Sewing Book

I found this book the same day I found Ready Set Sew.  When I pulled it out from between two other book and first set eyes on the cover I thought, "Wow, how dated."

Then I found the photo of the author inside, a nice white-haired grandmotherly type, and thought... actually, nothing. My brain could not connect the face in the photo with the illustration on the front cover and the photos on the back cover.  Who was Ann Person and how did she produce such a  incongruous book?

Ann Person is actually a big name in the home sewing field and the author of many books. She started in the late 1960s when she opened a sewing store and started teaching her new knit-sewing technique, Stretch & Sew, to other women. By the  mid 1970s  there were 350 Stretch & Sew stores across the globe.   In 2004 she was inducted into the American Sewing Guild's  Hall of Fame.   

Now back to this book.  After reading the Sewing Guild's Hall of Fame article, I learned that Ann Person's daughter and granddaughter were running the business around this time and that the granddaughter is the model on the back cover of the book.  Incongruity explained.

Sew Splashy, Ann Person (1990)

Sewing Book

I'm still collecting vintage sewing books and this is one of my latest.

"The name of the game is fashion sewing-with Butterick on you side, how can you possibly lose?"
-Ready Set Sew by Butterick  (1971) 

Sewing books during this time period seemed to favor  whimsical drawings. 

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 37

I bought new seat cushions for the patio chairs and the pillows (right) I bought for the old cushions did not match anymore so I made pillow covers for them. The hard part was shoving the 6 pillows into their new covers, I found out after I was done making them that the zippers I used were really too short.

Sewing Books

I've collected quite a few older sewing books.  Mary Brooks Picken, "America's Foremost Authority on Sewing and Dressmaking," wrote 96 books covering sewing, needlework, and the textile arts. I own two sewing books written by her including:

MODERN DRESSMAKING MADE EASY by Mary Brooks Picken, copyright 1949, Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York.

Not only does MODERN DRESSMAKING MADE EASY teach you how to sew, it also teaches you, as the chapter heading describes it, Your Physical Self- "how to develop poise; how to walk, stand, sit."
But it seems you can only do these things while naked and wearing high-heels.

The back of the book jacket for Modern DRESSMAKING Made Easy with ad for another book by  Mary Brooks Picken, The Fashion Dictionary.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 36

My next project was going to be a slipcover for one of my living room chairs but I realized I would also have to replace the seat cushion. When I cut it open I found this down-filled cushion inside. Since I had to wait for the new foam cushion I ordered to be delivered, I decided to turn the old down-filled cushion into a dog bed.

Dog bed before.

I also decided that making this dog bed would give me practice making and sewing welting. I first learned how to make continuous bias tape, then how to sew a length of cord inside the tape to make the welting, and finally how to sew the welting between the top and sides of the cushion. The whole project went smoother than I expected.

Dog bed finished.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 35

A sugar skulls bag for a little girl my sister knows who loves sugar skulls.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 34

From this...

to this.

All in two months!  This was one of the most difficult projects so far.  I bought all my supplies after reading the supply list on the back of the pattern envelope but did not read the pattern itself.  That was a big mistake for when I started reading the instructions I realized I had no clue as to what they were talking about and found the illustrations to be no help at all.   So for the next couple of weeks I would study the instructions once a day.  Then one morning I woke-up and, Boom!, it all made sense. But...

That wasn't as helpful as it would have been if I had actually been making the bed the way the instructions said to but I was going to adjust the pattern so I could use an old couch cushion  I had stored in the furnace room.   Adjusting a pattern is easy if you have actually done it before but, since I had never done it, I was learning as I went along. Then after I started putting the pattern pieces together I found out that I really only half understood the instructions.  There were times I got so frustrated I would stop working on it for a few days and once I stopped for a whole week. But...

As you can see I finally got it done.  It's not great but I must admit it was a hell of a learning experience.

Sewing Books

I pick up this set of  Better Homes and Gardens Creative Sewing Library books (1966) at ARC last week. I don't know where these were sold but they remind me a lot of the Golden Book Encyclopedia  volumes sold in Safeway supermarkets when I was a kid.  They were "prepared  under the guidance of Miss Lucille Rivers, one of America's eminent sewing experts."   The name of the illustrator is not given in the books. Another interesting point is that the illustrations on the covers are not done by the same illustrator as the one inside the book. The inside the book illustrator has a lighter touch.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 33

I bought an old curtain which used to hang either in a boy's bedroom or in a man's den at a garage sale last week. I wasn't sure how I would use it but then I noticed these TV pillows in the family room and thought they could use a make over.

Throw pillows before.

Throw pillows after.

I think they turned out great and will not bore you with how frustrating making them turned out to be. I will tell you that zippers can be difficult.

I'm Sew Very Happy

My copy of More Fabric Savvy arrived a few days ago and I spend an hour this afternoon perusing it.  Each fabric discussed takes up two facing pages and gives you information about the fabric, what to make with it, sewing tips, which thread, needle, and presser foot to use, cutting layout directions, and other useful information.

