Sewing a Fur Collar

First of all, thank you so much for the many wonderful comments on my coat.  You made my week.

Now it’s time for me to give back to you and share some of the techniques.  Let’s start with how to sew a fur collar, and next I’ll do a post on pad-stitching.  It had been a few years (like 30) since I made a fur collar which required me to do a little research and to think through the process.

Starting with the end:

The fur – a piece of dyed lambswool approximately 24 x 24″.

Dyed Lambswool

Fur Alert!

The following steps resulted in small green fibers of fur in every corner of our house.  You’d have thought I had a fluffy shedding pet who followed me around the house.  Ugh!

Tutorial:

1.  Select the piece of the fur from which you wish to cut the collar.  All fur is not created equal – some parts of the pelt were clearly not usable as the fur was sparse or just didn’t look good, and I hoped to have enough left for cuffs.

2.  When planning for the collar, if the pattern doesn’t have an upper collar piece which is larger than the under collar, increase the length and the width of the upper collar by approximately 1/2″.  You will need this additional fabric so the collar turns well and to keep the fur visible and the under collar not visible.

3. Using a pointed scissors, cut the collar from the back side of the fur, only cutting through the pelt or fur backing.  The fur fibers will separate without the help of a scissors.

4.  As you plan to sew the upper and the under collar,  for the width of the seam allowance, cut away the fur from the pelt or backing.  Note: Do not cut away the actual seam allowance.  This step reduces bulk when sewing the upper to the under collar.

Fur is cut away but NOT the pelt

5.  Pin the upper and under collar together.  Baste if you are so inclined.  For leather you will need to pin in the seam allowance.

6.  Sew the upper and under collar per the pattern instructions.

7.  Before you trim the seam, turn the collar right side out.  Use a pin or needle and pick out the fur fibers that got caught in the seam.  If you don’t take this step, your collar will look like this:

Use a pin to pull out any fur fibers which are caught in the seam

8.  Trim the seam in the same way as if you are working with fabric only

9.  Now turn the collar and press.  This was quite challenging for me as I didn’t want to burn the delicate lambswool.  Good thing is that it didn’t need much pressing.

Back side of the turned collar.

Now continue with your coat or garment construction.

My New Coat: Marfy 1974

With great pride, I wish to share with you my beautiful new coat from Marfy pattern #1974:

Fabric:

• Taupe wool jacquard from Pendleton
• Underlined with polished wool - i.e. men’s plaid suit fabric
• Faced with brown wool
• Trimmed with lambswool
• Lined with Asian print, underlined with cotton gauze

Consistent with Marfy’s approach to provide pattern pieces without instructions, the following is a photo diary of the process.  Besides, this post is for my kindrid spirit whose wish to see the details more than to hear the story.  Enjoy!

Construction:

Underlined with polished wool and linen for shoulder stabilization

Welt pockets

Bound buttonholes

Velvet pockets

Fur collar with stand

Resulted in:

Back

Back yoke detail

Collar stand

Bound buttonhole

Facing, window for inside of buttonhole, velvet piping

Bone buttons and lining

Fur cuff

One more time

Thank you for visiting.

A Saturday “Sew In”

Oh, So Many Sewing Machines

When we planned the day, I thought it would be a cold winter day and we’d all have nothing better to do than to spend a day sewing with friends.  Instead yesterday was 60+ degrees and would have been a great day for outdoor activities.  Oh, well.

I’ve heard of but never participated in a “Sew In”, so I made it up. Should have googled it but didn’t.  The first step was to invite 9 or 10 Philadelphia sewing colleagues for a day of sewing at my kitchen table.   Seven were able to participate, which was just right.  With the leaves in it, the dining room table seemed large until we put six sewing machines on it.

While most cut, sewed, clipped, pressed and chatted about sewing, two of us worked on making a paper tape double.  All were so busy that we barely stopped to eat lunch or snacks.

Just look at this group of serious sewists

Val made a fabric vase.  I must say, her satin stitching skills are amazing.  Noile dutifully and beautifully sewed a corduroy jacket for her husband.  Pat joined for fellowship and to get advice on a project.  Karen tackled three t-shirts – maybe four.   Andrea made great progress on a houndstooth jacket which is going to look terrific on her.  Lee constructed a dozen squares for a quilt that will be gifted to one of her sisters.  Mimi sewed and brought projects to obtain advice.  She and I wrapped each other in paper tape for what will eventually be a fitting double.  At the end of the day I was able to squeeze in some time to put together a fur vest for my DD and a matching one for my GD.

