The 2-Minute Buttonhole

For months I have been sewing an 1890′s day dress for my SIL, Margie, who volunteers at an Edwardian Mansion.  Sewing the dress was disrupted significantly by our cross-country move and buying a new home but also because my SIL and I live miles apart.  Admittedly I probably procrastinated a little, dreading the 20+ evenly spaced buttonholes on the dress front.  When I finally tackled the buttonholes, it took less than an hour from the sample buttonhole to completing all 21 buttonholes. Best of all, the buttonholes were equal in length.  It was so easy that I need to share this technique with you. 

The 21 buttons all standing neatly in a row

Preparation:

1.  Make a sample buttonhole so you know long to make each buttonhole and of course to see if the stitch length needs to be adjusted.

2.  Take the measurement for the buttonhole.

3.  Machine-baste two vertical rows of stitching on the dress front (or the complete length of whatever garment you are working on), corresponding with the ends of the buttonhole.   Going forward I will refer to these lines as “guide lines”

4.  With a marking pen, make a horizontal line for each buttonhole, extending to each vertical line of stitching or guide line.  (For me, marking was easy as the buttonholes were one inch apart).

5.  Place a narrow strip of clear wash-a-way stabilizer over the buttonholes (this technique lifts the satin stitch out of the fabric resulting in a more finished look).

Sewing the buttonholes – the clear wash away stabilizer is difficult to see but it’s there.  Click on photo to enlarge.

Sewing the Buttonholes – Staying Inside the Lines is the Key

Note:  To give me more control, I turned off the automatic buttonhole setting. 

1. Place your needle at your starting point for a buttonhole, barely touching the vertical stitching line – unlike Kindergarden, this isn’t a time to sew outside of the lines!

2. Stitch the first side of the buttonhole until the needle is just shy of the second guide line.

3. Bar tack (or make the wide end stitch)

4. Sew the second side of the buttonhole

5. Make the final bar tack, again staying just inside of the guide lines.

6.  When you are finished with the first buttonhole, move right on to the next one without cutting the threads.

Before you know it you’ll have completed all of the buttonholes.  When completed, clip the threads, remove the guide line stitches and the excess wash-away stabilizer.  To remove the stabilizer I used an embroidery scissors.  You can always dab some water on the stabilizer remains.  Last of all, carefully cut the buttonholes and press.

Sewing completed

What I learned:

1.  By turning off the automatic buttonhole feature, I had complete control and could stop at exactly the desired point.

2.  Sewing the buttonholes in such a short timeframe actually made it easier, as if I was on an assembly line.

3. Previously I have used strips of blue masking tape as a guide however the stitching line was much easier.  Those little blue pieces of tape didn’t look good with all fabrics.

4. I liked making 21 buttonholes.

Give it a try

What to do with Left-Over Fabric

Sewing blogs and sites abound with questions about how to use left-over fabric.  For the past few years I have packed it into large zip-lock bags, labeled it and donated the bags to the local second-hand shop.

Before we moved I saved some bits and pieces for my granddaughters.  Several days ago while at our house they discovered their “stash” and had a limitless amount of fun with what they found.   All they needed were safety pins (like every pin I could find), scissors and their creative energy.  Here is the result:

Lesson to self:  Never underestimate the creativity of a child.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses…………

Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve blogged.  Unfortunately life’s events stole all of my emotional energy plus.  Briefly, here’s a rundown of what we’ve been up to since late Feb.

• Sold our Philly home and most of our furniture
• Packed everything into a truck and drove it to Wisconsin
• Purchased a new-to-us home
• Moved in
• Refurbished our home to make it livable

Moving is stressful enough.  In our case we added to the stress by purchasing a beautiful home that was the unfortunate victim of a bank foreclosure.  Worse than that, the home was missing many of life’s essentials such as a kitchen faucet, shower heads, cabinet hardware, towel/TP holders, light fixtures and appliances.  There’s more but you get the idea.  Kevin and I have been shopping and installing all that was missing from the home. We are on a first-name basis with nearly every employee at Home Depot.

