Sewing

I’ve got hose (sleeves)!

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Last year I was asked by the Husband to make hose sleeves for CPAP machines for his friends. I did the maths, made the list, and we went to Joann Fabrics (RIP) so that he could selected the fabric. I purchased everything I needed to complete these, including fancy sinching accessories. We got it home and since my brain was in a state of chaos, I put everything in the cabinet and did nothing with it. Fast forward a year, and I was ready to resurrect this project. I wanted to make these for this year’s Christmas gifts. And I wanted to do it before the Husband asked me about it.

The stuff:

  • Fleece fabric- 60 inches wide x 84 inches long
  • Matching thread
  • Remaining fabric for ties

Specifications:

  • 7 hose sleeves
  • 7 1/2 inches wide x 83.5 inches long- 1/2 inch seam allowance
  • 10 inches for the ties

These weren’t difficult to make. It was mostly long seams on the sewing machine. The tedious tasks were having to crawl around the floor in order to cut the strips of fabric and having to hand tack fourteen raw edges. I did quite a bit of troubleshooting about the ties. I bought the fancy cinchers, but decided not to use them. Then I thought I would use double-fold bias tape, but I ended up not having any in my stash. I then spent several hours and $20 on a suede cord, then decided not to go with that either. Basically, I spent entirely too much time deciding on these ties. Ultimately I decided to use the leftover fabric and cut two strips to sew into tubes. I centered the ties at the top and bottom of the tubes and sewed two lines to secure them. I only had an inch and half strip of fabric left which made me very happy.

I am very happy that these are done. I am happy that they are off of my to-do list. I am even happy with how they turned out. I have tried them all on a hose, to ensure that they will fit, and everything is good to go. The Husband is very happy with them and already has his in use. This project gave me a little bit of a boost with sewing. It also made me happy that I could figure the specifications and use up almost all of the fabric. All in all, this project is a success!

Loves,

M

Advent gifts- Christmas 2025

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I’m getting fancy this year. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what to knit for Feebs’s advent calendar. I simply couldn’t find something that I thought she would love. One night, we were baking a cake and she put on her apron. Her apron has her name stitched onto it, and she loves it, but it was bought for her when she was 6. To say she is outgrowing it, is an understatement. So I will make her a new one for 25th day. While searching for a pattern, I also came across the cutest pattern for fabric book marks. I thought this was a really adorable idea for three of the days. These items must be complete by November 28 to give me enough time to put her calendar together. I put it up on the morning of December 1 each year.

Apron-

Pattern: Made Everyday- Easy Apron

Pattern notes: I am only using the pattern template because there are no pattern instructions. I scaled down the print size to 75%. I am choosing to make this double sided and won’t need a facing. I will sew the front and back together and use the bias tape to edge the whole thing and make the ties. I have to figure out the pocket placement and ensure that everything is measured and even before sewing it down. I’ve never sewn patch pockets before, so wish me luck.

Fabric: I bought fabric when we were in Oahu to make her a dress. It is a super cute pink fabric with black kitties on it. When we got home, I bought a black and white polka dot fabric for contrast. I cut out the dress pattern, but never made it. The kitty print will be the main side and the polka dot will be the back. I’m adding polka dot fabric on the front for the pockets. Because I had already cut this fabric for the dress, I will have to attach two halves of the pink fabric so that it is long enough to make the apron. Pattern placement is important on the front because of that seam.

Notions/ accessories:

  • Black and white polka dot double fold bias tape for the edging and ties
  • Pink thread
  • Black thread
  • Fabric for a name tag?

Outstanding questions:

  1. What is the best way to make the neck strap(s)?
  2. Is interfacing necessary anywhere?
  3. Placement of pockets?
  4. Do I want to make a name tag?

Book marks-

Pattern: A Place Between the Trees- Make Your Own Fabric Bookmarks

Fabric: It will be the same as the apron. I will make one polka dot, one kitty, and one with both. I have printed out some heart templates in hopes of making one with two hearts attached with ribbon, and possibly one larger heart. The 3rd will be a standard long rectangle.

