Fnd-Tme-2-Sew-art - 8/4/00
"Finding Time to Sew" by Lord Profirevich. (Stephen Bergdahl)
NOTE: See also the files: sewing-msg, sewing-tables-msg, sewng-machnes-msg, spinning-msg, sergers-msg, linen-msg, cotton-art, applique-msg, patterns-msg.
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NOTICE -
This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set
of files, called Stefan's Florilegium.
These files are available on the Internet at:
Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author.
While the author will likely give permission for this work to be
reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first
or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris
AKA: Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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FINDING TIME TO SEW
By Stephen Bergdahl
Dedicated to my wife Heidi
The second most common complaint I hear about costuming is "I don't have
time!" Number one is, "I could never do that!" but we will get to that in
another article. We have all met the person who is always running around in
a new costume, never wears the same thing twice in the same month, and is
generally just too perfect for their own good. If you are this sort of
person, go bake some bread or something, this article is not for you. Now
for the rest of us, who are not perfect and just can't figure out where the
perfect ones find all that extra time, there is hope.
After twenty years of costuming I have found the secret. It was very simple
- I got married! Now before you think I now make my wife make all the
costumes let me explain. Before my wife met me she did not know that there
were strange people who ran around wearing silly clothes, just for the fun
of it. One date with me changed all that and she has embraced the whole
idea, but as it turns out she does not sew as well as I do. So she uses her
skills, which are vast and wonderful, in other areas of costume, beading,
embroidery and the like, and lets me make the costumes. It was shortly
after we came to our present arrangement that I noticed that she did not
spend all day and night before an event sewing and running around like a
chicken with her head cut off. All her work was done, and she still got a
full night's sleep. After a few years I finally figured out her secret.
Right after I asked her. (What can I say, I may sew but I am still a guy!)
The great secret is Organization!
Now I am sure you are telling yourself, "I'm organized!" But are you? Can
you at this moment lay your hands on your tape measure or your scissors?
Can you in less than minute lay your hands on your latest project and sit at
the machine and work. If the answer is no, then you are not organized. And
you should not feel bad about it; it is a skill just like sewing and just
like sewing it needs to be learned. And if you remember your first sewing
project, you know that any new skill takes time. So, lets get started
learning!
First thing we have to do is get your stash in order. If you are like most
costumers you have a pile of fabric, trim, lace, ribbon, and the many other
items needed to sew. Before Heidi and I organized the stash I had no idea
where to find a thing. It was all neatly packed in boxes in my 8' X 10"
storage locker but there was no way to tell which box had which fabric. One
time I took my best friend to pick up some fabric I needed for a costume.
It took me 3 hours to find the fabric. After the stash was organized I took
the same friend to pick up fabric; he took a book with him this time. He
had just gotten settled in the chair I was storing at the time when I told
him that I was done. The look on his face was worth all the work it took to
get there. So how did I get there?
The method that Heidi and I used is very simple and very straightforward,
while still giving you room to adjust for your own needs. You will need;
* Nice clean boxes, File boxes are great, copy paper boxes are also great,
and free.
* 3X5 Cards
* Scissors
* Stapler
* Pens
* Magic Marker
* Tape Measure
This works best with two people, but it is not necessary. Get your fabric
into one area. What we did was to bring home the stash one or two boxes at
a time and sort them. Then when we were done, they were taken back.
Take on a box and make it "F-1". This means that this is box number one of
your fabric supply.
Grab the first piece of fabric. Clip off a small sample, it can just be a
1/2 inch wedge from the end and staple it to the left-hand side of a 3X5
card. Two staples are usually enough to hold most samples.
Then measure the length of the cloth, and write it down on the card.
Then measure the width of the cloth and write that down on the card.
Write down what the cloth is made of, 100% cotton, 50% wool & 50% Silk, etc.
If you don't know, make a guess or just right down UNKNOWN FABRIC.
Now fold the fabric up and place it in the box, and write in the right hand
upper corner of the card F-1.
You should have a 3X5 card with a fabric sample stapled to it, with the
following information:
What box the fabric is in,
How many yards you have,
What width the fabric it,
What it's content is
And then you can add possible projects for the fabric.