Really, that's my shape?

Fabric, Notion and Magazine Exchange

Each person came with machine and bags of supplies in hand but that didn’t stop each of us from bringing stacks of extra fabric, sewing notions, patterns and magazines we no longer needed.  The pile was embarrassingly large but one sewist’s trash was another’s treasure.  The items were nearly all taken at the end of the day.

The Requisite Sewing Space Tour

The day wouldn’t be complete without a tour of the host’s sewing space and stash. A view of the stash was missing since our home is for sale so most of the yardage is offsite in a storage bin.  Wouldn’t want to scare off a prospective buyer with all of those bins of fabric.  Here’s mine – a corner of our living space but with windows that any sewist would die for.

Planning a “Sew In”

To make it easier for you, here’s how to plan a day such as this:

• Select a day by putting out feelers with several others who sew.  When you have a date, run with it.
• Invite slightly more sewists than you will be able to accommodate, assuming that some will not be able to participate.  For example, my table could handle 6 sewing machines and there was room for more hand-sewers or to make a double.  
• In the invitation, confirm the date, time, location, directions, parking and what you’ll supply. While I love to cook, it made more sense to not worry about food when we were all trying to enjoy a day of sewing.  The refrigerator and coffee pot were stocked with drinks, my friends brought snacks and we walked around the corner for lunch.
• Send a reminder several days ahead of time.  

Checklist for the Host:

• Table for sewing.  If scratching is an issue, use placemats, towels or a table cloth for under the machines.
• Power strip
• Place for cutting.  Two cutting mats on the coffee table worked well, since our condo’s living room and dining area are adjoined.
• Ironing board and iron

What to Bring and What to Work on:

I’m hoping one of my friends will post about this and I’ll add their links to this post.

In Summary:

This was a terrific day (except for the parking tickets – darn).  All commented that it was a day of fellowship and fun, and there was more sewing than on most Saturdays.

Give it a try.  You’ll be glad you did.

Hemming Jeans So No One Will Ever Know

Want to avoid the “homemade” look when hemming a pair of jeans?  Here’s 9 easy steps for making them look like this, with contrast stitching on the inside and out just like when you purchased them.

There are scads of online tutorials on how to hem jeans however the result of many of these processes is a pair of jeans that look like they were hemmed at home. Since I grew up wearing home-made clothes I do everything possible to avoid the impression that my garments are hand-sewn (even though I am now proud that they are sewn by me).

Tutorial:

Materials:

• Contrast thread to match the jeans topstitching.  (Big box fabric stores have thread for jeans, or you can use upholstery thread, which comes in more colors).  Thread your machine with this contrasting color.
• Navy thread (or color similar to jeans).  Use this thread in the bobbin.
• Size 100/16, a 90/14 or a jeans sewing machine needle.
• Seam gauge or measure
• 30 minutes of uninterrupted time
• Iron.

1.  On each jeans leg draw a line 1-1/4″ longer than the desired leg length.  Note: The result will be better if  the hem is cut evenly, which is why I recommend drawing a line before cutting.

2.  Run a test stitch on the discard fabric, preferably going through 3 layers of fabric to get the feel of working with the bulk.  Adjust stitch length so it looks like the original hem.

3.  Close to the lower edge, trim away excess fabric on the seam allowance, like this:

4.  Turn hem over 1-1/4″.  Finger-press and pin in place.  Press.  Note:  At this point you will have a fold of 1-1/4″ of fabric turned toward the inside of the leg.

5.  Fold the bottom edge of the leg to meet up with the fold line.  This will give you a double-folded 5/8″ seam which is common in RTW jeans (see next photo).

Click on photo for close-up of hem

6.  Finger press, pin in place and press hem in place.  

7. Working from the inside  (contrast thread will be on the inside) and using a long stitch, sew the hem in place.  Note:  Remove pins before they get close to the machine needle.  Trust me, sewing over pins in denim can really mess up your machine.  

Wrong side

8. Turn leg right side out.

Right side

9. Sew directly over the bobbin thread.  In the sample below, you can also see that the orange threads peaked through with the bobbin thread, which makes it easy to see the stitching line.  Note:  The bobbin thread will show one the right side but won’t obscure the effect of the top-stitching.

