Little Purl of the Orient

Another Second Take

Once again I have another of my 'Everything I do, I do it 2 times' post. After making 2 Nani Iro tunics, I made a second top with the Simplicity 2596. The first one is in View A which you can see here (the last photo). And this time, I made View B.

This fabric, a very thin and sheer cotton with fabric dots on it, is also from Shamshuipo ("SSP"). I guess this fabric might be known as the Swiss Dot. If not, I'm still going to refer to it as Swiss Dot at least for this post, I would appreciate if anyone would correct me if I'm wrong. And SSP is fast becoming my favourite haunt of late (more on this district below).

Since the fabric is very thin and I don't have a serger, I foresee the zigzag stitch of my machine would not provide a very nice finish and would probably make the garment look really homemade especially where the seams would be exposed due to the fold-up sleeves. So I decided to use French seams where the seams would be revealed, for the underarm and shoulder seams. I thought I was very smart until the curved underarms puckered like crazy and I realized I have to clip the curves. So in the end, I had to clip through the layers of French seam at the underarms, so much for being 'smart'.

Then came the neckline. The seam allowance is 1.5 cm and how wide that is on the thin Swiss Dot although I did use the lightest weight interfacing that I have this time. (Maybe the interfacing is still not thin enough, I'll have to ask Joy about this the next time we meet for knitting.) The neckline and facing stood to attention and there is no way I could live with that. I hung out the garment for a night, looking at it from time to time thinking of a solution and then thanks to the Internet, I found out that I have to trim the seam allowance of the facing and that's just what I did and how happy am I! I still couldn't figure out the understitching of the facing so I topstitched it this time round.

As for the elastic, I dithered a bit, not sure if I should use a store-bought bias tape (too heavy for the fabric) or sew a separate casing using the same fabric. In the end, I just made a double fold with the top around the waist which made a natural casing instead of sewing a separate piece. I think I like the result.

And yes, I made buttonholes for the fold-up sleeves. I did practise first on a spare piece of the Swiss Dot to make sure it's ok before making the holes on the tab. I should have taken a photo of the sleeve detail with the mother-of-pearl buttons from stash.

All in all, I'm happy with my sewing of this garment. The best part was, I wore it to work for casual Friday and nobody had any idea I made it myself (if yes, they were polite not to ask me about it)! Excuse the creases, it is afterall, after a day's wear (and I didn't re-iron it for the photo shot) :).

More about Shamshuipo: I found this video on Youtube where the lady in pink would lead you from the underground station to the fabric shops. It stops short of just where the fabric stalls in the streets are, where I buy most of the fabrics along Ki Lung Street. For those unfamiliar with Hong Kong, it is an interesting video with a slice of the HK street scenes. Check out also this older post of mine back in 2006 about the fabric stalls, they are pretty much the same to this day. I think the fabrics might be excesses from the nearby factories and there is usually only one roll of each which would be gone the next week or two. This makes it all the more fun as there would be 'new' fabrics to discover each week. At very affordable prices, it is difficult to resist not getting something that you like as it would very likely not be there the next time you go.

Blabber and a second take

1. Knitting and crocheting gives me zen whereas I need to achieve a certain level of zen (lots of deep breathing) before I could start sewing.

2. Strange thing is, I can spend months working on a knitting project and feel perfectly fine with that but if I can't finish a sewing project in an afternoon or two, I feel really frustrated. (I guess I found out the reason/cause - sewing implies 'instant gratification' to me, so if the instantaneity doesn't happen, like I've programmed my mind to believe so, it makes me very uneasy.)

3. Buying fabric is kind of like buying skincare to me: I'm buying 'hope'. Sooner or later, I would realize that the lifting cream is doing nothing to defy the pull of gravity on my face or the whitening essence just won't give me the flawless skin like that model on the TV advert. While buying fabric, I dream of the beautiful garments that they will become and how nice I would look in them and blah, blah, blah. After one sewing session and I'm brought down to earth with the homemade look that I produce. Anyway, I continue to come back with more 'hope' from Shamshuipo.

4. The Machine - For sewing, I have to control a machine and then I always have tension problem. I've thought of getting a new and better machine but realize that my sewing machine, a Janome, although basic, is not that bad. So I took it apart the other day to oil it, clean off the threads and tiny clumps of fabrics inside, change the needles, took out the manual to have a good look and it's working okay again. Guess, I have to come to terms with it and understand it.

