Scrubalicious

Scrub #1 is done, thanks to Mr. Kenmore. ;-) It's hanging kind of crooked in this pic. I still have 2 more in the assembly-line, cut and waiting for a thread change on the machines. I actually bought the main print for this top from Fabric.com a few weeks ago for me but when it arrived, it was not at all what I was expecting. I almost returned it but then I realized that it would be perfect for a scrub top. The contrast pieces are from stash.

The pattern is Kwik Sew 3709 and it's a winner. I'll write a full review when I'm done, but the quick version is that it has nice shaping, great seams and flattering pocket angles, and two similar yet different views in the same pattern doubling the value. There'd probably be even more residual value if I hadn't taken the lazy way out and cut (gasp!) a Kwik Sew pattern instead of tracing it.

The scrub pictured above is View B.



Here's a close-up that shows the upper yoke seam and a glimpse of the princess seams.


I'm making one more View B and one View A and hope to have them all done and in the mail/UPS truck by Friday. I would be further along except I goofed big-time on the center front panel. I completely missed that it was to be cut on the fold and cut 1/2 of the piece and actually sewed it — and serged it — to the side panels. Oops. Thankfully, I had more fabric. I may not be as lucky with the second one, so it's probably going to have a center front seam.

Tablerunner & Napkins & Kvetching

Done! I'm sorely out of practice with the binding but some washable glue and Wonder Tape let me pretend I'm an expert. I had attached the binding to the front of the runner before the D1 died and after the meltdown I seriously contemplated tacking it on the back by hand. That lasted for about 8 stitches. I'm so NOT a good stitcher-by-hand (because I never practice, of course) and it would've taken for-freakin'-EVER.

Here's the back. Or, it could be the front too since theoretically it is reversible.



I'm still debating whether to toss it in the washer/dryer to create the wrinkly quilty goodness or to send it on to mom in its current state.

I made four napkins. If I had been more forward-thinking when I bought the fabric, I would've bought more so I could have made more napkins. But I didn't, so I couldn't. The napkins are double-sided. Each has the same backing so they can be folded as four matching napkins or four coordinating napkins. On the napkin from the "backing" print, I used the wrong side for one side, which is a solid blue.



Sewing with the Kenmore was an … adventure. (I think it's actually a Janome-made machine, since its model number starts with "385.") It's not a total bottom-of-the-line, but it's only one or two up from that. And I felt it. Even my dilapidated D1 sews circles around this machine. But hey, at least I have a backup, right? Trying to think positive. ;-)

Here's the "new" line-up. Look how small that thing is. LOL!



The things I miss most from my D1 are needle up/down, all the needle positions, automatic tension, thread cutting, and just the overall ease of the sewing experience. I had to test and adjust a lot more with the Kenmore. Some of it is because I'm just not used to sewing with it but most of it is because my D1 just does everything so beautifully without adjustment.

Oh, and I miss all my D1 feet! I don't have a stitch-in-the-ditch foot for the Kenmore and I REALLY needed it for the binding. I made do with a generic adjustable edge-stitching foot, but it's not as sturdy as my Viking feet. That plastic guide thing on the right is wobbly.



Another thing I miss — winding a bobbin without unthreading. And ALL MY BOBBINS. I think I have 3 bobbins for the Kenmore. What a pain. I wish I had thought to buy more when I was at Joann's yesterday.

The Kenmore is good as a buttonhole station and it's a decent sewer, but it's not a *great* sewing machine. The stitch quality is acceptable but not outstanding. The Featherweight's straight stitch is much, much nicer. Even my fumbling on the treadle produces a prettier straight stitch. The D1 stitching is easily as nice as either of the vintage machines. I'm beginning to dread the edgestitching I'll need to do for my sister's scrubs. I'm not used to having to work at getting a straight, even stitch. Spoiled, I know.

I did drop off the D1 yesterday at my Viking dealer, which is inside Joann's. It won't even be looked at until Monday at the earliest. Sob. But at least it's there. I'll just have to wait for the bad news.

Is It Contagious?

Happy New Year!

Thank you all for the get well wishes! I think I'm on the mend. I got up this morning and could breathe through both nostrils and I'm not freezing anymore.

My sons were actually helpful, despite my whines in my last post — making store runs for more drugs and a load of tissues, and jumping in for odd jobs around the house to keep things going (dogs out, making a couple of dinners, etc.). DH was working very full days so he was off the hook. It's not that they aren't generally helpful in all situations, but like most men, they aren't good at "mothering," which is what I was whining for in my last post. When you're the mama, it's hard to get good mothering when the resident mama is down for the count and the biological one is a thousand miles north. ;-)

So, while I seem to be getting better, I must've breathed too hard on my D1 and it's now sick. I was all set to sew the binding onto my mom's table runner last night. I loaded an empty bobbin into the winder and … clack-clack-clack-crash! Ayiiiiiiiiii!

