Appreciation of a good suit

Some people call my appreciation an obsession but it's not, or I'd buy more of them. Not sure of the number but around eighteen would be in the ball park. Vintage or not, the fact that a well made Italian suit will set you back $10 at an op shop (or $5 at one I visited this morning!) or $2,000 from a shop in the city makes it essential that should I see one, the fee is trivial enough that should the garment be in good shape (I mean no moth holes) and a good cut it's always a bargain. One post-buy tip I have is to always have the item dry cleaned. Why? Dry cleaning kills moths and their eggs. If paying up to three times the cost of the suit puts you off, don't buy it: One or two little moth eggs could mean the ruin of your entire wardrobe. I learned this the hard way a few years ago. Bargain 1930s art deco style suit in Adelaide cost about $10. Got it home, little woman altered it for me (it had been let out more times than an old dog with irritable bowel syndrome) and it did look fine. Put it in the wardrobe and six months later paid $280 to invisible mend all the new moth holes! The note to self about the necessity of the dry clean was a big one.
OK, back to latest acquisition. I generally don't check out the suits in op shops these days, because as opposed to someone obsessed, I probably have enough. This one was a little big (aren't they all?) but really nice fabric. Since the pants were just a bit big, I altered them. Alterations for my smaller frame included splitting the back seam (the pants' bum crack) and taking up the hem. These mods are very easy, which is probably why my friend Jenni (Jack's daughter) suggested it as a good starting point to learn the art. Have to say that after sewing several women's garments and a men's shirt, it was almost too easy. The jacket will be a lot harder, so I'm not going to tackle it for a while.
Here are the pants:

photo of the pants

And I started to alter here (this is an after shot - you can see my alignment wasn't the best):

Misaligned but they fit. Taken down about 1 1/2 inches

Measure your waist before you start. Measure the pants too. Make sure of the amount you're taking it in by using a safety pin to hold it together. Does it fit nicely? Measure the amount you need to take in and if you're like me, write it down too.

Undo everything from the inside, but take note of the order in which you undo it: This is really important if you're not an expert (and if you were you wouldn't be reading this) it's too easy to stuff it up when reconstructing. So, get your seam ripper and undo the pants down to just above the crutch. You'll see how the seam allowance has just been folded back. Press this flat after unpicking, and leave the thread in (so you can see where the seam was). Mark the new seam such that it's the old seam line plus half the reduction on each side (I used a white dressmaking pencil), and reduce (taper) this new seam so that the other end is at the same point as before you unpicked it (the bit just above the crutch). That is, say the pants are 34". You have a 31" waist. The bit at the back (above) bust be reduced to 31", so fold and press the seam 1 1/2" more than the previous stitch line. Line up the bottom to where it was before.
Pin (even better to baste) this, sew it, then press (iron) the seam flat. I didn't bother trimming anything from the seams. I wore the pants last week, and although not as great as the other Italian ones, they felt pretty fine.

The back is where you start.

So that's the $10 Italian suit. I'll let you know if I get around to the jacket. If I do, it'll be as good as having it tailor made for me (if all goes according to plan, that is). Wish me luck!

