I have been given the wonderful gift of a ticket to visit friends on the east coast in August (they all pitched in for it - like a rent party!) - I am delighted, except that I realised I have no clothes for Virginia in the summer. Now, it is long enough away that I could make some things, but as 'we is pore' and I otherwise have no need of dresses to survive Virginia in August, I decided I would remake some old dresses of my daughter's.
Yes, you read that right - hand-me-downs from my daughter. When she was ten, no less! She is now eighteen. She outgrew two calico shifts I made for her (princess cut, short sleeves) rather quickly. I put them by, and use one of them for a nightgown in extremis, when all else is in the wash. But I swim in them. At age ten my darling girl was half a head taller than me and about a size larger. So, I decided to cut these at about the 1830s waist level, slightly raised, refit the bodices, and sew them back together. Voila! ankle length cotton dresses to live down on the farm in Albemarle for a week.
As I was picking the bodices apart, I thought of the old custom of remaking and turning clothes. Also of what a wasteful society we live in. How many times have I seen genuinely old clothes - Elizabeth, Jacobean, Georgian, Victorian - that have been recut, remade, turned and retrimmed until they are unwearable - then saved because they are old. Fabric used to be much more expensive than it is now (and good stuffs are not cheap now, either), and people did not waste it. If the clothes could no longer be made useful for a child or baby, they were cut up to put into a quilt. There are famous stories during the American Civil War of 'twice turned dresses' in the beleaguerd South (I make no bones that my sympathies lie in Virginia), and during the Second World War on both sides of the pond remaking things was the manner of the day, with clothing rationing and new fabric unobtainable.
There is something very pleasant about getting something new out of something old, apart from the thrill of thrift. It is as much a gift as that magical plane ticket sent to me by my friends.
Here's to old ways and old days.
25 May 2008
23 May 2008
Haying
I have discovered that my very own local hardware shop has 'grass whips' - otherwise known as scythes - and they are inexpensive. I have wanted something non motorised for ever, and was inspired by friend Susanna's tales of cutting grass with a scythe; a much more leisurely affair that I can engage in at the end of a day's work, as compared to the smelly, difficult, noisy and messy hauling out of the mower at the weekend. The mower gives me blisters and sore arms, as it must weigh as much as I do. My other option was a push mower, but this is much more friendly, in so many ways.
I can think of several songs to sing while working, mostly very old - the Mingulay Boat Song and Oro Se Do Beata Bhaile, among which. I confess to a romantic image in my mind from Tess of the D'urbervilles. Canna help it.
Huzzah!
18 May 2008
Au Naturelle
Before I cut my hair two years ago I used to henna it; naively, I used only red henna and didn't know I could add other things to it to change it from a very orange colour to my natural red-gold, so for a few years, I had really technicolour hair. This was fine as I was wearing vintage clothing and it 'matched.' I could only leave it on my hair for about five or ten minutes, and even that was pretty strong.
But when I cut my hair, donating the 27" to Locks of Love, I gave up on all that. I had found some Marigolde Blonde henna (cassia, chammomile and calendula) and thought to 'fade to blonde' as I have about 30% 'grey' (it's white, actually), but I could never get it to work, even leaving it on for an hour. I was annoyed because it worked when added to the mix of a brunette friend of mine (half and half with red henna) to cover her grey. What was wrong with me? I know that natural red hair doesn't take dye very well, but this is henna! and red henna takes on my hair like a house on fire.
Then I read that cassia, so called neutral henna, needs something to stick to, so add some red. Being really depresed by beige hair, or sandy, if you prefer (which is what my red had faded to, as most natural redheads) I thought I would try again. It worked. I have something very close to my natural colour now, with 'strawberry blonde' streaks where my white is. I am happy that I can use this formula forever with progressivly less red (it's only a tablespoonfull now) and fade to blonde. I also read that the dye in cassia (which is pale gold) releases better if it's let to sit overnight, which may be why my first attempts were unsuccessful.
For those of you who are not redheads, you can mix red henna with indigo and cassia to achieve shades from light brown to black. If you are a cool blonde or brunette, add amla (this fixes the problem of henna reducing natural curl as well.)
Some recipes below:
Pale gold (to lighter colours and white)- 100% cassia
Marigold Blonde- 1/3 henna, 2/3 cassia
Copper- ½ henna, ½ cassia
Red- 100% henna
Light Brown- 2/3 henna. 1/3 indigo
Medium Brown- ½ henna, ½ indigo
Burgundy- 2/3 henna, 1/3 indigo
Mahogany- 1/3 henna, 2/3 indigo
Sherry- ¼ henna, 3/4 indigo
Black- two step henna, indigo process
Update 6 October 2010:
I am now using a mixture of marigold blonde henna (cassia, chammomile and marigold) and rhubarb, mostly the latter, so my hair is much more gold than red. Now people call me a strawberry blonde, and I agree with them.
