In the Queue Wednesday

Another gently-used "in the queue" project revisited:

I'll be using these knits to make the four baby buntings mentioned here. Two will be for boys (top blue fabric) and two for girls (bottom green fabric). I'm girl-ing up the green fabric by using pink bias tape and pink zippers. ;)

I've already cut out all of the pieces, so they'll come together quickly - I'll probably have completed pictures for you by this weekend. But if I don't, no need to worry, I'll get to them... They're in the queue.

PS - Don't forget to stop by on Friday for my 200th post give-away!

Project-less Weekend

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane...

John Denver

Oh okay, not a fighter jet, just a regular airplane...

But when else am I going to have the opportunity to use this picture (of mine) on my blog? ;)

I'm spending the weekend visiting friends and family out of state, so no sewing projects for me. I hope your sewing is going well!

It looks like next Friday will be my 200th post, so I'm going to have a give-away! I'm trying to think of something special - stop by to see what I come up with! :)

Friday Confession

I rarely make muslins.

I certainly made a series of muslins for Susan's wedding dress. And I made a couple of muslins from the pants pattern that I hand-drafted following instructions from an issue of Threads magazine. But, for the most part, I don't make them.

How about you? How often do you make muslins? How do you decide whether or not a project calls for a muslin?

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Summerset, Claire S., Elaina, Sarah, Karima, Lindsay T, Lisa Laree, Faye Lewis, Becky, Mamafitz and Vicki for talking back to my confession last week! I confessed that I don't have experience installing many different types of zippers.

The most commonly installed type of zipper was the centered zipper, called out by 8 people. Here are the other types, in order of decreasing popularity:

• Invisible - 6 people
• Lapped - 5 people
• Hand Picked - 4 people
• Fly - 3 people
• Mock Front Fly - 2 people (this was a new one to me - thanks, Faye!)

Some people seemed to feel kind of neutral about zipper styles. On the other hand, three people argued pretty strongly for the hand picked zipper - they all said that hand picked zippers are faster, easier and more attractive than machine-installed zippers.

Threads magazine has a tutorial for the handpicked zipper here.

Many people mentioned the methods that they would most like to master. The invisible zipper and the fly zipper were tied, with three votes each. One person called out the lapped zipper and Lisa Laree would like to branch out and learn several techniques for "elegant" zippers.

As for me, I guess I'll try a hand-picked zipper one of these days. You know, in my free time! ;)

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to tell me about their zipper experiences! I love reading your stories and learning from your advice! :)

Photo credit: superfem

In the Queue Wednesday

I'm running out of brand new queue projects, so today I'm going to give you an update on a slightly-used queue project. ;)

As you may remember, I'd like to use Spoonflower to print fabric decorated with rock climbing gear, to use to make a Hawaiian shirt for my husband. I was kind of nervous about tackling the design - I am definitely not an artist.

Then, last Friday (Feb. 13th), Erin of A Dress A Day posted about a designer on Etsy, MissBlackPepper (aka Beth), who will create custom designs suitable for Spoonflower use! I immeditely began a conversation with her - and the image above is the first one she sent me, just to give me an idea of what she could do. Pretty cool, huh?

She thinks she can finish this for me this week! Then I ship the *.tif file off to Spoonflower and next thing you know the fabric will be delivered to my door... :)

I'm not sure when I'll get to it (he already has several Hawaiian shirt fabrics in the queue, but something tells me that this will bump up to the top!), but don't worry - you'll be seeing the final version in a shirt! It's in my queue... :)

Monday Morning Quarterback

Challenges are what make life interesting;

overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Joshua J. Marine

Remember that battle I was predicting, with me and the serger against some spandex? Turns out I was over-estimating my odds. It was actually me (all by my little lonesome) against the serger, the wooly nylon thread AND the spandex fabric.

Like any good movie fight scene, for the majority of the battle I was getting my butt kicked. But, at the last minute, I found an inner reserve of strength and surged up and conquered all! :)

I've never used wooly nylon thread before - why didn't someone warn me how difficult it is to thread it through anything?!?! Most of the challenge was in the lack of ability to cut a sharp point in the thread. But add the limited and awkward access to the serger needles and you get a full-blown nightmare!

