We all need to get "Schooled" once in a while...

I hope that I'm never too old learn.  I'm 70, and even though I got my BA when I was 47, I still have daydreams about going back to school. God knows, it would be a challenge the way my brain is working these days. I've been sewing for 60 some years and you would think that I know just about all there is to know about sewing, designing and making wardrobes. You would be wrong.

Today I saw the cutest top on Instagram made by a gifted designer and I was immediately smitten.  It was made using a technique that many sewists have employed - patchwork. You take all your scraps and sew them together and make a unique design.  Over the years I've seen jackets, tops and dresses using this particular technique...always thought that my Ikat scraps would make a cool garment. And it's Sunday and I have nothing else better to do.

So in my haste to let inspiration run away with me, I asked if I might "copy" it - the designer (thinking that I was smarter than I am) said yes. And so off I ran. However, somewhere in the midst of posting a picture of what I intended to do, we both realized that my drawing looked very similar to the design I saw. I was never intending to copy the exact piece, but it was a little too close for comfort for both of us.

Dang. Lesson learned.  Read the IG background profile, Laurel.  If I had done this FIRST, I would have realized that the sewist was actually a designer and sold the garments under their own label...thus, I probably never would have even asked, or at least made it clear I had no intention to copy it exactly. The "yes" was a qualified yes - be inspired by all means but please don't actually copy. As sewists, we imitate other designs and ready-to-wear all the time.  We buy the same patterns, the same fabrics and try to make them uniquely "ours". A case in point, Chanel is very protective of their jacket stylings, but we all copy them, and call them "Little French Jackets".

It's a lot different for fledgling businesses, as I am well aware. The designer was very kind in the "schooling" process, but I felt horrible. (At least I DID ask, so I thought I was cool.) I used to make one-of-a-kind jewelry, and when Charming Charlie came to town, they were making "my stuff" as far as I was concerned, albeit cheaper, and my little cottage industry closed shop. They were not copying my designs, as they didn't know me from a hole in the ground, but I was pretty sure my customers would think I was copying them.

Hence, to complete my Sunday project, I was sent back to the drawing table post haste, confident that my garment would not resemble the designer's...just perhaps capture the spirit of the patchwork/piecing idea. I chose a pattern that I have used twice before - The Sointu Kimono Tee by Named Clothing.

Oh, and yes, sewists do pattern hacks all the time...I changed the neckline to a "boat neck".

 When I say "hack", I mean it.  I chopped my pattern into little squares and strips. 

I picked fabrics out of my scrap stash.  I even used a fabric that was already cut out in a skirt pattern.  The polka dots were never going to be cute as a skirt - what was I thinking?

So even after the pattern hacking, my design changed several times (more hacking my own design) 

as I switched around the fabrics.

By the time I finished, my sewing studio looked like a cyclone touched down.  Did I mention that I still love my new wood floors - perfect for cutting.

In the end, it was a great project for the holiday today.  I think it says me.  It actually reminds me of a dress that I made back in the 80's using this piecing technique.  I wish I had a photo of it, as I loved wearing it.

Put a turtleneck under this puppy and some leggings and call it a day.

Now all that remains is to clean up the mess.

Laurel. Considering myself Schooled.

Graduate Scarves

I have written about making graduation scarves (Scarves of Pride ) for the graduates of Women's Empowerment ("WE") 8 week job readiness training.  WE holds about 4 to 5 sessions a year, and I've been making their scarves for maybe two years. It's just another way to use my sewing talents for good.

This March graduating class will the the first class to hold their ceremony in the B Street Theater in downtown Sacramento.  It's a great venue for such an auspicious occasion, so I thought I might make something special this time.  The graduates always choose their colors, and this class chose Gold and Burgundy. I immediately thought of the USC Trojans and decided perhaps a touch of femininity might be in order, lest we look like football fans.

Serging the edges of this Poly charmeuse is the easy part...I used a beautiful shiny gold thread and set my Imagine on a narrow rolled hem setting.

