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Well I’ll Be Damned – It’s A Sleeve!

Well, what ya look at that?

My sweater has a sleeve!

Sleeves are awesome!

I think it’s safe to say I’ve got a pretty good handle on knitting in the round. I still have some areas I would like to improve – namely, pulling the yarn between the needles (I’m still getting little gaps occasionally), but I feel pretty good about my progress. And hey, a sleeve came out of it! Short rows, knitting in the round, lacework… and all!

It is a little tight, but not uncomfortably tight (I can still easily fit my hand between my arm & the sleeve). I’m not one to wear long sleeves (other than sweaters and hoodies), so I’m not too concerned about layers. And I haven’t blocked it yet, obviously, so I may be able to squeeze a little more room out of it.

I love the lacework & the decreasing at the elbow.

There are some boo-boos, though 😦

But you know what? I think it’s pretty good for a first try! I’m trying not to think about the fact that now I have to knit the OTHER sleeve lol. At least I can get more practice out of it, I guess 😉

SLEEVE.

As a side note, here is my next sewing project:

It doesn’t look like much, but there are actually 10 darts in that thing… and I haven’t even started the skirt yet. Eep.

Tags: Agatha sweater, hot damn this is my jam, knit-along, knitting, work in progress

Comments 31 Comments
Categories crafty things that are not sewing, work in progress

The Big Reveal – The Fabiani Coat!

6 Feb

Finally! I get to show off my new coat! 🙂

Notice anything different (aka: good) about the pictures? Yeah, it’s because I didn’t take them! Ha! These were all shot by Sarah McDonald – aren’t they gorgeous!?

Quick details recap-
Pattern: Vogue 2925 (Thank you, Molly!)
Fabric: Coating – Sea Green Solid Coating (Thank you, Tracy!!); Lining – Bemberg Rayon Ambiance Lining in Kiwi
Notions Used: Horsehair interfacing, fusible interfacing, silk thread, self-covered buttons (made to order, yeehaw!), and the tiniest piece of silk organza.
I didn’t initially intend on this, but I guess this actually ties in quite nicely with Sew Grateful Week – showing my thanks for this pattern, fabric, and the pictures! Yay!

What else is there to say about this coat? It was definitely a task, although it went together much faster than my first coat – I guess I had enough practice to better understand what I was doing 🙂

I am REALLY pleased with how it turned out! The coat is so warm & snuggly – too bad it’s been 60* (that’s 15* for all you non-Americans :P), and thus too warm to wear a coat! Ah, well, maybe I’ll go on a short vacation somewhere cold. Ha!

Pretty much the whole thing is interfaced – in addition to the interfacing already fused to the fabric (which definitely gave it a nice hand and made it really easy to handle), I used horsehair interfacing on the front pieces & on the collar/lapels. The hem & sleeves are interfaced with a lightweight fusible that was cut on the bias. This coat is nice and heavy!

There are snaps under the fake buttons to keep everything in it’s proper place.

Oh, yeah, and the lining is pretty freakin’ bright!

I love how the top-stitching turned out and I’m really pleased with my buttons. I tacked the spare on the inside by the hem, but forgot to take a picture of it. Sorry 😦

Here’s my tag!

And some flat shots – sorry these pictures are awwwwful, lol you can definitely tell I took them.

The functioning buttons are backed with small buttons – partially to keep them on the coat, and partially to cover the ugly threads on the lining :B

I tacked the lining pleat down with feather stitches, as originally suggested by Gertie.

Bound button holes

Here’s another label shot. It’s hand-embroidered on bleached muslin & then catch-stitched down to the lining. I sewed everything in after the coat was finished, which was a bad idea… very difficult to get everything in there! Next time, I will sew the label in while the coat is still being assembled.

So yep, that’s my coat! I hope these pictures were worth the wait 🙂 Hehe!
Thanks again for all your patience/input/contributions – and thank you Sarah for taking these amazing pictures!

