Stuck? Here's a little inspiration from the Great British Sewing Bee.... S3

I've made progress on the embroidery for my project but can't find the rest of the linen for the body (insert eye roll), so today's focus will be cleaning, organizing and finding that fabric.  It can only be in three places...  So if you're stuck, and need some inspiration, the Great British Sewing Bee is available on youtube.  I've started at season 3, but later seasons are available if you look.  Pull up a cup of tea and ....

Have a great day....

Gaza Dress embroidery project.....

I've wanted to make something to hang around the house in, something dressy enough to not scare the neighbors when I go out for the mail, or if I have surprise company.  It was 91 degrees today... so, I was thinking linen, or cotton.  I wanted to engage in a bit of history bounding.... so here's what I came up with.  The Gaza dress from Folkwear patterns....... my version will be a bit shorter.

I really wanted to do a little embroidery, but could not find the 12 count waste canvas needed. Neither the count or the size, they recommend a piece that is 15" x 13".  Ideally, waste canvas by the yard would have been what I was looking for.  Then I pulled out some even weave linen from the stash, but it was 32 count, and the stitches were so tiny, even going over two threads.... the project would go into my old age.  Then I remembered.... the Bernina has a cross stitch program in the embroidery software.

Yes, I am cheating....

Here is the screen for the software cross stitch..... I thought I was sooo clever.

It took me about an hour to do the design in the software, I was very excited, the embroidery module wasn't acting up at all. So here is the first pass.....

Sigh...it did not stitch out the proportion needed, but it's still very nice looking, so we will keep it and get creative.

Here's a little hypnotic embroidery for you.....

Inspirational Projects and People..... Angela Clayton... Worth Gown

Among the Costuber community, there is a project  where "creators", recreate their favorite Worth gowns.  This morning, I watched Angela Clayton, working on the skirt portion of her Peacock gown.
It is quite the process....




The peacock over lay, is going to be very involved.


I've been working in the garden, as I know from previous years, if I don't get in now, the insect life will take over.... and that was very disappointing.  I will pick up again this week.

Keep safe everyone, and use up that stash!!

Happy Belated St Patrick's Day... a little Celtic music to sooth the nerves.

Sometimes you don't need to know the words to the song, or the language, to appreciate the tune.  My two favorites this year....





The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry is a shape-shifting song from Orkney. A selkie is a mythical creature resembling a seal in water but assuming a human form on land. Sule Skerry (Sula Sgeir) is a rocky islet 25 miles west of Hoy Head in Orkney.

The second....




Ireland.... it's magical.... Happy St Patrick's Day!

Repurposing thrifted items,....Evelyn Wood

Here's yet another channel, from a very talented Sewist, repurposer extraordinaire!!

Click HERE  for Evelyn Wood.

I like the linked video in particular, because it shows how our sewing projects sometimes don't turn out as planned, but there is still hope to get it to where you want it to be.  The reality of some projects whether they be repurposed or started from scratch.

After a shocking measuring session yesterday, a one size fits garment is all I'm capable of ... more to come on that.

Happy Hump Day!!

Merchant and Mills, The Field Belt.... The Fold Line

The weather was glorious Saturday, so of course, I spent the day inside cleaning.  I found this pattern under a stack of fabric.  Originally I had read about this indie pattern company on patternreview.com, went to the Merchant and Mills website, and found this little bag.  I investigated..... with the shipping from the UK it was not worth it to buy the pattern, hardware kit and fabric.  Purl Soho started carrying Merchant and Mills, and voila!!

The fabric is a stiff oil cloth, that is allegedly not supposed to rub off.

The hardware kit includes, two buckles, rivets and leatherish straps..... the straps were a bit of a disappointment, but we'll see how they wear.  It saved me from buying everything from another provider, but I won't be buying it again, I found it a bit pricey for what I was getting, explanation below.

There is a Barbour jacket in my closet that is reserved for wet cold weather, I thought this purse might be a good match.  Ok, I know what you're thinking, the Barbour has so many pockets why would you need a bag?  Good point.... I could also wear this with jeans. 

So far so good, the back loop is in place for the "leather" belt... then the tricky part.... there is no recommendation for how to open the holes in the leather.  First I tried my die cutter from the corset grommets size 00.  That did nothing.

