Long time no see, blog…

It all started very quickly, three posts in a few days, I was full of enthusiasm and BAM! My attempt at blogging about my sewing adventures suddenly stopped. I don’t remember exactly why, probably something came in the way. (Ok, so it’s not really a dramatic BAM, it’s more of a pathetic PFEEew…) It’s been nearly a year since I wrote something here, but hey I’m back now! And even if I haven’t posted anything during that period, it doesn’t mean that I have abandoned my threads and needles. On the contrary, my interest in sewing has grown and I have made some progress! Not as much as I imagined I would when I made crazy plans back in the days, but I have learned some tricks. And I have actually made stuff with my own hands ! (ok, the sewing machine did most of the work).

First I have cleared a few items off my stash that needed simple alterations such as hems, or turning long sleeved shirts into short sleeved ones. Then I signed up for my first Craftsy class (a great website offering online courses for crafty people and aspiring ones)  and that was a total breakthrough! I managed to make great looking cushions that I now use every day to cosy up on the couch and a pencil skirt with both a lining and an invisible zipper (turned out quite ok, but unfortunately I made it quite wide and lost some weight since, so it looks more like a tent than a pencil skirt now). The class in question was The Sewing Studio and I highly recommend it! I may write a post about it soon if I am not too lazy. Of course after this first great experience, I got hooked and signed up for another class, The Ultimate T-shirt, as I love to wear jersey fabrics. It may not have been the greatest choice as a second sewing lesson, but I managed to finish my t-shirt and learned a lot from my numerous mistakes! I have also made a pincushion and a tablecloth about which I am quite proud of. Oh, and I have acquired a lot of sewing tools. A lot.

So where am I going now? I have taken up several sewing projects at a time: I am in the middle of a fitting class: Sew the perfect fit, and I am working on making more t-shirts with Sewing with knits. (Yes, I am totally addicted to Craftsy). I also have a little pile of clothes in need of serious mending (thank you my dear boyfriend) and I am always on the lookout for interesting patterns and techniques. I am also working on defining my personal style to gain control over what gets into my wardrobe! 

I realise that there is a lot of things I would like to blog about in these past and present experiences. It may not be as regular and ordely as I wanted to be when I started this blog, but hey, that’s how life is!

 

Hand stitching 101

I have finally managed to take a look at my basement stash and to register its content on Evernote.  It seems that I didn’t find all my fabrics though. Need to dig deeper!

Today was also my first sewing experience in a long time. I gathered some bits of simple white cotton, some red thread, a needle and got working! No machine involved, just my fingers on duty here: I’ve been covering the basics of hand stitching, following the instructions in Wendy Gardiner’s “Start Sewing” for 6 different stitches:

• Running stitch: no difficulty here, it’s something I have learned as a child!
• Backstitch: it looks like machine stitching, no gaps between the stitches, the back looks different from the front. I got a little confused when looking at the pictures in the instructions, as I am a leftie and had naturally started from the left side, contrary to the model.
• Gathering stitch: simple as a running stitch, but creating a third dimension!
• Blind hemming: I have actually never hemmed pants with this technique, so it was nice to give it a go.

• Slip stitch: this one is a bit tricky, as no thread is supposed to show on the right side nor on the wrong side.

• Blanket stitch: I didn’t have any heavy thread available, so it was a bit annoying to make loops with the one I used, but I can certainly see the potential in that stitch!

All in all, it was very easy to understand how to make those stitches, the only problem is regularity, and straight lines! I definitely want to exercise this skill more.