Pattern Making

I am glad I don’t make a living by creating sewing patterns. I think I would be awfully hungry if I did. I tried to increase a pattern by a size or so and learned it is easier said than done.

My nephew just out grew the last sleeper I made him. Although the sleeper was the 0-3 month size, I have learned that they fit after 6 months and last into the first year. This particular sleeper was made of very stretchy fabric so he even got even a few more months of wear than I expected. So I thought I will just make him the next size up 3-6 months, and add 1 inch around and 2 inches in length to give him some grow room. Wow! That turned into a real job, with questionable results. Adding 2 inches in length sounded easy until I started cutting it out. I did not want to just add to the length in the legs or just  to the body, so I added 1 inch to each, but this meant adjusting the zipper crotch piece. Plus, I did not just want to add to the length at the cuff of the sleeve, so I added 1 inch in the arm’s eye and 1 inch in the length too. This meant I had to cut the arm’s eye different. This was getting a bit complicated. I added the extra inch to the sides of the sleeper, but I didn’t remember to add extra to the neck. Upon completing the sleeper, I am afraid the neck is too small now. He will have to wear the sleeper with the zipper down a little to compensate for the small neck. I also did not add any to the feet so hopefully they are not to small. One thing I think I did right was not adding the elastic to the back. This way I did not define a waist so hopefully that will add more grow room. Following the suggestion of my sister, I cut the sleeper out so the stretch of the fabric is with the length, not around the body. Hopefully, this will add some extra room for growth too. It seems odd to me as I sewed not to have the stretch around the arms and it was a little difficult sewing around the feet without the stretch to work with you. It also gave the sleeper racing stripes according to my husband. He thought the only thing I should embroider on the sleeper was a race car, but I opted for the tiger. I like it better and I think the nephew will too. Maybe the next one with racing stripes I’ll put Speed Racer on there!

Now that the sleeper is done, I am happy I tried this little exercise, but I will not be doing it again anytime soon. I have patterns in the size I needed so why I was fussing with this? I will never know. I guess it was a good learning experience in case some day I do not have a pattern to follow. So, a special word to his parents, let me know how this fits and how I did.

As long as I was sewing I could not leave out his new little brother, so I made him a sleeper too. It was supposed to be made out of the same fabric, but in the process of increasing  the size of his brothers, I made some cuts wrong, so I did not have enough fabric left for the little brother’s. Oh well, I am sure they do not care it they match exactly, and I am sure in a couple of years they will dread it when their aunt sends them matching clothes anyway.

No More Pointy Heads

I think I have figured out why my amigurumi creatures always had such pointy heads and how to fix it. I am crocheting them inside out. I will try to explain what I was doing wrong and what I am doing to fix the problem.

I’ve started on my 3rd animal, an elephant. I started with the body and finished with a pointy butt. Next, I started making the head and the pointy head appeared right away. Frustrated, I started to study the pictures in the book and play with the pieces I had crocheted. I found that if I turned the body and the part of the head that I had started inside out, the point was greatly decreased, but then the pieces had ridges. Thinking that turning the pieces inside out was the answer, I started on the legs. This is where I learned the errors of my ways. On row 4 of the elephants feet, the pattern said to stitch in the back loop only to make a ridge around the bottom of his feet. What? I stitch in the back loop exclusively.  Then the bells started to ring. I was suppose to be inserting my hook into both loops. This explained the ridges and the added length in the pieces, why such long face on my animals and the long arms on the monkey. Then more bells started to ring. Previously, when I started the circle I let it fold so that I was crocheting inside the forming cup, inserting my hook inside the cup outward. It finally dawned on me to do the opposite, working the circle so it folds the other way and so now I am inserting my hook from outside the cup inward. Excited with everything I had figured out, I pushed the elephant to the side and started on another animal.

Wanting to see if my theories were correct, I picked a tiny amigurumi to do next. Meet the tiniest bear ever (not really). Crocheting opposite of how I previously had, I did not get a pointed head or ridges. Plus my rows of stitches look more like the pictures in the book. I am pleased with the end results and I think I have solved the pointy problem, plus this was the first time I have crocheted with such a small hook. Although the hook was only one size smaller, it was interesting to work the smaller stitches. I only put a felt face on the little bear because I was not sure how he was going to turn out. All in all though I think he is cute as is.

