Wait, I'm a traditionalist seamstress?
A friend posted on Facebook a link to a really interesting blog post about how the industrial age has changed the way that we create clothing - from fibers to construction to use - that really made me see my own sewing in a new light. This friend has gotten into historical re-enactment in a big way (late medieval - early Renaissance, to be specific), and so has a particular skill with 16th century Italian women's wear.
Anyway, the post was by an Australian woman known as Skud, titled "Why is it so difficult and expensive to make your own clothes (or have them made)?
The discussion about pattern making particularly intrigues me. Most, if not all, of the clothes that I make are essentially rectangles - many formed into modified tubes. Skirts are tubes with added pockets, waistbands, zippers, and a few other fun bits added, and shaped with darts. The only black-tie formal dress that I own is made of a tube for the body, then another tube opened at the sides to create a T shape. Super-simple and I've gotten a million compliments on it!
Part of my tendencies is probably based in a history of trying to make things out of the small bits of fabric that I have lying around. My mother grew up making all her own clothes (out of necessity) and learned with modern patterns, with all the complicated curves and interlocking parts, with lots of wasted fabric. Granted, in her family, the "wasted" fabric was likely to be turned into something else, so it wan't really wasted. With generations of seamstresses in my family, the thought of actually throwing away fabric makes me sick to my stomach. The piles of torn/worn out pre-fab clothes destined eventually for a scrap quilt in my closet will attest to that.
Myself, I've generally detested patterns - they were just too fussy for me, and it wasn't always easy enough to make it fit me. If I'm going to bust my butt and make something for myself, I want it to fit my particular body perfectly. I've mostly seen panels of fabric and just been able to mentally identify the tubes it could make and how that could be made into something - it made sense intuitively. And it meant that I wouldn't have to spend a lot on fabric.
I had never considered these to be anything other than laziness and having to work with whatever I had. The post by Skud totally re-framed these tendencies in a way that I like to think means I'm a natural genius. Mostly, I think it would be something in common with most folks who have mostly taught themselves once they got the first basics down. It's the path of least resistance. So I guess my only quibble with the author is the dismissiveness that the more traditional approach can't be adapted to modern styles. Pencil skirts, honey. I realize they don't work for everyone, but it's a nice, basic option that doesn't take much figuring out.
I think I'll stick with the natural genius thing for as long as I can.
And there, it's gone.
Anyway, the post was by an Australian woman known as Skud, titled "Why is it so difficult and expensive to make your own clothes (or have them made)?
The discussion about pattern making particularly intrigues me. Most, if not all, of the clothes that I make are essentially rectangles - many formed into modified tubes. Skirts are tubes with added pockets, waistbands, zippers, and a few other fun bits added, and shaped with darts. The only black-tie formal dress that I own is made of a tube for the body, then another tube opened at the sides to create a T shape. Super-simple and I've gotten a million compliments on it!
Part of my tendencies is probably based in a history of trying to make things out of the small bits of fabric that I have lying around. My mother grew up making all her own clothes (out of necessity) and learned with modern patterns, with all the complicated curves and interlocking parts, with lots of wasted fabric. Granted, in her family, the "wasted" fabric was likely to be turned into something else, so it wan't really wasted. With generations of seamstresses in my family, the thought of actually throwing away fabric makes me sick to my stomach. The piles of torn/worn out pre-fab clothes destined eventually for a scrap quilt in my closet will attest to that.
Myself, I've generally detested patterns - they were just too fussy for me, and it wasn't always easy enough to make it fit me. If I'm going to bust my butt and make something for myself, I want it to fit my particular body perfectly. I've mostly seen panels of fabric and just been able to mentally identify the tubes it could make and how that could be made into something - it made sense intuitively. And it meant that I wouldn't have to spend a lot on fabric.
I had never considered these to be anything other than laziness and having to work with whatever I had. The post by Skud totally re-framed these tendencies in a way that I like to think means I'm a natural genius. Mostly, I think it would be something in common with most folks who have mostly taught themselves once they got the first basics down. It's the path of least resistance. So I guess my only quibble with the author is the dismissiveness that the more traditional approach can't be adapted to modern styles. Pencil skirts, honey. I realize they don't work for everyone, but it's a nice, basic option that doesn't take much figuring out.
I think I'll stick with the natural genius thing for as long as I can.
And there, it's gone.
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