Sunday Evening

It's Sunday evening here on Granny Lane.  We've done zero sewing this weekend due to having to prepare for the coming of my nephew and niece in the next couple weeks.  It's a work in progress, but the playroom is almost cleaned out.  I'm going to be refurbishing a child's size table and chairs in the near future, as well as a set of child's wicker furniture for the front porch.  I'll post pictures when they're done! 

I'm going to start on the embroidery for the pinafore.  I've been making bows and figuring out how to do the smocking on the organza dress and how to draft patterns in smaller sizes for the babies. It's an experiment, but I have all the bow parts pre-made to match the dresses.

A week....

Wrapping up a week of non-sewing here.  I've spent the week coughing, blowing runny noses, sneezing, and generally feeling miserable.  Weekends are usually prime sewing time, but we'll have to see.  I've managed to dig around in the black hole and find the lace I need for my project--which, believe me, was no small task--and set up my serger for rolled hem, but nothing else. 

I survived another week with the girls.  Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but Bit has been acting out a little.  Her entire world has been turned upside down lately.  She's been in time out more in the last month than in the last year.  It used to be a very seldom-used thing, but lately, it's almost every day. Me being sick doesn't help, either.  I fall asleep too fast and she's not getting the attention that she's used to getting.

Well, here's hoping to a better week next week.

Who watched Project Runway last night?  I did!  Well, most of it.  That I could stay awake for!  Anya's pants were not all that.  The model was practically drowning in the fabric, they had a butt-crack zipper, pleats make even models look fat, and she committed an unforgivable sin--she topstitched a hem in silk!  The crotch on the pants was also located nowhere near the model's anatomical crotch!

I feel sorry for Josh.  (The bald LDS guy)  He should've known better.  If he's watched the show, he should know that for the first time, that is until you get the model's real measurements instead of what they admit to, you should have at least a one inch seam allowance just in case you have to let it out.  The pleats on the shorts were also a bad idea, as were the cuffs, and he should've dyed the fabric all-around.  The hoodie was interesting, but the execution needs a bump up.  And the shirt!  ACK!  What was he thinking?  I just hope that he pulls it together.  I'm cheering for him, 'cause it's probably inevitable that he'll get the AUF for being safe and boring if nothing else.

Bert, well, good for him.  But it's obvious that he hasn't dealt with styling in a long, long time.  And I sincerely hope that he had a layer under those boxers so that the poor model didn't have dirty boxers next to her bare boob!

Brilliant Basics: transferring pattern markings

In twenty years of sewing, I'd never transferred pattern markings.  I referred to them, yes, but actually transferring?  Nope.  In part, it was because the standard pattern tracing wheel has never worked for me.  I never could figure out how it was even supposed to work, and I tried repeatedly to get it to without success.  Two years ago, I was working on Simplicity 2629.   It's a vintage 1948 rerelease, complete with embroidery motifs. Thing is, the original pattern would have included transfers for the designs.  The modern version says something to the effect of, "transfer embroidery designs using your favorite method."  Most modern patterns that include embroidery say that.  Now, there are three common methods of doing it-- embroidery heat transfer pens, embroidery heat transfer pencils, and transfer sheets.  The marker is a favorite with opaque fabric because you get lines that are easy to see and thus, embroider over.

Looking at the transferred designs, I had an epiphany--why not transfer the tuck markings in the same way?  I'd always had problems with tucks before that--no matter how hard I tried, I always ended up with one being crooked.  And later on, I found that my pens stunk for transferring to white, semi-sheer, and sheer fabric because you could see the lines on the right side.  I tried the pencil, but I could never get it to transfer dark enough to see.  So I tried the sheets.  They're now a favorite.  I use them to transfer not only embroidery designs, but tuck marks, pleat marks, darts, and anything else that benefits from having a clear mark to work with.  Joanns in my area carries them, so you should be able to find them at your local craft store.

So, here's my guide for working with the transfer sheets.  First, we need to gather supplies.  I use a piece of cardboard for backing to make lining up the pattern pieces easier.  Once the transfer paper is laid on the fabric, it's hard to see where the fold lines are, so this gives a line to use.  I also use a seam gauge, though any ruler will do, a chopstick for the actual transferring, and a mechanical pencil for darkening the lines afterwards.

