Wool Crepe Dress: Pre-shrinking

Hmm! What a week I have had. Researching how to deal with wool crepe, trying to fit my muslin, gathering confidence ( the hardest part), and trying to update my blog (did you notice?)

This week was focused on my dear fabric. In the last post, a couple of you pointed me to some interesting posts on pre-shrinking wool crepe. Thanks for that.  From one of the blog posts I read, in the comment section, someone mentioned that wool, is essentially hair. Well duh! That is so true. Wool is animal hair ( specific types of course, definitely not elephant). So, she reasoned, since wool is hair, we should treat it as we would our own hair. Well I can tell you that as an African, my hair is very delicate. It breaks easily, so I need to treat it with tender loving care ( something I am too lazy to do). My hair needs to be washed with a very gentle shampoo, or just a conditioner, and it needs to be moisturised all the time. So wool too, depending on the type, can be very delicate, and would shrink badly if exposed to heat, or felt if treated harshly. Oh dear. Talk about having issues. Get your act together wool, there's no need to be such a drama queen.

So after toing and froing on the blogoshpere and some books, I gathered that you should pre-treat your wool crepe the same way that you will care for it as a finished garment and that there are various ways to pre-shrink wool crepe ( and most woolens). You can choose whichever method that suits your lifestyle.

My sewing coming of age

I think I just graduated from the remnant bin to the bolt. I speak figuratively of course but I think that pretty much explains everything.

You all know how cheap I am when it comes to fabric shopping, and how I do not feel fulfilled unless my arms hurt from carrying so much fabric on my way home from various cheap fabric expeditions. Well today, I went to Goldhawk road, and came back with 2 metres of pink wool crepe, 1.5metres of silk lining, and 2 spools of gutterman thread. Yes! I am moving up people. I'm joining the big guns. I have arrived. Even though I winced as I handed over my money to the fabric guy. I am still in shock. How much did I spend for all of that? Well, £43. I know. It sounds like nothing, but this is the first time I am investing that much on a sewing project. It is relative of course, because it is only 2metres of fabric and lining. I ordered some fabric from the states a couple of months ago to make a trench coat, which I still have to make, but with postage, it all came to about £40 I think. That was for 5metres of stretch gabardine and some china silk lining. So metre for metre, it is cheaper than what I spent today.

I was not read to as a child

Yes! I confess. I was not read to as a child.

On the way back from the knicker making workshop in Bath last week, I travelled with Shivani, Jane, Mela and Mr. Mela and what an interesting train ride it was. The topic somehow fell on books after I said I was sorry for Noah because I had no interest in reading to him. I'm sure some people will consider that a grave crime, punishable by death. I don't. I was not read to as a child, and I struggle to see how different my life would have been if I was. Sure, nightly dates with my step-mom might have resulted in me knowing the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherine before I was 3 years old, but apart from that, nada. Was there anyone else who was not read to as a child apart from Shivani and myself?

So the theory is that it could go 2 ways. Either you grow up having no interest in books, or you become a bookworm, forever trying to make up for all the lost time. Is that what is happening to me? I have this addiction ( I refuse to call it anything else) to buying books. It is even worse than my fabric buying addiction. I know, I know, I should seek medical help. Who knows, it might be clinically proven that addiction comes as a result of years of childhood deprivation. It might also explain this.

A little blog update

Hi folks, as you may have noticed, my blog is undergoing some changes. I am doing it myself, so I am currently immersing myself in html codes and CSS declarations. I don't know how the blog will look like, as I  am constantly changing things. This is what I have done so far. Expect some disruptions in the coming days. Hopefully everything should be done and dusted by saturday.

New Independent Pattern company alert!

Hi everyone, this is just a quick post to show you what I discovered today. I was snooping around on Lin3arossa's blog and she mentioned a pattern she loved from a new pattern company. The company,  Deer and Doe, is French , and is run by Eleonore. She is quite the lady on the French sewing scene I think because she is also the founder of Thread and Needles, a site similar to the Sew Weekly. She certainly has a thing for the English language I tell you.

So I clicked on the link, and behold. I fell on these goodies:

The Knickers of Bath

My weapon of mass destruction

This is quite a picture heavy post. Sorry people.

FO: Mccalls 6069

I need to find the person who invented knit fabric, and say a big Thank You. Is there anyone out there who does not like to sew with knit? They are so forgiving. You hardly ever have the fit issues you have with woven. Right now, I can't be bothered to fight with woven fabric and patterns, to adjust whatever I am sewing to fit me. So I find myself using knit more and more. Just as well we are going into autumn, and knits are going to rule my wardrobe from now till spring. Yay!

I'm sorry madam, not with the baby....

That is what I was told as I manoeuvred Noah's buggy into a pub with such skill even Lewis Hamilton and his wannabe formula 1 drivers would envy.

I was meeting up with House of Pinheiro, Pincushion Treats and Stitch and Witter to celebrate the end of House of Pinheiro's MBA course, and I could not wait to sit down. My weary legs, unfortunately, were not going to get the rest they so craved. Apparently, our rendezvous point had a no children's policy, as they only served alcohol, Drat!!

The waiter smiled apologetically as he told me I would have to manoeuvre myself back out whence I came. He had this look on his face that said " I have to act like I am really sorry but I am actually really happy to be turning this irresponsible woman out on the streets. What did she think we serve here? Breast milk on the Rocks? Begone from my sight you irresponsible little fool." I kid you not. I almost heard the words, and no, I had not been drinking alcohol. I did feel sorry for him and his establishment though, because unbeknown to him, I just won a million pounds, and I was itching to start the spending spree.

Vogue 2899...or the dress that almost wasn't

Boy oh Boy!!!!

I made a dress, I made a dress. Did I tell you I made a dress? No seriously, did I tell you I made a dress?

I did, I did, I did make a dress.

I made this one