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Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts

Saturday 26 November 2022

Do You Use a Pressing Cloth?

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The answer is probably yes, but do you use just a piece of fabric or towel?

I've used both, and until just recently, it was a scrap of Bungle Jungle Elephant by Tim and Beck left over from my quilted fabric letters project.

A few months ago, while browsing in a local discount shop, I decided to spring for one of these "meshy" pressing cloths in exchange for only one dollar. I had seen these things since forever, but had never believed that they would work.

This time, I figured that if it didn't work out as a pressing tool, I could always use the mesh in a future sewing project.

Turns out, I was surprised and impressed and at a loss as to why it took me so long to climb on board this train.

Speaking out in favour of the mesh pressing cloth!

This works wonderfully. Not only does the mesh allow me to see what I'm pressing underneath, it allows what's underneath to stay in place.

You know how you're instructed to press instead of iron when it comes to most iron-related operations in sewing?

This now has a permanent home at my ironing station...

Well, I usually manage to pick up and move the iron, but sometimes the "picking up" turns out to be more of a dragging motion. Having this piece of mesh over what I'm pressing makes the entire operation a lot less finicky and infinitely more forgiving towards my occasional laziness.

Preparing to apply some fusible fleece...

For example, whenever I apply interfacing to fabric, I usually pin it in place and then lightly go over it with the iron before removing the pins and completing the fusing. This is to prevent the interfacing from shifting out of place.

What I don't like about that solution is that the pins often leave behind an imprint that's difficult to press away.

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With the capable assistance of this mesh pressing cloth, everything stays in place — I can even press on the fusible fleece side — and I don't have to worry about pin marks.

Underneath it goes...

For whatever reason, my previous hesitation in trying this out was that I had no confidence in the mesh being able to handle the heat of the iron. Go figure.

Ta da!

Needless to say, this works for other situations where you'd normally want a pressing cloth: to prevent sheen and scorching on certain fabrics and the resulting mess that those issues might cause to the soleplate of your iron.

Perfect results top and bottom...

As for actual ironing, this little cloth allows the iron to glide effortlessly over top. (I have an upcoming post about a recent project that was immensely easier to do because of this piece of mesh.)

Now, I've heard that if the fabric is extra delicate that the pattern of the mesh may be imprinted during ironing, but that's not likely to happen in my experience. (It was when I used a tea towel as a pressing cloth, in that it would transfer the pattern of the weave to the item being ironed!)

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As I said, I got my pressing cloth for a dollar, but I see all sorts of price points for these things (online). Some are out and out ridiculous and some are pricy probably due to being name brands. Not sure I'd pay even five bucks for a piece of mesh, so while I'm giving it the thumbs up here in this unofficial review, it is dependent on cost.

In terms of size, this one is 40cm x 60cm, which is almost 15" x 24". Good enough for what I'm doing and likely good enough for what most crafty sewers would need.

'Til next...

Saturday 23 March 2019

My New Rivet Kit & My First Rivet Project

My new riveting set...

I've been wanting to buy a rivet set for quite some time, but got terribly confused when I visited our local Princess Auto (last mentioned when I sewed up a winch cover for my other half) and saw what they had in stock. They looked nothing like what I expected rivets to look like.

Without going into a long story with boring details, let's just say that not all rivets are the same and if you want them for crafting — and bag making in particular — you probably want double cap rivets.

After some browsing on Amazon, I finally got myself a complete kit for a decent price ($12.90 USD; $18.99 CDN).

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This one is made by Seloky. It includes 210 double cap rivet sets (420 individual pieces) in two sizes: 5/16" and 1/4" (8mm and 6mm), 35 each in gold, silver and bronze tone.

While less expensive sets are available, the deciding factor for me was one of the setting tools. It had the standard punch and set tools, but the setting base was what sold it.

210 rivet sets and three tools...

Rather than just a piece with a single "dimple", this base can accommodate seven different rivet cap sizes. Having the right size can make a difference in how the finished installation looks. (I know this from installing different size grommets.)

How does it work?