In the end, I devised a multi-step process to be able to thread my serger needles. First, I used a needle threader (pictured below) to thread a straight hand needle. Then I used the needle threader and the threaded hand needle to thread the serger needle. I know this method works, because I had to re-thread those serger needles many, many, many times...

I used the three-thread ultra-stretch mock safety stitch - for the first time. It literally took me hours to get it to work correctly on my serger. But, once it was working, I was really happy with how the seams looked:

In an ironic twist, shortly after my Friday post about following instructions, I breezed through these instructions just a little too quickly and put the zipper in the wrong place - in front instead of in back. Luckily, not a show-stopper, but hopefully a lesson learned for next time...

So, what can I say about these pants? They are bright. They are shiny. They are stretchy. They are pink. That about sums it up. ;)

Hopefully she'll like them and hopefully they'll fit! I'll try to get a picture of her modeling them sometime soon. For all the hassles I experienced up front, I'm actually pretty pleased with how they turned out - I'll be less afraid of spandex in the future. A bathing suit seems like a real possibility now...

Friday Confession

Zippers

In my last confession, I mentioned ignoring the construction sequence in some pattern instructions so that I could insert my zipper between two flat pieces of fabric, instead of having to insert it into a completed child's dress with a very narrow circumference. In response, two people mentioned that they prefer "picked zippers."

My confession starts here: I had never heard of a picked zipper before.

And it continues here: In fact, the only two types of zipper installations that I have ever done are standard-centered and invisible.

I know that there are other types - fly front and lapped, for example. (And picked!)

What about you? Which ones are a standard part of your sewing repetoire? Which ones have you tried? Do you have a favorite? One that you really want to learn or improve on? Where do you reside in the world of zippers?

Photo credit: Threads magazine

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Becky, Lisa Laree, Elaina, Amelia, Sewuptight, Alison, Gwen, Lois, Summerset, Claire S. and Sarah for talking back to my confession last Friday!

I asked if people follow the instructions that come with their patterns, or do things their own way?

There was a pretty strong pattern in the responses. Most people described a natural progression of following the instructions most faithfully early in their learning, and then relying on them less and less heavily as they gain more and more experience and comfort with basic techniques.

Elaina’s story was one exception to this progression - she reported that learning how to sew with vintage patterns on a vintage sewing machine resulted in an early independence from pattern instructions. Of course, I know that this worked pretty well for her, because she has told the story previously about how she wasn’t allowed to take sewing in high school, because she could sew better than the teacher!

At the same time, Elaina also mentioned that she follows pattern layouts pretty carefully and that she doesn’t hesitate to consult a sewing reference book when in doubt... And she’s not the only one who mentioned either supplementing or replacing pattern instructions with other sewing reference materials – including the web.

While most intermediate and experienced sewers reported relying more heavily on their construction knowledge and skill to guide them than the pattern instructions, many also said that they did at least skim the pattern instructions up front to make sure that there weren’t any surprises (or new techniques to learn).

One thing I found interesting was the variety of experiences / events that contributed to people moving away from a strict adherence to the pattern instructions. Becky called out her projects reconstructing old clothes and Amelia mentioned doing alterations. Neither of those activities comes with instructions, so you do end up learning to work without them.

Amelia also mentioned a couple of other contributing factors to her instruction-independence: first, the experience of teaching someone to sew – someone who is always challenging the conventional way with “Why?” and second, the experience of sewing from international pattern magazines like Ottobre and BWOF, which only come with sparse instructions.

Of course, even the Big Four can have confusing instructions. Sarah, for example, refers to instructions as "destructions". And Lois told the story of how she used to work in fabric stores, and over time she earned a reputation for being the “go to” person to help make sense out of confusing pattern instructions – she says that she enjoys that kind of problem-solving! :)

Lisa Laree has a great post on her blog about her transition from faithful instruction follower to independence. For her it was kind of a “Eureka!” moment brought on by a design detail in a pair of RTW pants that she couldn’t find instructions for in any pattern. It took a while for it to hit her that she could try it without instructions – but once she had this realization, she never looked back… (This is just a summary and I encourage you to read the whole post on her blog – it’s really interesting!)

Finally, a couple of people confirmed that their attitude towards sewing instructions was a lot like their attitude towards life – interested in knowing the “right way”, but generally doing things their own way… ;)

Thanks again, everyone, for your insightful comments!

