Broderie Perse

Okay, so no trousers piccies today - I finished my dress form, and have been doing homestead things like making nondairy cheese, the laundry and the garden, and cutting out motifs from fabric for broderie perse handkerchiefs. It is very interesting to look at fabric in terms of motifs rather than as a whole, either for colour or drape as in quilting or dressmaking.

I decided to make handkerchiefs first rather than the barettes becasue it was faster, and I can sell them three to a batch.

Broderie Perse is an old quitling applique technique from the days when chintzes were even more expensive and rare than they are now, and so the individual motifs were cut out, glued on, and then stitched with a tiny whip stitch in a matching colour. Usually, these were centre medallions on whole cloth quilts, or later, centres on medallion quilts (not the same thing - confusion!) but since the craft has been revived, the technique has been used in other ways. Using it to make 'old-fashioned' flowery hankies is definitely a non traditional way! But it came to me one night several months ago as I was falling asleep. Nowadays, there are all kinds of fusible webs and adhesives apart from glue, and often motfis are not stitched, but 'I want to do it the old fashioned way.' And as I don't have a zig-zag on my antique sewing machine, they WILL be hand stitched. Fiddly? A bit. Unnecessary? Probably. But it keeps the old craft alive in its traditional method.

Arts and Crafts handbags and other news

The handbags are done and on etsy! (click on the title link.)

Making them up only took one day; it was the embroidery that took time.
But I am very pleased with them. Reproductions but with a sunny mordern flair.







The black trousers are also done, but it is too late to post photos of them. More tomorrow. Next on the docket - some ribbon flower and beaded barrettes, for all those Ren faire and Pre-Raphaelite maidens.

In the Family Way

The handbags are coming along for the etsy shop - I will post pictures when they are done - and when we went to get the lining fabric, my daughter Brigid said of the green one, half-finished, that she 'liked the green and pink' - the pink being the transfer pencil. So I told her I would make her one in green and pink. Corrupting the young!

Further to that end, my eldest, Percival, came by for some henna for tatoos for visiting Italian friends (girls) and said that he and his roomate, a bloke, have decided to buy a couple of acres up in Calaveras, where they were hiking this last weekend, and put up a couple of houses from 'ship cargo containers', grow their own food, and so on. He liked the idea because it was 'close enough to the city, but not too close.' This is the same young man who is studying to be a professor - Sac State or Davis would be well within reach. He is also the same young man who said, not entirely joking, 'I was raised by hippies - I hate white bread.' Um, that would be me. The houses are very eco friendly, easy and cheap to build, modular and easy to remodel. The whole garden idea just thrills me down to my toes. for I have a victory garden myself.

It made me so happy that the tenets with which he was insidiously instilled as a young child - with homemade baby food, cloth nappies and co-sleeping - took root and are sprouting in this way. Yes, he is a technogeek and has an iPhone, but he also has read ALL of Tolkien and speaks dead languages. When he and his sister and brother have a health or first aid problem, they always ring up Ma and ask first what natural remedies there are, without question. Ah, children, raised on homemade tinctures!

And I think to myself 'what a wonderful world'....

Brother Rabbit

After three years and some despair that I would ever be well enough or have funds enough again to have my little offerings of needlework and herb-craft, Brother Rabbit is now an e-shop again, now on etsy. This is a triumph to me, and signal of my health and overall well-being.

The name comes from a textile pattern of Morris’ –Brer Rabbit – which in turn comes from the folktale in the Uncle Remus stories Morris read to his daughters. Some have said that Brer Rabbit represents the joyousness in struggle, and the potential for the victory of the less apparently powerful over the dominant. Brother Rabbit signifies this, but also our oneness with each other, our necessary deep connection with nature, and the tradition of the mediaeval guilds in modern times.

‘Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’

So said the master, William Morris; an imperfect human, but a vibrant avatar in so many arenas of life. I believe sincerely that our lives can be filled with beauty, joy, and deep satisfaction, and that we do not have to be endless, mindless consumers at the mercy of the multinational corporations to do so.

