Textiles in Nepal

Women in historic Bhaktapur

Like India, Nepal’s fashion scene is pretty spectacular.  While the clothing is different from your favorite fashionista’s attire, the colors are beautiful and women wear their garments with great pride.

Time for Socialization

Unfortunately, instead of being manufactured in Nepal, using the traditional block printing methods, many of the fabrics are now imported from China.  This causes concern on two fronts: 1)The end of the tradition of block printing and 2)Loss of jobs for persons who work in the textile industry.  Our tour guide spoke of two textile plants recently closed leaving 1400 people unemployed.  As China produces fabric more inexpensively than Nepal, this will continue to occur.  Not to Nepal’s benefit, there are rolling electricity black-outs in most communities which certainly doesn’t benefit this or any other industry.

One of dozens of fabric stores in the Kathmandu Valley

All of the gorgeous fabrics are not cottons as many of the sari’s are also made from polyester.  No matter which fabric, the colors are gorgeous.  Below are several more photos.

Mother is rubbing mustard oil on baby’s hair

Daily trip to the community well to obtain water

Babas in their colorful garments

Fashion in India: Easy on the Eyes

In the past few weeks we had the privilege of traveling in India and Nepal; a countries where we saw thousands of women wearing the gorgeous and elegant “sari”.  Surrounded by all of that fabric, it seems impossible that I would have returned home without a single cut of fabric.  Even my BIL bought 2 Indian sari’s –  essentially 6 yards of fabric, and I’m sure he has never before purchased fabric.  What was wrong with me?

In areas where we traveled in India, there were some but not a large number of fabric and/or sari stores.  Most of the stores had gorgeous and very colorful fabrics with lots of bling, however most fabrics were polyester.  Admittedly, I dreamed of returning from India with bags of silk fabric.  Of course the textile factory we visited had gorgeous silks but at incredibly high prices, even for U.S. fabric stores.  Thus “bags of fabric” didn’t happen.   (Sorry, Karen, I know you really wanted some silk from India.)

With no purchases to show you, I’ll share some photos of the beautiful women of India wearing stunning garments.  They were so easy on the eyes that I couldn’t stop my camera from snapping just one more photo.  Enjoy!

Next time, I’ll discuss Nepal’s textile scene, which is somewhat different than India’s thriving textile industry.

Moving, Snowing and No Sewing

Just wanted to update all of you on what’s going on.  In the past several weeks we packed up our belongings and sold most of our furniture in preparation for moving.  Then, a few days ago we closed the sale on our Philadelphia home, had the truck loaded with an embarrassing number of fabric bins and sewing supply boxes (and a few additional household items) and set out for Wisconsin.

Once in Wisconsin and immediately before a winter storm came through we had everything moved to a storage unit where our possessions will stay until we find a home.

As the movers were unloading, I was able to pull out a few boxes of sewing supplies and place them near the storage unit door. Two of my sewing machines are still in Philly – we’ll fly back next week and will drive our car to the Midwest, including my machines and other items we didn’t want to transport in the truck.  Then I can sew again.

I’ll keep you up to date as we move through the next phase of our lives.

A Saturday “Sew In”

Oh, So Many Sewing Machines

When we planned the day, I thought it would be a cold winter day and we’d all have nothing better to do than to spend a day sewing with friends.  Instead yesterday was 60+ degrees and would have been a great day for outdoor activities.  Oh, well.

I’ve heard of but never participated in a “Sew In”, so I made it up. Should have googled it but didn’t.  The first step was to invite 9 or 10 Philadelphia sewing colleagues for a day of sewing at my kitchen table.   Seven were able to participate, which was just right.  With the leaves in it, the dining room table seemed large until we put six sewing machines on it.

While most cut, sewed, clipped, pressed and chatted about sewing, two of us worked on making a paper tape double.  All were so busy that we barely stopped to eat lunch or snacks.

Just look at this group of serious sewists

Val made a fabric vase.  I must say, her satin stitching skills are amazing.  Noile dutifully and beautifully sewed a corduroy jacket for her husband.  Pat joined for fellowship and to get advice on a project.  Karen tackled three t-shirts – maybe four.   Andrea made great progress on a houndstooth jacket which is going to look terrific on her.  Lee constructed a dozen squares for a quilt that will be gifted to one of her sisters.  Mimi sewed and brought projects to obtain advice.  She and I wrapped each other in paper tape for what will eventually be a fitting double.  At the end of the day I was able to squeeze in some time to put together a fur vest for my DD and a matching one for my GD.

Really, that's my shape?

