Sunday 8 November 2015

Snack sack

I found this snack sack tutorial from Sew Can Do (link) a while ago but hadn't got round to completing it, probably too busy making t-shirts.


The tutorial is fairly straightforward, it consists of two cylinders, with the inner one made of waterproof material. In my case I could only find a standard white PVC. I chose a yellow ribbon to provide some contrast to the bag.

My intention is to make a few more as this is a good present for friends with small children but I suppose that it could also be used for storing little items or as a wash bag.

Wednesday 9 September 2015

V-neck top

This is my second rub-off item, another t-shirt for a change. I used a different model this time, another old favourite, mainly because of a small detail. The sleeves are just above the elbow, so they are quite cosy when the weather is not too hot and, unlike 3/4 sleeves, they don't roll upwards, which can end up in a little mess under a cardigan.


I made a mock band hem, inspired by a book I bought recently on overlockers (The overlocker technique manual by Julia Hincks), which has many tips on different techniques. You make a sort of seam, through an s-shape fold, and it looks like a separate band of fabric has been attached to the hem.

The first step is to make the s-shape fold. Laying the fabric with the wrong side up, make a fold so that the wrong sides join. Then, with the right side up, make a fold joining both right sides.


The fold should have three layers of fabric, with the border of the fabric remaining on the edge. This edge is sewn with the overlocker. I lifted the blade to avoid cutting too much.


Once the new fold is opened, there you are, an easy way to add some variation to hems.

Thursday 21 May 2015

Shirt from Vogue 2634 (long sleeve version)


This is the second part of my shirt-making endeavours, but now with long sleeves. I made the version C, which has two patch pockets.

I used a very light viscose, it makes the shirt almost float. But it has its drawbacks: it is quite delicate so I did the edgestitching manually (moving the needle slowly by hand instead of using the foot pedal) around corners and in narrow areas on the collar and when stitching multiple layers to avoid breaking the thin needle.

It's noticeable how thin this fabric is around the buttonholes; they puckered a lot, although it's disguised thanks to the busy pattern. Next time, interfacing!

Monday 27 April 2015

Me-Made-May'15

I'm taking part in Me-Made-May this year. It's a very exciting way to encourage you to wear your handmade clothes. This is my challenge: 3 items per week.

'I, Ana of http://mysewingside.blogspot.co.uk  sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear three hand-made garments each week for the duration of May 2015'

Many participants are able to wear something every single day, a real achievement. I think there's still a long way for me to manage that, so I'll start by trying to find three things, hopefully not repeating too much.

Thursday 5 March 2015

Boatneck t-shirt

The easiest and therefore my first project to make use of the overlocker was a t-shirt. I had no actual pattern but used an old t-shirt to create one. It's a boatneck top, one of my favourite shapes. I was given a gem of a book (101 Sewing Secrets by Singer) that explains the rub-off technique, among many other tips. It consists of copying another garment by tracing a fairly accurate pattern by laying a transparent paper or muslin and transferring the seamlines. This method is a great way to recreate your favourites, especially when something fits perfectly.


The starting point is pen and paper, and a french curve is also really useful.


To create the pattern, you need to turn the t-shirt inside out and fold it in half and follow the seams or other marks. Once the outline is finished, the seam allowance needs to be added (see the darker mark on the pattern below).

Then to sew. I followed the instructions here. To briefly summarise, the first step is to join the front and back at the shoulders, and then the round part of the sleeve is attached. The next step is to create a single seam starting from the sleeve all the way down the side.





For the hem and the neck opening I used a twin or double needle, to mimic coverstitch. I found that just folding the seam allowance wasn't the strongest finishing, so I would add bias binding next time.


As the two photos show below, the front and the back are identical. I only realised after finishing the t-shirt that it could do with a little label on the back.


Friday 23 January 2015

My new overlocker

I got recently a birthday + Christmas present in the shape of an overlocker. Although I don't consider myself a particularly advanced sewer (yet), I had been thinking for a while about having a more polished finish in my clothes and using knit fabrics, which can only be achieved with the help of an overlocker.


My new friend is a Husqylock S15 (Husqvarna). It took me a while to decide, I spent ages comparing online; so many brands and prices are a bit mind-boggling. At first, I thought of a second hand one for about £70, but that's already a considerable expense without being able to see if it worked properly. Then I heard that certain German supermarket does occasional offers, and discovered that it is very similar to a well known brand, but on the cheap. I was mainly sceptical about the customer service for such a high cost item.

Eventually, I went to a local shop and they showed me a few different models but, being a beginner, I wasn't able to distinguish how the sound can give you a clue about its quality; all were noisy to me. I went for the least expensive. The lady was really nice and went through the threading patiently and made it so easy that I don't understand why it's feared so much.

To summarise, these are a few tips on how to choose an overlocker:

- Price?
I would recommend  to buy the best you can afford. In terms of price, compared to a beginners sewing machine, mine cost £100, a decent overlocker is around £200. I ended up contributing to the purchase, as it was too much for such a small machine.

- New or second hand?
If possible, I would go for a new machine to avoid surprises, like missing parts. If it's only, say £50 it's too good to be true.

- Brand?
Some brands are actually part of the same company, e.g., Husqvarna, Pfaff and Singer, which manufacture in China, so they're probably going to have comparable quality (and a cover made of plastic).

- Shop?
Choose a shop that provides a brief tutorial about threading and can help you later on if something goes wrong.

- Free arm?
Not essential; it's useful to remove the left part and it helps for sleeves or trousers, but you can always lift the garment and rotate it on the side.

- 2-3-4-5 threads?
Most do 2, 3 or 4 threads, which I think is sufficient. I felt a bit disappointed that from the many stitch options with 2, 3 or 4 threads, this overlocker doesn't do a coverstitch (two parallel lines), but there is the alternative of using twin needles in a normal sewing machine for finishing hems.

Finally, one important thing I've learned is that threading is easy. You just need to follow the diagram and get a good pair of long tweezers (to get into the nooks and cranies).