It's a Tracing Day!

I have many, many patterns that I would like to make -- but many of those necessitate tracing them first. This can keep me from getting to them in a timely manner. So I decided that it was time for another tracing marathon! (well, marathon for me, I can usually manage four or five before I am done). 

I started with a retro KwikSew top that I picked up fairly recently, and have the perfect yellow fabric to match it. It was pretty simple, only a few pieces but one is really large because of the blouse front pleats! 

Then I moved on to a few Burda magazine patterns. These always require a lot of concentration! I usually highlight the lines I need with a Frixion highlighter so I can see them better, and then iron off the marks when I'm done. This time I noticed that I am going to need a new highlighter soon...

Next step, of course, is to cut some of these out and get sewing. I'm finding that my urge to actually sit down and sew is a lot less frequent that my urge to look at patterns and think about what I am going to sew. Gotta find a balance there so I can finish some summer sewing before summer ends. Always the struggle, haha! 

I have matched up a couple of fabrics with some paper patterns, though, and so I have a lot to get cutting and sewing. We'll see how it goes...

All the Pattern Prep!

One of the things I tend to avoid, but that is very necessary to new projects, is all the pattern prep! I have a lot of projects in the queue that need to be traced out, either from my Burda magazines or from pdf format (as well as a couple of tissue patterns that I need to cut out).

I decided to specialize this week and just focus on all this tracing and cutting, to get a handful of projects ready for the next step - all the flat pattern measuring and fitting before finally cutting out my fabrics. 

I was able to trace out three Burda patterns and one pdf before I lost energy for more ;) But that's four projects now in the actual queue, and that will keep me going for a while, especially considering how much (or little) I've been sewing so far this year. 

Two of my traced projects are items from my #MakeNine2025 -- they are winter dresses so I would like to get to those right away, while I can still wear them. Although since the snowbanks are now as tall as I am, I'm not expecting winter to vanish soon! 

Tracing takes time and can be tiring, which is why I like to do it in short spurts. But I do have one trick to share when it comes to Burda pattern sheets -- when they are super confusing, I just trace over the pattern piece with a Frixion highlighter. It makes it easier to trace, and when you're done just iron them off and start on the next one! I do find that the Frixion leaves a bit of a white mark on the paper once you iron it off but it's almost unnoticeable. And it makes tracing much easier. But four is enough for me on this recent weekend. On to the next steps. 

In A Tracing Frenzy!

This week is all about pattern prep for me! I have a ton of patterns that I've purchased in the past that I have not made up yet. PatternReview is running a two-month challenge to make up some of those stashed patterns using stash fabric. Since this is the way I sew quite frequently, I took a look at what I had in the queue. The only caveat for this contest is that patterns & fabric must be prior to 2023, and the patterns can't be repeats or even ones you've already prepped for making. I decided to try a few of my Indie patterns for this challenge, although I have numerous big four envelope patterns that I could use as well ;)

First up is the Zoe Dress by Simple Sew, it's a casual shift I've been planning on making for this summer so it fits right in! I also have a purply-magenta linen a friend gave me last year that I'm matching up with this one. 

And I bought the Wiksten Shift Dress/Top late last year when it was announced that Wiksten was closing. I put off buying for a very long time during its peak popularity, but impulse bought it once it was going away. So that matches the contest rules as well - I have that ready to trace, and I have a couple of different fabrics in my deep stash that might work, I haven't chosen which one to go with yet. 

I am also going to make the Afternoon Blouse & Shift Dress by Jennifer Lauren, another one I've been meaning to make for AGES. I bought this pattern sometime pre-pandemic and it has been on the queue ever since. Once I get it traced out, I'm planning to make the blouse view in a bright grassy green linen blend? cotton blend? well, mystery fabric I got from a friend last fall when she was cleaning out her mother's stash. A dress will follow but I don't know which fabric I'll use yet. 

And I think I will also trace out the Fresco Blouse by Studio Calicot in this round of tracing. This is a pattern that is on my Make Nine for this year, and it's such a cute one. I might use a black rayon or a multicoloured silky poly for this, haven't made up my mind yet. Both are pieces I thrifted in early 2022.

I was also going to make the Antonia Dress by Pattern Division for this contest (also on my Make Nine) but imagine my surprise when I opened my envelope to discover that at some point I had already traced and fitted the pattern pieces, but never actually made one! So this won't fit into the PR Contes rules, but I am still making one for my summer wear. It's such a neat pattern. 

I think it's clear that I'm into shift dresses for this summer! Hoping for some comfy summer wear in lovely fabrics. Are you planning new items for your summer wardrobe this year?

Lightbox for Easier Embroidery Project Prep!

A different kind of post today - I'm trying out my new lightbox which I bought to help with my embroidery projects! It's a basic style, the size of a regular sheet of paper, with 3 brightness levels and a USB charger. It should be enough for me though. 

I generally trace my patterns by taping the pattern and fabric to a window (ie: my summer Peace for Ukraine project). But in winter it's harder, since my porch is too cold to trace in and my inside windows are harder to use; it's not as bright out and many of my windows have panes. So I splurged on this little lightbox - it was under $30 and should make my life easier.

I got out the next pattern I am planning on using - a floral Tryzub design, also by @EmbroideryArtbyNat. This is a pattern from her Patreon, and I'm happy to support her this way as she is on her refugee journey from Ukraine to Canada. You can too, if you like! 

Anyhow, on to the project. I printed out the Tryzub in various sizes, as I want to use it for a couple of different items. The first one is as an embroidered motif on a blouse, so I made it quite small. And I'm thinking of making a pillow from this design, so I have also printed one as a full page image. Both sizes are easily traceable on this lightbox. 

It's easy to do. The lightbox is designed for tracing so you don't have to worry about damaging it from the pressure of a pen, although a lighter hand is always good. You can change to light levels depending on how thick/dark your fabric is. I imagine there is a limit to this, however, and with very dark or heavy fabrics (such as a denim) you might need to resort to other methods of transferring your pattern to the top of the fabric.

In any case, I used a linen and a Frixion pen.  As I was getting ready I remembered the thrifted linen napkins I picked up recently, just a pair. The smallest image fits beautifully in the corner! It worked out well; I was able to easily see the image, and trace it without much struggle. You will want to secure your image and fabric with some masking or washi tape so that they don't move around while you are tracing. I prefer these kinds of low tack tape so you don't get any residue on your fabric or your device.

 

And there it is, a clear image ready to be stitched, with much less effort than tracing vertically on a window! My arms thank me for this purchase :) I hope to be able to show you one of these projects all stitched up before too long.