Costume update

Hello, everyone.  The costume is finished.  I'm posting a picture of the reticule (Regency era purse) that goes with it.

There was enough of the accent ribbon to embellish the reticule. As the fabrics for this were either extra from the dress or (lining) sitting in the sewing room, I'm calling this little bag a stash buster. 

I did quilt the bag exterior for the extra strength it gives, because the satin and tulle are a little delicate for purse construction. 

It's nice to get the dining room cleared of project materials.

What I learned from Ripstop By The Roll (edited to add links)

Hello, everyone.  Today is just a short note about how glad I am that I watched and learned from the Ripstop By The Roll how-to videos that go with the sampler stuff sack kit.

The guys there have a great demonstration of what I can only call Mock French Seams. 

Today I am using it to seam perle-embellished tulle for a costume. (Yes, I'm sewing a seam with the narrow-width zipper foot. Nothing else sneaks by those stapled perles so well.) This looks a lot like a regular French seam, but only requires one pass under the needle. You just place the fabric right sides together, roll the edges together a quarter inch and then re-roll it again. Pinning A Whole Lot! At least on the tulle. Then edgestitch along the fold. I should have thought of doing this on the other seams of this skirt! It's a lot less fraught than the regular French seam, since the tulle cannot be pressed like some other lightweight fabrics.

Progress on a Christmas project

 Hello, everyone.

This is a progress post of a new project.

This will be a tank top Christmas shirt. (Because here in deep South Texas we frequently have short sleeves weather for Christmas!) 

The design is a "vintage" style Christmas tree with birds in various colors. As y'all can see, the topper is still between the stitches; I decided to wait until the top is completed before soaking it off. I used the Sulky Stick n Stitch to float the interfaced knit in the hoop and the Sulky Solvy for the topper. Both Sulky products will soak off, leaving behind the ProSheer Elegance Fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply. The bobbin thread here was not the usual "crystal" 60 weight bobbin thread. I had noticed that letters look a lot better if I use the Aurifil 80 weight thread left over from the Lion Purse project when testing a design for Thanksgiving decorations. It's so much clearer and nicer on thin lines that I loaded a bobbin on purpose with that 80 weight cotton thread. There just isn't any occasional frost of bobbin thread showing at the base of the stitches on thin lines with it. 😊 

The pattern is from Burda Style 2006 November issue number 111...back then the magazine was still called Burda World of Fashion. It's an easy, wearable tank top that works well with bra straps. Somewhat form-fitting in shape, more so than the similar Kwik Sew tank top is, but unlike the Kwik Sew version it doesn't have a scoop back neck. 

A note on the Aurifil thread: it comes on wooden spools, not plastic ones, so there is no handy built-in thread clip to hold the end. And one of my spools had a snag at one end of the spool. The others seem to all be okay, but I have learned to feel around the edge to see if it will grab the (very thin!) thread while sewing.

On the colors: I ran "auto levels" in my Photoshop Elements and the colors of everything popped up a bit. The blue of the shirt is a little bit dustier in color. The fabric is the same Telio knit that was used for the night shirt a while back...there was quite a bit left over from that!

A new finish

 Hello, everyone.

Today's post is a new finish, but it's also a stash item. And a rough-draft of a future garment.

This is a cardigan from a prior year's Burda Style (July 2019, number 103) with a shorter length--the design original length looked a lot like "commune clothes" when tried out--and with the sleeve enlarged to accommodate my non-stick-figure arms. 

I guess the way to keep a long, long cardigan from looking like that is to use the shown metallic knit in the magazine photos. Or to be 5'10 or over, weigh 107 pounds and combine it with skinny pants and high heels. The cardigan's more usable at this length because like most people I go places in cars while wearing sweaters or jackets. 😉 And at this length a person isn't constrained to wear spike heels and leggings with it.

