I've Got A Notion

I have been working away on the portrait project. I believe I've remade the eyes twice and the mouth at least 3 times but it does look like her. I've played with threads, stitches, paints and pencils and in the midst of my inexperience have come to some sort of agreement with all of that. One of the issues is that there are so many different techniques for doing this sort of sewing. All I know is that I will finish this portrait and do the next one differently. It is not that one method is any worse or better than the other. It is just that one technique is more likely to give me what my brain was envisioning. After all, this is a lot like making my first dress. So, lots more to come. I won't sew a garment until I am done this project. That decision is also fueled by the ability to shop for fabric down near Boston. I will be post my two vaccines soon and plan to make a day of it with my sister. I hope new fabrics will inspire as we get into warmer weather and get out of slouchier clothing. We'll see how that all plays out as well. I just know it is lookin' good out there now!!!  Each day we are closer to a happier, more huggable world and I can't wait! 

I've got a few notions for you to check out here, two new, one not so new but so indispensable. 

First are my Clover Pressing Strips. These are new to me. I saw them suggested somewhere on line and immediately went to order them. I cannot tell how many times I have ironed bias tubes and wished I had a strip to put in side that would take the heat of the iron and let me iron the seam open and then let me turn the tube and line that seam up evenly down the length of the tube. My vision has the seam line going perfectly down the middle or the side of the tube. Oh, I've done it but fingers get burned by steam, and it is a touchy, aggravating process. I have slipped a thing or two down a tube or two but they have always turned out to be something that got too hot and burned me or didn't come out of the tube very easily. I can't wait to try these. The package gives you lots of widths from spaghetti strap width to 18 millimeters, roughly a bit less than 3/4 of an inch. They are called Clover Loop Pressing Bars and are available in many places online with prices ranging from 8.00 to 9.50. I paid 8.00 and free shipping. 

                                   

My next great notion, and one I use A LOT, are my Derwent Inktense pencils. I know you have heard me mention these before. I've actually done a demo on them where I showed how to make a buttonhole on a print fabric a using a white thread, preferably cotton but poly can work too, and using the pencils with water to color the parts of the buttonhole thread  to match the parts of the print. The  BH literally disappears and it is really awesome. Another use is when you cut a buttonhole  and that white interfacing or that white back side of a fabric is showing on the front of the BH which may be made in a thread of an obvious color, say red  or blue. Once again, you can dip your pencil in a tiny dot of water to turn into paint and paint the inside edge of the BH where that white edge is sticking out. Looks so much better. Pressing anything you've painted with your Derwent pencils, which are technically "watercolor pencils" makes them permanent and I have had no problem with that. They are also great for mending and hiding those light thread ends. On this notion I say go  big or stay home. I have the 36 count tin which goes for around 50.00 but it is so nice to have all the colors to match up when I need them. I  have used them on my daughters face in my portrait project. They can be blended as well. I consider them a must have sewing notion at this point. I think if you get the smaller set you will wish for the larger one in no time. Make sure you get the INKTENSE pencils as Derwent makes many different kinds of pencils. 

My last is another new discovery and wow, do I love it! it is , let me take a deep breath here, "Acorn Precision Piecing Products Seam Align Glue", whew!  I must tell you, sewists, you do need to hang around the Local Quilt Shop. You will find amazing notions to really help any garment sewist that are not found in most places that have garment fabrics. OK, we've all heard of fabric glues. I've used many over the years from Aleene's  to Elmer's white school glue  to a fairly good product called Roxanne's Glue Gaste It and all in between. I use Wonder Tape a lot as well. This Acorn stuff, which my official name for it, from what I understand, is meant for people who do paper piece quilting. It is awesome for garment making as well. You have to use it in seams but that's the idea. It holds seams together. You put the tiniest dot imaginable  down in your seam allowance and then hit it with the iron. If you have one of those tiny applique irons that has sort of a leaf shaped end to it that gets really hot, that is perfect. (There is actually a picture of one on the front of the package of the pressing bars.) You heat that up and keep it carefully close by. You dot your seam allowance, press the fabrics together, hit with the tiny iron, or a big one, and boom! you're stuck and you can sew with no shifting. Needless to say, this has been great  for the tiny pieces on my portrait project. I also used it on a large mending project I did for a friend and it worked great. This glue has worked better than any I've tried over the years. It would be great to stick an underlining to the fashion fabric in the seam allowances before sewing to prevent shifting or to hold down those bias strips on Hong Kong seams that you wrap to the back and then topstitch, hmmmm,,,,How about some plaid matching too?  Warning, this glue looked ridiculously expensive on Amazon but it was in a 4 ounce bottle. My bottle is one ounce and from my LQS. I may have paid around 8.00 or so. I have used it a lot and it has barely moved in quantity. If you can find the one ounce bottle, I suggest trying that out first. I think you'll really like it. 

