My Subconsious Is Always Sewing

When Friday's posting - Am I Having Fun Doing What I Do For Fun - did not receive more comments, I was surprised. I had hoped to generate a conversation about why we do what we do - sew - because we love it - because we can't help ourselves - for whatever aspect you particularly enjoy.

Yesterday, I received an email from a friend who said I sounded down in that posting. Wow! No. Not at all. What I was trying to say is that even when I'm surrounded by piles of paper, and miles of muslins, and trying to fit a moving target, I am having fun. This is what I do. Playing with fabric is my thing. I've been sewing for thirty-six years and I'm more interested in sewing now than ever. I love to sew more than I love to read. I love to read more than I love to knit. In fact, I love to write and possibly paint more than I love to knit BUT, no matter what else I love to do, I love to sew most of all.

Even though we all sew, our favourite aspects could vary greatly. What is fun for one person may not be fun for another. I dislike sewing for other people except on the very rare occasion and I dislike extreme repetitiveness although I enjoy the satisfaction of a tedious job well done like twelve pairs of panties. I'd rather sew a complete new garment than mend one which might seem strange considering how fascinated I am with refashioning, however, they're two different things to me. One is mundane and the other artistic.

I love new theories and techniques. I love figuring out technical details like the fit of my sloper, how to make pattern adjustments, how to work with the Pattern Master Boutique software, and how to use the software along with Lynda Maynard's fitting techniques from her book DeMystifying Fit to achieve really great fit. It's like research. I adore it. Questions like...





... how would I alter the seam line on this pattern to get rid of this "back boob" can consume me for minutes or hours. In this case....




... quickly pinning out the excess shows the answer. It's not always that easy. One thing I really appreciated about all the work I did with Pattern Master Boutique last year was learning how wide MY shoulders are, the shape of MY armhole, MY center back and center front length, MY bust shape, and other MY answers. These answers help me tremendously.




The print out that I found has also helped tremendously even though the seam lines aren't exactly the same. It showed the torso length as well as the shape and width of the shoulders and the shape and depth of the armhole. Above, you can see that I needed to alter the shoulder line and narrow the shoulder width on this McCalls 6035 pattern. That's the one I was working with the D cup on to help adjust Vogue 8667. It's also a pattern that I've sewn before and when I made these changes last time, it fit like wonderful.

All this technical how-to fascinates me on a level that doesn't appeal to everyone. I know for a fact that not all of you are interested in perfecting fit to the degree that I am and some of you think I'm certifiably crazy. That's okay. Perhaps I am. But it's not hurting anyone and it's a kind of crazy I enjoy. Like yesterday...

... after working on the pattern for several more hours, I sewed another bodice muslin for the Vogue 8667 dress and it was still not where I wanted it to be. Fitting the dress has become a challenge. Not the sewing. The fit. The sewing is very basic which is why I'm so focused on the fit. One thing I learned with textile art is that simple is not easy. When a design has clean lines and simple structures, there are less places to hide and a stronger need for good design skills. With fashion sewing, that translates to a stronger need for good fit.

What I am trying to accomplish with the muslin is a level waist at the correct height, a well placed full bust adjustment, and a close fit with just the right amount of ease to flatter while allowing me room to breathe and move. I've tried several different routes to the answer and I'm very close. It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle that consumes my mind. I pick up each piece and turn it this way and that to see how it fits together with the whole. It's a different form of distracted. I'll be walking, cleaning, cooking, or performing some other repetitive task and my mind will be working on the issue. My subconscious is always sewing.

As I contemplate one approach versus another, I am learning and that - for me - is fun. You would be excused for thinking I'm obsessive compulsive after all, it has taken me over a week so far and I haven't even finished the muslin yet although - to be fair - I started a new job in that same week but - even so - so what. There's no rush. How long this might take doesn't bother me. What would bother me would be to abandon the learning. I have a strong need to know and I'm unlikely to put the project down until I either answer the question or absolutely have to for other reasons, like I'm leaving town, which I am in a couple of weeks.




Last night, I reloaded the Pattern Master Boutique software, re-entered my chart with the info on the print out that I found, and drafted a waist length bodice for a dress with armscye princess seams. Look at the interesting shape of the front side bodice. Isn't that waist angle fascinating?

I haven't cut out the pieces or started sewing yet but my mind is already turning that shape around and around seeing if it works and how it works and wondering how I'll use that information in the future AND... as I'm working this through... my subconscious is saying hey, the software is working again, you could use a shoulder princess seam instead ? ? ? ? and my mind tickles. What if I use an armscye princess seam in the front and a shoulder princess seam in the back. That would give me lovely lines. I love those tickles more than simply sewing seams AND.... once I've perfected this pattern... my mind will tickle with all kinds of ideas for designing variations. YES YES - what fun!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the software is working again.