Things I did not work on that I said I would - my mask and Miss Dashwood's fabric and sketches. I need to take care of those today.
I did however work on my beau's quilt. I have three or four of the seven rows sewn together.
AND I got quite a bit of work done on the Joker this weekend. As previously mentioned, I cut out the corduroy and the lining for the jacket last week. On Friday, I put together the jacket and the lining. I also cut out the lapel facing and sewed it together along the center back seam.
Then he decides that he wants pockets. Which makes sense - obviously he needs to be able to carry a pocket watch and a flower in his lapel. I just wish he'd mentioned it earlier, would have been much easier to put the pockets in before the jacket was sewn together.
Since the pockets must go in before the lining, I obviously did not get around to hand stitching the lining in this weekend. Sadly.
While visiting his family out of town, and without a sewing machine *gasp*, I cut out the pockets for the jacket and also his trousers. Those were interesting. The underlining of white cotton was just fine, normal cutting out. But the outer fabric is so lightweight that I decided to use the underlining as the pattern pieces and cut out each piece separately, on only one layer of the trouser fabric. As you can imagine, this took some time.
Last night after we returned, I tackled the jacket pockets. First of all, let me state that I hate welted pockets. While they look fabulous, they are a pain to sew. I reread the directions before I started and marked where I wanted the pockets to go. Then I stitched the welts on, then the pocket lining, then slashed the pocket and the jacket and pulled the pocket through and -- I had messed up somewhere. Turns out that I had put the welts on backwards, so instead of a nice smooth folded edge showing, it was the raw edges of the welts. Sigh. So I had to take everything out and start all over again. Thankfully, the second time went off without an issue, and the other side of the pocket was sewn on. I showed the beau and he approved of my work which of course pleased me to no end.
So I have one pocket down, two to go on the outside of the jacket. Then there's two more on the inside, but I may just make them patch pockets. I'll have to talk to the beau first.
Now for everyone's favorite part - the to do list!
Harley Quinn
1. Finish mask
Catwoman
1. Prewash fabric
2. Sketches for both the bustle and the utility belt
3. Construct both the bustle and the utility belt
4. Insert zipper into turtleneck
Joker
1. Finish pockets on the jacket, both inside and outside
2. Sew in the jacket lining
3. Sew on the jacket lapels
4. Buttons and buttonholes on the front of the jacket
5. Put the trousers together - zipper or button fly?
6. Cut out and construct the vest
7. Probably need to make a tie
I plan to take turns working on Catwoman and Joker. I'll probably mainly do Catwoman while on the Companions Shuttle and work on the Joker while visiting my beau in his quarters. Today at work, I'm going to work on my mask and try to get those sketches done.
I'm going to try to take enough photos during the next pocket construction that I can do a welted pocket tutorial.
A bientot!
Miss Leah J Wilde
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutorial. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Recent sewing projects
Hello dearest dear readers,
I haven't been up to much since Marcon. I felt that a break was necessary. But here's a little update as to what I have been doing -
1. I took in a dress for a friend so it would be a little more form fitting through the torso.
2. I just sewed a button onto my beau's pants. He'd lost the button at the fly and asked me to replace it. Instead of shopping for something that might match, I removed a button from one of the back pockets (which he never buttons) and moved it to the fly. Quick and easy.
3. Last night I made a new skirt for myself. I'd purchased a remnant of this lovely green embroidered cotton (similar to an eyelet) that was just under a yard. I cut it in half along the fold line, sewed the ends together on both sides, hemmed one end and created an elastic casing at the other, used a safety pin to slide elastic through the casing, tried it on, knotted it at the appropriate length, sewed the casing closed and voila! I have a cute new summer skirt. I think that it should work for everyday or steamy wear.
4. I've been working on using up the last of my clockwork fabric to make a gypsy skirt. Well, that's my term for them - a tiered skirt. I tend to live in them in the summer, my dears, because they are so comfortable and tend to be cool. All that's left is to add the bottom tier, hem and elastic it.
How to make a gypsy skirt:
First step - cutting the fabric
The first tier needs to be larger than your waist (or hips if that's where you're wearing it) - one and a half to two times should do it.
The second tier needs to be one and a half to two times longer than the first tier.
Each consecutive tier should follow this formula.
Ideally, each tier also increases in width - for example, the first being around 4 inches, the second 6 inches, etc.
Each tier will likely have to be pieced to achieve the necessary length.
Second step - sewing the fabric together
If you've already pieced each tier to the desired length, the next step is to stitch a gathering stitch along one side of each tier other than the first one. To do a gathering stitch, I use heavy thread in the bobbin, regular thread on top and a large stitch length on the machine.
Start by pinning the second tier to the first. The best way to do this is to divide both tiers into sections - four works well at this stage. Then gather each quarter of the second tier until it is the same length as a quarter of the top tier and pinned them together.
