brenda1652
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7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652
Consider it a sign from your innner creative self to explore new exciting things! I lost my sewing mojo for a good year, nothing I did seemed to bring it back. I tried picking ups some new fabric and new thisses and thats, but nope, no spark. I started to think about other skills beyond needle work that I have always wanted to explore, drawing and painting being on the list (note: I have never had any artistic skills or apparent talent). I went into Craftsy and found a couple classes in pen and ink and drawing (watch for their sales, 2 for one and deep discounts are offered regularly), picked up a few tools as well as a couple used art instruction books on Amazon (much less expensive a hobby than sewing!) and now I find my creative juices flowing again. For sure I will never be an artist of note but I am having fun and have stopped berating myself for sewing projects not done. I also found myself just this week pulling out some bits of fabric and starting in on some nice quick items for my daughter’s first house after admiring her own art and sewing room that she furnished with many items she acquired after “shopping” in my craft room! I’ll bet your kids would also enjoy learning some new skills with you and trust me, by your own example and enthusiasm they will make all aspects of creative expression part of their lives as they grow into fine adults. As a side note, I also picked up some ice skates for myself with the goal of not breaking my bones, since it has been a good 20 yrs since I skated (I am 65). There are so many interesting things to explore, give yourself permission to have fun again as you surprise yourself with new skills.
7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652another idea and pardon me it it sounds dumb (but I had to figure this out since it was not in my manual), when you insert your needles, insert the one that needs to be shorter first as it must go deeper into the machine so it is shorter than the other. In my machine the left needle has to go in further, and if I do not insert it first, the right needle somehow manages to block the way for the left needle going part way up and I cannot insert it as far as it needs to go. You’ll know you have it right when you look at the needles and the left one looks shorter than the right, at least this is how it is on my machine. There was nothing in the owners’ manual about this so maybe it is another quirk of my machine.
7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652I know you changed the needle but you may want to try another brand. I only use top brands but my serger was also breaking needles and if the needle didn’t break immediately it would skip stitches. Supposedly it could take the same size needles as my regular machine, Type E or 130/705H. I had tried Schmetz , so next I tried Klasse and lo and behold, no hitting and no breaking needles. Odd of course since they state being the same needle size but that’s the truth of it. My serger also hates the nice needles from Superior threads which are actually Organ brand (another top brand), anyway, before you give up try other decent brands and of course (but I am sure you know this) stay away from those cheap needles that are available from various sites. Also check the owners manual for size recommended, mine for the White serger 1934D said Type E or 130/705 H (standard size that also fits my Janome 9500). My Janome Coverpro machine takes a size EL 705 and these do not fit my other machines. If you did not get an owners’ manual then you can find the info if you google the machine name and model and ask for needles size. Good luck, if all this fails, call fabric shops to find a repair person. Last time I had my timing adjusted (from sewing over a pin. don’t do that!) it only cost me $30.
7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652If she hasn’t already discovered this site, she may really enjoy looking at this. http://www.ISSUU.com is a magazine and publication site and all the products are free for reading and there is also a publication option for those who want to produce their own publications! There are literally thousands of items ready for reading pleasure and no legal infringement issues since the publishers sign themselves on board and decide what to make available for reading. There are current magazines and tons of back issues in every language and from all over the planet, items from crafting, fashion, sports, travel, science and technology, you name it. You can create lists for yourself and since this is a public site these lists are open for everyone, so I have my list but I also look at lists from folks who have similar interests, judging by what I see on their lists. It is a terrific way to explore things that may have eluded your interest in the past, for me, that is technology and I have found new found pleasure in these publications when in the past I would not have spent my cash on buying them. There are even books in there, many crafting and fashion books in fact. I can only read in English but I truly enjoy looking at publications from all over the world. You do not need to translate to enjoy all the wonderful stuff out there. Prayers going out for a speedy uncomplicated recovery for Liesl.
7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652and then there’s the facebook folks who try to “friend” me by sending a request and a message going on and on about how beautiful I am and a soul mate and they want to marry me! I admit to being a bit flattered even as I block them from my page.I noticed that the spammer here has the last name of Smith, let me reassure everyone, it’s not me!
7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652Teatowels sounds ever so much more elegant than dish towels. From now on I am making teatowels! When we first married my southern born husband called dish cloths and face cloths
“wash rags” which he tells me is what his Cherokee granny called them and there is no arguing with the granny who raised him, bless her soul. I just kept using the terms of face cloth and dish cloth and showing him a household rag when he referred to rags (discarded towels ripped into cleaning cloths for the house and barn). Eventually he started calling the face and dishcloths(for washing dishes, wiping faces, etc) “cloths” instead of rags. His southern expressions either make me laugh or leaves me totally baffled as I am a Yankee lady, born and raised, with Native Northeastern Indian added to the mix, definitely not southern.7 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652Right now I am sewing up some much needed items for my kitchen. Scraps are turning into nice nice potholders/hot pads. I picked up some nice quality heavier weight linen from Fabrics-Store and I am making some dish towels with that. I do not have a dishwasher and have no intention of getting one so dish towels are put to hard use here. The linen is wonderful from that site and they have different sales everyday so that is when I pick up what I need. The dish towels are also good for doing practice trials with machine embroidery before I put the particular design on an item of clothing. After the kitchen items, then comes adventure vests, bucket hats, and cargo pants with elastic ankles for the 3 grandkiddos, also much needed when they visit here in upstate NY and venture out in our our woods and pastures and fish the ponds. I use a light weight water resistant breathable fabric for the pants. Right now it is black fly and deer tick season. Ouch!
