Update on my Brother overlocker

 

 I got my overlocker back as they said exactly 8 days later - they said 7-10 days. So thats good and Brother were ok with timing. They also replaced the defective part so I now have a needle threader that works. I do not know why it did not thread because they said if the wire goes through the needle it should do the job and it did go through. I even got good photos of that and they tried it and agree it did but they apparently also agree it did not work so I suppose I will never know why it did not work but its worth noting if you buy such a machine and it does not thread the needle as it should that for some reason some parts must be defective. 

You can read my original review and the various pros and cons of this machine here:

https://brackencrafts.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-of-brother-4234d-overlocker.html

Anyway I am now going to spend the rest of today ( or as long as I am able anyway without familly interuptions)  playing with the overlocker and see if I am able to make something to test it out. More on that later when I have tried sewing with it.

So today is looking up for me,

Have a great day

Bracken

Bias silky skirt

 I was widow shopping in Rugby as I like to do every now and then. It keeps me on track with whats going on in street fashion and also gives me ideas on what to make over the next season.

I saw this silky bias cut skirt in one shop thoguh I never noted which - probably H&M or New Look or River Island. 

 

The hem looks A-symetric but it is not. Its straight and just looks like that the way its been worn on the model. Waistband is elastic. Hem: narrow hem with overlocked edge.

I remember these types of skirt from the 90s and early 2000's I did not ever own one or even consider wearing one then, but now; I am considerably older. I still wear short skirts which was my choice then, but not so short as I used to do, and I kind of fancied trying out this look but I do not want to spend £28 to do so. Thats what this skirt was up for, and that, as far as I can find out is cheap. So more than likely this is in H&M. After all I might wear it once and decide its not really me and thats just a waste of cash which I have very little of. Also pale grey satin is lovely but not very wearable for me in every day life. 

Then I went away and considered for a bit because the one thing I do not want to do is buy fabric for something when I don't even know for sure I can achieve the making of it. Also I have no grey satin in my stash but I do have lots of satin and similar silky types of fabric. Generally these become nice linigs but they will work fine as a bias skirt.

In the end I found this 2m of a snakeskin print I bought last summer for just £2 so thats probably the cheapest I will find to make this. Its not really grey being a bright pink colour but to try this bias cut skirt look out will do for me. Especially since having worn this just the one very cold, rainy day at the end of November, that was not yet even that cold being just the start of winter, I will now keep this for Christmas indoor parties or next spring when the weather warms up a bit. So yes the pale grey satin is lovely but I am glad not to have wasted money on it because I would not wear that either. Far too cold.

I found a skirt pattern I thought I could possibly use for this despite its for an A-symetric A-line skirt from the early 2000's (Burda  World of Fashion July 2003, 114#) but the basic skirt shape is similar. 

I traced the skirt then extended the sides to make this 93cm long which when my partner measured me was what we thought it should be. However, its a bit longer than I intended. I wanted the hem to hit just above ankle. Never mind. I can always shorten though I may just leave it as it is and make another.

Sorry about the rubbish photos. As I said its a nasty, cold, rainy day and we managed to get a lull in the rain to take just a few photos and then it began raining again. Ahhh England (Scotland, Wales, Ireland!).

Getting this cut on the cross ( bias cut so it stretches across the width despite having no stretch or lycra in the woven fabric) proved difficult and I actually cut each piece opposite ends of the piece of fabric so had this print had an obvious direction I could not have made this from the 2m I had. The fabric is slightly shiny but not a bright satin though is silky like a satin but luckily ( because I really was unsure) it doesn't look different on the back and front so the shine does not have direction like satin often does. 

When I came to cut I decided; well although I like the fabric it was only £2 and I really need to do a tester for the pattern anyway because really I have no idea if I am even doing this bias cutting correctly. I thought I am, but with no guidance and never doing this before I was not sure and the original from Burda is not actually bias cut but just A-line. I am sure if I kept searching in my vintage patterns I must have at least one bias cut pattern but after 2 days of searching when I have a spare minute I was sick of it and ready to just go for it. Otherwise it will be June before I get round to making this and I want it now.

