Tag: toaster sweater

Quick February Roundup – Three more garments in the bag!

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I may have been lacking in blogging since the first Toaster Sweater this year but the sewing has been keeping momentum.

Firstly I managed a second garment in January, a Sew Over It Betty dress in a blue floral cotton. I’d bought that fabric with a 50s style swing dress in mind, and I did have a couple of patterns in stock but they would all have required quite a bit of fitting work, and I know that Sew Over It patterns suit my sizing…so on a whim I bought the PDF Betty pattern. Mostly it went together smoothly, although I did not have enough fabric for the skirt pieces so did some re-drafting based on a GBSB circle skirt I made a while back – it worked just fine and the skirt is plenty big – I took a huge amount out of the Betty pattern pieces so goodness knows how big THAT skirt would have been! I do have some minor fit issues to fix for the next make of this pattern – the back gapes a bit on me, partly due to the straps being too loose and sit too wide on my shoulders. Given I finished this the night before the wedding I planned to wear it to, I hacked a fix by pleating the neckline and stitching a fold in the straps at the seams – I wore a cardi over it so it didn’t matter, but I’ll have to fix it better in the long run. Otherwise the fit was good (worn here with a petticoat!).

Betty dress

Secondly, I finished my Spring shrug that was my first proper knitting project and has been WIP since March last year. Currently wrapping up a few other WIPs and then will start the next knit, which will be a Victory Sweater from the V&A archives.

spring shrug

Thirdly, I knocked out another Toaster Sweater in a few hours this Sunday, from the second fabric I had bought from Minerva for the purpose. I realised this would be my first actual attempt at pattern matching, as somehow everything else I’ve made so far has been plain or in a pattern so busy or large that you don’t need to match. Mostly it’s turned out well! I tweaked the neckline for this and it sits much better than the first one – although that may be in part due to the fabric taking a press somewhat better. I also added to the length because I find the first one rides up a little.

Toaster sweater 2

Finally, in other exciting sewing news, I got my first Sew Hayley Jane box this month (medium) and loved it, so excited already for the next one. The black viscose fabric I think I have earmarked for a pair of Sew Over It Ultimate trousers, a pattern I’ve been meaning to revisit since first sewing it at the workshop. The fat quarters I think are destined for new needle case/ pincushion and maybe a headscarf too.

Aaand I’ve fired off a few entries for the Make It Today Dressmaker of the Year competition, in the vintage and ready-to-wear categories. I’m really pleased with the things I submitted so fingers crossed!

It’s also Knitting and Stitching Show time again next weekend, I’ve already got a shopping list forming so stand by for the haul post next week…

 

Toaster Sweater 2 – the best thing since sliced bread!

Posted on Posted in #projectsewmystyle, #thewardrobechallenge, Clothes, Ethical fashion, Handmade, SewingTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

So here goes my first #projectsewmystyle make – the Sew House 7 Toaster Sweater, version 2. I got the PDF patterns for both Toaster sweaters with the #projectsewmystyle discount code, but I preferred the interesting half-high neckline of version 2 to the full on turtleneck of version 1. I got a Minerva Crafts voucher as a Christmas present, so I used that towards an order of overlocker thread and fabric. I’ve used this grey textured-look ponte roma for the first iteration, but I’m planning to make a second in this stripy black and teal ponte as well.

I really liked this pattern – the sizing and fit are pretty spot on first time (I cut a medium and shortened the sleeves by about 2″, no other alterations) and the instructions are easy and clear, whilst giving multiple options depending on your equipment. I think this may be one of the quickest makes I’ve done, although that may be in some part down to my new toy…

Shortly after my last post I found out Lidl were selling Singer overlockers for £129, and after a small amount of research online indicating this was a good deal and the machines were reliable, I went ahead and bought one. It sat in the box until this month, but I wanted to jump right in and use it for this project. I have used one once before, at a Sew Over It workshop, but that was already threaded and I really had no idea about all the different kinds of overlock stitch. I bought the Beginner Serging Craftsy class and watched most of those videos before sitting in front of the machine. That was really helpful in understanding the different stitches and the mechanics of the machine.

