Okay. I am a pretty fair quilter, but not a seamstress. I must've gotten a little overconfident agreeing to make a crib set for my FIRST (did I say first) grandchild due in September.
I don't know whether to throw it all in the back yard, cry, or just give it back to her and admit that I must have some kind of learning disability with regard to pattern instructions. OR, Vogue patterns are incredibly, needlessly, and hopelessly complicated.
It's a crib skirt, quilt & bumper pad. I whizzed through the quilt. Now the crib skirt. I CAN NOT figure out the instructions. I am either going to have to turn this over to someone else or just wing it and throw the instructions away.
I've used Simplicity patterns before. What's the deal? Are Vogue patterns written for advanced seamstresses?
BTW, I DID throw away the instructions for the quilt. Who EVER could make a quilt with tissue pattern pieces? I measured them & tossed the tissue to the QI's.
Vogue patterns are rather unique. You do need to get used to them. I ended up using them all the time, as they fit so beautifully (even me!!). Be sure you read the instructions when you have the fabric etc in your hands. If you try to read them in the abstract, most instructions make little sense. Another good idea, if you are really stuck, is to get someone else to read them aloud while you do what they say. That has never failed for me, in any circumstance (even technical!! - and guess who now operates the video recorder in this house >ggotten a little overconfident
Yes, Sherry, yes indeed. 'Vogue patterns are incredibly, needlessly, and hopelessly complicated.' In my dressmaking days, I enjoyed their 'better than the average bear' cut and style. There were many times that I read their instructions 3 times and had to go walk around outside to calm down and try again. So. Therefore. Where does that leave you? Needing to make a crib skirt. Let's find instructions elsewhere. After all, a crib skirt is not that big a deal. All it is, probably, is something very similar to a plain old bed sheet (a very Short bed sheet) with a casing at the top to run a drawstring or elastic through. It will need ties to attach it to the bed, and the sides and bottom will need to be hemmed. You'll need a panel for the front, back and both ends of the bed. I'm just guessing that where the instructions go crazy is making splits (and you certainly can simply make 4 separate panels) so you can get around the legs of the bed. Remain calm. Nobody ever died from pattern instructions that I know of. Tossing them to the QI is an option. Polly
"Sherry" Okay. I am a pretty fair quilter, but not a seamstress. I must've
Bedshirt for a crib sits directly under the matteress. At least on the one I have for my not so little one. The part that is right underneath is just plain white fabric. The part that hangs down is red panels. It looks like they ruffled them, but just slightly. And there is a split where the panels over lap in each of the corners. This has to be so that the fabric can hang over the part that holds the crib base to the sides. The panels are only about 6" from white fabric to bottom. They just gave it a small small hem. That's it. I would search crib matteress for the size. That gives you the size of the white fabric. Then make panels adding a little extra to ruffle just slightly and attach. That's it. I know it sounds easy eh...
As for bumper pads they are now say> Yes, Sherry, yes indeed. 'Vogue patterns are incredibly, needlessly, and
I agree that, in my experience, Vogue patterns for clothes are generally more complicated than Simplicity or McCalls, in part because the designs are usually more complex -- though they don't seem to do things the easy way. I don't really understand how they can complicate bed ruffles but...
A standard crib mattress is 28"x52". The dust ruffles I made for my grandkids were gathered with about a 16" drop. I used the instructions in the book "The Quilted Nursery" by Leslie Beck. Actual length doesn't really matter, though you want it short enough so that it doesn't drag on the floor when the crib mattress is at its lowest position. Cut a piece of muslin the size of the mattress plus an inch for a seam allowances for the mattress base; this goes under the mattress so it won't be seen, but just provides support for the ruffle. The instructions I have say to fold each corner over diagonally 1/2", then fold over again and stitch down. This gives you a bit of space for the corner posts. I cut the ruffle pieces across the width of the fabric and seamed the ends to give me the length I needed for each side. I used 2 widths on each of the long sides and one on each of the short sides. Hem one long side and the short sides of the ruffle pieces and gather them to fit each side of the mattress base. Machine stitch in place, taking a
1/2" seam. Fold the seam allowance toward the mattress base and topstitch on the right side to hold the seam allowance in place. And you're done!
I've done bumper pads, too, using my own ideas of how to do it based on the afore-mentioned book, KwikSew's book "Sewing for Babies", and the instructions that came with the SewPerfect baby bumper batting by Fairfield. The SewPerfect batting definitely makes a very nice bumper, and is easy to use. Their instructions do have you making the bumper in four sections, one for each side of the crib. I did not do that -- I made it all in one section. The batting is in 6 sections, so it does go around the corners nicely. I've done bumpers with other batting, but the SewPerfect is definitely the nicest I've use. I bought it at Hancock Fabrics.
I still buy and use Vogue patterns, for myself and some of the things that I do for my wife. They have, generally, more pieces per pattern so as to produce a more tailored fit, which is really only possible with that approach. If when I want to make a Hawaiian shirt, I wouldn't reach for Vogue, as that sort of shirt is loose fitting by it's very nature. It is not better, than simplicity, just more "fitted" looking. I do think that you need to use Vogue patterns a lot, in order to get used to the fiddley nature of their designs. But I don't see why you can't use another pattern for some other element of the project you are working on, as it really is separate from the all the other parts. That would be my take on your dilemma.
Vogue sometimes make things unnecessarily complex. Dig the dimentions and patterns out for the thing and read the destructions throug to make sure that you don't have to do 'A'before 'B' and 'C' will work... Then just do it the way instinct says. It's not a boned bodice with a crinoline skirt, after all.
Taria: I call those accessories 'dust ruffles' too! I wonder about the practicality of dust ruffles/crib skirts on a crib. When the side is lowered and raised it might tangle up with the ruffle. PAT in VA/USA
Cindy, it's worse than you know. Probably you were supposed to do the pintucks *and* the embroidery before you cut out the bodice - both will distort the fabric just a little. HOWEVER - I'll bet it can still be an exquisite gown. We can find a way to insert the embroidery in-between as many pintucks as your heart wants to stitch. Such a grand beginning with fine silk thread embroidery - go find that treasure and let's make plans. Polly
Cindy: I do hope you read Polly's post. I agree with her. The project is probably salvageable. A bodice for an infant's gown is so small, that you should be able to find more of the same, or similar, fabric to re do it. Then the other piece could be used as an insert for the baby bonnet. Good luck. PAT in VA
And you're right! The pattern piece I used (there must have been 50!) was the template to draw the outline so you could make sure the pintucks and embroidery didn't distort the fabric. You'd a thought it would have said THAT somewhere on the pattern. Nope. It was marked as "Bodice".
I actually could have used the piece. The bodice wouldn't have had any pintucks, but it would have looked all right.
I had tons of fabric. It wasn't expensive batiste. Thank goodness I was too dumb then to realize how much I could have paid for it. I think I bought it at Wal Mart or Hobby Lobby. Around $3/yard or less. This was back before I learned there was a difference in fabric.
I'll go back to it someday. When I get all the quilting out of my system.
Meanwhile, back to sewing garments - I need a blouse to wear with a new suit; want one that buttons down the back so I don't have to tug it over my hair and makeup. Really. There is just no such blouse anywhere. Decided it might not do permanent harm to my delicate sensibilities to sew one myself. Searched patterns. Found one finally on ebay. Have the good sense to test it on some sleazy cotton. Would you believe: it is just Killing me to stitch a 5/8" seam? All my lecturing and nagging about ¼" marking and masking tape? Me? 5/8" ? This is awful. I may need adult supervision. Polly
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