by Dave | May 25, 2015 | Blog, Experimentation, Lucy's Sewing Lab
[envira-gallery id="784"]
[envira-gallery slug="784"]
What are some special sewing hacks you’ve learned? My most important ones are the ones I taught myself. Seriously, every time I sew I learn something new. That’s how much I mess up. lol We can never learn so much about sewing that there is nothing more to learn. That’s why the pattern companies keep making patterns. The amount of knowledge is endless and more is being discovered daily.
My first week returning to sewing, I wanted to make a GAP like tee shirt. I found the perfect pattern, except for the sleeves. I did not know how to do an inset sleeve. I have no idea how I escaped learning this. I really wanted that shirt though. So, I followed the pattern. I actually did it, on the first try! Then, I searched for other methods. The best sewing hack I learned is how to sew the sleeve into the garment flat. No inset required. Just match all the dots, notches, and whatever else, then sew it to the shirt. Next sew the sleeve together and the side seam. You cannot tell the difference and it takes less than 1/2 the time. There’s a really good tutorial here.
Scissors are quite possibly one of the more expensive mainstays required for sewing. I bought my first pair in a sewing kit. I honestly thought they would be awesome because they were new. Yeah, they were great, until I could buy some better ones about a week later. Never use your fabric scissors on paper or anything else other than fabric. It really dulls them. Once they are dull, you don’t have to buy a brand new pair. You don’t even have to buy a sharpener. Nope! Use this sewing hack,cut through several layers of foil. Works like a charm!
You will appreciate this thread sewing hack. Thread really annoys me. Probably one of my biggest pet peeves. That stuff is required for sewing. Buying off brand thread really does not pay off in the long run. I promise Coats and Clark is the only one I use. I have purchased other threads and nothing is more frustrating than having it break every few seconds. UGGGHHHHHH! Although, not having a color to match your project is pretty bad. And it never happens to me anymore. Why? I use 50 shades of grey! Really only about three or four shades, but unless you are topstitching, grey is the perfect color. 🙂
I have severe ADD and by the time I finish making something, I am done. I hate doing hems. So, I found a way around that. Sew the hems in all sleeves and bottoms before sewing anything else. Then when you finish construction, your garment is also finished.
I know, the chalkboard says knits and fitting but I am sure you are tired of reading, so that will have to wait till tomorrow. Until then, ENJOY!
by Dave | May 22, 2015 | Blog
I realize this is a holiday weekend and it’s not celebrating sewing. But I know everyone loves sewing freebies and sales! I friend I have was kind enough to post the sewing sales for us. Yay! Less time searching and more time spending!
[envira-gallery id="773"]
[envira-gallery slug="memorial-day-sale"]
The best round up of sales I have seen this far is found here thank you so much, Frougiefashionista!
If you don’t want to leave your house or spend money the nice people at McCalls Blog have gifted us with some great coloring books. I don’t know about you, but I color on my patterns before I sew anyway, but these are reusable and can be printed as many times as you have ink! The Butterick one is awesome, and at the end of the post there are also links for the McCalls and Vogue coloring books. [envira-gallery id="775"]
[envira-gallery slug="775"]
Also, Workroom Social has partnered with McCalls for “Fashion Sewing + You: Becoming the Designer” and produced tons of free video tutorials. I don’t know about you, but this is enough to keep me happily, inexpensively busy over the weekend.
ENJOY!
by Dave | May 21, 2015 | Blog, Capsule, Lucy's Sewing Lab
Capsule planning is a huge ordeal. I’ve been working on mine. I know now that in order to do capsule wardrobe planning you need to determine your body shape. I found Joy of Clothes has a great blog on finding your personal body shape. Most of this we may already know. I’ve been dressing for my shape for years and just not realizing why some things worked and others didn’t. Those things that didn’t work, required extra accessories to make them “work”. At least they looked good in my mind. 🙂 If you really want to get technical, you can also figure out your colors. I remember as a child doing this with the grown ups. Color me Beautiful was a huge book that changed a lot of peoples opinion of colors for themselves. With the wonderment of the internet, we no longer have to have a consultant visit our home. The link directs you to the quiz to determine your colors.
So, once your colors and body shape are figured out, you can get down to business. My capsule is more of the stay at home mom capsule. Even though I don’t have kids here with me 🙂 I still like to look good. My body shape is a rectangle and I’m a winter. Using these three things I was able to find patterns and colors for my wardrobe. I wasn’t sure how many pieces I needed to have, so I used a formula that will require one laundry day a week, at most! Here’s the colors I chose [envira-gallery id="738"]
[envira-gallery slug="my-colors"]
I have most of these colors in my stash of fabric, that made my choices easier. Then I decided on
SEVEN BOTTOMS
three of which are denim.
two shorts
one pants
black skirt
patterned pants (cream, brown, pink)
black and cream check pants
leopard print (I haven’t decided yet, probably cigarette pants)
FIFTEEN TOPS
I won’t bore you with all the different tops.
