Pirate and Harem Pants!

IN the shop we often have harassed looking parents needing a costume quickly. We have wide range off very lovely and easy to follow patterns. However sometimes they need a costume in about 10 minutes so I tell them about my method for making harem pants for belly dancers. These are very lose and baggy trousers which when made in something light and floaty have a genie type quality. Here I've made them in black and red for a more piraty look.  The dimensions here are for a teenager, the method remains the same for a younger person you just need to alter a few measurements for a smaller child.
You will need;
About 2 meters of fabric (something light and not stiff,  a light cotton or a satin lining works very well)
1 Meter of elastic 20-25 mm wide
1 meter of elastic 10 mm wide
thread
Scissors (We recommend high quality dressmaking scissors which never gets used for anything other than fabric)
Thread cutters (thread cutters or embroidery scissors avoid you wearing a dull spot in the middle of your dressmaking shears. They only cost between £1.50 and £5.00 and will more than double the life span of your Dressmaking Scissors
Pins  (and I highly recommend a magnetic pin cushions, carefully putting pins back into a cushion may not seem like much time, but it adds up to quite a bit during the construction of a garment)
Chalk

Also recommend : Pirates of the Caribbean DVD's to watch whilst sewing

Step1 Draw little arrows along the selvedge on one side and then cut the fabric in two across the width (leaving you with two lengths a metre long. Fold each in half selvedge to selvedge and lace one on top of the other making sure the arrows on both are pointing in the same direction (this stops the trousers having one leg in one direction and the other leg in the other, not so important with fabrics with a nap maybe, but under strong lighting even fabric with no nap can still look different if one piece is upside down)

Step 2. ON the selvedge side mark off a line 30 cm down and 20 cm across draw a curve at the corner.

Cut along the curved line

Now when you open out the fabric you should have two sections that look like this

The selvedge sides become the inner leg seams. One one section fold the fabric right sides together selvedge to selvedge. Pin along the selvedges (inner leg seams) and sew (seam allowance 5/8 inch or 15mm) Repeat for the other section.

 

 You now have two trouser legs, each with half of the waistband on top.THese are both insdie out. Turn one outside out and then slide it into the other trosuer leg, lining up the seams you've just sewn and the waistband.

Pin and sew long the crotchline.  Clip the seam at the curve and you're almost done.

At the waistband and at the end of the trouser legs you simply have to make a casing for the elastic. Fold the hem up on the inside of the fabric and then fold again (around 12 mm) sew  in place leaving a gap for the elastic, thread the elastic through using a safety pin. Repeat for the waistline, folding the fabric the width of the elastic you're using there.

And there you have it, a very quick method for making baggy pantaloons. I've been known to whack a pair together in 20 minutes, but take your time for your first few goes, never rush and always strive to enjoy yourself.

To make these  for young buccaneers and genies  follow these simple steps.
To find out how much fabric you need measure from their waist to the floor. Add about 20 CM and double the total.
For step 2 instead of marking down 30 cm, mark down the distance between the wasit and the chair seat when seated and add 5 cm. Instead of drawing the line 20 cm from the edge reduce this to about 12cm for under 12 year olds.

Happy pirating :)

A simple Pouch Tutorial.

Sewing has many benefits. To many it's a relaxing hobby and a way of creating beautiful things to wear or fantastic furnishings. But to me there is an extra use to being able to sew and that's the ability to make or remake useful little things to help in day to day life. Custom made backs, extra pockets in waistcoats a pillow with a hidden compartment for a frozen gel pack for hot summer nights are just a few examples where my sewing machine has provided me with the means to make my life just a little bit better each day. The most recent example was a pouch. Anyone who has come into the shop on a weekend may have seen me indulge in one of my other passions, magic. I perform quick card tricks to entertain board children of distraught  parents (although how they could be board in a wonderful little fabric shop I have no idea).  I recently picked up the classic trick "The Cup and Balls" for a friend and whist the cups themselves  are beautiful the pouch they came in left a lot to be desired.  They looked like part of a sports kit, hardly suiting for our arcane needs.  And thus the need for a new pouch was born.

Step 1 - Draught a simple pattern. This pouch is going to be made of two panels on the outside and two panels of lining. Therefore  the width of the pattern needs to be half of the circumference of what you'd like to put in the pouch plus twice the seam allowance (once for each side of the pattern) and with about 5 cm extra space for putting your hand in to grab the contents of the pouch.

Step 2 - Fold a piece of fabric for the outer shell  of the pouch in half and do the same for the lining, and then place the pattern on top. Pin Pattern to the fabric and then cut out. Leaving you with 4 panels of fabric, 2 outer pieces and  2 inner.

Step 3- Take one outer panel piece and one panel of the lining and place one on top of the other, right sides together. Pin and then sew along the top. Repeat this for the second outer panel and lining panel

Step 4 - Place the panels on top of each other again, outer panel on top of outer panel, Lining on top of lining right sides togehter. Pin and sew right around the edge leaving a 5 cm gap in one side of the lining.

