Sewingtalk

Above: a recent sewing project. I had originally intended it to look like the inset photo, which is a Simplicity pattern (4020). Partway through, however, I realized that I had screwed up majorly, and there was no extra material to try again.

I had actually thrown the partially sewn project into the wastepaper basket, but then changed my mind and decided try salvaging it. I ended up improvising a ton. The collar was going to be a neck facing but before I folded it under, I decided that I liked the collar look.

Because the material is a very soft and stretchy knit, however, the collar wouldn't stay up. I couldn't use regular interfacing because it needed to stretch (so I could get my head through to put the top on) and I wasn't sure when I'd be able to pick up some stretchable interfacing, if there was such a thing...so I decided to cut up a pair of old track pants instead. The track pants had lost their stretch and were also too big for me.

Anyway, I was pleased with how my improvised pattern changes turned out. :-)

Seems like ages since my first sewing project two months ago:



I also just finished the 3-class Beyond Beginners course at Sew Be It Studio Workshop. I enjoyed the course tremendously, and learned a ton from Sam Wyton. During the course, we each brought in our own project and spent the class working independently:



The instructor (on the left in the photo below) took turns with each of us, answering our questions and checking on our progress. Whenever she was explaining something especially interesting, the rest of us would come over to watch and listen.



The studio had an industrial iron, plus lots of sewing machines and sergers. Everywhere you looked, there were sewing supplies and projects in various stages of completion. I dare anyone to step into that studio and NOT feel like sewing. :-)



They even had a studio mascot, Betty:



The owner of the studio, Dilys, found this dog wandering the streets of Toronto. Dilys took her in until the owners could be found. When she had no luck in tracking down the owners, Dilys decided to keep the dog herself and named her Betty. Betty recently appeared in a poster ad for a heavy metal group.

What I also enjoyed: chitchat with the other women in the class. Much of the time would be spent focusing on our own projects, but from time to time there would be small bursts of conversation as we all cut and pinned and sewed. I'm a hermit-type by nature (else I wouldn't be able to survive working in isolation for so many hours from day to day), and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the camaraderie in that small room.



I'd love to take some of the other courses but scheduling would be a problem, especially during summers. However, they do offer one-day crash courses on specific topics like zippers, so maybe I'll try one of those.

Anyway, here's the dress I made during the three week course:



I had originally made it to wear to Rand's and Erin's wedding, but now I'm thinking it might be too hot for July. I chose a green brocade material, but it's fairly heavy and might be more appropriate for cooler weather. Still, I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

I bought a bolt of black fabric during the Fabricland mega-sale and turned part of it into a backdrop for my clothing pics; Jeff put up hooks in my bookshelf so I can hang the cloth (serged along the edges, of course) whenever I need it. I'm also going to make a lighter coloured backdrop as well.

So here's the pic I took of my beaded butterfly top:



and my upside-down top:



As I mentioned a while back, this was one of my first sewing projects and I accidentally cut the fabric upside down. But, as John Durno pointed out, the pattern looks like right to me when I look down at it. :-)



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