Notions/ accessories:

  • Tags with her initials
  • Gromets
  • Ties
  • Black ribbon
  • Black thread
  • Pink thread
  • Interfacing

Outstanding questions:

  1. What is the best way to notch the edges of a heart in order for it lay flat once turned right side out?
  2. Is interfacing necessary?
  3. How to keep the ribbon from fraying over time?
  4. What is the best way to make a fabric tag?

I am not going to lie about being slightly intimidated by these projects. Sewing hasn’t been something that I have had a lot of confidence about. I am also a little surprised that I making an apron with no real pattern. I mean, no, it’s not a super complex thing to make, but I will have to measure and place and problem solve. I really hope that everything comes out as good as what is in my head. I am going to go slow and be careful. I want her to love them and use them. I’m going to make a list of tasks for each project in hopes that it is less overwhelming and keeps me on track. I have to say, I am pretty excited to get started.

Loves,

M

Lawley Skirt- Elbe Textiles

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Lawley is finally done. I have to give myself some time to digest this pattern. My initial feeling is very conflicted, but I think I am just coming down from being frustrated. I made this using a cotton seersucker. Why did I use this, you ask. I used it because I was shopping for a good fabric for pajama pants, about three years ago. I didn’t have a clue what seersucker was, but went ahead and bought 3 yards of it anyway. Since I am trying to use of up some of my fabric stash, I figured this skirt would be the best fit. This is an incredibly sheer and fraying fabric. It is lovely, but I honestly have no idea what you would make with it that wouldn’t need to be fully lined. I sewed size Large. I think I could go down a size, but, keep reading and you will find out why I am so glad that didn’t.

What went right:

I tried a new method of pockets. We know how much I love a good pocket. They felt a bit fiddly at first, but once I could wrap my head around the construction, it all made wonderful sense. The next good thing was that I used a fabric other than quilting cotton. This stuff frays like my nerves during quarantine, but it is a cool fabric to work with. I was INCREDIBLY grateful for my serger! I have really wanted to try something outside of quilting cotton or cotton flannel. Now I have. Lastly, I have a finished skirt. So that is pretty cool. It is lightweight and a good length for Summer.

What went wrong:

Just about everything else. Just kidding, it’s not that bad. As mentioned above, the fabric frayed like what. Sneeze in the general direction of the skirt and it frayed. I feel very insecure about my seams, even with the overlocking. I feel like it could fall apart at any moment.

Tension continues to be an issue for me. I was smart enough to change my needle to accommodate the lightweight fabric, which was good. But tension continues to plague me. It was actually fine when I was sewing the fabric alone, but once I had to sew layers or the elastic, the party was over and everything is very loose and wobbly.

I hated everything about sewing the waistband. The waistband is the complete opposite of any kind of waistband that I have ever worked on. This is probably a really good thing, but I am still too mad at it to pull out my inner-Pollyanna. I am still relatively new to sewing in elastic, meaning stretching it as I sew. I had to stretch and sew not two, but three seams into the casing. I do not have the muscle memory for this yet. I know I will gain it over time, but dang… The seams are very wobbly, and since I decided to be fancy and do a contrast thread, this is incredibly noticeable. Oh, and the reason that I am so glad that I sewed a Large is because the back seam of the waistband kept fraying when overlocked. By the time I got a good seam, I had hacked off at least an inch in the circumference. If I had done the Medium, I would have been screwed. (I know this because I had no leftover fabric to make another waistband. Trust me, I checked.)

It probably seems that I am knocking the pattern. I am not. The issues were purely mine. The pattern was easy to follow with very clear instructions. I know that everything the pattern told me to do made sense, I just didn’t like being pushed out of my comfort zone. I think I will try making this skirt again with a less temperamental fabric. I will try to not go full quilting cotton, but don’t want sheer fraying fabric. Once I use up the bulk of my quilting cotton, I want to start investing in some nice linen fabric. I will for sure have to wear a slip with this skirt. While it is gathered, it wasn’t gathered enough to have any real coverage. Now I seem to be coming down from being mad at her, we will see how I do when I make her again.

