Sunday 9 May 2021

Sewing

 Lately I've been watching Bernadette Banner videos. She creates and recreates historical clothing and produces videos of the process. I had no previous interest in this subject, but lately have found her videos strangely compelling and addictive. Perhaps part of it is her persona: she is reminiscent of  Rapunzel hidden in her tower and endlessly crafting ...and many of us have become a tad Rapunzel-like the past year and a half.

My sewing skills however are limited to making basic repairs and alterations, so I wasn't inspired to try any of her techniques. However, a recent video about lace insertion changed that.



I watched this and thought: That's something I could potentially do. And I had the right material to experiment on: Last summer I bought the girls matching dresses for our 10th anniversary photo shoot. 



AJ really likes her dress but it was starting to get small. So I decided to take it apart and do lace insertion at the waist and side seams to make it a couple of sizes bigger, and possibly also add a lace hem.

I was still teaching in school at the time, although all the students outside our program were at home (yes Covid-19 has upended our lives again).  One of my colleagues has a lot of sewing skills, so I shared my ideas with her and she helped me with the planning and design parts of the project (luckily as I would have approached it far more randomly). I did most of the sewing.  We used a few donated scraps we found around the school sewing room. It was tons of fun.





I didn't take a "before" photo, but this is the identical dress in a smaller size (Dani's)


Finished product


AJ loved it.....she couldn't stop dancing.
(We later took in the sides a bit more as they were originally quite loose.)


I enjoyed this project and it underscored the importance of having something creative and joyful to focus my attention on. I can immediately observe the differences in my mood and attitude depending where I am putting my attention.

I also have more ideas for creation through alteration of garments....though I am working at home now and not sure when I will next be able to put the ideas into practice. Although I did just mend a broken doll, so still have some little projects on the go.

Wishing everyone happiness and outside-the-box thoughts!

6 comments:

  1. That's so cool! I have zero sewing skills (I made a catnip toy once because it was just a tube) but love seeing others' creations. What a crafty way to get more life out of the girls' dresses. And so pretty!

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    1. Thanks! There is something very powerful in getting an idea and just putting it into practice. I overthink things a lot I believe and second guess myself. But this was so satisfying.

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  2. I love it! It looks like a fun sewing project too, but unfortunately I don't think my boys would appreciate a lace insertion in their clothes :P
    I am similar in needing creative projects these days. I've done all sorts of stuff to my house because I just have to have something on the go or else I struggle with my mental health (working in an MLA's office is not conducive to mental health these days). I miss seeing your posts on Facebook!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, probably not much demand for lace insertion in boys’ clothes, unless you made some period costumes. You were reading Treasure Island, right? ;-)

      I appreciate the encouragement to be creative since even though the ability is there, I tend to just aimlessly waste time too. Ditching facebook has actually helped me to spot myself on other ways too. But I do miss some stuff, including your updates and all the cool projects and homeschooling you are doing!!

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  3. What a fun idea! It would never have occurred to me to alter one of Mini's dresses that way but it seems like a great way of getting more wear out of something. Would you consider getting a sowing machine and making dresses from scratch?

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    1. Thanks! Sure, in theory I would like to see more. Such a useful, creative skill and maybe an outlet for me instead of shopping. Haha. My mom has also offered to give me one of her sewing machines, but I need to declutter some more (basically sell or donate the rest of our baby stuff, plus some generic tidying) to even have room for it. I also (in my case) would have to overcome a tendency to be overly critical of things I make. But a friend and I have been talking about making costumes together so that could be fin. I would be less picky about a costume I think. And kids clothes are nice because they are smaller.

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