Brighter Fusion Blog

I picked up a nice pale mint green Wards Signature sewing machine from a thrift store a few months ago. It took me a long time to fix it (needed to turn it upside down and hit it with a hammer, as it turns out). It seems to be working pretty well now, with a few odd quirks as you would expect from a $10 sewing machine made around 1962.

I started with zig zags. I bought some giraffe jeans from the same thrift store (”Savers”) and cut them to be capris and zig zagged the edges, with enough extra length to roll up my calf, 50’s style. Then I butchered some old towels and made some nice small size rags for house cleaning. I even made some money “hemming” a massage therapist’s halved sheets by folding over the edge and zig zagging. I have yet to use the iron on a sewing project.

Now, I think I’ve turned a corner. I’m nearly finished with a knit wrap dress from a Butterick pattern, designed by Maggy London. I need to sew the waist on a bit more (and I’ll sew a vintage nylon slip to the dress while I’m at it) and put the sleeves on, and then I’m all done! I’ll try to get a picture for the blog when it’s done.

Here’s a question. If a pattern is only appropriate for matte jersey knit, why on earth does it have ironing instructions all over it? What good does attempting to iron jersey knit do??