Grandma's Sewing Cabinet

Making It Harder Than It Was Supposed To Be

Dr. Julie-Ann — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:28:43 +0000

In a couple of weeks, my older sister, June, will be heading over to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the “Every Stitch A Prayer” Congo Cloth Connection. Read about it here (Part 1) and here (Part 2). She asked me if I could make some pin cushions and notion roll-ups that she can take with her to give to the students of the sewing school. Of course I said yes! She sent fabric from her stash that had circles on them and I was off and running!

Until I wasn’t running any more. And it was my own fault.

Let me explain.

June really liked Keyka Lou’s pin cushion and sent the tutorial to me. I, too, loved the pin cushion and decided I’d use it instead of a flower pin cushion that I had designed. We talked about the need for plastic to keep the pins from going through the cushion and jabbing the wearer. I started on the pin cushions while letting the idea of how to add plastic percolate in my mind.

I discovered that my small Pyrex bowls were 3 1/2″ across, perfect for using as a template for my circles. I could still see the circles on the fabric and get them fairly centered. I used my “lipstick chalk wheel marker” to make the outlines and cut the circles out.

And then my brilliant idea hit me! I would laminate the extra circle that goes on the bottom inside to make it plastic-like. So off I went and bought some iron-on vinyl. The Mister called me a genius. I will admit that I was feeling a bit smug about it. Well, you know it’s not going to end well if you start feeling smug. But I digress…

Applying the vinyl was easy. Following the directions, I applied it to both sides of some muslin. Marked it and then cut out the circles.

Laminated muslin ready to be cut into circles.

As they say on TV, do not try this at home.

The laminated circle made it difficult to sew the circles, stuff the cushion, etc. I wasn’t getting nice round circles. I trimmed the laminated fabric to just 1/8″ past the stitching and then notched it. No go. Still too stiff and bunchy. I spent hours and hours on just three of them (I’m making ten) and am completely dissatisfied with how they turned out.

One of the ideas for adding plastic I had was to add plastic to the cuff instead of the cushion. But I was afraid that would be too uncomfortable. I found Keyka Lou’s blog this morning and, indeed, she had an update where a reader added a square of plastic to the cuff just below the cushion instead of to the entire cuff. Simple solution to the problem!

So…it is back to the cutting table for me!

Sometimes our brilliant ideas make things harder than they are supposed to be

Edited to Add: I consider this a labor of love and am thrilled that I can participate in “Every Stitch a Prayer”–Congo Cloth Connection in this way. I figure the setback just allows me more time to pray for the women receiving the pin cushions!

Podcast: Reader/Listener Questions and Major Announcement

Dr. Julie-Ann — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:21:50 +0000

Grandma's Sewing Cabinet Podcast Icon For The Past Six Years

In this podcast, I answer questions from Terri and Julie G. and then I share with you why I’ve decided to retire the Grandma’s Sewing Cabinet podcast.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Podcast: Care and Feeding of Your Garment

Dr. Julie-Ann — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:22:33 +0000

In this podcast, I we continue our lessons from the Singer Sewing Book, published in 1949. Today’s topic is the third lesson in making sure you are using the right fabric for your project.

Click here to listen to the podcast via direct download.

Click here to subscribe in iTunes

Subscription feed for other players: http://grandmassewingcabinet.libsyn.com/rss

She Doesn’t Wear Baby Clothes Anymore!

Dr. Julie-Ann — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:44:46 +0000

Alice showing off her new top that her Mommy bought for her and swirly skirt that her Auntie Jan gave to her.

The Bunny isn’t a baby anymore. She is a two-year-old who is asserting her independence. Except for those times when she is frustrated at her mean mother for making her take naps (because she knows the ponies and acrobats will arrive as soon as she is asleep), she is one of the sweetest and curious little girls I have ever known. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my niece. Really I’m not.

Anyway, during our Mears Sisters weekend, Alice’s mom gave me some fabric and a couple of patterns and asked if I would make some dresses for her. For Alice, not my sister. How could I say no? I took Alice’s measurements and she is now officially wearing a little girls’ size 2. That meant she was too big for some of the cute retro-reproduction baby patterns that we bought for her. Alice’s aunts and mother mourned Alice’s move from baby-hood into toddler-hood by passing around some Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies. Like we needed any justification to pass them around…

The Dresses and Their Fabric

Easy McCalls 5966 "Sew*Crafty"

I will make two dresses out of the McCall’s 5966 pattern using these fabrics:

Bright pink linen blend

Pink and white swirly floral print cotton blend

McCall's 6062 "Chelsea Anderson"

And I will be making the top and ruffles for the pants out of this fabric (I still need to buy a solid fabric for the pants):

Purple, grey, and cream floral print cotton fabric

I’ll confess that I’ve been putting off making my first dress for my “Ladies Who Lunch” wardrobe capsule because I just hate going through the full bust pattern adjustments. I know that the dress can become a “tried and true” dress that I can do all sorts of things to but after receiving our sad news last month, I just haven’t been in the mood for it. I’ll get there. I promise.

