Two new projects

Daniel and I are heading to the All Good festival in two weeks and so I've been hard at work on a new shirt and a messenger bag to take to the festival. I still have a pair of jeans to finish altering, but otherwise I'm now set for the trip to WV. I can't wait!

First, the shirt. This was from a Simplicity pattern. I bought the fabric months ago and searched for a while to find a pattern that I wanted to pair with it. I love the combination of the fabric and the fuzzy zigzag trim. This was my first venture altering the bustline of a commercial pattern to better fit me - I added a dart from the side seam that helped allow for more fullness in the top. It fits me much better than it does my dressform - I haven't quite perfected the padding on the model yet.

I handstitched the trim so that the sewing line would be invisible, and there's a zipper in the back of the shirt. The only tedious part of this shirt was the hem on all the handkerchief sections. It was a narrow hem: iron 1/4" under, edgestitch, trim close to stitching, fold under and iron again, edgestitch again. The fabric has a loose weave which meant I couldn't trim it quickly after the initial stitching for fear of the scissors cutting both layers - it gave the shirt a clean finished look but took several evenings to accomplish.





Next is the messenger bag, also from a Simplicity pattern. Daniel and I wanted a bag that either of us could wear and that would work well hanging in the front or back. We headed down to Fabric Row for the fabric - it's a home decor canvas called "Spirograph" that we both love. The bag is fully self-lined and I used bias tape for the edges which I stitched twice rather than just basting as called for in the instructions. I also used a securing stitch on the straps to reinforce them. I added a loop inside for a keychain, but there are no extra pockets inside the bag. If I were to make this again I think I would extend the strap a bit (it's adjustable with velcro and fits both of us, but I tend to wear messenger bags a little lower) and possibly add an interior pocket.



This is the view of the strap from above. The visible velcro rectangles are on the portion of the strap that attaches to the side of the bag - the other strap attaches to the top of the bag.

New sewing blog

It's about time that I have a blog dedicated to my sewing projects, rather than just keeping a list in a notebook as I've been doing. My bulleted list avoids any project details and includes only the month finished, which doesn't really help me when I look back on finished projects.

As a start, here are some of the sewing projects that I included in my portfolio for my graduate school interview:

The corset and the shirt were for my undergrad advanced costuming class. Both were constructed from period patterns, reproduced in historical fashion books. The corset was done by machine except for the arrows over the boning, which I did by hand. The blouse took forever - I had no idea how labor intensive gathered pleats was going to be before I started!

This is the purse that I made for my wedding - it was from a Butterick pattern. I had to sew it all by hand because it was a sheer fabric with glued beading that jammed my old sewing machine every time I tried to use it. My favorite part of this was the trim and the hand-sewn buttonholes for the gathering ribbon.

Next is my current wallet - I love this wallet, as it lets me carry a lot of cards without additional bulk in my purse. The embroidery on the corduroy was part of the fabric, not my own. Both of the fabrics were bought as remnants, which is too bad as I really like the combination.

Last are two messenger bags that I've made for myself since graduating - the red one is of a denim fabric, and large/sturdy enough to hold a couple of full 1.5" binders. The basic shape is from a Butterick pattern, but it was a plain front so i added the design on the flap. I love the flower fabric on the outide - it's also lined with this fabric and it has a couple of pockets inside.

The grey bag is slightly smaller than the other and is from a Vogue pattern. It is constructed from wool suiting, a charcoal pinstripe for the outside and a lighter grey for the inside. I love that the lines on this one are more angular than the other bag. This bag is edgestitched in contrast with the understitching on the red bag - I think the edgestitching gives a much cleaner look to the finished product.