Negroni Shirt - Part I

I have finally started my first shirt!

I am using Colette 1014 Negroni. I found out about this pattern over at Male Pattern Boldness a mere two years too late to participate in Peter's Men's Shirt Sew-Along.

I was going to make Vogue 8889, I had bought the pattern, I had read the instructions, I had examined the pattern pieces and I bottled it.  It just didn't feel like a first-timer's pattern.  I still intend to make Vogue 8889 because I think it is a great looking shirt but for the time being I have my ironing board full with Colette 1014!

So where have I got to?

Saturday

1. Pre-washed the green (aborted  quilt backing) fabric
2. Cut up and ironed the paper pattern pieces I need for the short sleeved version of Negroni
3. Traced size L of the pattern pieces onto some plain tissue I had lying around
4. Worried about how much the fabric had shrunk and how I would make the cutting layout work

Sunday

1. Stopped worrying
2. Fathomed an alternative cutting layout
3. Cut most of the pattern out of the green fabric

Monday

1. Bought green thread and fusible interfacing
2. Soaked interfacing in hottish water to pre-shrink it
3. Finished cutting
4. Started sewing!

Look! I made pocket flaps.  One of the things I really like about this pattern are the free pocket options which can be downloaded.  I chose the asymmetrical pocket flap in conference with The-Much-Belovéd.  We both liked the idea of the way they might look with the pointed pocket option.

This is how they look with the pockets.  I made a card template to press the pockets around.  This is a really neat technique that I have only just read about.  I wish I had known about it when I was making the apron for my sister back in December!

The green was not planned for this project so the yardage is a bit touch and go.  To help make it go further I have used some of the owl fabric left over from the fence rail quilt to make the pocket flap facings - cute?  I even remembered to match the bobbin thread to the contrast fabric.

My very first shirt pocket - ever!  How proud am I?

I just haven't been able to bring myself to sully that sleek pocket flap with a button hole.  Is it wearable left as is?

Pocket is edge stitched and the flap is top stitched

Tomorrow I need to make another one to match this and decide whether or not to add buttonholes to the pocket flaps before I go much further with the construction of the shirt.

I am enjoying sewing this pattern. I am going to take my time and savour it.

PJ Pants

Simplicity 0501 is a free download available here.  It's one of those patterns where you mess about printing it on 25 sheets of paper, match the sheets up, and stick them together with tape.

As this pattern only has two simple pattern pieces this is not too onerous a task but I don't think I'd be up for doing this with anything more complicated. Overlapping printer paper and tape make the pattern rather heavy but it all works.  I used shears to cut out.  I am not too good at curves with the rotary cutter.

The really great thing about this pattern are the lovely clear instructions. They really are written with the beginner in mind. I love the fact that they explain how to cut a double thickness of directional print by folding the fabric in half lengthways, cutting and then rotating one piece by 180 degrees - simple when you think about it right?

Those who have been following events here at Oil and Thread may remember that I wound a class 15 bobbin with navy thread ready for this project back in March! I remembered this and the as the Singer 15K was still out from making the tailor's ham the choice of machine for this project was automatic.


The first step, having cut out the fabric, is to make two button holes, near the waist, for the draw string. I usually like to make button holes with an automatic Singer buttonholer (the kind that takes a template) on my Singer 401G. This attachment (which is fab and I will show you someday) only fits Singer slant shank machines. I didn't want to drag out and set up another machine so I thought it better to try out this buttonholer, also made by Singer, which fits standard low shank sewing machines.

Add caption

As far as I know this model of buttonholer is more common in the UK and Australia.  It is the cream and red, face-lifted, version of the type where buttonhole length, width, bite and stitch length are all independantly adjustable.  This means that making sample buttonholes is a must!  It's a little scary but I work systematically. Get the lenth right first, then the width and the bite need to be adjusted in close conjunction with each other to produce an acceptable buttonhole. My aim, based on the pattern markings, was a half inch button hole that was wide enough for me to cut with my seam ripper and embroidery scissors.  It took me four goes to produce something I thought garment-worthy.

Button hole, bottom left passed the test!

I remembered to strengthen the button holes with interfacing saved from the cuffs of the white shirt I repurposed to make the log cabin quilt.  It's sew in rather than fusible.  I don't think that this will matter.

