New Sweatshop!

I'm always so perplexed when I have a day off. There's so much stuff I planned to do during the week that I completely forget about when I wake up. So I spend the morning in a slow moving daze, and then at 10pm, I remember all the crap just as I'm about to fall asleep.

And shaddup it feels good to fall asleep at 10.

Then there are some new things in my life that have been both good for me and bad for my productivity. Aside from the new job, my brother-in-law had to move in with us because he lost his job. (Due to a hernia! Retail is so backwards...) Since my old sewing room was the most promising bachelor pad, I relinquished it.

My husband, though, is the most wonderful living man on earth, and he built me a new sewing room. Which was NOT easy, as I will explain in far too much detail.

I live in the nicest house I've ever seen. Its the house my husband grew up in. His father was a class-act lawyer, JAG for the Air Force, and family man who unfortunately lost his battle with lung cancer in 2007. The house became too big for my mother-in-law, as both of her sons were away at college, and I moved in with her. The death caused a shockwave through everyone, and it was suddenly very hard for all of us to let go of things. Not necessarily for sentimental reasons, but also because the breadwinner was gone. Mrs. White especially held on to things she thought might have value if she needed to use it or sell it in a pinch.

Two and a half years have passed since then. My husband and I got married, graduated college, and moved back in so Hubby could go to law school without needing to panhandle. This resulted in more stuff.

Do you know how many coffee makers you acquire when you get married? And its even worse when you get married and don't immediately end up in your own place! I think we have about 8 coffee makers in this house, and that's after returning six!

I apologize to those of you who got us coffee makers for a wedding present. We really appreciated all of them! We just don't drink coffee enough to need one in every room of the house.

There were a few rooms in the house that had become unusable. They had become storage rooms, which turned into "I don't know where this is supposed to go so I'll just throw it in this room" to "I can only open this door halfway but I can't walk into the room." to "I think Hoover is stuck in that room...Should we just get a new cat?"

We had also turned my brother-in-law's old bedroom into an office/Mancave for my husband, which he NEEDED. I feel sorry for people who have to encounter him during exams. He's not mean or anything, he just gets...loopy. He wont eat or sleep, and he'll study so much that he'll expell legal jargon unprompted. When hes not mumbling anything law-related, he's saying things like "I forgot of ideas..." or "My move is stuck."

So I started to tackle one of these extra rooms. It was tough, because I didn't know exactly what the family held sacred and what it could part with. Surprisingly, a lot of it was just empty cardboard boxes or bins filled with empty plastic bags. things that probably would have been useful if they had a purpose.

Two garage sales and 3 trips to the salvation army later, and we could almost touch the back wall. Then my husband finished his first year at law school, slept for two days straight, AND CLEARED THE ROOM IN A DAY. and in that SAME day, he assembled a proper desk and work space for me, neatly put away all my fabrics, reconfigured the electricity (the room had no working lights before) AND vacuumed! This was all while I was at work, and after he and his brother converted my old sweatshop into a proper bedroom.

The new sweatshop has even less air conditioning than my first one, but it three times bigger, and its more secluded. I took a tip from John B Gorrie and made a few rudementary air conditioners with fans and frozen juice concentrate, so it's liveable.

You would think I would be sewing all the time now, with this new workspace, but the fact that my husband is done with school for a few weeks has also been hindering, because he's just so much fun!

My last day off I woke up to him bringing me breakfast in bed. We saw Robin Hood, got some food, and then just played all day. We read a book together, played some vidja games, watched cartoons. Then the next day I realized the skirt I had planned to make for work had not made itself. Lazy skirt.

I think today is going to be another one of those days. I know I need to finish a dress I'm making for my sister, and two bags for people at work. I also wanted to take my nice camera to the marsh and take pictures of my beloved Florida before the oil spill destroys it.

I'm praying real hard that we dont get hit with a hurricane before this is over. Florida is an aquifer. We're a giant sponge. It could doom the entire state.

And I wanted to retire here.

Ok I'm down off my soap box. Here's some stuff I have made, er... recently.

