Continuity

This post is really just for me.  It's a way for me to remember my grandparents and how they have influenced my sewing life.  And how tendencies trickle down through the family lines.

My grandfather was Fred Jepson.  He was born in Bombay, (Mumbai) India in 1881 to a military family.   When he was 18 years old he joined Queen Victoria's Lifeguards but after 8 years, he'd had enough.  He once told me that he did not enjoy the regimented life.  By the 1911 census, Fred and his two brothers were living in Nanaimo, BC, Canada. 

They bought a store which they called Jepson Bros.  It was listed as a stationery store, but sold so much more - including sewing machines which you can see in the window on the right.  And the young woman standing to the right is my grandmother, Neita Walker, who worked in the store - and married the boss!

Neita was born in Victoria, BC, Canada in 1893 and moved to Nanaimo with her family in 1899.  She was an expert seamstress and seems to have come by it naturally.  When researching her family, I found an Ontario census document for 1891 which showed no less than 3 of her aunts were dressmakers.

Machinery was in Grandpa's blood.  His grandfather was listed on a birth record as a mechanic in a cloth-making mill - there's that fabric link again!  Grandpa was the Singer representative in Nanaimo and my father told how during the Depression, Grandpa would pack his bags with sewing machine pieces and together with his bicycle and a sewing machine, would travel on the train to the end of the line on Vancouver Island and then make his way back down again by bicycle.  He'd repair sewing machines and sell the machine he had with him as he journeyed back home.  He ran the Singer store in Nanaimo until his retirement - that was back when Singer Sewing Machines were made to last!

Grandpa used to bring assignments back from the store for Grandma to complete.  She'd cover buttons and buckles for customers.  I can still smell the odour of hot adhesive as Grandma worked the machinery to cover them.  Grandma made loose covers for the furniture, embroidered lovely tablecloths and of course, sewed beautiful clothes.

Grandma made a lot of my clothes and I well remember by graduation dance dress and clutch purse that she made - no pattern - but a beautiful full length dress made from gold brocade complete with a handmade flower at the back of the waist.  Another memory is the stack of aprons that she made every year for the Church Bazaar.  Each one was an individual - from frilly cocktail creations to sturdy work aprons, each one had its own identity.  What a pleasure it was to go through them one by one and marvel at her inventiveness!  All of her grandchildren got handmade dolls.  Mine was a beauty I called Belinda.  From her yarn hair to her shoe-clad feet, she was dressed to the nines in clothes made by Grandma.  Bonnet, coat, dress, underwear, shoes - all made by Grandma.

And as for me - I thoroughly disliked the sewing I learned in school which consisted of making a plain white apron with my name embroidered on the bodice, and left the class as soon as it became optional.  Years later when I left school, I took it up again, taking sewing classes in night school and learned so much more.  A wedding gift of a sewing machine from my grandparents started me on my way back into the family occupation.

When I look back on our long-gone relatives, I'm struck by how occupational tendencies run in a family.  On my grandfather's side, his grandfather was a mechanic and Grandpa repaired and sold sewing machines.  On my grandmother's side, there was a long line of coopers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, carriage builders, etc.  Just about anything to do with machinery.  And so many of my modern-day relatives love to tinker with machinery, with a number of them (including my father) earning their living through machinery.

And then there's the sewing.  Both of my aunts were accomplished seamstresses and several of my cousins as well.  I am so grateful to my grandparents for nudging me along this path of sewing which has brought me so much enjoyment and made it possible for me to meet so many wonderful people through it.

Re-usable Gift Bags

I was recently invited to a Valentine's Tea Party by the 3-year old granddaughter of a friend.  I was instructed to wear red and pink!  And of course you have to take a little gift.  Since I had to make a new top for myself - not having any pink or red in my wardrobe - I decided to use the rest of the bold fabric to make leggings for the hostess and her little sister.  But now I needed a gift bag.

A few years ago, treading lightly on the earth became of more importance to my family.  We no longer buy gift bags or wrapping paper as they can't be recycled.  Instead we make gift bags from fabric which just pass around the family.

