Make: Shift Dress

Yesterday I went on a “Make a Dress in a Day” course with the Fashion Box, based up near Seven Sisters. A few people have seemed surprised that I took myself on a course aimed at beginners; my reasons for doing it were that I’ve never made a full dress from scratch, I’ve never used a commercial pattern, I thought I’d learn some new techniques and, if I’m honest, it sounded fun.

The pattern pieces were made from very thin tissue paper, and covered in various markings to show the different sizes, lengths and fitting marks for each one. Fortunately, the pieces had been precut for us, with all the markings transferred from the tissue-paper pattern to the fabric pieces, meaning we could get on with the sewing, rather than getting covered in tailor’s chalk.

 

There were two bust darts, one on either side of the front piece – these had to be pinned and sewn identically, as it would be really obvious if they were uneven.

 

Then two back darts that also had to be symmetrical.

 

 

A dart is a method of curving fabric so that the 2D material fits around a 3D body. On the outside they look like lines and on the inside there will be a triangle of spare fabric.

 

Next, I got to use what is possibly my favourite machine in the world – the overlocker. This has four reels of thread that combine with a cutting knife to slice your fabric in a really neat line and bind the raw edge, to prevent fraying. I love this machine and would really like one for myself...

 

The fabric goes in rough and straggly, but comes out neatly overlocked!

Next step was to put in an invisible zip down the back. I learned that there is a special sewing machine foot you can use for putting in invisible zips that helps keep everything lined up – this made it so much easier! And explains why I had so much trouble trying to do it with a normal zipper foot.

 

Putting in a zip can cause the fabric to pucker, as the sewing machine tries to pull the fabric through at a different speed to the zip.

 

Fortunately a bit of ironing helps relieve the problem!

 

Next step was to sew the bottom part of the back seam and get it to join up flawlessly with the bottom of the zip. I’d say I did a pretty good job – it’s hard to tell where the zip starts!

 

For the neckline, we used a facing combined with iron-on interfacing to strengthen the material. I used this interfacing previously when I made a tie.

Next the curved seams at the armholes and neckline had to be pinned and sewn. (Fortunately there was no tacking involved, phew.)

 

Sewing the side seam brought the two pieces of the dress together as one, and then I learned the handy trick of putting in the straps, which involved some simple flipping the straps, inserting into the back, sewing, turning out and voilà… In all honesty I’m not sure how this bit worked (witchcraft?) but it really did! 

 

Then, time for some pressing and a bit more overlocking…

Finally came the hem – now there are two ways to do a hem. One involves using neat straight stitch, and I’ve done this a bunch of times. Examples are on my many curtain-related posts. But there is a stitch on my machine specifically for sewing invisible hems… **mysterious** I know, but I thought I would give it a go.

 

And here is the finished hem, on the outside! Pretty darn good, I’d say, and certainly something I’ll use again.

 

 

So here is the finished dress!

 

I’d just like to take an additional moment to note how the back facings are perfectly aligned with each other… This is not a part of the dress you’ll see usually, but it melts my heart just a little bit that they are so even. Cos I’m both a perfectionist AND a loser.

 

Unfortunately the dress does not currently fit me very well… Watch this space for when it makes a reappearance as an “Amend” in the New Year!

 

Make: Christmas

The Boyf and I finally got round to getting a bit festive last weekend - we cracked out the carols, put up some twinkly illuminations and found the address book, before sitting down to start some Christmas cards.

We were inadvertently delayed by my discovery of a Make You Own card set that I received from Santa last year. It promised me that all I needed was "imagination" so I thought it would be a fun and speedy job.

Alas, I also needed glue, which meant things got a bit messier and therefore time-consuming than anticipated... Two hours later and the side was covered in little bits of card, sequins and glue, all held together by clothes pegs.

Next day though, when everything had dried satisfactorily... Ta-da!

I also decided to fill the house with Christmassy smells. Since we have no tree to make the place smell of inviting pine, I went for gingerbread!

I have never made gingerbread before, but I found a recipe on the BBC website that seemed relatively simple - and we had all the ingredients in that I'd need too, which is handy when I'm still a bit crippled (sprained ankle).

The recipe said that it made 20 gingerbread men, but it turned out to make many more than that in other shapes! First up, some daintily decorated snowflake patterns...

Next, an army of melting snowmen! The unfortunate thing about this design is that marshmallow packets all seem to come in both white and pink - you can only use the white ones, so the pink ones just went to waste... True story? Tummy says nope.

Can you see the completely evil one? He's quite sinister...

And finally, this is only really Christmassy in that it was given as a present. Tetris biscuits!