Top-stitching on the right side

Now put those jeans on and wear them with pride!

Mira’s Nightgown and Cate’s Quilt

Nightgown (formerly a PJ top)

Several weeks ago I blogged about my adorable granddaughter Mira’s desire to make a pajama top.  At the time we made it, she said she wanted to add a skirt, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that during our sewing date last week, she wanted to fulfill her fashion dream.  After she drew a picture of what she was envisioning, we set forth on adding a skirt to the pj top.  She could see what I couldn’t – a nightgown (that would likely double as a princess dress).

As Mira is still new to machine sewing, I was unsure about the complexity or time it would take to gather the skirt, so I pleated the skirt fabric and she sewed it to the top.  After hemming the skirt and adding a casing at the waist, Mira fed a piece of ribbon through the casing.  That night she slept well in her new nightgown.

Patiently waiting for her turn…..

In the same post, I wrote that Catie, age 6, was quite satisfied to sit on my lap while sewing.  That may have been true in November, but in the ensuing month, Catie grew up.  She waited for her turn to use the sewing machine and this time she was ready to sew on her own.  Our conversation went something like this:

Cate:  ”Ramma (her pet name for Grandma), can I sit on the chair by myself and you can sit next to me?”

Me: “OK, that will work but I’ll need to be very close to you”.

Cate:  ”Can I put my foot on the pedal all by myself?”

Me:  ”OK” (while I checked to make sure the machine speed was on low).

We then sewed a few squares onto her quilt.

Cate: “I think I’m ready to use the thread cutter like Mira does”.

Using the thread cutter

Cate:   “Ramma, you don’t need to put your hands on the fabric, I can do it myself”.   Then, “Ramma, I can do it myself”! (forcefully)

While I wanted Cate to be able to go solo, I was keenly aware that she’d be safest with some assistance.

She quickly sewed a dozen or more squares and then said, “Now what can we sew?”  We found enough quilting cotton to make a pillowcase.  Her sister soon followed with the same project and then Catie started her second quilt.

Second quilt (Mira in background with pillowcase)

What a busy yet fun afternoon we had.  I am still shocked that at age 6, Cate can use a sewing machine with minimal supervision.  I’ve read that six-year-old’s sew with a machine but honestly I didn’t believe it.  Now I do.

What suggestions do you have for their next projects?

Where did all the Vintage Singers Go?

In case you’ve been in the market for an antique or vintage sewing machine and have been unable to find one, I know why.

Kevin and I spent this weekend in New York City.  On Monday morning after our visit to the 911 Memorial, we walked through Chinatown and up Broadway toward Soho.  In the midst of the shopping district we walked by Spitalfields; a store that usually wouldn’t catch my eye.  But given that there were about a hundred vintage or antique sewing machines in the window display, my interest was aroused.  We walked into the store and to my amazement, the walls of this otherwise uninteresting store were lined with rows and columns of these old beauties.  Most were Singers but there were a few Pfaffs, Whites or other less well-known brands.  There were also some old industrial machines and spools but neither were as interesting as the hundreds of sewing machines.

The back entrance

Many more than one could photograph……

Shamefully, I couldn’t see any attachments in the machine cases.

If you’re a sewing nerd like me, you’ll want to check it out sometime.

Mira’s Sewing Lessons: Pajama Top

About a year ago, I blogged about teaching Mira to sew her first pair of pajama pants.   Unfortunately because we live hours from each other and because visits are filled with other fun activities, we have little time for sewing.  However on our last visit we had a “sewing date”.  Her choice was to make a pajama top to match the beloved but now “high-water’ pants she made last year.  She designed the top, using a complimentary flannel print for the sleeves.

So proud in her new pj top

Hmmm. So how could I help Mira sew a pj top with no buttons and yet so she could pull it over her head?  With not many patterns to chose from, I bought a raglan knit pj top.  By cutting it several sizes larger than her size, cutting out the neckline to fit over her head and by placing a small amount of elastic at the neckline we were set to sew.  As far as the fabric type, pre-washed flannel is great for a project such as this because the fabric is easy to sew and it doesn’t ravel easily so there’s no overcasting.

**********************************

Me:  ”What’s the first safety rule for sewing?”

Mira:  ”Never put your fingers near the needle.”

She passed the test and we were ready to sew.

