WIP Deep Stash Edition: dyeing the last of the ventana twill

Well, it's not the last of the twill in my house, per se.

This was purchased in early covid, from a shop that no longer exists, anticipating a need that did not entirely arise at the time. I have storage space. I can stash.

Later, ran across Dharma Trading's handpainting dye flyer, 

https://www.dharmatrading.com/blogs/a/fiber-reactive-dye-the-cold-batch-method

and bought a set of the dye for painting. Wasn't this set, but it was close. bought a couple other colors and the extra bits (urea, sodium alginate, soda ash I already had). Dharma puts all the information on their webpage and it's worth your time to read that before you buy things, so you know what you're going to need beyond physical supplies).

https://www.dharmatrading.com/collections/dye-kits-starter-sets/products/fiber-reactive-dye-custom-color-sets?color=Jewel+Tones+%286+Colors%29%3A+2+Bright+Yellow+-+6+Deep+Orange+-+10+Fire+Red*+-+18+Deep+Purple+-+23A+Electric+Blue*+-+30A+New+Emerald+Green*

Ideas collided.

Time passed.

Staycation 2026 arrived:

Supplies!

Building a frame to work on. 

Reinforcing over-extended aluminum extension poles with bamboo

Duct tape. When gaffers tape would be overkill.

Perfect weather. Not too hot, and dry.

Workbench (back stairs)

The cross bars are bamboo from the forest in my side yard. It was out of control when I moved here in 1996; time has not improved that situation, but it does mean I have a steady supply of six to eight foot poles.

Ending with the yardage hanging indoors because Seattle is one damn raccoon festival.

I decided my best bet with two and a half yards of medium weight twill was to wash it in a tub with a dab of Synthrapol, and then do the rinses in the washing machine with some sacrificial towels to distribute the weight in the spin cycle.

And it has faded. And I will redo the red and add some black details. I need more dye in my paint mix; this was a quarter teaspoon to a cup of solution.

My inspiration for this was this material

This last slide is my talking point. I don't want to dump coagulants, paint, dye, chemicals down the drain. The dab of Synthrapol couldn't be helped, my other cautions make up for that I feel. Maybe they don't. I am not set up for a yard sink that drains into a bucket I run through a filter, I don't do enough painting for that.

What I have started doing is dumping out the contents onto rags and let them dry. I have a lot of them (this might resemble a four or five inch remnant off a too-long tshirt I have hemmed, because that is what it is).

I will make a pair of pants out of the twill over the winter.

Sewing that doesn't fit into one post or another: some WIPS

 I could just skip blogging June entirely. 

Work has been nuts. I am making myself sit at my computer to write this (all I do all day long is sit at a computer. Oy) 

I have been sewing. Mending.

This mini backpack has needed a handle forever. Wrapped a length of webbing around upholstery welting for a handle, opened up that back horizontal webbing and poked it in place, and stitched it back up. More sewing with plyers while watching Svengoolie.

Still needs a tidy up. Also one of the long straps is missing an end and about ten inches of strap. 

Yoinks.

I had to take the presser foot off to get it under the needle.

Finishing the Felix lobster dress I started last summer; because I CAN.

I changed the neck facing 

(made a coordinating print on Spoonflower and hated it after it was all sewn on)  

and auditioning sleeves.  And yes, I recut the skirt to stop it from poofing out so much.

I dunno. Going to safety pin it and try it on.

and a mask for seeing this

through July 3rd

https://www.seattlerep.org/plays/202122-season/bruce/

the last remnant from the Shark lap quilt
https://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/2017/05/shark-quilt.html

The Cuties don't fit because cake. 

I need to add some fabric in the side seams.

Mmmmmmm poppin'

 I may have to lose the sleeves to do this. I have more of these dresses, but some might be made of fabric I can't photograph and put on the blog, ya know.

There was cake. And work and family anxiety. And cake.

And I have about ten blogs about projects that aren't quite ready to go.

More will be said about some of these things, but I just can't sit here anymore and type right now.

WIPs gettting finished: the asymetrical 'dignified lady' pullover

 

We last looked at this in 2019

https://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/2019/04/bride-of-dignified-pullover-collar.html

and before then

https://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-bride-of-dignified-pullover-garment.html

And finally resolving it, well 85% resolved

 I've been meaning to resolve this shirt, and I finally broke down and (mostly) finished it

The cuffs aren't done, and the hem was so uneven because I left some parts off, and I just got annoyed with the whole thing and shoved it in a drawer. And kinda wore it now and then?

Enough to put a name tag so I could identify the back and the front

I broke down and bought ribbing that mostly matches 

and made a big foldover band that goes all the way around

Has a drop at one corner

I did not spend a lot of time sewing this, the stitching in the ditch is sub par

Inside back

Inside front

Right side out front

It goes with the mushroom planet colors of my workplace

Behold, the Recital Hall Bathroom at Benaroya Hall.

I match the entire color palette for the whole building.

"Taupe on toast"

I have not finished the cuffs, but I had lots of homework and a deadline to finish four more pants and three more dress hems. And since I have worn this to work a couple of times and no one has said anything, I'm going to let them be for the moment.

But at least I had time to post this.

The Usual Stack of Sewing

Not every sewing project gets done front to back at one time.

My sister's pants did

I bought this tag from Drygoods at SewExpo. I saved them for my sister for this very project (which has been waiting for months).

https://drygoodsdesignonline.com/collections/goods/products/kylie-and-the-machine-this-is-the-back-woven-label-8-ct

I blew through this project so fast, I didn't have time to take photos of cutting them out. But what's to look at? Black pants, two pattern pieces, side seam pockets, made them before, so no fitting. Laying out the fabric to get it ongrain took the most time of any of the steps. The linen/rayon was heavy enough that adding seam binding (the home made kind) to the side seams makes sense (pretty guts, stressed seam reinforcement). The center/crotch seams have been serged and may get bound in time (I can see that serger thread coming away from the seam eventually). I made a couple of yards of very stripey shirting fabric into this bias tape so Oh Yes,  I Have More.

Much much more.

Other projects get whittled away at.

Helps if they are the same thread color.

Especially the ones that have a lot of seam ripping prep.

I lightened this photo, which I wish I could have done to see what I was doing with the seam ripping. Needed new elastic, and I went in through the top seam.

Seams actually. Everything had been sewn twice or more.

One problem with athletic clothing alterations is that there's about a billion seams in there to remove the thread from. Often when you get all that thread out, there's a seam that's full of holes and 1/4" wide; not much to work with when you finally get there.  But I love these, they fit, they were thrifted and I was willing to sit and pick ten rows of stitching out while I listened to my favorite pop culture podcast about blood types, fried chicken skin, and Chuggington. 

http://www.senpaibuddies.com/

Senpai Buddies. NSFW.

They did get finished though. Wore em the next day. Worked fine.

Was coerced into finding room to put something away in the storage room.

Found lots of paper goods that are ruined by mold.

Had the entire set of lobby cards. The entire set was ruined.

After some tears, back to work on waistband expansion ideas.

 Putting in a button tab in a narrow seam in the waistband. I can reverse this if it doesn't work.

Putting a tab on the semi-side, creating a pleat over the front welt pocket. Need to move button over more. I grow during the day.

There will be more on this project as it progresses.

It's a busy time at work, so I'm not getting as much sewing in. Boss, I'm working! I'm not posting from work!

I swear!