Grail, Chosen (un)Wisely

 So.

Making a motorcycle jacket from a sequined fabric is not an original idea. Once I saw a sequined motorcycle jacket, though, I definitely wanted to make one.

I haven't, yet, but I do want to.

A big barrier to this potential project has been that I have a very particular idea of what kind of sequin fabric I want to use

• Sequins that are sewn flat, not flippable or paillette or a shape besides 'round'
  
• Sequins that are 6mm, not 3mm micro sequins
• Sequins arranged in offset rows, not meandering, random, or without the offset
• The base fabric is opaque, not mesh
• The sequins are metallic, not holographic, iridescent, matte, or transparent

And apparently any one of those requirements is unpopular unfashionable, let alone combined.  The few places I did find that offered this specific--and admittedly kinda old fashioned*--format of sequined fabric...tended not to have it in stock. *It's the Seventiesness I want.

Or, well, they might have it in stock in colors that I didn't want.  If I was going to pay [gasp] $30 per yard, I was absolutely going to be picky about colors.  Silver, gunmetal, black, pinks, purples, even blue-greens: all fine.  No. gold.

And I was willing to splurge on this fabric, especially since I could probably get away with 1¾ to 2 yards--since motorcycle jackets are short and made of a lot of pieces, they can be squeezed out of surprisingly small (for jackets) yardages.

But you can't buy something you can't find.

So I checked whenever I'd think about it; watched stuff that was "not close but I might settle for it" get reduced and sell out on FabricMart; cursed JoAnn for only carrying the trendy sequin stuff; tried variations on web search terms that made the search engine tilt its head like dog who might have recognized a word you just said.

Honestly, though, I mostly didn't think about it.

The kiddo needs pants--he's doing virtual school again this year, but we have to go to an in-person orientation soon to pick up the school-issued computer, and Husband thinks the last pair of pants I made for the kid are...kinda weird.  I could make another pair, of course, and in a more neutral fabric, if I had any such fabric.  Husband wanted to look for a pair of ready to wear pants, so we spent a while in Walmart this morning with a tape measure (the kid stayed home.)  Since he's built like a piece of spaghetti, it took a while to find options that were long enough (or nearly so) but with a waist that could be reduced further with elastic without turning into paper bag waists.

We managed to find two pairs!

That particular Walmart tends to have little to no stock of mill end pre-cut fabric, but I decided to go look anyway, just in case they had something suitable for Kid Pants.

They did not, but, given the way this post started, you can probably guess what they did have

I can't say it's exactly what I was looking for, because I didn't have an exact color in mind

but wow.

Spotting it felt a lot like when I spotted the #3-4 transitional 1960 Barbie in beautiful condition in a pile of "everything you can fit in this bag for $3" toys in a thrift store (a feeling heretofore approached only by going to another thrift store the very next day and finding a Sasha baby Sandy.)  I grabbed it in delighted disbelief, then very intentionally went back to regular browsing.

This fabric is a 50" wide synthetic double jersey knit base, with the sequins covering 40" of width (which, in retrospect, is probably common on sequin fabric, and that "I could get by with 1¾ yards" thought was...naive.)  

The overall length is just over 3 yards (I know the label says 3 yards, but I have been lied to by a mill end pre-cut label before), but that part around the three yards point shows its true nature of being a mill end

There should be plenty of sequined area to make another Burda 6800 (more likely than KwikSew 3764, but I do have other moto jacket patterns I haven't tried out yet.)  We'll see how much of this end is left before trying to figure out if I might make something featuring it.

One of my long-ago Wawak orders included a set of brass zippers with light pink tape, in number and sizes for Burda 6880, too, and I also have pale pink fabric, with black pinstripes, suitable for lining.  And light pink Saba C thread!

So, while I don't know when I'm going to make this into the motorcycle jacket I've been imagining for ages, I do have the supplies for it.

and it will definitely be an Unwise Sewing Adventure

Flighty

So, OK:  I don't do New Year's resolutions  So when I realized that my desire to, like, just stop buying hobby materials (read: dolls and cloth) for a year might feel more possible if I broke it down into three-month chunks, and, at that time, it had already been two weeks since I'd bought dolls or cloth, I decided to go with it.   I have a bit over a month left before the first three month period is over.  And, if I do go back to my old...ah...excessive acquisition modalities, well at least there'll have been three months of not buying every quirky/shiny/interesting thing around.

