Monkey Girl Jacket Update

This is a quick update on the progress of the current projects on the table.  The table currently has two jackets on the go, one is mine, the other belongs to Monkey Girl.  I have set up my Mom's old machine (now Moneky Girl's) on the table back to back with mine.  That way we can work at the same time on our jackets.  We are both using hte same thread colours right now, so that makes it easier for me to help her out.

As I believe in learning by doing, she is doing the majority of the work on her own.  She cut  and prepped the pattern while I cut the fabric (that is due to her height not being quite up to reaching across the table and me not wanting her touching the Kais!).  She pins the pieces together as she goes through the pattern, learning about how the pieces match up.  She then stitches them together (reminding herself to backstitch) and tried her best to keep the seam allowance as close to 5/8" as she can (there is a masking tape line on the machine for her to follow).  She now knows how to properly press the seams flat using my iron.  Yes, Darrell, she even uses the clapper!  The top stitching, button holes and collar I am doing for her but I think I will let her do the sleeve insertino as it is on the flat this time around.  She may even do the cuffs as well.  So far the bodice and the back is complete and stitched at the shoulders.  I have to do the topstitching there and then we are off to assemble the sleeves.  We have the collar and cuffs put together but not attached yet.  She has stitched, trimmed, pressed and turned and then pressed again.

She wants a navy blue topstich for a real subtle contrast to the black.  At least it would have been subtle had I not let her loose on Darrell's button wall last weekend!  My Monkey took one look at the variety and went for BLING!  Not just any bling, mind you, oh no, my darling diva went directly to the designer buttons!  Of course, I have to admit, Darrell did have a lot to do with it!  It was great fun as she tried the various buttons styles on her Wal Mart remnant fabric.  She loved the Fendi buttons and almost went for major crystals and rhinstone flowers until we had to reign her in with a reminder that this will still be worn on the playground.  Designer bling is too good for the playground.  That was a close call but very fun to watch!

The next thing she did was to head directly for Darrell's silk samples.  She fell in love with those from the first time in his shop.  After fondling those for a bit, she went over to the display of garment Darrell has on sale.  He chooses fabrics from his supply and then sews a number of his own designs as inspiration for his customer base.  This way we can visualize what a garment will look like in a certain fabric.  She fell in love with a couple of tops and proceeded to talk ME into buying one for her.  The drama that ensued as she tried the various sizes on was quite hilarious!  Darrell and I agree, there are some serious DIVA tendencies emerging in her personality!  Will she be the next generation Sewing Diva?  We will have to wait and see if she can bring her skill level up to THE Sewing Divas ... until then, I am not quite sure what to call her ... Monkey Girl is still there but there are occasional flashes of something bigger that I cannot quite identify.

One unforseen effect of teaching her how to sew, is that I have to reduce the directions to the most basic points.  In teaching her how to do a project like this one, there are few shortcuts.  Each step needs to be read , discussed and understood before we go on.  She sees how things are put together step by step.  This has slowed my sewing down somewhat, but I think that is a good thing for me.  I am now looking at the details again as I stop my sewing to help her with her next step.  I find myself explaining things to her.  It has brought me back to why I started to sew in the first place.  I like the construction of the garments.  I love taking flat fabric and turning into a 3Dimensional object.  I love that she sees what I see.  The potential in every piece of cloth ... expecially the silks, right Darrell?