Hand sewing question
Jun. 23rd, 2007 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stellar_muddleFor those of you who hand sew (there are probably a couple of you reading...), a few questions.*
1. Are you left or right handed and/or don't care?
2. Running stitch - left to right or right to left?
3. Favourite stitch?
3A. Most often used stitches?
4. Favourite seam finishes?
5. Comfortable/average stitch length**?
6. Decorative stitches?
7. Secrets you are willing to pass on/tips you wish someone had told you years ago?
8. Favourite references/recommended reading? and/or horror tales..
9. Prefered thread/needle/fabric combinations?
10. Is it something done for pleasure? Do you find it relaxing or is it a chore to be gotten past as fast as possible?
* Getting my A into G and teaching a class on hand sewing at the local Collegium in August. Be good to know what are things I have just picked up and what is common practice, shortcuts etc. I may also road test references/ideas here or in later posts.
** Let's assume a nice medium weight linen. Of course it is going to vary depending on the fabric used. Ditto on your answer to question 4. Want to track down a bunch of references to get an idea for stitch lengths in different times and places, but will be limited by what is extant and what it is made of, since that will really affect things - the joys of small number statistics in certain areas.
1. Right handed.
2. Right to left. Needle generally goes right to left.
3. Whip stitch on hems where only picking up a thread of the fabric on the outside. Just from an invisibility perspective.
3A. Back stitch. Tend to do most seams that way, though if the fabric is light, I will mainly running stitch with the occasional back stitch to anchor.
4. Currently run and fell, with the finishing stitch basically hemming/whip stitched so it is as invisible on the outside as possible.
5. 2 1/2 to 3 mm, though it varies.
6. Mammen cushion herringbone. The threads going across the join seem to hold things together better than standard herringbone.
7. Good lighting!
8. Sewing Stitches Used in Medieval Clothing (more a catalogue)
Archaeological Sewing by Heather Rose Jones.
Museum of London "Textiles and Clothing"
Woven into the Earth
Patterns of Fashion 1
9. Wool/wool, linen/linen, silk/silk, though I have used silk for sewing wool as the colours matched and it was what I had. Cotton if the others aren't available. Polycotton last resort.
10. Fun and relaxes me - you don't want to see me when pissed off at a sewing machine and they don't travel on buses well.
1. Are you left or right handed and/or don't care?
2. Running stitch - left to right or right to left?
3. Favourite stitch?
3A. Most often used stitches?
4. Favourite seam finishes?
5. Comfortable/average stitch length**?
6. Decorative stitches?
7. Secrets you are willing to pass on/tips you wish someone had told you years ago?
8. Favourite references/recommended reading? and/or horror tales..
9. Prefered thread/needle/fabric combinations?
10. Is it something done for pleasure? Do you find it relaxing or is it a chore to be gotten past as fast as possible?
* Getting my A into G and teaching a class on hand sewing at the local Collegium in August. Be good to know what are things I have just picked up and what is common practice, shortcuts etc. I may also road test references/ideas here or in later posts.
** Let's assume a nice medium weight linen. Of course it is going to vary depending on the fabric used. Ditto on your answer to question 4. Want to track down a bunch of references to get an idea for stitch lengths in different times and places, but will be limited by what is extant and what it is made of, since that will really affect things - the joys of small number statistics in certain areas.
1. Right handed.
2. Right to left. Needle generally goes right to left.
3. Whip stitch on hems where only picking up a thread of the fabric on the outside. Just from an invisibility perspective.
3A. Back stitch. Tend to do most seams that way, though if the fabric is light, I will mainly running stitch with the occasional back stitch to anchor.
4. Currently run and fell, with the finishing stitch basically hemming/whip stitched so it is as invisible on the outside as possible.
5. 2 1/2 to 3 mm, though it varies.
6. Mammen cushion herringbone. The threads going across the join seem to hold things together better than standard herringbone.
7. Good lighting!
8. Sewing Stitches Used in Medieval Clothing (more a catalogue)
Archaeological Sewing by Heather Rose Jones.
Museum of London "Textiles and Clothing"
Woven into the Earth
Patterns of Fashion 1
9. Wool/wool, linen/linen, silk/silk, though I have used silk for sewing wool as the colours matched and it was what I had. Cotton if the others aren't available. Polycotton last resort.
10. Fun and relaxes me - you don't want to see me when pissed off at a sewing machine and they don't travel on buses well.
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no subject
Date: 2007-06-23 02:35 pm (UTC)1. Right handed, though can fudge it with the left if needed due to multiple broken right arm/hand incidents
2. Right to left, unless in an awkward spot on something like a hat where I'll do it 'backwards'. Much slower backwards.
3. Oh dear, that's hard. I like stab stitch a lot, but I wouldn't say it was my fave. I use back stitch a lot, but same. I think maybe rolled hem stitch might be? Or herringbone, but I hardly ever get to use that. And the hem stitch where you take a tiny bit of the outer fabric then pass the needle through the fold of the hem is a big fave, too.
3A. Back stitch and stab stitch. Seams are my bane.
4. I love felling seams, just love it. I'll flat fell, open fell, whatever works best. If I can't fell, I'll usually whip or sometimes bind. Or use a felted wool. The other thing I really like is painting them with melted beeswax, but that's not so much in the sewing side of things ...
5. 1-3mm depending on the fabric and stitch. Saw some of my early stuff recently with 5mm stitches and was simply aghast, then remembered how proud I'd been at the time to keep them even. Then remembered more that it was quite a sensibly period stitch length for what I was doing at the time and accepted that I am now a wanker.
6. Yes please! I like a nice simple topstitch when you're pressed for time, or using stab stitches for felling in a contrasting or complementary thread colour and letting just a regular dot show. Herringbone is my current great love, but a good smocking stitch is a beautiful thing, too. Any further and we're into the dark art of embroidery, which I'm currently embracing. There I think couching might be my favourite thing of all, either side.