Stashbust April-May

Lockdown week 10 - I´m getting tired of this to be honest. Most of the sewing I do is really just mending knees of pnats as my kids tend to kill these super fast.
The few pieces I made in a month or so -

3/4 leggings for young lady Ottobre pattern

Jersey dress with, Ottobre

Matching shorts, Ottobre

The only dress I made for myself was on my dressform for more than a month only waiting to be photographed. Burda pattern, 5/2019, neckline both at the front and back hacked. Finished as a V-neck.

Front

V-neck with bias binding

Back

A Statement Coat - Vogue V9040

I got a Bluprint coat making class with Steffani Lincecum (Craftsy back then, actually) ages ago (thank you Heather Dawson) and always been wanting to actually make it. Last year I´ve met the fabric of my dreams for this particular coat - 2mm wool felt in radiant turquiose. I also needed some really nice lining so first I bought a silk/cotton blend in black which turned out to be a bad choice being too light to match with the relatively heavy felt. So new order, new fabric - still a silk/cotton blend but a bit heavier and in a very nice matching color.

Earlier this year I made the time to start making it. I expected sweat and tears but surprise-surprise - the pattern is close to perfect, the notches matched and there was no misalignment with the lining either.

I did size 14 - the sizing was totally different to what I´m used so I went after the ready dimensions. I think in a lighter fabric I might go one size down.

Hello extra inner pocket - this is part of the class, not included in the pattern

Grey Linen

I had the fabric since a while and had in mind do make a set (Pattern Burda 4/2002 117b+127)

Everything went wrong what could go wrong.

• I should ´ve listened to my inner fairy saying the skirt pattern is crap. It was, same piece for back and front with darts of same size - WTF? Of course I had to hack it to fit.
• I didn´t set the iron properly for the lining (poly) and almost burnt a whole into it - was already assembled. Luckily it happened at the bottom and the hemming helped a lot.
• I had to rip the side seams to give some ease on both the cover and the lining. When ripping I cut into it twice. Yes, twice. Ironing some fusible interface on the wrong side got me covered.
• The collar is not supposed to look like this but I just don´t care.
• When doing the buttonholes my machine was not set properly so I had to rip the first hole twice. (Yes, I was kicking myself for not setting the automatic buttonhole properly the first time AND testing it at least once)
• When cutting the holes my ripper got out of control and cut into fabric. Luckily not through. My finger stopped it. Yes, I was bleeding but not onto the garment.

Regardless of sweat and blood I like the outcome. Here. 

From a distance everything looks perfect

Not sure if this is how it should look like

Ripper accident fixed

Rain Pants with Sealed Seams Part II.

The fabric is a coated nylon - you need some kind of a coated material otherwise the tape wouldn´t stick. I used a serger for some the seams. Reason being is the width of the tape wouldn´t cover a normal seam.

Problem was to iron the tape on the seam itself - it got remarkable harder with the thread in the seam. Also the iron is not producing heat very evenly - when it started to heat up to the level I set it was always easier.

The freezer paper helps a lot but after a while I found the tape was melting on the paper on the same heat level as before. I found out that it´s a sign that the paper needs to be replaced. Pretty often, actually.

When I got to the seams between the legs (i.e. the curved ones) it even got trickier. I realized that when ironing flat the other side of the seam will melt away - so I needed to get my armboard out to make sure there´s no contact between the front and back side of the legs. Ironing in the crotch takes time as you can only do a few cm-s in one go without ruining the rest of what´s already done. I also ended up using more layers for more protection.

I taped everywhere except the waist seam - I think it´s pretty useless there - that part is always covered by a jacket. Using a regular sewing machine with straight stitch is a much better choice than a serger - it´s much easier to apply the tape on a flat seam. Be careful with huw much your seam allowance is - make sure you choose the right width for the tape. You won´t need a serger anyway as the seam will be closed by the tape - means no fraying.

Serger

Straight stitch

Here´s how the final piece looks. Pretty simple - no pockets, no extra seams just the bare minimum.

Rain Pants with Sealed Seams Part I.

