Here are some links relevant to the embroidery class tomorrow evening.
A few online stitch dictionaries: Rissa's Pieces, Victorian Embroidery and Crafts, Johanna's Needlework Stitches.
Good embroidery blogs: Pin Tangle, Feeling Stitchy (which has a Flickr pool), the Lovely Textiles embroidery category.
Amazing embroidered felted knit pieces by Harpa Jónsdóttir. Art embroiderers: Louise Gardiner, Kate Jackson, Daniel Kornrumpf, Harriet Maxwell.
Embroidery samplers, showing how the stitches themselves can be lovely even when they don't form pictures. And another: a four seasons piece made from detached chain (lazy daisy), straight stitch, French knot, and Danish knot (detached Palestrina stitch) only, densely spaced and in appropriate colors that give it a lot more interest than you might think from the list of stitches.
A gallery of crazy quilts, one craft in which embroidery is used quite heavily.
Images of work done entirely in French knots. More individual stitches: fly, feather, chain, detached chain, herringbone and buttonhole.
Free geeky cross-stitch patterns and more classic cross-stitch patterns, from Sprite Stitch and DMC, respectively.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Classes cancelled!
Due to lack of interest, Spinning and The Stretch (to be held Oct 3 and 10) have been canceled and replaced with open studio hours, 5:30-7:30 both nights.
Embroidery for Oct 17, 5:30-7:30 pm, is still on! Class description:
Hand Embroidery
Come learn some basic embroidery stitches and ideas for their use, and take home an instructional handout. We will start with the basics: fabric and thread, embroidery hoops and stitching evenly. We'll practice on some of the Sew-Op's fabric stash. Finally we'll look at examples of accents, art pieces, and functional stitching made decorative via embroidery. Bring something you would like to embroider and we'll brainstorm the possibilities.
Taught by Rebecca.
Sign up by the registers at the Co-op food store, or by emailing or calling Kye Cochran (802-295-5804). $20 Co-op member, $25 non-members.
Embroidery for Oct 17, 5:30-7:30 pm, is still on! Class description:
Hand Embroidery
Come learn some basic embroidery stitches and ideas for their use, and take home an instructional handout. We will start with the basics: fabric and thread, embroidery hoops and stitching evenly. We'll practice on some of the Sew-Op's fabric stash. Finally we'll look at examples of accents, art pieces, and functional stitching made decorative via embroidery. Bring something you would like to embroider and we'll brainstorm the possibilities.
Taught by Rebecca.
Sign up by the registers at the Co-op food store, or by emailing or calling Kye Cochran (802-295-5804). $20 Co-op member, $25 non-members.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
DIY lunch containers
A quick post because Epbot pointed me to a craft idea that I just love:
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/reusable-lunch-containers-785113/
Make a sandwich box out of the bottom of a milk jug or a snack box out of a waxed carton, from a half-pint to a quart. The only added material is a velcro dot to close it, and when you consider the waxed cardboard milk and juice cartons aren't recyclable, you're reducing waste twice over: the carton and the plastic bag it's replacing. Plastic milk jugs can be recycled, but that takes energy, so this cuts out the middleman (of course, recycle the rest of the jug, and your sandwich box when it needs to be retired).
Of course you can always add decoration with markers and stickers.
Reduce and reuse come before recycle and this does both of them!
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/reusable-lunch-containers-785113/
Make a sandwich box out of the bottom of a milk jug or a snack box out of a waxed carton, from a half-pint to a quart. The only added material is a velcro dot to close it, and when you consider the waxed cardboard milk and juice cartons aren't recyclable, you're reducing waste twice over: the carton and the plastic bag it's replacing. Plastic milk jugs can be recycled, but that takes energy, so this cuts out the middleman (of course, recycle the rest of the jug, and your sandwich box when it needs to be retired).
Of course you can always add decoration with markers and stickers.
Reduce and reuse come before recycle and this does both of them!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Sew-Op Pictures
As promised, here are a few pictures to introduce you to the Sew-Op.
As you walk in, you'll see a small table with sign-in sheets and writing implements to your right. Beyond it is shelving that mostly holds sewing machines and accessories. In the middle of the room is the main workspace, which may be fairly clear or may have six sewing machines set up on it. If you are very lucky, it will also have a Martha and a Birdie.
