Friday, December 29, 2017

Update: Purple Knit Two-Piece


Hey everyone it's Zahira!


Do y'all remember that peplum skirt a made a VERY long time ago? And remember I said I was gonna make a matching top? Well, I did it!! It's been a long time coming, but it's finally done. 


I used the fabric that I had left from sewing the skirt. It didn't look like there was very much fabric left, and I seriously doubted that I would have enough to make an entire top. But when I totally ignored the straight of the grain, there was plenty of fabric. (Disclaimer: try NOT to ignore the straight of the grain)


I used the same dress that I used to make the pencil dress pattern, but this time I used the top to make the top pattern (duh). The dress had long sleeves, so I used those too. I had to alter the top to make it into a v-neck. Being the perfectionist that I am, I started using trigonometry and a whole bunch of math that I'm sure was not necessary, but hey look at that v-neck. I probably could have cut a long 2.5 inch wide rectangle, with the edges cut at some angle and it would have looked fine.


To put it together, I first sewed the front and back together at the shoulder, then sewed in the sleeves before sewing the sides and the length of the sleeves. by sewing the sides and sleeves last, I was able to make sure the top fit me well. I actually cut out the neck binding after sewing the top together so I could measure the length of the rectangle I cut out. Then, I sewed the ends of the v-neck (at a very unnecessarily specific angle given to me by the magic of Pre-Calc 12) and sewed it to the neckline. Easy peasy, right?

Hope you guys also try to make an ensemble like this one!

XOXO,

Zahira

Monday, November 20, 2017

McCall's 7543 Pattern Review

Hi guys, Miranda here!

Long time no write, huh?? Well, here I am with a pattern review! Last summer (I know, I know, it took me 500 years to write this post) I made this beautiful yellow off the shoulder shirt to take with me to Hawaii. 

I hadn't been able to find the time to sew anything in a while, so I decided that my first project back would be this cute and simple off the shoulder shirt. It was my only successful project this summer, so I am very proud of it and wore it tons when the weather wasn't killing us with frost. 


The instructions were great, and I didn't have to make any adjustments, so I'd say that this was a great success! I am planning on sewing a long sleeve version of this as well as a dress version soon, since it was such an easy and cute pattern and I know that I will wear it lots in the spring! I'm hoping that it will go as well as this one :)


Thanks for reading & write ya soon!
Miranda






Saturday, April 1, 2017

McCall's M6754 Review


Hey everyone! I know it's been a while, but I'm back!! 
I sewed this pattern way back when I was in Gr. 9 and I was not exactly happy with the end result. I came across the pattern recently and decided to give it a second chance using fabric I got from our local fabric store's clearance section for $2/m. 


The two things I didn't like from my first try were the sleeves and the neck. The neckline was extremely bulky and had unreasonably uneven stitching (probably because of the bulk?) and the sleeves were simply horrid. 


This time around, to avoid bulk in the neck area, I only folded the neck in once and stitched it with a straight stitch. For the rest of the garment I used the special stretch stitch setting on my machine, but avoided it here to achieve a cleaner look. 


The sleeves that come with the pattern are not proportional to the rest of the dress. So, instead of sewing the sleeves and side seams according to the pattern instructions, I left them open but still sewed the sleeves to the dress. Then Miranda pinned my sleeves and sides to fit me, and viola! A perfectly fitting bodice!


The hem that I sewed in this dress is one of the best hems I've sewn in my life. I achieved this flawlessly flat hem by first basting it close to the edge. After ironing the basted hem with A LOT of steam, I went in for the top stitching. The only annoying part of this method is that I had to seam rip an entire row of stitching on a circle skirt, which, if you didn't know, is about a mile long.


In all, I am very happy with the results of this second go. I would honestly make this again because I love wearing this dress. This is a fairly easy and wearable pattern, but beware the sleeves.  

