So, stuck in (or is it at) an impasse. I have been trying to make a decent bodice block for my dodgy shape, but really hate standard darts (which I always struggle with). I have been trying to work out a princess seam but despite having chopped up loads of sheets, I am still not happy with the shaping. This is worse because I cannot afford to buy nice material (and would be paralysed if I did unless I knew I was cutting all the right shapes). However, practicing with scraps is also soul-destroying because I lose patience, cutting and sewing a garment in navy blue polyester which I will NEVER wear. Seem to be stuck between a rock and a duff seam. I used to hack away fearlessly, but lately, I have become dispirited with the number of unfinished items...because I lose heart when things are going badly and struggle to finish. The bloody colourwork cardigan, which represents hours and hours of knitting has been hidden away with only half a sleeve to finish but can I get it together to just do it - can I fuck! I seem to have lost my ability to just start over without becoming too overcome with anxiety and self-criticism. A miserable situation which I just cannot seem to overcome.
Crafty Thread - what are you working on at the moment?
- Thread starter radio_atomica
- Start date
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
I have pattern software. I'm going to PM you a form, you need to fill it in with your measurements and I will send you a pdf pattern. It won't be perfect but will get you close enough.
OMG, that would be so great, Boudicca. Once upon a time, (when I was still a perky C bust/size12 I could get away with an off the peg pattern...but now I am somewhat more pillowy, I feel getting a decent fit would be the best thing I could do for myself (in order to alleviate pulling and tugging at loose bits, holding my breath and mostly, not feeling hot, sweaty and fat. Have been trying to draft a basic sloper but really struggling to measure my back (and at a loss as to why my back is 16inches, from neck to waist, but only 13 inches at the front (although suspect dowagers humping formation).
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
I have a dowagers hump, you are not alone.
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
Oh do you? I've been tempted by a pattern company called Fayma where you put all your measurements in and it spits out a pattern for you. Thinking of trying it for trousers.
Made good progress on the quilted jacket this weekend but have now run out of thread and bias binding. It's been using an inconceivable amount of thread, but is kind of miraculous. I now know could make a coat out of any fabric I like and make it as light or warm as I want.
It's probably a bit naughty to do this but I think kindness should be recognised so here we go. I was, I admit, a bit despairing until Boudicca printed me up a pattern. I haven't actually used it yet but I was spurred on to get out one of the unfinished items, in an excess of new enthusiasm, and just...went for it. It had been an unpromising number in very old-fashioned Vyella I had been given. I had a go at a princess seam...and nifty little bell sleeves and some odd draping around the hem. I am really quite pleased (yep, pics will be forthcoming as soon as hemming is done).
I had been looking through some old photos of my landscaping days, including the first (and probably biggest) job we ever did - to transform a tarmac covered, bank car park into a town garden (with ponds, wheelchair access, rills, sunken gardens, raised patios , pergolas etc etc.. Not only was this an onerous task in itself (there were only 2 of us to do the whole design and build), once the tarmac was stripped back, the ground was glacial till from the ice-age boundary (before we reached the London clay belt), with no topsoil whatsoever. We spent an entire day, hand-digging a footing: we managed a strip 1foot by 4 foot!..then hired a bobcat. 21 pallets of paving setts, 18 tonnes of topsoil , 4 months work. I was amazed at how completely fearless we were. The following year, it won awards for the best garden in Stanstead Mountfitchet and was featured in a couple of magazines. So yeah, getting all weedy over a dress pattern was doing me in and thankfully, B's kind offer definitely injected a shot of courage.
So a public thank you...I was truly stuck but all it needed was a wee nudge and a generous offer. I hope I get to pass it on to someone else.
I had been looking through some old photos of my landscaping days, including the first (and probably biggest) job we ever did - to transform a tarmac covered, bank car park into a town garden (with ponds, wheelchair access, rills, sunken gardens, raised patios , pergolas etc etc.. Not only was this an onerous task in itself (there were only 2 of us to do the whole design and build), once the tarmac was stripped back, the ground was glacial till from the ice-age boundary (before we reached the London clay belt), with no topsoil whatsoever. We spent an entire day, hand-digging a footing: we managed a strip 1foot by 4 foot!..then hired a bobcat. 21 pallets of paving setts, 18 tonnes of topsoil , 4 months work. I was amazed at how completely fearless we were. The following year, it won awards for the best garden in Stanstead Mountfitchet and was featured in a couple of magazines. So yeah, getting all weedy over a dress pattern was doing me in and thankfully, B's kind offer definitely injected a shot of courage.
