Endless Bias Tutorial

Since folks requested it in the comments in my previous blog, here is a tutorial outlining how I make the "endless bias" for hong kong finishes and other seam binding. I don't purport to have invented this, I totally stole it from another tutorial online, but now I can't find it!!! So I can't link it here. It was on a quilting website somewhere, and no matter what I google I can't relocate the site. Who knows if the way I do it is even the "right" way? But, it works for me.

I start with a length of fabric, generally a fat quarter because they have some cute prints. I always prewash, because you never want your binding to shrink up and wrinkle your garment. After washing, press your fat quarter flat:


Fold one side over to make a right triangle, kind of like if you are going to make a folded paper hat or boat:


Trim away the excess so that you have a perfect square. While it is folded like this, press in the diagonal crease:


Open up the square and cut along the crease you just made:


Lay one of the resulting triangle right-side up, and place the other one on top, as shown:


Sew the two triangles together, using a very narrow seam allowance:


Press open the seam:


You will end up with a parallelogram with a seam running diagonally through the center:


Now, grab your chalk. On the top left "corner," mark in from the edge one inch (for a one inch wide bias strip):


Using a ruler, make marks down the fabric at intervals of one inch (or however wide you want the bias strip to be):


I like to do the same thing at a second spot on the fabric as well:


At your very first mark...in the upper left corner...cut the fabric for a short distance along the one inch marks, leaving the strip hanging:


Taking the edge of the parallelogram, bring the two short sides together. You will line up one edge with the spot where you have just cut away the strip. It will look all wadded up and screwy, but that is ok:


Sew again, using the same narrow seam allowance as before. You will end up with a one inch overhang, because remember, you lined up the edge of the fabric with the spot where you cut the strip away:


Press open your seam again, and you will see that now instead of a parallelogram you have a tube. You can see at the bottom left where the bias strip is started, and the overhang on the upper right:


Now, continue cutting where you have started. You will use the marks you made to keep your strip width regular, cutting around and around the tube in a spiral:


If all goes well, your end will finish where you have the overhang:


And here you have your finished bias tape:


I wrap it up on a piece of scrap cardboard and secure it with a pin:


And there you have it! How to get over 20 feet of bias strip from a single fat quarter!

First Attempt at a Fitted Jacket

I just completed Butterick 5331, a fitted short sleeve or sleeveless jacket with shoulder princess seams. I have never really attempted a fitted jacket, so selected this one as a place to start because it was unlined, and that seemed a bit simpler.

I did a little "snoop shopping" before deciding what I wanted to make, and found a number of short-sleeved jackets available in stores for summer. Many of them were in vibrant colors, like this Nanette Lepore, I found at Nordstrom:


Unfortunately, I don't have the money to spend $425.00 on a jacket that will be in style for one season, so I wanted to make a quick version, from some fabric that was not too expensive. I chose a 100% cotton tone-on-tone brocade in fuchsia.

Overall, the pattern was not difficult, but I made a couple of changes and small alterations, and I found a significant mistake in the instructions.

First, the mistake. I bought the 1 3/4 yard recommended for 45 inch width fabrics for view D. No matter what kinds of contortions I performed, how I laid out the pattern pieces, there was just no way to get the second set of the front center pieces cut (you have to cut 4, since the second set serves as a facing). I ended up having to go pack to the fabric store to get more fabric, praying that they still had some available, otherwise my simple, unlined jacket was going to become a not-so-simple lined one. Fortunately, they had some left and I picked up another yard. Since I now had fabric to spare, I decided to change from the small cap sleeves of view D, to the puff sleeves on view B.

Now, to the changes that I made...the instructions directed you topstitch the princess seams. I decided to do the princess seams as flat-fell seams, because that would give a similar "look" as topstitching, but would also serve a purpose, and hide the unfinished edges of the seams.


For the remainder of the seams, I used a hong kong finish, and bound the edges with binding strips made from a fat quarter I picked up on my last trip to the fabric store. Rather than cutting it into strips, I made "endless bias" and was able to get a long enough bias strip out of it to complete the binding on the jacket using only one fat quarter. If I remember to take pictures, I'll make a tutorial, but it is pretty simple...you basically just turn the fabric into a tube and cut the bias strips off of it like a spiral. Using that method, you can get over 20 feet of 1 inch bias strip from one fat quarter. I also added the hong kong binding to the edge of the front facing before stitching it down, and also the hem...rather than using hem tape.


