I love it when I finish something. It makes me want to go and finish other somethings! And this week I finished two somethings - Dan's viking pants, and the inkle woven criss cross leg wrap thingy that I mentioned back here.
But before I get to that, when I left you here I had just finished inserting the crotch gusset using french seams and was sewing up the lower leg pieces. After that, I used the machine (on the widest stitch setting) to sew two straight rows of stitching 1/2 cm apart along the bottom of each upper leg section without reversing at each end. Then I held the bobbin threads (these were on the bottom when the fabric was on the machine) firmly in one hand, and used my other hand to squash the fabric up in the other direction. You have to do it a little bit at a time but you can gather up very large amounts of fabric into very gathered small lengths. Once it was gathered up to roughly the right size, I took the lower leg piece and slipped it over my gathered loop like so, with right sides together.
My god I can't draw
Here I adjusted the gathering threads for the last time to make sure the two pieces fit nicely together, then tied them together to secure. Pin the upper and lower leg sections together and sew. A free arm sewing machine makes this really easy, but it can be done on a regular machine too as long as you are always stitching the 'bottom' of the tube, with the 'top' above and to the left of the presser foot. You just have to keep adjusting your fabric.
This next step is totally optional, but it definitely makes the pants more comfortable around that gathered leg seam (and also stops fraying since I couldn't use a french seam here).
Top = Daniel's pants with biased seam.
Bottom = dads pants with raw edge
The bottom pants in this picture are my dads, and you can see how tight the gathers are. Its about 90 inches worth of fabric gathered up to 18 inches. When i put them on myself I was like "Ow! This is really scratchy". Dan's (top) were not so bad as he had less fullness and also a softer fabric, but still not super comfortable. So I bought some cream coloured bias binding and attached it over the raw edge. The first edge was pinned and sewn to the line of stitching that connects the two pieces of the leg (not the gathering threads). Then I stretched the lower leg fabric out and pinned the bias so that it made a slight bubble shape. Why do you ask? Because I have used this technique before and the bias has been pulled taught instead of the fabric and it looks good on the inside but doe this ugly wrinkle thing on the outside.
Using bias to enclose a seam. (why didn't I take a photo of this?!?!?!)
After that I hemmed the lower legs, and turned down the waistband and put a cheap cotton drawstring through (this will be replaced by an inkle woven one soon) and voila! Viking rus pants complete!
Pants complete!
And then I sat down for an hour after the kids were in bed and finished the other inkle woven leg wrap.
Pants with leg wraps
Close up of leg wraps
I do wish the leg wraps were longer. I think a third cross would look better, but they are the maximum length my inkle loom can handle. Just waiting on a friend to make me a bigger one :)
Hubby still thinks they are pretty spiffing. And he is rather excited to wear them this weekend. We are going up to an event in the Shire of Dismal Fogs (read - Lithgow, Blue Mountains) so I will make sure to take some more photos. Dad's pants should be finished by then too! I've also volunteered myself to teach a beginners tablet weaving class at the event so stay tuned for details on how that goes.
I'm not very good at sticking with one thing. I always seem to have a dozen different projects going at one time so I can always be in the mood to do this or that. And right now that's weaving.
I purchased a rigid heddle loom at festival a few years ago and got a very quick crash course in how to thread the reed, but not how to actually tie the warp onto the loom. It was also warped up with linen which I have since learnt is not the best fibre for a beginner to work with. And so it has sat on a shelf ever since with the vague promise of "I really should learn how to do that properly". That day is today!
(well actually it was last week, but i'm telling you about it today)
What my neglected loom looked like when I got it down
I went down to Nowra with my mum and stopped in at Glenora Weaving & Wool in Gerringong on the way and picked up some lovely yarn. I didn't really know what I was going to make but I had the vague notion of making a cushion (something small and easy) and I saw this lovely olivey coloured yarn which looked like it would match the artwork in my lounge room. So I got that and a few other skeins and a funky little hook thing to help me thread the reed (no doubt it has a name but I have no idea what it's called).
So I cut off all the weaving that was on the loom, salvaging the linen warp just in case I want to use it one day. There is a really cool way you can make a chain out of long warp threads which keeps it neat and tangle free which I saw here (it's part 5, about half way through).
