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Category: mending and alterations

Studio Time Two

I spent most of Saturday, and in fact a significant part of the weekend, in the studio.

My time was spent in a mix of making, mending, cataloging, and contemplating; all in all this is not at all a bad mix.

Initially, I was there to make baptismal banners. We had three baptisms this past Sunday. I took over this ministry from someone else. The work is not difficult, but it is a bit meticulous. Apparently there was also a bit of a learning curve, but there have been quite a few baptisms lately and therefore my focus has become more consistent. As you can see the positioning of doves has migrated over time. But the picture is here for another reason, not to critique my placement.

Much of the contemplative part of my weekend revolved around the fact that I am running low on inherited supplies, and have learned that the previous supplier has closed her business. Initially I was researching suppliers, and the world seems filled with people who have begun crafty businesses, including those who supply precut felt designs.

Eventually however my focus shifted as the realization sunk in that I could explore the options of creating my own symbols, letters, and figures. After all, the same technology and equipment that has enabled others is available to me. It is not like I have not contemplated this before. Making my own supplies will also allow me greater flexibility in banner making, especially with the ability to accommodate longer and more complex names in the spacing of the banners. I am still in contemplation mode on this issue, however, as I know full well that I am inclined to jump headlong into any new idea, and then never really master the follow-through. There is ample evidence of many previous half-baked plans in my studio. It is quite possible that I am getting ahead of myself; quite possible that I need to slow down and think this through. On the other hand, felt letters and figures are simpler than many of the ideas that have been running around my brain for quite some time now, and felt-cutting might well be a good beginning project to see if I actually want to tackle the learning curve necessary to work out those fantasy ideas. I do not need new supplies immediately. I do need to stop dreaming and start exploring process. I am intrigued about the many ways an upset in one routine can open the horizon to exciting new possibilities.

But banner making did not occupy the majority of my weekend.

There was mending. A coat needed new buttons. George gave me this coat for my 40th birthday. Since I am now 63, I cannot reasonably complain about buttons that have come loose, or even feel too badly about having lost one of the original buttons, therefore needing to replace the lot. But buttons are necessary if I plan to wear the coat. I am happy with the result.

And the gold thread on one of the clergy stoles was fraying with wild threads sticking out in several places. I neglected to take a before photo. I managed to anchor most of the loose threads, and I had to replace one thread with a bit of what is actually a nicer quality thread than the original, but I am not convinced you can tell the difference in the above photo. This is only a temporary fix as this trim is fraying at multiple points, and will serve only to get through this Advent season.

Luckily this particular rayon galloon is frequently used and is available for purchase at a quite reasonable price, especially given the cost of replacing liturgical vestments. A bit of spiffing up will therefore occur in the new year.

But a good part of the weekend was spent in simply photographing and cataloging. At the moment I am still working through the fabric that is already on the shelves; once that is catalogued, I can unpack more, and also start organizing and cataloging the yarn stash. These are all good things because not knowing what I have, or not knowing where to find the proper supplies only leads to more, and often unnecessary, acquisition and chaos.

December 13, 2021
Why I won’t take in alterations.

photo courtesy of fontplaydotcom.

People who don't sew think nothing of asking if I will alter this or that for them. I've had strangers at home depot ask if I will alter their jeans. I always say no.
This really isn't that unusual; it happens to most of my sewing friends, and most of us decline, with exceptions for family and the like.

My issue with alterations is only partly that the people who ask usually have no appreciation for the skill or work involved, although that is an issue not to be taken lightly. I am stubborn. I enjoy sewing partly because I am creating something functional out of something flat, in which case probably any sewing would suffice, but also because I like to be in control of what I create. When I am sewing something, even if it is just an alteration, I want it to fit my vision, and I am a very grumpy craftswoman when my vision does not match that of the person who requested the alteration. It has nothing to do with the ease or difficulty of the work to be done. Sewing is my hobby, and although I may chose to alter my own garments to fit my own vision of how I want them to look on me, I reserve the right not to provide this service to others. It is a completely selfish stance and I stand by it.

Most of the time.

I just shortened a bunch of pants for G and the actually cutting and hemming went very quickly and easily. It was a fast easy job and the results made G immensely happy, which is more than enough reward. But I did not go into it all smiling and happy-like.

We agreed on two points.

His pants are too long. They weren't always too long, but apparently as one loses stature with age one does not lose it entirely through the torso, although it could be just be his increasingly stooped posture that causes the pants to drag on the floor.

He was willing to take them to the dry-cleaners to be shortened, but we both agreed that he would have to wait too long. Since these are not fancy pants (they were machine hemmed to begin with), I agreed that it would be easier if I shortened them for him, in which case he would be able to wear them the same day and would stop tripping over his pants legs and falling down.

But we disagreed on two points also:

First I was in my selfish mode and I wanted to finish my skirt first. I figured that waiting a day or two for the pants was still better than waiting a week for the dry cleaner.

