Lilacs and Liberty: An Insiders View

I've had an awful lot of fun wearing this shirt I finished at the beginning of the year. Yup, it's another of my favorite Butterick 5526 - the pattern my buddy Susan altered for me. You may recall the other two versions I made. The first was my No.1 Lady's Detective Agency shirt, and later came the Mille Fleur shirt I took to London (I also finished the red plaid Pearly-Wannabe jacket for that trip. with some strips of bias trim I eked out of the scraps from the shirt).

The main fabric is Robert Kaufaman Lilac Gingham and the trim is Liberty of London Tana Lawn "Mauverina". I've had a lot to say about Liberty and this wonderful quality cotton, both in my podcast and this blog.

I ams really happy with my threesome button groupings (Click
on the illustration to see an up-close view of those)
I also liked the pocket, a variation on the pattern pocket
but I took tucks instead of the folds in the sporty-style shirt.
I also added these long tucks in front and back that weren't in the
other two versions of this shirt. The fluid nature of the
gingham seemed to call for them. They're figure-flattering too.

In my February podcast, "Getting Shirty",  I described some of the seam finishing techniques for shirts I've been working on incorporating more often in my sewing projects. I'm really happy that I did a good job on the inside as well as the outside of this garment. I wear it often and so there's quite a lot of pleasure putting on this well-fitting (thanks Susan!) shirt.

Remember when I described slicing double packaged bias tape lengthwise and wrapping the one remaining fold over the raw edge of the hem, and facing edges in the podcast? Doesn't that make a nice crisp edge? You bet! And it really defines that shirt tail hem too. I sewed three rows of topstitching too, which also helps with the stable, crisp feeling.

Notice that French Seam. Isn't that a nice clean look? It really looks finished and helps with the hang of the garment.

Not being a dab hand at seam finishes, I wasn't sure if using a french seam at the shoulder seam would be challenging. But it worked out just fine. I did baste the set-in-sleeve first, but I would have done that even in a traditional rights-sides-together seam.

We spent a lot of time learning about seam finishes in my Intermediate Construction Class at Cañada. I'm only just starting to get in more practice with them - just as soon as I'm done with this bustier project I'm chugging away on. (Woof! It's turning into a multi-month project. But what a feeling of accomplishment it will be when I'm done:-) 

Once that challenging project is complete (Oh and did I mention I'm planning to squeeze out a simple straight denim skirt to wear with it before I move on? Hey it's got to have a real spot in my wardrobe....), I'm going to get some more recreational sewing time in with shirt sewing. You bet I've got one more cut out and in the hopper, and several more for which I have fabric (two of them are my favorite lengths of Liberty Tana Lawn I got on my trip to London last year). I'm really looking forward to polishing my seam finishing skills on those new garments. 

I'm looking forward even more, to putting them on and wearing them!

Practicing new skills and getting to enjoy the results. That's the kind of projects that keep me...

Enchanted by Sewing

More Techniques From This Shirt: http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/kit-1-progresso-en-curso-shirt-sewing.html

   Audio/Podcast Getting Shirty: http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2014/02/ench-by-sew-017-gettin-shirty.html Includes seam finishing techniques and pattern discussion

This book has really helped me to learn how to sew different seam finishes. The illustrations and descriptions are spot on!

The New Complete Guide to Sewing: Step-by-Step Techniques for Making Clothes and Home Accessories Updated Edition with All-New Projects and Simplicity Patterns (Reader's Digest)

Romancing My Machine: Dreaming

Lots More than Metal 

Inherently Creative

My Machine Sings

~ ~ ~
Yup, I'm still working away on my bustier! It's a very challenging job for me and I'm learning a lot.
Looking forward to sharing the results, and moving on with other projects.

Correct Me If I'm Wrong:-) Semi-Bilingual Sewing

I added a new spanish word*
to my knowledge-base-
while enjoying the historic
pictorial street signs I
encountered,
walking through Madrid

When we share an enchantment for sewing, whether or not we speak the same language, we still want to communicate about our passion with the needle, the thread and the tela.

I may not be fluent in languages other than English, but it doesn't keep me from using them when I get the chance. Sometimes, of course, I mess up. But I can communicate with others, and often follow simple, or even more complicated, directions using pictures and words in context. For any of you who've ever helped a child learn to read, that's how you begin to read, or read things that are beyond your level. And, of course, it's how we can continue to learn as adults.

My spanish isn't fluent, but I use it whenever I get the chance. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people speak spanish, and it's just plain fun to make the world my language professor. Who knows when I'll get a chance to shop for material in a Latin American country or go back for another visit to Spain?

Here are a few words and phrases I find useful when it comes to chatting about sewing in spanish.

