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!
Crochet Baby Blanket
A fellow on my team at work is expecting his first baby in a few months. I was invited to the baby shower and decided to make them a crocheted baby blanket. I started it on July 26, and finished it on August 12. That must be some sort of record for me. It’s not perfect, but I’m certainly getting much better and faster at interpretting those cryptic directions. This set of directions was completely for the advanced crocheter, and I think I held my own. It’s even machine washable and very soft. yay...
read moreDraping II Project I
This is one of those classic “but it looked a like better in my head” designs. In reality, the end result here should simply be burned. That’s all there is to it. No redeeming qualities BEYOND that it was a stepping stone to get to a design that I really did like. Hey. I had warned you.
read morePatternMaking II Kimono-style capelet
Shelby approves of the faux fur and other material I’m keeping. This project was assigned in the pattern making class based off the kimono style shirt. The name does not refer to literally a Japanese kimono, but rather a shirt which does not have a shirtsleeve seam. Here’s an example of the kimono style top: In this version, I removed the undersleeve and made the cape a half-circle. The basic material is black wool, though it’s a low grade craft wool. One of the critiques the teacher had was the wool was not stretched before...
read moreCrochet Shawl
After the ugliest afghan was completed, my next project was the crochet shawl found in the same book as the learn-to-crochet afghan. I found a nice wool/mohair blend yarn and then started in. My first attempt was horrible. I lost count, failed to move the markers reliably, and didn’t interpret the instructions very well. I got a fair ways and then threw the whole thing away, so I could start over since the yarn did NOT want to unravel as smooth yarn does. Overall, it came out very well. I was disappointed in how short it was. I thought...
read moreRuskin Lace Attempt One
Got the camera battery all charged up AND found the cord which lets me transfer images from the camera to the computer. That means, I get to catch up on a loooot of posts… First up — Ruskin Lace Attempt One My ultimate goal is something that resembles the 16th century Greek Lace, or Punto Tagliato, or … It’s got lots of names, depending on your source. Ruskin lace is the Victorian revival version of this type of drawn-thread “lace” fore-runner. Because Ruskin lace is still being taught by a wonderful lady...
read morePatternMaking 2 Mid-Term
This semester, I have I believe a total of 3 garments to make in this class. The first one was due today, and even though I still haven’t found the battery charger for my digital camera (which is why I can’t do post-mortems for the Draping 2 projects already done) I was able to get a few overview pictures because the fellow taking the images for the fashion show kindly burned me a copy. Just for clarification, the PatternMaking class does not allow any sort of draping to test fit or anything. All that is done through manipulation...
read moreDraping I Final Project
Fall ’08 semester I took a class on how to drape clothing. We were allowed to do anything we wanted but the project would be put into the fashion show so we had to design something “fresh and modern”. Well, I am soooo not a “fresh and modern” kind of chick, so I opted to design something with the following parameters: (1) complicated, forcing me to make sure I draped precisely so that the pattern and final product tested this aspect (2) use as much stuff from my stash as I could I chose to make a shirt with a...
read moreLife In A Victorian-Style Corset
I was musing on this today because in the draping class on Monday we learned how to drape and draft a bustier. Today I brought in my corsets and some bones for folks to look at. In talking to one of the women, I realized I have a rather unique insight into what it might have been like to be a Victorian woman. Even those women who wear a corset for RenFair 2-4 months out of the year generally only wear them on the weekend days, so they would not see the physiological changes that living in a corset will bring. I’ve emailed the programs...
read moreExperimenting with and Learning about CutWork Embroidery
Back in August of this year, I did a little blurb for a book on Cut-Work Embroidery, or more specifically on Ruskin Lace. What’s the difference? One is a form of embroidery arriving in Europe through Greece in the late 15th or early 16th century. It has dozens of names: point coupe’, punto tagliato, opus seissum, Ionian lace, Greek lace, etc. It was from this short-lived (in Europe) form of embroidery that free standing lace quickly evolved. The new lace quickly surpassed this form of lace in popularity and, in Western Europe, it...
read moreSkirt of the white/turquoise 1850/60’s dress
The bodice for this outfit is discussed here: http://dravon.livejournal.com/351225.html. The skirt was not finished in time for the final exam of the class which saw this outfit started, and so I’ve now finally completed the skirt. YAY! One whole historical outfit is now complete … except for the undergarments. heh. All the pictures in this section are of the skirt without the hooped underskirt, so it looks a bit … deflated. Ah well. I’m just excited to have the skirt complete! I was having fun prancing around the...
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