I thought I'd Make So Much Stuff!!! during this time.  I didn't.  But I'm starting to?  A big hindrance was the fact that the weight I gained in 2017 is looking like it's here to stay--I'm (mostly) OK with my current shape

BUT

Everything I ever sewed, and all of the beloved patterns I had...nope.  And I'd look at all my fabulous me-made clothes hanging in my closet and mourn.  All the work, all the happiness I got from the finished items (the items that didn't make me so happy...those were already gone), and I'd never be able to wear them again.  I also felt like donating them was not the best idea, because...mmm, maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think a lot of thrift store shoppers in this area are going to be interested in things like side-zip shirts made from vintage patterns and Halloween prints--and be the appropriate size.

I did consider cutting everything apart and re-using the cloth, likely for patchwork, but, honestly.  "More cloth" is not something I need. (see first paragraph.)  So I put out the word on social media: Huge Lot of Quirky Handmade Clothes, Yours For The Cost Of Shipping!  and the one mutual who has a big following reblogged it and hey I mailed them all off yesterday.

And now I can start the adventure of discovery, going through the thrifted patterns I'd accrued in sizes that used to be too large ("I can use these to sew for friends!"  I thought to myself and then never did--although I still might!) as well as re-examining the size ranges of patterns that I've had forever and...uh...and never used...  There hasn't been a Chain Fabric and Craft Store super duper pattern sale since I admitted my need for new patterns, so I haven't bought anything new and I'm not sure if I will?  Because I still have a whole lotta patterns.

And I have way more cloth.  So I need to get sewin'!  I have started a project, using a few yards that someone gave to me.  As usual, I'm deviating from the pattern-as-given on the fly, and tomorrow I hope to sew it all together to see if it works.  Today, though, I embellished

(and I obviously did not iron)

Will I sew a lot this year?  Dunno.  But at least I won't be held back by the idea that I don't need to, because I had all those cute things I already made...just need to lose about twenty pounds first... Well, I mailed off about 20 pounds of those cute me-made things.  So.  Let's go.

Just a little thrift

Ventured to the out-of-the-way Goodwill yesterday, was confronted with a bin full of 49¢ patterns, managed to constrain myself to only four.

My Stash to Bust

I took some quick pictures of the condition of my cloth stash storage, which I keep intentionally (kinda) small.

In the closet is a bookcase...well, actually, it's an abandoned retail display case, so it's sturdy enough to hold the cloth on its commercial-grade shelves.

And...yeah, it's pretty packed.  (Above is the bin of scraps, next to the  suitcase full of lace and trim and bias tape.)  This shelf is for pieces that are a yard and larger (with a pair of rolls of fabric leaning beside it.)

Smaller lengths of cloth go into the dresser

Almost everything in here was acquired with doll clothes in mind, top two drawers for broadcloth, bottom drawer for knits, other drawer for random whatever else.  The top two drawers used to be much fuller, until I decided the density was annoying and started pulling out coordinated sets of prints, some of which got combined with pieces from the shelves to form this pile

There are eight different groups of cloth here, most of which may be enough to use for blanket tops?  I'll find out eventually...

Well then

In the last post, when I mentioned that I had some solid fabric that might maybe sorta match the pink in the odd toy print?

Yeah.  It's not perfect, but, for something I just happened to have (and which itself was either a thrift acquisition or random gift), it's very very good.  And also the same slightly coarse texture as the toy print!

They've both been laundered and added to the everchanging sewing queue...

Thriftin' Again

Since it's a Sunday, meaning Husband is home to watch The Child, and it happens to be my birthday, I decided I'd trek solo to some Goodwill stores today.

