Just called to say...

Hawaii dress #1 is done.

There are definitely things I'd do differently next time, but trying to accommodate my bust *and* have cute sleeves in a kimono-cut sleeve like this is going to require darts or gathering or pleats or SOMETHING.  Also, I'd like a do-over on the neckline. And I'd grade the adorable hip drape slightly fuller at my size.

Cropped because it as like THE most face-unflattering photo evar.

STILL!  It is done. Not just wearable, but hemmed, because I'm planning on wearing this to the final "dance party" class in our Lindy Hop series tomorrow night. I probably won't get around to doing Victory Rolls, but hey.  At some point I will, and then I just need to find an appropriately tropical or tiki-themed place for a photo shoot.  (There is always Forbidden Island.... Right?)

Oh, and the Regency stays are gettin' there. I confused the hell out of my optometrist today in the waiting room. I may try to make the hawking pouch I have planned, though that'll have to be all hand stitching with glover's needles, bleh.  The important part is that I'm getting down to the bottom of the pile, and then comes...

The choice.  Which do I start on next?  I'm thinking 18th century stays.  Something nice and transitional, right before the Chemise de la Reigne, but something that I could dress down and wear a caraco and petticoat with. I should probably whip up a Regency gown or two. Oh, and I think I've got 10 yards of white cotton voile, so I'm debating... well, there's always the aforesaid nightgown, though this stuff was ostensibly bought for an 1860s sheer dress.  We'll see.

Slowly Digging Out

(Random note: I resolve to try to put at least one photo in each post from now on. Otherwise, nobody reads.)

I was at a women-in-tech conference today, and I brought along a bag of handsewing. At some point I had to describe what I was doing, and describe my workshop/sewing nook environment, and the most apropos thing I could think of was that I had physically DDOSsed (Distributed Denial of Service attacked) my workspace. It was literally flooded with unfinished projects.

So! Today, while also talking about The Imposter Syndrome, Digital Art and Philosophy, personal data crunching, and better women in tech mentorship, I also worked on putting buttons and buttonholes in the back of my bodiced Regency petticoat that I abandoned a few years ago, and on whipping down the edges of the red jersey 1930s butterfly wrap top. I then started basting down the edge binding on the Regency short stays (not the transitional ones, but the narrow-back short ones) and then ran out of the right kind of thread and realized I'd left the spool at home. So I finished basting on the scallop edge facings for my 1946 dress.

When I got home, I sewed the scallops and notched and trimmed them, then turned the facings and started the laborious process of finger pressing them before I actually iron them flat. I can kinda see now why this was such a short-lived fad.  Also, I realized that the sewing machine that I just gave to Laurie has a specific stitch *just* for doing this sort of edging on hems and lingerie.  Whoops!

Next up: finish the other stuff. Hem the English Fitted Gown and give it some sort of closure. Ponder trimming options. Finish the edges of the butterfly wrap top. Bind the Regency stays. Re-tuck the Regency petticoat. Finish the cycling skirt/trousers.

The good news is that leaves me with only a few projects left half-finished on the sewing table: The leather pouch I'd started working on for Kentwell, some similarly neglected Tudor apron kits, a half-finished bonnet I will probably never decide to work on again, and then a pile of repairs.

Then I just have to choose what comes next.

Clearing Out

(NB: I seem to be stuck on gerund headings. I blame work.)

I feel like I've cleaned out a lot of *stuff* this weekend. I took three boxes of books to the used bookstore (two came back with me, siiiiigh), took the remaining sewing ones and a bunch of old fabric to the GBACG Open House, and re-homed Cricket, the beautiful (and absolutely underutilized) Singer 319w that I got over at Thrift Center in Santa Cruz, years and years ago when it was a huge purchase.

Tinkerer's aside: It's amazing to me how much I've learned about sewing machines from taking them apart. Specifically, it's amazing to me how much more I could figure out while messing with Cricket in Laurie's workshop. Because I took apart Lethe down to the component level, I figured out the tension release on foot up thing, which means that I figured out what that asshole sewing machine tech super-glued in place when I took Cricket in for service.  Right. I can probably fix this now, I just need tools and time (and maybe some industrial solvents).

Now I get to play with the shiny Singer 201 and all the lovely attachments... Ooooo, ahhhh.

I submitted two classes for Costume College 2013, which means I've now committed to going. I'll be teaching a basic sewing machine troubleshooting and repair course, and then a workshop on making lacing strips. This is partly because they're bite-sized topics that I can talk about for at least an hour, and partly because I think they're super useful things to know about. Also, because the class offerings last year were seriously stale. I mean we're talking classes I took the first year I came to Costume College, being offered again.  Yipes.  Time to step up, I suppose.

