SpinnySpinny

I’m working on some tablecloths, so I’m doing a lot of hemming. I have a 5mm narrow hem foot I use for this sort of thing, although I’m actually not very good at it. I can do an ok hem as long as the edge is perfectly straight and on-grain and I fold the edge ahead of the stitching and keep it under tension the whole time. Which you aren’t supposed to have to do.

Once in a while I try to practice the right way, but then I have something I need to get done. I found this tutorial from Threads I’m hoping will help.

Mastering the Narrow Hemmer Part One, Part Two, Part Three

I need a new raincoat. Like in a big way. The one I have was purchased about ten years and 35kg ago. The pockets are ripped, the buttonholes are pulled out of shape so they don’t like to stay closed and it’s just generally not so hot anymore. So off I went, credit card in hand, to The Rain Shed website. Oooo sale fabric.

Anyway, I got a pile of waterproof and water-repellant fabrics like coated nylon and Wind Pro. Today I’ve been washing the fabric, which is kinda interesting with something that actively sheds water. When I pulled the nylon taffeta out of the washing machine a bunch of water came out with it and left puddles in my laundry basket. Which makes it difficult to haul some now-dry stuff out and back into the other room.

My first project is a waterproof bag, basically a cover for my purse-backpack so I can carry it in the rain. My old raincoat was big enough to put over my purse, but my new jacket isn’t. I have a dry bag I can put it into, but then I have to carry it in my hand rather than on my back. That isn’t so great for the distances I walk around town. I’ve got plans for a rain poncho too, but a little later.

I’m working on a jacket from a re-issued vintage Simplicity pattern. I want it to be extra-special nice so I’m actually doing the lining for a change. And to make it as comfortable as possible (as in, not feel like I’m wearing a plastic bag) it’s all silk. The shantung fashion fabric is great: it has enough body to handle complex seams yet a bit of drape and feels wonderful. The organza interfacing (not nasty fusible) preserves the hand of the fabric rather than turning it into cardboard. Sure, basting the layers together took more work but it was worth it.

Now, the lining is another story. It’s a lightweight silk twill, in a paisley that screams “I’m a Necktie!” But for a lining, that doesn’t matter. (It is indeed tie fabric and I have a bolt of it.) I had hoped that a twill would be somewhat better behaved than a satin. But it will not lie still and every time I look at it my cut pattern piece is a different size. It’s almost as bad as charmeuse. Way more than the organza. I’ve had to use tons of pins to get it to stay put long enough to stitch.

So far I’ve gotten the jacket and the lining each assembled, the lining took almost twice as long. Now I just have to put them together.

I found a nice scroll frame at Goodwill this morning, attached to somebody’s mostly-finished needlepoint sampler:

Given the condition of the masking tape protecting the cut edges of the canvas, it’s been sitting around a while.

I’ve never been all that fond of needlepoint. I only occasionally am interested in embroidery, which is why I was willing to pay all of $2 for the frame. The project has only one square and part of the border to complete. I could, if I wanted to, get a similar yarn, rip out some stitches and finish it. It was apparently intended for a small pillow. I have no idea what the initials might be.

I’ve been busy sewing the past couple weeks, I need to replace my wardrobe again so I’ve started re-working existing patterns and checking out new ones. Right now I’m making some basic dresses as pattern tests, out of whatever fabric I’ve got lying around from projects that never happened.

One was particularly interesting, it’s made from an old fitted sheet I found at Goodwill. The elastic was crumbling and I suspect it was from a child’s room as it has marks on it that look suspiciously like felt-tip pen. I used it to make this princess-seam dress:

Yes, it is indeed shorter on one side than the other. Because I am shorter on one side than the other. I’m often lazy and don’t do it, but it is better to adjust at the shoulder seam than the hem. That way the garment hangs straight.

It is a printed knit with a one-way design of stylized flowers on white. But the print is sideways so the crosswise stretch is top to bottom, opposite of normal garment fabrics. There isn’t a lot of stretch in the other direction but this pattern was intended for woven fabric, so that’s ok. I can tell how the bodice and sleeves fit (too small across the bust) knowing that the result will be wearable anyway.

The weird thing is that it is strangely stiff for a cotton knit. (I haven’t actually done a burn test to know the fiber content.) It resists pins and needles and leaves behind what looks like little shreds of paper instead of normal lint in the sewing machine. The holes left from pins are also quite noticeable. This would suggest damaged fiber and I see catastrophic structural failure in my future. But I wasn’t exactly making an heirloom piece here.