I’ve been sewing a lot of tote bags for all the ladies in my life.  I decided I wanted to sew something for my dad…and thought Michael’s Chef’s Apron  was just the ticket.  For the FREE pattern see

http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/apronpattern1.pdf

I picked out “manly” colors…a green/brown stripe for the outer fabric and solid brown for the lining and straps.  Ok, honestly I was going to make the straps out of the striped fabric too–but I had a little fight with my rotary cutter. 

The pattern is simple and straight forward…except maybe for sewing the straps on, as they are sandwiched in between the front and lining…and I’m not sure I placed them right.  In retrospect, I might do them a little different and use an square/x to attach them decoratively after sewing the apron body together.  The other thing that was a pain in my ass easy to figure out…how to turn the straps…big long tubes…inside out…or is it outside in…I don’t know.  I actually had to call Laura for guidance.  Thanks for coaching me bravely over the phone Laura.

Here is Dad, making French Toast Casserole for breakfast tomorrow, wearing his sassy new chef’s apron.  I forgot to mention that I ironed on the “LP”–which stands for “little petey”— I think MAKES the apron that much more special.

Not to shabby for an afternoon’s work…

C Dog has lofty sewing plans for vacation, so keep checking back for posts on “Skirt-o-rama” and posts about the 1940’s Vintage A line skirt.

DId I mention…I love fabric…

The class is being taught by Michael Fulkerson — creator of the now-famous bird mobile (bird pattern available here) — and utilizes the Birdie Sling pattern from Amy Butler.

I agonized over choosing fabric, because I wanted the bag to be something that I would actually carry. My wardrobe tends toward basic black, so while I really enjoy looking at bright, colorful quilting fabric, it doesn’t fit easily with the rest of my clothes and shoes. I also tend to like things that are a little off-beat — maybe even a little creepy — but also tasteful (and, if not tasteful, at least artful). When you’re talking about quilting fabrics, this combination can be a tall order (can’t wait for Spoonflower!).

But, in the end, I found the most amazing fabric:

And, by some incredible stroke of luck, Hancock’s of Paducah was selling it for less than $4.00/yard. It’s currently out of stock at Hancock’s, but The Virginia Quilter has it for $8.79/yard.

The fabric also led me to Alexander Henry Fabrics, which, if polygamy were legal, I would totally marry. I love them that much.

I’ll post pictures when the bag starts to take shape.

My sister has an old bolster pillow that she uses to support her neck while she sleeps. If you’ve ever had neck or upper back problems, and have tried to find a good supportive pillow, you can appreciate how hard it is to find one that is really comfortable. So, she has this pillow that she loves, but the cover on it had become threadbare, and she asked me if I could make a replacement for her.

I started by taking the old cover apart, so that I could use it as a template.

I used some leftover fabric from Franken-skirt, to make a “test” cover.

I decided that I would make a “test” cover out of scrap fabric, before attempting to work with the fabric that my sister bought. Since I wasn’t sure in what order to assemble the pieces, nor the best way to attach the ends, I figured there might be some seam ripping involved. Happily, there wasn’t much.

The most difficult part was attaching the round end pieces. I’m sure there is a better way to do this, I just need to find out what it is.

I did this one with my eyes closed. Kidding. It just looks that way.

Here’s the finished cover!

From the outside, even the ends look good.

OMG! I made a lapped zipper!

I wasn’t sure how to install the zipper, so I took a skirt pattern that included a lapped zipper, and used the instructions to figure out how to get started. It required some improvisation, but everything worked perfectly.

Close up!

Here’s what the zipper looks like when it’s closed. Very inconspicuous. Almost makes up for what I did to Franken-skirt.

I’ve sent the cover off to my sister, and am just waiting to hear if it fits properly. Then, if all is well, I can start the “real” cover.

I couldn’t leave well enough alone, but I also couldn’t bring myself to spend money on alterations for a skirt that I made. It just seemed so ridiculous. Plus, I figured it was time to learn a little bit about making fitting adjustments. And, it seemed to make sense to practice on something toward which I was already harboring some resentment. That way, even if I totally butchered it, at least it wasn’t something I loved.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “This doesn’t bode well,” you are so totally right.

Franken-skirt meets Jaws! My skirt now has a dorsal fin!

Basically, I had to taper the skirt at the side seams, so that the top would remain the same size, but the bottom would become more narrow.