I get my fabric from a number of sources and always look for bargains.  My number one place to look for fabric is my local thrift store.  You can often find quilting cotton there.  After Christmas, my local fabric store puts their Christmas fabric on at least 50% off - and sometimes more.  Then I check out the sales and can usually find something suitable there.  And sure enough, I had some pink cotton with hearts on it - perfect!

Making the bag is always a very quick process.  I start by cutting the size I need - in this case I cut my two layers of fabric 11" by 18" which gave me enough to hold the two pairs of leggings and have a flap to fold over.

After a quick iron, I put right sides together and stitched the sides and bottom on my serger.  Since this is a "quick and dirty" project, when I reached one corner I serged a little off the edge, then lifted the foot and slid the next raw side under.  One side of my bag was cut on the fold, so I just ran the serger a few stitches off the end and cut the chain.

You will have a a tiny loop in the corner, but it won't have an impact on how the bag looks or wears.  Leave the tails in place.

Serge around the raw edge at the top of the bag.

Back to the iron, I pressed the bag again and took it to my sewing machine.  I just folded the edge over and stitched through the serged edge.  There's no need to pin in place, just use your eye.

In approximately 10 minutes I had a bag that was ready to go.  After putting the leggings inside, I simply folded the bag top over.  There are lots of ways you can make it more festive - wrap it with a ribbon, pin an inexpensive broach on it, secure it with a gold safety pin, thread a cord through the fold over channel - the only limit is your imagination.  And think of all the wrapping paper you've saved from the landfills!

Scrap Busting!

I don't usually make resolutions, but yesterday I decided it was time.  I have a box of fabric pieces I can't bear to toss.  They're all too small to make a full garment from - even a baby-sized one - but enough that I could piece them with other fabric to make something. even if it's a small garment.  In the summer I take part in a little market on our tiny island and sell children's clothes so I definitely have a use for small garments.  I just needed to get going!

I have a few patterns that I use regularly that are perfect for scrap busting.  The Vanguard Kit from Love Notions has a shirt pattern in it that already has excellent colour blocking options built in.  I also use Love Notions' Miss Mary Mack for the same purpose.

Sometimes all you have is a small scrap but it's big enough for a middle section of the Vanguard's tee plus short sleeves.  Pair it with a plain fabric and you're good to go.

I had very little of this beautiful unicorn fabric, but there was enough for short sleeves, front and back bodice plus a couple of pockets.

Cutting out takes no time at all once I've decided on how I can use the fabrics.

A couple of size 2 tees take no time at all to sew when you set up an assembly line!  I didn't have quite enough pirate fabric for both sleeves, but the matching stripes are just fine.  There was enough of the patterned fabric for the backs of both shirts.

The Miss Mary Mack Tunic took a little longer to make because of gathering the skirt and attaching the pockets, but I'm pleased with how it came out.

All of these wonderful European fabrics came from l'oiseau fabrics who are situated in Calgary but sell their products all over the world.

Here's my absolute favourite fabric I've bought from l'oiseau.  There's so little left of this beautiful Dutch digital print that I still haven't decided how I can use it.  But I'll think of something!

If you haven't got the Vanguard Kit or Miss Mary Mack Tunic in your pattern library, you can get them through my affiliate links below.

Love Notions Vanguard Kit sizes 2T - 14

Love Notions Miss Mary Mack Tunic sizes 12 months - 14

Free Zippers!

We recently purchased a new duvet cover, a couple of down pillows and pillow protectors in a big sale.  All of the items came in zippered bags.  I'm always on the hunt for zippers as they have so many uses and can be quite expensive to buy new!  I pick them up at the local thrift store very cheaply whenever I can find them and here were 4 zippers free for the taking!

Armed with my trusty seam ripper (made for me by hubby!) I proceeded to liberate them.  I thought it was going to be a lot of work, but the thread used to stitch them into the bags was pretty flimsy.  A few jabs with the seam ripper and they just pulled away!  The zippers were all stitched separately across the ends, but I also secured them with safety pins to remind myself that there weren't proper stoppers.

