emerging from the pile

There have been piles of fabric haunting my crafting corner for oh, a few weeks shall we say? It's the seasonal sew time. Whereupon small people who grow like weeds choose the very softest of fabrics to be transformed or upcycled into winter clothes. Also lurking in a corner was an overlocker with a clean bill of health from my ballroom dancing servicing dude. (A Bernina Bernette 334D -for those sewing geeks out there, you know who you are!) It was given to me and i have been too scared to use it. Until now.
The excuses went like this: 'I don't have space for another machine', 'I don't have time to learn new skills right now'...etc. All of which are true, but there comes a time when you just have to jack in the reasons why not and just let rip.

Er, and from this side of the excuses, may i just say how incredible overlockers are? Especially for knit fabrics, which i use more and more these days. The finish is so clean. Mostly though, it's the time saving that has me hooked. I don't think there is anything wrong with using zig zag or french seams to finish seam edges. Or sewing knit fabrics with a ball point needle using a zig zag stitch for that matter. Jed and i have been wearing garments sewn like this hard for years on end with no mending required.

But to save a third of the time i used to spend on sewing a simple tunic for myself and some kids trousers? That means alot in my life right now. Thank you dear benefactor of overlocker!

Some crazy retro striped cotton jersey i picked up for a few dollars turned into...

...a tunic overdress. I did try to match the stripes at the side (i am not generally a match stripes sort of a gal when sewing for myself), but i have to admit that at 11.30pm my commitment slipped slightly. I used New Look 6731, View B but with View A's length. I think i came across this one on Amy Karol's blog, Angry Chicken awhile back.

Still to emerge from the pile are Jed's winter trousers, a first attempt at the 90 minute shirt,
commissioned bunting flags and a bunch of wintery GrowMama gear to be listed on Trademe and quite possibly placed in a few stores around town. Ahem, that's the main pile anyway.