Tag Archives: fabric

January 9, 2026 · 11:29 pm

A Victorian Nightgown

Merry meet all,

Today I want to share with you how I sewed a Victorian nightgown. 

I bought a pdf pattern from Stella Pattern on Etsy. I usually use a regular tissue pattern, but this time I bought a pdf pattern. I knew I could never get the pattern I wanted from McCalls or Vogue patterns, certainly not a Victorian nightgown pattern. I downloaded the files and read them carefully. I wish the seller told me how much fabric I required for the pattern. That would have been helpful. Here is the link for the pattern I bought on Etsy – 

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1831703923/victorian-nightgown-sewing-pattern?ref=yr_purchases

The construction of the Victorian nightgown had some unforeseen challenges.  I bought 4.5 meters of yellow eyelet cotton, 100% cotton, on sale. 

I downloaded a pattern size, which turned out to be the wrong size. I used size 14, when I should have used a 16 or 18. Our bodies change as we age. I needed to make adjustments to the pattern. The pattern consisted of two long front and back pieces, the neckline facing, sleeves and sleeve flounce and hem flounce. I cut out the pattern at the library and that was not a good thing. It was not till I did a fitting that I realized the body of the nightgown would be too tight on me. Okay I altered the armholes after checking that out in a vogue sewing book. I cut into the armhole seam, basted the sleeve in and then basted the sleeve in twice, and then decided how much more I needed to cut into the armholes. I did not trim the seam, but I did cut into the seam and clipped the seam to make the armhole have more room to fit my arm. That would make the whole nightgown more roomy and comfortable for me, which a nightgown should be. I may need to alter the neckline facing. 

I cut out the flounce for the sleeves twice. The second time I cut out the sleeve flounce correctly. The pattern says to cut out on a fold. I am so happy that I cut it out again -which is why it is a good idea to always have more fabric. It is easier to make something larger, rather than smaller. The sleeve flounce needs to have that fullness. 

So once that was done, and I was happy with how the nightgown felt on me, I permanently set in the sleeves. When you are constructing the nightgown or any other sewing project, that is the best time to make the alterations. Not when you are done sewing, because you are not truly done. I got distracted when I cut out the front and back pattern pieces, and ended up having to sew the front piece center section together, which was supposed to open on a fold. Oops! I made a very slim seam allowance and with the arms not fitting earlier, I was glad I did. That meant more room for me. 

The fabric is very delicate. I stitched slowly and carefully. I know sewing machines can sew fast, but I chose sewing carefully. The end result is the nightgown looks great. 

I decided that the best way for me to know the front from the back was the slim seam allowance in the center front pattern piece. The back center section has a slightly wider seam allowance. 

I sewed the neckline facing, and I set in the sleeves and I sewed the flounce. The flounce intimidated me. I had to figure out how to sew the two big sections together. There was a front and a back, but by the time I figured out how to sew the front and back together, and stay stitch and hem the flounce,  I could no longer figure out back from front. I pinned the flounce right sides together. I stitched the flounce to the nightgown hem and pressed it. I clipped the seam allowance, pressed the seam allowance and checked the flounce and the hem. There were two spots where the fabric was caught in the flounce or a hole in the seam, but I quickly fixed those issues. 

The eyelet cotton was very easy to work with. I stitched a zigzag stitch into the center back seam allowances and the arm and arm flounce pieces. The eyelet cotton  material is very light and delicate. I did not want it to fray or unravel. I did my best to whip stitch the seam allowance for the arms. The zig zag stitch was a huge challenge, because the seam allowances are narrow and the fabric is fragile, but I managed. I snipped the stray threads.

Next, I want to line the nightgown. I have to mimic the nightgown pattern, but I will manage. I always wash the fabric first to eliminate the formaldehyde preservatives the stores use on the fabric to extend the fabric shelf life in the store. I will then cut out the pattern, except I am not making another flounce, neckline stitch or sleeves. I just don’t want the nightgown to be so see through. 