Detail of the new sleeve. I tried to keep the wider lower sleeve from the design as much as possible, while opening up the upper arm. I kept the armhole seam length from changing by following the directions in one of my fitting/alterations books to open a cross shaped cut inside the seam line and pull it apart until the needed width was achieved. This was a first time for me!

The fabric is an ice-blue poly or rayon with spandex knit that has been lying around the place for a while. I am thrilled to have used up some of it.

For the seams I used the canned "stretch" slanted-zigzag on my sewing machine. It's a useful stitch, but it works a LOT better if it's sewn on a more stabilized knit--I interfaced the sewn bits all over the place with a knit type interfacing.

This was a test drive for using the beautiful piece of gray knit I got from EmmaOneSock to make a cardigan with. 

Thanks to DD2 for making phone photos for me!

The tee shirt is my spiffy Montana merino one from Duckworth. 

Morning walk sights

 Hello, everyone.

"Morning walk sights" is the title of this post, but there is actually only one walk picture for this one.

It is from yesterday's walk, I looked up and saw a great cloud of birds flying in a line. By the time I got the phone out and awakened, the organized line had turned into a sort of blob. Is it migrating hawks?

This was not as early as the last morning sky photo, we left the house about 0700 yesterday. 

On the sewing front, I bought some fabric from mail order and thought I was getting a knit. Oops. And oddly enough the penny didn't drop for me until *after* I had cut out a top in it. Now I am going to try putting a zipper in on the side...it goes over the head fine, but the semi-fitted waist area doesn't go over the bust well at all. So I will try adding an invisible zip on the side seam.

On the plus side, I did have enough off-cut to make a gift bag. 

This bag has French seams (there is a tiny "decorative element" at the sides where the serging to remove raveled threads sticks out), boxed corners, and a casing with two openings at the top. I ran one ribbon all the way around from the left opening and the second ribbon all the way around from the right opening, and knotted the ends to keep the ribbons from getting lost. It is a reusable bag! With a cheerful, non thematic print that can be for almost any kind of gift.

The fabric was bought from Fabric.com, and I think it's a rayon or rayon-poly blend. Very light weight, but opaque.

Project completed

Hello, everyone.

The nightshirt for DH is finished.

I haven't seen it tried on yet, but he likes it.

Detail of the pocket.

The fabric is the Telio Softique rayon spandex knit. It drapes very limply and it's hard to tell if it's going to feel "heavy" on. The pattern is Simplicity 1021, with the neck facing on the outside to give a bit of color. It really wants to just flop all over on the table when it's being cut, too--maintain shape? Hah! But with patience it can be dealt with.

This fabric sews a lot better with knit iron-on interfacing on the back. It got sucked into the needle plate hole more than once, but was rescued.

This was my first experience using the longitudinal zigzag the sewing machine calls "stretch stitch" in a project. It is very hard to rip out if the line bobbles. It does do a reasonable imitation of straight stitching for top stitching as on the neck facing.

A new project: embroidering onto a knit pocket

Hello, everyone.

There is always something to do around the house if you have a sewing machine. Even more so if you also have an embroidery machine.

DH had requested new sleepwear. As his preferred type isn't in the stores these days, that means sewing.

I found some rayon spandex knit on Fabric.com ( both navy and red solids) and decided that as long as I have these cool gadgets to work with, the chest pocket needed decorating.  I consulted DP, who organizes our sewing club and has much experience with machine embroidery, and also looked at the internet. Found a cute animal--DH likes it--and got to work.

I used wash-and-tear stabilizer on the bottom of the sandwich. Ironed on knit Pro-Sheer Elegance with the grain crossed from the knit grain--this is the part that will remain in the finished garment. Topped with Sulky Solvy, a non-adhesive sheer soluble that I like a lot, to keep the stitches lying nicely on the surface of the knit.

Yes, that is painters' tape holding the Sulky Solvy still on top! It's actually less tacky than my white sewing tape is.

This was the test sew-out of the bull. I mixed up the colors a little, used variegated charcoal where the dark brown is supposed to be, but it came out okay anyway I think.