The second issue was sartorial. I thought G wanted to hem his pants too short and I didn't like it. I thought I didn't particularly have issues with how other people chose to dress even if I wouldn't chose their style for myself. But apparently I do have issues about how my husband choses to dress. He wanted his pants to be hemmed at the ankle, the shorter the better, and I frankly wanted them a little longer, not long, but long enough to cover the ankle bone.

In the end I relented on both topics. If I feel I spend all my taking care of him and the house, that is my issue, not his, and it is not something over which he can exercise any control. And, of course, they are his pants, and what is of paramount importance is that he be happy with them, comfortable in them, and that they do not cause him to fall. So I made them shorter. Not surprisingly it was no harder to sew them short than long.

That doesn't mean I will start sewing for everyone else. Family, friends and neighbors need not bother asking.

June 28, 2010
Trial by microfiber

I finished the alteration on the microfiber athletic pants G got for Christmas Wednesday.

Yeah it was a bit late, and I admit that I was pretty good about finding excuses to avoid the task because it was something I really was not looking forward to. Alterations are not all that much fun anyway and this ended up being far more fiddly and painstaking than I had originally hoped.

There were two issues:

The pants were to long and the waistband was too snug.

I tackled the waistband first. The pants were constructed with a front zippered fly with a button closure and a sewn on waistband with elastic that was stitched in place.

I originally thought I could just open up the inside of the waistband seam, take out the elastic and put in a slightly bigger piece of elastic. It was still a fair amount of work because the elastic was stitched in place.

But the thin tight microfiber and the tiny black stitches were difficult to remove. It took me several days to do this because my eyes would just get so tired, and it was difficult to do without cutting or tearing the fabric. The stitches were well locked in place, I could not cut a stitch and rip, but rather had to cut each and every stitch. Bummer.

Once I had the waistband apart I quickly realized that, although there was more than enough room in the pants themselves, the waistband was going to be too small and I needed extra length. Luckily I also had to shorten the pants enough that I would have extra fabric to use for the waistband. The original waistband was in one piece from front tab to front tab and the only way I could see to get a relatively unnoticeable seam would be to put a seam at one side seam and insert a new piece in one half of the side seam to the front tab. I was quite fortunate that the width of the pant leg accommodated that fix.

This meant that I had to spend quite a few more hours detaching the waist band completely from the pants. After this was accomplished I cut the original waistband a bit, attached the new piece from the leg, placing the new seam at the right side seam and then reattached the waist to the pants with new elastic.

It sounds simple enough but I found working with this fabric difficult. It seems that my sewing skills really are a bit rusty. And I was really hoping to ease my way slowly back into sewing.

In the end I think I did it quite well and am in fact rather tickled with myself. Looking at the front of the pants, I don't think you can tell that the waistband has been removed and reattached, nor do I think the seam at the right side is really noticeable. And I am really thrilled beyond belief at how evenly I managed to do the final top stitching at the edge where the waistband meets the pants. It is such a simple thing for me to be so excited, but I am usually far too impatient with this and even if the outside looks even, the inside edge of the waistband wobbles all over the place.

As a reward to myself, last night I stitched up a little scarf from a small piece of burnout velvet that has been sitting in my stash for I don't know how many years. Pathetic isn't it that something that took only about 10 minutes of sewing would wait for years? No excuse to let that happen again. If I can fix those pants that nicely I think it is about time I let myself sew for myself again.

February 13, 2009
Still working

Here I am looking tired, still setting up the new computer and running the old computer on the cutting table. It is taking longer than I had hoped, not that I should be surprised at this point in my life, although the task is not so much difficult as time consuming, especially as I want to sort through stuff as I transfer. Computers, like houses tend to fill with stuff.

The old computer keeps shutting down on me, one of the frustrating issues that prompted me to get a new computer in the first place, and that prolongs the process. Today also we have had several thunderstorms and about 3 inches of rain. It hasn’t broken the heat any but the power has flickered on and off and I have lost the internet connection a couple of times.

Linking directly to the old computer was becoming too problematic so I am transferring the data from an internet back-up but the last batch of data hasn’t arrived. I don’t remember if I actually sent it, or just got everything lined up and meant to click send but didn’t either due to an interruption or absent-mindedness. It is also possible that I accidently clicked on the restore to CD option rather than the “restore to download” option. Silly me. I also did not think to order a copy of Adobe photoshop until after I set up the computer so I am waiting for that as well, but things are progressing. Of course some data requires manual conversion from PC to Mac format as well. Actually I am enjoying this enough that I wonder why I didn’t do it sooner. Of course, for a long time Apple was pretty much a dirty word in this community which revolved around IBM.

