Project Fails and Wins // Casual Friday S7E13

In this week's Casual Friday podcast, I have a finished sweater from my handspun yarn, some in-progress knitting projects, and several finished sewing projects

SHOW NOTES
HANDSPUN SWEATER
Yarn for my next project: Brooklyn Tweed Quarry, a woolen-spun bulky/chunky weight yarn

SOCKS FOR A FRIEND

SEWING PROJECTS
Love Notions Ballad Blouse
Fabric: cotton lawn

Love Notions Compose Robe
Fabric: Rayon Challis

Closet Core Pietra Pants
Fabric: Linen Rayon blend

0:00 Introduction
0:26 Handspun sweater and a bodice sampler
15:10 Socks for a friend
20:37 Finished sewing projects

If you have questions about this video, or suggestions for future videos, please let me know down in the comments or on social media.

[penihavir]

Pants fitting tips: If you have a pair of store-bought pants where you really like the fit, turn them inside-out and trace out the pattern. I use the rolls of IKEA paper meant for kids easels - inexpensive, unlimited length, and wide enough for many patterns.
I place it on top of a big bulletin board. Then I pin the pants that fit onto the paper (stab down like a butterfly collector), keeping grain lines straight and square. Then poke pins through along the sewing line to make a dotted line on the paper (if I’m having trouble tracing the sewing line). I do all four pieces, even though there will be two duplicates, and average them out. (The “wasted” paper can be cut up for shopping lists, etc.)
By cutting this out on the sewing line, you can easily put it on top of the commercial pattern you’d like to use, and see how the curves, back and front rises, depths, etc. compare. Adjust the commercial pattern accordingly to the known-good-fit.
I always do a quick test version for any new pants pattern. Having some “crap plaid” fabrics (inexpensive and possibly ugly colors/not fav material) on hand to make a quick knee length mock up. No real waistband (sew onto a strip of salvage edge), no pockets (pin the pocket pattern to the front), etc… just testing for fit. The plaid will show immediately where things are going awry, because the plaid will not be level and plumb where it’s not fitting. And it’s clear where I need to add or remove fabric, to make it level and plumb… bonus, the plaid works like a built-in, all-over ruler.
Using a 1 inch seam allowance for the test pants isn’t a bad idea either, in case you need to add somewhere. And of course use the longest basting stitch in a contrasting color (great use for that thread color you figure you’ll never use again).
The extra seam allowance also means chances are you can re-cut them for future tests, until they eventually get re-cut to become rags. So you’re not just contributing to a land fill when testing a pattern this way.

[newmoonjlp]

"The better I get the less advanced I think I am." That's so true of any skillset--the more you learn the more you realize how much there is to know!

[denisenj]

That red blouse is perfection. Isn't it weird how fast sewing is compared to knitting. It's not a great travel hobby but it's such a versatile skill.

[tephralynn]

Karina (Lifting Pins and Needles here on YouTube) has an excellent series of videos on pants fitting. She also makes a lot of patterns from indie designers (such as Love Notions) and talks about fabric characteristics they require and often includes possible modifications with her makes. I find her to be a wonderful resource when I'm a little stuck.

[nancyhughes]

Love the red blouse and robe! Your sweater is lovely too.

[juliej]

So pleased your buttonholes worked out in the end. I never ever do them at the end of a long day sewing - they always go wrong then. I do as you did and try again the next day and it all goes fine then. It's just one of those sewing things. 😀

[robinlibby]

In my experience, purple or blue purple over dyes gray really well. Makes a lovely muted color. Mauve also works beautifully.

[kristinsykes-david]

Thank you for all the skills you impart to your viewing audience. I am a long-time quilter, former sewist and now a knitter! I have gotten back into sewing garments, so I appreciate your insight. Getting pants to fit is/was a nightmare! I have not ventured into knits since I only have straight-stitch machines for quilting and piecing. Maybe soon? It’s a gift to be 66 and revisit my garment making days. 😁

[AnineHartog]

Your grey and blue carigan are great and you look nice in it.

[AmiJo]

I really like the color you knit the Royale cable sweater with. I think that color also looks really good on you👌

[denisenj]

I like the elastic back of the pants even with a tucked in shirt.

[hazeldonner]

I love your blouse Rox, you’ve made a good job on that. I really sympathize with you when you talked about deciding to alter the shoulders on your hand spun because you’ve been sewing and ideas pop into your mind. I have made these errors so many times. Your sewing journey is coming on very nicely. ❤

[alisonsmith]

That heavy sigh at 6:57 says it all, Roxanne. I’m sorry your project didn’t turn out as you’d hoped. It is beautiful, but still… ☹️

[orchidaceae]

I recently got fed up with repeatedly being unhappy with yarn purchases, loved the yarn, hated it on myself. I was buying petty yarn, but the colors looked terrible on me. I took a few days to research my color ‘season’ and am now only purchasing clothing and yarns in my season. I haven’t been unhappy about any of my purchases since.

[kwosilait]

I've really had a hard time finding yarn colors that I like. I'm really looking forward to seeing how your dyeing turns out. I remember the video where you dyed some handspun yarn, both natural and more gray, and the gray muted things in a beautiful way that will work great for me. I just need to try it!

[vadec]

Your sweater is lovely! And the socks for your friend are great! Your red blouse is awesome and looks great on you, a beautiful red. Your blue pants look great with the blouse too!

[DebMcC]

Your sewing adventure is so interesting to me. Thanks for sharing.

[mongrain]

It's so interesting to see the progress of all your projects. In my opinion, the cyan/blue color on the robe you sewed or a teal would be a good color for your hand dyed sweater.
❤❤❤

[cathiapizetta]

About your hand spun sweater, I made similar mistake in a bolero type of cardigan that turned out too big in the shoulders. Then after blocking didn’t solve my problem, I decided to wash again and felt that area by hand carefully in the inside of the cardigan and it shrank a bit. Sufficient enough that now I liked a lot better! Regardless, your sweater is very beautiful! Love your channel! Thank you for sharing your work with us!❤

[cathycarbone]

So nice to see your confidence growing with sewing projects! Enjoy ❤