The little bovine fits into the small 5x5 hoop of my machine, and fits perfectly onto the pocket piece.

Now if I can only find a use for the test project!

Stash busting: Autumn apron

Hello, everyone.

Today's stash buster is an apron, using a piece of fabric inherited from a family member and an extra Four-Patch square.

Other stash items used: pumpkins fabric for the straps and pocket lining. Orange wood-grain scrap for the towel loop. A D ring that was lying around the supplies drawer for the neck tie-strap.

The apron pattern was one of those free ones that gets passed around as an ad, picked it up years ago and traced it onto pattern tracing fabric. (Then added a pocket. The pocket addition has been done higher up before, but open chest pockets are inclined to drop a cell phone into the pot of soup, or the trash can, when the wearer leans over. Not a good plan!)

This project has been around, nagging me, for a while. It's good to have it out of the sewing room.

A little repair project

Hello, everyone.

Things have been a little bit busy. One reason is the subject of this post: a repair on a knit dress.

I love my Icebreaker merino-blend knit dress. Unfortunately, one day I tried to pick it up with a snaggy, sharp fingernail. Oops. A collection of very obvious holes appeared in the front bodice area.

I looked around on the internet and tried the one knit-holes repair I saw listed. It might have been all right for the back hem or someplace out of the way like that. This was to seam the edges together with the best match in an all natural thread that is around. It made glaringly obvious linear lumps on the front bodice.

So I got the seam ripper out and took the stitches away as well as possible. This was going to need a back patch, I decided, and baseball stitch. Or some reasonable facsimile of baseball stitch.

The back side of the patch, showing some basting stitches as well.

Got an old pair of pantyhose (washed) and cut a chunk out of one leg. This is the thin part of the knit, not the thick part near the waist. Basted it, two layers thick, onto the back of the dress fabric with some random thread. Put the reinforced area gently into an embroidery hoop and used the same (not quite matching) charcoal colored DMC floss to stitch the edges of the holes down and to each other as well as possible.

The front side of the patch.

After the patching stitches, the dress came out of the hoop for a while. I got out some new embroidery stabilizer: Stick n Stitch. This is a stick-on and dissolvable stabilizer. They claim you can run it through your ink jet printer but I really wasn't looking to make something that complex and heavy with stitches.

The traced daisy. I used a temporary marker pen.

Traced a daisy from the Dover Publishing floral designs book in the cabinet onto the soft (not paper) side of the stabilizer, pulled the paper backing off, and stuck the stabilizer down onto the knit. Put the hoop back on  carefully.


Stitched the daisy and a couple of leaves onto the fabric, using wool thread. (It may be tapestry thread, but the weight looked right.) I used a tapestry needle to do this, on the theory that if one uses a ball point needle to sew the knits, one should probably try to use a ball point needle to embroider them.

The threads of the flower.

Progress on the front side.









Stitches used: leaf stitch (?) for the leaves, with one strand of the Floralia. Stem stitch for the petals. Cross stitches scattered for the center of the flower. These last both in the Felicity's Garden thread.



Ready to soak:































After soaking and drip drying, the finished repair.

 The double layer of pantyhose knit seems to have worked out well for the patch behind the fabric. It has similar stretching characteristics, which matters on this kind of thing, and the dress is a thin knit so a thin patch was needed.

The Stick n Stitch worked reasonably well for a stabilizer and pattern transfer, but probably does a bit better with either a smaller needle or a crewel (sharp) needle to pierce the fuzzy stuff. I was careful not to tighten the thread tensions too much. And this dress being now even more delicate, will get hand washed from now on I think. But I love my Icebreaker tank dress. It's so comfortable and packable.

Sewing: using a mundane shirt pattern for a hiking shirt

Hello, everyone.

I strolled through the posts of the Camino Portugues from 2015 and discovered that, while I have a picture of this blouse in action, it didn't make the blog.

This blouse was from a Burda magazine pattern. It has short sleeves, a keyhole front neck, and is otherwise a straightforward blouse.

