Is Home Sewing Collapsing? A bit of a rant...

 As if it wasn't bad enough that Hancock's fabrics collapsed in 2016, then Jo-Ann's  (who had previously gobbled up the Cloth World, World of Fabrics, and So-Fro Fabrics chains in the previous decades) failed under the ludicrous burden of the leveraged buyout back in 2010, in which the investors who purchased the company did not take on the debt themselves but pushed it onto JoAnn's -- something that, in my opinion. should be illegal; now the news comes that the conglomerate that owns ALL the major pattern companies...Vogue, Butterick, McCall's and Simplicity... has sold all assets to a liquidator. 

Oh, there are mail order options for patterns from independent companies...some of whom have quite good patterns...but the only sewing pattern tissue printer in the entire country is part of that liquidation and all of those indy folks who print patterns on tissue paper use that printing service.  Who knows what will happen to that equipment now.  And we do have online fabric vendors.  Michael's craft stores has supposedly purchased up a good bit of the Hancock's and JoAnn's IP and intends to expand their home sewing offerings but the whole situation seems ominous.  I don't know if I will ever be able to, in the midst of a project, run to a local store and pick up that thing I need to finish, be it thread, zippers or buttons.  

I have read a lot of the comments pertaining to these closures, many of which say something to the effect of 'Oh, (whatever company) just didn't keep up with the times, so the demise was inevitable.'

But that begs the question...why did (fabric stores, pattern companies) not keep up with the times?

Y'all, they were all done in by financial shenanigans.  One company bought out all (or almost all) the major competition, then itself was bought out by an investor group that cared only for profit and had no interest whatsoever in the  home sewing community.  The Big 4 were owned, and just sold by,  IG Design group, who is a leading manufacturer and distributor of stationery, crafts, party and gift products for goodness sake!  Home sewing enthusiasts got frustrated with the lack of quality and techniques offered by the blob organizations and began turning to independent pattern designers and online fabric sources.  Not to disparage those folks, some of whom have great service and products, but...had the local store resources retained their quality, the masses would not have turned to online vendors.  Home sewing is an intensely personal pursuit, and we ALL want quick access to items we can see and touch in person.  I know the main reason I buy sewing goods online is because I can't get them locally. 

Which sounds like a business opportunity...except the goods available to retailers have also been disappearing.  Almost all fabric is milled overseas now.  Remember when a visit to a local fabric store would have the choice of multiple color ways in various prints or designs?  That's been rare for a long, long time.  Home sewing offerings are now mostly manufacturing overruns, with patterned fabrics available in one choice of color scheme only.  

All of this makes it difficult for youngsters coming of age to pick up the sewing habit.  The resources just aren't there; not to mention the demise of home economics in the public schools.  Materials for theater groups/ costuming/ cosplay are also getting harder to find...and more expensive.  I used to costume entire church productions from the dollar table at the local Wal-Mart.  Now I hesitate to even call what shows up on the discount rack (just one small rack...not a piled high table) 'sewing fabric'.  It. Is. Dreck.  A biblical costume could be made for less than $15 twenty years ago; that same costume would be about $75 now.  That's hard on a shoestring budget.

I don't know what the answer is, but I do wish our financial institutions would not allow leveraged buyouts that enable investors to skim profits from a company and then dump the debt back into it. 

I think I will now go upstairs and sew something as my own personal protest, lol.

Odds and Ends sewing

 I stumbled across a serious Lands' End sale a few weeks back and decided to pick up a few things to fill in some gaps in my wardrobe...until I can get some sewing done.  Got a couple of shirts and a couple of pairs of black pants.

One of the shirts fit fine, the other, being a sleeveless shirt, had a bit of gaposis.  There's an unsewn dart in the armhole and it is quite unattractive when worn.

But, I have McGyvered a solution to this problem before, so I pulled out my textured nylon serger thread and a large - eyed needle to tackle the problem. 

I doubled the thread, then took a stitch about the middle of the front armhole, running the needle through the loop to make a knot-less secure stitch.

