There's a hole in the bucket

If I had a bucket list (which I don’t), I’d be able to check off “sew a garment out of silk.” I finally finished the top version of Simplicity 1699 (dress version here) and let me tell you, silk and I will probably never be besties unless someone else is doing the sewing.

Eddie (L) and Wally (R) wanted
to be photographed.

I did a lot of reading online before ever laying scissors to fabric, which led me to run out and get some things just for this project:

• Bought new dressmaker scissors that will only be used on silk and the like
• Bought new silk straight pins and a different colored magnetic pin holder – I even cleverly wrote “silk pins” on the side in case the other sewist in my house gets confused
• Placed the fabric on top of paper
• Cut out all pieces in single layers (groan)
• Serged all edges – which was another groan because that stuff wants to move
• Pressed and ironed this garment probably seven times more than normal (and it still needs more pressing)*

I mostly like the top but will probably redo the hem. I added a band of fabric cut to match the peplum at the hemline (it’s some lining material) so that the hem would float and boy does it. So I think I will unpick my hem (can I get another groan? It took me 30 minutes to hand stitch that hem), cut off all but 5/8 of the fabric, re-serge the raw edge and redo the hem. If that doesn’t stop the floating, well then the top will just have to float. I don’t want it any shorter.

Made this skirt too, New Look 6082

In really exciting news, I won some amazing fabric from Sew Melodic and it arrived today. Isn’t this gorgeous? Now I need to figure out what to make that will showcase the fabric and look good on me.

Kent hadn't heard of the song "There's a Hole in the Bucket" so just in case you haven't either, here you go:



*I read somewhere that you should spend about three times as long at the ironing board pressing and ironing your sewing projects as you do at the sewing machine actually sewing them. This project blew that proportion right out of the water, plus I spent a crazy amount of time carefully pinning and repinning everything.

Works in progress

My silk top is cut out.

I cut it out in single layers, what a pain.

All done.

Kent is making good progress on shirts for our two grandsons.

He calls his machine "pretty peacock"
because it's got art on the front

Two tiny collars!

I’m on tap to make their pants and our granddaughter’s dress and little jacket. These will be for Easter so we have a little time. Since they live in Virginia though, I’d like to get the clothes done and there in plenty of time so that if there are any fitting issues, we can get them fixed.

Finally, Eddie has been supervising us in his typical laid back way.

He's in a box of fabric. Of course.

Missed the deadline

But I have a great reason. I flat ran out of time today to cut out my silk top because I was too busy finishing a wearable muslin from the same pattern I’m going to use for the top.

One of the best things about following other sewists’ blogs is that often they will see potential in a pattern I’ve rejected as unsuitable or ugly or whatever. Sew Ruthie did that a couple of years ago with a New Look jacket pattern – after seeing her version, I made it up for myself and it’s still in rotation.

This Simplicity pattern is another one I’d similarly rejected, until I saw how Sew Melodic had sewn it up. Mostly I thought it wouldn’t be flattering or that I would have a hard time getting the dress or top to fit properly. I was wrong on both counts, I’m happy to say. I tried something different for this dress: I cut a 12 on top and graded to a 14 at the waist. And the top fits beautifully. I do wonder though, if these sleeves fit so well because they are raglan. I suspect set in sleeves in a 12 would end up being too small. But that’s not the case here and although I don’t have a picture of the back of the dress, I can tell you that I have no neck gaping going on.

I'll get the top cut out tomorrow and maybe completed, too. The dress was an easy enough sew and now that I've made it once, making it again as a top should go pretty quickly.

As a side note, I’m very glad to have a photographer living with me. He very kindly photoshopped out the marks left by my socks, which I took off just before he took these pictures. Now that is love.

It’s been lovely but I must scream now*

This has been a weird week.

I’ve had nothing but frustration on the coat front. I decided to add buttons but didn’t have anything suitable on hand so I ordered some. When the order arrived, two of the three packs were missing.

So many buttonholes! White thread was on Kent's machine, 

and the black thread was on mine.

In the meantime, I practiced and practiced and practiced buttonholes on the same combination of fabric layers and interfacing as my coat. Our two machines each have an automatic buttonhole option which means you only need to get the first one right in terms of length and style and then the machine will make all the rest the exact same way. Only . . . well not really, not when you’ve got to make the buttonholes up close to a seam, which is where these need to be (I checked on a couple of RTW coats). So the automatic buttonhole feature was out, and so was the keyhole buttonhole which is what you see on RTW coats. In fact, the best buttonhole of all the practices ones I did was the one I did with the manual buttonhole foot. Well OK then, I decided, no big deal. I can make five buttonholes easy-peasy. But not until my buttons get here.

As usual, the switch to DST has messed up my sleep cycle which in turn affects my running. Monday morning when taking the trash barrels to the curb, I realized it would have been a beautiful day for a run if only I hadn’t overslept by an hour. There’ve been so few good running days that I hate to lose one to something as stupid and arbitrary as the switch to DST. I slept late today too but ran anyway. I don’t like to run when traffic gets heavy. Unlike Boston, where the pedestrian/runner rules and car drivers pay attention, Kansas City only pays homage to cars. I have to be incredibly careful when traffic is heavy because the car drivers here really don’t look for pedestrians.

A quick note about the new badge at the top of the right column. I have a bad habit of getting fabric I love and then being afraid to do anything with it (see also my coat fabric, which I had for two years and also the Diary of a Sewing Fanatic give away fabric, which I also had for nearly two years). A few weeks ago, Kent and I were able to get some fabric from Kaplan’s before the store closed for good. This fabric is silk, I forget which designer (because that’s all Kaplan’s carried) and the thought of cutting into it makes me very nervous. But that’s just silly and so by March 22, I will have either a top or dress cut out and ready to go. I only have a yard and a half of it, although it’s 60” wide, so finding a pattern that works will also be a challenge.

*Today's blog title was on a bumper sticker I had for a while. I thought it was funny and it perfectly describes this week.