{"id":11427,"date":"2024-12-14T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T06:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=11427"},"modified":"2025-01-03T16:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T15:07:34","slug":"sewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/sewing\/","title":{"rendered":"Sewing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was in my twenties I used to sew a lot of my clothes, mainly fitted dresses and jackets. When I now return to sewing in my fifties after a long hiatus I realize I\u2019m a different sewist than I used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mother used to sew clothes for me when I grew up. I remember asking her for a certain design for the last day of school every year and she managed to realize my ideas. I learned a lot from both her and from craft lessons in school and was quite independent when I got my own sewing machine in my early twenties. She is still going strong \u2013 a Husqvarna 2000 from the 1960s, weighing roughly 17 kilos [37 pounds].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Josefin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Josefin<\/figure>\n
I sewed the dress and jacket for a wedding a week after our own wedding in 1998. The green dress was for the graduation party after I had finished four years of interpreter training, in 1999. I think I created the pattern for this myself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cranky and hangry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My problem with sewing, though, was that I couldn\u2019t stop. I continued way past my limit of energy and got crankier and crankier. Many times my husband gently took my hand and brought me to the kitchen to eat before I continued and hurt myself or ruin my work. I never got angry with people (at least not to their faces), but I could nearly tear fabric apart when it didn\u2019t do what I wanted it to. Most of the times while hangry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wedding dress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The last larger project I sew was a wedding dress for my best friend Elli. Just a couple of years earlier she had given me a folder with a correspondence course in pattern construction that she in turn had got from her fianc\u00e9\u2019s mother. After I had gone through the course I was fairly confident I could make a pattern and fit it to her body. The only thing I couldn\u2019t do was to adjust it for a pregnancy, and so I told her I wouldn\u2019t take any responsibility for the dress if she were to get pregnant with her second child before the wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
I added something blue to the underskirt for my friend Elli\u2019s wedding dress and lots of fabric buttons and button loops.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Six weeks before the wedding she came to my house to pick up the dress. We hugged, and she whispered into my ear: \u201dI\u2019m pregnant\u201d, and I replied in hers: \u201dSo am I\u201d. I had done the test that same morning and was over the moon. The wedding took place and the dress did fit the bride. I sew a few baby clothes with epic failure after that, and decided to stop sewing \u2013 I had no dedicated sewing room and I didn\u2019t want to risk dropping pins on the floor with a baby crawling around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back behind the Husqvarna<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was 22 years ago and recently I have found my way back to sewing. This summer I sew a linen pinafore dress and two pairs of trousers from Chinese vintage handwoven fabrics<\/a>. I made myself a sewing studio in the shade on the balcony and enjoyed it more than I thought I would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Josefin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Josefin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Josefin<\/figure>\n
A linen pinafore dress with pounded garden flowers and two pairs of trousers in vintage Chinese cotton fabrics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I loved both the trouser models and the vintage fabrics and bought myself enough fabric for another two pairs. These projects are waiting for spring. During the fall I have started sewing a pair of trousers and a skirt in a wool\/linen blend. This week I finished the trousers, and I love them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wool\/linen twill trousers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The wool\/linen is a herringbone twill with lots of lustre. I bought it from the Berta\u2019s flax guild<\/a>. It comes from an Austrian mill and is made from local fibers. The fabric is very soft and the drape marvelous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Copse-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Close-up<\/figure>\n
I created the pattern from a Japanese book of modular patterns. Some basting and some thorough pressing of seams are details can do wonders for the result. Notice the rose fabric in the pockets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just to make sure I overcomplicated things, I used a pattern books of module based patterns<\/a>. In Japanese. The Google Translate app was my friend and through the very clear illustrations I could figure out what to do when and where.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My new pants, sewed with a wool\/linen tweed from a Japanese modular pattern book. The shawl pattern comes from Sylvia McFadden<\/a> and you can read about my version here<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This week I finished the trousers and they have that loose fit I love. The distance between the top of the zipper and the waist button is a bit long, so I added a hook and eye to avoid flashing my belly. Other than that everything went very smooth and I\u2019m still shocked to be honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wise and uncranked<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I sew, pinned, basted and lined, I kept wondering when things would start going wrong, when the tension and frustration would flatten me like a rolling pin. But they never did. I had one minor ripping incident, but that was it. I saw it, realized what had happened and dealt with it. I realized that the memories I have of sewing come from 20+ years ago. I am a different person now, with a calmness and with an inner wise woman who tells me to listen to my heart and learn from my mistakes. I am grateful sewing came back to me, especially at a time when I know where to find high quality vintage fabrics in natural materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still have a couple of meters left of the wool\/linen fabrics, plus four meters of antique linen fabric, also from Berta\u2019s guild. And an indigo fermentation vat underneath my desk. I wonder if they marry well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy sewing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can find me in several social media:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n