Customizing Matilda; Part 1

I have needed a dress form for a long time. Years ago I made one of those duct tape forms, but I had no way to actually use it. I had no stand to put it on so it hung on a hanger for years, unused, before it was eventually thrown out when my mother sold her house.

I had been hoping and saying someday for my own dress form since I started making my own clothes again, especially after taking some classes in Apparel Construction and Tailoring at Johnson County Community College. They have a fabulous Fashion Design and Merchandising Dept. So then this year for my birthday my fiancé got me one. It's an adjustable form. Fine. Only problem is, it doesn't go up large enough for me. *sigh* So I need to pad it to fit me. 

Before I get to far, I need to name my dress form. She came with a sticker which had the name Celine, but I think that was just a brand name. I've decided to name her Matilda because I like the name. It seems to fit.

So how do I make Matilda a second me. I kind of had an idea, but couldn't quite figure out something that would work.  Luckily for me the crafting class website, Craftsy.com (I'm a member, it's a free site and they have some free classes) has a class on making a dress form fit you called "Customize Your Dress Form." It's a great resource. 

To start I opened all the dials on Matilda to their maximum and then I measured and compared them to my measurements. One thing I need to figure out is how to lengthen her torso. Her center back measurement is 1 inch shorter than me, and her center front is 3 inches shorter. Hummm, this is going to take some figuring. More on that later.

So I watched the classes and went to work. I covered the openings with craft paper. The video recommends using oak tag or cut up file folders (same.thing). But I didn't have any and, being the impatient type when I want to start something, I went with what I had to hand, craft paper, the kind used for scrapbooking. I had it so I used it. The video also recommends using duct tape to attach the paper, something I can totally recommend. I used painters tape. Mistake! Painters tape is meant to be peeled off of the surface to which it is attached. Every time I brushed against it with my hand it kept wanting to peel off. I had already planned to put a knit fabric cover over Matilda before covering with padding, and now it turns out the cover was a good idea. It helps keep the tape from peeling off while I cover Matilda with the padding. The picture on the right of Matilda covered with the knit fabric was taken before I put the craft paper over the open spaces.

Now to make the outer cover for Matilda. It's recommend in the video that you use poplin for a cover. I like to go inexpensive and you can't get any more inexpensive than muslin. I suggest a middleweight quality muslin, not too flimsy yet not too stiff. You also don't want to pick a fabric color that will be too different. You want one that will look nice when the form is just standing in your workroom but won't clash with whatever fabric you might work on. That's another reason to use the muslin, specifically unbleached muslin. The natural ecru color is a nice neutral color.  If you wanted another type of fabric, broadcloth would be good, too. Most broadcloth comes in solid colors so you could go with a nice light gray or another color in a pale tone. Prints are not advised.

And then there's the pattern to use. It's suggested that you use a pattern with princess seams that go up to the shoulders both front and back. The video recommends a Vogue pattern, V8828, and three McCall's patterns, M6076, M6887, and M5847. Though the last one is out of print and may not be available at your fabric store. It is, however, still available on the McCall's website. I'm using a Connie Crawford design sold by Butterick, B5538. It's a blouse, but it fits me, I know because I've made it before, and it has the proper princess seams. Connie Crawford designs mostly for curvy, plus size ladies, however she does have sizes for Misses sizes, 3 to 20w. The pattern would have to be lengthened, but it's workable.

Among the other pattern companies, the only other pattern I found that has the correct princess seams is from New Look patterns. They are part of the Simplicity pattern company. The pattern is New Look 6299. It has a flared skirt which isn't necessary for the form cover. But that will be taken care of in the fitting process. 

Okay, so now what! Cut out the pattern. Because I'm using a pattern I've used before I didn't have to do any adjusting to my pattern other than adding to the seam allowances. All commercial patterns produced for home use have a 5/8" seam allowance already added to them. The video tells to add another 3/8" around each pattern piece so that you have a full inch of seam allowance. This is to make fitting easier. I didn't really pay attention to that part and added a full inch to the 5/8" and ended up with 1 5/8" seam allowance. OOPS!!! Oh well, at least I know I have enough room.

So now to sew it together. Using a basting stitch, which for me is the longest stitch on my machine, and a 1" seam, I sewed the cover together. Since it was late at night and I needed to get a zipper because the one I had was way too short. You'd think a 30 inch zipper would be long enough. Nope. So I just draped it on Matilda. Oh Boy, was she going to need padding out. So when I want and got the correct size zipper (a 36" upholstery zipper that was the last they had in stock) I also picked up another roll of high-loft quilt batting, just in case I needed more. If not, then I can use it on a future quilting project.

