Challenges all 'round

Venturing slightly beyond one's comfort zone is something that I always encourage, if one is to learn and improve one's sewing skills. 

Taking a leaf out of that particular notebook, I figured it was high time that this little newbie-knitter ventured beyond the basics.  'Tis time to push boundaries and move forward into The Land of Fancypants Knitting.

 Ok...so I'm starting small and pretty basic. Never having done anything lacy before, I'm taking small steps with these socks (sorry - awful and unintentional pun).    I even experimented with a new cast-on method... and ...ahem....knit the toe three times before I got it right 

Then I was stumped.  The instructions just said to "use the chart" to knit the lace pattern.  Ummmm... with no instructions anywhere in the book to tell me HOW to read the chart. 

Google to the rescue!  I found my way to this tutorial on Wendy D Johnson's blog. Strange, that in a book that covers all manner of other sock-knitting basics, and being one that depends largely on chart-based instructions, that there was not a paragraph to explain the chart.  And yet, that's all it really took on a blog post.  Go figure.  (Otherwise, it's a lovely book).

Equipped with newfound chart-reading know-how, I ventured on and knit 3 rows of the lace pattern.... before I noticed a dropped stitch in the first row and had to rip it all out. 
 
Challenge accepted.... and tonight's the night.  A hot date with the needles (and quite possibly Season 4 of The Tudors).   Look out Land of Fancypants Knitting, here I come.

If you fancy stepping outside your sewing comfort-zone, I have may just have the challenge for you. 

The new shopping bag pattern is currently being tested by four fairly confident sewing gals.  I'd also like to test it on some less-confident sewing gals (or blokes?).   If you're fairly new to sewing but a bit adventurous, this might be one of those Great Leap Forward challenges. 

 The testers have to fit the following criterior:

• You need to be able to accept a 4MB file and print out the pattern and instructions.
• You don't need lots of experience, but you need to be willing to try putting in a zip around a curved, stiff bag base.  No taking on the project and then woosing out!
• You need to be able to make this project and get feedback to me by no later than Monday 9th July 2012.  Please don't agree to do it and then not get back to me.
• You need to have access to Fast2Fuse or Peltex 72 (double-sided fusible, cardboard-like stiff interfacing) and paper-backed fusible web (Vliesofix, Applifix, Heat&Bond etc).  If you're local, you can pick it up from me, otherwise, you'll need to source this.
• You need to be able to give detailed feedback to help clarify the instructions (as well as pointing out typos and formatting inconsistencies).

If you think you fit the above criterior and want to give it a whirl, send me an email or leave a comment here.  (Remember that unless you're signed in with a Google profile with an email address attached to it, I won't be able to contact you through the comment box.)

Life is full of challenges, non?  And what doesn't kill us makes us better knitters and stitchers.

Unravelled

My Bendigo Woollen Mills yarn arrived this week. I keep looking at it. Squeezing it. It almost seems a shame to destroy those beautiful big balls of rich colour and texture. And the colour-cards are a-calling.....

The problem is, to me they scream KNITTING.... and (unlike Kate, who started knitting the same weekend that I did, but has taken to it like a duck to the proverbial wet stuff) I'm still a scarf-knitting beginner who can't read a pattern. So far I've got casting on, plain and purl and casting off. I have no idea what stocking stitch is, how to increase, decrease or use fancy-schmantzy circular or double-pointed needles.

Ravelry leaves me feeling overwhelmed (mostly by the gap between what I'd like to be making and where my skill level lies), and frankly, I haven't had the brainspace to wade through forums or patterns online (suffering a bit of computer burn-out here). I just want to cut to the chase and learn the essential bits to get me to the next (non-scarf) stage.

Baby-steps is where I'm at. Don't worry, THERE ARE BOOKS ON THE WAY (and doubtless I'll be consulting You Tube and bothering knitty friends from time time for tips on technique). What I'm after is a few simple, non-intimidating kids' garment patterns for me to use as a base for learning.... little-by-little. A new trick (or two) at a time... with quick results (read: instant gratification will encourage me to move onward and upward).

So far, I have this..... but find it intimidating. See my problem? Any recommendations?

Position vacant

We're in need of office/sales staff right now, so I thought I'd put the call out here first.

If you ...

