Sewing and such.
Jul. 9th, 2006 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterLast night I finally started working on making a skirt modeled after my favorite skirt of all time, which is starting to show a little bit of wear and tear. I always forget that most of sewing involves planning--picking out an appropriate fabric, washing it, ironing it, making a pattern, tracing it onto the fabric, and cutting. Once those steps are complete, the actual sewing can begin, with occasional trips back to the ironing board, of course.
Since I have no sewing machine, I am hand-stitching skirt #2, which appeals to my detail-oriented nature. Hand-sewing is much more precise and versatile than machine stitching. I was especially happy to find good stitches for seams and hems. On a sewing machine, these stitches would most likely be one and the same, but their hand-stitched counterparts are completely different: I am using a loopy stitch for the seams and a backstitch for the hems.
Just as with knitting, there's a slow, repetitive element to hand-sewing, although I think I will be able to finish this skirt much faster than I finished my last knitting project, a pair of leg-warmers.
Sometimes it makes me sad that sewing and knitting are more expensive than going to a store and buying a scarf or skirt made in a third-world country by someone who is paid pennies for every dollar we pay. (present skirt project excepted) Most fabric stores these days cater largely to quilters or mothers sewing Halloween costumes, and sewing and knitting are rarely elevated to the level of art.
OTOH, these sorts of projects are much more readily accessible to people than many forms of art, and the more utilitarian forms of handmade things can create a more unique and fulfilling expression of self.
Since I have no sewing machine, I am hand-stitching skirt #2, which appeals to my detail-oriented nature. Hand-sewing is much more precise and versatile than machine stitching. I was especially happy to find good stitches for seams and hems. On a sewing machine, these stitches would most likely be one and the same, but their hand-stitched counterparts are completely different: I am using a loopy stitch for the seams and a backstitch for the hems.
Just as with knitting, there's a slow, repetitive element to hand-sewing, although I think I will be able to finish this skirt much faster than I finished my last knitting project, a pair of leg-warmers.
Sometimes it makes me sad that sewing and knitting are more expensive than going to a store and buying a scarf or skirt made in a third-world country by someone who is paid pennies for every dollar we pay. (present skirt project excepted) Most fabric stores these days cater largely to quilters or mothers sewing Halloween costumes, and sewing and knitting are rarely elevated to the level of art.
OTOH, these sorts of projects are much more readily accessible to people than many forms of art, and the more utilitarian forms of handmade things can create a more unique and fulfilling expression of self.
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Date: 2006-07-09 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 04:42 pm (UTC)Yes, I am a wee bit anachronistic, a '50's housewife in disguise as a biologist.
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Date: 2006-07-09 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-10 04:41 pm (UTC)I was thinking I could probably pick up some nice fabric at a thrift store, but I found a couple of fabrics I really liked at a fabric store, and this will keep me busy for at least a little while.