The sewing thread

PollyWollyDoodle · 20 March 2017 at 11:46PM

I long to be able to casually say 'I switched the sleeves over' ... I could probably do it but it'd take me all day! I'm like Ivyleaf, I don't have great imagination for these things.

Artytarty · 21 March 2017 at 12:21AM

Well yeah, I've plenty of imagination but my technical skills can let me down!
Luckily I have a friend who is able to guide me , she used to teach sewing classes and is very fussy! I'm more of a "if you can't see it it'll do"type.
I also took that dress up by two inches .
I shortened a pair of grey trousers that always made me feel mannish to the new ankle grazer length with a small turn up. quite nice but I can't decide if they're better with heels or loafers. I've not worn that length before.
Anybody?

PollyWollyDoodle · 21 March 2017 at 7:55AM

I don't do heels, so no help to you I'm afraid!

OlGreeneyes · 21 March 2017 at 8:49AM

Hi all!
Just discovered this thread - wonderful idea! I'm fairly new to sewing. I had the kind of sadistic sewing teacher at school that put me off sewing for life. She'd get you to hand sew a seam then she'd take the two sides of the piece and pull heaven's hard until she managed to pull the seam apart, give you a withering look, then tell you to re-do it!
Fast forward a few million decades and I suddenly found that I couldn't buy knickers anymore. Well not anything that wasn't completely see-though. It seemed the only choice was what I've taken to calling 'w****'s drawers' - that show all your bits - or 'old lady knickers' that remind me of the navy blue serge ones I had to wear at school. All in all I got a bit cross about it and decided I'd blooming well make my own knickers. How hard could it be?
Well, fairly hard, actually. But two years in and I can make wearable and pretty bekini-style briefs with only the odd outburst of foul language and thumping of the 'stupid' machine. Mind you, I do live in daily fear of being run over. :rotfl:

Artytarty · 21 March 2017 at 9:01AM

Haha! That last bit made me laugh! I'd say there's probably quite a lot of sewing and cutting goes into making knickers, - double gusset?
small and fiddly too,.quite an achievement.

OlGreeneyes · 21 March 2017 at 9:57AM

Well that's me all over - start sewing for the first time with the most difficult fabric - jersey - and such joys as fold-over elastic. Gussets are a sore point at the moment. Sewed the darned thing back to front. Unpicking teeny stitches from lycra? :mad: Moral: don't go near a sewing machine if you're having a bad day. It'll only get worse.
At the moment I've moved on to making underwear tops. Again, because I got fed up with cami tops with stretched-out elastic straps that end up halfway down my arms all day. I've found one pattern that works for me and gone into production. I bet M&S are quaking in their boots

.

Emm-in-a-pickle · 21 March 2017 at 10:08AM

Hi folks! It`s great to read of so many `returned` sewers on here, and so many useful links and tips.

I stopped sewing for years but still kept a fair stash of fabric even though patterns had long gone west (wouldn`t fit now anyway!!) and am still adding to fabric stash faster than I`m using it. Teaching my 2 youngest DGD`s to usew their Xmas pressie machine is going well, but stalled for a bit due to their house move recently... household makes still going well, but making stuff for myself hit the rocks because I wasn`t finding patterns I really like.

Now, I have made myself 9 tops that I LOVE, and just finished one for eldest DGD that she loves. But I`ve done it all back to front, got a piece of fabric first, then failed to find a pattern, then gone mad and cut up something I really did like to take a pattern from.
My tops (inc short, 3/4 and long sleeves) are from a top that I loved, dissected, and made paper pattern using Xmas wrapping paper. DGD`s, similar story. She`s a large size, and rather conscious of it, and she too couldn`t see herself in the patterns we looked at but she`d fallen in love with some fabric and knew exactly what she wanted. I wasn`t even sure there`d be enough on the large remnant piece but we bought it anyway. After much searching I eventually found a top like she described (drop shoulders, long sleeves, but in a hideous spotted fabric - 99p from local Barnardo`s) Made her try it on, perfect fit, so dissected it and made Xmas paper pattern, cut out the beloved fabric and it`s perfect, she loves the result.
It isn`t the easiest way of doing things, but I`m really pleased with the results, especially the last one.

PollyWollyDoodle · 21 March 2017 at 2:21PM

That's really interesting Emm - I want to have a go at cutting a pattern from an existing top, it's not something I've ever tried before.

I've had a bit more time to digest my overlocker course (it's two Saturdays so there's another day this weekend) - something miraculous has happened, I got out the manual for mine and instead of being written in gobbledegook it's been translated into plain English :rotfl: I've got a couple of observations that might help anyone else who's got one but hasn't really used it.

Firstly, I think overlockers are a bit like washing machines, they have ten different options but in reality you only use two of them. So while it's great that you can insert shirring elastic and make lettuce-edge hems, you don't need to learn all that at the outset. It's there if you need it later.

The biggest revelation to me, and it's changed my perception of them, is that while most overlockers have four (or even five) threads, for a lot of everyday stuff you only need three - one needle and the two loopers. If I use my sewing machine I might change the stitch or alter length, width etc but I couldn't understand why with the overlocker there was so much stuff about removing needles. Now I get it - and once you've done it a few times it isn't such a big deal. It's made the whole thing seem much simpler.

I still don't understand why there isn't a quicker way to change needles, maybe there is if you buy a top-range one! I'm so happy that now I understand mine. Has anyone bought one of the Lidl ones?

Artytarty · 21 March 2017 at 2:56PM

Mines a Janome overlocker, four thread and yes I. Outlying use it on three threads. I have to say I don't generally (ever) take out the fourth needle. I suppose I should as it must be putting a small row of holes. However since I've most likely sewn a seam first on the sewing machine then the extra row of holes are going to be in he seam allowance.
I've broken a needle in the past and it's quite fiddly to replace. And one needle goes slightly higher than the other by a mm or two.. That's the way it's meant to be.

Artytarty · 23 March 2017 at 2:14PM

Time to fess up! My shower cap was not a great success.
I used the iron on vinyl. Managed to catch a corner of the iron on the exposed vinyl and melted a wee bit. Not a big deal but annoying.

I've a big head and loads of shoulder length curly hair.
I cut a 17" inch circle which when edged in bias and elasticat d is just too small. The whole thing is a bit stiff and clumpy as well.
An easy sewing project but not one I wouldn't recommend.
As imwear a shower cap,if I in the bath and not washing my hair, and it's curly anyhow, I might try a simple cotton one, I honk it used to be called a mob cap?

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