I am a happiest working with straight stitch machines and a real fan of flat felled and French seams so I deviated from the pattern instructions which suggested pinking and overcasting the seam allowances.  I sewed the inside leg seams, wrong sides together so that my flat felled seams would appear as a design detail on the outside of the garment.

This leaves the inside, which will be in contact with the wearer, as smooth and flush as possible.

The new tailors ham made pressing the seams so much easier.  I am a convert!

I am really happy with the way these have turned out.

Baby Fence Rail - Pt V

Well I think it is safe to say I have crossed the border with the Baby fence rail quilt top.

The first border finishes at two inches.  The pattern instructions are to make the border oversize (both width and length), sew it to the quilt and then trim it down to two and a quarter inches in width.  That's why I have the cutting mat and rotary cutter on the floor (mind the carpet!).  The eagle-eyed amongst you with notice that I added borders to the long sides first and then the shorter ones.  I feel that this makes for more pleasing proportions.

The outer border is made from the darker tone on tone leaf fabric.  The pattern instructions are to trim this down to four and a quarter inches so that when the quilt is bound in (yes you've guessed it) the yellow fabric four inches will be showing.  The effect of adding the darker petrel blue border quite startled me.  I don't think I've made the quilt top too gender specific by doing this?

My progress with project has ground to a halt this week because I have no suitable wadding [batting] or backing materials.

I bought 2.3 meters of plain green cotton which is not only the wrong colour but also slightly too little for the job [silly Mr G] and when I went to buy batting the shop didn't have enough of the cotton/poly blend I liked so much when I made the last quilt.

I am now on the look out for some cotton which is the rusty red colour of the little owls - unless someone can suggest a different (better) colour.

As for the green?  Well at the risk of ending up looking like a stout Robin Hood or a geriatric Peter Pan I may use it to make a shirt... ...or shorts... ...or something...

Hamming It Up!

One of these days I am going to make a shirt and with this in mind I have been reading and re-reading Peter's sew along at Male Pattern Boldness.  One of the notions I have read about in David Coffin's book and Peter's blog is the tailor's ham.  This item is intended to make the pressing curved seams easier.  There are those who say it's very difficult to manage without one.  With all of the advice dancing in front of my eyes I decided to see if it would be possible to make a ham all of my very own.

There are dozens of tutorials on how to make your own tailor's ham.  I found this one at Chance of Rain which has an easy to print pattern piece and clear photo strip instructions.

The ham is made up of three layers of calico, one of cotton poplin and one of wool [?crepe?].  Here I have tacked the layers together and am now sewing them right sides facing.  It's a while since we've seen the Singer 15K80 so I thought I would give it an airing.  It sailed through the layers like a hot knife through butter.  I back tacked the ends of the seam by turning the work in the machine.  Not my favourite way be easy to do with small goods like the ham-shell.

Here is my ham-shell after clipping the seam allowance and turning.  The pattern advises keeping clipping to an absolute minimum so as not to weaken the seam.

Anyone for porridge?  No it's wood shavings - well softwood bedding to be exact. It's cheap enough and easier to find here than your actual sawdust. It has a wonderful smell that reminds me of my Dad.

Here is my ham after I had stuffed and sewn it shut.  The finished size is approximately six by nine inches.  I'm not sure if I got it stuffed full enough but it feels pretty firm.  I'm looking forward to seeing if it is large and curvy enough to be useful.  

There's something quite cute about a tailor's ham don't you think?  It's certainly tactile.  I can now see why they used to stuff soft toys with sawdust!

Singer Black Box

This box of tricks arrived here a few weeks ago, hot on the heels of the Singer 99K.  Up until now I haven't made time to photograph it but yesterday evening the light was quite good so I got to work.

It's full of shiny goodies.  This mass of twisted metal is the standard kit that would have been supplied with a Singer sewing machine when new.  

This particular set has three class 15 bobbins which would tend to indicate that it once belonged with a 15 machine.  I understand that the ones for Singer 66, 99 and 201 had the same kit but with class 66 bobbins.  As far as I can tell the attachments should fit any low shank machine.  Instructions on how to use all these attachments was included in the second half of the manuals that came with the machines.

