Single guy needs advice!

My mending skills saved me when I managed to tear EVERY pair of pants that I owned in a two week period when I was broke to boot. If I hadn't known how to fix them I would have had a very big problem.

Cynthia

My dear Cynthia, I was just jokin' with ya!! And you are absolutely right when you say mending SKILL. There is a skill to mending. I was a single mom and money was very tight so I know the value of mending and with the boys I had my machine on a table next to the washer. It was just part of the Saturday laundry chore. BUT, I really HATED mending and for me one of the greatest rewards of old age and adequate finances is that I don't have to if I just don't want to anymore *happy dance*

Val

you can find fabric in widths of 45", 54" and 60" almost anywhere. I think there are probably wider fabrics available as well.

Larisa

GCW wrote:

Re: Single guy needs advice! I like a long drape or sheer on a track for window walls. Not that I've done a job like this yet, :) but I linger over them when see the pics in chic home interior mags: one long dramatic sweep of lightweight drapes, easily whisked back against a wall. The tracks the drapes ride in look like the ones they use in hospitals, and are mounted on the ceiling: if you consider this, you may want to check out a hospital supplier, to see if they carry the tracks. You could hang the curtains with clips or a grommet/ clip combo, like the hospitals do. Wide width fabric: check out: homespunfabrics.com They carry 10' wide drapery fabrics, (which might be your best bet--in the measuring stage, you may find that ordering this is cheaper than using sheets); sheeting, lining, crinkle sheers, gauze, muslin, blackout lining, ( b/o is lightweight, w/out the rubber backing), 116" wide!!), etc. Last time I checked, you could buy 25 yard bolts of 60" wide drapery gauze for $3.50 a yard. Length would be whatever length you need, plus a bit for hems and headers. I think you can order samples. When measuring for drapes/curtains, think about the look you want, then figure that into the window measurements. Do you want long, full, billowy lightweight drapes? If so, no matter how wide the fabric you buy is, you will need 2 &1/2 to 3 times the _window_ width---that amount of fabric to achieve the right look, so the curtains don't look cheap and skimpy. Then you must also figure how many lengths of a given fabric you will need. (Shop prices are most often figured on # of lengths a window requires.) You might want to browse through a few custom drapery shops, for ideas, as well as measuring and sewing advice. Once you've got all that down, the construction part is easy. I've gotten some of my best ideas from Casual Corner Interiors, examining their samples, and buying the books on styles ideas and construction methods, as well as making numerous trips to a much larger local fabric shop/workroom, where the staff have been most generous, sharing their time and expertise with me. I send clients to them for fabric purchases, as much as possible. I agree with the poster who told you that you won't save a lot of money if you buy a machine for just this one use. However, it may be the start of an enjoyable hobby, so who am I to discourage you? You might be an inspiration to your DDs, who may learn to sew, too. I also favor secondhand, affordable machines, and have been known to pick up bargains at yard sales, and refurbish them myself. :) Cea

--- (GCW) Well, I couldn't have found a more friendly newsgroup to pose my questions to, now could I? Thanks to everyone who's responded. I think I'm going to start my curtain project by trying one of those no-sewing methods. I found a lot of plans at hgtv.com (and surprisingly none at discovery.com (linked to Trading Spaces). I'm going to try to find flat sheets that will look good, and use the sticky tape to make hems (if they need to be trimmed). One other question for you all, however. . . If I end up buying fabric, how WIDE is it, typically? I understand buying enough length, but what about width? Is that a stupid question or what? I guess I'm wondering if I buy fabric will I have to tape it up lengthwise to get it wide enough (is this making sense?). IF this project works out, AND I have some fun in the process, then I just might start seeking a used sewing machine that's been treated with TLC. My DD's (11 and 14) would sure get a kick out of seeing (and helping) their dad with a needle and thread (and bobbin, and all that other stuff you've mentioned!) Gary

I just thought of one reason NOT to learn to sew. How will I maintain my helpless male persona to perspective relationships? Heck, if I can make my own curtains and stuff for my daughters, (and, btw, I cook fairly well too and enjoy it) they may think, heck, what does he need ME for?

