Draping on the Stand 0.7 – the straight skirt
I am so lucky to live in a city that has great evening classes. Last term I started to learn draping at Morley College. My teacher is New Yorker Lynda Kinne.
Last term we focused on dresses, which culminated, for me, in the creation of my amazing circle dress.
This term we are draping skirts, which is actually easier than a dress as we are only trying to fit the waist and hips (rather than the bust and shoulders as well). Our first project was to drape a straight skirt with a side seam, front and back darts. Lynda was kind enough to let me do something a little bit more challenging. I decided to drape a skirt with no side seam, made from one straight piece of cloth.
Once the straight grain is lined up at CF and CB I was able to put three small darts in the back. I then created three more substantial pleats at the front to suppress the rest of the fullness. I thought the skirt had an Edwardian feel, and considered making this up as a long skirt. A film about the Suffragettes is just being released in the UK, so I think this look may catch on.
The pattern, flattened out, shows how neat this design is. It is just one rectangle of fabric that only needs the darts and pleats stitching down, a CB zip and a waistband.
I will try to make up a “wearable toile” of this skirt before the class next week, when I have to come back with some ideas for more skirts.
Have you ever made a modelled skirt? If not, have you got a design you would love to make? Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome.
Embroidery on garments – a few hints
I haven’t done much hand embroidery since I wrote my name in chain stitch on my science overall, aged 11. Of course I have done the odd bit since then, but I have yet to try a tapestry sampler, or learn cross stitch. I am pretty close to being a complete beginner. Since embarking on a 1940s blouse, I have completed two yokes and two sleeves and feel I have some basic knowledge to share.
- Hand embroidery is a nice, restful occupation. If you enjoy hand sewing this might appeal to you. I found it a pleasant change.
- Start with the right sort of fabric. I used a firmly woven, good quality, soft cotton blouse fabric. Absolutely no point doing all that work on something worthless. I found some really nice shirting fabric that is a bit like a patchwork cloth, with a variety of white on white finishes. Do the embroidery on the pieces before assembling the garment.
Interesting shirting fabric - Use an appropriate iron on interfacing to give a good basis for the stitching
- Outline the pattern with washable carbon paper
- Decide on a colour scheme. Embroidered garments often come with a specific colour scheme, but it is entirely up to you. I choose colours (cool, brights) so the blouse will work with the rest of my wardrobe – pink flowers, green leaves with some blue, yellow and dark brown accents. I used several pinks to get a graduation effect.
Trying some of the colours - I mainly used good quality embroidery thread. Same point as point 1. I did mix in a few cheaper colours, from the market, which were fine. But the colour was not as even. For the colours which were most used (the two dominant pinks) I used more than one skein.
- Use a specific embroidery needle. This has a long eye, a nice sharp point and is fairly long (generally I like a shortish needle for hand sewing).
- You should consider using an embroidery hoop. I have got one, but didn’t use it. I stitched over my index finger, giving just a little bit of tension to the fabric.
- I read the instructions on what sort of stitches were required. I then practiced first on a handy practice design that was supplied. Even though I did this, my stitching improved as I went along.
Close work - For satin stitch, which is the main way that spaces are “coloured in” stitch from right to left, bottom to top. Try and place the stitches evenly as this is what makes the embroidery look smooth. As I was doing flowers I centred the stitches so they radiated out from the middle. It maybe more correct to have the stitches all going in the same direction.
- I did the small details first, including the lovely French knots. Then I did the pink flowers, and finally the leaves. I did the two yokes first, to completion; then the two sleeves. We have just been away for the weekend. I was able to finish the sleeves sitting by a lake.
Embroidery on holiday - Pressing looks daunting, but isn’t. As the both fabric and embroidery thread were cotton I used a fairly high heat on the back of the fabric, using a ham to support the sleeves and yokes. The pressing made the stitching perfectly flat and improved it no end. I was so confident that I then pressed it on the front (this is supposed to be a long lasting, everyday blouse), and it was just fine.