Photo credit: specialkrb

In the Queue Wednesday

Pay it Forward Gifts

Last Fall I joined a Blog Game that Sarah posted on her website. I was one of the first three commenters on her post and so she'll be sending me some homemade crafty gift sometime this year. Claire, Reethi and Amelia were the first three commenters on my post, and so now I need to make some crafty gift for each of them!

My plan is to make three of these fabric gift bags and then slip inside some fun little sewing notions. I'll keep the exact contents a secret, as I've just revealed the main gift idea - I'd like for there to be some element of surprise!

Plus, I haven't figured out exactly what yet... ;)

Kelly has a tutorial here.

There are Christmas gifts (yes, 2008!) and baby gifts jostling for the head of the line, but don't worry, I'll get to these! They are in the queue... :)

Photo credit: Kelly

Weekend Project: A Princess

The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four -

of secondary importance is to prepare for being five.

-Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 1985

Mariana's princess dress is finished!

It was a pretty routine pattern. The only interesting thing about it was that I used a number of seam treatments in an attempt to minimize the fraying.

Depending on the location of the seam, I either used a zig zag stitch, like this (beneath the zipper gap on the lining):

or a Hong Kong finish, like this (beneath the zipper):

or a French seam, like this (most other seams):


She doesn't talk much around me, but I think she really like her new princess dress! :)

Next up, my serger and I have an "appointment" with some bright pink spandex! Who shall emerge victorious? Only time will tell! ;)

Friday Confession

Following Instructions

By nature, I tend to obey the rules, follow the instructions, color within the lines, etc. But the more I sew, the more willing I am to ignore the instructions.

For example, take my current project, Mariana’s princess dress. The instructions would have me insert the zipper last, after the dress was constructed. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer putting a zipper between two flat pieces of fabric over inserting it into a completed column of fabric – especially when that completed column is as small as a four year old girl! ;)

So, I spent some time thinking through all the construction steps, and finally decided that I could complete the front and the back of the dress independently first (facilitating zipper installation), and then connect them along the side seams afterwards.

Ana, on the other hand, is of the personality that is always questioning the “accepted way.” Even with her small amount of sewing experience, she’d be happy to throw out the instructions without glancing (much less reading) them! It took me a while to convince her that it’s worth following the instructions the first time you sew a particular pattern. The second time, I told her, she can make whatever modifications she wants. But the first time, she might consider the possibility that the person who drafted the pattern knew what he/she was doing and did things for a reason! ;)

So, what about you? When sewing, do you stick pretty faithfully to the instructions or are you quick to throw them out the window and follow your own path? If the later, were you always this way, or did you slowly grow into it as you gained experience? And does the way you approach sewing mirror the way you approach other things in life?

Photo credit: Sister 72

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Gaylen, Alviana, Summerset, Kristine, Gwen, Debbie, Miss Linda, Emily and Sarah for talking back to my confession last Friday! I told about a research study that found that sewing really is physically relaxing, and asked how something that could be so challenging and (at times) frustrating could also be relaxing.

The responses were very thoughtful and insightful, and it's worth reading them directly, if you have a minute (link here).

Of course, I'll summarize for you. ;)

There were two aspects of sewing that emerged as the clear front-runners. Six people explicitly called out the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing something and either wearing it yourself or seeing another wear it. I know that the concrete nature of the produce is important to me, because most of the "products" in the rest of my life are much more abstract (like giving a good presentation).

The second most frequently mentioned feature of sewing (called out by five people) is the fact that sewing allows us to set aside the cares and worries of our daily lives and escape into a private world. People pointed out that things "slow down" and we can control more in this sewing world.

And there were a number of other reasons identified. Three people mentioned sewing satisfying their creative urges. A couple of people called out enjoying the processes of problem solving and learning that are inherent in sewing. The exposure to beautiful fabrics and the calming, repetitive motion of the activities were also mentioned.

The notion of competition was brought up, and how sewing doesn't have the same level of competition that, for example, a video game does. While it is certainly possible to compare your sewing to others and feel disappointed or proud, I do think that sewing sets you up to make the most reasonable and fair comparison possible - comparing yourself to yourself in the past. In other words, instead of asking "Am I as good as X?", asking "Am I learning? Am I getting better?".

