The Joy of Sewing

Mary Beth recently sent me a link to Red Thread Studio, where Elaine Lipson blogs about ‘textile art, craft, culture and sustainability’. Lainie, as she is known, is the author of The Organic Foods Sourcebook, and The International Market for Sustainable and Green Apparel. Her work with the organic food industry and the Slow Food movement has led her to translate some of those ideas to fiber. I love this distillation of her thoughts that I found over on her blog ~

Elaine’s 10 Qualities of Slow Cloth

* Joy Slow Cloth has the possibility of joy in the process. The journey matters as much as the destination.

* Contemplation Slow Cloth can be contemplative, offering a space for meditation or contemplation in the work.

* Skill Slow Cloth involves skill that can develop over time, and with intention, has the possibility of mastery.

* Diversity Slow Cloth acknowledges the rich diversity and multicultural history of textile art.

* Teaching Slow Cloth honors its teachers and lineage even in its most contemporary expressions.

* Materials Slow Cloth is thoughtful in its use of materials and respects their source.

* Quality Slow Cloth artists, designers, crafters and artisans want to make things that last and are well-made.

* Beauty It’s in the eye of the beholder, yes, but it’s in our nature to reach for beauty and create it where we can.

* Community Slow Cloth supports community by sharing knowledge and respecting relationships.

* Expression Slow Cloth is expressive of individuals and/or cultures. The human creative force is reflected and evident in the work.

The joy of slowly sewing a wedding gown.

I recently caught up with her and asked her a few questions about her concept of Slow Cloth.

G: Has your work in the organic food industry had an impact on your thinking in the area of textile crafts?

E: Food and fiber are closely related. Cultivating plants and animals for food and clothing is the touchstone of culture and civilization. In both cases, our human instinct is to take nature’s raw materials and be creative with them to satisfy our senses, our desire for nourishment and beauty. And in both cases, we’ve industrialized and commodified production in ways that are rightfully up for serious review. Just as we learned to be aware of where our food came from and how it was produced, it’s time to take the same approach to fiber.

The idea of going back to the source, preserving and protecting regional and indigenous traditions, supporting contemporary interpretations, and taking time to celebrate the personal and communal rewards of making. That’s what inspired me to develop a set of principles for what I call Slow Cloth, but they work for all kinds of textile art and craft, and certainly for fashion as well.

G: What steps can we take to bring consciousness to the public about textile arts and crafts, similar to the Fair Trade movement for coffee and other agricultural products?

E: We’ve outsourced clothing and textile production so completely that those who make the things we buy are completely anonymous to us, and the environmental issues are invisible. I think a change is underway. The craft renaissance is allowing people to experience what it takes to make something. After you’ve made a pair of pants, you start to ask how Old Navy can sell a pair for $9.99 and make a profit, and then you begin to connect the dots. You might still buy those $9.99 pants, but at least you’re aware that it’s a choice that might not completely line up with your values.

G: There is a lot of interest is creating sustainable, green models for textile and clothing manufacturing. Where do you see the most activity currently?

E: Good certification programs are just the beginning; we also need consumer information and education that help people realize the need for sustainable production and sane consumption. ..It’s hard to look at a beautiful, silky dress or a well-loved cotton shirt and see it as a problem, so we have to identify production issues and still acknowledge that people want beautiful and comfortable garments.

….Sometimes the clothing being marketed as “sustainable” has nothing to qualify it as such. Or sometimes it’s a fabric we perceive as better, but there’s no attention to dyes and finishing or ethical labor practices.

…. In England, this movement is much more frequently referred to as ethical fashion and textiles, rather than sustainable… an ethical model–one that is responsible to all stakeholders from producer to wearer–is really what we need to create.

Slow sewing for a pieced lace applique

Stay tuned for part 2 of my interview with Lainie and The Joy of Sewing next week.

The joy of working in fine cloth

Interfacing Sale at SewExciting.blogspot.com

Found this in my email messages from my friend Pam Erny. It’s worth repeating here because it is the best interfacing I’ve used and I’ve just completed a wardrobe, skirt, pants, dress, and jacket (pic coming) using the Pro-Weft and Pro-Sheer. If you haven’t tried it, now is the time!