And at the end of 10 minutes' easy work, I had 7" and 14" zippers and a couple of 33" 2-way zippers to add to my collection.

The remainder of the bags went into our recycling.  I'm doing my bit for reuse/recycle and I get 4 zippers for future use - a good day's work!

Happy sewing!

From Boyfriend Cardigan to Housecoat!

Pattern - Love Notions Boyfriend Cardigan
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - French Terry from l'oiseau fabrics
Skills - zipper installation

I desperately needed a new dressing gown/housecoat!  I thought really hard about using the Octave Coat - and let's face it - that would be amazing!  But I didn't want a wrap gown with the tie belt or buttons.  I wanted something that zipped up the front.  Finally I decided that the Boyfriend Cardigan could work.

My plan was to lengthen it and sandwich the zipper in the shawl collar pieces.  I would also size up to make sure that it was roomy.

I had a length of lovely French Terry from l'oiseau fabrics that I'd been hoarding.  The 2.5 metres should be enough for the body and 3/4 sleeves I was wanting.  The collar would have to come from a solid and I had black French Terry which would also do for the pockets.

I extended the front, back and shawl collar pieces 14" by just adding onto the bottom and removed the vent extensions.  I added 3/8" for a seam allowance to the outer edge of the shawl collar as I wasn't going to be cutting it on the fold.

I followed the tutorial instructions until I got to attaching the shawl collar.  It was time to get ready for the zipper installation.

I stitched the shawl collar pieces together at the back to create two separate collar pieces.  I pinned one collar section to the body - right sides together.

Now it was time to start thinking about the zipper and how high up to place it.  Since the gown was nearly complete, I was able to put it on and hold up the zipper and mark it on the collar pieces.  As 30" was the longest separating zipper I could find, I knew it wouldn't go all the way down, but I needed it fairly high up the front.

Next I placed the gown on my cutting table front facing up with the halves separated and the bottoms even with one another.  The shawl collar was brought to the centre so it was facing right side out.

Then I applied double-sided tape on the edges to keep the zipper tape in place.

I laid the zipper halves on top of the double-sided tape with the teeth facing away from the edge.  Then I laid the other shawl collar piece on top, matching at the back centre and bottom ends, then pinning in between.  Time to take it to my sewing machine.  And a big tip!

I know that with the under piece of the collar stabilized by the double-sided tape and zipper, that the top layer could stretch and shift, so I employed a little trickery!  I had a piece of card stock which I placed right beside the needle and stitched right at the edge of the card stock.  This prevents the top layer from stretching and moving.  As I reached the end of the card stock I kept the needle down, lifted the foot and moved the card stock along - until I reached the end of the zipper.  It works like a charm!

Now for the finishing steps.  With right sides together, I stitched across the ends of the shawl collar pieces 1" from the bottom and trimmed the corners.  I turned the corners inside out, then pinned up the bottom hem 1" and pressed.

Then, to secure the collar to the gown, I pinned the collar in place so that the raw edge covered the seam, which I had pressed towards the collar.  I pinned along the seam on the right side while my fingers felt to make sure that the raw edge was far enough over the gown body side to be caught by my machine.

Then finally I stitched all around the gown collar and then across the hem.  I used my coverstitch machine, but a sewing machine works equally as well.

And I'm delighted with how it's turned out!  I now have the zip up housecoat I've been thinking about for months!  If you don't already have the Boyfriend Cardigan, you can get it through my affiliate link below.

Love Notions Boyfriend Cardigan

Happy sewing!

A Sense of Direction

Patterns - Peek-a-Boo Patterns Lullaby Lap Tee & Happy Buns Britches
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - l'oiseau cotton spandex
Skills - directional fabric with cuffs

This blog post is more for me than it is for anyone else who happens to read it!  I struggle every time I have to make cuffs with a directional fabric, so this time, I decided to document the process.