Soooo, now that that’s over… have I inspired anyone else to make a coat yet? 🙂

Tags: completed, Fabiani coat, hot damn this is my jam

Comments 61 Comments
Categories Uncategorized

Coat: The Final Countdown

23 Jan

Yep. I’ve had this song stuck in my head all week.

Guys! I’m almost done with my coat! 😀 😀 😀 We are entering FINAL COUNTDOWN phase – all the pattern pieces have been removed from their respective fabrics, folded & replaced back in the envelope, and my cutting table is (mostly)clean. I just have a bit more hand-sewing to do and then it’s time for a coat fashion show! Yay!

Here are some in progress pictures to get you pumped & ready…

Steaming the undercollar – I wrapped it around my seam roll & propped it up against my clapper. Doesn’t it look so smug & satisfied in that picture? How can a seam roll look smug, anyway?

Part of what has taken me so long with this coat is all the hand-sewing involved – there is a LOT. I pressed every seam open and catch-stitched down both sides. This really helps eliminate bulk, which is really necessary with fabric as thick as mine. I also beat the shit out of every seam with my clapper. That was fun.

Ever wondered what the inside of a tailored coat looks like?

Here ya go! I already sewed on the facing pieces, so no pretty padstitching pictures for youuu – but you can see how the front is interfaced with hair canvas. I told you – lots of handstitching! And look at my cute sleeve heads 🙂 I used Gertie’s tutorial for setting in tailored sleeves – I have done this before with my Lady Grey (and much success!). It is my favorite method for setting in sleeves and it makes everything easy easy! Got it right the first time, yeah!

Here’s the coat back – not much to see here, just a back stay. Boring!

Collar is looking good, thanks to all that padstitching.

And then topstitching. I was a little apprehensive about doing this – I think topstitching can really make or break the look of a garment. Usually the latter – sometimes it looks kind of cheap. But I like the way it looks on the coat, which is good! Don’t wanna rip all those stitches out, el oh el.

So that’s where we are as of today! I actually dropped the lining in the coat yesterday afternoon, although you can’t see it from the pictures – all I have left is more hand-stitching. And sewing on the buttons. And then I’m going to throw a hissy fit because this whole week is going to be a balmy 60*. Lovely, but coat-wearing weather it is not.

One last thing…

Look who is coming home with me today 🙂

WE ARE IN LOVE.

Tags: Fabiani coat, featherweight, hot damn this is my jam, my sewing machine is my best friend, tailoring

Comments 21 Comments
Categories work in progress

my bad

27 Dec

just dropping in to report…

i may or may not have put a deposit down on a singer featherweight yesterday :X

MY BAD.

Tags: featherweight, hot damn this is my jam, my sewing machine is my best friend

Comments 22 Comments
Categories here are some things i would like to have

happy day!

16 Nov

just picked up my fully serviced, fully functioning pfaff 7570 from the sewing machine repair shop!

i also picked up a piping foot – i felt like i deserved it, after dealing with the Back-up Beast (appropriate nickname brought to my attention by prttynpnk!) for the past week-plus. and a pack of bobbins. i am bobbin-rich today!

if you need me, i’ll be spending some ~quality bonding time~ with my machine this evening.

plaid peony to come soon! i haven’t forgotten!

Tags: hot damn this is my jam, my sewing machine is my best friend

Comments 4 Comments
Categories misc

nashville flea market? don’t mind if i do

25 Oct

i caved into internal peer pressure this weekend & went to the flea market. at first i immediately regretted my decision – october is traditionally the busiest month for our local flea market, and this year was no exception. the place was PACKED – moving was very difficult & i kept running into little old ladies who thought it was perfectly acceptable to just straight stop in the middle of the moving aisle (forreal, who thinks this is ok? anyone?). i eventually figured out that people were staying out of the sun, so as long as i avoided the air-conditioned buildings, i avoided the crowds. yay 🙂

anyway, let’s talk loot.

first, some patterns! i got all 4 of these for $3:

simplicity 1799

vogue 5381. someone on ebay is asking $53 for their copy lolwut. also, i definitely have the 80s version of this pattern as well. what can i say, i’m a pattern hoarder.

