November | 2015 | Made of Rags

Happy ever after?

After prince charming married the rag-princess, his life didn´t turn out “happy ever after”. It became quite the opposite, because a princess, who is always in the middle of recycling projects, can drive a modern prince half insane…….

“Dear princess,”, prince charming says. “When will dinner be served?”

“I don´t know. Ask the servants!” she answers.

His feet scratch bashful on the floor. “We don´t have any. I´m a modern prince!”

“Oh… Well, in THAT case make yourself some sandwiches. I´m busy!”

He gives her a beseeching look. “Busy with something much more important than serving your beloved husband a good dinner?”

“Much more important. I´m in the middle of a new, exiting recycling-project!”

“There is no project!” growls prince charming. “All I can see is a huge, ugly pile of rags on our dining table instead of food!”

“I hope you don´t mean my precious textile fragments?” the princess asks confused.

“No. I mean those RAGS on the table….We really need a much bigger garbage can!”

“Nonsens, garbage can!” the princess yells. “What we need is another armoire for my treasure-collection…..That corner over there would be great…..”

“That corner is mine! It´s reserved for my throne! Now look, why don´t you just go to that sewing-cave I arranged down in the dungeons for you?”

“The dungeons are dark. And much to small. I can not even turn around in there!” The princess whines.

Prinz charming goes downstairs to the dungeons, opens the door to his wifes 60 yards sewing-cave, avoids a collapsing stack of vintage fabrics at the last moment and closes the door hasty again.

He runs up the dungeon-stairs quite angry.

“Why can´t you go to the next fancy boutique and buy yourself some nice, overpriced clothing with a colored label on it, like all the other princesses do?”

“Because I´m a RAG-princess, remember? I even made my own wedding gown !”

“Yes…..THAT I remember!” moans the prince.

He rolls his eyes, turns his back on her and disappears, wherever moderns princes vanish to, if they are really frustrated.

And what does our rag-princess do? Sits down in front of her sewing machine and creates THIS jacket!

You can´t always succeed….

No, you can´t always succeed in millinery. I made this hat two years ago and wanted a abundant flower-decoration. I worked for days on the embellishment and used some of my precious vintage ribbons and a veil from a 1949´s never used (but partial sun-bleached)stock.

After finishing, I really didn´t like it.

Some month ago, I decided to end the tragedy, because the hat is acctually really pretty and I love the midnight-blue color and velvet trim on the border.

So I removed parts of the decoration and made a new start. This time I created an Art Déco glasbead-decoration from a picture, I found on the web.

After finishing, I really didn´t like it again.

Seams, the poor hat have to wait another two years, until I embellish it for the third time….If I have the right idea than…..

So, if you have your little defeats, may it be millinery or whatsoever….don´t worry. Just try again. And again, and again…..One day you will succeed!

Modern Romance

Some lingerie, I sewed over the last moth. It looks like vintage items, but actually I used some modern sewing Patterns and combined vintage and new fabrics with antique ribbons and appliques. I wanted modern convenience, but a high quality in material and also a vintage look.

To make the long drawers, I used a white cotton-lace, primarily ment for a wedding gown. Instead of silk-satin, a fabric that´s really beautiful, but expensive and intricate to wash, I use cotton-satin. You can find some good qualitys in the web and it´s cheaper and also much more expanded in size per yard.

There are good shops in Germany, where you can get some high-quality fabrics for lingerie: www.naturstoff.de oder www.florence.de. Naturstoff provides you with some Eco-and GOTS-certified-fabrics.

But my favourite fabrics are vintage or second-hand, such you can still find in good amounts on flee-markets, in second-hand-stores or social departments.

Nice patterns for modern and vintage lingerie are available in sewing-stores or in the web: Burda, McCalls, Butterick, Etsy, www.neheleniapatterns.com or the German lingerie-specialist www.sewy.de….

But good books don´t grow on every tree. Most of them don´t include comfortable patterns. You have to increase, convert or print it on a plotter….(If you have one…..)

Rather circumstantial and time-consuming.

Therefore, I´m glad I found this in 2014 published book “”The secrets of sewing lingerie” by Katherine Sheers und Laura Stanford.