I bought white thread to correspond with the white lining material, which I also bought on sale at Fabricville. The eyelet cotton was 66.67% off, so instead of paying $90 for the fabric (unreal!), I paid $40. That and the threads and the lining material, this took 3 days to sew and cost me $50! It is sewn correctly and neatly and will always just fit me. The zig zag stitch ensures it won’t unravel or fray too much. I set in the sleeves three times before I was happy with the fit. 

I washed and dried the fabric. They put formaldehyde in the fabric to give it a longer shelf life in the fabric store. Now I just have to make sure the fabric is on the grain and start cutting! 

Once I am done sewing the lining together, I have to sew it to the nightgown. The pattern is always sewn right sides together. I have two meters of fabric, so the lining will be easy to do. I just have to keep in mind the alteration I did to the nightgown and do that to the lining or just add an extra inch to the whole pattern. I am sure it will be lovely. 

Today I tried – tried being the key word there, to make a lining. I seam ripped the neckline facing. I sewed the neckline again and this time I did it correctly. The nightgown is now done. I will check tomorrow for any small touch ups that need to be done, but it is complete and correct. I think the victorian nightgown looks great. It fits true to me. It is just beautiful.  

Does this inspire you to sew your own nightgown? I hope so.

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

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February 21, 2022 · 12:16 pm

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Merry meet all,

I know, I know, as if Covid wasn’t bad enough, it is also the middle of winter and spring seems a way off. Snow frosts the yard and garden here. To cheer myself up, this is how I have spent my time. A copy of Lisa Morton’s book Ghosts: A Haunted history. I am sure it will be an awesome spooky read. I polished an article about Paranormal paganism for the editor of Witches and Pagans magazine at her request. I am still slogging away on my brown wool winter coat. My lining material has strangely vanished from my apartment. I have no idea where it went. It’s been nearly a month and it hasn’t turned up. My Mom bought the last of the brown wool online as the fabric store had discontinued it. I would not have been able to sew the sleeves.  I am buying new lining fabric in a different color by the end of the week. I am also slowly slogging away on a new novella story. 

I have been busy. On top of slaving for my cat, as per protocol, I conducted a Sherlock Holmes worthy investigation of where the fabric could have vanished to. I did bring home a new mirror. I never saged it when I brought it home. Now I have smudged my apartment, spritzed holy water onto the mirror and smudged the mirror. I plan to sew a long white cloth and empower the cloth with a blue rune symbol like Eolh as a binding symbol for protection. 

Mirrors are known to be portals for spirits, especially unsavory spirits. Some people believe that if you have a mirror in your bedroom, your partner will cheat on you. Ouch! Others believe that you should cover the mirror with a white cloth at night if  you do plan to have a mirror in your room. Right now, the long mirror is in my bedroom with the back of the mirror facing up. I am broke right now and as soon as I can, I will cover the mirror at night. I want to buy a bagua. I believe in Feng Shui. Maybe incense too!

However, I can’t explain how my fabric managed to VANISH from a tiny, cluttered apartment. It is nowhere to be found. I blame the new mirror. I have to blame something. It is truly weird that fabric can disappear. It never left the apartment. I have waited all month for it to return to me and no luck. I beleive now I can’t use that lining fabric for my coat. I have to buy new lining fabric that has good energy in it. I am now not in love with the color anyway. 

Some day I might find that fabric and then kick myself for the rest of my life. It will turn up in the most odd or unlikely place. In the meantine, I have sewn the hood for the coat, the belt and the outer shell of the coat. I have yet to sew the sleeves and set them in the coat, and line the coat and sew on the carriers for the belt. I am pleased with how beautifully the shoulder seam sleeves and the under collar turned out. I stitched a perfect brown wool belt too and the buckle is a gold color. The gold perfectly enhances the brown wool. Wool can be turned right side out. It just takes patience and being gentle with the wool. 