Finally, Sarah had the most amazing story of her personal experience of the physical benefits of sewing. Sewing has actually helped her recover from asthma attacks!

I think there's no doubt that sewing can have a beneficial effect on our minds and our bodies. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to share her thoughts about how and why this happens with us! :)

Photo credit: Stein Eriksen Lodge

In the Queue Wednesday

Babies, babies, everywhere... One friend is pregnant, another friend has a new son, and yet another friend has new twins!

As I think I've said before, this is my favorite gift pattern for baby showers and new Moms. It's quick and easy to sew. It gives me an excuse to buy some of those adorable flannel prints that are available. Moms seem to really like it! What more could you ask?

So, I'd like to make up four of these relatively soon. My nieces' outfits are up next, but don't worry, I'll get to these. They're in my queue! ;)

Weekend Project: Let the Glittering Begin

Childhood is a short season.

-Helen Hayes

Somehow, inbetween work craziness, I managed to start working on Mariana's light blue princess dress.

You may remember that she picked this pattern (pink bib version sketched in lower right hand corner):

After some consideration, I decided that I wanted to treat the overlay glittery tulle and the underneath polyester satin as a single sheet of fabric. So, I carefully lined up the two along their selvedges (does tulle have a grainline?), cut the pattern pieces out of both fabrics together and then hand basted each pair into a single piece.

Possibly overkill for a make-believe dress-up outfit, but I figured that practicing a technique never hurt anyone! ;)

I have everything cut, basted and ready to go. Unfortunately, I brought work home for the weekend, so it's going to have to wait a while... Hopefully my 30-minutes-per-evening approach will make short work of this dress and I can deliver it next weekend! Wish me luck... :)

Awards and An Apology

I have been nominated for two awards! As all of you other bloggers know, anything that lets you know that there are actually people out there who read your words and enjoy seeing your work - whether it be comments, awards or just hits on your counter - is a real treat! :)

The extra nice thing about these awards is that it gives me a formal opportunity to call out some of the blogs that I really enjoy!

But first, the apology. Elaina of Sew Ducky nominated me for this first award a loooong time ago, and I truly intended to accept it and pass it on much more quickly. Thank you so much, Elaina, and I'm sorry it took me so long!

According to the originating blog, The Scholastic Scribe, the theme of this award is captured in the following quote:

"Diverting the internal traffic between the Writer as Angel of Light and the Writer as Hustler is the scribbling child in a grown-up body, wondering if anyone is listening."
~Herbert Gold, Elder Statesman of The Beat Generation~

As usual, there are conditions attached to the Award. In this case, the rules are a little bit more complex than usual:

* Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

* Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author and the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

* Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this Post, which explains The Award.

* Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

* Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

With that being said, here are my nominations:

1. Jeannine at SewPink
2. Mamafitz at Whatever is on my mind today
3. Caity of Caity Quilter
4. Alison of sewing with cats
5. Ed of Dear Dave

I hope that each of you will accept this award, but of course it is optional and just for fun! :)

Next, thank you so much to Alviana of Sewn by Alviana, Lisa H. of Sew On and Sew On, Donna Hodgson of Donna's Den and Mary of MarySews for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger Award!

The rules for this award seem to be the pretty standard set:

1. Copy the award to your site.

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.

4. Link to those on your blog.

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

Here are my nominations:

1. Christine of And Sew it Begins
2. Sarah of In a Nutshell, Anachronism
3. Amelia of Amelia Sews
4. Luppylulu of Nibbles and Bytes
5. Vicki of Hongkongshopper
6. Katherine H of Bloom's Fabric Obsession
7. Terri of Terri's Notebook

I hope that each of you will accept this award, but of course it is optional and just for fun! :)

If any of these blogs in either list are new to you, I encourage you to stop by and check them out. All of these are special people who inspire me! :)

Friday Confession

Sewing certainly can be challenging. And there are definitely moments when it's frustrating! So how can it also be that I find it relaxing?

Turns out someone has studied that... ;)

In 1995 the Home Sewing Association (HSA) paid Dr. Robert Reiner at the New York University Medical Center to conduct a clinical research study on the short term physical impacts of sewing.

Dr. Reiner and his team had thirty women - 15 novice sewers and 15 experienced sewers - come into the laboratory and participate in 5 short activities:

• playing a solo card game (War)
• playing a hand held computer game
• reading a newspaper
• painting at an easel
• sew a simple pattern on a pillow

Before and after each activity (which different women completed in different orders) their heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature and perspiration were measured.