I tend usually to find a pattern I like and make it, not look for a similar pattern to something I have seen so this is a slightly different make for me. I have done this before with these skirts  and the dresses I made a few years ago but its not for me a norm.

But its worked and it does stretch. I am not totally sure its perfectly on the cross because with my small table this got quite complicated and confusing but it seems to work and the side seams came out straight so thats fine by me.

I probably ought to iron the hem flat but thats a minor issue. Its a fabric that does not require ironing hence I was a bit slack here.

Waistband has 3 inch elastic around it so about 7.5cm. But this was sold as 3 inch hence I am calling it that. Must admit my brain struggles a bit with inches but thats my age and on this occassin I am too young not to old! 

I top stitched around the waist to make it neater but perhaps should have sewn closer to the edge - the shop one was made like this so I just copied it.

This skirt has a defiite feeling of movement and swirliness despite its actually not that wide:

 

I am actually vry please with this make because this was a very real experiemnt for me and it worked!

 

I am now considering a jacket or warm top I can wear with this to Christmas parties. Ofcourse I will have nice warm leggings or tights to keep me warm under it too but this lends itself to a winter party I think. 

The sweatshirt is my navy glitter one made a few years back now and really its not warm enough any more so I should replace this one. 

Have a great week and thanks for popping by my blog

Bracken

Faery hoody cowl dress revisited

Its so far rained for the last two weeks and I have just not managed to get any better photos of this so this is what I have to work with. These are not the best photos but its chucking it down with really heavy rain outside so I will go with what I have here until I can get better. According to the weather forecast I just looked up we can expect around another 2 weeks of rain in the UK Midlands where I live at the moment. Wonderful British weather!

It really makes you think when my neighbours and familly say "do not move to Scotland because it rains all the time". Really? That much more than here? It was raining here the last twice I was in Scotland and not there.  They do have colder winters but I actually prefer snow to rain. Constant rain!

Anyway:

 

 I made a new version of a much loved but totally impractical hoody cowl dress.

It looks bigger than the last version - or at least I have lost a bit of weight and I made the same size - well despite that I will probably put the weight back on and its still comfey and this is for me to live in rather than just wear occassionally, because the other one annoys me so much. I do want to be able to wear this next January, when I am likely to have gone back to my normal weight - Christmas eating etc. I still do not have a clue how I came to lose weight either but it seems there is nothing wrong with me and doc says maybe I have just become more active. Maybe. I do not do an office job now so that could actually be it.

 

I really like the original which has a high low hem and flared sleeves:

 

but it just does not work for real life, and rather than wreck what is a nice going out dress, by attempting to alter it, I decided to just use up the rest of my watercolour velvet fabric and make a new and more practical version.

The original has lovely flared sleeves and is really very pretty but the sleeves are totally stupid when you want to do things like washing up dishes or hoovering or mopping the floor. Annoying!

This new version has practical fitted sleeves taken from a different dress pattern so yes its a pattern hack really.

 So this is it:

The hem on this new version is curved at front and back like a shirt style hemline rather than the high low of the original version:

Its a nice variation especially now its so cold.

The hood is lined with an expensive powermesh that I had in the stash and never used. I did consider sourcing something cheaper but as it turns out its brilliant and will be much less subject to "pulls" than the lace on the other version so I may use powermesh again on a similar design despite the cost.

And it really is practical because I have worn this dress several times already and it does not annoy me. I ideally would have got round to blogging about itbefore this but due to the weather and not gettig any decent photos I have wiated until now. In the end it could carry on raining for months. I intend to get some better ones once it stops raining and will then update the blog. Photos are so much better out in nature I find but this dress has turned out to be a really good, sensible, yet glamourous, velvet fae inspired dress, and I will make more like it I suspect, despite I have a wardrobe full of similar designs because when you do love something ..............

I still have not got my (new) Brother overlocker back or any news on when I will, so had to make this on my old Janome. Still it works. Its seriously hassle to thread after the Brother but even then oh so easy to change the needles! I am now definitely thinking I prefer my Janome to the Brother. And still no news on when I get the thing back!