Fabric, Notion and Magazine Exchange

Each person came with machine and bags of supplies in hand but that didn’t stop each of us from bringing stacks of extra fabric, sewing notions, patterns and magazines we no longer needed.  The pile was embarrassingly large but one sewist’s trash was another’s treasure.  The items were nearly all taken at the end of the day.

The Requisite Sewing Space Tour

The day wouldn’t be complete without a tour of the host’s sewing space and stash. A view of the stash was missing since our home is for sale so most of the yardage is offsite in a storage bin.  Wouldn’t want to scare off a prospective buyer with all of those bins of fabric.  Here’s mine – a corner of our living space but with windows that any sewist would die for.

Planning a “Sew In”

To make it easier for you, here’s how to plan a day such as this:

• Select a day by putting out feelers with several others who sew.  When you have a date, run with it.
• Invite slightly more sewists than you will be able to accommodate, assuming that some will not be able to participate.  For example, my table could handle 6 sewing machines and there was room for more hand-sewers or to make a double.  
• In the invitation, confirm the date, time, location, directions, parking and what you’ll supply. While I love to cook, it made more sense to not worry about food when we were all trying to enjoy a day of sewing.  The refrigerator and coffee pot were stocked with drinks, my friends brought snacks and we walked around the corner for lunch.
• Send a reminder several days ahead of time.  

Checklist for the Host:

• Table for sewing.  If scratching is an issue, use placemats, towels or a table cloth for under the machines.
• Power strip
• Place for cutting.  Two cutting mats on the coffee table worked well, since our condo’s living room and dining area are adjoined.
• Ironing board and iron

What to Bring and What to Work on:

I’m hoping one of my friends will post about this and I’ll add their links to this post.

In Summary:

This was a terrific day (except for the parking tickets – darn).  All commented that it was a day of fellowship and fun, and there was more sewing than on most Saturdays.

Give it a try.  You’ll be glad you did.

Mira’s Sewing Lessons: Pajama Top

About a year ago, I blogged about teaching Mira to sew her first pair of pajama pants.   Unfortunately because we live hours from each other and because visits are filled with other fun activities, we have little time for sewing.  However on our last visit we had a “sewing date”.  Her choice was to make a pajama top to match the beloved but now “high-water’ pants she made last year.  She designed the top, using a complimentary flannel print for the sleeves.

So proud in her new pj top

Hmmm. So how could I help Mira sew a pj top with no buttons and yet so she could pull it over her head?  With not many patterns to chose from, I bought a raglan knit pj top.  By cutting it several sizes larger than her size, cutting out the neckline to fit over her head and by placing a small amount of elastic at the neckline we were set to sew.  As far as the fabric type, pre-washed flannel is great for a project such as this because the fabric is easy to sew and it doesn’t ravel easily so there’s no overcasting.

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Me:  ”What’s the first safety rule for sewing?”

Mira:  ”Never put your fingers near the needle.”

She passed the test and we were ready to sew.

Little did I know that Mira was envisioning a hood on the pj top.  So when the sleeve and side seams were done, Mira said, “Now, let’s add a hood”.  (Guess I’ve made sewing look way too easy).  Her bathrobe has a hood, so I traced the pattern and we had a hooded pj top.

What a proud girl she was, every step of the way.  Sewing (and trying on) time took about one hour.

Meanwhile…..

Catie did art projects with her grandpa while eagerly awaiting her turn at the sewing machine.  At age 6, she’s not quite ready to sew independently, so we came up with a plan to sew quilt pieces.  It worked beautifully.

Cate sat on my lap and when needed at the beginning and end of stitching a square, she toggled to reverse the stitch.  It was perfect for her – she was involved and still safe.  Meanwhile, her foot stayed right on top of mine.

 What a fun time we had.  To be continued….

Scarves are all the Rage – in Spain

Scarves:  A fashion detail that continues to separate European and USA fashion.

Traveling in Europe reminds me of how much I love scarves.  No matter what time of the year, women (and some men) wear scarves for warmth and/or for fashion and with just about any type of attire.   I do wish this fashion trend would take hold in the US – we always have a little bit of the scarf thing going on the in the USA but it’s minor compared to what one sees when walking the streets of a western European country – especially France and Spain.

On our recent trip to Spain my travel mates took photos of the many beautiful tourist sites, but I took photos of scarves.  Here are a few of the lovelies.  Most are from markets, where prices are often several Euros.  Enjoy!

Double-click on photos to see more detail.

It would be so easy to sew one of these

Pashmina in its glory.

Crinkled fabric is all the rage. Maybe it's time to experiment?

For style and warmth

Beautiful lace with tassel trim

Which of these do you think we could sew?

Ruffled Skirt Tutorial

In response to the posts on how to sew with pre-ruffled fabric, I’ve gotten questions about which pattern works for sewing a ruffled skirt.  The good news is that you don’t need a pattern.  This fits into the “it’s so easy that it’s hard” category. 

