Fabric Friday: 1940s Cold Rayon

Woo Hoo! Hey all you sewing people! Here's a new Fabric Friday: 1940s Cold Rayon. Such an interesting and somewhat rare textile. OK, so remember way back when I talked about rayon in this Fabric Friday post? Let me tell you some more about it.

When rayon first came out, it was considered artificial silk. It was a great alternative to silk because of the price break but also because it held some of the same properties as silk. Rayon was invented around the turn of the century in the 1880s and it is a process of regenerating cellulose. The cloth or products from regenerating cellulose are different today than they were then, which makes sense. As things evolve with time, more and more methods and ways of doing things become more efficient or better or produce different results. Rayon is made from wood pulp and as such is considered a semi-synthetic. Its properties are more akin to a natural fiber. Rayon is breathable, takes pressing quite well, is absorbent and can hold in body heat.

Somewhere along the line, cold rayon started being made. I'm unsure as to why it's called cold rayon, whether it has something to do with the initial cold feeling rayon has or if it's part of the process of making it. I mention 1940s in today's post name because that is when this stuff became really popular, but as far as I can tell, it was produced before that time and started gaining popularity during the 1920s. 

Made: Butterick 6055

Well hello there! It's been awhile. Lots of sewing has been done, just nothing documented really, so I thought I would just jump on into a dress I finished recently and was pleasantly surprised by.

A few months ago, I purchased Butterick 6055 on a pattern buying binge at Joann. I decided to purchase several of these vintage reproduction patterns because I've been feeling a pull to vintage style because.....#reasons. I've always loved vintage, but I've also poo-pooed it because I felt really costumey in it. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon Heather B's vintage transformation and that post and everything about it really really resonated with me (Heather's blog is here). I had already made this 6055 dress and instantly starting thinking, yeah WHY am I not embracing this more? I already stick out like a sore thumb because I wear dresses and skirts a lot, but why not just do that more? I mean, is there really anything to lose here? It makes me happy!

Sewing Secrets: New Year, Old Goal

It is a bright and shiny new 2017 everyone! I do love this time of year for that wiped slate clean sort of feeling, though it does tend to wear off rather too quickly. I'm not partial to making lots of resolutions as I've found that I never make good on them. One or two goals for the new year is good for me. An old goal that I've always had is to sew all the fabric. Or at the very least, to sew all of my fabric. More often than not, the accruing/hoarding part of my #fabricjunkie personality takes over and the sewing part gets tossed to the wayside. This year I decided to take more logical steps in trying to sew all the fabric. I mean, there's saying that I'm going to sew all the fabric and then there's actually making plans, laying groundwork and forming a foundation from which to accomplish a goal. While I know I won't be able to sew all of my fabric in one year, I can at least make a concerted effort to sew more of my stash than usual.

To start, I thought I would share a project that I undertook as my first official stashbusting step. Making a Swatch Journal. This was a tall order. I have a lot more fabric than even I realized. There were so many pieces that I forgot I had and some that I have no idea where they even came from. In fact, going through all of it gave me some much needed perspective. It is time to get some sew on.

Made: Figgy's Nituna Coat

I have some pretty darling nieces and a nephew and it just so happened that one of my nieces turned 7. I had heard through the grapevine that she could do with a winter coat. I thought it would be a great time to pull out this Figgy's Nituna Coat pattern that I've had stashed for ages and give it a go.

This is such a cute kids pattern and I feel that when you're making an investment piece like this, it's fun to add some of the bells and whistles of traditional tailoring to it for practice. Especially when it's for a little person and it's akin to making a sample, yet someone can actually wear it and use it. I opted to do some changes to this pattern to give it a more professional touch and because I do love doing a tailoring project and it's always good to remember how to do things like bound buttonholes and welt pockets.

Overview of the pattern: The Nituna coat is a children's pattern - unisex, which is a plus! - with a hood, optional back bodice pleat, patch pockets or welt pockets. This pattern also features a lining, but I would say that this is more of a reversible coat treatment than a traditional lining. I created a traditional lining for my version. The pattern itself does not really come with a lining pattern, but instead you cut the same pieces as the coat shell and from there put the "lining" and the outer "coat" together and attach with bias binding around the edges or right sides together, turn and topstitch.

Sewing Library: Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit

I had started some Sewing Library posts a few years ago and never really did a lot with that, but it's something I definitely want to pick up again. I've learned a major portion of my apparel sewing know-how from books. Text books and more mainstream books on sewing have been a major source of inspiration for getting to a point of mastering this form of creativity. There are so many different worlds within the realm of sewing and fashion design, it's easy to immerse yourself and just get sucked in. With so many books out there, I think it fitting that I can add to this conversation by giving you insight into my favorites.

One of these is Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit by Steffani Lincecum. The story goes that I found this book on Amazon as I was perusing books for patternmaking because I was sick of fitting sewing patterns from envelopes. I think there's a point that every sewist comes to where you are wondering if there is a work around to the whole fitting problem that plagues us all. Sewing patterns don't fit right out of the envelope for pretty much anyone and yes, that includes Indie's in my opinion as I have yet to find one that does. But this is a part of the apparel sewing process. Fitting and a basic understanding of good fit is essential and comes with time, patience and practice. But when you get to the part where are wondering if there is a work around for fitting, you start looking at possibly creating your own patterns.