Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[SadieSue]

Okay.... I need to ask the THEATRE FOLKS.... does anyone have the skills to convert a standard swim suit pattern to create one like this?



The seams for the bust look difficult to design. From the bust down it's sort of a std. princess line.
DD is asking me for help with her costuming, ugh.

Sorry - costuming is not my forte'. I do however know a couple of costumers who are handy seamstresses who might be able to help. I could give you some contact information. Also TC used to do some costuming, but I'm not sure how healed she is yet from her surgery. Feel free to PM me or message me at the other place if you need a couple of contacts.

ETA: Oh, I see TC has already responded with some helpful tips!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Okay.... I need to ask the THEATRE FOLKS.... does anyone have the skills to convert a standard swim suit pattern to create one like this? The seams for the bust look difficult to design. From the bust down it's sort of a std. princess line. DD is asking me for help with her costuming, ugh.

I think you'd need to make up a muslin for a standard princess seamed suit and then chalk it for the seams, take it apart and draw a pattern from that (says ten years of 4H sewing and tailoring and decades of garment making that stopped in about 1986). Or take the coward's way out and either applique or use fabric paint on a black suit.

I use medium weight fabric interfacing instead of muslin. Now that I have the interlock/overlock machine, it's pretty easy to do stuff like this. What you can try, is buy a basic single colour cheapy from Costco, and mark out the panels with interfacing (or muslin) Since you are going to be using sport fabric, it doesn't have to be a perfect fit since it will stretch. Just make sure the seams are not wiggling all over the place! (Or, just cut the cheapy one apart, and use it for a pattern, adding a tiny amount for seam allowances)

I forget how easy sergers make this kind of things!

 

[CarolynF]

Quote: I use medium weight fabric interfacing instead of muslin. Now that I have the interlock/overlock machine, it's pretty easy to do stuff like this. What you can try, is buy a basic single colour cheapy from Costco, and mark out the panels with interfacing (or muslin) Since you are going to be using sport fabric, it doesn't have to be a perfect fit since it will stretch. Just make sure the seams are not wiggling all over the place!

(Or, just cut the cheapy one apart, and use it for a pattern, adding a tiny amount for seam allowances)

I forget how easy sergers make this kind of things!

The muslin route is what I anticipated. It won't be made of spandex, the fabric has to have very little stretch so I'll have to fit it very well. It's the pattern drafting that has me a bit spooked. That fancy stuff at the bust looks challenging. But... if I sew the muslin and fit it, draw the NEW fashion lines where they're wanted, then cut it apart and add seam allowances, it should work.... right???

Kate.... why interfacing instead of muslin? And do you mean woven or non-woven?

Actual swimsuit patterns are going to be sized for spandex, so that's going to throw off the pattern sizing, right? But by how much, a full size maybe? And is that going to be in both directions, or just across the grain?

My initial thought was also applique or paint, and applique may be a possibility. I'm not sure about paint. If I started with the lighter of the pinks being the body of the suit, then dye a darker band, and finally the black in front, it might work. It would have to be dye, not paint, because the stress applied to the fabric might dislodge a painted coating. (she's an risely/icarian acrobat) I don't have experience with dye on anything other than cotton. This piece will very probably be polyester. I haven't heard good things about dyeing polyester. Silk and cotton are lovely, but will wrinkle and not hold up to a beating it will receive. I don't know about wear and tear on rayon, I worry about the issues that arise when it gets wet during laundering, and there won't be an opportunity to give it any TLC.

She has a costumer but isn't in a position to pay the big $$$ for a custom made item right now. Starving Artist syndrome. I sew, but I'm not used to doing custom work like this.

Thank You All for your ideas!!! Any more ideas or suggestions are VERY welcome!!!

 

[Paradox]

I don't want to sound critical, but I wouldn't want to have to reach through the coop to get to the eggs.

Not sure at this point exactly who's coop you are talking about but on mine that is what the door on the outside of the nest box is for. DUH!

 

[Paradox]

Are you going to the Mother Earth Fair in Puyallup this weekend? I was just looking at their schedule and saw quite a few things I'd like to see and hear. So I bought tickets on-line just now. $15 for the whole weekend if you buy them today. Otherwise it's $18 per day. I thought it was a great deal and gives us the flexibility of choosing which day at the last minute. Or going both days.

That sounds like a super idea. I didn't know about this till I saw your post. I'm going to go on Saturday. Look for a big bald guy wearing a tye dye, that'll probably be me, just say hi.

 

[Totalcolour]

The muslin route is what I anticipated. It won't be made of spandex, the fabric has to have very little stretch so I'll have to fit it very well. It's the pattern drafting that has me a bit spooked. That fancy stuff at the bust looks challenging. But... if I sew the muslin and fit it, draw the NEW fashion lines where they're wanted, then cut it apart and add seam allowances, it should work.... right???

Kate.... why interfacing instead of muslin? And do you mean woven or non-woven?

Actual swimsuit patterns are going to be sized for spandex, so that's going to throw off the pattern sizing, right? But by how much, a full size maybe? And is that going to be in both directions, or just across the grain?

