Novelty Scrap Busting!

I have a tip for all you scrap busters out there -- check with your local library and/or early education teachers to see if they have a use for your scraps. My coworker who runs children's programs recently asked me if I had any fabric scraps with varied textures for a learning module she's creating. The key was texture -- the children would be feeling the fabric and sharing their experiences, even comparing it to things outdoors during outdoor programs as well. 

Well. Do I have any scraps? This request took on a fun journey through my remnant bins, where I found lots of silky lining and rayons, crisp cottons, canvas, rougher linens, varied wales of corduroy, velour, burnout velvet, fleece, felt, wool, jacquards, cotton gauze, seersucker, scuba, soft stretchy jerseys, metallic knits, suitings, ultrasuede, and more. I cut a block of each one, in varying sizes depending on my remnant, but big enough to run through the hands and get a good sense of the tactile nature of each. 

I used my pinking sheers to trim some of the more prone-to-fraying bits, but overall they weren't hard to gather and sort. And they can be thrown into a lingerie bag to be washed when necessary. If there are some that fray away she can ask me for more ;) 

It was a fun exercise, as I saw bits from my many previous projects, and even discovered quite large remnants of a few fabrics that I'm now planning to make some summer tops from! I was able to create two baggies of exactly the same bits so that they can be used by multiple families. This was an unexpected request that cleared nearly a shopping bag full of small scraps from my stashes and got me to organize a bit too. Definitely a new and useful life for some of my remnants.

Weekend Review: Sewing Happiness

Sewing Happiness / Sanae Ishida
Seattle: Sasquatch Books, c2016.
240 p.

This is a different kind of craft book. It's about the author's journey from corporate intensity to a chronic illness to finding a new and balanced way to live. She does this partly through craft. 

When the stress and full on nature of her corporate job leads Ishida to develop Graves' disease, a thyroid dysfuntion, she has to re-evaluate her life and find a way to heal herself without filling herself with drugs. 

She finds that eating better -- healthy foods, mindfully prepared and eaten -- sleeping properly, and sewing are her routes back to better health (to a point; Graves disease is irreversible). The meditative nature of sewing reduces her stress and lets her feel competent at something again, both important to her mental health. She decides that she's going to spend a year sewing all of her daughter's clothes. (this does not sound relaxing to me, but perhaps for a high achiever it helped to have this kind of concrete goal). 

Knit Tank Dress

Her story is moving, and it makes this book more than it would be otherwise. It's a good approach for other busy corporate mom kind of readers who are looking or needing to make a life change. Especially if they are new to sewing and need encouragement to begin.

The projects are loosely arranged around the seasons, twenty projects in all. They range from a pillow or a bag to yoga pants or children's dresses, but they are all focused on comfort and making your life beautiful. Ishida is inspired by the simplicity and aesthetic of her Japanese heritage, even including some sashiko stitching in a few projects.

I think that the project I found most unique was an easy fortune cookie advent calendar -- while I probably wouldn't make a whole advent calendar, I like the idea of the fortune cookie and can imagine lots of ways to use it in other settings. 

The projects are all simple -- nothing challenging for someone who has sewn before. But something to note is that none of the projects have patterns, per se. Like many Japanese sewing books there are measurements in the back of the book for each project, alongside hand drawn instructions. The basic nature of most of the projects makes this feasible for sure, although the yoga pant & knit dress are odd ducks for me -- you're told to trace a garment that you already have. So I guess if you want to make those projects you'd better already have some ;) 

In any case, although the projects are mainly home dec items and I probably won't end up making any of them, I did find the book soothing and honestly told, with beautiful photography throughout. If you can find it at your library it's definitely worth a look. 

Origami Pillows

Sew Thriftily: the @ Your Library edition!

Today is going to be a quick look at another way to sew thriftily. We've discussed thrift stores -- where you can look for fabric, notions, and yes, even books! And we've looked at the plethora of free sewing patterns to be found online. Then there is the concept of waiting for sales at your local fabric stores or favourite online shops.

But today's topic is your trusty local public library. Did you know that many libraries have sewing books in their collections? And that some of these are books that include patterns? Some lucky libraries even carry magazines like Burda! I wish mine did that.

These days, a big trend in libraries, at least in North America, is to have a Makerspace as part of the library. What's that? It's a place focused on making things, on experiential learning. And many Makerspaces (including my own) have sewing machines as part of their equipment. There's one in a Toronto library that I visited recently that even has a serger and an embroidery machine as part of the deal.

I've been very lucky at my library. Not only do we have sewing machines and a making-focused program team, we have some great sewing books in our collection.

Over the past year or two, I've taken out books like Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book, Breaking the Pattern (which I actually requested for purchase & the library bought -- you can do that at your library too!), and Kathleen Cheetham's Singer Perfect Plus, all with patterns to trace included, all from my own library.

Not only that, most libraries worldwide (except now for our province, don't get me started on our government cuts) offer Interlibrary Loan. I've taken good advantage of this over the years, and have requested many sewing books -- The Maker's Atelier, Wendy Ward's Beginner Guides to Making Skirts & Dressmaking, Love at First Stitch, and Chinelo Bally's Freehand Fashion, which helps you make your own patterns. Not even mentioning all the quilting, mending, embroidery and textile arts books that I've also found in libraries!

I encourage you to check out your library to see what's there; maybe you'll find something really inspiring. And don't forget to ask if something you want isn't on the shelf -- the librarians can usually find it for you somewhere.

Do you use your library for sewing resources? What have been some of your best finds?