Jacket for my little sister.

i will edit this tomorrow.

you know how sometimes at a restaurant you eat so much that your gut hurts, but then you end up sitting at the table talking for a while, and without even realizing it, you pick up the complimentary bread and eat more? You are full, but you can still shove a bit more in your gullet, so you do it compulsively. the feeling of satisfaction begins to form sickening guilt, but you cant stop.

THATS ME WITH FABRIC.

and the sad thing is, I DON'T EVEN WORK AT THE FABRIC STORE ANYMORE!

i got into some disagreements with individual employees and managers, stated my issues to the proper office, and waited patiently as nothing was done. Then, when i told a co-worker that i was considering calling human resources about some problems, she warned me not to call. She said she had called them herself to complain about a manager, but then HR called the manager she complained about and told her that she had complained. THEY USED HER NAME! it's supposed to be confidential!

now, as you may know, my husband is a lawyer, so I know that it is illegal for the manager to retaliate on the employee for having called and complained, but in the corporate world, its only retaliation if it is an event that can be documented on paper, such as a demotion or termination. its hard to document backhanded compliments, catty remarks and general douche-baggery.

i dont think my issues were really that whiney either. a few months ago, they were having the roof repaired (it leaked in some areas), but the roofing crew they hired (and by hired i mean picked them up behind the home depot and paid them in travelers checks and mountain dew.) caused more trouble than the occasional leak. I expected some banging noises and the smell of tar to permeate the building for a few days, but then some sort of dust began to fall in huge clumps. If it came in contact with some people's skin, they would break out into an itchy rash. and it contained rust, so it would stain any light colored fabric it touched. when i first saw it falling, I roped off the aisle with caution tape and warned customers to ask for assistance instead of venturing into the drop zone for their clearance priced christoper lowell drapery rods. I asked my manager to make a sign to warn customers about the falling debris, but he just rolled his eyes at me and called me "chicken little." Then chunks of METAL started falling, and I noticed a GIANT @#$K ALL CRACK IN THE CEILING STEMMING FROM THE ENORMOUS HANGING AIR CONDITIONING UNIT. By this time, another manager had taken down my precautionary tape, so I put more up. she took it down again, but this time, she dragged me away from a line of customers to watch her take down the tape, and said "don't put anymore signs up. just sweep it up as it falls."

not five minutes later a clump of ceiling dirt fell on me and my arms and face turned bright red. luckily, i was going home anyways so i immediately got in the shower and minimized any potential damage, though i did get blisters in and around my ears where i didn't scrub.

BUT THATS NOT ALL!

Yes, that can be considered an unsafe work environment, especially when i voiced my concerns and was told to "put on my big girl panties." One of the most frustrating things i felt though, was a complete lack of respect.

Now, I'm not saying that I automatically deserved respect, but i KNOW i earned it. I worked for that store for three years collectively, one of those years in management.While I was at my last store, sales were up, shrink was down, and my bosses told me that I had made improvements over the last supervisor.now, I think I've shown that I know a thing or two about fabrics, but still, when i would try to answer a customer's questions, there were a couple of girls who worked with me, we'll call them thing 1 and thing 2, that would stick their noses into my conversations and say "no you can't make a tie blanket with that fleece" even though i've done it and could explain how to manipulate and care for it correctly. Thing 1 would consistently undermind me and try to order me around where she had no business telling me to do anything. even the customers would pull me aside and say "what is that girl's problem?"

Thing 1 and 2 lived together, which is against policy, but not my place to enforce. the thing about it though, is they made costumes and sold them on ebay on the side. so of course they would buy a lot of fabric, but they would cut it for each other. My store had a policy that you could not cut your own fabric, because who's gonna stop you for getting five yards and paying for three? then again, who's gonna stop your roommate to whom you owe back rent?

Recently the store was audited, and it found that it was missing an amazing SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS worth of merchandise! Am I implying that these girls stole sixty thousand dollars worth of stuff? if that were the case i would be impressed. i might even aplaud them. but because of this gross deficit, we were required to record every single inch of fabric that came to the counter.