In Germany kids need 2 sets of rain clothes -jacket+pants - for kindergarten and for home. We live in a wet area - rain is a usual accessory in spring, autumn and winter so you  can´t really make it with 1 set for a season.

It´s relatively easy and cheap to get these but I figured I have the fabric and managed to get the seam sealer tape I might just give it a try.

So here´s the full documentation on how it worked.

The seam sealer tape came from Aliexpress and since I was sewing for kids and light fabric I chose the 20mm version. 50m-s came in a plastic ziplock bag. Finding the end was impossible so I just cut at some point.

Next up to see how it sticks. As per instructions it melts at about 150 Celsius so you have to be careful with the iron. I tried first with a piece of fabric over but it didn´t work.
As it didn´t work with the fabric I thought I might give it a try with a hair dryer. Don´t ask how it turned out. My hairdryer overheated, blew the whole place all away and the darn thing would not stick either. Now it´s a question of time if my hairdryer is really dead or just pretends to be.

Sure none of these worked. I didn´t read the instructions completely. For some reason I keep thinking I am smart and don´t need to read. It keeps turning out I´m not as smart as I think.
Anyhow, the correct addition is freezer paper on top. So, start again, shiny side of tape on the wrong side of by fabric, paper on top, iron. Note the temperature should be a little under ´wool´ setting. And what a miracle, all works fine.

Freezer paper

Result

Now off to work on the pants.

T-shirts and Iron-On

I like knits a lot. I have a lot of fabric too and keep buying them. I also discovered lately that I can get cool iron-on patches from Aliexpress. So I made a T-shirt for myself and added some kick to it. It almost looks like bought.

In addition I also started ironing on patches to my kids´ RTW clothes as they both like to have something on (not letters).

Few things to be careful about when ironing -

1. Always use a piece of fabric between the iron and the patch.

2. Be persistent but don´t go over 2 dots on the iron (140-150 C). If you do so it might melt the patch too much and it will stick on the foil. Can be saved but better avoid the hassle (remove the foil carefully - most challenging - and iron more with the fabric over)

3. If you can´t pull the foil from one end try other ends. You still can iron for a few more seconds with the fabric on top but without the foil.

4. Make sure edges are properly done. Otherwise half of the motive will come off after the first wash.

5. Always wash inside out.

Burda 2/2013 Modell 126

Ruffled sleeves and pretty neckline with bias binding

Young Lady´s look-alike T-shirt with the same kid´s size iron-on

Too many letters and too small motives might be challenging when ironing - I´m skeptical how long this will last

Kids Apron 2-4ys Free Pattern

Junior had one so I had to self-draft one for Little Lady too. The first version is pretty simple and will be followed by a second one made of some nicer fabric.

Sizes are shown on the pic (fits 2-4ys, for older kids the length needs to be increased only).

The cool thing about it that it can be adjusted by pulling the straps on the side and no need to make head measurements.

The tubes to guide the strap is made using a 5cm wide bias tape (mine was 33cm, but it really depends on the curve) attached to the raw side of the curve. The strap is 170cm long (1-piece).

Broad upper back adjustment

I like dresses with a bit higher waistline as I look slimmer in them. What I always knew is my back/shoulders are broader than average but until now I always managed to make things work.

With this one, everything went wrong. The fabric has no stretch so it didn't work with sleeves at all. I could zip it up but had no chance to move. Not enough fabric left for cutting another set of front-back bodice to do the adjustment. So, sleeves ripped off and made it sleeveless. I'm happy with how it came out as a wearable muslin for warmer days - but next time I'll keep in mind no-stretch fabric will not work without adjustment. I thought this will never come but life is such.

Pattern Burda 9/2016

I had to sacrifice the sleeve

Final version

Szeretem az olyan ruhákat, amiknek kicsit magasabban van a dereka mert állítólag ezekben vékonyabbnak nézek ki. Azt tudtam, hogy a vállam szélesebb mint a konfekcióméret de sosem számítottam rá, hogy ez gond lehet ennél a ruhánál. Az anyag nem nyúlik, így fel kellett áldoznom az ujját, különben nem tudtam volna felhúzni hátul. Sajnos legközelebb ilyesmi szabásnál muszáj lesz a hátát igazítani - pedig azt hittem ez a pillanat sosem jön el. 