Men's shirt patterns

Last time I mentioned the latest tailoring effort as a slim fit 1960s shirt. Well, after trawling for patterns it seems there isn't really one out there :-(
The closest I got were three 1960s patterns, but none of them seem to be slim fitting. I prefer the slim fit because it looks better on a slim man (now that I'm half the man I used to be - well, maybe 75%). We all need to use clothes to show us in our best light, don't we? The ladies certainly do (not so much these days, of course). In the U.S. two years ago it was really easy to find vintage shirts and suits, but they were all huge. Americans eat a lot more than Aussies, it seems. I'm currently wearing one of my thrift shop bargains though. An Italian suit, probably '90s but it doesn't matter when it fits this well. Classic design, with pin stripes, and very slim fit. The price? Same as a good op shop here: $10. Can't promise to ever learn to make suits, since it would take many years to make something even acceptable, but shirts are a different matter.
I hereby promise to attempt to create and publish an electronic pattern from the paper one I made my shirt from. Here are two pictures of it as it is now - I have yet to sew button holes on:
The seams are something my teacher's very proud of. Also, this machine sews beautifully, and it's just a pleasure to use it. The pedal looks bizarre - it's made of bakelite, and has a solid post right next to the switch for your foot to pivot on while you're using it, but it's very smooth. Some of this is probably the thorough clean and oil last week, but most is definitely due to the quality of the build back in 1960. Since teacher isn't here and I can't remember what it's called I won't go on about it, but side seams are pressed flat, then toward the back. The seam closest to the back is cut by half and the longer one folded over it. It's pinned in place like that and stitched. Looks very nice (better than the finish in the original shirt). The fabric was just what shirting was available, a nice plain green. Obviously you can make from something a bit groovier than this, but I chose the plain in case I screwed it up. Wasting 25 cents worth of fabric is not something I'd cry over. Besides, it'll still be a great looking shirt that feels good too. And that's not even mentioning that other feeling, of having made it!
Etsy seems to be the best place to find vintage patterns. The three I found earlier today are simplicity 4160, simplicity 7745 and butterick 5897. Just remember that pattern numbers are re-used so include 1960s in your search. I'll figure out some time how to digitise the pattern I have.

Singer 327K - Do I have a problem?

Well, duh :-)

Well, I did buy it prior to the 319K, and it was $5 (no foot controller). Here is a picture of the 327K:

Isn't she lovely? (If you also heard Stevie Wonder singing that just then you must be as old as I am). There was a problem: After cleaning and oiling, it still wouldn't sew (sigh). Tried several hours of tightening and loosening the bobbin and thread tension to discover that the actual needle bar had a slight bend in it! How could this happen? It's solid stainless steel, so I think someone must have dropped it. Luckily, there was a number on  it. Read it out to my (now) friends at sewparts, and Singer no longer make them. I was luckier on ebay, however, and two weeks later (U.S. postal service is now extremely slow) I have it. The machine now sews perfectly but of course I no longer need it. Oh well, the collection grows.
OK, back to the 319K. Here is another picture:

Her indoors is a pattern maker and made a shirt pattern based on a small Van Heusen from the 1960s. Very mod, and as I said I was itching to do something a little more manly than little girls' dresses (and skirts). The shirt is nearly finished and I've taken a few photos along the way. Next post, therefore, will be how to make a very attractive shirt. Unfortunately, I don't have a pattern number for you to search for, but if or when I learn how to digitise patterns, I'll publish it here :-)

Another new machine and tons of patterns!

Every now and then there's a garage sale of a deceased old lady who sewed in more of a serious way than most. Even better is if the old lady has always lived in that house, and it seems the stars were all in alignment on Saturday. She threw nothing away, including her two sewing machines. One was a Singer 201, the other a 319K. The start time being 8:30am and I got there around 8:25am. The 201 had a sticker with $150 on it next to another that said "sold". This machine looked Russian: Black, amazingly large and very industrial looking. The sewing room was also full of fabric. Aha! This is where one finds old fabrics (rather than op shops, as mentioned before). In amongst the fabric was patterns from the 1940s to 1990s! I got every pre-decimal pattern there, loads of fabric, then asked about the smaller green 319K. I ended up buying it for less than $100. It needs a bit of work, but it basically looks the same as this http://lempobee.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/singer-319k-green-machine.html except that it's in a cabinet. A picture will of course follow. It's full of levers and knobs. The manual came with it and after a few things get moved I'll be getting it ready for a new lease on life.
OK, getting sleepy as well as distracted by lempobee's cool 319K pictures. More later.
EDIT: Late again, but here's a picture of my new machine just before sleep takes me.

