Showing posts with label Sewing Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sewing Tips. Show all posts

Friday, June 26, 2015

DIY Quick Kids' Shorts

My son woke up and told me he was out of shorts.  I thought it would be quicker to whip up a new pair than to slay the growing laundry dragon.

And it was!

These took maybe half an hour, including choosing the fabric and the extra time for putting them together when both kids were awake and in the room.


To make them, I took some fabric and folded it in half.  I then took a pair of (ahem, dirty) shorts that fit nicely and matched the side seam to my fold.  I made sure I had enough fabric to do this twice, then cut a square.

Then I cut an angle up for the crotch seam.


To put them together, I stitched up the inside of each leg.  Then I stitched up the middle seam. Then I hemmed them with a zig zag.

 Lastly, I made the waistband.  To do this, I measured my son's waist against a piece of elastic and made it into a loop with a zig zag.  I took a 4" wide piece of the same fabric as the shorts (but could have easily chosen a complimentary fabric).  Making sure its stretch went wide-ways, I sewed it into a loop.  Then I folded it in half and tucked the elastic loop inside.  I matched its rough ends with the rough ends of the shorts and folded the nice parts downwards.  This I looped around my machine and stitched it in a loop.  I like to reinforce this seam by going around twice.  These look sharp if you also topstitch after, sewing down the seam allowance.  I didn't do this on this pair.


Viola!  Quick kids' shorts.


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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Over the Hill Pickles

Oops!



These got to go to the chickens because there was so much white sludge in my pickles that I didn't want to eat them.  Some were also soft.

What did I do wrong/ differently than before (previous NY Sour Pickles here)?

1. I used old brine from the fridge and poured it into the cucumbers instead of making new brine.
2. I used a large mason jar instead of my regular jar.
3. I used a lid not screwed on instead of a baggie filled with water touching the brine.

Which of these mistakes was the worst?  I think the lid.

Thoughts?


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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Widening Pant Legs

 
My younger son happens to be obsessed with this fabric.  He only wants to wear the "apples" fabric (he is two).

So I only had enough left in my 'stash to make him a pair of shorts.  I made them.  Then they were too narrow in the legs.  So I made a slit on each leg and sewed in a triangle on each side.

Viola!  Favorites immediately!
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Saturday, June 15, 2013

BOB Stroller Console Repair

You know I love the BOB Stroller.  So when it came time for a double stroller, it was a no-brainer to go with BOB again (the Revolution Dualie).

You probably also know you have to buy the "console" separately.  This is the piece where your water bottle and phone go when you are out and about.  For my single, I bought the Stroller Strides Console.  It was $10 more, but it had a huge zip pouch and one water bottle holder instead of two.  I thought I'd be able to use the zippered area more than a drop-in area, and was/ am happy with it.  It has held up nicely and proven quite useful.

When we got the double stroller, I got the regular BOB console.  It took it about 10 excursions (if that) to show some wear and tear.  The top webbing was thin, and ripping with only my phone, sunglasses case, and small water bottle.  I safety pinned it together for a bit, then decided I could do better.



So I took some 1" webbing from REI (like this or this) and laced it through the top and stitched it with my machine back and forth and back and forth (about 5 passes).  I didn't do anything with the ends to prevent fraying, thinking I'd never be washing it so it wouldn't matter.  You could burn the ends if you prefer.



The edited version of the console is quite sturdy (as sturdy as the single BOB console I bought), and I am happy with it.  Having a place for my stuff as I am walking makes such a difference. I love the BOB again!
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Custom Woven Labels for your Homemade Sewing Projects

It took me a while to find nice labels for my sewing projects.  I tried using printed labels, and had them done on a place on Etsy.  I was so disappointed when they started ripping off the edges, and when they faded.

I started looking for woven labels, and finally found a place.  Worldwide Label made me these adorable labels.  They were so easy to work with, and have a ton of fonts and colors.  The labels are sturdy and strong, and I have a zillion of them and didn't spend that much for them.


