williamsews

I work slowly nowadays because life gets in the way, but I have finally finished the purple shirt. I like it and am reasonably happy with the result…I love the colour. Now I have something to wear tomorrow. I’m always pleased when the collar works out OK. It was great to make a shirt with no top-stitching after the denim one with so much top-stitching. I put the plackets the wrong way around years ago and of course, once the fabric is cut it’s not an easy problem to fix. I also pause and think before I fit the sleeves and sew the buttonholes – although I’ve never sewn them on the wrong side (yet). I was in a ‘pocket rut’ so sewed a curved style this time. I used to be more adventurous with pocket finishes in the past. I’d like to sew something else, perhaps a dressing gown, I need a winter one. I don’t like to risk another visit to the city at this time, I had to take my new machine for repairs (that was essential travel). I have a few vintage patterns, they’re smaller than my size but...

It’s actually mottled purple, a nice colour, I haven’t had a purple shirt for quite a while. It looks rather like Batik but it’s ordinary cotton. There will be nothing out of the ordinary with this shirt. It’s cut out and ready to sew. I was lucky to find the right colour thread locally; because of the dreaded virus, I don’t want to travel into the city unless it’s really necessary, which will be when I pick up my machine after the repairs. To mask or not to mask . That is the question. A lot of sewists are making fabric masks, fortunately, I bought a lot of good quality professional masks a while ago to use while working on DIY projects – anyway, I’d find it very difficult to waste my off-cuts, I use pieces down to 1 1/2 “x 3” in quilting and the masks will be useless once (if) the pandemic is over. Nothing much is happening here as far as the virus goes but we’re not taking any chances. Time to seize the day. Regards,  Will.

Please visit my site;  william-sews.com I have finished my denim shirt – just in time, winter has come early with a cold blast. I’m pleased with the shirt but my machine woes aren’t over, a second one has decided to skip stitches just when I was making the buttonholes–I look after the machines and rarely have problems but these things happen. Anyway; the denim shirt. I realised when looking at this photograph that I need to add one more buttonhole, I’ll do that today. There was a lot of top-stitching, I always find the hardest part is up the sides and down the sleeve. The ends of the shirttails were thick and tough, so I used fabric glue, held it together with quilting clips and it made them much easier to finish. Regards, Will.

Whilst making the current denim shirt, I’ve had the thought that small Lemoyne Stars may look interesting on the yoke. I know patchwork on shirts is…well…1980s, but the stars could be a bit different. I made these a while ago to practise the stars in different sizes, I thought if the square background was the same fabric as the shirt, they would really stand out. I no longer have these, they were just a tryout so I gave them away. I am enjoying sewing with the current mid-weight denim and will buy more and see how the smaller stars work. I’ve been a bit slow finishing the current shirt – I fell off a ladder (common with men of a certain age it seems) and I’ve had to have scans and x-rays, etc. I don’t believe any damage has been done but it’s best to make sure. Back to the pleasant sewing grind tomorrow. I shall buy more denim when I pick up the repaired sewing machine. Meanwhile, all the best, Will.

Please visit my site;  william-sews.com Sewing that is; I braved the perils of a trip to the city and left my new machine for repair and I hope they will fix the original problems as well, I was just lazy not taking it in earlier. I’m now using a couple of older machines, an Elina for the seams and a Brother for top-stitching. The Elina 40 is a nice machine. Each machine has something that others don’t have, it would be great to have them all in one machine. The Brother SL500 is also a pleasant machine to use and it’s doing a good job of top-stitching. I have been using this one for buttonholes because the newer Singer wasn’t working properly. The top-stitching is red; I thought it would be subtle, but it was a difficult choice because I have acquired a lot of threads over the years. I’m looking forward to finishing this shirt, it’ll be ready for the cold weather if it ever comes, autumn has been more like summer this year. Keep well, Regards,  Will.

I’m having issues with my new machine; It was bought for me six months ago and it has had a few problems from the outset. I don’t like returning items and therefore I coped with it’s little idiosyncrasies; it didn’t sew buttonholes well, so I used one of my other machines, it didn’t backstitch well either but it straight sewed beautifully until I noticed it skipping stitches which I can’t live with. This is happening too often,  No good at all, so back it goes. If they offer a refund then I’ll take it and use the machines I have. Returning the machine means I have a legitimate excuse to visit the fabric shop… and I can cash in the $10 voucher they sent for my birthday. Waiting in the wings. On a brighter note, I took a photograph of some of my bird friends this morning, sitting in a tree outside the door, waiting for seed and fruit. They are Rainbow Lorikeets; one of the many varieties who visit the garden for a swim and a feed. I shall set up another machine ready for t...

Please visit my site:  william-sews.com I’m in rut with my sewing; a pleasant rut because I love making shirts, but in the past I’ve sewn other items. I used to sew women’s clothing using vintage patterns – The variety was fun. I had a lot of patterns from the 1940s to the 1960s, the structure of clothing was so much better than modern patterns. I also tried upholstery, I had a pile of tapestry samples and decided to make enough patchwork fabric for two settees. This is one of them; (I should have placed the right side cushion better…careless)! I upholstered the pair over two decades ago and they have survived dogs, parties and steam cleaning but they will be retired soon because their style is outdated, even though they are showing no sign of wear. I’ve also covered a few chairs over the years, like this wing chair. I discovered the easy way to upholster is to take the piece apart; unscrew the arms and back, which is easy, then the individual pieces are much easier...