Author Archives: edges

Making Peace With Nature

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By now, if you’ve ever read anything from this blog, you know that I am on a mission to promote organic cotton and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) fabrics. To read one of my previous posts about organic cotton, go here.

I tackle the business of organic cotton because, frankly, as sewists, this is one thing we can impact. We are the end users of a product we think very little about and we worry even less when we have a project in mind.

We like our fabric.

We love the feel of it, we love the bright colors and the textures, and the sweet, cheerful designs. But it’s very possible that if you saw the conditions under which your fabric is made, and the chemicals involved in the treating of the fabric, and the dyeing process, you might have second thoughts. If you are thoughtful enough, you might also be concerned about the livelihood and well-being of the independent farmer who grows the cotton and small villages around the world who must learn to live sustainably off this income. They cannot destroy their land in the interest of a short term gain and then have ruined land that cannot be farmed in the future. This is a real thing. Farmers understand regenerative practices. It’s obvious…just not to everyone else.

I’m attaching a link to a document created by the United Nations Environment Programme. In their words:

“The report serves to translate the current state of scientific knowledge into crisp, clear and digestible facts-based messages that the world can relate to and follow up on. It first provides an Earth diagnosis of current and projected human-induced environmental change, by putting facts and interlinkages in perspective, including by using smart infographics. In building on this diagnosis, the report identifies the shifts needed to close gaps between current actions and those needed to achieve sustainable development. The analysis is anchored in current economic, social and ecological reality and framed by economics and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By synthesizing the latest scientific findings from the global environmental assessments, the report communicates the current status of the world’s urgent issues and opportunities to solve them. “

Our small quilt shops only have exposure to sales people who bring the brightly-colored sample books to them every season for ordering.

Through social media, we are exposed to the designers (whom we love). They show us their studios and their creative ideas. However, their designs are simply licensed by fabric distributors. In other words, our favorite designers basically give up all their rights to determine the way fabric is created, other than seeing proofs for color and accuracy. They don’t get to tell manufacturers not to use toxic chemicals or not to pollute the ground water. They get a paycheck and that’s what matters. To them, at least.

In reading this UN document, it’s obvious to me, and I hope it is to you as well, that this way of living has made us blissfully happy, unaware and unaccountable to the planet we live on.

I know this sounds cliche.

But if we don’t soon change everything we’re doing now, in every supply chain, all the way back to the raw materials from the Earth, we may not survive as a species for much longer.

Here’s a tidbit: did you know that if current sperm count trends continue, by 2045, the median male will no longer be able to reproduce? Ha. Now I have your attention.

Look, all I’m saying is that everything around us now indicates that we are going to have to make BIG CHANGES.

And if there’s one thing that the human species is resistant to, it’s BIG CHANGES.

But I believe we have to start thinking seriously about how our food is produced, where our energy comes from, how much waste we produce, how much we consume, and on and on and on.

It’s daunting, I know.

So that’s why we need to start small.

  1. Make yourself more aware of the materials you use. Where did this really come from? What are the chemicals used? Do I know anything at all about this fabric?
  2. Ask your local quilt shop these questions. They are dealing with the distributors who make the decisions.
  3. Become a savvy user. Can you make it from your already-way-too-big stash? Can it be made from other textiles you already own?
  4. Start making yourself an educated consumer. Below are a few links that will assist.

Here’s a new fabric I’ve seen available: Lenzing Ecovero. “Take less, Give More”. You’ll want to watch their video.

UNEP Making Peace With Nature

Textile Exchange Global Non-Profit

Global Organic Textile Standard

Are you ready for change? Ready or not, it’s coming. Let’s be ready, willing and able. And start where we can.

Why We Sew and Embroider

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On inauguration night Dr. Jill Biden wore an amazing ensemble of embroidered flowers from all 50 states and the territories.

All I saw on Inauguration night was a lovely white coat.

Then Threads Magazine posted something about the details.

I have to share this with all of you.

Here’s a link to all the gorgeous details of her dress and coat, including the muslin.

Be sure to scroll to the video at the bottom and scroll within it, to see all the stages and the making of the coat and dress. What a stunner. Yup, this is why we sew and embroider.

It’s my goal to be able to make a coat like that. Perfection.

My Heart’s Greeting, and Other Valentines

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I found these Victorian themed Valentine’s Day designs on Etsy, and ordered them just printed out on paper. I think they were 3.99. per sheet.

