Cupro, rayon, acetate and lyocell?

I made a start with my Marfy dress. The thin cotton fabric I have is pretty but tears easily along the outlines of the flowers. I needed some kind of reinforcement for this.
I figured that the dark blue fabric which I want to use as lining is slightly on the heavy side for the bodice so I needed something else. There aren't big fabric stores within 40 km's and with my current job I can't be there before they close. So I'm left with some online stores to buy stuff.
One evening browsing around on the internet I discovered the 'cupro' lining fabrics which should be both thin and breathable. I've never heard of this material before.



So, what is cupro made of?
Cupro is neither synthetic nor natural fibre. It is man made but made out of wood/cotton. It is actually processed wood pulp or made out of soft linters of cotton. The fibers of Cupro are thinner than viscose, for this reason it was developed as a cheap alternative to replace silk. Interesting is that the cupro fabric is both thin, soft and breathable so this seems to be the ideal lining for summer clothes. This fabric is antistatic and has a great drape hence suited for thinner garments too. It is still not very cheap, at least here in Europe it costs about 9-10 euro's per meter.
Why didn't I now this??? Has anyone experience with cupro fabrics?

Cupro's origin is similar to viscose rayon and acetate, lyocell
All of these materials are made out of cellulose, only the process they go through is different.

Cupro fibers are also much thinner than the other fabrics. These fabrics are usually more absorbent in contrary to truly synthetic fibers, but they are generally more flammable than truly natural fibers.

Rayon viscose was the first one, already made and used by the end of the 19th century (Chardonnay silk). It is weaker than natural fabrics like wool, linen or cotton. It may stretch and shrink when wet and dry. It wrinkles easily.

Acetate was discovered during the making of cellulose acetate for use in motion picture films. Acetate fabrics often have a silk-like appearance. They becomes weak when wet but does't shrink like rayon. Acetate doesn't absorb water easily.

Lyocell (Tencel) is the latest one in the row, made since the 1980's. The making of this fiber is less environment-heavy than the other ones since there is little waste product and this fabric is extremely resistant to wrinkles.

The bad news is that the processing of these fibers usually requires a lot of chemicals, water and energy and is anything but good for the environment. The good news is that they are made out of natural fibers and have a lot of good properties like natural fibers.

Tracing with thread

I started to cut the Marfy 2440 dress pieces. I quickly realized this is not the fabric that can be marked really well, due to the polka dot plus the stitched flower motives.
The skirt had front pleats and I decided to use 'old fashioned' basting thread to trace the lines.

I practically grew up with using basting thread, that's what I saw my grandma using all the time. Basting thread looks a bit fluffy, it breaks very easily. This means it is no problem if you sew upon the basting lines because you can remove the pieces of thread very easily. As I mentioned somewhere on the blog I grew up with European sewing patterns which traditionally don't include seam allowances (think of Burda magazine patterns). My seam allowances were always cut approximately 1.5-2 cm in past so I had to baste the seams together with basting thread before sewing in order to match up the sewing lines. I like the American way of pin and stitch so much better now!
It came handy that I always have basting thread at home ('just in case') it worked perfectly for marking the fabric.

1. What I've done is making a few long stitches through the pattern paper and the fabric and then cut the thread in the middle of the stitches:


2. I pulled off the paper layer carefully (this is the wrong side of the fabric):


3. I turned the fabric right side up and had the marking in place for my lines to make the pleats:

Cavalli goes Renfrew - finished

I made a start with refashioning a Cavalli man's shirt. Due to a problem with my old sewing machine I had to stop but now finished it with my new sewing machine! The Renfrew top pattern is a quick and easy one.
I used the nr. 10 stitch + a small zigzag to secure the edges:

  

Matching the seams is easy with the walking foot, the layers stay perfectly together (seam allowance here already trimmed):


The length is slightly shorter than the original of the pattern. Since the fit around the waist is great I just took out 3/4'' from the bottom before attaching the waist band:



 

Stretch stitches for edge finishing of knits

I don't have much experience with stretch stitches other than the simple zigzag stitch. Since I want to finish my Renfrew top I wanted to try a few other stitches on my new sewing machine.

These are the 'advanced' stretch stitches on my machine. I don't like number 11 that much, the results with nr. 12 look better:


Number 09 is a variation on the classic zigzag, also known as tricot-stitch or multi-zigzag stitch:


Number 10 is my favorite, a combination of a straight and a zigzag stitc. Because the straight stitches there is stretch in your seam and the zigzag finishes the raw edges while sewing:


Number 12 is a sort of imitation of the overlock stitch, which is also stretchy and gives a neat edge finishing. Warning: this one uses a lot of thread!