After all you chage needles far more than rethreading the entire machine. Ah well I am stuck with it now for a few years I would expect because the Janome requires fixing so often really its worn out. I just need the thing back. They said 7-10 days but its over that already. Not very impressed with Brother I have to say.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I will be back next week with hopefully some better photos and something interesting to tell you about.

See you soon,

Bracken

Christmas and More Baby tracksuits

 I made another two baby outfits. 

These were sewn very fast due to my having to send my new overlocker back to Brother to see why the needle threader does not work. I even considered just putting up with it but since I chose that model for ease of threading my other half has convinced me to get it fixed. I think it must just be an adjustment but they say you cannot adjust so I have to wait and see what is actually wrong or is it in fact just me? 

I do hope not. But I need reading glasses these days and it does mean I find it much faster to have a machine that will thread itself rather than do it manually, so if at all possible I do want the thing to work. So anyway unless I fiddle around with my old Janome I cannot currently do any overlocking. Of course this weekend I am fiddling with my Janome because life without sewing just seems silly. I do not actually sew all the time of course but I need the ability should I feel I want to. Not being able is so frustrating. I know the Janome needs a new blade but I bought one for it already so just need to change it and I should be back in business if I feel the desire to sew something.

So then as well as having to send back my new overlocker, I also crashed my car and wrecked a wheel. This van driver was tail-gating me and making me so nervous. Not sure why really because it happens all the while but then there was an ambulance with its lights flashing trying to get past and I went up a kerb that was too high for my wheels to let the ambulance through on a  narrow road and I got a puncture, damaged the wheel rim really badly and I had to get a new tyre. Now I am just waiting to see if the new tyre actually stays up. I am slightly scared of going on a motorway in case I break down but will have to brave that soon really before I need to go somewhere and get there on time.

So anyway.........tracksuits.........

The first tracksuit is in french terry and is bright colours with dinosaurs. This is the Made By Oranges "Jacob hoody" with the free pattern for comfey trousers ( "Comfies") from Sparkle and Roar. 

I do like that Comfies trouser pattern especially since I also used a BTrendy pattern for the skeleton dino trousers and I prefer the free one if I am being honest here. 

 

Again this Skeleton Dino suit which is a Tshirt weight fabric is with the Jacob hoody. Now thats a great little pattern. The trousers here have a gusset which the confies don't. That makes for a slightly trickier sew but it all went together ok despite that.

 

One of the big advantages of the free Comfies pattern is these very long turn back cuffs which effectively allow the child to wear them over an extra size range. 

Of course this is such a simple idea it could be applied to any trouser pattern so I will probably add a band to most other patterns in the future - including the Btrendy pattern shown here. Also with something like the Made by Oranges pattern you could actually add the band later and that will allow longer wearing of the hand made clothing - love that idea! 

Had a slight problem with my twin needle tension on the zigzag side. The top looks fine ( or at least it passes!) but the underneath is not. Its not seen but if this was an adult garment it would be far more of a problem. The child this is for will probably outgrow it before my stitching gives so I am not too worried. Might be time to service my sewing machine though.

I really like Jacob and expect to be making it for one child or another until I run out of sizes to make it.

Skeletons:

I also cut a third set in actual Christmas fabric but did not have time to sew this one up. Might do it on the Janome if I have time because I do not want to end up sewing this after Christmas or it defeats the object and the thing with children is next year it will not fit. I can shelve my own unfinished garments as UFO's but if I do that with this one it will just become scrap and the fabric was not really expensive at £8.95 /m but I prefer not to waste that.

Thanks for visiting my blog and hope you have a great week.

Take care

Bracken

Random makes

  

I have a few rather random makes this week.  

Also an UPDATE on my Review post of my new Brother overlocker -November 4th 2023 so less than 2 months since I got this machine!

My Brother overlocker has so far been a let down it has to be said. And to be honest I have so far sewn two items on it both baby clothing so not exactly a very used machine!