5. For knitting or crocheting, I can do it at a variety of times and almost anywhere, mostly on the commute to and from work, doing homework with the girls, waiting for them to have their music lessons, etc. With sewing, I have to sit down with lots of concentration, meaning, I can't get involve with my children's activities while sewing at the same time. I kind of find a way out by getting them lots of craft kits for the summer holidays like making magnets for the white board, beads, new paints for colouring, clay, etc and we can all embark on our own crafty pursuits.

So much for the blabber. I made another top using the same Nani Iro pattern from this book. Remember the purple floral tunic?

I used the same pattern but in a totally different fabric. Linen this time with rosette embellishment chanced upon while shopping for beads for the girls in SSP. They go just right with the linen. The sales lady taught me to use the zipper foot so that I could sew close to the rosettes.

And linen is perfect for the hot weather although it creases so easily. The linen is also bought in SSP. I have another in a blue and I so feel like going back for more colours. Plus they are on clearance.

This time round, I actually approve of my own sewing. I think I took a few baby steps forward. Practice seems to be doing me some good.

Me-Made Holiday (a long post)

Back in May, Yoshimi embarked on her Me-Made-May excursion and gave me lots of inspiration with her professional looking and meticulously made garments. As a novice sewer, I do not dream of a Me-Made month but I try to keep a goal in mind to actually wear what I sew. With that target, I would try my best to finish the garments properly. Yes, I classify myself as a hobbyist sewer but at the end of the day, it is much more satisfying if the clothes I made are somewhat wearable.

The Me-Made holiday to Penang, Malaysia started with this cream Nani Iro top at the Hong Kong airport in late afternoon of Day 1. We arrived very happily in the evening at our beach hotel at Batu Ferringhi.

I decided to get my act together to fix the neckline of this top sewed last year but never worn. There's nothing wrong with the neckline if I like it slightly off my shoulder but I prefer not having to watch over my bra strap every so often, so I narrowed the neckline by gathering a little at the back too. The belt was an idea from my elder daughter JY and I think it is a good suggestion. The fabric is Nani Iro double gauze. It is so nice and breezy to wear. The pattern is #1 from this book (SBN 978-4579111497).

Day 2 was pretty much spent at the pool and then out to Gurney Drive for some much-missed hawker food. Look how gleeful my 2 girls are.

We went on a round-island tour on Day 3 and went to the hillside for some of yummy Penang durian. We tasted the delectable Ang Heh (literally means Red Prawn). There is mostly Thai durian sold in Hong Kong which is so bland to me. Nothing like the tasty Malaysian durian that I'm so used to from my childhood days in Singapore. For those interested, you might like to check out the different varieties of durians here.

And I wore the linen pants I sewed using the Very Easy Vogue 7883 (I made the size 10). The fabric is a grayish blue linen (the third one from the top of this stack of fabric) which I bought in Shamshuipo. I love this fabric and have some more it which I hope to make a Twinkle Sew top. That is, if I could figure out how to print the patterns from the CD (do I shrink to fit when printing? Thanks to anyone who can help me out with this or point me to where I can find more information on printing out the Twinkle Sew patterns). The waist band is in elastic, next time I have to learn how to fix the elastic to the back only as I certainly do not need the extra bulk around my tummy.

Are you tired of the headless photos of mine? I am, so here's the 4 of us and another look at the linen pants.

Day 4 was for visiting the historic sites in Georgetown, which is one of the Unesco heritage cities. Below is a photo of Chew Jetty, homes built on stilts in the waters. I wore my purple Nani Iro tunic on this day. We went for some yummy Peranakan food that evening.

On day 5, our last day in Penang, we went in search of the famous Penang Road Chendol, had more Ang Heh durian along Mcalister Road and had authentic street side hawker food at Lorong Baru/New Lane.

And I wore the Simplicity top (2596, View A, size 8). The fabric is a synthetic blend (realized it only afterwards) that I got from Taobao website in China. It is mini navy anchors on white. I chose the wrong weight interfacing and the neck sort of stood up. Luckily it softens after a wash and here you have it, me being adventurous wearing my own homemade top in the streets of Penang. And of course flip-flops are a must.

A mix of everything in this post, our adventures in a fun-filled holiday in Penang (so much to see, so much to eat too) and my adventures in sewing (so much to learn and so much room for improvement). Hope you are still with me. Meanwhile, have a great weekend!