All the car time this weekend was worth it-- to see Clara's face, hear her play, meet her delightful friends, and stock her fridge with treats.
Beading is not the easiest choice for car stitching (give me a straight seam please!) but it's what I took. I'm working with the paisley design from Alabama Chanin, which I never seem to see anyone use, but I don't see why not--it's got some of the biggest motifs (less stencil cutting) and lots of potential for decoration.
Which brings me to the subject, yet again, of cotton jersey. Running a search on the Composer's magic phone we found a hole-in-the-wall fabric store in the city, one I'd never heard of, which had very bad (but interesting) reviews and we decided to try it. Everything was stuffed in a tiny shop with no labels and no prices; I told the proprietor I was looking for all-cotton jersey and he started pointing at rolls and offered to let me go up the ladder for more if I wanted.
Clara and I were totally not believing him on fabric content, we couldn't tell for ourselves with all the sizing on the fabric and he clearly wanted to sell us everything, but I bit in spite of my doubts because everything was just *three dollars* a yard. Somehow I felt better when he mentioned we were getting a bargain because now you have to pay around $12 for all cotton. At least he knew that!
Actually, now that I've washed all of it I'm pretty certain I scored, so no regrets! Onward with the paisley in all kinds of colors now . . . .
Years ago a friend told me of a trick to determine whether a fabric has any synthetic content. You light a match and *carefully* singe the edge of the fabric until it burns a little. Cotton/wool will turn to ash. 100% synthetic will melt and when cool form a sort of ridge on the edge. A combination will do a little of both; rub it between your fingers and you should feel a little ridge of melted poly or whatever if it's in the fabric (even if you can't see it). It's not foolproof but is roughly reliable. Not that you'd get away with this in a fabric store... :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a lovely blog, by the way.
Mary
I figured you'd be taking some stitching along :-) So happy you got to spend some time with your girl! And your fabric score ~ awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI've got a question for you ~ what would I need to do to add sleeves to the AC shirt/dress from the 2nd book? I've adjusted the pattern a few times so that the fit, as a sleeveless top, is absolutely perfect (so perfect that my husband told me he wants me to continue making my own clothes until I have an entire wardrobe :-) I don't know if it's as simple as just laying out the pattern and drafting a sleeve to fit the armhole - or do I need to make some other adjustment first? thanks so much!!
I can't WAIT to see this once its done. I LOVE the color.
ReplyDeleteTo draft a sleeve pattern, I'd choose an existing sleeve that fits similarly--like if you're wearing the armhole cut higher and closer to the arm, look through your patterns for something like it. Not surprisingly, a pattern for knits might be a good place to start. You're not going to want a very high sleeve cap or you'll have to gather it. In my experience, you'll want about a half an inch, to an inch of excess in the sleeve cap--you can ease that in without gathers. On the other hand, the AC sleeve is drafted to fit exactly, so you could try going that short. There aren't any secrets to know of otherwise--so good luck!
ReplyDeleteAny pictures from your weekend with your girl?
ReplyDelete