This is a work in progress, and as such will be a multi-part blog. Next time I will tell of the zipper installation, my darling fiancé helping me with fitting process, and possibly the padding of Matilda. Stay tuned for all the riveting details. Or as my favorite news commentator Rachel Maddow says with some of her stories, Watch this space. Ta-ta for now.

Cela

Wedding Costumes, Part 2

Okay, so in our last segment I just needed to serge the Şalvar pieces and put them together. The serging was pretty straightforward. No curves, no odd angles, just straight edges to sew. Excellent!

For those that have never seen, much less used a serger machine before, immediately to the right of the presser foot is a very sharp cutting blade that trims off excess fabric and/or threads from the garment pieces to give them a finished edge. Garment pieces can also be sewn together on the serger. Look at the seams of any garment you've bought from the store. Knit garments especially. All the stitching you see on the seam edges is done with an Overlock machine that is known commonly to home sewers as a Serger. These machines have been a Godsend to the home sewer. (I hate that specific Heteronym!) They allow the home sewer to make a garment that looks just as professionally made as anything produce at a fashion couture house. Though you have to be a bit careful when sewing with a serger if you've never done so before. I suggest practicing using some scrap fabric to get the hang of the machine before serging your actual garment pieces. I think one of  the reasons the machine is called a Serger is because it can Surge ahead of you if you aren't paying attention. But I digress.

So then I sewed the Şalvar together. First had to make sure I got the cut edges in the correct order. I separated the pieces and then opened them up. I had cut the pieces on the fold so I now had 2 big garment pieces cut straight along the bottom and top edges, and cut at an odd angle along both sides. If you look back down to Wedding Costumes, Part 1, you'll see what I mean. Putting the Right sides of the fabric together, I stitched both the pieces together along the upper angle cut.

 Then it was time to stitch the legs together. Because of the of angle of the edges, stitching the legs together required a stop in the middle where the crotch came together. I stitched all the way to the middle of the crotch seam, back-stitched a few stitches, made sure the needle was down in the middle of the seam, lifted the presser foot and turned the fabric to the new angle. When I started stitching again I made a few stitches, back-stitched back to the crotch seam, and then continued going forward along the seam to the end. Pretty straightforward, to those of us who sew on a regular basis. Though some are probably asking, "Why the extra backstitching?" Well, crotch seams are notorious for ripping out, especially in those garments not made very well. (I hesitate to use the word Cheap, but inexpensive clothes are made cheaply.) I just don't want DF's backside to come out at the wedding.

So next I stitched up the hem of the pants. All I did was a simple 1/2 inch hem. Because of the angle of the leg seam, I needed to let out the seam a little bit. Because there is a wide enough opening to accommodate DF's foot, I don't need to worry to much about seam coming apart. Also I did some additional back-stitching to insure the seam wouldn't seperate. I then just topstitched the hem in place.

I'm just glad I'm not making this costume for a historical reenactment because I would probably be laughed off the premises.   Historical reenactors are sticklers for accuracy.

The next-to-the-last thing to do on the Şalvar is the waistband. When I was looking at pictures of actual garments of the time period online I noticed that the waistband was just some other bit of fabric added to the top. It didn't have to match the garment fabric. Cool! While I like the fabric I chose, it would been too bulky for a waistband with a drawstring. So I chose a piece of scrap fabric I had that was the right length to fit the waist of the Şalvar. I cut it to a width of 4 inches to allow for seam allowances, serged the edges, and stitched it in place along one side after making sure to fold over the ends 1/2 inch. I did not stitch down the ends which I realize, in hindsight, would have made for a neater edge. But I can always do that by hand.

So with the waistband partially sewed on, time to finish it. Press the waistband so that the seam allowance is up on the waistband. Then fold the waistband down to cover the seam allowance and making sure the waistband edge is at least 1/4 inch past the seam allowance. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when I sew, so I decided to stitch-in-the-ditch, sewing from the right side very closely along the seam line. It's hard to do well and even the most experienced sewer will mess up once in a while.  Good thing this waistband will be under the rest of DF's costume so it doesn't have to be 100% perfect. Thank goodness!

The last thing I need to do is get them on DF again so I can mark the placement of the buttons and loops at the ankles. I'll be making matching buttons and stitching a line of thin elastic loops at the hem of the Şalvar to peg them. It was the fashion of the time, though probably not with elastic button loops.

