February in Review

Sewing, Alterations, and Mending Projects

This month it was all about survival sewing.  It was cold, brutally cold, at some points.  There were no thoughts of floral spring dresses or spring sewing what-so-ever.  February was all about thoughts of sweatshirts, sweaters, tea and avoiding the brutally cold elements.  Trying to stay warm was reflected in my sewing and planning when I came up with two boiled wool sweatshirts.  And then throw into the mix feeling under the weather.  It didn't add to much motivation to get a lot of sewing done.  

There was decluttering attempted which lead to some mending and alterations.  Saved from the donation pile this month was a previously made wrap dress, changed into a cardigan and later gifted.  And a ready-to-wear (RTW) cotton knit dress that was too snug to wear out in the public sphere until extra ease was added at the side seams with godets cut out with some left-over denim.  

Stash Busting

Only 2.8 metres of fabric were stash busted this month.  

I did reorganize the fabric stash binder and spent some time considering another pair of patchwork pajama bottoms, this time made with scraps of flannel.  This month there was more time playing around with ideas procrastination than actually sewing.  

February was I Love to Read & Black History Month 

Would you believe that I managed to whip through a book this month?  I couldn't put it down although the first part of the novel was intense.  

Before I came across this book at the bookstore, I never heard the name Ann Lowe, little alone possessed any knowledge that she was the designer behind Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding dress.  By Her Own Design is historical fiction novel based on a true story and I highly recommend it.  Piper Huguley examines the life of an American fashion designer who's work was admired by many including fashion icons Christian Dior and Edith Head.  The book lead me to some internet research into what parts are fictional and which parts hold a bit of truth and it was a fascinating detour while reading this novel.  Highly recommend reading the author's notes at the end of the book which answered a lot of questions I had along the way.   I was grateful to discover the insight into Huguley's research and fictionalized aspects of the novel.  It's a beautiful novel.  You'll need a tissue by the time you reach the end.  

Book Review: By Her Own Design

 

By Her Own Design:  A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register

Author:  Piper Huguley

ISBN:  978-0-06-06-305974-0

Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers

Price:  Paperback (USD) 16.99, (Cdn) $21.00

Piper Huguley's By Her Own Design is a historical fiction novel.  However, the main character, Ann Lowe, is not a fictional character.  This novel is based on true story of an American fashion designer with epic talent.  And sadly, the fashion industry set in the early twentieth century often discouraged, exploited and hid her talent because of her race rather than celebrating her talent.  

Her talent was recognized by those who wanted to exploit her gifts starting with Lee Cole, her first husband.  A horrible character who manipulated her into marriage while she was still a child to use her as free labour in his tailoring business.  The novel introduces us to this horrible character early in the novel and there are graphic scenes in the first part that were intense and were hard to get through.  Lowe's story is a story of survival through constant tragedies as she struggled throughout her life for the recognition of her worth as a person, designer and artist.   And she did it with incredible strength, faith in God and grace.  

I was intrigued by the book cover and the assumption that the novel would be rich in descriptive sewing details or description of the fabrics that would invoke textures and drape.  The only sliver of pleasure reading about fabric was how polyester was viewed cheaply.  This is a book about struggles, racism, jealousy, revenge and rising above it all.  In three hundred sixty-seven pages, Huguley takes the reader through an epic journey that spans decades recounted not chronologically, rather reflected upon intentionally.  

It wasn't a book that I expected to read but it is one that I am glad I read, especially after working through the first part of the book.  I learned about a fashion designer I had no knowledge of even though she has been featured in exhibitions and Vogue articles.  Until this literary journey, I was not aware of the story behind Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding dress, one of many that Lowe created over her career.  I highly recommend this book.  

Pulled From the Donation Pile: Refashioned to Fit

To be completely honest when I purchased this RTW cotton knit dress I had no clue where the Northern Mariana Islands were located and I didn't give it much thought past the USA printed on the label.  This Jones New York dress is decades old, purchased a long time ago, predating the Fashion Revolution Movement.  I had no idea about this New York Times article about labour practices in the fashion industry on the Northern Mariana Islands.  Exploitive labour practices in the fashion industry is something that is often associated with places like Bangladesh and China rather than hiding beside the USA lettering.   Let me be real for a moment, Canadian companies have a way to go in cleaning up their own act in the fashion industry.  It is a global issue that has an impact on the way workers and the environment are exploited in the name of capitalism vs. our need to clothe ourselves.    

But here I am looking at the label of a dress that I was so ignorant about in the past wondering if someone was exploited in the creation of this item.  I'm a different consumer and activist than I was back when I found this dress.  But still it's here and it doesn't fit.  What do I do with it?  

I'm trying to save things from the donation pile since often charity and second hand stores can't keep up with the amount of donations that walk through their doors.  Billions of fast fashion clothing end up in land fills.  

