Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The true costs of handmade


 

I've seen articles about this before and thought the dress was beautiful and she looked gorgeous on her wedding day as any bride should, and that's as far as my thought process went.  But then today in my Facebook feed I saw this article again and they were making a big deal about how it only cost her $30.   For her this was a labor of love and she was doing it for herself, if you were to hire her to make this dress for you the cost would be much more.

Some people don't really understand the real costs of handmade.  They think that because the supplies and materials cost X amount the finished product should be X amount.  There's much more that goes in handmade than the materials. Lets look at the true cost of this dress.

The article says she worked on this dress during her 1 hour commute.  I'm assuming that's 1 hour each way so that gives her 2 hours a day to work on it 5 days a week.  That's 10 hours a week.  You'd expect to pay her for her time.  Minimum wage  being around $10/hour we'll use that figure.

If she worked 10 hours a week for $10/hour that's $100 a week.  It took her 5 months.  10 hours a week for 5 months is 200 hours.  There would be fittings, which would take at least 1-2 hours each.  With a minimum of 3 fittings, we'll average it out to 1.5 hours for each fitting, so that's another 4.5 hours of work.   200 hours crocheting + 4.5 hours fitting.  We're now up to 204.5 hours at $10/hour; that's $2045 + $30 materials.  Total cost $2075.

That's still not a bad price for a wedding dress, much less a custom handmade wedding dress,  but that's quite a bit more than the $30 they said she spent; and that's a conservative price because I'm not taking in to account how much time she spent planning and designing, and I'm sure she put in more than the 200 hours she spent riding the bus.

When you look at handmade items whether it's at a craft show or a boutique and think to yourself "That's so overpriced, I can get it at Target or Walmart for less than half"; think about the time that was spent working on it, the craftsmanship of the work, the skill level of the artist, and the fact that you're buying something unique, not mass produced, directly from the person who made it.


Monday, April 21, 2014

Prom 2014

My daughter and her boyfriend went to prom a few weeks ago.  I guess you could say I was living
vicariously though her since I never when to prom.  I was just as excited about everything as she was, from finding the dress, to dreaming about how romantic it was going to be.  Yes, I guess you could say I still have some Disney princess fantasies about how things are suppose to be.  

I didn't get to go to the reception hall to take pictures of the actual prom, but I did get to play photographer before hand.  There was a real photographer there to take pictures of each couple, but my daughter decided his prices were outside of their budget, and she wanted more than just the standard prom pose.  I don't think I did to bad.








Monday, April 7, 2014

The mysteries of pant fitting - I'm starting to get it

It's taken me about a year of trial and error, multiple muslins, and several drafts and re-drafts, but I finally have a pattern I'm happy with.  I came close last winter, I had a pattern that fit, but I wasn't completely happy with.  The biggest issue with that pattern was the double darts I had to put in the waist.  My ultimate goal is to make jeans, and since I can't find a jean pattern in my size that I like, I have to start from scratch.  I know how to turn a standard trouser pattern to a jean pattern, but I wasn't sure it could be done with the double dart pattern without completely messing it up.

This winter, I've been working with a couple different patterns, trying to narrow the waist, while still leaving room for my hips with not so great results.  Then I pulled out my Surefit kit again and decided to follow the drafting directions exactly, unlike last winter when I tried taking some of the ease out, and found out very quickly I need to add it back in and had to make so many other changes, that it wasn't the same pattern in the end.

The result from this newest re-draft?  Close, I liked the fit in the waist and didn't think the legs were to wide, but they still needed some work.  The problem, drag lines in the back and the hem pulling up on the inseam. 

I tried adding to the inseam, like I did last year.  Didn't work.  I tried taking a wedge out of the side seam, as directed to do in the Surefit instruction book.  Didn't make a difference.  I was at a loss as to what to do next, so I turned to my friends at Pattern Review. Right away it was suggested that they were hanging off grain.  But I had already double checked the pattern and the pants, and in both cases the grain line was straight.  So what was causing them to hang on my body off grain? 
 I needed more room in the hip.  More hip room meant a bigger waistline, so I was very reluctant to make this change because I thought I was going to end up with the dreaded double darts again.  But then it was explained to me that it wouldn't necessarily change the waist, because what I added to the hip, I'd take out of the center.  
What I needed to do was similar to a knock knee adjustment, but higher in the torso.  I needed to cut the pattern from side seam to center, shift the upper portion toward the side seam, redraw the grain line and true up the seams.  This maintained the original portions of the pattern, but added more room in the hip and subtracted from the center.  To figure out how much I needed to shift, I had my husband hold a yard stick straight up & down from my knee and measure how much the grain line on the pants veered off at the low hip.  He measured the front to be off by 1/2" and the back, well some where between 2 & 3 inches.  It was different on each leg.  This left me scratching my head.  I didn't think I could shift one leg more than the other, so I decided to start with an inch.

