Sewing projects

[bikegurl]

Yeah, I guess they've been around since the 60s....I just never heard of them... :roll:
The shipping was surprisingly high.... :?

 

[alforddm]

I dug through my books and the ones I've liked best have been

"Make Your Own Patterns" by Rene Berge
It covers basic pattern drafting and then shows you how to modify the basic patterns for different styles. It doesn't use as many measurements as I'd like but it's still a great starter book.

"Making Patterns from Finished Clothes" by Rusty Bensussen
It shows you how to take a shirt that fits you and make a pattern without taking it apart.

"Shortcuts to a Perfect Pattern" also by Rusty Bensussen
It shows you how to modify a standard pattern to fit and also how to modify some for style.

These are all mostly geared toward beginners and are easy to understand.

I also have used dressshop pattern software. It takes a TON of measurements and drafts patterns that fit. However, it is very lacking in sewing instructions and to make a really finished garment you have to be able to put the garment together yourself. That and putting the patterns together from the printouts is a PITA unless you have a plott printer. http://www.livingsoftnw.com/

I enjoy making the patterns more than I actually enjoy the sewing. I'm not very good at making an item look really nice and finished.

 

[bikegurl]

I got the Rene Bergh one out of the library a while ago. It was pretty good...not quite as extensive as I was looking for, and I didn't like the given measurements, either....those don't work for people with different shapes! :roll:

I'm going to look into the first Rusty Bensussen one....that sounds very useful for me....I have a favorite shirt that I don't want to destroy yet!

I wish I had a printer that could print out patterns....pattern-making software sounds interesting and very useful. I can't even print anything from my computer... :|

 

[Miss M]

I would be very skeptical of anything that relies on only two measurements. I am quite a bit larger through the back than the front. I'm am extremity thick through the back and have small busts. Any kind of shirt or pants require me to take both front and back measures. None of the measure your hips and decide by two techniques work for me.

I was skeptical, too, when he first started talking about it. Once I saw how those two measurements were used, I thought it was rather brilliant.

I need to take some pictures. But right now I'm in the middle of the first Mandarin collar I've ever made, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

 

[alforddm]

I was skeptical, too, when he first started talking about it. Once I saw how those two measurements were used, I thought it was rather brilliant.

I need to take some pictures. But right now I'm in the middle of the first Mandarin collar I've ever made, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

I watched a video they had on their web site and it does only use two measurements. For someone like me who is uneven front to back this isn't going to work. I actually love the way they draw the patterns but you're still going to end up with the same fit problems from too few measurements. For example when using my bust measurement the system would assume I have much larger breasts than I really do and assume I'm not as thick as I really am. I'd be loose in the front and tight across the back.

I'd like to reiterate that I'm in love with the duct tape method. I'll have to see if I can't find the pieces I used for Kasey's bodice and take some pictures.

My son informed me that he needed a batman cape. I had made him a cape with his initial on it when he was about 3 but now he thinks he needs something else. I got to thinking and it's been over a year since I sewed something besides just mending.

I've been working on it today.

 

[Miss M]

I watched a video they had on their web site and it does only use two measurements. For someone like me who is uneven front to back this isn't going to work. I actually love the way they draw the patterns but you're still going to end up with the same fit problems from too few measurements. For example when using my bust measurement the system would assume I have much larger breasts than I really do and assume I'm not as thick as I really am. I'd be loose in the front and tight across the back.

Ah, okay. I don't have any experience with it, but I'm not surprised that it wouldn't work for everybody. It sounded like it might, but I've only been sewing in fits and starts for about five years. ...Which is to say, I sew like mad for a couple of months every year. :roll:

We use a lot of thrift-store finds, as well. I just found some lightly textured sheets in a really hideously dead mauve that I'm going to dye. Then I'll make myself a bliaut or something similar. I haven't gotten around to making my own Renaissance costume yet. Last time we went (two years ago -- no money last year), I actually wore the 1830s dress I still have from the museum of rural history in town. I think I need to return it. To be fair, I made the belt myself from my own materials, so that's mine. I made the skirt from their materials, though. So I need to return that, the rest of the fabric, the slips, the blouse, and the tea dress Galadriel wore. The Medici belt is all hers, though, and she has a dress she wears it with to church sometimes.

The only reason I have the stuff is that the director of the junior docent program just told me to take it all home and wash it, and bring it back at the next meeting. She was retiring, and the next meeting would be under the new director. I tried a number of times to get in touch with the new director by phone and email, and never got a response as to when we were meeting. So that was the end of our involvement after two years. We ran into one of the other older junior docents some time later, and found out that the same thing had happened to her. Galadriel and this other girl were girls any sane director would not want to lose, either. A number of the junior docents made it very obvious that they were there only because they had to be, and it was hard to get them to work.