I'm still undecided about which sewing project I want to tackle next. I'm at this sort of stuck point because I know that I need to make a bunch of various styles of corsets, but that I run out of motivation after the corset is done.  So I've been procrastinating by working on finishing other projects. The lining is finally whipped securely into my English fitted gown!  Next, I just need to hem it and guard it.  Oh, hahahah, guards.  Dangit. I never do end up budgeting time for trimmings.

Am I doing the Sew Forthnightly thing?  No, because I have a job. (And because I need to go to the gym. And otherwise get my temple in order. Sewing takes a back seat this year.) 

I *do* want to do a German gown, though if I can work from my Kentwell Tudor bodies pattern I should be able to jet through it pretty fast. I *do* want to do more Regency stuff, because, well, it's fast and pretty, and after having so many projects linger in slow death, it's a tremendous confidence booster to have something finished. And maybe once I have a Regency kit, I can do cute spencer jackets and a riding habit. Hmm, hmmm... I also want to do some 18th century stuff, because I love those jaunty little jackets with the pleated peplums, and I have a set of the Felicite curtains that I bought just because they were cute and cheap.  So we'll see where this goes - that's one set of stiffened bodies and two corsets before I can even start.

Oh, and this is not even counting the fact that I have changed alignment enough that I need a new Victorian corset to do Victorian things...

Too many places to go, nothing goading me to go any one direction!

CADD, or something else?

I spent part of today fulfilling a few promises to folks by posting about some of my favorite period books for Victorian reenactment. (There might be another post later if I dig up the ones on Renaissance stuff in the coming year.)  But then after much procrastination, I realized I needed to tackle the Dreaded Sewing Nook.

You see, it's been through a lot. The failed Titanic experiment, the Kentwell sprint, a huge pile of mending, then the 1940s dress, the partially-deconstructed cycling trousers, and a bunch of other stuff.  Technically, none of it is completed, right down to the fitted English gown that's been draped over my dressform since I got back from England. I even got *most* of the way done with my 1940s dress, and then stopped.  There are a bunch of unfinished partlets that are mostly even wearable. And a 1799/1801 transitional stay that I never finished. 

Why?  At some point I stopped feeling like I looked good in all of this stuff. (But that's a post for another day, and probably the other blog, in all reality.)  But honestly, while I'm making a resolution to become a content producer (unlike the previous year spent mostly in consumption-mode) I also need to get over myself and Just Get On With It.  No (wearable) project I've ever done has turned out exactly the way I wanted it on the first go-round, and whether that's poor fitting, or procrastination-related size change, or unexpected fabric complications, it's irrelevant. I just need to push through some of this, and get it done, and get it put away.

So tonight, I moved some things around, and took down the English gown, and started where I left off: stitching the black linen lining in.  Next up: hemming the sleeves, hemming the skirting.  Maybe putting on guards. Then figuring out a fastening.

And then I can move on.

Indecision 2013

No this is not an election post. Well, not really.  Not the US government at least.

At some point in the last year I caved in and stopped writing my To Do lists in various and assorted binders, notepads, sketchbooks, folders, and folios, and started a Google Doc of the projects I wanted to get done.

That doc is about three pages long now. Among the sewing things are such items as "Learn Google App Engine; make a taggable collection database" and "Tinsmithing". And such long-delayed things as "Medieval kirtle and gown" (circa Costume College 2011, when the bonus track was medieval) and "Fix striped bustle gown" (circa 2006?). 

I've also got some new projects to work on like making a German dress so I can go play with all the Deutschers on my list, like making additional Art Deco stuff because dangit it's so COMFY, and more Victorian stuff because, well, why not? There is so much to do, and I'm having trouble picking the first one to start on. 

This, dear readers, is where you come in: Leave a comment, help me choose what three items I should prioritize. Pick one from each list, or three from a single list, I don't care. :) Just help me narrow it down!

Non-sewing, but sewing-related things:

• Write an article on salvaging deteriorated patterns
• Scan Petersen’s Magazine
• Transcribe over The Ladies Wardrobe Unlock’d
• Take a pattern from the 1930s girdle
• Take a pattern from Edwardian bodice
• Shareable pattern/artifact database
• Document new old Singer machine (howto videos?)
• Scan 1946 California Stylist

Sewing things to finish:

• Finish English Gown
• Finish 1946 dress
• Rework striped bustle
• Make Transitional stays
• Rework Restoration Hardware polonaise 
• Finish Edwardian underwear
• Restart Edwardian outfit?

