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It all started out with this pair of curtains I found in a secondhand shop for £2.50. They were covered in squares with animals in so I bought them, cut the squares out and then looked for something to do with them. There's a book I've had for a while called Quick Colourful Quilts which I'd never gotten round to using, but it had this design called Moulin Rouge that really appealed to me. It was made from the Mary's Triangle using a red background and 12 fat quarters. Only I didn't have any money, or 12 fat quarters, just these animal squares and whatever else I had in my room. In the quilt in the book, the square in the block was 3inches, so I trimmed the animal squares down into a neat 5in, did some math to work out the rest and made larger squares- ~9in. The other squares and the triangles are made from dressmaking left overs, 1960s pillowcases (25p each from the same second hand shop), a few fat quarters I bought in Hawaii and some bits and bobs my mum had. The navy background is all offcuts from a project of my mum's, so the only thing I'm going to have to buy is the batting and backing (unless I make a Frankenstein crazy quilt backing, although I'd like to get this done buy my friend's bday- Jan 5)  Having laid it out, I actually really like it! There's way too much of that yellow pillowcase in there though, so I'm going to ban myself from using it. I banned myself from using the pink gingham earlier because there was way too much of it. It's eventually going to measure 6 x 8 blocks, and I really should stop procrastinating because Mary's triangle is super quick to piece AND you make 2 blocks at once.
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Dec 13, 2009 12:57
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That will look really nice.  It is a nice mix of crazy prints, but the pattern is still really evident (which you want, otherwise it's just a jumble). I like the yellow pillowcase in there for what it's worth - it and the green pattern give the eye a nice calm place to go to next to the bolder prints. I haven't been working on any quilts, I have two that are all done except the binding but can't seem to sit down to actually do it. Probably because I know after I do that I have about five projects that are started but not done.
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Dec 13, 2009 18:03
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handbags at dawn posted:That will look really nice. I was amazed how much fabric you get when you open up a pillowcase, so I'll definitely be buying those again. If I was a little skinnier and a better dressmaker, I probably could've made a shift dress out of the yellow one. When I ripped open the seams, decades of gross dirt and lint fell on me despite having washed it  I just really hope my friend likes it. If she doesn't, I guess I'll just smother her with it and give it to a grateful hobo.
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Dec 13, 2009 18:18
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Someone sent me a pattern for a shopping tote made from a pillowcase. I'll have to try it out as I seem to end up with millions of pillowcases. The sheets always tend to wear out first. Here's the pattern if anyone's interested: http://www.pinkolive.ca/jordynnmackenzie/patterns/pillowcase_marketbag.html I'm sure it's nothing I couldn't have figured out on my own, I've made lots of bags, but it's nice to have dimensions already plotted out.
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Dec 13, 2009 18:51
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I have a question... Have any of you ladies tried making your own bras? I'd like to try, as it would be much better than spending $35-75 every time I need a new goddamn tit-holder, but it seems more difficult than it should be. I think after I got the supplies and got the first one done I'd be good to go, and could start cranking them out, but... I'm not sure where to start. I'm having a hard time even finding the right size underwires, and I think foam cups are completely out of the question so it looks like I'll be doing soft-cups. If anyone has good resources for stretch lace, bra straps, etc. I'd love to see them.
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Dec 14, 2009 07:45
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Calvervtutrp posted:I have a question... Have any of you ladies tried making your own bras? I'd like to try, as it would be much better than spending $35-75 every time I need a new goddamn tit-holder, but it seems more difficult than it should be. If you're serious about making your own bras, see if anywhere in your area does lingerie courses. Some places that teach patternmaking or tailoring also cover bra making. As far as I'm aware, it IS fairly difficult, which is why bras cost so much. Part dressmaking, part structural engineering.
