Thrifted Tools For Stitching

As many of my readers know, I love thrifting. I really love searching for sewing supplies and tools, and have found some interesting bits and bobs lately! I thought I would share some of the tools that are new to me from my recent shopping. 

First off I found this classic Bodkin - I've been wanting one so was happy to find this in its vintage packaging, all ready for me. 

Next, I discovered a retro needle threader. They sure loved reds and oranges with this retro packaging. This little desktop needle threader and cutter is simple - stick a needle in, press down lightly and you're set. It is all plastic, and they warn you in the instructions not to use undue force on the button ;)

I haven't used it yet but am planning on putting it into rotation shortly.

I had to pick up this unusual quilting thimble. It's a heavy-ish piece of steel with a dimpled end to push needles with. So if you don't like wearing a thimble, this one might be just the thing - you just pick it up whenever you need to push through your needle. 

And finally, I picked up two Clover plastic templates for shaped yo-yos. I wouldn't have purchased these new, but there they were for $1.50, so worth a try! The first one is for heart shaped yo-yos, and the second is for larger flower shapes. They both have a sheet of instructions included, which is good because a plastic template with little holes to stitch through confused me greatly - how does it not get stitched to the template? 😄Anyhow, the illustrated instructions really helped. I can't wait to try these out, they look quite fun. I'm not sure what I'll embellish but I'll find something. 

Do you like thrifting? Have you ever found something fabulous to add to your sewing notions?

Weekend Review: DIY Thrift Flip

 

DIY Thrift Flip / April Yang
Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, c2024.
152 p.

Another fashion choice with a DIY aesthetic for today's review! I found this via my library and was intrigued by it. April Yang is a popular upcyling Youtuber and IG sewing celeb known as Coolirpa. She shares ways to upcycle/refashion things you might find at the thrift store, and has 2.2 million followers interested in this on Youtube. So it makes sense that she's now putting out a book as well. 

This book is full of ideas on how to remake thrift store finds, but I didn't find all of them equally successful. Of course, Coolirpa is young and quite thin, so she can get a new outfit from something purchased secondhand, fairly easily. 

The book is organized well and is aimed at beginners, not longtime sewists. There's an intro all about her and why she got into thrift flips, then three sections: Getting Started, Shopping & Altering Basics, and then a few Thrift Flip Projects as examples and inspo. 

This delivers on what it promises. Getting Started really is an overview of both the basic supplies and basic skills you'll need to get started in upcycling. She goes over things assuming that the reader knows next to nothing - so explains basic stitches, terminology and even fabric types (even as basic as woven vs. knit). This would be really helpful to someone totally new to sewing in this context. 

The next section goes over her top tips for shopping secondhand whether in traditional thrift shops or other venues, or even online, and how to tell what can and can't be fixed. She goes over the best way to seam rip, to add sleeves or pockets and basic tailoring. She also talks about using sewing patterns to help you alter or reuse clothing, as well as tracing off a pattern from existing clothing. It's quite comprehensive but again accessible to someone new to this craft. 

And in the final section there are a number of projects by a number of different sewists of other sizes and shapes as well as her own projects. From embroidering on to sweaters with bulky yarn to cutting slits in a knit dress for decorative purposes to upcycling a pair of leggings into a short/sport bra workout set, there are varied ideas. She shows how to cover unwanted logos, or add embellishments to make a dress look totally different, or make a loose cardigan style jacket out of an oversized t-shirt. She uses pillow shams and curtains to make quick tops, or even a corset style top. I thought the variety of examples was a good feature, showing different styles of remakes on different people. 

While this book isn't exactly for me, I did like the approach and the casual tone of it. It's not intimidating, but also not so simple that the projects look cheap or unfinished. She gives a lot of info but it's all useful and at the beginner/adventurous beginner level. I think if someone was new to upcycling this would be a great starting place. 

More Patterns, Thrifting and Travel!

One more thing I like to do when I travel is to check out local thrift stores, of course! Luckily for me, my sister & Mom are also thrifters and we had a fun day checking out a list of shops when I was visiting them. We found a few books, some nice clothes & fantastic shoes, and of course I went straight to the craft/sewing area in each shop to see what was available. 

I had to be judicious as I didn't have much room to carry things home with me, but I did find some wonderful patterns at a great price in one shop. I ended up with a handful of more contemporary patterns, two of which (McCalls 5668 & Simplicity 2852) I've been looking for for a while!

I also found a few from the 80s/early 90s, my favourite kind ;) The two on the right are both culotte patterns, with a jacket in the Burda one as well. My fave of this set is the "Super Combination" Burda, 4709. I love the green tunic and plan on making that for my fall wardrobe. If you look at the line drawings, this pattern even includes stirrup pants! Shades of high school...somehow I don't think I'll be going there ;) 

I had a lot of fun shopping for these, and I think I'll enjoy sewing some of them up, hopefully within the year. Even if I don't, I always enjoy looking at the details in all my patterns and coming up with new ideas!

Hot Pink Burda Blouse

I had a lovely holiday, lots of reading, sewing, eating and visiting. And now I'm back with my first post of 2024! I thought I would share the blouse that I finished just before the end of the year, so that I can share my roundup of favourites of 2023 later this week -- this blouse will be a part of that :)

I thrifted some hot pink cotton (maybe a linen blend?) at my local thrift in 2022, and had been intending to use it for a blouse all year. I hadn't gotten around to it, though, until PatternReview's December Fitted Blouse contest rolled around. I thought it was the perfect time to finally make it! (and you can go on over to PR if you're a member and vote for me there now, until the 10th,  if you are so inclined!) 

I cut it out in early December but got distracted by Christmas sewing, so really got to sewing it up after Christmas Day. I used a pattern I've made before, Burda 105 from the April 2018 issue. I liked my first one and thought that the unusual darts and design of the blouse would show nicely in this solid fabric.

Of course, in the solid I had to be a lot more careful to have everything lined up so that the dart ends and waist seam would be even across the middle. That was the only really fiddly part. 

Sewing with solids is not my usual habit, so I had to add some print in! I used the scraps from my summer Barbiecore dress for the inner yoke and collar band; it was the perfect pink match. I was going to use some high contrast black buttons, but I discovered an amazing match in my stash. I had purchased some half-pink buttons of the right size in the bargain bin at Fabricland a month or two ago. I really needed another card to have enough and thought it was pretty unlikely to find any more in the random sale bin so much later. But I headed down to the the store to check, and like magic, found two more cards after sifting through the bin a while. It was meant to be! 

This one isn't very difficult, but it does take some time. Lots of little bits to get right. I really like the darts in the front, but also the narrow yoke in the back which adds shaping and some width to the back as well. I also really like the two piece sleeve, with the lower section more gathered. I didn't adjust the body very much but I had to take 3" off the sleeve length, split between the two sections. 

There is quite a bit of topstitching, on the collar, cuffs and button band, so I was glad to have my quarter inch foot to keep my stitching straight. I edgestitched all those areas, preferring a narrower line than a 1/4" topstitch. The foot really makes it so much easier.

I love how the colour of this really jumps out at you in natural light. The shape is great, the fit is very nice, and I just love the whole thing. It's the bright pink blouse of my dreams! 

I'll be sharing some of my other 2023 favourites shortly, and some more New Year kind of thoughts as well. Hope your holidays were restful and that you are ready to face 2024.