The solid was a lightweight poplin, sadly with  DWR coating, easy to cut but did like to fray a bit. The mesh, seen in this photo being fitted with some stabilizing fabric before being attached to the bottom part of the back, was a stretch mesh. Like the poplin it was from Fabric.com.

I added a back yoke to the blouse by cutting the back bodice piece in two, then added seam allowance to the bottom part where the cut was, and to the top part, and then tracing a longer piece with a hem allowance. The top part, which was underneath, was cut from the mesh for breathability. The longer piece, which was over the mesh, was of the main blouse fabric. It was sewn at the shoulders and sleeve and of course at the neck. The hemmed top piece was tacked in the middle of the back so it wouldn't fly all over. (I did mention that the fabric was lightweight!)

Overall, the works well. The fabric is semi-sheer so works better with a light colored bra underneath. It doesn't breathe other than the mesh panel in back, because of the DWR coating mentioned above. Also the little keyhole in front wasn't easy for me to get just right on the button loop size. (Button loop was made from a piece of the blouse fabric, just a simple bias tube.)  But I found a button that worked with the loop I had.

Other times I have tried this trick haven't worked as well. It's important to consider what kinds of stabilizer you're using in seams. This goes double if you're adding in extra pockets! It's also, I think, better to use a blouse pattern than a tank pattern--well, if you have one of the Saf-T-Pockets tank patterns you're good to go. Those pockets are worked out already. Just use a lightweight fabric, preferable breathable.

It's fun to make gear for the Camino. It uses up stash if you already had some mesh or ripstop around the place, and it lets you think about the next Camino you're going to walk.

Camino del Norte memories: Tapia de Casariego

Hello, everyone.

I was playing with picture files on my computer, trying some of them in grayscale, and thought I'd see if a picture from Tapia had been posted on the blog already. 

Possibly not. The visit/pass through at Tapia was included in a note about Ribadeo with very little detail.

Tapia has a municipal albergue. It is famous for the scenic view. (Otherwise it is quite basic. And heaven help you if you are there on a Sunday when fewer things are open. Tapia is a very small place.) It is one of the albergues where, if you start your day with fresh tape, you have to go outside and hope the sunlight is enough.

We got some photos of the sunrise from the albergue before we left. I converted one to grayscale and cropped out the invisibly-dark grass at the bottom. This is what was left:

So, if you're very visually oriented, this is what you can see on a spring morning in Tapia as the sun comes up.  The little flash in the rock is a tunnel carved there by the waves.

We met a very nice lady on our way out of Tapia. She told us about roofing styles (being in the architecture business and concentrating on roof design) and after that we were more aware of the slate vs tile roofs of the regions as we walked. She said that the old Camino had not gone straight to Ribadeo, but south along the river through various villages to another bridge, and then back north.  She said it was very pleasant and scenic. Perhaps if we walk the Norte again we will go that way!

We were, frankly, eager to get to a place with a washateria and get some laundry clean, so we elected to go straight to Ribadeo, crossing the high bridge--using the pedestrian walkway, it wasn't all dangerously scary--and getting there early. We then chose a hotel that was close to the washateria and got busy making ourselves look more human.

FYI, Ribadeo on I think it was Monday, doesn't have an open Turista office. (Kind of like museums, really.) The nice police people gave us a map and stamped our credenciales IIRC. Ribadeo was a pretty town to stroll through and admire the buildings and park.

Stash busting 2

Hello, everyone.

I decided to combine stash busting with hemming practice.

It's really hard to see what you're doing on the stripes!

This is the first of a new series of placemats. The fabric was left over from the nifty pockets travel vest that was made from an independent pattern company pattern: www.saf-t-pockets.com/brief-escape-9900/ . There are inside pockets and the vest was also reversible.

It made up a little bit easier in black Kona cotton solid with a fun printed cotton lining IMHO.

A lovely bit of needlework

Hello, everyone.

