Cutting Weekend Number 1

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Since I’ve set up my projector, I only made one toy bunny that was pretty fun and cool, and I realized the power of projectors and how much time it can save! But the problem is, that my setup is temporary. I can’t (and don’t want to) connect it to my ceiling, as I am using my dinner table for cutting and sewing. So I decided, to save time, to have a “Cutting Weekend”, where I setup up my projector, calibrate it, and then cut a LOT of projects and put them in ziplocks, so I can access them later. The projects that are eligible for a “cutting weekend” supposed to be simple enough to be finished in maximum 2 evenings. So nothing too complicated – no extreme tailoring projects, no projects that need a muslin or special adjustments like FBA’s or any other adjustments that will require paper transferring. Those projects, that are eligible for “cutting weekend” will be cut straight from projector to fabric.

My first cutting weekend started on April 17th 2021. I made a set of rules for myself, to hold myself accountable and be productive. The rules are – cut as much as I can until Sunday evening. Fold the projector and the setup by the end of Sunday, even if I didn’t finish cutting everything I wanted. Since it was a super warm and sunny weekend in Vancouver (so rare!) we spent a lot of time outside, and I was not able to cut everything I wanted, but I still did a decent job: I cut 2 kids’ raglan hoodies, 3 kids joggers, a Bonn Dress and a Bonn Shirt (by Itch to Stitch).

Second rule – don’t have another cutting weekend before the previous one is all sewn! I had to make this rule for myself as I have a tendency to not finish projects. If I have any long lasting projects I am still working on, they are parallel to cutting weekend projects.

Third rule – use the materials that I have at home. If a project I wanted to cut requires fabric I don’t have in my stash – do something that I do have. This do not include notions and interfacings, as they don’t need setting up the projector.

I will be creating a mini series of posts every time following a cutting weekend, where I show you what I’ve made, how I made those, new techniques I learned, pattern reviews etc. I will use cutting weekend tag to have an easy access to all creations.

This post will cover some Projector new stuff I learned and a couple of things I didn’t think about when first setting up the projector.

1. My new laptop (aka “Precious”). For my birthday on April 3rd I got myself a shiny new MacBook Air. I am a software engineer, so I didn’t own a personal laptop in a very long time! I have my work one, but I can’t install stuff on that, obviously. So sitting in front of the computer working all day long, really didn’t make me want to work on a laptop in the evening. But now I started to have the urge to make personal projects (like sewing with projectors!) so I decided it was time. I got the new M1 chip version in Space Gray and I absolutely love it.

2. No one told me how easy it is to put darts on a pattern when sewing with Projectors! I needed darts for my Bonn dress and shirt, so I immediately reached for my frixtion pens. Those pens disappear when you apply heat to them, and since I am going to iron my darts anyway, it was ok to use those. Don’t use them on visible places though, they can leave white marks when they are gone.

3. I used my lovely rotary cutter, but I think I will need to buy a new, smaller, one. I have the standard 45mm, but for small curves (like in child’s joggers), a 28mm will be better.

4. Calibrating was relatively easy! I was following the instructions that were in the Projectors for Sewing group and got immediate help when needed. I calibrated to about 99% which was enough to start cutting. One thing though, my house is made of wood so when people are walking around the boom with the projector on it, it can cause some movement. Additionally, the power and hdmi cables that are connected to the projector can get it out of calibration. Make sure to really tighten all the connections in the boom and head. I also connected the cables to the boom with zip ties so they will not move too much and get the projector out of calibration. Before starting cutting any new pattern, I suggest to double check that you are still calibrated. It takes a couple of minutes and totally worth it.

First project will be the raglan hoodies for Ethan!