Vintage Apron

I recently tried out a vintage pattern that came from my grandmother. The date stamped on one of the pattern pieces is "1916". The pattern pieces have no printing, only punch holes and notches. The "instructions" are printed on the back of the envelope--about 3 sentences for each view. No details on finishing seams, applying lace trim or sewing the straps. The view I chose has a bib, but no neck band since one is clearly expected to pin the bib to their clothing.
Image to follow...

The Collared Shirt, Part II: Felled Seams

Here's the next part in my collared shirt class: (Flat) Felled Seams

1.     Lay one front and back right or wrong sides together*(depending on finished seam desired), offsetting by approx. 1/8”
* If you want the finished seam to have one row of stitching visible, place RIGHT sides together.
If you want the finished seam to have two rows of stitching visible, place WRONG sides together.

2.     Press the under layer over the top layer 1/8” for approx 2”

3.     With needle in CENTER position, using lapped seam foot, place fabric under presser foot and stitch approx 1”.

4.     With needle DOWN, raise presser foot. Carefully place under layer over tongue of presser foot and lower presser foot.

5.     Complete sewing seam. (it is okay if the folded layer is not completely caught in the stitching)

6.     Press seam flat.

7.     Open seam and press flat from wrong side with raw edge underneath.

8.     Place the fabric under the presser foot and take a few stitches.

9.     With needle DOWN, lift presser foot, place fold over tongue of presser foot, lower presser foot.

10. Stitch seam, aligning first row of stitching with inside edge of right toe of presser foot.

11. Press seam flat.

12. Repeat for other side seam, shoulder seams and sleeve/underarm seams.

That's it! You now have a beautifully finished seam. I used the narrow Lap Seam foot for this shirt. The wider one is great for heavier fabrics and a more casual look.

The Collared Shirt, Part I: Center Front Placket

This is the first installment in my posts covering the collared shirt class I just taught here in Austin, TX.


I used Kwik Sew 2849 which is a princess seamed shirt with separate collar and stand.


Step 1: Mark the "fold to" lines
I've found it much easier to mark the line I need to fold to rather than the one I need to fold on. So, if my fold line is 1-1/2" from the cut edge, I mark 3" from the edge, then fold over and line up the cut edge with the marking.

Step 2: Fold to form the CF placket
Depending the view you selected (expose buttons or covered placket), this may be as many as 3 folds on the right front)

Step 3: Press well



Step 4: Put the edge stitch foot on your machine
(that's 10/10C to Bernina drivers).

Edge stitching with the 10C foot

Step 5: Move the needle position one to the right

Step 6: Place the fabric wrong side up under the presser foot
Make sure the folded placket is to the right of the needle


Step 7: Line up the center blade of the foot with the folded edge

Step 8: Sew along the placket edge

Step 9: Press well

Step 10: Repeat all steps for the other side front piece

The Best Buttonhole Cutter-Evah!

A new sewing buddy who I met in class earlier this month introduced me to this awesome buttonhole cutter. (Thanks Leslie in Austin!)
This is a scalpel, so easy to hurt yourself, but it is so sharp you only need a little pressure to cut through fabric--even layers of denim! I got this one at my Bernina dealer, Sew Much More. I think it was $3.99. So much better than my old chisel and hammer. (Though I will NEVER give up my "sewing" hammer. You'll see why soon--I'll start posting the steps for my shirt class here, and a hammer is invaluable.)

 I

ASDP Annual Conference -- The Challenge continues...

This was the second year I'd entered the Threads for ASDP challenge, and the first time I was named a finalist. The bar is incredibly high in these challenges, since it is only open to association members, all professionals. I'm very proud of the work I did, and approached it as a personal challenge, not a contest. This year's challenge was "Suit Your Style", and required us to start with Vogue pattern 2898 and using pattern alterations, make something new. Our final patterns were submitted as part of the judging. I did not win, but got excellent feedback from Judith Neukam from Threads Magazine and Julianne Bramson, who was also judge in this challenge. I also got rave reviews from my fellow members, which is always an honor considering the talent and skill in this group.



The only criticism I from the judges was on the curve on the jacket at the waist. It had given me pause, but I couldn't figure out how to change it to be more flattering.

As you can see, the outward curve of the purple sort of "short circuits" the slimming effect of the black side panel, giving the illusion of a wider waist rather than a slimmer one.

