Bra making here we come

I should start at the beginning, OK the pre-beginning.

In the last couple of months or so I have noticed that some of my favourite sewers have embarked on bra-making adventures. Sigrid started it, Liana continued it and Robin got involved too. Since each of these sewers always makes things I would like to wear myself I spent more than a few late nights looking at their blogs, following their links and generally considering the concept of bra-making.

There are a couple of reasons why I have not got into this bra-making thing myself. First it looked all a little fiddly to me - if I was good at that sort of sewing I think I would be a quilter and I am not. Also there seem to be a lot of hard to source parts to the whole thing, and I thought all those across the bust seams would show through knits, and as a general policy I don't like to sew what I can buy cheaper (OK that's not at all true, let's be honest it is the fiddly thing that got me). However the bras online that I see other sewers making look very pretty so let's say that the idea was planted in my mind, and there isn't a new area of sewing adventure that generally doesn't eventually get to me.

OK. On Friday I got my hair cut. My hairdresser has a strategic chair on the second floor of a building on the corner of our best shopping street. As he cut away and in between our catching up (he has done my hair for 20 years and once brought me a lasagna when the kids were little and I had pneumonia) I looked at all the women pass on the street below and thought to myself if there was one thing they could do to improve their appearance what would that be, and I decided it was a better bra. In the summer in all those T shirts there are a lot of poorly supported bosoms out there.

This got me thinking, and really my own bras aren't that comfortable. I don't really like the ones I wear to work (yes I have comfortable old knit bras for the weekend) and I often suffer from a urge to haul them down. 

Which brings me to shoes. A while ago now I decided to buy fewer shoes but to spend whatever it took to have shoes that are really comfortable but also have some style. I walk a lot, and walk to work, and the concept of work shoes that I can't walk any distance in is something I feel I have outgrown and have a right to outgrow at this age.

So now I spend more than I ever thought I would on shoes but am saving money because I buy fewer pairs - and I am happy to wear what I wear to work on the weekends.

You see where I am going with this.

In fact where I actually went after my haircut was down the street to a fancy lingerie shop with a  " Bra fitting specialists" sign in the window. I walked and and just said "fit me." And they did.

Well what I ended up with (pictured above) was a bra two band sizes smaller and two cup sizes larger than anything I have ever worn in my life. It fit and it felt great. The price, well we won't be talking about that, let's just say I won't be buying a lot of fabric over the next couple of months, and that when they brought me the matching panties at $90 I don't know who had a greater fit me or all my Scottish immigrant ancestors or the Prairie farmer grandparents. My people don't spend that on underwear. But I did buy that bra - for research purposes and to own something that fit - I am considering this tuition money and it more or less is.

You will notice something about this bra though, a couple of things. First is there is next to nothing to it 1/8 of fabric and a couple of yards of elastic. You will also see that it has seams and looks completely sewable.

This purchase has been followed by an incredible amount of pattern surfing/sourcing. I liked the European patterns a lot and tried to find one that looked like the research bra but also saw this. The Bravo bra is a new pattern designed by Anne from Needlenook's daughter  Monica and that lead to a really nice conversation with Anne herself (when I was supposed to be engaged in heavy duty company's coming house cleaning and bed assigning for 5 incoming guests). Anne incredibly has volunteered to send me a few fitting bras to try on to see what I think before I try a pattern. 

I think I am about to start something new, stay with me, as the ultimate Ordinary Sewer, who knows where this is going to go.

Diaper pictures

Adventures in cloth diapers

My friend Robin, this one is for you.

Busy week, that included DD making the decision to go on mat leave early (we have 12 months in Canada) because the 12 hour night shifts are bringing on a lot of contractions. Things have settled down as she has slowed down. BTW did you know that many European countries have legislation that says pregnant women are not allowed to work nights?

Things are better for her now but we were busy there for a while and of course I figured that I should focus on the diapers.

