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Messages - JudyN

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1
Alterations Advice Please / Re: Long time no see...
« on: December 27, 2022, 15:06:52 PM »
Thanks again everyone - and I hope you all had a wonderful Xmas.

The saga continued - my mum didn't fancy trying the twin needles and decided to do a zig-zag on the machine... then realised that my thread was cotton, not polyester - which partly explains why it was so difficult to thread the machine! It's not easy to find a haberdashery shop nowadays, least of all on Xmas Eve. But we found some, she sewed the dress, and it worked :dance: OK, it doesn't look as professional as a twin stitch or blind hem would have, but no one's going to notice it unless they're particularly interested in hems and get in up close, which unless I get lucky and have Patrick Grant grovelling at my knees is unlikely (but a girl can dream, right? ;)).

Now I just need to persuade OH either to get back into the office or retire so I can practise sewing at a more leisurly pace.

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Alterations Advice Please / Re: Long time no see...
« on: December 22, 2022, 13:23:57 PM »
Thank you Catllar, I will! I'm not really a beginner - my mum taught me to sew, and I made a few things in the dim and distant past, but seem to have forgotten all the skills I learnt. I think it's really just the shoulders that hold me back if experimentation is needed.

Which isn't me being self-pitying, honest - they work for most things, I just have to be careful not to set them off, and if not being able to knit, sew or blitz the housework is my biggest problem, I can't complain :)

3
Alterations Advice Please / Re: Long time no see...
« on: December 21, 2022, 12:15:31 PM »
Thanks Jessie - it was the normal needle theader I broke yesterday! I'm going to see if I can find one up the local shops later, but really, I need to keep away from the sewing machine now to give my shoulders a chance to recover.

4
Alterations Advice Please / Re: Long time no see...
« on: December 21, 2022, 11:43:32 AM »
I give up :boohoo:

I tried what looked like being the best stitch option while waiting for the twin needles I ordered to arrive, but had a few snarl-ups on the practice piece. And then I broke my needle threader, and I cannot manage to thread the needle without it (the automatic threader also gave up a while back). Long story cut short, once DIL had threaded the needle for me, I decided to do a simple zig-zag (the twin needles arrived but just the thought of winding an extra spool, threading two needles and experimenting sent my shoulders into meltdown). Tried this morning, something went wrong, and the needle unthreaded. :angry:

So, plan B - my mum is going to take it up for me when she arrives tomorrow for Xmas. Her preference would be to do it by hand, so just a couple of questions: (1) If it's not having zig-zag over the raw edge, would she need to turn the hem twice rather than once (or zig-zag along the raw edge first, if she has more joy with the machine)? (2) Will a bog standard needle as opposed to a ball needle be fine for hand sewing?

In an ideal world, of course, I'd work out what was going on with the machine and do a lot more experimenting, but I'd really like to wear it on Xmas day and all the threading etc. plus of course gnashing of teeth is the worst thing for my shoulders!

5
Alterations Advice Please / Re: Long time no see...
« on: December 18, 2022, 14:36:56 PM »
Thank you both <3 Sandra, you're right - It's a knit fabric, and there's two rows of stitches on the right side. Unfortunately I don't have a twin needle - I could of course buy one, but it would be quite nice to get it done in time to wear it for Xmas, so I might try the zigzag. I've now cut the bottom off (erring on the side of too long just in case), and that's enough for today. Tomorrow I'll aim to iron the hem up and - maybe - try different stitches on the strip I've cut off.

6
Alterations Advice Please / Long time no see...
« on: December 18, 2022, 11:43:50 AM »
Hello everyone  :)

Some may remember my poor attempts to make some trousers a few years back. It didn't go well... after much battling and many failures, I finally managed to make a pair that sort of fitted (even if I had sewn the waistband on inside out...), sat down in them for a few minutes to contemplate final tweaks... and discovered that my skin hated the stretch ponte fabric  :angry:

Then covid happened and OH took over the spare room so he could work from home. And in the meantime my sensory sensitivities have increased so I'm now looking for dresses that are warm enough for winter, long enough to wear with knee-length socks (as I can't do tights or leggings), don't have a waist seam, aren't too fitted, but don't look like a sack. It's surprisingly hard... it would be nice to get into making them, but OH liked working from home so much he's still in the spare room  :S And I need to have somewhere the sewing machine can be set up permanently as dodgy shoulders mean that I can only sew for short periods, and being generally rubbish at sewing means many of those are spent unpicking.