But in the meantime, I’m going to sew some toddlers who make their aunts happy outfits for a little girl without any curves.

Vintage Inspiration of the Day: 1950s Dress Without Waist Gathers

Dr. Julie-Ann — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:54:23 +0000

The wasp waist and full skirt epitomize “The New Look” created by Christian Dior after World War II. The fitted waist with full skirt generally lasted until the early Sixties when Jackie Kennedy became the new style icon. When people think of this look, they often think of the skirt being gathered at the waist. But that look doesn’t work for everyone. I know for me, it makes me look like I’m in the chorus of The Sound of Music.

But there are other ways to achieve a full skirt and this Vogue Pattern #8932 shows us how it is done: Pleats.

Vogue #8932 c. 1950s; Image source unknown.

Vogue 8932 evelope back; image source unknown.

The designer of this dress added fullness to the skirt by using box pleats at every seam. She also added pockets at the side seams (that’s why I think the designer is a she…a woman would understand that mothers can always use pockets to hold stuff!).

I love box pleats. They are so easy to make and if the pleat intake isn’t perfect, no one will notice. I love how they make a skirt “swingy” and easy to move in. I don’t like having to iron them, though.

As an aside, I love how the original owner of this pattern drew half of the collar onto the sleeveless view to see how it would look. The Mister has drawn on a lot of my patterns with suggestions on how I should alter the pattern to be more flattering for my figure. Of course, that was before I had gone to design school….

What about you? Do you like pleats?

Vintage Inspiration of the Day: 1950s Vogue Couturier Asymmetrical Suit

Dr. Julie-Ann — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:39:39 +0000

Easter is in six weeks. When I was younger, most of the women at my church wore spring suits that color coordinated with their daughter’s dresses on Easter morning (with an appropriate hat, too, of course).

Let’s be honest. I have too much on my plate right now to even think I’m going to get a new suit made before Easter. But I can dream can’t I?

1950s Vogue Couturier Design, pattern number unknown; source unknown

This image has been in my “design ideas” folder in my computer for a very long time. I know it has been in there for many years because it doesn’t have any tags to indicate where I found it, if I happen to own this pattern, or even the pattern number! Ah well, we learn as we go along, eh?

I love the asymmetrical opening of this jacket and the little tab that peaks out over the top to give it a little “look at me!” interest. Look for a peplum jacket without a collar pattern and redraw the front of it to an angle that would be appropriate for your shape. I think it would look terrific in a wool crepe.

Will you be making an Easter suit this year?

Vintage Inspiration of the Day: I Spy a Dress

Dr. Julie-Ann — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:20:47 +0000

The storytelling on the ABC series Pan Am isn’t the most inspired but there is usually at least one dress per episode that I want to replicate. Last Sunday’s Romance Languages was no exception.

Kate, the stewardess turned spy, always seems to be wearing dresses/costumes that I would want in my own collection:

Image courtesy of Pan Am Facebook page

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a straight-on shot of the dress but this shot does provide several clues:

Image courtesy of ABC

To replicate the dress:

Use a square neckline sheath dress pattern
Slash a “V” from the square neckline to below the bust
Add a rectangle shaped collar that ends about two inches from the neckline corner
Tricky part: Create an insert that is sewn into the V and around the corner of the square neckline. Getting the point and the opposing corner sewn neatly will take some time. Hand baste it in first so you don’t have to worry about the pins.
Add a bow where the open part of the V neckline ends.

One thing I like about this second photo is that the bust dart is clearly visible. The costume seamstress definitely needs to do a “full bust adjustment” for Kelli Garner who plays the Kate character. The dart points directly to Miss Garner’s bust apex and you can see that the dart legs were quite open before being sewn to wrap around Miss Garner’s bustline in a flattering way. The dress is very fitted but she doesn’t look like a sausage in it.

All of the detailing above the bustline helps move the eyes upward instead of getting stuck at the belt and the obvious bustline.

Kudos to the costuming department!

