Summer Buttericks & Sewing Updates

Three new Butterick patterns caught my eye. This beautiful pleated knit top:

Butterick 5354

And this unlined jacket/top pattern:

Butterick 5360

One more cute top:

Butterick 5356


Does anyone know of any upcoming Butterick pattern sales?


I finally finished my denim herringbone top. The buttonholes and buttons were the last tasks. I only had to sew one test buttonhole and knew the real ones would be fine. After wearing this top at work, I decided I don't care for the slight flare at the sides. So, I will gradually take in about 1/2" at the sides from the lower bust down.

Denim top with the slightly flared side


I found time to practice and play with my CS machine. Since I got my triple stitch down and settings documented, I went ahead and rethreaded for a narrow double left stitch and removed my right needle. As you can see, my test results were not too pretty.

Double stitch disaster


After playing with the tensions, it finally dawned on me that it was a threading issue. So, I rethreaded the machine and my stitches came out perfect. There's a valuable lesson that I learned...hold the thread taut when I pass each thread through its tension disc. Also, when I pass the looper thread through the tension disc, it makes a click sound. I realize that was my main threading problem. Before I thread each needle, I release the foot (drop down) so the tension discs are enabled. This allows me to thread through the guides (above the needles) and the needles better.

Here's the results of my rethreading:

Rethreaded and stitching fine


I finally hemmed my RTW t-shirt after stitching in the round. I used Debbie's technique for pulling the threads to the front of the garment, clipping the front threads and then pulling the garment towards the back and clipping the looper thread. This caused my upper threads to get pulled towards the bottom of the garment and locks the stitches. A valuable technique that can be found on the right sidebar of my blog under My Favorite Sewing Sites. I did manage to do a test run with a knit fabric and it stitched out beautifully. I've been enjoying my time with my cover stitch machine.

Narrow cover stitched hem

On the bling front, I've been making my own stitch markers for my knitting projects. Here I've made some for my friend, Sabine:

My knitting stitch markers

A Day in My Sewing Room

I had to work yesterday at the LYS. All day I thought about my Baby Lock. Last night and this morning I spent some time in my sewing room, going through my patterns, doing some minor rearranging and dusting. I removed my old DSL modem and my Netgear WiFi router along with all the network and power cables. My rat's nest under my table is gone. So is the dust.

This afternoon, I finally got the chance to sit and "play" with my new CS. I rethreaded the machine and attempted to practice more triple cover stitching. Well, as you can see in the picture, I had some issues with tension which resulted in a lot of test samples scattered around the machine. The topside of the test fabric stitched fine. The underside was where I was having problems. After a few tries, I decided that part of my problem was how I threaded the machine. So, I started over making sure the threads were going between the tension discs and then into the appropriate thread guide above the needles. I sewed a few more test samples and it was looking much better. I ended up tweaking the tensions a bit so that less needle threads were showing on the underside. I also noticed that the cover stitch tail that's left on the machine is stitched out versus showing single strands of thread. That's how I know the machine is fine and threaded correctly. I'm also getting the hang of listening to how the machine sews. :)

The only area of my sewing room that's organized & picture worthy. My two Baby Locks side by side. I'm calling this table, my finishing area. My neglected Platinum SM is now sitting in the back


Here are the accessories that came with the machine:
Package one: Organ ELx705 needle pack, extra needle clamp screws, tweezer, allen screwdriver, needle threader, accessory adapter, guide fixing screws for table, and lint brush/needle insert tool


Package two: thread nets, mounting bolt/screw, screw driver, vinyl cover, looper threading wire, cone holders, sponge disks, and spool caps

I love this CS machine. It stitches beautifully. It's a solid machine. Just like my serger.

Next up is to practice the wide and narrow cover stitches. Practice removing the needles and more practice rethreading the machine. I'm looking forward to having less test samples, since I know what I'm doing now.

I mentioned that I went through my patterns. I actually reorganized my drawers. I seem to favor Vogue, Butterick, & Kwik Sew patterns along with a few Stretch & Sew and Burda. Those went into the drawers. My McCalls, New Look, and Simplicity patterns are now in bins to be stored elsewhere. In the lower right hand corner, you'll see a red tin basket containing patterns that I'm thinking about sewing.