Now here is my disclaimer. Cloth diapers are really big around here for environmental as well as economic reasons, but some of this movement (for those of us who cloth diapered as a matter of course years ago - gauze rectangles you bought at the grocery and drug stores) has like so many other things it seems has become very self-conscious and another reason for advanced consumption. I have spent a lot of time online and I can tell you the range of fabric and pattern choices is enough to make your head hurt. Hemp, bamboo, non-bleached, organic, chlorine free, birdseye cotton, sustainable, bio-degradable. diaper liners, diaper "soaker" pads as add ons, wrap diapers with snaps, with velcro, one-size (24 snaps), many variant sizes, all-in ones (meaning the diaper has a waterproof cover and the diaper fabric also inside), wrap around diapers with separate diaper covers and of course 47 different variations of diaper covers.

My neighbour called me over to see her niece's baby's bum and as I think I have mentioned earlier I calculated $45 worth of stuff on that infant's rear. Multiply that by numerous changes.

So you can imagine my relief when DD announced that the consensus on the pregnancy chat boards was that "pre-folds" - double layer flat diapers with a few extra layers of fabric stitched in the middle third - were the way to go because they are best way to get a "custom fit" was with a diaper you wrapped around and pinned. (Although there are a huge variety of ways to put these things on - I can't even describe the "bow tie").

The idea of "pre-folds" is that you are stitching the folds in so the diapers do not have to be folded every time. Makes sense to me, although you do need several sizes from 0-toilet training.

As part of our research we bought a very pricey set of 6 pre-folds at one of those baby boutiques and like all pre-folds they are marketed as "shrinking down to something soft and more absorbent" as if this is a huge breakthrough.

O.K. I know my sewer-fabricaholic snobbery is showing through here big time.

Looks to me like el-cheapo cotton that of course is going to shrink enormously and I know cheap fabric folded up and serged when I see it - whatever price you put on it. This IMO could only be marketed to a generation that had no idea of how to sew.

Oh my god, I have transformed into someone's old grandmother already haven't I?

Moving on.

I decided to make our diapers from diaper flannel. They still make it and it is nice quality - much like quilter's flannel. I bought a bolt when I was visiting my mom at $1.80 a meter 26" wide. Washed and pre-shrunk in hot water and Ivory Snow (gee I had forgotten that smell - I should use it more often.)

After a bit more online research this is how I decided to make them, in the small size first (figure I will make more as this baby grows and needs them - we have heard that the small ones can be folded as overnight inserts when the baby is bigger.)

I think it is best to explain this conceptually in words and then hope that my awful photography helps.

1. Figure out what the size the finished diaper needs to be. I narrowed it down to three basic sizes small 11"-14"; medium 13"-18"; and large 15"-21". Now I think that for a real newborn 11"-12" might be better. You might want to have a look at these sizes and decide what you think.

2. Once you have the final size in your head figure that it is going to be made by folding one larger rectangle into a tube and sewing, or serging, it along the long edge. Add a bit for a seam allowance. This meant that for my small ones I cut pieces 23" (two 1/2" seam allowances) wide and 14" long (I knew I was going to serge the ends of the tubes and didn't add seam allowances).

3. Also realize that you are going to need a sort of pad of extra layers to be sewn into the middle 1/3 of the diaper - some instructions suggested 6-8 layers but I found that in the flannel this was way too thick - almost like putting a rolled up newspaper between the baby legs and I didn't want to do that - so I cut only 4 layers (two pieces folded over) to do this - finished size of the pad about 11" X 4" so there would be  little extra to be caught in the stitching.

4. While the tube, with the long edge now serged, was still right sides together I pinned the pag right up against the seamed edge, with only a pin through one layer of the diaper fabric, to hold it into position while I turned the tube inside out. I had decided to put the seam a third of the way in so there would not be any seam bulk at the edge of the diapers. Once it was turned inside out I removed these pins and re-positioned them on the right side.

5. Serge the ends of the diaper tube closed, catching in the ends of the pads.

6. This is the fun part. The last step was to stitch through all layers on both sides of the pad to secure. Really this is like quilting (I even considered channel quilting these diapers but decided that would be too bulky). To do this I used those strange decorative stitches on my machine that I never use. In this case hearts and flowers. In a few I sewed down the middle of the pad too. I used up the ends of many pastel spools to do this.

That's it and I hope this makes sense. Of course being a multiple sewer I ended up making 38. And that is just smalls. My mom is bringing more flannel when she does the baby visit.