Eventually, the winter coat will be completed and look just beautiful. I can’t wait. I know my strawberry blonde hair color will be enhanced by the brown wool. The gold buckle looks beautiful on the brown Kashmir wool. I borrowed a book about couture sewing and a book from the library about sewing. I also bought the Vogue fashion sewing book from Thriftbooks. I chose Thriftbooks because it is much cheaper than Amazon and more reliable. I was scammed by a seller on Amazon. 

I invested in a thread box that stores thread- no more searching!, and a tailor ham, tailor’s chalk, new sharper scissors which hugely helps and are only for sewing. I do plan to buy a sleeve roll so I can perfectly sew the sleeves. I plan to interface the sleeeves and add a sleeve head. That is so the wool fabric is smoother and more professional looking. My Mom has offered to sew the buttonholes. I have never done that before and I am terrified. I have a button hole foot but she can do it better than I can. With a wool coat, there is no room for error. I plan to sew the buttons on by hand. The sewing needle might hit the button part itself, not the hole or break. I can’t wait!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

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December 31, 2021 · 1:52 pm

Miranda Spiderella the Goth Doll )O(

 

 

Merry meet all,

I hope you all had an amazing holiday! 

I watched an episode, Demon under the Stairs, from the Haunted Museum recently. As I did, I suddenly experienced the worst pain in my jaw. It might be coincidental but the timing sure is worthy of note. Like I am not kidding, it was the most painful thing I ever experienced next to the nightmarish experience I had at the dentist’s office. Needless to say, I am no longer visiting that dental office. I am buying a big chunk of selenite to protect me from anymore possible ‘attacks’. I mean you know, just in case. 

I watched a video about demons on YouTube in the past. As I watched, I felt a big muscle spasm between the shoulder blades. That really hurt too. Maybe it was coincidental or maybe I need to up the ante of this pain I suffer when watching certain videos. For any of you who are reading this, I do have psychic protection posts I wrote in the past on this blog. 

Energy is real and all around us. Energy makes everything happen. We are composed of electromagnetic energy. The Universe is energy. A leaf has an energy as does an orange. As I type, rain falls from a grey leaden sky. I keep pining for summer but winter is here. Sometimes I have seen so much ice and snow in my backyard it seems that summer would never return, but it does. I hate winter but I know it passes. The change of the seasons never ceases to amaze me. Everything is energy and nothing is finite. 

 I am inspired to sew a scary doll. She is not haunted but she will be hopefully if I take her places that are speculated to be haunted. The photo shows the layout of the pattern pieces. The body of the doll is white. The hair which will be mostly made up of black and some purple yarn, she will have buttons for eyes, and her dress is a black and white spider print fabric I stashed in the sewing cart. The sleeves are the same fabric as the dress. The stockings are a grey fabric with a black bat print and the boots are black. She will get a witch charm necklace, a broom and a witch hat. I think she will be so Goth and cute. I can’t wait to work on the doll! Then of course, she will need a name. No, I will not name her Morticia. There are a thousand dolls named Morticia. Claudia would suit her though. Maybe she will need fangs and a driving hunger for blood? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha! The entire doll – the body of the doll and the dress has to be sewn with a 1/4″ inch seam allowance. I had to find out how that is done. My needle plate shows a 3/8″ inch, 5/8″ inch and 7/8″ inch seam allowances. So the 1/4″ inch seam allowance is before 3/8″. You can now imagine that means a tiny, narrow seam allowance. Now I know where that is indicated because 1/4″ inches is 2/8″ inch. I have to see slowly and carefully. Wow. I will never be so precise as now. I made a doll in the past and I was never this careful. That’s because I am now using a pattern. To make it worse, the body of the doll and the clothing which will forever be a part of the doll is white. It will all show if I screw up. I will mark with tape where the mark is where I have to sew. Sewing slowly and keeping an eye on it will be the only way to get this done. This is not a rush job. I have  never needed to sew in a 1/4″ inch before. Needles to say, I don’t look forward to it but it is not impossible. That’s why marking rulers and understanding math can come in handy- and patience!

