Saturday, January 12, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Copying Corky's shirt 01-08-13
Several readers have asked about taking a pattern from Corky's shirt so I can make him a new one. So, here is a rough step by step. I'm not very "professional" about this, I learned it decades ago and have rarely used the technique. It is for simple garments, although the lady who taught me could do quite elaborate copies.
Corky's mommy is making him stand for a side shot. This is the shirt I am copying. The fabric is very lightweight.
Corky's mommy is making him stand for a side shot. This is the shirt I am copying. The fabric is very lightweight.
To copy the pattern, first determine how many pieces there are in the garment. This one has four. I've spread out the belly section.
The tool I use is a pinpoint tracing wheel from Nancy's Notions. This is different from a regular tracing wheel that one buys at Joann's.
You also need a base of Styrofoam or some other soft medium and paper to cover it. For my pattern I used gridded paper, but for these pictures I used tracing paper. I spread out the belly part, trying to not stretch it out of shape, on top of the paper/Styrofoam and pinned it outside the shape to hold it in place.
Then I used the tracing wheel to carefully follow the seam lines of the section, perforating the paper underneath the garment.
Then I cut out the pattern piece. Here it is on top of the tracing paper copy. I make whatever notations I think I will need. "Add S.A.", "Belly pattern piece", "Neck, "Cut on fold", etc.
I repeat this for all the parts. I also take measurements to be sure that the pattern pieces will fit together. The half band pattern is the same length as half of the back pattern.
After I have the pieces needed I make a mock-up using fabric such as I might use in the finished garment, here an old T-shirt, a little heavier than original shirt, but what I had at hand.
Here is the little guy in the mock-up. I made it slightly longer to cover his ailing hips. I didn't sew the elastic into the bottom of the belly piece - that will smooth out some of the wrinkles across his back. I think it needs a ribbed fabric for the bottom band to make it fit better.
When I cut the sleeve pieces from the T-shirt I didn't align the bottom edges along the grain so, of course, they stretched. I had to put a light elastic in so they would not be too full. I made a note on the paper pattern indicating which way to align the grain so the elastic won't be necessary.
In the past I have used this method to copy a pair of shorts, a couple blouses and a pair of light weight cotton pants. None of them very complex, but I did it because they fit well.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Monday Browsing 01-07-13
Terry Grant posted about making a small booklet from one sheet of paper. Awesome.
http://www.pocketmod.com/ Here is the website where she found the directions.
http://www.artisticartifacts.com/index.htm Shop for lots of different embellishments, paper,
found objects, ideas, classes - a great
place to browse for inspiration. And to
buy items not to be found elsewhere.
http://www.pocketmod.com/ Here is the website where she found the directions.
http://www.textileartist.org/ A blog about contemporary textile artists in
Great Britain. EXCITING
http://www.byannie.com/ Foam for purse construction. I have ordered the steam iron and will post my opinion in a month or so.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/life-skills-ivanka-trump-thich-nhat-hanh_n_2341108.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular Wisdom from OWN
# # #
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Pat Pauly quilt from SAQA online auction 01-06-13
I was so taken with Pat Pauly's "Pink Leaf 2" in the Quilt National exhibit at San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles last spring that I went home and looked up her website. I'm impressed with her work and hope to add a large quilt to the Collection. Meanwhile I am enjoying this 12"x12" piece - a great combination of colors and textures.
"Petite Mummy 2" Pat Pauly - New York 2012 12"x12"
Commercial and hand-dyed fabrics are stamped, foiled and machine quilted.
www.patpauly.com
I asked Pat about the title - what does the quilt have to do with mummies? She replied that "The form of the mummy bag, just like the one that is used to sleep in while camping, is a stand-in for a person or personality. So, they become 'figures' so to speak."
"Petite Mummy 2" Pat Pauly - New York 2012 12"x12"
Commercial and hand-dyed fabrics are stamped, foiled and machine quilted.
www.patpauly.com
I asked Pat about the title - what does the quilt have to do with mummies? She replied that "The form of the mummy bag, just like the one that is used to sleep in while camping, is a stand-in for a person or personality. So, they become 'figures' so to speak."
Corky needs a new shirt 01-05-13
Corky's mommy bought this shirt for him about a year ago and it is starting to get a little tatty. He has half a dozen shirts, coats, jackets, but this one seems to be the one he wears most. It isn't too heavy or too light and it fits him nicely.
He wasn't in the mood for photos and kept turning his head away - what I really need is a picture of him standing up wearing his shirt. But noooooo.
He wasn't in the mood for photos and kept turning his head away - what I really need is a picture of him standing up wearing his shirt. But noooooo.
Here it is folded in half - the back is on the left with the "peplum" at the bottom of the picture. The same fabric is used for the sleeve cuffs.
I took the pattern off - a method I learned about 30 years ago and have rarely used. But the process has started coming back to me as I work on it. The problem I foresee is being able to find the light weight stretchy fabric. Guess I'll start with JoAnn's. Suggestions?
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