The wall to your right as you walk in the door holds all the fabric as well as yarn, thread, needles and pins, sewing scissors, and other notions. You can see there is a lot for the taking!
If you walk a ways into the room and turn around toward the door, you'll see the bulletin board and a small bookcase with lace, ribbon, buttons, and other trims, as well as our small library of books on sewing, quilting, and other fibercrafts. The ironing boards are stored behind the door as well.
I hope you will find time on a Monday or a Saturday to come see it in person!
As you walk in, you'll see a small table with sign-in sheets and writing implements to your right. Beyond it is shelving that mostly holds sewing machines and accessories. In the middle of the room is the main workspace, which may be fairly clear or may have six sewing machines set up on it. If you are very lucky, it will also have a Martha and a Birdie.
The wall to your right as you walk in the door holds all the fabric as well as yarn, thread, needles and pins, sewing scissors, and other notions. You can see there is a lot for the taking!
If you walk a ways into the room and turn around toward the door, you'll see the bulletin board and a small bookcase with lace, ribbon, buttons, and other trims, as well as our small library of books on sewing, quilting, and other fibercrafts. The ironing boards are stored behind the door as well.
I hope you will find time on a Monday or a Saturday to come see it in person!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Schedule - Edited and Augmented
Excellent. I am Blogger-challenged and cannot for the life of me find the place to edit the schedule pages, so I will just post that information here. All days are Mondays except where noted.
September 19: Basic Sewing Class, 5:30-7:30 pm, registration required
September 24 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
September 26: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30 pm
October 3: two classes in separate rooms, 5:30-7:30, registration required for each:
The Stretch (making kids' clothes fit them for longer)
Spinning, part 1
October 8 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
October 10: Open Hours in one room and Spinning, part 2, in the other, both 5:30-7:30; registration required for Spinning only
October 17: Hand Embroidery Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
October 22 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
October 24: Open Hours with a Halloween theme, 5:30-7:30
October 31: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30
November 5 (Saturday): Open Hours 10:00-Noon
November 7: Open Hours 5:30-7:30
November 14: Basic Sewing Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
November 19 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
November 21: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30
November 28: Basic Sewing Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
December 3 (Saturday): Open Hours 10:00-Noon
December 5: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30
December 12: Alteration Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
September 19: Basic Sewing Class, 5:30-7:30 pm, registration required
September 24 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
September 26: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30 pm
October 3: two classes in separate rooms, 5:30-7:30, registration required for each:
The Stretch (making kids' clothes fit them for longer)
Spinning, part 1
October 8 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
October 10: Open Hours in one room and Spinning, part 2, in the other, both 5:30-7:30; registration required for Spinning only
October 17: Hand Embroidery Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
October 22 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
October 24: Open Hours with a Halloween theme, 5:30-7:30
October 31: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30
November 5 (Saturday): Open Hours 10:00-Noon
November 7: Open Hours 5:30-7:30
November 14: Basic Sewing Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
November 19 (Saturday): Open Hours, 10:00-Noon
November 21: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30
November 28: Basic Sewing Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
December 3 (Saturday): Open Hours 10:00-Noon
December 5: Open Hours, 5:30-7:30
December 12: Alteration Class, 5:30-7:30, registration required
And we're back!
I spent the earlier part of this evening at the Sew-Op, at our first Open Hours of the season. Later this week I'll post some pictures of the space, so any of you who have never been can get an idea of what the place looks like.
A brief description, again, of what we do and are for: about half the time we have classes. Basic sewing, knitting, spinning, mending, stretching the life of kids' clothes, and embroidery are all on the docket for this year, all on Monday evenings 5:30-7:30. Classes are $25 ($20 if you are a Co-Op member) and registration is required, which can be done in the Co-op at the front (by the cash registers) or by emailing or calling Kye Cochran (802-295-5804). Next week (September 19) we have a Basic Sewing class with spaces still open!
On Monday evenings when there is no class, and now on every other Saturday in the late morning, the workshop is open to the public for free and without any registration necessary. Open hours are a time for people to bring projects to the Sew-Op to work on (it needn't be sewing), where they can be inspired by others working around them, have company while doing a boring task like hand hemming, and get advice on completion of the project - a Sew-Op volunteer is always present.