It's quite dirty (I haven't touched it yet), and I took out the needle since it was the wrong type. These machines take a needle specific to this model, and a different one was in the machine (wrong needles will really stuff it up, according to the experts - Google "singer 319 special needle"). This was possibly just put in for display though, or I'm hoping it was. Sewparts has the special needles, and I'm willing to wait. Besides, my eldest daughter's '50s godet skirt is now finished so there's no urgency.
Some of these machines, apparently, have been modified to take a normal needle, but technicians don't recommend this, and warn that it will seriously affect the machine's performance.
The manual that came with the machine explains in detail about using the special feet that come with them, and I have never used (except zipper feet of course).
Don't those levers look enticing? The machine has several built-in pattern (fashion) wheels which these levers activate. A couple of dozen extra wheels are included with the machine and attach to the front, on the thing above the "S" on the right side.
The cabinet needs a really good clean, sanding and varnish, and there's the weekend for that. More pictures and information later.

dress project all done

Yes, I finished it. A while ago, actually (4th Jan), but forgot to write about it.

Here it is:
The mannequin was something I didn't really know much about so the creases are there because I didn't know how to adjust the waist.
It looks better than this when worn, of course, but not as good as the drawing (do they ever look that good?). The neckline was supposed to be the hardest thing to get right but I had no trouble with this. Just followed the lines of the pattern piece and the instructions.
Since it was a few weeks ago now, I can't recall if I had many problems, but nothing springs to mind. It REALLY helps to have a sewing person as a resource, though. Doing a skirt for eldest daughter now (13½ Y.O.) and have had problems with puckering of the seams (there are 18 vertical seams) and have to undo all of these now (my resource wasn't there to tell me to stop)

Threading a Pinnock

It's easy to make it "Threading a Sewing Machine" but my daughter's Singer is not the same as any of my machines. Hers has a built in bobbin holder, where you just drop a bobbin in. Mine is different, and it's the only other one I've had experience on: It has a removable bobbin holder which is very common I've noticed. Also very expensive. A couple of months ago I went to a sewing shop in Thornbury and she charges $20 for a new one!! I didn't get it and a week or so later I'd bought another machine from the tip shop and it had some spares.
The bobbin tension is a real pain in the proverbial if you don't get it right, but it's really quite simple once you've seen it. There are a great many videos made that are on youtube and instructions just about everywhere, but rather than recommend one of these (you can Google for yourself I'm sure) here is my brief guide, using my partner's new (?) machine ($2 at a garage sale - yes really, but I had to clean it, oil it, grease it, give it a base and test it).
Before threading your new old machine, give it a really good clean. Thread carries and creates a lot of dust which gets stuck everywhere thread goes. The thread path plus the feed dogs and the bobbin case. All the Pinnocks I've had so far have an easily removable bobbin case, so remove it and remove all the dust and bits of thread.

1. Foot tension. I only mention this since it's a major cause of puckering. If you're getting puckering, release this a little. 2. Thread goes through this hole 3. Tensioner. Just wind it around 4. ... then back over the spring then down so it 5. ...goes around the arm.Thread through the take up arm at the top then down.	Thread through everything that looks like it will guide the thread, then through your needle. Thread goes through the needle from left to right or front to back, depending on your model.
same, but from the side	My rusty bobbin holder. The thread must do a U-turn to enter the bobbin holder's thread slot.
pull thread back toward the protruding arm. Note the tension screw in this photo	and through the hole.

And that's how to do it. Not hard but trial and error is a harsh teacher, so I hope I've saved someone some time.
EDIT (thanks Greg Livingston): Download the manual here

Project

Making a Dress

When it comes to making clothes, I can't see why men are different to women. Luckily I live with two of them, so here is the classic black dress I wanted to make:

simplicity 5707 (1966)

It's the one on the right.
Like I said, since the pattern is second hand, there's usually no need to cut out the pattern pieces. I'm making dress #2.

