Teeny Tiny bag

These small zip bags were created using a free pattern from So Sew Easy. I was able to make one in under an hour. Very cute.

http://so-sew-easy.com/teeny-tiny-mini-zipper-pouch/

Three cute bags

My very first teeny tiny zip pouch

Vogue 8793 - a creative long sleeved top

Vogue 8793

This pattern requires three different fabrics or prints. I used fabrics from my stash and did not have quite enough of one of the contrasts to cut the required collar pieces so introduced a fourth fabric for the collar. At that stage I was not very impressed with my selections so omitted the zipper trim on the collar.

The only fit adjustment was to shorten the sleeves by about an inch and half. I machine basted the body of the top together and tried it on for fit, which is when I found the sleeves too long. I then serged over the basting to complete the top.

The collar piece was quite thick due to all the layers and while it worked, it may be preferable to construct the top and collar with light weight knits throughout.

The hem was serged, then stuck down with hem tape. I used a size 90 4mm twin needle to stitch the hem.

Janome Memory Craft 5700 borders

Today I followed the instructions that came with the border design card and embroidered my first actual border. It is a bit lumpy because I didn't use stabiliser and didn't have enough fabric margin on one side to completely fill the hoop.

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T-shirts from Burda Start III 3197

I have made three t-shirts from the Burda 3197 pattern. Each one has a slight style variation, and each one fits slightly differently due to the differences in stretch of each fabric.

These t-shirts also mark my first attempts at twin needle stitching which did not go well until the last shirt. I have an old Janome 5700 and to get the twin needle to stitch with minimal skipping took a lot of trial and error.

 

The three settings that worked for me were - 

• putting paper strips under the fabric and stitching through it
• adjusting the needle position two steps to the left of centre
• having a shorter stitch length of 2.8 instead of my usual 3 or 3.5

 

With those three settings in place I almost eliminated the skipped stitches that occurred previously.

Each t-shirt had to have the shoulders adjusted inwards by about 1cm. I did not use the facing provided in the original pattern. Instead applying a cowl type rectangle to the black top, folding over and stitching the neck of the purple top and applying a narrow band to the green top.

The seams are over-locked/serged. The sleeves of the green top were machine embroidered using large flower motifs.

 

I completely missed the indelible knit line when sewing the green top and it has not come out in the wash. So today I embroidered a line of stitching over it.

 

 

 

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