I got me an overlocker!

Last weeks edition of The Great British Sewing Bee was so timely as it came just 4 days after I put in my order for my very own overlocker. I am so excited to give this baby a go.

I have never used an overlocker in my life and have no idea where to even start. All I know is that looking at my wardrobe, and the type of clothes I like to wear, they are mostly all made of some sort of jersey or stretch fabric so this will make attempting to sew them so much easier. Now I know I don't NEED an overlocker by any stretch of the imagination, but I came it to a bit of bonus money recently and thought I might as well treat myself. Who doesn't love a new piece of machinery or tool!

I wanted to make sure I did a bit of research first as this was my first time buying one. Things which are looked out for are:

• 3 or 4 Threads: Having the option for either or means that you have a larger range of stitch type options.
• Rolled Hem: This will turn under and overstitch them edge of the fabric, perfect for hemming
• Differential Feed: This is an adjustment to alter the feed so that fabrics don't become too stretched or gathered giving you a beautiful flat seam (see example below).
• Retractable Cutting Knife: Allowing you to sew decorative stitches without cutting the seam
• Colour Coded Threading: Allowing you to see easily how to re-thread the machine
• Adjustable Cutting Width: Change the amount of the seam which is cut
• Variable Seam length and width: Some come with one or the other or neither. I wanted a good variation on this.

I opted for the Janome 9300DX in the end because it was within my price bracket and on comparison gave a good range in stitch adjustments for what I wanted. However if you are thinking about a cheaper version Tilly has been raving about her Brother 1034D.

The picture above shows you what differential feed really means (the clue is so not in the title). It is a dial that changes the amount of 'give', for want of a better word, in the seam stitches. If you look at the top one my differential feed is not set correctly and so the seam is stretched and out of shape (not good). If you turn the dial (up for jersey) then you change the differential feed and you can see this has made everything nice and straight and flat, magic. So that is what differential feed means, I know, I didn't have a monkeys either so don't worry. I will definitely be showing you what happens when I get to have a proper play with this.

Do any of you have an overlocker and have any tips or tricks for me? Alternatively, if you are thinking about one why do you want it? And I hope this post might have given you a bit of an insight in to what to look out for. 

By Georgia, She's an Animal!

Happy Friday! This weekend will mostly be spent looking at new kitchens which is both very exciting and very dull both at the same time. However it is the first time I have ever had to design my own kitchen so I must enjoy the process as much as possible Yay!

This week I am proud to present my second version of the Georgia dress in this gorgeous leopard print cotton poplin... Rawr! Topically Animal by Def Leopard is playing as I type this and because you are bound to want to know, the ears are from the fabulous Crown and Glory.

Project Details:

Pattern: Georgia, By Hand London 

Fabric: Leopard print poplin, bought locally from My Fabric Place

Size: 6-10-14 with a 3" FBA

Other adjustments: shortened and  widened the straps

I am very happy with this dress, it's so easy to wear, the fit around the body is lovely and the straps are much better on this version meaning I can actually wear a bra (can I just say that my bra, pants and socks are also all leopard print under this outfit! Meow!). I did have some fitting issues, I don't think it needed to be drafted out to a 14, I think a 12 would have sufficed. In addition to this, because I shortened the straps the waist sections came up a bit high so I had to do a bit of adjusting in the seams there. Nothing too complicated though. 

The only issue with this version is my chest just will not fit in there and so if really needs to be worn with a cardi, though I am carrying some extra pounds, so hopefully that won't always be an issue. I think this is again down to the straps being a little too short, I think I need some sort of happy medium between the two versions. 

The thing I like very best about this dress though is the inside, its shocking pink! I almost wish this was the outside its spectacular. I wanted to line the dress because I know that poplin has a tendency to stick to tights and so I wanted it to be a bit easier to wear. Lining the dress was very simple, essentially you just make the dress twice and joint them at the top of the bodice... simples!

This time I also needed the zip so check out my invisible zipper insertion, I am really happy with this. I realise its not perfect (its not invisible for a start) but looky it goes all the way to the top and everything. 

I am thinking about the possibility of adding a trim to the outside, just under the bust, to break up the print a bit as it is quiet overpowering. I am thinking of some kind of thick lace trimming but can't yet decide if this should be black or shocking pink to match the inside. I think I am worried that if I add the pink it might start looking like nightwear instead. Do you have any thoughts?

Finally, on a complete side note, I was outside happily snapping these pictures for the blog and little to my knowledge the cheeky Mr Fox was inside doing his very best to photobomb me! Well, he gets what he deserves and so here he is acting like a banana for all your amusement.