The first store I visited didn't turn up anything even vaguely tempting--yesterday was the "July 4th cancelled the regular Half Off Saturday so we're doing Half Off Saturday on the 11th" day at area Goodwill stores, and the stock levels in that Goodwill reflected this.  I wasn't there even 10 minutes before I set out for the other, closer Goodwill.

It was considerably better.

I hadn't been thrifting for a while, because The Child doesn't have the patience for it anymore, and I respect that. (Summer break ends in a few weeks, so I can get back to thrifting more often, if I want...which...I'm trying to convince myself I don't want, because it's not like I lack for stuff...  Anyway.)  I picked up several color-of-the-week fabrics, some of which I might have purchased earlier at 'full' price if I'd been in the store then.  Maybe.

Top is one of the half-price selections.  I knew there was a lot, and had the idea that it might be nice in a dress with an excessively full skirt.  There's cotton involved, although I can't tell if the slightly oily hand is from polyester content or from the heavy ink.  It's 44" wide, and as I was measuring the length, I found an attached tag with a handwritten note of "8 3/8  $1.99."  The length ended up being more like 9¼ yards, though, and I paid $4 for all of it, so...yeah.

Middle is cotton, 42" wide and 3 5/8 yards long.  It was marked $1.99, which seemed low for the way that store prices cloth--I discovered the stains after I got home.  Ah.  I'd been thinking I would make a shirt from this, so there was plenty of room to work around the stains, but I doused them with stain release before throwing the piece in the washing machine.  No stains left when it came out!  (I've seen many pieces of thrift store yardgoods with stains in the middle.  My imagination has decided that they were all used for bake sale tablecloths.)

Bottom is a yarn-dyed cotton plaid with a slight nap (not a full-blown flannel.  I think I'm the only person who's not a huge fan of flannel.)  56" wide by 2¼ yards long, was half price at $1.50

The other yarn-dyed cotton plaid is a set of colors that can't decide if they're royal blue and taupe or dark purple and pale green.  At 1 1/8 yards of 56" for $1 (another color-of-the-week cloth) I don't mind the ambiguity.

Below that is just over a yard of a 60" wool plaid, which might become a winter jacket for the kiddo.  Maybe.

Next is another half-price cut, $1.50 for 2 5/8 yards of a 60" polyester lining fabric with a fine yarn-dyed stripe.  It's a bit heavier than the lining fabric I'm used to.  If I ever make that chintz floral print motorcycle jacket that's been percolating in my mind, this'll go inside.

The solid yellow cotton and the blue cotton blend (I really wanna say it has nylon in it) were purchased because I have the idea to make a Fallout Vault Suit for The Child (shh, don't tell him--it's a surprise.)  I had debated going to JoAnn Fabric today specifically to buy stuff for that project, but the Goodwill in that direction is usually disappointing, and, y'know, there was always the possibility I might find some suitable cloth in Goodwill...  Yeah.  They're both about 2 5/8 yards long, with the yellow being 45" and the blue being 60"--more than needed for both, but for about $5 combined, that's OK.

And then there's the toy print.

The fabulously off toy print.

It's a slightly coarse cotton, which I expect to feel a lot softer after it's been washed and dried (which it's doing right now.)  At 44" wide and about 43" long, I'm envisioning it in a skirt with a wide border of a plain pink cotton at the hem.  I don't have any plain pink cotton, much less in that odd shade of pink, so that will require a further purchase...although...I wonder if I could bleach that intense salmon I have (it's a similar coarse cotton, too...hmm...)

So.  Nine cuts of cloth, most of which I have Actual Ideas about, totaling 26 3/8 yards, plus a small tin, two T-shirts, two dolls, a Lego Technics set (still in it's screamingly-late 1990s box--I didn't know that Technics pieces were ever made in purple and teal...), plus tax for a bit over $25.  My friend M says I have Magical Thrifting Powers.  I'll admit it, I'm proud.

But now I have more to sew...

So, what to make next?

I was ready last night to jump in to cutting something out, deciding to do an idea I'd had for a while...then realized that the reason I hadn't made it yet was because I hadn't yet prewashed the intended cloth.  It was late, but there was enough time to get it washed and into the dryer (note: we currently live in a HOA-controlled subdivision, clotheslines aren't allowed, sigh.)  I pulled out a stack of vaguely similar color prints and got them all into the washing machine and out of the dryer this morning.