Measure

Firstly, grab your tape and measure your subject's vital statistics. Obviously you should do this before choosing the pattern, but if the subject thinks she's a certain size just ignore this. Size 18 is huge these days, but this dress size was not the same in the 1960s. The most important part is the bust size, but there is more information on the back:

back of packet contains valuable information

Choose a fabric

Reading the back of the pattern envelope, look at the type and amount of fabric required. We're using polyester/linen, so for #2, look at the right: "nap is the raised (fuzzy) surface on certain kinds of cloth, such as velvet" (from wikipedia). The size on the left of the table refers to the fabric width. If you have, say, 42" fabric without nap, you'll need 2 7/8 yards. OK, a yard is 90cm, so 180 (2 yd) + 78.75 (7/8 yd) = 258.75cm. I'd just get 3m.

Check the contents, read instructions

Inside the envelope you find the instructions. Take these out (you should definitely check that this is there as well as all the pattern pieces before you buy second hand patterns). If anything is missing, you probably won't be able to make the garment.
Instructions tell you how to lay the pattern pieces on the fabric to minimise fabric waste. If there's one piece of advice to give other learners it's to read all of the instructions, and don't ignore something if you don't understand it.

The right side

The fabric must be folded right sides together. Right sides together is an expression you'll get to know well. The right side is the one that will be on the exterior of the garment, and the wrong side will be on the inside, possibly hidden by lining but not seen when the garment is worn. Right sides are always sewn together.

Cut it out!

Lay the paper pattern pieces on the fabric as per instructions and pin them on. Using loads of pins means you will get much better cut fabric. The pattern pieces will have lots of markings too. These must nearly all be marked onto the fabric before you start using that piece. My daughter's dress pattern (and this one) both suggested tailor's tacks for this. This means you have a long piece of contrasted cotton (e.g. you have black fabric, so use white cotton), double it over then poke the fold loop through a needle so you have four threads coming from the needle's eye. On simplicity patterns, the three big circles signify a side that is on the fold and the two big circles must be on connecting threads so you don't have to mark these. On all other circles, put the needle through like you're sewing a four hole button. Leave a large loop and cut about an inch above the pattern/fabric. When all of these are done on all the pieces (this takes a long time) move on to the cut out v shapes. Snip the fabric (it doesn't have to be a v - just a single snip is enough). If you think this is a massive pain, so did I. The Simplicity book gives you two alternatives, one of which being to mark these holes with tailor's chalk. To make sure the side that's on the table gets marked correctly, you should put a pin through the centre of each hole in turn, lift the fabric and mark the other side: I found it easiest to change the angle of the pin three times and mark each one (so there's chalk pointing to the centre).

pinned pieces. Marking is next

pin through to mark the other side

Read the instructions and test your machine

Now you can start reading the instructions again.
Before you start sewing, you must test what you're going to sew with a fabric off cut. Fold it in two and sew together. I find that I'll have to modify various settings before it sews nicely. Here's what to look for: puckering (foot pressure is too much or thread tension too high), missed stitches (bent needle or thread too loose), one side of the thread is straight and the other is OK (too much thread tension on the side with the straight thread) and thread looping (not enough thread tension on the loopy side). Fix the problems and you should have a nice even stitch.

Mark your seam

Old patterns usually have a 5/8" seam allowance (seam allowance is the overhanging bit after you stitch two pieces together), so it's really helpful to have 5/8" to the right of the needle marked somehow. Some machines have markings on the plate: Singers usually do, my Pinnock doesn't, so I have a small sewing magnet that will attach to the plate. This has a straight edge. Alternatively, you can keep measuring every time, but this is annoying and really unnecessary.
OK, follow the instructions one at a time. Don't skip any.

Start to sew

Patterns will usually ask you to sew the bodice first (it's the hardest part), starting with a row of "stay stitching" around the neck line and shoulders. This is to prevent the fabric from stretching or changing shape in any way. You do this on front and back sections, just inside the 5/8" seam allowance (you don't want it to show, or you'll have to un-pick it later) then usually sew the darts (bust and back) then sew the front to the back at the shoulders then the sides.