Weekend Review: Sew It Yourself

 

Sew It Yourself / Daisy Braid
London: Hardie Grant, 2022.
207 p.

This is a cheerful, colourful book with multiple pattern-free projects included - 10 clothing pieces, and 10 accessories, all with variations. The accessories range from scrunchies and tie belts to bags and face masks. The clothing covers tops, dresses and even one pair of pants/shorts. All of the clothing is boxy and voluminous, based on rectangles, squares or trapezoids, some with lots of ruffling or gathering. 

If you are a younger sewist, or someone who likes more free-form, body based sewing, you will love this. The patterns are very trendy right now, with tiered ruffly skirts, big sleeves, lots of gingham and 'sweet' colours. The accessory ideas are a great intro to sewing, and I think that total newcomers to sewing might be attracted to this book by it's trendiness and bright layout. 

The book begins with the basic facts of sewing: tools, materials and key skills to learn. It starts out simple, from how to measure yourself and cut out a project, and advances to making and applying bias binding, and even caring for your clothing. Then it goes into the project chapters, which have both photos of the project, and illustrations of the steps. Most of the projects are straightforward, being cut out in big blocks of squares or rectangles, with no closures, so they are accessible to new sewists. 

This kind of sewing is definitely not my style; oversized, ruffly or ginghamy is not my aesthetic. So I am unlikely to make any of these, except perhaps the boxy jacket which might work for me. But, the clear and friendly tone of the book, and the easy to approach instruction and projects, are welcoming to anyone wanting to learn. I found it well put together, with lots of variety and levels of sewing included. I think this would appeal to a newer or younger sewist who loves these kinds of outfits, and it would serve them well. 

Literary Sewing Circle: Banyan Moon Inspiration!

 

It's the first week of our Literary Sewing Circle featuring Banyan Moon by Thao Thai. Have you found a copy yet? Have you started reading? If so, how are you finding the opening chapters? 

Today's inspiration is going to look at some of the characters in this story; we'll find ideas based on their names and personalities. Here are a few suggestions of projects you could make based on these elements. 

Ann is the main character, the one we meet as the book begins, and the one whose story is told in the first person. If you wanted to make something inspired by her there are many options! 

You could try the Ann Boxy Top by EF Patterns on Etsy; it's a simple silhouette that's really popular. 

Or you could make a simple tee, the Ann tee from StyleArc

Ann is also called Annie by one childhood friend, so maybe you'll go with that and make the Annie Dress by Tessuti Fabrics. Nice and light for a Florida summer.

While I couldn't really find any good men's patterns inspired by Ann's partner Noah, she might dress on theme herself in this Noah mini skirt by PatternCos

And you could add on this Noah Blouse by Make My Lemonade for a full Noah outfit! 

And also hinting at another theme, perhaps this Noah Baby Collection by Haurra Sewing would be suitable for any little ones in your life. 

And on that same theme, perhaps you'll take Kumquat as your inspiration! (you'll find out all about this name late in the book.)

You might use some Jenny Kumquat fabric by Domesticate on Spoonflower to sew up the loose summer frock of your dreams.

Using another stitching skill, you might even want to crochet this adorable Kumquat amigurumi figurine from Yarn Blossom Boutique!

Ann reconnects with her high school friend Crystal when she returns to the Banyan House. Maybe you want to take the edgy Crystal as your inspo. You could make the Crystal Skirt by FibreMood 

And maybe pair it with the Crystal Cove Cami by Itch to Stitch

And then throw on the Crystal Overshirt by StyleArc as a topper!

Ann also re-encounters her old high school flame Wesley. It was hard to find a pattern for him, but maybe his son Elijah could wear the Wesley Shirt by the Dutch Pattern Farm.

And then Wesley could wear the Elijah shirt by Ditto Patterns! 

You might even be inspired by the classy (if snobby) Alice or Brandon Winthorpe, Noah's parents. You could make an  Alice Blouse - either the version by Sew Over It or one by Jalie Patterns! 