Yah gonna’ need a biggah boat.

If I could figure out how to type the Jaws theme phonetically, this is where I would put it.

Seriously, what am I supposed to do with that thing? Cut it off with pinking shears?

Winner of the World’s Most Conspicuous Alteration award. I’m undefeated. Fear me.

Is that the worst case of pattern mismatch you’ve ever seen?

Nevertheless, after all of that futzing around, it fits (pretty much). Unfortunately, because of all the crazy biz I did to the side seams, it looks like an insane blind person stitched it together. But, I’m past the point of caring, because now it’s personal. That skirt is totally getting worn.

I made this skirt as part of a Sewing Basics II class, which was offered by the Philadelphia Sewing Collective. The instructor was Christine Phillips, a local fashion designer. The fabric was purchased at Spool.

On the hanger, it looks like a typical A-Line skirt; nondescript and nothing obviously wrong with it.

But, underneath, lurks a disfigured monster that I am now referring to as…

Franken-skirt!

Everything started out well, but, after the whole thing was put together (of course), I realized that it was about 5″ too small in the hips. I had to add fabric inserts on both sides to make it fit. I started out with tapered inserts, but, the skirt kept puckering, so I had to go with straight inserts.

I am still extremely confused by how it could have been that small. According to the pattern (Simplicity #4036), the hips were just one inch smaller than the A-Line skirt from Betsy Ross Patterns. If the measurements were accurate, it should have fit perfectly, because I have a little bit of room in the Betsy Ross skirt. I can understand sizes being different (i.e., a size 10 in one brand, is different than a size 10 in another brand) but, in this case, we’re talking about standardized units of measurement (specifically, inches), so I’m not sure how they can be that far off.

I’m inclined to believe that Simplicity is the problem, rather than Betsy Ross, since another pattern I bought from Simplicity created a garment that was way too big. Although, after re-reading my last post, where I thought the Betsy Ross skirt was going to be 5″ too small, maybe I’m just inclined to give Betsy Ross the benefit of the doubt, since the skirt I made from their pattern actually fit.

The inserts weren’t long enough.

I felt like I needed to rush to get the inserts completed during class, since I needed help from the instructor. Consequently, they wound up being too short. It wasn’t the end of the world, but now my hem looks weird.

Adding inserts also made the waistband too short.

After installing the inserts, I had to make the waistband longer. I measured the skirt, and factored in enough fabric for the seam allowances, as well as a little bit of extra at the zipper. Unfortunately, it still wound up being about 3/4″ too short. As you can see in the above picture, I had to pull a Frankenstein at the end of the waistband, otherwise, it wouldn’t have attached properly to the zipper.

Although a lot went wrong, some things also went right…

I was able to install another zipper.

And, I got to practice some more darts.

Overall, I guess the skirt looks fine from the outside, which is one of the great things about sewing. However, the inserts have made the skirt too wide at the bottom, so I’ll probably still have to take it to the dry cleaner for tailoring. That sort of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

This A-Line skirt was made as part of a 3-week class at Spool. The class used a pattern by Betsy Ross Patterns, and was taught by Aimee Pflieger Dolby, the company’s founder. Believe it or not, the fabric came from Jo-Ann.

I expected darts to be hard. They weren’t. 

I installed a zipper. Badly.

I was convinced that it wasn’t going to fit, and was totally sweatin’ it during class, because the measurements indicated that it was going to be about 5′ too small

I swear, when I tried that thing on during class, and it fit, I think I heard angels singing.

I still don’t understand measurements. They never seem to match what the pattern says.

click image for purchasing information

My dogs aren’t huge, and one of them isn’t much bigger than a large cat, so I figured I could just make the neckbands a little longer and the patterns would fit. 

I’m not sure what possessed me, but I decided to try making one of the outfits from the above pattern, even though I’ve only used a pattern once, and that was with a lot of help and supervision.

Here’s the super cute result:

It’s a bit difficult to see them, but the little “shirt” actually has pleats on either side of the buttons.

Unfortunately (for my cat, Willie), my whole just-make-the-neckbands-longer idea didn’t work out, and the outfit was too small for either of my dogs. So, here’s poor Willie, being the sweet, cooperative guy that he is:

Although I absolutely love this little outfit, it took about 6-8 hours for me to complete it. I had a lot of difficulty with the actual tie, and wound up having to take it apart several times. It didn’t help that the pattern seemed to be wrong in a couple of places, and, if not wrong, then at least extremely unclear. Since I’m a sewing noob, I don’t know how common it is for patterns to be wrong, but this one definitely seemed to have some problems.