It didn't work, or at least I thought so.  What it actually ended up doing was throwing the grain off all the more.  It was suggested on Pattern Review that I lay this pattern over last winter's pattern with the gain lines matched and to see what's going wrong.
Right away it was almost apparent.  I still needed more room in the hip.  Using last winter's pattern I added a little extra to my current pattern.
This straightened out the back, but the front was still a little off and a little tight in the tummy. So I added the 1/2" to the center front that I took out when I shifted them.  It turned out to be a little to much.  The waist was a little to big and I had a little to much fabric in the tummy.  I started to remove from the center front in small increments. Just a 1/4" did the trick.

I'm beginning to realize that when I need to add or remove width from a pattern, it's the center seam I should be adjusting.  All this time I've been trying to take room out of the side seams, and throwing the hip lines off.  If I have time before I go back to work this spring, I'll revisit the Connie Crawford pattern I tried earlier and try adjusting the center and front princess seams to get a decent fit.


Thursday, March 6, 2014

Breaking the fitting rules


If I sew something for myself and I'm happy with the way it looks and the way it fits, who cares about the rules?  I'm talking about wrinkles and drag lines that come from a not so perfect fit, especially on pants.  The general goal in the sewing world is to have a garment with no wrinkles or drag lines.   Pants are always going to have some wrinkles from the way you're standing, sitting, or moving, and really who stands with their legs apart and butt sticking out, as has been suggested to get rid of the inner thigh wrinkles.  I have full thighs, that's just how I'm built, when I walk I'm going to get some wrinkles in that area.

I also have wide hips, and another rule I'm having trouble following is that pants must hang smoothly from the widest part of the body.  If I followed this rule I'd have very wide legs.  While I don't mind a wide leg jean, I do want some tapering to the ankle.  I'm not talking skinny jean shaping, but I also don't want a 40" opening at the ankle either.  While I was looking through one of my fitting books, I noticed a woman with a body shape similar to mine, who took a pattern that fit her everywhere else but the hips.  She adjusted the pattern to fit her hips, while still maintaining the rest of the pattern.  In her case, the pants come out from the waist to cover her hips and then come back in under the hip to fit the rest of her leg, and it looks ok.

Since I started this fitting journey last winter, I've been looking at pants on other people.  I'm assuming most people are wearing ready to wear, and I have never run into anybody commenting about the wrinkles under the butt, or the drag lines from the hip, or how the pant leg doesn't fall smoothy from the widest part of the body.  Most people don't notice unless it's very poor fitting. 

Looking at ready to wear on other people, made me realize, as long as I like the way it looks when I put it on it's good enough, and I'm the only one who I need to please.  If I follow all the rules, and end up with a garment that I'm not happy with; then what was the point of sewing it?

Edited:  You can't throw all the fitting rules out the window, as evidenced by the last pair of pants I made.  They're not bad, but they're not great either. 

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Meet Minion Dave

My 16 year old daughter hasn't out grown Disney movies.  She loves Despicable Me, and she really loves the minions, so when I saw this pattern I knew I had to make one for her.

This was a fun little project and a nice break from the garment sewing I've been doing.  From start to finish only took a few hours.

The pattern called for felt scraps for the pieces, but since I don't work in felt I didn't have any.  I didn't want to spend to much so I thought Walmart would be my best bet.  Unfortunately Walmart only had felt in black and brown.  I could of bought a pack of felt squares, but in order to get the colors I needed, I'd have buy two different packages and then what was I going to do with the rest it?  I chose to substitute fleece instead, and bought 1/4 of a yard of black, blue, grey, & white.  There's still enough there to make 3 or 4 minions.  While the fleece worked, I'm not so sure I'd buy fleece from Walmart again, it's very thin and I'm worried about it stretching out of shape.  For the stuffing I cut open 2 pillows that I had made her years ago that she was done with and reused the stuffing.  He's a little lumpy, but she doesn't care, she loves her minion and named him Dave.  Since I have fabric left over she wants me to make another one who she plans on naming Phil.

When my son saw this he put in a request for a pillow in his Minecraft character's likeness.


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Butterrick B5504 A wearable muslin

 They don't look to bad.  Actually they fit better than anything I've sewn for myself, however there are a few problems.  They feel 1 size to big.  Looking at the finished measurements I almost think I could go down another size. They feel a little fluffy right around the tummy and while I'm glad that they hide my tummy, I don't think I need quite that much fabric in front.