No fitting and pretty fun project.Oh and I also made a few extra pads to be put in for over night.

The last to know

It is no news to me that I am not on the leading edge, just sewing on the edge, so I am happy to report that other sewers are way ahead of me on this Cozy thing, so please check out Sigrid's and Tany's blogs for some great detail and pattern ideas.

DKNY's Cozy

If you haven't already check out this cardigan thingy from Donna Karan and the video that goes with it, look for the 12 ways to wear it in the sidebar at the size. Also take a good look at the price and have a good think about the sewing time involved.

Erica Bunker fashionista extraordinaire did a nice version of this last summer and posted pictures on her blog

I am posting a couple of pattern thoughts here, I think the Vogue is closest, and I think too that some fine tuning of the length and hem shape might be necessary to get the DKNY look.

Sort of cooler when you see all the variations in the video than on the pattern envelope, a definite low risk project I think I will try to see if it makes me more stylish.

What do you think?

Baby stuff

At the end of September I am going to become a grandmother. Of course I am looking forward to this and as I frequently have bouts of they-don't-need-me-anymore, this has given me a way to be helpful, which I love.

DD has decided on cloth diapers and as I blog I am neglecting the 34 newborn pre-folds that I cut out last night and am sewing today. For those of you who remember diapers and rectangles that you folded and pinned, something I did for my two boys who became covered in rashes if I used disposables, a pre-fold is a diaper that is made of two rectangles with the centre third padded up with 5-6 layers that are stitched in. I am showing a photo here of a purchased pre-fold we have as a sample. As the top and bottom are serged it is pretty easy and I think I have worked out a fast way to put these together that I will photograph and post.

What goes over the pre-folds is something called a diaper cover, which you can buy at great expense ( I swear some of these eco-babies are going around with $45 of gear on their little bums) but I will make, or, as requested knit.

The turquoise pair posted here are knit from a 1942 pattern of my mother's and the red pair are a newborn pattern I am trying to design myself as a variation. The 1942 pair required seams to be sewn up and as a knitter (and a lousy one) I hate sewing up my knitting. I find the stitches always look messy compared to what I can do with a needle and thread so the red pair were knitted on a small circular needle to the crotch and then divided and one set of stitches put on a stitch holder, and the long crotch piece ribbed. I then cast off the crotch piece with the stitches on a holder together. So seamless and no sewing. Pretty fast too.

I am going to make some refinements and post the instructions if anyone is interested.

Now I had better stop blogging and start sewing and knitting.

Pattern crazy

So much for deciding that I was going to work on a few TNT and stay there. That is still the base plan but I am very impressionable to new ideas. It only takes one meeting with highly-corporate-ladies-in-suits to have me spend about $60 on patterns.

For the first time in a long time I was actually cheered and inspired by the new season's Vogue patterns. Good thing because lately there hasn't been much with style or at least any applicability to my little life. More and more I am facing the fact that if it isn't comfortable I am not wearing it, and if it takes two months of hard tailoring to finish I won't be doing it until I retire and then I won't be needing clothes like that anyway. My life in fact is one long search for easy patterns that still look sharp. I refuse to believe that this is not possible.

So here were my Vogue picks including a coat that I love - I have been holding off on a coat sewing until I found a pattern that didn't make me tired just looking at the instructions and also looked comfy enough to want to throw on but also looked stylish enough that the first thing you would think about when you saw it was't "Well that was a quick and easy pattern". I think this one does, or will do, the trick. 

I have also ordered a couple of handbag patterns including one that was on the clearance part of the website to make use of all the fake leather stuff I bought in Winnipeg.

I also have been staring this week at 3 yards of wool jersey I bought from Fabricmart a while ago in shocking pink. I had some idea I was going to make a jersey dress out of it but that would have been a lot of bright pink Barbara so I threw it into the washing machine a couple of times and felted it. Looks pretty good. Of course that got me online again for a boiled wool jacket pattern that didn't look too dated and that let me to Trudy Jansen  and I ordered her European jacket pattern yesterday too. I have never tried her patterns so thought I would do one with sort of expendable fabric and see how it went. Of course being boiled wool and unlined it should be easy and comfortable. Now will it have style is the question.