Anyway... I should have a picture of the two of us dressed for formal tea.

I've used sheets, draperies, tablecloths, sheers, and even brocade placemats, all from yard sales or thrift stores.

Current project: new Renaissance shirt for Bunny-Wan Kenobi (thrift store sheet). I'll post pix as soon as it's done... hopefully, tomorrow!

 

[Zinnia]

Anyway... I should have a picture of the two of us dressed for formal tea.

I've used sheets, draperies, tablecloths, sheers, and even brocade placemats, all from yard sales or thrift stores.

Oh, Miss M, we could be sisters! And, yes, lets see the tea photos! Please!

 

[Miss M]

Anyway... I should have a picture of the two of us dressed for formal tea.

I've used sheets, draperies, tablecloths, sheers, and even brocade placemats, all from yard sales or thrift stores.

Oh, Miss M, we could be sisters! And, yes, lets see the tea photos! Please!

Let me see what pictures I can drum up... we don't post faces on the internet, though, so we'll all be headless... :shock:

Here's my first sewing project. It was a chemise, skirt, apron, and hat for Galadriel to wear at the museum. 100% cotton, since she was going to be around fire. Being one of the few junior docents who knew how to manage a fire, she was taught how to run an open hearth:



This is one of the few things I bought new material for. I didn't have time to find period-correct (1830s) patterns in 100% natural fibers at thrift stores. The chemise is light beige with drawstring neckline and sleeves, the drawstring skirt is light beige with a tiny rosebud pattern (very old-fashioned, I'm sure you've seen it). The apron is, of course, a strong blue, and the hat has the rosebud pattern on one side and the blue on the other. A very tall order for someone who had never sewn before, but it was before my mom had lost all of her central vision, and she was able to teach me and help me with some things.

Here we are the following year, dressed for formal tea:



I'm on the left, and the dress is not flattering at all on me. :lol: Yeah, I've got some extra fluff, but this dress makes me look way fluffier than I really am!

You can't see in the picture, but my belt has several pleats at the front -- three going left, three going right. That was my mom's idea, and I wanted to kill her for it, but I knew she was right. It would look way nicer than a plain belt. So I did the pleats, and it looks so nice. Galadriel's Medici belt is black velvet. It was a nightmare to turn rightside-out, but it is so pretty! Galadriel was a huge help in getting these belts made. The leg-o-mutton sleeves on her tea dress are overstuffed, but I didn't have time to fix that.

Now I need to find my RenFaire pix...

 

[alforddm]

Those are beautiful! I'm better at making patterns than the actual sewing. I tend to rush and end up with something that fits good but isn't well finished.

 

[Zinnia]

Beautiful, Miss M! I love period clothing. The dresses I've designed look more old than new...

Once, a tour going through a Norwegian-established store near me thought that my kids and I were props! We are a shy family... so it was really embarrassing! We stood there while the tour guide brought people by and they touched us and commented with awe... never knowing that we were actually locals just shopping at the same store. We went into the store clueless that they were doing a tour. I can look back and laugh now... I was wearing a long, heavy modest dress, carrying two babies, one in each arm that were wearing timeless styles I made for them. The oldest child was at my skirt, wearing a long dress with apron... We were there with my grandmother. She abandon us, racing away in her walker and cackling at the humor of it all.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Beautiful, Miss M! I love period clothing. The dresses I've designed look more old than new...

Once, a tour going through a Norwegian-established store near me thought that my kids and I were props! We are a shy family... so it was really embarrassing! We stood there while the tour guide brought people by and they touched us and commented with awe... never knowing that we were actually locals just shopping at the same store. We went into the store clueless that they were doing a tour. I can look back and laugh now... I was wearing a long, heavy modest dress, carrying two babies, one in each arm that were wearing timeless styles I made for them. The oldest child was at my skirt, wearing a long dress with apron... We were there with my grandmother. She abandon us, racing away in her walker and cackling at the humor of it all.

That.is.priceless!! I love it!