I can’t wait to stuff the doll and sew the costume. But that comes after patiently sewing the doll and minding the seam allowance. Or it is all for naught. Too much work to go through for nothing. But anything worth doing is worth doing well. I will post photos as I go along. This will be a fun weekend project. I googled goth scary witch dolls. I am going for a scary cute goth look. The buttons I wanted to use might be too big for her face. I ordered black skull buttons online at Amazon. I don’t want to use regular buttons on the doll. I need a button at the collar and on her boots. Skull buttons will make her look edgy and with attitude. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to make this doll, use the pattern by Kwik Sew 4390. That is the pattern I used. You have to have all the fabric at hand that you will need. The clothing is sewn to the doll’s body and is never intended to be separate from the doll. The body of most of the doll is white. The stockings and the booties (See legs of doll in the photo) are the clothing. The arms are white and the face and neck. The hair piece that gets sewn to the head of the doll has to be the haircolor and the yarn has to match. Since the yarn hair was black, I used black cotton for the hair front and hair back. Be sure to use matching thread. Sew the eyes on last or before you attach any other parts to the doll. I wanted to use big buttons for her eyes but the buttons were too big.  Here are some photos I took on the progress of the doll: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you sew the arms and legs, you cut out four pieces. The arms have to look right on the doll and are reversed of each other. One right arm and one left arm. The same goes with the legs. Our arms and legs face a certain way. It is no different with a doll. 

When you sew the head to the body (front), keep a straight seam allowance. If you want to, you can use a pencil and mark a very light straight line from the notch marked on the forehead all the way down to the neck. The seamline of the head of the doll to the body must be straight. The notches and points have to meet. It is the same with the back of the doll. I stuffed the arms and legs tightly and packed the stuffing down firmly using a wooden dowel but not hard enough to tear fabric or seams. You have to get the details of the doll’s body right or otherwise don’t bother. 

Leave the back of the doll open for turning and stuffing. Take your time with this. Take your time making the entire doll. This is an act of creation so go slowly. Sew the doll with love and it will show. I sewed the smile on and traced a light line on for the smile with pencil then stitched over the pencil marks. I sprinkled in mugwort and mandrake then stitched the back of the doll by hand. Once you have correctly and nicely sewn the body, you can progress with the clothing. 

The right arm of the doll’s sleeve cap features spiders. The left arm of the sleeve cap features the webs (where the spiders hide!). I drew an eyebrow on her brow very carefully with a sharpie pen and I did the same with her lashes. The pocket fabric is upside down and the collar fabric is wrong side up but it somehow works. The pocket can still hold spells!!! For the hair braids, you sew the braids to the head where the darts are. You can use whatever color yarn you want, but have lots of it on hand. If you want, you can sew a weft of the yarn hair and then sew it on by hand. You have to sew the yarn on by hand, Mark with a water soluble marker where you want to sew on the yarn. I have included a video here to better demonstrate how to sew on the yarn. Before you sew anything, watch this excellent video!: 

I highly suggest you sew on the yarn by hand. If you use a hot glue gun, you will regret it. It won’t have that seamless look. Hot glue makes a mess. Sewing with needle and thread spares you lots of agony. I made the doll a dress and tacked it on to her body the same I did with the collar. I sewed on a pocket to the dress before I sewed the dress together. I had to sew the dress by hand because for some frustrating reason the machine refused to sew this fabric together. The dress comes with a slip. I gathered the fabric together but I had more luck just cutting the fabric to truly fit her body and I pinned the slip to the doll. Make sure to use thread that is the same as the yarn and the head of the doll. 