This is the transfer paper.  It comes in a pack with five different colors.  I prefer the graphite.  One thing you do need to know is that the marks from the paper won't stay--they lighten with a little handling (very little) and can disappear before you're done using them.  It washes out, and doesn't show through the other side.

The first thing you need is your cut out material.  I usually pin labels on any pieces that look similar and are close in size so I don't get them mixed up.

Now, lay the fabric wrong side out with the dart is facing you and  the fold line on the edge of the cardboard.   In this case, having the other side of the fabric on the outside is a great thing, because it gives you something to line up the pattern piece with.

Next, lay the transfer paper right side down on top of the fabric, and line the pattern piece up with the other half of the fabric.  (The chopstick is in the picture to keep the fan from blowing the pattern piece away!)

Now, using the chopstick, trace over the lines of the pattern.  A regular wooden number two pencil will also work in a pinch, but the chopstick is better because the end is flat.  Remove the pattern and the transfer paper and get out the ruler and mechanical pencil.  This won't show through to the other side, but it will provide you with both lines to match up and a line to sew on.

Now, line up the ruler and trace over the lines.  They're always a little crooked from transferring, and this straightens them out for you as well as making sure that they'll stay long enough for you to use them.

This is the result--a clear mark that shows where to sew.  Don't worry, graphite pencil lead does wash out.  Now, we need to repeat it with the other side of the fabric. 

You'll need to flip the pattern piece over and use the wrong side as a guide, but it'll still work very well.

Now this is the right side of the fabric.  See?  No markings!  Now, repeat with all of the markings you need to transfer.

Darts in kids' clothes are usually just for style and aren't really completely necessary for construction.  But if they're in your pattern, the pattern has been added to so that they become necessary. 

Transferring the markings eliminates the guesswork in making pleats, darts, and tucks.  While I wouldn't recommend it for tiny tucks, it works well for larger ones.  Sometime in the next week, I'll go over double needle pintucks; I'm using them in my current project!

And just for a cuteness break--

When I wasn't looking, Bit managed to curl up in her baby sister's car seat and fall asleep there today!

Monday morning blues

As I sit here waiting for the babies to arrive this morning, I'd like to give a progress report.  Slip #2 and panties #4 on Simplicity 3296 are all cut out, and I made it to Joanns to buy more organza. 

I'm going to get the front skirt of the pinafore recut today.  It should be interesting, considering that I somehow managed to lose the front skirt piece.  I'll have to use one of the netting underskirts as a template and subtract an inch.  I need to get started on the embroidery and do the double needle pintuck panel.  I also decided what lace collar to use from my stash, but I have yet to hunt down the lace to trim the netting underskirts with.  It's in the Black Hole.  I hate trying to find anything in there.  But my spool of approximately 600 yards of lace is in there because I haven't used any of it since sometime in December.

I switched my serger over to rolled hem, because almost every part of the underskirt needs to have a rolled hem, as does the ruffle on the slip's skirt before I add the lace over top of it.  I also transferred the dart markings to the pattern pieces for the dress bodice and lining and the slip bodice and lining.  All in all, I'm almost really-truly ready to start sewing.  Would y'all like to see how I transfer markings?  I use this method for tucks and pleats, too!

Things you learn from colds

1) Liquid versions of NyQuil and DayQuil work better than the gel-caps
2) The labels lie.  If that's "good" tasting, I don't want to taste the bad.
3) Never, ever mix red NyQuil and blue NyQuil.  Trust me.  Don't do it.
4) The cure is as bad as the disease
5) Get the lotion tissues.  Your nose will thank you.
6) You can learn to do shooters by chugging medication.
7) No matter how hard you try and dump the medicine past your tastebuds, you'll still taste it.
8) Three-year-olds love taking the tissue you stuffed up your nose to keep the drips from reaching chapped skin out.

Project Runway and other things

As I'm sitting here, surrounded by a mound of used tissues, I've been looking at the contestants for the next season of Project Runway.  Yes, I'm a fan, but mostly so I can make fun of what cracktastic thing they send down the runway next.  This next season looks to have more than its share of designers who've been smoking something.

