Golden silk asymmetric blouse
16 May 2012, 13:14From a total loser of a silk blouse to a triumph of a silk blouse, all in one afternoon! After the Burda FAIL, I turned around, cut into my gorgeous butter yellow floral silk charmeuse I bought at Ditto in Brighton last weekend, and sewed up this blouse in about two hours flat!
The layout of this blouse is really cool, and the entire blouse is just one piece, with only one side seam (and two shoulder seams). I took a photo of my fabric when it was laid out on the floor, and I added some annotations in pink (below) to help show where the drapey side comes into play. I hadn’t realised it from the diagram, but the CF neckline is on the straight grain, and the CB neckline is on the cross-grain, with the only side seam on the bias. Very cool, and the design feels quite Bunka.
I used the leftover silk in the bottom left corner to make several bias strips about 4cm wide, as I prefer a narrow bias edge on my silk blouses instead of finicky facings. I also left off the shoulder bow, as I felt there’s enough going on in this blouse already!
We were very lucky to catch the “golden hour” on Monday evening, which just makes this silk come alive in these photos! I’ve paired it here with my grey leather skirt to try and give an edgier look to the twee floral of the silk.
The extra fabric on the left side creates a flowing drape section under the arm, but surprisingly, doesn’t expose your entire midsection! It’s really well drafted in that regard – even when the wind blows, you only get the barest peek of the side bra, and I’ve seen more than that in RTW vest tops.
I think this blouse really works best when viewed from the draped side. Not that I’m going to be walking around like this all the time, but I really do love how the drape flows, and I don’t miss the shoulder bow one bit!
From start to finish, sewing this took me about two hours, and I made it using my own order of construction and finishing details, which I’ll share with you now, in case others feel inspired to sew a similar design.
My order of construction
- Sew the bust dart and press down
- Sew the shorter shoulder seam (all seams are French seams as I was sewing silk)
- Sew a narrow hem to the draped edge (I like a two-step method, of sewing close to the edge, trimming, then folding over and sewing again, though a rolled hem would also work well here)
- Sew a folded, narrow bias strip to the neckline and un-draped armscye (Much more on this narrow bias edge technique here)
- Trim the seam allowances on both, and press the folded bias edge out
- Sew the wider shoulder seam, and also the side seam
- Press the folded bias edge (on both the neckline, and armscye) to the inside, and stitch down
- Sew a narrow hem or rolled hem on the bottom edge of the top
- The recommended fabric is silk, yet the instructions don’t tell you to sew French seams, or indeed finish the raw edges at all. As far as I can tell, even if you follow their insane instructions, you’re left with a triangular area of raw seams at the shoulder. If I’d liked the top enough, I’d have had to make my own weird facing to handstitch on to cover this.
- There’s a ridiculous amount of ease in the bodice – way more than Sorbetto, for example, and that’s also a non-bias, slip on shell. I ended up cutting this with the front and back pieces a centimeter or two off the fold simply to fit it onto my narrow silk, but I checked first to make sure it’d not be too small. And having completed the shell, I can say that it’s still on the loose side, even with my reductions!
- Facings on a silk. WTFOMGBBQ? Why?? I said Nuts! to the facing and did a narrow bias edge (in leftover silk from my birthday top which I still had lying around) on the neckline, and did a two-step narrow edge for the hem.
- Burda tells to to cut an extra wide hem allowance on the sleeve edges, press in and out (and shake it all about, do the hokey pokey- oh wait) and mess about with it until the sleeve is entirely completed… and then sew an invisible hem by hand. On silk. And it’s a reeeeeeally long hem. I’d rather eat glass, Burda. The much better option here would be to cut a regular hem allowance, and machine-stitch a narrow edge or rolled hem before basting any of the sleeve pleats. Realising they’re crazy and trying to do this later is much more difficult (ask me how I know).
- The sleeve instructions are absolutely incomprehensible. Burda would have you flip the entire pleated edges around the neckline and back to the armscye at the shoulder, which a) completely contradicts the photos, and b) there isn’t enough seam length to do. So I had to try and make the best of pre-basted pleats, attach to placement lines that may as well have not existed (since the pleated edges didn’t match up anyway), and a mess of raw edges (see above). My best attempt was not good enough.
