Scary Stretch Knits & “Something Wearable” Suspense!

Yesterday I bought most of the supplies that I’ll need for my upcoming sewing class at JoAnn’s – Sewing 301: Misses Dress. It was hard to decide on a color, but I finally decided on a fuchsia stretch knit. I’ve only had one experience with stretch knit in the past, and it was INCREDIBLY disastrous – so it will be interesting to see how this turns out with the help of a professional. Right now, I avoid stretch knits like the plague, so I’m a little scared, but I know I’ll be incredibly excited and proud if the end result is even a partial success. Crossing my fingers!

Fabric, interfacing, invisible zipper and supply list! Still need to pick up thread and the actual pattern for class.

On a side note, I noticed that the classes in July and August will be making a different dress than the one I’ll be making in my June class. The dress that is being offered in July and August is not my style at all. I’m so grateful I took the plunge and signed up a few weeks back!

July/August dress

What’s next? Pre-wash my fabric, purchase the rest of my supplies and then just wait. The “Countdown to Something Wearable” continues!

I hope everyone is having a magical weekend. I know I am!

ZIPPITY-Doo-Dah!

At some point in my sewing-blog adventures, I came across the ZipIt Etsy shop and had two realizations:

1. Multi-colored zippers are really, really appealing when arranged in beautiful rainbow-like formations.
2. This ZipIt Etsy shop has some magical zipper prices.

After my jewelry roll success, I decided it was time to splurge and purchase an array of zippers to keep at my fingertips. That way I won’t have to run to the store every single time I need a zipper, which will likely save me money in the long run. This is a familiar scenario: I need one zipper. I come home hours later with about three hundred unnecessary sewing accessories… and one zipper.

I normally pay around $1.99/zipper at the fabric store. But for $31.00 total, which included shipping costs, I ordered 100 zippers in a variety of colors and sizes, which made each zipper only 31 cents each. AND… I ordered these beauties on May 9 and received them on May 11. Wow. WOW!

First project on the list? A zipper pouch to hold all of these zippers!

A not-so-great sewing milestone

Funny story! After giving myself that elaborate “keep moving forward” pep talk, I closed my laptop, started working on a project and promptly broke the sewing machine needle for the very first time! It was a stupid mistake that I’d read about thousands of times in the manual, yet it still happened. I’ll never forget to remove the zipper foot again!

So… now what?

1) Watch that “Keep Moving Forward” clip for the zillionth time.
2) Pull out the manual and learn how to change the needle.
3) Keep. Moving. Forward.

The Friday Five: 5 essential tools for new sewers

1) First and foremost, the seam ripper. To err is human, to rip seams is… the story of my life. I have a love/hate relationship with the seam ripper. Much like calling an ex-boyfriend for help moving heavy furniture, using the seam ripper is sometimes unavoidable but leaves you with a sense of pouty, annoyed defeat. Plus, it’s sort of creepy looking.

(Source)

 

2)  An iron! I didn’t even own an iron before I started sewing. And middle-school-sewer Lindsay was usually too lazy to press seams which is probably why my sewing projects never looked very nice back then. I realized that when I’m told to press the seams, I should actually press the seams. So I bought an iron. Now my seams are happy!

3) A good vacuum. Tons of little thread clippings and fabric shavings tend to float around the entire house when there’s a big sewing project in the works. Right now I am not practicing what I preach – my vacuum is lousy and my carpet is full of clippings from past projects. I dream of getting one of those robot vacuums at some point in my life:

4) Tester fabric – like muslin, or fabric leftover from other projects. Don’t use the good stuff the first time around! You’ll end up teary-eyed when you have a pile of seam-ripped scraps that once was a beautiful, freshly folded square of carefully-chosen fabric. Make mistakes on the boring fabric first!

5) Rotary cutter and mat. I received mine as a gift from my mom when I bought my sewing machine. At first I thought it was a luxury item. It’s not… it’s a must-have. I shall never cut a clean, straight line on fabric without a rotary cutter again!

(Source)

Happy Friday!