Sunday, July 22, 2012

Here I go again with my serger

Thank you for your comments on my fitting issues with NewLook 6968 (and where to get a cute tailor's ham--how cool is that, that I can get one custom made??  Very cool!!)

I decided to walk away from the dress.

Tonight I pinned out the the excess on my dressform to make the under bust dart into princess seams...I might redo the side panel so it doesn't have that side dart.   (I'm sorry BeckyMc but I'm really thinking I'm going to name her Becky HomeEcky)....
 pinning out the excess

Speaking of walking away from things, last year Antoinette helped me get started with my serger. Then at the ASE I took the serger "learn and play" class.  And I tried to get my serger stitching properly, and walked away for a lot of months. Lately after sewing fraying wovens, I felt more motivated to learn the serger to have a more professional, no-fray finish on the inside of my woven garments.

Today I started the "Break your serger out of the box" class on patternreview.com by Jennifer Stern, which for me was really "Dust that secondhand puppy off and let's start over". Last time I talked about my serger, I didn't have cone holders and also the upper looper thread was waaaaay far away from the edge.
Well, after cramming by reading some lessons, participating in the class chat tonight, lookee here:
how far I have come these last few hours...
The top row is where I started tonight and the bottom is where I ended. Which I am documenting on my blog for my own knowledge.
tonight's winning numbers
The "thread twisting back on itself" problem I reported previously? It was still happening tonight. I asked Jennifer about it during the online chat and she said to try flipping the serger cone over. It totally worked! Thanks Jennifer!
tonight's winning numbers
And I found 3 out of 4 cone holders! Yes! They were tucked into a crevice in the back of the machine. It was like Santa left them there for me, some unexpected and very welcome gift from the sewing goddesses. And when I got out the MaxiLock thread that came with the kit fee for the serger learn and play class, it turns out I accidentally took home one cone holder with me. Woot!  Still, I used the thread Antoinette and I had purchased in NYC last year.  Maybe tmw I will be brave and rethread my machine from scratch using the color-coded MaxiLock thread. I don't need it so much for identifying the threads as now I have that down pat after the lessons tonight, but it would be cool to try what some say is the best serger thread out there.
mah serger
I did a bunch of planting today and finally have my own black eyed susan plant!
black eyed susans
I also planted some marigolds as my impatiens didn't do so well this year:
black eyed susans
I have tmw off and am looking forward to it immensely!
Be well!

8 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you sorted out your serger probs. Now you're ready for more great sewing - I hope!

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  2. I wondered if you had revisited the serger! A class is a great idea. Maybe I should sign up for one of those. Can't wait to see your serger mastery in person!

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  3. You will love the serger once you become familiar with it! I sure did!

    So glad you now have a black eyed Susan! They will spread on their own and the goldfinches love eating the seeds in the fall, so don't cut them back! I'm a big fan of the Maryland State Flower!

    Good luck with the dress. I know you say you have never have trouble with bodice sizing in New Look but even though I always cut an 8 at the shoulders with all big 3 patterns, on New Look I have to take it in further.

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  4. My black eyed susans look like wild bushes because of all the rain this year but I digress...

    Here is my concern about removing the dart on the side panel...what are you going to do with the extra space? The way you've pinned your dress out includes the dart. How will you handle the extra fabric? Or did I miss something?

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  5. I agree with Carolyn on the dart. I think you should leave it in to assist the bust shaping.

    Girl, once you get that serger going, you will not want to look back. I am trying to stop myself from buying a second one just so that I can work on multiple projects.

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  6. Enjoy that serger. Once you get used to it, it will be magic! As for your dress--you can't take out that bust dart at this point, unless you take the bodice apart and recut it.

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  7. How liberating it will be to know how to use that serger! Good for you for tackling it again.

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  8. Becky home-ecky. What the hecky. :)

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