Check the schedule for the rest of September and October and check back at the end of the week for some photos of the Sew-Op!
A brief description, again, of what we do and are for: about half the time we have classes. Basic sewing, knitting, spinning, mending, stretching the life of kids' clothes, and embroidery are all on the docket for this year, all on Monday evenings 5:30-7:30. Classes are $25 ($20 if you are a Co-Op member) and registration is required, which can be done in the Co-op at the front (by the cash registers) or by emailing or calling Kye Cochran (802-295-5804). Next week (September 19) we have a Basic Sewing class with spaces still open!
On Monday evenings when there is no class, and now on every other Saturday in the late morning, the workshop is open to the public for free and without any registration necessary. Open hours are a time for people to bring projects to the Sew-Op to work on (it needn't be sewing), where they can be inspired by others working around them, have company while doing a boring task like hand hemming, and get advice on completion of the project - a Sew-Op volunteer is always present.
Check the schedule for the rest of September and October and check back at the end of the week for some photos of the Sew-Op!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Altering and Mending
Well, well, well. Late again. I do know what day it is, I promise; summer makes the time slip away even for grown-ups.
Since I don't have a mission for these entries, I'm going to talk to you again about what's on my mind now. Today I took a field trip down to Newport to get my sewing machine back from Michael Jarvis, who was tuning it up. It runs beautifully now, and I can hardly wait to get to some machine-sewing projects. Between my travel and its tune-up, it's been almost two months since I last used my own machine!
School starts soon, and I have a pair of dress pants for teaching that are in need of alteration - typically if pants fit me in the hips they are slightly too big in the waist, and they are almost universally too long. This pair have been sitting in the closet for quite some time because they are lined and the waistband has no seams, and that presents quite a bit of additional work in the alteration. I have such a limited number of dress pants, though, that I will have to suck it up and get them done. I'll put a movie on to keep me company. Then I'll do the hemming at the Sew-Op once we open after Labor Day, surrounded by other people sewing and good conversation! I'm married to my own machine and other tools, hence not doing the whole job at the Sew-Op, but if you have alterations to make please feel more than welcome to bring them in. There are always people present who know about sewing and can help you out if you aren't completely sure how to proceed.
My other main sewing job is to reline a wool peacoat so I can wear it during the early and late winter. It's not really heavy enough for midwinter, but it lasts a while and it's an attractive coat. I have had it for many years and the lining is just through - I've already repaired worn spots where my back jeans pockets rubbed it and at the underarms, but it's generally thin and saggy and unattractive. Additionally, one of the buttons went missing, and years ago I bought new buttons to replace all of them (because I didn't like the original buttons enough to go on a hunt for a matching replacement). So far I've taken out the original lining, split it in half down the middle seam, left one half together and taken the other half apart. I also ironed some flexible tricot interfacing onto the inside back of the coat, to protect the wool from getting thin. I still need to replace the buttons, cut new lining pieces (with a seam allowance added on!), sew the new lining together and put it into the coat. However, if I do a careful job, I expect it will last me many years to come, and probably be a bit warmer because the new lining is thicker than the old.
And as a bonus, the new lining material is absolutely beautiful! The old was plain black polyester; the new is shiny satin, black background with vividly colored leaves. Sometimes a repair is more than a repair - you can make it an upgrade and add your personal style to the item. The Sew-Op has a large stash of fabric for such personal touches, from patching things to lining things to adding a decorative edging - not to mention all kinds of buttons and trims. It is all donated and free to be used by anyone who comes to Open Hours or a class. Hope to see you there!
Since I don't have a mission for these entries, I'm going to talk to you again about what's on my mind now. Today I took a field trip down to Newport to get my sewing machine back from Michael Jarvis, who was tuning it up. It runs beautifully now, and I can hardly wait to get to some machine-sewing projects. Between my travel and its tune-up, it's been almost two months since I last used my own machine!