The only fitting issue that I ran into was the width of the jacket. I did flat pattern measurements, comparing to an Ann Taylor jacket that I liked the fit of. Apparently, I had an attack of the stupids, because what I thought was "just like" the Ann Taylor jacket really didn't fit at all. It fit at the waist and hips, but was huge across the back and under the arms. Interestingly, the issue was not with the center back or the center front...the princess seams were all in the right place...but the side back and side front widened significantly.

I fixed it by putting the jacket on inside out, pinning out the extra, and re-sewing the side seam, tapering back out to the original seam near the waist. Then I re-cut the armscyes, so that they wouldn't be too small given my alterations.

It was not a case of simply cutting the wrong size, because I ended up cutting a full two inches out from underneath each arm. Comparing that with the pattern means that I cut something like a 14 across the back, tapering out to my standard 18 at the waist and hips. Normally I don't have to do this, but Butterick has always given me trouble with the width of their bodices. I made a truly spectacular disaster of a wadder from Butterick 5030, because the bodice pieces, while they fit at the waist, grew to such incredible size that the front of the dress gaped open like a bathrobe. And that was AFTER removing a good six inches under the arms. Seriously, who is Butterick designing these patterns for? Female body builders? Drag queens?

In the end, however, I was able to salvage the jacket and I think that it looks just fine. It will be a nice way to brighten up my wardrobe for work this summer. Plus, it gets so hot here in St. Louis, it will be nice to be able to look office-appropriate and not be busy melting inside a wool or synthetic suit jacket. I think it will look nice with either a black or white cami and coordinating pants.

Not Much Sewing....But Much Planning

I haven't been doing much sewing lately, but have been doing some planning, and helping my niece to work on her projects. On Sunday she sewed herself a pair of shorts with a scrap of embroidered denim that I had left from a pair of pants I made for my grandmother using Simplicity 3796. Interestingly, we used the same size for Sadie's shorts that I used for grandma's pants. I can't decide if it is a travesty that my grandmother has been so sick that she now wears the same size as an 11-year-old child, or if it is a bit alarming that my niece wears the same size as an adult woman.

In the meantime, I have been periodically working on some projects for myself. I had a length of ITY printed with a big floral, and I made a version of Butterick 4789, but was a bit disappointed. It turned out looking like a maternity dress! There is a huge "pouf" under the boobs right over the belly! I set it aside, because I'll probably chop it off and turn it into a shirt. With what was left, I made a shirt from New Look 6735, which turned out really well. The top is made with a center back seam, and at the bust line the front piece is significantly longer than the back, so it adds room for a full bust, yet without using a dart.

I also made a shirt with New Look 6807, and it turned out recockulously large. I cut the 18 I normally use, and the neck was giant! I could have stepped through it through the neckline! I didn't even bother hemming the sleeves and waistline. Thank goodness it was made from a remnant I picked up for $2.00 at the fabric store. From another $2.00 remnant of gray t-shirt knit, I made Simplicity 4076, with the gathered neckline and cap sleeves. That one turned out well, but none of what I have been working on lately are "review-worthy." Everything has been super simple, and I have nothing to add that hasn't already been pointed out.

I have also been doing some planning of projects for summer, and making sure that what I am making has some kind of correlation with what is available in ready-to-wear....because the fastest way to turn into Becky Home-ecky is to make something that has no relation to current styles.

First up:


I found this dress on JCrew for more money than I am willing to spend for a dress ($268.00, some colors on sale for $198.00). But I really like the style, the color....pretty much everything except the fact that it is made out of silk taffeta, and I really have nowhere to wear a dress made of taffeta.

But then I remembered....

I have this fabric:


It is a stretch sateen in a great magenta color.

And I have this pattern:


If you notice, this pattern is even a little better for someone with a bit of a belly, because the front is actually flat, and the gathers are moved out to the sides.

Another garment that I wanted for summer is a short-sleeved jacket:


I love the style and shape of this one, but it's a Nanette Lepore, and sells for the bargain price of $425.00 at Nordstrom.