As far as my size tags, I bought a ton of them in bulk from Celtic Cloths ages ago. They are woven as well.  When we got bigger than XL, I bought a small batch of 2T/ 3T/ 4T to hold me over until I can re-use the XS/ S/ M/ L/ XL again. I got them on Etsy and they are fine. I overpaid for them a bit, so I am not going to recommend them.

But having labels in general is quite satisfying.  Size labels are a must when sewing kids' clothing, especially if you plan on saving your items for future progeny.  Labeling your items with my tag just makes me smile. Pin It

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Organizing Patterns - Binder and Plastic Sheet Covers

When I first started sewing, I would print the pdf patterns I was using and throw them away after each use.  BUT then I found I was printing the same ones over and over- plus, it is hard to keep track of where they are all stored online.

Then I started keeping them.  I kept them in a pile, then I kept them in manila folders by type.  This also got messy, especially since some patterns require more than one sheet of paper.

My solution has been binders with plastic sheet covers and making my own dividers with write-on tabs.
 What I have done is sort the patterns by category; for example, bags, baby patterns, child patterns, and adult patterns.  Each pattern gets its own sheet protector.  If I have the same pattern in more than one size, then each size gets its own protector (most of mine are organized this way- I rarely buy standard non-pdf patterns).

Within the binders, they are organized by type; for example, pants or underwear or diapers.  I have made labels for each of these types using a sharpie on a write-on tab.

I have found this system far better than anything I have come up with previously.  Another idea of an improvement would be to have binders by type (diapers, pants, bags, etc.) then tabs by size (infant, baby, toddler, adult, etc.).
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Monday, February 20, 2012

5 More Sewing Tips

  1. Always use sharp scissors.  Don't use them for anything except fabric.
  2. When you run across a term you don't understand, look it up.  There are so many YouTube videos and blogs out there that are an amazing resource.
  3. Buy a book or two with patterns that look interesting to you.
  4. Fake it with the fabric for a while.  Use old t-shirts and any other old clothing you want to get rid of as a free source of fabric.  You can be fancy and call this "upcycling."
  5. Use "chain stitching" when sewing more than one thing of the same type.  This means that you insert the next piece to sew without taking the previous one out.  After they are all done, you snip them apart.  This saves thread and time.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Rotary Cutters: Not just for Quilters

Quilters typically use rotary cutters because they can make straight lines easily, enabling you to make lots of squares of the same size.  They are used on top of a self-healing mat, which has lines in inches and at angles, thus helping you cut.  If you lay a metal ruler on top, you can use it to keep the edge of the cutter stable and make a straight line.  Another key to using a rotary cutting tool is to make sure the blade is sharp.  If it isn't, then you end up scoring the fabric and need to go back over it with scissors.

This is a great tool when making small items (anything that will fit on the mat).  The tool easily does angles and curves, and is an asset to any seamstress.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

10 Tips for Beginning Seamstresses

  1. The better you cut, the better your project will be.
  2. Push out all corners with a tool.  It will make your edges sharp.
  3. Topstitch wherever possible. It makes projects look more finished.
  4. Change your sewing machine needle often.
  5. Buy fabric you like when you see it; the projects can come later (think of it like eating with seasonal vegetables).
  6. Iron your fabric.
  7. If you make a mistake, pluck it out as soon as you notice it.  No sense in going further then getting it out later. It will just take longer and make a bigger mess.
  8. Clip threads as you go.  As soon as you finish a seam, clip both sides of the seam tight to the fabric.  If you don't, there will be way too many at the end of the project and you are bound to miss one.
  9. When you are winding a bobbin, wind two (or more).  It takes longer to re-thread the machine than to wind extra and keep them waiting.
  10. If your machine is acting odd, re-thread it on top and take out the bobbin and put it back in.  If that doesn't work, then open it up and clean up the lint down below.  If that doesn't work, change the needle.  Next, try the upper tension.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Sewing Machine Recommendations

Sewing machines span from less than a hundred dollars to closer to a thousand.  What is the difference? What features are useful?