Then I run the needle through the bias binding

All the way to the side seam.

Once the thread is through, I do a slight mark w/ a soft pencil on the thread right where it exits the fabric, then tug it up a good inch past that point.  Take several stitches, then knot the thread off and bury the tail in the binding.

I put it on after I'd done the right side; you can see the gaping on the left.  The armhole looks a little puckery on the hanger but it's not noticeable when worn.

My Sweet Babboo needed some patches sewn on his Royal Ranger utility uniform.  This is all very specific as to what goes where and how it should be spaced.

I had some ancient Wonder Tape, which didn't stick really well to the plastic coated  backside of the patches, but it gripped enough that it didn't shift when I sewed the patches.  Some are embroidered; some are just velcro pile so the patches can be switched easily to reflect the most recent event/ achievement/ class/ etc.  I was able to sew on all the patches except the ones on the chest pockets...my machine just couldn't get into that tight space.  He'll hand sew those.

Finally, I hemmed one of the pairs of black jeans.  These are wide-legged, with a deep hem.  I turn the hem up so that the very narrow folded edge is exposed on the wrong side (the edge is just barely visible on the bottom layer), then just do a catch stitch between the new cuff and the pants.  

This works really well and makes the pants suitable for shorty me to wear with flat shoes, lol

I also got a bit of new fabric; I was just going to get some dusty olive linen for a pair of pants, using the credits I'd earned at Fabric-store.com.  I thought I could just redeem enough points to get the 2 yards of rustic fabric, but found that I could only use all of them at once.  So I ordered some of the midweight linen in the same color, some optic white midweight, and one of the cotton prints.  They are all currently in the wash for the pre-shrink but I do intend to sew those up fairly soon.  I hope, lol.  It was 8 yards of fabric for only about $36, after my credit, since it was actually over the minimum for free shipping.  So not gonna complain, lol.  

I need to make some time to get in the sewing room....

Finally a wardrobe addtion!

 Y'all.  The last actual garment I made for my own wardrobe was for LAST EASTER.  

This is not a good set of circumstances, lol.  

But Easter rolled around again, as it does, and this year is different.  The church choir is on an indefinite hiatus so...for the first time in 20 ish years I could wear anything my little heart desired for Easter Service.

So I went through my stashed patterns  and fabric and decided to make a blue linen tunic and pants.  The tunic is Vogue 9305, which has been in the stash since 2020.  I had five yards of Fabric-Store dotcom's  IL019 softened midweight linen, in 'Medieval Blue' that I thought would make up nicely as a tunic and pants and be very easy to accessorize...besides going well with the Start with a Scarf 2022  Wardrobe...I still have two more month's worth of designated items to add to that wardrobe, but I have also been favoring those colors in my fabric purchases, so I have things outside of the 12-month specifics that I am adding...such as this outfit.

There is a wide-leg pants pattern in the envelope with the tunic, but I already have a TNT wide-leg pull on pants pattern so I just used that one instead...an ancient New Look pattern that I've been using since 2003...with tweaks for, um, age-related metabolic decline, lol. (read:  I've added girth...)

Now, the Vogue pattern I had only went up to a size 14, and after doing some measurements and comparison I came to the conclusion that I probably needed about a 16, so there were some girth adjustments to be made, as well as petite adjustments since I'm only 5'4".

But this is an asymmetric pattern...which meant the adjustments were, um, rather tedious.

I traced off half of the top front above the lengthen/ shorten lines and made my adjustments for 1) petite armhole ( cut just below the armhole into the pattern for about 3", then cut up towards the shoulder , folded 3/4" out of the cut bit and filled in the gaps with tissue to shorten just the arm opening and not the whole bodice)  2) lowered the bust point  3) did a full bust adjustment  4) added 1" to the side seams, tapering into the underarm curve. 5) Lowered the neckline a bit so I could pull it over my head without a buttoned opening in the back.  I did leave the dart unsewn, so I had to curve the bottom edge up 3/4" at the seam allowance to compensate.

