The Sewing Place

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - Tiggy

Pages: [1] 2 3
1
Technical Help / Palmer Pletsch and trousers.
« on: July 16, 2023, 13:52:49 PM »
I have spent an enormous amount of mental energy trying to figure out the diagonal wrinkles I get on the backs of my trousers going from hip to inside thigh/knee.  I tried the tissue fitting technique of putting a pleat in the pattern up the back and while it works on the back of my leg, it makes the hip and the waist band far too small.  Just for completeness, does anybody know what I’m doing wrong?

(Incidentally, I have found that by unpicking the inside seam to the knee of each leg and part of the rise, I can pull part of the back leg through enough to remove the wrinkles.  Basically, I am shortening the rear crotch length if that makes sense.   (A tip from Pamela Howard in Threads magazine).  It doesn’t mess up the hip or the waist either.)

2
In the wardrobe / Use of fabric
« on: June 19, 2023, 08:30:06 AM »
I have lots of lengths of fabric (as you do), mostly in lengths of 2 and 3 metres. I find it difficult to cut into them if I’m not using the whole amount.  Is that not stupid?  I’ve got some densely embroidered cotton.  Sort of like heavy broderie anglais but without the holes.  It would make a lovely skirt and top.  But then this little worm in my head tells me that the fabric will snag when I sit on it.  So I think “well I’ll just make the top” but then I’m left with a length of fabric and I might come across the perfect pattern for it and won’t have enough left. Aaaaagh.  Totally overthinking this.  It’s only fabric - but I don’t want to ‘waste’ it.

3
In the wardrobe / Simplicity summer preview on Sewdirect
« on: June 14, 2023, 09:27:53 AM »
Hi, I’m back again, got my brain sorted out…..  Sorry I’ve been AWOL.  So I’m just going to dive in at the deep end.

Has anybody cast an eye over the Simplicity summer preview?  The patterns seem to be either, one shouldered, backless, midriff exposing or just plain tiny.  They are definitely patterns for the firm and slim amongst us. 
Disappointed.

4
In the wardrobe / A Chanel inspired Moto jacket?
« on: November 02, 2022, 19:57:02 PM »
I used a Burda pdf pattern I saw on the blog by ‘Sunnygal studio’ (www.sunnygalstudio.com).  I used a vanilla loose weave fabric with viscose, from Fabworks.  Each piece was quilted to the lining before the side seams were machined then the hand sewing began.  It took a long time, but I enjoyed it.
And yes, I could cry, the zipper goes on the wrong side, but if I tried to unpick it, the fabric would unravel.  It’s supposed to have press studs, but I used shanked buttons and sewed them on tightly to sink the shank into the fabric and give that press stud look.  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  

5
In the wardrobe / Sewing for Australia.
« on: October 30, 2022, 07:30:30 AM »
Well, we are going on a true adventure in March.
Manchester - Singapore - Australia - Dubai - home via Manchester.

When we are in Australia, we will be starting in Adelaide, going north through Alice Springs and the Red Centre so it will be hot.  Over to Cairns where it will be hot and a bit sticky, then down the Sunshine Coast in a campervan to Sydney.  So we will be crossing through a couple of climates.
Has anybody been to Australia in April?  My relative say ‘bring a coat’ for Adelaide, but their definition of coat weather is probably a bit different to mine.  I live in West Yorkshire which is possibly a bit cooler.  We are going for 6 weeks, so I need the ultimate capsule wardrobe which is easy care.

Help please ?

6
Hi, I'm new... / Well, here I am…Again!
« on: October 30, 2022, 07:08:50 AM »
As the title says really.  I’ve been AWOL for quite a while but have found my way back.  I’ve started playing around with bra making, I’ve made a handbag and finally finished my Chanel inspired biker jacket.  Happy to be home. :loveit:

7
In the wardrobe / The shirt from hell!
« on: August 11, 2021, 11:02:26 AM »
So!  I decided to make myself a new shirt.  My new, baby grandson was one week old.  I didn’t know that ‘baby brain’ happened to Grandma’s.

I had some 1” squared gingham, I matched all the rows up and was quite chuffed with myself for remembering to do that.  I wish I had remembered to put the back piece on the fold which is where it was supposed to be.  I managed to lay the shirt front piece on the fabric very economically.  It was when I was cutting it out that I realised it was totally off the vertical, by about 30 degrees!  So I needed to cut out 2more fronts.  This was when I realised I hadn’t put the back on the fold and now couldn’t.  So I added seam allowances and cut it out.  By now, I didn’t have enough fabric left for the sleeves, so I made facings for the armholes and went sleeveless.

I decided to make ties for the back so that it had an open back seam and would be nice and airy.  Shame I didn’t get them on evenly.  Cue, the unpicker.  I made the facings and went to attach them.  One went on wonderfully, the other one seemed to be inside out, like I’d made 2 left facings.  I hadn’t, what I had done was sew one side seam right sides together, and the other side was wrong sides together.  More unpicking.  Odd how that facing now went on beautifully.

Today, I have hemmed it and now it just needs buttonholes and buttons.  It has also had the mother of all haircuts because of all the loose threads from all the unpicking.

Oddly, it looks ok.  I just don’t love it.  Maybe when I recover from it’s traumatic birth, I’ll feel happier about it.  I’ll give it a stroke, and another look in a few days when I’ve bought some nice buttons.

