Neat trick for even spacing of pickstitches

I have so many blogs that I like to read but one of my favorites is Lindsay T Sews. She did a fantastic job of pickstitching with white thread on a blue coat. Her trick? Tiger Tape. Never heard of the stuff before, mostly because I stay far away from quilting supplies. I'm not sure why I've always avoided that section of the store but I'm slowly coming around to it. I love the Absolutely Cotton collection in my local Hancock's. Who says you can't make some great blouses from this "quilting" fabric? Anyway, Tiger Tape looks like the trick to even stitching when it will be on display in your garment. Thanks, Lindsay!

Vogue 2979 Wedding Gown

Pattern Description: Lined dress with lace bodice with reapplied lace at neckline, lace sleeves (cap or long), front and back darts, front nonfunctioning buttons with loops and back zipper. Ball gown skirt with gathered sides, floor length with optional train. Ribbon or self-fabric sash.

Pattern Sizing: I purchased "D" 12/14/16 and cut the 16. I had to add to the seams when cutting the fabric. Probably ended up as a "20" when done. I wear a street size "16" on bottom and a "14" on top.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, with a petticoat. The skirt will not have the fullness you see in the picture and drawing unless you underline with organza and add a petticoat.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Mostly but I believe some steps are wrong. I made several modifications as well.

Fabric Used: Polyester matte satin for outside skirt, underlined skirt in polyester organza, embroidered lace for bodice with cotton broadcloth underlining and lining.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made a ton of alterations, partly because I had the wrong size pattern to begin with.
* I used the sash pattern included but cut the width of the sash in half. I added white cotton flannel with fusible interfacing to the front panel to add support. The pattern calls for single-sided tails on the sash with a narrow trim. I made the tails 2-sided, sewn wrong sides together and then turned out to the right sides. I attached the tails to the front panel and used a narrow white ribbon to cover the raw edges.
* I underlined the skirt in organza. The organza and satin were sewn as one piece and poly lining underneath. I pleated the waist on the poly lining instead of gathering it like the satin/organza skirt.
* I underlined and lined the bodice in cotton broadcloth and inserted boning support (center front bodice, under bust points, side seams and where the back darts would go). I took the back darts out completely. I added side bust darts for my full bust.
* I wore a ball gown slip underneath (from David's Bridal). The skirt is too flat otherwise.
* I applied horsehair braid to outer skirt hem as instructed but did not press the hem with an iron. The effect is too crisp. Finger pressing gives a nice soft edge and keeps the skirt full looking.
* I hand overcast stitch the whole neckline in a tight pattern to keep the raw edges from unraveling and the finish looks better than the recommended instructions.

Problems with the Pattern Instructions:
* You can't sew the bodice lining to the bodice fashion fabric at the armhole seams and simply turn it to the inside. Leave the center front seam of the bodice lining undone, sew the armhole seams (attaching lining to fashion fabric), and then flip the lining to the inside and sew up the center front seam for the bodice lining.
* The short-sleeved version of the dress calls for a 2-3 inch wide ribbon sash, which looks very cheap. You will also see the buttons through the ribbon. The sash for the long-sleeved dress will also look cheap as designed (see my modifications above).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I recommend to others wishing to make a formal gown. This would look beautiful in other colors for a formal non-wedding gown.

Conclusion: The pattern is a great start and technically not difficult if you follow the instructions. If you want a better constructed gown, you will need to have other sources for formal gown construction.

Additional photos on Flickr

Difficulty rating: This is average for Vogue patterns in terms of the amount of work only. No unusual seams here so someone with solid, basic skills and lots of time could make this.

Butterick Winter Collection 2009

Mostly the same old, same old but I did find one pattern that caught my eye.

Butterick 5428


(Source: Butterick)


I love the front close detail with the loosely gathered front. What a great way to do a jacket. This could easily be made up in a more formal fabric for eveningwear. The rest of the pattern is your basic dress, skirt and pants patterns but the options are endless.

$25 store credit at Lucy's Fabrics

Lucy's Fabrics has a store blog. In a recent post, they promised other "sewing nerds" a $25 store credit if you link your blog to theirs.

$25 credit blog post

Send your name, email address and blog url to mail@lucysfabrics.com

Lucy's Fabrics also offers free shipping on orders over $75.

I haven't bought from them yet but they have a great selection of knits and wide stretch laces. Makes me want to start sewing my own bras....

Restoring Finish on Polished Cotton...part 3

Thought I had thrown in the towel on my polished stretch poplins, didn't you?