- And finally, when I tried the top on to see if I even wanted to carry on finishing the raw edges, the sleeves are just ugly. Less “quirky chic” and more “80s shoulder pads”. Ugh.
- Do not stretch the binding
- Cut the binding to be at least 6” longer than your neckline
- Pull the binding under the CS foot and anchor it by taking a few stitches into it, THEN insert your neckline into the binder edge and start stitching
- You can’t bind with a binder in the round (ie: you need to leave one seam open before binding)
- Continue stitching for a few inches into the binding after the top is completely through the coverstitch machine, then cut the binding & threads and remove the top
- When you go to serge/overlock the last seam, make sure to press (or even hammer!) the two bound edges really flat before serging. Or hand baste the two edges together so they don’t shift as you serge.
- A slightly longer stitch length may also help with serging over two bound edges; with the higher thickness in the binding area, you need a slightly longer length of thread to make the stitch. You can lengthen the stitch by a click or two just before entering The Binding Zone
- If the binding is veering off course between the attachment and the CS foot, you may need to tighten your foot pressure using the knob at the top of your machine
- If your fabric is really prone to curling, try spray starch, or dunking the whole binding in a corn starch/water solution and ironing dry. Either of these are, of course, for clothes you’re planning to wash before wearing!
- To practise using your binder try using a cotton fabric and cotton binding. Knits naturally stretch when sewing – even when cut with a rotary cutter a strip of knit will shrink after it’s cut and measure slightly less.
- The activewear fabric I used has enough recovery not to need any inserted elastic or stabiliser. I made these tops a few years ago now and the binding is still going strong and hasn’t stretched at all. (Sew4Fun)
- You need a special binding foot. The binding needs to be delivered as close as possible to the needles to ensure nothing escapes and slips away.
- You can run elastic through while you bind if you wish. You need to use the smooth white/black rubber “swimwear” elastic. It will be powdered to run through your binder easier. I use 8 – 9mm width elastic for a 10mm finish bind. I usually end up with snow white hands.
- If you are dealing with a 4-way stretch fabric esp. fabric containing lycra, binding cut on the cross wise grain will NOT EVER behave itself. Use lengthwise grain to cut you binding.
- I use a “single fold” binder rather than a double fold. Less bulk.
- You might like to try woolly nylon in the looper for a softer finish.
- The binder must be mounted firmly because you need to apply tension to the binding as it goes through (this will depend on your fabric of course). If it gets knocked your alignment can be ruined.
- Some binding fabrics work better on the lengthwise grain than the cross grain
- Stretchier fabrics need to be cut wider than less stretchy fabrics for the same binder
- For fabrics that don’t want to behave going through the binder, I stop every couple of inches and straighten the feed to the binder out
- Don’t let the feed to the binder hang off the table
- Don’t have a seam in the binding
- Stabilise any gathered sections on the main fabric before feeding them through the binding, as the gathers get pushed out of position
- Cut the binding strips just before you use them…don’t leave them lying around overnight as they can curl up.
Hendrik is still in drydock, so this was entirely constructed on my JL Mini sewing machine, desktop ironing board, and tiny travel iron!
Before you ask – Yes, you can buy individual Manequim issues – on eBay, and there are several copies of this issue up right now. Or you can subscribe to Manequim, which was fairly painless to set up, and is actually a tad cheaper than Burda for me, even with the overseas shipping.
I’m entering this in Pattern Review’s natural fibers contest, as it happens to coincide nicely!
Comment [14]
Sewing book review: Drape Drape - now in English!
15 May 2012, 13:43The first book in the popular Japanese sewing series has just been published in English! It’s been out in Japanese for a few years now, but, like the Pattern Magic books, I bided my time until they were released in English before I added them to my collection. I can muddle my way through Portuguese, Italian, French, and Dutch patterns, but I’d be totally lost in kanji, with no means to type it into a translator!
A word about the sizing of these patterns, though – their “XL” size is still 10cm smaller (and 4cm shorter!) than me at the point of least difference.
(Note for the Americans – that XL size is 5’6”, B35 W27 H38 in inches.)