I made the doll!!!! I love her and she is just sooo cute! I was successful in sewing the slim seam allowance. I stuffed the arms and the legs then I sewed the back of the doll’s head to the body. I sewed the back of the doll to the front of the doll. If you want to make your own doll and are trying this, you can’t catch the seams of the arms and legs when doing this. Then I finally stuffed the doll. Tear the wool into little pieces then put the stuffing into the doll. Be sure to pack it in carefully. You also have to stuff the doll’s head firmly because you don’t want the doll’s head to be floppy. I recommend watching how the woman in the video sews the doll body if you are inspired to make a doll yourself. It is incredibly helpful. I love my doll Miranda Spiderella. She is cute and scary!  A perfect combination. 

I might hunt a little rocking chair for her for a nice place to sit. I am sure I will eventually find something. This will be fun and hard work. I will let you know how it turns out!!

After this project is complete, I want to sew myself a brown winter coat. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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April 7, 2021 · 7:35 pm

Skull Pyjama Pants

Merry meet all,

I just sewed a pair of awesome spooky Pyjama pants. I love them. It was so easy and so much fun to make I had to share it with you. It is so easy to do. You can do it in one day or in a few days. 

I borrowed a pattern from my Mom. Her pattern was so simple. But there is the problem. It’s not really all that simple. Since I had a skull print on the fabric, I wanted to ensure the direction of the print was correct. I laid out the fabric on my kitchen table. I made sure the direction of the skulls was in unison. The skulls go down the pants not up. I hope I explained that clearly. I have included a photo of the skull Pyjama pants. Maybe that will help. 

Then I cut out 4 pieces on the selvage. I had 4 pieces of fabric. Then I stitched them together – the inside of the legs. I used a straight stitch. Then I sewed the crotch area. I reinforced the stitches. That means I stitched twice to strengthen the stitches so they don’t unravel. Then I sewed the front and back sides together. I tried the pants on. Yay they fit! When I was sure that they fit, I proceeded to the next step. 

I did a finishing stitch on the seam allowances of the pant legs. I did a long nice zigzag stitch. That prevents the fabric from fraying. But I hit a snag. There is always a snag when sewing. I needed to set the sewing machine to the right settings to do a zigzag stitch. I had to watch the tutorial on how to do that again. 

I pinned down an inch or two of fabric at the waistline. I did that to make sure I had enough of a casing for the elastic. I pinned the bottom hems of both legs of the pants. Then I stitched the pant hems. I stitched again to strengthen the stitch. I then sewed the casing for the waistline. I worked in the elastic using a safety pin. I looked in the mirror and armed with chalk- and securing the elastic in my fingers, I measured how much elastic I needed. Always have more elastic at hand than you plan to use. You are always better off using more than less. You cannot compromise on this step. Or it will never fit you properly. I also tested my pants for fit by sitting down in the pants to see if they truly fit me and do a few stretches. When I was sure they fit, I stitched the ends of the elastic, tucked it in the hole and stitched the hole closed. I wore the  pants for a moment. Yup they felt good. I was so happy. It was so easy to do. 

Just like the elastic, I encourage any of you who are eager to try this to have more fabric than you need. It is o easy to err when sewing. Always err on the side of caution. If you are using a print like mine, decide how you want the print to go. The skull print goes down the pants on both sides- front and back. This is in unison or consistent. It makes it look store bought. 

Now I have an awesome affordable cool pair of Pyjama pants to wear with my diabolical dark lord slippers. !! I love how they turned out. Paying attention to the details ensure a beautiful garment in the end. It is easy to have problems as you are sewing such as the elastic twisting in the casing, not enough elastic or fabric or running out of thread. Taking care of those tiny details ahead of time saves you the trip to the fabric store in the rain- when you could have been sewing. 

When you sew the zigzag stitch, be neat and clean. Sew it next to the straight stitch or on it. The point of the zigzag stitch is to prevent fraying. If you look carefully at a garment in your wardrobe, you might just see a zigzag seam on your clothes. It will be found on the inside of your garment. Look even closer and you can see how neatly it is done. Yup that is what I am talking about. You can adjust the stitch to be wide or a narrow zigzag stitch. Try not to sew the zigzag stitch outside or far from the seam allowance. Sew it on the seam allowance, inside the seam allowance. It will look neater that way. If you think you can do it, a smaller seam allowance leaves you more fabric. It may help the pants fit you better. 