Minta Burda 9/2016

Holiday

Since I have kids I´m going first time alone for a few days of ´private holiday´. I´m going to summer so I needed some stuff I can take. Both are linens, need proper pressing but I love them. The skirt pattern is very old, I found it when organizing stash...Must be from an old Burda. I remembered it being more A-line - will see if it will feel more A-line when worn. The dress is also Burda, 10/2011 and originally meant to be lined. I skipped that part - will have a slip underneath.

Totals for January-  busted 8.8m, bought 2,5 so down by 6-ish. 

Nemsokára nyaralni megyek, egyedül, először mióta gyerekeim vannak. A nyárba megyek, szóval kellett pár cucc amit vihetek. Mindkét anyag len, a minták Burdából vannak. A ruha eredetileg bélelt, de azt most kihagytam - amjd aláveszek egy alsóruhát ha nagyon muszáj.

Annyira jól menedzseltem az időmet, hogy 8.8m-t varrtam meg és csak 2,5m-t vettem ebben a hónapban. 

52 Week Sewing Challenge - Week 3

Went rogue - I just couldn´t resist this dress for my 2yr-old. It´s lined and made of embroidered corduroy. The fabric was in my deep stash.

Pattern Ottobre 6/2013. I could have done a better job with the lining but realized late that tulle was on the fabric list which I didn´t have. I ended up cutting the stripe out of the lining fabric - would have been easier if I just add the length to the lining. 

Carneval season is approaching so I'm preparing to make costumes for the kids (right after they finally made up their minds what they wanted).

Added normal zipper - pattern calls an invisible one which I didn´t have

The lining fabric was also stash and awful to work with

A héten megint nem téma szerint varrtam, Kisasszonynak készült megint ruha. Az anyag hímzett mikrokord, nagyon szép, bár a tiszta fehér nem annyira praktikus egy kétévesnek. Minta Ottobre 6/2ö13-bül való. A bélés anyaga is régi készlet, egy kollégától kaptam, ő meg örökölte. Pocsék volt vele dolgozni, de amúgy szép bélésanyag. Sajnos későn jöttem rá hogy eredetleg van a bélés alján egy tüll csík ami persze nekem nincs - így leszabtam a bélésanyagból, de egyszerűbb lett volna ha egyből hozzáadom a tüllcsík hosszát a szoknyarész béléséhez. A cipzár nem varrásba rejtett, mert olyanom éppen most nincsen. A ruha cuki lett, a következő körökben jelmezeket kell varrnom.

Last Makes of 2017

For the record - no special technique or fabric used. They are heavily in use so it took some time until I got the chance to shoot pics.
Dress for Young Lady size 104 , pattern Ottobre 4/2014 Banana Sweet. Nicki+leftover jersey for lining and cuffs.

Shawl of natural alpaka, used about 400grams. Pattern from Verena 2/2011 Morelia.

A rend kedvéért, az utsó elkészült darabok decemberben. Ruha Kisasszonynak Ottobre 4/2014 Bananan Sweet, sál nekem tiszta natúr alpakából, Verena 2/2011 Morelia.

December -back to sewing

Partially.  Bein on holiday and having my parents over here helps with time a lot.
Managed to bust some stash :) Total bust 2.6m-s plus some scraps.

Flared skirt size 104 Ottobre 4/2014

Pyajamas size 122 Ottobre 4/2014

Made of Nicki Peace

China Girl dress size 104 Ottobre 4/2014

Pocket detail

With some lace

3/4 leggings size 104 - been cut since ever

With iron on crystals

Részben vissza a varráshoz - sokat segít, hogy itt vannak a szüleim és szabin vagyok. A gyerkőcök kpatak most ruhákat, és még mindig tervezek párat a hétre. Összes anyag felhasználás 2.6m volt meg egy kicsi maradék.