2011 review

I did a little investigation of my sewing practice. Although I didn't reach my goal of completing 52 projects in 2011, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome. Making one project a week turned out to be rather impossible for me. Not because I wouldn't have time, but because I tend to take up so many tasks at once instead of focusing on just one or two. In the end nothing gets done. That shall change in 2012. Focus!

  

P.S.: Happy New Year! ;)

Happy Holidays!

Dear readers, thank you for your visits and lovely comments.

Sewing notions: snips

Here's another indispensable tool for seamstresses: the snips. I keep them in my sewing machine's accessory tray so they are always at hand. You might be wondering how to hold these. Put the middle finder through the loop, the index finger underneath the snips and the thumb on top, squeeze and snip! Although, if you have smaller hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable with the ring finger in the loop.

They are perfect for snipping threads off the garment right after stitching each seam. It's much easier and quicker than using regular scissors. I also use them to make notches on fabric.

There are many variations of snips: chrome-plated, snips covered in plastic and snips without the loop. Again, I recommend buying quality snips, they will cut better and last longer. Mine are more than 20 years old and still snip like a charm.

Ceremonials

I'm finally getting better! As you know I had one of my wisdom teeth (three more to go) surgically removed last Monday. After that Mr. Dry Socket paid a visit and decided to interrupt the process of healing of my tooth extraction site. Painkillers helped a lot but made me drowsy as well. I spent most of the previous week in bed, watching TV. Except on Tuesday, 25. October, when I went to the Florence + the Machine gig.

Well, a virtual gig. :) I bought myself a ticket for my birthday. The concert was streamed live from Hackney Empire, London. Streaming was HD quality, the picture only froze a couple of times and the sound was amazing. The band launched their new album Ceremonials which was released on 31. October. It's a bit different than the first album, Lungs. It's definitely darker. I knew all of the songs before the gig (the album leaked) and my favourites are All this and heaven too, Shake it out, Never let me go, No light, no light, Only if for a night, and What the water gave me. As a matter of fact, the whole album is exceptional. This was the second time I saw Florence singing live and it was an overall wonderful experience. 

Besides her singing I also loved Florence's silk peach dress (I always love her dresses). I did a little research and it's a part of Temperley London's SS 2012 collection. Actually, it's shorts and a jacket. Florence completed them with a lace top and I think it suits her much more than it suits the model below.

Temperley London SS 2012

Did anyone of you go to the gig or watch the live stream as well? Do you like Florence's style?

Quick update

Hey readers! I had a wisdom tooth extraction just two hours ago so I'll be really quick. Remember The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook I told you about? It's coming out on 1. November, but you can already take a peek inside it right here. There are also some videos from contributors and you can see technical drawings of the projects too. The book will be available as a hard copy and as an ebook as well.

Sewing notions: seam ripper

Seam rippers are like scissors - they get dull after some time of use. Get a new one when that happens.

When you start sewing, you'll have to learn how to rip seams correctly too. There are probably a few ways to do this, but this one has worked for me since I started sewing. It rips seams quickly and it doesn't damage the fabric.

1. First, rip the double stitches at the beginning of the seam as shown in the picture.

2. When you're done with double stitches, gently pull the fabric pieces apart. As you pull, threads of the seam will show.

3. Rip the threads that are visible. Pull apart and rip ahead. Continue until you get to the other end of the seam (double stitches) and repeat the first step. Remove pieces of the thread.

You can also rip the seam using the first step only. Just unpick every third or fourth stitch on one side of the seam. When you do that, pull the thread on the other side of the seam and brush aside remaining pieces of thread.

Another way of using seam ripper is cutting holes for buttonholes. Seam ripper has to be sharp if you want to make this one happen.

1. Make a machine buttonhole. Push the sharp point of the seam ripper in the beginning of the buttonhole and push it out in the middle of the buttonhole. Be careful that you don't rip any stitches of the buttonhole. Push the seam ripper ahead to cut the fabric and make half of the hole.

2. Do the same on the other end of the buttonhole. Snip off little pieces of fabric threads and you'll have a beautiful buttonhole. Amazing, right?

P.S.: I just noticed that my blog celebrated 1 year a few days ago! I'm preparing a giveaway, so make sure you come round. :)

Sewing notions: cutting tools

My cutting tools from left to right: paper scissors, dressmaker's shears, 45 mm rotary cutter

Cutting tools are one of the most important sewing notions. First, you need a pair of scissors for cutting paper or cardboard patterns. They can be regular sharp paper scissors or special pattern shears, which are heavy duty and make cutting oak tag paper much easier.

Heavy duty pattern shears

The second ones are dressmaker's shears. Use them for fabrics only, since paper makes them blunt. I recommend investing in a more expensive pair which can be sharpened and generally lasts much longer. However, some people prefer lighter shears with plastic handles. Those usually can't be sharpened and therefore need to be replaced more frequently. The ones that I have are actually my mum's and are more than 25 years old, but still cutting almost like new. If I'd be buying a new pair, I'd definitely go for Ginghers.

An alternative (or addition) to dressmaker's shears is a rotary cutter - my favourite. There are more blade sizes available. The biggest (60 mm) is used mostly for cutting long, narrow lines (fabric pieces for quilts). The medium size (45 mm) is the most versatile and can be used for cutting fabric for clothes. It's amazing for cutting slippery fabrics such as charmeuse or chiffon. No problems with the curves, as long as they aren't too fine. This is what the smallest (28 and 18 mm) are for - lots of details, curves, inward pointed corners etc. Some people recommend having separate blades for cutting natural and artificial fibres, since the latter tend to blunt the blade much faster. Also, for cutting with a rotary cutter, you will need a cutting mat or a plate of linoleum. 

There are also the so-called pinking (zig-zag) shears, which are used to prevent unravelling of the unfinished edges of the fabric. They come in handy when sewing jackets or coats. The seam allowances (of both garment and lining) don't have to be finished with an overlock or zig-zag stitch, because they aren't visible after you stitch the lining to the garment. You can just trim them with pinking shears. I don't have them yet, but a pair of Ginghers is already on my wishlist.

Pinking shears