School starts soon, and I have a pair of dress pants for teaching that are in need of alteration - typically if pants fit me in the hips they are slightly too big in the waist, and they are almost universally too long. This pair have been sitting in the closet for quite some time because they are lined and the waistband has no seams, and that presents quite a bit of additional work in the alteration. I have such a limited number of dress pants, though, that I will have to suck it up and get them done. I'll put a movie on to keep me company. Then I'll do the hemming at the Sew-Op once we open after Labor Day, surrounded by other people sewing and good conversation! I'm married to my own machine and other tools, hence not doing the whole job at the Sew-Op, but if you have alterations to make please feel more than welcome to bring them in. There are always people present who know about sewing and can help you out if you aren't completely sure how to proceed.
My other main sewing job is to reline a wool peacoat so I can wear it during the early and late winter. It's not really heavy enough for midwinter, but it lasts a while and it's an attractive coat. I have had it for many years and the lining is just through - I've already repaired worn spots where my back jeans pockets rubbed it and at the underarms, but it's generally thin and saggy and unattractive. Additionally, one of the buttons went missing, and years ago I bought new buttons to replace all of them (because I didn't like the original buttons enough to go on a hunt for a matching replacement). So far I've taken out the original lining, split it in half down the middle seam, left one half together and taken the other half apart. I also ironed some flexible tricot interfacing onto the inside back of the coat, to protect the wool from getting thin. I still need to replace the buttons, cut new lining pieces (with a seam allowance added on!), sew the new lining together and put it into the coat. However, if I do a careful job, I expect it will last me many years to come, and probably be a bit warmer because the new lining is thicker than the old.
And as a bonus, the new lining material is absolutely beautiful! The old was plain black polyester; the new is shiny satin, black background with vividly colored leaves. Sometimes a repair is more than a repair - you can make it an upgrade and add your personal style to the item. The Sew-Op has a large stash of fabric for such personal touches, from patching things to lining things to adding a decorative edging - not to mention all kinds of buttons and trims. It is all donated and free to be used by anyone who comes to Open Hours or a class. Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sorry for the late post! I completely spaced it yesterday. However, it turned out for the best. According to Holiday Insights, today is Book Lover's Day. Upcoming days include Lazy Day (tomorrow), Left Hander's Day (the 13th), Bad Poetry Day (the 18th), and Frankenstein Day (the 30th) -- among many others. Craftzine has dubbed it Quirky Crafts Month, and under the Quirky Crafts tag there are some delightful projects.
Since it's Book Lover's Day, let's look at books. I am not a scrapbooker, per se, but I love to make books of clippings. Generally I find a nice hardcover blank book and paste things into it from magazines, catalogs, pamphlets, the newspaper - whatever I find that's relevant. I may also copy things out by hand. I am a terrible paper packrat. I have three books for recipes (plus a binder for full-size sheets), one for other household- and toiletry-related clippings, one for craft ideas, one for fashion design ideas, one for local tourist attractions (very handy when I have visitors!), one for gardening, and a number that hold memorabilia of past travel.
A few of the books are spiral-bound, which is convenient if you want them to lie flat, and the recipe books are commercially designed for recipes. The local tourism is a small-scale three-ring binder (by Day Runner or Day-Timer or some such), which allows me to keep it in order for finding things easily, and not have to guess how many blank pages to leave in the middle for future expansion.
I have in the past also made gift books, which also start as blank hardcovers (or sometimes nice softcovers, with a leatherette feel) and into which I either write longhand or paste in typed material. I put in poems, recipes, book excerpts and other quotations, jokes, and other nonsense. Those books are significantly smaller than my clipping books. They have to be, or I would never finish them!
For more professional-looking books you can turn to on-demand publishing, where you create a pdf and they print the book. After living there for four months, I made a book about New Zealand for my grandmother, with information about the culture and area, descriptions of my adventures there, and lots of photos. I used Lulu, but there are many options.
Of course one may also construct the book itself, not just its contents. I'm sure I will do this eventually, though I haven't yet. However, it doesn't stop me from finding the online resources! Making Books with Children has a number of free project instructions. About.com has instructions for a paper bag scrapbook which could also be done with children. The motherlode is at Craft Stew, a long list of links to bookbinding instructions grouped by technique. If you just want inspiration, LiveJournal has an active Handmade Book Community where people post their finished works.