Now that the worst part is over, I’ve been able to spend time renovating my sewing cave which also was a victim but nothing that a little paint couldn’t fix.  Appropriately, you, my sewing friends are the first to see it nearly completed.

Features:

First of all, I am so excited to have a sewing such as this – maybe even a little guilty to think about this type of indulgence.  Now that I’ve said it, I’m over the guilt.

Because the previous owner used this as a “craft” room, it is perfect for a sewing room.  Two walls of counter height and wall cabinets were removed before we purchased the home but the following remained intact:

• Counter height electrical outlets – just perfect for sewing machines, lights, etc.
• Sufficient natural light
• Track lighting
• Closet of sufficient size

In addition I was able to add:

• Paint
• IKEA adjustable height tables around 2 sides of the room
• Magnetic paint
• A cutting table
• Bookshelf

There’s more to do such as unpacking the stash, organizing and some items to add:  base boards, wall decorations and closet shelving.  In the several days that the room has been operational, I’ve loved it.  Here are the other views:

Still Here, Just not Blogging

Just wanted all of you to know that I am still working on putting our new home together – will return to the blog soon.

A Sewing Cave in the Making

Since we left Philadelphia via moving truck several weeks ago, we have been homeless.  Thanks to our very kind family members we’ve had places to stay however last week we checked into a hotel.  It was time to stop living like kids and to have some personal space.

Simultaneously we purchased a lovely home near Madison, Wisconsin.    I am excited to tell you that it met the criteria for a sewing space.  

Past Sewing Spaces

Whine with me while I tell you that in my 50 (ugh) years of sewing, I’ve never had a dedicated sewing space.   When you’re my age, there’s a lot of history:

• A Guest Bedroom was the best I could do for about 25 years –  in several apartments and in our previous Wisconsin home.   Oh what a mess had to be cleaned up before the arrival of guests.

• Rating:  Better than the kitchen table.

• A Dark Space in the Basement was my sewing location for the last 6 or 8 years in our past Wisconsin home.  The space was huge but really, it was in the furnace room and the windows were tiny.   My family will attest to the fact that it only required  received an annual cleaning.  There are no photos to document this era and if there were, I’d be too embarrassed to show them.
  • Rating:  An upgrade from the kitchen table or a guest room.

• In a Bay Window of the Family Room.  For the past 6 years in our Philly condo, the sewing area was tiny but in a  4′ x 9″  north-facing box window bay, which made it fabulous.  I used an IKEA make-it-yourself table.  It was away from the living space while being a part of the Family Room.  The downside was that most supplies were, you guessed it, in the guest bedroom and my stash was in the basement which required a trip outside the building. Despite the fact that this wasn’t a “private” space, it was a sewist’s dream.  When we were selling the condo our realtor suggested that I put the sewing machines away to not “put off” potential buyers.  Offended, I ignored her comment and made sure the table was neat and the machines were pushed toward the wall when we had a showing.
  • Rating:  A solid “9″ out of “10″.  This was a dream to sew in.

Overlooking a lovely tree-lined Philadelphia street

The Future Sewing Cave

Can I tell you how exciting it is that I’ll have a dedicated sewing space.  Until we move in and are settled, I won’t be able to sew but dreaming about this room is a great substitute.  The future “Sewing Cave” is a finished 13′ x 18′  basement bedroom with great windows and a closet.  In its past life it was a Craft Room with walls of cabinets and an island.  Now it has ripped up walls and carpeting from cabinets that were removed by the previous owners (that’s a story for another time).  A little paint and new flooring will do wonders for this room.

Future Sewing Cave with 2 large windows

There’s even a “Stash Closet” in this cave.  Secretly I wonder if it will be large enough, but that’s a different problem.

Stash Closet

I’d love to hear your ideas on how to develop this creative space.  More to come……

Moving, Snowing and No Sewing

Just wanted to update all of you on what’s going on.  In the past several weeks we packed up our belongings and sold most of our furniture in preparation for moving.  Then, a few days ago we closed the sale on our Philadelphia home, had the truck loaded with an embarrassing number of fabric bins and sewing supply boxes (and a few additional household items) and set out for Wisconsin.

