Three useful sewing books

Since I started doing sewing for other people, I have been given jobs which at first I have not  known how to do. The first one, which I might have mentioned before, was to take out some morning suit trousers, with a fish tail back. The gentleman in question needed them for a wedding the next week. I had never in my life taken out any pair of trousers, let alone a pair like this. I did not know that the distinctive V shaped back was called a fish tail back until I searched the internet.

At first I thought that I would have to refuse the job, as I was terrified that I might make an awful mistake and the trousers would be ruined, but I knew that if I did, then I would never know whether I could actually have done it or not. I didn't look up any instructions on how to do the job - I just unpicked the back seam, observed how they were constructed, and then, after taking out the seam, I reconstructed them in reverse order. That customer has been back, so I think I must have done an acceptable job!

I actually think that this is quite a good way to learn how to do something, not having instructions but just going ahead and discovering, in a sensible way, how to do it. My cycling hero Josie Dew suggests taking a bike apart and putting it back together to learn how to do jobs on your bike, and this could well apply to sewing as well. So start taking something apart......

I'll talk about these three books -

But first, I recently did a repair on a fairly old, but good quality, wool coat for a customer. The customer had put felt pens in the pocket of the coat, which had leaked......

His wife asked me to put a patch over the top, which I did, but I thought it looked terrible, as although it was neat it stood out too much above the fabric. So I did some googling, and searched first for the patch that I knew Prince Charles had been seen with on his jacket! You can see and read about it here. I would love to see it in real life! I can't remember what I searched for next , but I found that Tom of Holland had done a "tailor's patch" on a wool coat  - see Tom Of Holland's blog -  this was the only reference I could find to one of these. He doesn't go into detail of how to do it, and none of the few sewing books I already had referred to it, so I had to work it out for myself. However, at the end of his post he refers to the book which he used, and I decided to get a copy. Once the book arrived I found that I had done the patch pretty much how you are supposed to, but the book gives instructions  on a process called "rantering", a detail to make it less visible, which I then did.

It is an out of print American book but there are plenty available. I paid about £13 for it, obtained from that place in the jungle of South America.....

This is it -

It's going to be very useful. Here are the contents -

The following pages give you an idea of the quality of the diagrams and photos. [My photos aren't the best......]

Tailor's patch instructions

Tailor's patch instructions

And here's the coat on which I did the tailor's patch -

My tailor's patch

It's not quite as invisible as I'd have liked, but I'd done my best. The patch was slightly darker than the outside of the coat, as it came from the inside, so hadn't faded. Actually I think I improved it more after that photo was taken, but deleted the new photo by mistake! I think it compares reasonably favourably to Prince Charles' patch! The customer was pleased with it.

Some years ago I had bought a book in Oxfam called "Sew it Up" by Ruth Singer, which is mentioned in this list of sewing books. I paid a reduced new price rather than a secondhand price. I'm not sure why I bought it...... It has a lot of good reviews but in my opinion it is awful! I think I gave it away as I didn't think it was worth keeping. If I remember rightly the photos weren't clear and I didn't think much of the projects. but I am delighted to see that the above list says, about my next book - 

 I’ve been told by many people that this is the ultimate reference guide for stitchers.

It certainly is excellent in my opinion. This is my copy, and is the 1994 edition -

I paid the grand sum of - wait for it - 20p, for this book!!!!! We have a local charity shop where all books are 20p each. Or 5 for £1. Must remember to tell them about that.....

The sewing part is the (revised) part of the book in the above list, The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, and forms the greater part of the book.

Here are the contents -

I have picked out a couple of sections, to give an idea of how the book is illustrated, and the instructions given -

I picked this next bit on rolled hems to compare it to the section on hand rolled hems in another book (further down) -

Machine-rolled hems, and hems which are narrow but not necessarily rolled, are something I have been trying to master this year. I was forced into it by being given three ball gowns to hem! They were all different fabrics but all needed varying degrees of narrow hems. I have a rolled hem foot for both my Bernina and my Singer but I confess that I had never mastered the use of them! For one of the dresses I used a sort of cheat's method, which was actually very good. I watched a You tube video on how to do it.  

