One of the reasons I decided to learn how to sew garments was due to my feelings about body image. Specifically, I feel that the mass media and mass market do not allow for the reality and variety of body types in the RTW clothes that they sell.
I just finished reading a post by Ohhh Lulu about body image in regards to self-sewn lingerie and negative commenting on the internet. The article addresses how we need to stop judging each others bodies so harshly and vocally. While I agree with the spirit of what the author is trying to say, this does not address the root of negative rhetoric regarding body image in our culture.
What most people don't realize is that the hegemonically "perfect" body, which many aspire to but no one can achieve, is driven by elitism. When you really consider what the "best" bodies consist of, you realize that the "bad" bodies are really "poor" bodies.
For example, most people do not find a body wracked by malnutrition, abuse, and disease to be attractive. This is not only because this body looks unhealthy and possibly close to death, but also because it it obvious that the body does not have access to the resources reserved for the elite.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of obese bodies, also considered unattractive, are from backgrounds of poverty as well. In fact, that the greatest indicator of obesity in the first world is poverty. In America, the poor deal with excessive stress, known to be a trigger for weight gain, as well as working irregular and/or long hours, have little leisure time apart from that which must be spent sleeping or maintaing their person-and-household, have little to no vacation time, and few benefits such as healthcare. They often work in stressful, demeaning, and unsafe environments, for little recognition and low pay. As a result, they have little money to spend on food, and focus on cheap, quick, "filling" foods which are high in calories but low in nutritional value.
Finally, the elite structures of society send messages to these people with "bad bodies" through media, the true opiate of the masses, to make them feel ugly and unaccepted. This can lead to depression, feelings of inefficacy, and complacency which insure that individuals are focused on their inner turmoil and personal flaws instead of joining with their peers and affecting change.
So yes, we do need to stop judging each other and using mean language against each other. But more importantly, we need to stop judging ourselves and focusing on ourselves. When we focus instead on the world as a whole, we can be more effective in serving each other and God.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
A Little Tip: Reviving a Squashed Hat
I ordered a cute synth-straw boater hat from an e-bay China based seller. It came quickly, but flat-packed in an envelope. (Of course, I didn't think to take a 'before' picture.) It was pretty squashed, looking more like a fisherman's floppy hat than a pert boater.
But I had anticipated this, and was ready to steam it back to its prim-shaped glory.
All it took was:
- an iron
- water
- some brown packing paper
- a 6 in small round cake-pan
- spray-starch (optional.)
Then I set it on my ironing board and went to town! I puffed steam onto the hat on the wool setting, then turned it down to synthetic to iron the brim, crown, and top back into shape.
I made sure to keep the iron moving quickly the whole time to avoid singeing whatever the hat is made of (probably paper or polypropylene).
I had to go over it a couple times, but it looked great once I was done.
I let the hat sit on the ironing board to cool and dry, then applied a coat of spray-canned starch to help it hold its shape.
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| Forgive the over-brightness. My phone camera isn't great, but this hat is! |
It looks great! I'm sure I will be posting pics of me wearing it this summer!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Summer Sewing Schedule
Hello!
It has been awhile since I have blogged... for a couple reasons.
The main reason is that I have been stalled on my Gatsby blouse. Obviously I had tackled a project that is a little bit beyond my current skill level. I am picking away at it now, even though the Gatsby Challenge deadline has passed. However, I think I will post the completed outfit on the Dressing Downton Flikr group. The blouse and skirt were really more inspired by that aesthetic anyways.
In other news, I have decided to create a summer sewing schedule. Most of these items have the outside goal of being completed before I go on our annual family beach vacation in the third week of August. But obviously they will be useful for the rest of the summer as well. Here is my schedule month-to-month:
June:
I hope I can keep up a steady pace and get all these done by the time we go on vacation!
Do you like to make a schedule of projects you hope to complete in the coming months?
Are there any summer sewing projects you are excited about?
Have a great Tuesday!
...Amber
It has been awhile since I have blogged... for a couple reasons.
The main reason is that I have been stalled on my Gatsby blouse. Obviously I had tackled a project that is a little bit beyond my current skill level. I am picking away at it now, even though the Gatsby Challenge deadline has passed. However, I think I will post the completed outfit on the Dressing Downton Flikr group. The blouse and skirt were really more inspired by that aesthetic anyways.