I shouldn't admit this in public, but here goes. I've been sewing without a reverse or lights on my D1 for a few years. The fix stitch button also doesn't work, but I can get around that with other methods. The part that's most inconvenient is not being able to turn it OFF when I *don't* want a knot at the beginning of a seam. Reverse can had by turning the fabric 180, which has been easy enough. It does suck that I can't use some of my utility stitches without the Reverse button, but it's been so long I can't even remember which ones anymore. The lights I really don't miss. I just have a table lamp shining directly onto the bed which is more than bright enough.

But not being able to wind bobbins? That's a show-stopper. And no, the Sidewinder bobbin winding thing doesn't work for Viking D1 bobbins so that's not an option even if I wanted one, which I don't.

I've avoided taking the machine in for repairs all this time because at first I just couldn't bear being without a sewing machine. It used to be my only one. I didn't count my Kenmore back then but I've since dusted it off and it's now part of the herd as my buttonhole station.

I've avoided the repair shop lately because, frankly, I'm pretty sure they're going to tell me I need a new motherboard and I just plain can't afford to drop hundreds and hundreds of dollars on that, after the year of $$ house repairs we've had. And after all this time, I'm just used to being without and something else always seems to take precedence in the budget. But no bobbin winding means it's time for the D1 to be hospitalized. She's going in with a list of all that's wrong and the instruction to not fix anything without giving me an estimate for each item first. I know the bobbin winder problem is not related to the motherboard and hopefully that won't be an arm and two legs. If I'm right and I need a new motherboard for the other things, unless it's a LOT cheaper than I think, I'll still have to pass on those other repairs for a while longer and continue with my workarounds for no reverse and the fix stitch. But at least I'll know how much to save towards it.

On the bright side, having some of these convenience features gone from my D1 taught me that I really didn't need them to sew and made me look at vintage and mechanical machines in a new light. Which is why I have the Featherweight and the treadle and dusted off the Kenmore. Hmmm. Blessing or curse? LOL! I even dug out the manual for the Kenmore last night and realized it does a lot more than I thought it did. When I bought it, I didn't really sew. It was for mending and Boy Scout patches, and I was more interested in price than features. I'm going to try finishing mom's table runner and napkins with it this afternoon. If all goes well, I'll start on my sister's scrubs next.

Coverstitch: Serging Bound Neckline at Shoulder Seam

So, you've bound your neckline "in the flat" and now one shoulder seam is unfinished. What to do? (Don't cut those binding ends off just yet!)

I serge my bound neckline shoulder seams like this:

1. Raise the serger knife to its highest position.

2. Before you put the pieces under the knife, slide the bottom layer back a smidge. The machine's differential feed will grab this bottom layer first and that slight grab will put it even with the top layer for the first stitch. (At least on my serger!)

3. Lift the front of the serger foot (with your fingertips, not with the lift lever) and put the fabric all the way under and against the knife.

4. Release the tip of the foot back on top of the fabric, which is now in position against the knife. (You see a ripple here because I was juggling fabric with one hand and the camera with the other!)

Grab the binding tails and gently guide them (and your shoulder seam) toward the knife as you step on the pedal and slowly start serging over "the lump."

5. Press the seam toward the back and, Voila!

6. After running the serger thread tail back through the stitching, sometimes a stitch or two will show at the neckline edge. When this happens, I get out my permanent fabric markers and color those threads to match or blend. I won't tell if you won't. ;-)

Coverstitch: "Lazy" Coverstitch Hem

Most of my hems I do "by eye," thus the "lazy" method.

First, I press up a hem.

With the hem pressed, I bring the item to the CS machine and place it raw edge side UP under the needles so that the left-most needle is just at the inside of the raw edge. Most of the time my edge does not line up right next to one of the guidelines because those guidelines are more regularly incremental than my "by eye" amount.

So, out comes my handy-dandy "hem guide." Yes, a little pad of Post-It notes. (Thanks to a PR member for this tip.) I butt it up next to the folded edge and press down so the whole pad is temporarily stuck in place.

Then I turn the fabric over so the wrong side is facing down and I'm ready to start stitching.

Voila! The underside of the hem is encased in coverstitching with no raw edges to trim. (Please pardon the stitch quality of the off-grain hastily made sample.)