Applying a Contrast Trim

In the last post on the New Look 6774 dress, I briefly explained the contrast trim. In this post, I'll explain the techniques in detail. As I had not applied contrast trim before, a quick google search lead me here to a free pillowcase pattern with contrast trim.

I didn't have a pattern in mind, or fabric and browsed the store.  Once I found the fabrics I liked, I looked for a pattern. Pattern companies don't make 'house dresses' any more but the style is about simple lines, comfort, and usually made of cotton so it can be worn for those pesky household chores then tossed in the wash. Of course, back in the day, a lady wouldn't be caught dead wearing her house dress outside of the house.  Sadly, we live in the slobtastic 21st Century...oh, right, this post is about trim, not a sad exploration of the complete lack of style in modern society...

I didn't want to open the pattern package at the store to measure the pieces and calculate the amount of contract fabric needed. I purchased 2 yards for the contrast, which seemed reasonable if cutting the trim on the bias was required.  Leftovers will be used for baby quilts and doll clothes. 

The contrast fabric is 100% cotton, was pre-washed, in burgundy. The fashion fabric, also pre-washed cotton is an Asian style print.  Both fabrics were 45" wide.

Examining the pattern pieces, all pieces except the shoulder straps have straight lines. I decided to forego the bias trim and cut the trim 10 strips, width-wise, 1" wide by 45" long. I used all but one strip for the dress, so if I wanted to make another dress of this style, 1/3 of yard of contrast would suffice. 

The contrast trim dress bodice, midriff and shoulder straps were lined and I chose to use self-fabric for the lining.  For this post, I used fabric scraps and treat the samples as the dress was constructed.

I pressed the strips and applied them, as needed, to each garment piece. My iron was set to cotton with the steam on.Press the strip in half, length-wise.

To apply the trim, place the strip on the right side of the fabric, with the folded edge of the trim facing away from the seam edge. The stitching line for this trim application is 1/8" inside the seam line. In my project, I lined the fabric at 1/2" and set the fold of the trim under the left side of the presser foot.

Stitching slowly, I held the trim with my left hand, watched that the garment edge stayed near the 1/2" mark and guided the trim to stay under the presser foot.

The lining is attached to the main fabric, using a 5/8" seam. The trim is sandwiched between the garment and lining.

The item is pressed as it comes off the machine, with right sides together.


As I processed my photos, I am mortified at how dirty my ironing board cover is.  And baffled as to how it can get so filthy, given that ironing is the only thing that happens there.

The pieces are opened and with right side facing down, the seam is pressed open. 

Yes, I'm going to remove my ironing board cover and throw it in the wash as soon as this post is published!

Also, I wash my garments after they're finished.  Not because of the ironing board issue, just to make sure it's clean before wearing. 

Lastly, the wrong sides are put together and the piece is pressed again, working slowly enough to tug the garment/lining away from the contrast trim and steamed in place, but quickly enough to not burn the digits.

For the pockets of the dress, I took my Clover bias tape maker #12 (which requires 1" wide strips, handy!), made a diagonal cut at one end in order to facilitate the fabric through the tape maker.

A US 1 knitting needle helped coax the fabric through. I laid the strip along the length of my ironing board. Inserted the tape maker on the right and work to the left. I held the unfolded strip firmly with my left hand and used the nose of my iron to push the tape maker to the left.

At this point, the tape can be used as 1/2" single fold tape. I folded the tape in half and pressed again, for 1/4" double fold bias tape.

I hemmed the top of the pocket as indicated in the directions, then sandwiched the top of the pocket between the folds of the bias tape and stitched. If 1/4" is too cumbersome, you could use it as single fold, though I would probably run two rows of stitching in order to make sure the tape is secure. 

 Give contrast trim a try.  If you're a beginning sewer, look at the line drawings on the back of the pattern envelope, which will act as a guide to where to apply the trim.  For the first try, look for straight lines, which will make application easy.

Happy crafting!

House Dress - New Look 6774

newlookhouseishdress_0384, originally uploaded by Tenuki Handcrafts.

There is a thread on the Fedora Lounge where the gals show off their craft projects.  One of the Lounge Ladies commented on my post about the 30s Day Dress and my complaint about the lines of the dress vanishing into the print. She suggested adding contrast trim to enhance the lines.  Within a couple of days, she posted two lovely house dresses,  with beautifully executed contrast trim.

How have I managed 46 years on the planet without one?

Wonder no more! Here's is my first ever house dress. It's New Look pattern 6774. The pattern features different bodice style and skirt lengths, I chose the short dress with the cross over bodice, excluded the ruffle on the shoulders, kept the pockets.