The punch tool — the one with the hollow tip — is used with a hammer or mallet to cut a hole in whatever (layers of) material you want to rivet together. (You may want to get yourself a small piece of wood to support the pounding that you'll be doing.)

After the hole is cut, slip the rivet stud through.

Setting tools and a silver 5/16" (8mm) rivet set... stud at top, cap at bottom

Position the rivet stud on top of the base piece — stud facing up — and place a rivet cap on top. Now the setting tool — which has a concave end to cover the rivet cap and a flat end that you pound on with the hammer — can be used to secure the rivet cap onto the rivet stud.

Comes with instructions... although the English is questionable!

It's that easy. No more complicated, really, than installing snaps or grommets.

This set even comes with a sheet of instructions that clearly demonstrate the process with pictures. (The instructions themselves? Not so great. Don't know if you noticed, but STEP is spelled STER.)

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Here is the first thing that I did with it, within an hour of its arrival. (Finishing this project was the reason for purchasing the kit.)

Pride & Prejudice belt crafted by eSheep Designs

Rivets on my P&P belt...

It's a belt made out of a couple of scraps of my Pride & Prejudice fabric in lycra. (The pieces were remnants left over from my quick sew kimono project; when I finished, there were four rectangular pieces waiting to be made into something. I made a pair of fingerless gloves out of the other two.)

A belt that's been waiting to be finished for over two years...

It didn't take long to come up with the belt idea. I had kept the buckle/fastener from a belt that had been repurposed into the waistband of a skirt a while back; naturally, it was meant to be put back to use on another belt.

Just a couple of rectangular pieces sewn together...

It's a simple project. The two pieces of fabric were joined end to end and then the long edges were sewn together and the whole thing turned right side out.

The width of the belt was purposely wider than the "buckle" to create a pleated look, but the thickness and stretchiness of the lycra did not make me feel confident about actually sewing those two end seams around the hardware.

So the project sat for over two years. I would occasionally look at it and wonder, should I attempt to sew this today?

A solution that is so much easier than sewing!

I don't remember at what point I decided that rivets would be the solution, but I know that I've been looking into getting some rivets for almost a year. The end result is that — using six sets of the smallest rivets — finishing it this way probably took me less time than it would have taken to sew it.

Not to mention that it probably looks a lot better, too!

One last word about rivets if you're thinking of making your first purchase. The length of the stud post is important to consider for your intended application. While my layers of lycra would have been thick to sew, comparatively speaking, they aren't as thick as a couple of leather purse straps. What I mean is that if you're buying rivets for bag making purposes, ensure that you have stud posts that are long enough for the job... but not too long. Generally speaking, the bigger the cap diameter, the longer the post.

The rivets in my kit have the same cap diameter as post length: the smaller ones are 1/4" or 6mm; the larger ones are 5/16" or 8mm. Given that I work with fabric — and not faux leather or cork — I think they will serve me well.

Saturday 3 November 2018

Would You Subscribe to a Sewing Club?

image courtesy of SewersClub (Facebook)...

Today's post is about whether the sewing community — or at least the minuscule part of it that can be reached via this blog — is the sort of marketplace that would support a monthly subscription service.

I'm not talking about Craftsy, or — as its unlimited buffet is now called — bluprint. The subscription service that I'm referring to is one where you sign up to receive a mystery box every month, filled with everything that you need to sew up a small project.

Before I go any further, let me say that I have NO AFFILIATION WHATSOEVER with this company. (As such, you will not encounter any active outbound links for it in this post; if this service interests you, you can "go there" yourself.) It was something that I came across while browsing online, piquing my curiosity.

Details — though not many — can be found at SewersClub.ca (and its US counterpart, SewersClub.com). The company is based in Ontario, but ships free to both Canada and the US. The unfortunate thing for those of us who live north of the border, however, is the fact that the pricing is in USD.

image courtesy of SewersClub.ca...

After seeing two vloggers unboxing their packages (which were given to them for promotional purposes), I searched for other reviews and found none. I then guessed that the club/company was relatively new, which a domain search revealed that it was; the two domains were registered as recently as July 23rd of this year.

