Cables

Recently, I've bought two books which will, hopefully, help me improve my skills in machine knitting. These two:

 

The first one is a new book which is all about how you can make a huge variety of stitches on the knitting machine without the need for fancy extra tools. Different stitches are arranged in chapters according to sort and clearly explained with photographs and work schematics. The text is also clear about whether or not you need a double bed machine for a certain kind of pattern (really useful for me because I only have a single bed machine)

The second book is no longer in print but used ones are easily available. The title suggested it's what I want and there was a rather informative review about it as well, so I decided to try it.  

So far, I've looked through both books and each seems promising in its own way. I was thinking it might be a good idea to sit down and read them properly before starting on anything, but I couldn't control myself.

You see, ever since I first tried knitting (hand knitting, a few years ago), I've wanted to make something with cables. As I've explained before, hand knitting wasn't my kind of thing.

When I bought the knitting machine and studied its manual, I was inclined to believe that knitting cables required some kind of implement not included in this particular set. Until I found a book about knitting machine stitches in the library. In it, there was the suggestion that you could knit cables on a knitting machine by manipulating the stitches by hand using the two and three eye tools. I tried using that book and got some result, but the instructions were rather sketchy so the real method still wasn't clear to me.

Now, using my new book (in which cables are chapter four or five), I've started to make swatches systematically.

These are not cables. They are what the book calls 'rehung stitches'. Basically you knit for a number of rows, then pick up certain stitches several rows down and put them back on the needles. Either on the needle they came from or on one to the side of it. You can get pretty cool effects that way but unfortunately, it pulls in your knit work lengthwise and compromises its vertical stretch. So, it's not an effect which will work well in any kind of project.

These are my cable swatches:

Rope cables: single, parallel and opposing.

And serpentine cables: single, parallel and opposing. 

On my single bed machine, I have to leave the stitches right next to the cables un-knitted. I can purl them by hand later. On the swatches, I didn't feel like doing that everywhere, so you can only see the actual effect of a cable in the fabric on the single rope cable and the opposing serpentine one.

I want to try some less standard kinds of cables next and then try and design a very simple sweater or cardigan using several varieties of them... Wish me luck!

Guess the decade

I've never done a post like this before, but I usually love them at other blogs (most notably at Couture Allure).

This week I bought this book:

That is 'Fashion Photography' in Dutch. It's basically one of those 'fashion photography through the ages collections' (I was going to write 'through the decades' but it actually starts before 1900. Other than that, it is pretty much all of the 20th century).

Although it misses some of the usual suspects (in fact, it misses pictures of creations from the biggest names altogether), like Dovima wearing Dior's 'Bar' suit, it includes other, lesser known and equally fascinating pieces of fashion history. Some of which are interesting and might be difficult to date without the strict 'by the decade' order of the book and the information with each picture.

Case in point:

Can you tell me from which decade this picture comes (apologies for the crease down the middle. it's a thick book)? I'll reveal the answer on Monday. Winners get the right to boast about their superior knowledge of fashion ;)

Withstanding the test of time

Do you think sewing and craft books age badly?

I tend to think a lot of the techniques stay the same, even though new, and maybe more 'convenient' stuff may be added over time.

So, when I found these 1970's craft books (part of a 'Time Life' series, if that means anything to anyone) at a local thrift store at 1.50 euro a piece, I decided to take them home with me.

They include the usual techniques for sewing and fitting.

They also feature simple projects, some of which I would still make and wear today.

Of course, the styling pictures are terribly dated.

But I have never found a better tutorial for making leather gloves,

Or a boxy handbag.

And there is a surprising amount of knitting patterns, many of which might still look good.

All in all, I think this was a very good find and I'm sure I will use these in the near future. I'll make sure to credit them when I do.

As ever, more later.

A good week for the bookshelves

Unfortunately, there hasn't been much sewing I can I show to you. I've been at work and working on assignments when I wasn't.

The good news is that the assignments are going well. J came around to try on her almost-finished jacket (all it needs is to have the lining put in), which fit her well and she loved it. Another friend J stopped by to have her measurements taken for that demin jumpsuit. I have good hopes for that one and I think I will be able to make her the necessary trouser- and strapless bodice slopers over the weekend (Queen's day, 30 April, is to the Dutch what the British would call a Bank Holiday, so I won't have to work this Saturday).

Oh, and I still want to make E that spring jacket, although the weather already dictates summerwear. I don't think I will let that deter me. Despite the 'warm summers follow harsh winters' common wisdom, there's absolutely no garantee that we won't have a wet and chilly month of May. And if we get nothing but summer, he can always wear it in the autumn.