Today, visiting with family, I saw some beautiful old needlework.

The stitches were done by hand and they are so even and small!

This is an old christening gown. The main embellishment is the several sections with diagonal tucks. They're separated by

embroidered strips. At the right, the front on the outside.

At the bottom, a closer look at the neckline. (Posting this from the tablet and missing the mouse buttons a lot right now!)

I am amazed at the beautiful work our ancestors did. They took such care to make the piece beautiful.

Recap of Camino del Norte, First of a series

Hello, everyone.

As we are recovered from our long walk, and long plane rides home, it is time to begin the recap of the journey.

We landed in San Sebastian on the 16th of May, caught the bus into the center of town, and found a place to stay. (The Oficina del Turismo is very helpful here.) Then we strolled around the city a bit and visited the Museo San Telmo, in an ancient former church, and the church of San Vicente, which is still an active church. 

The museum was a little bit of the city attic, but as often happens even with the tiniest museum, there were things to be learned. There was a neat display of medieval hats recreated on plastic heads, for one thing.

 One thing I noticed about all these medieval hats is that they cover the ears and many of them have a way to wrap the neck and face. Perhaps these were local area hats and adapted to the chilly weather of the northern coast of Spain? We were certainly chilly.

And for my SIL's enjoyment, we photographed the city's merry-go-round. It wasn't operating, but it was certainly pretty! It is right on the waterfront, so the riders will have a view of the sea as well as of their friends waving at them as they spin past.

Pilgrimage 2018 is heading out

Hello everyone.

I think it was Bilbo who is supposed to have said "It's a dangerous thing to go out your door" and then reflected on how the road goes on and on.

The Camino is like that, too. It calls, and when you have answered sometimes you discover that it has built a homing beacon into your heart.

We hope to make it to Santiago's tomb this year, and to pay respects also to Our Lady of Covadonga and at Oviedo. "God willing and the creek don't rise" as they say.

Here is my personal pack load, except for the Teva sandals, hiking poles, and electronics like this device.

Wear one, pack two, as the fellow who posted his 5 kg pack video to the Camino Forum said: 2 shirts, 2 panties, 2 sock pairs (Injinji low cut lightweight) in the pack. 1 bra in the pack. 1 fleece pullover, 1 windbreaker, 1 pair of shorts--wearing the zip off pants, 1 Icebreaker merino tank dress (splurge), 1 rain poncho. The merino Infinity Buff. The two packed shirts are 1 Icebreaker tank and 1 BCG tee, the shirt I am wearing is a long sleeved ripstop.
Dopp box has toothbrush, tiny powder, razor, ear swabs, toothpaste, hairbrush, a head band and a hair liga, and a small bottle of hair/body/clothes wash. Also a poly fast dry towel. Also the little mesh box with hiking pole tips.
The Fabulous Bag to put the pack in for the flight, a dry clothes bag for the shower, a mesh bag for dirty clothes or shopping, the bag for the sleeping bag liner.
Sleeping bag and liner.
If I remember them all correctly!
Ultreia!

Training report: 1st 3 days

Hello, everyone.

Friday we went over to the Mission Hike and Bike Trail and walked 4 miles. (Approximately 6 km) Took approximately 1 hour. (The link goes to Trail Link, who claim a total one-way length for the trail of 4.8 miles. But if you park at one end and go to the other and then go back to your car, it's pretty near to 10 miles. And there are mile markers here and there for shorter walks.)

Saturday we went to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and climbed the rope bridge twice and the tall hawk tower once. Possibly a mile in walking, plus the climbing.

Today we went to Bentsen Park and walked the main loop and strolled up the ramp of the hawk tower. Probably 4 miles.

Not much in pictures for the three days--the birds aren't in the mood to pose. And camera-hunting the birds takes up time without giving fitness benefits, so since we're trying to get back into walking shape we're doing more moving and less sitting in front of bird blinds and feeders.