But when I cut my hair, donating the 27" to Locks of Love, I gave up on all that. I had found some Marigolde Blonde henna (cassia, chammomile and calendula) and thought to 'fade to blonde' as I have about 30% 'grey' (it's white, actually), but I could never get it to work, even leaving it on for an hour. I was annoyed because it worked when added to the mix of a brunette friend of mine (half and half with red henna) to cover her grey. What was wrong with me? I know that natural red hair doesn't take dye very well, but this is henna! and red henna takes on my hair like a house on fire.
Then I read that cassia, so called neutral henna, needs something to stick to, so add some red. Being really depresed by beige hair, or sandy, if you prefer (which is what my red had faded to, as most natural redheads) I thought I would try again. It worked. I have something very close to my natural colour now, with 'strawberry blonde' streaks where my white is. I am happy that I can use this formula forever with progressivly less red (it's only a tablespoonfull now) and fade to blonde. I also read that the dye in cassia (which is pale gold) releases better if it's let to sit overnight, which may be why my first attempts were unsuccessful.
For those of you who are not redheads, you can mix red henna with indigo and cassia to achieve shades from light brown to black. If you are a cool blonde or brunette, add amla (this fixes the problem of henna reducing natural curl as well.)
Some recipes below:
Pale gold (to lighter colours and white)- 100% cassia
Marigold Blonde- 1/3 henna, 2/3 cassia
Copper- ½ henna, ½ cassia
Red- 100% henna
Light Brown- 2/3 henna. 1/3 indigo
Medium Brown- ½ henna, ½ indigo
Burgundy- 2/3 henna, 1/3 indigo
Mahogany- 1/3 henna, 2/3 indigo
Sherry- ¼ henna, 3/4 indigo
Black- two step henna, indigo process
Update 6 October 2010:
I am now using a mixture of marigold blonde henna (cassia, chammomile and marigold) and rhubarb, mostly the latter, so my hair is much more gold than red. Now people call me a strawberry blonde, and I agree with them.
12 May 2008
1926—The New-Way Course in Fashionable Clothes-Making
A fascinating piece of vintage advice to the dressmaker, from Vintage Sewing.Info:
1926—The New-Way Course in Fashionable Clothes-Making
Lesson 56—Seasons and Sidelines
The good seasons—and the bad
Suggestions for the Christmas season Other sideline suggestions Maternity clothes Underwear and lingerie Children's clothes
The Good Seasons—and the Bad
In dressmaking, more than in any other business, a great deal is dependent upon the seasons. Spring and fall are excellent seasons; there is a good volume of business during the summer and winter. But in-between these seasons there are dull periods when the business slacks—and when the shop owner loses money unless she is clever.
Being clever means simply availing the dull seasons for other purposes than dressmaking. There are many profitable side-lines ideal for the dull season, that make up for the loss in business. We will take this up later in the lesson, studying each "side line" individually.
A great many dressmakers find that the quickest way to success is through specialization. One dressmaker we have in mind, for instance, specializes in dresses for girls who are graduating from school. She has an excellent reputation for making pretty dresses of this kind—but you can readily see her business is limited to the seasons when girls graduate. She has solved the problem by making trousseaux and mourning clothes between seasons, and has built up quite a profitable volume of business with this side-line.
While we are on the subject of specialization, it will not be amiss to mention that is as an ideal way to build up a reputation for the shop. If you can make evening gowns better than anything else, specialize in that. If you like to make tailored clothes, make that your specialty. Whatever you can do best, specialize in—and let your friends, acquaintances and customers know that you are specializing in it. Then make all other phases of the business "side lines" which simply pad out your earnings and keep your business progressing.
One of the greatest assets in business is knowing what people want. Some people know this instinctively, but the majority of people have to learn from actual experience and study the things their customers like. When you know what people want, give it to them, and you will find that your business is taking care of itself. It is only when you try to sell people something they don't want, that your business begins to suffer.
There is a knack to "sizing" people up. Some dressmakers can judge, as soon as a customer enters the shop, whether she wants something original, distinctive and different, or whether she prefers something plain and conventional. She can tell the customers who like the extreme, and customers who like the simple. By "sizing" up the customer in this way, she is able to show her only what she knows will please and satisfy her, rather than something through the complete stock haphazardly in the hope of striking something that will please the customer's fancy.
Suggestions for the Christmas Season
Just as she can make her dull seasons profitable by incorporating "side lines" into her business, the clever dressmaker can make the Christmas holidays doubly profitable by utilizing little odds and ends of novelties that are so appropriate for gifts. There are countless pretty, dainty things that can be made quickly and easily by the woman who is deft with her needle and original in her methods.
There are, for instance, dainty affairs for milady's boudoir—crisp, pretty little things that can be made without much trouble at all—that are, in fact, quite enjoyable to make, and that can be sold at a substantial profit. Flower-trimmed garters are always in demand. Packed neatly in a holly box, they make an excellent gift. The garters should be decorative, daintily trimmed with tiny buds and flowers, all hand made. They may sell from 50¢ to $1.50, depending upon the materials and the amount of time devoted to the sewing. Very elaborate garters may sell for as high as $2.50.