(la) costura(1): sewing, couture, fashion
costura, puntadas (2):seam
sin costura: seamless
sentar las costuras: press the seams
(el) bordado: embroidery
* bordadores: Embroiderers (profession)

alta costura: high fashion
la costura italiana: Italian fashion

At the Store

yarda: yard (of fabric)
tejido,tela, fieltro: fabric
material de uso o de adorno: material/ material for use or adornment

Tools of the Trade

maquina de coser: sewing machine

las tijeras de costura: sewing scissors
(el) hilo: thread
ua aguja e/y hilo: a needle and thread
hilo de algodón/nylon: cotton nylon thread
hilo de hebra: silk thread
hilo de bordar: embroidery thread/silk/floss

necesser de costura: sewing kit
el cesto de la costura: sewing basket

The Process
to sew or do needlework: hacer costura (also referred to simply as labor - as we might say in English when we say I'm taking my work to do while I'm listening at the meeting)

ester a punt de reventar pro las costuras: When a garment is bursting at the seams (hummmm.... how could that happen? :-)
Enctonces/ Then we need to.....
soitar una costura: let out the seams

confección: dressmaking

Another nice sample from Collins Spanish English dictionary that puts a few words together

Una chaqueta con cordoncillo azul en las costar: A jacket piped with blue at the seams

     (Náut)   seam

Listening Practice

Mi Tiempo Entre Costuras/ My Time Between the Seams (a Video Log/Vlog) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b41HNA_E3b0

My Time Between The Seams - I'd love to find an episode of this show to watch!

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-02-11/spain-beautiful-seamstress-another-era-has-created-sewing-revival

~ ~ ~

Resources

http://dictionary.reverso.net/spanish-english/costura

Ench By Sew-017 Gettin' Shirty (Previously Ench By Sew-007)

VINTAGE PODCAST!
Listeners have requested that I re-publish this show, last published in
April 2013 (and removed for not-very-exciting technical challenges)

SEW now.... the February 2014 ReRun....
"Enchanted By Sewing" Podcast is, once more,
available in the pod-o-sphere!

This month we're getting' Shirty.

You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on this link. Or, download this podcast free from iTunes, to play on your favorite mobile device/mp3 player (like an iPhone or an Android), by clicking on this link to iTunes.

~~~

Is that garment you're sewing a shirt or a blouse? Is it the collar stand, or lack thereof that makes you decide one way or another? How about set-in sleeves versus dropped? Maybe it's your choice of fabric.... This month Laurel talks about her experiences creating her No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Shirt, with a Butterick pattern that sometimes says shirt and other times blouse. She also discusses sewing techniques that say shirt, and chats a little about the history of shirts and shirty language (with special attention to a scene from a Harry Potter book ).

 This podcast is an extension of  my on-web sewing life journal Me Encanta Coser, a blog that tells the story of an arty-romantic plain sewist in CA. My blog is written in English. The blogs name, and occasional references, pays tribute to the beautiful Spanish language which is a part of both the history and modern culture of the San Francisco Bay area, where I live.

Check out a free excerpt from
My Heart Beats Faster in Past Times
By clicking here

The show is created, produced, and brought to you by Laurel Shimer author of the Time Travel e-book My Heart Beats Faster in Past Times. This historical romance, ebook-novella is available exclusively on amazon.com for your iPad, nook or kindle ebook reader, for only 99 cents (Only 99 cents? That's less than a cup of coffee!) 

~~~

Links

• Shirt or Blouse - Pattern Plays a Big Role
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/04/shirt-or-blouse-pattern-plays-important.html