So going by their sizing, that’d make me a… 4XL. omg. Nothing like tiny Japanese sizing to make you feel enormous! Good thing most of the designs are really large and flowing, so hopefully I can get away with the largest size and not have it matter too much. Fingers crossed.
This is my favourite design in the book – it’s a dress with a gathered, dropped waist, and the only vertical seam is in the centre back. The construction of this is really cool – this dress is cut out in all one piece of fabric!
Not so cool is that Kristin made this a few years ago and it did NOT work for her, so I shall be muslinning and treading very carefully here. But this one’s the top of my list in this book, in any case.
This Grecian, V-neck dress is just beautiful! But keeping in mind the size chart, I’d probably need to grade up their bodice and waist band since they appear to be close-fitting.
Trena made it for her birthday a few years ago, too, and she looks gorgeous in it! Oh, the wonders of the book being out for a while, you get the benefit of others’ reviews!
Some of the designs are less practical than others, requiring a fair amount of spandex base layers underneath, or being totally bra unfriendly (though I could see this red number worn with a posh sports bra for a sporty look!).
Most of the photographs in the book are a bit too “arty” to show the clothes well, but the clear tech drawings and illustrated instructions make up for it in my opinion.
Here’s a sneak peek at the most advanced model in the book, with multiple pleats, tucks, and drapes:
Unlike the other Bunka books (like Pattern Magic), Drape Drape comes with pattern sheets at the back of the book which you trace, like Burda, to make the patterns rather than adapting from your sloper.
These pattern sheets are entirely greyscale, and appear to be about as dense as Burda, but indicate the stitching line and cutting line for all the patterns, meaning you can choose to trace them with or without seam allowances. This is a nice thought, but I’m wondering if, in reality, it just makes the tracing that much more confusing…
All in all, if you already own Drape Drape in Japanese, I don’t see much point in buying it again, as the patterns are all the same, and you probably already know how to pleat and sew with stretch fabrics. But, if like me, you loved the designs but were put off by the fact it was written in Japanese, then go out and grab this one now. Especially if you’re tiny.
And ooh! Drape Drape 2 is due for an English release in September! This is a great time for Japanese sewing books in English – Pattern Magic 3 was also released in English this month, but my copy got lost in the post, so the review is a bit delayed as a result…
Drape Drape (English version) is out now and available to buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US. I bought my own copy for this review, just sayin’.
tags: bookComment [6]
A rare dud of the highest order
14 May 2012, 14:08Last weekend I cut into cut into one of the oldest fabrics in my stash, a dark turquoise silk charmeuse bought in January 2009, to make the cover top from the Burda April 2012 issue:
There are so many things wrong about this pattern that I’m going to revert to list form to get the rant out of my brain:
Since this top doesn’t deserve a photoshoot, you just get some crappy mirror self-portrait photos, as befits a dud:
Have I saved anyone else from wasting their time on this pattern? Seriously, don’t go there. At the very least, if you still like the sleeves, then you’d be better off trying to put the sleeve pattern here onto something like the Sorbetto, and making up your own placement and pleat lines. It’s much easier to go your own way from the start than try and following wrong ones, rip things out, and end up doing your own thing anyway.
At least the silk only cost me £10, and it’s out of my stash now.
UPDATE: I went on to sew a much better silk blouse later the same day. No points for guessing which one!
tags: bwof, silk, topComment [18]
KnipMode May 2012
10 May 2012, 14:46My KnipMode subscription lumbers on, though I’ve yet to be really excited by any issue in the past six months. But as I find myself with some time on my hands while our boat is in drydock, I might as well share the latest issue with you now…
This yoked top looks like it’s be a great use for cotton lawns or well-washed quilting cottons, if you have any that don’t go all oddly stiff…
On first glance, this sheath dress looks pretty basic, but the dart placement makes this a bit more interesting than usual, and you could do some great colourblocking if you extend the darts a little further into seams…
This skirt has an interesting hip detail, where the fabric is pleated and then folded back as a flounce (so the reverse side shows). The top is inoffensive enough, but it’s a design I’ve seen a thousand times, with an extra keyhole.
KnipMode’s sub editor should be fired for this tech drawing mixup. Slow clap… C’mon guys, try a bit harder.
