Pioneer Style Skirt

Pocket with paper pattern

For my final project, I've made about 15 Pioneer Skirts. Like the last post, I'm making these for my church Trek, or pioneer reenactment.
I used a different pattern from the Simplicity 5081 packet to carry on my hobby and ambition to learn how to sew with patterns.

Pattern 5081

In order to make this skirt, I had to insert elastic around the waistband, which is a unique and difficult task. To make sure I performed this the correct way, I looked up "Elastic" in my book, "Dressmaking: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Clothes" by Alison Smith. She said, "Carefully unpick a seam in the elastic casing...attach elastic to a safety pin and work back and forth throughout the entire casing. Secure the ends on the elastic" (Smith 261). Following those instructions, I was able to insert elastic. But in order to have enough fabric to fit many different sizes (hence the elastic), you have to "gather" the fabric. Gathering is the process of drawing and bringing together fabric, and the instructions are on page 93 of the book. I also had to learn how to make pockets, as shown above. Overall, this skirt was fairly simple to make, but I have the privilege to teach many other people how to make this in a workshop. So this talent/skill is actually able to benefit more people! This was a great book and great skill to use/learn. I'm very glad that I learned how to do this and I know it'll help me for the rest of my life. Thanks for tuning into my blog!

Pioneer Style Bonnet

Hello! So for another project of mine, I decided to do something out of the ordinary. This summer for my church, we're getting dressed up in pioneer clothes and "Trekking" through Bing Canyon in order to see how hard it was for the pioneers to do what they did. It's called Trek.

Simplicity Pattern 5041

Reducing Seam Bulk in the Brim

Well anyways, I got started on my outfit early and worked on my bonnet first. I used Simplicity pattern number 5041. When I opened up the pattern, I was surprised to find that the pouch ONLY contained the pattern! Normally they include instructions too!! So I had to wing it. I cut out the bonnet, brim, and ties, then I realized I needed to make the brim of the bonnet stiff in order for it stay out of my face. So I looked in my book, "Dressmaking: The Complete Step by Step Guide to Making Your Own Clothes" by Alison Smith. I went to the page about fusible interfacing (Smith 93) and learned how to infuse the fabric. Interfacing is used typically in shirt collars, and is used to make fabric stiff.
But when I flipped the fabric to the right side out, I noticed that the seams were really bulky and big which is bad. I looked this up in my book too. In terms of the seam bulk, Alison Smith says, "Layer the seam, then cut out V notches to reduce the bulk. Turn to the right side and press" (Smith 89). This makes the seam less bulky and allows it to bend. I ended up finishing it without any instructions, and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! I didn't post a photo of the finished product because...well...frankly it looks weird and is slightly embarrassing. So yeah! GO SEW. IT'S GOOD.
Why does cutting triangles out of the seam reduce the bulk?

Fleece "Tie" Blanket

Fleece "Tie" Blanket
with pink pattern rectangle,
measuring stick, fabric scissors,
and pink fabric weights.

I decided to change things up a bit. Patterns are typically thought as instructions and the layout for clothes. That's not incorrect, but patterns come in other shapes and sizes too. For this project, I used a 2" by 5" piece of paper as my pattern.

I wanted to make a useful Christmas present for one of my friends, and decided that a blanket with her name embroidered on it (that's a completely different technique. I could do an entire project on that...ok now I'm getting some really good ideas. ANYWAY). A "Tie" blanket is simply two pieces of fleece, in this case a blue and a purple one, which is cut along the edges and tied together. It's rather simple honestly! The tricky thing is to make sure you have the right fabric.

Some fabric will fray or tear when you cut it and leave it with unfinished edges. In my book, "Dressmaking: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Clothes", Alison Smith defines fleece as a synthetic fabric, which is "a fabric that is not 100% natural...some are made from natural elements mixed with chemicals, while others are made entirely from non-natural substances" (Smith 48). That may sound like just a lot of big words, so basically Smith is just trying to explain that fleece cannot simply be made by using natural elements, like cotton which makes up a majority of our clothing.
So I carefully chose out my fabrics and got to work. In order to make sure I was accurately measuring and cutting the fabric, I used a long "L-Shaped" measuring stick to ensure that the lines were parallel. I also used a water/air-soluble pen to trace where I should cut, along with the pink pattern (Smith 19). After I cut the fabric, I sat down for a few hours and tied all of the 200+ plus ties. This blanket is fairly simple, and I believe anyone could really make it with the right materials.

Why are a majority of fabrics commonly used today made out of cotton?