It's obvious from their Facebook and Instagram accounts that they are quite fresh.

As I'm always eager to get behind a new venture that's also Canadian, I decided to investigate and write a post about them.

But let's go back to my original question: would you subscribe to a monthly service like this?

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What's the price, I hear you asking.

It's a penny short of $24 USD per month. To those of us in Canada, that's over $31 at current exchange rates. And while there is no contracted obligation to be subscribed for any length of time, if you were to participate for a whole year, that would be $288 US or in the neighbourhood of $375 CDN. (Does that affect your answer as to whether or not you would subscribe to such a service?)

Hmmm, what sort of projects would I be making, I hear you asking.

Well, something where the materials would fit into a (my best guess) 9" x 5.5" x 2.5" box. (By the way, the packaging is quite nice.)

image courtesy of SewersClub.ca...

This project is, of course, the ubiquitous zippered pouch (it has some slip pockets inside). I have also seen a table runner.

image courtesy of SewersClub.ca...

It does appear as though — almost — everything that you need to make the project is included, right down to fusible fleece, zipper (but not the cute zipper charms), and buttons. (No thread, though, despite the fact that their photos show thread alongside the boxes.)

The relative completeness of the box is already a huge plus, because there are many negative reviews of Craftsy project kits (which consist of just fabric and PDF pattern), mainly because recipients complained about having to supply their own interfacing and notions despite having paid a "project kit" price.

I must also admit that the fabrics seem nice. From what I could gather from the videos that I saw, they are also generous with their cuts of fabric.

image courtesy of SewersClub.ca...

My main concern would be how good the instructions are. For one thing, they simply consist of a set of step by step instructions with no accompanying pictures.

For the table runner project that I saw, the instructions were on a postcard. While it may have been printed on both sides, that might still be an adjustment for anyone used to online tutorials that are illustrated at every step.

That said, given the size of the container and the cost, I will make another assumption and say that "simple to execute" projects will be the norm for these boxes. So I'm guessing more pouches, basic bags, mug rugs, aprons, pot holders, etc.; i.e., nothing too terribly difficult to make.

Hopefully, it's not a steady diet of table runners, as none of the ones shown in these photos was the table runner project that I saw made in a video.

image courtesy of SewersClub.ca...

If you combine no photos with beginner projects, are you going to succeed? The ironic thing about giving out free sample boxes to established sewing vloggers for evaluation is that they will usually find these projects well below their normal difficulty grade. Whether or not they follow the actual instructions explicitly all the way through is up for debate. If they come across an oddly worded instruction, they will likely make an (experienced) assumption and power through, while a beginner may be stumped.

I suppose that's what the Facebook platform will ultimately help out with, as they build up a customer base.

From the photos, you can see that a couple of established pattern design companies are contributors to this new business: Pieced Tree and Atkinson Designs. (For what it's worth, both have a quilting focus.) I discovered, however, that the company may be looking for new sources of creativity from among its customers.

In an intriguing on-going competition, you receive your box and make something other than the supplied pattern. You then post pictures of your finished item to Facebook or Instagram and tag SewersClub. By doing so, you'll be entered into a draw to receive a Super Box — which is described as being a box of sewing goodies with a $60 value — the following month.

Wanna bet that some of those winning projects will be candidates for inclusion in future monthly boxes?

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With Christmas and other holiday seasons around the corner, I can see where this would make a good gift for someone who is a casual sewer. A short one to three month subscription could be just what someone needs to get a bit more hooked on the hobby. (Six years ago, I would have enjoyed receiving this as a gift. When I got back into sewing again, just finding the proper supplies required for certain projects was a mind-bender. Having it all inside a box and ready to go would have been extremely helpful!)

image courtesy of SewersClub.ca...

This subscription service may also be a good option for busy sewers who don't have the time or inclination to go out and search for fabrics and notions. (Not everyone likes to do that.) They can just sit down with a box and make something without having a fabric stash. (LOL... maybe this idea could actually save money for some people!) If the projects themselves can consistently hit a high mark in terms of broad appeal — and that's a huge factor in the overall equation — this new company may be able to find itself a niche.