A few of my patterns. Not shown are my many Kwik Sew patterns, Jalie, Stretch & Sew, Burda, and Lazy Girl patterns

Last count, I had over 490 patterns I've accumulated over the last 4 years. How do I know I have that many? I've kept a record of all my patterns over the years in MS Excel.

I Have a New Toy!

My cell phone rang this afternoon and I was off to my Baby Lock dealer with scraps of fabric in hand and my serger threads. Raymond let me thread the machine on my own. He showed me where to position my fabric and then off I went. My triple coverstitch sample came out perfectly on my first try.

This machine is easy to thread. It also has the jet air threading system for the looper.

My new Baby Lock

Here's my sample:
Triple stitch


The underside showing the triple stitch

I will be back to post my findings and more pictures of the machine and samples. Now, to go read my manual. ;)

Sewing Activities and Pictures

I know my previous posts have been lacking pictures. I finally got around to snapping some shots yesterday. Here's what I am working on and contemplating. (Note: fabrics were purchased last year).

First off, is a summer tote bag for myself. I found both of these lovely fabrics at Hancock's on the clearance shelf. They are both somewhat lightweight which would make a real slouchy tote bag. I went ahead and added a lightweight fleece backing to the floral fabric to give it some body.

Summer Tote Bag. Main: bright floral home dec fabric. Lining: swirls curtain fabric

Added lightweight fleece to the main fabric to give it some body


Here's two more tote bag combinations I'm contemplating. These were also found at Hancock's clearance shelf. This black and white fabric is a medium weight home dec. This will make a fabulous tote bag. I hope it won't be too hard on the eyes.

And yet another tote bag combination. Main: black/white home dec fabric. Lining: curtain fabric


Another tote bag combination. This will be a gift. Main: floral home dec fabric. Lining: curtain fabric


Here's my garment projects. the blue herringbone denim fabric will become my infamous Butterick 5223 pleated top. The pink floral knit will become my fave Vogue 2925 sleeveless pleated knit top. Yes, I made one before in the same fabric. This one will be sewn in a larger size so I can breathe.

Apparel projects: denim pleated top and pink floral knit top


I had to take a picture of my SM (back from maintenance) before I gave it a good workout. It looks brand new...not for long!

My baby. Look how clean it is! They even cleaned my thread spindles

I removed a lot of the clutter out of my sewing room and re-organized my notions. Two large bins found a new home in my basement. I can now roll my chair from SM to serger without running over speed bumps (clutter on the floor). Yes, it was that bad.

Life is Good

I'm here and back on the Internet! My DSL wireless modem/router arrived yesterday. Next day delivery. Way cool! My DSL provider must have been tired of all my calls and my persistence in getting my high speed service back. I connected my modem/router and was back online in no time. I've also noticed my connection is faster. Like 1184 Kbps. Sweet!

I forgot to mention in my previous post, which coverstitch machine I ordered. It's the Babylock CS. Since I already have a serger, I was leaning towards a standalone coverstitch machine. The Janome CP900 has been discontinued and only the CP1000 is available. My Janome dealer wouldn't give me a good deal nor throw in a freebie. I guess they forgot I purchased an embroidery machine from them a few years ago. My Babylock dealer knew I have been looking for a CS machine. Back to the time when I purchased the serger from him a few years ago. This time he offered one free accessory to go with the CS. Hmmm. That was tempting. It didn't hurt to ask for the 2nd freebie. So, I left his shop with 2 free binders and a CS machine on order.

Today, I spent a few hours in my sewing room. I pulled out a few TNT patterns and started cutting away. What a fantastic feeling. My upcoming projects include a denim pleated top, sleeveless pleated knit top, a Stretch & Sew sleeveless knit top (pattern I haven't used before), and a "summer-y" tote bag to carry my knitting projects.

My DH is away this weekend. I am spending time with my hobbies and watching some DVDs: Australia, Momma Mia, Pride & Prejudice, and Devil Wears Prada.

