[TriMama]

Pemanent marker? Seriously? I’d complain to the teacher that elementary students should not be using permanent markers. Even if you dressed your child in bargin bin RTW clothes you’d be mad if she came home with them ruined.

[TriMama]

That freezer paper trick is sooo clever! I’ve heard of using it for other sewing tasks, but I’d never thought of using it this way.

Hmmm, does anyone know of a store that will ship freezer paper to Canada? I know it’s not available locally, I’ve looked.

[TriMama]

When I sew, I try to group similar steps together and do them all at once. For example, I’ll do all my pinning at once, then I’ll sit down and sew as many seams as possible, then I’ll press all the seams I’ve just sewn. This saves a lot of time in getting up and down from the machine, waiting for the iron to heat up, etc. It also means I’m working on several sections of a particular pattern at once. I’ve been sewing for a long time, so doing some of the steps out of order doesn’t (usually!) cause me to make mistakes. If you’re new to sewing, maybe just try doing two steps in tandem.

I also try to do tracing and cutting out in batches. Once I’ve got a couple garments cut out I put them in a plastic storage basket. I also put the pattern and notion in the basket so everything is together. This saves me time hunting for materials.

Another thing I find helpful is to pin the pattern instructions on the wall behing my sewing machine. I can easily read the instructions without getting up or putting my work down.

[TriMama]

I just got back from 10 days away and I took some tracing and cutting out to do. Although, of course you couldn’t do that on a plane. Now that I’m home I have several projects cut out and ready to sew.

I also took a ball of yarn and crochet book and taught myself to crochet.

[TriMama]

I’m guilty of this too. I had to unsubscribe myself from the Fabric.com email list last month because apparently I’m far too susceptible to their “deals” emails. My weakness is obviously online fabric sales.

I have a limited amount of storage space for fabric and intend to keep it that way. If I have nowhere else to store my stash then hopefully it won’t get out of control. I’ve also joined an online stash buster contest this month, which has helped more than I thought it would. I’ve mostly been sewing things for me, which uses up fabric more quickly than sewing for my girls.

Motherof5 – I looove your fabric room. It must be fun to go “shopping” in there!

[TriMama]

I have seriously considered tying the belt a bit on the loose side and then hand stitching it so it can’t be undone.

Otherwise, why not just make view B?

[TriMama]

On a serger, using the differential feed is supposed to eliminate/reduce wavy seams. Although in practice I find that the differential feed only produces less wavy seams, rather than completely flat ones. The wave happens because the fabric is being stretched as is goes through the machine. I’m surprised your dealer doesn’t know about this.

On most knit items, I no longer serge the hem edges before hemming. I just turn them under and stitch, often with a double needle. I always use a longer stitch length and this seems to help the most.

[TriMama]

Combined please! I’m pretty sure that if you listed separate yardages for top and bottom and people just added them together to make pj’s with matching top and bottom we’d all end up buying too much fabric. I already have this problem so there’s no need to encourage me further ; )

[TriMama]

Excellent idea! I think Jalie does this with their OOP patterns as well.

One more request. When you create the PDF could you please use bookmarks so that we can easily navigate through the pattern, intro section and instructions? It will make it easier for those of us who only want to print certain parts of it.

I have no qualms about printing large quantities since i have a laser printer 😉

[TriMama]

Lori, you are brilliant! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[TriMama]

I’m a recent Ottobre convert, and a relatively experienced sewer, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Like O + S, I find that Ottobre patterns just fit well. They don’t compare to patterns from the big 4 pattern companies at all. I know if I sew a size 110cm for ODD it. will. fit. If I sew her a size 4 from one of the big 4 pattern makers, it may fit, or it may not. I’d rather spend time tracing, than trying to fit something on an active kid.

Also, even though the directions are brief, they are correct and easy to follow. There are no errors, like many other patterns (O + S excepted). I honestly find the illustrations from the big 4 pattern companies more confusing than helpful.

I consider O + S and Ottobre to be in a class of their own. I only sew from other sources if I want to make something that can’t be drafted using one of my preferred patterns.

[TriMama]

You can do it either way. Pre-quilted fabric is available. It’s usually in the quilting section of my local fabric store and is available in limited colors/patterns. It’s also not warm enough for my taste, although we live in Canada, so this may not be an issue for you.

I actually quilted two layers of polar fleece with a layer of quilting cotton in between for ODD’s lining. In retrospect, I think it’s a bit too thick and stiff, but will definitely be warm enough.

I like that I’ll be able to use the same lining with ODD’s School Days raincoat and wool winter coat.

[TriMama]

I am sewing just for me these days! On my sewing table right now is a green lined Lisette Market skirt plus a bunch of things from Ottobre Woman.

I finished a pair of brown linen sailboat pants for ODD this weekend and am a bit annoyed that she refuses to wear them. Oh well, I should know better since she’s a skirts and dresses only girl. Both ODD and YDD went to daycare today in Oliver + S outfits. YDD in a jumprope dress and ODD in a sailboat skirt and ruffle top.

[TriMama]

I just finished altering the two pairs of these pants I made for my 4yo. She’s obviously not still in diapers, but they are way too low in the back for her. If you do make them for your daughter I would definitely alter the pattern to give more coverage in the back.

I’ve found that pants with elastic all the way around the waist fit cloth diapered bums best.

[TriMama]

I need a creative, hands-on outlet. I’m a technical writer by day and get frustrated that my desk looks exactly the same at the end of the day as it does when I arrive in the morning. Since all my work is done on the computer, even when I work my tail off, I have nothing tangible to show for it.

I like that when I sew, I have something tangible when I’m done. I can touch it, wear it or see it on my kids. I also love when someone says, “Wow! You make that?”, although I never volunteer that I made it.

Plus, sewing is much, much cheaper than triathlon, which is my other vice.