There have been a number of things underway in the sewing room this month.
1: Some general clean up and decluttering:
I still haven't finished (I'm about 70% of the way through my fabric), but after reading 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' on the holidays, I've been inspired to have a big clean out.
I've released some fabric into the wild that I just wasn't feeling the love for anymore, and did a big inventory of what was left. I also took the time to store my fabric neatly, so that I could access it more easily. I love opening the cupboard doors in my sewing room now!
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Some of the overflow - lots of denim and some pretty colourful wovens that I want to tackle this year. |
My goal is to have all my fabric fit into the two cupboards. It's an ambitious goal, since that means I'll probably have to reduce the stash by 50%, but what have I got to lose? I realise it's going to take me longer than a year.
2: I made some Boxy Bags for Christmas gifts.
This decision was initially spurred on by my inability to toss out the pink spotty corduroy. I had originally bought this piece of fabric to make a coat for my daughter - several years ago. Inevitably, as children do, she has grown and I no longer have enough fabric to make the coat. It's too small a piece to make anything for me, but I just love it and couldn't pass it on. So, I'm going to turn it into a series of bags - some for gifts, and a couple to store my knitting projects in.
I used the 'No Guts Boxie Pouch' tutorial from So Chick. It was very clear. The only change I made was to the tabs. There was no way my clumsy fingers were going to be able to make those tiny tabs work, so I cut 2 pieces 3 inches x 2 inches instead. I then made sure to position them correctly when stitching down that part of the bag. It just gave me something a bit easier to hang on to in the previous steps.
Version #1: Pink Spotty Corduroy (lined with blue/pink poly cotton); Clasp from Spotlight
I used a lightweight fusible interfacing for this bag, thinking that the corduroy would have sufficient body to support the boxy shape. It kind of does, but I wanted something with a bit more oomph for the next one.
Version #2: Heavyweight denim (a remnant) lined with Spiderman cotton (not stash, specially purchased for this project!); Clasp from Spotlight
I used a much heavier weight interfacing for this one which made it almost impossible to sew. I won't be doing that again, and am looking for a medium weight fusible interfacing to make the rest.
3: My new dress form
I have been working on getting my new dress form into (or out of, depending on your perspective) shape.
I have followed the steps outlined in the Craftsy class: Customise your Dress Form. My husband has been such a great helper, and so has my daughter. Neither of them sew, but they both happily support all my crazy endeavours.
I'm almost there - the measurements are nearly spot on, but the proportion is just a little off. I had to put this project to one side while I knocked out a couple of the boxy bags above, but will return to this on the weekend.
Sewing Stats:
Fabric In: 0.5m
Fabric Out: 5.4m
Stash Used 5.2m