Catching Up

It's been a while since I last posted as I've been frantically trying to wrap up a handful of projects, and it will probably be another short while until I post again.

I'm fully aware that it is only October 11th, but for those of us giving all handmade gifts, Christmas is right around the corner. I have wisely (ha) decided to undertake 20 projects before Christmas (and some of those before Thanksgiving to save on shipping), and have completed 4 3/4. I also have Halloween costumes to finish...before Halloween...and I have the Lady Grey Sew Along mixed in there as well.

Things are getting done though. I made the slip cover for our guest room (my sewing room/office) sofa bed:



I finished the bibs for the baby gift:






Ann is on her stand and ready for draping projects (that was more Daniel than me, but whatever):



And this is where I am on my Lady Grey coat:


All pieces are cut and serged, folded neatly, and sitting in a stack. My fusible interfacing should be here today (didn't realize I didn't have enough until I went to use it), so I'll probably start assembling tonight.
I made my first attempt at a bound buttonhole last night and while it definitely didn't come out presentable, I know what I did wrong and think my next attempt will go better. Once I'm happy with the outcome, I'll go ahead on the jacket.
I'm also not sold on my button choice. I had no idea what to do, so I just picked up something that would "work" to fill the space. Maybe I should try a fabric covered button to match either the shell or lining? Thoughts? Suggestions?

In my "finished" stack there are also those presents that are finished, but I can't post pictures...I believe in surprise too much to risk having to make something else just because the cat got out of the bag ;)

Meet Ann

Yes, she's finally finished (well, except for the stand). After many grueling hours of labor, we can welcome Ann to the world. Since I replaced my middle name with my maiden name when I got married, I decided to name her Ann to remind myself of where I was when I started sewing. I know, I'm so sappy.

I spent yesterday afternoon covering her in some fleshy stretch nylon - not fun - and pinning it down where it doesn't quite follow the curves. Daniel is planning to build a base for her so we can attach her to one of our lighter tripods we have around the house. Then she'll be adjustable!!



Can't wait to start using her!!!

Sewing Double Update

I know it's been quite some time since we started this process, but we've only made a little headway. We let the form dry to be sure it was really cured before we started filling it with expanding spray insulation (smart, right? We have our moments).

This weekend we taped the two halves together and got to work. I read somewhere to spray the inside with cooking spray or coat it with vaseline so the foam doesn't stick to it. We tried cooking spray and vegetable oil (unfortunately, no vaseline on hand), but they just soaked into the plaster. We considered Crisco, but I can't for the life of me remember why that was vetoed. We moved on figuring we'd come up with something :)


We set the form upside down in a 5 gallon bucket, propped up along the sides with boards and started filling. We did all of one can first, but it didn't expand as much as we expected. Then we decided to do layers, let them dry and expand some, then add another so we weren't weighing anything down as they expanded. It worked.


After 3 cans of the regular Great Stuff and 2 of the window kind, the foam is set and we're just contemplating the removal. Our plan is to just wet down the plaster and wash it off.


From the outside it seems to have held fairly well, aside from the spreading at the "seams" right around the bustline. I'll just measure and shave off whatever is extra.

My plan now is to buy some ribbed knit or tricot (something stretchy at least) in a flesh tone to cover it with. No clashing purple for my dressform :)

My Sewing Double in the Works

I've been eying the adjustable dressforms every time I go to Hancocks for some time now, and really wanting one every time I have to fit a shirt or dress with a zipper and Daniel has to help me. I tried to just bite the bullet and buy one about a month ago when I **thought** Hancock was having a sale on them, only they weren't on sale when I got to the store so I talked myself out of it.

Part of the argument to not buy one yet was the fact that I am curvy, so just adjusting to my numbers would still give a fairly skewed impression of "me."

Then, I started looking into the homemade doubles. I read about the duct tape one, the brown paper tape, and on and on. I wasn't excited enough about any of the methods to jump into it until I came across a plaster cast method. Basically, you use the plaster strips that casts are made from to make a mold of yourself, then use your desired method to make a dummy. I was stoked.

We went out Sunday and bought about 10 yards of 3" rolled gauze and the smaller bucket of plaster of paris....and we used every last bit of it.

• Standing in a big cardboard box in the kitchen wearing just a bra and undies (and shoes and socks to keep my feet comfy on the hard floor), I had Daniel wrap me in a firm, but not tight, layer of plastic wrap (I helped out along the squishier areas holding things in place so they didn't get smushed).
• He then whipped up a batch of plaster, cut some strips of gauze, and went to work starting at the top. Since gauze is flexible, getting good curves around my curves wasn't a problem. The plaster of paris was the quick dry (20-30 minutes) kind, so he had to work very quickly covering me in the gauze. Having another set of hands would have been seriously helpful.
  
• We let it dry, then he cut me out with pruning shears (a little stressful).
• The whole process probably took about 45 minutes all together.

(If you could see my feet, you would see the shoes and socks, with little plastic wrap booties)

As a claustrophobic, this was not exactly the most pleasant experience of my life. I kind of had the sensation of being buried alive in something clear (since I could obviously see), especially once the plaster started to dry and I could feel the weight and wasn't able to move. Daniel did well keeping me calm while it was still wet so I could keep my breathing steady and not alter the mold (or pass out, of course, since sitting down wasn't an option).



After cutting me out, we noticed a little spot that was missed in the shoulder, but we'll just tape over it when we fill it. Now all we have to do is go buy some foam insulation to fill it with! Once that's set, I'm just going to buy some fleshy colored tricot or ribbed knit to cover it with, then come up with a name :) Suggestions??