July in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending Projects

There was some selfish sewing before moving onto sewing for others.  Most of my sewing time this month has been dedicated to planning, cutting and sewing a special project that is still in the works.  From L (top) to R:  deep wine coloured (I know it looks purple in the photo) cotton knit pull-on skirt (OOP Butterick 5970), boy's dinosaur print shirt (McCall's 6972) and blue and ivory cotton pull-over top (OOP Butterick 5561).  

No time was dedicated to mending or alteration / refashion projects this month.  The dog days of summer require some time tending to never ending yardwork.  The neighbourhood squirrels have been busy digging up the vegetable plants and planting peanuts.  I kid you not.  But I digress.  I just saw the mending pile grow and peanut plants sprout up around the yard.  Maybe next month I'll tackle a few mending and alterations projects.  

Plastic Free July

I thought that I was pretty good at keeping plastic use to a minimum.  I have made and gifted lots of reusable grocery bags.  I've even sewn my own reusable coffee filters.  I use reusable water bottles and coffee cups.  I don't think sew anymore.  Even though I mostly sew with man-made fibre fabrics when I look around the sewing worktable I can't deny that there is more plastic products around me than I previously realized.  

Try to find thread packaged on a cardboard or wooden spool now-a-days.  In this part of the sewing world, they are no longer found unless you stumble across some at an antique market or second hand store.  Back in the 1970s, thread manufactures discontinued the use of wooden spools in an attempt to cut costs and increase profits.  The move to plastic spools cost manufacturers half the cost of wooden spools.  The cost to our environment is past on to everyone else.  Guttenberg threads use plastic spools that are made from recycled plastic bottles and their spools are recyclable.  But it's hard to find their "recycled thread spools" as many have noted.  I never really gave much thought to all those plastic spools before this Plastic Free July.  

Stash-busting

This month there were 4.5 metres of fabric, 0.8 metres of fusible interfacing, 1 metre of elastic and five upcycled buttons.  And I sold and de-stashed 45.9 metres of cotton woven and knit fabrics.   

Upcoming Plans

I was surprised when this cotton knit feather and dot print fabric was rejected when I brought part of my stash to sell.  Apparently, printed knits don't resell well.  This just wants me to turn it into something.  I originally picked it up when I was on the DVF wrap dress run.  I'm still thinking a wrap dress since there are over four metres here, but I think I might finally get around to sewing the Kielo wrap dress by Named Clothing.  

Or maybe a Marcy or Katherine Tilton dress?  Out-of-print (OOP) Vogue 9358 and Butterick 6784 are also contenders.  Or maybe a pair of cotton knit pajamas?  What do you think?  Hmm, I leaning towards the mid-section ease in the Katherine Tilton dress.  And cotton knit pajamas sound cozy.  What do you think I should turn this feather print fabric into?  

Happy Sewing!

It's a Pink, Pink World: Re-soothing an Anxious World?

I don't know if you heard, the Barbie movie is hitting the theatres today?  

Yes, that's right, a movie based on the iconic plastic doll is being released smack in the middle of Plastic Free July.  Ah, the irony or perhaps it's a play on the cluelessness of the dolls.  

And everything and everywhere is coloured pink!  Not just any shade of pink, Barbie Pink!  This is a vivid purplish colour used in the packaging of Barbie dolls.  The colour is Pantone® 219 C.

The timing of everything Barbie pink found in every corner of the malls and retail landscape is much more interesting than just a clever marketing plot.  It's not just plastic dolls dressed in pink or doll house furnishings, it's clothing and shoes for grown ups.  It's a placebo effect for trouble times.  Let's consider that when Barbie was first released in the late 1950s, the doll was a celebration of the ummm, not pink.  

It wasn't until the 1970s that the connection between Barbie and the colour pink took hold.  For those of us old enough to remember the earlier Barbie days, it really wasn't a pink, pink world.  So why the shift to branding pink as Barbie's preferred colour instead of the continuing with a multi-coloured world of the earlier days?  Marketing a happy colour into Barbie's world could be seen as inserting a colour to counter balance an outside world going through anxious times and social change.  

The 1970s was a decade marked by enormous economic and cultural change.  It is marked by the end of the post-war economic boom, record high interest rates and record inflation.  Sounds familiar?  It was a time that divided a country fighting in the Vietnam War.  Environment issues were taking center stage as Earth Day established itself in 1970.  The 1970s birthed the punk movement.  Disco ruled the dance floor.  And let's not forget the Watergate scandal and the Roe vs. Wade decision that helped to define the decade.  

