Road to No Regret

I am typing this in the same room as a large, uninvited spider, last seen scuttling under the desk. Because of this distraction, there may be typos and grammar issues along the way.

My lovely Bernina sewing machine is away for a service so I dusted down my old Singer Melodie 40 to get on with the toile for my 1947 dress. The Singer has been out of use for a while and although this is the machine I use for sewing things I wouldn't allow near the Bernina (paper, plastic, rubber etc), it's working a treat, much better than the ailing Bernina.  

My sewing machines don't have names, but I am quite sentimental about them. The Singer was my 18th birthday present, and a very fine present it still is, because with it I have had the opportunity to experience all sorts of creative adventures - making clothes, hats, bags, curtains for numerous windows long left behind. It took a hot summer of overtime as a chambermaid to save up for the Bernina. However, I discovered last week Mr K has named my dressmaker's dummy after the robot in Metropolis. For the past 23 years it has just been "the dummy" as far as I was concerned, until Mr K needed to borrow it for a work display and then it turns out she's called Maria. 

Mr K asks Maria about her favourite fabrics

There have been occasions over the past 20 odd years where I have been needlessly bored; I could have been sewing or making something. But I just have to push on and make the best use of now. To be fair, in the past three years there has been little time to squander. This year has been a fairly creative period, although I hoped I would have achieved more than I have.  

I now have a bit more time and money for creative adventures as last month, I finally got round to taking my driving test. I had Mr K's dad's driving gloves in the car for luck, as he was a calm, encouraging presence when I was learning to tackle single track roads pitted with potholes on our missions to find good tea and cake around the region. What has this got to do with sewing? Well not much directly, but Mr K's dad also helped me appreciate the value of having a project on the go - which is why I started my year-long project of making a garment a month. I wrote about it in this blog entry. 

So, to the business of actually making stuff. My local sewing shop had no calico so I have had to make up my toile in this poly cotton gingham. The dress is actually quite quick to make and the instructions are straightforward. This is how the toile turned out (this is it straight from the sewing machine so it's a bit crumpled); I eventually settled on the size 12:

Butterick B5209 1947 dress - toile

Initial thoughts: am wondering if pleating might look smarter for the skirt rather than the gathers? Does the front midriff really need a seam up the front or would one piece be better? Or should I just get on with the real thing now? It needs to be a little neater to the body on the side seams under the armholes - it doesn't look so bad on Maria but it's a little flappy on me. 
Maybe I could make more of a cap sleeve... or just get on with it.

Here's the fabric I've bought for the actual dress. I had to buy two lengths from different suppliers but the dyelots seem pretty similar in daylight. This should give me enough to match up the pattern at the midriff and skirt seams.

Joel Dewberry Aviary 2 - Sparrows

It's not the cheeriest fabric for a wedding, so I was thinking a cocktail hat in a plum or deep pink colour and some vintage style shoes might jazz it up. I have been a bit crap at sticking to my garment-a-month rule (so long as I have 12 things by the year end) but I have been utterly resolute in the no-buying-clothes-except-underwear-and-shoes part of the plan. This is what I'm reminding myself as I feel a bit of guilt for buying these shoes online last night. There were some lovely raspberry coloured ones but they had sold out. These are probably more sensible anyway. Will definitely need to add a bit of colour with the hat now.

Fly London Peak shoe 

Buying the shoes online means I shouldn't have to cram in another trip to Edinburgh before Kath's wedding...which is a shame because I was hoping to catch up with my friend (and ask for an invisible zip masterclass) who makes the lovely things that you can see at  Mister Thread's Needlework Emporium. 

My Bernina has since come back good as new! It sounds so much quieter and the feed-dog has been reset - what a difference. I'll not leave the service quite so long next time (16 years - not good). So the Singer is back in its case. Poor old Singer.

Everything in Its Right Place

A month sounds like a long time in which to make a garment. I haven't exactly chosen anything complicated to make so far but quite often, by the time I've done all my chores and the Little Creature is in bed, I can't be bothered to kneel on a bony floor and trace patterns, or - most dreaded sewing chore of all - cut out fabric.

The other evening I could have got cracking with my next project. Mr K suggested we watch Star Trek instead and leave sewing for another day. "You can make me a tabard," he said blithely. "It'll only take an hour." Star Trek won on that occasion, but be careful what you wish for, Mr K...

I also missed an evening of sewing time by going to the pictures to see Prometheus. Despite all the fantastic effects and super technology of the future (instant carbon dating on unknown planets for example, or a Photo-Me booth that performs surgery), Mr K spotted a serious flaw of the future - poor quality luggage. If you'd travelled across space to collect a valuable artefact, you'd likely have a special kind of case for it - perhaps one that floats or has lights or something. Or has a strap. They forgot to pack such a thing on the Prometheus. Next, you have to transport the head of an android containing life changing information on man's creators to your spaceship. Would you be using some old bag with a dodgy zip that would show you up at the launderette..? I suppose even in the future people will be grappling with the futility of bad design.  

