April in Review...

Sewing, Alterations and Mending Projects

There was some sewing this month.  This month I was in desperate need of pull-on clothes, therefore a new pair of pants were finished.  I'm still in a cast making pull-on clothes my dream wardrobe items right now.  Even though I'm most comfortable in dresses, the weather during most of April was still on the cool to downright cold side and pulling on a pair of tights makes for some entertaining physical comedy.  But I digress.

Most of my free sewing time was dedicated to restoring some items.  These pajama bottoms still fit but the elastic needed to be replaced because somehow the elastic waistline became a little bit snug.  This time there is a little extra length hidden in the front piece just in case it happens again.  Patchwork with some trim to repair a hole on a chair cover.  One of my wool knit dresses shrank and ended up going through a unshrinking process.  Yeah, there is such a thing.  And weight gain meant that more coverage was needed from a silk top.  

Fashion Revolution

Ten years.  It's hard to think that ten years have past since the tragedy that spurred on the fashion revolution movement.  Sometimes, I window shop the RTW and fabric store aisles and I feel like no one cares.  It seems like there are even more petroleum based textile products on the market than there were ten years ago.

It seems like things are not getting any better over the decade.  And then there are young high school students on the radio talking about their sustainability club and the challenges posed by fast fashion.  And they provide hope that things are changing even if it's not necessarily noticeable on a large scale.  

Stash busting

This month I stash-busted 2 metres of fabric and about 2 metres of elastic.  I'm gathering up another bin to take to the Fabric Collective.  It's been two months wearing a cast.  It really made one reassess their sewing stash.  Sadly, I had to say good-bye to the Etsy shop where I was selling some patterns and other sewing supplies.  Between Etsy transaction fee and Canada Post price increases over the years it is too expensive to sell and ship.  Orders dried up once I adjusted the shipping costs to cover these changes.  It just made sense to close the shop.  I am not sure what I will do with the patterns?

Happy Sewing!

Earth Day and Fashion Revolution Week: What Does It All Mean Decades Later?

This year, the beginning of Fashion Revolution Week and Earth Day happens to fall on the same day.  Both campaigns encourage followers to "get inspired, take action and be part of the green revolution."  The Earth Day movement has been around since 1970 and April 24th will mark the tenth anniversary of the building collapse of Rana Plaza from which the Fashion Revolution movement emerged.  

{Photo source}

The fashion industry produces an estimated 150 billion garments a year for a world population of 8 billion.  The problem One of the problems is that fast-fashion is not built to last, it relies on a business model where clothes are discarded and replaced with the next big trend at an unsustainable rate that takes a toll on the environment and human and worker's health.  

Get Inspired.

Shop for vintage clothing over second hand fast-fashion garments.  There is a huge difference.  Vintage clothes are built to last.  Vintage clothes have details that you won't find in fast-fashion garments and they are constructed with a higher quality.

Vintage Sybil Connolly dress details
{Photo source}

Even if you don't purchase and wear a vintage garment, just appreciate the details, quality and workmanship of a by-gone era.  Many vintage pieces are a work of art and a rich source of inspiration.  In the sewing room, they can become an inspiration to research and revive retro sewing techniques.  And they are a reminder that clothes can and should be made to last.  Vintage clothes are not only found in shops, you can visit museums for inspiration.  

Just because a garment is found in a second-hand shop, it doesn't mean that it's made with the same standards and quality of fabric as those found in vintage pieces.  In recent years, in this corner of the world, second hand stores are packed with discarded fast-fashion garments made from man-made fibers.  And then some brands like Levi's have jumped on the second-hand trend of recent years and launch buy-back programs.  

Take Action.

Over the years, there have been many books, articles and documentaries written about the impact of the fashion industry on the environment.  Take the time to watch a documentary or read about the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and our health.  Climate change is real and has serious consequences for all.  But it is the poor and vulnerable that pay the highest price when action, no matter how big or small, is not taken.  Stand up for the poor.  We can do this with a simple act of making informed decisions on what we wear, the questions we ask and demanding better from businesses.   

Take care of your clothes, it will make them last longer.  Pre-shrink your fabric before you cut so that they don't shrink after they are sewn.  Many fast-fashion items skip the preshrinking process and this is a reason why many fill second hand store racks and landfills.  

Before you get rid of that wool sweater that your accidently shrank, wait!  Try to reverse the shrinkage!  Yup, that right you might be able to save it.  

Be Part of the Green Revolution.

In 2015, Pope Francis appealed to the world that we must all work together to protect the environment and that pollution hurts the all of us, especially the poor and is linked to "throw-away culture." 

Most of fashion's environmental impact comes areas that you might not realize.  Did you know that man-made materials like polyester require an estimated 342 million barrels of oil a year?  Obviously getting off our dependency of oil is more than purchasing an electric car.  How often do we think about petroleum products are used in clothing.  A re-think of what we wear is part of the green fashion revolution.  Pesticides and fertilizers used in conventional cotton production are an environmental threat to soil and water used along with a threat to biodiversity and farm worker's health.  Did you know that 2.5% (approximately 106 million acres) of the world's farmland is used for cotton production?  And to think that after all of that, many textile products end out in landfills.  