Case in point-- Fallene Welles.  The pants she's wearing are her own 'design'.  And I use that term loosely.  First--the sewing.  The folded tucks aren't exactly straight and they don't end in the same place.  There's also pulling across her stomach, so they don't fit, even as blousy as they are.  To be perfectly honest, they look like a bad Home Ec project.  Not only that, but I do believe I can pinpoint exactly where her idea came from.

While bloomers are an old idea, as are bloomer shorts, they've been relegated to children's clothing for most of the last century.  In fact, my 20s-30s Singer how-to-make-children's-clothing book calls dresses for toddler girls "bloomer frocks".  Dresses for little girls were so short that it was necessary to have matching undies underneath.  One would think that they'd be relegated to the past, but it's not true.  Judging from commercial clothes my nieces own and what's available in the big four of commercial patterns, bloomer shorts for little girls are making a comeback.  McCall's, especially, seems taken by the trend.  Then again, they do think of themselves as the contemporary pattern company.

Exhibit A-McCall's 6059--

View D, which the model is wearing, are a cleaner version of Fallene's bloomer shorts.  I made this pattern last year, only with the regular pants instead, because at the time, Joanna thought they were the ugliest things going.

Exhibit b--this is this year's newest version, McCall's 6270, which Gracie will own soon.  I'll be making exactly what the model is wearing, except in different fabrics.  While this set doesn't have the absolute waistband (it's elastic) or the leg bands of the previous design, it's still the poofy britches of yesteryear.  And this isn't confined to toddlers, either!  Not only does this pattern stray into the 'children' sizes, but they have another!

Exhibit C--McCall's 5797.  Not only does it have a version of the pillowcase dress--which I still don't like!  But it's available from sizes 3 to 14!

What's cute on a three-year-old or a baby just isn't cute on an adult.  It's why I start looking for a child when I hear the term "romper".  Anyone want to bet that if Fallene sticks around long enough, one of her designs will be a pillowcase romper with ruffles across the butt?

Part of making clothes is to make them well enough that people don't realize that they're homemade.  I cringe when I hear the words "crafty" or "home sewn".  I would much rather people ask where they can buy what I've made for the girls.  And honestly, that's the most common question Joanna gets when they're wearing stuff I've made for them.  And those pants Fallene is so proudly showing off are screaming Holly Homemaker and Becky Home-ecky!   I watched the casting vid, and I can't believe that the judges actually praised 'em!  Perhaps this is a sign of the quality of applicants?

Car seats!

Yes, yes, this isn't sewing.  But Little Bit has outgrown her convertible infant seat, and truthfully, it's served its life.  It's done, and going out with the garbage on Monday.  So we started looking for a new or new-to-us one.   And we needed an affordable one and since she's old enough for a booster...  But she's not ready for the backless.  My SIL was given a backless one, which she gave to us for LB's use.  But Bit doesn't like it and more importantly, she can get out of it!  And does! Of course, rather than running out the gas, I went on the internet first.  I checked Babies R Us, Kmart, Target, and finally, the bane of my existence-- Wal-Mart.  I admit it!  I'm still mad at Wal-Mart for getting rid of most of the fabric!

Anyway, they had coordinating Cosco car seats--a high back booster and a convertible infant car seat both for $39 each.  Yes, they're glaringly pink, but we've got girls!  And by the time Baby Bit is ready for the booster, LB will be ready for backless.  We figure that by the time Jared and Joanna have a little boy, they'll either have had to move somewhere else, or it, too, will be through.  And I can always just make a new cover for it, using the old one as a pattern.  Or IIRC, I actually have a commercial one. 

Anyway, they're on order, and we'll be able to pick it up next week.  LB is, of course, taken with the fact that it's pink.  And when my sister dumps her kids here for three days, Jeron will just have to deal.  Yes, I'm a mean Auntie!  But the ear protectors we have for toddlers are pink too.  And if he doesn't want to wear them, he doesn't get to ride the 'tractor'.  We don't babysit Sarah's kids much.  And Nikki and Gracie spend a lot of time here.  So naturally, we have toys more for little girls.  And more pink things.  For a little boy who has decided that he doesn't like "girl" stuff....