Simplicity 2414 E- Not 1 Hour for This Newbie

I started this 1 hour mini skirt for my youngest daughter last Friday (7/9). Who knew it wouldn't be until a week later that I finished it.



All was going well until I got to the buttonhole disaster which I have already shared with you. Since I could not rest until the buttonhole situation got figured out my 1 hour skirt sat and sat. I honestly hoped to sit down and finish this the same day. Once I took the machine to the shop and they experienced the same thing I didn't feel so bad. Some internal tweaking to the machine and all was good. There was one step where the directions weren't 100% clear but I did what I thought they meant. It all worked out in the end and my daughter now has a new mini skirt.



I do have to still cut the twill tape, but other than that it is finished. Next time I think I can whip this up in 1 hour. I am getting a little more comfortable with sewing and this project is definitely great for a beginner.

Buttonholes- What Am I Doing Wrong?

I picked out the most basic skirt to sew my daughter and it requires a buttonhole. Okay, my machine has an automatic buttonhole foot, no problem. WRONG. I don't know what gives. After testing on a scrap I just can't get it right. I have tried the automatic foot and the manual buttonhole. The same problem. Each side of the button hole is stitching completely different.


What do I do to fix this? HELP!!! This was supposed to be a 1 hour project.

And a special thanks to my daughter for looking over my shoulder while I typed. I called it an automatic "butthole" foot by accident. Freudian slip maybe?

Just getin started

It was at least a week ago when I started cutting out my Butterick 5351 dress pattern. I was too exhausted to start sewing. Actually, I hadn't even finished cutting out the pattern pieces. When I got back from vacation I finished cutting and such. I really hope I become good at cutting and transferring patterns because its a pain. With all the pattern size lines and notches and adding the seam lines. I love sewing though it relaxes your mind and definetly relieves stress. I spend a lot of time seam ripping; I'm really good at that now:) Anyway I have been working on my dress all day, referencing books, and my mom. Really, I haven't encountered any major problems. I am just having dificulties understanding the directions. I don't know what a slipstitch is well, now I do. Can you slipstitch on a machine? I know how to do it by hand, but I'm not sure If our Husqvarna Emerald 116 is capable of doing so. Another question: When you baste are you supposed to remove it. Sometimes the pattern instructions tell you to baste the seam. I think I'm done for the night, butI have set a goal to finish my skirt and the little bit left of the bodice by 4 o'clock tomorrow. I will finish it and post some pictures. It isn't bad at all and I am definetly pleased.

I Need To Hem These Jeans

I love jeans and when I find a pair that fits me the way I like it is pretty much near a miracle. So when I came across the same jean in my size in black I had to buy them. The only thing was that they were a long and who am I kidding I really don't need a long. The fact that they were marked down to $15 said it is so worth it because even if I pay someone to hem them I still made out. Fast forward about three years. Those jeans, they are still hanging in my closet. I do still fit them so that is good but I never got around to taking them to get them hemmed. Enter Emerald 116!!! I guess I will give it a shot. If it doesn't work I can always take it the tailor to get them hemmed but I have no reason not to try.

The goal is to keep the original hem. I have looked at a few tutorials but honestly I am scared I am going to mess up. It doesn't look hard but it seems that the things that don't look hard always turn out being the hardest.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Invisible Zipper In But Taking Dress Apart Anyway

I am way behind in posting but just a little update. The invisible zipper has been sewn in. For the most part. I didn't mess around trying to affix it to my garmet with anything other than the invisible zipper foot. All went well. It did take me a moment to conceptualize the matching the left side of the zipper to the right side of the garmet but once I actually went through the motions I had my light bulb moment and I was off to the races. The first side went on with no problem. What is all the fuss about invisible zippers?


Then the second side just would not align properly with the zipper foot. At least that is what I initially thought. "What, this is what I bought this for!!" and lots of other things were running through my mind. Hmmmm...the bobbin thread is getting all funky. What gives? Ah, ha. My thread had broken and at some point & slipped out of the thread take-up lever. Once fixed it was smooth sailing.

I have decided to take the zipper out and remove the bodice from the skirt to fix the bodice gathering. After doing the gathering on the bottom piece I can't live with the horrendous gathering I did on the bodice. Wow, this dress is really going to take a while.

Gathering Again

The bottom ruffle required gathering. The instructions have you gather the three different pieces seperately. I struggled with that immensely and could not get the pieces to look uniform. My solution was to take all of that out, the seam ripper is my new BFF, and sew one gathering line through all three pieces. That allowed me to get a more uniform look along the bottom. I know there is a gathering foot I can buy but I do think sometimes it is better to learn how to do it so you somewhat know what is going on.