Press on reverse
World of Sewing – Croydon
Apart from a surfeit of nail bars and chicken shops, the cheaper parts of south and east London still have a range of specialist shops. World of Sewing is located in an unpleasant part of Croydon, on the road to Brighton. Of course there is a demand for haberdashery, fabrics and sewing machines shops, but the price of real estate in Central London, plus the internet, has reduced supply. My foray into a few of the warehouse shops of the North of England showed me that the internet is dominant, except where land prices remain distressed. World of Sewing does have a website, proudly proclaimed on the front of the shop, but I wouldn’t buy a machine online without trying it first. Having researched details of specific models, the prices at World of Sewing seemed keen.
Park outside (it is not really accessible by public transport), go in, and you will find a small but very well stocked shop. Local people come here for their quilting supplies, thread, a pressing aid, or some needles. The manager is Jennie – a grey haired lady who knows her stuff and is dressed in a smart white blouse, navy skirt and smart flat shoes (every day). A shopper comes in “Oh so glad you are still here (Jennie, or the shop?). I want some black bias binding”. Another person arrives with a broken zip; “Do you do alterations?” “No, you can try the drycleaners”. “Well what about a 20″ white separating zip?” “Yes we will have some next week – come back then”. I think, but of course I don’t say it out loud, “what is wrong with the internet for a zip“? But maybe if you only want one, and it is not urgent, maybe it is nicer to talk through how to insert it with Jennie rather than just go for it, on your own.
Although I wouldn’t bother with it for a zip, it is certainly somewhere to consider if you wish to buy a sewing machine.
In fact liked it so much I bought two!
One a year ago I bought an overlocker. And then, after a long period of research, pondering, test drives and longing, I bought another one. I have explained my thought process on what machines I might buy.
So I more or less made the decision, and then visited World of Sewing. I had to wait for ten minutes while the customer before me chose some patchwork supplies, but once free Jennie was the most professional salesperson imaginable (and unwilling to be photographed), with her clear tights, low court shoes and thick, tidy hair. She is helpful but clearly an introvert. You have to ask for information, and then you get it.
So I spent a happy half hour putting the Juki through its repertoire. Advised by Mrs Mole I checked it could handle chiffon and denim. I tried blind hemming and button holes, decorative stitches, using the knee lift. Eventually I was satisfied that the Juki was just what I had always wanted and I got my husband to put the machine carefully into the car. Jennie assured me I could call at any time if there was something I needed to know. Once home I found I had been given a good induction and the instruction booklet plus a DVD are available for more challenging topics.
I have also had what is now my “spare” machine serviced here and I would recommend it. Some commentators feel being asked for £25 up front for an estimate is a bit rich. And some people argue about the cost of a service (around £100). But I feel that they did a very good job and if you use your machine daily then this is a reasonable investment to make. The labour, workshop and careful customer service mean you can’t get a good service for much less – in my view (but happy to be corrected).
Overall I would give this company 8/10. They have other shops in Tunbridge Wells and Pratts Bottom (yes, really).
Octopus Outfit
My daughter is organising a party for four year olds with an Under-the-Sea theme. Her son had decided he wanted to be an Octopus. I had already felt a bit unsure about this, but Esme had suggested we stuff four pairs of grey tights.
I was pondering what sort of size of tights would work, and if I might use buttons for suckers when this email and photograph arrived.
I would like to make this outfit, can you help please? I think its an adorned bib over matching colour clothing. How much fabric and what type will I need? Does it have wire in the tentacles?
Suddenly my “dressing up outfit” concept was looking a bit lame. This was lamé! Silver, shiny, blingy. I thought back to Demented Fairy’s ten posts about making a steam punk outfit. I suffered some mental paralysis. I couldn’t even answer the question – how much fabric do I need? The next day Esme told me she had bought 2 metres of this, from John Lewis. I hope this will do.
And some silver leggings. And some stuffing. Last night she cut out and stitched the tentacles, giving me half a yard to make the yoke.
Once you look at the picture it is not so very complicated. There are around 8 tentacles, stuffed, attached to a yoke-bib which is also padded, and arranged (rather than wired, I think) so they don’t drag along the pavement. Then there is a mask or hat. In my first notion I had a hood in mind.
Let’s see how we get on.
Men’s Style – Jeremy Corbyn
The Labour Party in the UK has a new leader – voted in by an excited one person, one vote party. Until last week he was a rebellious back bencher. Now he is in charge, MPs are having to come to terms with him (a man many have never spoken to). For students of UK politics it will be interesting to see if he compromises in order to find a workable arrangement with Labour MPs, or sticks to his principles that have endeared him to his party.
