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Archive for November, 2012

Our dolls house. Or ‘Old memories aren’t what they should be’

Posted in Other interesting things, tagged on 26/11/2012| 7 Comments »

When we were young Dad decided, out of the blue, to build us a dolls house. I’m not talking about some lame, scaled-down replica you dump your Barbie dolls in or a pokey, crawl-in box suitable only for three-year-olds. No, ours was adult-size – with stumps, wooden framework, glass windows and a corrugated iron roof. Big enough to rent out to a small family.

It’s a significant part of the family history, at least for me and my two younger sisters. The trouble is no one ever took any photos of it. When did Dad build it? What did it look like exactly? When did it eventually get pulled down? Was it standing for 5, 6, 7 … years? Important questions but, frustratingly, no definitive answers.
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Denim skirt: Part 3 – finishing off everything else

Posted in Sewing, tagged , , , on 10/11/2012| 10 Comments »

[read Part 2]
I’m wrapping up this project in Part 3. I’m over it. Please, no scrolling straight down to the end to see the final product! I’m going to make you read every bit of what I went through.

Reinforcing the front pockets and back yoke

reinforcing the back yoke seamThe fabric is stretchy and this can create problems in areas where you don’t want a garment to stretch. For the front pocket openings and the back yokes I sewed twill tape into the seams.

Inserting the zip

fly-front zip insertedI hadn’t inserted a fly-front zip for a while. It’s not that hard to do but I found a great tutorial by Sandra Betzina to refresh my memory. She suggests you ignore the instructions in the pattern and follow her method. OK, why not?

After some faffing about, and replaying the video a few times, I got the zip in. I liked Sandra’s statement: ‘There are times when you’re a perfectionist and there are times not to be.’ Knowing when you can cut corners and when you need to be neat and accurate comes with experience.
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Denim skirt: Part 2 – grading the pattern and making the toile

Posted in Sewing, tagged , , on 05/11/2012| Leave a Comment »

[read Part 1]
I’m ready to grade the pattern to size 12. The good news is it’s a multi-size pattern (sizes 14-18) and, when I first made this skirt about 10 years ago, I didn’t cut off sizes 16 and 18. So it’s a relatively easy job to work out where to draw the cutting lines for size 12. Even better it’s only the side seams, waist band and back yoke that need adjusting.

There’s nothing high-tech about my method here. I just measure the spacing between the existing sizes and draw new lines proportionally for the smaller size. Professional patternmakers might have something to say about it but it works for me, especially for such a simple skirt. I’ll adjust the pattern further once I’ve made the toile.

Grading the pattern to size 12
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Denim skirt: Part 1 – getting organised

Posted in Sewing, tagged , , on 02/11/2012| 3 Comments »

OK, it’s taken a bit longer than expected to get my new post ready. I know my many followers have been eagerly awaiting it, right? Turns out if you’re going to blog about making a skirt you actually have to make the skirt. And deal with the problems that arise while trying to pretend it’s all going smoothly.

Let’s hope we make it to Parts 2 and 3 and the all-important ‘reveal’. But for now, here goes Part 1:

I fancied making a denim skirt with fabric I bought a few weeks ago at a closing-down sale. It’s a mid-weight denim-type material with a bit of elastane in it. And it was really cheap, only $2/metre!

Brown denim fabric

McCalls pattern 3529 - skirtThe main problem has been finding a pattern. You know, looks like a pair of jeans but is actually a skirt (and I definitely don’t mean a skirt that’s been recycled from a pair of jeans). Why do pattern books never have what you want when you want it? I went through all the commercial pattern books. Nothing. So I took a look in my pattern box and found this one (it’s © 2002):

It’ll do. But the size isn’t right and there are no back pockets (and I suspect it’s too high-waisted), which means I’ve got a bit of prep work ahead of me. The plan is:

  • pre-wash/pre-shrink the fabric (tick that job)
  • iron the pattern pieces and grade the whole pattern down a size
  • make a quick toile in calico to see if it fits
  • make the real thing

Part 2 coming up. Hang in there.

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