It's about sewing

After two posts on making prints from the computer screen, back to the sewing projects. I got a lot done, though it's easy projects mostly.


First a shot of the buttons on my daughters coat. Tomorrow I'll finish this coat.

I made the Jalie twist top again, this time with long sleeves. The review for this is here.
Another Jalie set: the cardigan with t-shirt. That review here.














For my blog readers a few extra pictures. The cardigan with the twist top, and two details of the cardigan.
That's 3 of the 5 sewing projects I wrote about in my post of November 8 done. And a few more combinations in my closet. The gored skirt is cut, and still to decide on a pattern for a knit.



And I'm seriously thinking about what to do next. I want to do something that's new or a bit more difficult. Those quick projects are nice, but sometimes I want a bit more of a challenge, but just not sure which way it should go.

And do you remember I was working on Vogue 2987? It was given a veto over by my daughter: weird jacket and awful fabric. And as DH also wasn't very positive when he saw the result so far, I stopped, already some weeks ago. Maybe sometime in another fabric.

Capture a picture from a website

In yesterday's post I said I would describe a way of making a picture from a (part of) a website. Cidell mentioned in the comments she would like a system like that, only she's working on a Mac, and I'm sure there will be more Mac-users among you. Probably the Mac will have similar features, but I'm not familiar with them. But when there's a PrintScreen button and a basic picture editor like Windows Paint, you can do the same.

Here's the description for the Windows environment (screenshots in Dutch version of Paint):

• Open the webpage needed with picture or line drawing
• Press the PrintScreen button (Alt + PrintScreen will only capture active window, try the difference)
• Open a new file in Paint
• Paste (Ctrl + V or Edit, Paste)
  The screenshot is now a Paint image
• Click the Select button
  

• Drag around the part of the screen you want as a picture
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Copy selected area (Ctrl + C or Edit, Copy)
• Choose File, New from the menu, you don't have to save current picture
• Paste (Ctrl + V or Edit, Paste)
  The selected are is now a picture on its own.
  

• Choose File, Save as
• Select appropriate folder where you want to save the picture
• Type name of file/picture (I use year/month/number of the Burda issue)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Select JPEG(*jpg...) as File Type (I use this format as it can be used easily later to upload for a review or in my blog, but you may choose another format if you like)
  
• Click Save
  The picture is saved.
  

When you select the folder in Explorer and show miniatures, the images will be clearly visible as I showed in yesterday's post.
Hope this is helpful.

Organizing

I'm not a very organized person. And when I see pictures of an adequate pattern filing system, fabric storing system etc. I'm impressed. Because it always looks (is) so organized, and I'm feeling awkward, because I lack that ability.
My (small) fabric collection is in a closet and a drawer, and oh yes, one box with lingerie fabrics. But they're not labeled, I don't carry swatches with me all the time for when I'm in a shop and might find the correct matching fabric or garment. Well, that's just me, and I've accepted for myself that I'm like that.

There's only one thing I would like to improve. I do have a subscription to BWOF since about a year, and own a few of the years before. And when I see a pattern that I like to make sometime, till now I used post-its sticking out. But with the increasing number of magazines, it's difficult to keep track of my favorites.

Yesterday someone in de Burda English group wrote a post of scanning the line drawing pages and give them a tag to easily find them back on your computer. Good idea. But then I thought of the screenshots I make of pictures and linedrawings for my reviews and on this blog, I thought of a system that would organize my favorite BWOF patterns. And on the computer I'm pretty organized :-)










This is the idea: make a computer picture of the picture or line drawing of the pattern and store the picture in a folder with the type of garment (skirt, pants, blouse etc). When you show miniatures in Explorer, you easily see the patterns that you liked in the issues you have.
For me it is now taking a bit of time to make the files, but once I've done that, it will take me only a couple of minutes each month to update my inspiration folders.

I use a special program for screenshots (which I use for my work too), but you don't need to have that to make the files as in the picture above. In my next post I'll write an instruction how to do this with the default Paint program.

Coat almost finished

My daughters coat is not difficult to make. I expected to need more time, but it is almost finished now (Saturday night at almost 11 pm, and today there was a lot of shopping and cleaning to be done too!). The instructions are pretty clear, only a less experience sewer might be confused by the instruction "to make pleats as in picture".
The only thing I did different is the insertion of the sleeve. After pressing the sleeve seams to the body and topstitching the first sleeve as instructed on the body, I found that the sleeve had lost something (don't know how to describe this well in English). I removed the topstitching and pressed the seams to the sleeves and added a sleeve head. Much better.