Okay, if you've read this far and are interested — and to reiterate, I have no skin in the game — here are some money saving tips for you. If you subscribe for three months right off the bat and commit to being billed every three months, you'll save a couple of bucks ($69.99 each time versus $71.97 for three charges of $23.99). If you check out the unboxing videos on YouTube, you'll also find coupon codes for $6 off the first month. Obviously, credit cards would be the primary form of payment; I couldn't get far enough to find out if PayPal is accepted.

During the checkout process, there's an attempt at an up-sell of "get an extra notion for $5.95". (Might that be thread?) That, however, seems to me a significant amount (25%) to add to the monthly cost, so I don't know how much uptake they'll get on that.

But back to my question, would you subscribe to a service like this? Would you consider it for gift giving?

Saturday 13 October 2018

More Quickie Sewing Book Reviews

Four sewing books released between 2015-2017...

Today's post was written quite some time ago, and I figured I should put it out there before it celebrated a first birthday.

Back in May, I did a quickie book review of Stitched Sewing Organizers, which featured a project very much like the five pocket, double zippered pouch project that I originally found via a YouTube video.

It was via the comments left under that video that I found out there was a book published last year featuring a similar project.

After some digging, I arrived at the name of the book and found out that the title was actually available at my local library and put a hold on it. Being a relatively new release, it turned out there were several previous holds on it, so I had to wait a few weeks for it to be available.

In the meantime, I took the opportunity to borrow four other relatively recent sewing books (shown above), and will share my opinions of them here.

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Hack That Tote! (Mix & Match Elements to Create Your Perfect Bag)

by Mary Abreu, 2016 (103 pages) $24.95 US

This was my favourite volume out of the four, because it goes over and above what normal sewing books do. The book features eleven projects — all based on the simple tote bag (i.e., boxed corner) construction — but you can see just in the photo below how different they all are.

sample page from Hack that Tote!...

If you look back to the photo at the top of this post, you can see the cover picture of a big bag that uses a tubular purse frame. That leads to my one big complaint about this book. In the section that covers how to make that bag, here is the instruction:

instruction from Hack that Tote!

What!?

How often do those purse hardware thingamajigs come with instructions?? (By the way, I have since found out that it's fairly easy to install one of those... a little research goes a long way!)

Anyway, getting back to what I liked about this book, the first few pages cover the anatomy of a tote bag and how to adjust the basic pattern to achieve different looks. Very informative for anyone who likes to change up a pattern.

On the Go Bags (15 Handmade Purses, Totes & Organizers)

by Lindsay Conner and Janelle MacKay, 2015 (143 pages) $26.95 US

This one features an almost equal distribution of easy, intermediate and advanced projects created by various designers (ten of them), including the authors. With regards to the title, be aware that the projects are not all bags in the usual sense, although a case can be made for the fact that they are all meant to carry something.

Oddly enough, a lot of the fabrics featured in the projects just hit me as kind of blah. In book format, materials should first and foremost be chosen to reach out to one's visual sense and in my humble opinion, the fabrics chosen for the projects did not do that for me. (Your mileage may vary; who knows, maybe I just have crappy taste in fabric.)

sample page from On The Go Bags...

Projects include organizers for your purse, camera bag and shopping cart, a blanket that folds up into a bag (that's kinda neat), and an infinity scarf with a pocket (shown above; by the way, I did like this fabric). I'm rather skeptical about the project itself, though... not sure how nicely that scarf would hang around someone's neck if anything substantial were in the pocket, apart from a lip balm or a single key.

Overall, there are a couple of new and different designs in this book. Most, however, are re-imagined takes covering familiar ground.

FYI, this was the only book out of the four to include paper patterns.