Who cares about the politics – what about the clothes? Here we have the new leader leaving his Victorian north London home on the way to the House of Commons. He is wearing a vest. Over that, a dark shirt and casual trousers with a beige cotton jacket that maybe a little bit big for his slim frame (a cycling vegetarian). Over one shoulder he wears a big bag with all his important parliamentary papers in it. He is a nice looking 66 years old. He has always worn a beard – harking back to when it was somewhat rebellious to do so. Today of course the beard is mainstream. He looks like a middle class, middle aged, comfortable weekender. Not necessarily someone who wants to impress his authority on Parliament or the country. For a contrast with the previous Labour leadership, see this post.
In a nutshell he normally wears a shirt, over a vest, with trousers, and a jacket that doesn’t match, Not-a-Suit. Often the jacket is casual, like this Harrington jacket – good for keeping off the rain, and suitable for use on a bike or public transport. In his youth he wore brightly coloured jackets – green to indicate sympathy with Irish Repulicanism, red to indicate socialist opposition to the Royal family. These days he is Mr Beige.
The other signifier that Corbyn would wear, certainly in the past, was the Leninist hat, coupled sometimes with a white Peace poppy rather than the traditional Red one. This is the guy who won’t sing the national anthem either (as a Royalist song). In this sense he was following the tradition of the first leader of the Labour Party in Parliament Keir Hardie, who refused to wear a silk top hat favoured by the “gentlemen” in government. As a Scot he actually wore something more similar to a deerstalker than the “flat cap” favoured by both Corbyn and Lenin.
To a certain extent this is all a breath of fresh air – a change from spin-doctoring and image consultants. But for all his dishevelled, careless choices he is saying something striking and important. “I am authentic, I think for myself, I am a man of the people before I am an MP. I want to stay connected. My politics are principled and I will not conform to the “traditions” which keep the ruling class in power, even if they are trivial like wearing a dark suit and a silk tie.”
The funny thing about his clothes are that he reminds me of Boris Johnson, who also cultivates an individualistic look. Those who are strongly confident of their own standing can break the rules. As Corbyn is forced, as the Labour leader, to do more and more things he may find uncomfortable we will have to see which way he goes – conforming, or rebelling.
Certainly worth watching his wardrobe selections, to see if anything changes.
Surface Decoration – Hand Embroidery
I love Folkwear, especially traditional embroidered blouses. These are garments that women have been making at home for centuries. A real classic that is beyond fashion, and always beautiful. Like a signature dish that has been reiterated so many times, it becomes perfect in its own way. Although the item is never fashionable in its original form, it is appropriated each decade as designers bring some of the shapes, colours and styles into their collections.
During the 1940s, in the middle of the Second World War, these designs were really in vogue. Some of the influences were undoubtedly European – Austrian, Swiss or Bohemian. Some inspiration, especially in the American market, was Mexican and Latin American. The basic idea of making a blouse at home from some ordinary white fabric, personalising it while still sticking to the ancient design, has meant the embroidered folk blouse has been a fashion available to all. Also it has always had importance as a way of expressing one’s national identity, when this may have been threatened.
In any event, I have been keen to create an embroidered blouse for a long time.
I had a go at a smocked blouse. Smocking is a type of embroidery associated, in England, with agricultural workers. It also had a moment in the Aesthetic dress movement. But now I wanted to go European and create some of the nice big flowers that feature in Hungarian and other European styles.
I bought a reproduction pattern, very similar to the images at the top; McCalls 1358 from around 1947. I loved the open floral embroidery design which was relatively simple, but also nicely composed. As the pattern was not an original, there were no iron on transfers included. However a line drawing of the design – reversed so that there was a left and right sleeve pattern, and a left and right yoke pattern – were included. I took some Instagram advice and traced the outline onto my cotton fabric using dressmakers’ carbon paper. This worked well. I also ironed-on lightweight interfacing to give the embroidery something to cling to.
I considered making the blouse in green or navy (all of the above examples are embroidered on black, which really make the colour sing out). In the end I went for white as a white background has a similar effect on colour as black, although slightly less dramatic.
I thought for a long time about my colour scheme, in the end plumping for strongly pink roses, surrounded by little blue flowers, all with yellow centres and green leaves. I decided to do the wonderful French knots in brown to give a little definition to the flowers.