Step 5 - Turn pouch right side out through the gab in the lining . You should now have a  good idea of if your pouch fits and what it will look like.  Stitch the gap in the lining shut with a ladder or slip stitch (or a regular stitch if no-ones going to see inside it)


Step 6 - Run two parallel stitches near the top of the pouch and gently unpick the side seams  in between the two rows of stitches.  Thread cord in between the two rows of stitches, pull tight. You now have your  pouch.

There are many very beautiful  pouch patterns available.  In particular Vogue do some fantastic patterns which I use for giving Christmas gifts an extra personal touch. However I find this method a great trick for quickly making something special. For  both the commercial patterns  and this simple pouch pattern I highly recommend saving any scraps of nice fabric left over from other projects for use in little projects like this.

If you ever find yourself  wondering about your place in the universe I think the words of the great Technomage- Elric  apply to those of us who sew and craft. "We are dreamers, shapers, singers, makers"

Fabric, and creating or recreating your own reality.

A wise man once wrote "Things that try to look like things often look more like things than things do." This quote is from the wonderful Diskworld novel "Wyrd Sisters" by Terry Pratchet. He was writing about how a real life crown seemed dull and plain next to the bejeweled  piece of painted tin of a crown from the prop store of theatre company.  For many years growing up I believed that to re-enact something from history or a TV show you simply made something that looked vaguely like the historical object or prop piece you wished to portray. Working at Fabric8 has shown me that quite the reverse is true. We are fortunate to count historical reenactors and Cosplayers and LARPers amongst our customers and helping these groups of people is great fun.

   Historical reenactors are history enthusiasts who dress up in fully authentic clothing and portray life set in a certain year at public events. Being close to Kentwell Hall means the bulk of our reenacters portray life set in Tudor times for Kentwell's big annual re-enactment.  This is one of the main reasons we keep so much wool and linen in stock.

  Cosplayers are a different breed. They re-enact characters from fiction. The two main groups are those who re-enact Japanese comics and cartoons (manga and anime) and those who re-enact popular films and TV shows (mainly sci fi). Colchester has a strong anime cosplay group, you may have seen them having a picnic in the park.  This young cosplayer is Ms Chelsea Dagger and is always a delight to serve. When I  hear people decry the 'youth of today' We always point out that by the nature of our work the young people we always meet are exciting active and creative :) The most fun part of helping anime cosplayers is that because they are re-enacting a drawing and not  costume that's already been made we can have great fun trying to work out what fabrics need to be used for the desired effect.

This young and up and coming ewok Is one of the Star Warriors  A local band of sci fi enthusiasts who attend events in sci fi inspired costumes  and raise money for charity. Do you have any idea how much fun it is to drop into conversation that you served an Ewok  at work?  Again these costumes are meticulously researched. There is a host of material on the web and in books all about the  costuming in films (and of course on DVD extras) If you love fashion go through your dvd collection and see if there is a costuming extra, they are always fascinating and you often learn some very useful information.

LARPing or Live Action Role Play is the re-enactment of things that never were. Originally a LARP event just involved popping on some leather and whacking your friends with a rubber sword, but it's moved on since then. Many LARP events don't even have combat but instead take the form of detective games (murder Mystery  nights) or role playing as tea obsessed inventors.

The reason why I'm writing about these groups is not just because they buy fabric from us. It's because each group requires meticulous research and attention to detail. The Historical reenacters need to know if a fabric was available in their  chosen time, and if the colours they want were suitable for someone in their trade or class. The sci fi reenactors need to know how a costume was originally made, how does one get just right colour fur to become Wicket The Ewok (car spray paint apparently. The anime cosplayer needs to work out how a costume could have the same look and feel as a cartoon characters when it's possible the fabrics they would use do not exist. And the LARPers need to ensure their  fabric chooses will wear well in the field and not cause them to over heat or become disheveled during their days events.   Almost without fail our customers have done their own research and done it well but we're always happy to help out as well and pick the brains of any reenactors or nerds on staff.  And next time you see a reenactment just think about how much hard work and dedication went into making those wonderful costumes even before the first stitch was sewn.


  All cosplayers  and reenactors  need somewhere to show off their skills though, so if you have a penchant for dressing as an Ewok, or a space themed anime why not surprise people and the Colchester Free Festivals Kidstival   with their Space themed event at Castle Park on the 27th of Augest 2011?
   

Tying the Knot in Dots!

More and more people have been coming into the shop to by bridal fabric.  Some are making all the outfits themselves whilst others are leaving the wedding dress to a professional and then making the bridesmaid dresses as a family. These are both ways of saving a lot of money whilst adding a more personal touch to a wedding.  However last week I learned  of something very interesting. A local couple are having a 1950's style wedding. Young ladies were browsing our pattern books pointing out  different styles to each other before running through our polka-dot section.

  Every bridal party in our shop has been excited, how could they not be?  However this group were very energized with the idea of making retro outfits for the event and then it hit me. A retro wedding will certainly stick in peoples memories. Also even if your guests do not want to create their own clothes, retro gear can be found relatively inexpensively (certainly cheaper than some of the dresses I've seen people  buy to attend weddings in). If your friends do choose to make their own outfits  then they are in for a world of fun. Retro fashion dresses tend to be simpler to make so even a novice dressmaker can proudly show off their creations, and the fabrics tend to be relatively  inexpensive.Also a themed wedding helps guests feel more confident about choosing what to wear.