The third book is this one, published in 1954, again bought secondhand locally - not, sadly, for 20p, but £5, but well worth it - 

Here are the contents - 

Here's the section on the hand rolled hem, here called an Italian Rolled Hem - 

This book also has instructions on how to do the tailor's patch, though it doesn't mention the 

rantering - 

And here are a couple of bits to make you laugh! I obviously need to up my game regarding my appearance and preparing dinner (never my strong point...) - 

I now know exactly where I've been going wrong regarding inviting my intimates round for sewing - I've been inviting them on a Tuesday!  No wonder they don't turn up! Or maybe they just think I'm too scruffy.....

It is these older sewing books that often have information in that isn't in the newer books, particularly on mending, and now that mending is, dare I say it, fashionable again...... they are extremely useful. I wish I had not given away, many years ago, a little fat needlework book that was my mum's, and which I thought at the time wouldn't be of much use to me. Ah well.....

I would love to know of any useful sewing books that you have, so do tell me in the comments.

Lizzie

Coffeeneuring trip # 3, a ride to Bishopstone in Wiltshire

I am trying to stick to a watery theme for this year's Coffeeneuring trips. If you want to know more about Coffeeneuring then click on that link, but basically it's about riding your bike somewhere and having coffee - and you're allowed tea or other beverage - and sharing your ride with others doing the same, during a period of a few weeks at this time of year. Most people do this through a Facebook coffeeneuring group. You can go to a cafe, or you can take your own/brew up your own, and drink it outside - officially that comes under "Coffee without walls".  Most of my trips will come under that category, but I'll treat myself at some point to a trip to a nice cafe. You can also open up your house to other coffeeneurs.  It's such a simple idea and yet somehow it's great fun! What I like about it is that it challenges me in a different way to get out to new places on my bike, and I also love reading about other coffeeneurs' trips. 

As I said, this year I'm going for a watery theme, although trip number one was to a stream that had run dry, and trip number two failed to be properly watery as there was nowhere near enough the water to sit. But one of my possible watery venues was Bishopstone, a village a few miles from here just over the border in Wiltshire, which has a lovely pond, so that's where I decided to go today.

Before I set off, there was some preparation to do. Sometimes I wish that going somewhere on my bike didn't need preparation, but it does........ Even if I'm only going shopping to my nearest town, 4 miles away, there's routine to stick to - unlock the garage, get the bike out, check the tyres, lock up the garage again, make sure I have a bottle of water - and something to eat, as even on a short journey I can run out of energy if I don't eat. In winter I also need to strap my trousers round my ankles, or tuck them into my socks (soooo fashionable....) and put cycling gloves on. Plus I like to take my Garmin for recording the ride. And though I don't use a mobile phone much, I try to remember to take it with me when I cycle, in case I have to make a call of shame to Husband. And that's just for a short shopping trip! If I'm going out for a long ride I need more food and probably a second bottle of water, and I need to think about what the weather's going to be like - e.g. do I need to wear or carry a waterproof?

So you see sometimes I get fed up with all this and think "Can I be bothered?"

But the thing is - yes I can, because it's worth it!!! Even the worst of bike rides leaves you feeling better when you come home than you did before you went out. Today's preparation included making the coffee, and as Coffeeneurs are all quite interested in what brand of coffee /tea/whatever fellow coffeeneurs drank, and what stove they brewed it on (if they did) here are the details - 

I regularly buy this one - but always wait until it's on offer.

Flask, jam funnel, filter......

When all was in the panniers, I set off, diverting slightly to do an errand on the way. To be honest I didn't enjoy the ride much for the first few miles, as it was windy and I was slightly lacking in energy, probably due to it being about 3 hours since breakfast. I couldn't remember whether there was a bench by the pond at Bishopstone - we have travelled through the village hundreds of times by car and I have also cycled through it and I'd never noticed one, but there usually are benches by village ponds so I was confident of having somewhere, apart from wet grass, to sit and drink and eat, 

All the preparation was worth it when I got there, about 10 miles later. It was, as I have said before in this blog, "Jus' perfick!" (Pop Larkin, Darling Buds of May) - the sun was well and truly out and what could be nicer than to sit by a village pond after 10 miles of cycling and drink coffee and eat a banana and a home made Pumpkin, Prune and Chocolate bar (even more delicious warmed, with cream, as a pudding) - recipe further down if you're interested!

Bishopstone pond, looking towards the old mill. Oh look, there's my shadow.

.

The pumpkin stuff might look like a dark splodgy mess, but it's delicious!

