Archive for the ‘Sewing & Fiber Arts’ Category

Garment Creation: Supplies

Sunday, April 1st, 2012

Sewing Needle Assortment

by Catherine Haug, March 31, 2012

(photo, right, from beaconFabric.com)

This is a supplemental article to my series on garment creation. See also:

Throughout my articles I make reference to various supplies needed for pattern drafting, fitting and sewing. The intent of this article is to gather them all in one place for your reference. I discuss:

  • Pins and needles
  • Scissors
  • Thread
  • Fabric for fitting
  • Rulers and curves
  • Drafting Paper
  • Designing and cutting surface
  • Manniquin or dress form

(more…)

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Garment Creation: The Basics of Fitting

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

by Catherine Haug, March 19, 2012

In this article, I discuss the basics of fitting a sloper to a particular body as well as fitting in general. See also previous articles in this series:

This discussion will include:

  • Fabric grain
  • Effective use of darts
  • Preparing the sloper muslin for fitting
  • Fitting order (general)
  • Fitting adjustments (general) (more…)

Posted in Home & Ranch, Sewing & Fiber Arts | Comments Closed

Gathering Summary: The Craft of Knitting with Carol Marie, etc., Feb 15, 2012

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

by Catherine Haug, March 1, 2012

Cat's felted hat; knit scarf & mittens

This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable pdf file: Gathering Summary: The Craft of Knitting, etc.. There were no handouts.

Carol brought lots of samples of knitted as well as crocheted, felted & needle-punched items to view. Her friend Roxy demonstrated how to use a drop spindle to make yarn from roving. Several audience members brought in-progress and finished knit items.

Read on for presentation topics, references & resources. (more…)

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Garment Creation: the Sloper & Block

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

by Catherine Haug, February 12, 2012 (All diagrams and sketches by C. Haug, unless otherwise noted).

Today, we can just go to a fabric store or online to purchase a pattern for the garment. But what if this was no longer a possibility? Or what if you wanted to make something for which there was no pattern? Or what if commercial patterns just don’t fit your body (this is my problem…)?

This is the second article in a series. See also:

This discussion includes:

  • Supplies
  • Drafting or draping a sloper
  • Drafting a block form a sloper or other blocks
  • Grading (to change the size of a pattern up or down)

 

(more…)

Posted in Sewing & Fiber Arts, Survival; Primitive Living | 3 Comments »

Making Simple Garments

Monday, February 13th, 2012
TurkCoat-Layout.pdf

Cat's Lined Turkish Panel Coat

by Catherine Haug, February 10, 2012

(garment and photo of Turkish Coat, by C. Haug)

For truly simple living, we need to be able to make our own clothing, perhaps even from fabric we create ourselves. People did this for centuries, making not only simple garments for everyday, but also more elaborate garments for special occasions such as feasts, festivals, weddings and funerals.

In general, the steps in garment creation are (not always in this order):

  • Garment design
  • Selecting or drafting the garment pattern
  • Making/obtaining fabric and thread
  • Cutting the fabric to the pattern
  • Sewing the garment seams, etc.

This is the first article in a series:

Read on for Working Without a Pattern, which uses two examples, the Japanese Hippari (jacket) and Monpei (pant) to show how this is done – without wasting any fabric. I want to express my gratitude to Folkwear Patterns for intruducing me to this concept.

(more…)

Posted in Sewing & Fiber Arts, Survival; Primitive Living | 3 Comments »