Josephine Sews

My situation has not changed but today I'm thankful.  I Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I finally made another skirt to go with a jacket I completed months ago.  Again I used Lekala S3013 .  I will not go into great detail on this one because I did it in my post dated  05/16/2017. Lekala S3013 How I Did it This time when making the skirt I did not look at the instructions because the skirt is so simple and I just made it a day ago.  I did make a couple of minor changes. 1. I only interface a small section of the "V" on the center back so I wouldn't have the extra interfacing showing. 2.  I cut the interfacing for the zipper area to 5/8" rather 1" again so that it did not show. 3.  I was suppose to add 2/8" seam allowance on the front and back side seams so I would not have to get creative with the lapped zipper but I forgot.  This time I used a...

When I first started sewing garments making adjustments to the pattern was non-existent or extremely minor - not so these days.  If I want to sew garments now it is a major undertaking.  I love a good fit but hate the process to get there. I have been wanting to make skirts to go with a couple of jackets I made some time ago and have put it off because I did not want deal with the needed adjustments.  I can't remember why now but I decided to browse the Lekala website and noticed a free pencil skirt after I had purchase a dress pattern.  I knew this skirt would be perfect for the jackets I had made.  Lekala to the rescue - I entered my measurements and got a pattern in just my size. I absolutely loved the back pleating detail of this skirt. How I Did It The fabric I used was a 10 oz soft denim called Crossroads Denim .  The big hurdle I had to get over was printing and taping the pattern together.  I normally take the pattern to Kinko's and ha...

Saturday May 14, 2016 was strange.  I momentarily woke up but ultimately slept until 5 pm.  I wasn't sick, hadn't done any hard labor, and didn't think I was that exhausted. I was upset when I woke up because I had plans for the day.  My dealer got in the new Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP and I wanted to go see it and play on it.  My plan is to eventually replace my Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8900 QCP with the new MC 9400 QCP. I knew I wanted to sew at 5 pm when I woke up but the urge to sew doesn't get unbearable until sometime after 11 pm normally.  I was wide awake and didn't want to sew anything complicated because I just knew in a couple of hours I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes open. I chose a couple simple projects.  The first one was an in the hoop pig that is so adorable and the other was a stand/holder for my my iPad and cell phone. How I Did It (in the hoop pig) I used cuddle fleece, a piece of ribbon for the tail, and stuffe...

Daniela Gutierrez-Diaz of On the Cutting Floor wanted testers for the "Adeline Dress and Shirt" pattern and I answered the call.  I have to say I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I can say I enjoyed the ride once I was done. Okay I admit the back yoke had me ready to quit only because I forgot operative word "pattern tester".  After a couple of suggestions I made my way through it. View A View B View C View D How I Did It Testers were given the pattern with the option of printing on a standard home printer or having it printed at a copy shop.  The last time I had a pattern printed it cost me about $20 dollars so as much as I hate piecing patterns together I decided to print at home. I chose to make View C in a size 22 using a cotton print that I had in my stash.  There were 33,  8 1/2 by 11 sheets of paper.  My first pleasant surprise was how easy it was to piece the pattern together.  The pattern contained...

At our church we teach anyone who has a desire to sew for free.  We only ask that after they finish the training they use their new skill to minister and be a blessing to others. I love teaching folk to sew but my real joy is teaching young people to sew.  Seeing their creativity and excitement as they learn is priceless. Neena shown with her completed pillowcase Introduction For the past few weeks I have had the joy of helping Neena learn to sew. Neena is a respectful, energetic, artistic, and eager learner.  I learned just how creative she is when she got her new sewing machine and decorated it immediately.  She has her on unique style and I love that about her. The Project The project came from Stitches & Pins  by JoAnn Gagnon and Corrie Gagnon and it is one of several books I am using to help me teach. On this project the main goal was to get her comfortable sewing on her new machine and to get her comfortable with straight st...