Finally, if you would like some interesting and beautiful "unmade" books, do an image search on "altered books."
Since it's Book Lover's Day, let's look at books. I am not a scrapbooker, per se, but I love to make books of clippings. Generally I find a nice hardcover blank book and paste things into it from magazines, catalogs, pamphlets, the newspaper - whatever I find that's relevant. I may also copy things out by hand. I am a terrible paper packrat. I have three books for recipes (plus a binder for full-size sheets), one for other household- and toiletry-related clippings, one for craft ideas, one for fashion design ideas, one for local tourist attractions (very handy when I have visitors!), one for gardening, and a number that hold memorabilia of past travel.
A few of the books are spiral-bound, which is convenient if you want them to lie flat, and the recipe books are commercially designed for recipes. The local tourism is a small-scale three-ring binder (by Day Runner or Day-Timer or some such), which allows me to keep it in order for finding things easily, and not have to guess how many blank pages to leave in the middle for future expansion.
I have in the past also made gift books, which also start as blank hardcovers (or sometimes nice softcovers, with a leatherette feel) and into which I either write longhand or paste in typed material. I put in poems, recipes, book excerpts and other quotations, jokes, and other nonsense. Those books are significantly smaller than my clipping books. They have to be, or I would never finish them!
For more professional-looking books you can turn to on-demand publishing, where you create a pdf and they print the book. After living there for four months, I made a book about New Zealand for my grandmother, with information about the culture and area, descriptions of my adventures there, and lots of photos. I used Lulu, but there are many options.
Of course one may also construct the book itself, not just its contents. I'm sure I will do this eventually, though I haven't yet. However, it doesn't stop me from finding the online resources! Making Books with Children has a number of free project instructions. About.com has instructions for a paper bag scrapbook which could also be done with children. The motherlode is at Craft Stew, a long list of links to bookbinding instructions grouped by technique. If you just want inspiration, LiveJournal has an active Handmade Book Community where people post their finished works.
Finally, if you would like some interesting and beautiful "unmade" books, do an image search on "altered books."
Monday, July 25, 2011
Who's got the button?
Of course, as soon as I posted a link to Iron Craft, they moved. The site has been expanded into Just Crafty Enough. That's okay, though, because I forgot to say I was bringing them up last time in part as a source for summer fun ideas. There is at least one mom on there who does the challenges with her two sons each week, and posts all three projects on the Flickr feed.
I was in transit yesterday and today and almost forgot it was a posting day, but I happened to be looking at crafts to reuse buttons and other items anyway (buttons because the Sew-Op has tons of them - not because the latest Iron Craft was about them!). I'll start with about.com's list of frugal crafts for kids, since it has a wide range of projects.
Non-clothing button projects fall into two categories: using them as embellishments rather than fasteners, and using them as structural elements of crafts. I saw projects covering boxes, teacups, picture frames, and the edges of bulletin boards with buttons. My favorite in that vein was buttons in place of numbers on a clock.
You can glue buttons to magnets, string them on wire or elastic thread for jewelry, create mosaic pictures with them, or thread them on hairpin-shaped wires to stick into the soil of houseplants or a vase for a button bouquet. You can turn stacks of buttons into keychains and zipper pulls, glue them to headbands and hair clips, or use pipe cleaners to make posable button creatures.
If you have a lot of patience, you can weave embroidery floss through buttonholes to make coasters or other flat items, either rectangular or hexagonal.
The idea I'm going to try to find a use for is the embroidered button-fruit on these napkins. Have at the button box!
I was in transit yesterday and today and almost forgot it was a posting day, but I happened to be looking at crafts to reuse buttons and other items anyway (buttons because the Sew-Op has tons of them - not because the latest Iron Craft was about them!). I'll start with about.com's list of frugal crafts for kids, since it has a wide range of projects.
Non-clothing button projects fall into two categories: using them as embellishments rather than fasteners, and using them as structural elements of crafts. I saw projects covering boxes, teacups, picture frames, and the edges of bulletin boards with buttons. My favorite in that vein was buttons in place of numbers on a clock.