In other news, I have decided to create a summer sewing schedule. Most of these items have the outside goal of being completed before I go on our annual family beach vacation in the third week of August. But obviously they will be useful for the rest of the summer as well. Here is my schedule month-to-month:
June:
- Finish blouse for Dressing Downton outfit (Simplicity 1779 view D)
- Finish plaid-top Traveler dress (UFO from last summer/ Lisette Traveler dress view C )
- Yellow gingham circle skirt (using The Snugbug circle skirt tutorial)
- Chambray sleeveless dress (from Lisette Passport dress view A)
- Border-print full skirt (using Gertie's full-gathered skirt tutorial)
- Swiss-dot sweetheart blouse (from bodice of Simplicity 2442 view B)
- Chambray button-down shirt (from Lisette Traveler dress view C)
- Chambray full skirt (using Gertie's full-gathered skirt tutorial and wide waistband from another skirt)
- Re-fashion pink trousers to scalloped shorts (pants=too much pink!)
- Re-fashion black sailor pants to shorts, maybe replace buttons for contrast (pants= don't notice sailor button detail)
- Plaid summer jacket (from Lisette Passport jacket view D)
- Riley Blake Lavender Glasses print dress (from Lisette Passport dress view A)
- Aqua pencil skirt (Simplicity 2451 view C but below-knee)
I hope I can keep up a steady pace and get all these done by the time we go on vacation!
Do you like to make a schedule of projects you hope to complete in the coming months?
Are there any summer sewing projects you are excited about?
Have a great Tuesday!
...Amber
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Zipper and Tragedy
While working on my skirt for the Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge on Sunday I came across some difficulty in the zipper department.
Iam making have made the skirt in a nice medium weight poly/ wool blend coating in an eggplant purple color. When I got to the zipper step, I tried to be a good girl and go by the pattern instructions and sew the zipper from the right-side of the skirt. However, with the thickness of the wool and the bias-tap seam binding, I had to start over twice when I had a thread snag after the initial few stitches across the base of the zipper. I think it was the weight in combination with the dark color of the fabric that was making things hard.
I stood up to unpick the snags in front of my ironing board and when I turned to sit back down in front of my sewing machine I tripped over my iron cord THROWING MY IRON TO THE FLOOR!
Now, our sewing room is in the basement, so this was a fall to wood over concrete floors. As I looked in disbelief at my iron, now laying in a puddle of water on the floor, I was sure that my it was totally broken and would never even turn on!
This was even more sad, because I had bought the iron, a Rowenta, at a great mark down, almost 60% off since it was a floor model at Target. I knew I would never be able to replace it for the $36 I had originally spent.
When I looked it over I could hear a rattling behind the bottom of the faceplate. It turned back on and it seemed to heat properly, but any water I attempted to pour into the steam reservoir quickly leaked out of the base of the iron.
OH NO! I thought, I CAN'T DO ANY DECENT FINISH WORK WITHOUT A GOOD STEAM IRON!
I sat down and finished my zipper. From the inside this time, with a piece of 1/2 inch tape over the zipper seam as a guide. It came out perfect, looking great from front and back.
When my mom came home and came in to check on my progress, I told her about my iron tragedy, and how I wouldn't be able to finish my project, let alone future projects without a good functioning iron, and I didn't know how I was going to come up with the money for a new iron.
Luckily, she said that she would help me out by buying it for me so I could stretch the purchase out between two paychecks. Yeah mom!
And I was only set back by one day, because she was able to take me shopping on Monday night.
I got another Rowenta for $89 (eek!). I know you don't have to pay that much for a good iron, but I didn't want to have to order from Amazon and wait a week for my iron only to find that mine had been damaged in transit. I don't shop at Wal-Mart for moral reasons, so the brands they carry there were out. I didn't want to buy one at Jo Ann's, since I know their appliances are usually pricey unless they have a sale on them. So I went with what had worked for me last time and bought a Rowenta at Target. I also got a new ironing board so I could have one with the iron holding rack at the end and not risk another one falling and dieing.
I finished up the skirt on Tuesday and it looks pretty good if I do say so.
My camera batteries were dead or I would have uploaded a picture.
I will have to remedy that.
Next up, I will start on my blouse. Wish me luck on the sleeves!
I
I stood up to unpick the snags in front of my ironing board and when I turned to sit back down in front of my sewing machine I tripped over my iron cord THROWING MY IRON TO THE FLOOR!
Now, our sewing room is in the basement, so this was a fall to wood over concrete floors. As I looked in disbelief at my iron, now laying in a puddle of water on the floor, I was sure that my it was totally broken and would never even turn on!
This was even more sad, because I had bought the iron, a Rowenta, at a great mark down, almost 60% off since it was a floor model at Target. I knew I would never be able to replace it for the $36 I had originally spent.
When I looked it over I could hear a rattling behind the bottom of the faceplate. It turned back on and it seemed to heat properly, but any water I attempted to pour into the steam reservoir quickly leaked out of the base of the iron.
OH NO! I thought, I CAN'T DO ANY DECENT FINISH WORK WITHOUT A GOOD STEAM IRON!
