized that the thread was not actually true black, but it was very very close (annoying...)
My hem was actually pretty straight, but I had sewn it towards the bottom of the fold I had made, which would cause the top to fold down. I didn't want to do two seams either. I slept on it, and the next day, I ripped out the whole seam. I need to stop being so OCD!! However, I have become VERY good at ripping seams (before I used to always snag the cloth by mistake, but by pulling the thread back and ripping the loops, it actually goes a lot faster, though it still took me more than an hour to pull out one seam).
Next time I'm going to do it right! I'm going to sew with a wider margin between the hem and the seam, and I'm going to IRON it beforehand! Ironing gives you a nice hem, so that you can sew even more perfectly, without bulges. Although others might not have to iron, I do, and I'm going to have to iron the bags for Sew-Green anyway, so while I'm at it, why not iron the pant's hems as well?
I first pinned them, which took forever, since it wasn't lining up right, and of course, perfectionist me would NOT let a single pin be crooked. I tried them out, made some adjustments, and set to work to sew them. I realized that the thread was not actually true black, but it was very very close (annoying...)
My hem was actually pretty straight, but I had sewn it towards the bottom of the fold I had made, which would cause the top to fold down. I didn't want to do two seams either. I slept on it, and the next day, I ripped out the whole seam. I need to stop being so OCD!! However, I have become VERY good at ripping seams (before I used to always snag the cloth by mistake, but by pulling the thread back and ripping the loops, it actually goes a lot faster, though it still took me more than an hour to pull out one seam).
Next time I'm going to do it right! I'm going to sew with a wider margin between the hem and the seam, and I'm going to IRON it beforehand! Ironing gives you a nice hem, so that you can sew even more perfectly, without bulges. Although others might not have to iron, I do, and I'm going to have to iron the bags for Sew-Green anyway, so while I'm at it, why not iron the pant's hems as well?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sewing at Home
I bought some black pants a while ago for work, and I never got to altering them because I was always too intimidated. So yesterday, since my current ones are now unbearably faded, I set about altering them. However, even though we had a whole spool of black thread, and two spools of white, they are all mysteriously missing!! Why??!! My mom usually does alterations with the sewing machine, but she always puts the thread back in the right place. Anyway, I had a bobbin with black thread, and a spool of khaki thread, and decided I would try to sew it so that the khaki would be on the inside, and the black on the outside. So I rolled up the pants, but I didn't measure it carefully. I folded it twice, but that was too thick, and didn't fit under the presser foot, so I folded it back, but in one long fold. There was only small flecks of khaki on the outer side of the stitch, since the tension might have been too loose, but there were two problems. 1) The stitch was not very straight due to the pants moving around a bit, but most of all 2) the pants were now too short!!
I undid the stitch, which took a long long time, and by the time I was done, it was really dark, and bed time already. I called it quits for the day, and put away the machine. But I learned two things: never try to sew when you're tired and impatient, and ALWAYS check the length before you sew!
Update: 3/28
My parents bought black and white thread while at the store today! Yay!! I will fix my pants soon!
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| This is a bobbin. It's surprising how many types of bobbins there are, but this is the usual plastic bobbin that I am working with, and that most modern-day sewing machines use (they used to be made of metal) http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/BOBBIN?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=BOBBIN&sa=Search#906  http://www.pfaff.com/global/3194_3432.html  http://en.item.rakuten.com/mishin-shop/jp510/ |
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| This is what it looks like to have loose tension. Mine wasn't so extreme (and was barely noticeable), but you can see that the bottom thread shows through as it loops around the top one, and it's not pretty. http://www.how-to-quilt.com/images/Articles/tension-loose350.jpg |
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| This is a seam ripper. Unfortunately mine does not have a nice bulb on the short end, causing it to snag on the cloth a lot. It takes a while to rip seams... http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Seam-ripper-5033.jpg |
Update: 3/28
My parents bought black and white thread while at the store today! Yay!! I will fix my pants soon!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Fatherly advice
I just talked to my dad around two minutes ago, because I was worried about my project, and getting started. When I told him I was trying to learn how to sew, but wasn't really going anywhere, he asked me why I hadn't pulled out the machine. I came up with some really lame excuses, and then he said something really important. "You need to become friends with the machine. You're friends with the paintbrush, it's part of your arm, but you're not friends with the machine yet." Basically, I've become afraid of the machine. It's been a good six to eight years since I last used a sewing machine and made perfectly straight lines. The last time I used one was my first time at Sew-Green, and all of my lines were crooked (though I was rushing it a lot). He suggested that I get used to using the sewing machine again by taking an old sheet, and following straight lines, as well as curvy ones, just getting used to sewing again. Old sheets, watch out! I'm coming to get you!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Hand Sewing
I don't know if this has anything really to do with my project, but today, my parents noticed that ever since I started my project, I've become more confident in mending clothes and toys around the house, despite the fact that my sewing abilities have not yet changed. For example, last week I repaired my brother's favorite stuffed animal, which had a rip about 8 inches long. Then today, I repaired the pocket of my dress coat. Both of these projects were sewed by hand, but at least I'm not so afraid of making a permanent mark on my clothes, and I don't wait until my dad does it (he's the master sewer, and my mom's the one who actually remembers to do it. They're a good pair!). Anyway, I guess it shows that I'm more ready to take things apart/fix things, since I'm curious about how they're sewn together. For example, I was able to see the inner workings of my pocket, which was inside the coat, between the inner and outer layer, rendering it invisible and very difficult to sew. I also found out that some materials are a lot harder to sew than others, and that thread can even pass right through it, so one must always test the fabric, and make sure it will work.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
One Thing I learned...
Something I learned, and forgot to mention:
During my Sew-Green meeting last time, I learned how to do a close stitch for a hankerchief. Well, today for a present, I got a scarf, and finally realized what they were talking about. You can shift your needle to the edge of the presser foot, and sew right along the edge of the silk after folding it very fine. This creates a thin seam. I will really need this if I decide to use any silk or fine, flowy materials (gauzy materials too!) that need a thin, light hem. I learned how important this is for a polished look in Project Runway, otherwise you can see the jaggedness of where you cut it, and it's a disaster
The other thing I learned that I was supposed to share I unfortnately forgot!!! Oh well, I'll get back to you when I remember...
During my Sew-Green meeting last time, I learned how to do a close stitch for a hankerchief. Well, today for a present, I got a scarf, and finally realized what they were talking about. You can shift your needle to the edge of the presser foot, and sew right along the edge of the silk after folding it very fine. This creates a thin seam. I will really need this if I decide to use any silk or fine, flowy materials (gauzy materials too!) that need a thin, light hem. I learned how important this is for a polished look in Project Runway, otherwise you can see the jaggedness of where you cut it, and it's a disaster
The other thing I learned that I was supposed to share I unfortnately forgot!!! Oh well, I'll get back to you when I remember...
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