One common complaint about Connie Crawford patterns is they're very boxy, and this one is no different.  I don't know of anybody, no matter what size, who's waist is as wide as their hips.  I know on drawstring or elastic waists, it needs to be wide to be able to pull the pants up over the hips but still I don't need 8 inches of ease in the waist.   I tried to take out some of that excessive room by doing some hip shaping, but didn't consider how that was going to affect the drawstring casing.  I have some puckering in the casing on the side seams where it didn't want to fold over nicely, but once I have the drawstring tied, it's not so noticeable because the drawstring puckers everything.

Still a little to much room in the waist.  At least 6 inches.
Alterations that worked:  Shortened the crotch depth 3/4 of an inch.  I liked that the pattern already took into account a tilted waist, so the center back was cut higher than the center front and I didn't have to fuss to much with trying to adjust where the waistband fell, but I do think I could take maybe another 1/4" off both front and back.  I shortened them to carpi length.  The original pattern, straight out of the envelop, was almost long enough to be regular pants.


Alterations that didn't work:  Hip shaping, although it helped take out some of the fullness in the waist; it left puckers in the waistband.  If I try going down 1 size I'll leave the hip shaping out because the smaller size will have a smaller waist.

Other alterations I'd like to make:  I really like to make this into a zipper fly with button closure, like jeans.  I might have a better chance doing that with a smaller size.

Bottom line:  I wouldn't be embarrassed to wear them in public, but I think there's still work to do.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Elroy Route

I am very good at making the simple way more complicated than it needs to be.  I excel at over thinking to the point that I will add 3 or 4 extra steps that weren't needed.  I am a pro at taking the long way around and finishing a task that could've been done in a shorter time period.

In our house we call it, The Elroy Route.  Elroy is my uncle, and has been known for taking very strange routes to get from point A to point B, often getting lost in the process and is to stubborn to ask for help.  I just took The Elroy Route in sewing.

I'm am working on this pair of pants.  It has a drawstring waistband that's incorporated into the pattern piece as extra fabric above the actual waistline and you just fold it over and sew it shut.  Those who sew will know what I'm talking about.

When I made my test pair it was very clear that I needed to drop the waistline because it was to high.  I'm not making old man pants.  Taking what I learned last year about dropping the waistline, I put a piece of elastic around my waist, adjusted the pants where I wanted them to sit, traced around the bottom of the elastic and proceed to cut a new waistline on the pattern.  I was smart enough to factor in the extra fabric for the casing, however because I had just changed the shape of the waistline now I have a strange shaped casing.

I puzzled over what to do next for a while, and finally pulled out the directions to see if I was missing something.  Boy was I, and if I had bothered to read the directions first I would've saved myself a lot of time and trouble.

See that line that says crotch depth adjustment line?  That's there for a reason.  It wasn't the waistline I need to adjust, it was the crotch depth.  All I had to do was slash the pattern along that line and drop the top part down about 2 inches.  This would've kept the waist casing intact and kept the pattern notches in the same place for the matching pieces like the pockets and pocket facing.

So now to fix this I need to go back and retrace the original pattern with the original waistline and drop the crotch depth.  See 3-4 extra steps that weren't needed.  It's a good thing we learn from our mistakes, because this is one I don't want to make again.

Monday, February 10, 2014

B5504 Pants adjustments

Last night I got to thinking about this pair of pants and realized there were other issues that needed to be fixed along with the waistband issues.  I remembered I had these issues last year but couldn't remember what I did to fix them.  So for future reference, here's what needs to be fixed and how.

Here's what I need to do to remove some of the drag wrinkles. I need to do this first because it will affect where the waistband sits.  I had some problems with this last year because every time I adjusted the balance lines, it dropped the crotch.  So I might have to pick between the lesser of the two.  I'd rather have the crotch line where I want it with the drag lines, that no drag lines and a crotch that feels to low.
In this picture you can see what the drag wrinkles look like from the back.  Also as mentioned before I need to do a knock knee adjustment.  Here's what I'll be doing to fix wrinkles around the back of the knee.

I still haven't figured out what to do with the waist yet.  I'm thinking a wider waistband with some hip shaping, and see if I can use the front seams to hide a dart.  I want to remove some of the fullness around the waist before I figure out if it should be a drawstring or a zipper fly.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Connie Crawford B5504 Pattern Review


I've been looking at ready to wear styles similar to this.  I like the style but I was a little reluctant to
use a Connie Crawford pattern.  I tried a Connie Crawford before and didn't like anything about it.  The proportions were terrible.  Too big in the waist and hips, and sharply tapered down to the ankle.  It looked like she was trying to design skinny jeans for someone with very wide hips.  Not a good look.