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Dec 14, 2009 12:29
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I found someone selling an old sewing machine, but she doesn't know the model. Here's pictures   Should I get it? CutiePie fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Dec 16, 2009 |
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Dec 16, 2009 11:38
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My laptop was in the shop so I wasn't able to post for a while there, but I did my performance for school last week, and some of the shots came out wayyy better than my pictures (actually, I realize now that I never even posted my original head-to-toe shots, so this is all new to you) My model did a great job!   And some from rehearsal, where I am looking rather doofy in it--my model hadn't gotten there yet.  Fuzzy, but hey! Check out that quilting--it wasn't all for vain, thank god!  Me making the face that means "my head is being crushed and also it is a million degrees in here"
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Dec 16, 2009 23:55
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Goldaline posted:
You look like a woolen warrior  The level of detail is beautiful though; I especially like the outer sleeves/armguard things.
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Dec 17, 2009 17:16
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When worlds (well two of mine anyway) collide! Goldaline is a Craftster Crush today! http://www.craftster.org/blog/?p=6111
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Dec 19, 2009 03:00
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Hahaha, I just got an email about that...I haven't posted anything there in almost a year??? I just sort of stopped--the less 'crafty' (to my mind, stronger) the work got, the less response it got there. So, uh, yeah, I got no idea what that's all about.
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Dec 19, 2009 04:55
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So, I went ahead and ordered some black dye from Dharma Trading Co a couple weeks ago, went ahead and dyed my fabric, and started on a cathedral window quilt using it as the backing material. I went for black and the fabric was a nice deeeeep purple in the tub, then I rinsed it and ran it through the wash a couple times, and it came out a sort of dusty purple. Why, you ask? I sort of forgot to check to see that the fabric was 100% cotton; turns out it was 50/50 cotton poly. I still really like how it turned out, though. (this is a roll of cut backer squares for the quilt, the three different colours came from three separate sheets) I started the quilt last weekend, since I got my wisdom teeth out on the 11th and was forced to sit and do nothing all weekend. I started with 2x2" windows, and found that I couldn't actually get the needle through the fabric in such a tiny format, so I upped it to 4x4". It is a lot more manageable now, and I am actually enjoying working on it instead of fighting it. AND I can machine-stitch everything on it, which is a gigantic plus. I hate hand-stitching, as it turns out.   My feet are in there to show scale. I think I am going to piece the backers together completely and then start in with the windows, so I can lay them out and sort of plan the patterning I want instead of having it all willy-nilly. I have a bunch of scraps I need to use up, and I bought a bunch of 5" swatches at joann's the other day to spruce it up a bit. I am excited My boyfriend's mom thinks I am absolutely bonkers for doing something this involved for my first quilt (she might be onto something, there). I also have a king-size quilt in the works composed of 5"x7" diamonds of velvet. Cutting velvet is so unbelievably messy 
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Dec 21, 2009 04:24
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So I have to provide a gift geared toward an adult male for a gift exchange. Any ideas of any sewing projects I can whip up for an guy who could be anywhere from 6' 0" to 6' 3" and 145lbs to 220lbs?
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Dec 23, 2009 06:01
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nolen posted:So I have to provide a gift geared toward an adult male for a gift exchange. A sarong is pretty much one size fits all, and you'd probably get a humorous reaction out of it. Maybe it would be better to make something that isn't clothing, since everyone has different tastes. What about a tote bag in some kind of tasteful, "male" colours like dark green or blue? Everyone needs to carry things sometimes. Do you know all these guys? Do they have any shared interests or needs? Maybe a laptop cover, a wallet, or one of these(mildly nsfw, and it's knitted but you could sew one out of fleece). Sorry these aren't that imaginative but they might be good for last minute.
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Dec 23, 2009 15:50
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nolen posted:So I have to provide a gift geared toward an adult male for a gift exchange. Fleece wristwarmers/fingerless gloves in a dark color or a manly pattern, like camo? Super fast and easy to make, and kind of one size fits all. I don't have a pattern to link, but the simplest kind is basically a tube with a thumb hole. Can be knitted or crocheted, too. You could also do a matching fleece scarf.
