Sew on the Go: a Maker’s Journey

Hello Mobile Makery friends!

I miss my blog! So I’m going to start updating it again with further tales from The Mobile Makery aka Bambi. Bambi has been very busy since I last posted here, but I’ve mainly been updating via my Facebook page Mary Jane Makes & her Mobile Makery.

However, for those of you who’d like to have more fulsome blog updates - then I’m bringing them back. Where else do I really have the chance to share my exploits in detail? First up, is exciting news about the new book I’m publishing with UNBOUND.

Sew on the Go: a Maker’s Journey is going to be a beautiful creative travel book. It’s all about the journey Bambi and I made around Europe in 2015 - the very journey that I talked about in this blog. In addition, there’ll be a special ‘cut out and keep’ travelling wardrobe section - an extra chapter showing you how to sew a selection of chic and cheap upcycled outfits for stylishly hitting the road!

The book is being crowdfunded - and I’m well on the way to getting it out there. If you’d like to learn more about the book and buy an advance copy (or one of the many other fabulous treats on offer) then please click on this link. There’s a fab video on there too! https://unbound.com/books/sew-on-the-go/

Upsize a leather skirt the MJ way!

Whilst visiting Edinburgh this weekend I picked up a great bargain from one of my favourite vintage shops -  Armstrongs in the Grassmarket. I purchased a red leather thrifted skirt. It cost me just £10.

There was just one problem.

It didn't fit!

Two choices: alter it or diet.

I say NO to diets!

Well, the skirt fitted well on the hips, but the waist was tiny. I just couldn't do it up. It had also obviously been worn by someone a little bigger beforehand, as the waistband was warped. However, it was such a good bargain, I felt I just had to buy it and give it a go. I considered taking it to be altered as it was leather and I wasn't sure I could manage the job myself, and then I thought: 'come on MJ - call yourself a make-do-and-mender? What are you doing? You should absolutely do this job yourself. It's not as if you're run off your feet at the moment - and besides, an alteration will cost twice as much as the skirt itself!'

It didn't look an easy job. As well as having a fair few seams, the skirt was lined and had a fitted waistband with a button. I measured my waist and the skirt waistband. Ahem. There was a good 3.5 inches difference. There was no way I would find enough leather at the bottom of the skirt to add to the waistband, and besides, with the number of seams, and the zip, it would be far too complicated.

And so...I decided to remove the waistband altogether, and see if there was some way of expanding the waist without it. I used a stitch unpicker, and in fact, it came away really easily.

I realised that without the waistband, the leather was actually quite stretchy, held firmly by the lining. I decided to undo the lining from the top of the skirt, trim it down slightly, fold over the top edge and tack it down. Then I would be able to slip the tacked lining back underneath the leather edge of the skirt, turn the leather back on itself by half an inch and hopefully stitch it all down again whilst skimming the top of the zip. That would certainly make the waistband bigger, but would it be enough? It's not easy to pin leather but I had a go, and by doing so was able to try the skirt on. And it seemed to fit pretty well.

Using a leather needle on the sewing machine and by taking it very slowly, I managed to stitch around the top edge fairly neatly. The leather stuck a bit to the plate beneath the machine needle so I had to guide it through carefully, especially over the bulky seams.

I then added a hook and eye at the top of the zip to stop it from coming undone.

Here you can see the inside. It's not perhaps a couture finish, but dear reader, it works!

Here you can see just how much bigger the skirt is now.

And by George - it fits pretty well!

Tah dah! Fitted leather skirt £10. Leather needles £1.20. Hook and eye around 10p. Total cost £11.30. Plus I feel really pleased that I managed to do it myself. Satisfaction guaranteed.

XX

Can't sew? Can Sew!

How many kids do you know who can sew? Very few probably. Another sign that manual life skills are just not being taught any more. We're increasingly becoming a nation that's dependent on others for doing simple jobs - putting up a shelf, wiring a plug, laying a carpet, sewing on a button, fixing a tear in our jeans - lots of people can't do any of these things for themselves. And if there's no-one to help, then we flounder, throwing out the thing that could so easily have been mended. What a waste. So imagine my delight when my cousin's two young children expressed an interest in learning how to use a sewing machine. The Mobile Makery was happy to help! First we started with the vintage handcrank Singer machine - a good choice as you're totally in control of the speed.

                     

After a basic lesson in threading up the machine and stitching backwards and forwards, I challenged the children to sew their names on a piece of paper after writing them in pencil first so there's a line to follow. I've done this same stitching challenge with a few kids now, both boys and girls, and they love it, quickly managing to control the handcrank machine. 

The children then progressed to the electric machine.  After a bit of random sewing on fabric getting the feel for it, they made a mini cushion which involves turning corners and keeping straight lines. 

                          

The challenge was completed when they stuffed the cushion with cotton-wool and stitched up the gap by hand. Just look at the concentration....!

                               

Both Zoe and Finn were really proud of what they achieved, and I've heard that Finn has even fixed something that his Mum hasn't had time to get round to. Result! Next time, we're going to have a go at sewing on buttons and we'll make some Christmas decorations. Tartan trousers for Teddy are next, and then I think we'll go human-sized. A skill is not just for Christmas folks, it's for life.