Search

Sewing with less stress Front

Sewing with less stress Front
My newest sewing book

Sewing with less stress back cover

Sewing with less stress back cover
What my new book is about

Clothesmaking mavens

Clothesmaking mavens
Listen to me on the clothes making mavens podcasts

About me

My photo
I am a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher. But whatever happens in my life, I keep sewing. I have worked as a political communicator and now as a teacher in my formal life. I have also written extensively on sewing. I have been a frequent contributor and contributing editor of Threads magazine and the Australian magazine Dressmaking with Stitches. My book Sew.. the garment-making book of knowledge was published in May 2018 and is available for pre-order from Amazon
SIGN UP BELOW FOR BARBARA EMODI'S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

FOLLOW

SIGN UP TO FOLLOW BARBARA EMODI'S BLOG "SEWING ON TH EDGE"

Follow me on Instagram

Instagram
Follow on Bloglovin

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Flypaper thoughts and tie dye underwear edition



Subtitle: just when you thought you had seen it all.

I have taken care of the kids most of the week, plus two drop-ins from next door. It has been a fun and funny week and one that reminded me of the realities of being a mother of young children. More on that later. My daughter says these guys are ready to go back to school and I thought this was hard hearted, childhood being short etc., by I am here to report she might be right.

By the time I sent them all off every evening I was in sore need of some therapeutic sewing to gather my forces for the next day but not up to say starting a winter tailoring project or drafting a bodice.

I needed to just fool around at my machine with small pieces of fabric and limited ambition.

So I decided to do some practical sewing and to revisit a few patterns.

One of those patterns was this one from Jalie 2568 for underwear:



The underpants have two leg openings higher cut and what Jalie calls hipster, (although in French these are called culottesde garçonne, literally a female version of boy's underwear - what you might be familiar with as boy cut).

After making all versions I have settled on the front of the higher cut, because I don't like anything tight at the top of my leg and the back from the hipster/boy cut for coverage - and the higher waist too.

With all this experimenting I grabbed a very stretchy rayon knit I had picked up at some point in a tie dye, thinking the kids might like a T shirt at some point, and the next thing you know I have four pairs of comfortable tie dye underpants. To finish both the top and the legs I just stitched on some stretch lace because it was light. Past experience with the turned and stitched elastic edges on underpants is that it can be a bit stiff and too tight around the leg.

Now that's about all anyone can say about this project, except that I had fun making these and will be making more, although maybe not tie dye.

Now onto a few flypaper thoughts that sum up the week:

  • Took the bunch of them fabric shopping.
  • I guess every zipper needed touching
  • High point was Miss Scarlett
  • Who as we were leaving she turned and announced to the store in general
  • "I will be back when I am older and have my own money!"
  • Other high points
  • Discovering without any doubt whatsoever
  • That a jar of quinoa will expand when dumped down a bathroom sink drain
  • My husband says not to worry
  • Probably if we take off the vanity, break the wall, and the open up the ceramic ceiling of the bathroom below
  • There will be no need to get into the pipes that come into the house in the front yard
  • That's good news
  • Not really an enormous fan of quinoa anyway
  • Not her fault
  • Heidi was just in there trying to dye it blue
  • Of course
  • Nothing surprises a grandmother who is herself wearing tie dye underwear
  • There will be no more fighting over who gets to carry the caterpillar home
  • There will also be no more fighting over who lost the caterpillar
  • Also made a workout bra
  • Out of the cotton ponte scraps left over from my daughter's lab coat
  • Good support but more along the lines of lift than separate
  • Will report on that in the next day or two
  • Not sure if trying to shop vac quinoa out of a bathroom drain counts as a workout
  • It certainly should
  • This is what comes of a no technology childhood
  • Children on iPhones hardly ever try to dye the side dishes blue
  • All dogs are therapy dogs
  • Babsie's day off tomorrow