One dressmaker, who enjoys her work and revels in her petty little shop, specializes in boudoir caps for the holiday season. Each year, before Christmas, she has a display of original, attractive boudoir caps in her window. Some are of tulle with ribbon roses; some of net and lace; some cleverly made of ribbon and wire. All are extremely dainty and presentable, and when packed in attractive little boxes make most delightful gifts. Boudoir caps range in price from 75¢ to $5.00.
Some dressmakers like to make dainty bows for lingerie, others like to make boudoir slippers of satin ribbon, trimmed with shirrings and bows. Many find interest—and incidentally, fine profit—in making bags. Attractive bits of material can be transformed into exquisite handbags that can be sold for high prices at Christmas time. For instance, an opera bag with an embroidered motif and bead fringe can be made easily from left-overs, yet will bring as much as $5.00 or $7.00 at Christmas time. A dainty little bag for a powder puff can be made in a half-hour from a bit of left-over satin or taffeta, and can be sold for 50¢ or 75¢. And there are nay number of velvet bags, overnight bags, embroidery bags, workbags, fancy bags that can be made and sold profitably at the Christmas season.
It makes no difference whether you have a shop or just a room in your home—you can utilize your space, time, and your ends of material to great advantage. Many dressmakers who start small increase their business by selling novelties such as these not only at Christmas, but all year round.
Other Side-Line Suggestions
If you love to make pretty, dainty things for children, if you enjoy handling fine laces and embroideries, you should by all means choose the making of baby things for your Christmas trade. In fact, you can make this a regular side-line and incorporate it as a special department of your regular business.
It's fun making tiny baby shoes, dainty little caps, exquisite little baby dresses, fancy boudoir ornaments for baby's safety pins, etc. Why, there's no end to the degree in which you can allow your fancy to wander! The more original you are, the prettier your creations will be. And no matter how low your prices are, you will always make a substantial profit, for the materials you use are left-overs.
Among other things, you can make hand-painted coat hangers for the infant's little dresses, rattles with handsome ribbon bows, little trinket boxes, safety pin holders, holders for bonnets, bibs, etc. These charming little novelties are very simple to copy, and always have an instant appeal to customers. Your workers can be kept busy during the dull seasons making them, and you can have a good supply ready by Christmas time to meet the demands.
It is also interesting and profitable to make, from larger pieces of material, decorative handkerchief bags for the dressing table, sewing bags, aprons, hat-pin holders, decorative dolls for the boudoir, etc. Some dressmakers even make distinctive handkerchiefs for the holiday season, and some like to make miniature hat-boxes for vanity flowers. A lamb's wool slipper sole, decorated solely with a cluster bow or satin ribbon, costs only about 30¢ but can be sold for 74¢ or $1.00.
And so we could go on endlessly, giving you suggestions for sidelines that you will not only enjoy but that will add to your profits and bring you many new customers. You must be alert, progressive, constantly watchful for new ideas and new money-making schemes. As soon as you stop progressing, your business deteriorates. It cannot stand still. It goes either forward or backward. Is your shop going to go forward? It's entirely up to you, you know.
Maternity Clothes
One of the most profitable side-lines for dressmakers is maternity clothes. There is a constant demand for cloths that are smart, modish, attractive—and comfortable—and prospective mothers are glad to pay whatever you ask providing you give them the kind of dresses in which they will feel comfortable and inconspicuous.
However, not everyone can make attractive maternity clothes. A lesson in the Course deals thoroughly with this subject, and if you study it carefully you will be able to make the kind of clothes your customers will appreciate. But do not make the mistake of trying to sell maternity clothes that are not correct, for in this way you will make one sale and lose your customer. The problem is to keep the customer and to do this you must give real service.
Making clothes for mourning is also profitable but not quite so much so as maternity clothes. Mourning clothes should be dignified, sombre, but with smart lines and made in good taste. Trousseaux are interesting to make, and extremely profitable. Some dressmakers specialize in outfitting the bride-to-be, but we do not advise this unless you are particularly deft and clever in the art of making bridal finery. If you are, make it the specialty department of your shop.
Underwear and Lingerie
If your shop is large enough to warrant it, and if you want to have a big, all-year-round business, it is profitable to incorporate an underwear and lingerie department. You may make the garments yourself, purchase them ready-made, or have your workers make them during the dull seasons. The first plan is the best, as you will be able to make underwear that is different, individual—and you will be able to charge higher prices for them.
At Christmas, Easter and other holiday seasons a good line of underwear and lingerie proves valuable in keeping the business going smoothly, instead of having the income decrease as it would ordinarily in the dull season. It is wise to have neat boxes for the underthings, with your name printed on them. Step-ins, chemises, vests, camisoles and bloomers are excellent sellers, especially when they are cleverly made with edgings and insertions of lace, fine tuckings and plaitings, dainty bows and hemstitching. Many of your regular dress customers will be glad to purchase dainty underthings of you, if you sell them reasonably enough. And you really should be able to sell them reasonably, as they cost you only what the materials alone cost—and if you purchase wisely the materials should cost you very little.
