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16

Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside / My first proper project

« on: December 11, 2020, 11:13:55 AM »

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Here we go. My first venture over to The Dark Side.

17

In the wardrobe / The West Wing

« on: December 07, 2020, 07:11:35 AM »

I’ve just discovered the series ‘The West Wing. Talk about being late to the party...

Anyway, I love the clothes and style of CJ Cregg, the press secretary. I love her style. The epitome of smart, elegant and casual. I love the trouser suits, the shirt blouses over a camisole.....
So, for 2021, I will be channelling my inner CJ when choosing my patterns and fabrics.
There. I have said it in public.

18

Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside / My first real go at quilting.....

« on: December 06, 2020, 08:45:52 AM »

So! I saw a beautiful table topper. Three embroidered panels with borders in between, and two borders all the way around.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/390335492701497967/

I'm using burgundy and grey for the sashing, and cream with sparkly, embroidered snowflakes for the centre panels.

I've got my fabrics, and was warned by the lady in the shop to make sure I was cutting VERY accurately. Now I'm rubbish with a rotary cutter. I somehow wander away from the ruler. Has anybody got any suggestions as to how I do this cutting? When I'm dress making, I use my big Fiskar shears but I'm wandering over to 'the dark side'.....

19

In the wardrobe / My style V. Current Fashions

« on: August 04, 2020, 06:34:42 AM »

I hate gathers. I don’t like all these flounces round the neck which go down to the waist. I really don’t like the tiered skirts and dresses...so 1970s. I wore them when I was 13 so to me they are children’s clothing features. Also, so not flattering.
But that is what is in the shops and magazines. I mean, who remembers Gypsy Skirts? All those gathers around the waist, shudder. And the Huge sleeves, I mean, why? How do you put a coat or jacket on over them?

I like cleaner lines, with a clever feature (which I always ‘think’ would be ‘easy’ lol). No frills or flounces.
I’m more of a Blazer with a pair of jeans type gal (or a Chanel style jacket...)
So I’m really glad I sew my own clothes.

I am feeling a bit stumped as to what to my next project will be (just finished a Smart navy blazer with a notched collar, welt pockets and lining). I haven’t made a pair of trousers in ages and everybody needs a smart pair of black trousers don’t they? Hmmmm. Stumped is the word.

It’s all these frills, they are just too, well, frilly! I’m glad I don’t have to rely on shops for my clothes.

20

In the wardrobe / Bootstrap and Lekala Patterns

« on: July 29, 2020, 08:58:59 AM »

Has anybody used these companies? They produce patterns which are formatted to the very detailed measurements you enter onto the website, and then emailed to you.

https://patterns.bootstrapfashion.com/
https://www.lekala.co/

I have a big year next year. My daughter is getting married in February, and my son will be getting married on July after postponing from this year. I want to wear something chic and smart and different. I love the clothes that Melania Trump wears (although I'm not keen on her!!!!) My mum would like me to wear flowing chiffon and lace but I would feel like the Queen Mother.
(I had a close call when looking for dresses earlier this year. I was talking to Stephen's potential MIL, and it turns out that we had both chosen dresses from Phase Eight (although I had not bought mine) and they were very similar. Gulp.)

The patterns on these sites are different and stylish and I am tempted. I would welcome people's opinions.

21

Publications / Threads Magazine

« on: July 04, 2020, 08:29:31 AM »

I have an ‘insider’ subscription to the Threads website, and love it. But, I do love keeping copies of articles to refer to. I found and article about making trouser legs fit better at the back so I hit ‘Print’. Then I found a couple more relevant and interesting articles. It has occurred to me that it is probably cheaper to buy the hard copy magazine rather than keep printing, so how do you buy it? I’ve tried taking advantage of the Subscription Offers I keep getting emails about, but they aren’t available in the UK.

22

Patterns Discussion / Finding patterns a new home. how?

« on: November 10, 2019, 15:13:03 PM »

Over the years I have accumulated a fine collection of Big 4 patterns - plus size. Since I had my weight loss surgery, I’ve lost A LOT of weight and have now got 2 Large Fabworks bags full of patterns, most of which are uncut.

So. How do I find them a new home? The thought of individual listings on eBay, is not appealing with so many patterns.