(Picture taken pre-laundering.)

Will I now proceed to use them all for projects in the near future?  Ummm...

But

Whenever I do decide to use them, they'll be ready!

*tumbleweeds*

Yes, I know, no-one reads this, so no-one noticed that I haven't posted for a long time.  Not to sound whiny, but I've been low-grade sick since December, which might be the reason I've put on juuuuust enough weight that none of my tried'n'true patterns fit properly, which can kinda destroy the desire to sew things with those patterns. (We have acquired a second-hand Xbox 360 and Kinect, so I've started using those for exercise and dance games, when I don't feel too icky.)    A thing that also happened and is probably related to other aspects of feeling no motivation:  My Dad died just before Thanksgiving.  So.

I've only sewn three clothing things in that time (I did sew a few teacher gifts--but no photos--and surprisingly few doll items.)

This simple shell is made from two cotton prints sent to me by a doll friend, using vintage Simplicity 3263

This is made with my heavily altered New Look 6217 (I fused the front pieces into one, with a really deep dart.)  I bought the cloth in a thrift store, but I think it's currently available in JoAnn Fabric.

I still can't decide if it's ~cupcake cute~ or ~aggressively quirky middle age woman~  Go Me on the pattern matching, though.

The last thing I sewed was an experimental mash-up of a couple patterns...which didn't end up the way I envisioned...which is only a technicality, since I can barely get the thing zipped right now.

It was eked out of right around 2 yards of a (thrifted) border print.  I do think there's still potential to the idea, although who knows if I'll ever try it again.

And I cut out pieces for a wearable muslin of a skirt idea I've had for a while--a bias swirl skirt, but compensating for the fact that the 'real' pattern I have is way too small (I wanna lose weight, yes, but not that much weight), and I wanted a more extreme angle to the swirls.  I might be able to convince myself to start sewing it together today...

Finished it!

I haven't tried it on yet, but, everything's sewn that's supposed to be sewn.

Note to self:  Five layers of cotton is not really enough--INTERFACE THE PLACKET.  Next time.  At least I caught myself before I ended up making any buttonholes off-center, because I have learned that I cannot eyeball stuff.  Rulers are my friend.

I do want to make a skirt to go with this, because it seems like, whenever I make a shirt that does not match any skirts I have, and then I make a skirt to match the shirt, then that the skirt actually works well with other shirts I have...or might make...  Yeah, yeah, I know, that shouldn't seem as weird as it does to me.  This idea of "make things that might go with other things, as well as being useful for everyday wear" instead of  "HEY MAKE THIS BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL BE KOOKY FUN!" is still a new and strange thing for me.

Hmmm...

No cuts/commitments have been made...yet...

Today's thrifted fabric

$2.99 each, both just under 4 yards, both cotton.  The abstract auto print is 35" wide, so probably genuinely vintage, and the tartan is 45" wide.

I tried to adjust the color so the auto print would look more accurate on my screen--it's definitely not anything that I would call "salmon."  "Grapefruit" might be closer.  Maybe. Or a bluntly-phrased "excessively faded red."  Only not actually faded.  Maybe someone out there knows a precedent for this color?

I suspect the tartan may be at least edging toward vintage, too, based on the sticker I found as I was measuring it.  I know tags like that were printed in bulk and used for ages after, so it's not necessarily as old as that typography and expectation that all cloth would cost less than $1 per yard might make it seem...but...then again, it might be.

My recollection of the thought process upon seeing it: "Ooh, plaid!  Hmm, but...brown.  $2.99 per yard?  Hmm.  There's a lot of it, too--at least 3 yards.   But...brown.  Heh heh, just think of the wannabe Vivienne Westwood dress that could be made from so much tartan.  Even with brown?  Yes.  Even with brown."  So.  Will this hypothetical dress ever be made?

Um.

I'll sew something, eventually

In the meantime, I'll keep sporadically finding yard goods at Goodwill.