It was a gorgeous Saturday (79 degrees). I spent some time sitting on our porch...knitting. The viburnums are blooming and filling the air with some wonderful sweet scents.

Life is good. :)

A Curtain for My Sewing Cart

Before I could move onto sewing my sweater knit cardigan, I had to stitch up my sewing cart curtain. My serger and sewing machine was already threaded with off-white thread from my doorway panel project. Might as well finish everything before moving on.

Here's my finished curtain. I serged all the raw edges. This sheer fabric loved to fray and drop threads all over my carpet. I basically folded over the top and stitched down the fold. I made sure I had enough to slide the rod in to folded pocket. I did the same to the bottom, folded over but not as deep as the top. To hang this curtain, I used a spring tension rod that I found at Walmart. This is a lot narrower than the one I used in the doorway.


Here's my sewing cart with the curtain. I left enough room at the bottom, to have access to my SM pedal.

You can see in my window that tropical storm Hanna is sitting over us. So far, we've had 5.6 inches of rain and we still have a few more hours of her drenching us.


So, what sewing stuff do I have behind my curtain? A lot of sewing junk that I need to sort out, keep, or trash. As I get more organized (e.g. hide my fabric stash, collect my scattered patterns, etc), I'll do a future post on my sewing room.

My Doorway Panel

I found this lovely sheer patterned fabric at Hancock’s in their home decorating area. This fabric is regularly $9.99/yard and I was able to purchase this fabric for 50% off. Not bad.

My doorway is about 30 inches wide. This fabric is close to 60 inches wide. Instead of gathering the fabric, I folded the fabric in half. My selvages are on one side and the fold of the fabric is on the other side. So, now my fabric is 30 inches wide and will fit in my doorway without any shirring or gathering or bunching up. It looks like a flat panel of fabric.

To hold up this fabric panel, I am using a spring tension rod that I found at Home Depot. Walmart also sells this type of rod.

Here, I am turning under and pinning the serged edges to form a long pocket to thread my curtain rod through. This fabric is gorgeous and having the self patterned squares made it easy to line up the folds. Having doubled up the fabric it is not as sheer as a single layer of fabric.



As you can see in the pictures, my panel doesn’t go all the way up to the top of the doorway, nor does it touch the floor at the bottom. That was my plan. I normally shut my door and so the air gets pretty stagnant in my room. The room also gets quite warm. The openings above and below the panel is suppose to let the air flow in and out of my room. It actually works.

My fabric panel is very light and airy. It’s more of a decorative curtain and looks better than keeping my door shut.

I went back to Hancock's and bought more of this fabric. I plan on making a curtain for my sewing machine cart to hide my sewing stuff.

My Favorite Sewing Notions Organizer (used in my immediate sewing area)

I found this nifty Rubbermaid storage organizer at Staples late last year. I keep this organizer to the rear of my sewing machine. It has two cutouts on top to store my small scissors, seam gauge, marker, pencil, and miscellaneous items.

Under the fold down plastic lid, I store an extra pin cushion and spools of special threads.

There are 3 drawers where I store my: short spools of threads, Mettler threads, bobbins, extra SM feet, SM needles, buttons, and snaps

While I am sewing, I have have the tendency to scatter my tools/notions across my sewing table. When I am done sewing for the night, I quickly gather all my tools and notions store them in my organizer. When I am ready to start sewing again, it’s all in one location. Since my sewing time is so valuable, I don't want to waste time looking for things. And have you ever put something away in a safe place only to forget it later? This is also my safe place organizer.

Pattern and Thread Storage

I have been under the weather this past week with a cold and so no sewing has been done.

I thought I would take this opportunity to show how I organize my threads and patterns. Most of my sewing storage organization comes from Walmart and Staples. I love my mobile carts. All of my Mettler threads are stored in two drawers on my mobile cart. I try to keep my cotton threads separate from my polyester threads. I also keep spools of my serger threads in one drawer.

Here is how I store my Mettler polyester threads (grouped by colors):

I use another cart to hold my patterns. Currently, I have them sorted by pattern manufacturer:

As you can see, one drawer can hold a lot of patterns and I can search through the patterns rather quickly.

I hope to get back into sewing real soon.