The quest for the perfect dog tie continues…

Philadelphia’s Fabric Row in the 1930s

The Philadelphia Sewing Collective offers a tour of Fabric Row that is really worth taking. Christine Phillips, a local fashion designer, was our guide.

The tour helped me to better understand which fabrics can be used for different types of projects. In addition, it made stores that cater to professional designers a lot less intimidating. I really never felt comfortable going into those places before.

We were also provided with a card, good for one year, worth 10% off purchases at all of the major fabric and notions stores on 4th Street. Nice!

A tour of the Garment District in Manhattan is being planned for the Fall.

I wanted to learn how to install a zipper, so I took Spool’s ‘Zippered Pouch’ class on May 3rd. The class was 3 hours, and was taught by Laura Singewald, one of the co-owners of Spool.

Here is the finished product:

Each person chose their own fabric, thread, and zipper.

We were able to choose matching or contrasting fabric for the inside.

No, I was not drunk when I was doing the topstitching.

In one place, the fabric is too close to the zipper, so the zipper kind of sticks. But, for my first attempt at installing a zipper, I was happy that it turned out as well as it did.

This post is about the hideous drawstring pajama bottoms that I made in my first sewing class. The class was called Sewing Basics, and is offered by the Philadelphia Sewing Collective. The instructor was Stephanie Rubinetti, a local fashion designer.

Let me start out by saying that being a beginner is hard. I had no idea where to get nice fabric, what brands were good (or sucked), what was priced fairly (or overpriced), or what the heck I was looking for on the “notions wall” at Jo-Ann. But, here’s what I had to track down:

Simplicity pattern #9330
3 yards (45″ or more width) of lightweight, woven fabric (no knits, satins, or fabric with a nap)
Thread (matching or neutral)
Fabric shears
Craft scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Pins
Dressmakers tracing paper
Tracing wheel

Obviously, not everything was a mystery, but the pins and fabric caused me major angst. That, and they were out of tracing paper. Seriously, outside of Utah, is there still an unmeetable demand for dressmakers tracing paper?

You’d think pins would be simple, I mean how many kinds of pins could there possibly be? The answer is: More than you’d think. After what seemed like 30 minutes of deliberation, I finally decided on the ones with the plastic balls on top, figuring they’d be easy to pull out. Then, on Day 1, the instructor tells us that these prevent the fabric from laying flat, so we shouldn’t use them. Grrr…

Picking out fabric was the worst. First, I didn’t want to spend a lot, because I figured there was a good chance that I would screw up my first project. And, because we were making pants, I (wrongly) assumed that I had to use apparel fabric. If you eliminate “knits, satins, or fabric with a nap,” as well as the John Deere fabric, there isn’t much “lightweight, woven fabric” left to choose from in the apparel section of Jo-Ann. So, you’ve already seen what I ended up with.

All told, I think I spent about 2.5 hours in Jo-Ann, most of it in a state of confusion and frustration. 

But, it was all worth it, because now I own these beauties:

Go ahead and laugh, smarty.

The drawstring was extremely annoying to make.

We didn’t get a chance to finish the pants in class, so I taught myself how to make the buttonholes through which the drawstring slides. [You can't see, but, after typing that, I buffed my fingernails on my lapel.]

These pants actually made me terrified of hemming. I’ve since overcome it, but, man, I had to redo these hems about 5 times. Since we didn’t get to finish the pants during class, I didn’t learn the proper way to hem. And, to my surprise, there are a lot of improper ways to hem. I think I used at least 3 of them on these pants, and I’m sure there are more I haven’t gotten to try yet.

At one point, the legs differed in length by at least 3 inches. How does that happen?

At another point, I had about 3 rows of stitches in each leg, because I kept rolling the hem up further and sewing it again.

When I finally decided that I needed to start over from scratch, it took me at least 2 hours to pull out all of the stitches.

My advice to future me: When you get frustrated, walk away from the project and come back another day. Angrily persisting will only make things worse.

Though you can’t really tell from the picture, I eventually got the legs right (I swear, it’s just the angle of the picture that makes them look lopsided), and they are the perfect length for me. Too bad they are too ugly to wear.