on the sew again

My sewing machine has four (four!) dials which all control different aspects of how the thread interacts with the fabric. Two of them are not supposed to be adjusted very often; one of these is set at the factory and is not supposed to need adjusting often, if at all.

The last week of September, I wound up adjusting all four until I got a consistent stitch out of the machine.

Since then, I have made one item of clothing per week, plus some extras as I go along.

This gallery has most of them (er, as of late October). The only thing I left out was the black pair of dress pants because they’re just a black pair of dress pants, and therefore a photograph wouldn’t show very much.

Things I have learned so far:

• there are way more free or pay-what-you-can patterns out there than you may think before you get into it

• sewing is, or at least can be, way, way faster than knitting

• you don’t need to be a dressmaking master if you (and this is important) take your time and keep a seam ripper handy

Patchwork top

The pattern is a mashup between Elizabeth Suzann’s Georgia series (t shirt view) and Vicky Meyers’ take on Susan Eastman’s colour block tops. With all that inspiration, maybe it’s no wonder it took me all of a long weekend to put together. All the fabric is from quilting stash given to me. The patchwork bands are all double thickness (both raw edges sewn to the black main fabric).

Pajama pants

This was my first attempt at the Florence pants from Elizabeth Suzann. I learned a new-to-me way to do an elastic waistband, and I learned that at least for ES patterns, I need to make the tall size for pants. I’m tall, but the tall size for most retail pants is actually too long for me.

I also made a second, tall-sized pair of these in black cotton, but didn’t bother photographing them, because, well, black cotton. I added seam pockets to those which were not included in the pattern, and except for the part where I placed them wrong and they tops of them got included in the waistband, the pants worked out well.

Harper tunic #1

I have really fallen in love with Elizabeth Suzann’s Harper tunic. So far I’ve made 3! The pocket is intended to be the same as the main fabric, but I love the contrast statement of, “LOOK. IT HAS A POCKET.”

Harper dress

I made this dress from the Harper pattern by just extending the side seams and hem by 45cm/18”.

Love Notions t-shirt

This is my first-ever jersey sew! Love Notions offers an extremely versatile t-shirt, with a wide size range, full bust adjustment, three lengths (and you could make more of your own, easily), four sleeve lengths (including none at all), and three neck styles. I’ve already made a long-sleeved v-neck version as well, and have the fabric to make a third one. I want all my t-shirts to be this fabric.

Acacia remnant underwear

Underwear is something I did not expect to make right away (if ever), but it was such a great way to use up the leftovers for making the t-shirt. I’ve also made a few pairs from old t-shirts. Commercial underwear seems kind of like a scam after sewing up a few of these.

Harper tunic #2

This is the most recent Harper. The lime green flannel pocket is one of my favourite touches so far.