- have great customer service skills

- have good computer/internet skills and MYOB (or similar) experience

- are very organised and work well with systems

- have a friendly and helpful phone manner

- are honest and trustworthy and generally a nice person

- get along well with people in a small work environment

- can handle 4 flights of stairs anytime you want to come in or go out.

- know a bit about sewing and craft

....and need a part-time job (in Brunswick), please send an email with an enquiry/your resume to this address (not the comment box!).

Sneaky-peek shots of a work in progress....

... are a great excuse...

... to play with a macro setting on a camera.

There will be a new pattern finished (by hook or by crook) for the Stitches and Craft Show. I'll be launching it there with a special deal... but it's a secret, ok?

.

.

.

PS. On a not-so-separate matter.... Can anyone please help me out with a conversion chart from millimeters to FRACTIONS (not decimals) of inches? All the online conversions I've tried just give me decimals... and who works in three decimal places of an inch?! I cannot get my head around fractions of inches, but it seems that a lot of you quite like them.

Please Sir, I want some more....

I've put a lot of work into something, using this fabric... and I need a teensy bit more of it. It's MAMBO by Wyndham fabrics, which is a few years old.

Anyone have any idea where I might find some?

...by any other name

Writing instructions is one of the hardest things I do. Trying to communicate processes is difficult enough, but for an international audience with various types of sewing education, the language I use is not necessarily understood by all readers. I was once asked why I'd bother to explain "backtack" in an advanced pattern.... the simple reason being that some people call it "backstitch".

And of course, I'm one of those old-fashioned types who use the term "backstitch" for the process that most know as "understitch" (I've also heard it called "pinstitch" and "edgestitch on the facing").

My sewing terminology comes from a combination of my childhood of 1960's Enid Gildchrist magazines, my tutors at RMIT and from working (in the fashion and craft industries) in Australia and a few other countries - with people from all over the world. I've found that although we all use different terminology, we speak the same language when we explain the processes.

So this is what I call edgestitch... which is like backstitching (or understitching or pinstitching...) but on the outside of the garment or bag. Mostly I just call it "topstitching".

The predominant language of sewing in the published world seems to be American....I guess it's a population issue. I've noticed that Australians - who previously would have used Bristish terminology - are now using American terminology. It's a sewing-language I somehow bypassed in my sewing education, but I'm catching up through blog-world and my expanding sewing reference library.

In dressmaking books, I struggle to find a reference to "staystitching" as anything other than holding the shape of a curve on a single layer of fabric. When I speak to fashion-industry friends we all understand it as stitching that holds things in place before a seam is sewn - whether that be a curve on a single layer of fabric or straps and button loops in place. Anytime the stitch length isn't altered, something is held in place and the stitches stay in.... that's staystitch. That is, until you try to find it in a book.
I guess because in mass-production, there's rarely time to tack (or "baste".... a term that always brings turkeys to mind!) anything - so we tend to staystitch rather than mess about with stitch lengths or unpicking. In my language, tacking (or basting) means that the stitches are temporary.

I also use industry-style nicks as registration marks to bring the cut pieces of the garment together. Nicks can be cut accurately through layers and layers of fabric..... and they are marked with either a slit (like a long "U") or a "T" shape symbol. I've never understood those silly triangle notch marks on commercial patterns. (Why give yourself such a large margin for error when you can be accurate to the millimetre?). But give me a commercial pattern with silly triangles and I'll know what they mean (same thing as nicks, only more difficult to cut!).

...which brings up the whole issue of metric versus imperial. I was brought up in the metric age and I've never been a patch-working girl (who use inches even in countries with metric as the standard). I draft my patterns (in CAD) to be accurate to within two decimal places of a millimetre... but please don't ask me what that is in inches. In recent years, I've had to change my pattern seam allowances to be easily converted to half and quarter-inch (so that the imperial-measurements people can understand them). I'm afraid that's as far as my understanding of fractions of inches go!

There are also conventions and techniques that change with age, geography or simply the school you went to - darts or seams presed to the front, back or open, the way seams are clipped.... that sort of thing. This language we speak has many dialects!

I'm trying to compile a list of terminology here - trying to cover all "dialects". I'm interested to hear if you've heard any that I've missed - for the processes above, below or others not mentioned.

TOILE (Australia, UK and elsewhere) = MUSLIN (USA)
A test-garment, sewn in calico or other cheap fabric.