The fabric is 100% cotton from the Pacific Fabric Outlet on 4th Ave South. It was in their quilting area with the other few shelves of Asian themed fabric. This one is tiny crysanthemums of yellow, pink, green on a burgundy background. For the contrast trim, I picked up cotton fabric in burgundy. A lot of interfacing was required, for the straps, bodice and midriff. Turns out, I didn't have enough. The fabric is quite stiff, even after washing, so I chose to exclude it.

For once, I pre-washed my fabric. Either fabrics or finishes are better now. I didn't have any trouble with managing this fabric through any of the stages of construction.

The sewing was straightforward. I could not quite follow the instructions since I was adding the contrast trim. The trim was 1 inch wide strips, cut width-wise.

For the pocket trim, I used my Clover bias maker #12 to make bias tape, which I sewed to the top edge.

I chose to self-fabric line the bodice and midriff. That caused some confusion with the trim. But nothing that couldn't be fixed.

I had a couple of issues with the trim. For one thing, I get a bit dyslexic and had some trouble with the bodice, so there's trim on the inside of one side. Also, I flipped one of the strips and had to add trim after assembly, when I noticed the absence of trim on that side.

The instructions were a bit odd in places. Specifically when adding the skirt to the bodice/midriff. Once assembled, the instructions say to baste the raw edge (bottom) of the midriff). I would, instead, sandwich the skirt between the right side and the lining, enclosing the raw edges. Since I didn't think of that during construction, I took a strip of burgundy and ran it through the Clover and enclosed the raw edge with bias tape.

I had a lot of fun with this project. The underarms may need a bit of a tuck, but it's certainly not noticeable when I'm wearing the dress, which is comfortable.

If I were to leave out the trim, this dress would probably take 3 hours to make from cutting to wearing. With the trim, it took me, oh, about 12 hours. Well worth the effort. I like the way the trim enhances the lines of the dress. I'm inspired to do more house dress research and include house dress on my Bonfit test list.

Happy crafting!

Ballerina Maisie

I'm having a lot more fun making doll outfits than I expected.  Today's post is about a Degas-inspired ballerina outfit for Maisie.  The inspiration started with her new Monique Gold J Rock wig in blonde/pink.  Maisie's factory default face-up is fairly pink, as is the body blushing by the previous owner. 

I knew I had a fair amount of pink in my dollie fabric stash.  I pulled it all out and chose the pink and gold silk sari fabric, that had once been the linking of a gold evening bag.  I had to supplement with a trip to the fabric store for the pink tulle, ribbon and roses.

The bodice is the Gracefairie pattern in the final issue of Haute Doll magazine, designed specifically for slim MSDs.  It is assembled by hand.  The only machine stitching is the top stitching.  I made the lining first from muslin in order to check the fit. 

After assembling the main fabric, trimming, and pressing, I saw the hand stitching peeking through.  The ribbon was machine stitched over the seams and covers the hand stitching completely. It still look a bit blah, so I hand tacked the tiny pink ribbon rose at the center front.

It looked a bit odd without straps, so I added the ribbon.  I was going to try ruching tulle and attaching it to the ribbon, but it was too frustrating so I kept is simple.

For the back, I used pink eyelets, left over supplies from my rubber stamping days.  I threaded a ribbon through.   For the skirt, I improvised. One of the thrift store finds was a small, pink plaid jacket with dark pink satin ruffles at the sleeve and hem.  The perfect length for the under skirt. I made it long enough to gather. 

I purchased two types of pink tulle, a darker rose color and a lighter pink with glitter.  I made the next skirt later from the rose tulle, a bit longer, gathered to fit the base later.  With the glitter tulle, I make it even wider, gathered and put the three layers together and basted.  So far, so good.

Then I added a waistband to hold all the layers together.  Unfortunately, during the waistband stage, the rose tulle layer got caught in the waistband.  I didn't try to rip the seam and try to fix it, figuring the tulle would just shred.  So, I cut off the rose tulle layer.

The pink glitter layer look nice, but the dark tulle peeked out of the bottom of the waistband.  A row of ribbon flowers to cover it. and voila!  Adorable ballet outfit. 


Then it was time for pictures.  Maisie is a great little poser, so the first
pose had to be after the Degas sculpture and then there was no stopping the photos. 

 

Thanks for reading and looking.  I'm not sure what will be the subject of the next post, as I'm getting through a lot of projects this week. 

Happy Crafting!

