Just to prove a point

You can make Vogue 8910 work out quite nicely, if you use a knit. I don't recommend this particular knit though!

This is just a down and dirty muslin: I didn't finish the edges or match the pattern. I'm sure I must have some fabric suitable for it that I would actually wear!! 

I had my suspitions

I bought this pattern (V8910) on impulse recently when JoAnn was having a sales on Vogues. I'm not sure if it's new to the catalog or not, but I didn't see any reviews on PR for it. It looked simple enough & has a nice feminine shape to it. I love a shawl collar and especially liked the addition of the pleat in it.

It wasn't until I got ready to cut it out that I noticed it's cut entirely on the bias. I spent a couple days thinking about if I should do an FBA on it or not. (View C does have a dart in it). I decided not to, reasoning the downward drag from the bias would make it difficult to determine the proper placement and that it might continue to lower itself over time anyway.
Soldiering on, I cut it out using this vintage suiting fabric that I didn't care a whole lot about and started sewing. I have to admit I was somewhat perplexed by the directions for sewing the pleat in the collar, but I figured it out.

After the front and back were joined together it was actually looking and fitting pretty nice. I then let it hang out on my dress form a couple of days to relax. Oddly, according to the directions, it was not yet the time to put the sleeves*. It was time to put in the lining. This necessitated a trip to the fabric store for lining. (I think I left the pattern envelope there, so if anyone finds it, please throw it away for me.)
Now, I've done a lot of sewing and I can't say I've ever seen a Vogue pattern attach a facing like this: the front and front lining are cut from the same pattern piece and the facing is placed on top of the lining and stitched onto it applique style!! Then the assembled lining is stitched to the assembled jacket. This is when things started to go horribly wrong! The suiting fabric had about 20% more give on the bias than the lining fabric and the lining ended up about 2 inches too short!

Maybe I could start a new trend: the balloon hem on a jacket!

*At least I didn't waste any time putting the sleeves in. Another odd thing about this pattern is the way the sleeves go in. The assembled sleeve and lining are joined at the cuff, then the sleeve is set in keeping the lining free, and the lining is hand sewn into the sleeve opening of the lining. I have seen this before and I just don't care for this method.

I am really ambivalent about trying this one again. It really fit quite nicely before the lining went in. Usually when I get a bad taste in my mouth about a pattern, my impulse is to just get rid of it! Its not like I don't have a dozen other jacket patterns I can try.

I shouldn't have to lift a finger...

when I'm wearing this gown. I certainly can't get near a stove wearing it. Hell, I can hardly walk in it. I need to lie down. Somebody should bring me a drink and a box of bonbons.

This lovely and impractical garment is the Decades of Style 1926 Negligee (#2601)

Its one of those projects that takes longer to cut out than to sew. I'm not quite five feet, so I did shorten it quite a bit. It's supposed to have ties on the back (that's that horizontal line on the back), but they end up in a very awkward place, so I took them off.  I finished all the edges with a narrow rolled hem on my serger. This was so easy to make I feel lazy wearing it!

  

Making room for the coverstitch machine and more

When I got my new coverstitch machine I put it on a card table temporarily. I don't know if its true or not, but I've heard that it is bad for a sewing machine to be on a table that allows it to vibrate. I do know that it was irritating though. Fortunately, a family member happened to be getting rid of this little TV cabinet. My husband repurposed it for me by adding an extended top to it. It has storage for fabric behind the doors and a convenient place for bobbin and thread boxes where the VCR used to go.

I read an article in the newest Threads magazine about Kenneth King's studio and he mentioned that he cleans up after every project and puts everything away where it belongs. I also do that. I cannot stand having stuff piled up in my sewing room. And I cannot abide by the UFO. Any project that goes bad goes in the trash. I have never regretted getting rid of a bad project, but I have sometimes regretted not giving up sooner. So since I had to move some things around to accommodate the new cabinet, one thing led to another and I ended up spending 12 hours cleaning out and reorganizing my sewing room. The Threads article said Mr. King's studio is 500 square feet. Mine is 266 minus the furnace, the freezer and the washer and dryer. Its so neat and clean now I almost hate to mess it up!

I was able to relax a bit this weekend after I finished my canning. I picked up a pattern I've been coveting at JoAnn's sale. Well, 4 patterns and 4 yards of beautiful teal wool. After all, I do have empty drawers in the sewing room now. My daughter asked me if I actually save any money by canning. I told her about as much money as I save by sewing my own clothes!

Why I had no Room for Sewing this weekend -2013 Edition

 

crushed tomatoes

two kinds of tomato sauce

tomato juice

tomato jam

corn relish

thai chili sauce

pickled cherry bomb peppers

and bread and butter pickles



No Room for Sewing this weekend-2012 Edition