Here are the yokes.
I am looking forward to finishing the embroidery and making up the blouse. Why?
- it has gussets!
- it has lace!
- it is very pretty and will go with everything!
Daily Disciplines
I read an interesting post about American comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
In order to ensure he has enough hilarious material for his routine he believes he must write daily. He works and works on his jokes to ensure they are successful, in terms of making people laugh. He calls his technique “Don’t break the chain”. The idea, and it is one that works for me too, is that in order to get things done (write jokes, or learn a language, or get more proficient at sewing, for example), you have to commit to doing something about it. Every single day.
I go the gym every day. Well every weekday. Some people think this shows incredible commitment. Actually the opposite is true. It requires nothing more than setting a habit; a habit that quickly becomes non-negotiable. Like brushing your teeth, going to the gym has the same boring routine to it – on my way to work I call in at the gym for an hour or so. Some days I lift weights or join an aerobics class. Others I swim or do yoga. But I go everyday; I get an early bus, I read the paper, I sometimes Tweet, I do the exercise class, or run on a machine; I take a shower and go to work. I am on automatic pilot to some extent. And my job is a daily discipline too – although I love my work, it is something I do every day in order to earn a living. Picking up socks, getting the shopping on the way home – the point is we already have a group of things we do automatically, without special effort. The trick is to introduce new things into this routine so that they get done without fail.
When I started sewing I started with a little every day, usually first thing in the morning. I have time to get dressed, drink four cups of tea, and enjoy, maybe, 30 mins of sewing. Therefore it was inevitable that once I started blogging I would do it everyday.
I publish a short post everyday and have done so for around 18 months.
Now while daily disciplines are great, so are weekly, monthly and annual ones! Spring cleaning; annual leave; dental checkups; birthdays; Christmas. Periods of time have their own rhythms. Some people sew more in winter than summer; others vice versa. Many are more active outdoors when the weather is fine. I wasn’t really aware of annual rhythms until I discovered the routine created by Artisan’s Sewing Annual Sewing with a Plan challenge. Annually we plan to make our new wardrobe during November and December and construct 11 garments from Christmas to the end of April. This provides a structure that motivates and drives me.
While I post daily, I haven’t been writing daily for a while. I write weekends, and then automatically schedule my posts. Sometimes I change the order but I dedicate some weekend time, each week, to writing. Which is fine, as I enjoy writing very much. As much as sewing, as it happens. I don’t always give the writing the time it deserves, and the quality is sometimes lost. I hate those typos and inelegant sentences.
This weekend I decided I will post five times a week (skipping Sundays and Wednesdays) instead of seven – blogging will become more of a weekly commitment for me. I will also try to improve the quality of my writing.
How do you ensure you get things done?
- Do you have a list that you tick off?
- Do you set deadlines?
- Do you prefer a spontaneous approach where sometimes you are hyperactive, and other times you take it easy?
- Or are you a “don’t break the chain” type?
Buying a reproduction pattern from The Vintage Pattern Shop
I enjoy making clothes from vintage patterns. Some I buy in charity shops, but most I get on eBay. On the whole I buy the cheaper ones, searching by “lowest price” rather than anything else. If you buy patterns here you may have noticed patterns offered from a company called The Vintage Pattern Shop. They sell not original vintage patterns but copies. Although the company have dozens of great out of print and out of copyright patterns in their range, I thought they were relatively expensive (around £15-£20, plus £3 for postage) and I prefer to buy an original. But sometimes there is a pattern that you want that is simply not available. You can stalk international sellers for years and still never find it. Or sometimes and original maybe available but the price is quite extraordinary – an original Schiaparelli went on eBay UK recently for nearly £200.
While I like the old envelopes, the sense of excitement associated with opening and using something that may never have been used before, or may have last been sewn up 50 or 60 years ago, I am not precious about originals. Most of the ones I own I alter as if they were new. I don’t treat them like precious relics, tracing them off or strengthening them with iron on products. In theory I have absolutely no problem with a copy shop version. I know there are PDFs of knitting patterns too. But they are more like a recipe, aren’t they? I am guessing a photocopy is fine.
