Sewing Projects
Ray is making progress at
becoming a good tailor.
Ray’s very first sewing project was a jacket for
Steampunk day. Joanie thought this project
was pretty ambitious for a beginner, but this
was what he wanted to do, so we jumped in
together and started working on it.
I’m thinking that somewhere along the
line, we took care of our goddaughter for
the day. I don’t think paper snowflakes,
little beginner scissors and crayons were
a part of the pattern instructions.
We had to choose the right fabrics to make
the jacket fit into the steampunk theme.
Unfortunately, that called for part of the
jacket to be a leather-look fabric. Joanie knew
that this is not a beginner fabric, but Ray was
sure he could make it work. A little of the
sewing was a joint effort, but mainly Ray had
Joanie interpret the pattern instructions and
he did the majority of the sewing, including
some of the leather-look parts and the entire
lining.
Besides helping Ray understand all of the
terminology in the sewing pattern, Joanie
taught him that pressing seams and darts
is one of the most important steps in
sewing. Pressing as you go makes a much
more professional looking finished
garment.
Piece by piece, the garment started
taking shape. With each completed
step, Ray became more skillful at the
construction, and by the time the
jacket was finished, it was a garment
to be proud of.
Because the jacket looked steampunk, it had a
large shoulder piece made of leather that added
to the look. But after the two of us checking over
the pattern, we decided we could make the
shoulder piece detachable so that the jacket can
be worn for other occasions. We attach it with
Velcro hidden under the collar when he needs it,
but when he doesn’t it can be detached. The
upper lapels are still the leather, but that just
adds to the detail of the jacket.
Next Ray decided to move on to making his
own vests. His skills in sewing increased as
he worked. At this point, he learned how to
do make bound pockets, buttonholes, and
do topstitching and finish work to make the
vest look even better. He even did the hand
sewing and sewed on his own buttons. This
one worked out really well.
Laying out the pattern to make the
stripes match where they need to.
Also taking the best advantage of the
amount of material available to get
all of the pieces ready to sew.
By thhis time, Ray has learned about the need
for interfacing to stiffen the collar and front
opening. He also sewed on the buckle on the
back so that the vest can be adjusted to fit
well.
Ray’s next project was even more impressive than the first ones. He was watching the moive,
The Time Machine and noticed the vest the secondary character was wearing. It wasn’t just a
single opening, or even just a double breasted vest. It had an overlapped front with the
buttons in a more v-shaped formation, and the bottom edges were pointed. We couldn’t find
a vest pattern anything like it, so Ray decided he would modify an existing pattern to look like
what he wanted. At this point, he was well beyond the skills that Joanie had, so he was on his
own figuring it out. He made a paper pattern first and worked with the design until he figured
that he had it right. Once he started sewing, we decided it was bigger than it needed to be, so
he took in seams and adjusted until it fit quite well. The end result looked pretty good, and
went well with the 1918 suit style he was wearing for fall Dapper Day of 2016.
The finished vest looked similar to the one worn in one of the scenes in the Magic
Kingdom’s Carousel of Progress, but with points on the bottom edge.
Sewing Projects
Ray is making progress at
becoming a good tailor.
Ray’s very first sewing project was a jacket for
Steampunk day. Joanie thought this project was pretty
ambitious for a beginner, but this was what he wanted to
do, so we jumped in together and started working on it.
I’m thinking that somewhere along the line, we took care
of our goddaughter for the day. I don’t think paper
snowflakes, little beginner scissors and crayons were a
part of the pattern instructions.
We had to choose the
right fabrics to make the
jacket fit into the
steampunk theme.
Unfortunately, that called
for part of the jacket to
be a leather-look fabric.
Joanie knew that this is
not a beginner fabric, but
Ray was sure he could
make it work. A little of
the sewing was a joint
effort, but mainly Ray
had Joanie interpret the
pattern instructions and
he did the majority of the
sewing, including some
of the leather-look parts
and the entire lining.
Besides helping Ray
understand all of the
terminology in the
sewing pattern, Joanie
taught him that
pressing seams and
darts is one of the
most important steps
in sewing. Pressing as
you go makes a much
more professional
looking finished
garment.
Piece by piece, the garment
started taking shape. With
each completed step, Ray
became more skillful at the
construction, and by the time
the jacket was finished, it was
a garment to be proud of.
Because the jacket looked steampunk, it had a large
shoulder piece made of leather that added to the look.
But after the two of us checking over the pattern, we
decided we could make the shoulder piece detachable
so that the jacket can be worn for other occasions. We
attach it with Velcro hidden under the collar when he
needs it, but when he doesn’t it can be detached. The
upper lapels are still the leather, but that just adds to
the detail of the jacket.
Next Ray decided to move
on to making his own vests.
His skills in sewing
increased as he worked. At
this point, he learned how
to do make bound pockets,
buttonholes, and do
topstitching and finish work
to make the vest look even
better. He even did the
hand sewing and sewed on
his own buttons. This one
worked out really well.
Laying out the pattern to make the stripes match where
they need to. Also taking the best advantage of the
amount of material available to get all of the pieces
ready to sew.
By thhis time, Ray has learned about the need for
interfacing to stiffen the collar and front opening. He
also sewed on the buckle on the back so that the vest
can be adjusted to fit well.
Ray’s next project was even more impressive than the
first ones. He was watching the moive, The Time
Machine and noticed the vest the secondary character
was wearing. It wasn’t just a single opening, or even
just a double breasted vest. It had an overlapped front
with the buttons in a more v-shaped formation, and
the bottom edges were pointed. We couldn’t find a
vest pattern anything like it, so Ray decided he would
modify an existing pattern to look like what he wanted.
At this point, he was well beyond the skills that Joanie
had, so he was on his own figuring it out. He made a
paper pattern first and worked with the design until he
figured that he had it right. Once he started sewing,
we decided it was bigger than it needed to be, so he
took in seams and adjusted until it fit quite well. The
end result looked pretty good, and went well with the
1918 suit style he was wearing for fall Dapper Day of
2016.
The finished vest looked similar to the one worn in one
of the scenes in the Magic Kingdom’s Carousel of
Progress, but with points on the bottom edge.
