Simple Sewing 101 - Part 5 - Alterations #2

So the camera is in the shop at the moment (It crazily takes nearly two months!) and the pictures aren't the best. But as I've been trying to post this for ages then I'm just going with what I have. Please note that one of the photos actually totally misrepresents what you need to do - so please read the captions. Hopefully the caption clarifies it, but ask questions if I've confused you!  What a start to a post hey...

This post is part of our Simple Sewing series and contains my two most commonly used alterations. Put very simply both these adjustments add/take fabric away at the point it needs to be added/removed without really adjusting the shape of the garment. Minor surgery to achieve a better fit. They are in the spirit of simple sewing, in that they are a simple fix, to a common problem, that works, that isn't fiddly, that you can refine over time, as your skills develop. Gotta love a comma.

I use these adjustments on the Wiksten Tank, the Grainline Scout and tunics like the dress version of the Wiksten Tank and the Wiksten Tova. 

My two most common alterations

Bottom adjustment. 

Truthfully this is known as the arse-expansion technique* and it is super simple. It is useful for frocks such as the Wiksten Tank or the Tova (which are made for hipless people?) but it is also exactly the same technique I used on my woven Hemlock to give it the swing in the hem.  

1. Measure from your shoulder down to your widest point (your widest hip point) - we will call it X. On the pattern, measure from your shoulder line to the hip length X and mark your pattern. 

2. Measure your hips and add the amount of ease you need in order for the frock to not stick to your bum and hips - in my case it is about 8 inches. I did this by measuring a tunic I liked in my wardrobe.

3. Measure the width of the pattern at the hip point on both the front and the back. Add them together before taking away four times the seam allowance - normally this is something like 2" (  4 x 0.5").

4. Work out the difference between the width I like (Measured in point 2.) and the pattern width (Measured in point 3.) - and divide it by 4. For me it is about 6" so 6/4 = 1.5" that I need to add. 

5. Cut out the shoulder and armhole of the pattern as it is. Stop cutting at the bottom of the armhole. Don't cut out the sides or hem.

Cut out the neckline and then the armhole. Stop cutting at the "cut out to here" point. This pattern drawing is the representation of the front of a tank like the Wiksten Tank. 

6. Holding the armhole point of the pattern in place on top of the fabric, pivot the hemline of the pattern away from the fold line of fabric. Keep tilting at the hip level until the pattern piece is the correct distance away from the fold - the distance you determined in point 4. In my example I pivot to leave 1.5" between the fold and the pattern piece. Note. The photo below shows the wrong pivot point. 

This PICTURE IS WRONG but all I have to show what I mean. You actually hold the point at the armhole called "cut out to here" in place and tilt from there. I will update the photo soon. The aim is to have the 1/4 of the width of your desired hip (plus your seam allowances) from the edge of the fabric at the hip point (shown here by the line with the arrows at the end). 

6. Repeat for the back! You might need to fiddle a bit with this if the front and the back are very different in their measurements. ie. Not divide exactly by four but add 1" to the front and 2" to the back.... I'm hoping this makes sense.

Back adjustment

This is very similar to the bottom adjustment except that it deals with a situation where the back of a top (like the Scout or the Wiksten Tank from the Sewing 101 post) is too wide or alternatively too tight. 

This happens to me on the Wiksten Tank. The sizing is such that on me, if it fits across the boob then the back is too wide. By making this a few times I had a couple of muslins. I could see that I had about 1.5 inches of fabric more than I needed. I did this by pinching it out in the back of my neck while I had it on. 

A word of warning: You need to trial this and probably start small. For the tank shown i the photo at the start of the post I went too far with the back adjustment. It then didn't cover my bra strap and pulled in around the shoulders. 

Fixing it simply involves a single step.

1. Tilt the pattern of the back of the neck so that the pattern sits about 3/4 of an inch over the fold. It is really simple. The only thing you need to ensure is that although you have tilted the pattern piece that you cut the neckline at 90 degrees to the fabric for an inch or two before you start cutting to the edge of the pattern. You may need to fiddle with this a little - make a (wearable) muslin.

Shows the pattern sitting on the fabric as you would normally cut it. Don't!!

Tilt so that the pattern sits over the crease. Tilt from the bottom point where the hem of the back meets the fold of the fabric. Smaller alterations are better to start with as you will change the shape of the garment. Make sure you cut the fabric at the neckline at 90 degrees from the fold to ensure you don't get a little V. 

You can also use the same trick to add a little more fabric - just tilt the pattern in the other direction! 

As always - my little disclaimer - this is Simple Sewing 101 and not proper dressmaking. 

Fel

*In the circles I run in.

What is art?

So late last year I went to a bar with Anna, drank a few glasses of pinot and got up on my soapbox (barstool?) about the lack of credibility and respect given to craft - and I wrote a post about it. Craft as the ugly stepsister. And as is often the case with blogging, the really good stuff happened in the comments section of that post. The comments gave me so much to think about that I've been thinking/chatting about it ever since. And although that post wasn't really a craft v's art post I'm really curious about where the line is. What makes craft craft and art art? And then why is one deemed more XYZ than the other?