Not a big deal right? that's my job anyway? the thing is that china, their big supplier, screws up a lot with measurments, and will sometimes send a bolt with 7 and a half yards when the store ordered 8. Or sometimes the fabric is a little crooked, and instead of just giving the customer that screwy piece and eating the three cents it costs, suddenly i have to cut it straight and throw away that fraction of an inch. Lastly, i dont know about the rest of the population, but my thumb is an inch wide, so when i roll out more than a yard, my thumb interferes with the measurments,

and have you ever tried to take away an inch of fabric from a quilter? you might as well try to take their leg.

my beef is this. I went to management about ithe thefts. other employees went to them about it. I encouraged customers to go to management about it, and the results? THEY GOT MORE HOURS.

they weren't the only ones who got away with stealing. you can steal pretty much anything from that store. i have been told by my managers that employees are not allowed to accuse customers of stealing, even if you see them take fabric off the bolt and shove it in their pants. (btw, that is the most popular way to do it!)

The icing on the cake should have been my first red flag though. i started working at this particular store some time in september. in november, near black friday, i was working with a woman who was notorious for disappearing as soon as there was any work to do. being the holiday season it was insanely busy, and my boss left me in charge of the counter. I stepped away for some reason, but when i came back, there were only two employees at the counter, confronted with a huge line of disgruntled customers. i called for the spacy woman to come back to the counter three times before she finally showed up, and when she did, she yelled across the floor, "there was no one here a minute ago!" I replied "well there are people here now, so you need to come cut." she then approached me with some fabric she was holding, and SHOVED ME LIKE A THREE YEAR OLD.

physical violence usually ends in someone getting fired right? NOT AT JOANNS!

Actually no, it ended with ME getting fired, but not for another six months. I told the MOD when it happened, but the MOD at the time was a sheepish woman, who said she would talk to the spacy woman about it. it wasnt until a few days later that i told another co-worker about it that some attention was brought to the incedent, and by then my boss told meit was too late, "it was my word against hers." and no actions could be taken.

So those are the three big issues i had with the company. other issues included major cuts in staff to the point where we couldnt even properly run the store, scheduling issues (i.e. I completely disappeared from the schedule for a week as the result of a "computer error" and it was not fixed. also, when i gave them my schedule for my other job[which i had to get to make up for the lack of working opportunities there] they of course, chose to schedule me for the exact same hours, so i had to call in to one job to work at the other.)

About a year ago, when i was still working at the tallahassee store, I called the St. Pete store to make sure i could transfer at my same rate of pay. Then, They told me it would be no big deal. The story was different after I actually moved. There were NO openings, and I had to wait about 3 months before a part time position opened up. by then i had lost my health benefits and had to take a cut in pay, but anyone looking for a job in the st pete area last year knows just how crappy the job market was then, so i took it, believing that i could easily get a raise. At my old store, good employees would get a dollar raise for each consecutive year they worked. I asked my new boss if i would get my raise after a year.

you would have thought i asked her to house an escaped mental patient. "No! even if you DO get a raise, it wont be a whole dollar."

I think I've efficiently explained how and why my dreams of working middle management at a fabric store were crushed like a snail on a driveway. so all of this, along with finding a TOTALLY AWESOME JOB AT A GREAT DEPARTMENT STORE, lead me to file my two weeks notice.

in my letter, i wrote how i was disappointed in what had happened to a once good company, and how i would love to stay if i thought i had any future. As i left that day,the store manager stopped me at the door, and said she hoped we could work things out, and that i still had my job if i changed my mind. It made me kind of remorseful. i went home and talked to the huzz about maybe trying to balance both jobs, because while my new job offered more steady pay and health coverage, Joanns was where i belonged.

so the next day, after my 8hr shift at my new job, I walked across the highway to joanns with a smile on my face.

Thing 1 greeted me at the counter with a sunshiny "you're not on the schedule i dont think you work today." and sure enough there were big black x's over my shifts.

I went to the office and asked the manager what was up, and her reply was "i dont know i just work here."

i got fired for quitting. even after the "can we still be friends" speech from the Store Manager. It would be one thing if I got a call saying not to come in. the worst part was they gave all my shifts to Thing 1. Insult to injury, bro. not only do you take my job, you then hand it over to the rudest, laziest, stupidest person available. OMGLOL.

