I've lost my mind, but at least the dust is off of the vintage iron
 

Hello again people, it has been 2 or maybe 3 years since I was active here but I just took on a project I thought you all might get a kick out of laughing at my pain. I am no seamstress, I like old machine and kinda like restoring them. I have posted some pictures of my 128's and a 27 built in the year 1900. I also posted a picture of my Black 306w that I swap in and out of the treadle base for the 27. I have stitched with all of my machines though never really made anything.. well this winter I became medically retired and decided that I was making my wife some PJ pants for Xmas. that went pretty well, so when my daughter approached me about making a "Princess" dress I thought Sure... how hard can it be?

this is what I have taken on and the machine I use, just a warning this is NOT what a DIY dad should be attempting to learn sewing basics on.


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Wish me Luck, I am going to need it.

Yes you are! Have fun.

Oh my; lucky, lucky daughter! That is a big bite to chew, but read, read, and re-read the instructions; look up confusing terms or techniques on You Tube, and get ready to put on your dancing shoes.

My husband wants to move to the "Middle of Nowhere, Alaska". I tell him "The Ends of The Earth, North Dakota", is remote enough, cold enough, and painful enough. Of course I guess 40-below is 40-below - unless it's even colder there!

I would love to see how the Princess Dress progresses. I know it will be lovely. My brother made the gown for his daughter's first formal dance. She picked out a former prom gown, far too big for her, from a thrift shop. He looked at it like an old car project. He took it apart, redesigned it, added some parts, took out some pats, and sewed it up. They had such fun doing it.

I relocated here from Western Montana.... north Dakota is Colder because here in the interior of Alaska the wind does not blow.

I am an accomplished mechanic ( 30 years in automotive and aircraft ) have a pretty decent machine shop in the garage and can do the work on sewing, I am missing the "tricks of the trade" and standard practices type of stuff.

SO far a 7 panel bodice is coming together .. I started with the middle lining ( 3 layers because it has boning) of muslin... my 12 yo daughter seems to be a combination of three "sizes" and will NOT be wearing an impossibly tight corset ( that this dress seems to have in mind) so I have all ready figured out Basting by lowering top tension and have had to disassemble and redo my pattern panels once... if this second attempt fits more acceptably we should be good to go.

[QUOTE=greywuuf;7168889]North Dakota is Colder because here in the interior of Alaska the wind does not blow.

Oh man, you're living in Heaven. We've had 40mph winds, seeming non-stop, for most of the week.

Tell her that Princesses must learn to embrace their corsets, bustles, panniers, petticoats, et al. Of course, I'm teasing and would never put 12-year-old in corsets, even if our foremothers considered them normal and necessary.

I was 30 before I was brave enough to be laced into a steel-boned corset. The result was stunning, but it was not worth the pain, the short breaths, the restricted...everything! Our dear Great-grandmothers did suffer in many ways.

tissue paper will help with fussy stretchy shiny thin fabrics! Make a sandwich with the tissue paper, the cheap stuff from the dollar store type paper, on the outside of the fabric.

it will prevent your fancy fabric from snagging on the feed dogs and the sewing foot.

good luck!

thank you for the tip ! with my eyes ( somewhere between not so great and I also need Bifocals but wont admit it ) and my 5 thumbs muslin is almost more than I can deal with !

All kidding aside, I think I am making progress, got the test fit to where I can work with it.... side seams fall straight and the back closes, I think it is time to cut the inner and outer pieces and turn my tension back up and do some "for real" stitches.

photo essay .... it looks messy Loose black basting stitch but it is easy to see and easy to pull.

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I'm amazed that you would take this on, but man you are going good! Keep it up. Looks like your test fit is there. She will be the 'Bell of the Ball'. It's gonna be gorgeous.

looking at these pictures on a big screen .... wow what a mess.... this is the wrong side... and as i said.. tension was turned way down... can pull the bobbin thread by hand ( what I wanted ) I am really not that bad. sheesh it looks like I was doing this in a cave in the dark .... with mittens on ...with my feet. no wonder my wife is shaking her head.

The buzzard hanging above your sewing machine is a hoot... you know, they sit watching and waiting... :D

You are a very brave man!! All I do is sew squares.

My husband wants to move to the "Middle of Nowhere, Alaska". I tell him "The Ends of The Earth, North Dakota", is remote enough, cold enough, and painful enough. Of course I guess 40-below is 40-below - unless it's even colder there!