Duckbill Scissors = Applique Scissors

(Of hems) Fine Double-Turned = Fine Double Neatened = Pinstitched (yep - there it is again, meaning something completely different!) = Rolled
A super-fine hem that is turned twice and machine stitched - usually on a sheer fabric or handkerchief edge.

Block (Australia, UK and elsewhere)= Sloper (USA)
The basic garment shape from which patterns are drafted.

(Of seams - to stop raw edges from fraying) Trimming = Finishing = Neatening

Overlocker (Australia, UK and elsewhere) = Serger (USA)

What sewing language to you speak? What's your experience of the varied dialects...?

A quick little pattern....

...has taken considerably longer to produce than I thought it would.

I had an idea that - in lieu of a much-needed holiday - I'd use a different part of my skills base and make a garment pattern for a change. A "quick little dress pattern" sounded like fun - and it has been... to a point.


But then I started writing instructions.... and (you know me...) I couldn't leave the detail out. I had to fill them with tips and notes and ways to do things quickly.


I had to include few variations (and stop myself from adding too many more).

I even wrote tips on pressing.

And of course, every step has needed a diagram and/or a photo to help explain things as clearly as possible. It's taken me MONTHS!!! So much for "quick"....

Anyhoo - I now have a lesson-in-a-packet for people who are just branching out into garment making. I have my usual pattern-testers lined up already, but I need ONE MORE PERSON to fill a gap in the testing process....

If you fill the following criterior:

• Beginner-ish sewing/dressmaking skils.
• Have a small girl (size 2-8) to try the finished dress on.
• In Australia - so the whole thing doesn't get slowed up by the postal service (heaven knows, it's having enough problems at the moment)
• HAVE NOT USED ONE OF MY PATTERNS BEFORE (this is important)
• Will READ instructions and have a good eye for detail (for typos and unclear explanations).
  
• Have time to sew a little dress (which is actually QUICK when you're not writing instructions for it!!) before mid-January.
• Can give detailed feedback
  
• Can show me the finished dress (or photos of the finished dress - blog/flickr is fine)
  

Please email me TODAY at nmallalieu@optusnet.com.au.

It's a bit tight.... but I'd like to get the kits out this afternoon. Tomorrow at the latest.

EDITED TO ADD: Wow! Overwhelmed by the response!! Many thanks to the volunteers - I took the first two offers that came in and we now have our testers.

Do you have sewing skills to share?

I think you all know how much fun it is to get together with a gang of women and sew.... If you're looking for an opportunity to join a sewing circle in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne you might just find that this is for you....?

There are sewing clubs Footscray, Flemington, Braybrook and Hoppers Crossing that are looking for volunteers to share and learn sewing skills with women who have come to Australia as refugees.

The sewing clubs offer friendship, sewing skills and the opportunity for women who have recently arrived in Australia as refugees to develop their English skills.

The sewing clubs meet each week for a few hours during the day.

So if you have a love of sewing this is a great volunteer opportunity to welcome refugees to Australia and get some of your sewing projects done!


Please contact :

Karen Dimmock
Manager
Volunteer West
130 Buckley Street
FOOTSCRAY VIC 3011

p: (03) 9687 7661

f: (03) 9687 4422

e: karen@volunteerwest.org.au

NOTE: Please don't contact me for details - I'm simply trying to help by passing the message on. Karen is the girl with all the answers!

xx

nikki

PS. The photos above are from the Great Sewjourn Weekend - Kathryn and Rachel sat either side of me and whipped up the most extraordinarily pretty quilts. I was a bit awestruck.

Notes and Labels

I mentioned that I won a giveaway from Pepperberry & Co. I picked it up today at the Made 'n Thornbury market. It's a beautiful fabric-covered notebook.

The wee girl was a bit obsessed with it - wanting me to open it. She then said that she wanted to write notes in it. I opened it and left her to it for a few minutes.

When I turned around again I saw that she'd used about a third of the book writing "notes".... of the musical kind. Three year old style... one or two on each page.

The cover is removable (and the books replaceable) so together the wee girl and I can continue to fill many more notebooks. I intend to sketch ideas instead of trying to carry them around in my head...

Sandra's very swish iron-on label reminded me that I've been meaning to do a post about labels for a really long time.

