tesla | Sewing, round 2

Article: Yoga Pants (from Sew Everything Workshop)

Date: 9/12 and 9/16/2008 (6 hours)

Material: Clay-colored linen, plain-woven, medium weight

Details & deviations:
• Although I made these in Medium for Mum, I cut the leg length to the Large line, figuring that she likes her pants very long and I’d be custom-hemming them regardless.
• JoAnn’s supply of grosgrain in subdued colors was limited, but I found some with paw prints in coordinating colors.

What worked well:
• I love this material! It’s easy to work with, but mostly it just feels great. Mum says it’s comfy, too.
• Ironing the fabric to dry it. Linen can be so stubborn, and this makes it more agreeable.
• My seam ripper.
• The 4-step buttonhole function on my machine. Granted, the holes weren’t precisely the same length, but you’d really have to be scrutinizing them to see that. I’m sure a 1-step would be marginally easier, but I don’t know why the author seems so adamant about it.
• The hem length. I put Mum in appropriate shoes (in this case, none), had her adjust her waist ribbon, and pinned the hems. They turned out nicely.
• Have I mentioned that I love my pincushion?

Lessons & things I would do differently:
• I do not agree that “zigzagged-and-trimmed” is an appropriate finish for an article that’s unlined. It’s not neat. I might do French seams next time, or else pull out my serger.
• Visualize the result of each step before commencing it. I made a dumb mistake - sewing the crotch along with the leg seam - and had to rip out the seam.
• Invisible hems - this pattern calls for a machine-stiched hem, and I just don’t love the look of it.
• If I were doing visible hems, start stitching at the inseam rather than the outseam (the small overlap is then less obvious).

Article: Piped Pillow (from Sew Everything Workshop)

Date: 9/19/2008 (3 hours or so)

Material: Double-weave “fern” upholstery fabric, celery linen upholstery fabric, dark brown piping

Details & deviations:
• When I went looking for 16” pillow forms, I found 18” feather pillow forms, so I got those instead. Increased the pattern dims by 2” in each direction and everything worked fine.

What worked well:
• Attaching piping with the zipper foot. Fun! Easy!
• The color scheme. It was a little out-there for me: Celery! Dusty blue! Brown! Cream! But it turned out beautifully, and in fact coordinates with my living room better than the throw pillows I got with my sofa.
• Using a relatively light material for the back panel: it was easy to tell where the piping was and stitch over the existing stiching.
• Aforementioned feather pillows. I love non-synthetic materials.
• Well-matched thread hides a multitude of sins

Lessons & things I would do differently:
• Don’t bother washing the crazy double-weave upholstery fabric. It’s never going to be washed again anyway, and getting the stuff wet takes it from “really difficult” to “almost impossible” to work with.
• This stuff absolutely refuses to hold its dimensions. The act of cutting it changes it significantly. Even so, the pillows came out well-shaped.
• When attaching piping to the front face, square off the corners (as I did). Then, when attaching the back face, try to curve around the line of the piping - this should reduce gapping on the back side of the corner.
• Seriously reinforce the openings through which I will stuff the pillow form. A few stitches popped; fortunately the fabric didn’t tear.
• There must be some way to master the art of slip-stitching. I am Not Good at it. On the other hand, I came up with a stitch that worked. I figure that’s the important part.
• I’d like to try rounding the corners on some of these, deliberately making them radii instead of proper corners.