I haven’t spent all my spare time at the computer. I did shorten three new pairs of pants for DH and it was so nice to just sit in a chair and lose myself in the rhythm of the hand stitches. Even though I might prefer to make something new for myself, I can really enjoy just sitting down and listening to a piece of music and hemming. Frankly it made me happy to see that my newly serged edges and hand hems looked much better than the original ones that came on the pants — not that it is at all important, or that anyone will ever know but me.

Since I am also interruptible when hemming, I was able to get all three pieces done, whereas I don’t think I would have had such a long stretch of time in the sewing room. Don’t think that means I am going to get better at doing the mending though: there is still a huge stack, and I would rather just make new, unless it is a favorite garment.

I’ve been thinking about clothes and summer shoes, and not just because Materfamilias happened to post about sandals today. I have been thinking about the occasional post about shoes or what I am wearing or just what I am thinking about clothes and style as that also all channels into what I sew (and knit) as well. I find that I am have been getting more and more interested in clothes again, perhaps partly because I am either more confident (ha!) or just more willing to experiment with what I like with less concern about what other people think about my choices. I have been collecting more and more inspiration photos, and in doing so, and looking at clothing websites, I am also realizing that I am just not interested in making all my own clothes. I will still shop. People do things that I would never think of, and if I can find something that I like and looks good on me and fits (a lot of ifs, I know) I have no problem buying. And of course shoes are easy, because I am not going to make them anyway.

So today, even though I was home all day, I am just the kind of person who has to feel a little pulled together and ready to answer the door when FedEx comes or I need to run out to the Post Office. But since it was a casual day, I am just wearing a white tee and periwinkle cotton knit pants.

I actually made these pants in 2005 and this is an old photo. I don’t have Photoshop up on the computer and can’t figure out how to crop out the part of the picture I don’t want, and things are too piled up to get a decent new picture, so this will just have to do. They have held up really well, look practically like new, except for perhaps a little fraying at the bottom of the hem. So I guess it does pay to buy or make clothes out of good quality fabrics. Even though these are cotton kni they don’t sag or bag and look just as nice as they did in that photo.

But of course, I had on accessories as well. The scarf is one of the first scarves I ever bought myself. I picked it up at a craft fair soon after I graduated from college. The silk is rather light and delicate and it has been hand painted, The colors seem perfect for so many summer things, and the weight is just right for the warm weather, so it remains a favorite. I actually don’t wear it all that often anymore, but when it do wear it, nothing else seems to quite work as well.

And yes there were shoes. I wore one of my current favorite pairs of casual, flat sandals. I bought these last summer from Thierry Rabotin.

I actually had qualms about white sandals. I hadn’t owned a pair for several years. But DH thought the shoes were very graceful, and they are. Since they are also very comfortable and go with so much, I am glad that he encouraged me to buy them. As you can see, they have had their share of wear.

July 10, 2008
Confessions of a sloppy seamstress

I have a confession to make: the stitches on the patch of my DH’s red check shirt are not
perfect. In fact they are not even all
that attractive.

Oh, the shirt is fine. The patch and the stitching is invisible from the outside, but the
inside is a mess. I expect the patch to
visible, but I had hoped the stitching would be lovingly perfect. Alas this is not so. Oh there are no knots or dangling thread
tangles, just uneven imperfect stitches. I should redo it, but I will not. I seriously doubt that anyone will pull my DH’s shirt off him and say
“oh you poor man, your wife can’t even mend your shirts nicely”. I don’t really think anyone will see the
inside of DH’s shirt except himself and his laundress (me) and the sloppy work
will remind me about how upset I was that night.

I was upset because it was late, after 11 and DH was not yet
home from the office. In fact I had spoken to him and he said he had much work
still to do. Now, I don’t mind hard
work and late hours, ghee, if I did I would never have married a surgeon. When DH was in active practice, I had little
patience with other doctor’s wives who complained that their husbands were gone
all the time and they had to do everything themselves. I always figured I knew what I was getting
into. Besides I have always been a pretty independent sort, and I know
perfectly well that when I’ve worked a 14 hour or longer day, I don’t feel
inspired to help out around the house either.

But now that he is “retired” and working at his retirement
career, I hate for him to work that hard…it’s one thing when you are young and
ambitious and driven, and another completely when you are in your 70’s no
matter how fit and strong you are. I
still don’t mind him working if he loves it. But so far this year he hasn’t left the office before 9 PM any night, and when he comes home he
dreads having to go back. I am
increasingly thinking it is time for retirement. I want DH to enjoy his life.

I wasn’t upset at DH, I was more worried and concerned about
him. I was annoyed at all the other
peopled involved, the staff who book him so heavily, the clients who keep
plaguing him with increasingly niggling and pedantic demands that are, for the
most part, repetitive nonsense.

He finally called at 12:15 AM. I made dinner while the poor thing drove
home. He was not happy to go back to
work on Friday, even thought it was only for a couple of hours. After the late night, between work, and gym,
and grocery shopping, there was no sewing yesterday. Can we make it better? Is it worth it? Only time will tell.

January 14, 2006