I did too until I found myself staring at my hubby's shirt last night. He gets his shirts washed and starched at the dry cleaners. I never noticed before but the finish, that polished look, is exactly what I was trying to accomplish on my fabric. I think I ruled starch out because I hate spraying and ironing my clothes. Maybe a liquid starch added to the wash is what I really need. I could fix the finish on my stretch poplins (and finally get on with the project) AND I could stop spraying starch on my clothes. I hate how the spray gets on EVERYTHING (ironing board cover, carpet, the cats, me, etc.).

But I've never seen liquid starch in the stores....

Make my own, of course!

Thrifty Fun recipe for liquid starch
In a large bowl or pot, stir 1/2 cup of corn starch into 1 cup of cold water. Stir in boiling water (2 quarts for a heavy solution; 4 quarts for medium and 6 quarts for a light solution). Dip the clothing into the starch solution and let dry. To iron, sprinkle the garments lightly with warm water, roll up and place in a plastic bag until evenly moistened, then iron as usual.

Vicki Welsh recipe for liquid starch

1. Put 1 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. While waiting for the water to boil, dissolve 2 - 3 teaspoons of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of cold water in a cup or small bowl. Keep mixing the cornstarch while waiting for the water to boil.

3. After the water boils, pour the cornstarch mixture into the boiling water and stir for a minute or so. The liquid will be clear or slightly cloudy.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

5. Transfer the starch mixture to a spray bottle and starch away! Throw it out after a couple of days.

I will let you know how the liquid starch turned out.

The DIY Wedding Gown Cleaning

Wedding dress: $400 in materials
Dress cleaning: $200?!!!

Call me cheap but I can't justify spending half as much to clean a dress as I spent to make it. I know exactly what the dress is made of since I spent the last 2 months becoming quite familiar with the fabric and notions. The dry cleaning business is no better than every other wedding vendor out there. The second you say "wedding", the cost of the service just tripled (or more).

Surely, there must be some guidelines for the DIY'ers, I thought. I love the internet. Thank you Heritage Garment Preservation for posting some good guidelines.

The complete guidelines and suggestions can be found here: DIY Bridal Gown Cleaning

I will only include the steps I did.

Supplies

• new baby/soft toothbrush
• liquid Dawn dish detergent
• spray bottle
• 1 or 2 clean towels
• drying rack (not wood)
• bathroom with tub

Spot Cleaning

• Mix up warm water and Dawn soap in the sink and a little in a spray bottle.
• Check the outside and inside of the hem of your dress (all layers) for stains. All my stains were dirt so a little light brushing or massaging with the toothbrush and sudsy water easily removed the dirt. You may need Oxy Clean or Carbona Stain Devils for grass stains, etc. You can also soak the hem before spot cleaning.
• Blot any wet spots (where you removed stains) with a clean towel.
• Check the full length of the skirt for stains requiring spot treatment. (I had none!!)
• Check the outside of the bodice for stains requiring spot treatment.

Cleaning the Lining

• Turn the dress inside out and hang on hanger on shower curtain rod.
• Spray the sudsy water mix on the bodice and massage the toothbrush on areas where there may be sweat. I was roasting in my dress and nervous as hell so I sweat through the entire bodice. It took quite awhile but I scrubbed every inch of that bodice.
• Spray the sudsy water mix on the skirt lining(s).

Rinsing

• Fill the tub with warm water.
• Put your dress completely into the water. I only soaked the bodice of my dress, however. My outer skirt fabric (poly satin) was underlined in a poly organza. Organza that gets wet may lose some of its crispness when it dries so I only spot-cleaned the outer skirt.
• Gently swish the dress in the water to remove soap from the material.
• Drain tub and repeat rinse at least 2 more times.

Drying

• Set up the drying rack in the tub and drape a towel over the rack to protect the fabric from snags.
• Drape dress over rack with the dress weight distributed evenly. Only the top of my dress was wet so I let it hang down off the end of the drying rack. The weight of the skirt held it in place on the rack.
• After drip drying for several hours, you may hang the dress to finish drying if most of the water is gone.
• Smooth out the fabric to lessen wrinkling. Spread the skirt layers apart to allow for better drying.

Pressing

• Wash and dry the ironing board cover before pressing your gown.
• Spread a clean sheet on the floor, covering your work area to protect the lengths of the skirt draping on the floor as you iron.
• Start with a low heat first.
• Press fabric inside out and use a press cloth or piece of organza.
• Place a towel under the bodice when pressing. The towel will protect the lace and/or sequins/beads.
• Don't leave the iron in one spot for long.
• Dress hems generally aren't pressed flat. Just get the wrinkles out of the fabric and finger press the hem to get an uniform look but not perfectly pressed.