So these are some notions I am using right now, two of which I very recently discovered. I just have bumped into them and have no connection to anyone selling any of these products, just wanted to share a good thing.

                            

There is something really weird about walking into your studio when you haven't been in there for a couple of days and turn on the light to see your daughter's face looking up at you from under the presser foot on your machine. Haunting,,.:) ............Bunny

A few things I've learned.............

You know I have been on a bag marathon lately. Right now the boy bags are complete. I decided to make one for my other daughter's son as well and had to order another frame which should be in this week. Pics coming as soon as all the frames are in. I am pleased with the results and my favorite man thinks they are awesome. My latest project, also nearly done, is another mini NCW for our other granddaughter. So the machines have been humming and the cutters rolling! Here are a few tips gleaned from facebook groups that focus on bagmaking. I really appreciate all the knowledge they share and these tips really help me out.

CLIPS!

These can be the Wonder Clips by Clover. Some order large bags of generic clips through Amazon. I just hightailed it to KMart (limited resources in these parts) and got a bag full of binder clips. They all work. Why clips? They remove the distortion of pins. Bags can have some real shifty, bulky spots too. It is the nature of pins to go in and out and therefore get a bit bubbly. Clips keep everything flat and they squoosh any thick parts right down and hold those parts solidly. It really prevents the layers from sliding. Love my clips!

RELEASE PAPER !

This large piece on top is the same paper that backed the clear vinyl I used to waterproof the linings of the boy bags. This stuff is gold if are ever going to iron any kind of faux leather. I've sewn with tons of faux leather over the years. Ironing is next to impossible. Fusing? Forget it. What I have come to do is fuse the interfacing to batiste and stitch that in with the vinyl like an underlining. It works but it is more work. Appear this slick backing paper. It stays on  while you iron the clear vinyl to your fabric. You let the fabric cool and then slowly lift it off.

I decide to take a chance. Nearly every time I've used faux leather I've had some of it come off on the press cloth despite low temps. I had enough extra on my latest project to do an experiment. I laid the paper down on my steam press slick side up. I next laid down the faux leather, leather side down, touching the slick paper. Then came fusible interfacing on top with the glue side facing down on the faux leather. On top of this a dry press cloth. Fingers crossed, I lowered the steam press, gave it a burst of steam and then held it down for ten very long seconds. I was convinced it would be one melted horrid mess. I lifted the steam press and voila! One perfectly fused piece of faux leather. I let the pieces cool, slid them off the press, cooled them some more. Then I carefully peeled the slick paper from the faux leather. NOTHING! Nothing was damaged, melted or transferred. The fuse was totally solid and the leather looked perfect. I am sure this same process could be done with a regular iron as long as the same layering is done with the release paper. It was a Eureka moment.

Now don't think you have to run out and get clear vinyl to get the paper backing. The paper behind mailing labels  is the same thing, just a smaller page. I use Avery labels a lot at work and take home every sheet of paper when a page is used up. It is the same stuff and works perfectly.

SHISH KA BOB STICKS !

Need to push out the corners of those pocket bags? No, you don't stick the point or the blunt end in the corner. Instead, take the blunt end and starting a couple inches away from the corner, rub the blunt end along the seam line. The garment or bag would be right side out. Push that blunt end along the seam and right into the corner. Now run the chopstick along the other seam line on the opposite side of the corner in the  exact same fashion. You will be amazed how well this works and how stress free and simple it is. You have to push that stick right on the seam line starting a distance from the actual corner. I don't get the physics but it really works. I am a total convert for corner points now.

LOW TACK TAPE !

This is used to cover that nice hardware once it is installed. It keeps the scratching down and I will do this the minute any hardware is installed from now on. This turn lock tooks some serious chiseling to get installed but in the end looks great. This is Sophie's bag that I worked on today. It is so close to done and there is a lot of color in  it that you can't see.  I'll show yo later. Look at all those clips doing their thing!

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This week has found us leaving  months long drought status. While we were blessed with incredible weather all summer and fall a deluge the past three days has filled the wells and given everything a good solid drink before winter sets in. At the end of the rain event, the temp dropped,  the snow began and the sun came out. I thought I'd share a few pics Ern and I took on our sojourn today.  This is an area called Red Tavern Road where everyone lives off the grid and the river is running wild. 

 A little blowdown. 

And this last pic I took in the rain a couple days ago on my way home from work. It's a half mile from the driveway and it just took my breath away. What a beautiful goodbye to a lovely Summer and Fall....Bunny

The Singer Steam Press

A long craved for new toy has entered the studio and I AM LOVING IT! Say hello to my new Singer steam press. This is one serious steam maker and presser. It is easy to use and dangerous if not careful. My first pressing date resulted in three different blister burns on my hands.  Like Pavlov's dog, I am now wiser and smarter when I use this new toy.  It is simple to use and definitely is the ultimate piece of equipment for fusing. I've been working on bags lately and that means a LOT of fusing. Why I waited so long to get one of these, who knows? The price is less than some professional irons and Amazon prime provided the instant gratification.