The fabric is not as drapey as a silk (way too expensive), so I thought I might pleat it, so that it would lay flat around the neck. A hand made flower in burgundy fabrics will be attached.

I've made "silk" flowers before and they are not that hard, just time consuming.  All you need is several sized squares and a candle. Using Polyester fabric is important as it melts. Silk would catch fire and burn.

Watch your fingers!!

I chose gold beads (6) to hold the layers (4) together.

They are sewn on to the pleated scarf, about 18 inched from the bottom of one side.

Finished!

I hope the graduates feel special. It's always a pleasure to attend the ceremony, even if it is a three-hankie event.  Their stories are incredible and their accomplishment is profound. 

I love being a part of this awesome organization. 

Read all about it on the web at http://www.womens-empowerment.org/

Laurel.  Giving Back.

The Curse

I've always wondered why such a natural process might be called a "curse". I'm referring to a woman's menses, her period. It's been given many pejorative names over the years - "ride the cotton pony", "on the rag", "leak week", and the less innocuous "my monthly friend" and "that time of the month". 

In fact, I'm kind of thinking that men have coined most of the subhuman phrases to basically devalue an albeit inconvenient but vital process for procreating humanity into perpetuity. Right down to the Donald's off color, ill-conceived and some what subliminal referral to what seemed like Ms. Kelly's period during a presidential debate, men (and women too!) have have blasted, sneered at, made fun of and grumbled over a woman's menstrual cycle through out history.  And here in our Western civilization especially, we women have largely ignored the jokes and ridicule partly because we have the "luxury" of handling our bodies conveniently and without great notice... and of course, with the help of a ceaseless array of products, pills, sprays and whatever else we might need. We breeze through our cycles and never miss a beat in our busy lives - we can "even ride bicycles and swim!" and we teach our daughters to do the same.  We don't even know the meaning of a curse.

Such is not the case in third world countries. Njeri was born in Kenya and came to the U.S. to further her education.  She is a mother, grandmother and on-fire Christian today and an active advocate for changing the lives of young girls in Africa through one means: sustainable, reusable sanitary pads.  She knows first hand the "power of the pad" because she was there.  She lived the nightmare growing up.

There are no menstrual products in most remote regions of the world.  Even if we do-gooders shipped cases of Always and Kotex products to Africa, they have no organized means of disposing them, let alone toilets to flush them (even though we know you're not supposed to do that!).  Young girls, from the first days of their period are taught how to handle their cycle but the only means available - grass, leaves, sticks, feathers, rocks and if they're lucky, mattress stuffing - anything to stay in school.  They are shunned and shamed by boys, so as a result they stay home and miss up to eight months of schooling over a three year period. Some girls have sat in a pile of dirt for those days if they have nothing to use, adding to their shame.  If they are really lucky, they have a make-shift barrier made from harsh animal skin strapped to their legs, while they stand to take tests at school. But even worse, many are forced into prostitution by men at the tender age of 11 or 12, trading sex for pads. We can't even imagine such a deplorable scenarios.

Listening to Njeri this past weekend talk about her organization's efforts to supple reusable, sustainable hygiene kits for girls in Kenya and other African countries was a real life reminder of why our sew fests have incorporated the Days for Girls ministry. Yards and yards of cotton and flannel are cut, stitched and serged into pads for girls.  A kit can last a young girl up to three years - that's three full years of education reclaimed.  These kits, as Njeri attests, can change a girls destiny.  She no longer has to skip school, she is no longer susceptible to becoming fodder for the human trafficking machine and her risk of contracting HIV is significantly lessened. She maximizes her dignity and value as a woman, increases her chances of becoming a contributing member of her community through education.

It rocked my soul to listen to Njeri.  Her words of encouragement to the sew fest ladies were moving. We ARE changing the life of a young girl somewhere on the other side of the world.  Just like our little dresses, these hygiene kits are a small sacrifice of time in order to give a girl dignity and a fighting chance for a better life. Who knew such a life could be impacted by such a small thing?