So anyway, I'll get to the point. I've bought a dress that ticks the boxes, but it needs taking up by about 5" (I'm 5'0") and is in a stretchy silky fabric (94% viscose, 6% elastane), so I'm looking for any advice as I really don't want to mess it up. Here is the current hem:



I don't have an interlocker, but I have a selection of 'overlock stitches', one of which is a 'stretch overlock'. I'm not sure if this is just for joining two raw edges though? There's a range of different zig-zags etc., but annoyingly my machine (Juki 353Z) doesn't have a 'blind hem for stretch fabrics'.

What would the best stitch be? Am I safe to just turn the hem once? I don't want it to suddenly decide to fray. Any hints to stop me pulling it out of shape? Or would I be safer to handsew it?

7
Fun with Fabric / Re: Fabric for PJs
« on: December 28, 2020, 09:47:16 AM »
Thanks all :D I'm wondering if what we're after is brushed cotton - or if that's the closest to the pjs he likes. But he'll probably either have to order samples or go to a real live shop.

He's also now thinking of making a t shirt, but without a serger I think that may be best avoided as a first project.

I know what's going to happen - give it a couple of weeks, and he'll be better than me. Which, to be fair, wouldn't be hard :laughing:

8
Fun with Fabric / Fabric for PJs
« on: December 27, 2020, 20:11:02 PM »
Shock horror, after watching Celebrity Sewing Bee, my hubby fancies having a go at making his own PJ bottoms  :o I'm not sure how to find the right fabric though, as we'd rather buy online. He has a pair of Next bottoms he likes - they're thin woven 100% cotton, but soft, not crisp and shiny. They need to be light, so nothing that could be described as 'cosy'.

Does anyone know if there's a specific term I could use to hunt down suitable fabric please? Of course, if you know of a specific fabric you think might be what I'm after, that would be even better!

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The Haberdashery / Re: Tracing paper
« on: September 14, 2020, 13:45:41 PM »
Not to worry @Gernella - I'm keen to get going asap and don't want to add to your jobs list, so will order some paper online. Thanks again for the very kind offer though <3

10
The Haberdashery / Re: Tracing paper
« on: September 14, 2020, 10:59:44 AM »
@Gernella, if you're sure you won't use it, I'd happily take it off your hands - and pay for it, of course. 

11
The Haberdashery / Re: Tracing paper
« on: September 14, 2020, 10:05:49 AM »
Thank you all - Swedish it shall be :D

12
The Haberdashery / Tracing paper
« on: September 13, 2020, 19:49:23 PM »
After fighting with my second muslin for Jalie Eleonores and discovering along the way that I have a full, low-slung bum and I need to let them out further than the sea allowances would allow, I'd like to trace the pattern onto paper and do a 'proper' adjustment rather than my usual 'guess and bodge it' approach. I've never done this before so I don't know if some tracing paper is better than others, and whether to go for one with dots or lines. Any recommendations please?

13
In the wardrobe / Re: My first dress
« on: August 10, 2020, 13:42:59 PM »
Even the contestants on Sewing Bee have problems with invisible zips and pattern matching at times. OK, they're under time pressure, but they have so much experience... and still produce dodgy garments!

14
The Haberdashery / Re: Scissor recommendations please
« on: August 03, 2020, 18:20:03 PM »
Thank you all - I'll have a look at all the recommendations on Amazon :D

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The Haberdashery / Scissor recommendations please
« on: August 03, 2020, 13:56:42 PM »
I'm not sure my dressmaking scissors are as sharp as they could be - the brand is Silky, and they're 37 years old (eeek! How is that even possible??). Recommendations for a new pair please? They're for general cutting out, but I wonder if it woul be helpful to have a smaller pair too for snipping round notches?

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