Hand sewing question

[stellar_muddle]

For 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.

Comments

[auntyyolly.livejournal.com]

7.i. Learn to sew with a well-fitted thimble on the middle finger of your sewing hand. You want the type with grooves that have regular cross-bars on them, and can usually find them at good sewing or quilters shops. They have a grid of open-topped squares in the top, or you can buy them without tops if you get too sweaty. I have not punctured a fingerpad since I went to thimbles. For those whose fingers are too big (and there is really a giant range of sizes available, you just need to ring round till you find somewhere that stocks them), there are stick-on pads that can be used instead: Thimble-It is the brand name, by Colonial, an American brand.

ii. Good light. J bought me a daylight light with special tube and a magnifying lens and it's a wonder. No more squinting at night!

iii. For long straight seams that you will be sewing in front of the telly or while chatting to people, mark the seam in a washable pencil or chalk (or paint finely with watercolour). You will be distracted and realise you've been heading off true for the last six inches at some point. Not such a problem with curvy bits, I find.

iv. Quilters' needles are great for things that a short needle will help with, such as stab stitching and some hem stitches and herringbone. Anywhere that you don't want to be loading multiple stitches onto the needle at once, short needles will save you time and a nuber 10 or 12 quilter is fine but strong, and doesn't develop the big bends that I make in longer needles over the course of a garment.

v. Needle sharpeners will prolong the life of your favourite needle, keeping the point sharp and the shank free of rust. Make your own with fine riversand or graphite stitched into a pincushion, or buy one of the Clover ones that are small enough to tie to your sewing bag with a cord. Very fine grit wet-and-dry from the hardware works too, but is far less elegant.

vi. When working on a garment that is fitted exactly and the pattern is perfectly right, either mark the pattern precisely on the inside of each piece of fabric with washable pencil so that there is no risk of seam allowance shifting, or thread-trace the pattern onto each piece.

vii. For seams or anywhere else under weight or tension, wax threads. For all fine work, use a good handcream about 15 min before sewing so that your skin doesn't snag the thread. Cut a patch of white linen or vellum or some such to cover the work under where you're placing your hand if using fine fabrics or embroidering in the one spot.

8. I keep a general sewing book such as the Readers Digest one around for whenever I have mental blanks. If you have never taken a taxi to the head, this may not be such an issue for you, but every now and then I completely forget which direction I should be sewing or how buttonhole goes or something really obvious like that. Looking it up is fast and avoids the shame of mentioning it to others.

In terms of period books that have educated/inspired me with actual sewing rather than design: Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620, Woven into the Earth, Museum of London's Textiles and Clothing, Textile Conservation (from the Abegg, unbelievably good), Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlocked, Moda a Firenze (recently), Historical Fashion in Detail (a bit out of period, but great). In addition, I've pored over every photo and pamphlet ever obtained from the V&A and the Bath costume museum, and other museums and galleries with extant pieces. I've found looking at post-Elizabethan pieces in closer museums such as the Powerhouse etc to be helpful, too, as it gives ideas of what stitching should look like. Alas, I was not into this at all while actually living in the UK.