Remember back around new years' when I said I was going to sew more in 2012? Well, I got a project done! I sewed a blouse from
this pattern:
 |
| Butterick 5722 |
This is how my version looked:
 |
| Belt not included. I got it from Torrid. |
The pattern was pretty easy to follow. I used a polyester fabric with a little sheen I found on special at my local Joann's. The only real difficulty I encountered doing this top happened when my sewing machine died. It could probably be fixed, but at this point in time I just want to sew, dammit!! I might take it to the shop in the future, since it was my mom's, and I did learn to sew on it. But since I had a half-finished blouse, and a function to which I wanted to wear the blouse coming up in three days I bought one of these:
 |
| Singer 2263, a.k.a pain in my ass |
I needed that damn blouse finished, and didn't have time to wait for something to come in the mail. So, I got one of these. It's a pain in the ass to use. It's loud, cheap, and shakes like an alcoholic right before payday when it goes fast. In fact, I've decided to give my new machine a nickname. Snooki!
I guess she's alright for small jobs like hemming slacks. I don't dare hem jeans with her. She'll be downgraded to a travel machine when this baby comes in the mail:
 |
| Say hello to the Slant-O-Matic!! Bought from ebay user hulagirl1! |
Oh yeah! Just look at this baby! Singer advertised it as "The best sewing machine ever made!"
Just look at the specs on this thing. I could get off on a massive rant on how this is a shining example of how as a society Americans no longer value quality workmanship or want quality items built to last, but I'll just let the pictures of Snooki and the Slant-o-matic speak for themselves. Which machine do you think I'll still be using in 30 years?
Okay, soapbox stashed. I'm currently working on a little clutch purse. I'm using some random fabric yardage I found at a thrift store plus scraps from the blouse pictured above. I'll post a few pics once I'm further along, assuming I don't toss Snooki out a 3rd story window first.
Yes, I cut out the flap upside down, but I learned a valuable lesson-double check your grainlines!! I found this fabric at a Jomar during their big half off fabric sale. It's canvas printed all over with the logo for Trader Joe's. I wonder how it ended up in a fabric clearance pile. Since it's canvas, I thought it would make a good bag. It's lined in this funky fabric, another Jomar find:
For the most part, the pattern was easy to follow. I omitted the padding the pattern said to put in, because I don't plan to carry anything super fragile in here and I don't mind if a messenger type bag is a little slouchy. This pattern also comes with pieces for all manner of electronic toy cozies, so I can see using this again in the future. Maybe next time I'll lay the damn pattern out right side up! :-)