But, it has been a good week for the bookshelves indeed.

On Monday I met my aunt, who gave me her latest 'harvest' from the charity shop: Dutch craft magazines from the mid 1950's.

These are not about sewing. they're about knitting, crochet and embroidery. Sadly, all of these are missing their worksheets which would have contained the sull-scale embroidery patterns and the occasional 'sew and decorate' sewing pattern. However, the pictures are pretty nice and I think (with my very limited knowledge of the subject) that most knitting patterns could be made from the texts and small diagrams included.

And then, today, the mailman brought me my latest order from Amazon (I use the 'co.uk' site. They even have free shipment to the Netherlands now). I had been promising myself a book-buying-spree ever since I started my teaching job. But I was waiting for a history book which should have been published in the second half of 2010 but still isn't avaible.

I got tired of waiting and now, I can welcome these to my home.

From left to right, I've got: Patterns of fashion part 1 (I'm not really into recreating historical garments, but I love patterns and I thought it would be great to see those of historical garments. who knows when I will want to use some element from those), the V&A publication Underwear in detail (I love all their 'in detail' books. Excellent detail pictures, clear line drawings and the appropriate information), Pattern magic 1 (no need to explain this one, it's been all over the blogosphere and I decided to give it a go. I didn't even check when I ordered it, but this is the new English version) and season 4 of the Tudors (did I tell you that history is my other weakness?).

I don't think I'm very good at reviews, but if you're interested in my opinion of any of these books, let me know. And I will show you some of the contents of those 50's magazines at a later date

Random update

Hopefully, I'll get around to doing a proper post later today, however, I kind of feel like sharing assorted experiences from last week with you.

First of all, thank you so much for all your nice comments on my twist dress! Of course I'll keep you informed of other developments at that front.

Secondly, sewing for other people... Hmm, how can this be so rewarding and so so frustrating at the same time. Miss V came and went yesterday. She has managed to loose quite a bit of weight and circumference recently, forcing me to alter the dress and corset I made for her. So, both are back on the to-do pile. Argh. However, she loved the look of both, actually sort of appologized for changing shape so much and is really looking forward to these pieces...

And it's not just her, I'm also finally going to make a real start (as in, with the real fabric) on miss R's suit. I will just keep my fingers crossed and hope she will stay at her current size. Which is very good, by the way.

And then, I was helping out at M's this week and we decided we needed another dress for a fashion show for sustainable brands which is coming up this week. She pulled out an old pattern. It was a dress with a one piece body. Not one pattern piece, cut out twice, but really just one piece and sleeves. Of course, it was a free form kind of garment, but a rather interesting one. Two tucks, a center back seam and some gathering... I'm sorry I can't show you a picture, but I don't have any and it doesn't seem right to show you the fruit of someone else's creativity and hard work without her knowing it and approving.

Let's just say this is why I love to hang around there. Still so much to learn. So many other ways to look at design and pattern making. So much experience and flair...

And lastly, for now, how about some more books? Did I ever point out my love for my local library? I should. Most 'nice to look at all those pictures' kind of books and even quite a lot of pattern making ones, I don't buy, I borrow. Some of them again and again. This pile is in my house right now.

It includes biographies of Chanel and Dior, a big book of fashion prints from the 17th till late 19th century, a book on fashion theory, David Page Coffin's trouser making book, another pattern making book and this beauty: Waisted efforts by Robert Doyle.

This is nothing less than a guide to recreating period corsetry (although not the corset in the picture on the cover. that's an S-curve one and although the book mentions those, it doesn't give any information on making the pattern. this might be for health reasons, those things are supposed to bend your back in a very bad way) to size. It is intended for use by costume makers and it is utterly brillant. Just look at some pictures inside:

The book starts by having you create a 'French block', then introduces different corset shapes in chronological order and explains how to create those from the block. It also contains a lot of background information and scale reproductions of 19th century corset patterns.

I haven't made anything from it yet. I just keep borrowing it to read and stare at it all. There are always so many other, more practical things I 'need' to make... Which is also why I haven't yet been able to justify the expense of buying this book, but believe me, I want to. If you are more into corset-making than I am, and you would love to learn more about its history and draft patterns to size (although, to be honest, a majority of the instructions are, like the one above, for Renaissance-style corsets), this book is not to be missed!

Books!

I've enjoyed reading Melissa's recent posts (like this one) about her new sewing related reading material. It also made me realise I have never written a single blog post about my books. Sources for patternmaking, sewing techniques or inspiration have been horribly underexposed! How could I have neglected them...