My issue, apart from price, was I didn’t know what I was getting. I felt the same before my first time with a PDF downloadable pattern. Thankfully a number of companies provide a reassuring, free practice pattern. This way you can download a pattern, ensuring it prints on one side of paper, doesn’t scale to fit, etc, and then you discover how easy it is to assemble the jigsaw at home.
So if you have ever considered buying a reproduction pattern, here is my review.
I was looking for a puff sleeved blouse, with embroidery – not an everyday thing. I am fond of 1940s blouses so looked for vintage first. I did search for a while, but the blouse I liked the best, McCall 1385, was only available as a reproduction. So, in the interests of science, I ordered one. Because the embroidery was the thing here (I could have drafted this blouse myself), I checked with the seller that the embroidery pattern was included. She assured me that it was by eBay email. I ordered the pattern and, via eBay, gots lots of follow up mail.
The pattern arrived about a week after I had paid for it. Everything was in a neat folder. Inside was a colour photocopy of the pattern envelop, with a date and reference number. The picture was very important in this case as it includes vital information on the embroidery pattern – the biro is me thinking through the colour scheme I might adopt. All of them are so beautiful, aren’t they?
The pattern pieces and all the original instructions were copied onto one large brown paper sheet – much more robust than the normal pattern tissue, but not so stiff that pins would struggle. It is about the same weight as pattern cutting paper. I cut round the pieces with paper scissors first rather than ruin my shears. The brown paper contributed to the vintage feel.
The instructions were not perfectly printed, but that maybe because the pattern was pretty old (c1947). But it is a simple enough blouse in terms of construction. Although it has a gusset (arrgh…!).
Included in the booklet were some “bonus items” – for example a chart to convert inches into centimetres, a page explaining how to measure yourself, and how to alter the pattern to fit. I guess this might be important to some people I found it a bit extraneous. What was slightly bizarre was that there were two blank pages for “notes” and a strange sheet of paper included about what was happening in the news in 1947 downloaded from somewhere. Whatever, as they say.
I have nothing against this product, except the price. If there is a pattern I really wanted I would be prepared to spend around £23 to get it, even though it is a reproduction. For me I didn’t find the pattern better than an old one, except perhaps it was a little bit less fragile.
The Queen
Queen Elizabeth II has just reached an important milestone. She has been sitting on the throne for longer than her Great Grandmother Queen Victoria, who managed 63 years too, (but less days).
Good on you, Ma’am.
In 2007 she and Prince Philip celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary and Buckingham Palace released this charming photograph (below right) taken at Broadlands, in Hampshire, where they had previously posed for the engagement announcement.
It is a great achievement to stay married to the same person for 60 years (68 now) too. This is a woman who is constant through and through. What is also interesting is that both of them are wearing similar outfits (apparently not deliberately planned).
The Duke of Edinburgh has filled out a little, lost some hair, and is still somewhat awkward with a photographer. He wears a suit and tie, one button done up (correctly), a classic silk tie in a lighter shade, and pocket handkerchief. The Queen is also stouter than her younger self, but she has continued with a similar style. A high necked blouse, a buttoned jacket with set in sleeves and a face framing collar, and simple classic jewellry – studs in her ears, two strands of natural pearls and an oval brooch. Both jackets evidently tailored made; the fit is good. Even her hairstyle is similar – off the face, curled at the neckline and probably set and sprayed.
When Queen Elizabeth was youthful she wore some beautiful clothes. Here is a gorgeous image from 1954 in which she wears, I think, a dark silk dress with gathered skirt and yoke. The white shoes, gloves and bag worn with a sweet hat make this dress look smart and comfortable in the high heat.
Here, at her sister’s wedding in 1960, she looks amazing in a tightly fitted full length dress with matching bolero and elbow length gloves. I love the hat especially. But of course it was rather an old fashioned look at the time.
And here is one where she has adopted some of the 1960s styling. Maybe it’s that engagement brooch again, matched with a sapphire blue velvet pleated hat. I really like this silver dress with matching simple coat, worn with fashionable shoes. These days the Queen always wears black shoes and a black bag (I am guessing she has several identical pairs, and ditto with her bags). Maybe a bit dressy for watching the horses, but the public would expect the Queen to stand out in a crowd.
Note:
I have decided to stop blogging everyday, so from next week I am going to skip Sundays. Day of Rest if you like. And maybe one day in the week. I’ll see how I go.
