Saturday, August 30, 2014

Bra from bodice sloper



Okay, I'm actually still working on something else, probably not making this any time soon, but I will be revisiting this page many times.


Okay, back to pattern proofing. Is there any way to make this job less tedious?




And the tins are great for pins!



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Just messin' around

a theory of The Convertible One, by ShonModern.com. Their photo, my drawings.
This is pretty much what happens when I'm supposed to be doing something entirely different. 

I'm actually writing out instructions for a new pattern, the pattern I took up when I got bored writing the instructions for the other pattern. Neither has absolutely anything to do with this design at all; one's a hat, the other is another culotte pattern. 

Which is probably why I doodled this one.

Instructions!

Copy a photo of something you think is interesting.

Open it in Paint, or something you can sketch with.

Drop a grid over it, or eyeball it to make a mock up of what you think the structure is. In this case, I've made it side by side, to get an idea of what the pattern might be, and what the measurement ratios would be. Her torso is probably 17" high (or mine is), so that's my ruler. The bodice is half that, accounting for negative ease in a knit fabric that central tube is probably smaller than 32/34", but you could fit yourself for that.

I know from other photos that the holes to the sides are also tubes (might be longer than drawn) and that the bottom hem is narrower than the top. Based on the drape, I'm pretty sure the distance between the tubes on the top edge is relative to the width at the bottom.

Will I mock one up? 

I don't have that much knit for a muslin.

Did I enjoy myself?

Yes. 

Back to work. "Place bands on fold, or copy two and tape together to make one long pattern piece".

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Two Family Vacation means no sewing

We go to Fort Worden State Park most years

this is the official post card of the officers' housing row. Old, huge, indestructable apartments: great for families with kids with big wheel trikes to ride indoors when it rains

Actually, what it means is no electronics. No games for kids, and no machine for mom. It's only four days......

There was reading (book report soon!)

A big table to redraft Mail Order 9213

And vicarious living through reading. This book is still outgassing printers ink solvents from all the full color photographs. I had to read it outside.

A crabby crabapple

2013 Port Townsend Marine Science Center photo

See those sea stars? They're dead now. The wasting disease is killing them all over the Pacific Rim and beyond


Something happened in the offseason locally that no one wanted to discuss, but was hinted at all over town, including on the pizza boxes

Hmm. Ever see 'An Officer and A Gentleman'? Same place.

It would not be a ferry trip without logging trucks onboard

And there's another one in front of this one

Back to work tomorrow!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Opera Costume Shop Sale

We interrupt our tshirt theme to do a little victory lap for attending this:





Mostly costumes from retired opera productions (much Austrian military uniforms as Der Freischutz is not going to be performed again any time soon, and many druids from the old production of Norma).

I did not think to take the good camera, so snaps from the lousy camera on the old phone only.


A little fake pleather woved to make shiny chestplates.



Many racks, much trying on (far right)


Yes, it does make you look like Wotan. Or was that from Parsifal?

You were limited to how much you could carry.  You could exit and wait in line to reenter if you ran out of hands, which led to several folks wearing their treasures, like four petticoats at a time (which makes you a pretty wide load). 



Center of this shot is a beautiful owl costume, made of fabric feathers layered over and over in different prints. I've made something like it for halloween costumes, but NOTHING like that.

My task was to search for men's coats and jackets. And there weren't many out for sale, as they get used until they are all used up.


I did find one that Peter Kazaras wore as Peter Quint in Turn of the Screw, probably my favorite of all the productions in the last thirty years. And if I had more room I would have bought it (came with a big set of wings that hook through those buttonholes).

But I did get these


Because a mask and gloves always come in handy

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

T shirt Experiments



 We have a lot of tshirts in this house. A lot of raw material.

These are just a few of the experiments.

This is my fake shibori dye tshirt, where I randomly stitched pintucks across the front




This is a re-necked  former turtle neck shirt.
 
I serged chunks from previous tshirt projects into a tube and sewed it on like a cowl.
And then I reinforced the back neck.

I would recommend reinforcing the back neck FIRST... this is one over stretched cowl!



And an intial foray into Alabama Machine Chanin


I drew the design on tracing flimsy, and sewed through that, then cut away the centers of the shapes to reveal the other knit below. 

this is more accurate for the colors



I trimmed the excess back on the wrong side. It's made it through a few washer and dryer cycles so far, but I'd rather keep it out of the dryer.


I’ve been rebuilding/remodeling a lot of t-shirts; I almost never sew knits from scratch. As much as I like to work as flat as possible at all times, sewing up the side seam and inserting the sleeve does give the best results in knit. I am a chronic knit-stretcher, so I cheat on it by sewing most of the armscye flat, sew the side seam flat, and then sew them together at the armpit so that the dominant seam is the one going around. Stole this from jeans construction. Much more comfortable to wear.

Which I guess means that should be the next post...