In Photoshop, I flipped the images horizontally so that the words read backwards, like a mirror image.

Then I printed them out on Transfer Artist paper, and transferred them onto white Kraft-Tex.

The Krat-Tex paper means that if I threw them in the wash, it would hold up, soften a bit and the image would stay in place. I might experiment a bit with washing the cards to see how they turn out. For now, I have them hanging with ribbons on an LED-lit birch tree stand.

The image above is one of my favorites, as I imagine myself during Jane Austen times, wandering through the flowers, accepting a love note from a distant suitor via a barn swallow. My heart’s greeting. We can dream.

Actually, most of my young Valentine’s Days were spent hoping for someone to send a card from a Secret Admirer. Do you remember those days? I would have given anything to have a Secret Admirer, someone in the shadows who had eyes only for me.

As it turns out, no gift ever came except for ones from my Dad. To his credit, he always brought a small gift home every Valentine’s Day for my Mom, my sister and me. We each got a box a chocolates, or a necklace or some other trifle.

He never forgot. To this day, if I head over to his house, during this pandemic, he will likely have some chocolates for me and for my sister. (And I won’t know how he got them, because he is supposed to be staying home.)

Years ago, I worked in a chocolate shop for a while, and Valentine’s Day was peak insanity. But they had regulars, who came in and bought the same size heart box of chocolates every year, or a special box for every grandchild. Others would get the most elaborate heart box and fill it with their sweetheart’s favorites. The ritual behind it was a fascinating social phenomenon. It was the few days out of the year when all the men showed up in the store.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

May you receive all the chocolates you love.

Better yet, may you receive them from a Secret Admirer.

Here are a few links to previous Velentine’s Day projects:

My Practical Valentine

Valentine’s Day Kraft-tex Project

Buttoned Up Valentine

The Un-Valentine

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I update this sign on my door with the seasons. And I thought it would be cute to put up something for Valentine’s Day.

So I shopped around some of my favorite machine embroidery sites, looking for a charming Valentine’s Day design.

I was confronted by a trashy array of cupcakes, lips and kissing pigs. (OK, I know some of you would love the kissing pigs.) But it’s not what I was looking for at all.

And the hearts .So many hideous hearts. Big, ugly, hearts with loads of swirls and ornation. Gathered in multiples, in solid colors, outlines, curving, distorted, nouveau, deco, modern, punk, angry, broken, baroque, and dipped in gnomes.

I hated it all.

Truly, this is a message to all machine embroidery designers: You can do better on Valentine’s Day.

I would have settled for one of those vintage red trucks with a load of flowers and sweets…tastefully done, with some script. Or how about all the charming old school Valentine’s from the forties? Wouldn’t it be cute to have a line of those in embroidery? Or how about those old Victorian Valentine’s Day cards? Tell me you couldn’t create some designs that played off of those? Or anything cozy? After all, we’re still in the dead of winter.

Anything other than the selection that’s available now. Which is gag-worthy.

And I say that with love in my heart for artists and designers.

So after all of that, I settled on a design that barely hints of Valentine’s Day, but is warm, inviting and sweet. And it will look just as good on February 15 as it does right now. In fact, it will even carry into spring.

It’s a bit stitch heavy, but looks great against the black.

Here’s a link to the design.

I did the design on black Kraft-tex, which is surprisingly good at supporting machine embroidery. The trick is to use two layers of cutaway stabilizer.

I still have to figure out how to create a Valentine for my husband this year. Sadly, it won’t likely be machine embroidery, though I had hoped to find something charming. I thought about the kissing pigs, and then decided against an off-color joke about our pandemic weight gains.

I have other tricks up my sleeve, though.

So carry on, sewists. Surround yourselves with bright colors and whatever helps get you through the day.

Cross Stitch Life Hack

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I love cross stitch. But I am completely inept.

I have watched the YouTube videos. I have studied people moving those needles in and out. I purchased the right fabric. I can sew, machine embroider, hand embroider, knit, crochet, do hand quilting. I’m not afraid of stitching by hand. But for the love of all that is good, I cannot figure out how to cross stitch. I. Cannot. Do. It.

So I did the next best thing.

I digitized.

I found the most adorable designs (from Little House Needleworks on Etsy.)

Using Bernina Embroidery Software 8, I got the idea into my head that I could run a border of these gorgeous cross stitch patterns around the outside of a very simple tree skirt I was making.

But as always, it was not an easy task. Like Tina Turner, I never do anything nice and easy. I do it nice, and rough.