So a public thank you...I was truly stuck but all it needed was a wee nudge and a generous offer. I hope I get to pass it on to someone else.
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Can I ask the crafters- does anyone have any experience of embroidery? I’d like to learn the basics. Can anyone recommend a good book and/or YouTube and/or any lovely kits?
(Feels a bit embarrassing to say this cos I’d never think I could be as good as them, but I was very inspired by moose posting about Fine Cell Work ).
(Feels a bit embarrassing to say this cos I’d never think I could be as good as them, but I was very inspired by moose posting about Fine Cell Work ).
You might like to take a look at tapestry, Edie. Crosstitch is a sort of assisted embroidery (imo) in that you are working on a canvas material which has already been assembled with perfectly aligned warp and weft threads, (Aida cloth) leaving you little holes to fill in with cross-stitch (or bargello, knotting and other surface textures.) It is portable and deeply satisfying and, I think, a good way to get back into stitching. Did you ever do those things at school with material which had little holes in? We all made bookmarks or samplers. My brain has gone flaccid 'cos I can't recall what the material was called but tapestry is basically the same but with a lot more stitches.
eta - got it - the stuff we used in school was called binca fabric.
eta - got it - the stuff we used in school was called binca fabric.
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Yes the girls did cross stitch and mending at my primary (no idea what the boys did at this time!). Sorry for the dumb question but what’s the difference between embroidery and tapestry?
Im wondering about having a go at this
Or this
Both of which say suitable for beginners but look bloomin hard to me
The main difference is the material used as a ground/base. Tapestry uses thicker (wool) threads because the canvas is essentially just a framework to be filled in. Rugs follow more or less a similar principle - filling in space using a woven structure to support the threads. In embroidery, the ground is very much part of the finished product. It can be linen, cotton, chambray....any sort of woven material. The embroidered threads lie on top of it. Because embroidery is not restricted to a rigid frame (of a fixed number of spaces - usually 14 per inch for most cross-stitch tapestries), the actual stitches are much more freeform and finer (as the thread is cotton (or silk). Both of the examples you showed would be within your capabilitiy if you use a frame to hold your material and take your time with a really good light (cannot emphasise this too much - a directional light is an absolute gift...and even a magnifying glass fixed to the frame too. It is a lovely, meditative craft, soothing and very peaceful. I made little badges for sweetheart and I, back when we were landscaping together, to go on our (ahem) overalls (which we hardly ever wore).
Oh thanks so much for explaining. I think I’m interested in embroidery rather than tapestry then. I’ll have a go at some point, probably towards the end of the year as I’ve got a number of crochet projects backing up now cos I’m doing Frida Kahlo next
I give them all as gifts to say thank you to people who have supported me through this bloody brain aneurysm and, well, life.Yeah, I think embroidery is more interesting. Have a look at crewel work for example, Edie. A friend's daughter did an embroidery degree at the Courtaulds Institute. Some of the stuff they were doing was mindblowing...
I think you would find it restful and very satisfying, Edie...and having come through such a challenging and life-changing illness, I can imagine you might have an intense need to be creative. I could just be chatting shit here but I honestly think making and crafting is a fundamental instinct which speaks to our shared humanity.
I think you would find it restful and very satisfying, Edie...and having come through such a challenging and life-changing illness, I can imagine you might have an intense need to be creative. I could just be chatting shit here but I honestly think making and crafting is a fundamental instinct which speaks to our shared humanity.