Normally I'd have a picture of the finished garment, but I'm going to wait till I have everything done and DF gets to model. Hope you don't mind the wait.

My sewing room disappeared!

Sometime late last fall we were informed that D's 1st hubby and daughter were going to need a place to live because they were being evicted from their apartment. D & the ex-hubby moved into this apartment 17 years ago and has been the only home their daughter has ever known. Why were they being evicted??  The usual; non-payment or late-payment of rent.

To be fair, this was not entirely ex-hubby's fault.  A year ago, the local cable/internet company he worked for was sold and the new company decided to do away with the local call/help center and either move the employees to their other call centers in North Dakota or Georgia. All the employees were given the option of moving or being let go.  Ex-hubby decided he didn't want to uproot their daughter just as she was entering high school so he was let go. So he was released from work in May of 2011. But this is a College Town and August is the busiest month for landlords and utility providers. In fact almost every lease or rental agreement in town goes from Aug 1st to Jul 31st. So the company did ask him back for the summer to help facilitate the orders for the July move-out and the August move-in! But unfortunately in June he was not employed and didn't have his unemployment fully set-up yet so he got a little behind on his rent. Funny thing, when one gets behind on paying the rent it's very hard to catch-up.  He did start getting unemployment regularly, but it was too little too late. By then the wheels for their eviction were already in motion. The end result was that my sewing room became his bedroom, and my sewing room ended up being one corner of the front room. (In our house the living room is called the front room because we call the family room in the addition the living room.)

NOTE: Our house is a ranch style (very popular here in Kansas) that originally had the usual living room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms and a bath. Then sometime after it was built a family room, laundry room and a 4th bedroom were added. One of the 3 original bedrooms was my sewing room and the additional 4th was a catchall room. 

So, I lost my sewing room and I have to say that I'm not very pleased. But what am I going to do?  We can't just throw the ex-hubby and daughter out just so I can have my sewing room back. D would have my head on a pike if I so much as thought about kicking them out. So I'll have to live with the situation and make adjustments.

The biggest adjustment I'm having to make is going from a nice 12'x12' room with a closet to hang clothing projects and a door I can close to keep out the 3 cats who would insist on using my worktable as a bed (or worse, having our one UN-neutered male come in and spray). I could just leave a project on my table, close the door, and walk away.

Now I have a 6'x6' space (and that's just a guess on size) in an open room with no closet (except for the front hall closet) and no door to close off said cats. This means I've had to invest in some plastic totes to put the fabric when I'm not working on something. I still need to get smaller bins (with lids.. maybe) to put projects in progress. And I also need shelving to put the bins on, something the cats won't climb up on (yeah, good luck with that). I'm also trying to keep my area organized so I can find things. It doesn't help that in the last 3 months since ex-hubby and daughter moved in the whole house has become even more disorganized than before and my little area has become the favorite dumping ground for a whole bunch of stuff - some mine, some other people's.

I wonder if Shoji screens would work to close off my area a little bit.... don't know if the cats would try to climb them, but it would be worth a try. What's the worst that could happen?? They climb the screen and cause it to fall??? Maybe... But with any luck that would scared them enough that they wouldn't want to do it again. Worth a shot. Maybe if I can find something like this so it could be a multi-tasker. Nah!! It's just take up too much room, and I have so little to spare. I mentioned the screens to D and she thought that because the cover was fabric that the cats would claw their way through, but I don't know. Maybe......... Maybe not... But it's something to look into.

Our local Hobby Lobby store has plain screens with artificial rice paper coverings so they feel more sturdy than if they were made with real rice paper. And they stand directly on the floor - no legs - so it should (notice I said "should?") keep the cats from crawling underneath the bottom.

Oh well, I'll come up with something. In the meantime I'll have to bear with the hassle of not having my sewing room. If we owned this house and had enough money to built something, I'd put up a shed in the back yard and make it into my sewing room.  Now that would be cool!! Something to keep in mind for when we move back to Upstate NY!!

Making a Tetrahedron Pouch

I made a Tetrahedron pouch the other day.  Isn't is cute?  Okay, so the picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.

I used the instructions posted here but  I couldn't find the 4 inch zipper called for in the instructions, so I had to used a 5 inch zipper and enlarged the measurements. It came out okay, but it could have been better.  The instructions called for batting, which I didn't have, so I used a sturdy craft interfacing called Peltex. It's lightweight but stiff enough to be used to make fabric bowls, and I used it in a corset I made earlier this year.

So then I tried another one.  I still made mistakes but this time I documented most of my work.

