Funky new scissors, meet my old dressmaking shears
Labels:
scissors
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Maybe it's only crafters and sewers who get excited about such things, but I saw these scissors in a local supermarket and just grinned insanely. They were a bargain price and I couldn't chose between the two, so I bought both, well you can never have enough!
Despite the price and glitzy design they are actually OK at cutting fabric, no doubt they won't last too long and I'll relegate them to paper-cutting....the fate of all unloved dressmaking scissors. In the meantime have another look and drool......
But these old badboys are still my favourites. 8 inch stainless steel dressmaking shears. Oh yes, these are not mere scissors, they are shears!
I got these second hand about 20 years ago so I think they are at least 30 years old. My lovely dad sharpens them for me, and they can cut through layer's of thick fabric with ease. Leather? Denim?...pah, they laugh in your face!
I also have an assortment of other sharp implements; a couple of pairs of small snipping scissors, a pair of one-handed thread clippers and a seam ripper (which I've always called a 'quick-unpick' for some reason). Lets just say the seam ripper sees far more action than I'd like....
On my wishlist? Well it's got to be the lovely rotary cutter and mat, I really want one of these but
(1) I'm confused by which one to get, and
(2) They are expensive.
If you have any recommendations for a rotary cutter (or one's to avoid), I'd be very grateful for the advice.
And I'd also like a pair of pinking shears, to me they are the glamorous sister of the humble scissors.
So what type of scissors do you have, and which do you lust over?
Jersey Mini Skirt - My First Clothing Project and Tutorial
Labels:
clothing,
dressmaking,
jersey,
sewing,
tutorial
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Since I started sewing at the beginning of the year I've stuck to craft projects....no pressure there, if they look wonky and misshapen then it all adds to the charm.
But wonky and misshapen isn't really the look I'm aiming for when I get dressed...... Enter the easy jersey skirt!
Those of you who just want to look at my legs and/or tiling may want to leave now....for the rest, here's what I did....
Strawberry pin cushion from fabric scraps
This is a very easy project using just fabric scraps. Sewing has made me look at unloved clothes with a new eye, can I do something with that fabric? The red material is from a blouse destined for the charity shop and the green is left over from the grocery bag project.
http://www.wagdoll.co.uk/2011/09/plastic-bag-is-dead-long-live-home-made.html
The strawberries are basically a circle of material cut in half hence a pair (I drew round a side plate), sewn down the straight edge to make an ice-cream cone shape.
Stuff the strawberries with poly wadding, and gather the top edge with a long running stitch. The green leaves on top hide all the gathering.
Do they count as one of my five-a-day?
Which came first - the fabric or the project?
I tend to find a pattern or see a project, decide I want to make it and then buy the fabric. But occasionally I work the other way round especially with donated fabric, they just spark an idea.
Here are some of my recent stashes, and the reasoning behind them.
The dark denim was given to me by my mum, and I still haven't got a project for this, any ideas?
The 3 pieces on the right were given to me by a friend and inspired the grocery bags project, as the fabric was very strong and luckily the 3 colours matched perfectly. http://www.wagdoll.co.uk/2011/09/plastic-bag-is-dead-long-live-home-made.html
Now these 2 fabrics are very heavy oil-cloth/vinyl type pieces, I bought them as remnants for 50p each as they were so cheap, but no idea what to do with them :-) !
This fabric is actually a pair of curtains from a sale at Argos, and I've got a few ideas in mind for this.
The red cotton was bought with a specific project in mind, and I'll be showing you this one in a post soon!
All this fabric was donated to me by my lovely mum, I think I'll make a jacket out of the wool suiting fabric on the left, although some wide legged trousers would be nice too. The 2 gingham fabrics are both stretch cotton so ideal for clothing but I don't have any ideas for these yet. Any thoughts?
That's some of my recent stash, there is more but I'll save those for another post.
So which way round do you prefer to work, fabric then project, or project then fabric?
Mum's vintage Singer sewing machine is 61 years old!
Labels:
antique,
sewing machines,
singer,
vintage
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http://www.mysingerstory.com/
My mum inherited my grandmothers sewing machine and it's still going strong. So I thought I'd trace it's history.