The good news in all of this, and why i win, is i LOVE my new job. I don't want to say where, because I really can't find anything bad about this company and i dont want them to be brought down by my whiney dribble. It's a big department store though. If you havent been there, you've seen it in movies. particularly christmas movies.

I scored a full time job as the swimsuit girl, so the worst thing i have to do is help old ladies try on bathing suits, which I dont really mind doing because I like making people feel good about themselves, even if that means i have to look at them through their husband's eyes for a few fleeting moments before being repulsed by an abundance of body hair and moles.

lol i've never actually had to deal with that. the ladies that shop there are too rich to be ugly.

god I sound catty. sorry. I have issues with complaining when im happy.

I've worked there for like 2 months, and I've only seen 2 ladies in bathing suits, and both of them were so shy. They were embarrased to bring a friend to help them shop, and only asked my opinion out of desparation. both ladies were completely normal looking, not old or obese or anything, but one was afraid she was too fat, and one was afraid she was wearing a suit that was "too young for her." THEY BOTH LOOKED FINE! people are too self concious to be judgemental.

hooray for stream of conciousness. ive been writing for three hours.


RESULTS OF RECENT HAPPENINGS
-or-
THINGS I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT DOING:

just a regular blog. more for my benefit than yours. i dont have time to teach the internet to sew, though i would love to. ill still help anyone who asks (jessicawhite1985@gmail.com).

sew more. im kind of in a 1960's housewife funk. i think its from the department store.

curl my hair/ learn fingerwaves

build a better sweatshop.

a hip-hop dance aerobics class. (i'm too white. i need some...what do they call it?...moxie?...yeah im way too white.)

yes

im still here. lots of ish. pictures etc. soon.

For the Love of Florida

I'm out of the loop quite often, but in my boredom-induced internet bumbling, I have learned that one of the new designers on Project Runway is from my neck of the woods!

Ben Chmura apparently resides in Tampa, and won a Best of the Bay award a few years ago. His name sounded familiar, and I'm awaiting a response from my sister to see if she knows him. If anyone knows anyone in Tampa it's her. I live nearly an hour and a half away from her, and I still have people that ask if I know Erica Heiden. Its kind of disconcerting to have people ask which fabrics are suitable for dance costumes in the same sentence that they inquire about the members of my family...

Anyways, I'm excited to see what this chap has to offer. He's a transplant, originally a New-Englander, so I'm a bit worried on how he plans to represent MY Florida.

I HATE the fact that when most people think of Florida fashion, they instantly go to flamingo pinks and mint greens, oversized button-down shirts and strawhats, and old people. Yes, that is what makes Florida appear so appealing to the rest of the nation, which is apparently made up of only wheat and corn, (I'm lookin at you Nebraska!) or sleet and disdain. (Seattle, anyone?)

I blame Hemingway. As the holder of a degree in English, I am required by law to love him, whether I like it or not. But he ruined my state! He turned Florida into Key West! It's not all beaches and bars here. I would much rather have Zora Neale Hurston's view on the land be the authority.

When I see My Florida in my head, I see the muted colors of the buildings where cement was mixed with sand. I see palmetto green flora and amethyst clouds. I see the mahogany branches of the mangroves and the still, black water shimmering on an alligator's nose. And nowhere in sight are there mouse-ears or t-shirts that say "Hog's breath is better than no breath at all."

Natural Florida is a force to be reconed with. If you've ever seen the plant life, you know how hardcore it is. Grass is not natural here. All the lush lawns you see were brought here from other places and need special conditions just to survive against our badass plants. Look at sawgrass! Let's see your pretty lawn fight off that mofo! Plantlife here has evolved in many crazy ways to survive the climate. Most are just green, with no flowers, and rigid, sharp edges. Sometimes I wonder what the Spanish were thinking when they called this place "land of the flowers"

The plants are all such vicious contenders in the botany world, that they can't even fight each other, and when they get overgrown, we have to burn them all down! It's called prescribed burning. That's why Smokey the Bear now says "Only you can prevent wildfires!" instead of "forrest fires". Cause our forrests deserve it when they wont play nice.

