Sunday 30 January 2022

January catch up

 It’s school holidays, so I should have got a lot of sewing done…but it has been just soooo hot, I get about 15 minutes or so out in my sewing shed - with 2 portable fans on- but then have to call defeat and come back inside the house! No air con inside either, just bigger fans & insulation, which my shed does not have!

I did manage to make 2 dresses - one was cut out last year & not sewn. When I did sew it up, mostly on my vintage singer, such a dream machine to sew with!- I realised that cotton sateen is great for a skirt, but not so much for a dress. Well not this pattern anyway. A bit too stiff, too much fabric in the back. But otherwise I like the pattern & the sleeves work well. I plan to use the pattern again, just with a more drapey fabric next time.


I compared it to an op shop scuba fabric type dress I have, which I added some darts to & shaped the sides a bit; drew sone lines on & added a bit of shaping. It does look better now ( I do like the print!) but I have not worn it again yet to get a photo. Bit annoyed I cut the front out in 2 pieces - it was supposed to have a centre split at the neckline, but I decided not to include it.At least the pattern is busy enough the front centre seam is not too  noticeable.

It fits over my head with a wiggle, and the classic tip ( leant from my Mum & Nana) to put a silk scarf over your head to cover your hair & make up before putting a dress on over your head! 


The second dress is my favourite basic A- line - I may have about 4 or 5 of these now! 

Can’t remember if the fabric was an op shop find, or maybe from Super Cheap fabrics just before they closed the Brunswick store. Has a nice 60’s vintage vibe, hence I added patch pockets instead of my usual side pockets. The fabric has a tendency to fray, so I overlocker all the edges first before sewing it together; this allowed me to simply turn the overlocker edges in & stitch them down for a super quick neck and arm finish. Tempted to add a white PeterPan collar, but that might be just too much! Have not worn this yet as I only finished the pockets yesterday, will be wearing it tomorrow.



Tuesday 18 January 2022

The Sewing Machine

 I had read about this book somewhere ( probably while searching online for sewing/ history books I would guess!) so I ordered a second hand copy from World Of Books. It arrived last week and I read it yesterday, then got up & finished it before breakfast today. That makes 4 books read in the last 5 days! 


The book tells the story of “ One  Sewing Machine. Two families. Three secrets. Four generations. Millions of stitches” - and begins in 1911 at the Singer Sewing Machine factory in Clydebank, Scotland. It was a lovely story, and in the Acknowledgements the author Natalie Fergie references a film of the Singer Factory in the National Library of Scotland, entitled “ Birth of a Sewing Machine”.

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Wow, the film is spectacular, absolutely fascinating. And even more amazing to think that my 201K was made in a similar factory nearby in Kilbowie. Here is the link to the film - Birth of a Sewing Machine

Every part of the manufacturing process was done on site, from casting the metal body, enamelling the machine body and adding the transfers ( which were also made at the factory) to making the needles, the cabinets, and shipping the machines off all over the world. They even had their own printing press for the manuals! 

 Of course it was all done by hand - there was an amazing array of specialist equipment, tools and machines involved, but still …to watch the film and see all the pieces assembled together by hand, tested and polished ( each needle was hand tested, mind blowing!) it is utterly fascinating to watch. To think that someone built my Singer, put the decals on, the drive shaft and crank wheel, the bentwood cover ( which I really must oil & take more care off!), polished it and wrapped it up ready to be shipped off… the stories it could tell! 

I just had it serviced last week, because the bobbin wheel was playing up. I have not had a chance to try it out yet - today is the day! I just bought a piece of fabric with a lovely vintage-y looking print, I think I will make it into a dress -and sew it up on my vintage Singer machine!



Here is a great website  - Singer - for some history of the Singer Factories, as well as lots of info about the different machines. 


Wednesday 12 January 2022

any one for chess?


During a recent op shopping trip with a friend & her 18 year old daughter,  we were looking at clothes, talking about different styles, and discussing vintage styles in particular. Miss E mentioned that she liked the show “ The Queen’s Gambit” and liked the clothes the main character wears. She also said that she has been invited to a party with the theme of something starting with “E”, so I showed her the “Gambit collection” of patterns at Sew Different UK. ( The main character in the series is Elizabeth “ Beth” Harmon)
When I got home I was still thinking about the top I had seen in the patterns, so found a pattern for a boxy top I had made before, dug around in the stash, drew a plan an whipped up a wearable muslin. Of course as soon as I finished, I worked out a better - and easier way to make it!  But Miss E was happy with it, I must catch up with her & check if it fits ok!
Apologies for the bad photo, the fabric is still creased from being folded up for a while.

Wednesday 5 January 2022

Quick sashiko update

 Just popping in a quick post to link this video for some great tips onSashiko stitching. I really must remember to leave loops of extra thread at the end of each row, to allow some space & so the stitches don’t get tight. And I must must must try to develop that quick in and out wiggle style of stitching!

I have tried some patching/ repair work on some of my jeans - have been going through my “ repairs” box since Christmas. So far so good, tempted to add some extra patterns now, drawing a design on & stitching on the inside, I saw it in another sashiko story video.