Children's Clothes
A particularly profitable branch of specialization is children's clothes. Not only is it profitable but it is extremely enjoyable, especially if one enjoys making dainty little rompers, play suits, dresses and petticoats for the youngsters.
A fine knowledge of machine sewing, a knack for making the unexpected and the original, help considerably in making the kind of kiddie's clothes that women will be glad to buy and pay good prices for. Women always like to dress their children attractively and differently and they will be glad to pay your prices if you can give them what they want.
Children's clothes can be made to order, or can be made in quantity to sell as ready-made clothes are sold. But in either case, the dressmaker should be sure the sizes are absolutely correct—that the four-year old size will fit a four-year old girl—for in children's clothes size is very important.
An attractive dressmaking shop, correctly run, is as interesting and enjoyable as it is profitable. Take pride in your shop, keep it attractive and up to date, and you will find pleasure in it. If at any time you meet some unexpected problem that is not solved for you in the pages of this book, if you feel the need of expert help or advice, do not hesitate to write to your teachers at the School of Modern Dress. They will always be glad to help you.
1926—The New-Way Course in Fashionable Clothes-Making
Lesson 56—Seasons and Sidelines
The good seasons—and the bad
Suggestions for the Christmas season Other sideline suggestions Maternity clothes Underwear and lingerie Children's clothes
The Good Seasons—and the Bad
In dressmaking, more than in any other business, a great deal is dependent upon the seasons. Spring and fall are excellent seasons; there is a good volume of business during the summer and winter. But in-between these seasons there are dull periods when the business slacks—and when the shop owner loses money unless she is clever.
Being clever means simply availing the dull seasons for other purposes than dressmaking. There are many profitable side-lines ideal for the dull season, that make up for the loss in business. We will take this up later in the lesson, studying each "side line" individually.
A great many dressmakers find that the quickest way to success is through specialization. One dressmaker we have in mind, for instance, specializes in dresses for girls who are graduating from school. She has an excellent reputation for making pretty dresses of this kind—but you can readily see her business is limited to the seasons when girls graduate. She has solved the problem by making trousseaux and mourning clothes between seasons, and has built up quite a profitable volume of business with this side-line.
While we are on the subject of specialization, it will not be amiss to mention that is as an ideal way to build up a reputation for the shop. If you can make evening gowns better than anything else, specialize in that. If you like to make tailored clothes, make that your specialty. Whatever you can do best, specialize in—and let your friends, acquaintances and customers know that you are specializing in it. Then make all other phases of the business "side lines" which simply pad out your earnings and keep your business progressing.
One of the greatest assets in business is knowing what people want. Some people know this instinctively, but the majority of people have to learn from actual experience and study the things their customers like. When you know what people want, give it to them, and you will find that your business is taking care of itself. It is only when you try to sell people something they don't want, that your business begins to suffer.
There is a knack to "sizing" people up. Some dressmakers can judge, as soon as a customer enters the shop, whether she wants something original, distinctive and different, or whether she prefers something plain and conventional. She can tell the customers who like the extreme, and customers who like the simple. By "sizing" up the customer in this way, she is able to show her only what she knows will please and satisfy her, rather than something through the complete stock haphazardly in the hope of striking something that will please the customer's fancy.
Suggestions for the Christmas Season
Just as she can make her dull seasons profitable by incorporating "side lines" into her business, the clever dressmaker can make the Christmas holidays doubly profitable by utilizing little odds and ends of novelties that are so appropriate for gifts. There are countless pretty, dainty things that can be made quickly and easily by the woman who is deft with her needle and original in her methods.
There are, for instance, dainty affairs for milady's boudoir—crisp, pretty little things that can be made without much trouble at all—that are, in fact, quite enjoyable to make, and that can be sold at a substantial profit. Flower-trimmed garters are always in demand. Packed neatly in a holly box, they make an excellent gift. The garters should be decorative, daintily trimmed with tiny buds and flowers, all hand made. They may sell from 50¢ to $1.50, depending upon the materials and the amount of time devoted to the sewing. Very elaborate garters may sell for as high as $2.50.
One dressmaker, who enjoys her work and revels in her petty little shop, specializes in boudoir caps for the holiday season. Each year, before Christmas, she has a display of original, attractive boudoir caps in her window. Some are of tulle with ribbon roses; some of net and lace; some cleverly made of ribbon and wire. All are extremely dainty and presentable, and when packed in attractive little boxes make most delightful gifts. Boudoir caps range in price from 75¢ to $5.00.
Some dressmakers like to make dainty bows for lingerie, others like to make boudoir slippers of satin ribbon, trimmed with shirrings and bows. Many find interest—and incidentally, fine profit—in making bags. Attractive bits of material can be transformed into exquisite handbags that can be sold for high prices at Christmas time. For instance, an opera bag with an embroidered motif and bead fringe can be made easily from left-overs, yet will bring as much as $5.00 or $7.00 at Christmas time. A dainty little bag for a powder puff can be made in a half-hour from a bit of left-over satin or taffeta, and can be sold for 50¢ or 75¢. And there are nay number of velvet bags, overnight bags, embroidery bags, workbags, fancy bags that can be made and sold profitably at the Christmas season.