 

[bikegurl]

Miss M those are nice! 19th century-ish?
Zinnia...that would be so awkward! But funny to look back on.....
I live in the city right now, and ever since my family moved here about 7 years ago, everyone thinks we're Amish. :? We dress modestly...but most of the female members of my family generally wear pants!! My dad does have a beard, and we like working with our hands, but really, we are NOTHING like the Amish. :lol:

One year in high school (I was homeschooled) I studied a person from the Revolutionary War. Deborah Sampson was a woman that disguised herself as a man and went and fought in the war. She had a rather fascinating story, and I had lots of fun researching her. In addition to all the research, I sewed an outfit from the time period. I chose to do a poor woman's garment, since that was the easiest and cheapest to make. I even made a corset, but instead of using whalebone I shaved down strips of wood to use as boning. I was very happy with the results, and still have the complete outfit...shift, corset, three petticoats, two shortgowns, a kerchief, and apron, and a cap. I would have loved to have used linen and wool, since those were the fabrics ogf the time, but I didn't have the budget....
I did carefully hand-stitch everything though, so that part was authentic

I've always been very much into older style clothes and ways of doing things....

I don't know if I have a picture of that outfit...I need to do some scrounging...

 

[alforddm]

I even made a corset, but instead of using whalebone I shaved down strips of wood to use as boning.

I have read that you can use large zip ties (the ones that 1/2" wide) for boning in corsets. I've been meaning to try it for years just never seems to jump to the top of my "to do list". :lol:

 

[Tiny Buns]

I've always sewn my own clothes, going on 30 yrs now... :x I've been having a passionate love affair/OCD obsession with Alabama Chanin style. I enjoy quilting and I enjoy making clothes that fit my curves (aka fluff) and this is a marriage of both. Attaching two semi crappy pics because the light is wrong, but gives you an idea. You can get an even better idea on their website.

For Christmas last year, my DH bought me the series of books. I know alot about fitting but I still struggled with full bust adjustment and changing patterns without altering the original shape in order to fit my short waisted, pear shaped bod. The newest book rocked my sewing world and for the first time in my life I was able to make tshirts and dresses that actually fit my bust without the neck or armholes gaping. It's an amazing resource for experienced sewists who don't have fitting nailed down.


Dress panel I am currently working on. Gorgeous rich navy with tonal stenciled flowers stitched in grey. I will cut out the centers when I'm done and reveal a lighter blue underneath. **ignore the cat hair


Closeup of my very first Chanin skirt attempt. It's been washed a thousand times and soft like butter. It's a rich indigo, with navy stencil and grey underneath--the light and my iphone have blown out the color so you can't really see how pretty it actually is. Still love it as much as when I first finished it, mistakes and all.

 

[Miss M]

Giving my eyeballs a rest! I need new glasses, and so closeup work is difficult for me to focus on. We do have a couple of magnifiers that make it easier for some things, thankfully.

Collar is done, one sleeve is attached, and I'm pinning the other one on. I have pressing to do, but Galadriel is hogging the ironing board right now. :lol: Then I'll be hand stitching the rest of the facing and closing the last bit of the collar over the neck seam allowance. :hmm: I could do the collar part before pressing. I am really pleased with the collar! The rest of the shirt should go together quickly. I am looking forward to seeing how this fits Bunny-Wan Kenobi. Galadriel is planning a little embroidery on the collar.

We're sewing on a grouchy 40-year-old Kenmore 385-1264180. Probably about half the time we spend at the machine is spent trying to get it to cooperate. We really, really want to get a new machine. I don't want any electronics, though. Probably a Singer, since parts and supplies are everywhere. I wonder where my great-grandmother's machine is. I'll have to ask my uncle.

@alfordm, I love the duck tape bodice! I made a duck tape dress form to pose clothes on for sale on the internet last year. I used white duck tape, filled with polyfil and packing peanuts and spray foam, and then decoupaged cut up patterns I was never going to use (came in a bunch of patterns I bought in a yard sale -- sofa cover, etc.) over it. I'll have to take a picture!

right now i am working on a project organizer. i love to sew! i just finished a cheerleader set for a friends daughter.

Wow! Any pix?

@HOWsMom, I love the things you've made for you and your kids and the little toddler outfit!

Once, a tour going through a Norwegian-established store near me thought that my kids and I were props...

That is so funny!!! :lol:

Miss M those are nice! 19th century-ish?

Yes, the junior docent program (I helped out with it) focused on the 1830s, and that's the time period we're depicting. The museum itself has a broader time period it displays, of course.

I live in the city right now, and ever since my family moved here about 7 years ago, everyone thinks we're Amish. :? We dress modestly...but most of the female members of my family generally wear pants!! My dad does have a beard, and we like working with our hands, but really, we are NOTHING like the Amish. :lol:

:lol: My husband is actually of Amish heritage, but we aren't Amish. We do dress modestly, but we girls usually wear jeans. I know that's not considered modest everywhere, though.

I even made a corset, but instead of using whalebone I shaved down strips of wood to use as boning.

