A much better way
Jul. 31st, 2017 03:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
susandennisIn the olden days, when you wanted to sew something, you generally went to the fabric store and sat down at this big long desk and poured over pattern books until you found the one you wanted.
The patterns were made out of tissue paper and folded up into envelopes. I always used to iron mine flat and then lay them on top of the fabric and stick pins through the paper and the fabric to hold it down and then cut along the lines designated for my size. Then you folded the pattern back up and stuffed it, usually only partially successfully, back into the envelope until the next time you wanted to make the same thing.
Excellent care enabled you to use one pattern maybe 3 or 4 times before it disintegrated from folding and unfolding and pin holes.
Cut to today... Now I download the PDF and select that layer that is my size and so am able to ONLY print the size I want which is significant right there. Regular copy paper works but now I'm using a heavier 32lb paper which works way better. Then I tape the pattern pieces that are bigger than 8.5x11 and cut them out.
I lay out the fabric and lay the pattern pieces on top. I anchor them down NOT with pins but with weights (in my case the biggest washers I could find at Home Depot) and I draw around the pattern pieces with a felt pen who's ink disappears the minute it's hit with heat, like an iron. Once the pattern is removed, I cut out the fabric on the lines I made with the magic pen.
So so so much better. Today I made a shirt out of one of the Goodwill sheets. Its base is my regular raglan sleeved tshirt but with a gathered back that I saw at the baseball game the other day. Worked out perfectly! And the pattern was not at all harmed in the process.
Very cool to make clothes like I did when I learned to sew more than 50 years ago but make them so much better and easier and more efficiently using today's tools.
The patterns were made out of tissue paper and folded up into envelopes. I always used to iron mine flat and then lay them on top of the fabric and stick pins through the paper and the fabric to hold it down and then cut along the lines designated for my size. Then you folded the pattern back up and stuffed it, usually only partially successfully, back into the envelope until the next time you wanted to make the same thing.
Excellent care enabled you to use one pattern maybe 3 or 4 times before it disintegrated from folding and unfolding and pin holes.
Cut to today... Now I download the PDF and select that layer that is my size and so am able to ONLY print the size I want which is significant right there. Regular copy paper works but now I'm using a heavier 32lb paper which works way better. Then I tape the pattern pieces that are bigger than 8.5x11 and cut them out.
I lay out the fabric and lay the pattern pieces on top. I anchor them down NOT with pins but with weights (in my case the biggest washers I could find at Home Depot) and I draw around the pattern pieces with a felt pen who's ink disappears the minute it's hit with heat, like an iron. Once the pattern is removed, I cut out the fabric on the lines I made with the magic pen.
So so so much better. Today I made a shirt out of one of the Goodwill sheets. Its base is my regular raglan sleeved tshirt but with a gathered back that I saw at the baseball game the other day. Worked out perfectly! And the pattern was not at all harmed in the process.
Very cool to make clothes like I did when I learned to sew more than 50 years ago but make them so much better and easier and more efficiently using today's tools.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 12:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 12:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 12:36 am (UTC)Memories! My mom used to sew our holiday clothes. I am the youngest of three girls, so we had matching outfits when we were little, then we got to pick different colors, and eventually different patterns. And we all got to pin down on own patterns. Not my favorite activity! But being the youngest had its advantages. In high school in the mid 80s I kept mom on her toes with intricate cut work blouses with puffy sleeves and such. I did not inherit her sewing talents, but I have thought about picking it up again and trying some simple patterns....and I would LOVE not having to pin down the patterns!
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 01:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 11:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 04:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 07:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-01 08:01 pm (UTC)https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NSOJRS6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-02 03:35 am (UTC)I guess that means you can't use it on fabric you're going to wear in freezing weather. Or you could use it for a humorous message. E.g "If you can read this, it's too frickin' cold!"
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-02 03:37 am (UTC)And I LOVE your idea for a winter message. It may well go on my next t-shirt.