No it's not the same. I have been cold in Alaska, and much much colder in the states. You would really have to visit yourself to make an informed decision.

I admire you so much ! Don't think I would even try. Please keep posting pics !

You must be a very patient person; you couldn't pay me enough to try this.

What a wonderful Dad you are. Please post a picture of the finished gown. I'm sure it will be lovely.

If you have a "Q" foot, that helps with the flimsy, stretchy fabrics a lot. good luck, have fun.

Greywuuf (love ur name) I totally get what you are doing with black thread, and loosy-goose stitches.

I made two wedding gowns, and that is how I did it. I made slopers out of bedsheets, fitted those, then cut them up for patterns for the real fabric.

You are one bravehearted dad.

One tip, don't fit it wrong side out. None of us are balanced.

I would not say I am brave, or patient.... Stupid or foolhardy, maybe. Mostly it is just ....well she is my little girl, and she is growing up...if I can be her hero, her super man for just a while longer....I am sure gonna give it my best. Lots of great tips here! Thank you all so much.

Oh and what is a "Q" foot? .

Wow! You are doing a great job! I used to teach Family and Consumer Science and several times I helped girls making their prom dresses. They were a challenge, but so much fun and a joy to see the pride on those girls' faces. Most of them never wanted to make that muslin bodice to check the fit, but they were glad later when their tops fit right. That satin or taffeta fabric would not rip out easily.

I don't know what a "Q" foot is either.

You are doing a great job! She will remember this for a long time. :thumbup: I hope you show us the finished dress.

What is a "Q" foot?

I just hope I finish it!

Wow....what a project - I will remake/remodel, but a princess dress from scratch with slippery fabric?! My hat goes off to you. Keep us posted. (Love the Raven by your machine).

A Q foot is a specialty foot sold for Kenmores for stretch fabrics I think. I never thought about it but I guess you should be able to use it on other machines as long as the shank style matches. I've never used one personally.

You learn something new every day. I often wondered how people survived out in the boondocks when it was 50 below. So now I realize that your body heat will keep you warm with the right clothes if the wind doesn't blow all that heat away (like what happens in Wisconsin some days).

FYI: basting is best done using a long stitch and proper tension. It will still come out easily and without the thread snarls. Works for me; your mileage, of course, may vary.

Thank you for the tip on basting...these I can literally pull the bobbin thread out one end by hand...yeah it's a little loose and the loops can be a bit of a hassle... Hopefully I am beyond that stage for now. I am on temporary hold.. .with my fractured wrist and sprained fingers the pining was getting to me...gotta go buy another rotary cutter...(can't find mine) as I was just pining real tight and trying to cut matching pieces with scissors....

Sewing with a treadle is the best!

Be sure you have enough fabric in the back for the 5/8" seams allowance for the zipper. Your other two layers will take up a little space, too. You've done a good job fitting - that's the most important part.

You are indeed your little girl's hero. What a treasure of making memories with her. Today a princess dress, tomorrow her wedding dress.

well I have all my pieces cut out of all the differing fabrics, now I just need to make some sense of the order in which to connect them all together to have hidden seams..... my head hurts from thinking about this

I congratulate you! It is going to be wonderful and your DD will be pleased as punch when it is finished.

TOO complicated for me to sew. Good Luck !! It is going to be gorgeous!

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*** Keep at it - you are doing just fine - it is going to be a beauty - she will really love it.
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making good progress, almost ready to do the "Piecing"
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you are all probably tired of me taking up space with progress reports..... So I made an album you cab see it at http://www.quiltingboard.com/members...bums19391.html

Not at all tired of the progress reports. I got involved with sewing and vintage machines because my (now 11 yr old) daughter wanted to learn to sew. I fell off the deep end. We now have 20+ vintage machines and I'm a co-leader of a 4-H group for my daughter and a few of her friends for sewing and other activities.
I haven't been brave enough to try a dress yet though we have patterns for a couple. You should check out the gown Glenn made for his wife. I'm sorry I don't remember the thread it's in but it's a beauty.
I'm sure your daughter will love it when it's done.
Rodney

Rodney, I have been putting updates in my "Princess Dress" album, and am currently trying to learn to install a zipper.... then I get to learn about sleeve!