tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post284406413384380917..comments2024-03-29T03:29:27.848-07:00Comments on Cation Designs: Thoughts on Teaching and Sewing ConfessionsCation Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-44510178550118678182012-04-25T17:46:58.177-07:002012-04-25T17:46:58.177-07:00your cartoon made me laugh out loud, frightening e...your cartoon made me laugh out loud, frightening everyone around me. love it.Allisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01716213095620396409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-28558295863074071162012-04-24T04:00:34.021-07:002012-04-24T04:00:34.021-07:00Haha! I have tons of sewing sins! I've just ...Haha! I have tons of sewing sins! I've just been sewing for long enough to (usually) know which ones I can get away with. I also protest categorizing not following a pattern or a pattern layout as sewing sins - those are simply indications that you are capable of independent though! <br /><br />And I totally advocate pinking as the best solution for some seaming - it's totally true that lots of 1930s clothes used it, because any other finish would be too bulky. I use it on most of my own 1930sish evening dresses.<br /><br />As for perfect seams, I simply don't show off my garments with less than pristine seam finishes ;-)The Dreamstresshttp://thedreamstress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-85742708312051939222012-04-22T19:06:43.842-07:002012-04-22T19:06:43.842-07:00Join the club, Nadja! :) Yeah, it takes discipline...Join the club, Nadja! :) Yeah, it takes discipline to do all the tedious marking...I'm getting better at it, though!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-49480063176484223642012-04-21T19:35:33.537-07:002012-04-21T19:35:33.537-07:00Hello I just found your blog :]
I'm a little ...Hello I just found your blog :]<br /><br />I'm a little sloppy with my sewing, although I pin my fabric before I cut it I still don't cut it nicely. I'm also bad about transferring markings onto the fabric especially altering the pattern. Then when I need to use it again I'm caught having to figure out what change I had made before!<br /><br />Nadja<br /><br />www.mykookloset.blogspot.comNadja Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05760029677263670253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-2999366259460941862012-04-21T11:45:42.415-07:002012-04-21T11:45:42.415-07:00Yeah, I've only ever worked with patterns that...Yeah, I've only ever worked with patterns that already had seam allowances included, nor have I ever had issues with cutting into my pattern pieces, so a rotary cutter works for me!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-89453991142669130722012-04-21T06:56:40.079-07:002012-04-21T06:56:40.079-07:00Well, if you're using patterns with seam allow...Well, if you're using patterns with seam allowances included, you can totally use a rottary cutter, I guess (although you may be cutting into your pattern pieces that way). I'm European, and used to patterns without seam allowances, and adding those myself according to current whims and the fabric.Hana - Marmotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532515160608083460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-19987572645478970672012-04-20T20:40:06.370-07:002012-04-20T20:40:06.370-07:00Yeah, SHB's mom is a very by the book kind of ...Yeah, SHB's mom is a very by the book kind of person, so I showed her the correct way to do everything. With SHB herself things were definitely less structured, more "you want to do that? Sure! Let's do it!"<br /><br />I think I've gotten better at being disciplined in my sewing, but it's still not my first instinct.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-52942111373073829252012-04-20T20:34:08.309-07:002012-04-20T20:34:08.309-07:00Yay, mission accomplished!Yay, mission accomplished!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-79168844330681072692012-04-20T19:44:45.498-07:002012-04-20T19:44:45.498-07:00I feel the same way about pinning! My compromise i...I feel the same way about pinning! My compromise is to use a cutting mat and rotary cutter do I don't have to trace, because tracing drives me crazy. And yes, inefficient layout diagrams! I will definitely let SHB's mom know that instructions din't have to be followed to a T!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-33370215964154700192012-04-20T18:14:15.131-07:002012-04-20T18:14:15.131-07:00I've been wanting a serger, but just don't...I've been wanting a serger, but just don't have it in my budget (or space on my sewing table) right now. So reassuring to know, though, that professionals do their own share of fudging!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-54182724246861559622012-04-20T18:07:53.323-07:002012-04-20T18:07:53.323-07:00I have noticed that about your comments in your bl...I have noticed that about your comments in your blog recipes! And I think you're the one who told me about that poem!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-25858468263656208462012-04-20T18:01:26.209-07:002012-04-20T18:01:26.209-07:00I am so proud that I made you snort in your cube! ...I am so proud that I made you snort in your cube! That is probably my greatest achievement to date.<br /><br />I do skim the pattern instructions before I start to see if I need them, but I usually decide otherwise and make out just fine.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-91179997803950171672012-04-20T17:59:09.575-07:002012-04-20T17:59:09.575-07:00See, but to me, that sounds awesome...I want to be...See, but to me, that sounds awesome...I want to be able to just drape like that! I know what you mean, though, about feeling like just using a pattern as is feels like cheating.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-11935735731388501362012-04-20T17:56:27.774-07:002012-04-20T17:56:27.774-07:00Thank Ruggy again for me for coming up with such a...Thank Ruggy again for me for coming up with such a brilliant term! And I seriously cannot wait to meet you.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-76812799423839081232012-04-20T17:55:08.542-07:002012-04-20T17:55:08.542-07:00Haha I, too, am glad to hear of someone else who m...Haha I, too, am glad to hear of someone else who makes things work with bad habits! Yeah, one day when I make a non-sundress I will break out the real dressmaking skills.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-54171328149721620542012-04-20T17:36:36.773-07:002012-04-20T17:36:36.773-07:00Ooh, I wish I could bribe my sister into doing tha...Ooh, I wish I could bribe my sister into doing that for me! Lucky you. I think you're right about figuring out what works for you...when I am super obsessive it ends up being less slapdash, but I have less fun. I guess there's something to be said for sitting in the corner eating Fray Check.