You can glue buttons to magnets, string them on wire or elastic thread for jewelry, create mosaic pictures with them, or thread them on hairpin-shaped wires to stick into the soil of houseplants or a vase for a button bouquet. You can turn stacks of buttons into keychains and zipper pulls, glue them to headbands and hair clips, or use pipe cleaners to make posable button creatures.
If you have a lot of patience, you can weave embroidery floss through buttonholes to make coasters or other flat items, either rectangular or hexagonal.
The idea I'm going to try to find a use for is the embroidered button-fruit on these napkins. Have at the button box!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Summer fashion
Hi all!
I'm Rebecca, your other contributor this summer. I want to start by introducing you to Iron Craft, a weekly crafting challenge, if you aren't already familiar. Every Thursday they post a challenge theme, and you have until the following Wednesday to make something meeting the theme. On that Wednesday you may post pictures to a joint Flickr pool and everyone's entries will be featured in round-up posts on the main Iron Craft page. The current theme is perfect for the Sew-Op's philosophy: use something for a craft that you would ordinarily throw away.
However, what I've really been thinking about lately is t-shirts. I don't actually wear them, but I have eight or ten stashed in a closet. The reason I don't wear most of them is that I don't like the fit - too boxy, too high a neckline, etc. Well, not too long ago I remade one into a tank top, and I expect it to get a lot more wear that way. I was lazy and just laid an existing tank top on top of it, lined up at the shoulders, and cut around it with a wide margin for the seam allowance (especially important because the tank top was quite fitted and the t-shirt had a very large picture on the front that meant it stretched a lot less than the tank). Then I turned under the neckline and armholes, sewed up the side seams, checked the bottom hem for evenness and folded it up. If you want to be more careful, here is a lovely tutorial on making a masking tape pattern from an existing garment (the tutorial is for pants, but it will work with anything).
To mimic the original seams, I used a twin needle: two top threads, one bobbin thread zig-zagging between them. If you have a serger, you're in great shape for sewing t-shirts, but if not, this is the best approximation an ordinary home sewing machine can make, and you're at least guaranteed to have two parallel lines of stitching. Unfortunately it is easy to skip a lot of stitches. After I made my tank top I took my sewing machine to get a tune-up, and the owner (Michael Jarvis down in Newport, NH) gave me some pointers on sewing with a twin needle. Since the bobbin hook is not designed to catch two top threads, you can't avoid skipped stitches entirely, but you can minimize them by decreasing both your thread tension and your stitch length. Experiment to find good settings. Decreasing the tension to the point that the top threads are pulled under also helps the seam stretch, and likewise stretching the fabric slightly as you sew - steam ironing or washing will get it back to its original shape.
Actually, though, sometimes stretching out the fabric is what you want. As an alternative to a turned-under hem, you can cut off the fabric and make a tight zigzag all around the edge. The fabric will stretch and ruffle into a "lettuce leaf" hem.
Finally, I have some links for you, to lists of ways to alter t-shirts to make them dressier or more interesting, not just more fitted. The key search term for this sort of link is "t-shirt surgery", which I discovered after searching on several other terms. Here's what I found: Generation T, Not Your Ordinary T-Shirt, Fun T-Shirt Crafts, t-shirt surgery on LiveJournal, and T-Shirt Surgery on About.com. Have fun!
I'm Rebecca, your other contributor this summer. I want to start by introducing you to Iron Craft, a weekly crafting challenge, if you aren't already familiar. Every Thursday they post a challenge theme, and you have until the following Wednesday to make something meeting the theme. On that Wednesday you may post pictures to a joint Flickr pool and everyone's entries will be featured in round-up posts on the main Iron Craft page. The current theme is perfect for the Sew-Op's philosophy: use something for a craft that you would ordinarily throw away.
However, what I've really been thinking about lately is t-shirts. I don't actually wear them, but I have eight or ten stashed in a closet. The reason I don't wear most of them is that I don't like the fit - too boxy, too high a neckline, etc. Well, not too long ago I remade one into a tank top, and I expect it to get a lot more wear that way. I was lazy and just laid an existing tank top on top of it, lined up at the shoulders, and cut around it with a wide margin for the seam allowance (especially important because the tank top was quite fitted and the t-shirt had a very large picture on the front that meant it stretched a lot less than the tank). Then I turned under the neckline and armholes, sewed up the side seams, checked the bottom hem for evenness and folded it up. If you want to be more careful, here is a lovely tutorial on making a masking tape pattern from an existing garment (the tutorial is for pants, but it will work with anything).
