About That Wedge

That wedge I talked about yesterday? The one I cut off because I "always" have too much hem and hip room? Apparently not always. I needed it. It seems that I've - finally - got the mix of alterations darn near perfect and now need that wedge for garment ease. Until I lose a few more inches, there's not enough in this blouse to stop...




... the hem from crawling up my behind BUT, the blouse is not too bad - not unwearable - just not as wonderful as it would have been with the wedge. I added it back to the pattern placing 1/2" on each side for a more balanced and graceful look - LOL - I hope. Once there's more ease, these wrinkles will settle down or at least most of them. Some wrinkles are just part of the life of a three dimensional form - VBG.




The width across the back through the armhole looks a bit wide and yet if I take too much away I won't be able to move my arms forward. I've sent these images to a friend for advice. She's very knowledgeable about fit. I'll see what she says.

The shoulder width looks close. A slight bit more could come off but not too much - no more than 1/2" - which might just resolve the armhole as well. Hmm...




The princess seam passes nicely through the bust point and the raised underarm allows for improved arm mobility. Good. The sleeves and cuffs worked out great although...




... it's been so long since I've sewn a placket and cuff that there are surely faster techniques out there now. That's something to ask Sandra Betzina at the workshop in April however, I don't imagine it's too big an issue since I'm not a huge fan of long sleeves. I doubt I'll sew too many. I prefer three quarter length.

Other than that, from the front, the hem length is good and it'll be hard to tell from the back until there's more ease. OVERALL - I'm quite pleased. I finished the buttons around 8:30 last night. The studio is cleaned up and ready to sew again. Next is a skirt only I'm not sure which one yet.

There's been an increase in readership lately so some of you may not know that I recently retired from a career in textile art. While working, I started reading Robert Genn's twice weekly articles which are always thought provoking. In today's, The Artifacts of Our Culture, he discusses the work of Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009).

Claude spent his lifetime studying native people and in particular native people in Brazil and North America. There were several things of interest in the article. Two stand out for me and are applicable to the journey of developing our style both in fashion and in art.

Earlier native populations were isolated which, in Claude's opinion, was ideal as they were able to develop their art without influence. YES YES! When teaching, I highly recommended that my students work in isolation for a period of time free from the opinions and thoughts of others. That length of time depended on the student but definitely needed to continue until they could hear another's opinion, evaluate it, and use or disregard it as necessary in pursuit of their own self expression. For me, that was several years.

They were fabulous years that changed my artistic life because it is not until you learn to listen to your inner artist, that you can begin to create the works of your own heart rather than works influenced by others wishes. That's true of our style through fashion as well.

It takes careful listening to yourself and confidence from within to create and sustain a style of your own free from what's in and what others might think. Nina Garcia talked a lot about that in her book The Little Black Book of Style, about how style is not wearing the latest and greatest "it" item that "they" say you should wear. It's about carving out an expression of self through the use of clothing that says here I am, confident in my own skin, expressing my inner self outward, like it or leave it, this is me.

I'm working on that confidence and expression in clothing and very glad that I can transfer the earlier learning from my art. It's a learning that started with my art and has now rippled into every area of my life. Because of it, I recognize that voice that says "this is me" or "this isn't me" and I'm able to explore the what if thoughts that tickle. Even so, right now, I find myself highly influenced by what's going on in the fashion world around me and by the comfort of familiarity. That bothers me on a certain level. I don't want to be a carbon copy.

Oprah yesterday was about fashion for men. Tim Gunn talked about how many men get stuck in the style of their youth and keep repeating and repeating it. It's not just men. Learning to step confidently outside of my fashion box and express myself in new and different ways is taking some work. While I like the blouse above, it is predictable, a version of a garment I've worn for years. Something more is needed to make it unique and interesting. It's safe. HOWEVER...

... don't be discouraged by that. Safe is an excellent starting point. Once the details of fit and flatter are worked out, the "blank canvas" of a garment can be taken in all kinds of different directions to express our uniqueness. That's exciting. It's something worth working toward.

Claude was also concerned that the global village was leading to commerce and ego. History has certainly shown that things we thought were great improvements have often had negative consequences.

For years, I attended a fall retreat in Port Townsend, Washington, USA. One of the things I loved about the drive was stopping at Pier I Imports in Bellingham. The items in that store seemed so international, different, and unique from anything we had here in Kamloops and then, we got a Pier I Imports too and so did darn near every hamlet in North America and suddenly unique became homogeneous. Go to any town or city in North America and you will find the same stores with the same stuff. If you're like me, you are once again searching out the hidden artist studios, the second hand stores, and the independents.

There are many wonderful things about the interconnectedness of today's population. In particular the sharing of information on a common topic of interest through blogs and forums. It's fabulous. Without the sewing talk I get online, I'd be in deep starvation. However, there is also much perpetuation of sameness. I read a blog, I see a pattern, I think oh, that's cute, I buy it, and I'm not the only one. I'm simply one of many. Sewing allows me to create garments in the colors, textures, and prints that I want to wear in order to express my inner self outward. Am I doing that? Yes and not fully. At least not yet.

Lately, I've been thinking about how to balance the reading and conversations which are highly valuable with the need to work in isolation to develop my fashion voice. I haven't quite figured that out yet but I know it has to do with uniqueness. The women whose style I admire are unique to themselves rather than carbon copies of other women or the "in" crowd.

To that end, my Internet time has two focuses. The first is to read and learn about expressing personal style. Blogs such as Already Pretty, The Hidden Seed, and The Slapdash Sewist help with these. The other is to learn about fit and improving the quality of my sewing. Blogs like Blog for Better Sewing, Diary of a Sewing Fanatic, and Two On Two Off help with these. I'm still figuring it all out. WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?



Edited at 2:09 pm to add this picture of me in my "uniform" so I could connect it to a discussion on Stitcher's Guild about What I Wore Today. I'm cutting out a turquoise skirt with a fabulous lining. More on Monday. Have a great weekend.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a mostly successful ending to a rather rough week of sewing