The next step is cutting out the excess fabric from behind the pleats. The book I'm using emphasizes that this is no place to screw up. One slip of the scissors is all it takes to make an unfixable mess. For me that means the most expensive wadder ever! Based on the way the [...]
Blog posts
Pleat On!
I think the scariest part about making a kilt is that it's just based on 3 measurements that someone else has taken. You have to give up every shred of control and place your faith in someone that you hope is taking the job seriously. That's hard for a control freak like me. I had [...]
Kilt — Baby Steps
So I've officially taken the plunge. This will be my guide. I think it's safe to say that this book is considered the bible of kiltmaking. It's a little on the daunting side. The book opens with a series of color plates showing "good kilt" next to "bad kilt". Good kilt length / bad [...]
Sewing Bigly in 2017!
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Clearly, we're sailing into uncharted waters as a nation, but my goals for the coming year are crystal clear. My son will be getting married in October, and get this.....he's asked the old man to make him a kilt! I am deeply touched and honored beyond belief, but at the same [...]
Repairs Completed or….. Rip, Sew, Scream, Rip, Repeat.
OK. This exercise is completed, and it's been a journey for sure. At one point I was screaming louder than the collective scream heard from coast to coast a few weeks ago. My strategy was to take a break, go to yoga class, breath and then calmly return to the whole mess. Yes, it got [...]
The Troubling Ethics of Clothes That I Never Wear
Maybe you caught this little post from Sewing on The Edge which linked to an article about a minimalist / capsule wardrobe? While my wardrobe is hardly minimalist, I do try to make clothes that I want to wear. Still, there are clothes that I've sewn that, for one reason or another, I NEVER wear. [...]
The Fur Backpack — It’s a Wrap
Fall, Folliage and FUR! It's finally done, my Michael Kors knockoff fur backpack. There's not a whole lot to say, other than I'm totally loving how it turned out. Perhaps the best part of the project was how much FUN I had working on a non-apparel project. It was really refreshing, and I'm already [...]
Pantone, Progress and Problems
Clearly the Pantone prognosticators were watching me last March at the MPB Winter Frolic! Were they hiding behind the rolls of faux fur at NY Elegant? Did they watch me pick out this fur, knowing that I'm always way ahead of the fashion curve? I picked this..... Low and behold.....what do they pick for [...]
Backpack progress and…. Saying hello to Magnolia
My Singer 301 came back from the repair man cleaned up, but still very temperamental about sewing the ultrasuede. I think part of the problem was the jeans needle I was using. I believe that a ball point needle is required. But even with a new needle it was unpredictable at best. Sometimes it worked, [...]
Rethinking my hardware choices, and launching into it.
I cut out some of the ultrasuede backpack pieces and did some test stitching on the scraps, only to find out that my trusty Singer 301 decided not make a single stitch. Arghhhh! It refused to pick up the bobbin thread, so it was essentially just sewing into thin air. I fiddled with the tension, [...]
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