And I see on their official site that this wasn’t the only major mistake in this issue, either! I had to dig to find a correction for this tech drawing mistake, but as a side-effect, you can see the At-a-glance page for this issue in their explanation (or as a pdf here).
But moving on, because there’s another magazine supplement that comes free with this issue, and it’s entirely skirt patterns!
This slim, below-the-knee pencil skirt looks very nice (and the cowl top ain’t half bad, either!).
This supplement featured a few knockoff catwalk designs, too, and my favourite was this asymmetric, banded Aquascutum skirt.
I’ve mentioned it to a few people (mostly cloggies!), but I’m going to be in Amsterdam in October to run the half (or full, eep!) marathon, so I’ll more than likely be stocking up on Knipmodes and Knippies at the newsagents and supermarkets while I’m there, even though I’m letting my subscription lapse. I’m hoping that buying the occasional issue here and there will prove both financially and creatively more advantageous than medicority every single month..
tags: knipmode, magazineComment [3]
Brighton & Bank holiday sewing
8 May 2012, 14:17We had a long weekend here in the UK this weekend, and I’m pleased to report that I made the most of it! On Saturday, James and I made an impromptu trip down to Brighton, and we stopped off at Lewes on the way down. Our main objective in Lewes is always the Harveys Brewery shop, but I also discovered The Stitchery just across the road upstairs in the Riverside Centre, which stocks a wide variety of fabrics, embroidery floss, yarn, and haberdashery. I checked my handy “sewing shopping list” on my phone, and bought black waistband elastic and trouser hooks, both of which I needed. Very sensible of me, I know.
But the real temptation was walking right past Ditto in the North Laines in Brighton, and I told myself I was only allowed to buy ONE fabric there, so it’d better be a good one! In the end, this gorgeous butter yellow floral silk charmeuse won out over a similar yellow coloured, textured, ex-Blumarine crepe.
Florals really aren’t my usual fabric choice (and I would’ve never bought it from the terrible photo on Ditto’s site), but in real life, I was just captivated by it, and I’m thinking I’ll need to pair it with some edgier like jeans or my leather skirt to diffuse the twee-ness.
After our big day on Saturday, on Sunday we didn’t leave the boat at all! I spent most of the day doing sewing stuff, starting off with fusing all the interfacing onto James’s reversible smoking jacket pieces. I find fusing interfacing to be really boring at the best of times, but it’s beyond teeeeedious with a mini ironing board and mini iron! Once that was all fused, I then moved on to hand basting all the pocket placements (it’s a fantasy jacket, so there are five pockets!) and then basted the bound buttonhole placements, too.
Rather then push on with sewing the bound buttonholes (since those really require a fresh head, in my experience), I instead cut into one of the oldest fabrics in my stash, a dark turquoise silk charmeuse, since I bought in January 2009. And I cut into it to make the cover top from the Burda April issue:
I got the construction of the shell entirely finished, but ran out of brain power to do more than baste the pleats on the sleeves (which were totally fiddly in the slippery silk!)
One thing I noticed about this pattern is that there’s a surprising amount of ease in the bodice – way more than Sorbetto, for example, and that’s also a non-bias, slip on shell. I ended up cutting this with the front and back pieces a centimeter or two off the fold simply to fit it onto my narrow silk, but I checked first to make sure it’d not be too small. And having completed the shell, I can say that it’s still on the loose side, even with my reductions!
I said Nuts! to the facing and did a narrow bias edge (in leftover silk from my birthday top which I still had lying around) on the neckline, and did a two-step narrow edge for the hem.
Then we had a Bank holiday yesterday (woo!), but we spent most of the day on Hendrik in the boatyard doing lots of manual labour. I managed to squeeze in 15 minutes at the end to trace off the cover blouse from the April 2012 Manequim for the new Ditto floral silk:
The layout of it is really cool, but if you look at the diagram, you’ll see that, even though it’s only one fabric piece, the pattern is split into five separate pieces to trace (47, 47a, 47b, 47c, and 47d!).
As per usual, I’m omitting the facings and doing a narrow bias edge instead, because facings on silk are just ick. And I’m also leaving off the big shoulder tie, because there’s enough “Look” there without it.
Hmm, two silk April cover blouses in a row??