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Use Darts to Create Sheath Dress Drama

Making a sheath or shift dress like the one Georgene is doing now see the previous post can become a staple wardrobe piece. A sheath dress is a timeless design and if you have a good pattern it is a waste to not use it again and again.

But we woman want some more variations and making the same dress over and over is hardly an option we use without any design changes, except for some knit tops where we use a different fabric like prints or plain fabrics.

So if you have a good sheath dress pattern (vintage or new one) you can change the bust dart placement and have a new dress with the same good fit.

Playing with darts is a trick to use the same  pattern again. 

There are less sheath/shift dress patterns available these days but I found an example New Look 6643 which I used as an example to show you how to replace the bust dart into a new design feature.

I do not have this pattern but I think it mimics my self drafted example with a side bust dart and waist darts.

I made a black sheath dress in a silk cotton fabric about 10 years ago but I have no picture of the finished dress to show you. See an example of the dress I made with a diagonal bust dart.

 I drafted a pattern to show you what to do if you have a sheath dress with a side bust dart and waist dart and want a new placement for the darts like this one,

My pattern draft example has no seam allowances added so if you want to change your pattern remove the seam allowances first, you can add them on later.

Step 1: Start with tracing your 1/2 front pattern on a double piece of paper since this new dress can not be cut on the fabric fold. 

Step 2 : make the pattern as a one piece and mark the center front line .

Step 3: draw a diagonal line from the shoulder towards the bust point, I measured 2 inches (5 cm) from the end of the shoulder, draw another diagonal line from the other shoulder crossing the line at center front.

Step 4 : Cut  the right side new diagonal line open towards the bust point and fold the original side bust darts closed. Voila a new bust dart placement.

 Step 1                        Step 2                         Step 3                                 Step 4 

 

 Step 5: Since the bust side darts are now closed you can true the side seams in a smooth line , the waist darts do not get used in this dress so you can remove the wide of the waist darts from the waistline of the side seams from the original bust dart towards the hip line.

You can peg the side seams for a more slimming look, but please remember that your dress needs enough wide for a sanitary stop ( use of bathroom)

To sew the new dart start with sewing the bust dart maked with 1 and then sew the diagonal shoulder seam marked as 2

The best way to mark the new bust dart in your fabric is thread tracing.

I would suggest to use a  a plain fabric for this new bust dart design.

If you want to use a print or plaid fabric just remember that the upper right bodice is not on grain.

If you want to make this pattern in a print or stripe fabric I would suggest cutting off the upper bodice by cutting the left shoulder line towards the bust and voila another pattern design.

Using a stripe fabric and placing the upper part at the bias or cross grain ( crosswise) will give your dress another view. The possibilities are endless, you also can cut the center front line from the upper bodice and put both sides at the bias which will result in a chevron if you use a stripe fabric.

 

Enjoy sewing a new sheath /shift dress design.

You can of course use this new bust dart placement for any blouse or top too.

Vintage Vogue: Sheath Dress Pattern

I feel certain that I acquired this sheath pattern on EBay, probably in a lot with a few other ‘larger’ size 18 [ note that the bust is 36” with a 39” hip] no doubt thinking that it would be easier to adapt to my larger measurements than most EBay vintage patterns. I know that it came in a batch with several patterns, the same size from the same era, probably from an estate sale where well-meaning relatives have no idea what treasure lies in these old patterns. This one is from 1956.

I love the darts, not just one huge side bust dart, but also the double French darts on the front and back. This gives ample opportunity for fitting. When I traced off the pattern, I added a bit at the side seams as well as the sleeve underarm. I curved out a bit more at the bust, but with all these darts, I can surely find a way to redistribute the necessary ease in a flattering way, all without princess seams.

The long sleeve has 3 darts at the elbow, and there is ease at the back shoulder, without resorting to a dart. The finesse in this simple dress pattern is heart-warming.

