Quick Sewing FO

Just a short post (well, shorter than usual anyway) to show off my latest project.

Thread Catcher

For: my studio

Date: November 29, 2011

Materials: cotton muslin, sample pieces shibori-dyed in alizarin with rust from bulldog clips; lining – vintage heavyweight cotton, black; non-woven fusible interfacing.

Notions: Nylon webbing, black (recycled from an old backpack), Gutermann polyester sewing thread, black; nylon string-trimmer cord.

Pattern: Pincushion Thread Catcher from Kathy Beymer, free tutorial here.

Modifications: I didn’t stuff the pincushion but interfaced with stiff fusible interfacing and topstitched the edges. I used recycled nylon webbing for the straps. The bag was pretty much as instructed but I used string-trimmer cord for the boning. I also stitched a decorative band around the top edge of the bag.

Comments: The decorative band was a little sloppy! I ran out of bobbin thread while stitching and backtacking with the black thread on the muslin showed more than I would have liked. Oh well. It’s functional anyhow and a nice reminder that my machine does have some interesting stitches that I never use.

The reason that I didn’t stuff the pincushion was so that it remained flat to fit underneath my serger which sits on an old mouse pad to keep down the vibrations and noise. I tucked it underneath the mouse pad in the exact spot to catch the strips from the cutters.

Now I want to make another smaller one for the sewing machine!

This is all part of my ongoing efforts to make my sewing experiences more comfortable and convenient. I’ve already noticed a big difference since I put a hook on the side of the sewing table right beside the sewing machine for the small scissors. Now I can access them easily and not lose them among the debris or have them get knocked on the floor with the risk of damaging either me, the floor or the scissors themselves. I don’t like them actually attached to me which might have been another option. I’ve tried wearing them around my neck but they seem to get in the way too much. And any connecting string or elastic or whatever just annoys me when I go to cut something.

Yesterday I also pinned up my press cloths to the wall near the ironing board using bulldog clips and pushpins. I have a teflon sheet, a square of silk organza, and an old baby diaper left over from when my kids were small. However judging by this article from Threads, I could probably stand to make a few more options!

Another project I want to get to eventually is a pressing ham. I have the sawdust – thanks to T-Man’s woodturning! And of course the appropriate fabrics are somewhere in the stash boxes. I just have to do it. Eventually.

But right now I have to go wash a mountain of dishes that has accumulated because I actually forgot to do them yesterday. I managed to get carried away looking at the clothes on the Navabi website. Go here and select your country, unless you can read German. I clicked the Canadian one just to see the prices. And then go to the Lagenlook Boutique. These clothes are very much my style though I guess not in my budget. Or probably not even in my size since I’m at the lowest end of their size scale and a lot of the garments are made in one or at most 2 general sizes. However, I can steal knock-off borrow the ideas with abandon now that I have some basic patterns to work with that really do fit me. The photos have a zoom feature that allows me to see sewing details in most of the garments – except the really black-black ones! The style photos on the model are a bit annoying though when they cover up the top I’m trying to view with another top, a handbag and the model’s hair. Don’t you agree that she should really get a more stylin’ haircut and funkier shoes so she looks like someone who actually wears these clothes? Or is it just me? The story of this company is interesting though. It’s here.