XOXO

Zahira

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Sewing For Syria


Hey guys! Over the past few months, we have been working on a really cool project that we want to share with you guys and get more people involved in. After watching videos of Syrian villages being hit with chemical bombs in a social justice class, we, along with our friend, decided to try and make a change. Since we love to sew, we thought that maybe we could try and make a positive impact by using our skills of sewing, and with the help of a company in our area called "Our Social Fabric," who kindly donated more fabric and notions than we could have dreamed of to our cause, we were able to actually do it. We sewed makeup bags, tote bags, and aprons, and sold them at a local craft fair in December. Through that fundraiser, we were able to raise a substantial amount of money and purchase a Christmas dinner and lots of presents for a Refugee family in our area. Since this was such a success, we want to put it out there to all of you, so that you too can make a change by doing what you love. Look into what organizations are accepting and sponsoring refugees in your area, and even if you and some friends organize a small sale of some type of sewing, the money you raise will still be a help, no matter how large or small the sum turns out to be. 

One of the reasons our sale was such a success was because of the fabric that we got donated, so if you know of any fabric companies in your area and you want to do this to, theres no hurt in asking what they're willing to donate. 

We have both grown as both sewers and as people through this experience, and so we encourage others to do the same. The people that you meet and the lives that you change will stay with you forever, and if you're sewing anyways, why not make a little bit of it go to a good cause. 

If you do decide to do something, feel free to use our logos, and please let us know how it goes! You can contact us on any of our social medias, like our Sewing For Syria Facebook Page, or even shoot us an email at sewingforsyrians@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Thanks so much for reading, and we hope this inspired you to make a change!
Miranda and Zahira


Saturday, February 25, 2017

February

Hi Guys, Miranda here!

This month has been so so crazy, but I did do some sewing things worth writing about. First, I finally finished the sample of the Simplicity 6986 shirt. 


I wanted to make the dress, but I always have so many problems with alterations around the bust area, especially with vintage patterns, so I decided to sew a sample of the shirt with some left over pieces of fabric to figure out the fit, and I think that it worked! I'm planning on sewing this into a actual dress at some point in the next couple months, but I'm so indecisive that I can't decide what fabric I want to make it out of! 


You may notice that I din't finish the hem, but I just don't see myself wearing this sample any time soon so I left it as is.


While that was the only thing that I sewed this month, I did get to do a LOT of shopping. Zahira and I went to a fabric sale in our area and took a couple trips to the awesome fabric store about an hour away from where we live, and we got some pretty cool stuff.


I picked up four vintage patterns for a dollar each at the fabric sale that we went to, and I am so so excited to make them. I already started altering the Style 4026 pattern in the bottom right corner, and I'm planning on making the blue dress but with three quarter length sleeves I'll have to draft myself (the pattern was missing the original long sleeves, but I figured I can fix that myself.)


The last things that I got this month were three beautiful new fabrics to add to my already to full collection.  I think I might make that Style 4026 pattern out of the pretty lightweight yellow fabric, and I want to make a cute tank top our something of the sort out of the gorgeous silk that I ended up getting for only $7. The third fabric that I bought is lightweight and pastel pink, and it has little shiny diamond designs on it. 



For the pink fabric, I'm thinking of making McCalls M6887 in View B. I've already made this pattern in View A (I'll do a post on it soon I promise), and I absolutely love the dress. However, last time I made it out of a stiffer fabric, and I think that it will look nicer with more room to flow. I also haven't decided if I'll add the sleeves, but I definitely want to try the piping, as that's something that I've never done before.

Anyways, that's all I've gotten this month, other than a GIANT order of patterns from McCalls that Zahira and I placed during their $3.99 sale last weekend, so we'll do a post on those when they come in.

xox,

Miranda



Friday, January 27, 2017

2017

Hey everyone, Miranda here :)
Long time no write, huh?? Zahira and I have been absolutely crazy busy lately, trying to balance school and our volunteer work, we’ve barely had time to sew anything lately! I’ve been longingly staring at my new dress form and sewing space, just waiting for a minute to sew, and I think that I’m finally going to have enough time to actually start a new project! I’m planning on sewing this green waterproof jacket, so hopefully I’ll remember to take pictures of the actual progress this time, so that I can write a blog post on it.

Meet Sewphie, my new dress form... ain’t she pretty?????????????
On another note, I really want to start posting more regular updates on here, and I know that Zahira does as well. I’m planning on doing a tour of my sewing space soon, once I sort out all of the little things, and we are also going to be posting more thrift store hauls and stuff like that. My goal for 2017 is to sew at least 5 items that I really love, what's your 2017 goal?


Also, how cute is this colouring book that Zahira got me for Christmas??? I love it so much!
Anyways, thanks for reading! Write again very soon,

Miranda
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