Ode to My First Digital SLR

Maisie with her new wig using the macro setting

Today's post is about photography. 

I have been using a Canon Powershot S50 for about seven years.  It's been a great introduction to digital photography.  Although it delivers a now tiny 4 megapixels, it is a great point and shoot camera. 
However, it has recently developed a jam problem.  The lens door open but the lens itself gets stuck.  It happens occassionally and is a pain, but it nothing too horrible. 

Photo by Heather Coughlin, using my camera

The first time it happened, I looked at the digital SLRs and couldn't justify a new one.  I've thought about picking up Canon's latest incarnation of the powershot, which has is a prosumer model that looks like an SLR but has a fixed lens.  Again, price was the issue.  I asked advice of the Seattle Go Center's resident photograph, Brian Allen, who suggested a digital SLR might be more than I want for my purposes.  I have plugged along with my Powershot with the intention to save up for the latest version of the Powershot.  What I have wanted is a Canon Rebel since they were introduced.  Again, the price was more than I felt I could bear. 

Between a recent trip to Victoria (complete with lens jam) and Bill signing us up for the Fedora Lounge Traveling Hat project, he suggested it was time I got that new camera and sent me off to the Costco website to see if they had something I like. 

Glamour shot of Ivy Jordan, cropped and desaturated

Of course, I already knew they carried the Rebel and the price had come way down, so I looked at the models Costco offered and read reviews.  I chose the Canon Rebel T1i, with 15 megapixesl and a 18-55 mm lens.  In the middle of the price range, with the best reviews and on sale. 

I had two complaints about my Powershot: firstly, the macro was ok for most purposes but it was touchy and hard to photograph jewelry for my shop. 
Secondly, the color was not quite true, particularly in the blue - purple range.

The first photo in this post is a macro shot of Maisie, my 43 cm Classic Narae.  Note her adorable freckles. 

Hiro contemplates the creek at Haney Meadow

The last photo shows her purple cap (leftover handspun merino-silk 2 ply yarn) worn over her lavendar hair, wearing a blue hand sewn turtleneck/skirt ensemble.

I am so impressed with the photos I get with the Rebel. 

I have yet to open the manual because, having used the powershot all these years, I know all but one button on my Rebel.  It must not be vital to shooting because I haven't cracked the manual open to find out what it does.  

All the photos in this post use the automatic settings and the only lens I have, the 18-55 mm that came with the kit.  I like the auto settings so much I have used the manual settings only once.  It's set to the highest level resolution (which I don't know off the top  if my head, but the files are minimum 5 megs) so I can crop and scale. 

All in all, I'm very happy with my new camera.  Expect to see more photo stories in the future.

Happy crafting!

Blog Refinement

My blog-speriment is coming to an end.  While it was nice to have everything in one blog, it just didn't meet my criteria of organization.  Having tested for a while and reviewed how my blogs look, I'm going to keep Musings of a Crafty Wench for all creative projects that are for fun.

To put it another way, this Tenuki Handcrafts blog will be to discuss products for sale in my shop, commissions, and featured artists.

There will be some cross-posts while I sort out the posts and blog-related links.

One notable blog addition:  labels.  You will now be able to search for posts by labels, such as knitting.  

Happy crafting and thanks for reading.

Reflections

If you've been following my Crafty Wench blog, you'll find all the old posts have moved here. It was well past time to consolidate my endeavors under the Tenuki Handcrafts banner, so to speak. 

When I started blogging four and a half years ago, I wasn't sure where it would take me.  My intention was to document my craft projects. 

In the time that has passed, I have set up an Etsy shop, set up and closed two other on-line shops, added new hobbies and dropped others.  I have found nifty blogs to follow, places to shop, and sites to visit.  I've joined and left Etsy teams.  I've even changed jobs.  

I continue to make jewelry and cards, but no longer offer these items in my shop in favor of giving them as gifts to family and friends. 

I renewed acquaintances with some past loves: dolls, vintage, and sewing.

You've no doubt noticed the growing doll collection.  I find that I love to both shoot and sew for them.  Both activities tie back to my theater days...can dioramas be far behind?  Future posts will show off my wee friends.  

I have found that, with some persistence on my part and taking a spinning class, that I both enjoy and am good at spinning yarn.  That spinning wheel purchased nearly 20 years ago no longer sits around collecting dust.

The Noir City Film Festival came to Seattle four years ago and with it a renewed interest in vintage fashion, that along with doll clothes, has seriously revived my love of sewing. 

For future projects, both personal and for my shop, I'm going to focus on smaller pieces, new techniques, and vintage inspirations. 

