williamsews

 I made this a week ago. Grey Polka Dot in cotton, size 97cm. Great fabric to work with. More rain, there are such terrible floods, autumn is almost over, it's still warm and the trees aren't turning - it's odd weather these days. At least it's good sewing weather. Please like and share my posts, Thank you, Will.

 I keep all the cut threads and snipped off fabric pieces in a container on the workbench, and a friend has turned them into a piece of art...I like it. It's a reminder for me of some of the things I've made. Of course, I now have enough threads since this lot to make several more - but one's enough. I'm starting on the three shirts today; the polka dot is first. That's my lot for today, Regards, Will.

  Three new shirt lengths, they have now been washed, dried and ready to go. I also bought more interfacing, heavy and light, I'm trying a different light brand. I like the Birch brand, although it doesn't fuse very well, it's OK, but it ends up a battle on the collar stand because it wants to escape - but it's all certainly much easier than the time before fusible when the interfacing had to be basted on. I usually use Semco, don't know why I changed and I hope the new type isn't too stiff. I use the heavy for collars & cuffs and the light for the front placket and pocket tops. The lightest possible is best for the front, if it's too heavy, the front sticks out and doesn't bend with the body. Almost finished a shirt, lemon with a fine pattern, it's not great fabric because it's very fine and doesn't have much body...but it is looking OK. Rain, rain, rain, will it ever end! It is perfect sewing w...

  My newest machine; the Brother TY600C. I’ve had this for almost a year and I can’t fault it, it’s an excellent machine, easy to use and truly heavy-duty, it sews several layers of denim easily. It’s great on bulky seams, with no manually cranking to go through the fabric. It is a heavy machine, not too plastic and has the usual, needle up/down (easy on this machine, it only needs to have the button pressed for a second) and tie-off button I like the needle down for most of the sewing and up for buttons and buttonholes. This was medium-weight denim and it was a pleasure to sew, it just glided through the fabric. The only thing I have an issue with is the dial. I have knocked it a few times and taken it off the setting–at least it beeps to let me know and I’m able to readjust the settings before I sew on. I have a very soft, thick fabric that may or may not be good for a shirt. I shall experiment by making a collar. It’s raining very heavily, I hope it’s not so bad in the already f...

  I found this among the quilting fabrics. I like small florals, but brown is not a favourite colour. I see brown as an old man’s colour; autumn tonings, fawn and brown, the colours that older women choose for their husbands. It’s true that I fit into that category (elderly) but I don’t want to dress that way. Anyway, I do like this, the roses help. That’s it for today, No more fabric, no sewing, how sad. Regards, Will.

  These are the markers I use or have used in the past. My favourite now is the Sewline. It fades after a day or a few hours, depending on the fabric and weather. I tested at night, and the lines were almost gone by morning. These are good. They disappear when the garment is ironed, they come in blue, red, black and white. The black doesn’t last long, and the white is no good at all. They are refills, but I’ve never bought the pen; they work just fine. These are water erasable and are OK to draw around a pattern or on the wrong side of a piece, but I wouldn’t use them where the marking will show. The top one has a little brush in the other end to wet and remove the markings. For dark fabric, there is good old French chalk and a rotary marker which works very well, it’s filled with powdered chalk and leaves a dotted line. Once again, the white pen doesn’t work. I bought a French Chalk sharpener; I find that the action of dragging it across the fabric not only blunts it but polishes ...

 I was looking for patterns for someone and rummaged among the shirt patterns, and I'd forgotten that I have so many in my size. I prefer vintage patterns because they are designed to fit better. I use my favourite constantly instead of any of these wonderful patterns. Simplicity 8711 is an all-time favourite and have been using it for years, adding yokes, varying the front placket (placket or no placket), so now it has a collection of variations. I also have a few ancient patterns, not in my size, that I like to keep because they are great pieces and they need to be protected. They are very hard to find now. There is a storm brewing and MORE rain. Time to sew. Regards, Will.