Did you know silk and linens are washable but  many care labels on store bought garments say "Dry Clean Only?  Why?  Because neither the linen, the silk or the interfacing  used were prewashed before being made into the garment.

Did you know that  clothes made from Rayon should be machine-washed in cold water on gentle cycle because too much agitation distorts the fabric?

Did you know Rayon is made from wood pulp?

Did you know matte rayon jersey garments should be stored flat instead of on hangers because matte rayon jersey garments stretch when hung?

Did you know you shouldn't over-pack Linen in a washing machine because it absorbs twice its weight in water?

Did you know you should use liquid fabric softeners and not dryer sheets on garments made from microfibers?  Dryer sheets leave oil spots.

Did you know wool jersey wasn't used for women's wear until Coco Chanel started using it.  Before her wool jersey was only used to make men's underwear.

I did not know any of this before reading the book but I do now.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 32

A wearable cross body clothespin bag for my sister. I did this in one afternoon and still can not believe I did so. All that practice is starting to make a difference.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 27-31?

I haven't posted any sewing projects in a while so I though I'd catch up today. I've been working on alterations this summer and have refitted a number of my husband's shirts for him. An example of this below.

Front, before.

Front after.

Back before.

Back after.

I have also altered the hems on some of my trousers and a pair of elephant pants my sister owns. It feels good to use my sewing machine for this kind of work. I like that whenever some piece of clothing needs repair I can say, "Hey, I can fix that!"

My New Machine

Emergency back-up for when the power goes out.

Life Is A Lot Like Jazz

It's best when you improvise.
-George Gershwin , American composer


I have two OLFA self-healing cutting mats used for sewing (one 24" by 36" and one 18" by 36") and I just found out they should be cleaned. The way you do it is by placing the mats in a bathtub and adding  one gallon of cool water to 1/4 cup of white vinegar and soaking them 15-20 minutes.  Then you squirt some dish soap on a mushroom brush and gently scrub to remove any fibers that have gotten into the cut marks. Having fabric fibers in the cut lines prevents the mats from repairing themselves.  Also the mats need moisture to work correctly so soaking them extends their life.

This sounded pretty simple to me until I tried to put the mats in each one of the three bathtubs I have in my house.  The mats are too big and could not be laid flat so I had to improvise.  I asked my husband to make me a frame out of pieces of lumber so I could line it with a plastic garbage bag and he came up with this:

I like the way he used hand weights to keep the boards from shifting.  I then filled the tiny swimming pool with water and vinegar and slid the mats in.  After 20 minutes I removed the weight and the piece of wood from the top side of the pool and let the water drain.  Then I picked up my mushroom brush, squirted on some dish soap and scrubbed the mats clean.   I rinsed each one with the garden hose and wiped them dry with some old bath towels.  The mats are in better shape than before their bath but some of the cuts didn't heal and I think that is because I haven't been rotating the mats enough and I waited too long before giving them a vinegar bath and a mushroom brush scrub.  Now that I know cleaning them extends their life, I will be doing so regularly.

I've Been Sew Busy

I've even learned how to make a flat-felled seam.

I've watched lots of YouTube videos, read a bunch of articles, and even bought a felling presser foot.

Figuring how to put the presser foot on my sewing machine took up quite a bit of time and cost me one broken needle- my first one. Breaking a needle taught me to always check the needle position to see if the needle will hit the new presser foot before starting to sew.

I am learning how to sew flat-felled seams because I am altering some of my husbands old shirts so they fit him better and they all have flat-felled seams.  I am surprised by how easy it really make a shirt smaller but I  am not sure how easy it is to sew felled-seams into an altered garment but I will be finding out soon.  Wish me luck.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 26

I made these pillow covers for my sister with the blue fabric she gave me and then decided to add some color to the backs along with some zippers. Doing so made the project a bit more complicated but was worth it since I learned a few new sewing techniques.

Pillow covers, front

Pillow covers, back.

Pillow covers, zipper.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 25

A pair of pajamas for my sister. This was my first clothes project and I have learned :

(1) Patterns are more confusing than they need to be.

(2) Sleeve are hard, but only if you don't find an easier way to do them on Google, which I did.

(3) Google and YouTube are great for finding some type of tutorial (text or video) for anything that has to do with sewing. Google and YouTube have helped me immensely.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 24

Two groovy pillow covers.  Love and peace, Man.

I Did Not Know I Needed This Until I Saw It

And what is it?

A 1948/1949 Kenmore Rotary Sewing Machine (Model number 117.959), cabinet, and chair. I fell in love with it once I realized the cabinet drawers were actually the chair.

I Am Learning To Sew- Project 23

Sewing Project 23- A liner for my sister's four wheel utility cart. The 6 ties will allow her to attach the liner to the inside of her cart. With this project I learned how using the correct needle and type of thread makes a sewing project go much more smoothly.