New stuff: 

• New 18th century stays (opens up all sorts of new possibilities)
• 16th century German T-front dress
• Felicite curtains dress
• 1820s corset with French holes
• Roller print 1830s dress (requires new corset, petticoat, drawers, sleeve plumpers?)
• Siren Suit
• Pink Drink Commando dress
• Medieval kirtle & gown
• Unspecified 1930s bias gown
• Beach Pyjamas
• Allegory of Fall bustle
• Velveteen riding habit (requires additional corsetry)
• New calico Victorian (pioneer/prarie dress)
• 19th century Caraco
• Goth Hawaiian dress
• Black and white border print 1950s dress 
• (1950s crinoline for above)
• Pre-quilted Victorian petticoat
• Rayon velvet 1930s dress
• Wool flannel petticoat
• Cotton flannel petticoat

A Perfect Example

The other day I was griping about nobody indexing the DIY pattern republishers. Today, I have a good example of why this would be a good thing.

Almost a week ago, I bought a pair of patterns from a seller on Etsy called Lyle Pattern Company.  The seller asked for the buyer's bust measurement, then promised quick delivery of a sized pattern. The images were pretty compelling, there was no shipping cost involved, and for $2 a pop, why not? 

Well, first two days go by without even an acknowledgement of the purchase. Then I send an email specifically restating my bust size, and asking when they'd be available. The seller promises to have them to me tomorrow.  Tomorrow rolls around, and still no patterns! I message the seller and ask what's up, they claim that they've sized the pattern up and are double checking and re-truing the pieces, and that they'd be in my email box... guess when? Tomorrow. 

Again, the deadline is missed, so I inquire further about what the seller's process is so I can better understand what's going on.  No response. Monday night I email them again to say "Hey what gives" and lo and behold, this morning, I have a pair of PDF files in my email inbox.  I don't open them at work because I'm on Windows over there and, well, viruses, duh.  But when I get home and look at them, it's pretty... well... awful.

The patterns from "Lyle White" and/or "Lyle Sewing Pattern" are actually a PDF taken from a PowerPoint slideshow as revealed by the file info. (The copy of PowerPoint is licensed to "Daniel" in case you're curious.) What makes this problematic is that there is NO. PATTERN.  What you do get is bits of a few pictures of the pattern envelope, cut up and put into this horrible PowerPoint theme of a frame.  Most of the identifying information has been removed, so I can't even find the pattern number or maker and actually buy or borrow a copy - it's been effectively anonymized and it actually kinda pisses me off a bit.

Sure, I could probably re-draft the pattern from the picture, but those pattern layout pictures are notorious for not having all of the proper markings, and being not-quite-to-scale particularly on the smaller pieces and facings.  At that point, couldn't I just find a copy of the pattern envelope somewhere, and work from that? What did I just pay $2 for?

So I opened a PayPal dispute, and it turns out that the seller has had multiple stores, and multiple email addresses, but they all point back to one Liliana Balan, formerly known as Boutique Vert and Vert Boutique, and she's got an Etsy shop right now called LylaPatterns (like Lyle, but not, eh?) selling crochet patterns.  Oh, and if that wasn't sketchy enough, she's Romanian. Yay. Because Romanian Scams are the new Nigerian Scam.

The Many Faces of Reproduction Patterns

The GBACG has become well known for their giant and fantastically useful Great Pattern Review, although it's updated less frequently now. Unfortunately, I'm finding that there's really no end at all to the number and variety of small-time pattern publishers out there.

Some of these folks literally bought a couple of antique books that are out of print, scanned them, and are selling the PDFs online. There's not really any DRM to speak of, except that most of it is pretty niche and not a lot of folks will be interested enough to pirate it. (I mean, really, I can't imagine these things on torrent sites at all.) Some of these are scans, some of them are tracings, some of them are PDFs of line drawings of tracings... barely any of them come in multiple sizes, some are copies of period drafting systems (complete with scanned drafting aids) and some of them are line art with period instructions for enlarging and transferring patterns.

Nobody is reviewing these!  It sucks!  Because there are a ton of great resources out there, and nobody is willing to take a chance when they don't know that they're getting a Big-3 style paper pattern with instructions.  Can we standardize this somehow?  Or at least develop some notation format that would give people an idea of what to expect? 

Maybe something like:
Pattern: Paper, Printable, Draftable.
Instructions: None, General, Step by Step, Complete with Pictures

Maybe I just need to put out a review template for homebrew patterns, and then start reviewing them? It's really frustrating to pay $8 for a digital pattern, then find that it's a scan of a rotary diagram for drafting, which requires rather a lot of setup before it'll do anything for me.

One of the things I'm doing when I restore old patterns is enlarging them to my size. This is literally the quick and dirty slash and spread method, where I figure out how much bigger my bust size is, take the pattern size, and enlarge the pieces by the difference in inches, divided by the number of seams, per seam.  I'm not doing any fancy grading, because apparently aside from my bust, I'm actually fairly normal sized.

And I would appreciate knowing, given the myriad people and myriad methods, what each seller is actually doing.