Real patterns are included! You can find classic and modern patterns for knickers, pantys, thongs, a tap pant,slips, suspenders, garters and a slumber eye mask.

Apart from that, there are some patterns for bras, a thing most of the other books and even pattern-providers avoid. Sizes go from xs to xxl, so “big girls” can share the fun!

I made some tests and it works! The instructions give you some alternatives in closures and you learn, how to work with non-stretchable fabrics like cotton-satin or batiste. The authors use also some antique ribbon and lace.

By the way….did I tell you, the pictures in this book are marvelous and the items classy?

Sophies Universe

Finally finished! My Version of Dedri Uys “Sophies Universe”.

Now I have to wash it gently and strain ….

You can find the free pattern on Dedris Website “lookatwhatimade.net.

Dresser-Gown

I made this gown from a piece of simple vintage linen and two embroidered items. One of them was a bit weird. It had one big circular cut-out on every small side. Maybe it was used as a runner for a dresser with pilars….I´m not quiet sure.

I didn´t change much. I just put on some color and used the embroidered items as they came.

Don´t dump- Donate!

Sometimes you get sewing items, you don´t want or need for yourself. Maybe it´s the wrong color or material or you don´t like the pattern…..Of course you could dump and forget it. Or just throw it in one of those recycling banks.

But in the majorty of cases, the things are to good to be dumped and if you choose the recycling bank, some of the fabrics end in rags or will be shipped to Africa.

It´s much better to donate.

I donate my things to a group of young girls, working on creative projects at school. It´s fun to see, what they are doing:

www.sew.it-your-self.blogspot.de – only German language

Their teacher is a talented scholar and zealous sewer. Her projects can be found on www.coudre-liaison.blogspot.de (also only German language)

So look around…Is there a group of creative people in your environment? Or a social department? A neigbour with low income but some children, who could use the things for handicraft work? Or someone in the DYS field?

The better way of shopping

A big second hand store …..NO, Shopping in a place like that is NOT glamorous. And I can promise, you won´t get that “luxury feeling” you find in one of those bright-and-shiny malls.

But I think, the question ist: What is more important? Glamour or sustainability?

Tunisian Crochet Jacket

Another jacket, made of silk and new wool in tunisian crochet.

Tale of the rag-princess

Once upon a time, there was a raggy-shabby-sewing princess, accursed by the evil queen of dress-codes, so she had to work in a dull office every day, wearing minimalistic sentence-suits. But one day she had enough and made herself a romantic rag-dress from a chinese tablecloth and some satin duvet cover, to show off her true nature. Then she walked around the office building with her head high. Unfortunally, her pinstriped co-workers all nearly collapsed, when they saw the magic dress she wore and as soon as they recovered, ran and complained to the boss.

Now the Boss (Prince Charming himself!) went to view the monster, got a nasty shock and ordered our poor rag-princess into his office immediately. He gave her exact order to put off this ridiculous eyeshocker and asked her, if she was totally out of her mind. In this situation, there was only one way to save herself from beeing sacked and further tortured with senseless questions: She had to put off the dress and marry him. (Which broke the curse!) But from now on he lived in wild and weird sewing-wonder-hell and really deserved it. And of course he never got an answer to his question.

The dress ended up in a dustbin, where I found it and shifted it for me, because a little bit of magic had remained.

There is more than one rag-princess on this planet. So boss beware!

Alternative Solutions on Feathers

Usually I avoid the use of feathers for my millinery. I don´t like the thought of birds beeing killed for my personal vanity. Let alone the captive breeding of birds under poor conditions. But sometimes the feathers come as a gift or are part of a lot with some other items for millinery. In that case I use them, but not with quiet conscience. Years ago, I got an antique feather embellishment from an old Lady. Actually it was a bellow with the skin of the bird still on it. I don´t think, I will ever use the thing. It is one of the examples for the killing of millions of exotic birds around 1900- Just for Millinery!

But there are alternativ solutions! Make your own feathers out of yarn, paper, woolfelt or collect feathers, the birds have lost during molt. Some hobby-breeders in the web sell those molt-feathers from their own birds.

For this hat I used a molt- feather from a whooping crane.

So if you decide to collect molt-feathers in your environment, fine…do it! But don´t forget to damp your loot under a cloth with a hot iron for sanitation!