Also, attention Londoners – did you see that Selfridges are holding an exhibit of dresses made from vintage 1950s Vogue Patterns? OMG, I must go see this! It’s on til 24 June.
tags: bwof, manequim, shopping, silk, topComment [8]
Temporary sewing
1 May 2012, 14:35While our boat is in drydock for maintenance, we’re temporarily living on a very kind neighbour’s boat. Packing for a month (though possibly 2 weeks) was a challenge in itself, as you want to to give yourself choices (in clothing, entertainment, comforts, and cooking), but yet you’ve still got to physically move everything, so you don’t want to overpack, either.
I brought the bare minimum of sewing supplies, which for me means my JL Mini sewing machine, which is great for travel and beginners alike (speaking of, I have a friend who’s selling her identical red JL Mini as she’s upgraded to a fuller-featured machine. If anyone’s interested in buying it from her for £30, please leave a comment and I’ll put you in touch!).
I also brought a few patterns and the fabrics to go with them, and I set up a temporary sewing station in the bedroom we’re staying in:
I thought it was quite amusing that the only place in the boat that was suitable for sitting and sewing was a pretty dressing table, and my boudoir sewing station inspired me to start one of my transported projects last weekend – another Ruby Slip!
My first Ruby Slip was seafoam green with brick red lace and I loved it so much that I knew I’d be making another. If you missed the discussion then, Sherry offered a free pdf pattern and fantastic photo tutorials, which I highly recommend, even for beginners, as it’s beautiful and quite easy to sew (especially if you choose a thin cotton lawn).
To match my sewing station, I set up a pressing station in the kitchen, with a travel iron and mini ironing board which live on the boat.
The only issue is that the bedroom and kitchen are at opposite ends of the boat, so I earn a fair few Fuel points walking between them!
Fir this slip, I’m using a pale puce silk/cotton blend that I bought in Paris in March for a steal. It definitely feels more like silk than cotton so it should be lovely against the skin! For the bodice, I’m using a black stretch lace I bought from Tia Knight on eBay. I made sure my lace was a good 21cm wide this time so I don’t need to do any piecing to make the bodice. This particular lace looks to be sold out now, so I’m glad I bought plenty when I saw it, as black’s a great colour that’ll pair with any silk for more Ruby Slips in the future (and indeed Ruby Camisoles, which I think I’d get even more wear from).
Both of these should be great for lingerie (and there’s about 2m left of the silk/cotton, too), but it’s a bit transparent for RTW – look how you can see the pattern of the ironing board through it:
Since I’m not working with my full arsenal of sewing tools, I took the opportunity to try this bobby pin loop turner tutorial for the thin spaghetti straps, and it worked great! I’m totally using this again, and it made me feel like MacGuyver!
Brits, I drew a total blank at what we call these here – hair slides? kirby grips?
I finished the slip over the weekend, but I’m hanging it up for a few days to let the bias skirt have a chance to grow if it wants to…
I also cut out some of the pieces for James’s reversible smoking jacket, but my knees were really killing me from cutting out on the wooden floor, so I only got partway through before I had to stop.
tags: lace, lingerie, machine, silkComment [12]
PSA - Freezer paper and laser printers don't mix!
27 April 2012, 14:23This is a bit of a Public Service Announcement, but as I couldn’t find this information easily myself, I thought it was really important to get it out there to save some other poor sod the frustration and money I just spent.
Freezer paper stencils are great – fast, fairly easy, you get good results, and you can reuse the stencils a few times. Search for freezer paper stencil tutorials online, and you’ll get tons of results, all saying you can either print directly onto the freezer paper, or lay your design on top of the freezer paper, and trace around it with an exacto knife.
The latter is what I’ve always done in the past, but for my upcoming RDC refashioning project, I have a ton of stencilling to do, so I thought if I could cut out the step of taping the paper layers together, it’d go a bit quicker.
Only thing is, clearly none of the well-meaning tutorials out there own a laser printer. Laser printers use heat to print. Freezer paper uses heat to bond to the fabric. You see where this is going…?
DO NOT PRINT DIRECTLY ONTO FREEZER PAPER WITH A LASER PRINTER!
The freezer paper will fuse to the roller inside, which is impossible to access, so you’ll be forced to buy an £80 replacement part to use your printer again.
