April in Review...

There has been a lot of unexpected sewing this month.

My sewing projects were influenced by the pandemic and the fact that I've been homebound. I'm trying hard not to live in my pajamas even though sleepwear has been a theme this month.

This month, needless to say, it was easy to sew from the stash. There was the need to locate some of the fabric first. Much time was spent searching for lengths of cotton fabric for scrub caps. This resulted in organizing the fabric and documenting where to find it!

I managed to sew as a distraction from the daily mixed messages from the various news channels (Canadian vs. American Cornavirus coverage) broadcasting political leaders and whiners. In the midst of all the mixed messages that took hold of daily life, I made 2 sets of pajamas, 1 nightgown, 5 washable grocery shopping bags, 27 face masks, 10 scrub caps, 12 reusable Swiffer refills and I even managed to catch up on mending. 

• 36.1 metres of fabric
• 1.55 metres of interfacing
• 2.5 metres elastic
• 10 buttons
• 1 serger needle
• 2 sewing machine needles
• 2 previously used, 1 new and 2 free downloadable patterns
• 1 shoe lace
• 0.90 bias tape
• 28.8 metres of twill tape
• 1.10 ribbon
• 1.5 cord

April was certainly a challenge filled with so much uncertainty and change. There was no new Easter outfit to wear to Easter Sunday service as churches were closed under a state of emergency declaration. Praying became a solitary activity with new meaning attached to the season. I longed for the fun and colourful Bill Cunningham style photos of the New York Easter Parade. Like many events across the globe, the Easter Parade was cancelled highlighted with the fact that Mr. Cunningham is no longer with us. It is with a thankful heart to New York Time's Vanessa Friedman who brought to life Cunningham's remembrance of the "carnival celebration of spring" in this article.

The Fashion Revolution movement played a quieter role under the state of emergencies and lock-downs. In-person events were cancelled and the online presence diminished as news agencies focused on daily pandemic briefings. 

I don't know for sure what next month will bring. Certainly more austerity measures as the state of emergency continues into next month. Thankfully, I have a stash to keep me going for a while longer.

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!

Summer Vogue Patterns!

Oh my goodness what a welcome surprise distraction that Vogue Patterns dropped their Summer pattern collection today.

The first design that caught my attention is the Tom and Linda Platt pattern, Vogue 1691. I adore the loose-fitting style and it quickly came to mind that I have a vintage pattern of a similar style. I can easily adapt the Betty Jackson design, vintage and out-of-print Vogue 1606 to give it a modernized look.   

But let's go back to Vogue's 2020 Summer release because there are so many design elements that are so joyful!  

This Vogue 1708 jumpsuit has a certain level of 1940s beach glamour. It really is a cute design even though it wouldn't make it to my sewing table. It won't fit into the current lifestyle. Hmmm, wonder why sleepwear is absent? On that note, this could be the perfect social distancing in the backyard with a good book and cocktail outfit.  

Marcy Tilton once again did not disappoint with this lovely tunic and dress pattern, Vogue 1694. There seems to be a theme appearing with my favourite picks, ease around the mid-section. Perhaps, I should be sewing workout gear?  

The new summer release has a variety of pant leg styles from fitted as in this Rachel Comey design, Vogue 1704. What I love in this collection is that the pants whether wide legged or fitted, sit at the natural waist or higher.  

Thank you Vogue for the inspiration and the much appreciated distraction!  

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!  

More Face Masks

Just four more face masks.  

The Craft Passion face mask pattern has been updated over on their website and I really like that there is now an optional 1/2" addition for wide cords.  

I did receive some much appreciated feedback from someone.  For a men's size L, cord of 50" (1.3 m) length is the best length. I was guestimating that approximately 44" (1.10 m) would have been a generous length. I was off the mark on that one! And there was also a note that the shoe lace instead of ties were the most comfortable. I agree on the shoe lace observation. I myself prefer it over the twill tape as far as comfort goes. 

Not much else to report on the making of these face mask. The fabric used for these are similar to the others in that they are all cotton. The outer fabric is a denim and the lining is a cotton shirting fabric, all pretreated before hitting the cutting table. I'm running low on mask making supplies so this might well be the last of face mask making.   

The Stats

Fabric:  0.6 metres

Ribbon:  1.10 m

Twill Tape:  0.6 m

Cord:  1.5 m

Bias Tape:  0.6 m

Pattern:  Craft Passion Free Downloadable 

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Scissors, Cutting table, pins, tailor's chalk, pin cushions, iron, ironing board, measuring thread clippers, threads, sewing machine, Jean-a-ma-Jig®, safety pin, and tweezers.  

Happy Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

There is more charity sewing in the works.

But first I had to clean up the work table.

There was cotton fabrics all over the place as I tried to find enough yardage for the scrub caps.

I have cotton fabric.

Lots of it.

Mostly for sewing microwave cozies.

Most were too short in the length for the caps.

One pirate print was nixed when I asked what was though of it.

Sacrificed some beautiful Japanese cotton I had pretreated for a shirt.

It was worth the sacrifice.

It was a joy to work with the Japanese cotton.

And the scrub caps in the Japanese cotton turned out so well.

Less stiff than the ones made in the quilting cotton.

Not all cotton fabrics are the same.

I now need to make four more face masks.

But I can't find the face mask pattern pieces.

This sort of thing happens when I clean up the work table.

I'm sure they will pop up with I finish sewing the masks.