They all match with at least three of the bottoms
This was easier since three of my bottoms are denim 😉
THREE THROW ON AND GO
skater dress
maxi dress
jumpsuit
shift dress ***the beauty of these is they do not have to match anything else in your wardrobe!
if ( function_exists( ‘envira_gallery’ ) ) { envira_gallery( ‘741’ ); }
[envira-gallery id="750"]
[envira-gallery slug="capsule-patterns"]
I mix and match patterns that I own and garments I have already made and arrived at around 33 different outfits. I’ve been buying the same colors for my wardrobe for quite awhile though. Also keep in mind, only one of my bottoms is a print that cannot readily mix with all the solids in my wardrobe. The pink, brown, cream pants are a little limiting, but not bad. The hardest part probably is going to be throwing things away in my closet.
ENJOY!
by Dave | May 17, 2015 | Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Studio
So, my friend gave me this awesome furniture for Lucy’s Sewing Lab! But, I really have a dislike for white anything. Lacquer finish on top of white paint poses a few problems. Number one, paint doesn’t adhere to lacquer.
[envira-gallery id="705"]
[envira-gallery slug="705"]
So, after a little research and a trip to Home Depot, a can of Zinsser primer tinted grey, and hard work. [envira-gallery id="710"]
[envira-gallery slug="primer-shelves"]Next time, I’ll take my time and remove the shelves 🙂 Painting those shelves, another story! The primer dried quite fast. My excitement overcame me and the BLACK paint soon covered my furniture. I used a foam roller and foam brush. You know, the ones from any craft store for under a dollar?[envira-gallery id=”3528″] It is really humid this week in Oklahoma. Drying time lasted forever and when it dried, I did not like it. The paint was not black enough. Can you believe that’s a thing? Not black enough! More painting research determined Lucy’s Sewing Lab required GLOSS paint. Not just gloss paint, but high gloss paint! I think at this point I started going into an OCD coma because I was obsessed with finding the perfect paint for this furniture. Mainly, I think exhaustion played a major role. I wanted this furniture finished, yesterday! I had a driving force. I could not sew anything until this furniture dried. We love our fabrics! Black glossy paint on my fabrics? Not. Going to. Happen. EVER! [envira-gallery id="713"]
[envira-gallery slug="black-gloss"]
While waiting for the paint to cure, I browsed the internet a little. I wanted more ideas on what to do with my room. I found a few that really inspired. I love this home office! I wanted something, more, you know, more POW….more defined color and contrast. This room is amazing! All the storage space and ideas blow me away. Maybe you can search and find your dream lab?
ENJOY!
by Dave | May 15, 2015 | Blog, Studio
When I bought my first sewing machine after not sewing for about 25 or so years, I had no idea what I needed to make my lab a paradise.
[envira-gallery slug=”lucys-initial-sewing-lab”]
I knew I needed a sewing machine and a table. So, that is pretty much where I started.
As my projects grew my supplies began to outgrow the teeny space. The room next door was larger, had more windows, and wonderful storage. The only problem, the room was neon green with carpeting. I worked really hard, removed the carpet to reveal a nice wood floor. The walls, were another challenge. I covered them with fabric using spray adhesive. It seemed like a great idea and quick way to cover the green walls. [envira-gallery id=”649″]
[envira-gallery slug=”second-attempt-at-a-sewing-lab”]
The closet doors do not close anymore. A great, or so I thought, solution was to place my sewing table against them. The doors, were not attractive. Yes, I took over a teenage girl’s bedroom! So far I was pretty happy though. I had more space and that is really all that mattered to me.
Until I moved things from the other room, such as the curtains. This became a real issue, they didn’t fit the window. So, I could make more right? I wish! The fabric was now out of print. 🙁 [envira-gallery id=”653″]
[envira-gallery slug=”curtains-dont-fit”]
As you can see by the mess on the cutting table, I didn’t really care if the curtains fit or not. I was still sewing!
The next problem for any seamstress is storage. Sewing requires places to store all the supplies. With supplies in their place, the room looks presentable and everyone is happy. As you can see, organization and storage in this room required a huge overhaul.
[envira-gallery id=”655″]
No, the room isn’t completely decorated. But, I was still chugging away and sewing my little heart out. One day a friend called to tell me about her garage sale. Not much for sale really just some furniture from her daughter’s room. She thought I needed. The next thing I knew, she sent me a picture of this furniture.
[envira-gallery id=”657″]
[envira-gallery slug=”furniture”]
WOW! Almost perfect….I’m not a fan of white. Anything looks better with new paint! That furniture would be black in no time!
While shopping for the black paint, I found a can of OOPS paint. It just happened to be pink…and five dollars. Who could resist? Next thing I knew, the ugly, wrong shade of pink fabric was pulled off the walls and the new color applied. I liked the way it looked! So, I headed back to the store for more.
[envira-gallery id=”662″]
[envira-gallery slug=”pink”]
You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see more of the lab transformation.
Until then…ENJOY!