15 class bobbins

large and small screwdrivers

quilting foot and guide

slotted binder foot

seam guide and fixing screw

tuck marker

narrow hemming foot

I am not yet confident that I can remove all of the contents from the box and manage to get them back in the right place so I took the attachments  out one by one to photograph and identify them.  Some I am familiar with, some I have used and like and some I am looking forward to trying out for the first time.  Who fancies my chances quilting the Baby Fence Rail Quilt on the Singer 201k with the help of this quilting foot?

adjustable hemming foot

ruffler foot

under braider

Tiny Dress Techniques

I was inspired to make this tiny sun frock after watching BBC TV's  The Great British Sewing Bee.   

I have never made a frock before so I thought I would start small.  The dresses they made on TV were very cute.  They had shirred bodices and rouleau straps.  What struck me, when watching the judging of the dresses made by the contestants, was the number of different techniques that could be demonstrated in such a small garment.

I don't have any shirring elastic in the house.  In fact I haven't seen any since I was a little boy and my Mam put some in the cuffs of one of the sweaters either she or Gran had knitted for me.   It was blue flecked wool with a crew neck and I rather liked it.  I would put money on that same bobbin of shirring elastic still being in my Mam's mending box 30 years later.  I must ask her the next time we Skype - I digress.

With no shirring elastic in the house, and no desire to go and buy any, a shirred bodice was out.  I don't have a gathering foot either.  Does anyone know if the braider foot from the Singer 28K's archaic tool kit would work?  From what I can gather that foot, teamed with additional bits and bobs, was for braiding, quilting, hemming and binding - Dr Singer's Universal Cure All!  Anyway, I found this pattern online.

I had plenty of off-cuts of nice white cotton kicking around after I finished making the backing of the log-cabin quilt so I set to work.  I wanted this project to be a work out for the new (to me) Singer 99K and an exercise in using as many different accessories as possible.

1. French seams (seam guide)
   

   

   In the short time I have been sewing I have made the seam guide my right hand (this is almost literally the case when you are sewing with a hand crank).  The seam guide is so useful on little black Singer's that don't have markings on their needle beds.  I found Muv's video on French seams indispensable with this task.
   
   
2. Gathering (ruffler)
   

   

   Lots of people, I have read online,  are afraid of the ruffler foot that came with their machines.  I have never been afraid, more unsure, of how to control the results on a project I might already have spent a lot of time on.  This project was different.  The whole point was to try different techniques and attachments without getting hung up on the results.  I set the ruffler to 'gather' rather than pleat, set the Singer 99K for the longest stitch and the ruffler to the fullest gather.  By luck rather than hard work and good management the skirt ended up gathered to nearly exactly the same width as the bodice. WOW!

   
   
3. Corded piping (adjustable cording foot)
   

   

   This felt like a biggie.  I got to cut my first bias binding from a scrap of striped poplin shirting.  I used the corded handle from a gift bag and got to try out the adjustable cording foot.  I have used it to install the zipper in a hobo bag I made on the Singer 201K.  I think my first attempt is passable but it was more about the learning experience.  I am encouraged to use this technique in the future.
   
   
4. Hemming (adjustable hemmer)
   I did try this but it really wasn't successful.  It felt impossible to get the bulk of the French seams through the adjustable hemmer.  This fabric has a strong pattern of squares which was a gift for turning a regular hem so I did that.  Job done.
   
   

Baby Fence Rail - Pt IV

I cannot believe how quickly I am managing to piece this quilt.  

I read what I could find about blocking and decided not to get too bogged down in it in the end.  All of my squares had finished to within an eighth of an inch of the expected size.  I did trim some of the oversized squares down a bit but, in the event, I haven't agonised too much.

In this picture I have sewn the 12 units into 4 rows of three, laid them out and labelled them (A-D) so I know what order to sew them together in.

Here row A has been flipped over onto row B and pinned so that the seam lines match where they cross.

Here is the result, which I got The Much Belovéd to QA for me - it passed.

Here are all four rows after I have sewn them together.  I have already cut the fabric for the two borders.  The directions were to cut six strips of each fabric, cut two of each of those in half and to join the resulting four half-strips to the remaining four full strips.  I have already completed this so just a little more work will see this quilt top completed.  Then I will have to think about buying some  batting and how I will quilt the thing - more in the ditch work or any alternatives?