Restoring the finish on polished cotton...part 2

I tried one of Heloise's tips for restoring the smooth finish to some polished stretch poplin shirting fabric I bought and washed. This tip seemed to be the easiest so I tried that one first...add plain gelatin to the final rinse.

Gelatin in final rinse--wet fabric


Hmm, that didn't work so well. Maybe if I dry it and iron it.

Ironed, gelatin-covered fabric on left and regular wash & dry on the right


See the difference?!! Yeah, neither do I.

Heloise had some other suggestions (add borax to rinse, add liquid starch to rinse, etc.). Honestly, I'm so discouraged that I don't care to try any of these other suggestions. I think a hot iron and starch will have to do.

I bought several of these shirtings (all from Denver Fabrics).

Poplin shirting pre-wash--you can kinda see the polished finish


Poplin shirting post-wash and dry (no iron)



Lesson learned: test samples before laundering the entire yardage.

Linda Podietz is the owner of EmmaOneSock.com, where she sells designer fabrics. Under the "fabric care" link on her website, you can find a great pdf of fabric testing how-to.

She also has a link for guides to sewing all the different types of fabric. This is very handy if you don't own one of the great fabric guides that are available, like "More Fabric Savvy" by Sandra Betzina.

Vogue's Newest Patterns--Leaves much to be desired

I'm confused by Vogue's newest patterns. Some are terribly frumpy and some are slightly whore-ish. Some are just bizarre.

Vogue 1148

Vogue 1134


I did find 2 that I like.

This jacket has raglan sleeves with a long sleeve underneath. Interesting. I don't know that I can pull this off but might be fun to play with.
Vogue 1143


I love the gathered detail at the side bust on these dresses.
Vogue 8613

Restoring the finish on polished cotton

I bought some beautiful stretch cotton poplin shirting fabrics from Denver Fabrics. I only want to make wash and wear clothes right now. I haven't found a decent dry cleaner near me so I avoid it at all costs. So I prewashed my fabrics...beautiful shiny, smooth finish is now gone from the fabrics. I knew this would happen but I didn't count on how casual the fabrics now look. I really wanted these to portray a professional business look.

I did a Google search for "cleaning polished cotton" and "restoring finish on polished cotton."

Link to Milwaukee Sentinel article: Dear Heloise

All respondents agree that you should iron the wrong side of the fabric when it is still slightly damp. (My first mistake, I let the dryer go too long.)

Here were some of the suggestions by the respondents to Heloise's column:

• Add a little borax to the wash water.
• Add one cup of liquid starch (the ready-to-use kind that is blued) to the rinse water.
• Dissolve one package of plain gelatin in the rinse water.
• Add about a walnut-sized amount of wax to clear, hot, cooked starch. Use paraffin or white candle wax and stir into the starch until dissolved. Dip fabric into the thin (very light) clear, hot, cooked starch & wax mixture.
• Chinese method: Save water that rice has been cooked in. Add a small amount of glycerine to the rice water and use this for the final rinse. For white fabrics, substitute a small amount of blueing for the glycerine.

The first 3 options sound easy enough. I'll let you know what worked best for me.

Rain-skirt: the end of soaked pants legs!

My job requires that I walk outside several times throughout the day. When it rains, I end up wet from the knee down and I basically don't dry out until I get home. Not my idea of fun.

I ran across this tutorial in the Craftzine blog a few days ago. A rain skirt! What a clever idea. The below tutorial walks you through transforming an old rain coat into a easy button up skirt. I personally like the idea of snaps but you could do either. I also would just start from scratch with rainwear fabric. This can be hard to come by so an old or cheap raincoat you found in a thrift store could work for your fabric source.

Rain-skirt tutorial

What to do with scrap fabric

Sew Mama Sew! blog hosted a "Scrap Buster Month" contest. So many people posted great ideas for how to use up all those scrap fabrics. This inspired me to look for scrap ideas at all of my favorite sites. I'm only including my favorite, or most likely to make, ideas below.

What will you do with your scraps?

Pin cushions

link
Armrest Pincushion
link

Square pincushion by Heather Bailey
link

Fabric cards

link

Burp cloths
link

Hair scarfs
link

Headbands by Heather Bailey
link

Bras
--no link here but why not make some fun bras with all those scrap laces and knits?

Wallets

link

link
Purse
link

Belt
link

Car CD wallet
link

Yo-yo's for decorative touches by Heather Bailey
link

Decorative flowers by Heather Bailey
link

Coasters
link

Fabric journals
link

Box pouch
link

Eyeglasses case
link

Luggage tags
link

Needlecase
link

Fabric covered box
link

Easy?? quilt
link

Bookmark
link

Table runner
link

Gift bag
link

Basket
link

Swiffer reusable cover
link