Jersey stabilizer - shopping tip for Swedish residents

Head's up: my inner geek slipped out and went exploring the wonderful world of sewing gadgets... (nerdy sewing post ahed =) ) A little ode to my new favorite toy tool!

Now that I've dared to venture into the land of jerseysewing, I've come upon the problem of stabilizing the overlocked seams. Some seams can gladly stretch (hello waistline) while others needs to retain their shape and length (like shoulders). Previously I've used a stabilizer from "Stoff och stil". It works, but it's 20 mm wide, so it needs to be cut in half to go through the overlock "tape-feeder". The tape then rests inside the seam and a bit outside.

However, when examining some purchased jersey tops I noticed a small, non-elastic non-fusible tape, totally enclosed in the shoulder seams. After searching high and low, both the internet and local shops (and shops in Stockholm) I finally found it in one place: Jofotex tyger.

(Pic source and direct link to the tape)

I don't know if they ship international, bur for Swedes it's a great resource. Unfortunatly, while the tape is cheap (2 SEK/m) the shipping is 60 sek minumin, and you need to purchase for at least 200 sek. That's a lot of tape... I bought 42 metres (what they had in store at the time) and a jersey fabric that was on sale. The fabric wasn't a necessary purchase, and the colour turned out to be wrong for me. I don't care though, I love this tape!

From now on it's steady shoulder seams for me, with no problems whatsoever. Just insert the tape by lifting the presser foot and then place the tape into the tape-guide, lower the presser foot, take a few stitches to get the tape secured to the seam, and I'm good to go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzYs_8LNBSM

A short video on how to easiest insert the tape into the tape guide (about 35 sec into the video). I'm adding it because while maybe you all knew this trick, I did it the hard way; trying to push the tape into the guide with the machine feeding the tape forward. Not so smooth. Not even close. Turned out the way they intended the machine to be used really is the easiest. Who could have known! ; )

Look how nicely the tape lays inside the overlocked seam, stabilizing without adding bulk.

The project? It's actually done, and I'll show it to you very, very soon =)

Love/ Erika

Ever killed your darling when sewing?

In all kinds of writing, the moment always arrives when you have to "kill your darling" - i.e. remove that one favorite scene from the novel, or skip the analyctic question that got you interested in writing about a certain academic topic - because they just doesn't fit. On they're own, they're the whole point with the creation, but when put into a context, they are at best unnecessary and at worst they bring down the entire work a notch.

Ever had to kill your darling when sewing? See, I had this clear image in my head of the perfect jersey dress-pattern.

It's easy to cut and sew with only three pieces (plus bands for neckline and sleeves), and yet flattering. At least in my mind... In reality?

Not so much. I love the theory of it. I look at the pattern and it looks perfect. But I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter if I alter it, add more fabric, etc. At the end of the day, the skirt style just doesn't fit me. It's too tight around my *erhm* tummy and butt, showing off every bump along the way, even adding bumps I swear isn't there. Maybe in a heavy interlocked jersey, but this is meant for summer and dance practice: it needs to work in thin, comfy single jerseys as well.

New plan:

Divided at the waist, skirt gathered to the waist. Elastic sewn into the overlocked waist-seam, accentuating the waist and my curves in a positive way. I know the drawing looks very similar to the first version (which is why I thought I could get away with it) but the pattern pieces are very different for the waist-area and the top of the skirt. 

More pieces, takes a little longer to cut and sew, but it will be worth it to get a dress I will actually use instead of one that will be tossed into the darkness of the closet, never to re-surface.

And it worked! The new, re-drafted pattern will probebly serve as a blockpattern for all sorts of summerdresses in the future =)  It did take a little while longer than the other dress, but a total of 5 hours to cut and sew is still very much ok for me.

The sleeves looks a bit uneven, but that's just an illusion. I promise they're even in reality! =)

Had to include one photo using the flash, to give you all a better idea about the fabric. It looks almost brown in the other photos, but it's more of a deep burgundy.

My darling has been properly killed. Although... I could save the pattern for winter, since it might work a lot better in a stable, heavy interlock... Hopeless optimistic patternmaker, that's me! =)

Ever had to kill your darling when sewing?

