My recent fiber endeavors have seemed fruitless. I've intended to make jackets since last year, and for me this involves an iterative process of altering the pattern, sewing a muslin, and repeating until I'm ready to make a test garment. Then I have to work out the remaining bugs in the test garment before using the "good fabric" I wanted to use in the first place.
Last week, I took a brief break to make some actual finished garments as a reminder that sewing sometimes has a practical purpose. The two mens' tee-shirts on the right are from Kwik-Sew 2334. It's a straightforward pattern--it required no fitting or alteration on the designated wear-er, and it is quick to cut out and sew.
Although it's not obvious, the other two garments are by-products of the seemingly endless jacket-fitting project. The long-sleeved tee-shirt on the left also allowed me to practice using my new snap setting tool.
In the 1970's I tried several snap-setting outfits in my search for the perfect denim jeans and jackets, with unsatisfactory results. Sometimes the snaps were hard to set and chewed holes in the fabric, and sometimes they fell out after a few wearings. I gave up on the whole project and stuck with buttons and buttonholes.
Lately, I've been trying to make jackets out of knit and fleece fabrics, where tidy buttonholes are difficult at best. On the recommendation of Beth, the prolific and adventurous sewing blogger at Rusty Bobbin, I tried the "SnapSetter" tool and snaps from The Snap Source. I'm really pleased with the quality of the snaps, and the setting tool works well. The instructions on the Web site also are included with the tool, and if that's not enough, The Snap Source includes a video.
I think the "SnapSetter" tool works as well as it does because the snaps are of high quality. I ordered some large jacket snaps, a snap assortment (light blue ones shown in this photo) and some white pearl snaps. You know what that means--cowgirl shirts! I look forward to getting in touch with my inner Dale Evans.
No comments:
Post a Comment