Tuesday, December 23, 2008

I Made A Jumper!

DIL finally made it over last night to work on her dress and jumper. We started with the jumper because there was only five pieces: front, back, and facings for the neck and armholes.

Here are some of the things I learned:
  • Now I know why my grandma had a 6 foot long table for laying out patterns. It took us longer to lay out the pattern and cut it than it did to sew it.
  • My Fiskar scissors work well for cutting fabric at JA. They do not work well for cutting out patterns. I think I’m adding a pair of dressmaking shears to my emergency Christmas list. Is that what I should have for cutting clothing?
  • Sewing interfacing into this dress is a lot like sewing on a binding, except it doesn’t show on front.
  • There is a lot of wasted fabric from making clothes. Now I totally understand the concept of how our ancestors were scrap quilters.
  • Making clothes is fun!
I spent yesterday morning cutting all the pieces out for the 10 placemats and napkins and the 6 tote bags. I also cut out flannel PJs for DH. However, I made the stupid mistake of cutting one leg with the pattern on the fabric upside down. So tomorrow I will buy more fabric and make one pair of pants right side up and one pair upside down!

My DIL took a couple of action photos while I was sewing her jumper . . .

Here she is modeling the jumper. Today I may get to the dress that goes underneath the jumper. If I don't she has a blouse she can wear under it.
And one last photo of the snow taken from our bedroom window. This is the snow pile made by the plow driver cleaning out our parking lot. The way the complex is built all of the snow gets pushed to the side of our condo and then they keep adding to the pile. Right now the pile is into the parking lot and is at least 7 feet high!

Now, I'm off to the sewing room to see how many napkins, placemats and tote bags I can get done today.
Sweet P

4 comments:

Terri S said...

Nice job on the jumper. I've had my kitchen table opened out to it's full 7 foot length for a week while I've been cutting flannel pants and sandwiching throw quilts. I'm finally finished, and DH is so happy he can put the table back the way it belongs!!

Libby said...

The jumper looks great . . . . like you've been making garments all along.

Patti said...

A pair of 8" dressmaker Gingher shears is just the ticket and makes a great Christmas present. I just gifted myself with a new pair a couple months ago. I've literally worn out several in the last 40+ years since I first learned about them in college Dressmaking classes. And these days they come with such pretty patterns on the handles. Mine are Americana - red, white and blue stars and stripes.

Merry Christmas!

Kim said...

The jumper looks great :) You're so much braver than I sewing clothes. Maybe I should start with American Girl sized doll clothes.Or flannel pants DD wants- maybe after New Years. You and Hubby enjoy your Christmas- hope Santa is very good to you.....