Love, Erika

Celebrations, family, friends and a haircut

Two weeks ago (May 9) I turned "old lady". Yup, my age no longer begins with a 2... A quite nice feeling! I know there's some sort of conventional age-hysteria one should get when turning 30, but I'm just not feeling it. If I'm happy with my life, where I am and the direction my life is moving in, then why worry about age? Sure, 25 sounds better in our youth-celebrating society, but would I want to be where I was when I was 25? Not a chance! So I'm embracing my new, mature age, and am very much looking forward to what this new decade in my life will bring =)

Also, it's not so hard to turn 30 when one is celebrated for two weeks... =)

Flowers (pic taken the next day though) and a delicious dinner out with the man in my life, on the big day.

Weekend 11-13 of May the local dance scene organized a lindy/balboa camp. Best of all was that Malin and Johannes could come for the whole weekend! They came without the children, and while I of course was sad to not get to spend time with the kids, at the same time I'm glad M and J could focus on attending classes and socials. I'll just visit them later this summer and play with the kids then =) So the old gang got together for a wonderful birthday dinner out, Malin and Johannes, Rita and Erik, me and the mr. Fun!

Me and Marita during the open reception. Please ignore the background - we sneaked off from the festivities to get a better picture.

After a few days of rest (meaning normal workdays) it was time again: now off to Stockholm to celebrate with family and childhood friends. We had a 4-day holiday in Sweden this last weekend, so it seemed smart to get a bit of extra time in the city. Stockholm was at its best: green everywhere, lovely scents of early summer in the air, sunny and warm. Thursday May 17, I had an open reception for family and friends (at mom's place).

Friday, I got a haircut at Retroella, and talented Sara fixed a hairdo superfast. Love how she formed the bang-roll, I'm so going to learn how to do that on my own!

After I had been properly styled, I and Marita went shopping / taking a slow stroll while checking out stores. Lot's of walking, and we eventually ended up in the Old town. I couldn't resist a classic "Look, the alley is so narrow I can touch both walls!"-photo:

Saturday, it was time for my sister to go home to Malmö. I, dad and my aunt waved her off at the platform (family tradition).

Then the three of us went out for lunch and a cup of tea / coffee at Vetekatten. They have a nice outdoors-section, perfect for sunny summerdays.

My "day-after" attempt at the bang-roll. So and so, not horrible, but not perfect.

Sorry, I look a bit distant in this pic. The sun was really bright and I was fighting to hold my eyes open =)

All in all, it was a lovely weekend in Stockholm, and I feel blessed to have been celebrated so thoughrouly by family and friends over the past weeks. Love you, guys! 

I fell a bit in love with my old hometown (again). Not eunough to want to live there, but eunough to feel good about returning soon. Like tonight... We're going to Stockholm Blues dance Weekend now! I'm very excited about this, blues dancing is a passion that has been growing the past years, but I've never had an oppurtunity to take proper classes. Very much looking forward both to the classes and to the socials! I've finished sewing a jersey dress from a new pattern I've drafted, but that's another post ; ) I'm hoping it will be a good dance-practice dress, we'll see after the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Love / Erika

My sewing space

I've organized my sewing area! For me, the purpose of the Ikea-trip earlier this year was to get the last things needed to put the final touches on my sewing area. Some small things to organize it and make it user-friendly. Since then I've been torn whenever I've had a day over: organize or sew? Last weekend I finally set the sewing aside, and re-organized my stuff.

I started with taking out all my fabrics, and only keep the ones I have a planned project for (and a small pile with fabrics that I have a few different ideas for, but haven't decided on which idea I prefer). The rest, about 1/3, went to the storage room in the basement. Some of it I know I want to keep, but have no immediate use of (like 12 m of white linen. For example), other stuff I'm more uncertain of. Ah well, later problem =) The fabric above is what I kept in the appartement...

The fabric all neatly(?) stashed in my vintage linen cupboard, aka the fabric closet. See, there's even room for more! Yay! Does mean I can go fabric shopping? ;) Before, I've sorted fabric by content, now I tried something different: sorting by type of garment it will become. The jersey's got their own pile, though.
I know a lot of people store their fabric on open shelfs, which is very pretty and inspiring. However, I've had some of these pieces for more years than I care to admit, and keeping it safe from sunlight and dust is a priority. Hence, doors are a must.

Overview of the fabric closet, the sewing bookcase, my hatboxes, and how I store my pressing table. Easy to reach but away from sight, just how I need it to be to have the energy to put it away between sewing sessions!

