Summer slump and a heart attack (not really, only a sewing question)
It is soooooo hot here! I mentioned it before in about 100 comments … and I repeat: it is super and unnaturally hot. Tomorrow we await 39 degrees. This temperature is completely new to me. I sweat an my hands while knitting – honestly :-DDD But the weather will not stop me. I am slowly progressing on my cropped sweater for fall, which has this for me new technique of short-row sleeves.
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Nevertheless, the weather is slowing me down and it prevents me from writing a nice post (ok, this may be exaggerated :-D) My computer is overheating and shuts itself down after a while to prevent damage.
So here is my summer slump post about sewing
Since I have started sewing skirts, I must have send signals into the universe that I want to sew more, because friends and family ask me now to alter their clothes. Simple things, sewing a cowl, or shortening trousers or a dress.
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Meanwhile the demands pleas are becoming more complicated. For example, taking in a too wide dress or cutting a dress in half and sewing it together again. Perhaps you are wondering why someone wants their dress divided?
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This black and white patterned dress belongs to my mother and last week I shortened it a bit. But it still does not fit well, because it has a very tight elastic inserted directly under the bustline. My mother already tried to cut it out, but it is sewn in and there is no chance to unstitch it without harming the fabric. My idea was to cut it out and then sew the two parts together without the elastic. Is this a good idea or completely rubbish? Dear seamstresses and sewing lovers: help please….. You already know that my knowledge of sewing is very limited, and I am still short before a heart attack while sewing (I am so frightened to destroy the fabric). You can perhaps imagine how I feel while working with other people fabric, if you cannot, I will tell you: aaaaaaannnngst
The other project I started to sew is the Ella dress from pattydoo. I only included this project in my post because of this strange coincidence: @marbleby is also using a pattern from pattydoo, which is pretty famous in Germany :-D But in contrast to me, she has already finished her sewing project: a beautiful bag.
On the (not so nice photo) you can see my first attempt on the top of the Ella dress from pattydoo. I used a super cheap and funny fabric with alpacas. I made for the first time an “American neckline” (no idea why it is called like this in Germany).
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The Neckline turned out ok, but the top is to tight for my liking, for the real dress I will size up.
So, I hope you all are well and not too hot :-D
If you have any idea concerning the alterations of my mothers dress….. I need all the help I can get :-D
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Ooooo !!! probably Israel has moved to you :))))) at such a temperature, not only will one computer overheat :) I really sympathize with you and I hope that you have an air conditioner. With such a heat the fan is not very effective. in such weather it is very difficult to knit things especially from warm yarn. I also really like the drawing on your fabric: alpaca funny :))). but I did not understand: will it be a blouse or a dress? I do not know how to sew, but with your mother's dress I would do as you decided to do: cut out the elastic and then sew the parts of the dress. if the junction of the parts is very prominent, then you can sew a ribbon or lace over it.
Hihiih.. you are right, Isreal has moved :-D but sadly without the beautiful buildings, only the heat came. And no, we do not have air condition and it it is impossible to buy anything, because everything is sold out. Today it is a bit cooler, so I will not complain :-D
And with the alpaca sweater: I want to make a dress with an american neckline, long sleeves and a wide skirt. But I was unsure which size I should use, so I tried out the top/sweater part of this dress pattern in a cheap fabric (the alpaca fabric). Now I know if I make the real dress, I will have to choose a bigger size, because the top/sweater turned out to narrow. (The skirt part will be so wide, that it is not important which size I choose)
My mothers dress is still wainting... sigh, I am too scared. But your idea is a good one, if I make the cut I could cover up any mistakes by using embellishments... Thank you for this idea <3
I'm glad that you have a little bit of hotness. without air conditioning in this weather is terrible ... I wish you success with your dress!
It has been a really long time since I have sewn anything, so sorry I would not be able to help. But maybe our other seamstresses and seamsters can help better.
That is very hot - make sure you stay as cool as possible and drink lots and lots of water. Take care, Lady!
And I love the alpaca fabric, too - so much fun!! 😊
Yeees alpacas are so lovely <3 <3 Some time ago we encountered some therapy alpacas and llamas on a meadow near our flat and they were sooooo soft and lovely. The photo shows one of the alpacas, but it's training was not finished, so we were not allowed to touch it or walk with it.
We were allowed to walk with a llama instead which was also so beautiful. You can see the photo above in a comment to @cryptocariad
The alpaca sweater was only a test and sadly it is too small for my liking. I do not have enough of this fabric to make a whole dress out of it ...
And my mothers dress is still waiting (sigh) I am still too afraid to cut it.
It’s great to see you are still progressing on your Fall sweater! It’s neat you are able to help your family and friends out with these sewing jobs...even though sewing is not your favorite thing. Maybe as you continue to sew you will enjoy it more! 😄😁 I like the American neckline!
Thanks for sharing with us on this hot #NeedleWorkMonday!! ☀️
Yeees... the cropped sweater is nearly done. I am on the secon sleeve and hope I will get it finished. And with the sewing: it is nice to be able to help, but I need a technique to calm down while sewing:-DDD
and @cryptocariad told me the neckline is called "envelope neckline", this makes much more sense than the term we use in Germany :-D
Yes you should remain calm while sewing! 😄
That name does make sense. 👍🏽
Yes to cutting the elastic out of the dress and sewing pieces together. You might need to ease one piece a little to fit the smaller piece, but that is what I would do.
