Tuesday 15 March 2011

Sewing loves and loathings

I had another late night last night, finishing a new top so that I could wear it today.  This time it was made from a very familiar and favourite pattern - the Heather Ross summer blouse from her book Weekend Sewing.  I've made this top for myself before: here, here and here.

Grey and green mushroom fabric

One of the reasons I love this top so much is that it is trimmed around the neck, cuffs and hem with bias tape.  I love everything about bias tape - making it, sewing it on, and the way it looks on the finished item.

As I sewed I thought about my most favourite and most hated sewing jobs.

Things I love about sewing:
  • bias tape
  • choosing fabrics
  • seam ripping
  • beautiful sewing books
  • hand quilting
  • putting in zips
  • sewing machine feet
  • the sound of heavy, sharp shears cutting through fabric
  • ric-rac
  • good patterns
Things I loathe about sewing:
  • pattern cutting
  • wrestling tissue paper patterns back into envelopes
  • velcro
  • hemming (unless with bias tape)
  • sewing on buttons
  • picking endless bits of thread off my socks
  • bobbin winding
  • having to work in inches most of the time
  • pinning jersey fabrics
  • interfacing
  • having to stand in odd places of the house and take 25 photographs of myself in a  mirror to get one shot I like.
Summer blouse

5 comments:

  1. I'm with you on restuffing patterns into envelopes. Ugh.

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  2. lovely-you look fabulous dahling!x

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  3. I am with you on the shears and I understand your fear of tissue paper but I cannot agree about bias binding. It wriggles on the table as you try to pin it and I am sure that it has subversive tendencies.

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  4. Lovely top! And I agree with almost all your loves and loathes--but I'm still too terrified to insert a zipper--eeek!

    K x

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