Fortunately for me, Butterick also put out this pattern recently:


The jacket has shoulder princess seams, and a number of sleeve options. I am making it without ruffles, but can't decide whether to make the tiny cap sleeves or the puff sleeves. I did find, however, that the fabric estimates for 45 inch fabric was waaaaay off. You actually need about 3/4 a yard more than what they say.

Because I am obsessed with pink of late, I am making it from a hot pink cotton brocade, with tone-on-tone pansies. I think it will look nice with a cami and can be worn with any neutral pants for work.

I am also still on the quest for the perfect pant, and hope to finish another attempt this week. I NEED to test the alterations I made...but I just have no motivation to make pants. I would rather make fun summer dresses!!

Sadie's Sewing Adventures, Continued

My niece, Sadie, has continued to be completely enamored with sewing, and I see her pretty much every weekend now to continue to work on her projects.

Her most recent accomplishment is McCall 5627:


She completed View C, the long tunic with a band at the bottom. She wanted a long shirt to wear over leggings, and this one fit the bill fairly well. Here is her completed product:


This project, I stepped back and had her take the lead in interpreting the instructions, rather than me reading them and then explaining in my own words what to do. While the other way was producing garments at a fairly quick rate, she wasn't learning to rely on her interpretation of the instructions.

So this project actually took three sessions to complete. On the first day, she cut the pattern out. The second time we met, she completed the body of the shirt, and yesterday she finished the sleeves and lower band.

As she was essentially on her own for much of the project, we did have a few mishaps, including ironing the wrong side of the fusible interfacing, and missing a few notches in adding her markings to the pieces. But ultimately she was able to complete the vast majority of the shirt on her own.

Here are the places that she ran into trouble:

1. She had trouble interpreting where pattern pieces "belonged" when they weren't part of the shirt. For example, when the instructions said "sew together at shoulders," it was hard for her to determine just where the "shoulders" were when the pieces were disassembled.
   
2. There were also some words that she had just never heard before, like pivot and casing. We had to stop and talk about what those unfamiliar words meant.
3. She had some problems in adding the inside of the yoke, because you have to turn and pivot at all four corners of the neckline, then clip the seam allowances, and turn it to the inside. This all requires precision, something we are a bit short on right now.
4. There was a LOT of hand sewing on this shirt, and she has trouble with that. She pulls the needle so far, the thread comes out of the eye, she has trouble making regular stitches, and can't really control how deep she pushes the needle into the layers of fabric, and her stitches are visible from the other side in many places.

None of these issues are problems with the pattern. In fact, the pattern was excellent and the instructions very good for a beginner. The things that she had problems with are things that all beginners struggle with.

Some things that she did that were surprising were:

1. She set a sleeve all by herself. I did one sleeve for her to watch me do it, and then she did the other.
2. She is very good at distributing gathers. All sorts of gathers are on this tunic, and she caught on really quickly about how to pull the threads and distribute the gathers.
3. Her seams are really straight with regular seam allowances, which I think is exceptional for not only a beginner, but a child.
4. She doesn't have to be prompted to iron her seams, she remembered that lesson from our very first meeting and she regularly stops her sewing to iron her seams.

Overall, I am extremely happy with Sadie's work, and she is excited at the idea that she did this one "almost all by herself." She already has the fabric picked out for View A!

From Camp Shirt to Cool Retro Bowling Shirt

Recently I altered Butterick 3475, a simple camp shirt, for my nephew, who is super-skinny for a seven-year-old. He has practically lived in the shirt since I made it for him, so I have been working on two additional versions. The original was made in a skull and crossbone pattern:


I made a second version for him using another skeleton fabric that he picked out:


I didn't even notice until I was sewing it that it might be slightly inappropriate for a little one...well, in more than it is decorated with dancing skeletons. These skeletons are drinking beer and dancing on the tables, they are wasted!


Oh, well. Hopefully no one will notice. I also decided to make him a third version, but I wanted to "liven it up" a bit, and turn it into a retro-style bowling shirt, with the wide vertical stripe on either side of the placket.