8
In the wardrobe / Mother of the Groom outfit.
« on: June 15, 2021, 09:12:17 AM »


Next, the jacket.  I made a toile of the jacket and it was awful.  The shoulders were too short, the armholes too deep and it just didn’t look right.  It’s a boxy style and I just think they don’t suit me.  So I chose a Kwiksew pattern of a short jacket with a shawl collar, princess seams on the front and darts in back with 3/4 length sleeves.  I’ve made a toile and it fits much better and looks far better than the other jacket.
I’m going to line it in palest pink cotton lawn.
 Now.  For a jacket that is quite close fitting, do I need to put a pleat in the lining at the back?  Not sure, hence why I’m asking the experts.
Button holes.  Will standard button holes do, or is there another method recommended?  I was wondering about corded button holes, or bound button holes. 

I have 4 weeks left to make this jacket.

  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  

9
In the wardrobe / Pressing matters.
« on: May 17, 2021, 16:31:33 PM »
Can anybody explain what a Teflon shoe does for the pressing of clothes?  Does it mean you don’t need a pressing cloth?  Do I need one?

Also, can anybody recommend a sleeve ironing board that feels solid, and not as if it is going to collapse in use?

10
Technical Help / Fitting shoulders
« on: May 11, 2021, 17:23:56 PM »
My shoulders are set back.  I thank my Dad for all those teenage years of being told to stand up straight!  So the shoulder seams of shirts and jackets don’t actually sit on me where they are supposed to.  They are forward of my shoulder.  If I roll the seam back, will this affect the way a sleeve head will fit?  I have a summer jacket to make and don’t want to spoil it.

11
I finished the Cream jacket and I like it.  I’m a bit miffed at making the silly mistake of putting the zipper on the wrong side, but there you go.  It should have gold studs at the corners of the fronts, and 2 along the bottom but I struggled with putting the studs in and didn’t want to spoil the jacket.  It’s a poor pic of both the jacket and me,  the shoulders look lumpy, and it looks a lot better when I’m stood up but there you are.  We were having coffee in York, opposite Betty’s and the sun was in my eyes.

   [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  

Then there is my next big project.  My son is getting married at the end of July, so I need a Nice dress/jacket.  I’ve chosen this.

https://www.sewdirect.com/product/v1536/?attribute_size=E5+%2814-16-18-20-22%29

I’ve got a lovely blue jacquard similar to this,
https://www.minerva.com/mp/1239327/embroidered-taffeta-fabric-duck-egg-blue&variant=1077640, but more ‘bluebell’ blue.  (It’s a LOT more expensive than that fabric as well.). I’ve made my toile, lengthened it in the skirt and upper chest, shortened it in the waist and finally got the princess seam under the arm to fit properly. 
My 83 year old mum was helping me, and I was fussing about the fit of the bust.  It suddenly dawned on her, that this dress will fit ‘me’.  The armholes won’t be too big and the shoulder seam will be on my shoulder instead of rolled forwards.  She finally understood WHY I sew.  It’s not a ‘poverty’ option, it’s a ‘made to fit’ option.

So I’ve altered my patterns and seriously considering making another toile just to ‘check’.  Then it will be time to put scissors to fabric.  Gulp.

12
Technical Help / Inserting snaps
« on: March 19, 2021, 07:18:14 AM »
The finishing touch for my jacket is to apply snaps to the lapels and hem.  It needs quite heavy duty snaps.  Can anybody recommend a tool/device which will do his?  I’ve used a hammer and the tools which come with snaps before with less then good results.

13
Tech Know How / Google Pics
« on: March 14, 2021, 08:38:22 AM »
Can anybody explain to me, how to upload images from Google Pics?  I can create a link, but I’d prefer to just upload the image.

14
In the wardrobe / BurdaStyle Moto jacket. (Pics added......I think)
« on: March 13, 2021, 05:19:15 AM »
https://www.burdastyle.com/boucle-biker-jacket-107-03-19.html

This is currently a work in progress.  It’s a bit like the technical challenge on GBSB, the instructions are minimal, lol. They make StyleArc instructions look really easy in comparison.  No diagrams, just sparse paragraphs.
There were no seam allowances, so I added 1” seam allowances to allow for the fabric fraying, and made a toile.  I transferred any alterations over to my fabric and made a start.  Notches are an issue because they disappear, so the individual pattern pieces are kept close, for reference.

I decided to complicate things even further and quilt the lining to the ivory cotton/viscose boucle I bought from Fabworks.  This meant I certainly couldn’t make the lining as per the instructions, and influenced how I attached the facings.  This affected how I applied the collar, and ended up unpicking a lot of the collar, inserting the facings into the correct place.  I should have done the facings first, then put the collar on.  There is a lot of hand sewing on that collar!  Lol
The collar instructions said to trim the seam allowances to 1/4”.  If I did this, it would have fallen to pieces because of the fabric’s tendency to fall apart in bits of ivory thread... even though I interfaced every piece before sewing it together!

Currently, the zipper in in, the collar is on and just needs a little bit more hand stitching.  The next job is to put the zippers in the sleeve cuffs, make the sleeves, hand sew the lining seams, then insert the sleeves.  Light at the end of the tunnel. 
No.1 husband commented last night that I will be able to wear it when we go out when lockdown eases.  Going out?  Wow

15
In the wardrobe / Sweater knit fabrics.
« on: February 18, 2021, 09:06:21 AM »
Where do these fabrics hide?  Can anybody recommend a shop which  sells proper sweater knit, not Ponte?

Pages: [1] 2 3