Inspired by Brandon, you might choose to make some men's clothing with any of Brandon Mably's colourful fabric line 

Or create a preppy staple, the white undershirt to layer under a button down, using the Brando tee by Mood Sewciety. 

We might even look at the title of the book as inspiration for our projects! Did you know that a Banyan was an 18th Century men's garment? There are a few historical patterns for what is essentially a glamorous housecoat - there is the Burnley & Trowbridge historically accurate version, or the more freeform cutting plans from costumer Tara Michele Maginnis for a variety of banyans including one zero-waste option.

Or you could just go with this free Banyan Pet Bandanna by Samantha Marie Design! 

And of course there are many ways you could go with Moon! You could dress up in the I AM Patterns Full Moon Blazer 

Or make a floaty dress with the Moon Pocket Maxi by Sew Different 

Or make All Well Sewing's Free Full Moon bag, complete with their Half Moon Zip! 

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Have you connected with any of the characters yet? Is there one you particularly like? Anyone that you dislike? What do you think of the structure, having the perspective shift between the three main characters, Ann, Huong and Minh? Do any of the characters spark ideas for a project yet?

Weekend Review: Velvet

 

Velvet / Huzama Habayeb
trans. from the Arabic by Kay Heikkinen
Cairo: AUC Press (Hoopoe), 2019, c2016.
312 p.

I wanted to read this story as soon as I saw in the blurb that learning to sew helps the main character construct her life. But it's also the story of a woman raised and living her whole life in a Palestinian refugee camp.

Hawwa grows up in the camp with her family; harsh mother, cruel father, sisters and two brothers. Their father is an angry man and beats his children and wife, and worse. One of Hawwa's brothers grows up with this behaviour reflected in the way he lives his own life, as well. 

She learns to sew as a teenager after being apprenticed to Sitt Qamar, a  glamorous seamstress who lives in a nearby town. (There is a chapter in this section that moves away from Hawwa to tell us Sitt Qamar's own tragic love story). Sitt Qamar loves fabric and stitching, and during Hawwa's time with her, Hawa learns about the luxury of beautiful fabrics, being a businesswoman, and a more independent way of life. The existence of velvet is a sign of a richer, more 

Velvet has an aroma of its own, Sitt Qamar would tell her. “It's the aroma of warmth, of dormant heat, of depth and expanse; it's the aroma of wishes and desires, of maturity, maturity of love and of age; it's the aroma of clean flesh, of flesh suffused with yearnings and the sweat of lust.”

As it turns out, Hawwa is a natural, and becomes a gifted seamstress herself. But as we meet the middle-aged Hawwa at the start of the book, she has splurged on a length of pale blue velvet (silk velvet, no poly blends for her) for a wedding dress -- there is a sensuous description of velvet and the secret joy she has in it, imagining her wedding outfit. 

She has fallen in love with a gentle man, some years after being divorced by the abusive husband she was married to by her parents when she was young. She is now caring for her cruel but decrepit mother, and puts off remarrying because she's afraid of what her brother and her son will say - she's been meeting her new love privately, a no no in the eyes of the horrible men in her family. 

The brother she protected all her life, and the son she cared for, treat her like a food producing machine and money dispenser; they are utterly useless and disrespectful of all women, but somehow especially Hawwa. She prepares a big dinner for them, planning to tell them about her intention to marry, but things do not go well. They have already heard. 

The violent ending was a shock and ruined this book for me, I couldn't take it. I was completely engaged in the story, and imagining just one good thing for Hawwa right alongside her. I understand the events of the story, I can see how it came to the conclusion that it did, but I didn't like it. It just seems like there was so much constant misery for all the women in this book, from Hawwa to her mother and sisters and relatives. Only Sitt Qamar seemed to control her fate, but in the end it was a man who destroyed both her business and her life. 

I thought this was a powerful book, worthy of its Naguib Mahfouz Literary Award, but I just wish that the misery was not quite so unrelenting, that these women were given even a ghost of chance. 

Literary Sewing Circle: Fall 2024!