It starts with a scan of the pattern, which needs to be trimmed to the exact pattern size in some sort of graphics software. I’m used to working in Adobe, so that’s what I used. But Bernina’s software comes with Corel, so you can use that too. Then it gets imported into the Cross Stitch application in the software.

Now comes the tedious part. Every single stitch gets reconstructed with a click, and a color choice. If you look closely enough at the above image, you can see that some of it is filled in with color, and some of it still has the cross stitch symbols shown. It took me about an hour to get everything filled in for that design.

The next step is to move it into the embroidery program. The software then converts every click that you made in cross stitch into machine embroidery stitches. And it’s pretty magical. One moment it’s just a weird looking drawing, the next minute it’s stitches that my machine will understand.

And I am absolutely loving the way these turned out.

I still have a long way to go on this tree skirt, and each design from start to finish probably takes about three hours. Could someone do it by hand in that time? Maybe someone who knows what they’re doing. That would not be me, when it comes to cross stitch. But I am just so taken in by their charm and sweetness.

I hope you are tolerating this difficult holiday season.

I leave you with this December thought:

“Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”


Garment Sewing Mania

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So, as you know, I’ve been sewing a lot of t-shirts for fun. I’ve basically created my own casual wardrobe this year…but only of shirts. I balance it out with a lot of stretchy pants I already own.

It’s not ideal, but it’s the thing I’m loving right now. Especially since I’m not going out and purchasing new clothes. These days I get excited when a new shipment of fabric comes in.

My next effort? A pair of stretchy pants. I know. I should aim a little higher. But I’ve never made a pair of pants. Seriously. And I’m not about to start with a pair of jeans which would be a tremendous amount of effort and I have no idea where my weaknesses are.

Well, OK, I know that I sit on my biggest weakness, but that doesn’t mean I know how to fit it. So I’m starting with something forgiving. I’ll let you know how it goes.(I’m not terribly optimistic.)

But just to give you a bit more information on my process: As many of you know, I have resolved to only purchase organic fabric for the foreseeable future. As time has gone on, I have only furthered my resolve in this area. The good news, is that the industry is slowly moving in that direction, since traditional cotton-growing is proving unsustainable to even the most stalwart purchasers. We’re talking about Levi’s and Lee and H&M and folks who are serious purchasers of cotton.

I wrote about organic cotton in detail here.

But another big concern of mine as I’ve been sewing, has been the amount of waste…fabric waste, that goes into garment sewing. Making a t-shirt requires the front and back of the pattern to be cut on the fold.

But that leaves a large amount of fabric untouched above the fold. Like half of it.

So I started something new. Of course I started editing the pattern. Instead of laying fabric on the fold, I placed it higher up on the fabric to make two pieces instead of one. I added a quarter inch to the area that would normally be placed on the fold to compensate for the additional seam allowance.

This gave me the ability to make a whole other shirt from leftover fabric. A few more seams, yes. But more clothes, yay! But what about the sleeves? What I found with the sleeves was that I often did not have enough width of my leftover fabric to accommodate the width of the sleeve pattern.

So I folded the pattern in half. I laid it out on the fabric and added the quarter inch seam allowance. I found that the slim line of the sleeve usually left me with enough fabric to make the sleeves with a seam. Instead of two pieces of sleeve fabric, I ended up with four pieces, two each per sleeve. One seam up the middle is barely noticeable.

These additional seams turned out to look structural on the garment. Before assembling, I gave them a topstitch over the side where the serger seam allowance rested. It holds the extra seam allowance in place perfectly, and adds a bit of interest. Voila!

I found that the looser tees left me with enough fabric to make a v-neck closer fitting tee, and the opposite was true of the cut of the v-necks.

Then I feel absolutely no guilt throwing away the remnants after that. they are just tiny bits and pieces.

Bit by agonizing bit, I’m learning about garment construction. And it’s only agonizing because I am not a perfect beautiful, lovely size. Well, actually, I am. But I’m just not what would be considered a model size. So I modify everything to fit in a comfortable way.

And I’m having fun playing with the absolute simplest of patterns. I invite you to try it. It’s fun, entertaining, creative, and most of all, utilitarian. It’s empowering.

Everyone, stay calm and sew on. These are crazy, unsteady times. Do something that steadies you.

(Pattern from Grainline studio. V-neck tee is my own pattern. Fabrics are from Hawthorne Supply Co., various lines, but all organic cotton interlock.)