I started by taking the original pattern that I made for him and drawing on it where I wanted the stripe to be:



I then re-traced the pattern in three parts, and added seam allowances:


From there, I cut out the pattern, cutting the center stripe from a contrast to the main part of the shirt. To prepare the front pattern pieces, I sewed the three pieces together. I used french seams, and then stitched them down on either side of the stripe:


I did that because I didn't want the fabric to ravel, and I also didn't want the seams to rub his chest, since he doesn't wear undershirts. The top stitching isn't very visible from the front:


If you look really closely, the red stripe isn't solid red. It has a scale pattern on it, to look like "dragon skin," to coordinate with the oriental dragons on the rest of the shirt. From there, I finished the front edge with binding like I normally do, and the piece is ready to sew normally:


Here is the finished product:



I think he's going to poo his little drawers when he sees them on Sunday! He's been bugging me about dragons for almost as long as he's been bugging me about skeletons. And flames.

Re-Use, Recycle, Restore

I have a friend who's mother-in-law is an absolutely MAD sewist. She has multiple rooms full of cabinets stuffed with fat quarters, bolts of fabrics, and the most incredible collection of Liberty lawns that I have ever seen. She has MULTIPLE top of the line embroidery machines, sergers, sewing machines, machines just for quilting...she has such an incredible collection of machines and STASH that she has to rent an apartment for it. It won't fit in her house. How crazy is that? Of course, I adore her and think that she is a mad genius and am planning to make her my bestest friend so I can get a key to that apartment...

But I think that seeing her studio really serves to illustrate the different levels that you can become involved in this crazy hobby. It makes me think....Do I really need a $3000.00 sewing machine? Or a $5000.00 embroidery machine? Or a $1600.00 serger? Or what about $400.00 for an iron? And don't forget the ironing board...

Of course, I would LIKE all of that, friends who have seen what I make have accused me of running a sweat shop out of my basement, but does that really fit with the "Cheap and Picky" mantra? Isn't my whole purpose of this blog to show how you can do these things in an economical way? And for that reason, I can comfortably answer those questions with a resounding "NO!" I do just fine with my iron from Target, thankyewverymuch.

If Mrs. Keller is one end of the spectrum, then I am unabashedly at the other end. Not only was most of what is in my sewing room purchased used, but a lot of it was free and very, very little of it is younger than me. In fact, my main machine is a Singer 401 picked up on Craigslist for $75.00:


For the most part, I also confine not only my machines but my stash and projects to a single room...the front guest bedroom. As of yet it can still function as a bedroom if I drop the machines into their tables and put away the folding table that I use for cutting (although I have been known to relocate to the dining room for cutting out very large projects).


I have three workstations set up (although there are actually 5 machines in the room. It's kind of like a game of "Where's Waldo?" Don't tell Jeremy there are five machines in there. And definitely don't tell him about the ones in the basement. He REALLY doesn't want to know about those. Even though they were free).

The 401 and my dressform is where I do most of my own work. Yes, the dressform is wearing a bra. There is no way to make my clothes fit her, otherwise! So, she gets a little padding:


And while she has her own machine that lives downstairs, when my niece is here likes to work on the Singer 603e. That is her gigantic pile of crap lying on it right now.


This is my grandmother's machine, that she purchased in 1976. It is also the machine that I learned to sew on, perched on her lap. The cabinet that it is sitting on top of is the cabinet that she bought with it, although it is sitting on top right now because a crappy little free-arm machine that happens to make the prettiest zig-zag stitch in the world is inside it:


And here is my stash. All my fabrics are in the large plastic tubs, or is leaning against the wall behind them. You can also see my ancient relic of an ironing board, swiped from Grandma's house. It is actually made out of wood....big, heavy wooden legs, not flimsy sheet metal and tube steel like the ironing boards now. The little rolling cart to the left of the closet is chock full of thread, buttons, zippers, binding, hem tape, and measuring tapes.


My workspace and equipment is nowhere near as elaborate as some sewists. I don't have a space dedicated just to sewing...it sometimes has to be a guest room. The most that I have spent on any one item in the room is $129.00 (the dressform) and a lot of it was free or repurposed from other places in the house (cutting table, ironing board, Grandma's Singer) and a lot was purchased used ($75.00 for the Singer 401 in the giant desk, and $80.00 for the Singer 603e).

I also limit myself to $10.00 a yard for fabric, although a lot of it is purchased for much, much less. But don't confuse inexpensive fabric with cheap fabric! I love a good deal, but I hate crap fabric! Most of my patterns are purchased on sale for as little as $.99. Occasionally I will pay the full price for a Hot Patterns, Jalie, or Pamela's pattern. But even my Hot Patterns I buy on their ebay site once they are discontinued. So overall, I spend very little on my hobby.

