Fashionary: I misunderstood you

A few years ago, I posted about Fashionary Tape.

They have a new product coming out.

I reread their materials.

I was an ass and I am sorry.

Granted, on the face of it, this tape is dumb.

Why do I care about standard runway model measurements? 

I mean, are they the gold standard of sizing? I don't think so.

It is reversible from inches to centimeters, and is a very handsome tape. 

but so is this

and at....5.5L, which is about 

 The Merchant is a slightly better deal. "Made by Germans" and we are known for our exacting tape standards. (wait a minute, aren't I the woman who gassed on about the differences between tapes, rulers, boards and cutting boards? Wait, I haven't done that one yet? We get to a slow week, we'll get that one)

(but whyyyyyy are we revisiting this?)

Anyway, I do check for broken links and bad tags on this blog, and the Fashionary links were broken (that http to https thang). I have corrected that, and reread their website.

 To reinterate, I Do Not make money off this blog. 

That's what Spoonflower. and Craftsy are for.

And they have books. A new one coming out this very week.

Ta daah

I do love the % breakdown, like it's the fiber content. Score one for Fashionary

And then I get it.

It's a set of tools for someone who wants to be in the clothing business.

Probably someone working with manufacturers overseas.

Out here on the left coast, there are a LOT of import businesses that do exactly this work. They don't sew a thing; they develop product lines directly for big box stores (Costco, Walmart). They need nothing more than a good set of connections (human and internet).

They do need to use the same terminology to make sure they are ordering what they want.

And voila!

Fashionpedia.

This is a nice breakdown of the names of the parts of a watch

Because you know that everything has a name.

pointing in action

And we can all point to the drawing of the thing we want, even if we don't speak the same language.

Although I am wondering how the Plague Doctor mask is a common fashion item.

Eh, takes all kinds.

Christopher Payne / Raad Rahman

I'm sure some of you have seen this before, but it's worth your time to visit the web page again.

http://www.chrispaynephoto.com/textiles-2-1/

and go read this
https://thebaffler.com/latest/faux-pas-at-moma-rahman

We will return to our regularily scheduled posts and that damn coat later this week.

Sewfail: Outerwear zippers are my nemesis

This is where the coat is going off the rails.

It's gathering up on the zipper seam.

And to add misery to the mystery,  it feels like the teeth are stretching while I'm working.

Granted, this is not a great zipper.

Lookit all those waves

Granted, my current "I didn't sew it" coat does this

and it functions just fine. 

In retrospect, this photo gives me the hives to look at.

But I've stitched it a lot.

Don't worry about the precise instructions here. It's just to point out how many times I've stitched over this, once for each layer.

And no, using a walking foot isn't working in this application. How is that going to work with a zipper seam? 

But as I stitch, it feels like the tooth part gets longer and the tape part gets shorter.

Lest we think I am as bad a sewist as I feel like (and I do get speedy sloppy towards the end), I have no trouble with the other zippers.

This is just the bomb! Wish it came with more zipper pulls....no really. Those little pockets eat zippers.

Glue at the ends for stops really works. The nervous can install a jump ring through the tape to really stop that tab. Or foldover clamshell clasps. 

Also: metal jeans zips, invisible zippers, old zippers, sad zippers....the rainbow Riri that is the only thing still working on the black rain jacket....

Fun slam from Internet 2012: from one of those Ten Things To Click on, (from something called Content.com (??) in this case Ten Overrated Clothing Details:

"The Italian zipper company has been called the "Rolls Royce of fucking zippers." And yes, they are nice, but you can't exactly put nice rims on a shitty car and expect it to drive better. When used to add a luxurious accent to quality garments, like leather jackets from designer Rick Owens (and newer brands like En Noir), they work… otherwise, they're just expensive zippers. Besides, competitors YKK and Lampo make equally nice high-end zippers that sometimes are more reliable than RiRi.

But I did a little field trip yesterday, and the trouble is with me.

This is the zipper in it's natural habitat at Joann's. One of my better panorama photos. 

It is 26" from bottom plastic to top zip stop.

And this is it, the same brand and size from the same lot in the same store: installed in my coat. Same tape measure. Accuracy in some things, apparently counts at different times in my process.

I don't think I have to measure the toothed part to verify my error.

See those layers? Already waving. Oh maaaaaaan......

I am guessing the tape is very slowly compacting as I drive over it again and again. Or maybe just once - the number is sorta moot. I should have basted by hand.

I should unpick it and redo it.

Which is going to zuck. Cause there's a lot of layers there.

I have to think about this. I'm going to run out of winter at this rate. Purple coat is getting rattier by the minute.