I have read that you can use large zip ties (the ones that 1/2" wide) for boning in corsets. I've been meaning to try it for years just never seems to jump to the top of my "to do list". :lol:

Yes, I've read about using the zip ties, too! The strips of wood bikegurl used are a period-correct material, used by poorer people in place of whalebone.

@TinyBuns, I LOVE THAT STYLE OF QUILTING!! I've never seen it before!

 

[bikegurl]

I even made a corset, but instead of using whalebone I shaved down strips of wood to use as boning.

I have read that you can use large zip ties (the ones that 1/2" wide) for boning in corsets. I've been meaning to try it for years just never seems to jump to the top of my "to do list". :lol:

Yes, I've read about using the zip ties, too! The strips of wood Alforddm used are a period-correct material, used by poorer people in place of whalebone.

I was actually the one who used the wood strips , and that was one reason why...period-correct for poor women's garments. (The other reason was affordability) I'll take a pic of it and post it....since I don't appear to have any photos of the whole outfit :? . Oh, well. I am not really able to fit into it at the moment...

 

[Miss M]

I was actually the one who used the wood strips , and that was one reason why...period-correct for poor women's garments. (The other reason was affordability) I'll take a pic of it and post it....since I don't appear to have any photos of the whole outfit :? . Oh, well. I am not really able to fit into it at the moment...

Whoops... I corrected it. Sorry about that!

Okay, here are some of our Renaissance projects:

Galadriel's first Ren Faire dress. It was my second sewing project, started as soon as I finished my first one (the museum dress). I tend to jump in with both feet. :roll:



This was definitely a thrift-store special. She's wearing the chemise from her museum dress. The bodice center panel and back center panels are made from placemats. The sides of the bodice and the majority of the skirt are from a large piece of fabric I bought for $6 at a thrift store... only to realize when I was making the dress that it's probably linen. The skirt center panel is two layers -- a sheet behind a sheer. The sheet is patterned with very old-style swirls and grapevines in shades of beige, but by itself it is very cheap-looking. Put a beige sheer over it, which lets just a bit of the pattern show through, and it looks awesome. Much better than the picture. The lace-on sleeves are red sheer over red sheet. The gold lace-up cuffs that cover the ends of her chemise sleeves are leftover fabric from part of her brother's outfit.

Curtain panels, placemats, sheets, and mystery fabric. Galadriel hemmed every inch of that 6-yard skirt, too.



Bunny-Wan Kenobi in his musketeer outfit. The shirt was cotton leftover from making Galadriel's chemise, and I think I had bought the brown for the pants at the same time. The green crushed velvet tabbard used to be a maternity dress -- bought at a thrift store. The fleur-de-lis was from a small piece of material I bought new, and had leftovers for Galadriel's cuffs. The boots were from a thrift store, as was the sword. My husband Shay made him a scabbard and covered it in leather we got at a yard sale. His braces (arm guards) were from more yard sale leather, made by Shay.



My beloved Shay in his great kilt. This was the thrift store find to beat all! Imagine... bolts of fine wool with the regular price still on them -- the cream at over $40/yard, the tartan at $62/yard -- for 75 CENTS a yard. We bought it all! There was plenty of tartan for his kilt, and I made his shirt from the cream and still have loads of it left. Though there were no family tartans in the Renaissance yet (families would purchase large amounts of the same plaid to make everyone's clothes, which is how families eventually became associated with certain patterns), this tartan just happens to be the one that became my family tartan -- Campbell, also called Black Watch plaid. His braces are the same yard sale leather as BWK's. The sporran he bought new (but cheap), and he had to make do with wool socks and sneakers.



Their costumes from the back. We had removed Galadriel's sleeves by the end of the day. You can definitely see how much fabric there is in that skirt, and in Shay's kilt (over 8 yards).

Since then, we've worked on improvements, and have added a costume for my mom. I'll do a separate post for those.

 

[bikegurl]

Wow! Those are beautiful! 6 yard skirt! That must be fun to wear!

 

[Galadriel]

:yes:

 

[alforddm]

Here is the batman cape I just finished for Cody. He will be 6 on Monday. I had made a cape for him when he was 3 so that he could be Super Cody (it has a large "C" on it) but he decided he's to big for that one. I've been told I have to make a Robin one for Colton (who's 3).

And the the image of my main sewing machine. I've had it for about 15 years. It's a singer 501a. I got the table a little over a year ago at a Salvation Army store. It originally had a absolutely pristine singer 630 Touch & Sew in it but I never could get it to work quite right. After doing some research those machines were notorious for not working right, which was probably why it looked new. :lol: :lol: I eventually gave it away but kept the table. It was worth what I paid just for the table anyway.