To learn more about Njeri's non-profit organization, go to Upendo Women's Foundation, which she founded. Njeri uses kits similar to those we make through our Days for Girls. Come to a Bayside sew fest and help make these life-changing kits yourself.

Laurel.  The Power of the Pad.

Just for Me...

I've been lost in the beauty of summer mornings and evenings lately, spending quiet time reflecting on my renewed efforts to live more in the moment. It's so easy for me to focus on "have to's", worries and struggles instead of doing things that bring me joy and peace.

This month marks the third anniversary of my collaboration with Suzan (aka FabricLady) and Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics.  Zan and I have a date on the books for later this month, but today I just felt like taking the drive to Berkeley to hang out at the shop - you know, living in the moment!  Normally it's quite a frenetic bustle on our scheduled "Fit and Fun" days - I bring completed garments, we have fitting and photo sessions, we peruse the new fabrics and patterns, have lunch and I somewhere in between, I usually have a little time to shop for fabrics to add to my stash. It's fun and exciting and hectic all at the same time.

But today, I just wanted to leisurely stroll the aisles, to see what might jump out at me.  I also spent some time talking with Tilden Yamamoto, an Oakland designer who was doing a sewing demo in a sunny window of the shop. It was cool to watch another sewist/designer's "process".

Zan's young and hip buyers at Stonemountain are bringing in the most unique fabrics these days- shelves of double gauze that had me drooling...ikats by the dozens all begging me "pick me!" I must have been thinking about the beauty of nature, as everything that caught my eye today was green.

And that's what I came home with....they are like little works of art.

Yummy double gauze - a Scout tee? And a summer dress?

 I need a little shift to wear by the pool...Love this ikat!!  

Think I'll use the batik to create a facing around the neck and armholes.

And let's pick up a couple of Indie patterns...

Love View B...probably use that double gauze tiny print above

It was a wonderful few hours in Bay...right up until the traffic on the way home.  Oh well...a day at Stonemountain with Zan and the staff is worth a couple of hours of frantic Friday drivers.

Can't wait to dive into these projects!!

Laurel. Are you "Green with envy"?

Sew busy....

My blog writing has suffered these past couple of months. It's times like this that I begin to question my propensity toward over-commitment....too many balls in the air? The problem is that I love everything I'm doing. We over-achievers are like that, thinking we can do it all, have it all.

Can we?  You tell me.

"Celeste" - The Jacket, Part 2

I remember when I used to make a wedding gown, I would ponder for days, even weeks, before I would actually cut a thread of an expensive satin or lace.  I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the pattern, the order of assembly, a particular technique that I would need to use. Hours of planning, mentally obsessing about the gown...and then one day I would just jump in and start cutting.

Making a couture jacket has been no different for me. It has been hard to get it out of my head these past two months, and yet I had not moved forward to take the first steps. Fear? Not really. It's just that the techniques for Claire Schaeffer's Chanel-styled jacket are polar opposite to the way that I have learned to sew. Daunting is perhaps a better word.

In every couture garment process the making of a muslin is absolutely essential.  And since I have made many a muslin for myself and FabricLady, it was a breeze to use the pattern in a traditional way. And so began "Celeste" - made of humble muslin fabric, all to check the pattern for fit, BEFORE I actually cut in her wool.

I cut the pattern pieces exactly as they were designed for my "size". Patterns have changed over the years...I used to be a perfect 12, but these days, I need a Vogue 16 to fit my busty size. I then sewed it together in the traditional manner: princess seams, side and shoulder seams, then sleeves.

The jacket was still a little small around the bust.  I discovered that the side panel under the sleeve was designed to be smaller than I would have normally done - the seams on the three-piece sleeves should match the seams on the jacket under the arm, and they didn't. So to alter the jacket around the bust line, I just made the side panel wider to match the sleeve seams.  Voila! It fit!

