Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Muslin, 101 Uses!

Anyone who has ever worked on sewing project of some sort knows that fabric, thread and muslin (for those making practice garments rather than house projects), shit gets everywhere.
You have no idea just how often I have used the muslin lying around my room, my workspace, or classroom for everyday things.
I used muslin to hang my curtains.
Not make the curtains (also easily done), but hang them.
I used real fabric from fabric closet to make them, but used the selvage from a muslin piece to hang it up (strung it through the hole I created and used it as a rod) along with some tacks.
I use it as a hair tie more often than a real elastic because I can always cut a strip if my hair is hanging in my eyes and tie it up in a Cinderella fashion up-do (looking much less like Cinderella, I might add), and often forget it's there until I am home. Then people point at me and laugh.
Other than a hair tie, my absolutely favorite use for muslin is as the poor man's Band-Aid.
When I prick myself (which is often) I bleed (everywhere). More often than not there are no Band-Aids in our "safety kit" kept under the sinks in one of our workrooms and I must mop myself up before I get blood on my papers or worse, all over the expensive fabric I am probably handling at the time. And I say expensive because when you're bleeding, it's always expensive fabric.
So. My momma came up this weekend and brought me a new rug for my room since I told her that my feeties would get cold on the tile (she's so nice to me). Well, a pin got stuck in the carpet. Pointy side up, as always. I was walking and literally kicked my big toe straight into the pin. I started bleeding a lot and knew that if i stood it would get on the new, and apparently treacherous, carpet. I sat on the ground and wondered if I would be able to skooch to my closet where my Band-Aids are kept. Even if I could, they are on the top shelf, meaning I'd have to stand to get them, totally defeating the purpose of sitting in the first place.
I turned to my left and low and behold! My scrap muslin! For the record, there was muslin on my right too, actually it's all over my floor, but my "neat" box of scraps just happened to be to my left. I ripped some muslin and bandaged my injured foot and stopped the bleeding! Hooray!
I mean . . . I am a bleeder so I had to double up, twice, so it wouldn't seep through, but it worked!
I tell you, muslin is amazing, I would highly recommend the product, 5 stars, 2 thumbs up and every other type of high approval rating.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Horseface

So I just got out of my 20th Century of Fashion class and I must say that I absolutely love it.
My teacher is a fantastic lecturer and loves conversation within the class.
I started zoning out, however; and noticed that my friend, Brittany, was looking at a muslin tank she had brought with her. She had apparently run out of time to do an entire side seam and was contemplating working on it during the class.
I told her that I do that all the time, you don't need to pay that much attention to the garment if you're just basting or backstitching, and since our teacher is a Fashion professor, I was sure he wouldn't mind anyway. The sewing teachers always prefer a machine stitch, but as someone who enjoys working with her hands, I have a soft spot for any excuse to do a little hand work. I do it all the time, they want a machine stitch, but unless you're doing heavy construction that involves the teacher looking insidethe garment, they will only be looking at the outside fit (this only works if you're on a practice piece, of course).
Suddenly I saw thread on her desk and I started laughing as she threaded her needle and started working on her tank. I told her that I did the same thing with the crotch of the pants I was making last week. There was some very unflattering bunching I didn't notice until I had finished so I quickly seam ripped it and backstitched a new seam rather than head to the next room to use the machine.
I also told her that I was a bad student because I have a new fit for the pants due today (in ten minutes to be exact) and while I did 98% of it last night, I went to bed before doing the second pocket. I could have easily finished but was tired and as I had an hour between that class and sewing I would do it then (which I have). She laughed and told me that I wasn't that terrible since I did do one of the pockets already, which she herself would have skipped.
Anywho, the reason for the title of this post is because we talked about Chanel today, briefly, but I always enjoy Chanel. She was so controversial. It came up that she had a German/Nazi lover during Germany's occupation of France. I had already known this, but people were shocked.
Our teacher reminded us that Chanel was "a great opportunist." She saw Germany had control, so she made love to Germany. Of course once the war was over she was shunned and went into self-exile, but she was able to come back within a couple years and resumed her reign at the top, a remarkable feat in Fashion, a comeback is rarely possible.
I told Brit that one of my teachers Freshmen year always went off about Chanel. She wasn't simply an "opportunist," she was kind of. . . whorey. Chanel would sleep with anything that moved if it meant furthering her business, for Fashion was not an Art for her, it was Business (yes there is a huge difference). But I mean both men and women. And orgies. Really whatever she could get her hands on. My teacher thought this was remarkable, commendable and impressive. Why? Because she had a face like a horse.
I believe this is one of those "well, more power to ya," moments.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Wine and Design Debut!

Sadly, this post is starting off with me already a little miffed!
I am design student and have a jacket due in One Week. The model that has been assigned to me runs her own business, which is very admirable, especially since she has been met with a good amount of success, but unfortunately, her unavailability will soon be impacting my grade.
I meet twice a week for sewing class and all models are supposed to be available during class times on those days, they were told to accept that responsibility when they signed up to be a model for our fashion show. She has already missed three sessions with me and will be missing it again tomorrow as her company is taking priority.
I have had four fittings with her and had alterations done and ready for her last Friday, but she wasn't in, I asked if she would be fine for this Tuesday (tomorrow) and she never answered. I asked again and was greeted with a big, fat "No." She agreed to meet in the middle of the week and Friday is a "maybe" for her. Not acceptable when I haven't been able to cut out my patterns in Self yet, (for those who are unfamiliar with the term, Self is the final outside fabric used in garment/article of clothing). Lets not even talk about the fact that I have not practiced putted in lining in Years and that I actually forgot to buy it over the weekend as well! Just a reminder, this is due in One Week.
My other model is just as bad, but I do not need her presently which is kind of unfortunate as she Is available tomorrow. I can't even switch the models because alterations have already been done for each garment to fit each model specifically.
I swear, if it wasn't morning (I know, it's 3 but I just got up and had breakfast), I would have broken our the wine already! Yes, I am still tempted.
As a college student you always have to find the space between life and alcoholism and draw the damn line. My fellow design student, Ash, always breaks out a wine cooler or Mike's and goes on about how she works better when she has a bit in her, she is not so stressed that every stitch or quarter inch reduction means life or death. I cannot tell you how many times drinking has been the cure for all of our designing ails.
Ash and I once got into a conversation about our working schedules with a man that worked at B&J Fabrics. He was amazed at how little time we have leftover after working so much and he straight up asked what we do when we are not working. We looked at each other, looked at him and simply replied, "Drink."