Loves,

M

Another Summer Pajama Set

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I always have grand plans for making cool and comfortable pajamas that are both fashionable and pretty. I have yet to make a set that I feel fit this bill. I find myself saying “it’s a good thing these are pajamas” way too often. I want to get out of that mindset. I want any sewing that I do to be the best of my ability. I don’t want to cop out to “good enough”. This set was made using a thrifted fitted sheet. I disassembled the sheet using my seam ripper. I did this to give me more fabric to work with. As a bonus, I also was able to reuse the elastic, since it was only encased not sewn into it. I used it for the elasticating of the top.

The Shorts:

I find myself on the constant look out for a go-to pajama shorts/ pants pattern. I have tried the Darcy Boxers and now the PJ/ Lounge shorts from http://www.lifesewsavory.com. I must say, I am not a huge fan of either pattern. This pattern has a rather large waistband that didn’t quite match up to the size of the shorts so there was a lot of easing involved. I am not yet great at easing, so my waistband is quite wobbly and bulky. I am finding that I am not a fan of a waistband on pajamas. I think I missed the part where the pattern said to serge all of the raw seams before making up. This would have made the whole thing so much easier. I ended up trying to serge after it was made up and that made it very fiddly and messy. When I went back over the instructions, it did say to do that, so the fault was mine. I am not sure if it is my sewing machine, or thickness of fabric, but it wasn’t a smooth sew. My thread broke MANY times, which was incredibly frustrating. I tried decreasing the tension, which helped so much with the breaking thread, but then the stitches were loose and wobbly in several places. So, I am not sure what I should do that would resolve both issues. Something that I loved about this pattern is that it has pockets. I didn’t do a great job of sewing them, due to the not serging, as mentioned above. I am going to create a pattern pocket for miscellaneous “accessory” pieces and add this pocket template to it for patterns that don’t include pockets. My goal is still to find a great pajama short/pant pattern that has a regular elastic casing. Once I find this I will make All Of the Shorts.

The Top:

Oh My God, Becky, I “drafted” a pattern. I say drafted so incredibly loosely. I took a rectangle of fabric, hemmed it, created an elastic casing and created and added straps. This was not brain surgery, but I am so proud of it! I am proud that I thought to do it, and that I sat down and measured everything, and created templates (I will add the strap template to the new miscellaneous pattern pocket). My sewing is decent and I think it turned out pretty good. That being said, I made several mistakes. First, the length is way too short. For some reason I thought that I could pull off a 13 inch length. Once you hem and make the casing, you end up with roughly 10-11 inches. Oh hell no. I don’t like my tops, even pajama tops, that short. Especially since it blouses out. I am flirting with the idea of adding another elastic casing to the bottom. The next one I make needs to be cut at 17 inches long. I don’t mind cropped, but I do mind half tops. Second, I made the elastic too loose. This makes the top of the top very unstable (per my comfort level). Because there are straps, the loose top doesn’t affect the wearability, but it is less comfortable than it could be. The placement of the straps could be more precise, but I think that will come with more experience.

All in all, I think that I did a fairly good job on both pieces. While I am not the biggest fan of the shorts, I did try some new things, like the waistband. The top was 100% something that I have never done. Things that I want to learn more about is 1. how to smoothly serge a curved edge 2. how to serge a curved edge that you know will need to be clipped 3. how to cleanly place and attach straps to an elasticated edge. Is it better to place and sew before you add the elastic, or after? How do you measure properly if you use the before method? 4. Tension on both sewing machine and serger. How does this wizardry work and how often should it be adjusted on a project?

You can expect more pajama sets in the near future. I think I will follow the same drafted top idea. I will continue to look for some good shorts patterns in my collection. If I don’t have one I will resume searching on-line. And they will all have pockets! Nothing says happiness like pockets. I will have to go through my fabric stash and see what fabric I have to make another set, very soon.

Loves,

M

Making Mrs. Collins

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Here is some information about me.  My name is Michelle.  I live in the East Bay Area of California, USA.  I live here with my delightful husband- AKA The Husband and our delightful daughter- AKA Feebs.  I come from a large family, who is both loving and dysfunctional and I love everything about them.  Sarcasm is my primary language, English is secondary.  I work in the county government sector.  I love my job, even when I hate my job. 

