McCall's Hoodie M6614

My son is a hoodie lover. I wanted to make him something and this pattern screamed to be chosen. I've previously made a view A, a long sleeve shirt with princess seams. 

Relatively easy (yup, if you are not too fussy about the fit, shape, length, etc.) 

My son wanted a particular length, fit, and color. I have pinned, basted, and had him try on a few times until we achieved the *right* look. (Boy, was he picky or what. Where does he get that from?!)

The pattern was either a hoodie with zipped front and hem band, or a princess seam pullover hoodie with no zipped front. He wanted a pullover hoodie without the princess seam, no zipped front. 

The pocket's handy for his iPhone.

I cut the View D front as one piece on fold. He wanted a slightly wider pocket, so added 1" to the width of the pocket. He had presented me with his favorite RTW sweatshirt.  It turns out, the finished  measurements were identical to the size medium of this pattern. I cut the hood that was meant for the pullover as I was making the pullover for which the hood will cross at the center front rather than the View D hood which is a zipped hoodie. Worked out perfectly.

I'm also happy to report that the fabric was from my stash. It was something that was given to me when I started sewing again last year. I received, in three different occasions, someone's unwanted/no longer needed fabric stash. This nearly 3 yards of green lightweight sweatshirt knit was perfect for the color my son asked for, and it is super comfy, good quality cotton. Yay. I love it whenever I can use something from my stash or recycle something.

I first placed the pocket too high. Didn't meet his approval.  It was all finished with pretty top stitch and everything, I had to very carefully rip it all out and redo.  But the result was worth it.  He loves the hoodie.

Lined the hood with slightly heavier material that has a felty/flannelly feel to it. Cozy to wear, but it made the hood just a tad heavy. (the only complaint from the wearer.) Again, I found in my stash this perfect color fabric just enough to line the hood. I think it is a cotton blend. Washed it to be sure it's shrink-safe.

Ok, I experimented with both indoor and outdoor shots. Neither reflects the true color of the actual fabric! The actual color is somewhere in between the two. 

The hoodie debuted on our shopping trip to a local goodwill to source materials for him to make accessories of the costume he is working on.  On our way out, we were greeted with this large, white, iridescent colored spider!  It was about the size of a quarter plus the legs. It was beautiful, but it didn't stop to pause for a photo for me. This is the only shot I could take.  Anyway, it was A LOT prettier than the photo shows.  Spiders - I'm not afraid of.  

Happy Halloween!

Two Tops; M6571 & M6641

Where does the time go?! I wrote this post over a month ago, and totally forgot to post. So here it is. Better late than never. 

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Not sewing for 3+ weeks, I missed sewing.  Upon returning home from the trip, I got busy sewing immediately!

The fabric is a very stretchy cotton/Lycra  blend I got a while ago.

I took my usual 2-inch petite adjustment on the length. 

I followed the directions and fused interfacing on the neck facing, which was quite wide. However I ended up cutting most of it because it felt just so bulky.

It dawned on me that many, if not all, of my RTW T-shirts and tops don't have any neck facings. So, next time I will not even bother with it.  I will simply fold the edge inside and stitch. I like a wider neckline opening better anyway.

That was McCall's 6571. A simple boatneck T-shirt.

 I have been in need of simple tops and wardrobe builders. Of course, I could find some suitable patterns for that in my pattern stash!

Next up is a casual sweatshirt type top.

This one was easy, quick, and fun to make.

Lightweight T-shirt knit. 

With a light weight corduroy!

I've had these two fabrics for a long while, waiting for just the perfect design to show up. 

I have omitted the neckband. This gave me a scoopneck design which I like.

Again, I took the usual 2 inch length adjustment, however, it turned out it wasn't long enough, so I ended up leaving the serged hem as is. 

The pattern being unisex in size, I was expecting the extra small to be still rather on the larger side. But not so much.  It's comfy and I love it. My son wants me to make him a hoodie from this pattern so that's on my list of "To Sew".

Topstitching provided by my trusty 'topstitch machine', my vintage Snger 15–91.

A couple of easy, satisfying projects.

Happy sewing, everyone!

Montgomery Ward - Post WWII Japanese Clone

Before

After

It was looking pretty to begin with so you probably won't notice much difference in Before and After. 

It was just a bit dusty inside. After cleaning and oiling, it's making some beautiful stitch. Another gift from Jeri who also gifted me the beautiful green Janome/New Home machine.

It's a Montgomery Ward badged Japanese clone of Singer class 15 machine. Made probably in the 1950's. 

Looks just like the Singer 15-91 I have. 

Even over here. Almost exactly the same as Singer 15-91  

One difference is that the bobbin cover plate is hinged and pops open rather than slide to open. I like this. 

Also, presser foot pressure adjustment is literally a snap. 

Feed dogs drop. Handy for free motion or darning. 

There's no mention as to which Japanese sewing machine manufacturer made this machine. But there's a sticker underneath that days "RSMCO Model R100".  I wonder if that is Riccar Sewing Machine Co. 

I never thought I'd be interested in a 15 clone since I already had a 'real' Singer 15, and the real thing us better than a copy, right?

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. It's mighty strong with the 1.5 amp motor. 

Test run revealed a strong steady sew going from a flat two-layer denim over the jean seam on both sides (so that's like eight ~ ten layers total) and back down on the two-layer. No problem. (Note: the yellow thread is the original jean hem. Red and white from this machine, upper and lower threads) I didn't even have to adjust the tensions. 

I love these beautiful stitch these vintage straight stitch only sewing machines make. This one is as beautiful as the stitch my Singer 15-91 makes. 

Here is more about post WWII Japanese clones.   It's from Ed Lamoureux's Vintage Sewing Machines blog. I agree, this is an amazing machine. By the way, when I first started collecting vintage sewing machines, I read and learned a lot from Ed's blog.  I still do. 

 

Do you have one of these Japanese clone machines? How do you like it?