I really didn’t find threading my machine any trouble! I don’t know why people seem to get so worked up about it… The only issue I spent (wasted) hours on was tension – my looper threads were sometimes spot on and sometimes pulling to one side or other, and my needle threads were too loose and forming loops. No matter how I changed the tension, it was barely making a difference. I was about to post a question to the Craftsy class but looked for other questions on tension issues first – and there was an answer from Amy pointing out that Singer machines are known for very tight tension discs, and you have to really “floss” the thread down into them. Sure enough, I re-threaded and “flossed” and felt the thread pop down into the discs. I re-set the tensions to the manual recommendations, put through a scrap of my ponte fabric and it was perfect…. I’m sure you can imagine how the air was blue at the wasted sewing time!!

So I went right ahead and overlocked all my raw edges and the main sleeve/side seams on this project. I was so happy with how quickly it went from unconstructed to completely finished, well apart from hemming… and for this I decided I didn’t want to counteract my high-street like overlocking with a decidedly home-sewn zig zag stitch hem. So challenge no.2 of this project was testing whether my machine is good for twin needle stitching, and working out how on earth that actually works… turns out it’s actually pretty straightforward, as long as your machine will sew with a twin needle, and mine does. It has a second spool pin, so I just popped a bobbin of thread on that for the second needle. I ran through a test piece but didn’t have to mess about with tension too much – I suspect I got lucky with a super-forgiving fabric and tension might need a bit more work on both overlocker and twin needle for future projects.

The only niggle I have with this sweater is the neckline, the fabric doesn’t really press and the facing wouldn’t stay put, so I had to pin it along the foldline per the pattern and then run a row of tiny prick stitches, invisible on the outside, to keep the facing in place (remembering to stretch out the fabric so the stitches are loose enough to allow the neckline to stretch!) The neckline still feels pretty high at the front, so I might try and alter the pattern for the next one to give it a little more scoop.

Here’s some pictures of the finished garment:

twin needle hem.jpg

twin needle topstitching

Looking ahead to 2017

Posted on Posted in #thewardrobechallenge, Christmas, Clothes, Craft, Ethical fashion, SewingTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’m not really sure where the end of the year has gone. There’s been a whirlwind of some social events, lots of musical stuff and work has been pretty heavy. I haven’t managed to get much sewing done at all. I did make a couple of things as presents but mostly this year I’ve only had time to buy, so I’ve tried as much as possible to buy at local markets, independent shops and on Etsy and Not on the High Street.

I finished the back piece of the cardigan I’ve been slowly knitting since about March, but put that aside to try the first of two Christmas stockings from a kit I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show. Now that I’ve got the hang of it, that’s fun, but I don’t think I’ll finish one let alone both for Christmas – even if there were going to be any stocking presents to fill them with! They can be ready for next year, it’s just nice to be crafting something festive at Christmas 🙂

Instead I’ve been contenting myself with planning next year’s sewing adventure. I bought the Colette Sewing planner (from UK stockist SewBox) and sat down last weekend to fill out the front pages (favourite styles of neckline, sleeves, favourite garments, preferred fabrics, inspirations, measurements) and some of the spring to-do list. One of the things I really loved was that there is a space for a fabric swatch, so for the fabrics in my stash I’m not quite sure what to do with yet, I could stick a swatch down as a reminder and I can fill in the project it ends up destined for later.

I have also decided to sign up for the Project #sewmystyle sew-along/challenge to sew one garment a month next year. They’ve teamed up with a selection of pattern companies offering 20% or more discount on the patterns selected for the challenge. I’ve gone ahead and bought January’s; Sew House 7 “Toaster Sweater”, but to be honest most of the patterns picked are not really in my style, so I’ll probably substitute for patterns I already have or prefer. Part of the idea is to end up with a capsule wardrobe though, so I’ll probably aim to at least sew the same type of garment even if it isn’t the same pattern.

So that’s probably it for 2016, have a good Christmas and see you with the next project in the New Year!