My sewing studio opens up to the family room with french doors. Right outside those doors is a big empty space whose use is basically traffic flow. After some discussion, husband and I set up this pressing station behind the futon. There is still more than enough space for traffic flow and the family room does not feel crowded at all.  I can easily take it down if company is coming.  I have the press on the table, lots of space to the left for placing project pieces and my regular iron set up at the end. It all works really well. I'm happy!

 And here is a peak at my current project. It is the Stella Weekender bag from Swoon Bags. Rhonda Buss is currently doing a sew along on the Sew News website and you all know how great Rhonda is at teaching and inspiring! I am a bit ahead of her sew along as I need mine for a baby gift and the baby was just born. I will be following closely with Rhonda so keep an eye on her class/sew along.

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THANK YOU, all of you, for the warm welcome back. It is so great to be with sewing friends............Bunny

NLS #10, Pressing Matters

Pressing matters, that subject head has certainly been used before in the sew blogging community but it's true. Pressing really matters a lot. It is probably the most important thing you will do to contribute to a professionally sewn garment. And notice, the word is "pressing", not ironing.

Ironing is moving the iron horizontally back and forth over your garment or fabric to smooth out the wrinkles. Pressing action consists of pressing your iron down on the garment, hopefully with a press cloth in  between, then lifting directly up. There is NO horizontal movement.

June Tailor Press Board from sews.com

The more you sew, the more aware you will be of proper pressing. Your new habit will spur you to do it better each time and to help you get the best "evidence of effort", to quote Roberta Carr, there are tools out there to help you gain quality results. These tools pretty much have been around for generations and are time tested and worth the investment. If you see yourself getting into any tailoring efforts, they are necessary. They make the process easier. 

Above is the June Tailor Press Board,aka, tailoring board. It is available at smaller vendors like  Heirlooms Forever as well as places like Nancy's Notions and Amazon. Most of what I will mention is available from these vendors so won't link further on. 

OK, this press board is quite impressive with all it's points,  angles and curves. Why would you press a seam on a board like this? For one, the edges of the seam allowances hang off the edge you are using on the board and thus prevent show through ridges on the public side of the garment. Look at this thing and imagine pressing open hip curves, princess seams, tiny sleeves on heirloom children's garments, etc. An the point  is priceless. A point presser  like this can allow you to press open graded seams on collars to give you a beautiful point when turned. I also like to trim down my points while the collar, cuff, whatever is on the point of the board. It makes it much easier and less prone to accidental cutting. I know Santa's coming but if you don't want to spring the fifty-sixty dollars for this sweet toy, use what I use:

This tool is a point presser/clapper. I like how it has a really sharp point. The larger bottom is used to literally clap/slap/pound your garment details into submission. It is great for taming welt pockets and bound buttonholes and other details with various thicknesses. Over pounding can make your seams transmit to the public side of the garment. You can get around that by having a very well padded surface underneath like a doubled up towel. Other times you want that clapper to bang the fabric into total flatness and submission like on the edge of an edgestitched  blouseweight. With practice you will learn what to have underneath your fabric before you pound. To prevent shine, always use a press cloth between the clapper and the garment. I use this a LOT. It's indispensable for collar making, IMO. 

Then there is the lowly ham and the not so lowly ham:

Courtery stitchnerdcustomshop.com

courtesy bblackandsons.com

Hams are absolutely essential to sewing. All those curved seams, ie, princess seams, are pressed to perfection on a ham. It is probably  best known for setting the shape into a collar which you wrap around the ham like a neck. The collar is securely pinned and heavily steamed while on the ham, no touching. I mean heavy steam. Then you can leave it overnight to dry before installing in your jacket or coat.  I use the basic plaid ham but would I ever love one of those custom hams from Stitch Nerd. Wowsa!

( google hassling me on photo, I'll try later.)

Complimenting the ham is the seam roll, something I love but did without for a long time. My sub was a rolled up thick magazine which worked fairly well. Seam rolls are great for getting into pant legs and sleeves that are already stitched up. 

There are items around the home or that you can DIY that will help your pressing a lot. There are wooden dowels for pressing long seams without ridges. Porch railings work the best as they have the curved surface on top and a flat area below preventing rolling. I use my dowel quite a bit. 