I struggled to get the needles in when I broke one of them. The needle threader doesn't work and the Brother customer support say from the photos I sent them it should do. The wire goes through the needle but apparently not high enough to achieve threading.  I checked I am getting the wheel that raises the needle in the correct position and I am so they say its just weird. Not at all helpful. 

They have said they will look at it though. When I spoke to them it sounds like despite its a brand new machine the threader being a disposable /consumable part means I will probably end up having to pay for them to put a new one on despite I have never so far used it because it doesn't work.

I also struggle getting the tension right - never had that with the Janomes!

So so far I am wishing I bought another Janome! 

 

Anyway, on a happier note, I made a Christmas stocking. No pattern so just free-drew  this ( free-drawn? I might be british but I seriously do struggle with english, and spelling, as a subject!) and it worked. 

I used a ribbon salvedged from a previous year's Christmas cake though it turned out a bit long for the mantel it will hang from so I tied a knot to shorten it but its still looks fine I think and was well received by the person who it was made for.

I am going to make a few of these for different familly members but this is my first so this is my prototype so to speak. The main fabric is off-white  upholstery velvet and the sequins are probably not ideal being stretch sequin braid but what the hell it works and I am surprisingly happy with how the first stocking turned out. If I get time I will show you the rest as I make them but they will all be similar with just an initial to ID who its going to be for. I toyed with the idea of doing whole names but that is a lot of sewing and to be honest its not the easiest stuff to sew onto velvet so I have decided an inital will do. Also not all the familly have short names so it could end up being quite a trial trying to sew some of the whole names - eg Jonathan would take a lot of room up! And an initial works so much better and they will all match as well.

 

I also made some kids clothing. This is a child's dressing gown. Free pattern was from Little Kiwi's Closet and goes from ages 6m to 12 years so brilliant pattern for free and it all lines up etc. Perfect. Thank you so much Little Kiwi's Closet.

https://littlekiwis.co.nz/childrens-dressing-gown/ 

Though I did slightly alter the pattern since in eg Retail shops dressing gowns for small children have elastic at the back which makes the waist tie shorter and less of a hazzard to strangulation. 

This works but actually made the making much more difficult because I could not sew the multiple layers of the fleece and elastic with the overlocker so had to use a zigzag which means its not as neat inside as I wanted. But it works and when I make larger sizes which I intend to then this will not be an issue because I will just add the belt and no elastic or elastic casing.

And finally I got a UFO ( unfinished object) sewed and completed which was cut out a year ago and never sewn up.

 

 

This is the same "pixie" pattern I used for my several dresses and tops over the last few years. Really the only thing actually slightly "pixie" about this is the pointy hood and back hem and it works great as a top for real life, but I like it all the same and it should be very warm and cozy with my red trousers for winter this year. Also it seems this is an "in" fabric this winter from what I see on the high street. I bought it very cheap when it was not "in" so bonus there as well. The bright red is really a bit OTT for my taste but it will serve over Christmas and through the colder months as loungewear so I don't mind it being so bright then.

This top has inspired me as well.  I have a pile of UFO's (literally - each stored in a freezer bag so I keep all the bits in one place to eventually sew them at some distant occasion) so may spend the next few weeks trying to at least reduce that pile to a reasonable, size if not actually clear it completely.

In the meantime I am tracing patterns for coats and winter jackets and tops (not sure exactly which ones as yet) and this is not the most interesting thing to be blogging about so I have not so far taken any photos of the tracing. 

Hopefully this is the year I actually manage to finish a coat off. I tend to start them and then they become another UFO - maybe something to have a look through the pile of UFOs for in fact and reduce the amount of tracing needed! 

The exception is my pink fleece  I made last year but unfortunately thats in storage ready for us to eventually move house so I do not have it to wear this winter by the looks of things. Its really not worth my opening loads of sealed boxes and moving stuff around just to find one fleece though right now when I walk the dog I am cold, and its getting colder, so I really have to decide if I am making a coat or not and if not then find one out of storage. 

Anyway hope you have a great week and thanks for popping by,

Bracken