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-63019029619876428902012-04-20T17:33:29.371-07:002012-04-20T17:33:29.371-07:00Glad you liked the drawing! I think as I progress ...Glad you liked the drawing! I think as I progress as a seamstress, I realize I need to reach more of a happy medium. Grain line hasn't come back to bite me yet, but I do always mark my darts, albeit not notches.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-70212451072185756602012-04-20T17:30:40.099-07:002012-04-20T17:30:40.099-07:00I am self-taught too, but I think the main reason ...I am self-taught too, but I think the main reason for me being lazy and skimping on seam finishing is that I'm just in a hurry to finish so I can try on my finished (except not!) garment.Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-87726225662250942292012-04-20T17:28:03.252-07:002012-04-20T17:28:03.252-07:00I guess I'm just not very trusting of the patt...I guess I'm just not very trusting of the pattern-writers then!Cation Designshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00785063344305810736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-77126890521294188682012-04-19T20:04:33.934-07:002012-04-19T20:04:33.934-07:00Muahaha! Ok, totally slapdash was my approach to s...Muahaha! Ok, totally slapdash was my approach to sewing for the first, oh, twenty years. Seam finishing? What is this seam finishing you speak of? (I did press, although not as thoroughly as you.)<br /><br />On the one hand, I like the slapdash approach for the fun and freewheeling aspect---I think it really lets you feel in charge of your sewing, and be more creative.<br /><br />Eventually, though, I reached a point (around the time I started blogging, actually) where I realized that paying more attention to things like precise cutting made for a better finished product. I started actually (for the first time) reading about how one is *supposed* to sew, instead of just winging it and thinking things through. And, not surprisingly, the quality of what I was producing improved quite a bit, not to mention those sewing headaches when seams don't line up etc. lessened immensely.<br /><br />I think it's important to have both, if you want a good final product but to still enjoy what you're doing. On the other hand, for a kid, I tend to feel like sewing should be like other kids' crafts---focus on the fun, freewheeling aspects. Time enough to worry about precision and technique after the seeds of joy have been planted and sprouted wildly.<br /><br />Which probably won't help you with SHB's mom, of course. :)Tanit-Isishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15824217102632813598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-4320990623488452712012-04-19T18:18:26.297-07:002012-04-19T18:18:26.297-07:00I love your illustration so much, I chortled!I love your illustration so much, I chortled!Cynthiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09070711204399589294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-73758496330473266482012-04-19T12:51:08.812-07:002012-04-19T12:51:08.812-07:00I don't pin my patterns to my fabric, because ...I don't pin my patterns to my fabric, because a) it makes stupid holes in the pattern paper, which then tears, b) it's less precise than laying the pattern down on the fabric, weighing it down and tracing, removing the pattern and <i>then</i> cutting, c) I don't follow pattern layouts either - I often find them unnecessarily wasteful of the fabric; so I never lay my pattern pieces on fold (the most wasteful feature of pattern layouts, IMHO), which makes the pinning unnecessary and the b) approach perfectly OK.<br />I thought my reasoning might help you with yours. :-)<br /><br />In other areas, I'm something in between. I can't say I follow instructions; it's been a long time since I last sewed with a commercial pattern (come to think of it, have I ever? I always altered them...), so most of the time I just figure it out as I go... I think it's the same approach I apply all the time: read up as much as I can about it beforehand and then distill my own procedure out of it. Works for me! I suppose the sort of thing you should give your student(s) is supplying them with that starting knowledge that they can eventually distill their own procedures from - and knowing myself, I can imagine how hard it can be for someone who has such noncomformist habits herself. :-)Hana - Marmotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532515160608083460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-2979890059330431982012-04-19T12:45:29.227-07:002012-04-19T12:45:29.227-07:00There are at least 5 different ways to do everythi...There are at least 5 different ways to do everything when you are sewing - those who tell you there's only ONE way just have a favorite way and want to control others. =)<br /><br />I am the Queen of Eeking - I eek out my pieces from yardage that is far too small by cheating the grainlines and seam allowances all the time. And guess what? I do it professionally (and I'm not the only one)! <br /><br />And no one uses instructions in a costume shop because we make everything up as we go - you just have to know what the pieces are so you can put them together correctly. Projects are a group effort and brainstorming sessions are always necessary in a shop. If the garment fits and looks like what the designer wants in the end, who can say you did it wrong?<br /><br />You need a serger! Solves all kinds of seam finishing dilemmas. =)Brookehttp://customstyle.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-58704995139925933862012-04-19T10:38:26.695-07:002012-04-19T10:38:26.695-07:00I know nothing about patterns, but I feel similarl...I know nothing about patterns, but I feel similarly about recipes -- unless it's baking (which I don't do much of), I mostly read the recipe and then do something that maybe somewhat resembles it. Maybe.<br /><br />Also, that's one of my favorite poems! When I taught last summer, I read it to my class!evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01523229386527314021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-479880960748887964.post-10346668669580824162012-04-19T09:39:47.823-07:002012-04-19T09:39:47.823-07:00Your cartoon is hilarious! I just snorted in my c...Your cartoon is hilarious! I just snorted in my cube. I use the pattern instructions pretty faithfully if I am trying out a new garment, but as time goes on, I'm more assertive: "You want me to put the sleeve in that way? That makes no sense. I'm going to do it the way I know." And that usually works out for me, but sometimes it doesn't and I end up back with the instructions.Meg the Grandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05505371880343451606noreply@blogger.com