Sewing frustration (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

*sigh* I've tried to sew velcro onto makeshift drapes for our linnen closet a few times now. The stupid thing is that I keep running into problems and I just know that I'm doing -something- wrong; I just don't know what.

My thread keeps breaking, though the polyester thread seems less affected than cotton. My needle keeps getting covered in glue and it seems that the top wire (when using my sewing machine) just isn't getting the right tension. Dammit! Who knew that sewing a few one inch strips of fabric could be so hard?!

Quick! To the Internets for guidance!



Posted in: aaugh , frustration , sewing , velcro

Sewing, an awesome skill for the frugal (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

I've made no secret of how happy I am to own my Pfaff 1215 sewing machine. It's been with me for over eleven years now and it's running as smoothly as the day it was given to me as a present. I'm also glad that I'm at least moderately proficient in handling the machine and making basic repairs.

Let me tell you, basic sewing skills are a must for the economical! $DEITY knows that repair shops charge you an arm and a leg for basic repairs to clothing and it's always a shame to just throw out good clothing. Would you believe that I was once quoted forty euros, just to repair the zipper on a pair of jeans? Unbelievable! Being able to sew has saved us a lot of money over the years.

Tonight I fixed a tear in a pair of jeans and trimmed the legs which were too long and which had gone ragged. These jeans were about a year old, had cost me seven euros (yes seven, not seventy) and I reckon I can still get a good year out of them this way. Nice :)

Posted in: frugal , pants , repairs , sewing

This is one of my favorite pictures by Lewis Hine (Punkadyne Labs (Punkwalrus))

There was a time in our nation's history, less than 100 years ago, where small children were a source of cheap labor.  Many of these kids got paid a few cents a day, and many impoverished parents depended on their income just to keep food on the table. This is one of the reasons they have truancy laws; many of these kids were taken from school where they might have learned enough to have a better life. Often, if these kids did go to school, it was after a night shift, and many of them simply fell asleep in class because it weas the only time they really got sleep.

One of the most haunting items about this picture is a child, turning away from the dull and grime of her work, and facing the outside with a blank stare that hides just the hint of a wistful look. Like we're watching childhood dying. Posted in: factory , hine , photo , sewing

sewing fiend (Never melts (meef)) by jen

I guess if you have no geeky interest in sewing or cloth diapers, you can just go move along now. I've been sewing like a madwoman lately, gets me some quiet time! I had a lot of stuff cut out from my projects over the years and I've been purging my scraps and figured I'd sew up what I had. I also did something new, just for fun. Eventually my sewing table will be clean enough to work on a quilt. Imagine that.

Here's a XS (newborn) sized AIO I made with the very baby pattern:



Another picture for scale! Believe it or not this size fit my nearly 9 lb son till he was almost 2 mos old.



And two S AIOs from the same pattern:



And a ton of training pants I made from another pattern. I don't even USE training pants, but okay. I thought I would when I had this all cut out. Maybe I'll use them with the next 2 trainees, who knows.



Next up for bids we have a fleece pocket from the very baby aio pattern. I love these fleece pockets, I've made a ton of them. I guess I missed sewing this one up since the pieces was under a piece of furniture. Oops. I didn't feel like using such wide velcro on such a small diaper so I used lime green snaps instead. It looks cute with the navy. And it's not as wonky and uneven as it looks in the picture... the elastic is just tight... a necessity around here with the skinny-legged minions. If I hadn't been too lazy to stuff it before taking the pic perhaps it'd look nicer.



Finally there's the prefold-to-fitted linked in my last post about this. I admit this kind of sucks in the tab area, but it's functional. If it looks kind of flat and stiff that's because it's a line-dryed prefold and as soon as it hits the dryer it should be fine. The print is the same print I used inside the training underpants. It's a cotton stretch knit. I have lots of scraps, some of which can be cut to fit on a prefold. Better than tossing them.



I used every bit of the prefold, the extra went to making some more absorbency. I sewed this in like a flap because I seriously hate tracking down and matching inserts. Next time I'm putting microfleece on top. I have tons of small scraps of that too.