Went to reprint the pattern.

I noticed that there were some small changes.

There is a Craft Passion watermark on the pieces.

And adjustments to the seam allowances.

Glad I lost the pattern.

The new edited version looks better.

It's important to notice these small blessings.

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!

Fashion Revolution: What Does It All Mean in the Time of a Pandemic?

Today marks the seventh year anniversary of the collapse of Rana Plaza and the birth of a not-for-profit global movement to try to hold fashion brands accountable while putting a spotlight on the devastation caused by fast fashion. Fast fashion and the fashion industry in general have been producing an enormous amount of clothing of increasingly man-made materials that harm the environment.

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Nothing could have changed consumer behaviour greater than a State of Emergency and lockdown of all non-essential business as retailers tried to shift to expanded on-line business models. I found myself ordering what was advertised as Dr. Scholl's diabetic cotton socks via Amazon only to be disappointed that they were polyester crap that was manufactured in India. Why even bother asking questions about the supply chain when we're just fed a bunch of lies.

Why are the fashion brands lying about the fibre content in their products?

I only wish that I read the reviews hidden below the advertisement that revealed the untruth portrayed in the ad. Instead, I had a misplaced trust that Dr. Scholl's was a good brand. I should have known better to do my research to prevent being ripped off with a polyester sock. That was not what I was shopping for and I certainly learned my lesson about ordering items untouched from an online retailer. Never again.

This is an opportunity to reimagine what could be as the world's global and economic activities has slowed down. A cleaner world has emerged with the slow down. But I have little hope this year that things will continue towards a cleaner world.

And there was a re-imagination of home sewing activities as people dug through their sewing supplies to create and donate face masks and protective gear as politicians call us to help out in this humanity crisis.  And shortly after, as these random acts of kindness emerged, word came that there was an elastic shortage as pleas for elastic donations emerged from online communities. Many again answering that call and offering alternative solutions.

Traditionally held Fashion Revolution week activities such as clothing swaps and film screenings had to be reconsidered in an age of social distancing. This week shows that a fashion revolution doesn't need to be an organized crowded event. A fashion revolution starts with the individual, a change (tragedy or pandemic) that ignites a shift in thinking and re-evaluation of what is really important in a time of need.  

There has been a lot of that happening around the globe this month. Giorgio Armani wrote a reaction piece to the April 2, 2020 article, "Tipping Point:  Will the Flood of Collections Yield to Slower Fashion?"  In Armani's reaction published on April 4, 2020, he highlighted, 

This crisis is an opportunity to slow down and realign everything; to define a more meaningful landscape. I have been working with my teams for three weeks so that, after the lockdown, the summer collections will remain in the boutiques at least until the beginning of September, as it is natural. And so we will do from now on.

This crisis is also an opportunity to restore value to authenticity: Enough with fashion as pure communication, enough with cruise shows around the world to present mild ideas and entertain with grandiose shows that today seem a bit inappropriate, and even a tad vulgar — enormous but ultimately meaningless wastes of money. Special events should happen for special occasions, not as a routine.

The moment we are going through is turbulent, but it also offers us the unique opportunity to fix what is wrong, to regain a more human dimension. It’s nice to see that in this sense we are all united.

Will the pandemic redefine the fashion landscape in a way that Rana Plaza could not? Time will tell if the conversation falls on deaf ears or finally emerges as a call to action that results in a significant industry and consumer change in behaviour.   

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!

I've Been Busy & Running Out of Cotton!

Ten scrub caps are done and ready to ship just when the post is announcing delays. I hope these get to their destination quickly.  

No idea on how these will fit but it appears to one size fits all unisex pattern.

They have a tie in the back for size adjustments.

The black and white scrub caps are made with the most beautiful Japanese cotton. I actually picked this up many moons ago thinking about a shirt project. The yellow cotton fabric is a quilting cotton, much more stiff feeling compared to the Japanese cotton. Both fabric even though different to the touch worked well for these caps. These fabrics were pretreated with a tumble through the washer and dryer followed by a steam pressing.  

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!

Earth Day Project: Reuseable Swiffer Refills

If you want to do something to celebrate Earth Day, may I recommend watching the documentary Planet of the Humans, a look at the environmental movement and organizations.

The big crisis of our time is our minds are being manipulated to give power to illusions. ~Vandana Shiva quoted in Planet of the Humans

I took a break from the charity sewing project yesterday to do another type of sewing while watching the documentary. It's a feel good illusion that this small sewing project is somehow going to help the environment. Or maybe not?  

Lately, grocery shopping trips have to be strategic and only necessities make it into the shopping cart. As the budget has to be re-evaluated and adjusted with the ever increasing and daily austerity measures the province blames on the pandemic, Swiffer refills are now considered an extravagant luxury item. And yes, the disposable refills are not a good option for the environment.

So here's my simple Earth Day project as I consider all the information from the documentary.   

I chose a vintage cotton flannel from my stash and cut slightly larger than a Swiffer sheet. The seams were sewn with a 3/8" seam allowance, corners clipped and turned over.  I finished it by topstitching the opening shut.

It's that easy and it works great with picking up the dust off hardwood floors. And better yet, these are washable. No more Swiffer refill sheets will be ending up in the landfill from here.  Happy Earth Day!

The Stats

Fabric:  1.8 metres (makes 12)

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, iron, ironing board, sewing machine, thread, scissors, thread clippers, pins, pin cushion and coffee.

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!