Another recommendation

I have had my "Machine Finishing" class brought forward a couple of months so I am updating my samples and notes.

As a trained teacher I am very aware of the "presumed knowledge" that books, commercial patterns and teachers, and in fact all types of teachers, think that students already have.  This also applied in the classroom when I was teaching high school students.  But a lot of basic knowledge has not been passed on to learners, of all ages.  I know my own Mother didn't know how to sew or use a sewing machine and she would have been over 100 years old today.

So, as I am working on my notes all this is running through my mind.  There is just so much basic knowledge and skills that my notes were turning into a "major novel."   On visiting Phillipa Naylor's web site I found that she too has been thinking about this "presumed knowledge"and has called it "Basics".  She has put together a whole series of videos about this for students to read prior to taking her dressmaking course. There is much here that doesn't apply to embroidery but it is all really important information for anyone that works with textiles.

These are presented under four headings.

Equipment

Fabric

Patterns and

Sewing Machine Basics.

The blurb at the top of the blog says:

Philippa Naylor shares her thoughts and advice on foundational tools and techniques required for garment making. We will be adding new videos to this series as we come across foundational topics which would be usefully covered by Philippa.

All these videos are free

So now my class notes refer students to these videos.  I will highlight the ones I think are pertinent to my class and set them as background viewing.  They are a wonderful resource.  (Not that long ago I would have said background reading.  Haven't times changed?)

 

Bright fabric

I was looking for bright fabric to use to make a gift and came upon this Kafe Fassett designed fabric in my stash.  It was called 'Artisan'.  Heaven knows why I bought it, I think it was on sale.

I know I bought it from a quilting shop but it wasn't really suitable for quilting, would have been better to make clothing with but I didn't buy enough metreage.  I have used it to make an exchange gift for a member of my quilting group.

We were given a list of patterns we would like to have made up as our gift and were asked to select one.  This list was then mixed up and we were given another members name and were asked to make what they had selected.  I was given this pattern to make up for a member I know loves orange and bright colours, hence the search in my stash.

I have changed the pattern slightly by adding a thicker and softer interfacing.  Reason?  Well I think it could also be used to store jewelry and for that you need a bit thicker wadding and I didn't think she would use it as a sewing equipment holder and when I gave it to her she agreed.

I just had to work out how to attach the brightly coloured clip that holds the cover together.  I bought a set of plastic clips and a tool to attach them but I just couldn't get them to work.  I had to do it a few times but I finally got there.  This is going to be a useful tool actually and the clips are very strong much stronger than I had thought.  I will be using them instead of the 'sew on' ones in future for this kind of project.

Only three functions this week, as if that isn't enough! At our quilting group we got hit with this horrendous storm.  We could see it building up over the city in the distance and were hoping it would head south.

It just seemed to intensify.

Still, we were all set up on the verandahs and one of our members had stitched bunting with each of our names on them.

Because of COVID we self catered with some of our members doing the cooking, which was delicious.

We had a visit from one of Santa's Elves who was actually my God-son's boy Leo. ( Leo has MS so we all raise money for research into this disease.)

Then the heavens opened and this fierce storm descended on us and we had to beat a retreat inside.  Little did we know, but only a short distance away, at the Hungry Jacks Take-away, which in right in the centre of all the shops where we all had been at some time, a car was washed away from the parking area and a women drowned. This creek also ran through the playground of a school where I taught.   It is just something you don't expect to happen at the local shopping centre and there are many other shopping centres who's car parks border creeks.  I'm afraid that this has shaken me.  I will be very careful in all storms now.

 

 

Wild Weather

For years it has been dry.  Now the cycle has changed again and the rain is falling.  Along with this we have been having really severe storms.  It is cyclonic.  The kind of storms we used to see up north but there are some here that I think are worse.  We have had several weeks of rain, a couple of clear days, when you get the garden straightened and the lawns mowed and then bunker down again.

I have to make a woollen skirt as part of my Garment- Maker's course.  Goodness, wool!!!  I haven't worn wool in years.  And then I got thinking about that.  When I was a teenager and into my 20's I did wear wool and even in my 40's.  School's can be cold places so woollen slacks were called for.  But there has been a steady increase in the temperature over the years and there is no need to wear wool.  The change has been gradual and I, and I guess most others, have just adjusted and forgotten that we once wore woollen clothes in winter.

Then I thought back to when I did make woollen garments.  I remember that we used to bind the seams and hems with a tape.  I haven't laid eyes on that for years.  I suppose we use overlockers now and we  hemmed  woolen garments with herringbone stitch.  I was mulling over all this, and then, in the middle of the night, I woke up and had this thought, moths!!  They could ruin anything.  They usually got into your clothes in the summer months and that was the end of your good woollen garment. And then there was 'dry-cleaning'.  I don't know where I would find a dry cleaner now.

Still, I made the trip into Fortitude Valley to the Fabric Store to get some  fabric.  They had sent me an Email saying the had 'short ends' of wool fabric.