In a blatant act of procrastination poorly excused as an effort to get more sewing and knitting done, I have been tidying up my sewing room. Somewhere in this room there is a dead slug. It left a silvery pattern on the rug last month but I never tracked it down. If I push on with this project-dodging tidying up I expect I'll find it under a pile of papers or stuck to a pattern piece. If I cleared out all the boxes of yarn, fabric and ephemera from under the bed I'd probably find it fairly quickly, but this is exactly the task that will push me back to my sewing project. The slug can wait.

Mr K gave me these old crates for storing my knitting patterns and sewing books which has made the room appear instantly tidier:

New purpose for old crates found in the shed

Well after a delayed start, I decided to make the Vogue 2011 long sleeve top next - thought I'd better tackle my fear of the overlocker with a nice easy project. It's turned out to be a good choice as it's a quick make and I was able to use the overlocker for most of the project. I followed the pattern instructions fairly closely but they don't account for overlocking. I'm not so pleased with the armholes but I'm not sure how much I can do to resolve that on this garment. If I make it again I will need to adjust the pattern to take account of my narrow shoulders. It might be worth resetting in the sleeves to see if I can ease the puckering in the upper third of the armhole.

June top and April skirt

There was some faffing about with the machine to get a 3-stitch overlock set up, a little slower than setting up a sewing machine as there are more things to thread and it's a bit fiddly. But the results were pleasing, and quick too. I think I need a bit more practice to get more control with the foot pedal - at the moment it's either warp factor 8 or nothing. (Using my sewing machine after that feels tediously slow). I used woolly nylon in the loopers for the first time for this project and I'm quite happy with the results; it's got a nice stretch and soft feel.

Overall, I think I chose the right size and made a reasonable fabric choice for this project. (The fabric's a little clingy for my liking but it does feel very comfortable). It's been a good opportunity to make friends with my overlocker. Now I have a better understanding of setting it up for different requirements.

I like the cap sleeve version

Next up is a dress for Kath's wedding in October. Better start thinking about it now so I can get some fabric and start sewing! I've got this Butterick one as a possibility but am still looking, perhaps I should go for something more Autumnal like a wool blend suit.

There's a very nice version of this dress here.

So for July, I'd better get on with the delayed Vogue trousers. I've got the fabric and the toile (but not altered yet). Got some baby knitting on the go too.

Still haven't found the slug.

Adventures Close to Home

The January skirt is finished at last. I'm not happy with the result though, and it's unlikely to be worn. Mr K has given his critique and he's spotted all the things I wasn't happy with but was trying to ignore. I might add a pic when I've stopped sulking.

The skirt has taken up so much time (mainly with unpicking), I've let it eat into time allocated for other projects. I suppose I've learned a few things on the way. The pattern wasn't that difficult, but I did make some bad choices with fabric.

I was tacking it the other night and had a sudden reminiscence of the woman who taught us sewing at primary school. She was pretty stern and economical with praise. Her name was Mrs Harrison; I haven't thought about her in nearly 30 years. It was heartening that I could remember her name, and not that of the teacher who, exasperated with my inability to grasp the concept and purpose of long division, asked if I was stupid. 

In Mrs Harrison's class there was only one sewing machine and none of us were allowed to use it. We did the tacking or hand stitching and she did the big seams for us on the machine. The fabric seemed to pass through her fingers in a blur. I really wanted to get my hands on that sewing machine. Eventually I got to use my stepmother's Singer under close supervision. She was also a good teacher, very particular about preparation and things like tacking.    

Here's the garment I completed for March.


It's another cheat as I started this Nessie tank in 2007 and then hid it in a bag when I started some other more interesting project. It's a Martin Storey design in a lambswool/cashmere blend - nice yarn to knit with.

In spite of it taking five years to complete, the pattern is actually a quick knit. There were just a lot of gaps between putting down the needles and picking them up again. (The yarn colour is a bit more earthy than in this photo). I'd probably add another 1" into the body length if I knitted it again.

My next project is meant to be this Vogue pattern for trousers (view A). I've got some lightweight denim set aside for this and have made a toile in a size 12. It seems to fit as well as any trousers I've bought from a shop but it doesn't help that the toile is in a light, unflattering colour. I might do an easy skirt for April and start the trousers in May.

The Little Creature has been great company lately, and full of curiosity (one recent query: do birds burp?). We haven't ventured far lately, but there's been stone skimming at the river, random digging in the garden and making dens with blankets and dining chairs. His enthusiasm is good to be around.