Halloween 2020

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I like Halloween. I have friends who despise it. They think of it as an evil holiday. I have others who find it fun and still others who’ve just outgrown the whole business.

Me, I just like the cool weather. I enjoy the turn of the season, the spookiness is my favorite part. Have you ever walked through a decorated neighborhood at night…alone…while the cold wind is blowing and the crunchy leaves are swirling behind you making unexpected noises? I have. And those things your neighbors have hanging from the trees? They’re scary as all getout without the light of the sun to cast away the shadows and secrets.

In my neighborhood, when my son was younger, we had 12 kids on the block that all started kindergarten together. Most of them had older siblings. Halloween in our neighborhood was pure chaos. The doorbell started ringing at 4 pm and didn’t stop til long after dark. Parents in large groups wandered around with their drinks in red solo cups, or warm toddies in a Thermos. They all waved and laughed as they stood near the sidewalk.

One neighbor set up an outdoor theatre with Young Frankenstein blasting on speakers and projected onto the front of his house as kids came through. Another stood as still as one of the mummies on his porch while dressed up as Frankenstein, and then jumped out at little ballerinas and Ninja turtles. The screaming could be heard for blocks. The kids loved it. And yet another neighbor dressed as an ogre and chained himself to the front lawn. He growled and shrieked and the kids attempted to get their treats from him.

“Hey, does your wife know what you’re doing?” I called to him.

“Who do you think chained me up out here?”

We were a fun bunch. The kids even had a house that they refused to visit, because they thought a “mean, old man” lived there. Probably the only sane person in the neighborhood.

But now, times have changed.

And for the first time in 20 years, we made the decision to avoid a public Halloween. No candy, no treats. Our lights will be off. It matters that many of the kids in the neighborhood are grown–off to college, working their own jobs. But there are still young ones of new families that have moved in.

We will celebrate at home: a cozy meal, warm orange lights over the fireplace, decorations. But no treats will be given. The door will go unanswered. The pandemic is too much. Better for kids to be safe (and us as well). Parents can splurge on candy. Young ones can find another way. I’m out this year.

Despite the changing times, you can still enjoy a decorated house. Here are a few of my past Halloween posts, and a video at the end of a display at our house. Be safe, enjoy, carry on.

Things that go bump in the night…
Chasing Cats with Machine Embroidery
Creaking door at the end is not a special effect. Ha. That’s our back door.

Sewing Your Own Clothes

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I know some of you have been sewing doll clothes since you were a toddler. And others have made their own wedding dresses and prom dresses and more.

I tried sewing a blouse once when I was in my teens. After weeks of agonizing, I emerged with a blouse that looked worse on me than the cheapest thing I could have purchased from a dime store. And I had invested WAY too much time and money.

That was the end of my garment sewing. Why on earth would I spend so much time making something that looks like it came from Target when I could just go to Target and get it? (I don’t remember Target existing at that time, but you get the point. Substitute Zayre or Woolworth’s or Venture if you’re in the Chicagoland area.)

Years went by. Decades went by. And garment sewing changed. And so did the idea of making a trip to Target. Folks like Grainline Studio came onto the scene.

And along the way, I learned that sewing something to wear can be simple. Once I purchased a serger with a coverstitch, I started creating my full pandemic wardrobe–sweats and tees.

I have been purchasing fabric from Hawthorne Supply Co., using only organic interlock cotton. I have found this to be ultra-comfortable, soft, drapey, and easy to sew. It’s ideal for t-shirts and kids’ clothes.

Here’s a little video.

The round neck shirts above are from the Hemlock tee pattern from Grainline. The v-neck tees in the video are my own design. I literally took a tee that was comfortable, laid it on a table and made my own pattern. I changed the neckline to one that I preferred, added a bit of length, changed the sleeves, and boom: my perfect 3/4 sleeve v-neck. Sized for me.

I am enamored with the triple coverstitch.

It forms such a beautiful hemmed finish. And the wrong side is even better because it offers that serger “stretch”‘.

Best investment I ever made.

I have more fabric on its way in fall and winter colors, as this fabric was purchased in February and March of last year.

A Tip for Interlock Cotton Knit

When I purchased my serger, the dealer said the needles were fine on knits and wovens.

She was wrong.

It was a universal needle. Sewing machines all come with universal needles. And I used to tell my students that a universal needle is supposed to be good for everything but it’s really good for nothing.

I stand by that on serger needles as well.

I don’t know why I thought that a serger needle might be different.