It makes no difference whether you have a shop or just a room in your home—you can utilize your space, time, and your ends of material to great advantage. Many dressmakers who start small increase their business by selling novelties such as these not only at Christmas, but all year round.
Other Side-Line Suggestions
If you love to make pretty, dainty things for children, if you enjoy handling fine laces and embroideries, you should by all means choose the making of baby things for your Christmas trade. In fact, you can make this a regular side-line and incorporate it as a special department of your regular business.
It's fun making tiny baby shoes, dainty little caps, exquisite little baby dresses, fancy boudoir ornaments for baby's safety pins, etc. Why, there's no end to the degree in which you can allow your fancy to wander! The more original you are, the prettier your creations will be. And no matter how low your prices are, you will always make a substantial profit, for the materials you use are left-overs.
Among other things, you can make hand-painted coat hangers for the infant's little dresses, rattles with handsome ribbon bows, little trinket boxes, safety pin holders, holders for bonnets, bibs, etc. These charming little novelties are very simple to copy, and always have an instant appeal to customers. Your workers can be kept busy during the dull seasons making them, and you can have a good supply ready by Christmas time to meet the demands.
It is also interesting and profitable to make, from larger pieces of material, decorative handkerchief bags for the dressing table, sewing bags, aprons, hat-pin holders, decorative dolls for the boudoir, etc. Some dressmakers even make distinctive handkerchiefs for the holiday season, and some like to make miniature hat-boxes for vanity flowers. A lamb's wool slipper sole, decorated solely with a cluster bow or satin ribbon, costs only about 30¢ but can be sold for 74¢ or $1.00.
And so we could go on endlessly, giving you suggestions for sidelines that you will not only enjoy but that will add to your profits and bring you many new customers. You must be alert, progressive, constantly watchful for new ideas and new money-making schemes. As soon as you stop progressing, your business deteriorates. It cannot stand still. It goes either forward or backward. Is your shop going to go forward? It's entirely up to you, you know.
Maternity Clothes
One of the most profitable side-lines for dressmakers is maternity clothes. There is a constant demand for cloths that are smart, modish, attractive—and comfortable—and prospective mothers are glad to pay whatever you ask providing you give them the kind of dresses in which they will feel comfortable and inconspicuous.
However, not everyone can make attractive maternity clothes. A lesson in the Course deals thoroughly with this subject, and if you study it carefully you will be able to make the kind of clothes your customers will appreciate. But do not make the mistake of trying to sell maternity clothes that are not correct, for in this way you will make one sale and lose your customer. The problem is to keep the customer and to do this you must give real service.
Making clothes for mourning is also profitable but not quite so much so as maternity clothes. Mourning clothes should be dignified, sombre, but with smart lines and made in good taste. Trousseaux are interesting to make, and extremely profitable. Some dressmakers specialize in outfitting the bride-to-be, but we do not advise this unless you are particularly deft and clever in the art of making bridal finery. If you are, make it the specialty department of your shop.
Underwear and Lingerie
If your shop is large enough to warrant it, and if you want to have a big, all-year-round business, it is profitable to incorporate an underwear and lingerie department. You may make the garments yourself, purchase them ready-made, or have your workers make them during the dull seasons. The first plan is the best, as you will be able to make underwear that is different, individual—and you will be able to charge higher prices for them.
At Christmas, Easter and other holiday seasons a good line of underwear and lingerie proves valuable in keeping the business going smoothly, instead of having the income decrease as it would ordinarily in the dull season. It is wise to have neat boxes for the underthings, with your name printed on them. Step-ins, chemises, vests, camisoles and bloomers are excellent sellers, especially when they are cleverly made with edgings and insertions of lace, fine tuckings and plaitings, dainty bows and hemstitching. Many of your regular dress customers will be glad to purchase dainty underthings of you, if you sell them reasonably enough. And you really should be able to sell them reasonably, as they cost you only what the materials alone cost—and if you purchase wisely the materials should cost you very little.
Children's Clothes
A particularly profitable branch of specialization is children's clothes. Not only is it profitable but it is extremely enjoyable, especially if one enjoys making dainty little rompers, play suits, dresses and petticoats for the youngsters.
A fine knowledge of machine sewing, a knack for making the unexpected and the original, help considerably in making the kind of kiddie's clothes that women will be glad to buy and pay good prices for. Women always like to dress their children attractively and differently and they will be glad to pay your prices if you can give them what they want.
Children's clothes can be made to order, or can be made in quantity to sell as ready-made clothes are sold. But in either case, the dressmaker should be sure the sizes are absolutely correct—that the four-year old size will fit a four-year old girl—for in children's clothes size is very important.