I dismantled the whole muslin thinking I would use it for my final pattern pieces and there it sat for several weeks. I again lay awake nights trying to figure out how I was going to transfer all those markings to my fabrics.  Muslin is not transparent (duh!). After some research on various marking techniques, I decided on tracing paper - it's a little more sturdy than pattern tissue. So finally, after weeks of brain drain I was ready to begin Celeste.

The tracing paper pattern pieces have all the 5/8" seam allowances removed, as described in Ms. Schaeffer's technique. (Don't forget that you have to get her book if you want to sew your jacket using her couture techniques, as the Vogue Pattern instructions describe the traditional assembly process.)

And something else I'm not used to doing when I start a garment - cutting ONE section at a time, rather than cutting out ALL the pieces, all the linings and interfacing in one sitting.  I started with the jackets fronts...just because Ms. S. does so in her book.

I cut my large rectangles of wool and silk organza and then settled into a make shift table top in my comfy easy chair by the window, where I had envisioned myself doing all that intricate hand sewing. I used a couple of different colors of thread to do my markings. (I eventually scrapped the recommended white thread as I could barely see it.)

After thread marking of the entire parameter of the jacket front, I marked and hand stitched the organza interfacing to the wool and basted the quilting lines. I then machine sewed the quilting line, using a 4mm running stitch. (Remember that I had checked out the quilting lines in the real Chanel RTW jackets in the Nieman's Chanel salon and found they were done with a machine, rather than hand stitched) So I guess Celeste won't be considered "Haute Couture", as her fabric has been touched with a machine presser foot and needle.  Oh well.

The final quilting line is hard to see, but that's the point.  It's just meant to help the jacket hold it's shape better and keep the fabric from pulling away from the lining - not be a design element.

I spent a little over four hours on Celeste yesterday, largely because I thread traced on side of the jacket in the same direction as the other side - whoopsie - the two fronts should be a mirror image! At any rate, it was great to actually get in there and start sewing.  I'll be finishing the two fronts, marking the button holes, adding some stay tape, and maybe even starting the hand sewn buttonholes.

Until then.

Laurel. Just do it.

The Ultimate Sewing Pinnacle - Chanel

At some point in a sewist's life of creativity, a deep yearning for a couture garment arises.  Whether she acts upon that urge to create a sewn masterpiece or talks herself down from the whole scary proposition is directly proportional to the no-fear, self-confidence and inner crazy inside her.

I have sewn many a wedding gown and tailored a few coats in my lifetime, but I can't say that I've truly made a garment worthy of being called couture.  I joined the American Sewing Guild several months ago, largely because they had a small neighborhood group designated as the "Couture Group".  I imagined that at the very least it would be a group a women who probably sewed as well as myself and at best, I would be able to pick the brains of some incredible sewists better than myself.  Either way, I would be inspired to create!

So began this journey into couture sewing and the world of Chanel. To a sewist, the classic Chanel jacket is a masterpiece of design and hand sewn Nirvana.  For Mr. Lagerfeld and his haute couture team, a Chanel jacket is the culmination of over 130 hours of painstaking care in every seam and stitch. Their techniques are closely guarded and unless you fork over the $4 - 5K to buy one yourself and rip it apart, you will only get bits and pieces of his genius.  To make such a garment is the height of accomplishment for any sewist.  And I am no different - I have to say "I did it", before old lady impatience and bad eyesight get the best of me.

Ms. Claire Schaeffer is a Chanel addict/collector, and fortunately for us run of the mill hoi-polloi, she is a Vogue pattern designer: hence, a Chanel - styled jacket for the masses.  So I will start with her and take you on a journey with "us" in my blog, making my first ever couture garment.

Vogue pattern in hand.... 

Her book ordered Amazon...