And thus ensuring I NEVER SEE THIS DIAPER AGAIN, the girl wanted it on her doll. Notice the belly. Yes, I have shorts on, honest. I don't sew nude from the waist down or anything.



Well there you have it. I've got a few more things in the works and I think I'll make a bunch of the prefold things in 2 sizes, I do use them occasionally. I might tweak the pattern though. Then I'd like to make my quilt that's been in the wings since.. uh.. 2002... and then a blanket for D. And L insists I make him a pillow too.

I miss my sewing machine. I need to get that fixed. Right now I'm using my mother's older, non-computerized machine (hey, she hasn't missed it yet.) and while it is the same brand and pretty much sew the same as mine, the controls are in a different place and despite doing ALL this work, I haven't gotten used to it yet. Posted in: diapers , sewing

sewing (Never melts (meef)) by jen

I'm bored. I like to sew. I need something to do that's not work, or that involves standing up, or dirty dishes.

I love sewing diapers but I think we've got enough for a long time. (many of which I sewed myself, but some people think that's silly.) I thought about trying something like this for fun. They're cheap, and I might have an easier time unloading more of them when I'm done using them if they are in "prefitted" state. I already have a bunch of them that I made from my own design, but something with velcro and flaps and embellishment might be fun. Mine are more utilitarian. So I think I'll try that or modify that.

Also have some fabric left to sew training pants even though I never used the ones I did make. Maybe the boy will need them, who knows. (yes I know what you're thinking, but things don't work that way.)

I also made a bunny from the Put Together Book shown here (hopefully) and maybe I can make more. I have the robots book and I'd like to make some stuff for the boy, since I already have his dresser planned out and I have robot and spaceship drawer pulls!

I've been sorting out my scraps, using the little ones for wipes, making piles of possible crazy quilt contenders, tossing lots of little "what were you thinking?" stuff that I'll probably find a use for after the trash collectors come.

I'd love to learn to knit but I'm too lazy to jump that cliff. I'd like to get my sewing room cleaned up first.

Any other ideas? What do you like to sew? Am I an old fogey? Posted in: sewing

Sewing again (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Many would declare me mad upon hearing that I've started yet another project for my free time. Thing is: most of the currently running projects offer me little to no relaxation! The VVE and Anime 2007 are indeed fun and challenging to work on, but they also place quite a burden on my shoulders: responsibility for a great deal of money and people. Also, studying for my LPIC exams I can hardly count as a hobby either! Who's ever found homework to be an agreeable pass-time?

Of course I'm vegging away in front of the TV a lot, with DVDs and a few series that I'm following. But show me one man who declares such a pass-time as valuable or worthy! Now, thanks to a fellow Ars Lounge blogger I've found a project that is both useful, educational and it helps clean out the house as well! I'm gonna keep quiet as to what it is that I'm making, save to say that I've picked up sewing again :)

In the past I used to work the ol' Pfaff Synchromatic 1215 quite often, making garb for my bouts in the SCA. When I left the SCA my trusted sewing machine fell into disuse, only being pulled out to make repairs to clothes, or to modify some jeans for Marli.

But that's changed now! I still count the Pfaff as one of my best birthday presents ever and I'm going to see to it that it gets good use during this new project!

EDIT:
Thinking about the SCA got me to search YouTube since they're bound to have some clips about the Society. And they do :D Looking back I realise that the Anachronists are a well-meaning bunch but that most of the stuff that goes on is about as realistic as Jack-shit. Still, it was a big load of fun while I was still in.

Posted in: project , relaxing , sca , sewing

look at my big blue butt! (Never melts (meef)) by jen

I tried to post this on the pin but those bastards complained about my images being way too big or some crap. We use cloth diapers around here, if that bores you, grosses you out, or makes you feel like leaving a nasty post, then move along, nothing to see here... I made the boy a couple fleece pockets tonight because I want to try them around the house in the summertime or when we need an airy Posted in: diapers , kids , sewing