Rulers and oilcloth

I had always wondered how people drafted things from scratch and I'm sooooo thrilled to be a little in the know now. LOL! One of the tools which fascinated me as I embarked on the drafting adventure were the rulers.
They're like toys! BUT they help you draft things on a smaller scale first. And they're relatively cheap. A set of two like the above pic costs SGD$1. I bought mine from the teacher, but they're also available in Chinatown.

Speaking of Chinatown, Malin Textile has brought in some oilcloth! Oilcloth is useful for things like bibs, purses/bags, diaper changing pads and things like that.I bought some to make a daycare shower bag for the little monkey and some cosmetics pouches (getting started on some Christmas gift sewing).

The oilcloth is available only in polka dot prints, but in a huge variety of colours, including chocolate brown, lime green, beigey white, dark blue and the rich black and deep black which I bought. Cost is SGD$35 a metre (slightly cheaper than Golden Dragon) and the minimum cut is half a metre.

Now I need to read up on oilcloth -- ie. needles to use, what presser foot to use, etc. Good thing is, it doesn't fray, so there is one less thing to worry about.

Edited to add:

• Here is a good link about oilcloth -- its uses and general machine sewing suggestions. And here is another decent link.
  
  
• Here are links to tutorials on how to make:
  - a simple oilcloth wallet
  - coin purse
  - grocery bag, another grocery bag, yet another grocery bag
  - backpack bag (from u-handblog, one of my favourite blogs on bag-making)
  - man's toiletries bag
  - garden tool caddy (VERY cool for someone who loves gardening)
  - baby bib
  - Collapsible travel dish for a pet (CUTE idea for someone with a cat or dog!)
  - book cover
  
  

Still ....

Just a quick, picture-less post to say:

1. I'm STILL quilting the fairy quilt. Oh boy, this hand quilting thing sure is taking up a lot of time; but there is something oddly and immensely satisfying about pushing needle through fabric. That said, though, I'm NEVER hand-quilting again. Or at least I'm NOT going to do it again in the near future. Sewing machines were invented for a reason. LOL!!!

2. I'm still enjoying drafting. In addition to the skirt, I drafted a simple top and have just about finished sewing it up. In the works is another skirt which I will draft as time permits.

Will take a few photos soon and show them to you :-))

Adventures in drafting

Sorry for the delay in updates. I caught the sniffles, but am better now :)

So as mentioned in a previous post, I took Friday (20th August) off to attend a drafting/sewing class at Stitch & Craft Corner (Eastpoint Mall, Simei). It was FUN and I'm going back for more lessons.
The first thing I learnt was how to take proper measurements, a vital first step, said the teacher, and of course that makes perfect sense. Having used paper patterns all my sewing life, it was an eye-opener for me to learn about the many vital measurement points.

In addition to the usual bust, waist & hips, we also measured things such as shoulder, bust length (distance from shoulder to bust), hip length (distance from waist to fullest part of hip), front waist length, back waist length (my measurements for front waist and back waist are dramatically different, but for some people, it's the same), etc.

First, we measured the mannequin in the shop and then, I attempted to take some of my own measurements and that of the teacher's (in the pic below, the teacher is in the red top; wonderful Ati is the person in dark blue):After the measurements were taken, we began drafting a basic bodice and skirt. The drafting was first done in a sketchbook, using itty bitty rulers.

The drawings look mighty complicated, don't they!At first, it was a bit overwhelming, but the teacher was really patient and explained things logically ... eg. add xx inches to the waist measurement and then take xx off for the darts.

Then, after walking me through the first draft, she made me draft the basic bodice and basic skirt by myself in the book.

Then it was time to do the "proper" drafts on paper and cut out the fashion fabrics. First up, was the skirt. And I was so engrossed in the process that I forgot to take pics, sorry! But here's a pic of the bodice back and all the red lines are the teacher's corrections.
The interesting thing (to me) about drafting is that you don't add seam allowances to the draft. That is done directly on the fashion fabric before cutting it out. So you place the paper on the fabric, mark out the cutting lines (and there are different seam allowances for different parts of the garment) and then cut out the pieces. In the pic above, the "outline" is where I cut.

Then, after cutting out the pieces, you mark the sewing lines/seam lines. That makes for rather accurate sewing, I think! And it makes fitting easier too, in my opinion. In the pic below, you can see the skirt yoke cut out and the tracing wheel and carbon paper I'll use for tracing out the seam lines. Thank goodness for marking the seamlines because as you can see, I didn't do a good job cutting. Hahahhaha!

Then came the sewing. I've completed the skirt (simple yoked a-line with invisible zip in the centre back) and am currently working on the simple top.

Stay tuned as the adventure continues!!

One stitch at a time (or how to cultivate patience) LOL!

I bow down low to the patience and skill of quilters. Man, this hand-quilting thing takes some SKILL and lots of patience as well. I've poked my finger countless times, squinted like a demented thing ... and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Yes, my darling little monkey, mommy will persevere just for you ... just promise me you'll use your fairy quilt till it's tattered and torn or till you're at least 65, whichever comes first. Hahahhahahahhahahhaha!