Knowing this about the last pattern I thought I better make a muslin to see if it was worth it.  Actually they don't look to bad.  I can add a little length and make them into pants or I can shorten them for capris.

It looks like I need to do a knock knee adjustment and figure what to do with the waist.  As you can see I need to remove some of the extra fabric in the front waist and you can't really see it in the back, but there's some that needs to come off there too.  I haven't figured out how to do this and still keep the drawstring casing in tact, or if I should put some darts in put in a zipper fly.  I really want to try and avoid darts if I can.  So I'm kind of stuck at this point.



Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Sewing Work Pants

I work on a sod farm in the summer and so my work clothes are clothes that I don't mind getting grease, dirt, grass stains, etc. on  Last year I made a pair that got lots of wear and would still have them to wear this summer if they hadn't gotten caught in a piece of equipment and a giant hole ripped in them.  So I decided it was time to make another pair for this summer.  This is the same pattern as last year's but with a few tweeks. The ones I made last year worked really well, but there were somethings I wasn't totally happy with.

The above pics are last year's pants from a patten I drafted myself.  The crotch felt a little low, the legs were uneven (which wasn't noticeable when they were worn long, but when I rolled them up to capri length you could tell they slanted up on the inseam) and the tabs that held the rolled cuffs in place were to long and were constantly getting caught on the shift lever when I rode in the tractor, and I placed the pockets to low (they look to be around knee level).  

Those were the issues I wanted to correct in this pair.  To fix the crotch I took about a 1/2"  off the front waist.  I fixed the crooked inseam by slightly widening the leg and shifting the lower half of the leg toward the inseam by a 1/2".  Instead of buttons, I went with D-ring for the tabs and raised them to slightly above the knee so when I roll the cuffs into capris, the cuff will fall just below the knee and the tabs are just long enough to be pulled though the D-rings about an inch, and because I raised the tabs, I also raised the cargo pockets and used the pockets to secure the side seam tabs.   I'm happy with this pair, although I think they're kind of baggy in the butt (I think I've lost some weight in the hips and backside because I didn't change anything in those areas) and I think I'll go back to buttons for the tabs.  The D-rings are a little hard to fumble around with.


 
 

Next I'm working on this pattern. 

Monday, January 27, 2014

Organizing the sewing room

Sewing room mess
My sewing room is a mess.  To be honest it's a very small area with lots of sewing supplies shoved in there and very little to no storage space, so stuff gets piled wherever I can find room.  I've been wanting to organize it for a long time, but every effort I made just seemed to make things worse.

For some time, I've been perusing Pinterest; longing for a bigger sewing room, but that won't happen for a few more years, so I needed to look into craft room organization.  I ran across this great pin about storing fabrics on mini bolts. 



I started by cutting down some cardboard boxes, but decided it would be kind of pain to have to hunt down cardboard every time I bought more fabric. There are items out there made just for this purpose but they can be kind of pricy. After some research I found these acid free boards in packs of 100 for under $20 on Amazon. I bought the magazine size for cuts larger than 1 yard and the 6.75" x 10.5" for cuts under a yard. The smaller ones (I haven't received yet) I'll cut in half for minibolts and they'll be perfect for fat quarters.


Tagged and serged.  This fabric is ready to use
I also needed a way to identify the fabric content, since I buy fabric and might not use it for months or even years; it's imposable to remember if it was cotton, a cotton/poly blend or something else entirely and the percentages of blends. I solved this problem with those DIY business cards you can buy at any office supply store. Each bolt has an attached card that has the fiber content, yardage, and fabric width written on it. And since I can't remember if I pre-washed a fabric I have a system for that too. Before pre-washing, I serge the raw edges to keep them from raveling in the washing machine. So now when I look at my fabric stash, if I see the raw edges are serged, I know it's been washed and ready to use.

I'm still stuck in a tiny space, but once I get my fabrics organized it shouldn't feel so small. Next I need to work on finding a place to store full bolts. Hubby's working on some sort of system to hang them from the ceiling.

Fabric cabinet organized with lots of room to add more, and I still have fabric in bins that need to be organized

Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Leprechaun Tree

I was going through some old photos looking for something and I ran across this photo of what we call The Leprechaun Tree.

The Leprechaun Tree on my parents farm
My parents have this tree in the woods behind their house. 

They went for a walk in the woods with my kids when they were little and my dad convinced them that a leprechaun lived in the hole at the base of the tree.  There was even a little fire pit, table made of stone, a bed,  and some treasures inside the hole of the tree. 