Sew4Home Bags and Totes (10 Easy, Fashionable Projects Anyone Can Sew)

by Liz Johnson and Anne Adams, 2016 (127 pages) $22.99 US

This one is nicely photographed and illustrated but there's really nothing here that you can't find on the amazing website that was started by these talented authors (sisters). Strangely again, though, I found I didn't love most of the fabrics.

sample page from Sew4Home Bags and Totes...

There are ten bag projects from clutches to messengers to bucket bags, and none of them are meant to be difficult to do. But like I said, as a regular visitor to Sew4Home, I really didn't see anything here that I hadn't seen before.

This pretty blue bucket bag design in particular, was well covered in a tutorial that I took advantage of a few years back.

Simple, Fun & Quickly Done (18 easy to sew table runners, bags, pillows and more)

by Terry Atkinson, 2017 (96 pages) $35.99 CDN

This one I am totally ambivalent about, because while the title did indicate table runners as the first thing in a comma'd list of items, I felt that there were way too many table runner and hot pad projects here. (There was one for an interesting "citrus slice" hot pad, but you soon realize that unless you have the requisite coordinating shades of fabrics in orange, lime green, etc., the whole point of the design is lost.)

When it came to bags, one of the designs was a drawstring bag of various dimensions. Hey, we all need drawstring bags and they are a wonderful way of using up fabric for gift-giving purposes, but do they need to be featured in a book? I dunno... therefore the ambivalent thing.

sample page from Simple, Fun & Quickly Done...

This project was one that I did find appealing, since it is somewhat of an original take on a wine bottle cozy. Looks almost too nice to be given away. ;-)

Oh, and she had a neat idea for a zipper pull made out of a zipper fragment; it's actually seen in the photo above.

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In terms of sewing enthusiasts, there are those who take classes, those who read books, and those who surf online. They may all be inclined to favour one method and be not so much enthused about the others. In that sense, I'm primarily an online surfing kind of person and am confident that I can find what I need that way. Taking a traditional sit-down class is not for me, and buying a book is also not for me.

However, having the option to examine some books from the library is a total bonus... even if I am able to flip through four books in the (less than) ten minutes it takes to get home from the library!

Hubby, sitting in the driver's seat: "You're finished looking at them all??"

Yep.

Saturday 19 May 2018

A Tale of a Double Zipped Five Pocket Pouch & a Book Review

Stitched Sewing Organizers by Aneela Hoey...

Today I am back with — among other distractions — a promised quickie review of Aneela Hoey's Stitched Sewing Organizers (Pretty Cases, Boxes, Pouches, Pincushions & More). Published in mid-2017, it's a sewing book focused on making things to organize your sewing life.

But before I go into its contents, the reason I have this book (borrowed from the library) is an interesting story in itself that I want to share.

A couple of months ago, I came across a tutorial for a double zip triple pouch with five pockets on a YouTube channel. It turned into one of those anomalies for me: something I had to make even though I had no immediate use for it. (An unexpected side benefit is that the resulting project has been insanely popular on Pinterest.)

As I usually do, I read some of the comments under the video to get an idea of how the tutorial was received. It was clear that there had once been a series of "back and forths" about the fact that the tutorial may have been based on a pattern found in some book. Most of the pertinent comments had been deleted, but the name of the person who initiated the mini firestorm could still be ascertained from the remaining comments.

I decided to do a search on that name to see if I could find out the name of "that book".

Seems the person behind the comments is a blogger in the UK who knows Aneela Hoey personally. (Her name is actually listed first in the book's Acknowledgements, so it's obvious she was merely trying to defend her good friend's pouch design.) It didn't take much effort after unearthing that nugget of information to find out the name of the book that contains a similar double zipper, five pocket pouch.

Not knowing the actual contents of those original comments or how they came to be deleted (by the YouTube channel owner? by the person who made the comments?), I don't know why the name of the book was never mentioned. I've already had this discussion: I don't have a problem with anyone taking an existing project, tweaking it, and offering up his/her own take on it for consumption by the masses... as long as the inspiration is acknowledged and credited. To me, that's sufficient; the law requires less. On the other hand, there are those who think that basing a free tutorial on a pattern from a book — regardless of any tweaks or improvements — is wrong, period.