Then I moved onto an awl and hammer, which worked best for me.... however when doing this, choose a nice sturdy piece to put under your wood block.  I hammered through the wood block and into the book.  Fortunately, it wasn't a book I paid a lot for, and it will probably be reserved for this kind of activity in the future because, the awl went straight through the wood, and into the book, pierced the cover and into the pages. (insert smile emoji here)

They don't give you any extra rivets, and if you don't have the exact setter for these rivets, you will need to pound them together with your hammer.  Not having the setting tool, means that the rivet, looks like it's been pounded, and has dents from the hammer. 

One of the rivets, went in sideways and did not hold.  This means I am short a rivet for the belt portion.

Fortunately, I had a belt in my closet that measures 1 1/4" wide, it slid in the back channel with no problem.  The belt strap they give you is 1", I think the wider is better.

Here it is, stuffed with my phone, a card case and my keys. It looks a little untidy here.

Points off for

1) Vague instructions -  not recommending a hole size for the rivets and buckle prong... stating, "make prong hole larger than rivet" is not clear 

2) not stating that you need to punch a hole in thick leather, or cut leather, and the tools to do that

3) not providing extra rivets, or leather to practice

4) not stating that the leather is "bonded" instead of real leather

5) The expense.

I had said before that buying it from the UK, was cost prohibitive, buying it from Purl Soho, is a pricey proposition.  All told, if you buy it now, it will cost $69, pattern $11, hardware kit $25, 1 yd fabric $33 + lining fabric (but I used scrap).... if you get free shipping.  Now, I will say, that 1 yard of the fabric, will make at least 5 bags.  So if you are creative with closings, you can make the bag without buying the hardware kit.  So, pattern $11, fabric $33 - $44/5 = $8.88 per bag, if you have friends ....  It's just an idea. You could go with another fabric, that would be less expensive.  A bull denim might be good, canvas or raincoat fabric.  I used the leftover from the corset for the lining, a lightweight denim.  You could run a muck with the variations. 

The bag, is too small for my phone, which is one of the midsized iPhones.  If I were to make the bag again, I would make it a little wider, put a divider in it to save my phone from being scratched by the keys, or make a pocket somewhere to put the keys in.  There is room to make it your own.

Now if I could make a recommendation to M&M, include the leather straps with the shaping at the tips and the holes prepunched.  Since there is no sizing involved, it would be a really good idea.

I am happy to discover the fabric, because.... I need to replace the body of a carry on bag I have that has delaminated from the fusible they used, and I might be able to use this fabric to replace it. It might turn into a market bag, if it's not careful.... more to come on that.

Enjoy your Sunday!

If you're looking for a way to preview Indie patterns and iron, I recommend the Fold Line youtube channel.

If you're looking for Indie pattern releases, I found this youtube channel called The Fold Line, click HERE.  They have an online store, youtube channel, website, sewing forum.... I have only seen the videos, the presenter is lively.

Glazed cotton.... and inspiration garment...V&A 19C Czech Republic skirt with Embroidery and Bobbin Lace

When we think of glazed cotton we think of  upholstery, floral Chintz, but glazed cotton came in other prints and even solid colors.  It turned up at the V&A in the inspiration garment below, an Indigo cotton with resist dye flowers.

Glazed cotton

Glazing is a textile finish that adds luster and smoothness to the surface of the fabric. Many glazed fabrics are plain-woven cotton. A specialized calender (set of metal rollers) called a friction calender, literally rubs the fabric lustrous. Glazed chintz and polished cotton are examples of glazed fabrics.

The Process
The fabric is first impregnated with wax, starch, or a resin solution using a pad machine. The fabric passes through the solution in a bath, then through pad rollers. Pressure is applied so that the solution is forced into the fabric. The pressure on the pad roller squeezes the excess solution out of the fabric. The fabric is partially dried and passed through a friction calender. The friction calender is made up of three rollers. One roller is a padded roller that moves the fabric slowly between two metal rollers. As the fabric moves slowly between the rapidly moving heated metal rollers, the friction creates heat. The fast moving metal rollers polish the fabric. The glaze will be temporary if the fabric has been treated with wax or starch. The finish will be durable if the fabric has been treated with resins. The glazing will be durable on thermoplastic (heat sensitive) fiber fabrics because the friction rollers produce heat.

