Pluggin’ Away

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been working on a McCall’s pattern for a scooter skirt from 1969. I bought it thinking it’d be perfect for bike riding, then when I opened it and saw there were only five pieces and five steps I thought it would be a piece of cake! I’d had [...]

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Ohhhhh, Wow!

I did a little research on my sewing problem, utilizing a gift from my mom, in the form of Nancy Zieman’s book Fitting Finesse, to find out why everything seemed to come out too big, regardless of whether I measured for my size, or how exactly I matched the stated size on the pattern. It [...]

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I’m a Rock Star, Watch Me Rock.

So there, Meg C. at McCall Customer not-Service: Patt-O-Rama mail order pattern, probably mid-50s. Size 14, measurements of 34-26-36, View 2. An example of the instructions (whoa!): Please let me insist that you read instructions all the way through before beginning a pattern. It will allow you to, for instance, a) not cut the interfacing [...]

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The Condescending Email I Got from McCall Customer Service

My first email: I just finished pattern m5785 and am thoroughly disappointed. By your measurement guide, I should be a size 12 (I’m 34-26-36) but decided to make the size 10 b/c I did not think the measurements made sense. I was right but as it turns out I actually should have made it in [...]

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Awwww, Man!

Does anyone reading this besides G sew? What is your experience with completing commercial patterns? This one told me I should be a size 12, but seeing the dimensions for the finished dress, I decided to make it in a size 10. Apparently I’m a size 8. Since I neglected to pre-wash in a hot [...]

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Just Keep Sewing

Three items arrived in the mail for me today! How exciting! I hardly ever get mail so it’s always a happy day when something bearing my name, other than a bill, drops through the letter slot. I received a glorious length of Liberty lawn fabric (quite thin, and $30(!!!) with the exchange rate, I’ll have [...]

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Prego Pattern

This maternity bubble jumpsuit pattern is what I would call A Terrible Idea. I can’t find a photo of it and the auction is only up for the next five days (I’m really truly seriously tempted to buy it just so I can have the horror for my very own for as long as I [...]

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Everything Old Is New Again

Lately I’m whining about how hot it is, I feel like I’m melting and it’s one third of the way through November. I know I’m just being a wimp, especially after weathering supra-106 F temperatures in northern California. You want to know what it’s like to be cooked, that’s where you’ll find out. NYC and [...]

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