Short Ends are the ends of bolts of fabric from designers.  They usually sell these off cheap to clearance houses.  If you are quick you can  get some beautiful fabrics at a good price.  And I did just that.   It is an treasure trove that place.

  So this is the fabric on the bolt  that I bought and I got a lining as well.

Problem with 'short ends' is that  if you don't buy them when you see them you never see them again.  So I bought a few.  Well, I know we will probably be making shirts and blouses, so I will need the fabric for them.  In amongst them is this silk fabric, (the stripe) it will make a beautiful blouse, along with some Liberty Lawn.

But I have now remembered that there can be problems sewing with fine, silky fabrics.  I seem to remember I used tissue paper to get an even feed into the machine.  Oh boy, this is a whole new world!!

Some lessons learnt

The dress has re- taught me some valuable lessons.  I had forgotten some of these things in the 10 year break I have taken from dressmaking.

No 1.   Know the fabric you choose.

The fibre content and weaving technique will determine just how that fabric will behave. 

My fabric was labled100% cotton.  It wasn't 100% cotton but a cotton mixture and I think the other part was rayon.  I should have picked this because it felt too soft but I said to myself it must be some kind of finish added to the fabric because the label says 100% cotton.  I should have followed my instincts.

Knowing the fibre content will also dictate some of your sewing processes.  In my case once I realised what kind of fabric I had I knew it would fray if I nicked or notched any of the curved edges.  This in turn called for different sewing techniques to counter this.

 Supervised the sales assistant when they was measuring the fabric.

I didn't and I missed a discolouration in the fabric that I didn't notice till I had finished and It was right across the front.  It isn't a terrible flaw, but it is a flaw and I will see it all the time.

Check the selvedge

I missed this and if I had seen it when I was purchasing the fabric I would have taken more notice of other things. 

Today many fabrics are woven on Water jet looms.  This results in a fluffy selvedge where the thread is cut between each pass of the shuttle. This leaves a weakness in the fabric as every weft thread has been cut, not rewoven as a continuous thread as in traditional weaving.  There are also side by side looms where the shuttle is sent across several warped looms and then this is cut, I think this might have been how my fabric was woven.  Using these processes has considerable savings for the manufacturer, making their profit margin higher and can result in a good fabric but it is a warning sign for the buyer that the fabric could have problems. 

 

No 2. Be careful what you say to your husband (or other family members)

I said I was never going to dress-make again.  This gave permission for my husband to take my dressmakers shears and use them in his workshop.  That was the end of their usefulness for me.

It also gave permission for my daughter to take my dressmakers dummy.  I've lost that one as well.

But I must have known I would come back to the dressmaking because I had hidden my Gingher Scissors.  There they were just perfect and ready to use.

I am looking forward to the next class.

 

Getting ready for 2022

I had to put my name of the roster for Patchwork meetings for 2022, Convenor and supper.  Where did this year go?  But it hasn't gone, there are still two months to go!!  I have lots to finish in that time.  Hope I can do it all.  Now that I am fully 'vaxed'  I have a number of social engagements coming up as well.  Then there is Christmas.  I'd almost forgotten about that with everything that has been going on with the virus this year,  but, life goes on.

I decided to buy my daughter a set of on-line lessons for her Xmas present.  They are called 'Garment Makers' Question Time' and are being presented by Philippa Naylor.   I really enjoyed 'Precision Piecing'  that I did with her last year and when I saw this class decided that it would be a great thing that my daughter and I could share.  (I bought a course for each of us.)  Laura is so involved in her academic work at the University we often don't have time to see each other and this is something that we can share, we both have a love of textiles.  (I would also like a set of these care labels from Phillipa's Instagram page.)

Before the course even begins I find that Phillipa has 16 posts about the basics for us to view.  Many tutors would not have thought of all these things and I know I will be referring my own students in "Machine Finishing Techniques" to look at these posts.

I have often found with teaching the more we progress our knowledge the harder it is, sometimes, to 'pull up' that basic knowledge.  It has passed into our 'long term memory' and become automatic, like driving a car.  But it is this 'basic stuff' that underpins competence.

The other thing I like about this course is that It is one project each month.  Enough time to focus in on the detail.  I swore that I would never make my own clothes again when I retired but here I go again.

One year when I was in Houston for the quilt festival Phillipa won the miniature quilt category with this quilt.  From looking at her web-site I think these are all dresses from her own wardrobe.  I wonder if her owns the shoes?

 

From a simple beginning

When I left school I obtained a cadet-ship with a major department store.  I was only seventeen, a kid from the suburbs with no experience of life.  My mother had died the year before so I had no adult to give me advice, I just dived into this life.  I got 1/2 a day off each week to go to University, all other lectures where in my own time at night after work, and they paid my fees, if I passed my exams. (Oh to have all that energy now.)  I was going to be a business tycoon.  Life had other ideas.  But I had a talent for merchandising and I was lucky enough to end up in Fashion.  I could have ended up buying light bulbs!