All said tongue in cheek, of course.... LOL

Gary

Au contraire, Gar - it makes you more attractive! Nobody wants to pull the whole load herself. This is the 21st century - women want partners these days. A man who is confident in his ability to cook, clean, sew, do laundry and mow the lawn is in a much better position.

BTW, the advice of picking up an old Singer machine - be sure it's not a "Touch and Sew" or "Stylist" - is an excellent one. The older mechanical machines are relatively easy to get into good working condition, and parts are generally available should any be needed. If you do that, I'll tell you what's in my tool chest. ;-)

THEY will need YOU to make all their super saver beautiful budget curtains, frocks and all sorts they will need when they go to college and set up their first homes. Then they will need toy to make their wedding gowns and things for the grandbabbies thereafter... Who will in turn grow up and require the same things of you... It never ends!

Well, I took the plunge. I'm $32 in to the project.

I went to Home Depot and bought a closet rod and two fancy wooden things to stick on the ends (so it becomes a drapery rod), and some hardware to mount the nearly 12 foot rod, and a can of spray paint. Then I got Very Excited, because the lady at Home Depot told me about a fabric store that's opened up just a mile from my apartment that specializes in remnants, etc. Apparently the owner flies to NY periodically and brings back all this good stuff and sells it cheap. She (the lady at Home Depot) said the clerks in this store were excellent. She said, take your drawing in and they'll get everything you need -- and respect your budget, too. I'm going for a drape that will hand down on either side (about 18-24 inches wide), puddle at the bottom but just slightly, and then corkscrew over the rod in nice billowy waves. Any hemming I'll do with sticky fabric tape. (See what I've learned already?? LOL)

My couch is hunter green, and my accent pillows pick up on some maroon, as does the oriental rug in front of the couch. The opposite wall has two silvery chromey restaurant shelving units, which I use as a sort of high-tech looking entertainment center for the TV/stereo/speakers, as well as a place to keep my (music) keyboard. Atop one is a basket with faux ivy, and I intend to get some ivy runners to go down the sides of the shelving units as well. There are lots of candles on there too, and (don't laugh) a shelf devoted to a teddy bear collection (both mine and my DD's). (Have I mentioned I love being a DAD?)

Now I have to find fabric which will help blend the silver high tech side with the comfy hunter green/maroon side. I even have a neat silk ficus tree aside the shelves which has nice green leaves AND some reddish ones too.

I'd post a picture or two, but haven't a website or a clue how to do so. I bet if I did that, you guys would have some great ideas for me! For instance, what to hang over the couch (I have cathedral ceilings, too, which are great.) I don't want "just another picture" there.

Okay, I'm off to this new fabric store. I think the curtain gods are looking out for me!

Gary (Pardon the long post!)

Nearly everyone will tell you you need a serger to make T-shirts, but I make T-shirts with plain old straight stitch. The vertical seams press themselves open and are ever so much nicer than the lumpy overlocked seams in off-the-rack T-shirts.

I do use a zig-zag for the hems. Without zig-zag, you'd have to hand-hem knits.

Knits require much less ease than woven fabrics, and different knits require different amounts of ease. When you have tweaked a pattern to perfection, and run out of the original batch of fabric, or decide that now you'll cut the good stuff, you might find that your pattern no longer fits. This is why knits are -- or should be -- marked with the percent of stretch.

Double knits and interlock are much easier to handle than single knits. I can't cut cotton jersey at all without first basting all around the edges to prevent rolling, laying it out flat, and spraying it with starch. And I have to wait for it to dry; trying to speed it up with an iron will distort the fabric. (And interlock wears longer than jersey, too.)

The best fabric for a beginner is lightweight woven cotton. (Well wool and silk are even easier, but you never find

*them* in the $1/yard clearance bins.) Pure cotton is best because it can be torn to shape -- handy when you are making curtains! Synthetics will pull and distort if you try to tear them, and it's often difficult or impossible to draw a thread for a cutting guide in blends.

Cutting off grain -- not parallel to the threads -- will cause fabric to hang crooked, so a fabric that automatically tears along the grain is a big help to success with a first project.