And before you freak out and say prescribed burning is unnatural and detrimental, just know that there are a lot of thunderstorms here for a reason. Tampa is the lightning capital of the western hemisphere (apparently Nepal is the world capital), and when people don't set those fires, nature sets them herself. She gave us the idea.

The people who live here, too, have to be pretty hardcore just to survive. The majority of the state was originally swampland, and had to be worked and drained to make it liveable. There are still large areas that are uninhabitable. And the weather is pretty unique. Hot and humid. Not only are you hot, but YOU CAN'T SWEAT na-na-na-boo-boo!

I went to Vegas on my honeymoon. In August. So I know NOW that Florida is not nearly as bad as it gets when it comes to heat. Let it be known that I DID pass out after a short walk from the Venetian to Caesar's Palace. You can't sweat there either folks. It evaporates before it even gets out of your skin!

If I were to ever given the chance to reinstate Florida fashion, I would take inspiration from the rugged swamp, and make all my fabrics out of linen, rayon, cotton and bamboo. Light stuff designed for hot, sticky weather. I would do away with the Key West/ South Beach air, embroidered souvenier t-shirts, and maxi dresses. I will allow the flip-flop as long as it is tastefully done. None of this plastic B.S.

I just hope this snowbird on Project Runway dosen't taint my state's already bad name. Represent, my homie! Please, please, represent.

Trying is the First Step Toward Failure...

Hopefully by now most of you have gained enough confidence in yourselves to try out a project or two. If you have, GOOD JOB! I’m proud of you! *hug*

If not, we’ve got more work to do.

One of the hardest lessons of life to learn is the acceptance of failure. I KNOW that those of you out there who are too afraid to start a project, probably also got all A’s in school. You’re probably very critical of yourself. You dress well, speak clearly, and keep the public parts of your house very well kept. But when you screw up, you are your worst enemy.

That’s just because you’ve never successfully learned to fail! And no, don’t go blame this on Mommy and Daddy or your first grade teacher (that poor homely woman has enough problems to deal with without your cosmic hatred). This is your chance to take responsibility, and learn to FAIL LIKE A PRO!!!

This is tough, but once you figure out how to royally screw up a project and survive, sewing, and on a more existential plane, life, will become SO much easier.

Now I’m not saying go out and buy 10 yards of fine silk and set it aflame in a symbolic tribute to nihilism. I mean, make something, and if you can’t fix it, give it to charity. They love that stuff!

When I first started sewing, my biggest irrational fear was interfacing. I didn’t know what it was, how to use it, what purpose it served, and I was much happier just staying away from it.

This was also several years ago when I had JUST started working for the fabric store I currently work for. This was also around the time I told a customer that there was no such thing as “charmeuse” and she had probably made it up. After several embarrassing situations like the charmeuse incident and my stuttering responses to questions about interfacing, I decided to face the beast, and make something with this crazy crap.

Since then, I have learned a bit about it, but not as much as I would like to. Even the almighty internet doesn’t have a great understanding of it’s specifics. One of the problems of info on sewing, I think, is that all the hardcore gurus that can tell you
anything you want on sewing, are all older and not too computer savvy. Just my theory. I know there are someGrandmas who can rock a mouse like nobody’s business. Nothing personal. The ones I’ve found that are internet friendly are not too keen on my generation.There videos and webpages are filled with comforting images of teddy bears and doilies, and their words are spoken in a soothing motherly tone. After watching these vlogs, I am not inspired to sew, but rather to find this lady's house so she can bake me cookies and crochet cozy afghans for me while I watch reruns of Ducktales cartoons from the comfort of her overstuffed couch. This is unacceptable. I need bright colors and electronic music! and I need all my information in 140 character bites! Where are the blasé twenty-somethings with peppy buzz words? Threadbanger, you have spoiled me!

I go off on too many tangents. Here’s what you want to know.

There are two main categories of interfacing: Fusible and Non- Fusible (sew-in)

Fusible just means that one or both sides are coated with a heat-activated adhesive. When you iron a fabric to the adhesive side, it bonds with it and adds extra body to said fabric.