By thinking of garments we wear as short term tools rather than long term investments, we contribute to wasteful consumption patterns that inevitably lead us towards drastic climate change.  (Source)

So, I'm refashioning this dress to fit because that was the only thing that prevented me from not wearing it.  The cotton knit was in perfect condition, the shoulder and armscye seams were perfect for my frame, and even the neckline was comfortable.  I just needed more ease around the mid-section.  Well, actually I need to lose weight, but that is another topic.  

The side seams were opened up and side godets were cut in black denim scraps left over from this project.  

And it was coming together until

The hem of the sleeve got caught and cut while serging the interior seams of the godets.  

So I went back to the cutting table to hand mend the hole I accidently created and to cut a denim patch to sew at the sleeve's hem.  

It wasn't the only miscalculation that I made in this refashion project.  The godet length was uneven and there wasn't enough to do a traditional hem.  I did give some consideration to giving it a frayed look but in the end decided to do a machine rolled hem edge for the denim pieces.  

Loved clothes last.

Pulled From the Donation Pile: A Cardigan Created From an Unworn Wrap Dress

Over a year ago, I made a wrap dress with out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 8827.  And I never wore it other than trying it on and taking some pictures for the blog.  

It was a classic case of picking the wrong fabric for a project.  

As I was sewing the new hem, my fingers were gliding over the fabric surface, I couldn't help thinking that this fabric was better suited for a skirt.  It is actually what I picked up the 2.4 metres of this fabric for, a skirt.  At the time, I was thinking about sewing another OOP Vogue 9060.  Today, I'm thinking it would make a nice skirt out of OOP Butterick 5790.  It's too late to be thinking about skirts, I'm already transforming it into a cardigan to be gifted.  

The one request that came with shortening it into a cardigan was that pockets could be added.  Easy enough.  To avoid the bulk of the edges of the pocket, I sewed a rolled hem on the serger and then top-stitched the pockets in place.  The top of the pockets were interfaced with Knit 'N Stable tape and top-stitched with a one inch hem.  

I am really grateful that it has been saved from the donation pile and it became a well-received gift.  As a cardigan this bonded knit will be a warm addition to a winter wardrobe.  

Did you know that 84% of donated clothing ends up in landfills?

Scrap Busting Project: Colour Blocked Wool Sweatshirt / OOP Simplicity 8529

There were enough scraps of the boiled wool left over from various projects that I thought why not try to make another oversized sweatshirt?  I know I will get a lot of use from the two especially in during the winter months.  And here it is, the embroidered edge pieces in black were enough to cut out the front and back.  There was, surprisingly and with some creative pattern placements, enough gray wool to cut the sleeves.  The hem, sleeve and neckline bands were all cut from a black cotton knit.  

The pattern is once again out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 8529, a Sew House Seven sewing pattern.  I made view D in a size medium around the neckline and shoulder and top of the sleeve cap, grading down to a size large along the sleeve opening and continuing with a size large at the size seams.  Incorporating the embroidery into the front and back pieces meant that there was not as much stretch widthwise as in the previous version.  It worked out fine since the size large in the bottom portion did not disrupt the oversized vibe I was trying to achieve.  

Project Details

Seams:  Machine Knit stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.4 metres

Threads:  2 spools of serger thread and 1 spool of cotton thread were finished during this project

Pattern:  OOP Simplicity 8529

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, scissors, pins, assorted objects used as pattern weights, tailor's chalk, Janome sewing machine, cotton thread, Janome serger, polyester threads, thread clippers, iron, ironing board and tea.  

When life gives you scraps, make something to wear.

Stash busting: Sew House Seven Pullover Sweater, Take 2 / OOP Simplicity 8529

Out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 8529 hit the cutting table this week.  After sewing a toile for version D and tweaking the pattern piece to get that oversized sweatshirt look I was ready to cut into my "good fabric."  This is a wool that has a bit of stretch.  Actually, it has more stretch than a sweatshirt fleece.  

To be completely honest, this turned out better than if I made it in a sweatshirt fleece which at today's prices and my preference for natural fibre fabrics, is not in the budget.  But I digress.  It turned out perfect, better than I hoped for when I started this project.  The fabric for the main pattern pieces are the same type of fabric that I used for this cardigan coat and this one and also this cardigan, except this wool fabric is in black.  I think I'm down to just scraps left of this fabric but maybe I might be able to squeeze one more project with the embroidery section that I didn't use here.  We'll see.  The cuffs, neck band and hem band were cut from a black cotton knit left over from this project.  

The sides are cut at a size large for the oversized vibe I was looking for and the neckline, shoulder and armhole were cut at a size medium.  I did add an inch length to the hem seamline and shortened the sleeve length a half inch.  

Project Details

Seams:  Machine knit stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.4 metres

Pattern:  OOP Simplicity 8529

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Clipboard paper, pencil, paper scissors, cutting table, clapper and assorted objects used as pattern weights, fabric scissors, pins, wrist pin cushion, tailor's chalk, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, cotton thread, Janome serger, polyester serger threads, iron, ironing board and oh-so-sweet free time.  

Happy Sewing!