People often ask me where I get mine made. My sew-in labels are printed at a small firm in Carnegie (Direct Label Supply) - they don't have a website, so apologies to international readers. (Mind you - I rang Morrie from Ireland once and he sent labels to me!).

Direct Label Supply have been making my labels for 20 years and have kept the printing plates on file for me all these years. After the initial set-up of getting the printing plate made, it's really cheap to get a thousand or two labels printed. Last time I had a thousand done (about 6 years ago!) it cost about $85AUD (and gets cheaper per-unit as you increase the quantity of your order).

...

If it's small quantities you need, the wonderful Maya has these tips and tutorials on making your own, and I know there are other companies specialising in short runs... I just have no experience of using them. Do you?

I thought I'd open up the comments here for you to share any information you might have about where you get your labels made, or links to tutorials on making your own. Anything that might help people seeking information on the subject.... I'm sure it'll be greatly appreciated!

More thanks...

We're now well over the 100 mark with the bags for Rainbow Comfort Packs. Thanks to those beautiful people who dropped in with their finished bags today.

Thanks also to the fabulous person who made these biscuits for Saturday's sewing bee. They are absolutely delicious. Let me know if you'd like your jar back and I'll try to get it to you.

..although I'm making no promises about the biscuits.

Have you bought your ART FIGHTS FIRE raffle tickets yet? Only $10 each and a bunch of great art to be won.

I highly recommend that you have a sewing bee!

Get a bunch of crafty types together, tell them to bring food and whatever they think might be useful, and watch them move mountains.... or at least CREATE mountains.

Mountains of BAGS...

Mountains of donated toys and activities for kids.

Mountains of donated fabric... thanks to all who bought and brought. Thanks to Spotlight for donating (and to the Spotlight gals who came).

We took over the empty room next door to my studio (well... there was no lock on it!!) and called it a cutting room. It was a flurry of activity with rotary cutters and scissors.

Next station Embellishment Room...

Is that a BLOKE in there?? (My goodness.... didn't I have some Ikea furniture to put together....? OH - and he can design Appliqué motifs??!! Come in, Mr Tacc!!)

Team ZIG-ZAG....

(You should have heard the audible GASP of star-stuck awe when they realised they had a sewing super-star in their midst!!).

Yo-Yo Central was a hot-spot of activity and learning. (Thanks Becc for passing on your skill/addiction to so many!).

The construction room was a buzz of activity. Lots of wonderful people, including a few lovely bloggers (thanks Tinniegirl, Sooz, MissP, Kitty, Dr Bones, Muppinstuff, Hoppo Bumpo, Mistea, Sugarlemon...) and lots of people who heard about this sewing bee through channels other than blogland.


Special thanks to my sister Leonie, my cousin Helen and my friend Fi, who managed to get the word out through school, work and arts community newsletters. And thanks to those communities for responding so generously.

And the results...?

Stacks of freshly-pressed bags... I counted 80 finished bags (PLUS half a dozen nearly-finished ones sitting on my sewing machine), and goodness-knows how many that went home to be sewn up and returned. The day inspired a couple more sewing bees over the next few weeks in various corners of Melbourne.

I also counted 22 gorgeously appliquéd t-shirts....

...and 21 super-gorgeous hair-ties.

We'll be collecting handmade bags and things to put in Rainbow Comfort Packs. When the first essential wave of Bushfire Relief has settled, and the agencies involved feel that it is an appropriate time, these packs will be delivered to the children who make up some of the SEVEN THOUSAND (yes, I said THOUSAND) people who have been left homeless by the recent bushfires. It now looks like it'll be an ongoing project, as there are now SO MANY to get out to the affected communities.

If you think this is a waste of time and resources, I suggest you read this and this. If you think you'd like to help, perhaps you could sew something, or organise a sewing bee. There are lots of ways you can use craft to help out.

It's amazing what can be achieved when a group of people channel all their grief and empathy into something constructive and positive. If you need fabric we still have a donated stash to be used for this cause. Let me know if you're organising a sewing bee and I'll happily pass on the fabric and spread the word for helpers to join you.

Edited to add:

From little things, big things grow... Check out what happened when Gay put the message out in her community. She's having her second sewing bee next Saturday. If you're near Lake MacQuarie /Newcastle (NSW) you can join her!