Non- Fusible does not have this adhesive, and needs to be sewn to the fabric. This is usually best to use on very delicate fabrics, or fabrics that can’t be ironed/ take a lot of heat, such as most silks and acetate taffeta.

I’ve found that fusible works best on fabrics that are woven and made primarily of natural fibers. It’s hard to get the adhesive to stick to polyester. Sometimes I add an extra layer of just the fusing (I.e. wonder under, heat n’ bond, stitch witchery, etc) to get it to stick.

When applying fusible interfacing, the instructions say to set your iron’s heat to the highest that the fabric can handle. Say, if your using it on linen, turn the heat all the way up. If you’re using it on wool, keep it a little cooler. If your fabric is a blend, go with the weaker fabric. Like for a cotton-poly blend, set the iron to polyester heat.

Also set your iron to steam, if the fabric can handle it. (Always pre-wash your fabrics anyway!) My crappy little iron doesn’t have a steam option, so I keep a spray bottle of water close by. The extra amount of water helps to super-reinforce areas that don’t fuse as readily as I’d like them too. And it keeps the cat away.

When it comes to the weight, you generally want the interfacing to behave the same way as the fabric. (There are a few exceptions to that rule.) If your fabric is light, like charmeuse or peachskin, use a lightweight interfacing. If your fabric is heavy, like a denim or canvas, use a heavyweight interfacing. Most of the time you can use the standard non-woven stuff, but if you want the end result to have more flexibility, maybe try a woven or a knit interfacing. Because of the increased flexibility though, the fusing may come off over time.

Exceptions to the rule are based on common sense. Say you find a cute cotton fabric you want to make into a tote-bag. Of course you would want to use a heavy-weight interfacing to make it stand up. One of my friends says she uses décor-bond for her bags, but when I tried it I thought it felt like it had posterboard inside it. My personal favorite to use is Pellon’s shirt tailor, but sometimes that’s hard to find.

Or if you’re making a t-shirt quilt, you would probably want to back the t-shirt pieces with some lightweight fusible interfacing, instead of the knit interfacing. The t-shirt fabrics are all different, and some will stretch more than others. using the lightweight fusible interfacing keeps them from stretching, so the quilt wont get all wonky.

Even with all these generalizations, trial and error is still necessary. Don’t be afraid to try out a variety of interfacings in your projects, or maybe get a sample of each and try them all out on a scrap. Or maybe, if you feel so bold, ASK the salesperson about interfacing! *GASP!*

So my little chicklets, don’t be afraid to mess up something. You will not die, the fabric will not explode, and the bully from fourth grade will not suddenly enter your house to point and laugh at you. He’s already in jail for doing that to someone else. Seriously, what was his problem? That kid needed more hugs...

The worst that will happen from failing is that you might need to buy more fabric (but who doesn’t like doing that?) and that you might learn something. Remember, even Ralph Lauren didn’t know how to sew on a button at some point.

So, Sew a zipper in the bottom of your skirt? Old news. Drop your iron on your mother’s brand-new rug and burn a hole in it? Nothing new. Sew through your finger? Done it (It makes a great battle scar!)

And just to make things more interesting, maybe post in the comments or email me a story of your favorite fail moment. Sewing has been around since about 30,000 B.C. So don’t worry, whatever you did has probably been done before. By a caveman nonetheless.

See? Even he has a cape!

The wait is over. The headache is now.

IT'S

FINALLY

FINISHED.





I appreciate your patience, my little ducklings. Please forgive the excessive wait and my hyperactive facial expressions. The filming part is easy. The hard part is the editing. I was up until six this morning trying to tweak the audio so that you could actually hear it over my normally quiet sewing machine. But I have two more videos filmed, I just cant promise when I will get them up.

I'm gonna take a hard nap. As always, feel free to comment or ask questions!

Q & A session!

How does one effectively work with very ravelly materials (brocade, etc) without going completely batty? :) And this may go along with the tote bag post, but....straps. How can we attach them that they'll stay attached and not rip out when the bag is actually USED?

-KMay

KMay-

First let me say that I do NOT suggest using brocades or satins for projects if you are just starting out. These fabrics require a lot of care, energy and patience.