Watching and re-watching the DVD...taking notes

I had several pieces of wool fabric to choose from: 1) a beautiful wool that I picked up from Britex the year that retired from SureWest and I vowed at that time to make something special.  It's been in my stash ever since; and 2) a lovely soft grey tweedy wool with some metallic threads that I picked up from Stomemountain that I was going to make into a swing coat.  At first I thought I would go with the Britex wool, but in the end, my shiny crow-like personality decided that a jacket with gold threads would absolutely compliment my skinny jeans (yep, that's what I plan to wear my couture jacket with!)

 There is no other fabric lining choice for a couture garment than silk. I'm using a beautiful Silk Charmeuse...a lightweight fabric woven with a satin weave, in which the warp threads cross over three or more of the backing weft threads - technical talk that just says the front of the fabric has a smooth finish—lustrous and reflective—whereas the back has a dull finish. Stonemoutain And Daughter Fabrics in Berkeley CA (you already know it's my favorite store!) has such a huge selection it was hard to choose, but I landed on this one - who doesn't look beautiful in peach, even if it is on the inside?

The interfacing on a Chanel jacket is also critical.  Even though I own yards of fusible pellon and woven interfacing, using any version of self-sticking interfacing would be like making "a purse from a sow's ear" - suffice it to say, a ghastly faux pas in the world of couture! And thus, I spare no expense, and go right for the silk organza. Either of these amazing fabrics is not found at any Joanne's or Hancock's that I've ever been to...so get your big girl panties on and make the trip to Berkeley.

The only thing perhaps more important than choosing quality fabrics is choosing the right trim and buttons. Chanel jackets have all manner of trim designs and materials. The jacket styles of today are now as varied as any haute couture designer's runway showing, but Coco's classic designs have withstood the test of time - they are as fashionable today as they were decades ago. The only way to truly capture the essence of their genius is to actually go look at them, up close and personal.

I would have posted pictures here, but alas, that too is a no-no. I strolled through Neiman Marcus' Chanel boutique, lifted a few hemlines, fondled a few sleeves and asked for a photo of the salon.  And since I don't know Mr Lagerfeld personally to ask his permission, NO Iphone pics for me!  I totally respect that.  The sweet salesman did ask if I wanted to try one on...I chickened out. I have an aversion to trying on garments that I have no intention of buying - like I have an extra $4 grand in my checking account!

The salesman thought Karl might be filming the salon with hidden security cameras (joke)!

Across the street from Neimans and a few steps away from a Chanel store is Britex, a five or six floor mecca of expensive fabrics, trims and all things sewing.  I used to shop in it regularly...until I found Stonemountain.  But they do boast a huge selection of trims, so it's worth the drive over the Bay Bridge and into the massive traffic snarl of Downtown San Fransisco.

I spent over two hours, pulling trims, ribbons and buttons. And after all that contemplation and discussion (everyone on the floor had an opinion!) I opted to pair a trim with what would be a self-made trim using the selvage edge of my wool fabric. A little chain for the hem, some trim and buttons and my purchases for this jacket are complete...maybe...

I'll probably watch that DVD again...you have to get the entire sewing "process" clear in your brain before you start cutting, mainly because Ms Schaeffer's pattern instructions detail the "traditional" assembly process that I know backwards and forward, but her couture technique is something I have never done before. It's not intuitive for an old school seamstress, but a process that I'm already starting to obsess over in the wee hours of a fitful sleep. And I haven't even cut an inch of fabric yet.

Just for the heck of it, I will track my hours and $$ spent making my jacket.  I can't help but wonder if my time investment will rival that of the couture houses that do this all the time.  Of course, I don't have any little sweat-shop helpers armed with needles and thimbles...just me.

So, on to my "toile" - that's a muslin to you and me - if it doesn't "FIT" right, then it's not worth making.

I shall name her Celeste. Heavenly.

  Laurel. Channelling Chanel.

My "LBD" - Fit for Audrey herself...