Sooo, being oh so slightly obsessive, and seeing this as another step in the overall Challenge, I plan to redraft the pattern and recut the jacket. (Still undecided about reproducing the embroidery, though I LOVE it.)

Here's what I'm considering--through the magic of Pixelmator, I've "adjusted" the curve on the right, making it deeper towards the center front and pushing it up towards the armscye.  Now that I look at it, it almost look like a boob lift. :)

For those interested, here are some specifics on my materials:
Jacket and skirt: Wool gabardine from Fabric. com
Jacket lining: hand-dyed (by me) silk charmeuse from C&J Textiles
Skirt Lining: Black silk charmeuse from The Common Thread, Austin, TX
Embroidery: 2 designs from UrbanThread.com--severely altered by me, using Embird Software

All sewing and embroidery was done using Madeline, my brilliant Bernine 730E.

I will keep you posted as I make progress on the "new and improved" jacket.

ASDP Annual Conference -- Deerbrook Fabrics

Our next stop was Deerbrook Fabrics in Fairview, NJ. Some of us thought we were going fabric shopping, but Deerbrook Fabrics is a large-scale machine embroidery operation.
By large scale, I mean their newest machine embroiders 30 yards of fabric at one time. Deerbrook Fabrics operates 3 machines, all Swiss made, all "Schiffli" machines. In Swiss German, schiffli means "little boat", referring to the boat shape of the bobbin cases used by the machines. The 2 older machines (1950's--pictured at right) are double-decker (two lengths of fabric are embroidered with the same pattern at the same time) and the design is read from a loop of punch tape, not very different from the punch cards once used to load code onto computers. The older machines do one color at a time and must be completely re-threaded and reset for color changes.

The newer machine (pictured at left) is single-deck and completely computerized. When a thread breaks the machine stops, a red light turns on where the broken thread is, the computer screen displays the # of the broken thread, and a bell rings. The older, slower machines are usually re-thread while they are running. This machine holds 1000 needles, and depending on the size of the design can be loaded with 20 colors which are changed automatically as the design is worked.

The range of work they do here is amazing--from embroidered stars for high-end American flags to delicate floral embroidery for lingerie, dense all-over designs to eyelet. (Small square knives under the needles work the threads apart to form the holes before the edges are embroidered.)

Run by father and son, Ed and Steve Parseghian, it is encouraging to see some things are still made in the US, though this industry, like so many similar ones is shrinking. Mr. Parseghian noted that at the turn of the last century there were hundreds of businesses like theirs, and now they are some of the last survivors of globalization. As he put it, it is up to all consumers to make buying decisions that support local industries whenever possible.

Many thanks to Mr. Parseghian and his son--they we gracious hosts!

..Next up--my first hand experience as a finalist in the Threads Magazine Challenge.

ASDP Annual Conference -- Wolf Form Company

I returned a week ago from the Annual Conference for the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals. The conference was held in Secuacus, NJ this year--not the most glamorous place, but close enough to NYC to allow for some great adventures.

I arrived on Thursday, October 14th, and the fun began right away. I've made many dear friends and always look forward to catching up with them at conference, though we keep in touch via email and Facebook. You may not think that a bunch of seamstresses/sewing teachers could be a fun group, but we are.

This year was especially exciting for me, as I was a finalist in the Threads Magazine Challenge "Suit Your Style" and taught my first formal class ever. (more on both these topics later).

We had 3 options for Friday, and I chose the tour of the Wolf Form Company and Deerbrook Fabrics, both in New Jersey.

Stephen Wisner of New Jersey was our tour guide. He is very knowledgeable and has a fondness for diners, so we ended our day with a late lunch at the TickTock Diner in Clifton.

Our first stop was the Wolf Form Company, makers of high quality standard and custom dressforms.
I was really impressed that everything is still done by hand, from laying the paper-mache like material in the cast to form the foundation of the form, to sewing and shrinking the Irish linen cover to fit.

The owner, Mr. Ferri, walked us through the entire factory and explained every step of the process. This may sound boring to some, but to a sewing geek like me (and my sewing peeps), a dressform is an essential (though often luxury) tool. To see how something so important to our craft is made was a treat.

Next up: Deerbrook Fabrics--even cooler stuff for the nerds among us!