I started with some scraps of red/black shot taffeta I had from the costume that went with the aforementioned corset.  It has a wonderful iridescent quality that just screams expensive. I had flat-lined it with some Unbleached Osnaburg Fabric to give it a little more stability. For the pouch lining I used some scraps of pink cotton. I cut the fabric into 6 1/2 inch squares - two of the taffeta and two of the lining - and serged together the taffeta and Osnaburg because the taffeta will fray very easily. Often all you have to do is look at it and it frays.  If you don't have a serger you can zigzag the edges, or even use some Fray-Chek (c).  I still didn't have any batting and I decided not use the Peltex. In retrospect I think I should have because the pouch ended up a little too floppy. Oh, well. Live and learn.

Then I also two 2 x 2 inch squares of the taffeta and stitched it onto the ends of the zipper. That worked out okay, even though I did a dumb move; I trimmed the extra zipper tape on the stop end a little too closely so I really had to pay attention or I could have broken my needle. Note to self: extra zipper tape is there for a reason!


Anyway, here's what it looked like after I sewed the tabs onto the zipper. Only showing half of the zipper because I had already started sewing it onto the pouch when I remembered I was taking pictures of my progress. Oops!  Oh well. And on the far end you can barely see the stitching across the tab, it's almost not on the tab.  That's how close I was.  I have got to seriously rethink how to do these tabs because I'm messing up somewhere.

So next is adding decorative stitching or other embellishments the pouch. I did what the original template called for, parallel line quilting on the diagonal.  To start it just draw a line diagonally from corner to corner on the outer fabric. Then pin on your batting or interfacing (when you use them), and stitch on that line. Continue stitching parallel lines according to the width of your machine's presser foot.

My machine is cool in that it allows me to change the position of my needle from left to center.  When I stitched down along the line I drew I had the needle to the left because, as you can see from the above picture, I started out lining up the line I had drawn with the right edge of the opening on my zig-zag foot.  Once that was established I centered my needle and stitched down the next parallel line by lining up the right side of the presser foot with the previous row of stitching.  That distance is usually 1/4 inch.  Your machine may vary.  With the first pouch I did this stitching all the way across the fabric.

With this one I only did 5 rows before I decided to a little bit of lace.  The lace I used is 1/2 inch wide and is an ivory color with a reddish tinge that looks wonderful with the taffeta.
I lined up the loopy edge of it with the last row of stitching. Looking good!  I attached lace to the other square, too, but I wasn't sure they would match up properly so I stitched the squares so that they were both going the same way.  The pouch would have looked nicer if I had made the ends of the lace match up so that it looked like the lace was going around the pouch in an endless circle. A later picture will show what I mean.

So now it's time to attach the zipper. Pretty straightforward if you have been sewing for many years.  However, to the beginner stitcher attaching a zipper can be a foreign concept.  You don't want to do what I've done and used my zigzag. It's just that I cannot stand my zipper foot. It is poorly designed and keeps getting caught on things. If I put my needle in the left position with my zigzag foot then it works just as well as, or maybe even better than my zipper foot.


So after I got both sides sewed onto the zipper it looked pretty good.  I thought I was on the right track. Oh, and see what I said about the lace?  And I really didn't realize I had reversed the direction of the lace.  Look closely and you'll see that while the lace follows the same diagonal, the loopy edge is up on one side and down on the other.  Like I said, I made a lot of mistakes.

So now with the zipper in all I need to do is stitch up the sides.  This is where it gets tricky, sort of. To those who never understood Geometry, you may be asking yourself how is she going to turn two squares into a pyramid shape like in the picture at the beginning of this post. It's easy.  No, really, it's easy.  Trust me.

First you bring the outer pouch fabric together and then the lining fabric. This is the point when you decide if you want a strap or loop in the pouch.  If so, pin it to the outside fabric about 1/4" from the zipper head (where the zipper pull is when the zipper is closed). Okay, so, what about the zipper between the sides?

**

Pin the outer fabric all the way up to the zipper.  Then bend the seam allowance and the zipper's edge toward the lining side of the pouch, like in the picture on the left, then pin the lining together. Then stitch the edges making sure you leave a minimum 2 1/2 inch opening on one side of the lining or you won't be able to turn the pouch right-side out when you're finished.

***

 

***

 Now you're going to match the seams of both the outer and lining fabric and then pin them together like in these two pictures. Be sure to keep the opening in the lining facing out so you can turn the pouch right-side out.