Every time the kids went to Grandma's they would ask to go out to the leprechaun tree and see what treasures he had for them.  Sometimes it was little trinkets, sometimes it was chocolate coins.  This went on for a few years until they were old enough to realize it was Grandma & Grandpa who were leaving the leprechaun's gifts for them to find. 

My kids are teenagers now, and don't go out to the leprechaun tree any more, but he's still there.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Sneek peak at what's coming to the shop

This week has been a busy one.  I spend all day Tues taking photos, and working on descriptions for new items coming to the shop.  I'm adding the listings a few at a time so I don't completely flood out the other sellers on Zibbet.

Here's a sneak peak.  Some of these are already in the shop.  Others will be listed soon.  Stop by and take a look and be sure to check out the other great shops at Zibbet while you're there..  zibbet.com/stitch1stitch2 
 

Sunday, January 12, 2014

My first craft show; Lessons learned

So I had my first craft show yesterday, and I'm a little disappointed but I'm not looking at it as a failure.  Lets call it a dress rehearsal.

First of all, it wasn't very well advertised.  The show was in conjunction with a school competition and wasn't advertised to the public, but I thought for a $10 entry fee what do I have to lose. The organization of the event wasn't the greatest.  From what I understand the event planer wasn't even sure if the craft show portion was going to happen at all due to all the rules from the school and liability laws.  Also, my booth and about 7 others were put in a room out of the main traffic areas, which cut our visibility in half.  We did get some traffic but there was never a steady stream of people, and I'm not sure if the booths in the main areas did any better because they were packing up early.  Lesson one: Research the event

Stitch 1 Stitch 2 booth
Secondly, it was me.  Although I think my stuff is pretty darn cute, it seems I was targeting the wrong audience.  The show was during a dance competition, so the things that were selling were very girly girl things.  Sequenced headbands & mittens, jewelry, Scentsy and of course any booth that sold food.  I took baby clothes, mittens, totebags, and some key-chain wallets.  I got a lot of "cute stuff, but I don't have babies to buy for anymore" comments.  Lesson two: Target the expected audience.

But it wasn't all a total waste of time.  I did get to make a few new connections, see some people I haven't seen in awhile, and practice setting up and tearing down my booth.  I'm already thinking of what I can do to make improvements for next time.  Being able to accept credit cards would be one, although it wouldn't of done me much good yesterday because those who did; had trouble getting a cell signal.  A tv tray would of made a nice little table to put the cash box behind the display table or even as an extension of the display table to put business cards and my portfolio.  A framed sign with my name and business info would be nice too, so I don't have to print a new one each time and looks more professional than a handwritten one.  And the last thing, when bringing a mannequin for display purposes, don't forget the stand.  I had a baby mannequin I was going to use, but forgot the stand at home so the mannequin was pretty much useless.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Poor Kitty

My poor cat, Puddle, had to have half her tail amputated on Friday, and I feel just awful about it.  I went to start my car, Friday morning and didn't realize she had crawled up under the hood.  When I started the car, she got her tail caught in something, and lets just say it wasn't good. I rushed her to the vet and they confirmed my concern that yes she did have to have an amputation. 

I brought her home after the surgery Friday afternoon, and we gave her lots of cuddles and attention.  Normally she's an outside cat, so the kids (especially my son) are enjoying having her in the house, where she'll need to stay for 2 weeks, while she heals. I'm supprized that for an outside cat, she's doing very well being indoors.  Saturday and Sunday, she seemed content to stay in her carrier, normally we have to force her in there.  We would take her out to feed her and give her meds and when she was done she would go right back to the carrier.  Even with the door open, she choose to stay in there.

By Monday she was a little more social, and came out of the carrier by herself to cuddle, and we let her visit with the dogs out on the porch for a while.  Our other cat, who refuses to come inside no matter what temperature is, is worried about her; she keeps meowing/calling for her.   She's getting little better everyday, and looks kind of funny with that short little tail, but she'll come out of this just fine.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

A few new listings

I have 2 new listing in the shop, and I'm working on more.

First one is this Infinity Scarf.  Made from lightweight cotton, it's the perfect accessory for dressing up a t-shirt, and light enough to be worn in warmer temps.
Infinity Scarf by Stitch 1 Stitch 2

The next one is a lightweight, wool scarf.  This scarf is great for staying warm in the winter, but not so bulky that you get overheated.
Wool Scarf by Stitch 1 Stitch 2





You can check out both scarves and my other great handmade items at www.zibbet.com/stitch1stitch2