 

Our Fall 2024 session of the Literary Sewing Circle starts today! There is one notable change to the LSC this time around: we are moving to a 5 week schedule rather than a 6 week, with book discussion encouraged all the way along, and a wrap up book discussion on the final post. 

I'm pleased to announce that our group read this time around is:

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

Summary: 

A sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family's inherited burdens and buried secrets.

When Ann Tran gets the call that her beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away, her life is already at a crossroads. Ann has built a seemingly perfect life, but it all crumbles away with one positive pregnancy test.

With both her relationship and carefully planned future now in question, Ann returns home to Florida to face her estranged mother, Hu'o'ng. Under the same roof for the first time in years, mother and daughter must face the simmering questions of their past.

Running parallel to this is Minh's story, as she goes from a lovestruck teenager living in the shadow of the Vietnam War to a determined young mother immigrating to America. And when Ann makes a shocking discovery in the Banyan House's attic, long-buried secrets come to light as it becomes clear how decisions Minh made in her youth affected the rest of her life and her family.

Spanning decades and continents, from 1960s Vietnam to the wild swamplands of the Florida coast, Banyan Moon is a stunning and deeply moving story of mothers and daughters, the things we inherit, and the lives we choose to make out of that inheritance.

(from publisher)

Photo by Caroline Lohrey

About the Author: 

Thao Thai is a writer based out of Ohio, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Her work is published or forthcoming in the Los Angeles Review of Books, WIRED, Real Simple, Catapult, The Sunday Long Read, Cup of Jo, and other publications. Banyan Moon is her debut novel.

Both h’s in her name are silent.

(from publisher)

This book is available for purchase in multiple formats.

You can find this title at all of these locations:

IndieBound

Chapters Indigo

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com.au

Barnes and Noble

Powell's Books

ABE Books

Biblio.com

Or, of course, check your local library!

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How does the Literary Sewing Circle work? We read a book together, discuss it, and then make something inspired by our reading. As long as you can point out what inspired you from your reading, even if just a sentence, you can share your makes in our final roundup!

Anyone can join, and you can sew, knit, crochet, quilt or embroider - any textile art that you like doing - to participate. This is a reading/sewing circle, very low-key; no competitions here, just reading and sewing for fun. 

There is no official sign-up to worry about; just start reading along if you wish, and leave your thoughts on the book or your project on any of the Literary Sewing Circle posts. We do have a dedicated book discussion post at the end, but leave your thoughts anytime. And you can follow along on Instagram too if you like: look for @sewmelwyk and the hashtag #LiterarySewingCircle and you'll find us.

And when the final post goes up on week 5, so does the project linkup -- you can leave a link to your finished project there, whether it is on your blog, a pattern site, or even Instagram. It's easy :)

So, join in, and share!

Literary Sewing Circle Schedule

Sept 27 - Announcement & Introduction

Oct 4 - Inspiration post 

Oct 11  - Author feature

Oct 18 - Inspiration post

Oct 25 - Final Post: book discussion wrap up & posting of project linkup

We will have our project linkup live for two weeks after the final post to allow you to finish up and post your projects, which takes us to November 8, when the linkup will close.

Black & White Butterick 6655

 

My latest dress fits into my black & white neutrals palette of my fall wardrobe planning colour picks. And I'm glad that my latest round of planning hasn't changed much because I cut this dress out a year ago! And it only took me two evenings to sew it up. 

This is Butterick 6655, which I've made before, but this time I changed it up a bit. I cut the front on the fold rather than including the front seam, because I wasn't going to add in the faux button panel here. I just liked the way this pattern fit and wanted a basic sheath dress to wear. I also added in side seam pockets as I knew from my first one (where I didn't add pockets) that they would work with the fit this time.

My first one was made of a linen blend, but this time I was using a stretch bengaline, which is less familiar to me. The thing to note about this fabric is that the stretch goes lengthwise along the fabric, so you need to cut out on the crossgrain. But there is quite a bit of stretch so I thought it would be suited to a closer fitting dress, for a bit more comfort in wear. 