Here is a little stretch test for comparison:





I used a 'walking foot' because I found that the knit fabric was stretched too much with the regular foot. This resulted in wavy seams, not handy on clothing. The walking foot  is designed to help with the transport of multiple layers of fabrics. It does this by  helping with the transport of the upper layer of the fabric, the feed dogs in it move simultaneously with the machine's feed dogs. Here is the walking foot in action.

EDIT: Added here a close up of the walking foot (yes, the white box at the back is also part of the foot):


1. The fabric is held down before the needle goes down:


2. The transport part is lifted up (and makes a step forward) when the needle is down:


Another option could be the 'tricot-foot' which I don't have (yet).
This one is made for the same purpose: even feding the faric layers, especially for thin layers and slippery fabrics. It works differently, there is a small piece of rubber (blue) under the foot that helds the fabric down when the stitch is made and releases when the transport feet move. According to some reviews on the internet it should be working just as fine for knits as the walking foot:

Sewing plans for the spring and summer

New look 6093
1940's inspired dress
Try to think the busy fabric away and just look at the lines! (the polka dot dress looks pretty too!)

My sewing machine should arrive today and I already started planning what I want to sew in the next months. These patterns are in no particular order...

 
McCalls 5974
I desperately need a few wrap dresses! This one has a faux wrap, just two sashes attached to the sides.
Now I can sew knits! There are so many pretty dresses on the internet made of this pattern, it almost seems to be fool-proof. I imagine it with some kind of abstract, graphic print.


 

Vogue 2900
This was one of the first Vogue patterns I bought. Love the drop-waist idea with the fitted bodice and the graphic lines.
I think this version looks so pretty and summery! Though white is not my fav. color because it makes me look 'ill'  I might choose another pale colored cotton-linen mix for this dress.




Marfy 2440
Of course...


    
A raglan sleeve blouse from a Dutch Knipmode magazine (february 2011)

New sewing machine!

Click on the picture to view PDF brochure 

Finally decided to buy a new sewing machine!
Actually I will get one for my birthday (which is still 2 months away) from Mr.X.
He saw my frustration last week and thought I was so miserable that I needed a new, reliable sewing machine of my choice. My current machine a Singer 507 was handed down from someone else and worked ok until a few months ago. Well, 40 years is not bad.

Nowadays, there are many computerized machines and the choice of mechanical machines is limited. I find it kinda weird that fabricants label computerized machines with 20-30 different stitches and many features as 'beginner' or 'entry-level' machines. What are they talking about?! During the past years I have worked on quite a few advanced projects on a machine with only the basic straight and zigzag stitches. I don't think I will ever use more than a couple of stretch stitches. All those fancy embroidery stitches would be there unused. Anyway, it is remarkable that all fabricants use the same standard for what they call beginner, advanced or professional machines.



Stubborn as I am, I still decided not to buy something with much more features and things I wouldn't use. I set a limit for myself and wanted to spend around the 400, max. 500 euro's (is actually quite a lot...)

First I started with making a list of what features I was looking for. After sewing on a very old and basic machine I didn't had many things on my list. There were a few things I definitely wanted to have this time:
- a free arm (almost every new generation machine has this as standard feature)
- a strong machine that can sew through different layers of fabric (I'm not going to do quilts or something but it would be nice to be able to sew a denim zoom)
- a decent fabric transport system
- a one step buttonhole program (I didn't have any and bound buttonholes are pretty but just don't work for small buttons)
- a choice of stretch-stitches for sewing knits

I preferred three different brands: Pfaff, Janome and Bernina, but this is my personal choice. There are so many great machines out there, it is really hard to choose one!
At first look in reviews everyone mentions great quality of the Bernina's. Looking at the price tag I quickly decided I wasn't ready to pay that amount of money for my weekend-hobby. Janome's are good quality as well and next to Bernina machines the Janome's have the most raving reviews. Pfaff is German make, usually reliable as well.



Stitch selection of the Janome DC 3030

Then I made a list/table with all features of the machines next to each other in the right price range.
Interesting fact is that I wasn't able to track the engine-power of the sewing machines. When I did my research I found this: "You should have a motor with at least 120 Watt." Well, fine. Those numbers are apparently top secret! Or fabricants doesn't think that it would be interesting information next to all the special features of a machine?...