Here's the finished half pattern:

Once I made all those adjustments, I traced the adjusted half of the front onto folded tissue paper to  make a whole pattern for the top part of the tunic.  

And the whole adjusted top bit, with the half pattern on top:

Then I moved to the bottom part of the front:  I 1) folded out 1" in length in three different spots, to spread the length adjustment out some and 2) added 1" to the side seam.  Then I taped the lower part of the front onto the bodice, matching the length  adjustment lines  (Interesting note... I did not do any length adjustment at those lines; that's just what I used to connect the altered top part to the altered bottom part).  I also shortened the lower left side front piece by 3"...folding the length out at 3 different spots...and adding 1" to the side seam.

For the back,   I just traced the pattern and 1) petited the armhole  as I had done for the front  2) removed 3" in three places below the waist  3) added 1" to the side seam and 4) adjusted the neckline to match the front.

I also drafted front and back neckline facings because I didn't think I'd have enough fabric to make bias binding for the neckline.

All the pattern work was the hard part. Once I had it cut out, it was pretty simple to put together.   I did extend the seam between the upper and lower left fronts a bit,  and I hemmed the cap sleeves before sewing the underarm seam.

The linen sews like a dream and the alterations worked well.  It does look like I lost some of the flare from waist to hem when I compare the final photo to the line drawings, and to the photos in the reviews, so that was probably due to alteration error; I did have to make some minor adjustments to the sideseams when I joined the top and bottom pieces of the pattern, so if I make it again I will see about adding a bit of flare to the skirt portion.  But...maybe it's because I sewed that drape a little farther?  Ok. Next time I'll stop on the dot, lol.

But it was really comfortable to wear!  This photo is after two Sunday services yesterday, so I am a bit rumpled, but I will likely wear this a fair amount this summer.  I can wear it over leggings, or skinny blue jeans, or white pants of any leg width...lots of options.  Sunday I wore an oblong pink/ blue/ mint green/ white floral rayon scarf just draped around my neck, but a statement necklace would look good too.  I think I could actually pull the neckline in a bit on the sides and it would still be pull-over-the-head-able.

So nice to make something again.

A bit of Birthday Sewing....

 The saga of the Pirate Shirts continues.  See, my original plan was to make Pirate Shirts for all my kids-in-law for Christmas, but life got complicated (read: I got a nasty tummy bug) and lost all the time I had planned to sew in December.  It occurred to me, along with the fact that I could make those tea towels for Epiphany, that both my sons-in-law had birthdays early in the year; The Jokester in January and Prince Charming in February.  So I decided to make their pirate shirts for birthday presents and we did something else for them for Christmas.

I made the tea towels first, told the Jokester that 'shipping was delayed' for his birthday present as it was clear I wasn't going to have it ready to mail in time to get to him;  then started in on the shirts. It's the same pattern I used for The Dancer (Butterick 5008)  but both of them got Large shirts. I added a bit to the girth for Prince Charming but otherwise they were the same, made full length (I shorten it 4" for ladies...).  I used twill tape, stitched in half, for the ties instead of burning my fingers on ties made from the linen, just as I did for the shirts I made for Christmas.    I thought I had taken a photo of Prince Charming's shirt before I wrapped it for his birthday dinner, but if I did I inadvertently deleted it because it is nowhere to be found.  But I do have a pic of him opening it...The Little Prince was, of course, very interested.

Prince Charming noted that it would also be good to wear to the annual Renaissance Faire, and he's completely correct.  A good pirate shirt can be worn for a number of things.  However, I don't think he's put it on yet so I'm still hoping I guessed right on the alterations, lol.

I finished the Jokester's shirt a couple of days before we headed to Florida last week.  I did get a picture of that shirt...

His shirt was the same as Prince Charming's ...no ruffles.  He was quite pleased with it; tried it on after we left their apartment and reported that it 'fit perfectly!'.  He's in children's ministry so it will get used.

I think I'm going to do some sewing for me next; I need to get through some of the stash, lol.  I have acquired quite a bit of linen...and it's been so lovely to sew that I want to have something ready for spring, which surely can't be too much farther off...

