Wednesday 27 December 2017

Selfless Sewing Series - Linen Knit and Are You A Sewing Hoarder ?

MERRY XMAS .
This is the next top I have made my daughter using the linen knit we bought during our Melbourne Shopping trip. Oh my goodness this is wonderful stuff. It is soft and has a slight stretch with good recovery. It has the subtle texture and variation in colour like its woven counterpart . It is easy to sew and iron . And I am told that it is very comfortable to wear. 


My daughter was very easy to please when it came to choosing patterns to match up with the fabric . She really liked the top part of my recent swallow print dress- Butterick 5975 . She didn`t want to go through my other almost countless patterns or magazines . 


I just lengthened the top by about 9 cms and she was happy with this length . 


I ordered 1.3 metres and after washing measured the length ( I didn`t measure prewashing ) and had about 1.37  metres . I was told to prewash the linen knit as it shrinks. So either it didn`t shrink or I was given a generous 1.3 metres or it stretched. Either way I had enough to make up another top when I had finished with this one. 


I used my Kwik Sew 2695 pattern - this is now the fifth time I have made this. I really really like it as do my girls who stole one of my versions. This top has gone to my youngest  daughter . I will definitely be going back to  The Cloth Shop to buy more linen knit for my middle daughter who lives in tropical Queensland . It will be perfect for her. I want to add the colour does not come up true here - it is like a eucalyptus green , a bit richer in colour that the khaki showing up here . The shop had quite a few other colours available. 


Now I have lots of patterns - just over 250 envelopes and many many pattern magazines. I also have a bit under 170 metres of fabric now . Lots of lace and ribbons some of which I can not even recall where it came from and more buttons than I will ever use . But the one thing I really have not accumulated much of is threads and especially overlocking threads.


This is the sum total of my overlocker threads bar two pale blue  ones where the plastic has distintegrated badly . The medium gray ones at the bottom left hand corner are only new purchases too. I manage to make do with what I have by combining the colours so for my dark green tops above I have used my single medium brown with dark grey. It seems to work for me. 

Ever hopeful for a play with his fluffy ball pillow .
I store it all in a medium plastic bag which fits in well under my sewing desk .  Do you hoard sewing stuff or get creative with what you have ? 
 Janine. 

8 comments:

  1. Hi, Thanks for your posting ... it really makes me think ... yes I have old patterns, old fabric, etc. and am attracted by new patterns, etc. (another sale is calling me haha) ... which if buy just get added to the stash ... haven't been sewing hardly at all for years ... lol...
    And as I listened to a friend's cooking recipe for soup ... taking some inspiration from her ... I came home and made a soup substituting from ingredients I had already .... and my soup was a success ...
    Ok, what has the soup got to do with sewing ?
    It is the creativity of using from what one has ...
    So thanks for sharing how you came to sew this top for your daughter from a pattern and overlocking threads you already have ... though you did buy fabric ... that was and is being used ...
    Best wishes for you and your family for 2018,
    from Lynda, Toronto, Canada

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    1. Thankyou for your comment. I hope you can get back to sewing if that is what you want. Funny about the soup comment because I periodically make up soup too from what is in the fridge , cupboard . We have our own chickens too so frittatas get the same treatment. I hate wasting food and am shocked by the statistics. At least our chickens can benefit from any unused food if we have to get rid of it.

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  2. I have a stash of fabric, patterns, sewing thread and haberdashery but only have black, white, cream, and navy blue over locker thread. Since I discovered Stylearc and Tessuti patterns I haven't used the Big Four patterns very much. I like making things from Japanese sewing books too.

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    1. Another minimalist overlocker thread sewer. I always love what you sew and your fabrics are good quality.

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  3. I have lots of fabric and not a lot of patterns, plus quite a lot of haberdashery stuff. I like having things on hand to make up TNT patterns. I've had to upgrade the overlocking thread since getting a newer machine. I'm trialing the thread blending & mixing colours idea, so that I don't have to buy so many thread spools. Varied success so far.

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    1. Thankyou for your reply. It seems we all like collecting sewing stuff but I like your take on more fabric than patterns - makes sense but my drafting skills are zilch . I like the mixing threads idea too because otherwise they take up a lot of room.

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  4. I love your little top. And yes, I am a hoarder - although I prefer to say I have a retirement stash...I have been building it this year for just that purpose!

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    1. Ooh ! Are you retiring this year? Most people I know in retirement are so busy they wonder how they ever fitted in work. I had a few months off in 2012 and never got bored. Have fun !

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