Sewing Project?
by Denise Sawicki on September 17, 2007
So... we are into this goofy show "The Prisoner" lately and decided we want to go as people from that show for Halloween. That is, assuming anyone invites us to a party of any kind. We got excited and went out and bought a little red hat for 80 cents at a thrift store, and we managed to find a shirt with the right kind of stripes after considerable searching and bought that too... But what I really think would be cool is one of these colorful striped capes as shown here: http://www.netreach.net/~myronda/villagecottage.html or here: http://www.geocities.com/number404/number14s_cape.html. (I'd want the colors more like the first one though I think).
Anyway... how reasonable is it that Darrell and I could be able to sew something like this? I've never really sewn anything of consequence... Darrell actually did sew in high school home ec but doesn't remember much. We'd have access to a sewing machine... I imagine this is nowhere near as difficult as most things Lori does, seeing it doesn't have to be fitted or anything. It's still probably too difficult for us though, I imagine. It looks hard to get all the pieces the right shape. Should I just forget about it before I make a mess of things? :)
The men's costumes I don't think would be very difficult, provided we could find some kind of white tape to stick around the edges of a black blazer...
Ten Replies to Sewing Project?
Lori Lancaster | September 17, 2007
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Denise Sawicki | September 17, 2007
My goodness, I thought I might be able to draw you out of the woodwork with some advice but this is more than I expected! Thanks so much Lori for all the advice. I will look into all this. The sewing machine is at Darrell's grandma's house like 50 miles away so it may take some wrangling to get this done (plus she will ask lots of questions as to what the heck we are doing :) )
With the tape I was kinda thinking of a much dumber way to do it, like actual sticky tape (electrical tape, if they make that in white?) but I've no idea if it would stay put at all. If you sew on this bias tape is it easy to remove it later if you actually need a normal blazer for something? We're not real sticklers for authenticity or anything.
Kelly Lee | September 17, 2007
Bias tape is just fabric in long strips, with the "grain" of the fabric at a 45 degree angle, it's folded in once or twice and you just sew it along the edges. It;s really easy.
I wouldn't recommend sticky tape for anything, it will bunch the fabric weird and you won't be able to use the fabric for anything later, since it will have the adhesive residue on it.
That kind of cloak/cape, is actually really easy to make if you don't want to buy a pattern. I make a lot of costumes, and rarely use patterns. But I'm a cock like that. This stuff is easy. Here, I made a pattern for you:
click image to zoom
or clicky here
Hope this helps. I made it without lining or anything special. This is simple, and will get you thru halloween.
Lori Lancaster | September 17, 2007
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Lori Lancaster | September 17, 2007
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Amy Austin | September 17, 2007
How easy the bias tape is to remove depends on how loose your stitch is... plus, you should consider whether your needle is going to damage the blazer -- I wouldn't recommend it if the holes will show or create runs (more likely to happen to the lining of the jacket), but you should use as fine a needle as possible (they sell them in different sizes and tell you what weight of fabric each is intended for... you wouldn't want to sew silk, for instance, with a giant needle that would tear it or bunch it up... nor would you sew leather or *heavy* vinyl with anything but a leather needle, or else the needle might break mid-stitch/mid-project!
Also -- on making your own bias tape... it's called bias tape because you cut all the strips of fabric on the bias (the 45-degree diagonal of the fabric). This way, you get more (longer) strips out of less yardage, and the grain is guaranteed to be the same for each strip -- only the pattern will matter, if there is one, and for that you just make sure the top and bottom of each strip are joined with the same side of each (the strips will have diagonal edges, if you go selvage to selvage, which provides a better and stronger seam for the tape... just like the kind you buy prepackaged). Won't matter that much for using a solid, though, and if you're just doing white, then I *highly* recommend just buying the prepackaged kind -- it's very cheap and *much* easier for a novice to handle than making your own. It comes in 2-yard lengths, and so one or two packages should suffice for your purposes.
Making a cape is pretty simple, and making a sectioned one is only slightly harder/more time-intensive -- I think Lori's instructions have you pretty well covered, but the diagrams found in patterns are often quite helpful, especially to beginners. I'm sure that diagrams can be found online somewhere, and it sounds like Lori is willing to draw some up for you! ;-) This will avoid cash outlay for a pattern (can run anywhere from a couple of bucks to over $15, depending on the pattern), but the visual aids can offer great clarification -- especially when it comes to laying out your fabric and cutting the pieces (won't matter much with vinyl, though -- just fitting it on the yardage in the most efficient manner will be fine.
Good luck, and have fun! (Sometimes it is, but mostly -- for me, anyway -- it isn't... since I tend to be like Lori about it.) ;-D
Amy Austin | September 17, 2007
Okay... and I see once again that I am too slow -- which always makes me feel like an idiot. And I also see that Kelly has provided you with some visuals... feel free to disregard the previous! ;-7
Denise Sawicki | September 17, 2007
Neato... You've all been a great help, I hope I manage to make something nice so all your advice won't have gone to waste. You had good advice too Amy, don't feel bad.
Kelly Lee | September 17, 2007
Let me know if that helps ya.
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Lori Lancaster | September 17, 2007
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