Beginning with the simple tenet above – that we deserve to be surrounded by genuine beauty and graceful utility – I take the notion that we are the master craftsmen of our own existence into every arena of life: learning and teaching old skills and new; sharing histories – personal and cultural – and lifeways, our own acquired wisdom and whimsy; making our own fun, with stories and music at evening gatherings; steeping ourselves in the bounty and wisdom of nature through direct experience and observation. We thus become once more a part of the human family, the great dance through time, connected to each other and to Source.

Brother Rabbit is not merely an enterprise, designed to make money; it is a resource, a network, a lifeway, a philosophy of beingness. It is a vehicle for connection and transformation. Brother Rabbit escaped the Tar Baby by hiding away in the briar patch, finding peace and freedom; may we also find our own great happiness in the network of the Briarpatch. My life as a craftswoman is a vehicle to a deeper happiness.

The first items on offer go up next week - a series of reproduction Arts and Crafts handbags.

Blessings!

Lehman's

For those of you interested, Lehman's is the mother of all self-sufficiency supliers. They have a mail order catalogue as well as this site

http://www.lehmans.com/

Boiling Clothes (Deux) and other Cloth Matters

Despite what some people advocate, you can boil any type of fabric (not just white cottons) and it will get them clean clean clean. You know that 'grey tinge' that develops after a while? Well, despite what detergent manufacturers used to like to tell us (I am dating myself here) - it is not from soap. It is dirt. Even when you have washed the item sixteen times in the machine and it is 'clean' It is dirt. It may be something to do with hard water (in which case add baking soda or borax) but a great part of the problem is that the washing machine cannot get water hot enough for long enough to remove stains and embedded dirt, especually if you've tured down your water heater to save on your gas bill.

This surety of insight came about because after mucking about in the garden yesterday, my brassiere had grass stains soaked through. It also had a grey back, so I decided to boil it. It is now pale pink again. The same goes for the vintage slip I had pretty much abandoned wearing (even though it has a lovely chiffon hem and bodice) because it had a grey cast, especially in the back. It too is now pale pink again.

Perhaps this is TMI, but hold onto your hat because there's more:

On several of the earth crunchy fora I subscribe to, there has been talk of using not only 'mama cloths' but cloth wipes for the toilet. I had written about thisin a hippy novel I wrote, wherein they lived in the woods, but do it in suburbia? Well, I washed cloth nappies for all three of my kids for two years each, and have used 'mama cloths' myself, so why not? We live in an area (with redwood, pine cedar and eucalyptus trees) that has a tendency to clogged plumbing due to the roots growing into the pipes, so any less stress on the plumbing is a good idea. And, if you prefer, but cannot afford a bidet, a per bottle works great and is chearp-cuts down on the ooky factor so those bothered by such things.

Bung it all in a covered pail with some water and borax, just like nappy days, and wash with your weekly wash loads.

Next on the docket: a tin tub, a hand agitator and a mangle.

The Right Trousers

No Wensleydale shall enter into the lists.

Trousers have rarely been my friend. When I was a child I was so skinny my mother bought me boys' slim ones and they were still too big. When I became a young woman, the gap in the back was, and remains, the problem - the extreme waist to hip ratio.

So I decided that for work, when I need trousers sometimes, I would make my own. I chose an old pattern - Folkwear 218 (Palm Beach Pants, as it used to be, now Hollywood Pants, #250.) I have made the culottes (now tap pants in the re-issue) but never the trousers or knickerbockers. The trousers are a nice straight cut, falling from the hip with no pleats, and a side zip. I figured, wide legged trousers, perfect for all my figure problems - the waist-hip thing, sway back, knock knees. What fun!

Even so, I fiddled for a fortnight with the muslin, trying to get that extreme waist to hip ratio thing corrected. Even had the off-the-cuff (so to speak) consult of my friend's new hubby, who just happened to have studied design. It finally came down to pivoting the huge immense darts into the side seam and making one smallish dart in the side fronts. The problem with this is that one doesn't want the side curve to be extreme. But unless you want to emphasise the difference by two or even three darts, that's your best shot.