I sat down and finished my zipper. From the inside this time, with a piece of 1/2 inch tape over the zipper seam as a guide. It came out perfect, looking great from front and back.
When my mom came home and came in to check on my progress, I told her about my iron tragedy, and how I wouldn't be able to finish my project, let alone future projects without a good functioning iron, and I didn't know how I was going to come up with the money for a new iron.
Luckily, she said that she would help me out by buying it for me so I could stretch the purchase out between two paychecks. Yeah mom!
And I was only set back by one day, because she was able to take me shopping on Monday night.
I got another Rowenta for $89 (eek!). I know you don't have to pay that much for a good iron, but I didn't want to have to order from Amazon and wait a week for my iron only to find that mine had been damaged in transit. I don't shop at Wal-Mart for moral reasons, so the brands they carry there were out. I didn't want to buy one at Jo Ann's, since I know their appliances are usually pricey unless they have a sale on them. So I went with what had worked for me last time and bought a Rowenta at Target. I also got a new ironing board so I could have one with the iron holding rack at the end and not risk another one falling and dieing.
I finished up the skirt on Tuesday and it looks pretty good if I do say so.
My camera batteries were dead or I would have uploaded a picture.
I will have to remedy that.
Next up, I will start on my blouse. Wish me luck on the sleeves!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Mood Board: What's Inspiring Me
I haven't posted in a couple days and I thought I would check in and share a few things that are inspiring me right now.
1. Yesterday I watched the film La Fille du puisatier: The Well Digger's Daughter (2011). The film takes place just before the onset of WWII and is set and shot in Provence.
The plot centers around a rural laborer Pascal, widower and father of six daughters, and his eldest daughter Patricia whom he idolizes. At its center it is a story about the dichotomy between love and honor. The film was visually pleasing, as the majority of the film takes place outdoors in beautiful rural Provence among streams and hills and orchards and simple but elegant masonry buildings.
With six daughters playing prominently in this story, there were plenty of simple, light, floral, 1930's dresses in this film as well.
2. Seychelles Footwear, BAIT Footwear, and Saltwater Sandals- All of these are available in some adorable summer shades and vintage styling. I am currently stalking all 3 online for sales and dreaming of being able to wear them in warmer weather.
3. Dwarf-Hotot Bunnies- This dwarf breed of rabbits look like they have eyeliner on, which gives their eyes a cartoonishly large quality.
4. 1930's Storybook Print Fabric- These 30's feedsack fabric inspired prints just say spring to me.
5. Vintage Perfume Ads- I love vintage advertisements from before photographs were the most common type of image in advertisement, especially ads from the art-nouveau and art-deco eras. Perfume ads always seem to be the most whimsical and feminine.
These last two are some nice mood-inspiration for the Gatsby Sewing Challenge!
1. Yesterday I watched the film La Fille du puisatier: The Well Digger's Daughter (2011). The film takes place just before the onset of WWII and is set and shot in Provence.
The plot centers around a rural laborer Pascal, widower and father of six daughters, and his eldest daughter Patricia whom he idolizes. At its center it is a story about the dichotomy between love and honor. The film was visually pleasing, as the majority of the film takes place outdoors in beautiful rural Provence among streams and hills and orchards and simple but elegant masonry buildings. With six daughters playing prominently in this story, there were plenty of simple, light, floral, 1930's dresses in this film as well.
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| Seychelles |
 | |
| B.A.I.T. Footwear |
3. Dwarf-Hotot Bunnies- This dwarf breed of rabbits look like they have eyeliner on, which gives their eyes a cartoonishly large quality.
 |
Friday, April 12, 2013
The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge: Patterns and Fabric Choices
After my post yesterday I considered a little more about what type of garment/s I wanted to sew for The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge. As I said, being a full figured lady the thought of making a gamine, dropped waist flapper-style dress is pretty much a joke to me. Also, living in a post-feminist (kind-of) world today I realize that subduing the female form into pre-pubescent boyhood is not the best way to empower women.
I did start thinking about all the things that were brought to our modern world of fashion in the 1920's.
The step-in dress, one which didn't require assistance from servants or family members to get dressed, not only revolutionized the fashion world and ease of movement for women, it also assisted in delineating the separation between classes made apparent by costume. The step-in dress often had only a few buttons on the front-bodice, making it the link between the fitted shirtwaists of the Edwardian era and the shirt-dress of the 1940's which is still a fashion staple today.
And of course the little-black-dress assisted in this process too, as there was not as much variance or visibility of fabric quality in evening wear in the inky-shades and simple shapes.
