Monday, August 25, 2014

McCall's M7000, View A, Cutting Layout

I have all my pattern pieces cut out and ready to go.
Most of the pieces are the same as for view B, the Elsa dress. View A, Anna dress, merely get rid of the overlay and shortens the skirt.

I have the skirt pieces in blue.
The yoke and sleeves in the white. Since there were no overlay pieces I could actually cut it with a normal fold. Unlike the cross fold of view B

 The bodice in black, I layered the lining behind the satin folded the same way.
Everything is all cut out and ready to go.
Oh and here's a picture of my scrap pile
There were quite a few good sized remnants leftover.

Time to get started.
Happy Sewing.

Friday, August 22, 2014

McCall's Pattern Haul

There was a sale but I didn't buy as many patterns as I wanted to so this is just an update on the new patterns I got.
Two of them are patterns I already own, but I decided to buy the bigger size M7000 and M5731.

The new ones are
M6906
M6097
M6855
M6981
If you notice the last one has matching girls costumes so I can make a dolly and me outfit.
Happy Sewing

McCall's M7000, View A, Fabric and Notions

McCall's M7000, View A



I finally got the fabric for the Anna dress I am making.
I chose costume glitter satin and posh lining, in black, for the bodice.
White costume satin for the yoke and sleeves
And royal blue costume satin for the skirt.
Finally I have one 14" polyester all purpose zipper, one 1/4" clear button, black and white thread, and the pattern I am going to be using.

I chose the costume satin this time so it should all hold together better than the organza of the last one. Also not pictured is the 1/8" elastic I am going to use for the button hole. I have zig-zaged the cut end of the fabric and it is waiting to be washed before I get started.
Happy Sewing

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Brother LS-2000

Here's a little post about my sewing machine.
The machine I use, the only machine I have, and the only machine I have ever had is the Brother LS-2000.
My Personal Machine


I've had this same machine since 2009. My Mother-in-Law bought it for me for Christmas. This is what began my sewing journey.

It's a simple mechanized machine, it only has two options straight stitch and zig-zag stitch.
The Controls
I can adjust length and width of each stitch. I also have 3 choices for needle positions, left, middle, and right, and I can not forget the back stitch lever.

It has a vertical spool pin, vertical bobbin case, and a free arm.

Spool Pin

Bobbin Case
The tension control is above the needle and the thread does the down, up, down thing.
Tension disc and thread winding
It's presser foot is clip on  and it is considered a low shank machine.

It came with a zipper foot and a darning plate.

It does'nt do any fancy stitching, but it does do everything I need to do apparel sewing. Messing with the settings I can do a blind hem, a buttonhole, and attach a button.

This is a great starter machine, and cheap it can be bought for $60 at Wal-mart, which is good for a metal gear machine. I would even recommend this one for children because it's pretty easy to use and understand.

I love my machine, even though I dream of a fancy computerized machine, I don't think I would ever get rid of this one. I can't wait to pass it on to my daughters.

Happy Sewing.


Saturday, August 9, 2014

Pattern Haul


There was a sale at Jo Ann this weekend, Simplicity patterns were $1. I grabbed 10 this time though last time. I've got new patterns to add to my collection.

1552

1558
1773
1347
3809
5582
1508
2463
1391
1392

Friday, August 1, 2014

McCall's M7000, View B, Cost Breakdown and Reflection




So the dress is made, time to think about how much it cost to make.

Notes
These fabric amounts are for size 3-4.
The prices are regular price and do not include coupons, sales, or any other type of discount that I may have used.
I only include items I bought for this specific project, I do not include items leftover from previous projects, such as small pieces of fabric, small pieces of elastic, small pieces of interfacing, or thread (particularly black and white).

Fabric
Casa Collection Satin ($7.99/yd): 1.25yds = $9.99
Sheer Ribbon Organza ($5.99/yd): 2.625yds = $15.72
Crinkle Pearlized Sheer ($8.99/yd): .375yds = $3.37
Crystal Blue Posh Lining ($4.99/yds): .375yds = $1.87

Notions
6 buttons for $1.00 =  $0.17 for 1 button
14" Polyester Zipper = $2.19
100m Opal Blue Thread =$1.99

Total
Drumroll please

 $35.30

Reflections

I'm thankful I did this project because I used many different fabrics and techniques that I had never done before. I had never done a slipstitch nor had I ever used organza or pearlized shear. I had also never done a princess seam or attached a lining.
Attaching the lining and doing the slipstich were easier than I thought they would be and I'm glad this project involved them.

I regret using the pearlized shear because I noticed too late that it was supposed to be dry clean only. It seams to be holding together even though it was washed. Also I regret using the organza, it was slippery, didn't iron well, and my needle and thread were too big for it. I may have to remake the yoke and sleeves into a different fabric because after one days where they are already falling apart. The overlay is staying but there's also not as much stress put on the overlay as on the sleeves or yoke.

If, or most likely when, I make it again , probably in a bigger size, I'll probably use satin for both the skirt and bodice but I have not decided yet what I'm going to use for the yoke, sleeves, and overlay.

Happy Sewing

McCall's M7000, View B, Yoke, Sleeves, and Finishing

I have made and attached the yoke, the sleeves, stitched the lining, and finished the hems.

First I sewed the pieces of the yoke together.
The organza is fairly see through you can barely see it.

Next I sewed the yoke onto the bodice matching the center and notches.
The angle of the bodice made it hard to sew on but I did it.

Next was the lining, I had to put the pieces together the same way the bodice went together.
I was easier this time, probably because I did this with the bodice but also because it was far easier to tell which was right side and which was wrong side.

next was to sew the lining to the bodice front and back, skipping armholes. Then understitching the lining as far as possible.
This was easy because the bodice and the lining lined up nicely and the understitching followed nicely.

Next was the slipstitch, I thought that was going to be the hardest part, I had never done a slipstitch before so it was something new. I slipstitched the sides and bottom of the lining.

It was tedious but not as hard as I thought it was going to be and it looks beautiful.

Next was making the sleeves. I double stitched the seams and hemmed it, I had to hand-stitch the sleeve hems because it seemed easier with the organza.



Next was adding the sleeves to the bodice and yoke, it was double stitched and trimmed.


It's beautiful.

Finally was the the hem and button.
I cheated on the button and just added an elastic loop instead of a threaded loop.
Next was hemming the skirt and overlay.

After all that we have a dress.

Draped over my machine.