• No. 1 Lady's Detective Agency Shirt

http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/03/no-1-ladys-detective-agency-shirt-b5526.html

~~~

Please post other links and other pertinent information that you would like to see included in these show notes.

The Perfect Machine - Dreaming

Sewing and Quilt Expo: My Land of Dreams!

I went to the Sewing and Quilt Expo in San Mateo, to get some new scissors. I went straight to a really good vendor I've gone to in the past. (http://www.scissorsales.com). I found my scissors - a pair of Stag shears, a pair of Gingher shears, a new pair of pinking shears, and OK :-)  some of those really darling tiny embroidery snips with the cool animal designs.... 

Then I went to the Brother dealer's booth. This particular vendor, AAA Vacuum and Sewing,  had been recommended by a classmate, who's been a customer for several years. (Also a lot of their satisfied customers dropped by the booth.) There I fell in love with a new machine. It's a Brother Quattro 3 . I want a more up-to-date machine for both garment and machine embroidery* Of course, it's not actually in the budget now...... I just wanted to get an idea of what I'd like to have someday. 

But it's like shopping for a car when you're not ready to buy one (I'm not actually into cars, but I get why people are tempted). I felt absolutely drunk reveling in all of the things this machine could do embroidery 'wise. It does a number of things I never imagined being able to do (like - for one thing- scanning a piece of printed fabric and digitizing it's own designs from the fabric - which you can then embroider over the fabric design, or recreate on another piece of fabric. And don't get me started on using the little monitor to re-place embroidery objects.)  That's in addition to all the newer basic stuff - like downloading designs from the web, magically threading your needle, offering multiple sizes of different decorative stitches - I can't do with my now quite old, bottom of the line Viking (It still uses cards and can't download designs - but works well, and yes I always keep it serviced). In addition to the embroidery coolness, the Quattro handled my heavy weight denim like a dream. I hardly even played with the garment construction features, except for using the 'hump jumper' and going over old Levi seams. But there's a lot more to checkout when I get serious.

The challenge is, it's just not our family budget.  It's about a third of the cost of the car we need to buy to replace one that's getting on in years.... Also for me sewing is a hobby. This is not a business expense..... I'll just have to wait for the day when a newer and even more imaginative machine comes out, and  people start trading this gorgeous, capable machine in for that newer model!

Daydreaming about a new machine is definitely keeping me....

Enchanted By Sewing

  
 * I used to be into quilting but for me I had to chose between garment and quilting - garment won

Using up Scraps (Green Sewing)

In response to Ruth Ann's "Wee Scraps" posting

Once a small stained vintage linen napkin
Saved for a useful life as a button on my jacket

Things I do with scraps
1) I use selvage edges for seam stabilizers. Particularly to strengthen pants side seams just above, through and below in-seam pockets, where I like to use drill selvage edges for this particular garment. I use the drill fabric itself to create strong pants pockets bags.

Drill is often sold in mainstream fabric stores as a "utility fabric". You may need to ask where it is.

2) When I have leftover long strips of fabric, I hang them over a hook by my machine and use them - raw edges and all - as  a) impromptu hair ties b) twist them in twos or braid them in threes- for deconstructed trimmings for tee shirt necklines. c) plain or twisted together, they make nice gift ties in place of ribbon

3) I use them for sample sewing. That's too obvious, right? Often I plan my sample sewing so that it can become an 18" doll's garment. Then the dollie can pose as a model in this blog!

For example, when I was practicing pintucking, Doll'ing Kaity Rose benefitted - acquiring a new Victorian 'esque nightie. http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-new-nightgown-for-winter-holidays.html

4) I'm starting to use them for scrapbooking - tiny dresses for paper dolls, backgrounds for pictures. I also cover spiral notebook covers, gluing them down. If there isn't enough of one scrap to cover the whole notebook, I collage them. I'm not sure this counts - it's not sewing.

5) I make spare patch pockets out of them when they are particularly pretty. A pocket doesn't have to be made out of the same fabric as the garment (or purse) it's used on.

6) I cover buttons with small scraps. Those kind of buttons that come in a little kit and are designed to be covered. (Also I use pieces of antique/vintage embroidered napkins that are partly spoiled but have a little embroidery left)

7) I make small purses that are almost like hanging pockets, for my cell phone and keys. Especially nice for walking and biking. I like the free buttercup purse pattern out on the way by Made-By-Rae. (I also upsize it for bigger purses)

A couple of postings about the buttercup purse pattern, including the free pattern link
http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/09/tit-fortatting-embellishing-my.html
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/09/do-you-love-butter-in-praise-of.html

8) Fabric flowers
Ideas and patterns, from books at my public library and also many I've pinned at http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/0-sewingfabricflowers/

9) Appliqué

10) Buttonhole facing squares. How do you describe that? Sew it down and pull it through to the back. It has to be the right kind of heavy duty/no fray material. I also use grosgrain ribbon for that. Those are often called Spanish Snap buttonholes.

11) As a diamond or square around a buttonhole. Like an embellishment.

Reusing snips and scraps is the kind of thing that keeps me....

Enchanted by Sewing!

Vintage Threads: 70's Leotard Can Be Modern Active Wear

From the style, and the wardrobe styling hints on the envelope, I would guess this is a mid-seventies pattern. My mother sewed several of this style of garment for me when I was in high school. I wore them with my hip-hugger pants and mini-wrap skirts that buttoned up the front.  They made my very short skirts a little more modest :-) BTW The body suits snapped at the crotch, to make dressing and undressing easy.

I'm thinking this would be a great pattern to try out for some modern active-wear. I'd like to experiment with fabrics I haven't tried before, and a simple leotard (would work well with simple shorts for the gym) would be a great pattern with which to try out that type of material. 

But, as I wrote in my last imaginary bathing suit journal entry..... no new projects until this bustier is done!

Resources

Enchanted By Sewing Podcast Show Notes (and iTunes link) http://enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com

Sewing My Bustier : http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/02/bustiers-excuse-me-arent-those-your.html