I am still to afraid to cut... and you are right I will pay attention to the width of the two parts. Thank you <3
Do not despair @neumannsalva ! I loved your angsty face :D
I adore alpacas (even before they became famous). Your top looks lovely in that fabric. I think it's called 'envelope' neckline in the UK - anyone out there to correct me? I've never made a pattern using that sort of neckline :)
I would personally say that unless you have an overlocker you may find it a bit tricky to sew jersey fabric with just a normal stitch. You can use a zig zag stitch too but I would personally make a trial piece before attempting the dress.
Good luck !
Yes the face.... :-DDD
And thank you for the envelope neckline - this seems much more logical than the German naming :-D
And with the jersey: I have sewn many jersey skirts with a zig zag stitch, because no overlock on my side. They seem to be ok....But I seldom wash my handmade skirts, which I think is especially hard on poorly made seams.
And the question with the sewing for my mother's dress is, if it will look ok, if I simply cut out the elastic and sew everything back together (I fear my English is too bad to explain my idea) Perhaps it would be better to insert a different fabric to link the top and the skirt part of her dress (after I cut out the elastic)... sigh... I do not speak 'sewing' fluently :-DD
And I absolutey love alpacas and llamas. We sometime ago visited therapy alpacas and llamas and I was allowed to pet them and to walk with them.... now I want
oneor two~~~~maybe threeall alpacas of the world :-DI think you were totally clear in your explanation @neumannsalva :D I just didn't answer enough as I got worried about the sewing without an overlocker.
Theoretically you should be able to just join the top and the skirt of the dress.
Is the skirt section wider than the top ? That might also be a reason for the elastic...
If the skirt section is slightly wider than the top section, then you may have to either bring in the side seam to fit in - the other option would be making small pleats to adjust so that top and bottom skirt fit in together :D
Therapy alpacas and llamas ? That's awesome ! We considered buying a couple of alpacas ages ago but at the time the price was too high :(
Your own alpaca flock, that would have ben heaven <3 The llamas I met were super lovely and did not spit. The one I took on a walk was like a cloud with legs, so soft ...<3 and he was namend Merlin
By the way I have the baby jacket on ravlery and linked your blog post :-D (same goes for you @shanibeer) Thank you both so much for trying the tutorial <3
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/no-grey-mouse
Thank you for the photo @neumannsalva. Merlin looks very well groomed :D
Thank you also for the link to your Ravelry page. The naked shirt top looks really lovely. I will read the instructions to see if I can make it and if I do, I will let you know too :D
Thanks again and enjoy the weekend.
My Mom recently asked me to adjust the elastic waistband on some sweatpants and they had the same issue, the elastic was totally sewn in. Being lazy, I used my handy dandy seam ripper and opened the waistband in four places where I then cut the elastic vertically and then Closed up the hole. The result being that the tightness has been lessened, but the elastic still functions.
In your case, if the elastic will maintain the integrity of the look, I would measure her waist to see how much it needs to be loosened and then snip the elastic vertically in as many spots as necessary to Make it comfy.
🌻 hope this helps, @neumannsalva
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This is a good idea and I tried it... ugh...but it seems to be the dress of hell, I have no idea who produced my mother’s dress. The elastic is enveloped two times by fabric and on both sides its sewn in. I cannot rip it open without hurting the fabric on the right side. Baaaaaad dress.
That is most unfortunate 😕 sounds like this will be a major overhaul. Here’s a positive note, you’ll now know how not to build a dress.
The fashion industry has taken to making clothes so we can no longer make alterations. 😩
I soooo like your knitting @neumannsalva.. It is soo neat! Mine is always full of holes because of missed stitch - no knitting for me in front of telly.
Haha, I get that too!! Sometimes, I do more alterations than anything. Shorten the jeans, shorten the dress, fix a hole in the pocket, lengthen the shorts. Endless. And to make matters worse, when I am given these alterations to do, I need to wait for my mood to kick in. Else, the garment can sit and wait for a looooong time. And like in your case, I might destroy the dress after I alter it (which I did, I actually shrunk a dress by shrinking the sleeveless neckline - don't ask me what I did, cos I am not sure haha). My mom was upset with me! Hahah..So for your mom's dress, I think I better leave it to the experts because I am not sure what to do either. But I see some really good ideas already in the comments :)
Ooo yay to pattydoo! Thank you for the mention @neumannsalva! Such an irony we were learning from the same sewist around the same time! :) Oh wow pattydoo's Ella dress! Congrats on sewing it! I saw her Romy skirt tutorial too, am really tempted.
I appreciate your knitting praise... but I have a friend who knits so much better than me, so that I only can see the mistakes and uneven stitches while looking at my own knitting :-DDD
And I know exactly what you mean with ‘the mood’ :-DDD I also have a pile of to sew things besides my sewing machine. And with my mother’s dress… I will take courage and cut it. It was a very inexpensive dress and bringing it to a tailor will be more expensive than the dress :-D
Sadly the Ella dress is far from finished. I only tried the pattern for the top part. And as you can see on the photo I have to cut out the pattern anew, because I have chosen a too small size.
And the Romy skirt tutorial is the one which I always watch to sew in a zipper :-DDD But I never made the whole skirt.
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