An attractive dressmaking shop, correctly run, is as interesting and enjoyable as it is profitable. Take pride in your shop, keep it attractive and up to date, and you will find pleasure in it. If at any time you meet some unexpected problem that is not solved for you in the pages of this book, if you feel the need of expert help or advice, do not hesitate to write to your teachers at the School of Modern Dress. They will always be glad to help you.
06 May 2008
Zips
Since I began sewing at age 12 I have hated zips. I hate wearing them, I hate sewing them, I hate repairing them. I have gone to great lengths to avoid them, using buttons, snaps, hooks and loops. Anything. However, in some garments, such as my daughter's prom dresses, they are unavoidable (because she hates snaps, etc). So these two years running I have wrestled with the infernal things in couture fabrics, most displeased. The whole garment looks fab until you sew in that blasted zip, and then the back or side is all wavy, hard, wonky. So I curse the 1920s for once, and the advent of the zip (at least theirs were metal and not stupid plastic.)
And now I discover, some thrity-odd years on, that I could have hand-sewn them to a much better effect when they were unavoidable. In fact, in couture wedding gowns (the costing in the tens of thousands varieties) they are de rigeur.
Jolly good.
All this came about because I was thinking today of putting on the last trimming on my daughter's latest killer prom dress. I left it off becasue I did not want to run it into the zip. Why should this be so hard (Whinge whinge). After all Sandy Irvine, who climbed Everest with Mallory, sewed zips into his pockets himself, by hand, in 1923 (or, rather, his grilfriend probably did.)
so here it is ladies, the how-to of handsewn zips, courtesy of Taunton Press:
A hand-picked, or hand-sewn, zipper is sturdy and easy to master. It doesn't distort or pucker, is great for heavily embellished or delicate fabrics, and -- best of all -- calls attention to your handiwork.
1. Stabilize the zipper area with a strip of silk organza, chiffon crepe de chine or non-stretch, fusible interfacing. This prevents distorting and rippling over time. Gently tack in place along the foldline.
2. Pin the closed zipper in place from the garment's right side. Starting at the zipper's upper right-hand side, center the folded edge of the fabric over the zipper pull and teeth. Lower the tape at the top to accommodate the pull; it will look right if you keep the stitches at an even distance from the fabric's folded edge.
3. Sew with a doubled thread. Starting at the top of the tape, stitch the zipper (unzipped) with a prickstitch on the fabric's right side. A prickstitch is a variation on the backstitch where you backtrack only slightly. The goal is to just barely see a bead of thread at each stitch. Stitches spaced 3/8 inch apart and from the zipper's opening work well.
4. Make a stitch just below the open seam of the zipper and tie a knot; stitching across the zipper's base is unnecessary and only invites puckers. Next, stitch the zipper's other side. Start at the bottom left of the zipper and sew to the top. It's common to find a slight mismatch of the two zipper tape sides at the top edges, but it's easy to mask with the waistband or facing. If the mismatch is more than slight (if the fabric is distorted), take out your stitches and restitch.
And now I discover, some thrity-odd years on, that I could have hand-sewn them to a much better effect when they were unavoidable. In fact, in couture wedding gowns (the costing in the tens of thousands varieties) they are de rigeur.
Jolly good.
All this came about because I was thinking today of putting on the last trimming on my daughter's latest killer prom dress. I left it off becasue I did not want to run it into the zip. Why should this be so hard (Whinge whinge). After all Sandy Irvine, who climbed Everest with Mallory, sewed zips into his pockets himself, by hand, in 1923 (or, rather, his grilfriend probably did.)
so here it is ladies, the how-to of handsewn zips, courtesy of Taunton Press:
A hand-picked, or hand-sewn, zipper is sturdy and easy to master. It doesn't distort or pucker, is great for heavily embellished or delicate fabrics, and -- best of all -- calls attention to your handiwork.
1. Stabilize the zipper area with a strip of silk organza, chiffon crepe de chine or non-stretch, fusible interfacing. This prevents distorting and rippling over time. Gently tack in place along the foldline.
2. Pin the closed zipper in place from the garment's right side. Starting at the zipper's upper right-hand side, center the folded edge of the fabric over the zipper pull and teeth. Lower the tape at the top to accommodate the pull; it will look right if you keep the stitches at an even distance from the fabric's folded edge.
3. Sew with a doubled thread. Starting at the top of the tape, stitch the zipper (unzipped) with a prickstitch on the fabric's right side. A prickstitch is a variation on the backstitch where you backtrack only slightly. The goal is to just barely see a bead of thread at each stitch. Stitches spaced 3/8 inch apart and from the zipper's opening work well.
4. Make a stitch just below the open seam of the zipper and tie a knot; stitching across the zipper's base is unnecessary and only invites puckers. Next, stitch the zipper's other side. Start at the bottom left of the zipper and sew to the top. It's common to find a slight mismatch of the two zipper tape sides at the top edges, but it's easy to mask with the waistband or facing. If the mismatch is more than slight (if the fabric is distorted), take out your stitches and restitch.
Overheard in the Blogsphere
'A Cork accent is one of the most horrific sounds that can be inflicted upon the human ear. It's right up there with Welsh.'
