Been busy this week.  We weren’t really thinking through the logistics of Asher and Alannah going along to AZ with Allen.  That left just Aidan and Moira and the baby most of the time, which would be fine in the suburbs.  It meant some creative arrangements for barn chores though since the baby had to be watched and none of us can lift a full 5gal water bucket at the moment. I have decided that there was no need to schedule separate aerobics classes in agrarian societies however!  Whew! What a challenge! 

Anyway, got several notes about the redwork this week and wanted to get you thinking about the possibilities. As usual I would not recommend buying much.  And don’t limit yourself to the traditional stitchery patterns.  Any outline illustrations can conceivably be used. For you children’s illustration lovers consider these resources:

Tomie de Paola coloring pages

mary engelbreit coloring (the simple drawings work best)

patricia polacco

Beatrix Potter

How much nicer to fill a child’s room with these images than with cartoons and marketing images. Many coloring books will yield good patterns for stitching as well.  Look around your home.  I bet you have more options than you think!

I recieved a note today commenting on the redwork. I am sending along a few more links in case you would like to learn more. The dye used originally came from Turkey.  If you are an antique buff you might recall the term "turkey work" to refer to the embroidered pillow shams with catchy slogans such as "I slept and dreamt that life was beauty." and then on the next, "I woke to find that life was duty." Growing up with a lover of old things I saw lots of those shams and tea towels in magazines displayed on old iron beds with patchwork quilts. My twin bed sported a blue redwork (yes they really call it that ; )) sham with a cherub all the years I lived at home.

The pieces are worked much like cross stitch. You use an embroidery needle, plain 100% cotton, and a two strand floss for regular work and 1strand for details. The basic stitches are backstitch, stemstitch, and french knots. The first link shows how to do them all. We transferred our first pattern today and Moira (9) is moving through it with ease. This is a keeper craft! : )

Redwork Primer

history of redwork

redwork boys and girls

colonial redwork downloads

freebies

Free Patterns

Homeliving Helper  has an excellent entry today about schedules, their usefulness, and their limits. Don’t visit without a clear schedule yourself because you may find yourself staying awhile longer checking out the other excellent articles.

I must tell you right off that I am not a skilled seamstress. “Jimmy-rig” is my middle name however (or is that “cheapskate”?) and I take a certain delight in the whole “repurposing” process. We have had ample opportunity of late to practice our repurposing skills on our wardrobes. We wear lots of skirts and they are just getting harder and harder to find at a decent price, especially in our daughters’ sizes. Dear friend Jen remarked the other day, after a trip to a large chain store, that the outfits they had in those sizes were more of a spoof on the schoolgirl image than supportive of it. Maternity clothes seem to have that same edginess to them these days. So what is a girl to do? For us, it means the same thing it means with our school materials, find uncommon uses for common materials.

(disclaimer: My sewing skills are pretty much limited to straight and zigzag stitch, casings, and hems. You will not likely find more complicated instructions on this site any time soon! So put your mind at ease before we begin!)

The first project was actually the most complex. We attempted to convert a pair of jeans into an A-line skirt. You can find directions here and here. They basically go as follows: First you rip the inseams of the legs. You literally take the seams out as opposed to cutting into the fabric. This is important. It is also rather tedious. I had flashbacks to the old Sears and Roebuck tv ads with the robot challenging the knees and rumps of the jeans…….   Don’t date myself, I know!  Anyway you tear those bad boys out and continue seam ripping until you are about 8in below the waist band, or an inch or so below the zipper, (my pics show maternity panel) front and back. Next you overlap the inseams and move the panels that were previously pant legs together until you have the angle desired for the finished skirt.

    Take note, here is a HANDY HINT: if this is the first time you have tried on said jeans in a good while you may experience no small amount of distress at this point upon discovering that the width of your new skirt no longer matches the width of your old body.  Don’t ask me how I know this.  

  Assuming you were more forward thinking, and the new angle both fits and pleases you – versus, say, compelling you to drown your disappointment in something chocolate- then go ahead and pin those panels in place. You pin coordinating fabric – either from a second pair of jeans or from a remnant of another fabric, as shown in the other links, into the triangular space between the leg panels.  Sew along the seams with the old seams turned under. Hem the bottom. That is all there is to it! If you have not tried on your jeans prior to that aforementioned pinning point you may find yourself unable to produce end photos for this project. Don’t ask me how I know that either.  Just follow the links if you would!

   A far simpler project has been altering existing skirts and this we have been wildly successful in doing. As my disclaimer stated my sewing skills are rudimentary. Fitted waistlines and zippers tax my both my attention span and my abilities. There are usually expletives involved.  I have tended to avoid both as a result. There are times however when elastic waists are just less than desirable. Apparently when you are entering 7^th grade is such a time. This is a challenge however when the available skirts are just a smidge longer than a hankie. We solved that problem by taking attractive A-line fitted women’s skirts and taking them in on the sides. Simply have your model try on the piece, pin the waistline to a comfortable spot and sew a new side seam, taking care to follow exactly the contour already in place. If you have a side zipper then you need to either take it in along the back seam or reassess. We have stuck with traditional zipper-in-back skirts for this one.

   This works just as well for a pregnant mom. I have found some lovely material in thrift store skirts that would normally be too large for me. It is often cheaper to find a gorgeous extra large skirt and take it in, than to buy fabric outright. It is also easier if much of the work is done for you. So don’t limit yourself to your own size when shopping.  If it is too large for you, take it in.  If it is too narrow, can you fit it to a daughter?

  Another very simple project involving repurposed jeans is this pink skirt we actually bought new at that large chain store. To make this at home you would carefully cut off the legs of the jeans below the zipper and back pockets. (try to leave the pockets inside intact) Then add a rectangle of gauzy fabric for a skirt. If you snagged a cheap skirt in an off size at the thrift store this would be perfect to make the flouncy part. Just remove the elastic waistband and however many inches necessary to give you the correct length and sew the rest to the bottom of the jean portion.

   The next skirt was a tiered women’s skirt.  The waist fit both of us – at one time anyway – but I looked alarmingly like a birthday cake inside of it. Alannah looked darling, however it was far too long. We cut the bottom tiers off with a pinking shears.  No hemming necessary because the next tiers up covered the cuts. 

   Take a good look at hand-me-down clothing as well. We’ve received some rather dated, gathered, and front pleated skirts. There were some good quality corduroy and denim pieces in the bag. While we would not likely find the finished skirts very flattering, all those gathers made for yards of usable rectangular fabric for new projects. We are currently removing the waistbands and starting our new project – gored and maternity skirts.  I hope to upload the directions and pictures as we finish. By the looks of my midsection we have not a moment to spare!