Starting with the End in Mind:

Sorry, my model lives miles away from me :)

1.  With pre-ruffled knit fabric in hand, cut one piece.  

• Width – equal to the wearer’s hip size (remember this is really stretchy fabric so no ease is needed).  
• Length – slightly longer than desired (it’s easy to cut off an extra ruffle or two after the garment is finished).

40" wide by 26" long (fabric is folded in half)

2.  Position the ruffles at the seamline.  Pin in place.

3.   Machine baste the seam.  You can see the extra pieces of ruffle sticking out.  They can be cut off however serging will also do it for you.

4. If the ruffles are all in place, you are ready to serge the seam.  

5. Cut a piece of wide elastic plus 1″ for overlapping the seam. This should be the length of the wearer’s waist or slightly larger if it will be worn below the natural waist.  

6. Sew elastic into a circle by overlapping 1/2″.

7. Mark the 4 quarters of the elastic and the corresponding quarters at the top edge of the skirt.  

8.  Pin the elastic to the skirt.  Note:  For a clean look, bottom of elastic should meet up with the top of a ruffle.

9.  Machine baste the elastic while stretching to fit the skirt.  Missing this important step isn’t worth it.  It’s really tough to remove stitches as it destroys the fabric edges.

9.  Zig-zag or coverstitch the elastic onto the skirt, stitching very close to the bottom edge of the elastic.

10.  If desired, adjust the hem length by cutting off one or more ruffles.  

You are done.  Wasn’t that easy?

Sewing with Pre-ruffled Fabric: Part 2

IKEA Fabric for Valances and Pillows

In the two weeks since my last post, Kevin and I took a road trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota where we visited family and friends, and we saw Megan and Chris’s new home.  All of those miles traveled and I didn’t visit a single fabric store.  Well, just one.  However Megan and I did purchase fabric for window valances at IKEA.  Though the supply is limited, they have great fabric.

More tips for sewing with pre-ruffled fabric:

As I mentioned in the last post, sewing with pre-ruffled fabric was more challenging than I anticipated.  I stopped with tip #7, “Plan for where the ruffles will land on the garment”.  When cutting the black and white tank, I laid the pattern on the center front of the neck so that the entire ruffle would be visible.  That was the correct way to cut, unlike Deb’s tank where I cut in the middle of the ruffle.

Ruffle at center front of neckline is positioned correctly

In the following, I didn’t plan well and cut through the ruffle.  Fortunately I was able to recover by adding a piece of ruffle to the neckline before binding the edge.

Center front ruffle was cut away. Oops, but a little patch fixed it.

8.  Like with other stretchy garments, sew a small piece of stretch fabric or clear elastic into the shoulder seam.  Because the fabric is so lightweight and to avoid bulk, I didn’t extend the stabilizing fabric to the edges.  My choice was a small strip of cotton jersey.

9.  To bind the edges, use a very light weight fabric.  Again, I used cotton jersey with 4-way stretch.  BTW, white looked awful on the black and white fabric.

Sewing a strip of neck binding

Turn the binding over and topstitch

Another binding: 1" wide fabric was folded and serged onto the dress. No topstitching.

When the garments we sew are worn, we always learn more about our creations.  And thus a few more tips:

10.  When planning for an adult skirt, cut the fabric width approximately the same size as the wearer’s hip measurement.  Children don’t mind having a little extra bulk on their hips but it’s not as flattering for adults.  (I am now making this adjustment to Angela’s and Megan’s skirts).

11. Last of all, I learned that some of these fabrics may not work for children’s clothes.  At age 5, Catie proudly wore her new skirt to the playground.  After she went down the slide a few times the edge of the ruffles started to ravel (or unravel if you chose).  I don’t know if this would occur with the more commonly available poly or poly/nylon pre-ruffled fabric (i.e. black and white tank).  The grey ruffles feel like they are made from rayon, are softer and less stable.  It’s hard to be sad about the skirt as it was fun to sew it.   I’ll make her a new one from the yet unused black fabric.

Did I mention that  I paid $8.00 for all of the fabric for these garments.  It was great fun to find such cute fabric for such a bargain and to plan for the garments; but it was frustrating at times until I learned the nuances of working with pre-ruffled fabric.  

What are your experiences in working with this fabric?

Ruffled by Pre-ruffled Fabric

For some months I have been enamored by the pre-ruffled fabric which is common in ready-to-wear garments and which is sometimes but not often seen in the sewing circles.  Surely it’s not a product I’ve been able to find at the name-brand sewing and craft stores.  So when I found four pieces of pre-ruffled fabric in a bin at Jomar’s recent half-price sale, I was thrilled.  That is until I began to make garments from it.