Once that was done I sat down to try and work out a pattern. I wanted to use the whole width of the reed just to see how wide a piece I can weave on my loom and so I counted the holes and slots - 240 threads in total. Then I thought, you know what? I really don't want to have to count 240 holes every time I start a new piece of weaving, so I grabbed a sharpie and numbered every tenth slot. I felt pretty clever.
Slots numbered on the reed
I was so keen to get started at this point, but I had no idea what sort of pattern I wanted to make. I did a quick google search but didn't really come up with anything. So I just opened an excel spreadsheet and made the columns really narrow and selected big chunks and coloured them in the colours I had chosen. I ended up with this.
Cushion weft pattern
I still don't quite know what colour/pattern I'll do the weft it, but who cares at this point? START WEAVING!!!
I had already found a great youtube guide showing how to warp up a rigid heddle loom
It's done by Ashford which is a NZ company that actually makes looms. I feel like they should know what they're talking about. So I grabbed the first skein of yarn and off I went!
Now those of you who know what you're doing will probably read that and go "oh no, she didn't did she?" It seems a little foolish in retrospect I'll admit. I just assumed that a skein of yarn would work the same way as a ball. I even held it over my arm so it wouldn't get tangled! Yet this is the mess I ended up with (actually this is after about two hours of untangling, and just before I had enough and went to bed bitterly disappointed).
Tangles
To make matters worse, my cats found it during the night, so the next day when I continued untangling I ended up with 5 little balls of yarn and two medium balls of yarn *sigh* which I then had to wind into a ball by hand using this dummies guide.
Eventually I got it sorted and was able to finally start warping.
Half way through warping the green, using the knobs on the back of a dining room chair as a warping peg
Green warp complete
The gaps are where the grey threads are going to go. But the grey yarn is also a skein, not a ball. I'd like to think I am not foolish enough to make the same mistake twice. I posted on facebook about the *cough* incident... and a friend from the Blue Mountains (Hi Kylie!) told me that I need a 'swift' and a 'nostepinne'.
The Swift can be a lampshade (loosened, so that it spins) or a friendly pair of arms, or else google "makeshift swift" and see what you have that can stand in. A nostepinne is easier, it's really just a glorified stick. As long as it's smooth enough not to catch on the yarn. cardboard rolls from inside paper towels or similar work well, or a piece of dowel. Google/youtube for technique. Mine tend to turn out egg-shaped, it doesn't have to make a spherical ball or a cylindrical cake to work. Have fun, take your time, and don't pull on tangles
Hah! Too late about the tangles.
*Google google google*
Most makeshift swifts seem to use a lazy susan as the base. No good for me because I don't have one.
*Google google google*
Ah hah!
I must have stumbled upon the most ingenious idea here involving a wine bottle and some old wire coathangers!
A fellow blogger's ingenious makeshift swift
I was willing then and there to sacrifice a bottle of wine to the cause, but my husband reminded me that I probably want to be sober for ball winding. Slightly disappointed but acknowledging his wisdom, I found a glass water bottle in the kitchen. I also only had three wire coathangers in the whole house (all the rest are plastic or wooden) but I was getting desperate so I was determined to make it work anyway.
Makeshift yarn swift
It works pretty well. I imagine four would work much better as it would stretch the loop out tight rather than have it sagging between each hanger. I had to change the shape of mine too because it kept slipping off.***
And for a nostepinne I borrowed a utensil from my daughters wooden kitchen set
Makeshift nostepinne
I probably should have looked up a youtube video of how to wind a ball properly, but I didn't.
My first yarn ball!
I am however prodigiously proud of it! Next time I'll try and make it a bit neater though.
So then I was able to finish warping the grey sections. I bought some brown paper from officeworks to roll it on (apparently this is important to keep the tension right?), still following Kate from Ashfords instructions (see video above).
Warping complete (finally)
So now I am ready to go, except I need to wind my other two skeins of yarn into balls. And I want to do this about as much as I want to attach the silk facing on my kirtle :D
*** Afterwards, I found this picture which uses two dining chairs to hold the skein while you wind. Probably would have been easier in the end. And now I have this giant coathanger device hanging around my lounge room because I have nowhere to put it.
So when I last posted, I had almost finished the neckline of my kirtle. Well that's done now and it looks pretty awesome. I plodded away and got the facing sewn onto the lining the same way as I described here. Then I was finally able to invisible stitch the lining to the wool at the neckline. I used the same technique I would use to do a blind hem, and it was only afterwards that I though about using a ladder stitch (which I have only ever used to sew up stuffed toys). I guess it doesn't really make much difference as long as you can't see it after all.