We have quite the baby explosion among our neighbours and friends here on our little island.  I have to mention that most of the babies are arriving for grandparents, but I always make something for friends who are expecting a new family member.  My favourite patterns for babies are based on what my daughter-in-law found most useful for her babies.  She really liked a lapped neckline for the ease of getting over baby heads and the pants that had plenty of room for cloth-diapered bottoms.  Peek-A-Boo Patterns has lots of patterns for babies and little children and they're generally my choice for the under-twos.

I like to combine patterned and plain fabrics when I make a baby outfit.  If I used patterned for the top, I use plain for the bottom with patterned cuffs to match the top and plain on the neckbands so that the whole outfit ties together.  And every time I make this outfit I always have to think several times on how to attach the cuffs and waistband!

I fold the cuffs and waistband right sides together and then pin quarters for the waistband and halves for the cuffs.  I match them up with the quartered waist and halved leg bottoms.  I found that having the waistband with the right side up pinned plus the right side up with the cuffs works.  I never seem to be able to remember that, so I've made myself a little drawing for the next time.

Now a couple of little tips when making these tiny garments.

When attaching cuffs, I pin them so that the seam allowances face in opposite directions.  This makes less bulk for stitching and also is less bulky when worn.

When attaching the cuffs, I have the cuffs on the outside.  Then I slide the garment under the foot so that the cuff is on the bottom.  This way I can stretch the cuffs while making sure I don't get tucks in the legs.  I do this with my serger, but the process is the same if you're using a sewing machine.

When hemming I can fit even the tiniest sleeve under my machine's foot by turning the garment inside out and lowering the foot inside the sleeve.  I do this with my coverstitch machine, but the process is the same for a sewing machine - just make sure that these tiny sleeves get hemmed with a stretchy stitch.

I now have my card pinned to the wall in my sewing machine so that next time I make an outfit with directional cuffs, I'll know exactly what to do!

Happy sewing!

New Cushion Covers

A friend got a real find at our local thrift store.  She scored several yards of beautiful drapery material and wondered if I could make new cushion covers for her. She was fine with whatever closure I was able to manage.

The first thing I did was to take one of the old covers off and "liberate" the zipper from it.  Time to use the lovely seam ripper that hubby made me!  I measured the old cushion cover and cut the front and back of the new cover 22" square and allowed .5" seam allowance.

My first attempt at installing the zipper was how I'd done them in lined zipper bags.  But I didn't like the look and ripped out the zipper. 

Then I used a lint roller to catch up all the little bits of thread - you need one of these in your sewing kit!

I finally decided to sew a .5" seam down one side of the squares.  I measured off 2" at each end and marked them with green-headed pins.  Yellow headed pins denoted where I'd sew a basting stitch.  I used a 2.5 stitch length for the first 2", cut the thread and then stitched 4.0 to the other green pin, cut the thread and finally stitched 2.5 to the end.  Where the stitching line came to the basting stitch, I doubled back to secure the ends.  I pressed the seam open.

I laid the zipper out on the seam with the zipper teeth directly over the stitching line.  I used green-headed pins at each end of the basting stitch.  Zipper foot on the sewing machine, I stitched down one side of the zipper to just past the green-headed pin.

Then I turned 90 degrees, stitched over the zipper teeth (no problem on nylon teeth!), did another 90 degrees and then stitched up the other side of the zipper.  I used the seam ripper to take out the basting stitch and now I was ready to finish sewing the cover.  And it's important at this point to open the zipper so that you'll be able to turn the cover right side out!

I folded the cover right sides together and pinned.  I stitched down one side, across the bottom and up the final side.  I clipped the two bottom corners to make turning easier.

Now all I had to do was to stuff the cushions in their new covers and admire how nice they looked!  Including ripping out the old zippers, cutting the fabric, back-tracking on zipper installation and finally finishing the covers, it only took me a couple of hours and now my friend has 3 lovely new cushions.

And now that I know how easy it is, I'm going to re-do some of my own cushion covers!