I used some white broadcloth for the pocket bags, as I thought self fabric would be too bulky. I was worried that there might be some show-through, but when I tested it I realized that the gabardine is quite thick and not transparent at all, even being white. So I didn't line the dress, I'll just use a slip when necessary. 

I didn't want it to be any shorter for this view, and probably should have cut it a bit longer - thanks, year ago me. So instead of turning up a hem, I used some white bias binding and made a 1/4" hem. I decided to hand stitch the hem since this fabric does ripple a bit when hemming - the sleeve required some steam to get the wobbly out. Hand stitching the bias facing down was easy and didn't take long, and it has a much cleaner visual finish. I'm pleased with this neutral - it will go nicely with a couple of bright blazers I picked up at the thrift store recently. And with lots of me-mades in my wardrobe too! 

Weekend Review: Making Things

Making Things / Erin Boyle & Rose Pearlman
Berkeley: Hardie Grant, c2024.
320 p.

This brand new library book had to come home with me right away. Of course I'd be interested in a book about making! It's an interesting collection, but right from that cover I was put in mind of a 70s aesthetic. 

And this book reminds me of the crafty miscellany of a book from the 70s, the kind I grew up on. It's organized in 6 sections, with a variety of small projects in each aimed at different purposes, for a total of 100 projects. It ranges from finger cording and macrame to simple sewing, paper folding, cardboard looms, and children's toys. Even these ideas feel 70s! I remember having an "encyclopedia of craft" that had a bunch of potholder projects that you'd make on a homemade cardboard loom, and here it is again. Also the macrame!

The difference is that this book is quite lovely, with lots of clear colour photos of projects and steps, no clutter or ugly colours. But the use-what-you-have, basic and homemade nature of the projects feels so originally DIY.

I feel like there are a lot of ideas I wouldn't use here; the children's chapter in particular. I don't have a sense that these projects would be a hit these days, but maybe in Brooklyn where both the authors live there is more interest in these kind of things. There is also a chapter on gifts, which I would also not go for, I don't have anyone I'd give these kind of things to. The part that most intrigued me was right at the beginning, the section on cording. This was fairly new to me and I can think of some uses for it. 

I can imagine an audience for this who will love it. It's homey, with quick projects to use in small ways, and anyone with that kind of hipster admiration of handwork will likely really enjoy this. If you grew up in the 70s however, you might be having a bit of flashback ;) Check it out at your library to see if this is one you'd want on your shelves. 

 

Hot Pink Upcycled 90s Dress!

This delightful project was done just in time for a 3 day return of summer temperatures here - perfect for cotton dresses 🙂 It's made from a 100% cotton IKEA duvet cover which I bought at the thrift store this summer, just because of the intense colour that I noticed from an aisle away.

When I got it home I realized I would have to be very careful with print placement! There are a series of fairly closely packed circles all over it. I looked through my stash for something with princess seams so I could slice up the motifs & came up with Simplicity 9601, a 1996 shirtdress pattern. I think it worked re: motifs but it also has a great fit, the cut-on sleeve isn't too revealing in the underarm area, but it also doesn't restrict movement at all. I really like it! I think I may use this one again. 

I had to cut the length somewhere between their long and short to get the perfect longer skirt look for me. Of course I added some side seam pockets as well. I did shorten it an whole inch above the waist, and I cut the shoulders at 14 and the rest at 16, giving myself a smidge extra at the hips. The only thing I would change if I make it again is to take a little sway back adjustment to deal with a bit of extra fabric at my lower back. Otherwise I love the fit and feel of this - the sleeve is great, the V isn't too low, and it's comfy.

And I was thrilled that the perfect buttons were in my button box - I wasn't sure what to use with this fabric until I saw these. I bought them at my local Fabricland some time ago with another project in mind, but am so glad I never used them because they are just right for this fabric! The only issue I had sewing this dress was that the bright fabric made me see spots if I didn't look up to rest my eyes often enough. It's so nice to have a problem free sew once in a while!