Nearby was this information board -

I found the bit about the farms interesting and rather sad. It applies too to this estate where we live. When we came here in 1981 there were beef cattle and about 700 sheep. Dairy cattle and pigs had already gone in the 1970s. The beef cattle went in 1995 and by the time Husband was made redundant in 2003 the sheep had gone too. Only arable is left now. There are a few sheep around but they belong to other farmers. Land on this farm and another close by has been sold off in the last couple of years and it has been bought by neighbouring wealthy landowners. The farms just get bigger and bigger. The arable work on this estate has been done by contractors since 2003. The only employee left is the gamekeeper, who also has to do maintenance in the few remaining houses.

Then I wandered off, exploring paths and places I didn't know existed. As I always say, it's amazing how much you see when you travel on foot or by bike that you don't see from a car.

I went into the churchyard, and looked at the gravestones. First I read this one -

 and noticed the bit at the bottom which says that their four children are buried here in the churchyard too........ and there were their graves, next to them. Look at the ages - 3, 4, 12 and 16. How terrible to lose your four children all so young. I wondered why they died so young, and when I went into the church the vicar was there talking to someone, but he disappeared before I had a chance to ask him if he knew.

So, that was my coffeeneuring morning. After pootling around the lanes a bit I cycled home; the return journey was much better than the outward one - I had more energy, the sun was shining, and the wind was behind me. The preparation was most definitely worth it!

Messenger bag made from £1 charity shop outdoor jacket

Last year I bought this jacket in a charity shop for £1. It was like new - I didn't recognize the make so thought that although it looked good it probably wasn't the best quality outdoor clothing, but it would be great to have as a spare. After googling it I found out that it was a skiing jacket from Decathlon.

I wore it once to test it out but didn't like it as it wasn't at all warm and was noisy! I hate it when you're out on a nice peaceful walk and your arms brush against your sides and make a noise. I have a good quality Berghaus waterproof which does this too, so it's not necessarily just a fault of cheap clothing.

I was going to give it back to a charity shop but then thought - ah, this would make a very nice bag! Hence the scene below on the kitchen floor.............

I chopped it to pieces and ended up with some decent sized pieces of fabric, plus zips and various bits of velcro and shock cord. When I took it apart the cheap materials were revealed. Thin polyester wadding in between the outer and inner and I suspect that the reverse of the outer fabric was some cheap waterproofing, certainly not breathable.

The bag below was the result.

This fabric was HORRIBLE to sew.  The foot moved OK, so it wasn't a question of needing a Teflon foot, and I used what I thought would be the best needle for this fabric, a microtex one, but the machine objected when it got to the thick bits, which it wouldn't normally do to this extent.

                                                                                         

I didn't do the pockets quite the same as I did when making this bag (the one below) not long ago. As the fabric was so hard to sew I kept things to a minimum.

Recently I got a shelter/gazebo thing from Freegle, that somebody had left behind at a festival, and cut it all up to use in the future, and that's where the green lining came from. The flap pocket is also lined with this. The rest of the bag is self lined. I didn't use any interfacing or wadding. The strap is webbing from an army surplus stores; I didn't have enough of the bag fabric to make the strap. I didn't make it adjustable as a lot of bag makers say to do, as it's not necessary for me as I never adjust it once it's the right length.

There is one internal pocket, and also a dog clip attached at the front (on the right - hard to see as the pic is dark, and I also couldn't get the Ipad to focus for some reason) for my bike padlock keys.

I attached the zip in a slightly different way to how I did it on the other bag pictured above, because doing it this way means it stands just slightly proud of the bag and is easier to unzip. 

The zip I used is one I unpicked from a previous bag I'd made; I had bought two of these at a past Festival of Quilts, from the Pinwheels stall. That was years ago and they still don't seem to be available in this country except in black on Ebay, unless I just can't find them on the internet. If ever I see their stall again I shall buy several of these zips as they are so smooth running and I love the ball and chain! 

Lovely zip!

I attached a velcro fastening right at the end (should have added it much earlier!) - you can see that in the first photo. I used the bag today and love it as it's the right size and very lightweight, and I can easily stuff it in my bike panniers. 

I have really enjoyed making these messenger bags lately, and as I have just been given a big bag of furnishing fabric remnants, I'll be making some more, possibly to sell.