Color Palette Resource

Dr. Julie-Ann — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:55:11 +0000

One of the things I’ve noticed in myself and others is the haphazard way we go about buying or making clothes. We buy something because we like it or we make something that looks interesting. And then we wonder why nothing in our closets work together!

While I was working on my custom clothing certificate, I learned about creating color palettes for a “collection” (design speak for a mini wardrobe). The main idea is that these palettes help set a mood for the collection and ensure that the garments work with instead of against each other.

As I look through my fabric stash, I have a lot of blues in various hues, blacks in various densities, and lots of whites from cream to pure white. It is just a mishmash of fabrics that I bought (usually on impulse) because I liked them.

During our last Only Own Beautiful Clothes in 2012 virtual retreat (click here for February’s retreat and here for March’s retreat–the links will take you to my other blog), Brandi found a great color palette resource online.

Design Seeds posts several palettes every day. Each palette is inspired by a photo or something in nature. There are literally hundreds of palettes from which to choose.

Since I love blues (and they love me), I toyed with several palettes for my “Ladies Who Lunch” wardrobe collection.

Peacock:

Source: design-seeds.com via Julie-Ann on Pinterest

Glittered Blues:

Source: design-seeds.com via Julie-Ann on Pinterest

After discussing the options with The Mister, I decided to go with the Thistled Blues palette for spring/summer:

Source: design-seeds.com via Julie-Ann on Pinterest

One of the things I like about the Design Seeds website is that it allows you to explore its collection in a variety of ways–by season, by theme, color value, etc. Oh. And it’s free. Pantone, the professional color palette service, costs A LOT of money for their color cards/access to their web features. If I become a professional designer, I’ll sign on to Pantone. In the meantime, Design Seeds will work just fine.

From now on, I intend to take my color palettes with me when I go to the fabric store. Some people may view limiting my choices to a few colors as restricting. Not me. I find it liberating. It makes my decision making soooo much easier!

Have you worked with color palettes with your sewing?

Vintage Inspiration of the Day: An Age Appropriate Sheer Dress

Dr. Julie-Ann — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:18:28 +0000

One of the things I love about watching movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood is the costuming. Even the poorest of shop girls always managed to wear fabulous clothes!

One of my favorite looks is a chiffon or organza dress or blouse that is demurely lined. Do you think I could find any examples for this post? Of course not! But here is Barbara Stanwyck wearing a black chiffon or organza evening gown that gives a hint of what I’m talking about:

Source: tumblr.com via myvintagevogue on Pinterest

I’ve been wanting to make a sheer dress for when I go on daytime “dates” with The Mister but I’ve been a bit concerned because most of my movie inspirations were either too dressy or too youthful. The chiffons I’ve seen in the fabric store were of the “flower girl” types or a bit too twee for someone my age to get away with wearing.

Retronaut to the rescue! On January 22, Retronaut posted a series of photos of Middle Aged Women from the 1960s. And, lo and behold! One of the women is wearing a sheer dress that has offered me a solution to my age appropriate dilemma:

Source: retronaut.co via Julie-Ann on Pinterest

I can use a graphic print! This is an example of a modern graphic print from Vogue Fabrics:

Silk Chiffon Print from Vogue Fabrics

Since I’m more of a solids kind of gal, it didn’t even dawn on me to go with a graphic print. To make it more interesting, the lining could be made from any of the colors that make up the print.

The next time I’m in the Fashion District, I will be on the lookout for a nice chiffon with a graphic print to go with my Only Wear Beautiful Clothes “Thistled Blues” color palette.

Vintage Inspiration of the Day: Pretties to Help Me Feel Better

Dr. Julie-Ann — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:43:09 +0000

I’ve got a sinus infection. Again. Mucking around in the dust and the constant air pressure changes due to the weather are the culprits. And maybe a wee bit too much sugar on Sunday, too.

Anyway, I’m in that crazy state where I just want to nap but I can’t seem to fall asleep. If the television were hooked up to the outside world, I’d probably be flipping channels from one bad afternoon show to another. But we made the choice a couple of years ago to remove that influence/time waster from our lives and so I’m now wasting time on the Internet until I have the energy to do something productive. Like the dishes.

So, I’ll just peruse some of my favorite sites and “pin” some vintage outfits that catch my eye…

Source: myvintagevogue.tumblr.com via Julie-Ann on Pinterest

Source: wolfeyebrows.wordpress.com via Julie-Ann on Pinterest

Source: thedivinedovima.tumblr.com via Julie-Ann on Pinterest