About time to try and make amends. I'll concentrate on patternmaking books for now, because I think I refer to those the most. (and, because I don't really sew from pattern magazines anymore, I never get to do any of those nice 'issue review' posts...)

My main patternmaking textbook is called 'Grondvormen' (which roughly translates as 'basic shapes'). It comes in part 1 and part 2, 1 giving instructions on creating various slopers and their variations for men and women, 2 dealing with 'details' like alternative sleeve shapes and collars. The authors are Dutch, so I am rather convinced that this particular book is only publish in this language. It's not actually ment for the hobby seamstress, rather it's a textbook for teaching patternmaking in the Rundschau method to students at fashion colleges. Which is why it makes sense for part 1 to come with fold-out, pre-made slopers in the book's standard sizes (it's women's sizing has been way off for anyone, I've ever measured.

They seem to assume a very well defined body shape and small sizes). And it is also why it doesn't have a large section on fit alterations for the individual wearer's figure.

The instructions are step-by-step and very clear, however they are rather mathematical in nature. If Winifred Aldrich's metric pattern cutting (which I own as well, the pictures just didn't turn out right, but Melissa made a rather good review of it), gives you a headache, don't even open this book.

All my slopers were made using these books and I'm a big fan of their instructions for shawl- and notched collars (as I've made them on most of my

jackets and coats).

I mostly use 'metric pattern cutting for womenswear' when drafting separate collar shapes (a simple shirt collar for example) and I tend to prefer this book for sleeve shapes. Aldrich gives more variations for sleeveshapes on fitted bodices.

My third patternmaking book is 'Patroontekenen' (='patternmaking') by Detje Bosgra (also a Dutch author, so, as far as I know, a Dutch-only book). I bought this book quite enthousiastically two years ago (now I remember, it was my gift to myself for passing my driving test), and I've only ever used it once or twice.

Despite its 'fun' and 'girly' cover, this is not a fun or easy book. Like the other books, there are instructions for slopers, there's some information on tweaking the fit and there are variations. However the instructions are headache-inducing to me. This lady (a teacher in patternmaking) uses technical terms which I recognise, but are not common to me (and I own both other books in Dutch, and did a course in pattern making, so I'm familiar with the common lingo), and she is so economical in the use of words that a lot of the instruction becomes incomprehensible. Good thing you don't need the instructions to make the variations, which, if I remember correctly, were my reason to buy this book.

And one note to all would-be pattern makers among you: you can use your own sloper (even just Burdastyle's JJ sloper or one of those sloper dresses some pattern companies used to make) for any variation you find in another book. Just pay attention to what kind of base is used, this book has a lot of variations for to-the-waist bodices and some others use 'easy fit' blocks quite a lot.

Well, that just about covers my books on womenswear, but as some of you may know, I make shirts for my boyfriend. And sometimes for my brother as well. Of course, I could use a shirt pattern by Burda or Vogue (and for my brother, I do just that because his shirts, all three of them were spur-of-the-moment gifts), but why do that, if I could make my own pattern? Enter Winifred Aldrich's 'Metric pattern cutting for menswear'. Oh, by the way, I love the fact that these books are using metric measures, inches tend to confuse me.

This book offers no less than three different shirt blocks, easy fit, classic and tailored. I tried them all and found out that the tailored shirt block is best suited to E's athletic shape. I have made several shirts (about 8?) for him, and he's kind of hooked on that fit now, so even more will follow.

The book also offers basic shapes and variations on all other kinds of menswear and I've used some of those as well (although I'm not quite sure whether I've used the trouser block from this book or from Grondvormen).

There's one curious thing though. In womenswear, even when instructions for separate blocks are given, it generally accepted that all shapes for tops can be made from the basic, (fairly) fitted sloper. No such thing exists in menswear. Shirt, vest and jacket each come with their very separate sets of instructions, not to mention the much flatter shapes for casual wear. In a certain way, you get less freedom and less control as a designer and pattern maker.

I realise there will be some kind of historical explanation for this, something to do with the age-old separation between tailoring and dressmaking... I'll get back to you as soon as I have a real working theory.

More on Watteau pleats

In the comments, someone asked about how to make a Watteau pleat. Actually, it's not that difficult. I started out studying pictures like the one in my first post about it. Trying to determine how it was built up and how far it was stitched down.

However, on my recent trip to the book store (ah, books and fabric, my two great weaknesses...) I found this great book.

In it were pictures like this one, which shows how the back of an orginal sack back dress was folded. I did mine the same way, before I found the book.

Essentially the pleat is completely straight, all its parts are the same width for their entire length. I'll have to make some little drawings to show you how to engineer that thing into a dress, but its about time I go to work. So more about that tomorrow.