Craft / Sewing Caddy (sewing bag)

Every sewist should have a sewing caddy (sewing bag) for tools and notions. I made one today based on the instructions from Sew It All February 2013 Issue. 

The caddy has inside and outside pocket. I made it from blackout curtain fabric I got for $2 per meter. It turns to be quite sturdy. It measures 5 inch (14 cm) wide and 11 inch (28 cm) long for the base and 7.5 inch (19cm) tall. 

This is the first hand carrying bag I made. It’s simple but not quite straight forward. It has lots of stitching, mainly because of the top stitching. I used my vintage Bernina 740 Favorit. It is a semi industrial machine so it runs through the heavy weight fabric effortlessly. 

Here is the sewing caddy. 

And here is my Bernina 740 Favorit. I adopted it from an old lady who owned it since 1960's. It costs a small fortune to get it fixed. But this semi industrial machine is perfect for heavy weight fabric. It just run five or six thick layer effortlessly. 

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Bernina foot # 12 Bulky Overlock foot

Although it's called "Bulky Overlock" I don't how to use it to "overlock".  I bought it because I want to use it for piping. It came really handy when I was sewing the Simplicity 2848 dress.

There are two horizontal piping on the front and the back. I made the piping firstly with the narrow zipper foot. Then I pin it between the yoke and the main fabric.

Slide it under foot # 12, and start sewing. The bulky part with the piping should sit under the groove and the needle position should be align to the marking on the foot.

The seam is impeccable.

Classy checked dress - perfect for work

I know, this dress is old fashioned. I've had this Simplicity 2848 pattern sitting in my drawer for a long time and I finally had enough courage to make it. I was first attracted by the cover image of the red dress worn by the model. Such a little cute dress. It's a classic and perfect for work. 

The fabric I used is Grey with Black Check Wool Blend Flannel. I used an orange piping to match the thin orange stripe on the fabric. It turned out to be great.

The instruction only tells you to line the yoke. I fully lined the dress to make it a good shape and comfortable. Here is the photo of the lining inside. I have my dummy Ruby to try it on. :)

This project involved techniques to sew piping. I have taken a lot of photos to show you. 

For the piping between the yoke and the main front, see this post as I was reviewing the Bernina foot no. 12.

The piping around the neckline is one continuous piece. I sewed the piping with the zipper foot and then attached it to the main fabric.

Then with right sides together, I sewed the neckline of the lining, piping and the main fabric. I also understitched the lining.

Here are more photos of the lining.

I learnt more about lining and piping in this project. The piping adds a subtle contrast to the pattern and colours of the fabric. 

Butterick 5603 dress

This is another popular pattern by Butterick. I bought the blue flower print fabric cheap from a warehouse a while ago. It's supposed for quilting. 100% cotton. I am happy with the fabric and the pattern overall. Here are the pic.

The skirt is easy to make. The only challenge is the neck bank, specially the v-neck at the back. It took me long time to figure out how to sew. I took some on the v-point.

I think I need to do more research on how to sew v-neck band. I am thinking it may be a good idea to attache a collar. But I have not make a collar ever, so I think I should do some projects with collar first.

The armhole is a  bit too small for me, even though I cut size 10.

I learnt how to sew lining on this project. Lining is so good. It makes the garment more comfortable to wear and looks more professional. It takes a bit of effort on the slip stitching the lower edge. But it's worth it.