Sewing mamas!Calling all AmityMama's who like to sew! Do you make quilts, clothes, diapers, bags? Do you love to run your fingers through fiber? Can't get enough just sewing, but want to talk about it too? Come on in!
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,498
This mornings S&S... Breaking into summer clothes... and working up a sweat. ;)
This black hemp jersey dress is already one of Cyan's favorites... she loves the big flowers. They are an iron on applique that Allison gave me about 2 years ago, and I never found the right place for it... well now these big beautiful flowers have a home... and a darn cute one too!
Yes she thinks she is taking pictures of the movies. I take any more pictures of her in new clothes I think she will pitch a fit. She is not the best model. lol... but her beautiful face in this shot is priceless...
This is the first adults shirt I have made in a REALLY long time. It is for a friend who is 3 months pregnant and dealing with trying to find summer clothes for her soon to be expanding waist line... so I figured while I was making Cyan all of these cute shirred things, I would make one for Heather too. You can't see it, and my camera doesn't take close up shots, but around the bottom is frayed and then I did a deliciate flower stitch in satin dark green thread. It looks GREAT! And the I did the same thread along the straps (which are also frayed) with a lock stitch (looks thicker than a regular strait stitch.) I love the little details I was able to put on this shirt.
Love Val
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Val; Living the dream we have been working towards for over 5 years.
Mama to Alex, Cyan, and Logan. Wife to my very best friend.
i was just telling a friend today that i had seen a ton of shirred shirts like that for women. i can't decide if i would be able to pull it off, but if i was pg i would be all over it it turned out great
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Heather
married to carlos for 8 years
mama to sierra 12, alyssa 7 and samuel 6
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,498
I agree... If I was PG I would be making these for me too... they seem so perfect for stuff like that. I have been trying to work out a apron top that would fit her well too. I think I will have to work on that now that I am over the shirring bug. lol... I told Cyan I would make her ONE more. She LOVES them... she says they are "so very comfy"... but it is starting to get tedious. So I am going to stop after the pink kitty ones I am working on today.
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,498
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chanda
Those are really nice! I sew for a living, but I have never figured out how to do that bunching. Is that the shirred part?
Yes... I have learned that each machine is different, and it is really trial and error before you find out what you machine needs for good looking shirring. But this is what I do if you want to try it (I had to have others explain this to me just last week. lol)
#1 make a tube out of fabric nearly 2X's the width of the person you are making the shirt for.
#2 I hand wind my bobbin with elastic thread pretty loosly (some machines need it wound tight so you can wind it on the machine that way). You can find elastic thread at JoAnn's for $2 a round.
#3 Make sure your tention is as tight as it can go (most of the time this is a 9 on your tention setting) and then adjust your thread length (if you can) to a 4 or 5 (long stitches).
#4 Start with the seam at the back of the tube. Go forward a few stitches and then backward for a few stitches... this keeps the first stitch in place. If you are working with a very light fabric like the gause type this green shirt was made out of it will want to pull out when you get a few stitches... so this just secures the stitch for you so you don't have to hand tie it.
#5 Go around the shirt and when you get to the spot where you started move your sewing foot over so the first line is just on the right of the sewing foot.
#6 Repeat step #5 14 - 17 times for childrens, and 20 - 25 times for adults, pulling a little so the stitches don't pucker as you are sewing, but they start to gather just behind your sewing foot. Then back stitch over your last row a few stitches to stablise it and leave an inch or so of thread.
#7 Lock stitch down the back seam making sure to go over each and every row where the elastic is and cut off the loose ends (there will be loose ends for each row where you had to pick up the needle and move it.)
#8 Steam the garment, and it should tighten up even more... and then add straps, ruffles, embelishments, etc...
Beautiful Val! I love the dress, and I was thinking about making a pg mama top for myself, but I don't think I have enough yardage to make 2x my width! LOL
Gorgeous, what a nice friend you are to make that top for her.
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,498
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnaYoga
Gorgeous, what a nice friend you are to make that top for her.
Thanks again mamas!
She is having baby #4, and she is also having a really hard time with just getting her body back and getting pg again. (She worked really hard at it)... and honestly, to be purly selfish, so is the exact opposite of me when it comes to size and shape (she and I are the same size and neither have any extra weight on us, but she is 5'2" and I am 5'11") so making clothes for her make it easy for me to figure out if my patterns really work on the rest of the world... not just me. That make sense? So I make her things a lot. But not tops... this is top #1. lol...
Wow! I love those iron ons! They look great with black. Your dd is a cutie!
Does everyone else make a tube? That seems more difficult to me for some reason. I just shir along the straight fabric and then put it together. Of course, sometimes the elastic comes loose this way, so maybe making a tube is the better way?
hmmm.....
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Colleen~Mama to three little monkeys, 8, 6 & 3
Location: When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Posts: 9,498
For me it depended how big it was... the dress I made for Rowan (the above womans youngest dd who just turned 2) was a little too small to make it effective for me to shir in a round like that again. And with Heathers shirt it was a little too big... so I think it depends on what you are making. It did (FOR SURE) make it easier to not have the shirring come loose that way... I lock stitched it before I even cut the ends of the rows, so I never had any come loose at all.
it turned out great 
, Ivy 
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