Once in Wisconsin and immediately before a winter storm came through we had everything moved to a storage unit where our possessions will stay until we find a home.

As the movers were unloading, I was able to pull out a few boxes of sewing supplies and place them near the storage unit door. Two of my sewing machines are still in Philly – we’ll fly back next week and will drive our car to the Midwest, including my machines and other items we didn’t want to transport in the truck.  Then I can sew again.

I’ll keep you up to date as we move through the next phase of our lives.

Sewing Jeans: A Riveting Experience

Several months ago I sewed my first ever pair of jeans from the very popular Jalie 2908 pattern.  Made from a remnant of Ralph Lauren stretch denim from London Textiles, this was my first foray into the world of jeans.  Surprisingly the project took only a week – for the sewing part, that is.  The rivets were another story.

The thrill was in getting a pair of jeans that didn’t bag at the back of the leg as well as being perfectly rounded for my perfectly round belly.  They were not too big, not too tight, but just right.  Most gratifying was the look of the pockets.  A huge thank you to Quixotic Pixels for the design idea.  It worked beautifully.

Melt-away stabilizer was used for embroidering the pocket

For top-stitching and pocket embroidery using several of the few design stitches on my sewing machine, I used upholstery thread which is available in many more colors than “jeans” thread.

Cut away the excess stabilizer and then soaked in water for a few minutes

Ever since I saw this “Mom Jeans” post, I’ve hoped that I got the pockets in the right place so I’m not the butt of anyone’s “Mom Jeans” joke.

As for the Rivets

As I wrote above, I finished sewing the jeans in about a week.  The rivets were far more complicated than constructing the jeans.  Naively I purchased 12 rivets (Pacific Trims in NYC), which would give me 2 to spare if setting them didn’t go well.  Let me tell you, setting the rivets didn’t go well at all.  Out of the first dozen, 2 looked pretty good, 2 fell out on the first wearing and the remainder looked something like this.

Despite the partially riveted jeans I proudly wore them during the holiday season and got lots of compliments.  My family and friends were kind enough to not mention that I only had one front and one back pocket rivet.

Since Kevin and I had a NYC trip planned, I returned to Pacific Trims and purchased more rivets only to get the same result.  It was time for a new plan so I purchased the minimum order of 100 similar rivets from an unnamed mail order source.  They lost my order for a few weeks.  Meanwhile I proudly wore my jeans, which now had 4 or 5 rivets.  Still, no one seemed to notice or if they did, kindness prevailed and there was no mention of the incomplete jeans.

I tried……

• Reading the “Brian Sews” blog and watching  his YouTube video on applying rivets
• Using a rivet die I purchased from an Ebay seller – the result was marginal.
• A heavy hammer, a medium weight hammer and a lightweight hammer, none of which made no difference
• Using both a wood block and the basement cement floor as a hard surface
• Adding extra fabric to adjust for the shank length.

Rivet setter - a metal die with a concave surface at one end

This worked…..

• Using a hammer and nail to put the hole in the fabric as opposed to punching a hole with an awl.
• Buying a lot more rivets than required for a single pair of jeans

Finally with the mail order rivets which are similar but not identical to the original Pacific Trim rivets, I used the Ebay acquired rivet setter and was able to set the remaining rivets.  Only then did I realize that I didn’t center several of the rivets and that in one case, I placed the hole right over the topstitching, thus loosening the top-stitching.

Not too loose, not too tight - just right

In the end I had a great pair of jeans with 10 rivets in  2 different styles, several of which are not in the correct position on the pocket corner.  Despite the rivets, I love these custom-made jeans because they fit well.  As for the rivets, I think this was a matter of not having the right tool for the job however I still don’t know what that tool is.

In the future I’ll give it another try, will try to find the right tool and will then let you know if I learn anything more about how to place these necessary adornments on jeans.

If you’re experienced, please share your knowledge on how to make this easier.

Life is Moving Rapidly

Life is moving fast – literally.  After an endless number of home showing and a year on the market our home is under contract.  We’ll be settling/closing (on the east coast it’s called a “settlement” and in the midwest it’s a “closing”) in the next several weeks and then will take off for Wisconsin.  As you can imagine, this life change translates into spending a huge amount of time packing, sorting, etc.