And of course, it matches. I'm no amateur.

Make: Curtain Wall (3)

Well it’s fair to say, this became quite a sizeable job. But I have finally finished hemming the last curtain for our "guestroom" curtain wall! And here it is in all its glory!

 

 

The button-up tab tops work like a dream, too! When the curtains are removed, the curtain rail is barely visible.

To add a final flourish, I added some braiding to the edges - because sometimes, a little embellishment makes something look all the more professional.

 

 

I may make adjustments in the future, perhaps with dots of Velcro on the edges to hold the “wall” together better, or to keep more light out. I still need to work out the best way to store them, too. But for now, we officially have our “guestroom” completed!

Make: Pumpkin Carving

(There’s a part of me arguing that this should actually be an “amend”, since I didn’t make the pumpkin itself, I only made the carving...)

Somehow, I have come through 28 years of my life without ever carving a pumpkin. When I revealed this to my best mates recently, they decided it was about time to rectify this – very convenient, since Hallowe’en was approaching.

The pumpkins I purchased were from Sainsbury’s and were specifically “carving pumpkins” rather than “eating pumpkins”. Until this point, I didn't know that different kinds of pumpkin existed for such a purpose.

A small amount of google-images research revealed many different options for carving, not just scary faces. While I was initially drawn to the idea of a pumpkin Death Star (**Star Wars nerd**), I decided that might be ambitious for my first attempt, and opted for a terrifying tarantula instead. After doodling this onto some paper and transferring it to the pumpkin with Sharpie marker, it was time to begin.
 

We covered the kitchen in newspaper, grabbed the most appropriate-looking knives from the drawer, and sliced the top off (remembering to do this at a slight angle, so the lid doesn’t fall inside the pumpkin). Then we began scooping out the gloopy insides. Spoons, forks, hands – all manner of implements proved useful. We cleaned out the insides until we were left with just the harder “meat” of the pumpkin, without the seeds and stringy bits.

 

The moment of truth came next – exactly how much pressure does it take to cut through pumpkin skin and flesh? Turns out, a fair amount! But I cut each section out as delicately as possible, concentrating hard on not accidentally slicing a spidery leg off in the process. After cutting each chunk out, I reinserted it into the gap, to try and maintain the structural integrity of the pumpkin. This seemed like a good idea, even to a complete amateur like me, rather than relying on the strength of eight leg-size slivers. Then I poked out all the pieces at the end.

 

And here are the final results, illuminated by candlelight! I’m very proud of my spider – not only as a first-time attempt, but in general! Cutting the geometric shapes proved easier than curved lines.

 

Honorary mentions here for my pumpkin-carving compatriots and tutors, who managed to pull off a decorative sugar skull and a daring graveyard-with-creepy-tree-and-bats design.

 

Four pumpkins in the house!

 

We also tried lighting them with coloured LED balloons… Stay away from the radioactive spider!!

 

Make: Neck Tie

Sometimes I have really unproductive Saturday mornings, when I find myself still in PJs at midday. Today would appear to be one such day (and it's actually 1pm as I write this...in my PJs...), however appearances can be deceiving! For this morning, I made a tie!

We're going to a fancy dress murder mystery later, for which the Boyf needs a white tie. I can't face dealing with Saturday shopping crowds, so I thought I'd rustle one up while Boyf went to the dentist.

Using an old dust sheet, I cut out an exaggerated tie shape. In theory, you should probably make a pattern and make sure it's the same on both sides... But I just cut it out, cos it's quicker and I'm feeling lazy.

Then, I got out some iron-on interfacing. This is a kind of web-like material which thickens, ergo strengthens, fabric. The iron-on stuff is amazingly easy to attach, as it has some kind of magic shiny stuff on one side, that bonds to fabric with heat.

I cut two pieces of interfacing and ironed them to each of the pointy ends of the tie shape. These will help keep the tie looking pointy and sharp.

Counterintuitively, the next stage in getting a crisp point... is to cut it off.

Then, I went about making what should be a narrow, rolled hem. This is easier with shiny fabrics like silk, and not great for cotton (which my dust sheet is). My rolled hem ended up being a bit wider than would be ideal - not that it matters hugely, as long as it's neat.

I folded then ironed the edges, before getting the tie on the sewing machine and doing some straight top-stitching along each edge. This should be as neat as possible, as the reverse is actually the front of the tie so it will be visible. (Check out the weave of the fabric, going straight across! Whoop!)

Next, it's time to sew the long centred seam. Anyone who has read my other sewing posts should know how I feel about tacking (yawn) so I just pinned it, and sewed it with more straight stitch.

