Blog Posts

String Piecing (Pick-Up Sticks/Acid Trip)

4/27/2021

My newest foray into quilting is to try a technique called string piecing*. String piecing is a way to use up small scraps, which can be cut or sewn into long-ish skinny strips. The simplest method is to start with a base: a sheet of tissue paper, piece of cheap muslin, or interfacing. You sew the strips onto the base, pull the base away if it's paper, or leave it if it's fabric, and trim the finished piece to a neat size and shape to use it as an element in the quilt.

For this project, earmarked for my brother, I am repurposing used dryer sheets as my base.

* String piecing is not to be confused with strip piecing, which is what my Organized Chaos quilt was. String piecing uses strips of variable sizes, for a "stringy" look, while strip piecing uses carefully cut strips of uniform sizes, in prescribed patterns.

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Organized "Organized Chaos" Quilt

4/20/2021

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Some people get bitten by the quilting bug; I came down with a quilting virus, which lay dormant in my system for years, flaring up occasionally, but never overcoming my garment-sewing resistance. I had enough quilting projects to justify a tag, but I didn't call myself a quilter.

No more! Just as viruses awaken when resistance is low, so my quilting virus awoke as I lost motivation to sew other things. Since June 2020, I have been happily working at a job which requires me to wear boring clothes. What's the fun in spending my days-off sewing a silk dress or pair of jodpurs, only to deck myself in polyester matte jersey pants and a tee shirt for my work week? If I never get to wear the fun stuff, why sew it? But quilts are useful always, and make great gifts...

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1880's Basque - Construction (part two)

8/31/2020

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* Karen opens door. It creaks, and a bit of dust swirls around her feet. Karen peeks in. *

I haven't been here in a while. 2020 has been an interesting year for everyone. When the USA went under stay-at-home orders to try to stem the spread of Coronavirus, I spent a few months at home, sewing and relaxing and getting a much needed vacation. I blogged a bit, then, since I had new projects to share. But then I got a new job, and though I've been sewing, I haven't been blogging about it. There are two reasons for that.

My silence can be partly explained by my increasing sewing skill. There was a time when I could make a whole blog post about a hem, but now I barely take pictures, and I find the write-up boring. When I was a beginner, I found plenty to interest me in talking about the basics. Now I'm more intermediate, I do the basics without thinking, and so I need to rethink how I approach my project diaries. For instance, I've really enjoyed sewing new shirts for my brother and sister, but not blogging about them. I've really enjoyed blogging about the Basque project because it's new territory, and I've got a lot to learn and a lot to say.

Another reason for my silence here is that there's so much going on in my world, my mind, and my heart that I can't focus to write. I feel like I'm swept away in deep water, and I need to keep my nose above the swells. Later, when the waters shallow out, I can perhaps write about the parts of the experience that make sense to me. (Or maybe, as my sister reminds me when I'm months overdue in replying to her letters, I need to just write something and let go of the need to encapsulate my whole life experience in one place! The word "essay" means "attempt" or "trial", not "success" or "perfection", after all!)

BACK TO THE BASQUE

Anyway, here I am again, to update the Victorian Basque project. To recap: I have a cool antique bodice, circa 1880's; I copied the pattern by drafting and by draping. Assembly being complicated, I broke it down into six steps:

cut out fabric pieces
make trim
make sleeves
sew bodice together
finish bodice Seam Allowances and add boning
attach sleeves to bodice

I blogged last time about the first three steps. This post will detail steps four through six.

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Quirky Quentin Dress (Simplicity 9360)

6/1/2020

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I have been binge-watching Poirot, a British murder mystery series, wherein actor David Suchet gets to explore and reprise the role of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective over the course of seventy episodes, from 1989 to November 2013. Each episode is interesting, but Poirot's character arc over the whole series is quite interesting, too. Amazingly, when you consider how many years the series ran, how many production teams and writers came and went, and even a change of studios and format midway through, there's is good continuity and a consistent timeline. The earliest we see of Poirot is in the late 1920's, when he arrives in England as a refugee from WWI Belgium, and the latest we see is in the 1949, when he dies. However, most episodes are set in the world of 1936.

I highly recommend David Suchet's Being Poirot for insight into the making of the series.

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1880's Basque - Construction (part one)

5/28/2020

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So to recap: I have a cool antique bodice, circa 1880's; I copied the pattern by drafting and by draping. Now I'm ready to sew!

Finished pattern, sans hem facing, collar, capelet, and trim. The dotted line crossing the bodice pieces is the waistline.

Since the project is complex, (I took over a hundred photos), I'll streamline the blogging of it by going topically and splitting it into a few posts. The order of construction is as follows (with much stopping, pinning to the dressform, drinking tea, and so on):

cut out fabric pieces
make trim
make sleeves
sew bodice together
finish bodice Seam Allowances and add boning
attach sleeves to bodice

This post will be the first three steps. The next three steps will be a later post.

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Quarantine Check-In

5/23/2020

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Evil pomander ball.

A little over two months ago, I began self-isolating at home, doing my (admittedly easy and small) part to curb the spread of Coronavirus. I am blessed with many advantages: I live with a roommate and cats, so I'm not lonely; I am collecting unemployment benefits, so I'm not broke; and I have a whole house and decent-sized yard to play in, so I'm not cramped. Today I'll take stock.

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Salvaging Selvedges

5/21/2020

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The selvedge of fabric is the edge which is finished during the weaving. Here's a diagram of a basic weaving: the black threads, which run up and down in the loom, are the warp threads. The red thread, running back and forth, over and under the black threads, is the weft thread or woof thread.

If you've ever tried your hand at weaving, then you know that if you pull the weft threads too tight, that makes the warp threads clench in the center, and your weaving turns out more like an hour glass than a rectangular strip! This is how I remember the names for the threads... the up and down threads are the warp because they're the ones that'll get warped if you weave too tight. The weft threads are the ones you weave through the others, so they get woven, or get weft.

Now, since the weft thread turns and retraces its steps at the end of every row, that creates a clean-finished edge called a selvedge, which is a contraction of "self edge". The selvedge is tidy and strong. It's also useful!

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1880's Basque - Sleeve Pattern

5/20/2020

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It took me about two days to develop a pattern for the bodice of this basque. I wanted it to have the style lines of the reference piece, but to fit my modern, uncorseted body. (Corsets are cool and all, but I'm working on my posture and don't want to wear something daily that replaces back muscles.) Today, I pattern sleeves.

As before, I look at the Burda 7880 pattern and my sloper, just to see what normal sleeves look like. As these are not a good base for the historical sleeve, I must drape.

As before, I have standardized my vocab for clarity in this post: the extant bodice from the 1880's is the reference garment or reference, and what I'm making with it is the new pattern.

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1880's Basque - Bodice Pattern

5/18/2020

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Remember this antique basque bodice, which I have been wanting to copy? Today, I'll talk about getting a pattern for it.

My interest in the project is in improving my patterning skills, practicing historical construction techniques, and making myself a Victorian-style top for everyday wear. My biggest challenge, I predict, will be the sleeves.

I'm not attempting an exact replica. For one thing, I don't have the right fabrics (silk taffeta and silk burnout velvet), and for another, burgundy is NOT my color! But I do want the pattern as accurate as practical.

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1933 Vest (M7056)

5/13/2020

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Today, I'll be making a modern pattern from a vintage collection. McCall's 7056 is a vest pattern, which can be made with or without notched collar/lapels. I opt for the collared version (view B). I wish they had the pattern for the skirt in there, but they don't. That's what I call false advertising!