Blog
Welcome to the DravonWorks sewing blog! Here you’ll find lots of sewing information. I’m one of the “technical” people, who likes to know the why’s of things. In my mind, once a Why is understood then the information can be applied in a myriad of different ways! You won’t find a whole lot of “make this item” tutorials, but you will find answers to questions like “why should I thread my machine like that versus like this?” or “do I REALLY have to do it this way?” Most of these posts are coming from questions asked by students in my classes, but if YOU have a question you’d like answered then please feel free to comment.
I know that understanding the technical stuff behind what is going on doesn’t work for everyone, but that’s why there are so many great sewing blogs out there! Find the teacher that speaks to you, and I’d love to be one of them. If you do like what you read here, be sure to share, subscribe and visit back often! Tell your friends about this sewing blog! Ask questions, share your projects or stories. Sewing is most fun when it’s a community of people sharing what inspires them. I really want to hear from you!
Workshop Review: Taking Patterns from Historical Garments
This workshop was hosted by Costume Society of America and it was held in Seattle, WA at the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art on Saturday, July 24th. The focus of this 6 hour workshop was to impart to us how to take patterns from extant garments without damaging the garment itself. The workshop leader, Shelley Foote, is a former costume historian with the Smithsonian’s Division of Social History — now retired. She’s also the president-elect for CSA. She had met Janet Arnold on one occassion and learned Janet’s method...
read moreBurgundy and Tan Doublet
This is a design that Miles specifically requested, saying he’d seen it lots of woodcuts but I never saw any of the reference pictures. He wanted it as a pullover, with the front pulling closed at the base. That’s exactly what he got. There were a few things I had targetted to experiment with on for this doublet: 1) Points. Upper class had points like lower classes did, but you don’t see them. I wanted to experiment with a way to put the points in without having them show on the surface of the garment, and yet not pull the...
read moreGreen and Tan Experimental Doublet
The Man has been needing some new clothes for Fair. Seriously. NEEDING them. He’s down to one doublet and that’s falling apart. Not having made one before, last fall I set out to do so. A few things went into this experimental first: (1) test the theory that the lining can hold the poof of the upper sleeve without adding extra bulk to the garment itself (2) create the garment so that it could be slashed and still look good AND (3) be as light-weight as can be reasonably made, since I don’t want my man to suffer a heat stroke...
read moreMaking A MyTwin DressForm
When we set out on this project, it sounded rather easy. Turned out it requires quite a bit of endurance, makes a big mess, and was totally fun. I ordered 3 kits — 2 torso and one pants form. We made karmas_justice the torso form, and I combined the pants/torso into a combination for Miles. This is the documentation of the process. The how-to DVD that comes with the kits was quite helpful, so I set our stage to look sort of like that one. We got some of those thin plastic painter’s tarps, then laid down heavy paper on top of that...
read moreThe Very Hideous & Failed Fitted Shirt
Long ago, so long ago I can’t remember when but BEFORE I started any of the construction classes at SMC, I found this amazing emerald green material. Soooo soft! I love soft. So I bought a few yards figuring I’d make myself a shirt. From there, it pretty much went downhill. I think this shirt is actually a much stronger testimony to just how dramatically I’ve improved. Dramatically. While this project is BEYOND “failure”, it did yield a whole lot of valuable lessons. While it’s awfully tempting to sweep...
read moreDrawn-thread embroidery pillow case
Why does it take me over 2 years to complete a simple project? *sigh* But! It’s done. The drawn-thread and pulled-thread test pillow case set is now complete and ready to go! I’m not going to rehash everything from the first post-mortem about how the cases were made (what was I thinking?) but I will talk about the techniques. Here is a larger image of the actual stitching, and you might see the details and see where the 2 cases differ from each other. On the Paint program at home it’s a HUUUUUUGE image and you can the...
read moreDraping II class project #4 of 4
And this is the one I liked the most, but also the one that blew chunks on the final day. I’ve put it on the dummy and have to remove it now, but the zipper gets jammed. i had to cut the bloody thing off. GAR! Have I mentioned that loathe zippers, especially invisible zippers?? Gar! Since I had already gotten a grade, I didn’t bother to fix that, so for these images I’ve pinned it together in a less than stellar manner. *sigh* Anyway, I figured I’d done two same-on-same dresses (black on black, white on white) and now...
read moreDraping II class project #3 of 4
As you should by now have figured out, I’m keeping the same basic idea for these 4 total projects with each one being a refinement of the problem areas of the previous one. Here were the areas identified in version 2 that needed correcting: side seam where bra-top/back/overlayer meet; belt line; front kickplates on overlayer. I also didn’t want to do another do another “little black dress”, so I went to the other end of the spectrum and did a white satin base with a sheer white overlayer featuring pearlescent polka...
read moreDraping II class project #2 of 4
There are those unfortunate souls who might recall the Draping II class project 1, or the “pink monstrosity”. While that project itself was hideous and I loathed it, what it did do was give me an idea which I spent the next 3 class projects refining. The original idea had been a sundress with an elastic top. Utterly scraping thati idea, I kept the empire waist sundress idea with the sheer overlayer. I tossed out the elastic top and replaced it with a “bra top”. Here’s version one: It a black satin base with a...
read morePatternMaking II Final Project
In the PatternMaking class, our final project was a double-breasted suit jacket with lining. This is a “Stash Piece”, using material already in the stash so I didn’t have to buy anything. As far as the pattern goes, I think it came together perfectly. The only part I screwed up was mis-interpretting the notches when I was sewing it together. Another thing I decided to do for this one, because it was looking REALLY boring, was to put some embroidery on the already cut-out lapel pieces. This was my chance to practice...
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