RIP Claire Shaeffer

 I suppose most folks in the sewing community have heard that Claire Shaeffer, author, educator, pattern designer and source of much inspiration, passed away a couple of days ago.

That was just 5 days after she posted a you-tube video with plans for 2025.  I haven't heard cause, but it appears to have been something sudden.

I have several of Claire's patterns...haven't gotten brave enough to try any of them yet.  I have a couple of her books...she was a wealth of information.  The you-tube channel was a fairly new thing; she doesn't appear on it but does voice-over narration.  Or, at least that's been the case for the videos I have watched so far.

So we have lost another of the major influencers of home sewing enthusiasts...one who knew and taught the classic techniques.  I'm encouraged by the younger faces now appearing with instruction on social media...some have done much work and research and are well worth watching.  But we are losing some of the folks who sustained us during the years when home sewing was rather scorned.  Now the creative potential is beginning to revive, along with an interest in clothing as investment, which was a Thing of the Past for so long.  

I feel much gratitude for folks like Claire Shaeffer, Nancy Zieman, Cynthia Guffey, Clothilde, and others, who kept the education going when universal sewing instruction in home ec class slowly faded away.   I have I have learned much from these ladies over the years and my sewing is better for it.

Mayhap I should pull out one of Claire's Vogue patterns this year and challenge myself to learn from her some more....

A bit of...Epiphany? Sewing...

 I had the idea last summer to take advantage of a sale on some Christmas print tea towel kits at Fabric-Store.com.  At first, I was just going to use them for stocking stuffers, and maybe one or two others.  Then I thought of my co-workers...and decided I should make tea towels for them.

I ended up getting 10 kits...that's 20 towels...and it still really wasn't enough.  Stocking stuffers for my daughters/ daughters in law; a goodie for a sort-of secret (but not secret) sister, and the rest went to ladies that have worked with me in the data base in the past year.

The towels aren't difficult...you cut off the selvedge edge, then cut them apart on the  marked line, then hem them; much like the linen waffle towels I made in October.  I made, like, six back in the early fall, then got busy with other things.

I had planned to take my unused vacation/ personal leave (sick) time to work on them during December; then I ended up using my actual sick leave...being sick...and totally useless.  As we got closer and closer to Christmas and I still had the two pirate shirts and the crossback apron to do, it hit me that our first day back at work after the Christmas holiday was Epiphany.

So I was sewing during Christmas break and my co-workers got Epiphany presents, lol.

I thought I took some pics of the construction process when I did the first batch...but if I did, I have lost the photos.  You'll just have to look at the pics on the waffle towel construction...because it's the same.  I did miter ALL THE CORNERS on the tea towels.  (80 mitered corners).  That's lots of practice...but they were simple.  Both sides of the corner measured the same, and the fabric pressed beautifully and didn't fray badly.  It was just fiddly.

I had already given away five of the ones I had made earlier but the other fifteen are in this photo; multiples are stacked together:

  The only print that's not in the photo is the kitty print...I made two of those and they both went to my cat-loving daughters for Christmas.  The 12 days of Christmas print was the one I made the most from...I think I did six of those.

My only complaint is that the towels aren't perfectly square on the fabric.  Trying to get a straight edge yields something a bit crooked looking; after a few tries at that I gave up and just cut it according to the print. It didn't make the edges too off grain to press well.  The prints are lovely.

I will say that these are COTTON towels, not linen towels like I thought in the beginning.  Just so you know.

I've gotten some nice comments from the folks that got them!  Wish I'd had time to make more so I could have enough for everyone....

A bit of Christmas Sewing....

 I kept having to rethink the workload before Christmas, but I came up with something that filled the bill.  Now that we've had our family Christmas (Friday last week) I can share a bit of what was happening in the sewing room, lol.

The princess had asked me to make her an apron off of my old Simplicity 7481 Daisy Kingdom pattern (you know it's old if the design is listed as 'Daisy Kingdom,' lol)

I had intended to give it to her for her birthday on Dec. 17, along with a couple of pie plates, since she didn't have any.  But she went and bought some pie plates for herself, so that nixed that.  I found something else for her birthday, and that gave me a whole 10 more days to sew up the apron.   The fabric was Disney Cats...I ordered it online like a year ago, and I forgot who I got it from.    