Now, with all the bugs worked out in the muslin, I am on to cutting the fashion fabrics - one wool gabardine and one linen. Lined. With self-bound underlining. Swish. Worthy of my mother.

For instructions on how to do underlining (on a jacket, but the principles are the same) see

Line and Underline in One Step from Threads magazine.

Pictures in the next installment

A Day at the Races

Bless my Alumni Association! I was invited to the races at beautiful Golden Gate Fields, on a completely gorgeous day, and I went with my old friend Cathleen, who had never been to a live race meet. I went because of a lifelong love of horses and riding - and because it was a chance to swan about in Ascot worthy gladrags. In fact, the hat I wore was inspired by one worn by one of the Court ladies at this year's Ascot.

Several ladies accosted me, early and late, saying my dress and the hat were wonderful. Great for me as I trimmed it myself, and my daughter Brigid thought it completely outre, always a good thing.

American race meets are a little weird to me. I am much more familiar with Irish races, on courses and strand racing - if that doesn't give me away. And I promise not to sing The Galway Races.... But Cathleen did bring up 'The Quiet Man' and the race on Dingle strand. That bit of the film always amuses me, as our own little beach here in Linda Mar is just like Dingle strand - which is I guess why I live here in Celtofornia.

Me in the outrageous hat





Cathleen



The horses of one of the races, and the racecourse grounds. I had a wonderful time studying their conformation and temperament and judging how they would 'go'

Update Pet en l'air

If this were a tarot card, it would be The Tower.

I arrived home to a package notice from the Post Office. An Express Mail Must be signed for package. I hoped it was the toile. Called post office national customer service. The thing MUST be signed for in person by me. No signature cards.Only the sender (my little client) can request the signature be waived. I was informed by lady at PO number that this may or may not be granted. She didn't hold out much hope. Client could not phone til Monday anyway as that office is closed. Roman buereaucracy! Informed client of situation. And let it be known that I was beside myself that another week would be stripped from the sewing time by this delay.

It all rather blew up, and the little client's mother wants everything back. In dressmaking parlance, this is known as firing the client, and deadlines are always a big issue here. So are interfering mothers. In this case, the little client was a young woman of 18, who has a job, which is why I took the commission; she has a job, which she has had for some time, and paid for the dress herself in insallments, ergo she could follow through and get things done on time. This is the same reason your employer cares if you have a college degree. Any college degree. Nevertheless, I did keep the mother informed also. You can see what good this did. I figured, okay, so she's letting the daughter have a little life lesson here in responsibility, letting her fall on her face by sending everything so late. Nope. Just self-absorbed. And nasty when I gave the little client a reality check.

My sister, who is also a costume nerd, advised me after my first stint at burning the midnight oil not to overtax myself (I have Addison's disease) as I had waited for a month already. She also advised not to let myself be taken advantage of, and cited several personal examples. But there was NO way I could get it done if I didn't push, so.... caffeine here I come. Won't do that again.

This commission was not for money, but for love of the thing, and the girl. I am sorry it has gone so badly. But dear clients: when your dressmaker tells you it wil take at least a month to complete a project, believe her; it is based on experience. Do everything in your power to get the fabric and other necessaries to her as soon as possible so your item may be completed well in advance of your deadline.

The modiste is most unhappy.

Pet en lair Update

After receiving the fabric much belatedly, I am now scurrying to unpick the detachable train and cut and sew two jackets (with detatchable sleeve ruffles) in time for a date some three weeks hence.

The train arrived being a fully lined and interlined detatchable affair - an overskirt, really - rather than a swath of fabric from the bottom of the dress as I'd imagined. It had velcro at the top - attaching under the bodice, presumably - stitched and restitched and understitched. Much too much for the organza. And it is organza, not taffeta, which is good and bad; more delicate, but less prone to show stitches that have been unpicked.