How to sew chiffon (based on my experience)
In order to improve my sewing techniques I decided to make a silk chiffon blouse with lace inserts, using a 1959 Vogue blouse pattern. Before I started I researched the theory. Finally I have finished, and worn, the blouse. In case you are interested I wore a dark bra and purple stretch lace vest. This was just the job.
I need to say, at the start, that I am happy with my little blouse. It is light as a feather, translucent, vintage-pretty, delicate and fun to wear.
But making it was really hard work. Mainly because I did not know what I was doing. It was my first time with sheers and lace. I prepared as best I could with reading, taking advice, buying and watching a Craftsy class, and practising on scraps of the material. I was fairly well prepared, but I made some mistakes, and consequently learnt a lot. Making mistakes which involve unpicking tiny stitches, zig zag stitches, in lace and delicate silk with a fine guage unpicker is the best way to learn.
I don’t know if you have watched Kill Bill 2, but the way that Uma Thurston learns from Master Pai Mei is definitely the hard way, carrying heavy buckets of water long distances until she is allowed to learn the finer points of Kung Fu fighting. His punishing tutelage eventually saves her life as she breaks open the coffin she is buried alive in. OK, it’s far fetched fiction. But learning to sew well requires much patience, tedious work and time spent communing with mind and body, machine and fabric.
I have already explained what went wrong. Here, distilled, in my guide to Sewing with Chiffon.
- Start with a good sewing machine. I have a high quality sewing machine that can cope with very light weight fabrics. If your machine can’t handle delicate silks then personally I wouldn’t even try.
- I cut the chiffon out with shears. Silk chiffon is slightly crepey with a matt appearance. It doesn’t slither. It is very light weight and may give you trouble if you have the windows open. I do not have rotary cutters so I cannot say if they would have been better. I pinned the pieces down well, using long, fine silk pins. They didn’t create marks. I did not use tissue paper, gelatine or any other aids. I honestly believe if you stick to quality silks, and you are both firm and careful, they behave quite well.
- I utterly relied on my tailors tacks to mark the seam lines. They are a godsend if your cutting is not perfect. Always sew to the tacks, rather than using the edge of the cloth as your sewing guide. Next time I would look for a finer thread. I experimented with silk thread for tacking and it worked very well.
- I used French seams throughout. I wouldn’t have used them on the curves without encouragement. But they worked perfectly, even on the curves. Of course the secret is to make them tiny. The dimensions I quoted from the books are a little wide for my taste. I say go as small as you can. With practice I think my seams are now something like 1/8th of an inch.
- Sew Slowly. I usually enjoy sewing fast. On this occasion I slowed it right down. This is my best tip ever. It just meant that I could control the fabric, the lace, the seams etc.
Chiffon blouse Vogue 9783 - Don’t backstitch. I am not a keen backstitcher in any event. But, when I tried it, it just mucked everything up.
- I used Gutterman multi-purpose thread. I actually prefer cotton for silk, but I had a perfect colour match and I like Gutterman when I am not economising. It worked fine.
- Similarly I used the narrow hem technique for the hem (stitch close to the edge, press, trim back, stitch again on the stitching line). It worked well and complemented the French seams.
- Silk organza is the perfect fabric for delicate interfacing as it disappears into the chiffon, producing minimal opacity, just enough stiffness and ease of use.
- My lace insertion was the most difficult part and where I had the most to learn. I actually made a big fuss about finding the right lace, and in the end made a silly compromise. Bunny was spot on with her advice to get the right texture and weight of lace. Chiffon is very delicate and light weight. Match it with a lace trim which has similar qualities. The nylon lace I used was too heavy for the chiffon when I backed it to increase the width. It’s OK, but not the best. After I had finished the job I bought some beautiful vintage handmade cotton lace from France. It is white but I could have changed the colour.
- My sewing machine coped just fine with the button holes. I was worried about them being too heavy. But of course, stitched on a sandwich of chiffon/ organza/chiffon, the material was robust enough for the machine made buttonholes. I practised with different styles and shapes, and stitch length. I moved away from a dense stitch to one which was more open but still effective. I was very happy with the quality of the button holes and would certainly do them again. I didn’t have the nicest buttons, but again, on another occasion I would source fine, high quality, light weight buttons, probably vintage mother of pearl (dark in this case).
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