Shoe report: the new shoes (Merrell with the Vibram Mega grip soles) are working out well, and when they get their new insoles they will probably be super-great. 😊

Sock report: it looks like liner socks--size Medium--for me. The medium thickness (size Small) socks last summer were a major contributor to toenail blisters. 😒 The thicker sock fabric between the toes meant that the toes needed more space in the toe box than they had. The thin liner socks are good. The thin running socks are just about the same thickness as liner socks, so I'll try them out on, first, the 7 mile loop at Santa Ana and, second, the 10 or 14 mile long walk (Hike and Bike the whole way and back, possibly with a loop into Bentsen, or twice around the 7 mile tram road at Santa Ana) sometime in the next month or so and decide if they go or stay. Injinji liner socks took me through Portugal in 2015, in a hot year for walking and only a few tiny heat blisters appeared. I don't know why I thought I should mess with success by trying out a new type of sock.

Time is rushing up at us

Hello, everyone.

I had promised to say something about the socks that are going with me on the Camino del Norte.

Here they are.

A blue, a white, and a pink pair.

As y'all can see, they are all toe socks. (Injinji socks, actually)

Not everyone is suited to these socks. In my case, in 2014 I walked in regular hiking socks. Even aside from the boots being about a half-size too small for the job, the socks were wrong for me. My toes were all over each other and there were loads of blisters.

In 2015 I took some regular socks and Injinji liner socks--with the same boots. (New insoles though!) The shoes did not accomodate double socks. They did go well with just the liner socks. They weren't too thick, I had almost no blisters, and my feet were happy campers.

Now it's 2017 and I  have new, larger boots. Thus the new, regular-thickness Injinji socks.

More stash busting

Hello, everyone.

In the battle of the clutter, I'm using up some more stashed fabric.

Fabric: a lightweight silk print. Use: gathered skirt with invisible zip and a waist band. No pattern needed for this!

I had to change the needles in both the sewing machine and the serger for this fabric. It's much too light for the usual weight of needles, so they are now size 10 needles.

Hand basting was required to get the gathered skirt fabric to mate up with the waist band. I used a bit of machine embroidery thread for that. Also the zipper was hand basted into place on the interfaced seam allowance.

Still needed at this point, hand sewing the inside edge of the waistband down and hemming. Probably going to be a hand hem, this fabric seems too light for a machine blind stitch.

The completed blue top

Hello, everyone.

I found the mislaid photo of the (nearly completed) top: the camera had decided it was taking pictures in 2011!

But here it is...

I think this was taken before I added a long triangular gusset in the back. The main features are in view here--the buttons don't really need to open. But using up stash buttons is good, too, along with the stash fabric and the stash zippers.

A new stash project has been started--and I had to go to the store and buy fabric to finish cutting it out. (Ran out of poly organza for the underlining! Also picked up a beige zipper.)

Working on pattern layout on the beige boucle

The intention for this is to be a beige skirt for the cooler months, with godets at the seams instead of a kick pleat in back. The basic skirt form is a pencil skirt--the same pattern that was once made up in the blue of that top above--from Burda of January, 2008. It will have pockets in front, not wide pockets, but still able to hold a pen or a card.

A programming note, I will be away from my computer for a few days and posting may be deferred until I get back.

Stash busting: blue top

Hello, everyone.

Going through stash to use up, I found a leftover blue matelasse piece. There was just enough to use with the same pattern as the blue and yellow stripe linen, as long as the major elements were pieced. As long as there was piecing anyway, I added zippered pockets in the front.

One of the fronts with the pocket zipper in place

I hand basted the pocket zippers before sewing them in. Also hand basted the pocket bags to the zipper tapes before sewing them, too.

There were some surprises in this project. The matelasse had less looseness in the fabric. Also, since there was piecing needed to get the top cut out, a pair of pockets were added. The pockets are thin but they are each big enough to hold a pilgrim credencial.  At the end, a gusset was added in the back for ease.

It's amazing the differences that come when the pattern is done again in a different fabric.