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Bren's Sewing Blog Archives
June 2010
June 24, 2010
The Animal in You
This Animal Test was wierd and uncannily accurate (except for the night club thing) I saw this on, Gorgeous Fabrics Blog, one of my favorites. I was a Bat, not near as elegant as Ann's beautiful Sable. Just for fun, take this test, you might be surprised!
The Bat is a decidedly nonconformist creature, for as an airborne personality, the bat tends to look down at the conventions of the ground animals. And yet, since it is not a true bird and has not mastered the art of smooth controlled flight, it often appears awkward in social situations (hence the phrase "acting batty"). But as compensation for this social ungainliness, many bat personalities sport a built-in radar which enables them to intuitively read the motivations of others.
Identifying bat personalities is not difficult. Being nocturnal creatures, they come alive at night and can be spotted in underground clubs or dimly lit bars. They prefer the sanctuary of dark clothing and dark corners, and you'll never see a bat sporting a heavy tan. These are intelligent, spiritual, creative individuals who use their full range of senses (other than their poor eyesight) to carefully navigate their way through life.
Bats have a habit of flitting in and out of social situations, swooping down to interact briefly with others before quickly flying off to resume their bat lives. Unassertive and aloof, they'll take flight at the first hint of a confrontation to seek comfort in their personal spaces, generally decorated in unusual but expressive ways.
A sixth sense gives bats a number of advantages in their work, and their insightful nature enables them to understand others better than they understand themselves. This intuitiveness makes bats excellent psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and palm readers. They respond poorly to direction however, and function best as a sole practitioners in their own business. Preferring to work at night and sleep by day, a bat's job must be flexible enough to accommodate these unusual hours. A creative streak often finds them in the design and architectural fields, and their unique relationship with dark caves makes you a natural archeologist or spelunker.
Although the bat's spiritual side is always on display, they are not overly emotional. Because of their unusual and sometimes awkward approach to life they can sometimes have difficulty finding companions. However, bats respond well to anyone who shares their philosophical perspective, and they love spending long hours in deep conversation. Once they have successfully located a partner, bats prove to be both dependable and committed companions.
June 23, 2010
Email on Bust Darts
I get emails all the time about all sorts of things, but the most common is some type of question regarding fitting the bustline in a top or blouse. I answered one of these emails today and thought you might like to see the answer. I need to get some diagrams on the blog about adding bustdarts, but in the meantime you should be able to find them pretty easily with a search.
Here's the email, hope it is helpful to someone else, too!
Hi Susie,
Thanks for your email about how to determine which size to start with on a top or blouse that you KNOW the bust will be too small on. Here are a few thoughts that I hope will be helpful!
You should always (always!!!) fit for the upper chest (NOT the bust) and then enlarge for the bust. If you fit for the bust, your armholes will be much too low, the shoulders will be too wide, the back will be too big . . . and the list goes on. Please, please, do not just cut larger lines.
Here is my system: measure across the back of your shoulders, shoulder to shoulder. Compare that measurement to the back pattern piece of the pattern. Make a note of which size seems appropriate, but remember that the pattern includes the seam allowances.
Next, stand up very straight and measure across your upper chest (about half way between the busts and the shoulders (across the 'hollow' in front on the arms. Measure from one side to the other side. Compare this measurement to the pattern front and make a note of which size seems appropriate.
With the both the back and the front, remember that you will want it a tiny bit bigger, so if your measurement fell smack dab on the medium, you might want to try the L, but don't get too much larger, you will only have to take it in! Also, you might be a large in the back and a medium in the front, etc. We will hope not, though, as that would get even more interesting!!
Now, make a test garment. Do not bother with the hems, just shoulder and side seams and put the sleeves in. You DO need the sleeves in as this greatly changes the way the garment fits. BEFORE you put the test garment on, knowing that it will not fit in the bust area, go ahead and slit (cut) up from the lower hemline, over where you think the bust point is and all the way up to the shoulder seam, but not through the shoulder seam. Do this on both fronts. THEN cut across the front where you think the bust point is from the side seam (about 3inches, maybe??) down from the sleeve seam junction. Cut all the way across from side seam to side seam across the bust area, but not through the side seam - just to the side seam.
Now it gets fun . . .