Looking back at my table covered in elephant parts, I decided to go ahead and finish the elephant. So, I would also like you to meet Ridgie, the elephant. He is a combination of my old and new methods of crocheting amigurumi. As you can see, he has some ridges on his head and body from being turned inside out. I left a couple of rows out of the head to help decrease the length of the face due to the incorrect back loop stitching. In the learning process, I had stitched a couple of the legs, stitching in the front loop on the 4th row to get the ridge, and thinking I would turn them inside out. As mentioned earlier, turning the parts inside out was not the right answer. Since I already had the two legs done, I decided to just do the other two legs the same way so they all matched. Also, I did not spend a lot of time on his face not knowing how he would turn out. All in all though, I think he turned out pretty cute too. I did not crochet his tail. With him being such an odd ball, I gave him a little braided tail instead.

Now, I just need to find homes for a misfit elephant and a tiny bear.

No Fabric This Time

My husband found an incredible deal on air fare and since we already had park tickets, we decided to go on a mini vacation back to Disney World in Florida for our 20th wedding anniversary and my husband’s birthday.

He is a big Star Wars fan and it was Star Wars weekends at Hollywood (MGM) Studios. It was also the International Flower and Garden show at EPCOT. This time we stayed on Disney property and used the Disney Magical Express buses to get around the parks. Although we had a fabulous time, ate tons of delicious food, got soaked in the afternoon rain storms and sunburned the rest of the time, we did not leave Disney property even once, and as you can guess Disney does not sell fabric. So, for the first time in a very long time, I went on vacation and did not buy a single inch of fabric. It is ok though, I bought two purses which I guess kind of makes up for it.

P.S. Check out this photo. We tried the Disney Photo Pass and had 106 pictures taken by the Disney photographers which we  then doctored up with various borders and designs for a grand total of over 600 pictures on 2 cd’s for $99. I am very excited to have photos from a vacation of the two of us, instead of just me while he takes the picture.

My Sewing Machines – Part 3: The Art of Embroidery

The Art of Embroidery:

 

Once you have decided that you want to get into machine embroidering, the purchasing of an embroidery machine is a big step in getting started that’s true, but it is far from the only step. And don’t let the sales people tell you any different. They try to tell you that the only money you will be out to get started is the cost of the machine. They say they will give you free classes and teach you how to use it and now for a limited time only even the $2000-$5000 design software is included for free. That is great that they offer that but what if you don’t live close to the store, or you don’t have the time to go to their free classes? Like I said before, once you have the equipment, now you have to learn to use it. Using the machine involves the purchasing of embroidery supplies and teaching yourself to use the machine by using it. As mentioned earlier, the purchasing of some kind of embroidery editing software to make this all work is recommended but can be expensive and isn’t needed if you always plan on stitching out pre-made designs. The purchasing of designs is another big expense. There is also the purchasing of embroidery top thread for the designs (I now have almost 400 spools of various colors), and a special embroidery bobbin thread, and different types of stabilizers for the designs. Even though these items may seem inexpensive by themselves, trust me they added up. And then there is the specialized bent scissors that make the jump thread trimming easier, the specialized tweezers to hold  the threads while you cut them, the assortment of rulers and guides needed to help you hoop straight and the number of reference books to help you get it all right. I have several thousands of dollars invested in threads, bobbins, stabilizers, tools, patterns, designs, etc. and that isn’t counting the amount of money spent on the machines themselves. I didn’t learn to sew or embroidery overnight and neither will anyone else. It will take a lot of time, patience, and money. 

 

After you purchase your first machine, I would recommend that you purchase the book Embroidery Machine Essentials by Jeanine Twigg and read it. It’s the one I started with on a recommendation from a friend. Jeanine does a good job of covering what you need to get going and how to get started. Then go to your local store and buy a little thread, the standard colors of black, blue, white, green, yellow, red, etc. and some stabilizer, both cut away and tear away types, and  then just sit down and get started with a design that is already in your machine. I feel this is the easiest and best way of getting started learning to embroider with your machine. This also gives you a chance to work with different threads and stabilizers and see what types you like and what works for you. After you have decided that this is the right hobby for you and you figure out what supplies you like the best, then get on the internet and search for the best prices on the supplies you need. I have had good luck with a company named Marathon threads for thread and stabilizer and another company named All Brands for various hoops and designs. You can then buy in bulk and save some money and time. As far as pre-made embroidery designs, there are a ton of designers out there that I like.  I usually look for designs that I might want from the websites of OESD, Amazing Designs, Cactus Punch and Dakota Collectibles (My Snoopy designs are from them). Recently I have found a fabulous new site, with some really unique designs called SmartNeedle Embroidery Designs and I have been purchasing several of their embroidery packs.

 

As you can tell from my blog, I love to sew and embroider things for myself and for my family. Sometimes I start with an embroidery design that I want to stitch on something and work out a project around it but, sometimes I had a project idea designed first and then I have to find the perfect embroidery design to put on it. Sewing is a way for me to relax (except when it is teaching me patience) and to enjoy life.

 

I hope to continue to do this for a long time.