As for my challenge project, I always gravitate toward day wear when selecting vintage styles because of their ability to mesh with a more modern aesthetic. Also, at my current skill level it is much easier to work primarily with natural woven fabrics, so that would indicate day wear as well. Then, back to my dread of the dropped-waist, I had decided on focusing at the very beginning or very end of the decade. I finally decided that some 1920's inspired separates would be best.
I chose to use McCalls 3830, which is a straight-skirt with multiple length options.
I did start thinking about all the things that were brought to our modern world of fashion in the 1920's.
The step-in dress, one which didn't require assistance from servants or family members to get dressed, not only revolutionized the fashion world and ease of movement for women, it also assisted in delineating the separation between classes made apparent by costume. The step-in dress often had only a few buttons on the front-bodice, making it the link between the fitted shirtwaists of the Edwardian era and the shirt-dress of the 1940's which is still a fashion staple today.
And of course the little-black-dress assisted in this process too, as there was not as much variance or visibility of fabric quality in evening wear in the inky-shades and simple shapes.
As for my challenge project, I always gravitate toward day wear when selecting vintage styles because of their ability to mesh with a more modern aesthetic. Also, at my current skill level it is much easier to work primarily with natural woven fabrics, so that would indicate day wear as well. Then, back to my dread of the dropped-waist, I had decided on focusing at the very beginning or very end of the decade. I finally decided that some 1920's inspired separates would be best.
 |
| Day wear can be made in easy to sew fabrics, such as this skirt which appears to be in a cotton or linen woven. |
 |
| These separates allow a natural waistline to be visible, although the hip is still emphasized by sashes and banding. |
I will be making version B, which is a mid calf length that I felt hearkened to the early 1920's. The techniques needed to make this skirt are all familiar to me, such as making darts and inserting a zipper. I considered trying to change the closures to something more period appropriate, but ultimately decided that I would put all the learning in with the blouse.
For the blouse I decided on Simplicity 1779, which I already had in my stash.
The blouse has multiple sleeve and collar options. I decided on the long sleeves and the flat collar, but I may add in the bow- tie as well. I will definitely have to learn on this one, as I haven't done sleeves before and find them pretty scary for some reason. I also haven't done buttons or button-holes before, but I think that must be pretty straightforward.
I know I want to use a lilac colored lightweight woven fabric with a contrasting white collar on the blouse in tribute to my favorite dress from the Downton Abbey series.
I haven't quite decided on the skirt fabric yet. I have it down to 3 options.
1. An aqua textured bouclé lightweight coating I have in my stash, which I may want to keep for its original intended use for a jacket.
2. A wool blend ribbed medium weight coating in dark purple.
3. A wool blend smooth-finish medium weight suiting in navy.
I'm leaning toward the latter two options. What do you think?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge
Hello all. I am snugged up in the den this gray morning with a quilt on my lap looking out the window at the little leaf buds on our oak tree and wondering when the spring weather will show up. Having lived in Northwest Washington for twenty years, I know not to trust that spring is here until after the lilacs bloom in May. But after an unseasonable warm and sunny Easter weekend followed by two weeks of clouds and rain, I am longing to sew up some dainty spring fashions.
While I was reading around the sewing-blogs looking for inspiration, I came across The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge over on Miss Crayola Creepy. Now, being a curvy pear-shaped lady I am no fan of the dropped-waist and shapeless torso associated with Flapper Era fashions. My eye-for-vintage usually gravitates to the va-voom curves of the late 1940's through early 1960's. But as a modern lady I can appreciate what the 1920's did to try to free women from both the corset and the confines of gendered and socioeconomic elitism. The introduction of sportswear, the slip-on dress, and the use of knit fabrics all contributed to the breakdown of both gender and economic power structures during this period.
As I was reading the guidelines for the challenge, I saw that Erin referred to jazz-era styles seen on the tv shows Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey for participants who wanted a little more inspiration.
Any time I think of the fashions on Downton Abbey, the first thing I consider is the beautiful purple dress worn by Lady Sybil in season one. Of course this dress is a classic Edwardian shirtwaist-dress, but I think that it may be possible to take inspiration from it and bring it up to a 1919-1920 era style. And that shade of purple is apparently my best color. And the challenge will allow me to finish right in time for lilac season!
As I have been perusing 1920's fashion plates online, I have pretty much decided that I will either do a shirt-dress from very early in the decade, before the waistline dropped to the hip, or do separates from the very end of the decade, in which the separation of skirt and blouse allowed a natural waist to be visible again. I think that either of these options could be styled with hair, make-up, and accessories to read as a jazz-era outfit.
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| 1919 Shirt-dress. could raise hem to mid calf for a bolder flapper feel. |
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| 1929 Sportswear Separates. The waist line had moved back above the hips by this time. |
What do you think?
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