It's a treadle machine, which means it's powered by working a footplate rather than electricity. There's definitely a knack to this, I've only ever managed to sew backwards on it........ooops. As well as being environmentally friendly it also gives a good leg work-out, mum's got some shapely calves!
After typing the serial number into Singer's database I was told the machine was made in 1950 and some further digging indicated it had been made at the Clydebank factory in Scotland. These antique machines are built to last, it's had the occasional service and belt change...and still works like a dream after 60 years. It can plough through layers of heavy material and it all folds away into a lovely wooden cabinet.
Mum remembers my grandmother making her school clothes on the machine back in the 1950's, and mum recently made her grandaughter a skirt with it, isn't it amazing that the sewing machine has connected our family across the generations?!
The plastic bag is dead, long live the home-made grocery bag!
Labels:
environmentally friendly,
sewing,
shopping bag
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I've carried a motley assortment of bag-for-life type carriers for many years but they are still plastic and well...not the most stylish accessory. Although I do get a peverse pleasure out of using the 'wrong' carrier in a supermarket...Asda bag in Tesco's, Tesco's bag in Waitrose (when I've been paid), Sainsbury's bag in Aldi (when I'm broke...) That's just the rebel in me......
But enter the home-made and decidedly more chic grocery bag (shopping bag, tote...call it what you will).
My bag started life from as a collection of fabric donated to me by a lovely friend at work. I used the 3 pieces in the bottom right corner for this project.
I played around with numbers and sketches, deciding on a 3 tone bag dictated by which pieces of fabric were bigger, The fabric was a heavyweight cotton so I didn't need to line the bag.
And here's the finished bag
I squared the bottom of the bag to make it more stable when packing, and reinforced where the handles join the bag with a box and cross stitching arrangement. The fabric was pre-washed to avoid shrinkage as I want to be able to wash my grocery bags in the future.
I loved my bag so much I made a couple more.
Oooh get me with my matching shopping bags! Soooo much more stylish when one is perusing the aisles of the Marks and Spencers Food Hall, and equally at home buying spuds from t'market!
Arts Festival
Labels:
bunting,
chapel allerton arts festival,
craft,
Leeds,
music
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http://www.chapelallerton.org.uk/index.html
Here's a flavour of the weekend
Bootscraper, they describe themselves as a bluegrass punk band. They're not the kind of music I usually listen to, but they really got the crowd going and it's good to expand your horizons!
Crowds filling the main street
The Bugalu Foundation, a latin jazz funk band, fab. I loved their soundcheck too, not the usual "one, two, testing, testing" ...they used "Get down with the trumpets" !
Sing it loud!
Street decoration outside the pub, I've never seen this style of bunting before, apparently it's called Mexican Papel Picado and is made in a cutaway style. A workshop was held before the festival for people to get involved. Ripstop nylon was used here to make the bunting rainproof (altho this year the weather was kind.)
All in all a good time was had by all, and roll on next year's festival!
Sock monkeys inspire me.
Labels:
craft,
sewing,
sock monkeys
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And then, as so often happens, university, work, family all encroached on my hobby time and sewing became a long forgotten art to me. I occasionally dragged out the machine to patch, alter, make-do and mend but that's not inspiring, it's a chore urgh!
Earlier this year my creative side awoke from its dormant state and my love of sewing was renewed. I'm ashamed to say I seem to have forgotten quite a few of my skills and I'm very rusty, but I'm back in the saddle and here are my first couple of projects. Not exactly clothes, but it's a start.
My first creation started life as a pair of socks
And became a Sock Monkey (many thanks to all the help I received from the MSE crew!).
My niece was very happy to give her a home.
Another quickly followed, complete with accessories, My daughter claimed this one.
So much more enjoyable creating a cute little critter than mending a torn seam. Don'tcha just love sock monkeys? or Socken Monken as they have become known in my house.....
Happy Blogday, welcome to my newborn blog!
Labels:
Introduction sewing
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In the end I decided on Wag Doll, as I'm homely rag-doll kinda gal with a love of all things bling, a la Wag style.
I'm hoping to cover all my dressmaking and sewing adventures, along with random waffle about fashion, clothes, home-style, photography, make-up and whatever else evolves. Let see how it goes eh?!
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