Definition from https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com

Resist Dye
 A general term for printing with a dye-resistant substance leaving only the background colored after a washed finish. Originally an 18th century method where a resist paste inhibited the indigo dye.

Definition from the Schumaker website.

This skirt is a showcase for many crafty expressions.... machine embroidered ribbon, hand embroidery, resist dye (if you want to take that on), bobbin lace.... I may have to try something like this.

I'm picturing a white cotton t-shirt and espadrilles...... 

Read about the details at the V&A archive..... HERE

Details

Laughing Moon Mercantile 115 Regency Corset C 1805-1840 in denim a review and some Jane Austen research.....

The wait is over, the lightly corded and lightly boned corset is completed (except for flossing).  Made in a lightweight denim, and white cotton lining, as far as I know not historically correct textiles.  This was an intense project, that was impossible to fit, until completed.

I mean this is what the "cups" looked like before binding and gathering, it was looking a bit grim.  I mean, it needed to cup, right?  After adding the binding and drawstring, it was much improved.

There were a few areas that I didn't understand.  The strap measurement is one, so I cut the longest strap, in the hopes of fixing it later.  Since the strap pattern piece follows the same lines for all sizes, this won't be a problem if you decide to do this.

There is an area of embroidery in the center of the horizontal cording band around the middle of the corset.  I skipped it, actually I thought it might be another corded area, but couldn't for the life of me figure out how to cord a serpentine. If you want to do this, it would be done earlier in the process than later.

I was so focused on the cording I jumped right in, and did that first.  If I had followed the instructions, I would have inserted the bust gores first for the lining and the outer fabric.  Working on the cording sandwich first, left me with raw edges around the gussets on the inside, instead of the neat hip gussets that were made following the instructions.

Following instructions.....

Not following instructions....

The cording took the longest, as you might expect.  There were a few missteps along the way with the needle poking through the outer fabric, I'm counting about 5 times. This left lighter areas that you can see if you are looking for them, some holes self healed, others did not, but are less visible with the top stitching that came later. If made in a heavier weight coutil, the needle may not penetrate as easily,  the lighter denim used was so soft, it was easier to pierce.  Also, if the outer fabric, were a solid color, the same color as the cording and lining, any areas that were pierced might be more invisible.  Or, could be practice is all that's needed. See if you can see them in the top pics ;)

Not wanting to plunk down $$ for a busk, I found a piece of Alder kick plate left over from the kitchen remodel and my brother trimmed it down for me.  He really is a jack of all trades, now he can add busk maker to his resume. I started with a plastic ruler as the busk, but the kick plate was a bit thicker, so he cut first the width of the ruler, then the thickness of the blade.  He routed the top so it went into the channel without snagging.  I thought I had taken a pic but did not, sorry...

On the side seams, I removed the cording material from the seam allowance, to remove the bulk. The side seam needed a boning channel and didn't want any issues.

My biggest disappointment came when adding the grommets to the back.  The new grommets purchased were so sharp, they actually cut the fabric in two places.  I'm planning on embroidering around them after applying some fusible to strengthen the area.  I'm in the market for vintage grommets people.

In the end, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  I would recommend the pattern, it's been an interesting journey.  I'm especially happy that this is just a mock up, there were a lot of lessons learned here.

On to Jane Austen......

During the Regency period, they were a bit scandalous, showing off the Decolletage in extremes.   For me the cup depth is a bit scant, so that will need to be addressed in the next version (sometime next year I think).  

Here you can read about "The Heaving Regency Bosom" on the Jane Austen World Blog click HERE

Will it be a substitute for a modern day bra?  Maybe with some tweaking... more to come on that.

One or two more elements will be sewn up for this history bounding experiment, still researching what will be kept, and what will be eliminated from the regency garb.

My favorite quilt at AQS Daytona... spotlight on Chi Chen Wen

The eye is rendered so perfectly ....

2019 QuiltWeek Fall Paducah Winning Quilts