There is hope and inspiring people out there.  It's in all of us.  

Happy Earth Day!

Game Changer at the Cutting Table

Back in 2013, to my horror, I found my once cherished tailor shears in the garage covered in rust.  They were missing for quite some time.  To this day, no one has confessed to removing them from my workspace.  

I replaced those tailor shears a while ago with a pair of red Merchant and Mill's tailor shears.  I'm really happy with these tailor shears and highly recommend them if you're looking for a quality pair.  Sadly, I'm unable to use them while my dominate hand is in a cast.  So I've been on the search for something, anything that will allow for fabric cutting at this time.  

I ruled out rotary blade cutters and electric scissors based on cost.  Instead, I found something that works and I was able to use my casted hand.  

Hello, Ultra Sharp Spring Tension Scissors!  I do not have to move my thumb, my pinky, ring, middle and index fingers do all the work.  This little tool is a game changer.  I managed to cut a t-shirt pattern out of waffle knit fabric.  Although it did take me a couple of days broken up with moments icing my fingers.  But they worked and I couldn't be more thrilled!  These spring tension scissors are certainly a keeper, even when the cast is removed.  Hopefully soon.  

Have you tried a pair?  What did you think about them?  Or to you have another preferred cutting tool?  

Happy Sewing!

Stash busting: Pull-on pants / OOP Butterick 6717

Out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 6717 (available in digital format here) is a pattern that I have been meaning to revisit since making the last pair.  I finally got around to working on another pair after I came across this cotton stretch fabric last week.  

The fabric is a cotton stretch that has been in the deep stash for years, many, many years.  It was previously pretreated and ready to cut.  

This pattern has become a go-to pants pattern because they are comfortable to wear.  I really like the comfort of the elasticized back and the clean look of the dartless front.  The pattern design has side pockets but I decided to leave them off.  

Techniques and Tips

For the last pair and these as well, I did a narrow line of topstitching at the back top edge of the elastic casing.  I used the blind hem foot and set the needle to the left side for sewing.  I switched the one inch suggested elastic width to one and one-quarter inch width.  I found these changes eliminate elastic rolling while wearing the pants.  

The side and crotch seams are serged together to reduce thread costs and time working at the machines.  I didn't match my thread colour with the fabric, just went with what was a closest match and found in the stash.  No one will notice that the serger thread colour is beige where the fabric colour is green.

Project details

Seams:  2.6 - 2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2 metres

Elastic:  1 metre (1 1/4" wide)

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 6717

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, scissors, ironing board, iron, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, blind hem foot, Janome serger, thread clippers, screwdriver, safety pins, and a lot of breaks.  

Happy Sewing!

Hair Conditioner, Who Knew?

This is a must share tip:  hair conditioner can reverse some shrinkage in a merino wool garment.  I will admit, there was a wee part of skepticism at reading this online.  Not anymore.  

Not that I'm going to be careless going forward with my woolly makes.  I shrunk my black wool turtleneck dress to the point that I didn't wear it this winter.  Thankfully, it did not shrink in the width of the garment, sadly, it shrank in the length.  For some time, there was thoughts of cutting it shorter into a top with three-quarter length sleeves.  If the conditioning experiment didn't work, that was the plan.  

I'm happy to report that it did work to a point that I still have a wool turtleneck dress.  It's not at the original length which was the same as the pink one its contrasted with in the photos above.  Words cannot express how happy I am that I have a below knee length dress back.  

Next up, I'm going to condition this sweater which has also experienced some shrinkage since it came off the sewing machine in 2018.  Thankfully, I couldn't part with it since then.  Fingers crossed it works out again and this sweater can be rescued.  

Hair conditioner, seriously, who knew?

No More Excuses: Fixing a Silk Top, McCall's 7630

Almost five years ago, I made this silk noir pullover top using McCall's 7630.  In recent years, I haven't worn it as often as I wished because with my ever evolving body shape, crop like tops are not comfortable to wear now-a-days.  I want more coverage.    

McCall's 7630:  Left is the original hem, right is lengthened hem.

Thankfully, I have more silk in the stash that I was able to cut a band to sew at the hemline.  First, I spent some time taking out the stitches from the narrow hem.  It was a slow process while wearing a cast but I managed to get it done.  This morning, I managed to cut a 47 1/8" x 9 1/4" rectangle to give a wide band at the bottom.  Another slow process that just proved that I have no more excuses for not sewing while wearing a cast.  

And the best part of having this top back in rotation is the perfect elbow length sleeves roomy enough to get over the cast.  

Project details

Seams:  2.6 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.2 metres

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Seam ripper, scissors, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, pins, Janome serger, iron, ironing board, cutting table, Tylenol, coffee and a CD playing in the background.

Happy Sewing and No More Excuses!