When I was in grade school, I used to use the OLD machine that we had around the house.  The tension was always off, and I was forever screwing around with the bobbin and untangling thread.

I started sewing as an adult with a $79 refurbished Singer I got at JoAnn's.  It was magical.  It sewed straight and zig-zagged, and rarely tangled up the threads.  I was hooked.  I used it for a few hours a day for a year, then it started making a noise.  I took it to a local repair shop, and he explained that I should have been cleaning it regularly by opening it up and getting the lint out (huh?) and I should have also been oiling that particular model.  Hmm... Its parts were all plastic, and he explained that he could fix it for a hundred bucks, or offered a trade-in by discounting a model they offered.  

I took him up on the trade-in, and got a BabyLock Creative Pro.  I LOVE it.  It doesn't need to be oiled ever, its parts are metal (read: 25-year life span), and all I need to do to keep it purring along it to get the lint out every so often and put in a new sharp needle every so often.  The electronic screen makes choosing stitches very easy, and I love the drop-in bobbin.  I never need to thread the bobbin.  It automatically leaves the needle down when you stop sewing. It pulls the fabric along when I sew, and I use the different stitches regularly.  It is great, and makes sewing easier.

Fancier machines than mine have more features for quilting and for embroidery, which I haven't spent time doing and didn't see in my near future.

If you are looking for a new machine lower on the cost spectrum, I would recommend the Brother Sew Advance Sew Affordable.  It has a drop-in bobbin (it can be so frustrating to thread a bobbin, especially at first) and a lot of stitches to choose from.  Brother is a reputable company.  It looks like a great intro to sewing machine.

Whichever you choose, make sure you spend a few days poking around on it with the manual open.  Find an easy project or two and get a feel for how to manouever it.  Have fun!

This is the Creative Pro on their website. It doesn't look like the one I have.


This looks like mine. On the website, it is called the Grace.
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What is Zorb? And Zorb 2...

In cloth diaper-making, there is the quest for the perfect fabric for the soaker (the inside part).  It must be highly absorbent (for pees) yet dry quickly (for washing).  It must be thin (for wearing).  It must soak quickly (as not to leak when it is peed on).  It must hold the moisture (until a diaper change).

There are many options for this piece of the diaper, and one option is Zorb.  Recently Wazoodle, the company who makes Zorb, introduced Zorb 2.  But what is it?  They won't say.  It is supposedly natural enough that it is okay against baby's sensitive skin.  From what I have read and seen, it most closely approximates a thick microfiber shammy.  

The original Zorb used to come in blue but now it is white.  It comes by the yard or as pre-cut soakers.  It is fairly thick, sort of like felt.  And it falls apart in the wash when not sandwiched between other fabrics.  But it is highly absorbent and really fabulous at absorbing quickly and holding the moisture, and at drying quickly after a wash.  Though to get it to hold moisture, you need to have a layer of a natural fabric between layers of it (if you use more than one layer in an item); for example, you must put a flannel layer between your Zorb layers as the soaker.

Zorb II is possibly Wazoodle's fix for the stiffness of the original Zorb, and its lack of being a standalone fabric.  It comes in quilted or dimpled, and in a cream color.  I have found it not as absorbent as Zorb, and it takes much longer to dry.  There is an advantage to being able to use it right on the skin, but the edges must be completely covered (not just serged or zig-zagged over) or it sheds its insides, which are stringy white pieces of fabric which look like thin Zorb.  It is quite absorbent, but not really a miracle fabric like I found Zorb to be.

These are baby pants I made out of Zorb 2.  I used FOE (fold over elastic) on the hem and waistband.  The inner seams shed even though I zig-zagged an overstitch on the seams.  These are nice instead of a diaper to hold a pee.

These are toddler pants with FOE on the hem and sherpa and hidden braided elastic on the waistband.  The inside seams also shed.  I made these for warmth, since the material is a nice winter-weight quilted thickness.

These breast pads have Zorb inside.

