My Big Bad Sewing thread

[Dee Dee Warren]

Argh. I never learn sometimes. If I ever use quilting fabric, never ever use it both for the top and underlining. Way too thick and stiff. I think I will make this pattern again in something much lighter in the future. I have to wait to see how it goes when it is done.

I had to unstitch a great deal of it because I was too lazy to mark my fronts and backs and stitched the pieces wrong.... so I gotta go buy more thread too.

[Teallaura]

Argh. I never learn sometimes. If I ever use quilting fabric, never ever use it both for the top and underlining. Way too thick and stiff. I think I will make this pattern again in something much lighter in the future. I have to wait to see how it goes when it is done.

Sounds like it'd be great for a poodle skirt...

I had to unstitch a great deal of it because I was too lazy to mark my fronts and backs and stitched the pieces wrong.... so I gotta go buy more thread too.

Laziness does not pay in pattern sewing, does it?

[Dee Dee Warren]

Well I finished the dress, but I have to work on the belt. I have never made a "real" belt before, only sashes, so this will be something new. Pics after I finish the belt.

The thing is a butt-ugly sack. So ugly it is cute. Since I am so chagrined at how "thick" it is with the two layers of quilting fabric, after this I am immediately going to use the pattern again to make something else, but not a muumuu, gonna crop it really short and make a pillowcase style shirt out of a couple yards of cute ducky fabric I have. It will let me see how this pattern handles when with thinner layers and gets rids of a small yardage amount in my stash.

Then onto a Vogue sundress I have been wanting to make, have had the fabric for ages. Wondering though f I should underline it or not (definitely will not use quilting fabric to underline--- basic to cotton batiste for me even though I have to mail-order it!)

Probably will not underline it, don't' want to spend more money on fabric.

THEN, will get started on my Effie Trinket costume. I don't want to start it right away because I am trying to loose weight. I am down ten pounds already and hope maybe to lose another five or so before I start on the costume, then I will start with the jacket... and by the time I am done with that and working on the skirt, I should be about what weight I will be in October, and it is in the bottom where there will be the most fluctuation for fitting purposes.

[Dee Dee Warren]

I will be done by tomorrow with the sack dress! I just put some of the finishing touches on the belt (put in the eyelets, put fray check on the opening where the belt buckle thingy goes through)--- just need to sew the buckle on tonight when the fray-check is dry, and will be wearing the ugly thing tomorrow!

[Dee Dee Warren]

Well I finished and have worn it. It came out really well even if a bit stiff. I quickly whipped up a top out of the same pattern (not taking the specialty custom steps I took with the dress, just serged the seams), and am wearing that today. This weekend I will post pics.

I have some ugly fabric that I got on clearance online that didn't look like the picture, so I am going to make a quick cat bed out of that this weekend, and stuff it with fabric scraps. I hate to throw out scraps! I save them to stuff pet beds.

I am determine to clear out even a little bit of my backlog fabric stash. The rest of that ugly green fabric, I think I am going to use as muslin to get rid of it. I need to whip a few more things before I go onto to Project Effie Trinket as I need the satisfaction of some completed projects before getting embroiled again in something that will take a long time.

[Teallaura]

Cool.

[Dee Dee Warren]

Ugh, I getta get time to mess with the pictures. I also made the quick cat bed and have so many other scraps, I might whip up another. My job keeps me working seven days a week pretty much so I have to go in today again.

[Teallaura]

Awww....


Quickie cat bed: take an old sweater and turn it inside out. Sew up the bottom, neck and sleeves (leave an opening either in the neck or the bottom). Turn right side out. Sew the underarm seam to the side seam. Repeat on the other side. (If you pull the arm down it will pull up the top making a 'headboard' when stuffed.) Stuff completely. Sew up the opening. Voila! Cat bed!

[Dee Dee Warren]

Okay finally here are the pics

First the pics with explanations of how I did the faux hong kong seam finish by using an underlining

toplayersmall.png

underliningsmall.png

sewliningsmall.png

closerlooksmall.png

sewnas.png

Here is the finished dress with belt!

sackdresstwo.png

And the quick top I did from the same pattern:

duckyshirt.png

[moreta]

Thanks so much for those pics Diz. I presume you leave an opening to turn it then blindstitch it closed. Or, leave it open at the hem, cut the lining shorter than the shell, and hem the outer shell over the lining.

Hmm...interesting.

I like the dress, and the neckline isn't as fussy as I thought I might be. I like the rubber ducky necklace with the ducky top too. They both look pretty comfortable.

[Teallaura]

Why so glum? It's cute!

The belt came out nicely.


Now, admit the truth - the parrot helped with the marking, didn't he?

[Dee Dee Warren]

Moreta, any curved seam is left open so it can be turned there or at the hem. You can only do this on straight seams.

Teal.... the parrot simply throws food and claims she is helping.

[Dee Dee Warren]

Oh glum because I was at work. Tired of working all the time.

[Dee Dee Warren]

Next Project: Vogue 7544

Here is the pattern and the fabric.

vogue7544.png

I am making a muslin of it first out of some ugly fabric (the same stuff I made the cat bed out of) to check the fit first. I am very skeptical of the pattern and don't want to spend a lot of time on it if the fit can't be made to be decent.

[Dee Dee Warren]

Oh I completely forgot I needed to resize the pattern as it is way too small. Well making the small muslin helped me to visualize how to resize it, so I will be on to muslin number two.