I am always blasting the contestants of Project Runway ("PR")for their apparent lack of sewing skills, even though I myself have never designed a dress from the ground up. Granted, I have made a lot of patterns from other garments and certainly altered hundreds of patterns to make them my own.  I totally understand garment construction after sewing for 50 years, but my mini-me Colette and I have never started from scratch - sans pattern.

As Dave's 50th class reunion in Dallas Texas approached, I began to feel a little guilty about ragging on the PR guys (even though this year's crop are pretty untalented) without ever having tried to design a dress myself. For his reunion, I knew that I wanted to wear a classic "little black dress" to the event - it's not too dressy (but it can be) nor is it too casual. 

There's just something about a simple silhouette for evening. Trust me, I scoured the stores before I decided to go out on this limb and I saw nothing that remotely looked like a designer dress.  I was looking for the ultimate Audrey Hepburn dress....simple, good lines, black.

Colette:  "You can do this Laurel. I'll be with you all the way!"

Me: "I'm a little nervous...what if I'm a dismal failure at designing, and I'm destined to only be a seamstress. Ugh."

I had picked up some yardage from Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics a couple of months ago in anticipation of finding the perfect LBD pattern similar to the design I wanted to wear. (Obviously, I never found that pattern and that's why I set about designing and draping a dress myself). So in true PR style, I set about making a sketch of the design I wanted...my Audrey vision clear.

I used some cool little narrow tape to outline the design details on Colette. I wanted a short dress with a trapeze-like fullness at the hem.  I wanted the back to be dramatic (translation: Low) and the front to be high at the neckline with princess seams.

Once Colette was decked out in marking tape, I started creating the "pattern" pieces using inexpensive muslin fabric.  "So far so good.  I don't know what the heck is wrong with those PR dummies...this is a snap!"

 

"And hey, Laurel...why not make the muslin (the test dress) out of a fabric that in case it works out, you could have two dresses?"  I found some bright red fabric in my stash and used the pattern pieces that I had just created to start a little red dress.

The Little Red Dress was easy to sew together, and that's just about where things starting going haywire. Though the test dress looked like it was going to be adorable, evidently either Colette went on a diet or I got fat...it looked great on her...but...

Me: "Colette, why didn't you tell me that I have back fat?"

Colette: "I told you not to take out that extra padding. You're going to have to change the back of this cute little red dress to hide your second set of cleavage."

So, back to the drawing board after two sleepless nights trying to figure out what to do next. I took my original muslin pattern pieces and altered them to adjust for the sizing issues: I cut the back panel higher, made the front princess seams larger at the bust and cut the armholes a little bigger.

On to the final layout on my black fabric: the fabric is a very tight knit with Lycra added.  It's almost crisp like taffeta or peau de soie , but it stretched in one direction.  Choosing which direction to lay out the pieces took a little forethought.

After sewing the red dress so quickly I was anticipating the same ease of construction with my black fabric. Wrong!!!!!!!! The fabric had a right and wrong side but it was barely distinguishable to the naked eye.  However, when I sewed no less than three or four seems together, you could easily see the difference in the sheen of the fabric.

Me and my seam ripper became friends. My eyes are not what they used to be, but sewing on black fabric is virtually impossible unless you have a 500 megawatt light bulb over your shoulder. Sew. Rip. Sew some more. Whoops...rip.

 "WTF, Laurel!! Do you NOT know how to sew?" Rip.

Sunday came and the dress still had little construction issues that bothered me. I was so discouraged and announced to Dave I was off to Macy's to find a dress.  And like all other shopping trips to Macy's, every dress was so ho-hum, so cheap looking, so ordinary.  Penny's - ditto. After two hours, I sat in my car in the parking lot and lectured myself: 

"Just pull up your big girl panties, go home and fix the stupid thing, Laurel.  You KNOW HOW TO SEW!"

And that's how the LBD came into being...Me and Colette...start to finish - a one of a kind design by yours truly. Audrey would be proud...

Laurel. Ready for Project Runway.