These lap pads are Zorb 2 with a cotton binding on one and FOE on the other.  They seemed to leak through when the baby peed on them and sat in that spot-- ie the moisture didn't distribute far enough to allow the excess fabric to help hold it (it didn't soak fast enough, maybe).  In the background is an orange-ish pad.  It is cotton on the outside and Zorb on the inside.  Zorb works great for piddle pads.
Other Zorb posts: here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here  Pin It

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pros and Cons: Online Fabric Shopping

If you are like many who sew, part of the joy is tactile. When faced with fabric, it is a joy to manipulate it into something that it wasn't.

So then why would you ever buy fabric online?

Personally, I adore online shopping (see Pros, below). But are there some items better purchased in person?

I just made these, and think they are the coolest pants I have ever made.  When the fabric arrived from Wazoodle, I was horrified because it has iridescent dots throughout that I hadn't seen on the photo (although now I see they are mentioned). I was glad I had gotten it on clearance but wondered if I could ever use it.  Then this morning my son pulled it out and started cutting, "making a bag."  I redirected his energy to pants and I am so happy with them.  This is a fabric I would NOT have bought at a regular store... and look how cool these pants are!
Pros of Online Fabric Shopping:

  1. Can do anytime
  2. Do not need to speak to anyone (salespeople, etc.)
  3. No parking hassles or driving needed
  4. Can shop around to find better prices
  5. Arrives at your doorstep- no need to load and unload car
  6. So many options- no need to go to another store if yours is out of something
  7. No need to stand in line

Cons of Online Fabric Shopping:

  1. Sometimes a fabric doesn't look like it does in the photo (sometimes it is better; sometimes worse)
  2. Fabric often feels different than you'd expect
  3. Overbuying- adding "just one more thing" (perhaps this should be a pro and a con, and also happens at real stores)
  4. Nobody can answer your questions
  5. Delayed gratification - need to wait between choosing and receiving fabric
My Favorite Sites:
  1. Wazoodle: They ship from Canada, so it takes a bit longer than other stores to receive fabric.  But they have some awesome deals and nice fabrics.  Their website is a bit flakey, but they do bulk deals and have some of the best prices around.
  2. Vogue Fabrics: They have some unusual fabrics, and good prices as well.  Their customer service actually called me to ask a question, which threw me off (I'd expect an email as a first point of contact).
  3. Online Co-Ops: These you can find through Yahoo! Groups.  They work by you becoming a part of the co-op, then the Mama in charge sends out emails to the group every time a group buy happens.  The prices are better because they buy huge amounts of fabric, then the Mama splits it up and sends it to those who wanted it.  Sometimes the cost savings is eaten up by the shipping charges, plus the lead time can be months between placing an order and receiving it.  There is also an abundance of emails to wade through.
All in all, I think that online shopping is far better than actual shopping for fabric.  I have found some notions in person that I wouldn't have found online, and I have found some fabrics online I wouldn't have chosen in person.  I think I save money by shopping online, because the impulse buys are far less than in person, and I save time.  Plus, it's fun to find new fabrics and read about them...

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Thursday, March 3, 2011

My Sewing Area

I always think it is helpful to see how other people organize their spaces, be they creative spaces or otherwise.  I enjoy getting ideas on how to make better use of my space, and hope you can get some ideas from me!


I use a Baby Lock Creative Pro and have been incredibly happy with it.  I always leave it covered when not in use, and it has been a workhorse since I got it.  It uses all metal parts, and doesn't need to be oiled.  The only maintenance needed is to get the dust out, which I try to remember to do every time I wind a bobbin.  It also performs better with a sharp needle.  I need to remember to change these more often! I also like the stitch choices and that the bobbin threads itself.  The digital choices of stitches make it a lot easier to repeat a stitch, and to remember what I did and to do it again.  It should have a 25-year life span.