Lucky for us, our printer is not vital to our life or business and can afford to be down for a week or two.
And for all of you ink-jet owners feeling smug right now – don’t. Our colour laser printer has lasted for five years now, withstanding an entire glass of wine poured down it at a party, printed all our wedding stuff, the leaflets for several conferences, and countless pdf sewing patterns. And we’ve bought ink cartridges once in those five years. Even with this ahem unforeseen maintenance, we’ve still ended up cheaper overall. I’ll end the laser printer cheerleading now.
If this has saved anyone the pain of ruining their printer, then my work here is done.
tags: recycled, tutorialComment [8]
Manequim April 2012
25 April 2012, 13:55This time of year is my favourite for Manequim issues, as the Brazilians begin Fall, overlapping with our decidedly cool and wet English springs, it means for a brief period I can actually wear the patterns when they’re printed! So let’s have a look inside the latest issue…
Manequim usually contain one or two easy accessory patterns, and this month it’s patterns for two cute collars, plus some instructions for beading them.
The white skirt is a design I’ve seen done over and over before, but I love the white dress, with the pleated interest on the shoulders!
I absolutely love the asymmetric blouse, as seen on the cover, as well as its cool, one side seam layout! I’m not too sure about the shoulder bow, though – I’d probably leave that off, but this one is definitely on my To Sew list now!
Colourblocking is a big trend again this year, and this jersey dress really looks like a winner, drawing the eye to the shoulders and thighs with its stripes of colour. I also really like that they’ve used Fall colours here, as I think it’s easy to think of colourblocking only in terms of bright colours sometimes.
This dress should be quite simple to draft, but it’s got an elegant, timeless shape with just a bit of added interest from the pleats only coming from one side…
This top is totally me, with its floppy “cowl“ish collar, and it’d be great for English summerweather, paired with jeans or skirts.
The Marc Jacobs feature did nothing for me, and neither did the sole Plus pattern, but if you fancy seeing more from this issue, have a look at the curious kiwi’s review.
In other news…
Normal service is going to be somewhat disrupted for the next few weeks, as we’re staying on a neighbour’s boat while our boat is in drydock for regular maintenance. I brought my travel sewing machine and a few projects along, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be doing while I’m out of my element. But if you’d like to see some photos from our day-long voyage down the Thames and up the Medway on Monday, have a look! tags: magazine, manequim
Comment [3]
Peach flip-turned top and slim brown trousers
19 April 2012, 14:08In addition to my exercise gear you saw yesterday, I actually made another top and trousers the weekend I got back from Montreal! Since I wasn’t in a fit state for a photoshoot until now, I kinda feel like I’m clearing out the cobwebs here…
This top is another “Flip turned for a draped effect” top from Pattern Magic 2 (drafted on my Morley College course!), this time using the tulip sleeves from Jalie 2806 for a more Spring/Summer look. This is the third time I’ve used these tulip sleeves and I really love the look and love wearing them – they really make a top much more special than just your average short sleeve! I used a lovely orange marl viscose jersey from Tia Knight here that’s just sooooo soft and lovely to wear! Hurrah for an impulse purchase!
The trousers are from the March Burda magazine (#126), using some stretch cotton sateen I bought at Tissues Dreyfus in Paris last month. It looked black in the dark lighting of the shop, but I got it home to realise it’s actually dark brown, which was fairly annoying, as I wouldn’t have bought 3m of brown had I known!
This time when I made the top though, I made a small facing for the underside of the flip so I wouldn’t have to hand-tack the seam allowances down like I did on my grey version. I think it looks a bit neater here, but still not 100% perfect. C’est la vie.
I really liked the seam lines of these trousers in Burda, but I thought it was really missing a great opportunity for front pockets, so I inserted some into that horizontal seam, and they now span the front leg seam. And since I now had usable front pockets, I didn’t bother with the back welt pockets!
One thing that’s not obvious front the tech drawing, though, is that these are fairly low-rise in the front. I’m not a big fan of low-rise trousers, so this was a surprise, but it’s one I can live with. Also not apparent in the tech drawing is that there are no side seams on these. These are also strangely very snug fitting in the lower thigh (just above the knee, where the diagonal seams lie), which isn’t a problem I’ve ever had with Burda trousers before.