Pink is a highly coded colour that emerged out of Barbie's world in the 1970s.  It happened as a "New Right" movement mobilized in defense of political conservatism and traditional gender and family roles.  

Although, I will argue that orange is the happiest colour, many will argue that pink holds the title of being a bright and fun colour that makes people happy.  And in our own turbulent times with Roe vs. Wade reappearing in the headlines, record global inflation, the continuing war in Ukraine and the ripple effect of the war on global food security couldn't we all use a bit of pink to re-soothe an anxious world?  Or is all this pink everywhere just adding to the anxiety of these current times?  

Stash busting: Cotton Knit Skirt / OOP Butterick 5970

 

This project is all about comfortable pieces and nostalgic sewing.  I've been sewing this cherished skirt pattern, out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 5790, for a very long time.  I have the original copy which I out-grew long ago and this is made with a more recent copy that is in my current size.  But I digress.  

The fabric is a cotton knit that have made an appearances here and here.  It was pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer before hitting the cutting table.  Thankfully, no need to press before cutting.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1 metre

Elastic:  1 metre

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5790

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, measuring tape, ruler, spring-hinge fabric scissors, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, spring-hinge thread clippers, iron, ironing board, Janome serger, threads, safety pins and wrist brace.  

Happy Sewing!    

What's Your Favourite Animal?: McCall's 6972

 Dinosaurs!   This little shirt will soon be on it's way to a special little man who loves dinosaurs.  

The fabric is a 100% cotton from the quilting section at the local Fabricland store.  It was pretreated with a tumble through the washer and dryer before hitting the ironing board for a steam pressing.  It's made with McCall's 6972, a super easy pattern to sew.  No changes were made to the pattern design and fingers are crossed that it will be well-received.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.5 metres -- 100% cotton quilting fabric

Interfacing:  0.5 metres -- fusible

Buttons:  5 -- 1/2" 

Pattern:  McCall's 6972

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, pins, wrist pin cushion, spring hinge fabric scissors, tailor's chalk, iron, ironing board, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, buttonhole foot, screwdriver, threads, Janome serger, thread clippers, hand sewing needle, tailor's wax, cutting board, 9 mm buttonhole cutter and chai.  

Happy Sewing!

It's Been Waiting a Long Time: OOP Butterick 5561

Just shy of twelve years ago, I made myself a top with out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 5561 and I don't know why it has taken me so long to revisit the pattern?  Well, actually I did revisit the pattern as recently as six years ago when I made a few copies for Mom.  Still it has been on my want-to-remake list for years.  Well, the years long procraftination are over and reveal day is finally here.  

Sometimes when I remake a pattern from many moons ago, I'm surprised when things fit in the shoulder compared to recent years of things fitting with dropped shoulders and oversized fit.  This top has a fit that just makes me happy when I put it on.  

The fabric is a beautiful Japanese 100% cotton fabric from Northwest / Marshall Fabrics.  It was pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer followed by a steam pressing before hitting the cutting table.  There was no noticeable shrinkage.  Thankfully.  

It worked out being just enough for this project.  All thanks to having to shorten the sleeve length, choosing the shorter length hem, and some careful pattern placement.  The back was placed on the fold at the neckline and then fanned out from the fold towards the hem.  I was thankful again for the extra ease and that it didn't mess with the pattern on the fabric.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2 metres -- 100% cotton

Interfacing:  0.3 metres -- fusible

Label:  1 -- KATM "me made" label

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5561

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, measuring gauge, pins, wrist pin cushion, tailor's chalk, metal ruler, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, sharps sewing machine needle, Janome serger, threads for the machines and hand-stitching, hand sewing needle, Merchant and Mills fabric scissors, thread clippers and tea.  

Happy Sewing!

Book Review: Worn

Worn:  A People's History of Clothing

Author:  Sofi Thanhauser

ISBN:  978-1-5247-4839-5

Publisher:  Pantheon Books, New York

Published:  2022

Price:  $40.00 (Canadian) / $30 (U.S.)

In slightly over three hundred pages, Sofi Thanhauser takes the reader on an expansive journey around the world with an historic lens.  She examines the fibers and politics involved in dressing ourselves and the clothing made and worn.   

The book is broken into five sections; Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics and Wool.  Each section delves into a rich and complex history of each fiber that examines the road and path that have lead textiles workers to be exploited and the road back to rediscovery of ethical methods of making and creating what we wear.  It is a book examining the dark history of clothing and hope for a better future.  At some points, it was difficult to read through some sections after reading Fake Silk.  But it is worth the time investment for the wealth of knowledge that is shared in these pages.  Worn is a highly recommended book if your interested in textiles and how the clothing industry as changed.    

Happy Sewing!