My computer shares a table with the sewing machine.  This makes it easy to follow online directions, and I feel good about the paper I am saving by not printing everything.  I can also look up what I need as I need it, and more easily switch back and forth between activities.  My Kam Snap Press sits on the desk as well, but mostly because it is so heavy and I don't want to move it around every time I need it.  Items strewn about include some notions I need to put away that I bought today and my water bottle, glass, and a few coasters.  The coasters double as pattern weights.

I have a shelf on my desk, and on it is the landline, my finished projects and gifts in waiting (you see two of the Mei Tais I just made and a couple of burp cloths and a tin container I am waiting to use to wrap a gift in), and my scrap bin. Scraps only go in here until they can be cut into soakers or given to my 2.5 year-old for his scrap bin (he likes to cut them into small pieces and carry it around).  Under the shelf is my cutting mat, metal ruler, and projects-in-progress (that is a stack of Katrina's fleece soakers).  In the desk drawer are my office supplies.


My nook used to be a bar.  The shelves and fold-out table stunk of liquor when we moved in, and had sliding doors on them.  I quickly repainted and moved the doors to the garage.  I originally thought I would put my stash on the shelves and hang a cover of some sort, but I like the color and I like being able to see everything.  It helps me come up with ideas.

The shelves are categorized by type of fabric and then by color.  The largest bolts of fabric (i.e. Zorb) sit on the floor in the corner.  Everything else tucks in.

You can see knits on the bottom (just barely), and this includes old t-shirts.  The middle bottom shelf is fleece.  On the far left are new t-shirts in my son's next size up that I am intending on embellishing somehow.  The next shelf up is quiliter's cotton and flannel, and my soaker bin is on the far left.  The cotton is stacked by color, and the flannel is all together (I don't have that much of it).

On the middle shelf is my office.  There is a cork board you can't see, and it has coupons and keys on it.  Checkbooks, a hole puncher, and my stapler are next to my 3-tier in-box.  The top is for pending items, middle is for chocolate at the moment and sometimes it has a purpose, and the bottom has project folders in it.  Currently one is a house remodeling project folder and the other is a medical folder.  You can see envelopes and stationery in front of my receipt box (similar to this), which is next to more envelopes and sheet protectors.  I use sheet protectors inside those black binders to hold patterns I have printed.  In my part-time job, I do a lot of mailing and organizing.

The next shelf up is very tall.  On the left are art and crafting supplies like modeling beeswax, freezer paper, heat 'n bond, and fabric paint.  The bins hold my notions like buttons and vest buckles, then zippers, snapping supplies, and elastic.  The last two hold my labels and size tags, and sewing machine supplies and thread.  Then come my pattern binders, organized by category (baby, kids, bags, adults) and sewing machine manual. My idea pattern books are on the bookshelf, which is close by.

Above that are interfacing and batting and fancy linings, wicking fabrics, heavy denim and cottons, and waterproof fabrics.  The top shelf holds wool, heavy cottons, and old sheets and curtains.

The wall just to the right (you can see orange scissors) has four small bins attached to the wall.  These hold extra pens and markers and a short ruler and paper scissors, postage stamps and return address stamp, label maker.  Sewing scissors and my rotary cutter go in the top bin.

This system of organization is based on usage patterns and my limb length/ how often I can reach versus what I need to get up to get.  I like it so far, although it gets refined somewhat consistently. Pin It

Monday, February 28, 2011

Innovating the KAM Snap Press

The KAM snap press comes with two dies, one for the stud and one for the socket.  To use it, you push either piece into the die that is attached to the press.  Then you push the cap into your fabric and place the cap with fabric onto the bed of the press, and push the lever, thus squishing the prong of the cap onto stud or socket with your fabric between.

It comes with a screw that is flush with the die on the top.  To change the dies, you must use a metric allen wrench and switch them out.

To save time and not to need to keep the allen wrench on my desk (i.e. close to prying hands), my husband has innovated the press.  He got me that long screw instead of the tiny one.  To do this, he took the tiny one to Home Depot and found another that was longer and would fit.  Now I can hand-tighten and un-tighten and it makes snapping a lot quicker and easier.

Amazing!  Thanks, honey. Pin It

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