Continue doing this until the box is full. Then put the lid on it and move
on to F-2 and so on and so on until you are done with the fabric. If you
have a lot of fabric this may take some time. But just keep plugging away
and you will be done before you know it. Don't worry about sorting the
fabric as you put it in the boxes we will do that later. Not to the fabric
we will be sorting the cards.
When the fabric is done it is time to do the rest of it. For lace, ribbon
and trim I found that a piece of cardboard or poster board cut to 4 inches
by 9 inches is the best size to wrap on. Cut up a number of these cards
then mark one with either T-1 for trim, R-1 for ribbon, or L-1 for lace.
The do just like you did with the fabric, clip a sample, measure it and then
wrap it around the narrow part of the cardboard.
Depending on the amount of trim, lace or ribbon you can fit a number of
different ones on a card, or just one type. When the cardboard is full
place it in a box marked either Trim, Ribbon, or Lace, and start a new card
until all is neatly wrapped and boxed. For the interfacing, tapes, cords
and other such things I just keep them in one box, with smaller items
grouped together in zip locks marked Notions. Now you have a nice neat
stack of boxes, and a whole lot of cards. Next we organize the cards.
I keep my cards in a 3X5 file box, that I picked up that the store I bought
the cards at. To organize them I used the dividers that came with the box,
and labeled them SCA, Klingon, Fort 1846, Ren Fair, and a few others. I
sorted my fabric by what period costume I was going to make out of it. This
worked for me because I do a lot of different periods, if you are only in do
one period you might want to sort them by Undergarments, Day, Evening. It
doesn't matter as long as they are grouped in an order that makes sense to
you. If nothing else sort them by color. Now that you have them done. Now
we move on to the fiends of the sewing world, patterns!
Patterns have to be the hardest things to deal with. They tear, they lose
pieces, and they never cooperate. I have found that the best way of dealing
with them is to prep them before you need them. When I start the planning
for a costume and will be using a particular pattern. I will open it, and
cut out each and every piece in the largest size. Then I iron them and
refold them and place the pieces, the instructions and the cover in a quart
sized zip lock bag. This way I can find the pieces when I need them, I know
what pattern I am using, and I don't have to try and refold them on the
original lines.
Yes, I know that there are people who can refold a pattern back into its
original cover, my wife can and I can't. So I deal with it this way. To
store your patterns just use another box labeled PATTERNS, and put them in
whatever order suits you. All the men's together, all the dresses, etc. If
you draft your own patterns you store them in pretty much the same manner.
What I do is after I have done all the fittings and have the finished
product I transfer it to brown wrapping paper. Making sure that I label
each piece and do all the markings. I also at this time draft all the
facings and other small bits I will need. It's a pain, but it will save
time in the long run. And in twenty years I have never used a pattern just
once. So take the time. When I store that pattern I will put a quick
sketch of the design in the baggie it makes it easier to remember in the
long run. As it was said by Dr. Jones, Sr. "I wrote it down so I didn't
have to remember it."
Now with all of the other items under control we come to the sewing box.
All through time people have had sewing boxes. It's a simple concept that
fell out of favor along with sewing it's self. But we are going to bring it
back. While the sewing box reached its height with the Victorians who made
boxes with matching everything, you don't have to go that far. You will
need a box or basket that will hold:
* Scissors - Thread Snips and Shears
* Pin Cushion - I like the Magic Grip-it kind.
* Pins - quilters Pins
* Needles - Hand and Machine
* Seam Ripper
* Hand needles
* Pattern Weights - If you use them
* Rotary Cutters - If you use them
* Tape Measure
* Small Ruler - 6 inch is best
* Chalk - I use the Art Pencil type - One white, one Blue.
* Calculator - Get a Solar powered one.
* And anything else you use all the time.
This is the stuff that you will need for most projects and should always
know where it is. If you want to you can take some of your creative urges
out on the box and fit it out so everything has its place. The important
thing is that they are all together were you can find them.
You will also need some project boxes. A project box is just what it sounds
like, a box that holds a complete project. That includes the pattern,
fabric, thread, beads and anything else that you need to make that item.
The idea here is to have everything for one costume together so you don't
have to hunt when you want to sew. This is the one box I feel that you
should buy. The clear plastic boxes that Rubber Maid makes are perfect.