For the gathering on the skirt the instructions tell you to stitch two rows of straight stitches and gather by pulling the thread. A classic way that certainly will work, but I made my life a bit easier here and used wide lingerie elastic. Color unimportant, it will be hidden.
Measured at the necessary distance and then stretched to the fabric. I used a triple zigzag to sew it on. The second picture shows the inside. You see the extra few centimeters that were lacking in the grey fabric. Initially I lengthened the lining, but that was not working, thus I added a strip of fabric to the skirt.















Still to be done:

• line the sleeves (it is a separate step in the instructions after inserting the body lining, and I left it like that, because my daughter has to try first to determine the length of the sleeves)
• handstitch the body lining to the skirt
  
• make buttonholes, that is difficult, as my sewing foot for buttonholes can't deal with the very large buttons that will be on the coat. Must make them step by step myself and make sure they have the same length. Pity, my sewing machine makes such beautiful automatic buttonholes with the appropriate foot.

I hope to do this tomorrow evening, but not so sure that will happen. Tomorrow there's two windows

Guinness book of records

My daughter asked me this afternoon if I wanted to be in the Guinness book of records. I started to make her a coat: McCalls 5513. It was cut on an evening this week and I started sewing this afternoon around 3 o'clock. First I asked her to try the body without sleeves, and a little later with sleeves. That was when she made the remark: the sleeves went in so smoothly, that it took me only 15 minutes to set them both in. So I was back to her "in no time".

It's a cute pattern, but the pattern sizing of McCalls is a mystery to me. In the dress that my daughter made we ended using 4 and would have used 6 for a non-stretch fabric.
For this coat I used the 10, and could have used a 12 (but it's not on the pattern I have). I sewed small side and sleeve seams.
I referred to the finished bust size on the pattern, that I never really noticed, untill Summerset told me in the comments some time ago.

The construction is not so difficult. I was short of about 5 cm of fabric, and cut the lining a bit longer. It's a balloon sort of skirt part, so that's no problem I hope. The back will remain plain, not my daughters idea of embellishment.
I lengthened the sleeves, and will not do a lot of

Set completed

Happy thanksgiving to all those in the US celebrating this event. Here it is a day as any other.


I made two panties to go with the bra I made this weekend.












To those who would like to start making lingerie I like to refer to a few tutorials in earlier posts. In the side bar there are links to these tutorials.
And I'm sorry Carolyn, but though I'd very much like to spend a few sewing days with you (I could certainly learn quite a few things from you too!), the US is too far away.

This set is made from one of the packages that Kantje-Boord in Amsterdam sells. Only a few scraps left of both the lycra and the lace.

As I don't live too far away, I go there myself occasionally and find combinations of lace/lycra and notions that I like. But in the shop they also have the packages they sell through the internet, and I bought this package there some time ago, when I did not have enough time to browse through all their fabrics and laces.
Through the internet they sell only packages, no separate notions. The owner says he doesn't speak English very well, but he's very friendly and helpful. One package is 17,50 euro (and no, I don't have shares!)

A few other sources for lace/lycra/notions:

Merckwaerdigh: an e-bay store of a Dutch lady who sells her own patterns and some fabrics/notions (don't know her personally, but she is a reliable vendor)

Two in Germany that I have experience with:

- Exclusive Stoffe, look for the heading "Alles für Dessous"

- Elingeria

Apologies to my non-European readers, I don't have experience outside Europe, except EmmaOneSock and GorgeousFabrics, but they do not sell lingerie lace or lycra. There certainly are other online shops in Europe and elsewhere, but I have no experience with them.

And Tany, thanks for the attention to the vintage pattern, the BWOF picture really doesn't do it justice. It's great, and I can see myself making that in spring (for now I want something with long sleeves, it's cold here)

Inspiration from December Knip and BWOF

The December issue from Knip Mode is in the shops here, and BWOF is to be seen online already. I bought the Knip Mode to pass on to someone else in the US, but I will buy another one, as I'm going to keep this one myself. A quick scan in the shop showed nothing to catch my eye, but I think there are some great patterns in it, especially blouses.
The on the left is on my (too long) to make list.










From the online BWOF issue I like this blouse very much. And I want to make a few things that are a bit more special than my usual blouses, I consider making this blouse for Christmas.