Yeah I think your right. No way about the Courtauld’s institute! My first job was packing knickers for Courtaulds in Bristol. They were made in Morocco, shipped to Bristol, finished by machinists there, packed and sent and sold in New York (Victoria’s Secret). The women in Morocco used to leave us notes sometimes between the layers of clothing
. I wasn’t a machinist (too skilled) I worked packing. It was a bit of a shit job but I managed to nick quite a lot of pants by putting them on in the loo (they couldn’t strip us, just searched clothing and bags) and those pants saw me through many years of my ‘alternate career’ in my early 20s that demanded fine lingerie 
Funny if that same company that ran that factory also did an Institute but they are/were a big family involved in textiles so could well be!
moose
like some cat from Japan
The whale is just 3 types of stitch, back stitch, chain stitch and satin stitch, all of which are pretty easy but effective when used together in complementary colours, and you don't need much equipment to get going - just a hoop, needle, some base fabric and a couple of skeins of embroidery thread. There are loads of tutorials on YouTube, so just thread your needle and 'take a line for a walk'. Some tutorials and patterns here: Get Started in Embroidery | HobbycraftYes the girls did cross stitch and mending at my primary (no idea what the boys did at this time!). Sorry for the dumb question but what’s the difference between embroidery and tapestry?
Im wondering about having a go at this
View attachment 270160
Or this
View attachment 270162
Both of which say suitable for beginners but look bloomin hard to me
Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
I'm stealing the word crapulous
.
Epona
Radar 2006-2020, Sonic 2006-2022, Jakey 2007-2024
That is lovely! I am also giving a thumbs up to the word "crapulous"
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
Some seriously good top stitching going on there!
Thank you Boudicca. Also , some very visible dangling threads! Taking a pic of your work is surprisingly useful...at least for identifying wonkiness.
I may redo the neckline (which included a strip of interfacing, so looking a bit lumpy and stiff. I have some blue/grey bias binding which would do the job...and might also trim the sleeve edges.
It was a fraying nightmare though - have had to use seam tape and a mixture of seam finishes to cover as many raw edges as possible.
The choice between an overlocker or chainsaw has edged towards the sewing end.
I may redo the neckline (which included a strip of interfacing, so looking a bit lumpy and stiff. I have some blue/grey bias binding which would do the job...and might also trim the sleeve edges.
It was a fraying nightmare though - have had to use seam tape and a mixture of seam finishes to cover as many raw edges as possible.
The choice between an overlocker or chainsaw has edged towards the sewing end.
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
I only really use mine f I have a serious project to do. It's out and threaded up as I am making camper cushions from some secondhand curtains which fray really badly.I would love an overlocker, but from what i've heard, once the thread ran out the first time, I'd have to bin it and buy a new one because they're so difficult to thread up
If the thread breaks I stop and sulk and don't go back to rethreading it until the following day.
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
I'm stumped. This is blatantly a Boudicca question...
The pattern I'm using for the reversible quilted jacket has side slits, at the bottom of the side seams. I'm binding the whole outer edge of the jacket so need to bind these too. I just cannot work out a neat way to do it (or find the answer on YouTube).
I came up with a reverse fold I thought would work in the planning stage but now realise it doesn't, because the point of it doesn't really overlap the edge of the garment. Alternatively I thought I'd be able to lose the ends of the edge binding in the seam binding, but that doesn't really work either because the binding isn't centred over the seam, it's off to one side.
There's a technique for finishing slits with binding, but that's with the binding folded inside to be invisible, not visible like this.
The pattern I'm using for the reversible quilted jacket has side slits, at the bottom of the side seams. I'm binding the whole outer edge of the jacket so need to bind these too. I just cannot work out a neat way to do it (or find the answer on YouTube).
I came up with a reverse fold I thought would work in the planning stage but now realise it doesn't, because the point of it doesn't really overlap the edge of the garment. Alternatively I thought I'd be able to lose the ends of the edge binding in the seam binding, but that doesn't really work either because the binding isn't centred over the seam, it's off to one side.
There's a technique for finishing slits with binding, but that's with the binding folded inside to be invisible, not visible like this.
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RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
I worked it out in the end, with some brain-bending origami. It involved sewing an extra bit of tape along the top in a really complicated (and apparently not very neat) way.
moose
like some cat from Japan
That's a good solution. I was trying to work out how you'd do it with a triangle at the top, like my Indian ones from the 80s.
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
I could have just folded the top into a triangle, but it needed to cover the tape on the side seam and would have been an extra layer of fiddle.
David Clapson
Well-Known Member
I noticed black transparent thread in Tesco the other day, next to the clear transparent thread. What gives?
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
Vs translucent or opaque.
David Clapson
Well-Known Member
It would be nice if they sold some with a matt finish. They all look too reflective.
