It’s far from done, but I’ve made good progress on setting up my #sewing room with #video cameras, hidden microphones, lights, cabling, USB hubs, etc., including taping cables to the ceiling with white gaffer tape and setting up mounts/arms/tripods in such a way that I can leave everything setup all the time without anything ever getting in the way of actual sewing!
I'm starting to see kaftans as the omelettes of #couture#sewing. The simplicity is deceptive, and making a great one is not easy.
Aligning, and maintaining alignment, of big pieces of shifty, silky print fabric in a perfect rectangle requires extraordinary patience and time. Choosing the right spot to cut the fabric is an art unto itself. Almost all neck treatments require a lot of hand stitching. And French seams on the shoulders need mitering at the ends or they look ugly.
I was laser #printing a #sewing pattern this afternoon, opened the rear exit to allow the heavy cardstock to come out flatter without having to curve around the rollers when my printer displays an error saying that double-sided printing is disabled this way. Realizing my print settings must have been incorrect, I cancelled the print job and re-printed it, but forgot to select “100% scale” instead of the default "scale to fit”… @sewing
Remember how I was batch making a lot of lingerie? And ordered a cool 18 metres of the nice elastic, the best elastic among a sea of lesser ones, from this one shop I needed absolutely nothing else from? And how I was also waiting for some nice pink thread instead of lesser thread from another shop?
Well! Turns out I ordered Bright Pink instead of the Old Rose I wanted. 🙃 I have so much of it I'm gonna use it anyway but will likely be mildly annoyed until the end of time! Heck!
For the price I paid for this modal #fabric, I expected these t-shirts to last a lot longer than nine months. I could have bought organic cotton for way less!
I babied these #shirts, never put them in the dryer, took good care of them and only wore them when going out, which wasn’t very often.
It’s a lot of #sewing work to have the fabric (not seams) fall apart so soon. I still like them, but they’re now suitable only as pyjama tops, unfortunately. @sewing
I really want some of this absolutely outlandish orange tartan to make a vest. Actually I would make a jacket and pants suit if I knew I'd wear it often but alas I wouldn't.
I can't afford it right now and I probably don't even need a vest, so I'm going to get some dopamine by sharing it with you.
There will now be a brief break from the ribbon shirt so that I can stitch up more kaftans. The theme of our Pride brunch this year is Mrs. Roper in St. Tropez. I cannot resist making kaftans for hubby (big 80s geometric print), my sister (turquoise koi on gold), and myself (pink and green magnolia print). Not only will we look fabulous, but it’ll be good advertising for Elfkin. #sewing#couture
The finished Cat Quilt! Mom likes it and was also very taken with the little tote I made her. "I'm going to take it to yoga, they're going to think it's so cute."
Her comment after laying it out to take these photos was that it's huge! Yes, mum, that's why it took me about three times as long as I thought it would. 😆
But it's done and where it belongs now!
Anyone want to share their opinions on #SewingMachines? I may be interested in buying a new one. I have a 20 yr old Janome that is so loud I can't use it when anyone is home because they complain. It's also cranky & I could never get it to make good stitches consistently. I want to make my own clothing & since this is probably a passing fancy, I'd like to not pay an arm & a leg for it. (Maybe a second hand deal?) I don't mind an older machine and I don't want anything computer-y. #craft#sewing
A painting of my mama. She was gifted a Singer sewing machine in 1969, and through that work she fed myself and my brother growing up. We owe our lives to that Singer machine. She still has it. They used to be impossible to break!
I have a copy of the 1970 Vogue Book of Sewing and it is super useful and (but?) whenever I read it I hear the text in the voice of the computer from Star Trek.
I also made this dress I never wore into a skirt I might sometimes wear. And from a loosely fitting skirt to a snugly fitting wrap skirt, too!
The hem is asymmetrical, voluminous and has square handkerchief edges and weird bits that give it lots of movement.
Here, a clip it's too dark to see much of!