To mimic the original seams, I used a twin needle: two top threads, one bobbin thread zig-zagging between them. If you have a serger, you're in great shape for sewing t-shirts, but if not, this is the best approximation an ordinary home sewing machine can make, and you're at least guaranteed to have two parallel lines of stitching. Unfortunately it is easy to skip a lot of stitches. After I made my tank top I took my sewing machine to get a tune-up, and the owner (Michael Jarvis down in Newport, NH) gave me some pointers on sewing with a twin needle. Since the bobbin hook is not designed to catch two top threads, you can't avoid skipped stitches entirely, but you can minimize them by decreasing both your thread tension and your stitch length. Experiment to find good settings. Decreasing the tension to the point that the top threads are pulled under also helps the seam stretch, and likewise stretching the fabric slightly as you sew - steam ironing or washing will get it back to its original shape.
Actually, though, sometimes stretching out the fabric is what you want. As an alternative to a turned-under hem, you can cut off the fabric and make a tight zigzag all around the edge. The fabric will stretch and ruffle into a "lettuce leaf" hem.
Finally, I have some links for you, to lists of ways to alter t-shirts to make them dressier or more interesting, not just more fitted. The key search term for this sort of link is "t-shirt surgery", which I discovered after searching on several other terms. Here's what I found: Generation T, Not Your Ordinary T-Shirt, Fun T-Shirt Crafts, t-shirt surgery on LiveJournal, and T-Shirt Surgery on About.com. Have fun!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
More Elsewhere
I swear, at some point I will actually do something here, but there is so much good stuff out there right now.
Here's two great and free raccoon softie patterns from Ruffles n Stuff
Home Ec 101 has a post about basic tools for the knitter/crocheter.
House on Hill Road offers her tote bag tutorial as a great teacher gift idea. School is now thankfully over, but I'm filing this away for next year.
Darling Petunia is showing her team spirit with this cute applique tee shirt. This would be a great way to hide a stain or a mended hole too. This isn't a tutorial but Sew Daily has one here.
Happy Fourth Everyone!
Here's two great and free raccoon softie patterns from Ruffles n Stuff
Home Ec 101 has a post about basic tools for the knitter/crocheter.
House on Hill Road offers her tote bag tutorial as a great teacher gift idea. School is now thankfully over, but I'm filing this away for next year.
Darling Petunia is showing her team spirit with this cute applique tee shirt. This would be a great way to hide a stain or a mended hole too. This isn't a tutorial but Sew Daily has one here.
Happy Fourth Everyone!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Summer Plans and Elsewhere
Thanks to all of you who stopped by to say Hi during the 35th Anniversary celebration. Today starts the Sew-op Summer Break. We've had a great year so far with Basic Sewing, Mending Monday, Basic Knitting and Rag Rugs. And there has been lots of activity in the Open Studio hours. We have great plans for when we reopen in the fall, but to keep you in the sewing/crafting frame of mind, Rachel and I are going to be posting here every Monday until September.
By way of introduction, I'm Jennifer. I've been with the sew-op since it began and in addition to keeping this blog running I teach the Mending Mondays and The Stretch classes. My mother taught me to sew when I was a girl and I've sewed off and on ever since. I've made dance formals and bridesmaid dresses, copied current fashion, sewed little girl dresses, extended my daughter's pants, and sewed on more buttons than I can count. I love refashioning: looking at something and seeing the possibilities. Someday I'd like to make a quilt and I have a bunch of my daughter's old clothes in a box waiting for that day. I also enjoy knitting and paper crafts. I am grateful to the scrapbooking craze for creating so many lovely papers, influencing fabric design and helping ordinary products be pretty as well as useful but I have no interest in actually scrapbooking.
For my starting post I'm just going to point you towards a few things elsewhere that have caught my eye:
A pillow case is an easy beginner project. All straight lines and no pattern needed but you create something beautiful and useful that will make you smile with pride every time you see it. There are plenty of tutorials on the web but I'll point you to this one with happy prints.