The pleats, to which the ornamentation is attached, are sewn down to withstand the most severe stress imaginable, straight through the underlining. The ornamentation is also machine stitched. The modiste is not happy. Too much machine sewing can be a very bad thing.

Adventures in Henna, or Goldilocks

I have been hennaing my hair with a 4-to-1 marigold blonde and red mix since I began doing so again, about a year ago; this gives a nice approximation of my natural colour with 'sunstreaks' (the white bits). However, I have always wanted 'marigold hair' - about the colour of my son Gawain's hair. Everyone calls him a strawberry blond, which he hates, and which isn't true as he is more a strong golden blond with a reddish tinge. We all think strawberry blond is the other way round. We are also very pernickety about whom we consider redheads, in my family; a tinge will not do; a golden colour will not do. It must be red, gold-red or auburn to count. Such is the privilege of we 11% of the world's popularion, though my boys have it, as my uncles do, only in their beards.

But I digress.

What I am looking for is the shade of marigold that is just the colour of a faerie my daughter Brigid painted years ago, which means more gold and less red, please. Eventually I mean to fade to blonde but I should like to go through the golden stage first and not that sorbet colour of women of a certain age who tint their hair in the manner of poodles. Oh we are snarkey today, aren't we?

So, first I made a mix of lemon juice and honey water, to remove any demarcation, and sprayed it on, letting it sit for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, I mixed up a 5-to-1 ratio of marigold blonde and red henna, with about a teaspoon of sea salt, two tablespoons of lemonjuice and a strong cup of black tea and chammomile. The latter give yellow and gold highlights.This, having sat and infused for three quarters of an hour, was a lovely golden brown colour. Promising, Glopped stuff on hair per usual, covering with plastic and a towel. Set timer for two hours, rather than one, which is the point at which your humble servant finds herself now.
We shall see.

I have ever had any luck whatsoever with merely marigold blonde on its own, hence the smidge of red and other ingredients. The salt is a new addition (so is lemonjuice) courtesy of Anthony Morrocco's Method. Be it well-noted that henna of any kind will not lighten hair; but some of us have light enough hair to begin with. If you wish to lighten you can try the lemonjuice and honey water routine - 2 tbs lemon juice. Ditto honey. And 3/4 cup cold water. Only don't heat any of it as this will kill the fomenting of natural peroxide in the honey.

More anon, when the two hours are up. Time now for a small something.... Ah, another analogy - WInnie the Pooh coloured!

Update:
amazing gilded glowing Pre-Raphaelite hair!

Princess

I am making a red taffeta sacque backed jacket for a dear girl for her prom, to go over a smashing red gown. It's nothing my own daughter would wear, worse luck, so I like being able to make something with frills and furbelows. It occurred to me yesterday that this jacket - with a hood, where it was called a Cardinal - was what Little Red Riding Hood was based on.

I drafted the pattern yesterday, and did all the cutting and sewing of the toile today, which took six hours. It was all just machine basted, as I have to send it to the recipient for a fitting. But yesterday I got some silk gauze for the sleeve ruffles, to which I will add some French gilt lace from my stash (I love saying that!) It needs a fastening, as it has no stomacher, so will have a little rhinestone chain under the bust. The bodice of the dress is encrusted in beautiful crystal and bead work.



I was a little apprehensive, as I haven't made a sacque in a long time - and actually looked at my yellow sacque polonaise to make sure I remembered how I pleated it. The latter I stitched largely by hand. I will not do with this, as there is a time constraint.

The selfish part of this for me is that this is my entre to my long awaited first mourning gown, which is a sacque. Finding the bombazine is going to be a chalenge, but I'm up to it. The taffeta of this jacket doesn't scare me; I've done a lot of taffeta gowns and dresses. And it pleases me to make something smashing to go with that gown

Update 24 March:
I still have not received the toile back from my little client, though I am informed 'it fit perfectly!' - what a testament to the modiste's art! I have her measuarements, made a sloper, et voila!