Sew My Goodness!

theniftyfifties: James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Alfred...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:43:47 -0500

theniftyfifties:

James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock on the set of ‘Rear Window’, 1954.

I love this movie.

I just added this to Etsy! I am excited about it! I’ve...

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:38:45 -0500

I just added this to Etsy! I am excited about it! I’ve been trying to use this fabric forever.

Every time I make a sale on Etsy I get so excited!

Sat, 14 May 2011 19:35:48 -0500

Which I think is both warranted and unwarranted. Warranted because someone likes something that I make enough to pay money for it! But unwarranted because the actual process isn’t that exciting. Unless it’s something made-to-order, all that happens after somebody buys something is transferring the money from PayPal to ship it and then I put it in the mail. Although, I will say that I actually kind of enjoy putting things in the mail, and I’m getting a lot better at it! Especially at the big post office where you can do everything yourself. You’d be surprised how confusing it is sometimes to figure out all the shipping stuff and which packaging to use!

The reason for this post: I sold a laptop case just now! Woo!

I added this one to my Etsy store yesterday! I am really excited...

Sat, 14 May 2011 12:10:10 -0500

I added this one to my Etsy store yesterday! I am really excited about it.

Alllllmost done with this! I just have to hem it! I am really...

Fri, 06 May 2011 20:20:01 -0500

Alllllmost done with this! I just have to hem it! I am really excited about this dress.

You're kidding! That's hilarious. You'll have to bring one of your pins for him and trade him.
He's precious, I've been watching his videos all day.

Tue, 03 May 2011 22:57:59 -0500

Hah! What’s funny about that, is that I was totally already planning to do that. You read my mind! I watched a bunch the other day.

Here’s a sneak peak of a dress I’m gonna have up for...

Tue, 03 May 2011 22:48:26 -0500

Here’s a sneak peak of a dress I’m gonna have up for sale soon! I am really excited about it. I’m a big fan of the back (you’ll get to see it once I’m finished!)

I bought these at Urban Outfitters for three dollars today! And...

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:29:57 -0500

I bought these at Urban Outfitters for three dollars today! And a record! (Sorry this is not related to sewing)

Seriously,

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:45:08 -0500

Whoever dresses Michelle Obama (upon doing some Googling, it’s a White House Aid named Meredith Koop!) is a genius. That woman is so well dressed. I may have to do a big blog post about this.

On sewing things in general

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:37:00 -0500

In honor of putting the finishing touches on my first dress sale ever (!), here are some things I learned from it (as well as some things I knew previously that helped me out and some things that are just good to know in general).

Measure at least twice. Especially when you’re first starting out, it is easy to inaccurately measure. Make sure you don’t hold the tape measure too tight.

Write your measurements down. Numbers are confusing! And hard to remember! Make sure you write the numbers down when you measure yourself. Otherwise you’ll have to remeasure when you’re making the pattern (which isn’t all that bad, but writing them down just saves times!)

Keep your measurements handy. I keep mine written on a post-it note taped on the wall near my sewing area. It’s good for reference, and saves you time when you go to make things! For the most part, after a certain age, we all stop growing short of weight. So your measurements are going to stay pretty much the same. However, it never hurts to remeasure yourself every once in a while in case anything has changed.

Draft a pattern. I knew this previously (I’ve made lots of patterns before), but really, it’s super easy. Additionally, it will help you immensely with sizing, should you ever want to grade the pattern and make it into different sizes. Aside from that, making a pattern lets you make the dress again and again if you want to and really like it! If you don’t know how to draft a pattern, there are numerous places on the internet to look (I like this one) and also books (I use this one!) Both of those require you to have basic knowledge of sewing terminology and techniques, but if you’re going to draft a pattern, you should know that stuff anyway.

Over-estimate measurements when you make patterns. I will be the first one to tell you that it’s really a pain to waste fabric. So I know where you’re coming from— why make a pattern bigger than it needs to be and waste fabric? I know. It seems stupid. But would you rather waste a little fabric (not much! I’m talking adding an inch or so) and make the pattern pieces bigger, or cut them what you think is the right size and then end up with a garment that doesn’t fit? This is especially important when you’re making things for other people. If someone pays you to make something, it’s a pretty bad scenario if the thing you make doesn’t fit. With this dress I just finished, I added an inch to the bust and waist measurement, and boy am I glad! I measured the finished product, and even though I added an inch, the final one came out with the original measurements.

You don’t need an invisible zipper foot to sew an invisible zipper! I’m sure it’s a lot easier if you do, but seriously, have you ever tried to find an invisible zipper foot to buy? IT IS SO HARD. Especially if you have an older machine— I’ve had no such luck (although, I will admit, I didn’t try THAT hard, mostly because I don’t have the money). But you don’t need it! After you iron the zipper (don’t skimp on the ironing here. The more, the better), the pins are your friends. Pin it in such a way that the pins are folding the zipper open so that you can see the two lines of stitching. From there, use the regular zipper foot (that, you can’t get by without. You can’t sew ANY zipper without it, unless you hand sew!) and just go reaaaal slow, making sure you stay very close to the lines of stitching.