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Dec 23, 2009 16:31
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I finished, woo! I also totally cheated again. It's not a sandwich like a quilt should be. It's two layers sewn together like you would sew a duvet cover (inside out) and then turned right side out and the gap sewn up by hand. With the exception of the 2 fat quarters I bought on holiday, the backing and the trim, all the fabric used in the patchwork is an offcut from something else or was something else in it's past life. For example, the animal squares which began the whole thing are from a pair of curtains. The red flower print was leftover from a skirt my mum made me. The yellow print used to be a 1960s' pillowcase. Including everything used in its contruction, the entire cost of this quilt comes to around £14.  The back is a fleece blanket with penguins on 
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Dec 28, 2009 16:09
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You didn't cheat! They call that method "birthing" a quilt. It looks cute and the prints are fun I like how some of the rows "leak out" into the edge, too.
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Dec 28, 2009 18:17
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handbags at dawn posted:You didn't cheat! They call that method "birthing" a quilt. It looks cute and the prints are fun Oh cool, I'd never heard of this method, it just seemed like an easy shortcut. I honestly don't think my friend will care that I didn't sit there hand stitching through layers of organic cotton batting. It's funny you mention the "leaks". My mum didn't understand them. She was staring at them and poking them and kept asking why they were there. "uh.. it's the design, mum. That's how they did it in the book..." The only thing I don't really like about it is it's quite a juvenile design. You don't look at it and think "classy and grown-up". Although I did lay it out on my parent's bed earlier (they have plain navy bedding) and it didn't look horrendous, so it passes in my eyes.
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Dec 28, 2009 21:20
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I needed a Christmas present for my BFF (and a fellow goonette) and since we tend to sperg out a bit over certain emoticons from SA, I figured to go from there... ... and decided to embroider the infamous :iamafag: After a lot of work and a lot of cursing myself for the idea, I was finally done:  Click here for the full 1632x1224 image. The diameter is around 16cm. I know it's not perfect and some stitches are kinda sloppy, but over all, I am content with it. And if she doesn't like it (I'll give it to her on Thursday), I just beat her up 
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Dec 29, 2009 13:22
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I've been doing some sewing on my own, mostly teaching myself as I go along. I just picked me up a shiny new hem foot for my machine, and was wondering if there was any graceful way to handle corners with the thing, or just leave a couple inches on each edge leading up to it and then go back and finish the corners with my regular foot? (I also got a spiffy clip-on adapter so I can use clip-on feet with my low-shank-feet-taking 70's Singer, especially since the sewing store I was at only had the hem foot in a clip-on version )
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Dec 30, 2009 01:15
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What I was taught to do was to cut the edge of the corner off, go to the end on one side, then start on the other side. I couldn't find a good picture but did find this drawing: http://books.google.com/books?id=Cq...page&q=&f=false
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Dec 30, 2009 02:26
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handbags at dawn posted:What I was taught to do was to cut the edge of the corner off, go to the end on one side, then start on the other side. I couldn't find a good picture but did find this drawing: http://books.google.com/books?id=Cq...page&q=&f=false Hmm...I think I get it. I was just now messing around with it on my machine, and the tutorials I'd found online had you finger-pressing the hem for a few inches, taking a few stitches, leaving the needle down, then trying to force the hem into the spiral. The way shown in this book looks a lot easier, and it'd be easier than "stitch with the hem foot up until the last inch or so before the corner, then miter the corner by hand" that was my idea until I saw your post. Thanks!
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Dec 30, 2009 02:46
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I am a super beginner when it comes to sewing. I started off taking shirts in by hand every free minute I had in school, and so my mommy surprised me with a cute little(portable)sewing machine a week ago for Christmas. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE shirt dresses from the 1950's. I find them very classy, that all women look beautiful in them without having to dress like a skank. So I first started by looking in thrift stores for imitation styles, and that didn't go over so well. After looking on the internet and realising that these dresses are rather expensive for a young lady with lots of school, no job, and underage, thus still relying on their single mommy. Enough with the e/n. So I bought a vintage pattern off ebay (I want to say 1957?), which is really quite ambitious for someone of my..."level". Whatever. I'm determined to learn how to make these dresses because then I can have my style, say I made them myself, AND the patterns are original 1957, so it's exactly what I'm going for. I'm going to go over to a friend of my mom's house, she's going to make the dress with me this weekend. I just wanted to share pictures of the pattern, thought maybe you all would find it interesting.     