I don't do the binding the way the pattern specifies....the instructions are to 1) cut bias strips 2 1/4" wide, seam them together end to end,  then 2) press 1/4" under along each long edge, then...and this is unbelievable to me...3) press the resulting strip ALMOST in half, allowing one side to be slightly wider than the other and 4) encase the raw edge with the bias, having the narrower side on the right side, and topstitch it down all the way around.

It sounds good in theory, but in reality will lead to ripples,  scorched fingers, uneven binding (who can consistently press a narrow strip slightly off center?  For about 5 yards? LOL) and high blood pressure.  What I did instead:

I cut the strips 2 3/8" wide,  seamed them together and did a quick check to make sure I'd cut enough...I didn't, needed another strip...pressed the seams open, and then pinned the binding to the wrong side of the apron, folded in half lengthwise but NOT PRESSED, all the raw edges lined up.  I turned the end I started with  towards the inside of the binding, and then overlapped the ends a couple of inches w/o turning under the other end.   Once it was flipped to the right side, the raw edge was under the folded edge.

NOT PRESSED is key,  because that lets the binding adjust for the turn of the cloth.  Took forever to pin it all around the giant mobius strip that is the seamed together apron, but once it was done I sewed around w/ a scant 1/4" seam allowance, then wrapped the  folded edge around to the right side (still not pressing that folded edge, although I did press the seamline a bit, carefully),  pinned it down and then edgestitched the fold all the way around.  Not technically difficult, but...yeah, I spent half the total construction time on the binding, lol.  

She liked it.

The daughters-in-law got ...pirate shirts!  LOL.  Both their hubbies have pirate costumes that they wear from time to time (you should see the getup the Artist wears to the Magic Kingdom Halloween Party...) so I thought I would make sure the ladies could match their hubbies.  I had some bleached linen from Fabric-Store.com (they have such nice linen...) that made up beautifully.

I had to use patterns in different size ranges, because The Little Red-Haired Girl (married to the Actor) is TINY.  I used Simplicity 3644, which is a kid's costume pattern, in a size 14.  I added 3" to the length, with side slits to allow for curves kids don't have, lol.  I changed up the sleeves; the pattern specified elastic  in a casing at the wrist, but I wanted something a little more...true to the era?...than elastic.  I happened to have a goodly supply of twill tape, so I put the casing on the OUTSIDE of the sleeve, stopping just short of the seams, and put the twill tape (1/2" tape, folded in have and stitched down) through the casing so it could tie. 

Or so I thought.  After I got the sleeves gathered, trimmed and serged, I realized I had put one of them on inside out.  What I get for sewing late and hurried, lol.  But instead of taking the sleeve off, I opened the sleeve seam, unpicked the hem and the casing, then turned the hem the other way and put the casing on what was now the outside of the sleeve.  The same 'no difference in right/wrong side' that led me astray was the saving grace on that one, lol.

I also added twill tape to the neckline before I added the facing, so she has the option of tying it closed if she wants. 

 I didn't alter the neckline depth, but she said it was a wee bit snug going over her head.  Aside from that small nuisance, it fit well. 

The second shirt was made for The Dancer, the wife of The Artist.  For that one, I used Butterick 5008, a pattern that I've used before for both The Actor and The Flute Player but apparently never reviewed.   I did the same twill tape trick instead of making ties from the linen; it's not an absolute match but I am pretty sure the twill tape is as correct as a machine sewn shirt would be, lol.  

It's shortened 4" from the pattern...that is a crazy long shirt.

 

She sent me a selfie of her in the shirt...but she has an iPhone and my windows / android devices can't do anything but look at the original.  But she was delighted and said it 'fits perfect!'

I finished that shirt at 11:50 on Christmas night, lol.  It was a good thing we were opening presents on the 27th.  Had a whole day to wrap things.