I would normally overlock my seams, however a tie should sit flat, and an overlooked centre seam would leave a bump. While it was still the wrong side out, I ironed it flat, spreading the halves of the seam so they also sit flat.

To turn it the right way out, I put a safety pin on the small end, and used that to pull it out the right way. Hard to describe, but it works a treat.

Another swift iron to flatten it out again (now the right side out) and voilà, a tie! And it only took an hour, so now I can get back to my lazy PJ day...

 

Make: Curtain Wall (2)

Black fabric: I’m using a black cotton fabric with a lined pattern and approx. 1.5m width.

Red fabric: This is almost linen-like in its creasability (real word?) and plain red, approx. 2m width

 

Cut a section of black fabric across the whole width that is 30cm longer than the drop you are looking for – I cut at 280cm for a 250cm drop.

 

TOP HEM

 

At one end, fold 2cm of the raw edge and iron in place. From the new, folded edge, fold again at 6.5cm and iron in place. This will form the top hem. I will call the very edge the “top edge” and the edge of the hem (at 6.5cm) the “hem edge”)

 

 

With matching thread in the spool and bobbin on the machine (for me, black), position the curtain front-side down, with the hem under the needle. Sew a line of straight stitch along the hem edge to hold the it in place – this will be at c.6cm from the top edge. Sew straight across from one side to the other.

 

Flip the curtain over and sew a second line of straight stitch just inside the first one, at c.5.5cm from the top edge. This will hold it firmly in place.

 

 

SIDE HEM

 

The sides of your curtain will currently be the “selvedge”, which does not fray, unravel or curl. The following should be repeated for both sides.

 

 

Fold the selvedge at 1.5cm and iron from top to bottom. Fold and iron again at 2cm, to create a 2cm side hem.

 

As with the top hem, position the curtain front-side down and sew along the hem edge, to hold it in place.

 

 

Flip the curtain over and sew a second line of stitching inside the first, to secure the hem… securely J

 

Tie-off and hide all loose ends. I used the same method as I did on my orange curtains, here.

 

TAB TOPS

 

Cut out ten pieces of tab-sized fabric, two per tab

 

Pin the right-sides together and sew on three sides, leaving one short-side open. Cut the corners diagonally, making sure not to catch the stitches.

 

Turn the tab the right way out. Use a knitting needle, skewer or similar, poke out the corners. Now iron the tab flat.

 

Fold the open end under, so all fraying ends are hidden inside. Iron this flat, then machine it closed using straight stitch.

 

 

Button holes

 

My sewing machine comes with a button-hole foot and stitch settings, which makes it much easier to make button holes. You will need one button hole in each tab. This is what a button-hole foot looks like: -

 

 

Position the foot where you want the button hole to be, and work your way through the different stitch types until you have gone all the way round.

 

For a more detailed depiction of button-hole creation, look here.

 

Tie-off and hide all loose ends.

 

 

BUTTONS

 

Position the buttons evenly across the top hem on the right-side of the fabric. Start with the edge buttons, then do the central one, then the final ones.

 

Method? Sew the button firmly onto the top edge of the curtain. After several stitches through the button holes, bring the thread to the right-side of the fabric, but under the button hole. Now wind the thread around the stitches (between the button and the fabric) several times. Pull it through to the wrong side and knot firmly.

 

BACK TO TAB TOPS

 

 

To attach the tab tops to the top edge of the curtain, position them in line with the buttons, but against the wrong-side of the top edge. Pin them in place (tack if you like!)

 

Sew in a square around the edge, concealing the stitches from the buttons.

 

Tie-off and hide all loose ends.

 

BOTTOM EDGE

 

Before hemming the curtains at the appropriate length, you should always wash them. This is because they will shrink with the first wash, and you don’t want to end up with final curtains that are too short for the gap! To give you an idea, mine shrank approx. 20cm in the wash.

 

Mark where you want the bottom edge to sit. Measure an additional 12cm from that line and cut off any excess fabric. This can be less than 12cm, if you prefer a thinner hem – I favour a deep hem at the bottom, as it adds a bit of weight to the curtains and can help them hang better.

 

Fold the fabric at 2cm and iron in place. Fold and iron again at 10cm. The final bottom edge should be at the level marked above.

 

Sew the usual two lines of stitching across, but this time include a short line of stitching down the side hem, to prevent anything slipping inside the hem. Tie off all the loose ends.

 

Et voilà, you have a finished curtain! All the raw edges have been hemmed and hidden, the tabs are at the top, and they can be hung from a curtain pole!

 

Now it’s just time for me to make four more…