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652OK, looking at that pattern I see she didn’t give body measurements, just finished garment measurements. Perhaps part of the sewing lesson will need to involve making a toile. (I have to admit to never doing this for kid sewing for casual clothes).
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652Tunic and dress sizes are determined by the chest measurements(unless tightly fitted), so go with those and alter if necessary. Tiny sizes, my daughter was a 0 until age 25, I even used some kids patterns for her and she shopped in kids sections in some stores. I think the only adult patterns I used in that size range were for leggings, tees, and peasant blouses and for some of these I used kid patterns with added length. Nicole is the master of all things tiny and highly skilled in alterations, hopefully she will weigh in on this.
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652find a local shop and drop it off for repair. This may sound scary but I’m thinking it is probably some small bent thingy and a professional could take care of it with much less stress for you. Many years ago I was sewing up bathrobes for my 4 kids a week before Christmas (for gifts, becuz who doesn’t like extra stress during the holidays!) and I sewed over a common pin (which I had always done). Suddenly the machine was all messed up. I dropped it off at a place I found in the phone book that advertised doing sewing machine repairs, keeping my fingers and toes crossed that this was a good move. The machine was a basic Singer, not a fancy computerized one, but a real workhorse. It was fixed overnight! Turned out the timing was off and timing is everything. It cost $20 and I have never sewed over a straight pin again. A well spent fix. I am thinking your machine’s timing may be off too, something a pro needs to fix.
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652Good for you! tweens are difficult to fit since their baby parts all seem to grow at different times and I am sure she will feel very pretty and special in a dress made just for her. I have found that the new site for Patsy Aiken Designs has girls patterns up and including a size 16. They are similar in style to many of the O+S patterns but fill in for a size that is sadly neglected in the pattern world. I have asked them to post a size chart on their page, hopefully they will do this. I have bought many fabrics from them in years past and the quality is superb, they note that they will resume selling fabrics at some point so I keep checking. http://www.chezami.com/
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652this isn’t a twill but it is a bottom weight with good reviews for using it for uniforms. I am sure you can get it at a sale price. When I order online at Joanns there is always a discount code, or check the store flyers. http://www.joann.com/sew-classic-bottomweight-rodeo-cotton-solids-many-colors/xprd768892.html#prefn1=collection&prefv1=Bottomweights&start=1
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652I used to make my daughter’s uniforms in a poly/cotton bottom weight twill which I found at Joanns. That was 10 yrs ago. I used the poly/cotton since I wanted easy care, neither she nor I wanted to fuss around much for uniforms and they always looked nice and presentable. Joanns has always had a nice selection of bottom weights that go on sale regularly, I just haven’t bought any lately though, still working on using stash.
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652Personally I always go with the chest measurement to determine a size. That measurement determines fit not only across the chest but also across the back and the armscye (armhole for sleeveless or sleeve size). In the case of Jamie if you go with the waist size it measures a 1X which is 2 sizes larger than her chest size, which is a size L. You would need to decease both the chest and across the back as well as the armscyes so the top is not baggy with armhole openings extending down the sides and being baggy all over. Keep in mind also that plus size girls usually are large around the chest measurement but many times do not have much of a cup size, making the darts and fitting all off for patterns with fitted tops. The waist size is easier to adjust and the hip size is not important in that pattern. Have you considered a pattern with a less fitted top? You could do a peasant style and then wrap a wide waist or empire level tie which would be flattering. You could go with the same fabric or a coordinating one, or a different pattern/color on each side of the sash. This type of pattern would be fun and youthful with far less flitting issues. Sis Boom has several in that style, such as the Dana pattern and you could wrap a wide empire sash on that in a coordinating color which would give it a more fitted appearance. Just an idea, but if you are up to doing alterations (several of the O+S sewists are quite advanced in their skills, I am personally not one of them!) and she is available for a few fittings then you could use any pattern.
8 years ago LINKbrenda1652 @brenda1652Keeping in mind this is for a 3 yr old, I’d skip the draw string or just sew a decorative/fake one on but not functional. the problem is that you want him to be able to use the bathroom as well as dress himself with as little assist as possible, the real beauty of elastic waist pants for preschoolers in my mind. Can you just open the casing and grab hold of the elastic and cut and shorten it, sew the ends together and resew the casing? or if the elastic is sewn in by attaching to the casing, can you just open the casing and thread a new piece of elastic in a smaller width, right over the original elastic, then resew the casing closed again? I am always reworking the elastic in my own clothes since I have lost weight (again, the nice thing about these elastic waists for clothes for changing figures) as well as for my husband who is also dieting. When the kids were growing I also reworked their elastic pants and shorts several times. I didn’t bother with drawstrings until they were 11 or so and they never complained, then again I don’t remember running it by them, just fixed them up and they wore them.
- This reply was modified 8 years ago by brenda1652.
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