  So if you're planning a wedding think about giving it a theme. It doesn't have to be retro, just make it fun.

We're SALE-ING Away

We're having our annual sale in store.  Picking which fabrics belong in a sale sometimes isn't clear cut. Some stores just pop anything in the sales that they have too much of, or that they've had too long. Other shops put stock in sale they don't like any more. We can't even conceive of that! Asking us to name the fabrics we don't like would be harder than asking a loving parent which of their kids is the ugly one.  However we think our customers deserve a sale and not one just filled with any old tat. And so we deliver a sale filled with some very high quality fabrics to give people a chance to play and experiment with textiles they would normally be afraid to play with.
I can't put the whole sale here it will take forever, but here ae a few choice fabrics that I like personally.

Light weight silk £3.50 a meter

Medium weight silks from £10.00 a meter

And for the steam punks out there

Bronze poly taffeta £1.00 a meter

  There  are loads more in store, brocades, silks poly taffeta and cottons all going incredibly cheaply to give everyone the chance to play and explore new textiles.

False Economy- OR Why we wont tell you to B.O.G.O.F

We get many sorts of customers in our little shop and we love them all. No really, we do. One perk of working in a creative textile shop is you get to meet all sorts of creative people. Some are professionals others create in their spare time to relax or to have a sense of accomplishment in making  something beautiful. Most of the pros know the quality or our stock and know the going rate of what we sell. They appreciate the amount of work that has gone into making a fabric and acknowledge  our prices are fair. This is certainly true of the pastime sewers and quilters too.

Come with us to the Knitting & Stitching show!

    However some people do like a bargain. And who can blame them, we all do. I know I certainly have asked fro a discount if buying large amounts of something and so harbour no ill feeling towards any customers that ask. I do find it interesting how people  view discounts and special offers though. One customer asked if there was a discounted rate for buying three meters of cotton. I said yes it was, and because we love our customers so much you get it for even the smallest purchase. To save time the discounted price was shown on the label.  In other words, the price that was shown was the cheapest we could sell the fabric. He looked confused for a moment then asked "No two get one free?" Now that is a steep discount and that's when I had a revelation which I shared with him. Unless there are very special circumstances (such as needing to clear old stock) the only way a shop can give away a third item without going bust is to overcharge everyone for the first two.  He left very happy with this thought but it has left me pondering about domestic economics myself now.
Take care Internet

Why is silk so much more expensive theese days... Or why stuff around the world matters to you!

In recent times the world has been in upheaval. Riots have spread  across the Middle East and Africa and we have seen storms floods and earth-quakes across the globe. During such times I'm often glued to the internet. Not out of a macabre  twist though, but out of a genuine interest in how we cope with such things and how we help each other. Some people berate me for such activities though. I often here the words "it doesn't matter to us, it's so far away" bleated at me. The same people are often the first to complain when such things DO effect us. Let us use silk as an example.

Fabric8's silks and other fabrics

  Silk has never been the cheapest of fabrics, however it's currently skyrocketing in price. Silk has gone up by as much as threefold in recent months and the reasons for this are nothing to do with the greed of retailers OR their suppliers. It boils down to 3 main factors (but there are even more.

a) Flooding in India and the surrounding area

b) Climate change

c) Chinese economy increasing.

The floods in India may not have necessarily  hit the silk gathering areas, and indeed India is not the most significant source of silk cocoons. However the strain on the infrastructure there caused  by the flooding has dramatically reduced their harvest.

Whether you believe in Man Made Climate Change or not, the fact the climate has changed in some countries is a matter of record. In Indonesia and Thailand the change in climate has reduced the yield and quality of the Mulberry trees that feed silk worms. As a result each silk worm is spinning less silk in their cocoons. This has dramatically reduced the yield of a major supply source.

The Chinese economy is expanding. However there was a downward blip in the price of silk 5 years ago. As a result some areas slowed down their investment in the industry whilst others even began digging up Mulberry trees. The prices then began to rise fast.  The silk mills began buying up all the silk they could find, both home and abroad. The silk producers  hit by the downward trend and concerned about their businesses stopped the practice of deferred payment, insisting on being paid on delivery (or even a season before hand). As a result the mills had to increase their prices again to cover from paying a season BEHIND  delivery to suddenly paying AHEAD.  This coupled with the Chinese currency (Yuan) no longer being tied to the US Dollar but now gaining strength  has meant that produce from China is now beginning to cost more.

In short :-
There's less silk cocoons
What cocoons there are smaller
China is expanding and buying and using more silk from around the world
It is costing more to move the silk round the world.

I was going through this whole story with a customer at work. She had what can only be described as a 'light-bulb' moment as she explained that on her last trip to  Indonesia she felt that something had been missing. The local silk market.  So the next time you see some world event on the news, be it big or small feel free to have your own views, but be wary of saying "It doesn't effect us"