View A is the epitome of the simple stylish sheath with the addition of a wrap. I would kill for the accessories – long gloves, a small pocketbook, and the kitten heels, too. Note the notch slit at the center-back neck for a little intrigue at the neckline.

View B is long sleeve with a button-out contrast dickey at the neckline, for a modest daytime look. The marvelous notch-collar stole has buttons that give it the effect of a jacket.

You can see the pattern pieces clearly on the ‘Identification chart’ included with the instructions.

I have cut my muslin and put together the dress. I am looking for a fitting buddy to help me pin in the sleeves. Looking at it with both sleeves on for fitting will be important for the over all fit. One sleeve will not give the true picture.

I’ll take pictures and report back soon [hopefully]. I have the soft micro polyester crepe that wears like iron and never wrinkles already lined up for the first piece [bought a 25 yard bolt from Kashi at Metro Fabrics in NYC about 3 years ago – this stuff never goes out of style, and is the best for travel.]

I also want point out the length of this dress – pegged and below the knee. It reminds me of the Sandra Bullock posters from her latest movie “The Proposal”. Love that longer length!

Diva for a Day: Katharine in Hong Kong

We are proud to present you a very talented lady, Katharine Yeung from Hong Kong .

Katharine responded on our blogpost   visitors from all over the world  and now you can read her sewing story too.

After graduating from fashion design school 2 years ago, I worked at a bridal studio in New York. I learned a lot about pattern making and some sewing technique. Now I’ve returned to Hong Kong where I was born, it had not been easy to find a job I love (compare to the vibrant design scene in NY). So a month ago, I decided to start my own collection, work on something I truly enjoy, and see where this will take me. 

I love bridal and evening, but I need to have something more wearable and profitable So I’m creating a small 9-looks casual-evening collection, with dresses, tops, skirt and pants.

 

 

I started this project with a little strapless A-Line dress. This dress has tons of seams; each panel will be in contrasting colour (dark area: some type of silk, think duchess, shantung or taffeta that has a bit of shine… the grey area will be matte: black/grey organza overlay on whatever I used on the dark area.) It will have a bustier inside, as I can’t stand those low-end garments without a proper structure inside. This is how I stumble across the Sewing Divas blog. Google took me to your post of December 31, 2007 (Evening wear, bustier and skirt). Gorgeous work! Even it wasn’t exactly the type of bustier construction I was searching about, your blog just took my breath away! I loved loved loved all those technique you showcased on your blog, it’s not easy to see someone who blog about their sewing secrets! Not to mention your techniques are so professional/couture (in contrast to some home sewing technique). Your blog is just too nice to be true!

So I went through tons of your old post over night, absorbed as much as I could and see if I could use some of the technique you blogged. Even if it’s not related to the collection I’m creating, I still enjoyed reading every post here

 

Back to what I’m sewing. Here is work in progress of the toile of that strapless dress. The original sketch has a chiffon draped panel that rest on the side, with one panel that can be flipped up and rest on shoulder (for those who want more than a strapless look). However, after stitching up the toile, I’m obsessed with all the seam detail and the dress just look so sculpted and 3-dimensional, that I felt it might be a shame to cover up all those seams (and the cute in-seam pocket!), even it’s chiffon. So I’ll make that decision later on when I sew this dress in the real fabric choice, and keep that chiffon option in case the seams are not laying as smooth as I want it to be. 

I’m sewing in my tiny bedroom in Hong Kong with an IKEA table and a Janome sewing machine. 

I don’t have a huge kitchen table, but we do have an un-occupied room in our apartment…. so yea, I’m one of those who do their pattern and cutting on the floor. Hopefully one day I can afford to have my own studio with a giant table!

 

Since I’m prepared to re-use those pattern, I tried not to fold them (the pattern paper quality is pretty bad… (Does anyone know where I can find a more sturdy pattern paper in Hong Kong?) I don’t have that extra money to buy a bunny hole puncher and pattern hooks yet. So I clip the pattern with binder clip and hang them behind the door. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is my cheaply made ham…. I swear to myself, I’ll buy a real tailor’s ham once I sold the first piece in my collection.