One comment I especially loved was Siri's paraphrasing of her sister Mim's thoughts.

“Art and craft are different. She suggests art is harder because it is about creating new frameworks that challenge the way we perceive and think about things. She likes craft because it is gentler and there isn’t this pressure on it.

She also suggested that whether people see craft as equal to art is a different issue.”

— Siri giving the gist of Mim's thoughts. Both smart women. x

I totally agree with Mim. I think that the line between art and craft is very different to whether people see craft as equally deserving of their respect. The probably both deserve their own posts but for now I've found something that shifted the whole debate to another plane.

I've been moving on from my beloved podcasts this week, and upping the ante on my "ideas consumption", by listening to an audiobook by Seth Godin called the Icarus Deception. Chapter 3 talked about what art was - in Seth's opinion it isn't necessarily a painter.

“Oscar Wilde wrote that art is new, complex and vital. Art isn’t something made by artists. Artists are people who make art. Art is not a gene or a specific talent. Art is an attitude, culturally driven and available to anyone who chooses to adopt it. Art isn’t something sold in a gallery or performed on a stage. Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another.

Most painters, it turns out, aren’t artists at all — they are safety-seeking copycats. Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map — these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.”

— Seth Godin "The Icarus Deception"

Seth says many more things about art (in this book and others) which I found useful and which have transformed my thinking to some degree. I'll leave you with a couple more but I would love to hear what you think and whether this resonates for you.

“Committing to do work that is personal, that akes guts and that has the potential to change everything. Art is the act of a human being doing generous work, creating something for the first time, touching another person. ......

Art is frightening. Art isn’t pretty. Art isn’t painting. Art isn’t something you hang on the wall. Art is what we do when we are truly alive. If you have already decided you are not an artist it is worth considering why you made that decision and what it might take to un-make it. If you have announced that you have no talent in anything then you are hiding.

Art might scare you. Art might bust you but art is who we are, and what we do and what we need.

An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it, all of it, the work, the process, the feedback from those we seek to connect with personally. Art isn’t a result, it is a journey.

The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and your soul.”

— Seth Godin "The Icarus Deception"

Weigh in lovely peeps! 

Felicia x

The True Cost

Today I want to talk about the documentary, The True Cost that was released earlier this year. I've finally just got around to watching it and I'm only three quarters of the way through. Now this may seem like an odd time to review it but that's just it. I've decided I don't really want to review it*. I want to simply suggest you watch it.

“Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes. ”

— www.truecostmovie.com

Shivers is what it has given me. Shivers because there was things I just didn't know. Shivers even though I consider myself to be relatively well informed and thoughtful. So much I sort-of knew has been clarified, and then some. But what I'm loving about this doco is the big picture stuff. It covers it all, our behaviour as consumers, big business, fair trade, environmental impact of the growing and the waste, health, treatment of workers in the third world, and more. 

Just in case you aren't a fan of preachy docos, don't worry. This isn't one. They make it interesting and considering the massive scope of the film they do a good job of giving you a big picture overview.

I haven't seen the end yet so I'm not sure if they are able to wrap it up well, or if they offer solutions or ways forward. Even if they don't I'm not sure it matters. They give you a lot of information. Information that could be used to make different choices. I believe in personal responsibility. I believe personal action is powerful and the small changes we make add up. The only person's behaviour I can directly affect or change is my own. And this documentary was a great reminder of what I care about and what I want to change;  a personal call to arms. Renewing my desire to be thoughtful and considered in what I purchase, what I own, what I wear.

I still make mistakes in this and go the easy option; buying because it was quick and pretty and affordable. Just this week I did it when I purchased leggings for the girls without truly understanding the company I was purchasing from.  I know I can do better. 

“You change all consumers into activists, all consumers asking ethical questions, all consumers asking quite simple questions about where there clothes are from. All consumers saying I’m sorry, it’s not acceptable for someone to die in the course of a working day. We can’t just roll over and say yes have it, do what you like. It’s too important, it’s too significant an industry, it has too much impact and effect on millions of people worldwide and common resources. ”

— Lucy Siegle - The True Cost

One place that is particularly relevant here, where I know I can get better, is in my purchasing of fabric. As many of you know, over the last year I have been working on changing my purchasing  behaviour through my Stash Less project, and hopefully I've helped to raise some discussion at the same time. The aim of Stash Less is that I will purchase craft materials in a more thoughtful way and that I can change my behaviour one step at a time. One area I haven't really spent much time on yet is where my fabric comes from.

I know a little - for example in the picture at the top of the post I know that two of the fabrics are organic. But what about the rest. And then what about things I adore, like Liberty, ....or Nani Iro. I know nothing about where they are made, and how they are made, and I haven't asked. And that to me is the simplest small change I can make. I need to ask.... 

If you've seen it or go watch it because of this I would love to hear about what impacted you.

Felicia x

* A quick google search will lead you to many a reviewer by many a website or newspaper. 

Rogue photography and Squam.

I just got off the phone with my dad and he mentioned that he had had a look at my blog (Hi Dad!). I'm not sure he has ever visited before so that's pretty ace. But then he told me (with his usual cheeky tone) that he had wanted to leave a comment saying "depth of field, depth of field, depth of field" - as in, he is a little horrified by how I use depth of field in my photos.

