The Difference Is In The Details

Coincidentally, Peter's topic yesterday on Male Pattern Boldness was Too Many Patterns. In the posting, he talks about the lack of selection, how men's patterns are pretty much all the same, and how they dull they are. When I asked Peter what he was looking for, he said I do see cute guys jackets from time to time and wish I could buy the pattern. But honestly, I think the problem -- or rather the reality -- is that men's clothes are very standard: shirts and pants. That's basically it. So you have to find unusual fabrics and color combinations.

So... the difference is in the details. This is a topic I think about often because I like clean lines and simple designs which means the potential for my garments to look-a-like and be peat and re-peat versions of each other is VERY high. Here's what I mean.




Butterick 4659 above is a princess seamed blouse just like McCall's 6035 below. I bought one pattern a few years ago and one this weekend. There's relatively little difference between them other than the collar which is simple, easily drafted, or transferable from another pattern already in stash.




Buying the pattern for the collar pieces - or even the instructions - might be preferable to drafting however - assuming that the one pattern is already "perfectly" fitted - is buying a new pattern and starting from scratch to fit it really truly much easier than transferring design lines? What about these skirts?




Vogue 7937 above and Butterick 4859 below are again quite similar patterns. While the seam lines through the back are shaped differently, the look is similar. It's that femininity and flirtiness that I was buying and since I hadn't yet sewn one pattern, why did I buy the second one?

At their very basic, a pencil skirt is a pencil skirt is a pencil skirt - a darted blouse is a darted blouse is a darted blouse - jeans are jeans are jeans. If so, why do I buy so many patterns? Because it's true and it's not true.

Part of the reason is because of the subtle differences between patterns. The details. Partly, it's seduction. I've seen the pattern sewn and looking beautiful on someone else and hope that will rub off on me too. Partly, it's because of several good - or not good - reviews. I want to up my success ratio and lower my frustration levels. Only... why do I sew? Ultimately, it's that answer that I need to keep in mind. Without it, it doesn't matter how many patterns or how much fabric I buy, in the end, I won't be happy.

Last summer, a friend and I were driving to a fabric store about an hour and a half away which gave us plenty of time to talk about sewing and what we were looking for on the way. At forty-seven, we've both been sewing for over thirty years. In thirty years, you do a lot of peat and re-peating and you come to a lot of conclusions about which styles you gravitate toward and why and you've - to quite a degree - defined your sense of style and preferences. Within that description, how do you stay fresh, edgy, stylish, and up-to-date? Our conclusion was - it's in the details. The details are a HUGE part of what makes me happy.




As Peter said, so you have to find unusual fabrics and color combinations. My reaction is yes and no - at least for me. For me, that's not enough. It has to be more than that. New Look 6735 above is my tried & tested t-shirt pattern. In the past few months, I've sewn it six times, each time perfecting the fit slightly more. Each time, I've used a different fabric. I liked the fabrics but they didn't significantly alter the delight of sewing because each time it's basically the sames steps. They've become repetitive, and dare I say boring, even though there is a certain satisfaction in the smooth flow of the process. I enjoy that confidence of motion.

However, it's at that point - when my hands are moving with ease through the repetitious stages - that my brain can begin to bubble with creativity. I used to think it was just creativity that I enjoyed only I've come to realize that I also like a challenge. I start out wanting to fit the garment well and then to perfect the fit and then when it fits extraordinarily well, it's at that point that the pattern becomes a building block - a blank canvas. The basic t-shirt pattern above can (and did) become this one one below and...




... this one and...

... and this one too! And each presents both technical and creative challenges. (Both are available from Anthropolgie if you want to look them up.)




Peter is right. Men's wear includes pants, shirts, jackets, and evening wear. Women's wear includes pants, shirts, skirts, dresses, jackets, and evening wear. We have more categories. We have more pattern selection. Is this abundance a blessing or a curse? I think it depends on your perspective and your goals for sewing.

As a writer, I have faced the blank page many times. As an artist, I've filled in a lot of blank canvasses. Knowing myself, and looking at what has provided the most satisfaction both in my art career and with fashion sewing these last six months after my art career, I can see that there are two primary tasks before me. The first is to perfect the fit of my blank canvasses - a blouse, a t-shirt, trousers, jeans, a skirt, and a dress - and the second is to fill those canvasses with numerous expressions of self. To do that...




... I can go beyond purchased fabrics. The techniques of my art career - dyeing, overdyeing, re-fashioning, stamping, thread work, fabric manipulation, and so on - are as applicable to garment sewing as they are to textile art. And they're fun. (Actually - that's a third task - learning and perfecting techniques.) AND...

... I can go beyond the patterns. The challenge of drafting that tucked and buttoned t-shirt was just as satisfying as the challenge of creating and stitching the ribbed collar on this re-fashioned sweater and both were as satisfying as filling blank canvasses and empty pages.




This is not a new awareness. All of us tend to circle back through the same ideas over and over and when we do, there are new lessons to be learned or old ones to be confirmed. I love to sew. I've loved it since I was twelve years old. Thirty-five years later, the possibilities are still endless HOWEVER...




... for me to be completely happy, I also need to be challenged technically or creatively or both. My focus is not on accumulating numerous patterns or a large fabric stash but to accumulate the skills, questions to explore, and the bubbling creativity to take those "blank canvasses" in endless and satisfying directions like turning that unflattering skirt above into this much more interesting blouse. Pattern Overload happens when I'm going in the wrong direction - when I'm accumulating stuff more than I'm accumulating ideas and challenges. That's a good awareness and so - today - I'm back to perfecting the fit of my jeans. YES YES! Once accomplished, another blank canvas.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - I'm well enough to sew again. I can think straight. Good.

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Personal Growth - Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to become an overnight success. - Diana Rankin, writer

Along with loving a technical or creative challenge, I'm incredibly goal oriented. This posting has enunciated the value of and the potential of fitting those yawn-yawn boring blank canvass patterns. Obviously new t & t patterns will emerge with time. I can't imagine being confined to the same six or seven patterns forever. I like change to much. However, having those core patterns chosen, fitted, and perfected will allow me to explore creativity in a way that satisfies me immensely. The pull to fit ourselves into a different way of being, one that's not our own, is so strong and yet we are happiest pushing the boundaries of our own box.