Little did I know that Mira was envisioning a hood on the pj top.  So when the sleeve and side seams were done, Mira said, “Now, let’s add a hood”.  (Guess I’ve made sewing look way too easy).  Her bathrobe has a hood, so I traced the pattern and we had a hooded pj top.

What a proud girl she was, every step of the way.  Sewing (and trying on) time took about one hour.

Meanwhile…..

Catie did art projects with her grandpa while eagerly awaiting her turn at the sewing machine.  At age 6, she’s not quite ready to sew independently, so we came up with a plan to sew quilt pieces.  It worked beautifully.

Cate sat on my lap and when needed at the beginning and end of stitching a square, she toggled to reverse the stitch.  It was perfect for her – she was involved and still safe.  Meanwhile, her foot stayed right on top of mine.

 What a fun time we had.  To be continued….

Scarves are all the Rage – in Spain

Scarves:  A fashion detail that continues to separate European and USA fashion.

Traveling in Europe reminds me of how much I love scarves.  No matter what time of the year, women (and some men) wear scarves for warmth and/or for fashion and with just about any type of attire.   I do wish this fashion trend would take hold in the US – we always have a little bit of the scarf thing going on the in the USA but it’s minor compared to what one sees when walking the streets of a western European country – especially France and Spain.

On our recent trip to Spain my travel mates took photos of the many beautiful tourist sites, but I took photos of scarves.  Here are a few of the lovelies.  Most are from markets, where prices are often several Euros.  Enjoy!

Double-click on photos to see more detail.

It would be so easy to sew one of these

Pashmina in its glory.

Crinkled fabric is all the rage. Maybe it's time to experiment?

For style and warmth

Beautiful lace with tassel trim

Which of these do you think we could sew?

DIY Travel Shirt / Adventure Shirt / Technical Shirt

When traveling, one of my staples is a travel/adventure/technical shirt.  Typically they are made from lightweight quick-drying fabric.  In recent years, some fabrics include sun protection.  Typical features of these shirts are zippered pockets and vents.  They are especially good for layering over a t-shirt or top, and because of the long sleeves they provide sun protection.  The good and the bad is that these shirts are durable and thus they never wear out.  Because I have always owned two, my travel photos are pretty boring – either I’m wearing the red shirt or the blue shirt.  Now you know where this is going……

Travel Shirt Tutorial

Starting with Vogue 8689, I made a few modifications and now have a shirt I’m really pleased with.  In the future, I’d like to make another (or two?)

Three major changes to the pattern made this shirt very functional as a travel shirt:  a vented back yoke, front zippered pocket and zippered side vents/pockets.  Following is a tutorial for each change.

Additional Supplies:

• 1/2 yard of mesh or other breathable fabric
• 3 invisible zippers – I used long zippers and cut them to the desired length.

Back Vent:

RTW technical/adventure shirts often have a vented yoke like this:

To make this change in your pattern you will cut:  a) one yoke from mesh fabric and b) one yoke from the fashion fabric, extending the length by 1″.

1.  Cut one yoke front he fashion fabric, extending the length by 2″ as in the following photo (I extended it by 3″ but ended up cutting off 1″).

2. Cut a back yoke from mesh fabric.

3.  Cut a diagonal from the upper part of the yoke, like this

4. Serge or zig-zag the diagonal edges.  

5. Sew the mesh to the lower back piece with the right side of the mesh against the wrong side of the lower back piece.

6. Top stitch close to the seam-line.

You are now ready to attach the fashion fabric yoke.

1. Finish the lower part of the fashion fabric yoke by turning the hem twice (1/2 to 5/8″ rolled hem).

2. With the shirt back and the yoke wrong side down, lay the yoke on top of the mesh, matching the edges.  Pin in place.

3.  Top stitch the yoke at each end (about 1″ of stitching) and at the middle (1.5 to 2″).  The remained of the yoke will not be attached to the lower back, allowing air to flow (i.e. venting).  The arrows on the following show the top-stitched areas.

Arrows show top-stitching position for back yoke

Front Zippered Pocket

1. When sewing the front yoke to the front bottom pieces, insert an invisible zipper into the seam.  The zipper should be ~1″ from each edge.  On a size 16 shirt, this made a 5″ opening for the pocket.

Note:  If you want more pockets, you could do this on both sides of the front.

2. Working on the wrong side of the fabric (to make the underside of the pocket), sew a 5-1/2″ by 5-1/2″ piece of mesh, to the bottom of the zipper tape.