If you want to use the double-needle trick for hemming knits, you need a machine with a front-threading needle. If the needle threads from the side, twin needles will be in tandem instead of side-by-side. Interesting for ornamental stitches, but quite useless for hems and pin tucks.

Let me join the chorus saying "DON'T BUY A CHEAP NEW SEWING MACHINE!" Consider what you'd say to a beginner who walks past a thrift shop filled with Snap-On wrenches on his way to the dollar store to buy a knucklebuster.

(I hope that simile works; I use Craftsman myself.)

You can get a *good* second-hand sewing tool for much less than you'd pay for the cheapest and flimsiest new toy. I personally wouldn't touch anything made after 1970; that was about when sewing ceased to be a frugal necessity and became an expensive hobby.

Joy Beeson

I'm so sorry if I sounded snappy (after re-reading it I think I did sound snappy). I didn't intend to. Right now, being in school, I usually have be pretty frugal with clothes in order to have thos luxuries of eating, and having an apartment. Right now I am concentrating on making myself some nice cotton blouses so I have something to wear this summer other than tank tops.

Cynthia

Standard widths at fabric stores are usually 45 or 60 inches. It wont be wide enough . However if you get a queen or king size flat sheet, they are VERY wide and you may be able to eliminate seaming.

You also might want to do several smaller sheets . Check packages for sizes or measure what you have as a guide line.

The standard amount you want for good fullness is at least twice the width of your window. So if you are covering a 35 inch wide window you would want

70 inches of fabric, plus an extra couple inches on all sides for hems. What most people would do is buy two 45 inch widths of the appropriate length and put one on each side of the rod so you can pull them to the sides with tie backs. What I did for a while on my 35" windows was use full size flat sheets. I didn't need to hem it, it was exactly the right length to hit my floor. If I had shorter ceilings they would have been too long, but I could have used the hem tape ( stitch witchery is one brand).

I still really recommend getting some books as they will help you learn to measure and determine yardage. You also have to determine how they are going to be hung in advance.

Rebecca

Hi, Rebecca. *waving*

Joanne from TreadleOn

but gary, to those of us who appreciate such things, and understand the work and talant that goes into t hem.....what an attraction!!!!! lol

betsey "we do not inherit the earth, we caretake it for our children"

(big snip)

Take one of the accent cushions with you to the fabric store to help in your choice. Congrats! You are off on one fun hobby! (or two or three... home dec, sewing, ...)

Gary says, sort of plaintively:

Get with the program, Gar! Women today are fed up with helpless men!

My mil passed away about 10 years ago, and my fil, bless his heart, said he couldn't understand, with all the widows on his street, why they couldn't get together and take turns COOKING dinner for him!! LOL I said, "Well, maybe because they've finally escaped that sort of nonsense!" He just looked at me like I had two heads.

My first husband did NOTHING around the house, never changed a diaper, never fed his own child, so when it came to round two, I was determined to find someone who wanted an equal partner, instead of a house slave. It's MUCH better that way!

So you learn to sew, and to cook, and keep being a teddy bear collector--it's all good, Gary!

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

I just read the color description, and I can see luxe drapes done in the iridescent(?) fabrics - the ones that look one color in direct light and then another color when they move. Of course, this may be something for a more experienced sewist...but it is appealing to my nesting instinct . Maybe this is something I can do in the bedroom once I get it painted...hmmmmmmmmmm....gee, we try to help one person, and end up giving ideas to another....lol

Larisa

Jean D Mahavier wrote:

fabric.com (phoenix textiles) have a lot of extra wide fabrics also. Good people to deal with.

I typically pay less than $1 to about $4 for an excellent condition T-shirt at a thrift shop. Decent serger: probably $300-500. Haven't priced one with a cover stitch. Start with the curtains and a straight-stitch machine. And you might start with cheapo fabric just to see how it's going to look. You can always turn the finished product into a car cover or Halloween costume once you do the final $$ fabric edition. HTH

--Karen M. agreeing with you about the helpfulness of this NG--helpful supportive answers and comments, usually within a couple of hours!