Now a little about my making.  I have been a knitter since the tender age of 8.  My grandparents had me at their house for a week, during Christmas, in 1988.  My grandmother was a knitter, quilter, sewer, etc., and could make all the things.  She used to call me her magpie because I talked non-stop.  She got the idea to teach me to knit after she noticed how mesmerized and quiet I became when she would pull out her knitting.  She decided that it was the best way to keep her sanity during the week I would be staying there.  I loved everything about it and have continued to knit throughout my life.  I became a KNITTER around 2001.  That is when I learned how to knit garments, new techniques, and new challenges.  I now knit ALL the things.  I do all garments and accessories, colorwork, cables, lace (though it’s not my favorite), in the round, seamed. I knit ALL the things. 

My Sister #1 and I taught ourselves how to crochet one summer when she was pregnant with my oldest nephew, so I was about 14.  I can crochet a mean square or rectangle, but that is pretty much where it ends.  One of my goals is to expand my crochet knowledge, with an idea to crochet a Dotted Doubles blanket and maybe a beautiful mandala top.

Sewing has been a to-do for me for many years.  Only recently have I had the nerve to just sew the thing and not expect perfection.  I realize that the only way I get better will be to actually do it.  I have a fair amount of knowledge and understanding of techniques.  Even if I didn’t, we are lucky to live in the era of YouTube.  Anything you need to understand can be found there; I am sure of it.  While I can’t see sewing becoming a Zen process for me, like knitting is, I want to get more comfortable with it.  I want to make garments that look handmade vs. homemade.  I want to proudly sport my me makes, not for the praise, but so that I can be comfortable in my clothes.  I am a very standard size.  I can buy anything off the rack, and it will fit.  I do realize how lucky I am for that.  I simply don’t follow trends or like to buy disposable, cheaply made items.  I want the kind of clothes that I want, and I am not always able to find them on the shelf.  It takes a lot for me to go shopping and I tend to keep my clothes for a looooong time.  I have a Brothers CS6000i sewing machine, and a Brothers 1034D serger.  Why on God’s green earth I got a serger, when it took me a solid year to get the courage to take it out of the box and try it, I will never know.  I fully stand by the statement that buying craft supplies, and making things are two completely different hobbies.

Other crafts that I dabble in are cross-stitch, fabric dyeing (though this is more necessity than hobby), and candle making (which is a very new to me).  Cross-stitch is something that I do very infrequently and is all about the product.  I really have to want a finished object in order to do it.  I have a dream of learning how to quilt and making a quilt or two in the future. 

The Yarn Harlot calls her blog her virtual living room.  I consider mine to be my virtual brain.  It is cluttered and chaotic and sometimes the words won’t make sense.  It also has to be treated with kindness and respect.  This blog is for me to (hopefully) stay organized and keep a history of my making, new skills/ mistakes, and progress.  I have no idea if anyone else will ever read it, and that is okay.  If someone does, I ask that they be respectful and kind.  I am snarky and sarcastic and end a lot of sentences with …. (that’s generally how you know I am being sarcastic), but I don’t ever intend to be mean or disrespectful.  I guess I just ask for the same in return. 

The format for this blog will be:

  • A post for each finished object, with an honest description of how I feel I did on the project.  I want to review the pattern and fabric used.  I need to call myself out when I was being lazy or sloppy on something, so that hopefully I will do better the next time.  I also want to make notes on new techniques that I tried and how I feel I can improve on them.  Also, any project modifications that I want to document for future makes.
  • A post at the end of each month with all finished objects completed for the whole month, cast-ons, and works in progress.
  • Dream posts- projects that I am preparing to undertake or new crafts that I am researching/ stocking up for. 
  • Event posts- I attend 2-3 making events per year (Stitches West and Lambtown festival are the most common).  I want to start going to more events as life progresses, especially sewing and quilting events.
  • Miscellaneous posts- things that I simply must document.  You never know with my brain….

So this is how it will all start, let’s see where it goes.  I guess I will start with my January monthly makes post, even though we are half-way through February.  Better late than never…

Loves,

M

p.s., when I refer to my family (especially my sisters) and friends with a number, I am referring to their chronologic order in the flowchart of my life, not their level of coolness.