Put the test garment on. Take another piece of fabric and slip it under the test garment. Now start pinning the underneath piece of fabric to the test garment, allowing the test garment to spread open over the bust area. In theory the gaps will be even on each side (I did say, "In Theory"). When the test garment fits comfortably, you will then know EXACTLY how much extra you will need to add in the form of a bust dart.
If you do not know how to add a bust dart, the process is virtually the same as the slits you made in your test garment. I do not currently have any diagrams on my website, but any sewing book/manual should have the diagrams, or perhaps you can find on the internet. The only golden rule, is that while you have the test garment ON, mark YOUR bust point. You will need to transfer your bust point mark onto the actual paper pattern piece and then slit your paper pattern THROUGH the bust point when you are altering the paper pattern.
You're not done yet . . . .
After you have modified the paper pattern, make another test garment. When you have to do a significant change to a pattern, you will seldom get it exactly as you want it the first time. For example, it is difficult to know where to draw YOUR bust point on the paper pattern. Just do the best you can as you will refine it after the 2nd test garment. By taking the time to make the 2nd test garment, you have a chance to refine your fit that last little bit -- and this last refinement can make all the difference in the world. Trust me, it's worth every minute. Once the pattern really fits, you will love sewing it and then you can make design changes and get tremendous use from one well-fitted pattern.
I should say that just because you have a bust dart, does not mean you have to stitch the actual dart. You could choose to run an ease/gather thread on the front garment section at the side seam and pull the thread to make the front fit the back garment section at the bust area if you did not want to stitch an actual dart in a particular fabric. There would be small gathers, but at least it would fit and who is to say that some fabulous designer did not want it that way!?!
I hope all this has helped. I need to get this on the Blog as many people ask for it.
Thanks and Happy Sewing!
Bren
June 14, 2010
 Let's Talk about Spray Starches
Just about every time I give a talk, the discussion comes up about spray starches. I use 2 different types of starch when I am working, depending on the application.
The Sta-Flo Liquid Starch is available at any grocery store and is very cost effective. There are directions on the label for various strengths, but just about everyone I know uses it half/half with water. Just pour some into a spray bottle (easy to purchase at Home Depot, etc), then fill up with water. Shake a little to mix and you are ready to go. I very, very seldom every experience a clogged head and even then I don't have to run water over the head. I just put down in the trashcan and squeeze a little harder. Voila! Back to work in seconds!
When I am preparing to make a garment from a fabric that is slippery, or otherwise uncooperative, I use the Sta-Flo starch and thoroughly spray the entire piece of fabric. Then let the fabric sit for a couple of minutes - just 2 or 3 - then, turn the steam OFF on your iron and begin pressing with whatever temperature is appropriate for your fabric. You are actually drying the fabric with the starch in it. There may be some flaking, but you are going to wash the garment after you are finished, so the flaking is irrelevant. If it gets too crunchy, just turn on the steam and iron it again. I do this on all the rayon I use for garments, even on silks. You name it, I wash it and before I cut it out, I starch it. I even did the Polyester Sheer for the new cover of the Cowl Neck Tunic.
The Faultless is (IMHO) about the best commercial ready-to-use starch available. It flakes much less than most of the others, but the darn nozzle is plugged every time I reach for the can, even it's only the next morning. I know how to clear the nozzle, but what a bother! I confess, the Faultless was under the sink and I pulled it out for this photo. It is a perfectly good product, but I never finished the can several years ago and it was still there, so . . . . .
The Best Press is fabulous. It is a bit pricey, but worth every penny. I use for this my garments that are ready to be worn. This starch does NOT flake. You can spray it and iron immediately and it still does not flake. You will still get a better result if you spray the entire garment, roll it up and let it sit for a couple of minutes, but if you are in a hurry, just spray and iron, and you'll be just fine.
June 9, 2010
This is not sewing related, but I was so happy to actually see some useful information on the whole GMO food thing that I decided to share this.
How to tell if the Fruit/Vegetable at your store is GMO/Organic/Commercial
taken from GMOWatch Website
The code on that little sticker is quite meaningful.
If it is a 4-digit number, then the food it 'normal' (commercial practices)
If it is a 5-digit number beginning with an 8 then it is GM (Genetically Modified)
If it is a 5-digit number beginning with a 9 then it is Organic.
Sometimes a market will mislabel a bin of food as organic, or not, but the sticker code doesn't lie.
June 7, 2010
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