My initial thought was also applique or paint, and applique may be a possibility. I'm not sure about paint. If I started with the lighter of the pinks being the body of the suit, then dye a darker band, and finally the black in front, it might work. It would have to be dye, not paint, because the stress applied to the fabric might dislodge a painted coating. (she's an risely/icarian acrobat) I don't have experience with dye on anything other than cotton. This piece will very probably be polyester. I haven't heard good things about dyeing polyester. Silk and cotton are lovely, but will wrinkle and not hold up to a beating it will receive. I don't know about wear and tear on rayon, I worry about the issues that arise when it gets wet during laundering, and there won't be an opportunity to give it any TLC.

She has a costumer but isn't in a position to pay the big $$$ for a custom made item right now. Starving Artist syndrome. I sew, but I'm not used to doing custom work like this.

Thank You All for your ideas!!! Any more ideas or suggestions are VERY welcome!!!

I use pellon (non-woven) because I often makes changes as the mood tales me, even during construction, and cutting the pieces apart; so, since it doesn't unravel or fray, it holds it's size well and works much better for me than muslin.

Old bedsheets can work for this very purpose. But again, they can unravel, so pinning it to her first, would probably result in a better fit. This is probably the way I would go if I couldn't use a Costco suit. I'm not sure why you don't use a stretchy fabric - JoAnns has some nice ones very cheaply.

If you must go the other route, be aware that some fabrics can pucker badly at the curve areas on the bust part. Plus, the fabric can pull away from the sewing seams, leaving some really horrible "stretch" marks.

Some fabrics will work better if cut on the bias, because it gives you some natural "bias stretch" to make up for not having a stretch fabric. Plus it's easier to fit with those curves.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

OK, enablers, how insane am I for putting seven splash Am over blue Am/Au eggs under my broody hen (who started setting solidly on a sterile egg and a rock yesterday). Also... would any of you be interested in the offspring? The Splash is the rooster I bought in Vancouver, and the father of the hen is the Blue SQ I traded Chicky Lady a rose for. The Australorp mother was also SQ, and about the size of a turkey!

I took her cheap litter box nest box apart, picked her up and put her by the waterer, took the sterile egg out and added a BUNCH of fresh bedding (the nest box was almost bare as she'd rolled it over a week ago by standing on it unweighted: that's what the rock was for) and seven eggs. She was back sitting in less than five minutes. This is the broody I got from Totalcolour in October of 2011; her talents have been previously used for Hamburgs, and she was totally fine with their tiny selves; these eggs are on the border between Extra Large and Jumbo and it'll be interesting to see her with chicks more her size, so to speak.

 

[robj]

Right now I just need this broken branch dealt with- although that's going to involve a certain amount of fence-moving and blackberry slashing and if the crack keeps getting wider it'll just be cutting it up and hauling it out and then I'll have to put bandaids on the owies of about thirty feet of roses, lilacs, and perennials. I am not best pleased with the situation.

I'll have to ask him; I need to talk to him anyway, just that I've been run off my feet since the chicks hatched.

We're going crazy too!!

I'll check with my brother in law about the tree. I'll give you a call if I can get him out. You need to find away to get some R&R time somehow!!!

 

[melissaG]

Ok, so so far so good on making it to the Mother Earth New fair on Sat.
We have to come back Sunday as some fool put the dang highland games the same weekend!!

D'oh!

So anyone that I've been bugging about chicks/eggs, you know who you are and, you now know where to snatch me up at!

and if anyone wanted me to bring the feed bags along for trade/buying. Send me a note.

Just wish there were more hours in the day for all the fun!!!

 

[robj]

Here's an update on my coop. I think I posted a picture of what I started with already but anyway here goes a little timeline on my coop build. I call this the Freestyle Coop. I did it without any plans. I decided what the footprint would be and a rough idea of what I wanted to have in the end and went for it. The drawback is I always end up re-building some parts and my time line gets messed up easily when I decide on some new feature or shift directions.

I have this old unused garden bed in the backyard. Mostly the dog just digs in it. I thought I'd have to wait for him to move out with my youngest child after he graduates from Cornish next year. After some research I figured he could deal with it. It's also still a work in progress.

4.5 feet x 25 feet garden bed. After lots of thought I decided to put the coop in the center to allow me two run spaces on either side.



Made a foundation.



Then framed in a structure to support the floor.




And finally a floor.



Built a nest box. I wonder if I mentioned that I have a problem with over building thngs?

Got the nest box set in place.



Did some framing. This thing will be my shelter if a hurricane come to Seattle.



Some painting and roost.



Back wall. You'll notice I made a change after this. I was going to have an open top to the coop with a corugated roof that would let light in but I decided to use a plywood roof. I'm still going to put up the corugated roofing for keeping it all dry. I had to put a light source in and you can see how I did that next. Also note the retractable roost for when I need to do maint.



In these next two pics you can see the changes. Window for light in back wall, plywood ceiling. There is a screened off gap at one end in the roof for ventilation and more light.





Now it needs some doors.





Sand bedding hauled in and put in place. Food and water. Ready for some residents! Yea! I closed off the upper nest boxes too.



And what do we have here? Chickens a roosting! I'm SOOOO! excited.

Welcome to your new home ladies. I'm really glad to have here!



Sorry for the long winded post. Thanks for looking.

The coop turned out VERY COOL!!

You should get it posted on the coop thread!

I have never figured out how to do multiple quotes so I have to do one at a time. Is it the same on the mobile version? I only see a flag icon, a thumb icon, and the quote icon. What does the multi quote icon look like?

The mobile version at least the Apple version is very hard to use. I wish they could come up with an App for that!

My little ones found a comfy nest.

Very Cute!!!