The next time I decide to make a quilt (I have already bought a kit for the in-laws for Christmas ... I know, I'm insane), I'm going to MACHINE quilt the thing! :-)))

In other non-quilting-but-still-about-sewing news, inspired by Jali of Equator Collection, I've decided to learn how to draft simple patterns! I'm taking this Friday off work to spend a day at the Stitch & Craft Corner at Eastpoint Mall.

Ati, who runs the shop, is the person I bought my machine from (she's a DARLING). She also runs crafting, home-dec sewing and dressmaking (western & Malay) classes. Fun times lie ahead!

If you're in the eastern part of Singapore and want to check out Ati's classes or shop, here are the details:

Stitch & Craft Corner
3 Simei Street 6, #06-29 Eastpoint Mall
Singapore 528833
Tel: 6787 9918

Courses
* Note:
- material and accessories not included in class fee;
- each class is 2 hrs long;
- You don't need to bring your sewing machine or serger -- Ati has a bunch of them in the shop

Dressmaking & Tailoring
Elementary dressmaking (12 lessons x 2hrs each) - $160 for 4 lessons
Intermediate dressmaking - $200 for 4 lessons
Advanced dressmaking - $400 for 4 lessons
Ladies pants only (no pockets) - $200 for 4 lessons
Men's tailoring - $400 for 4 lessons

Traditional attire
Men's Baju Kurung (12 lessons) - $200 for 4 lessons
Baju Kurung Pesak Biasa (8-10 lessons) - $120 for 4 lessons
Baju Kurung Pesak Pahang (8 lessons) - $160 for 4 lessons
Jilbab (prayer robe) - $50 one lesson

Home dec & crafts
Elementary curtain (5 basic patterns in 8 lessons) - $150 for 4 lessons
Hobbycraft/Patchwork/Quilting - $120 for 4 lessons
Smocking Cushion & Bag - $120 for 4 lessons
Beading or Knitting or Crochet - $100 for 4 lessons

The opposite of instant gratification

I've always been curious about quilting and as mentioned a few posts ago, decided to take some lessons to find out more. And boy do I have a new-found respect for people who quilt! These works of art take TIME and precision.

Here is where I'm at for the little monkey's fairy quilt:All the pieces have been sewn together (you can't really see the different pieces in the pic above as that shows mainly the central panel. I'm such an awesome photographer ... NOT! Hahahha!). The batting and backing are in place as well and what you see is everything basted together/

Here's a pic of the "quilt sandwich". I don't know what the actual name is, but it reminds me of a sandwich, with all the layers: top, batting, backing:
Here you can see the fabric I chose for the backing (along with the basting stitches). It's sooooo pink. It's a good thing the monkey loves pink, because there is a ton of pink in this quilt :-)
At the next lesson, I'm going to learn to actually quilt the quilt, which is a little like embroidery, I suppose, especially since I'll be doing hand-quilting and not machine quilting. You can quilt patterns, geometric shapes or outline details in the quilt.

Can't wait to complete this project! The monkey can't keep her grubby hands off it. Hahahahahaha!

Instant gratification project

So here it is at last, the little monkey's fairy skirt.

Every time we pass any area with lots of trees (and there are MANY such areas in Singapore), she tells me about the fairies in the forest and how when she was a baby, she saw fairies in the bathroom. Hahahhahaha! What an imagination.

But you know, when I was a little girl, I too thought I saw fairies and to this day can recall with great clarity the little people I saw one night in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. They were a colourful and noisy bunch.Ah, but I digress. This skirt was an instant gratification project which took just a few hours to complete. I didn't follow a pattern but just went with the flow. Sewing for children is so easy -- just cut up a few rectangles, gather, add lace, add elastic ... voila, you're done!

When it was first completed, the monkey feeling a bit of a grouch and said she didn't like the skirt. But when I asked her if she would like the skirt "tomorrow", she said "yes". Thankfully, she really did like the skirt the next day!

The fairy fabric is by Michael Miller, bought from Quilts & Calicoes at Tanglin Mall. Lace is from Spotlight.Now that the work crisis is over (knock on wood), I hope to get back into the sewing groove again!

It must be the alignment of the planets ...

... or SOMETHING, because things are absolutely insane! I'm really sorry about the lack of updates. I've been unusually busy with work-related emergencies/situations and there simply are not enough hours in a day to fight the fires, tame the egos and calm the frenzied.

Hmmmmm ... now that I've put it that way, it sounds like I have a wonderfully exciting, action-movie type job. I don't. Believe me. Hahahahahha!

The only good thing is, I didn't do any work on Saturday (Sunday is another story) and so took the opportunity to go for a quilting class because I've never quilted a thing in my life and I'm intrigued by all that precision cutting and sewing.

Also, I sewed up an instant gratification skirt for the little monkey. She had requested a "fairy skirt" and so that's what she got. Bad news is, when I first put it on her, she said that she didn't like it!! Good news is, she said she would like it "tomorrow". Well, we'll see! Hahahahha!

Will get a pic and post it and catch up on all my blog reading and replying to comments. Now, I need to get back to the grind, then pick up the monkey from daycare, send her to my parents' place cos i have a 7.30PM MEETING IN THE OFFICE! GAH!!! (Update: that 7.30pm meeting in the office went on till 3am. I kid you not)

Please, planets, may I ask that you behave a little and send some good joojoo my way soon? Thanks much.