Details for the Sewing Bee

Just to save time sending individual emails tomorrow... The sewing Bee is from 10am to 7pm on Saturday at the Brunswick Business Incubator. You can stay all day or stay an hour - anything is appreciated.

PLEASE RSVP BY EMAIL - I need to know how many to prepare for and I'll email details about how to get into the building (the security doors are closed on weekends).

Bring whatever sewing equipment and fabrics you think would be useful. Bring your sewing machine.... but bear in mind there will be either two or four flights of stairs to contend with (depending which room you're in). I have about 6 sewing machines and 2 overlockers that you can borrow if your machine is particulary heavy. If you have a portable overlocker please bring it. Label your scissors and things so they don't get mixed up with anyone else's.

We have kitchens with microwaves and sandwich toasters. We have filter and plunger coffee. We have tea bags. Bring a small amount of food to share for lunch. We have cakes and afternoon tea sorted (thanks to some generous souls).

Bring things like cotton tape, narrow ribbon and buttons. They make quick handles, straps and fastenings on bags. Bring plain coloured fabric and any cute kiddie-prints you think would be good.

Ummm.... I'm getting eyestrain and have to get away from this screen. If I've forgotten anything please email me!!


many thanks -
xn

Simple Ideas for Library Bags

I have been overwhelmed and heart-warmed by the response to my little idea for a sewing bee. We now have a TEAM....and it's growing by the hour!!! We have international and interstate volunteers as well, donations of bag-fillers coming in, and I've been flat out all day answering emails and phone calls. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!! I can barely swallow for the lump in my throat.

A lot of people are asking what types of bags, what sizes etc....

The sizes can vary, the styles can vary, the fabrics can vary - it's all about giving something that is handmade with love and thought.... not a mass-production run. Your individuality of design and construction counts for a lot. We need bags for a range of ages and for girls and boys - so a good thing to do is think of the kids you know (your own or other people's) and think about what appeals to them. Think about the size they are and what they're likely to carry in a bag.

I prepared a little tutorial for a basic drawstring back-pack style bag, and made a start of a few others - which I'll have printed out on Saturday.

1. Cut 2 rectangles of fabric. I found these dimensions (on the pattern in the photo below) worked well for a toddler size bag. I made others at 31 x 35cm and they would be good a baby bag (and you don't have to make it as a back-pack - it could be a simple drawstring bag). You could also do a larger version. This is a simply a rough guide.

2.Notch a point at least 10cm (4") from the top on both side seams.

3. Think of a quick, effective embellishment idea.... a cute bit of applique', for example (this was just cut out of a fabric print as a square and zig-zagged on to the base fabric)

... or a strip of fabric can be made into a compartment pocket (pic below) or a patch pocket. You could sew on a few buttons, do a bit of stitching, printing, patchwork, a couple of yo-yos.... oh, it's endless.... and REALLY SIMPLE!!!

4. Overlock or zig-zag around the side and bottom edges of each rectangle.

5. Seam the two rectangles (right sides together) from notch to notch (side seams and base seam)with a seam allowance of 1cm. Leave the last 2.5cm (1") of from the bottom corners on the side seamopen. See pic below.

6. Press open the seam allowances all the way around. Stitch the seam alllowances above the notches open (as shown below).

7. Fold and press the top edge of the bag twice to make a casing of at least 2.5cm (1"). The one in the photo below is about 3.5cm.... it really doesn't matter how wide it is as long as it's at least an inch.

7. Stitch the casing to the bag about 2mm in from the folded edge of the turning. I also re-enforce the ends with little triangles of stitches.... but that might be just me being a bit hyper-cautious - as I'm apt to be...
8. Thread cotton cord or cotton tape (or straps made from fabric) through the casing from each side of the bag. On each side you will need enough strap to go through the casing and reach down to the bottom of the bag (as shown below) 9. Push the ends of the straps/cord through the gaps in the seam on the bottom corners and pin them into place.
10. Turn the bag through to the wrong side and re-align the pin to finish off the seam on the bottom corner - trapping the strap between the front and back of the bag. It's also a good idea to zig-zag or overlock the edges of the webbing or strap to stop it from fraying.

11. Turn it through to the right side and THAT'S IT!!! You've made a bag in under 30 minutes!!!