And it's not like it's the first time he's mentioned it. He worked as a photographer way back in the dark ages and is, y'know, trained at this stuff. He knows what he is talking about. On the other hand, I'm a self-taught* dabbler who breaks quite a few of the photo-taking rules set down in the photo-taking bible. To be totally honest, I know that he is totally right about my depth of field issues, and I'm glad he reminds me to think about it more carefully. I'm still learning. I know I'll get better with practice and mistakes, because mistakes are how you learn right?

When I got off the phone, (because I know he has a valid point and knows what he is talking about) I scrolled back over the last few posts to figure out which photos in particular were really annoying him. And I came across the Aragon photography post. Excitingly eleven of you had clicked on the "Like" button for the post! Eleven of you like my photographs enough to tell me! Made my heart feel very happy - even if some of them would have annoyed my dad's eyes. So in honour of my dad, I'm going to pull the post I was planning for today and give you a few more I took on my trip away!**

Anyway I took these photos at the ever lovely Squam this year. It was my second time going and it really is such a warm, welcoming and renewing experience. Elizabeth is such a gorgeous, generous host. I talked about my experience at Squam in 2013 in this post called The Magic of A Craft Retreat and it was really more of the same magic! I feel very lucky to have got the opportunity to go again.

Photos start out on a grey day in the forest, before moving onto the Boro class run by @agatheringofstitches. They finish with the perfect golden light on the last day of the retreat. Happy days. 

Grey day at dusk.

Some of my lovely cabinmates. 

And some cabinmates on our dock.

I totally agree that this has depth of field issues - BIG ones. But look at the pretty light Dad!! :)

I also have a really dusty filter that is leaving red splodges everywhere. I kinda like them. 

Enjoy x

Felicia 

*  except for a couple of day-long workshops

**  I'm such a juvenile :).

Hand making as the antidote to “having it all”.

This is one of those posts. The rambling, not-quite-clear-in-my-own-head posts which is being written to see if, by the very act of writing it down, I can clear my head. The kind of post where I’m not yet sure the ideas contained in it are able to be wrapped up into a nice post with a bow. Bear with me. 

More than at any time in history, we* have it all. In the not-too-distant-past gadgets and luxury items (eg. mobile phones, 2nd cars and computers) were extras. Things that some people had and most didn’t. These days they are almost a given. In the era of connection, one thing we have become very aware of is what we could consume. Sometimes that leads us to feel that if we don’t have everything then maybe we are missing out. The latest and greatest are visible and available. The marketing of almost every product out there tells us that "we deserve it". And marketing is everywhere.

What scares me most is that my kids have it all. No, they don’t have hundreds of toys or devices or computer games. But in essentials, they are totally sorted. They are healthy, have parents that care about them and actively try to help them become functional satisfied adults, a community that supports them and loves them, a cosy home, great food**, accessible free health care, a calm and safe (if somewhat politically immoral) civil society. They have every chance to lead good lives.

I’m not my kids. I didn’t grow up with it all. I was lucky that I had parents that loved me and generally we had enough. But sometimes we had a little less than we needed, and there was often financial insecurity around where the basics would come from. Even though that is no longer my life, that worry is still part of me and has helped form my relationship to money and things. That understanding of less-than has lead to me being incredibly intrinsically grateful.

And so I get a little worried about my kids sometimes. Worried about what their experience of growing up in today's society is teaching them about having it all.  

Our society is focused on the accumulation of things, things that make you happy, things that fix your pain, things that fill the holes and fight loneliness. Things for the sake of things. Buying and accumulating as the solution to every problem  Bigger, better, best; where enough is never enough?

Birthday Dress.

So what if?? What if my kids are never satisfied? What if they get caught up in the spiral of desire and longing? So much so that they aren’t able to truly see what they have? What if because they have it all they never realise how extraordinarily lucky and privileged they are?

So here is my hope, my dream for the future of my children if you will. I’m passionately hoping that the life that we live will act as an antidote to the societal pressures they will inevitably face. A life where we try to focus on relationships, community and experiences over things. One where we repair rather than throw out. One where we actively prioritise making things with our hands as opposed to buying ready-made. Not always but as often as we can.

I’m hoping that they remember that the things that were really special in their childhood are the things that we have made them, they have made themselves or they have made each other. That their special things were made. And it was the time, the energy and the thought that went into them that made them so.

I’m hoping that the time they witness us spending making cubbies, bedframes, gardens, roast dinners, sweaters and quilts, will be showing them the value that comes from consciously putting effort, time and materials into the things that we surround ourselves with. And that those things embody all the energy, effort and intention that has gone into making them. And that the crux of it is, that the making itself is what makes life rich, and not the things themselves.

Hand making as the antidote?

All thoughts are welcome – so bring them on.

Felicia x

*I understand that "we" is only a sector of society however it is the one I inhabit, and according to the statistics "we" as a broader Australian society have more than we have ever had at any time in history. 

**My personal opinion. My kids often cry when I put dinner in front of them. Make of that what you will :).