Friday 17 May 2013

Amateur Sewing

burda shorts

These are the shorts I sewed for Jas - I have come to the conclusion that I am definitely a knitter - sewing just doesn't seem to work out for me as I hope it too. My sewing always looks hand/homemade - which does not agree with me!


Why don't my pieces come out like the ones in the book?

I am guessing it has to do with patience, perseverance and attitude!

All of which I am in short supply of - except for the attitude ;)! 

When I knit, I can see the pattern coming together in my head, this I cannot do with sewing yet.
I definitely have an image of how it should look, it just never does live up to my expectations :(
I must also say that the patterns that look the worst of mine, all seem to be made form Burda patterns.

I don't know why that is?

Do any of you out there have similar experiences?

It could be that the lack of seam allowance throws me off, but it could also be because their sizes just seem abnormally huge (after measuring and re-measuring, everyone I sew for seems to be 2 sizes larger in Burda - but once the article is finished, it is two sizes larger URGH!!!)


burda pyjamas

These are a pair of pj pants that I whipped up for Kay as well. They don't look too bad, and were easy enough to create, but they are clearly palazzo pant style, even though that wasn't really how they should have looked!

I would love to do a sewing course, one that is intermediate, I know how to sew, but would like to sew well - any ideas? 

I have some Craftsy courses in mind and will be pursuing them soon, but I would like to have a something simple in the interim.

Anyway, these are my FOs for the week :)

I will be sharing them over at Linda, Tami and Andrea so hop over there for some amazing work!

momiji

13 comments:

  1. Bravo for having a go at sewing! I'm hopelessly lost at it and I'm too scared to touch it. There are some classes on Crafty about sewing, don't if any of them will be any good?

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    1. Hi Cathy,
      Yes, I too find it rather on the scary side of things. I also find that I get agitated much faster than with knitting - perhaps because it is almost new-land for me :(
      Thank you so much for the tip and for visiting.
      Have a great weekend.
      x

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  2. I have been sewing for almost 40 years and most of mine still look handmade, but nothing wrong with that. As for the sizes, I don't like using Burda patterns and most of mine are Simplicity. I still find the sizes are different from what you would buy in the stores and the measurements they provide are not usually the ones I get lol. I do a lot of measuring and basted seams until the size is right according to my measurements. I'm not sure why it is that way, but I find it with pretty much any pattern I use. And I took courses and have sold a lot of my work, so I'm pretty sure it's not my skills. Just keep practicing, I think you did a great job on these!

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    1. Hi Debbie,
      Thank you so much for the great comment! I guess it is like any new craft - practice is key :) I think I will be heading over to my local material shop to go and have a browse through their pattern books, see if something catches my fancy :) I really appreciate your visit, have a super weekend.
      x

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    2. You're welcome and yes you are right about practice! I used to make most of my kids clothes and they loved them. Now I try to find time to do the same for my grandchildren, but they are more into designer stuff lol. Knitted sweaters go over good with them though. Just try and find simple patterns that you can easily change or that come in various sizes and you will save a lot of money that way. And here we have great sales on fabric, so I have bins of it still to use. Most of my own clothes used to be handmade as well and I love that you can choose the style and fabric to make it your own. I really need to find time to do more sewing again, so now you have inspired me to do just that. Thanks :)

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  3. I love sewing of any kind. I'm a newbie at quilting but have used a machine for over 40 years! I never felt the urge to knit, but I would like to take up crochet. As for sewing, I love the feel of fabric, imagining the outfit especially for the little girls in my life, and enjoy seeing a project come together. I've never been happy with my sizing. I took a class once that was supposed to help me, but it seemed more confusing than helpful in sizing a pattern because they tried to sell their products rather than simply teach me techniques I could use any time. I'm always happy when something fits well, but a little part of me wished the process of fitting went easier.
    I love sewing little girls' dresses. I love the Little Daisy collection. My girls are moms now, and I still get requests for their children, so I must have made them happy in their outfits long ago. Now, the dresses are more for comfort and play than fancy, but I still enjoy the little ones' outfits. I just made a jumpsuit for a 1 yr old (on my blog) and was asked to make a couple more. That made me feel good! :)
    Keep trying...kids love your creations and it's really fun to hear "My grandma made it for me". During my last visit, the littlest one sat on my lap and wanted to put her hand on the fabric while it went under the needle. She thought she was making her pillowcase. Now, I treasure the photo of the moment she hugged her newly-cased pillow! Worth every minute of effort! (I need to post that photo for you to see!)
    My newest love is designing blocks for quilting. It's so fun to assemble geometric shapes of vivid colors, muted comforts, and soft designs. I'm brand new at free motion machine (FMM) quilting, but I'm told, it takes time with lots of practice! :)

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    1. Hi Debi,
      That sounds so wonderful, your comment is very motivating :)
      Thank you so much for visiting, I will be hopping over to your blog shortly!
      Have a super weekend.
      x

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  4. We all have to start somewhere and sizing is an issue for most of us. I purchased a dress form thinking that would solve my problem ~ and I still have to do a lot of try~ons before I am satisfied with the fit.The dress form does help as I pin my pattern to the dress form to see how it measures up and alter the paper pieces before I cut my material.
    The very best way to get our sizes correct,is making a mock up with muslin, but to be honest, I can't be bothered...so it's try on, and hope for the best!
    If you sew enough, it becomes easier to see if a pattern is going to need alterations before we cut and start sewing.
    Once you find a good fitting pattern, I kind of stick with it and change it up with the material I choose, and 'embellishments' just like my paper crafting ;)
    Enjoy!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Donna,
      The process you explain is very similar to the one we "should" follow when knitting - but I must admit, I am a very lazy craft prepper, especially for knitting and it flows over into the sewing - I am like you, I just can't be bothered to knit a swatch, and I don't see myself making a mock outfit either. My problem is if it doesn't turn out well first time, it kinda gets the boot into the deep dark abyss of never-to-be-seen-again-projects and I put my machine away for another year or so :(
      Thanks so much for visiting and for the great tips!
      x

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  5. Sewing is like another language to me. My Mum made me dresses when I was a child and her mother was a professional dress maker. I think the ability must have skipped my generation lol. Your projects look lovely to me :)

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    1. Hi Evelyn,
      Thank you so much, you are so kind :)
      Have a lovely weekend.
      x

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  6. My mom usedto sew all the time and I can a little too but have not made many things as I'm always lured in by a new project in crochet or knit. IMO, both your projects look good.

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  7. Sewing drives me bonkers! My grandmother was a seamstress and my aunt is a unbelievable quilter but I sit in front of my sewing machine a disaster strikes. I think your project is great! Sorry for visiting so late...

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