-er, right. This made me laugh because it was written by a Galwegian, and I have family in both places (Cork and Galway) and I also speak Welsh, but I know that yer man means the Welsh accent in English.
It reminds me of a true story that happened to my husband, who when in Wales as a young man was talking to an ould fella, asking directions if memory serves, and couldn't understand a blind word he was saying, and asked him to speak English, not Welsh, to which yer man replied (listen, sing-song)
'I'm not speaking Welsh!'
All my wee anes are awa to Ireland this summer for a holiday, so I have been loading them up on such sallies. My eldest, Lord Flasheart, was last there on a pubcrawl with cousins and friends a couple of years back. My youngest (daht(h)urh) is well aware that she is of legal drinking age there. Musha!
-er, right. This made me laugh because it was written by a Galwegian, and I have family in both places (Cork and Galway) and I also speak Welsh, but I know that yer man means the Welsh accent in English.
It reminds me of a true story that happened to my husband, who when in Wales as a young man was talking to an ould fella, asking directions if memory serves, and couldn't understand a blind word he was saying, and asked him to speak English, not Welsh, to which yer man replied (listen, sing-song)
'I'm not speaking Welsh!'
All my wee anes are awa to Ireland this summer for a holiday, so I have been loading them up on such sallies. My eldest, Lord Flasheart, was last there on a pubcrawl with cousins and friends a couple of years back. My youngest (daht(h)urh) is well aware that she is of legal drinking age there. Musha!
02 May 2008
Spinster
I came home this evening to my rabbit, Asphodel, having a long extra tail of loose fur. On the phone to my eldest son just then, I shrieked and rang off, terrified that this was some effect of the possibly uncaught mouse. In the event, his backside was only shedding and he had been grooming himself (although he was not happy with my help at that task.)
I removed more just now, and was reminded on how when I was in Ireland doing fieldwork for my thesis, I collected stray wool off of fences and bog-cotton wherever it occured, and hand-spun it (sans spindle or wheel) in the evenings after the same child above was asleep, talking in the lounge with my hosts at various places.
I learnt spinning on a drop-spindle, that most ancient of implements, but fibres can literally be spun by hand, and in my sewing box is yet a fair (tapestry) size skein of wool from those long ago days. It just seemed natural among the sea birds and clochans of the West of Ireland, when I was a young woman.
When I took up spinning on a wheel it came as the most natural thing in the world. A old folk-memory arose, perhaps due to the brown Hebridean wool I was using. It knitted up beautifully, waterfast in the grease. This homely activity, then and now, brought the old hard traditional life of the Blasket Islands to mind. They were inhabited until the 1950s by an Irish speaking population, at the veriest edge of modernity, but it was a precarious life, in no way romantic, except to one like your humble servant.
Beannachta De'
Hussif
'Hussif' - OED definition: case for needles, thread etc. standard issue to British servicemen until sometime around the 1950s, after which time economies resulted in them having to provide their own. Roughly sewn from a rectangle of fabric, with one pocket, a needle-rest, and calico tape ties, it was nevertheless obviously ideal for its purpose and very long-lived.
When I was in Switzerland, I was hugely impressed by the cleanliness of everything. From farmhouses to therapists houses, they were spotless. No one had servants, and everyone had jobs and pets.
All jokes of late about cleaning like a Dutch housewife made me ponder the habits which full time work has caused me to drop. When I was growing up, dishes were washed immediately after dinner, the floor was swept and bins emptied, before anyone played cards, read a book or did needlework or a jigsaw puzzle. When I was a young mother of three small children under five, I followed the Hints from Heloise (cribbed from Karen Pryor's Nursing Your Baby) about keeping things tidy with little ones: When everyone has gone to work, school or down for a nap, take a paper bag and clear up all the rubbish take; take all items that go into one room into that room; put the breakfast dishes into soak. Take a wad of toilet paper and douse it in alcohol, wiping down the bathroon fixtures. Wash the dishes. sweep the floor.
Sanity. Tidiness - it being necessary to sanity to me, given that my ancestral home was always orderly and spotless, even my mother's sewing room.
So I timed all this, just now: washing up the dishes, tidying, dusting sweeping: for four rooms, it took half and hour. That's less than eight minutes per room. Adjust for your own number of rooms or mounds of dishes accordingly. An Irish friend of mine (wife of Nobel prizewinner) used to add a damp mop of the kitchen to this - another five minutes.
You too can be a Dutch Housewife in less than an hour a day, even while working full time. I'm not saying the place will stay this way (and don't even enter the teenagers' rooms!) but at least you have a lovely house for a few minutes.
When I was in Switzerland, I was hugely impressed by the cleanliness of everything. From farmhouses to therapists houses, they were spotless. No one had servants, and everyone had jobs and pets.