Since we’ll be living in temporary housing until we find a home, the majority of my sewing supplies will be in storage for a while.  This means I need to plan for all of my spring sewing projects and assemble all that is needed for each project.  While I have great admiration for those who can sew with a plan (SWAP), that’s a foreign concept for me.  Spontaneity is my preferred mode and it allows me to be more creative.

As you can see by six year-old  Cate’s recent writing exercise, she is very excited that we are moving near her.

During the next several weeks, blog posts will likely take a back seat to life’s changes.  As with sewing projects, I have many more blog post ideas that don’t come to fruition than those which are completed.  That’s just how it is.

Now that I’ve given Cate some air time, I need to tell you about Mira, the nine-year old budding fashion designer.  She’s always had an eye for design.  To nurture that talent, one of her Christmas gifts was “My Fabulous Look Book”, where she can create her own fashion designs.   She may be on the path to Project Runway.  Here is one of her recent designs:

It will be so wonderful to live near these two adorable and talented girls.

Tutorials

This is the shortest post ever.  Just wanted to let you know that I’ve added a “Tutorials” page at the top of the blog, which links to each of the tutorials I’ve posted in the last several years.

Hope this works for you.

More on Sewing with Fur

One faux fur vest for the big girl and one for the little girls.

Because I just finished a faux fur vest for my DD, Megan and one to be shared by my GD, it seems appropriate to spend a little more time talking about how much fun it is to sew with fur.

When I saw my sister Liz at Christmas, she had just completed a faux fur vest for my niece.  The fabric from fabric.com is a 1-1/2″ long animal look-alike that’s soft as cashmere and it so fashionable on my niece.  Liz was kind enough to give me the left over fur so I could make a vest for Megan.  Always trying to get one more garment from a piece of fabric, I was barely able to squeeze out a vest for my GD.

While faux fur vests are fashionable, very cute and inexpensive compared to RTW, you really need to love someone to sew a garment made from fur.  We were selling our home and preparing for an open house and there were nasty fur fibers everywhere.   Not just for one day but for days after the vests were finished – just like when we had a German Shepherd!  Made me realize that we need a new vacuum too.  Now I’ll stop whining.

Tips for Making a Fur Vest

• Use a pattern with minimal design elements, buttonholes, etc.  Megan’s was made from Burda 7289 which is a fur vest pattern.  It has a front dart however I skipped it.  The little girl’s pattern was self-drafted from a shrug pattern.  For both vests, the back and lining is a mid-weight poly.  Both are fully lined.
• When cutting, use pointed scissors and cut only the fabric backing – the fur will separate easily after the backing is cut.
• To control the effects of shedding, store everything in a plastic bag before and during sewing.
• Just like the fur collar, clip the fur from the backing of the seam allowance to reduce bulk and to make it look professional.  If your seam allowance is 5/8″, clip the fur for 5/8″ of the seam allowance.
• Sew the seams as you would sew any other seam.  Hold of on trimming the seams…..
• Before  trimming and clipping the seams, on the right side of the fabric, use a needle or leather punch to pull the fur fibers out of the seam.

Oops – when I sewed the bottom of Megan’s vest to the lining, I trimmed the seams before pulling out the fur fibers.  Because some of the long fibers had been cut short,  the vest hemline looked like my mother used dull scissors to hack off my bangs.  To fix the problem I sewed a new seam which resulted in a vest that was 1″ shorter than I intended.  The second time I pulled the fibers out of the seam and then trimmed it.  Sorry, I forgot to take photos so you could learn from my error.

• Clip the corners like any other fabric.  Despite this there may be some bulk.
• Use hooks or ribbon to fasten the vest – it’s nearly impossible to make buttonholes, especially when working with long fur.
• When pressing, avoid steam and protect the fur fibers from the iron with a pressing cloth as the heat will melt the fibers or make them curl as if singed.  Yes, I learned this by experience too.
• Step back and enjoy your accomplishment.  You deserve it.