Four of the five activities led to increased heart rate. Only one of the activities led to decreased heart rate! I bet you can guess which one... ;)

Yup, it was the sewing. Sewing led to statistically significant reductions in heart rate, blood pressure and perspiration rates when compared to the other activities. While these are phenomena associated with stress reduction and other good-for-your-body things, the researchers were quick to point out that all they have shown is a short-term benefit and the public shouldn't draw any conclusions about long-term health benefits from this study.

So, I think I'm allowed to say this, because I work in the field of doing psychological research: once again, research has been done to show us something that we pretty much knew all along! ;)

While the results are pleasantly validating, the bit that I found more interesting was the various explanations that have been offered up for this finding. Two main hypotheses appear to be:

• Crafts like sewing and knitting have a rhythmic and repetitive motion component that is inherently soothing.
• By definition, if you are focusing on a craft, you can't be worried or upset or anxious about other things going on in your life.

Of course, there's no reason that both can't be true...

My question to you has to do with the WHY? Assuming that, like me, you are frequently challenged and sometimes frustrated by your sewing, why do you think that we love sewing so much and often find it relaxing?

Photo credit: zappowbang

Talk Back Thursday

Thanks so much to Claire S, Mamafitz, Alison, Meredith, Elaina, Caity, Sarah, Summerset and Donna Hodgson for "talking back" to my confession last Friday!

I confessed that I tend to apply the exact same interfacing to every fabric, rather than adjusting based on the fabric and garment...

Well, I’m feeling a bit lonely out here. Just about everyone adjusts their interfacing use to meet the requirements of the fabric and the garment – if not frequently, then at least in special cases, such as tailoring.

Several people described their guidelines, and there was a lot of overlap. Most people use a light weight fusible knit interfacing for the majority of their outfits, and specialize for collars, cuffs, jackets and other tailoring details with medium and heavy weight wovens or weft interfacings. (A weft interfacing is a knit interfacing that has threads woven through it, hopefully giving it the best of both types.)

The specific types called out most often were Featherweft, Textureweft and Armoweft (all manufactured by HTC).

More types can be found in this handy table put together by Threads magazine.

The following sources for ordering interfacing were mentioned:

Fabric Fashion Sewing
Nancy Erickson via The Fashion Sewing Group
Judy Barlup’s Unique Techniques

Related to interfacing usage, people encouraged pre-shrinking the interfacing and making test swatches to see how your fabric and interfacing work together – at least in important and uncommon situations, if not all the time! ;)

In fact, Claire pointed out that Fabric Fashion Sewing sells an interfacing sample kit. I checked it out and for about $13 you get pieces of their six most popular interfacings – the web site says that the pieces are large enough for you to make multiple test swatches to see how different fabrics work with different weights and types of interfacing.

Here are some other links I found that might be helpful:
This table published online by Threads magazine, which helps troubleshoot interfacing problems.
This brief tutorial on interfacing by Judy Barlup.

People did suggest some alternatives to interfacing. Silk organza, in particular, was called out by several people. Mamafitz sometimes uses muslin and Elaina shared a neat tip – sometimes she reinforces buttonholes with used dryer sheets!

So, it looks like this is an area where I really need to ramp up my sewing. I’m going to look into the sample set that Claire recommended.

Thanks again, everyone, for taking the time to share your knowledge and advice! :)

Photo credit: Silk and Sunbrella

In the Queue Wednesday

Next up is the princess dress for 4-year old Mariana. She picked the pattern and fabric on our shopping trip to Joann's last Sunday. This is the pattern she picked (pink version drawn in the lower right hand corner):

The colors didn't come through on my scanner very well, but she picked a light blue polyestor satin (oh, joy) and a matching tulle with sparkles. We found a nice blue grosgrain ribbon and fabric flower.

And the ultimate accessory for a princess dress - a princess patch! ;)

I promised that I'd get to this within a couple of weeks, so it is currently top priority. I've got a business trip this week, but don't worry, I'll get to it. It's in the queue. ;)

Monday Morning Quarterback: Reunited!

Reunited and it feels so good...

--Peaches and Herb

Yes, my sewing machine has returned from the tune-up at Sears! And I'm so happy to have it back!