All jokes of late about cleaning like a Dutch housewife made me ponder the habits which full time work has caused me to drop. When I was growing up, dishes were washed immediately after dinner, the floor was swept and bins emptied, before anyone played cards, read a book or did needlework or a jigsaw puzzle. When I was a young mother of three small children under five, I followed the Hints from Heloise (cribbed from Karen Pryor's Nursing Your Baby) about keeping things tidy with little ones: When everyone has gone to work, school or down for a nap, take a paper bag and clear up all the rubbish take; take all items that go into one room into that room; put the breakfast dishes into soak. Take a wad of toilet paper and douse it in alcohol, wiping down the bathroon fixtures. Wash the dishes. sweep the floor.
Sanity. Tidiness - it being necessary to sanity to me, given that my ancestral home was always orderly and spotless, even my mother's sewing room.
So I timed all this, just now: washing up the dishes, tidying, dusting sweeping: for four rooms, it took half and hour. That's less than eight minutes per room. Adjust for your own number of rooms or mounds of dishes accordingly. An Irish friend of mine (wife of Nobel prizewinner) used to add a damp mop of the kitchen to this - another five minutes.
You too can be a Dutch Housewife in less than an hour a day, even while working full time. I'm not saying the place will stay this way (and don't even enter the teenagers' rooms!) but at least you have a lovely house for a few minutes.
Strewth
Where's the cook? Is supper ready, the house trimm'd,
rushes strew'd, cobwebs swept, the serving-men in
their new fustian, their white stockings, and
every officer his wedding-garment on?
Be the jacks fair within, the jills fair
without, the carpets laid, and everything in order?
- The Taming of the Shrew.
The mouse crisis apparently over after a mere eight days, I must give credence to the non-toxic methods used to obtain such a miracle. In the first instance, it was only one poor blighter, who came in at the electrical box hole in the kitchen floor (I live in a 1920s house), which greatly cuts down on the headache.
Secondly, Franciscan though I am, I draw the line of humaneness at vermin that cause plague. Suffice it to say that Lady Boyd here has experience enough in other times and places with plague. So I resorted to glue traps, peanut butter, aspirin, running the cleaning cycle on the oven, and, lastly, peppermint oil. Neither hide nor hair nor any other part of mousedom has been seen since. Deo Gratias. Somehow I think that Margaret Boyd, the sister of King James IV of Scotland, would be proud.
Peppermint was in former times a strewing herb - that is, thrown upon the rushes - along with others (rosemary, thyme, wormwood, and rue among which) to discourage vermin of all sorts. These herbs are antiseptic and known vermifuges. Happen you haven't rushes or rush matting or your family object to living in 17th Century splendour, you can use the essential oil of these herbs, dropped upon a candle or other contrivance, to have the same effect.
NB: Rushes can also be made into Brigid's crosses upon the proper season.
God ye go'den
rushes strew'd, cobwebs swept, the serving-men in
their new fustian, their white stockings, and
every officer his wedding-garment on?
Be the jacks fair within, the jills fair
without, the carpets laid, and everything in order?
- The Taming of the Shrew.
The mouse crisis apparently over after a mere eight days, I must give credence to the non-toxic methods used to obtain such a miracle. In the first instance, it was only one poor blighter, who came in at the electrical box hole in the kitchen floor (I live in a 1920s house), which greatly cuts down on the headache.
Secondly, Franciscan though I am, I draw the line of humaneness at vermin that cause plague. Suffice it to say that Lady Boyd here has experience enough in other times and places with plague. So I resorted to glue traps, peanut butter, aspirin, running the cleaning cycle on the oven, and, lastly, peppermint oil. Neither hide nor hair nor any other part of mousedom has been seen since. Deo Gratias. Somehow I think that Margaret Boyd, the sister of King James IV of Scotland, would be proud.
Peppermint was in former times a strewing herb - that is, thrown upon the rushes - along with others (rosemary, thyme, wormwood, and rue among which) to discourage vermin of all sorts. These herbs are antiseptic and known vermifuges. Happen you haven't rushes or rush matting or your family object to living in 17th Century splendour, you can use the essential oil of these herbs, dropped upon a candle or other contrivance, to have the same effect.
NB: Rushes can also be made into Brigid's crosses upon the proper season.
God ye go'den
01 May 2008
Blodeuedd
Happy May Day to all!
Blodeuedd (meaning 'flower face') is a Persephone type maiden in the Mabinogi. I thought of her today because the prayer for today said, in part 'May the blessing of the Flower Bride...be with me.'
In this merry month of May - Sumer is a cumin in - there is much new activity, working through the much too long winter, germinating in spring, passing along to this bright day. A reorientation of my life to its rootedness: domesticity, crafts, herbs. Look for news of all these here.
A laundry list of works in progress: working on a bespoke kilt for my eldest son, my daughter's prom dress, frillies for self, the victory garden project, Dutch housecleaning, and ridding house of mice by natural means.
My dear friend Salena has suggested writing a book on the above, ala Mrs. Beeton. I am delighted with the idea. It begins here. Send in your recipies and household hints (preferably old)!
Unite and unite, and let us all unite
For summer is a-comin' today
And whither we are going we all will unite
In the merry morning of May
-Padstow, Traditional Cornish
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