I've got you covered

Lest you think I've fallen off the blog scope, nope! I've just been busy putting together some info and tutorial pages for home coverstitch machines and accessories. By no means complete or exhaustive, you can find the new link in the sidebar to the right.

Now to go dig out the dog crate for The World's Most Skittish Dog During 4th of July Fireworks ...

Go with your instincts (and not your fatigue)

Plan A was the button/buttonhole. Plan B at 2:00 in the morning of became the Velcro closure. As DH was handing me the birthday shorts during laundry collection today, he asks if I could sew a button on the waistband. Seems he keeps popping the Velcro when he sits. :-) So I fessed up and admitted that a button closure was my first choice too but the hurry-up factor had set in and I decided to substitute the Velcro.

Which is silly now that I'm thinking about it because I think it took all of 15 minutes total to rip out the Velcro from both sides of the closure, sew the buttonhole and attach the button by machine.

They're in the washer now and hopefully the old stitching holes will close up, never to be seen again. But the good news is that obviously DH is planning to wear these again. If he was just being polite, the closure problem never would've been mentioned.

The jury's still out

So this, the free preview & premier issue of Blueprint (a Martha Stewart Living publication), arrived in my mailbox on Tuesday. At first glance, I'm not sure what to think. I will say that my overall initial impression is that it's hard to tell the content from the advertisements and the layout is a bit too cutesy for me. Why I'm mentioning it here, though, is one of the editors, Katie Hatch, is a sewer and her bio blurb says she makes most of her wardrobe herself. So maybe there's hope for the fashion portions of this new rag?? We'll see. I don't know how many others will read the "fine print" on the editors or if there'd be any impact at all even if they do.

There's also a free dress pattern download (designed by Katie, natch) for a grown-up version of what I've known as a pillowcase dress. Blueprint refers to it as "elegant." I know I'm not a fashion plate, but somehow a sack belted in the middle doesn't meet my expectations of elegant. Cute, comfy, casual -- now those are the adjectives that come to my mind and this would work for a fun summer frock on a slimmer figure than mine. I also found the cost breakdown of the outfit interesting. The fabric and cord were $76 (the fabric is $35/yd. silk twill). The belt is $150, the earrings $50, and the bracelet $449. For a total of $725. Hmmm ... maybe that's why the Blueprint editors dubbed it elegant??

But go ahead and download it, even if you know you'll never sew it. Hopefully Blueprint will be tracking the downloads and if this one is popular, maybe there will be a next. And maybe that one will be elegant. We need to encourage all the home sewing promotionals we come across.

ETA: Drat! I had links which should've put you directly at the magazine contents, editorial, and download pages, but they're not working as they should. You should be able to find everything easily though once you're on Blueprint's site.

Birthday Shorts

Technically, I finished these before DH's birthday since they were wrapped and waiting when he woke up. But in actuality, I was still sewing long after midnight. I called it quits sometime around 2 a.m. WHY do I always get these Bright Ideas at the last minute?? I never did get to measure his RTW shorts inseam so these were wrapped with serged but unhemmed legs. It only took 10 minutes to finish them this morning and DH has been wearing them ever since.

I should've just hemmed them because I had guessed correctly -- adding a 1.5" to the length and then sewing a 1" hem seems to be the perfect length. Oh well, better safe than sorry and DH really didn't mind. (He's great that way.) Since I was running behind, I also made the Executive (time-saving) Decision to just go with the Velcro waist closure instead of a button. DH doesn't seem to mind that either and since I had some No-Snag Velcro, I'm hoping I won't mind come laundry day.

All of the details and more photos can be seen in the review for Pattern Review, here. Oh, and in case you're wondering, that's my older son in the photo with DH.

Next up on the cutting table

As I mentioned earlier, DH's birthday is Tuesday. He's already getting concert tickets to see one of his favorite bands from the 70s/80s (Little River Band) but I thought I'd add something he can use a little sooner since the concert isn't until August.

Tonight, I've cut out Kwik Sew 2936 from a khaki twill that's been aging in the stash longer than I can now remember. I wanted to measure the inseam of his favorite similarly-styled shorts but of course he was wearing them today. So instead, I guessed my best and added an inch and a half to the length and I'll hopefully be able to sneak a measurement tomorrow (or at least sometime before I have to hem them).

Pattern changes I have already decided on include leaving off the eyelets and drawstring at the waist and using a button/buttonhole closure instead of the Velcro recommended by the pattern directions. I hate what Velcro does in the washer/dryer when males (at least the ones in *this* house) forget to stick it to itself before tossing into the laundry bin. The pattern has side cargo pockets and one rear pocket. I may need to enlarge the rear pocket because DH's wallet is the larger bi-fold type. Another measurement to sneak in when he's not looking.

Now, off to check the thread and zipper supply to see if I need to make an early trip to Joann's before starting.