But I'm not going to go down that road again, because it's a winding, twisted road with no end, no beginning and no speed limits. Let me just say that none of us are privy to specific details, so we shouldn't make judgments.

To demonstrate what I mean by that, here is a pattern that I found on Etsy, put out by Napkitten.

Zippered clutch/purse sewing pattern with three pockets by Napkitten

image courtesy of Etsy.com...

Yes, it's the "same" design.

Not having seen the contents of this PDF, I don't know how similar the instructions may or may not be to the book or to the YouTube tutorial, but I can tell you that there are reviews for it dating back to 2010. So it's been around for awhile... way before 2017, in any case. The finished dimensions of the pouch per this PDF pattern is 8" (W) x 4" (H) x 1.5" (D). The finished dimensions of the pouch in the book is 10.5" (W) x 5" (H) x 2" (D). The finished dimensions of the pouch from the YouTube tutorial — at least in my case — was 7.5" wide x 9" high.

And it's only meant as a general observation, but the first two pouches are very similarly sized, unlike the third one.

I have no idea how these three ladies came to create this double zipped five pocket pouch and I'm not about to guess. I find it entirely possible that other talented people may also have "created" this same design, since the concept itself — while unusual — is not beyond the realm of being thought of by the average person. (Which is definitely not the same as saying that the average person can come up with good instructions for how to do it!)

Here is the project from the book.

Triple Pouch project from Stitched Sewing Organizers...

The forty instructions describing how to make this pouch span seven pages. All twenty-three of the accompanying graphics are line drawings. (For the record, the instructions from the YouTube tutorial are not the same; the order of construction is also different.) Having seen the video, made the pouch and skimmed these pages, for me, this wouldn't be an easy project to tackle without actual photos. Certainly not impossible, just not easy.

Still, for those who have watched the video but yearn for written instructions, I have two suggestions: buy the pattern or buy/borrow this book.

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And speaking of the book, what about the rest of it?

The fifteen projects found in Stitched Sewing Organizers...

As stated at the top of this post, this volume is all about organizing your sewing life. From a cover for your measuring tape to a green tomato pincushion to various fabric boxes, the (fifteen) projects are focused on making things that can help keep your sewing notions in their place. For a sewing book, that's quite a clever theme. For those like me who are constantly conflicted with, that's neat, but what I am going to use it for, this book is filled with projects with a built-in purpose for the reader.

In terms of the contents, there is the requisite "summary of sewing basics" section at the beginning. Since several of the projects use vinyl, the author offers a couple of hints on how best to handle that potentially sticky material. A sheet of pattern templates (in actual size) for some of the projects is also included.

The sliding "matchbox" project is unique...

The fifteen projects are grouped into four categories: small things, cases and folios, pouches, and boxes and totes. Were any of them new or radically different? Maybe a few, like the subject of this post. But others are variations of things you've likely seen before. Please don't take that as a criticism, because virtually all sewing books can be described as such.

Within the confines of that predictability, however, I liked how the author gave thought to what projects to include, because there is a cohesive flow to them. For example, one of the small things is a little fold-up pouch. Later we see it inside a fold-up folio, and later we see both the pouch and the folio pictured beside a large zippered pouch. I like that; it gives the reader reason and encouragement to keep going... and perhaps sew up a set of organizers with matching fabric for gift-giving.

Projects that relate to one another...

Overall, this book distinguishes itself sufficiently from a "usual" sewing book. Not having made any of the projects, I can't speak to how easy any of them are to do, but there is online evidence of them having been successfully made by others. (Why didn't I try any of them? I'm just very picky. These days, I'm more likely to "see things" and make them my own way. For example, that sliding matchbox project might just make an appearance here in the future, but it won't be done the way it was presented in this book.) In any event, the instructions that I've read appear to be clear and the only truly complex item is the aforementioned five pocket pouch.

If you're the type who likes to learn via books — or if you have the option to borrow from a library — this one is definitely worth a peek or two. At 111 pages, the cover price to buy is $26.95 US.