So let's go with some cheery Dalek GIFS...

Preview mode for Spoonflower

In case you were wondering how to see what a big repeat looks like on wider yardage

You choose a fabric (to give you the width, you choose 'yard' rather than swatch, and three yards should give you the bigger picture you're looking for. Also note the rulers on the top and sides

Also wallpaper mode. 

But you and I would make that match up along the seam.

Reflecting on reflection: see me cross the street? See me? SEE ME!

I mean, I don't want to have to wave the fluorescent flag at the corner. Especially if all the flags are on the other side of the street.

I live in Seattle, and I have discussed the weather. It's grey. Or is that gray? It's winter so it's dark.  But even in the summer, we have that lingering, northern twilight, which makes it harder to see a moving shape from inside a faster moving car. "It doesn't look that dark when you're outside", my children observed, arguing that the reflecting biking vest from IKEA was too shameful to wear. And then when they moved into the driver's seat, they got what I was talking about. And no one got hurt.

I have seen grown up people with this helmet on. Love that Franklin!

Screw style! I'd rather be safe than dead.

Anyway, this is the long way around to discussing adding reflective bits to your outerwear. 

There was a store in Seattle that sold shiny pretty bike coats, with lovely honeycomb     iron-on reflective things. That shop and the beautiful decals are long gone, but others have taken their place.

Seattle Fabrics also stocks fun reflective decals (Sasquatch, camping, etc) but just in-store. Online at amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gear-Aid-Tenacious-Patches-Fabric/dp/B01D0MVOI6?ref=ast_p_pc_bs&th=1

S'mores included

Search on Etsy on 'reflective' and you get a lot of fun stuff. Pin on buttons!

Search on Amazon for reflective tape and you get stuff (http://a.co/2AjPxJg) you can tape an entire truck with.
Or your commuting bike.

It is stiffer than it is sticky, and will unwind from the bike tube, so it needed to be clear-taped over. After taping, it's still very reflective, so it's a win..

But I am making a coat, so I can build this into the design.

Those are not white stripes

I reserve the right to remodel this jacket back into usability.

The black rain jacket has reflective ribbon up the center back and also as the edges of the front pockets. It's taken a beating and is crumbling at the folds, but otherwise is in excellent health 15 years later.

This ribbon is available online from Seattle Fabrics:
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/Reflective-Tapes-Trims-Piping-Cording_c_333.html

But none of the winter coats have this.

And the raincoat I've still not finished hasn't any, either.

And let's say I wanted to use the iron-on stuff. The Ultrex I'm using is not interested in  iron on Bond stuff. It's been remarkable uninterested in glue dots, but Fabric Fusion is working well on the seams.

I found a whole useful page of good outdoor sewing info at Quest Outfitters webpages, including a couple of iron tricks (masking off the sections you don't want to melt with paper). I'd also test in a well ventilated area, with a pressing sheet on top (I use a hunk of silk organza, which is super sheer and cheaper than a new iron or the hour to clean one off)
http://www.questoutfitters.com/tips_and_hints.htm

I finally decided to sew on some decorative shapes.
So I had to buy some more stuff
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/Reflective-Fabrics_c_84.html

It's a grey cordura, 8 oz weight, plus a heavy coating of shiny that makes it very stiff, and it does not ravel. Unravel.

 It doesn't do either one. Fraying stops at the silver coating.
Bought half a yard, at 18 by 60 inches, that's a lifetime of shiny shiny bits I can sew onto all kinds of outdoor stuff.

I hang it over a cardboard tube because I want to avoid folds and wear along those folds. That's where the reflective coating starts to fail/flake off

 I cut some pleasing curvy shapes to add to the cuffs, the back neck, the side seams at the hem. Kinda like sails.

Sleeve at the cuff. Future cuff that is. This is actually covering up where I had to cheat the pattern to get it all to fit onto my yardage. It's about that much off. Not bad, and certainly a patchable or pieceable location.

 

And I just stitched them on. They aren't going to fray. This last one is on the back of the neck, and I glued the stitching on the inside to waterproof those little holes I just punched in with the machine.

I used Thermoweb's  PeelnStick Fabric Fuse tape to position them initially. It surely did a nice job on the inside face of the fabric to hold the seam allowances down. And when I had to unpick and move one (on the hem, unglued), I found that tape won't really stay on the Ultrex outside face.
Ultrex is doing it's job, I'll give it that. 

I am going to restrain myself to these (so tempting to cut a set of spirals and waves, and I may not continue to resist this urge). I am taking this very slow and steady, as it's a lot of steps. I got a persistent cold for the New Year, so I'm not barreling through this.

And I do need to finish the raincoat as well.