Like this:

Here's a more artistic view

I decided it was worth the splurge and paid a whole $2.99 for what ended up being 4 yards of 35"--definitely feels cotton-rich, might be 100% cotton with the polyester-y feel coming from the heaviness of the screen printing.  I initially thought it was a modern print with retro style, but the 35" width and the fact that the ends are  ripped instead of cut make me wonder if it might be honestly older.  It's in beautiful shape if it is.  There's no information on the selvedges.

I'll probably use most of it to make something for me, but the print's a good size to use for doll clothes, too...

And I finally finished repainting some dolls, so I was then finally able to clean the paint supplies off of my sewing table--like so:

...sooooo I have fewer excuses to not sew now.  And I did sew one doll dress yesterday!  I just...um...need to sew more...

Oh, uh... Hi.

Still haven't sewn anything.  When I looked back at what I sewed last year, I didn't do anything until March, so this may be completely normal for me.  Looking forward to getting  more sunlight as the northern hemisphere slogs toward Spring.

"Not sewing right now" doesn't mean "not buying cloth right now," though...

Bought some more cloth in Goodwill this morning. Oops?

A bit different than before--this is a stack of just over 200 4"² pieces of cotton.  Hello, so many doll dress bodices and pieced skirts...

Anyone interested in seeing the prints that particularly catch my eye (in good ways and in bad), or would you rather wait to see what I sew from them?

First thrifted cloth of the New Year (either New Year)

Today is Half Off Saturday at the local Goodwill stores, and we hit two quickly this morning, finding a few pieces of cloth at the first:

At the top is some lightweight denim, about a yard and a half of 44", with scattered embroidered bugs'n'lizards'n'frogs.  The Child looked at it and said, "No, thank you," but he was pretty obviously feeling Lego Star Wars video game withdrawal at that point, so I don't know if he really actually doesn't want anything made from it or not.  That's OK, I have ideas for it that don't involve him, heh--looking at it now, I realize the space between the embroidered motifs is big enough that I can probably make A-line doll dresses with one critter each.

Next is some lightweight fine wale corduroy with a nice rose print, 2 yards of 44"--not sure what I can make from it, because 2 yards of a napped fabric has built-in limitations.  Has anyone else made anything from super light weight fine wale corduroy?  It seems too light for a skirt, but maybe too heavy for a shirt...or not?  (And, of course, it's accumulating cat hair already...)

The last piece is more or less a quarter yard, although cut along one edge (you can see the selvedge.)  It's cotton, and definitely going to be used for doll clothes.  There's some gold in the print, too!

I paid $3 for all of this.  Yeah, I may be kinda addicted to thrifting yardgoods...

Gonna try it again

I've cut out the pieces for another go at making the Angel Sleeve Trapeze Dress in Barbie size, and will take pictures of the construction when I sew it (which will be...whenever I switch to white thread--right now,  I have sky blue thread on the machine, and I intend to sew lots and lots of coll clothes with that before changing it.  Does anyone else sew that way?)

So, for now, here's a copy of the pattern pieces and basic instructions, if anyone wants to try it

This pattern was inspired by a real sewing pattern--for humans!--from 1968, Simplicity 8219.  I don't usually make doll clothes this simple, but, that pattern...  Well.  It cried out for an homage...

A little progress yesterday

I stayed online too long yesterday and didn't leave much time for sewing, but I did manage to finish a few doll dresses

The Blythe dress...well...I had planned to do a sewalong/tutorial-type post for the Barbie-size Angel Sleeve Trapeze Dress pattern I shared a few years ago, but I accidentally used the Blythe-size version when I cut the pieces.  Speaks to how out-of-practice I am, yes?  I did finish three Monster High-size things destined for Etsy, at least, and I've located the pattern pieces for the Barbie-size Angel Sleeve Trapeze Dress, so will try that again...

And I finished loading fonts onto this new computer, so no more procrastination on a proper header for this blog.  *nods*

Next project plans

I want to sew this

...but I really should sew this instead

...and then there's the whole "finish loading fonts onto new computer so I can make a proper header for this blog" project, too...