Rolled Hem on my Serger

Over the last week I finished enough of the muslin for J's dress that I gave it to her to try it on at home.  She was in a tizzy because her sonogram this afternoon was to reveal whether her baby is a boy or a girl.  Tomorrow I'll have the answer for you on both the sex of the baby and the fit of the dress.

This evening I used my 'downtime' to learn how to make a rolled hem on my serger.  When I first saw a rolled hem on a sheer fabric blouse, I knew I had to buy a serger.

 

I watched the ELNA video, read the manual many times, and many little scraps of cloth sacrificed their lives until I mastered making the rolled hem.  OK.. so what and who cares?

For me, it means I won't have to sew my rolled hem on my shirt tails.  I'll be able to make my own handkerchiefs in whatever fabric I have a mind to use and save myself the $1-2 they usually cost.  I wonder if I make 150 custom handkerchiefs, have I paid for the serger?

I read an article in Threads about sewing sheer blouses with a serger.  A critical element was the narrow rolled hem.  Another article discussed hemming a skirt by serging a rolled hem, folding it over, and then sewing through to finish the skirt hem. 

As you can see, we live exciting lives in Hackettstown, NJ.  Good night!

Pinned & Cut

I was a little shy about asking "J" for her chest, bust, and midriff measurements.  Ah youth! She surprised me by happily measuring her baby bump and waist as well.  She usually wears a size 6 dress, but I knew she was now in a much different shape. 

 

Following the measurements she gave me, the pattern calls for a size 10 around the hips, but the bust and midriff are slightly larger than a 12.  I'm not at all sure what to do with the baby bump waist.   J wants a fitted bodice that gives her good cover.  Sitting at a desk all day; she's in no mood to have the guys seeing more than fabric.  No sweet heart or scoop neck lines.   I just want her to give her the comfort and cover she wants, but at the same time look stylish.  I am developing a healthy respect for designers of maternity clothes. The muslin will tell the story.

Checking In

Since I finished the cycling jersey, I have started three projects:  recreating Ebenezer Scrooge's house coat for the upcoming Chatham Players 2012-2013 season, making a dress for a very pregnant dear friend, and learning how to use my new used serger.

Ebenezer's house coat has a story.  The costume is over 20 years old and has been used continuously by the same actor.

At the end of last season, the gentleman retired from his much beloved role, and so it seems has his costume. The robe has many tears and repairs.  It's also been let out to accommodate the ever expanding good soul and body of the actor.  My guess it's a size 53.  The theater won't select a new actor for months yet, but the work needs to start now to make a new costume.  I haven't detailed it on the blog yet, but I have already traced the main outer shell pieces to paper.  Once I thought I had a paper pattern that made sense, I transferred the pattern to a muslin sloper with a 5/8" seam allowance.  Before I make a test garment, I have two patterns I  want to compare my slopers with as a sanity check.  I will write much more as the project moves forward.

I have wanted to make a dress for over a year, but I've not had a woman brave enough to be my first model.  A month ago, one of my co-workers and trusted dog-sitter, Jessica, announced she was having her first baby.  She's tall, thin, well endowed, and has difficulty finding RTW clothing that fits.  The few outfits she has that fit now do not and she's struggling to find something comfortable.  Out of a selection of vintage maternity outfits, she picked an alternative I gave her.. Simplicity's New Look 6774.

Fortunately, I found that Sheila-CTK has already made the dress and entered her experience in her sewing blog Sheilaz-CTK . The pattern allows the matching various bodices to two different skirts.  Sheila's combination is exactly what Jessica requested. Since Jessica's will be a challenge to fit, I'm making a muslin for her to try on before I commit myself to fashion fabric.  Sheila also used a serger to finish the inside seams, which leads me to my next project.  I bought my own Elna 744 serger.

My mom had lent her Bernina 1200 to me to see if I liked working with a serger.  I think  I had the machine six months and used it twice.  Two events changed my mind about sergers.  My wife is working on a very shear blouse that has a ruffled collar.  The collar edges are finished in a fine rolled hem that she did using her serger.  Once I'd seen that rolled hem, impossible to do on a sewing machine, I made a mental note to my 'to do' list.  The straw that broke the proverbial back was my last jersey.  I should never have attempted it on a sewing machine.  Spandex is truly in the province of construction by serger.  I had to admit to myself that I was afraid of breaking my mother's serger, which she cautioned me about how much it cost her.  One does not learn while being fearful of breaking things, so I bought a used Elna 744.  It came with a manual, a VHS tape, and most of the original accessories.  The ladies at Pocono Sew-n-Vac gave me a couple of quick lessons, and I can say that I have successfully rethreaded the machine after having made a mess of it.  To date, I've made a 3-thread overlock stitch with a safety thread and I have 13 more stitches to learn.  So far I am thrilled with serging.

Three projects underway.  G'night!