Always finish your seams. Not all of them. The side seams aren’t as important, but still. I usually always finish waist lines. Especially if the fabric frays easily, this can become really important.

Don’t be afraid to thrift fabrics! I was a little nervous about this to begin with. With all the other gross things you find in thrift stores, it’s easy to fear that the fabric you find will be gross, too. But if you look around, you can find really good stuff! Some thrift stores even have a dedicated fabric section, but sheets work well too! I’ve found so many good bed sheets at thrift stores that I’ve made things out of. I’ve also heard that curtains work well, but I personally have never found any that I like. Check for stains in the store and then give it a good washing when you get home (this is also good to figure out how to wash the fabric!), and you’re set!

Don’t be afraid to use other garments as reference points! Some things are hard to measure. Like really hard. Sweep, armhole height, shoulder width, and neck width are all measurements that when measuring them on yourself involve a lot of estimating and leave a lot of room for error. So, to eliminate this guessing game, get out a shirt or a skirt that fits you well! For the body measurements (armhole height, shoulder width, and neck width), you can just measure them straight off the shirt and you’ll have a good fit. And for the sweep (the sweep is the circumference of the bottom of a skirt), just grab a favorite skirt that is most similar to the style of skirt you’re trying to make, and measure around it to get a starting point.

And last, but certainly not least,

Do not over work yourself or work once you start to get overly tired. Basically, if you do this, you are doomed. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve over-worked myself and then made some mistake that’s rendered whatever I was making useless.

And that completes my list. I hope this helps!

P.s. here’s the picture of the dress. I sold it on Etsy, and come Monday it will be in the hands of its new owner!

T-shirt dresses!

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 13:42:00 -0500

I’ve been toying with this idea in my head for a while and it just now came into fruition! I just listed it on Etsy. I recently learned how to grade patterns (from this book, which I highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn about pattern-making!), and so now I’m offering custom made dresses on Etsy!

Really excited!

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:01:37 -0500

I’ve had one of these for a while now (this one’s not mine, I just don’t have a good picture of mine at the mo).

But it was missing the slide plate, the thumb screw, and the foot. Since those are all easily replaceable, I’ve slowly been getting them, and today I ordered the last two pieces I need! So once those get here I’ll be able to use it! I’m hoping it’ll last me a good long time, seeing as it’s made of metal. It’s also missing the spool stick to load the bobbin with, but I’m not worried as I have another machine I can do that with. Mine’s also not this clean, but that will come in time! I’m just super excited to have it working again! The only bad thing is that it’s a straight-stitch only machine (not like it’s higher end counter-parts that use these neato cams!), but again, I have another sewing machine that I can do that on in a pinch!

I just ordered this little baby!

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:13:11 -0500

Excited!

LET ME TAKE A BREAK FROM MY REGULAR SUBJECT,

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:09:59 -0500

just so that I can say WHO NEEDS BRACES?

They are DUMB.

I love my crooked teeth and I think they make me unique.

New things on Etsy!

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:31:00 -0500

This is my first clothing item on Etsy, so I’m excited about it!

It was a lot of trial and error, but I like it! Also, it has an invisible zipper!

I added ANOTHER item to Etsy!

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:32:43 -0600

I posted this to Etsy the other day! I mentioned it in a post the other day, but I just posted it the other night. The other one sold really quickly! So that was good.

I listed a new Etsy item!

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:36:00 -0600

This bag is now up for sale on Etsy! You can read more about it there.

I got a rotary cutting mat!

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:27:47 -0600

I am super excited about it. It is sew nerdy of me (I got everyone that joke)!

The fabric you see on the mat is the same pattern I used for this bag, and once I finish it, it’s going on Etsy!

A hat!

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:57:40 -0600

I didn’t really have a good hat to wear for winter, so I made this one! It was my first experience knitting a hat in the round (I’ve only done mittens and gloves before), and I am pretty satisfied with the results.

Aaaaand finished!

A backpack/purse hybrid!

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:31:47 -0600

For my most recent Textiles class project, the assignment was to make a bag or purse or case of some sort, and it has to be lined. I’ve made cases and lined them before (obviously) but I decided to step away from laptop cases and do something a bit more ambitious. I was having trouble finding a purse/bag I liked that was good for biking and every day use, so I made one! I like this one a lot, so I might try to make another one (a slightly modified one with a zipper pocket on the outside) and sell it on Etsy.

Pockets!

All sewn up:

Putting in the draw string:

and all finished!