After two weeks of no sewing I was eager for some instant gratification, so I started with this skirt for my youngest niece:

The fabric is brown corduroy with pink dots. There is an elastic waistband in the back. It came together in 3 hours from cutting to hemming. It's a very simple pattern - only 4 pieces. I may add a pink flower or bow, but other than that, it's done! :)

My Sunday afternoon sewing lessons with Ana and Juana were disrupted by the holidays, but we finally got together yesterday. Juana finished up her Patrones skirt. (It's not pressed yet.)

That was our first experience sewing from a foreign language pattern magazine and it was interesting, to say the least... While Juana, of course, speaks Spanish fluently, she doesn't speak "sewing" yet, so she wasn't as much help as I had hoped in making sense of the instructions.

Also, we made some changes. We had to line the fabric, so we ended up sewing the fabric and the lining right sides together and then turning it, so that she didn't use any of the facing pieces. I mostly just intently stared back and forth between the fabric pieces and the model photo and took my best guess as to how to get from A to (somewhere in the neighborhood of) B. ;)

Ana whipped out two aprons (I didn't bother photographing them because they were black) in one afternoon - her second "commission"! Word is getting out among friends and acquaintances that she sews. Her first commission was to hem half a dozen pairs of store-bought sweat pants. After these aprons, a friend has asked her to make a skirt! :)

While I was sewing-machine-less, I spent some time working on my loom. This first "piece" is just a sampler, where I experiment with different patterns. It's so cool - there is this "language" that is like binary (heddle condition: thread in or thread out; pedal position: up or down) and by different combinations of these two variables, you can make the most beautiful patterns!

Life is pretty hectic right now - business trips 3 weeks in a row (this is week 2) - I can't wait until things settle back down to normal. I'm looking forward to the Sewing and Quilt Expo in Tampa, Florida in March. I think that 5 of us will go - me, Ana, Juana, Susan and Christine. Anyone else going?

Friday Confession

Before I start this week's confession, a quick correction to yesterday's post, thanks to Lindsay! So many commenters on last week's confession talked about pattern weights and rotary cutters in the same breath, that I assumed that they always went together. Wrong! Lindsay uses scissors with her pattern weights and reports that it works just fine! Thanks, Lindsay! :)

I use Palmer and Pletsch interfacing. I switched to this (from the stuff that I used to buy in Joann's) because it was so highly recommended on PR.

According to this article, there are four basic types of interfacing: nonwoven, woven, knit and weft-inserted. The type pictured is (as far as I can tell from reading the packaging) weft-inserted, which give more structure than a knit interfacing, but has more drape than a woven interfacing.

The confession part is that I use the same interfacing for everything that I sew. I don't swap out different weights depending on the garment and fabric that I'm using.

How about you? What type of interfacing do you use? Do you change weights and/or types depending on your project?

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Alviana, Mamafitz, Lisa Laree, Beth, Lindsay T, Claire, Eliana, Summerset, Debbie, Donna Hodgson, Miss Linda, Sarah, Claire S. and Amelia for talking back to my confession last Friday! I confessed that I have never used pattern weights, and asked what others thought of them.

Wow, few people were lukewarm on this one! The tally was 9 "love thems", 4 "no ways" and only 1 "it depends on the situation". (Lindsay mentioned that her ASG instructors also highly recommend using them.)

It turns out - and I would not be surprised if I was the only person in the world who didn't realize this - if you use pattern weights, you use a rotary cutter, not scissors. Here's my real confession - I had been wondering what kept the weights from shifting around when you tried to cut the fabric near them with scissors... Doh!

So, the interesting thing is that the people who said no to pattern weights, seemed to be (for the most part) saying no more to the rotary cutter than to the weights per se. I can certainly understand this - it's embarrasing the number of fabric strips that I had to re-cut for those pencil rolls because my rotary cutter slipped off the mark...

Perhaps one of the coolest things that came out was how many different alternatives there are to buying the "official" pattern weights. The following objects were mentioned:

• rulers
• kitchen knives
• small objects filled with BBs
• cans of food
• small decorative tiles
• flat washers
• piping flanges

I can just imagine the look of surprise and confusion on my husband's face if I said that I was going to the hardware store to pick up some sewing tools! ;)

Amelia pointed out the cutest pattern weights ever - check out this post on Peacock Chic!