Since I struggled to learn how to work with this unusual fabric, it’s only fair to share some tips with you. With about four yards of fabric in hand and because several pieces were 72″ wide, I was able to make one garment for each of the girls in our family – six in all.  So now we’re all dressed in grey and black.

Cate's skirt - wide twill elastic on a single piece of rectangular fabric.

Mira's jumper/sleeveless dress. Learned that its tough to make anything other than a straight skirt.

My tank top. Edges are finished with black jersey.

Deb's tank top. This is tapered but the effect is lost with the ruffles.

Angela's skirt - slightly longer. Waistband of black wide elastic.

Megan's skirt. Yoke top made from black jersey and has 3/4" elastic at the waist (no zipper)

10 Tips for Sewing with Pre-ruffled Fabric:

1. Use simple designs, preferable with straight lines.  The easiest and best look is to cut a rectangle of fabric and add a waistband to the fabric.  Absolutely avoid darts or multiple seams.  Even a tapered tank was more design than this fabric could handle.

2.  Pin the ruffles in place prior to cutting as it’s really easy to remove a part of a ruffle that you’ll want later.

For this skirt, I sewed the elastic and then pinned the ruffles in place before cutting.

3. Because the backing fabric is made from nylon knit (think nylon stockings), it runs.  Avoid pulling the fabric.  Even removing stitches created runs in the fabric.

4.  Machine baste all seams before placing the final seam (yes, that means all).  I made the mistake of trying to sew the edging without basting first.  When I removed the stitching it was a real mess.

5. Plan for the garment to be longer than you desire.  Shortening is easy – just cut the nylon backing between the ruffles.  Couldn’t be easier.

Fabric back - easy to hem by cutting away what you don't need. No other finishing is required.

6. When cutting, match the stripes perfectly.

7. Plan for where the ruffles will land on the garment.  Here’s an example of a time when I cut away part of the ruffle.

Center front ruffle was cut away. Oops, but a little patch fixed it.

I have more, but since the hosting site isn’t cooperating, I’ll have more tips in the next post.  Stay tuned!

Post-publication note:  Part 2 is here

The Traje in Guatemala

It’s now been months since we were in Guatemala, but as you can tell by my posts, I continue to be fascinated by the culture.  By no means am I an expert on the “traje”; that is the traditional clothing worn by Mayan women and girls in Guatemala however I’d like to share the little bit that I know. As a fabric lover, it is captivating to see the variety of beautiful fabrics and the proud manner in which women wear their traje.

With her Mother at a Craft Market (Antigua)

Coban: Traje Store

In a previous post I wrote that women of Guatemala literally wear their culture on their backs.  Unlike other countries where traditional clothing is a cultural marker and where the clothing is worn only for special occasions, in Guatemala there are large numbers of women or girls who wear traditional clothing for daily life.  Of course there are also women who also wear the traje only on special occasions.  From what I could see, the clothing for special occasions does not differ in style from what was worn for daily use.

Selling fruit at the Market

Typical dress in Coban

Even after seeing several photos of women in traditional clothing, you may notice the different skirt and top styles.  Each community has a style which is unique to that area.  For example, in the north (specifically Coban), women wear gathered skirts and lacy tops such as the preceding photo.  On the other hand, in a cooler area such as Santiago Atitlan, the blouses are made of fairly heavy cotton which is then embroidered with birds such as the following photo.

Santiago Atitlan: Typical Blouse

 In Antigua and the Lake Atitlan area, skirts are made from a large panel of fabric tied at the waist with a wide hand embroidered belt.  The fabric is made by women in their homes – densely woven Guatemalan cotton in a variety of plaid designs, which also vary by region.   Like backstrap weaving, fabric weaving is one of the ways in which women stay connected to their culture.

San Juan: Schoolgirls in the Traje

Weaving Loom for Skirt Fabric

Fabric for Traje skirts

Lace only fabric store: San Pedro

In the following photo, I love the hair ribbons woven into the braid.  In Quetzaltenango the skirts are full and have an embroidered band at the knee.  You can also see the hand-woven shawl resting on the woman’s shoulder.

Waiting for the Bride: Quetzaltenango

Not surprisingly in this craft-based economy, many of the garments are hand-sewed and embroidered by family members.  I’m not sure about the cost of blouse fabric but we were told that a skirt-length panel of woven fabric costs $40-$80, incredibly expensive in a very poor country.

What about men?

Unlike Mayan women, it is uncommon to see men wearing their traditional garments.  I was able to capture one example in San Pedro – wool pants with embroidery.  Like with the garments worn by females, the designs vary by community.

Traditional pants: San Pedro