Palate Cleanser, Sewing Edition
I can tell it’s time to work on a different kind of sewing project. I made a list of clothing projects last night, and either I have patterns but no fabric, or I have fabric but I am waiting on a pattern, or I have to trace something and haven’t yet done that. I believe I will resurrect the Slabtown Backpack and try to finish that one. I also have to mend a pair of the husband’s work pants, and both of those projects can be sewn on the Necchi industrial. And while I’m working on the Necchi, which is in my office next to the kitchen, I can probably have a cooking or canning project going on the stove. Function stacking for the win.
I needed another class sample for the Rolled Hem class I’m teaching next month, so I knocked this one out before leaving for town yesterday morning. This lovely piece of rayon crepe came from the 80% off remnant rack at one of the Joann stores in Spokane.
I adore the color and the print, but I look like death warmed over in anything yellow or orange. I have to content myself with making class samples in those colors. This is a simple scarf made from a piece of fabric about 12” wide, cut on the crossgrain with rounded points on the ends. I wanted to see how much I could get that edge to wave. The remnant was almost an entire yard. Had I cut it on the bias, I know I could have gotten it to wave even more, but I could not bring myself to waste so much fabric. I set the stitch length to the lowest setting, which has the effect of crowding a lot of stitches into a small area. Pulling laterally on the finished edge (very gently!) encourages the ruffling as those stitches spread out. The looper thread was wooly nylon and the other two threads were regular serger thread. I used some tearaway stabilizer on the edge, which was essential because of the weight of the fabric.
[I am struggling with what to do with my garment fabric scraps. Quilting cotton scraps are easy as they can get recycled into a scrap quilt. I hand out leftover knit fabrics in all my serger classes—or use the larger pieces for muslins—but I’m still swimming in them. One of the young women who works at the quilt store in town makes knit fabric headbands. I offered her the larger leftovers, but she’s moving and asked me to hang on to them until she gets settled. I hate throwing even small scraps into the trash, so the idea of cutting a scarf on the bias out of the middle of a yard of fabric was untenable, even from a remnant that only cost me about a dollar.]
I have got to spend some time today working on serger class administration. I would like to have a list of classes to give to stores so that when people ask “What class can I take next?” the store has something to choose from. I’ve got to organize supply lists, class samples, and handouts. The more I teach these serger classes, the more I am leaning toward making up class kits rather than having the students source their own supplies, for several reasons:
It takes a fair bit of time to become familiar with what kinds of fabrics are suitable for what kinds of projects. I specified a rayon knit for a class last summer and one student showed up with a yard of a fairly pricey woven rayon. Even choosing fabric for a simple T-shirt can be confusing.
Wonderfil can provide sample spools/ kits of thread, which would allow students to try out different kinds of thread without having to shell out money for something they might only use once. I don’t want students to think that they have to buy expensive supplies just to try a technique. Also, stores don’t necessarily want to place a minimum order for thread (or fabric) that they won’t be able to sell. Most quilt stores don’t keep a stock of garment fabrics, either. I noted in class on Saturday that the irony of teaching serger and clothing classes at quilt stores did not escape me.
Supply chain disruptions are wreaking havoc on class materials. The stores will order class supplies for me, but that doesn’t guarantee they will arrive in time.
If everyone in class has the same supplies, class will proceed much more smoothly—or so I tell myself.
Class kits are one of those things, though, that students either love or hate. Some students love them because it saves them the hassle of shopping, especially when they aren’t sure what supplies they need. Other students hate them because they would rather bring supplies they already have on hand. And the stores really want students to buy their supplies at the store. This is a fine line to walk. My goal as a teacher, though, is for students to leave knowing more than they did when they came to class, and I have specific ideas about how to make that happen.