One last tidbit - several people who use the pattern weights mentioned that they still pin grain lines.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to tell me about their sewing practices! As always, I learned a lot and had fun reading your comments! :)

Photo credit: AH Exports

In the Queue Wednesday

Finally, the last of the Christmas outfits for my nieces. My older niece also picked out this jacket pattern for her younger sister (view C).

This time, I picked out the fabric, although I got the big sister's approval. After selecting the cute-but-nothing-flashy corduroy for her skirt, I was afraid that the younger sister would feel hurt that her big sister got all the shiny, fun fabric. So, I picked this shiny and soft, velvet-like fabric for the jacket.

She hasn't seen any of it yet. I sure hope she likes our choices! I need to get to it pretty soon, as the jacket will be better for colder weather and not so useful in the summer. I'm not sure exactly when, but don't worry, I'll get to it. It's in the queue.

Monday Morning Quarterback

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

Kahil Gibran

This is truly a sad sight:

Yes, it is the desk in my sewing room, with a large bare spot where my sewing machine should be... :(

Not to worry too much, it is a temporary situation. After seven years of regular use, I figured it deserved a break, and took it to Sears for some maintenance. I should get it back this week. :)

However, the weekend was not a total waste. Ana and I took her young friend Mariana to Joann's to pick out a princess dress pattern and some fabric. And what would a princess dress be without a big Cinderella patch adorning the skirt? ;)

I also used the time to work on my loom. I tried warping it (similar to threading a sewing machine, only with A LOT more threads!!!) for the first time.

It looks okay to me (like I'd know!), but the real question is whether I have the tension tight and even. I guess I'll find out when I try weaving!

If you are interested in seeing more pictures of the loom in various stages of being warped, they are posted on my other blog, Looming Disaster.

I have business trips for the next two weeks, so I won't be able to get much done with either craft. I'm looking forward to things settling down and getting back to normal! Although, I guess I'll have to redefine normal, as I figure out how to incorporate weaving into my life...

I hope you have a good week! :)

Friday Confession

I have never used pattern weights. (I don't count it when my cats sit on my pattern pieces, because they usually claw up the tissue paper and then attack my scissors if I try to do any cutting - I'm pretty sure that store bought pattern weights don't have these "features".)

So, how about you? Have you ever tired to use pattern weights? Do they really work? Do you need a lot of them? Any special requirements to use them?

Picture of "Wonder Weights" from The Sewing Place.

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Wendy, Summerset, Lindsay T, Becky, Lisa Laree, Mamafitz, Lori, Miss Linda, Christine, Karima, Sarah, Gaylen and Elaina for "talking back" to my confession last Friday! I confessed that I'm not super conscientious about transferring pattern markings to my fabric, and asked how others dealt with this.

The two big issues were (a) when to mark and (b) how to mark.

On the question of when to mark, there was a range of responses. Some people transfer every single pattern mark to fabric conscientiously, while others only mark when “absolutely necessary”.

Features that were called out as important to mark include: tuck & dart lines, sleeves (especially to capture front versus back), princess seams, collars and any unusual constructions.

The how to mark question also brought out a variety of responses, including some neat ideas that were new to me!

Six people called out tailor tacks and/or thread tracing, making these the most commonly mentioned methods.

Next up, paper and a tracing wheel, cutting notches (outward from fabric) and snipping into the seam allowances were all tied for “second place”.

Wendy explicitly called out Clover® marking paper as being better than the chalk-based paper that is readily available at Joann’s, although it contains wax and so you have to be careful not to iron it into the fabric.

Other methods mentioned included chalk, pins, and water soluble pens – although Mamafitz has a nightmare story about making a dress full of pleats and tucks while in high school, and having the supposedly disappearing ink of her marking pen REAPPEAR after she washed and ironed the dress! Needless to say, she has never used this since…

Two new ideas to me – Summerset sometimes uses a regular pencil to mark her fabrics and Lindsay sometimes uses adhesive label dots to flag notches.

Summing up, while no one really seems to love marking, everyone seems to agree that, at least for certain aspects of a garment, marking is very important. ;)

Thank you again to everyone who took the time and trouble to talk about your philosophy and method(s) of marking! :)

photo credit: http://www.amazon.com/