Field trip: Stitches Seattle

I really like supporting local business.  There aren't too many indie fabric stores any more; most of us have to buy our yardage at Jo-Ann's and the like.  There are a few places out there, though - Seattle hosts a couple of neat little independent stores, plus a local chain.  I went to visit one of them today.

I was planning on making a Pinkerton from beginning to end today, but was feeling a bit stir-crazy and decided to visit Stitches.  It's the closest fabric store to home; I walked.  It's a little less than a mile from my flat.

Right next to Babeland.

For a small, in-city storefront, they have a pretty well rounded inventory.  The selection of fabric is small, but most of it is very nice quality; not as nice as Nancy's, but a cut above the big chain stores' stuff.  I refrained from buying anything, but I was sorely tempted by a number of things.  They had some awesome quilting-weight cottons, and a small selection of organic cotton and bamboo.  They have a full selection of  notions, some of which you won't find at Jo-Ann's.

There are a few classes, starting with very basic sewing and progressing through more intermediate level projects.  They also have knitting classes; the gal at the counter said their class space is small and the classes are limited to about four people.  I consider that a good thing as teaching craft skills really takes a decent amount of one-on-one attention, which is difficult in larger groups.

If you're near Broadway, stop by.  Shop local, Seattle!

Pinkertons: Assembling the parts

The final part of making these vests is joining together all the parts. I got through most of that tonight, though I will have to wrap up tomorrow.  I underestimated how much gold topstitch thread I had and need to get another spool or I'd have at least finished the armscye bindings tonight.  I got enough done to show how I'm doing it, though.  I'll also have to do the buttonholes and buttons later; it's a little late to be pulling out the other machine and especially late to  be hammering on stud buttons.

All the parts sewn together, and the armhole bound.

First I put the lining, shell, and collar together.  The curved neckline edge is one of the few places I routinely use pins - it's pretty curvy and there are a lot of layers to get together.  There is a notch in the collar at points where it should line up with the center back seam and the shoulder seam; additionally there is a notch on the body pieces  where the edge of the collar aligns.

(Pictures and more beyond the cut!)

Pinkertons: Lining

I just spent the last two hours assembling the lining for the Pinkerton vest.  It shouldn't take quite that long, but taking the time to photograph each step takes up a certain amount of time.  I have to move the table towards the machines and drag the chair to the west side of the room for each photograph of the full tabletop.

The lining parts all laid out, including the Lastwear tags.

 The process is pretty much exactly like sewing the shell, except that you also have to stitch all those little fiddly bits of facing onto the lining pieces.  And instead of welt pockets, I had tags to sew in.  (That's one of the nice things about sewing for a company - Lastwear provided everything including their very nice ribbon tags.)

(More behind the cut!)

Pets and Pinkertons

I got started on the Pinkerton vest this week.  I've had a few other obligations (day job, settling in, et cetera) so it's taken me a while to get rolling and then a little longer to get a post up.  I will note that I had a big, big distraction come along - I now have a couple of helpers around the sewing room:

Hello kitty!

Hello other kitty!

The pictures don't do these little guys any justice.  Black cats are tough to photograph, and Chichi (up top there) is particularly difficult to photograph as he just plain doesn't like it.  He is also totally obsessed with eating thread, so I now have to be pretty careful around the sewing room - I can't leave the machines threaded, or leave trimmings laying about, and need to keep spools and bobbins stored away.  Chi's the only cat I know who isn't terrified of the vacuum cleaner.  He's not scared of the Mercury, either.

I promise I won't talk about my cats too much, although you might see them again - they DO like to hang out with me as I work, and I'll  be making some kitty beds for them eventually here.

And back to the Lastwear project - Pinkertons!  I've assembled the shell of one of the vests, and have new workroom photos to share from the process.

(More below the cut...)

Equipment fail!

I scheduled time to work on the Pinkerton vest on Tuesday evening.  I realized that I'd need to practice making welt pockets (it's been years since I've done them) and cut a piece of canvas drill to match the welt pieces and pocket  bags.  That was also to serve as a test sew for the straight stitch machine.  The Mercury failed the test.  I burnt up most of my scheduled time trying to get it to form a stitch.

I'm not terribly mechanically minded, so when I stopped by the Lastwear house yesterday I asked Thom if he could help or recommend a repairman.  He's supposed to be by later.  If he can't help get the machine going, I'll a) get the contact number for his repair guy and b) set up my Bernina.

I've rescheduled the time I had set aside for today to tomorrow and also have some time on Sunday afternoon blocked out to keep the project timeline at least close to on track.

Pinkertons: Preview

I am so excited to finally get rolling on this project that I just couldn't wait.  I pulled the parts to assemble a vest and laid them out.

Not pictured:  me laughing giddily in the sewing room at 10 PM.

The parts are laid out in columns.  They are:  collar, welt, pocket bag; side front, side front lining, side front hem facing; center fronts; center back, center back lining, center back hem facing; side back, side back lining, side back hem facing; tags.  There is one additional part - the armhole bindings.  They're just long, skinny strips that get folded around the raw edges of the armhole, so not having them on the table isn't going to put my gentle readers at a loss.

I haven't ordered the heavyweight thread they use at the factory yet, so I'll be piecing with regular sewing thread and topstitching with gold jeans thread.  I thought it would look snappy on the green canvas and help with visibility, since all the vest cuts I got were dark colors.  (The others are black and chocolate brown.)

Depending on how much I get done at a sitting, I will post the work on this vest in several posts over the next week.  Next up - sewing the shell.  I have time set aside for this on Tuesday evening and I can hardly wait.

New space

I've just moved to a new apartment and my goal was to have my workspace set up and ready to work by the first of November.  I'm on target for that, with just a little bit of work left to do.

I know y'all are dying to see the new place.  Here you go:

There is enough space to walk around the cutting table.  It's a little close there in the back corner, but c'est la vie.

More behind the cut....