I ended up with a list of the amount of elastic stitches, one-step buttonholes and other things like 'are bobbins etc. universal', is there a special  fabric transport system?
The Janomes seemed to win.
- There weren't any Bernina's on my list (way too expensive, the cheapest computer Bernina was almost 2x my max. price) I did look at the Bernette's. This is the cheaper, not-made-in-Switzerland-line of Bernina. Those machines seemed to have a lot of features but apparently not everyone was enthousiastic about the quality of the machine.
- I looked at the Pfaff select 3.0, it has a dual feed IDT transport system, but this one had only one buttonhole option (!) next to it's 27 stitches. Weird!
- The Janomes in the same price range had more buttonhole-programs and also have a Superior Feed System (SFS) that makes sewing thicker fabrics easier. (many Janome sewing machines have this SFS: a 7 point feed dog system. This means that there are 7 feed dogs below the needle plate which work to feed fabric through the machine.

When looking online for the different Janome models I found this one: Janome DC 3030. It seem to be discontinued now but still available for 599 euro's. BTW Mine comes cheaper, for 399 from an online store. There are great reviews of this machine all over the internet, especially on websites specialized in quilting.
Now waiting!

EDIT:
Fun fact: just found out that my new sewing machine runs in the UK and US with different names:
UK: Janome 8077 and US: Janome Magnolia 7330
Read an extensive review of the sewing machine here.


I thought about this 'review-thing'.  
How important is that the machine has good reviews?
Nowadays we are so used to the internet that it seems logical to do the research there. After all there are so many reviews of sewing machines! Fact is that I never spend my time on writing a review but I do read them. Interesting, ha? Imagine there is a really great sewing machine but 1 out of 10 buyers seemed to have trouble with it and at the end only that 1 person writes a review? Your conclusion could be that the machine is worthless, you wouldn't even bother to look at it. I think most people rely on good reviews from people they know or think to 'know'. We would rather buy a machine that a good friend, mother or other family member, neighbor loves. Or what our favorite television personality loves? Fabricants make use of this by making those people use their machines and write raving reviews of it. Like Janome and the popular television presenter Kirstie Allsopp from the UK. Oh yeah, she uses the almost 4000 euro model and she loves it. Well, probably I would love it too. Won't you? At the end of the day, it is a rather personal choice which brand you buy. As long as you are happy with it!

Cavalli goes Renfrew! - part 1

Even if I can't work on this project right now I'd like to show how far I am in the process of refashioning an original Cavalli shirt!
My boyfriend had about 7-8 years ago a period of buying really expensive clothes. Well, if you wonder we didn't know each other by that time.  As he were a bit older and gained a bit weight he didn't fit those pretty shirts anymore. These two with the cutout motives were just too pretty to throw or give away and I kept them for years and years in the closet:



Now, after sewing up the Renfrew muslin I thought the Cavalli shirts were ready for a makeover!I satred out with the purple one. Since the shirt shrunk a bit it was already closer to my size than to the former L of my boyfriend. Let's say they aren't bigger than a women's size medium.

This means there wasn't much fabric to work with. First I carefully took the shirt apart. This was a lot of work!

The front, back pieces and the sleeves fitted just right but then all of the available fabric was used. It would be nearly impossible to find the same color fabric so I decided to introduce another color. I took a basic black shirt to supply the sleeve and neckline bands. Decided to keep the original seam at the bottom of the shirt for now, I'm going to decide about the waist band after assembling.
   

I decided to cut in the motifs at the front and the sides:




Used the good old zigzag stitch everywhere, at the end two rows next to each other.
 

I reinforced the shoulder seam with satin bias band, cut in half lengthwise and folding the sides under:
 

Here is visible that the stitches aren't perfect, this was the moment that I decided the sewing machine needed some reparation again (though I'm really satisfied with the overall look!)

Sewing machine in reparation again...

Made an enthusiastic start with a Renfrew top but my sewing machine thought it was time to quit again.
Worked hard all week long, long days at work and waited, waited for the weekend and dreamed about starting with great sewing projects. And now I ended up with a half-finished top and a sewing machine in reparation again...
I'm so disappointed! The problem is as indicated above: it is a bobbin-problem. The bobbin doesn't sit tight in the bobbin case. When the loop is created by turning the shuttle hook the bobbin pops up and the thread gets caught around the bobbin several times. This pulls the fabric down under the needle and then breaks the upper thread. See picture above. Sometimes I was able to sew about 15 inches before this happened, other times I had to stop every minute because breaking the thread. Very annoying.