One of the things I loved was working on the major fashion shows each season.  Back then, 1970's, these were major live events.  The models walked up and down the catwalk and the sales assistants got the cream of the shows pieces for their 'special' clients.  But it was a time of change.  Music was becoming electronic.  Huge computers that made music, think Dr Who theme.  'Hair' the musical was the rage in New York and our team decided we would employ a choreographer to teach the models how to put movement onto the catwalk, this was unheard of back then.

Move on to the present and the catwalk is now a stage.  Music, lights, action.

  A great video, very today, I wonder if it sells the product?

Here is a link to a documentary about Dries Van Noten.  It is about 20 mins and if you love textiles this is about a master who knows how to manipulate fabric.

Not a quick sewing job

I have finished my sewing apron.  It was not a quick job but I am really happy with the result.  I have used this pattern before but this time I customised the fit to suit me and it is super comfortable to wear.

The fabric is a Japanese screen printed cotton, which was a pleasure to sew.  The swing, cross over back means that the shape adjusts to your figure.

And there are no ties to come undone.  Because I used a cotton fabric which has a lot of body to it the piece holds it's shape.  Now I'm waiting for a sale on a nice linen which I think would drape better.  This is based on a free pattern from Tessuti fabrics.  ( You can just down load and sticky tape the pages together.)  They have very good step by step printed instruction to download as well.

I found 2 You tube tutorials for this apron.  The first from Asia, very clear instructions, not a lot of talking and even gives some tips on how to stick all those A4 sheets of paper together quickly.  The second from England and she is a bit chattier. 

The instructions say "one size fits all" but I made my straps  a little longer and increased the size of the pattern by about 1cm all over.  I am a size 16 and found this a good fit.  If you are larger just lengthen the straps which will give you the extra room in the garment.

Now I can keep all those loose threads under control.

WIPW

Looks like I'm going to be in lock down for another 7 weeks until I can get my second vaccination.  My little student will be unable to come here  and my life is going to be very contained.  Still, that's life in a pandemic. 

I am working on my quilt and it is slowly coming together.  All the vertical pieces are now in place and I will start on the horizontal ones tomorrow.

But all those little 2" squares shed so many threads.  I seem to be covered with them so I have stopped to make myself a sewing apron.  I lost my original pattern so I had to start from scratch.  I now have it all cut out ready to begin.

The kitchen island bench makes a great cutting table.  When I was teaching full time I always had access to drafting paper, not now.  I had a roll of paper I bought from IKEA for the grandchildren to paint on and I got creative with the sticky tape.  Does the job.  This time I am going to put the pattern where I can find it again.

 

Exhibition Part 2

These are the other pieces that caught my attention.I'm not sure if this was stitched by hand or zig zag on the machine.  It is a simple technique but effective.

There were a number of pieces that were woven, which is one of the techniques favoured by Polish artists. This one looks to be needle weaving.

Wiodsimierz Cygan

"To weave or not to weave" (linen tapestry)

 

And this one more pictorial.

Kith Mjoen

"I promise you a rose garden"

 

A combination of a machined background with inkle loom weaving.

Maria Antonia Zecchina Herbaria

 

I think this piece is woven it would also work well as an embroidery.

Dorota Taranek

"Perhaps"

Although the embroidery is a messy technique I find the piece quiet charmning.

Marta Sienicka

"Together"

 

 

There are many versions of houses but the metal roofs made these ones stand out.

Teresa Rucinska

"Tenements"

A simple idea of using different coloured pieces of tulle and then embroidereing a grid, worked on paper. I liked the finished effect.

Lene Heimer Nielson

"Tasty Embroidery"

 

There were other works with about a total of 40 pieces in all.  But it was nice to be able to walk into a gallery and enjoy these works.  Besides giving pleasure they also provide inspiration.  I will be so pleased when this pandemic is over and I can just enjoy things like this again.

Exhibition

I took the time on Saturday to have a look at a small exhibition that was on display at a Library fairly near by.  I had read on Sue Stone's ( U.K.) Facebook page that It was coming to my area and that she had a piece displayed in it.  The exhibition was called "Baltic Mini Textile Gdynia i"  and is quoted as being one of Europe's Leading reviews of textile Miniatures.  The works are all 20x20x20c, which makes it easy to transport and display.  The display was mounted by The Warwick Art Gallery (Qld Australia) in partnership with Gdynia City Museum Poland who curated the works displayed. ( I will take a few days to show the pieces that caught my eye.)

I found the piece by Sue Stone easily.  I had seen this piece before but didn't realise it's size.  When I looked into it I was able to see the intense detail in the background stitching.  (Her signature fish was in the picture.)

The gallery is housed in a space in the Capalaba Library and this is an out of the way location.  Good for me because I had the place to myself.  (I asked the attendant if I could take photos and she didn't have any information that I couldn't, so I did.)  I was able to really look at every piece on display. 

This piece was cross stitch on Aida cloth and showed a really good use of colour and direction.  Simple but complex.

There were some work by Queensland artists, two of whom I know.  That was a bit of a surprise.

The top one

and the second.

And I was taken by this free form crochet piece.

I had to look at this one a couple of times before I saw the image.

To be continued....