Above is my treasured dawber, made from a tight roll of cashmere, and a cheap paintbrush. These are great for dipping in water and placing the water drops in the well of the seam on the wrong side to press open. This is done on fabrics that you don't want to overpress like cashmere or fine heavy wool coatings, suitings too. A word about cashmere: it is very sensitive to pressing, scorching and getting overpressed and damaged quite easily. I like to iron it as little as possible and use my daubers a lot to tame the details. An iron with a good point helps a lot here as well. You just place that iron tip in the well of the seam after it has been daubed with water. Once again, over a presscloth. 

And speaking of press cloths, favorites are silk organza as it allows you to see the garment underneath and takes high heat.  Poly organza will melt in this situation. I also have handy some old well worn men's handkerchiefs. You can buy them by the pack  at the box stores and they make great press cloths. 

My favorite pressing tool of all, partly because June Tailor doesn't make them anymore:

You can see my June Tailor Pressing Mitt is well worn. I literally place it inside an installed sleeve and steam from the outside. It does a great job of getting rid of any puckers in the sleeve head. I also like to use it to shape sleeves in tailoring like you see here:

For more on how I use this tool to mold sleeves you can check out this link.    Stitch Nerd does make these but I think with a little creativity you can probably make your own. 

I haven't gotten into technique much here  and that is because others have done it all so much better than me. Ann Steeves of Gorgeous Fabrics ( and they are  gorgeous) was so moved by the lack of pressing seen in the sewing community that she did a very funny and educational video on how and why to press. Check out her Pressinatrix Video.  It truly is the best out there.  (Scroll down.) And when she says to iron the seam as sewn to meld the seams, BELIEVE HER. There is a well known sewing instructor out there who says it is not necessary. Ann will show you the proof why she is wrong. Check out this blogpost of hers for proof. Another great pressing video is from Nancy Zieman and can be found here. 

As Roberta Carr said, "Sewing is Pressing". Quality results are not achieved without pressing. I think my new motto is "effort in, evidence shown", to paraphrase Roberta once again. Please share you tips and techniques to help others with their learning curve on pressing skills. I greatly appreciate all your experiences, no matter how unique. What works for you?

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Next Level Sewing will take a break over the holidays and will return on January 5th. Hope you have a glorious and wonderful holiday with your families. Maybe Santa will see this post and get a few hints for your sewing basket!..........Bunny

Catstitching and Marks , B5960

I continue to take this really simple coat pattern and work on adding more structure to it. So far you've seen me underline the center front panels with flannel and hair canvas.

This pattern piece, the center front will be folded in half, part going on the outside, part going on the inside of the garment as facing. That fold will be pressed in at the edge of the flannel you see above. I have visions of this interlining getting twisted up and shifting inside the sewn shut fold some time later on up the road when I send it to be cleaned. I chose to catchstitch the edge of the flannel interlining along that fold. This really adds nothing to  shape but is integral to keeping the interlining in place. I used extra fine black thread and a thin needle and did the catch stitch along the edge. See that little stitch on the needle? The pad of my ring finger is under there. The wool fabric is rolled over that finger pad with each stitch and therefore giving some curve and slack to the thread. I didn't want anything to dimple so the tension of the stitch is looser than normal. Rolling the wool over the ring finger pad with each stitch helps.

Here are my pressing tools! I made this little tailor's dauber years ago. I use it to dip in water, rub it across the well of the seam and then press. But today I will use my angled paintbrush. Any small paint brush will do.

My seam is on a seam roll to prevent impressions telegraphing to the right side. I dip the little paint brush in water and run it down about 4 inches of seam. Then I iron the seam open with the point only of the iron, lifting the back end of the iron as I go along. I am only using the point here. Once the seam is pressed till the moisture visually disappears, I let it sit till dry. It does take time but this gives a good sharp open seam on bulky fabrics. Once the entire seam is done all is flipped over and the seam is ironed with the point again, a press cloth and some steam, but not much.


Please forgive the harsh linty looking photos. You have to alter the photo with black fabric or the details can't be seen. In real life, this fabric is lovely and glows.
Another thing I do when using wools like this is to be aware of bulk and reduce it when possible. Before I sew any seams I clip them back to reduce bulk.

The marking on this garment was done with silk thread using tailor tacks and basting.

It's really critical to get the lines right for the pockets. What appears to be just topstitching on the outside of the coat is quite necessary structure. First they were marked on the wrong side with waxed marking paper and a serrated wheel. This stuff is hard to remove so must be done on the wrong side. But I needed to see these lines on the right side.

 

On the wrong side I used silk thread and a basting stitch to follow the waxed line I just drew. This will show on the right side when I am ready for topstitching. Do you see my masking tape with the "W" on it  to let me know this is the wrong side? I'd be in a world of crappo if I didn't do that!

I also got my stays in the coat and will show you how I did that tomorrow.  In the meantime here's a pic from the other day. We watched these beauties pick there way  across the river on the ice. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so much wildlife....Bunny