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Jan 1, 2010 04:07
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Ballin Stalin posted:I am a super beginner when it comes to sewing. I started off taking shirts in by hand every free minute I had in school, and so my mommy surprised me with a cute little(portable)sewing machine a week ago for Christmas. This looks awesome! I really want to see how it turns out because I love these dresses too, but I'm too chicken to try them.
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Jan 1, 2010 16:13
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I'd be curious to see some high-res pictures of the instructions and/or patterns. Are they very similar to modern-day instructions or has the terminology and style changed much ?
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Jan 5, 2010 19:45
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Finally took photos off my camera of a few holiday projects. Little birds out of recycled semi-felted cashmere sweaters. They would have been better if I'd felted them more, but I was impatient and my washer doesn't felt that well. I could be a lot happier with how the birds actually came out but I really love this photo I took of them because normally my photos are lousy  Pillows, with freezer paper stencils, applique, and hand embroidery:    (backs of the pillows)
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Jan 5, 2010 20:14
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Artemisia posted:That's exquisite. I really really like it. And your little birds are very sweet!
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Jan 5, 2010 20:38
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 If you happen to be my best loving friend in the whole world, gently caress right off, because this is supposed to be a surprise, gurl! Anyway, thought I'd share this with you because I obviously can't share this with the birthday girl to be. I made some pillows (which aren't as fancy as Artemisia's, sadly. Yours rock, seriously!) and sort of stencilled-but-not-really them with the portraits of Mark and Super Hans from the über-awesome Peep Show. The styles don't really match because the picture of David Mitchell is GISed while Matt King's photo is a real screenshot. That's why I'm keeping the aforementioned pillow for myself. It's a sort of prototype, anyway. They're about 50x50 cm and the stuffing's from IKEA pillows. Edit: AW poo poo, I didn't realize the photo was that huge, gently caress! I'm sorry! Is there a way to edit attached photos? 
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Jan 7, 2010 19:32
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The shirtdress post inspired me. Don't have high expectations please! It's my first go at dressmaking! Important: when making your first dress, maybe don't buy an ugly 80s pattern that accounts for goddamn shoulder pads and is slouchy like this one.  Lots of fitting, fixing, and wrangling (and only ONE backward seam) later:  My first attempt at bust darts.  I'm also working on a jacket (I really need to finish it up!)  it's tight right at my shoulder/arms. I made the jacket pattern using the dress pattern and I guess I shortened the yoke and sleeves too much. Also this bacon and egg bag I banged out makes me happy. 
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Jan 8, 2010 05:28
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My mom made me that dress in green way back when. And yes, if you leave out the shoulder pads it won't hang right. drat you 80s. That bag makes me happy too
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Jan 8, 2010 05:47
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handbags at dawn posted:My mom made me that dress in green way back when. And yes, if you leave out the shoulder pads it won't hang right. drat you 80s. I'll accept weird shoulders for a total cost of $3.75... I haven't had the excuse to wear it anywhere quite yet but I'm excited to do so!
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Jan 8, 2010 05:58
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Have any of you ever sewn and sold doll clothes? My mother is looking for another income stream and I suggested since she loves sewing, but never has the time to tackle a big project with her day job, doll clothes would be perfect. The problem is I don't know how she would sell them or to who. Etsy doesn't seem very popular with the doll crowd and you know how much ebay sucks . Any suggestions on doll/fashion communities where I should point her? I told her to look at what's popular today and just make that in a few sizes like barbie, 1/6th scale "cool girl/ZC/BBi fashion dolls" and american girl.