Remember this maxim when sewing: Measure twice, cut once. I can’t emphasize that enough. It is so true. When you hem the pants, you don’t always have to do a narrow hem. I didn’t. I just folded up the hem on the inside of the pants an inch or two. I secured the fabric with pins then sewed it. I did it twice to ensure it would not come undone. The fabric I used can unravel easily. I had to be careful. The stitches show on the right side of the fabric. But I took the extra time to make the seams neat. I can see it but I don’t know if others can. There are so many black lines on the print it may not be visible to everyone. 

That is how you sew your own pjs! It is so easy to do. Most fabric stores carry fabric patterns. It certainly is a cheap way to make a pair of pyjama pants. I love mine. It’s even better that I can wear my Dark Lord slippers with them. I ordered the slippers from Killstar. But I didn’t plan to pay for shipping and handling for pjs- not when I made mine look that cook! I also plan to set in a black tie or ribbon for the pj pants. That will be the finishing touch! 

Does this inspire you to sew your own pyjama pants? I hope so. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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April 29, 2020 · 9:57 pm

Changes

Merry meet all,

I have been busy recently. I worked in my garden! I am excited about that. I have started lots of seeds in the jiffy peat pots- 72 in total. I am hoping to soon grow herbs and veggies. I bought a peat pot tray that holds 72 peat pots in total. I watered the pots which expanded. That was so exciting to me. Then I filled each small damp peat pot with seeds. I then left the tray in the dark for a f ew days. But today I checked on them and I thought I saw mold. I left the tray on my counter and removed the lid. I now have two tiny seedlings!! I think it is two tiny elecampagne seedlings or of yellow mustard. I am so excited. 

I cleaned my garden and planted peas in a planter. I left the planter outside but I left leaves on the surface to shield the seeds from the cold and birds. Tomorrow I will check on the seeds. Peas like the cold temperatures but there was snow. The frost date is soon. I won’t set out any more plants until the frost passes on May 8. My perennials are growing! It is so good to see my garden again. I am cheered by my garden despite this insufferable lockdown. 

Another bit of news that has cheered me is that Teamworks has funded a copyediting course for me. This is awesome. There is no way it would have been possible for me to take the course if they hadn’t funded it. They are also buying me the book The Chicago Manual of Style. I am ordering the Associated Press Style book. I can’t expect them to pay for everything. I also ordered a dictionary that the instructor of the course will refer to. 

I can finally get a job doing copy editing for people after this. I am so happy to finally be out from under. I have also bought and downloaded Scrivener. I received the benefit from the government because of the pandemic (which to me is such a hoax). That is my opinion. I am excited to work on my novel using the renowned Scrivener. I bought a printer and an external hard drive. 

I guess I can’t call myself a luddite anymore. No more commutes to the library or to my evil mother’s place for printing jobs. No more watching disrespectful teens get arrested who never learned how to shut their mouths. I can print finally from my own home. I am in more control now. It feels very very good. 

It feels so good to have a printer, which I bought at Walmart. They sell printers at Staples but it is too expensive. So I am happier these days. I can print from home if I need to instead of riding the bus to the library. I can have a coffee here instead of paying $3 every time or nearly every time I go there. No more of the depending on others. A thing of the past. 

I am participating in a free live training to learn Scrivener tomorrow! I look forward to it. I hope you have all been healthy and well. I hope this weird as fuck lockdown is over soon. It denies us our basic human rights. 

I also have all the fabric pieces I need to finish making my cosplay pattern- the nightfell herbalist costume. I have everything I need but there are still big changes I have to make before I sew the sleeves and skirt on. I can handle it though. I have a new sewing machine. !!

Spring is good despite this infuriating lockdown.

Blessed Be, Spiderwitch 

 

 

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