When I volunteered to assist with making costumes for the local pantomime, I thought I would just need my usual sewing kit. For the first costume, that was the case, dress for the female, youth lead,
However, when the next one was for the king of the rats, I needed to use tools less commonly associated with sewing.
Thank you to Youtube for tips on cutting and sewing long-haired fake fur.
Shirt number 2 for son number 2 is completed. As this was a rush job to give to him when he was home for a weekend, there are no more photos of construction, only the final item.
There are still some fitting issues in the armpit, although this yoke fits him much better. The sleeves look oddly full in this photo, but they really are not.
The kilt was for our annual Burns Supper, so much fun.
A quilt to finish the year with. “ Proper” patchwork made from two worn out shirts, a discarded calico curtain from a charity shop and backed with a fabric picked up at the bric a brac stall at a quilt show.
No photos of the full quilt as the light is too low today.
I have not made many quilts this year as I have been diverted back to clothes making. My younger son has difficulty finding shirts to fit his narrow shoulders and long, slender frame so I volunteered to make him some. Unlike women’s clothing, there is a little choice in patterns for men’s shirts, but several bloggers use Burda 7045, however I anticipated having to make many pattern adjustments, after reading an account of making it here.
Commercial patterns are not like quilt patterns. They are never perfect and always have to be adapted to an individual because human bodies are too variable. The instruction sheets frequently do not take account of modern sewing methods and advise cumbersome techniques and outdated interfacings. There is so much help on the internet to address these commissions and I followed tutorials about shirts from here and here.
The test shirt, with cotton lawn, digitally printed, bought several years ago from M Rosenberg and Son, went down well.
Version 2 is now cut out, with a longer armhole, removal of the darts on the front and a collar that extends further in to the open neck of the collar band. 2017 could be the year of the shirt.
Happy stitching everyone.
Today, my elder son is 18, on the day of the 50th anniversary edition of Dr Who. For a dedicated fan, there was only one birthday present possible from a quilting mother.
Detail
Back
Quilting on back, detail
Thanks to every designer n the Dr Who stitchalong who contributed their designs so generously. Keeping this secret from April until now , in a small house, has been a challenge.
Surely, when the contortions below are the only way to replace a lightbulb, there is something wrong with the product design? Who will do this for me when he leaves home?
When you don't have room for a real tree, a fabric panel from Ikea can do a sterling job. Decorated with Procion P dyed fabric baubles, foiled and then mounted on to red felt, all it needs is the pine scent. Also, there is no risk of our dog mistaking it for a real tree, as has happened in the past.
You might be tempted to ask why, if sewing is my hobby, my elder son went to school on the last day of term with a blazer in this state? The saying about the cobbler’s children comes to mind.
won’t be heard in our house for the next two days, as both boys are off on independent trips with their respective schools. An insight in to the future, I think. I can always put on one of their playlists, very loud, if it seems too quiet.
……..in a house far, far away, a mother booked 2 sets of 4 tickets to see One Man Star Wars.
Can I find them all? Searched everywhere: the noticeboard where EVERYTHING is pinned up, well 4 of them were; the green document box, where EVERYTHING is stored before filing; the filing cabinet, where EVERYTHING is eventually filed ( booked them so long ago, they could have been filed); the left hand drawer of the sideboard, where EVERYTHING that doesn't have a home is stored; the second kitchen drawer, where EVERYTHING kitchen related, that isn’t cutlery, is stored; every bag that I have used since January , that’s a fair number of bags. No luck.
So as a last resort, I called seetickets to see (!) if they could reissue the tickets. As they had been booked online, I was not hopeful, expecting a litany of “ sorry madam but online bookings are fixed, blah, blah, blah….. “. Instead, a very helpful bloke, just asked for the booking reference and reissued the tickets for pick-up at the theatre. no re-booking fee, no administration charge, nothing. So if you need any tickets, and think you are likely to lose them, book with seetickets,
Life seems to have been rather hectic, but not filled with many textile- heavy items, except of course my younger son becoming a teenager. What with party preparations
and the sophisticated palate of a London-born 13 yr old – homemade sushi and sausage anyone?
there hasn’t been a lot of time for these latest printing efforts at Morley
or these stitched samples for the contemporary Quilt annual challenge
or yet another Jacqui Harvey back-stitched bird
but there was time to enjoy an evening of chicken stuffing at Plum’s and to be overcome by opening the stitched picture commissioned from Stephanie Littlechild.
Based on this photo of my sons,
Steph stitched this 9 x 7 inch picture
As she incorporated pieces and shreds of my own fabric from significant textile items that were precious to my sons when they were younger, it invokes so many memories, I could look at it for hours.