In the above photo, you can see what happens when you use a needle that’s too sharp for the fabric. Now, this didn’t happen at first. It took a couple of washings. But that is plainly the needle cutting through the knit fabric and breaking it.

Which is why you should ALWAYS use a ball point needle on knits.

Serging or sewing. A ball point needle is actually dull. It separates the threads of a knit with each penetration and doesn’t break it. Your garment will last a LOT longer. Luckily, I only made that mistake on the first pattern. All the others are done with ball point needles and are fine.

Just to summarize. When you purchase a new sewing machine, take those universal needles and toss them in a drawer for someday when you’re desperate. Replace it with a sharp if you’re working on a woven, like quilt cotton, or with a ball point if you’re sewing on knits.

And if you’re on a serger, you can use those factory-loaded needles on wovens. But no matter how special they tell you the needles are that come with the machine, don’t use them on a nice knit.

Someday I’ll do a blog post on different types of needles (there are plenty.) But now, I need to get back to cutting out fabric. I need a winter wardrobe.

Doors, Doorhangers and Paint, Oh My!

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How’s everyone doing out there?

I am not ashamed to say I had a rough summer. Between the pandemic, and a kid who’s still in the school system, I managed to fall while taking pictures. Hard. On my knee, but did a number on the ankle too.

Wound up in the ER, and x-rays were fine, but still healing. On top of that, I have the usual “You know, at your age…” health issues. But hard as I tried, I was not able to avoid going to a doctor until coronavirus is eradicated….as I had hoped. Who am I kidding?

So layer on top of that all the societal and natural disaster issues we’re facing and I made a decision:

TO PAINT MY FRONT DOOR CORAL.

Why? That’s a good question. I was all set to go with teal. And then I randomly saw a pic online of a coral front door. And I couldn’t get it out of my head. You need to know that my front door is a very dark, forest green. It has been that way for 18 years.

But it suddenly became my obsession. A primal scream, I think. I NEED A CORAL FRONT DOOR.

Since then I have discovered, to my surprise, that a front door that faces south should indeed be red or orange according to feng shui principles. Who knew. (Not me.) So, apparently, I did the right thing.

I used some paint called DecoArt. Find it here.

It was not my favorite. It went on kind of gloppy and was a semi-gloss. I’m generally a satin girl. And please note, that while I was doing this I was NEVER sure it was going to work. My only thought was that if I ruined the front door, we needed a new one anyway.

The first coat was pretty hideous. It was a lot of work just to get that far, and needed several hours to dry. I had to keep going back and smooth over places that wanted to drip. At this point, I was really torn. Give up now and paint it black? Or forge ahead and see where I end up. Anyone in their right mind would have hired a professional to salvage what they could.

I went for it.

Two more coats later.

My husband strolled by while I was in the process. “You’re making the front door pink?”

“IT’S NOT PINK, IT’S CORAL!”

He and my teenage son exchanged glances and backed away. They don’t really care.

But at least here’s where I get to the sewing part. Now I needed something to put on the door.

I have some black Kraft-tex, and so anyone who’s read this blog in the past, knows I love my Kraft-tex. I wanted a round doorhanger, but one that I could update seasonally. Or just when I got tired of it.

If you don’t know, cutting a perfect, professional-looking circle is hard. Really hard. So I use a rotary circle cutter from Olfa.

But the tool has a maximum circle size of about 8.5 inches. Not nearly as big as I wanted it.

So I approached my husband with the tool, and I told him what I wanted to do. He has a mill and a 3D printer. I wondered if he could help me find a way to get bigger circles.

He sniffed around the tool for a bit, while I went off to make dinner. An hour later he handed me an extender. Then he attached it.

He simply fitted it to the device, added a screw and bolt to hold it together and, like magic, I can now make circles about twice the size. It was amazing! And it worked perfectly. My new circle was somewhere near 18 ” acorss, almost the entire length of the Kraft-tex paper.

Now I just stitched my embroidery out and attached it with a single stitch to the the circle. I made slots so that I could switch out the seasonal part at any time.

I finished it up with a ribbon and hung it with a flourish.

I have no idea how anyone else is coping. I hope you are doing well.

I highly recommend doing something you’ve been afraid to do. (Let’s not get reckless here, I’m talking about painting a door, or a room, or yikes! a dresser.)

I didn’t know I needed this color in my life. Nor do I know how long I will want it. But it showed up at the right time for me.

Color heals.

I hope.