**

Then you stitch the bottom edges together like in this picture.  See the gap in the stitching on the crosswise seam? That's the opening for turning.  Almost done.  Now all you have to do is turn it right-side out and then hand-stitch the opening closed.  It doesn't matter what kind of stitch you use. As long as it's secure and there are no loose loops of thread to catch on something.


There you have it! One Tetrahedron pouch to hold whatever you want.  The taffeta one I gave to a friend and she uses it for her gaming dice.  The one pictured at the beginning of this blog is  the one I use for my gaming dice. A friend wants one to use as a mini make-up bag to throw in her backpack. There are hundreds of uses.  Pick one.

 

Credits: Most of the pictures were taken by me, but a few were not.

**(c) http://www.craftpassion.com/2011/06/triangle-coin-purse-with-zipper.html

***(c) http://sewmesomethinggood.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-sew-coin-purse.html

Enjoy!

No Sewing Right Now

Okay, this is stupid... I start a new blog about sewing and I can't even work on any projects right now because we have a house guest and she is staying in my sewing room.  Originally she was going to be sleeping on the living room floor, but I decided that she might want some privacy.  So I cleaned up the room (trust me, I managed to clog the vacuum filters with enough thread bits to choke a horse) and put away my ironing board & iron, my serger table, and put away or threw out tons of fabric so she could have a halfway decent room to stay in. And there's nothing like having a house guest to make you realize how much crap you have cluttering your life.

So as soon as she leaves, which will be sometime next week, I'll be back sewing. I'll be working on costumes for my Sweetie and me.  We're part of a Costumed Wedding planned for December 17th and I have to get cracking or the bride will be ticked off and have my rear end in a sling.  I'll have 2 months to do all this and the bride is placing bets as to when I'll finish them because I can be a bit of a slacker.

So in case you're wondering what I will be sewing, here are pics of the pattern envelopes. 

I'm making Turkish costumes for us. This one is for my Sweetie.  I'll be making the blue & yellow outfit on the left, though I'll be doing it in shades of green, his favorite color.  The bride wants at least one of the greens be a jewel tone. I'll have to see what fabric is available and looks good with the other shades. It will be tricky, but I think I'll do okay.  I was not originally planning on doing the turban, but both the bride and her attendant have asked me to make one, so I guess I will.  My Sweetie wasn't too keen on a turban, but he's been outvoted.  Besides, isn't a wedding suppose to be the bride's day??  So what the bride wants, the bride gets.

Now, as to my costume, I will be wearing a Ghawazee Dancer's costume.  This pattern is says that the coat is adjustable to any size, so we shall see.  I've looked at the pattern instructions and pieces and it looks to be fairly easy, but that may be because I have a lot of experience when it comes to sewing. I definitely would not recommend either of these patterns to the novice.  

My costume will be in shades of purple which might prove difficult.  Purples and lavenders must all be on the same side of the color wheel or they will look horrid. If you put a purple that is more from the blue side of the color with one from the red side you wild have a color clash. Of all the color in the spectrum, purples and reds seem to have the hardest time with matching to each other. 

In addition to the coat I'll have to make the blouse, pants or skirt (I haven't decided yet) and other costume pieces that this pattern does not include. I've got to get cracking! 

Our guest is planning to leave early Thursday morning which means I'll have all day Thursday to get my sewing room back in order. This should be fun....... maybe.... maybe not...

Hello World!

Welcome to Cela Sews, the blog about me and my sewing. I have been sewing for over 40 years (did I just date myself??) and I like so show off my projects.

My maternal grandmother was a professional dressmaker back in the days when there was not a lot of manufacturing of clothing. Folks went to professional dressmakers and tailors to get their clothes, none of the conspicuous consumption we see women indulging in these days. I like to think I inherited some of my grandmother's eye and talent when it comes to making clothing and accessories.

What you will see on these pages are my projects, both in progress and the finished work.  They may be purses, pouches, and/or bags that I am making to sell on my soon to open store on Etsy.com, or they may be clothing or costumes I am making for friends or family.  Whatever they are, they will always be a project I have sewn.

Something to keep in mind when I post a project.  If it is a purse/pouch/bag I will also post templates and instructions so you can try and make one yourself.  Also, if I did not design the bag I direct you to the webpage where I found the project.  Though sometimes I will post printable templates as PDFs because many of the designers of the bags didn't think to do it, or they didn't know how to to make a PDF.

If the is an article of clothing I will NOT be posting any templates.  I will only post my thoughts, hints, and observations about the project.  And pictures, too.  I will also refer you to the pattern, pattern number, and the the company that printed it.

I hope you enjoy this blog, and thank you so much for your support.