I cleaned out the bookcase rather good to, all my sewing books actually fits into it now! And my boxes for supplies/thread/special scissors etc (notions and haberdashy). My patterns also lives here, in the white+grey boxes.

I had some problems of what to do with all the toille fabric (I bought 25 meter at Ikea...). I made the underbed storage box a pure toille-supplies box with fabric, tracingpaper etc. The other box is for all the non-sewing related craft supplies, like yarn for knitting, knitting needles, lace-patterns, crocheting supplies and so on.

Where the sewing actually happens: the desk. Made a lot easier to use with all the small thing out of way and up on the wall. The wall hanger is actually an Ikea kitchen tool, very handy. The computer's on the small hutch, and when I spend more time in front of it (like now, writing a blog post) it takes 5 sec to lift it up on the desk. I find having it like this means I don't get stuck in front of the computer so much.
The thing on the right of the desk is a closet that one can spin around, on the other side there´s a full length mirror. Very practical when fitting! It holds the project boxes I got at Ikea, plus pressing supplies and my UFO-pile (which is safely hidden out of sight). It's so easy to have it all in a box, pattern, fabrics, toille, and then a lid on it so it doesn't get dusty.

Over the desk: a print of 19th century outfits. I did realise when mounting the handle on the wall that I had bought too few hooks. Don't worry, it will be remedied this summer!

So there you are, a full tour of my sewing area! I don't have a cutting table, but one of the best things with this huge bedroom is that I can place 4 metres of fabric, 150 cm wide, flat on the floor and there's still room to walk around it. Without moving any furniture or so =)
Hope you enjoyed the look! How do you sew, do you have a separate sewing room (oh, in my dreams...)? Or a designated area? Do you store lot's of fabric "that can be useful in the future" or do you only buy for one project at a time?

Love, Erika

I'm sewing jersey!

A while ago my mom visited for a weekend. Always such a treat to have her here! There was plenty of good food, late talks and of course our Saturday morning special: Scones to the music-crossword on the radio. With the phone nearby so we could call my aunt for the questions we didn't know... =)

Umeå dancefestival was the same weekend, so we took the oppurtunity to test some new dances during the taster-classes daytime, and then we lindy-ed the night away. Lucky for me, mom's an amazing and experienced dancer who regarded joining her daughter for an evening of lindy hop as a fun experiment rather than a terrifying nightmare =) I had the best lindy social so far this year! Great dancers, great floor, swingin' band and oh boy, I was in the mood =)

Besides from being a wonderful dancer, mom has a lot of experience in sewing the material that fills me with dread: jersey. Ehum, yes, I'm one of those "I can't remember when I started sewing, mom taught me the basics when I was a kid" =) I wish I had paid more attention though, as a lot of the so called "couture sewing techniques" is what my mom calls regular home-sewing. My hope is to one day equal her skills and her attention to details! In the mean time, I sprung on the oppurtunity of having her here to hold my hand for my first real attempt at sewing a jersey top. I used my bodice block/sloper and made changes to adjust it to the stretch of the jersey. Made a toille, laughed a bit, analyzed it with mom, and then made a second attempt on my own. This is what I came up with:

And from the side/back:

This jersey is a bit too heavy for such a fitted top, my next attempt will be in a lighter weight jersey. Also, mom was right. A real shocker, right? ;) Looking at the toille she figured I could take out a total of 4 cm on the width to make it fit better. I thought I knew better (doesn't kids always?) and doubled the reduction. Look at the front, at the dent in the bust-area: She was right. *Sigh* Next time, I'll listen to my mother! =)

Right now, I'm working on a blouse in a pretty floral fabric that keeps trying to slip more fabric layers beneth the sewing machine feet than I want it to.

I'm hoping though that this blouse will show me that my pattern is finally ready for the gorgeus italian silk I've had in stash for over a year...

 The silk fabric with last years pattern laid out, for an idea of the size of the print.

 A close up of the fabric. Look at those structure lines, they're actually woven into the fabric and therefore 3-dimensional.

And of course, there are many more adventures with jersey planned! After all, now I have a working sloper and there's no end to the possibilities. Dresses for summer/comfy homewear/dance practice ispretty high on the list...

Wish me luck! =)

Love, Erika