Saturday's Sewing part 2

Talking Textiles

Well I did it – I finished my skirt. I did have a little help along the way but I can honestly say I achieved my aim to make a garment.

As some of you will know I have been on a two part sewing course to make a skirt.

In this weeks lesson I learnt how to make a waistband and attach it (this was actually the hardest part of the project for me as the waistband was smaller than the top of the skirt and needed manipulating somewhat whilst sewing it on.) I found that I ended up having too much skirt material bunching together in one area and I had to unpick my stitches to smooth it out. Not sure how I’ll get on when I make one completely on my own. To finish the waist band we had to under sew just underneath the band, which was also a little tricky but I managed it by going very slowly.

We learnt how to do a button hole – not much to learn actually as the machine had an automatic buttonhole function which made light work of it. My machine is not quite so fancy so will take a little more effort.

After the buttonhole and sewing on the button, we just had the hem to do. I was sure it would be wobbly but it came out quite well.

So there you are. Skirt number one finished. I am inordinately proud of this achievement! I love it but now I need to buy a pretty top to go with it!

Not satisfied with one summer skirt I have been fabric hunting again. I was perusing at the charity shop last week when I came across a wonderful bargain - two duvets covers which look unused. They are both 100% cotton and were from Marks and Spencers originally. They have different patterns on each side which means four options to choose from and they were only £3.00 each. Can’t beat that really now can you? Here is a peek at my favourite.

I already have another skirt cut out and hope to do some more sewing whilst it’s fresh in my mind.

If you have never made anything I would encourage you to book on a course as it’s so much fun and you get something no one else has at the end of it. x



Saturday's Sewing

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was quite an adventure. As its Monday I'm talking textiles.

It was with great fear and trepidation that I embarked on my next mission- to learn how to sew a skirt. It wasn’t without its challenges. Firstly when my gorgeous Amy Butler fabric arrived it looked completely different to how it looked online. Yes, I probably should have realised it might, but it was a rookie mistake. Anyway it was a gorgeous pattern but I felt it was just toooo bright (looks lovely on the screen but the green is less lime and more fluorescent), rather too busy and would probably make me look several sizes larger. Oh well .. it’ll make a gorgeous apron. Better put that on my list. So I had to go fabric hunting again at the last minute.

I love fabric shops but I don’t get them. They are full of such incredible possibilities and yet I have no clue as to what each fabric is suitable for. I need a tour guide to point out what the properties are of each fabric and so I plumped for a fairly standard cotton (printed with a cord look and little flower print) even though what I really wanted was a thicker fabric more akin to what I guess to be upholstery fabric.

Armed with my supplies, the nervous feeling was replaced with one of anticipation and excitement. Off I went to my class at The Ministry of Craft in Manchester. On arriving, I was pleased to see we were a select few – just the four of us, which meant lots of personal attention. The tutor was very personable and made us feel relaxed. We watched as she demonstrated all the basics on the machine, the placing of patterns, cutting fabric and marking the darts. We all had a go at each step and then it was on to the sewing.

I was particularly scared of using the fancy machines. I have a bog standard Toyota machine and theirs were Janome machines (All electric buttons and fancy stitches). Once I got the hang of it, it was ok. We sewed our darts, our back seams and then it was zip time! The bit everybody dreads. It was a little tricky and I will be practicing some more this week just to make sure I can do it without guidance, but we all managed it.

Next came sewing up the side seams and using the over locker on the pressed edges. If you think a sewing machine is scary, it's nothing in comparison with the over locker. It's much faster and cuts the fabric so one wrong move and you could destroy your garment. I think after a few goes you could really get to like it though as it gives a very professional looking finish.
Then came the first fitting, which was another nerve wracking part of the process. Apparently after measuring we all had to make a size larger than we would normally wear due to the outdated measuring system on patterns. I always think my hips are humungous and was dreading the skirt not fitting but it fit nicely and I was sooo proud of myself. I can’t show you the finished article until next week as I’m doing the second part of the course next Saturday but please come back so I can show off a little bit! x