(This photo has been lightened to try and help show the seamlines!)
I’m not totally in love with these trousers – they’ll do as a nice wardrobe addition for a while, but I’m not reaching for them anywhere near as often as my grey trousers or my Jalie jeans.
The sad thing is that these trousers were the last thing I made before Bosco died, and I sat up on the garden deck on a sunny Sunday afternoon, doing my handstitching on the trouser hook while Bonk rubbed up against me and rolled around on his back in the sunshine. And as an added unforeseen tribute, I’d also made the pocket linings and fly underlap from the “naughty kitties” fabric since the brown of the print matched this perfectly. Little did I know…
Overall, I love this top (though I think I should put this pattern to bed for a while now!), and I’m just so-so on the trousers, despite the emotional connection sewed up in them. But when we sew, we need to have some good basics to turn to every day, or else we soon find ourselves with a wardrobe full of formal gowns and nothing to wear to the grocery store!
tags: bwof, cotton, drafting, knit, top, trousersComment [12]
Coverstitch binder attachment tips & tricks
18 April 2012, 13:35Way back when I was making my first muslins of my new running gear, I realised that the methods I’d previously used to finish knit necklines (elastic, FOE, serged bindings, etc) were just NOT going to cut it on slippery exercise lycra. The results were awful and sloppy, so I allowed myself to be convinced by Pattern Review that a coverstitch binder was the way forward.
At £80 a pop, they’re not a purchase to be taken lightly, and they’re probably about the most expensive thing you can buy for your sewing room, short of a machine or a dressform! But I wanted to ensure the most hassle-free experience, so I went for a brand-name Janome attachment rather than one of the cheaper, much more hacky eBay jobs. I bought mine from Jaycotts and Janome shipped it directly to me:
Unlike a lot of the eBay binders, this comes with everything you need to get started – the big metal plate, the shorter foot, and a big set of instructions on top of the binder attachment itself. So it’s expensive, but you don’t need to then go and buy all the non-optional bits separately – but I can understand the allure of just buying the binder for your second or third if you’ve already got the plate, foot, and instructions!
But my first several attempts to bind my test lycra strips were just laughably awful, so after fiddling with my tension and foot pressure, I turned to the internet for advice. I’m not sure whether it’s because not many of us own coverstitch machines (I fully admit that mine was a luxury purchase, bought just before I went into hospital), and even fewer of us own binders, but there is precious little information out there.
So I decided, after going through about 50 feet of test binding and finally getting good enough results to finish my sequin running vest, that I should do the sewing public a service and compile a bunch of useful coverstitch binder tips all together into one place. I’ve bolded the ones here I’ve found to be particularly helpful.
Tips from Lynn Rowe on Pattern Review:
More tips from other PR members, some of which came from my initial thread:
From Sarsez on PR:
The real breakthrough for me came really when I started experimenting with different fabrics as the binding. The “silk touch” lycra I had been using was sliding all over the place, with skipped stitches and loopy undersides as well, but I found that if I applied a lightweight knit fusible to the same binding fabric, there was now enough “grab” on the underside to really hold the slippery lycra neckline in place. Likewise, the (un-interfaced) Suziplex supplex also worked really well as binding fabric, as it’s got a slightly loopy/brushed texture on the underside.
Katherine at Sew Blooms, who’s also been experimenting with her binder, too, then also emailed me some of her tips:
Skye on PR even had her husband create a little spool for the binding fabric to rest on, and I can definitely see the advantage, as you really do need to keep an eye on the binding otherwise to ensure it’s not twisting or bunching on its way in.
Finished binding on my sequin running vest!
I think my main lesson learnt is that the binder fabric has to have at least some “grabbiness”. I was trying with slippery lycra first and getting awful results. Once I lightly interfaced that, or switched to fabric with a bit of texture on the underside, it went much easier. Also, taking a few stitches on just the binding before trying to insert the body fabric helped, too! And when you absolutely can’t avoid having a seam in your binding, then you need to go slowly, do a lot of coaxing with the tweezers, and hope for the best!
tags: exercise, knit, machine, tutorialComment [8]