Stitch the second tier to the top tier, being careful not to catch any of the top tier in the stitching.
Continue with this method until all the tiers have been sewn together. As the tiers get longer, I would recommend division into eighths instead of quarters for the gathering.
Third step - seam, hem and elastic
Now that everything is sewn together, pin the two ends together and stitch a seam. I usually try to wear this seam at the back or on the side.
Next, hem the bottom tier. I tend to lean towards a narrow hem,
Then make the elastic casing at the top, being sure to leave a part of it open so that the elastic can be inserted. The easiest way to insert elastic (at least for me) is to attach one end to a large safety pin and pull it through the casing. Just make sure to keep a hold of the other end!
Once the elastic is through, try on the skirt and adjust the elastic to fit. Knot the ends of the elastic, cutting off any excess before allowing the elastic to slide into the casing. Then all you have to do is stitch the opening in the casing closed and your gypsy skirt is complete!
My clockwork skirt is to the gathering and pinning stage for the bottom ruffle. I would have done it the other day, but realized that the bottom tier wasn't long enough so I had to add more length by using up what left over bits of fabric I had. One good thing about the skirt is that with the gathering, its unlikely that anyone will notice / comment on the pieced tiers. And if they do, then I think that they are looking too close at your clothing. Such inappropriate behavior!
Well that's it for now, darlings!
A bientot!
Miss Leah J Wilde
I haven't been up to much since Marcon. I felt that a break was necessary. But here's a little update as to what I have been doing -
1. I took in a dress for a friend so it would be a little more form fitting through the torso.
2. I just sewed a button onto my beau's pants. He'd lost the button at the fly and asked me to replace it. Instead of shopping for something that might match, I removed a button from one of the back pockets (which he never buttons) and moved it to the fly. Quick and easy.
3. Last night I made a new skirt for myself. I'd purchased a remnant of this lovely green embroidered cotton (similar to an eyelet) that was just under a yard. I cut it in half along the fold line, sewed the ends together on both sides, hemmed one end and created an elastic casing at the other, used a safety pin to slide elastic through the casing, tried it on, knotted it at the appropriate length, sewed the casing closed and voila! I have a cute new summer skirt. I think that it should work for everyday or steamy wear.
4. I've been working on using up the last of my clockwork fabric to make a gypsy skirt. Well, that's my term for them - a tiered skirt. I tend to live in them in the summer, my dears, because they are so comfortable and tend to be cool. All that's left is to add the bottom tier, hem and elastic it.
How to make a gypsy skirt:
First step - cutting the fabric
The first tier needs to be larger than your waist (or hips if that's where you're wearing it) - one and a half to two times should do it.
The second tier needs to be one and a half to two times longer than the first tier.
Each consecutive tier should follow this formula.
Ideally, each tier also increases in width - for example, the first being around 4 inches, the second 6 inches, etc.
Each tier will likely have to be pieced to achieve the necessary length.
Second step - sewing the fabric together
If you've already pieced each tier to the desired length, the next step is to stitch a gathering stitch along one side of each tier other than the first one. To do a gathering stitch, I use heavy thread in the bobbin, regular thread on top and a large stitch length on the machine.
Start by pinning the second tier to the first. The best way to do this is to divide both tiers into sections - four works well at this stage. Then gather each quarter of the second tier until it is the same length as a quarter of the top tier and pinned them together.
Stitch the second tier to the top tier, being careful not to catch any of the top tier in the stitching.
Continue with this method until all the tiers have been sewn together. As the tiers get longer, I would recommend division into eighths instead of quarters for the gathering.
Third step - seam, hem and elastic
Now that everything is sewn together, pin the two ends together and stitch a seam. I usually try to wear this seam at the back or on the side.
Next, hem the bottom tier. I tend to lean towards a narrow hem,
Then make the elastic casing at the top, being sure to leave a part of it open so that the elastic can be inserted. The easiest way to insert elastic (at least for me) is to attach one end to a large safety pin and pull it through the casing. Just make sure to keep a hold of the other end!
Once the elastic is through, try on the skirt and adjust the elastic to fit. Knot the ends of the elastic, cutting off any excess before allowing the elastic to slide into the casing. Then all you have to do is stitch the opening in the casing closed and your gypsy skirt is complete!
My clockwork skirt is to the gathering and pinning stage for the bottom ruffle. I would have done it the other day, but realized that the bottom tier wasn't long enough so I had to add more length by using up what left over bits of fabric I had. One good thing about the skirt is that with the gathering, its unlikely that anyone will notice / comment on the pieced tiers. And if they do, then I think that they are looking too close at your clothing. Such inappropriate behavior!
Well that's it for now, darlings!
A bientot!
Miss Leah J Wilde
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