If you do decide to tackle this ravelly beast, however, it's best to use a SHARP size 10/70 needle or smaller, and satin pins. Brocade and satin scar very easily, so if you mess up your stitch and use a seam ripper to start again, you'll still have the holes where the needle first went in. Be very patient, you may have to trim away the frayed edges frequently, and use a larger seam allowance.

Where the edges fray, you have a few options. You can try using a special product made to reduce fraying, like No-Fray or Fray-Check. Trim away the frays and then run it along the edges and let it dry.

If you have one of the cheap brocades, like the ones they sell at JoAnns or Wal-Mart, and it's made of polyester or nylon, you can also try (MY HUSBAND IS A LAWYER) burning it. You can run a lighter along the edges until the frays curl up and melt. I assume no responsibility if you damage your fabric, burn yourself, or burn your house or anything else down.

Most of the cheap brocades can also be machine washed. Use the delicate cycle with cold water, and then hang it up to dry. You can iron them on cool, and I've even successfully used fusible interfacing on one.

Fray-checking it and burning it will make the edges feel "crunchy." In my opinion, the best way to work with it is to press and hem the edges. It keeps the edges soft and flexible.

If somehow you got your hands on a REAL silk brocade, dry clean only all the way.

As for the totebag straps, I make an X in a box where I attatch the handles. The totebag tutorial is coming along, but I'm new to using a video camera and all the movie making technology, and my husband keeps forgetting to teach me how to use it. I am, however, a MASTER when it comes to MS Paint! BEHOLD!




Love your blog so far - really helpful to an avid sewer but a bit of a newbie. I find fabric shops simultaneously candy-shop-exciting and overwhelming! What's your opinion on the best choice of fabrics to have in your stash? I mainly work with freebies and old clothes (currently too skint to buy much new) so it's usually a mix of jersey, stretchy knit, linen and denim, all seamed together (obviously, as they're old clothes!) leaving me with small pieces of fabric which I usually turn into children's clothes. I'm trying to build up a stash (at the moment it consists of some brown corduroy and some black jersey!) but go blank when I walk in a shop as to what I'm planning on making and what I need.... Wow, big ramble.

-Skippedydoodah

Skippedy-

I never thought I would be asked to give advice on which kind of fabric to hoarde. How about all of it?

It really depends on what kinds of projects you like to do. If you make a lot of crafts, like quilts, toys or home accessories (i.e. potholders) any kind of plain woven cotton is good to keep around. I myself am a sucker for cutesy prints, and if you're like me, it might be wise to buy a solid color that corresponds at the same time, so when you're ready to make that adorable apron or that convenient casserole cover, you dont get stuck looking for something that you could use for the accents. Cotton also is great for baby clothes, which you mentioned that you make already. Kids can pull off alot of those cute motifs.

If you make a lot of street clothes, I think it's good to stock up on the jersey/ interlock and bottomweight fabrics (denim, twill, anything that feels like pants). again, I think its good to have a stash of basic colors (black, white, tan, red and navy) So when you find a fabric you can't live without, you have something to accent it.

If you make a lot of suits or work clothes, again go for the plain cotton for shirts, but look for one with a higher quality or thread count. Most stores have a section specifically for suit fabric (jacket, skirt, dress pants, whatev). Charmeuse and chiffons make for great blouses, if you feel confident enough to sew with those fabrics. They are pretty tricky for the newbie seamstress.

If you make dresses, like cocktail dresses or fancy stuff, satins, taffetas, velvets, chiffons, and sheers are all good to have around. These ones are a little too intimidating to me though. I only get them if they are on sale or I have a project in mind.

If your bag is in home decor, don't keep a stash. That fabric is too expensive to just have lying around.

Regardless, I think it's always a good idea to keep a stash of muslin, different kinds and weights of interfacing, basic colors of lining, and elastic. Notions usually end up being more useful to have around than extra fabric, even though buying fabric is the most fun. :)

I hope this helps. Whenever I buy fabric, I get a cart and fill it up with stuff I like, and then when I get to the cutting counter, I weed out the ones that I can live without and just get the ones that I NEED. Everyone is different though.


My totebag tutorial should be up in about a week. Still trying to figure out how to use the camcorder.