Betz White is one of my favorite sewists and pattern makers and I love these buckets. They're great for recycling old jeans and other fabrics.
And finally, take a peek into Sew Mama Sew's Summer Archives for some cute summer tutorials. The site is in the middle of a Summer Sewing theme with lots of great tutorials and prizes.
That's it for now. Rachel will be posting here next week and I hope you'll stop by.
By way of introduction, I'm Jennifer. I've been with the sew-op since it began and in addition to keeping this blog running I teach the Mending Mondays and The Stretch classes. My mother taught me to sew when I was a girl and I've sewed off and on ever since. I've made dance formals and bridesmaid dresses, copied current fashion, sewed little girl dresses, extended my daughter's pants, and sewed on more buttons than I can count. I love refashioning: looking at something and seeing the possibilities. Someday I'd like to make a quilt and I have a bunch of my daughter's old clothes in a box waiting for that day. I also enjoy knitting and paper crafts. I am grateful to the scrapbooking craze for creating so many lovely papers, influencing fabric design and helping ordinary products be pretty as well as useful but I have no interest in actually scrapbooking.
For my starting post I'm just going to point you towards a few things elsewhere that have caught my eye:
A pillow case is an easy beginner project. All straight lines and no pattern needed but you create something beautiful and useful that will make you smile with pride every time you see it. There are plenty of tutorials on the web but I'll point you to this one with happy prints.
Betz White is one of my favorite sewists and pattern makers and I love these buckets. They're great for recycling old jeans and other fabrics.
And finally, take a peek into Sew Mama Sew's Summer Archives for some cute summer tutorials. The site is in the middle of a Summer Sewing theme with lots of great tutorials and prizes.
That's it for now. Rachel will be posting here next week and I hope you'll stop by.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Updates
A few updates to note:
- The new class schedule is posted for May and June. Sign-up at the Upper Valley Co-op.
- The sew-op will be closed for the summer from June 21 through September 11th.
- The sew-op room will be open during the Co-op's 35th anniversary celebration. Be sure to stop in. Details coming soon.
- The sew-op room may be closed for the summer but the blog will remain open and we'll be posting something new each week so be sure to check back.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Our Stash
Like any dedicated crafter the Sew-op has a stash: buttons, elastics, zippers, snaps, laces, bias tapes, bindings, seam tapes, threads, fabrics, yarns, patterns, etc. While we don't have quite enough to open our own fabric store, we have a healthy variety of donated fabric and notions available for use in projects. If you have a specific look in mind, be sure to bring matching thread and whatever else you need to complete your project. But if you like living on the creative edge, we've probably got what you need.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year!
This morning I caught more than a glimpse of my daughter's ankles beneath the hem of her pants. The pants that were just long enough last week. The pants that are still baggy in the waist. And she's eating like there's another growth spurt in the works. As tempting as it is to just consider them cropped pants and move on other things, it's winter and cold ankles are not fun. So I'll be researching creative ways to add length to pants this week and will share what I find. And maybe even pictures of the results.
Meanwhile check out our great line-up of winter classes. Knitting anyone? Cold weather always inspires me to break out my knitting. Last teacher's meeting we had 3 people knitting while we chatted about Sew-op issues.
And my favorite pair of yoga pants sprouted a hole so I'll be researching techniques for mending knits and sharing it in my Mending Monday class on February 7th.
Ps. Have you seen the home page of the Upper Valley Food Co-op lately? Kye's delicious Egg nog recipe is featured this week and next week we'll have something new up. Content to change every two weeks so check it out!
Meanwhile check out our great line-up of winter classes. Knitting anyone? Cold weather always inspires me to break out my knitting. Last teacher's meeting we had 3 people knitting while we chatted about Sew-op issues.
And my favorite pair of yoga pants sprouted a hole so I'll be researching techniques for mending knits and sharing it in my Mending Monday class on February 7th.
Ps. Have you seen the home page of the Upper Valley Food Co-op lately? Kye's delicious Egg nog recipe is featured this week and next week we'll have something new up. Content to change every two weeks so check it out!
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