I'm also looking into organizing the posts by categories rather chronologically, but that involves a bit more HTML coding wrangling than I've had time to sit down and enjoy.  I'd also like to move from one of the blogger templates to my own design, but again, time and coding ability are my limiting factors.  These are still in mind mind to do so look for those changes in the future. 

As for the photos in this post, I just wanted to share some of my favorite shots. 

Happy crafting!

Lorre's Tam

Quite a while ago, I promised to write a post about a hat I was making a hat for a friend.

It's only taken me four months get here, which is pretty good, given how long it took me to make this little beauty.

It began at the 2009 Film Noir Festival.  Lorre & Marc were in town and attended one of the movies with us.  It was winter in Seattle and we all had hats.  Lorre left hers at the theater but didn't realize it until we were a few blocks away.  We offered to go back but she didn't want to because it was just you know, one of those, store bought hats. 

Well, you know, I just can't let a friend wear a store bought hat when hand knit one is much better!  So, I asked Lorre what colors she would like in this theoretical hand knit hat: earth tones.  The idea brewed for  quite a while.  I thought, if I'm going to make this hat, it has to be so awesome that she won't leave it in a theater.  Looking through my roving stash, I found the following items:  a green/brown 70% Merino/30% silk; a light tan 70% Merino/30% alpaca; a dark brown 70% Merino/30% alpaca, grey mohair and almost white cashgora (50% cashmere/50% angora).  

I took out my hand carders and played around with layering each of these onto a carder and blending.  I tend to blend three passes, unless I'm trying to create a completely new color.  Not the case here. I wanted striping.  I have tried carefully weighing out my fiber and then carefully adding it to the hand cards.  The fact is, I like each rolag and batt to be a little different. I prefer to improvise as I go, which results in slightly different colored rolags.

Once I carded about 2 ounces of fiber, I layed out the rolags into a spectrum of color.  I split the group into two batches, since this is a two ply yarn and then randomly picked up each rolag for spinning.

As can be seen in the first photo, the yarn was spun on my Elizabeth wheel and on the large flyer whorl.  Actually, I don't think the singles on my wheel are this yarn, but I really liked the photo.  I believe the singles shown are from my fine Thistle 3.0, currently in progress.

In preparing for this post, I found my yarn specs card.  The name of this particular yarn is: Lorre's Woodland Realm Two Ply Yarn.  With the improvised color blending, I would say it took 6 hours to prepare and spin this particular yarn.

After spinning, plying, and washing to set the twist, here are my yarn specs:  17 wraps per inch, 1400 yards per pound, 1.75 ounces and approximately 150 yards.  This is a lace/sport weight yarn suitable for size 3 US needles.

I used size 7 needles because that's the size I like for hats.  I find it not too chunky but not too fine that it takes so long to knit.  I'm still finding my way through the forest of knitting with hand spun yarns.  It's very different from commerical yarn.  It's heavier, my yarns are still somewhat uneven, and it has a mind of it's own. 

The project now takes a turn for the woe.  I knit a swatch, took the gauge, which was 6 stitches per inch.  I made my size calculations and cast on and knit.  This was going to be a basic fold up edge watch cap (which was similar to the hat Lorre lost).  When the hat was large enough to get a good sense of size, it was clearly too big.  I took new gauge measurements. Recalculated my cast on.  Started over.  This time, I thought I would try the Easy Upside Down hat from the first edition of Homespun Handknit.  Why change hats?  At the time, it made sense in my brain to try to a different style, maybe that would help.

Again, too big.  WTF?!  So, I frogged it again.  The yarn, it turns out, is not at all springy.  It could be due to any of the non-wool fibers, but the point is, it just was not as forgiving as 100% wool.  I got the same gauge measurment but decided to cut 30% of the cast on stitches and try the Classic Mohair Tam pattern from the Homespun book.

Tams are a lot of fun to knit.  They start off so reasonable and like any other hat and then they explode only to decrease.  Then the fun of blocking.  I did not have a plate large enough to fit inside without distorting the shape, so I blocked it flat moving into place as best I could. Finally, a hat that worked out.  I like the swirl decrease and the subtle striping.  The fabric is very soft.  

I didn't keep track of the time, but I will guess it took me 30 hours to knit (ok it was: knit, frog, knit, frog, knit).  Well worth the effort.  I learned I need to experiment with the non-wool fibers and explore the world of color knitting in tams.  I have a lot of small amounts of handspun yarn on hand and tams are a good canvas for color knitting.