Invisible stitch 1 - Blind Hem
Invisible stitch 2 - Ladder Stitch
I did have progress photos to post, but alas my phone updated over the weekend and decided it wanted to delete thousands of photos (including many of my kids *super upset face*) so I can only show you what it looks like now. Excuse the flash which is making it look pink on my screen.
Kirtle bodice with finished neckline
Close up of invisible stitching. Can you see it?
So I had that done by Saturday night and I was so keen to stitch up the sides so I can start on the skirt when I came to the realisation that I was going to have to do the exact same facing treatment on both sides (including the armhole), before I could sew the eyelets.
Suffice to say I REALLY wasn't looking forward to doing all that work again. I know it's got to be done but... OOH SHINY! Look over there at that linen for Dan's viking rus pants! You know he really does need pants more than I need a dress.
So I got started sewing the rus pants. And I decided I wanted to make them with french seams. I'm really not sure why since it will take twice as long. I guess I just really don't want to do that facing. I think it is also partly because I have never really mastered french seams. It's all well and good when its just a straight side seam, but I tried it once on a chemise and when I got to the underarm gussets or the gores it just became a mess. I was hoping that hand sewing rather than machine sewing might help too.
How to sew a french seam
And it did. Again no progress shots (damn you camera!!!) but here are the upper pants now with all the internal seams complete and the waistband turned down and stitched
Upper section of viking rus pants which will be gathered up and poofy
Inside view of crotch gusset
Detail view of french seams on a corner
I am so happy I finally got my head around the french seams on inserted gores/gussets. It's all about where you stitch to before you move the folded bit. If anyone wants a step by step explanation with pictures (I am sure I'm not the only one who has struggled with this) I can sit down and do it. Just let me know
So now I am doing the french seams on the lower leg section. Then all I need to do is gather up the bottom of each upper leg bit and attach it to the lower leg, and hem. Voila! Instant pants!
I have decided I'm going to inkle weave a drawstring. I found that idea somewhere else (can't recall where) and I will use the colours from this post although probably a more manly pattern like stripes :D
Things have been a bit quiet here this week. I was sick for a few days, and I had a whole heap of housework to catch up on so I didn't really get much sewing done. I'm still slowly working on the silk facing for the lining of my kirtle, which I hope to be finished by next week.
So today my dad told me he wanted to start making some pants tonight at our weekly sca meeting. I was originally going to just do a pattern for a basic pant like this to go with the tunic I made him before festival.
Basic pant pattern
But then I thought if he wants to really get into SCA we should choose a proper style for him. He originally wanted to be all Henry VIII with the big fancy coat, but when we flicked through The Tudor Tailor he realised that all the pants are tight hose from the knee down. For medical reasons that just won't work for him. So no fancy Tudor coat for dad.
Henrician man's ensemble from The Tudor Tailor
I haven't really done much looking at mens garb really, so I didn't know what style would enable loose fitting pants. My first thought was viking. I was sure I'd seem pictures of really poofy viking pants. So I looked up men's viking garb on pinterest and came up with these.
Rus trader ensemble
Viking pants
He seemed to like the 'rus trader' type style so we decided to go with that. (If you're like me and thinking what the hell is a rus trader? then have a look here. The viking answer lady seems pretty reliable)
So I did a google search for viking rus pants pattern and came up with this pretty awesome handout. I used the poofy pants diagram to make a pattern but adjusted it so the poofy part went right down to his mid calf.
My pattern for dad's pants. He's a big guy so no my measurements aren't obscene
I suspect I will need to add some sort of gusset in the crotch. This person just used a diamond shape cut on the bias which seems to make sense so I will probably do that.
Crotch gusset cut on the bias
So now my dad is on his way to spotlight to but some cotton drill to make his pants out of. I find it ironic that he wants to learn how to make his own garb when he won't even hem his own pants. We'll see how he goes.
And since I went to the effort of working out the pattern, I'm going to make some for my husband too. A few years ago I made him a blue linen tunic that really needs some pants to go with it, so I dug this nice linen out for him. I think it'll look nice.
Dan's blue tunic over the linen for his pants
And I'll make some wider inkle woven leg wraps so he can do this