Because the box is clear you can tell at a glance which project is in which
box. Limit your self to four at the most. I know that's hard, but much
more than four projects going at a time means you have projects that are
resting. A resting project is one that you have not touched in a month. If
that is the case one of two things happened: it never got started and needs
to be put back in the stash until a better time or it's half done, and you
need to sit down and finish it so you can start a new project. Its not hard
to lose steam on a project, and taking a break for one is fine, but you
can't start a new one until the old ones are finished or abandoned.
We move on to your sewing room.
Now I know that those of us who have a whole room are few and far between.
So I will work on the theory that like most costumers you are working either
at the dining room table or in one corner of the house. You need an area
that is for your sewing supplies and nothing else.
You have to put your foot down here and be selfish.
It does no good to have thing organized if everyone and their brother can go
though and borrow things. It has been my experience that a closet for just
your sewing things is the best bet. If not that an armoine is good, even
just a hope chest all it needs to be is something that everything will fit
in. Then declare it off limits to any one else. Use a lock if you have to
make your point. For this article we will work with the idea that you have
a closet. In the closet you should have: your stash, sewing machine, iron
and ironing board, patterns cutting board, sewing box and project boxes.
To organize your sewing closet you should start by putting your stash away.
I recommend that you put the fabric along the back wall. If possible don't
stack the fabric boxes in front of each other. I understand that this is
most likely impossible but try to arrange the boxes so you can get at most
of them while moving as few as possible. Put the trim, patterns and the
notions boxes next to the fabric boxes. I make a stack with the trim, lace,
and ribbon on the bottom, notions next with the patterns on top. It you
have a shelf put the project boxes on it along with your sewing box. If you
don't have a shelf stack them on the fabric boxes.
To hold your ironing board and iron I recommend a hanging rack on the door.
Either one that hangs over the door or mounts on the door. This will keep
it out of the way but it will still be handy. Make sure that the rack will
handle a hot iron so you don't have to wait for it to cool before putting it
away.
Your cutting board is stored any number of ways depending on: If you use
one. And what type you use? If you still cut out on the dinning room table
using scissors I recommend one of the cardboard cutting boards that they
sell in most fabric stores. It will protect the table from your scissors
and the grids make it easier to cut out. These just fold up and tuck out of
the way. If you use a rotary cutter and mat, how you store it depends on
what size your mat is. You want a mat as large as possible, but unless you
can leave it out all the time, it must either fit in your closet, slide in
along the wall or roll up. Either will work it just depends on how much
space you have and how much trouble you want to go to. If you are rolling
it up I recommend a set of elastic garters to help hold it closed.
Your sewing machine should be in its traveling case on the floor. Even the
smallest portable is too heavy to put on top of either the shelf or the
boxes. Also by being on the floor there is no chance of it being dropped.
This will kill the best machine, trust me I know! With everything in place
make sure of two things: one that you can close the door, and that you can
get to your project boxes and sewing box without moving anything. This is
so where you are doing handwork you don't have to take everything out to get
to what you want to work on.
You are now ready to sew.
With everything organized it is a simple matter after you have decided that
you need a new tunic for this weekends feast: To check your 3X5 cards and
pick out the blue linen for the body and the yellow corduroy for the trim
and pull them from their boxes. Get out the interfacing and those nice
pearl buttons you found on sale last month. Decide that you want to use the
pattern with the bell sleeves not the straight, because you know both are
with the tunic pattern. Putting it all in a project box you set up your
machine, cutting board and iron board. Then cut out the all the tunic
parts, including trim and interfacing, and sit down to sew. And you have
gotten this far in no time because the kids and the hubby are engrossed in a
movie and you had everything organized so you put the short time to good
use. And that's how the perfect people do it.
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The non-commercial use of this text is encouraged, and does not require
explicit written permission from Stephen Bergdahl as long as this entire
statement is included on each copy: Copyright (c) Stephen Bergdahl 2000.
And a copy of the publication the article appears in is forwarded to Stephen
Bergdahl, Post Office Box 805, Sacramento CA 95812-0805.
Stephen can be reached by email at: madly at 2xtreme.net and a copy of this
Article can also be found at his website:
http://www.2xtreme.net/madly/Costume101/Making_time.htm
If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in
the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also
appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being
reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.
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