23

In the wardrobe / Miracles

« on: September 27, 2019, 19:48:18 PM »

My daughter needed a black dress. Not really being into clothes, she didn't know where to start, so I took a deep breath and suggested I make her a little black dress... and she agreed. So, for the first time in 20 years, I made my daughter a dress.

https://jaycotts.co.uk/collections/patterns_dresses/products/nl6429-misses-dresses View B

It has a French Dart, which turned out to be interesting, because she is breastfeeding. LOL I pin-fitted her before she fed the baby, but when I fitted the dress, she had just fed the baby and had dropped a cup size

We decided to leave it as it was, to allow room for expansion. Luckily, the pucker in the dart disappeared as the day went on.

My next project is a Christening Gown. No French Darts in that,

24

Embroidery and Embellishment / Embroidery software - thoughts please

« on: August 18, 2019, 10:21:18 AM »

I have a Pfaff embroidery machine which I bought from my relatively local supplier. I would like some software to play with and am currently running the free version of the Pfaff software which seems quite user friendly. I can buy the software from my local shop, and get all the support I need but the most basic package is £400 ish. To get the next stage, It goes up to £755!

I could use Embrilliance, but I learn best from having somebody showing me what to do and answering questions, I wouldn't get that if I bought Embrilliance, which costs a fraction of the Pfaff software - aprox £130. I've tried the demo version and it is so limited that I can't really play with it. I've watched some of the YouTube videos with Lindee Goodall.

I've tried the demo version of Embird and couldn't get away with that at all, despite it being another reasonably priced package.

25

Patterns Discussion / Price of PDF patterns

« on: August 14, 2019, 20:03:33 PM »

I've seen a couple of gorgeous patterns on a site called https://indiesew.com/. It's similar to The Foldline, and I've seen a couple of patterns that I would really like to make. You can get them as PDF's, but the 2 patterns, plus the 20% tax came to more than $30.
That is a similar price to Vogue patterns, which don't need printing. I appreciate that Vogue can be more economic because of the quantities they produce, but the price of the printed version of an indie pattern is only a couple of dollars more than the PDF. This does not encourage me to buy.

Does anybody else feel like this, or am I just a tightwad?

26

In the wardrobe / The Makers Atelier

« on: August 13, 2019, 16:20:02 PM »

I’ve made the stretch pencil skirt from the patterns included in this book. And it has turned out beautifully. I’ve used snakeskin print scuba which was originally intended for something else (but I didn’t have enough scuba in the end).
I’ve put a pouch pocket on the inside of the waist band for my phone, (because I’m sick of stashing my phone in my bra), and hemmed it with a double needle. I have discovered that if I lengthen the stitch length, I don’t get the tunnelling effect with a double needle.

And best of all, I got it out of a metre of fabric which is a lovely side effect of being a smaller person.

27

The Haberdashery / Pinking shears

« on: July 26, 2019, 18:47:17 PM »

I have a pair of these, and the only fabric they will cut is something crisp, or with a bit of substance. Does any body else have a problem with their pinking shears? Can anybody recommend a make which actually cuts, and not chew up the fabric?

28

Technical Help / Choosing a size

« on: July 02, 2019, 19:57:55 PM »

Just when I think I’ve got my head around the fba, I fall flat on my face again.

At the moment, my weight is going down very nicely, but I’m having problems with choosing a size.
I’m making a simple T shirt out of a woven fabric, something I’ve never managed before. I’ve used my upper bust measurement, and done an fba but the whole thing was too small around my full bust, chest and waist.

My full bust measurement makes the neckline and shoulders too big, but the high bust makes the rest of the top too small.

There is a reason I like sewing tops out of jersey.

29

In the wardrobe / Python ponte

« on: June 11, 2019, 18:45:46 PM »

https://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/python-skirt-052019

And I’ve got the fabric.

So I need to trace the pattern and do some fitting tweaks to it. Then ready, steady, go!

30

In the wardrobe / How do you decide what to make next?

« on: May 30, 2019, 17:54:51 PM »

As the title really.

I want to sew, I’ve got fabric, patterns but I seem to have lost confidence in my ability to see what the finished garment will look like.
I feel quite frustrated. It’s a bit like jumping off the top diving board at the swimming pool. I’m dithering, wavering, hemming and hawing.

Topics - Tiggy