Could I make awesome stuff on a multi-thousand dollar machine? Sure!! But, I do on occasion, manage to turn out some pretty good shit on those old machines. They are perfectly capable of doing all the same things that modern computerized machines do, they just do it in a different way. Also, since they are gear driven and not computerized, I can do all the maintenance and repairs myself. In fact, when I bought the 401, it was completely locked up, but two days of oil, cleaning and grease and it runs like a dream.

So, how does my bordering-on-ridiculous collection of machines adhere to the "Cheap and Picky" ideology? Well, for one, they were all cheap (or free) and two, those gear driven Singers will run and run and run. In fact, the 401 was a VERY lucky find for me, since finding one in working order, in a huge desk like that, and for only $75.00 is a real rarity. They are often advertised on Craigslist for as high as $200-300.00, and ebay they can go even higher.

I think that there is also another benefit to using the older machines rather than buying new ones and trashing the old: it allows you to lead a greener life. Re-use, Recycle, Restore...all of these are things I do every day in the sewing room.

A Touch More Successful

I have been working on creating a pair of pants that fit, and this time I tried Vogue 2907....for no other reason except many moons ago I had cut a pair out, sewn in the front pockets, and then walked away from it.

I should have returned to Vogue 1051, but they are soooo similar, I figured that whatever fit issues that I worked out on Vogue 2907 could easily be translated to Vogue 1051. That and...I already had 2907 cut out.

The first version I made from some HORRENDOUS black WalMart denim. Seriously, does anyone ever find good fabric at WalMart? I see people on the forums on PR compaining about their WalMarts discontinuing their fabric departments, and all I can say is "good riddance." I have NEVER found a deal at WalMart. I find plenty of cheap fabric, sure. But what kind of deal is cheap fabric if it is garbage and completely unwearable. Seriously, I prewashed this demin and it PILLED. WTF, yo! How the hell does denim PILL??? I have sweaters that pill, rayon jersey that pills...but DENIM? Seriously? Seriously.

But, since this was a muslin, who cares, right? I can still work out fit issues on pilly fabric. It also gave me an opportunity to practice inserting zippers in flies and working on seam finishes.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, however you may look at it...I will never have to be upset with the pilled denim, because the final product was completely unwearable. The hips fit, with a bit of extra ease, but the waist band was HUGE!!

I also used some leftovers from the shirt I made for my nephew for the pockets and the inside of the waistband:


But, these were clearly not going to work. So, I slapped a hem in them, ran them through the washer one more time (fortunately removing most of the pilling) and put them in the bag for Goodwill (does anyone else do that with their wadders? I figure just because it doesn't fit me, doesn't mean that it won't fit someone else. Plus, I sew well. It doesn't look Becky Home-ecky. Someone might be able to get some use out of it. It feels wasteful to throw it away).

Second version, I decided that I would work on the waistband. I took the waistband pattern piece and started putting tiny pleats in the tissue, so it would curve in over the hips. Since I am not shaped like a 12-year-old boy (which is apparently the Alice + Olivia target market), if I cut the pants to fit my hips, I have about three extra inches in the top of the waistband.

I picked up some 100% cotton "sportswear fabric" at Hancocks. I don't know what exactly "sportswear" is, but I assume it is twill. Since that is what it looks like.



While this made the waistband the right size, it did make some little wrinkles and pulls in the waistband itself. NOT that that will keep me from wearing them, I never tuck in my shirt. I also need to work out a bit more of the fit issues in the area just under the rear end. I may need to work on the back curve to fix that.

I would also like to add some height to the back center so that my panties don't peek out. As a side note, my panties peek out of the top of RTW pants, too. It's just that if I am going to put all this work into a pair of pants, I would like a pair that covers my bum. But, because my bottom is round, it drags the center back down.

On the plus side, these are completely wearable. They don't pull and are not indecent across the backside. The little pulls in the waistband are a minor issue, and can be fixed by starting the decrease in the waistband further down the hip...rather than taking all the extra room out of the waistband, take some out of the top of the pants.

Since these are something that will get worn, I went ahead and finished them completely. I used a rayon with a surf motif for the inside waistband and the pockets, and did flat-felled seams throughout. The flat-felled seams in combination with the khaki twill gave them very much the look of chinos, so they will be nice for casual Fridays at work.