3.  To make the upper pocket piece, sew a 5-1/2″ by 6-1/2″ piece of mesh to the upper zipper tape or seam allowance.  I zig-zagged the edges together.

4.  Pin the pocket pieces together.  Sew edges as in the following photo.  You will notice that on the pocket sides you are unable to sew all the way to the top however this won’t alter the functionality of the pocket.

5. Serge or finish the edges to your liking (I didn’t but if would look better if I’d taken the time to do it.

Zippered Side Vent and Pocket

1. Before sewing the side seam, place an invisible zipper into the seam, starting at least 1″ from the arms-eye.  At the lower edge, leave at least 4″.  (My zipper was 10″ long)

2. Sew the seam above and below the zipper.

3. Using a 10″ wide by 12″ long piece of mesh, sew each side of the mesh side to each side of the zipper tape to form a single piece which will become a vent and a pocket.

4.  Fold the vent/pocket toward the shirt front.

5.  Sew the front seam and the bottom seam of the vent/pocket.  Finish edges if desired.

6.  Run one more stitch approximately 4″ from the top of the vent/pocket.  I’m not sure if this is needed but my thought was that this line of stitching would form the pocket.

7.  Hand stitch the top and bottom edge of the vent/pocket to the front princess seam to keep it in place.

One more note:  Inadvertently, I placed one zipper with the pull at the top and one with the pull at the bottom.  When wearing the shirt I realized that both directions have advantages, so I’ll leave that choice to you.

Finished - combined vent/pocket

Of course, what does it matter if the garment isn’t functional.  This shirt worked so well that I wore it all the time, as you can see in the following photos (oh yes, and we had fun too).

Now, I need your feedback.

The World’s Most Comfortable Travel Skirt

Just having returned from several weeks in Spain, I’m still in the mode of thinking about travel clothing – what worked and what didn’t.  In the coming weeks I’ll share some tips on making travel clothes but for now I need to tell you about this travel skirt which is sooo comfortable.  

Initially I made it for our 2 month trip to Central America where it got a lot of wear. I liked it so much that although faded and somewhat worn, I took it on this trip to Spain.  Honestly, it’s the most comfortable skirt I’ve ever owned.  The inspiration came from a travel skirt on an internet site I can no longer find.   Essentially it is made of 6 panels with ruching on each side of the seams, made from woven cotton/poly with lycra.  This photo is a little better at showing the detail.

Materials:

• 1-1/2 to 2 yards of 45″ fabric or 1 yard of 60″ woven mid-weight fabric with lycra
• 1 yard of 1-1/4″ wide elastic
• 4-6 yards of 1/4″ elastic depending on skirt length
• Twill tie if desired

Tutorial:

1.  Before cutting or sewing, do a test with the elastic and a fabric scrap to determine the ration of elastic to fabric needed to create the desired ruching effect.  

2.  Cut six pieces of fabric 9-10″ longer than the finished length (mine was 30″ for a 20″ skirt).  For the width, use the following formula.

• Divide hip size by 6.
• For each piece, add 1-1/2″ for the seams and 1″ to create the puffy effect.
• If desired, you can flare slightly, making the lower part of the skirt wider.
• For 40″ hips, my panels were 30″ long by 10″ wide at the top and 11″ at the bottom.

Cut panels. Middle panel has elastic applied.

3.  Cut 12 pieces of elastic based on what you learned when you ran your test.  (My elastic pieces were about 18″ long)

4.  Serge or zig-zag edges to reduce raveling.

5.  Starting 2′ from the waist edge, stretch fabric while sewing to each side of panels, one inch from each edge.

Note:  You start 2″ from the top as ruching in the waistband makes it too bulky.

6.  Sew panels together with a 5/8 to 3/4″ seam.  Press the seams open although this is somewhat useless as the seams don’t lay flat.

7.  Repeat for all panels.

8.  Turn waistband over and sew 1-1/2″ from the edge.

9.  Insert elastic to desired length.

Note:  I also put a twill tie in the waistband but it’s not necessary.

10.  Turn over 5/8″ at the bottom edge for a hem.  Machine sew with a straight stitch.

11.  Because there aren’t pockets in this skirt, to have a secure place for my passport, add a travel security pocket on the inside.

You are done!  Roll it up and put it in your suitcase.