A New Post At Last!

I know! It's been ages. I apologise and want to thank anyone still hanging around in the hope that I eventually did a new post - it's much appreciated!

Finally, I've been doing some sewing. As I may have mentioned, I had to replace my previous Toyota machine which, although I loved and knew how to work back to front, had a fairly strong dislike to sewing through anything on the thicker side. I'd had it for years so it was a bit of a sad decision. After some false starts and an unpleasant dealing with a particular sewing machine sales company, I did some more searching locally.

I was pretty decided on a Janome as they are used in so many places for lessons, etc, which would hopefully speak to their reliability, and it seems pretty easy to get extras for them without having to hunt them down. I tried the 607 but found that the display wasn't as easy to read as I would have hoped. It then really came down to the 5900QC and the new DKS30. I needed to decide as to whether I really needed all the extra twiddly bits that the 5900QC did. It's all very well having all those lovely stitches but would I really use them? And would the huge choice just be that little bit intimidating meaning I wouldn't get on and do any sewing? So, in the end I plumped for the simple push-a-button-to-choose option and took home my new machine.

I'd had a lined skirt of my Mum's for ages which she wanted me to take up a little. I got the machine out and practiced a bit on the blind hemming then did the skirt. It came out just fine. And then the machine just sat there. I'm not entirely sure of the reasons, but I think the bad taste left by the first attempt to replace the machine was still there, even though I'd gone somewhere different. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I bit the bullet!

I'd had some pre-shirred fabric from Fabricland waiting to be made into a dress for far too long. I love these sort of dresses - ok, I love dresses in general, but these are great as they're so easy to pull on and can be dressed up or down. And yes, it is winter here but I don't go with that whole 'winter/summer' wardrobe thing. I just stick a pair of boots on the bottom and a cardi on the top and call it done :)

So, with a bit of help from hubby with getting the straps pinned into place at the correct tension, I finished the dress.

 

Apologies that it's not the best shot in the world of it but with the rain, rain and more rain we've been having, it's been a little tricky to get out and take a picture 'in the real world' but I wanted to get a post up. Possibly before we all get washed away!

 

The fabric was a bit too plain for my liking so I found a lovely Broderie Anglaise trim to go around the bottom. The initial idea was to make the straps from the same but when I tried it, it looked a little bit too flouncy. It was then a case of back to the haberdashery department to find a trim that looked similar and was the same 'white' (how many there are!). I found one was looked just like the top part of the flounce and was the same shade so home we went and with some pinning - and only one unpick when I managed to somehow put one on twisted, I had a new dress finished! Yippee!

 

Obviously you don't need to add the trim or the straps to make these dresses and depending if you want to finish your seams like I did, or just cut them with pinking shears, you could have a dress in a very short time indeed.

 

I, on the other hand, am known to be a bit clumsy and on more than one occasion have stood on the hem of an elasticated skirt, only to narrowly avoid an embarrassing moment. Therefore the straps on this seemed a good safety measure for me!

 

I hope you like the dress, and I'd love to see any pictures of similar ones you have made, or hear about ones you plan to!

 

Thanks again for dropping by! I have another couple of projects to post about so will be back soon!

 

Happy Crafting!

 

Love, Maxi

New Sewing Machine - Eek!

Well, I finally decided and now have a shiny new sewing machine. I have to say that I haven't had much use of it yet, but I did actually manage to get the bobbin wound, in and working yesterday. I rummaged around and found a skirt I cut out more years ago than I care to remember - and due to that fact am not sure I'm even going to fit into anymore! :(  which is this one from New Look.

 

New Look 6300

 

As you can see, it's noted as 'Easy' which makes it even more annoying that I couldn't flippin' work out some of the instructions! I sewed the back together yesterday and it originally had a vent...well, not anymore. I'm hoping it's just because I'm out of practice and not because I'm actually being a bit dopey! So, having edged and hemmed the vent, I couldn't work out how it was supposed to lie, so I ended up hemming the back seam all the way down from the bottom of the zipper area and chopping the vent bit off.

 

The view I'd chosen and cut out is the one the model is...well, modelling in the picture. This is also throwing up issues for me. I'd cut all my skirt out of some really nice faux suede I'd got from Croft Mill years ago in brown and a beigey/creamy colour. However, when I've got to patch it together, it seems like some are going to be the wrong side up. I thought I'd cut them out wrong but having looked at the cutting layouts again yesterday, it does seem that I've followed them correctly. Which is why I ended up sewing the back together first.

 

So, at the moment, it's sitting in a pile until hubby who although not a seamstress, has a very clever and logical mind, can look at it with me and see if it's me or them. As I say, all this might be academic because I'm not the skinny girl I was so it might not even fit, but I did think that I might be able to put some panels down the side if things start looking that way, bearing in mind it's a pieced look anyway.

 

If anyone has had any experience with this pattern, I'd be happy to hear from you (more than happy!).

 

Any whilst it probably wasn't the best project to start out on a brand new machine after a long gap away from, being shiny on one side, and grippy on the other, I did at least sew a few bits of fabric to another few bits so it's a start!

 

 



New Sewing Machine Advice and Beautiful Old Ones

As some of you know, I've been 'between machines' now for some time, and whilst I'm having a nice time pondering on what I will make as and when I get a new one, I'm also finding that deciding on such a thing can be quite overwhelming. There's so much choice and so many different opinions. Who's right? Or is it all, as with so many things, just subjective?

I did have an interesting time a few weeks ago when I managed to rip the Brand New Dress I'd had on for about three hours! This is what comes of trying to carry too many bags of shopping down steps without lifting up the maxi dress a little.

I have to say, I am one of the clumsiest people I know, and am prone to tripping, banging into, or falling over so this was not really a new turn of events. What was new, (apart from the dress!) was that the fabric of the dress was quite fine which meant instead of me just falling up or down, as normally happens, I heard the most horrible tear. Looking down confirmed my fears.

Once I'd calmed down, I realised that at least this was fixable. The tear was at the bottom of the dress so turning it up an inch or so, should rectify the problem, and comforted myself in the fact that I hadn't put a great big hole in the middle at least! I say the problem was rectifiable. It would be if I had a machine.... Mum!!!

A little trip to my parents and I was soon sat opposite my Mum's machine which she got when she was 17...it's now over 50 years old. They certainly don't make them like this anymore. It's pretty just to look at!

 

 

Excuse the fact it's not the best quality pic in the world, but it was taken with a phone, in a north facing room. But it's still pretty!

 

It's the first time I've used a foot pedal in many years as my previous one had a start/stop button, so that took a bit of getting used to but after commandeering one of Dad's (clean!) hankies that was of a similar fine weave, I had a practice and got going. And I now have a wearable dress once again! It made me wonder what people who don't have a machine, or access to one, do when things like this happen. Or are they just not as accident prone as me?

 

In the meantime, I'm still pondering over what machine to go for. I tried out a Janome a few weeks ago, the TX607, and that was nice - I do love those little snippy scissor buttons! I wasn't so keen on the screen though. I didn't think it was as clear as some others, such as the 5900 (also Janome), although sadly this one doesn't have the thread cutter. I've been leaning towards Janome because I want something that I can get feet for easily if I want to, without having to send off and pay enormous postage, has a good range of fancy stitches as well as the workhorse ones, and basically will handle anything I throw at it - thick or thin.

 

If anyone has any opinions on the subject, I'm all ears! Thanks so much!