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Jan 9, 2010 02:50
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Some stuff I made lately...   also...  both were fun to make but holy moly do I have a long way to go!
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Jan 9, 2010 04:36
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Squid-Row posted:Some stuff I made lately... Oh my gosh, that is awesome! its like an ocean warrior priestess dress!!!
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Jan 9, 2010 04:59
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Micomicona posted:Oh my gosh, that is awesome! its like an ocean warrior priestess dress!!! Hey thanks! The concept was the sirens so that's pretty spot on. Nice to see my intent gets through!
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Jan 9, 2010 07:49
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Squidrow, that embroidery and beading is delicious! It really sells an already interesting and beautiful outfit.
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Jan 9, 2010 20:26
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Alright, I'm not completely positive that this is the right thread, but I didn't see an upholstery thread. I've got this lovely $120 chair that I've been sitting on for about 4 years, and it's lasted well until recently when the pleather started to crack and shred and generally fall right the gently caress apart. Now, I'm a patient man, I'm good with tools and building stuff, etc and I've got a workshop that's very full, but I've done almost no sewing and never done any upholstery. Despite this, I AM NOT AFRAID. Here is my chair.   You see the problems. The back, which seems quite complicated, is relatively okay, but the armrests and bottom are completely destroyed. I figure I can get some heavy (10-12 oz?) sage or grey duck canvas (will this work?) and some replacement high density foam (right stuff?), then just pull the staples out. Then, I'm sorta lost. How do I do this with bolsters, or just in general? Throw down a layer or three of foam with spray adhesive, then fabric stretched over and stapled down I'm guessing, but how do I work in the bolsters? e: Will this work?  Lose string (red) in a little pocket to hold the center down to the chair, extra fabric on all sides to staple the whole thing down? Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Jan 12, 2010 |
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Jan 11, 2010 23:50
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While I am still enjoying my Brother XR-9000 I am starting to think it's not me but the machine that's preventing success with blind hems. What I notice with thin fabric or when sewing close to the edge is that the fabric sometimes gets pulled to the left. So assuming the fabric edge is perfectly lined up with the right side of the presser foot it will no longer be lined up once it's travelled under the needle- instead it has drifted a few millimeters to the left. In some situations I can compensate for that by forcefully pulling it to the right behind the presser foot or by lifting the foot and placing it back down. Has anyone here run into something like that? I looked at the feed dogs and presser foot underside but did not notice anything being out-of-whack. Anything I can do other than take it to a service center ?
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Jan 14, 2010 03:24
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I'm a bit confused... is the fabric getting pushed down by the needle, pulling the edge of the fabric closer to the needle? If so, that often happens to me with thin fabrics, and I figured it was just a regular annoyance. Maybe caused by a too-dull needle or something? I always just work through it. But, I have no loving clue so you should probably just ignore me. When my machine has troubles I just cuss it out and mess around with it until it gets better somehow, or I turn it off for a couple days and then somehow it's working again  I cut up some old thrifted sweaters and made them into one awesome sweater:  I love this sort of thing (filthy hippie) and I'm very happy with it. It's all just serged together, with all the seams on the outside. The hood is huge but kind of weird-shaped, because I don't know poo poo about hoods. Also it could use some pockets, but anyway I like it a lot.
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Jan 15, 2010 00:20
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Cross_ posted:What I notice with thin fabric or when sewing close to the edge is that the fabric sometimes gets pulled to the left. So assuming the fabric edge is perfectly lined up with the right side of the presser foot it will no longer be lined up once it's travelled under the needle- instead it has drifted a few millimeters to the left. In some situations I can compensate for that by forcefully pulling it to the right behind the presser foot or by lifting the foot and placing it back down. If the fabric is being pulled out of place as the needle goes down it's probably because your needle is too thick for the fabric you're using or it's too dull. If the needle isn't the right size or sharp enough the fabric gets pushed down into the hole in the needle plate before the needle goes through the fabric. Check the needle package, they usually will have a list of the types of fabric each size is designed for.
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Jan 15, 2010 16:27
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