advance 2540. can i say now that i’m kind of weirded out that the vintage pattern wiki has a different envelope picture for what is obviously the same pattern? uhh…

mccalls b-100. now this is a weird one. it’s a basic sloper pattern, except the pattern is printed on something sturdier than tissue (it feels like mediumweight interfacing, tbh) so you can try it on and make adjustments. after you have fitted the sloper to your liking, you can make view B or C, or use the sloper to adjust a different pattern.

i’m bummed that it’s missing the instructions, but meh.

fabrics, $4 for all. the prints are cotton, and that big dark blob is actually a deep purple speckled linen.

lingerie elastic, 10 yards for $1, or rather, 40 yards total for $4. can’t wait to make slips & undies!

serger thread, $5 for the whole set. he actually had a LOT but i limited myself to only buying groups of 3. except for that orange. i needed the orange, wouldn’t you?

non-sewing related purchases:

DIS SUIT & fur collar (the collar isn’t part of the original suit, but doesn’t it look nice! i bought it from the same vendor), and this shirt (that i can’t seen to get a good picture of), $7 for all

love my vintage suit! it is really well-made (100% wool, fully lined, bound buttonholes) and it fits me perfectly. none of my friends like it, though, trolololol

totally randumb, but i also found snes control pads for $5 apiece:

YES.

in other sewing news, i have yet to perfect my pants muslin. i traced the pattern & pulled a GIANT horizontal tuck (like, more than 1″ sup short crotch) and added a small FBA to the rear. muslin #2 still needs work; it’s barely passable, but sarai’s clovers on the coletterie are totally smooth so i will keep chugging along. meanwhile, my muslin pants are now muslin shorts and i am running out of stretch fabric, hey-o!

Tags: buying shit i don't need, fabric hoarding, flea market, FUR, hot damn this is my jam, patterns

Comments 12 Comments
Categories misc

WTF: our new etsy shop!

1 Jun

my roommate/bestie & i have decided to combine creative forces & open our own etsy shop! we are planning on manning a booth at this year’s tomato art festival (oh yes, we nashvillians love our tomatoes), but we thought it wise to start early & dip our toes in, so to speak. we have named ourselves the wicked tomato factory (WTF for short!).

i made pincushions! y’all know how i feel about a good pincushion 🙂

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Tags: etsy, hot damn this is my jam, pincushion, WTF

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Categories misc

new(old) sewing patterns!

18 Apr

my birthday isn’t for another month (::ahem::) but my roommate/best friend/life partner, morgan, already gave me my gift because she is awesome 🙂 – she went to an estate sale & bought me a big ol’ stack of vintage sewing patterns! yay sewing patterns!!

please come bask in their glory with me.
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Tags: hot damn this is my jam, mccalls, morgan is awesome, patterns, simplicity, vintage, vogue

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Categories misc

western wear for 2011

3 Feb

here is a sewing resolution i’ve had stored in the back of my mind for the last month or so: i want to make a western shirt. not just a “western shirt,” but a legit/gorgeous western shirt with the contrasting yoke outlined in piping, the (hand!)embroidery, the pearl snaps, and the welt pockets with little hand-sewn arrowheads. partially because a “real” western shirt is expensive (and they never seem to fit me properly 😦 ) and partially because they just look like so much fun to make!

i found this pattern today, and after about 20 minutes of deliberating (it was $15! i love how i will spend 5x that on fabric but not on a pattern), i snapped it up:

isn’t it perfect? look at those welt pockets! and that piped, scalloped yoke – with guitar embroidery transfers! it’s a smidge on the small side – my high bust is 34″ – but should be easy to grade up, plus i have to do a FBA anyway.

even the suggested materials & notions look fun: pattern back.
mine will probably end up similar to view A, minus the fringe (or should i keep the fringe? decisions, decisions!). i love the white + red, although maybe white isn’t the best idea for someone messy/careless like me. i want real pearl snaps instead of buttons. where can i buy pearl snaps?

i know, i know… i need another vintage pattern like i need another hole in my head.
don’t judge me.

Tags: hot damn this is my jam, western shirt