Shocking the employees at Jo-Ann's
 

I went into Jo-Ann's tonight to get some interfacing. I'm not sure how the
woman got the idea that I was "repairing" my own shirts. When I said
"Repair? I make them from scratch."

And then there's Betzina's books that never deal with men's clothing.

Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far, and
then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)

Dwight

On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 03:29:45 +0000, duh who wrote:
And then there's Betzina's books that never deal with men's clothing.
Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far, and
then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)

Dwight,

LOL! I know how you feel - perhaps more so (as tailoring is mostly
considered a mans job) as I am a female engineer - I have had this
attitude in the past at work.

You'd like the sewing machine dealers I found last week - run by a bloke
with 2 lady assistants. And he demonstrated one of the machines for me!

Sarah

duh who wrote:

I went into Jo-Ann's tonight to get some interfacing. I'm not sure how the
woman got the idea that I was "repairing" my own shirts. When I said
"Repair? I make them from scratch."

And then there's Betzina's books that never deal with men's clothing.

Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far, and
then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)

Dwight

My FIL used to make all his own trousers, and he made the suit my MIL
wore for her wedding to him, and the one she wore to my wedding. As a
man of large size (6'3") and impressive girth (18 stone, or slightly
over 250 lbs), I don't think anyone dared give him funny looks in sewing
shops, even in the NE of England, where male and females roles were VERY
clearly defined!

A combination of the Coffin shirt making book, and the metric pattern
cutting for men book will give you the skills you need to draft patterns
for yourself, and the internet will solve the funny looks - it's very
hard to SEE the funny look they give your on-line order, so it won't
bother you!

Even as a woman you get funny look syndrome when sewing... I
occasionally hear the funny look my order is getting when I place some
fabric orders over the phone, but in other places weird is normal.
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Shocking the employees at Jo-Ann's

(duh=A0who)
I went into Jo-Ann's tonight to get some interfacing. I'm not sure how
the woman got the idea that I was "repairing" my own shirts. When I said
"Repair? I make them from scratch."
And then there's Betzina's books that never deal with men's clothing.
Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far,
and then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)
Dwight
---
LOLAL!
You're right, Dwight,
Just the other night,
I was at Hancock's
Having picked the locks
And fled the silence of home;
--
You see, instead of drinking,
I like to do my thinking
Bellied up to the bar of the pattern books;
A male voice intrudes; breaks my
Concentration, draws the Looks.
--
Not that I mind;
I wouldn't be unkind:
No, it's not for me to say
Who can go, and who can stay,
Anyone who sews is welcome
In this place.
Cea
will post some 'book/pattern making recommendations for men' at
some near date

A combination of the Coffin shirt making book, and the metric pattern
cutting for men book will give you the skills you need to draft patterns
for yourself,

Actually, the pattern I'm using for my shirts has been adapted by me. It
started out as a dress shirt pattern, but I've morphed it. Besides
lengthening the arms and torso, increasing the neck size, and narrowing the
waist to get the fit I can't get from store-bought shirts, I dropped the
shoulders, and dropped the yoke. Haven't made it to drafting my own from
scratch yet, though I have the right paper to use if I do.

and the internet will solve the funny looks - it's very
hard to SEE the funny look they give your on-line order, so it won't
bother you!

It doesn't bother me. I LIKE upsetting the apple-cart. I just wish I could
find better men's shirting material. There's Britex in San Francisco, but
they are kinda pricey, and I can't always find what I want. I like thick,
softer materials for my shirts. And not prints. If its a plaid, it needs
to be a woven plaid. Most of the flannels I find are shredded too easily.
And I can't really find tough chamois to use. Jo-Anns has some sometimes,
but I think its just flannel again.

And why is Tencel so damned hard to find off the shelf? I don't want to buy
it, or most fabrics, on-line because I need to feel how it feels. Not all
Tencel is as comfortable as I want for shirts. I've got two more shirts
worth of Tencel, and then I'll have to find some more.

Dwight

Stereotypes go both ways, and for those of you who march to a different
drummer than the norm, it is difficult but rewarding! Particularly as
you are enlightening those who wear "blinders" to what either sex
should or should not do, wear, behave, etc. You have accepted the
challenge with dignity and grace. Sew On!!

Do you think I could get her to mount a full-blown hemi on my Janome, for
when I do denim? ;-)

Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far, and
then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)

Hey, Dwight, just remember that it's just one individual who is prejudiced, not
every single person. And you can change their attitudes, one person at a time.

None of us are prejudiced against you; we know you're not the only man who
sews. There are quite a number of guys who post on these newsgroups, and we
thoroughly enjoy hearing from all of you!

In my experience with interviewing sewing enthusiasts all over the US, Canada,
and the UK, I've found that somewhere between 5 and 10% of sewing people are
male.
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

wrote in message
...

Shocking the employees at Jo-Ann's

(duh who)
I went into Jo-Ann's tonight to get some interfacing. I'm not sure how
the woman got the idea that I was "repairing" my own shirts. When I said
"Repair? I make them from scratch."
And then there's Betzina's books that never deal with men's clothing.
Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far,
and then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)
Dwight
---
LOLAL!

Yay, someone like my joke.

"IMS" wrote in message
...
My daughter faces the same prejudice, only the opposite type - she is a
computer network geek and a race car driver. The last time she went in
to the automotive shop with her dad to get brake pads and oil filters,
she asked the questions but they addressed the answers to her dad! This
annoys her no end.

Stereotypes go both ways, and for those of you who march to a different
drummer than the norm, it is difficult but rewarding! Particularly as
you are enlightening those who wear "blinders" to what either sex
should or should not do, wear, behave, etc. You have accepted the
challenge with dignity and grace. Sew On!!



I worked as a truck driver in heavy construction for over 20 years. One of
the last trucks I drove had a wheel hub higher than the top of my head, I'm
5'2". I've heard every line from "You sure don't LOOK like a truck driver"
to "I didn't think women like YOU had children". When you march to a
different drummer you just have to.........keep on marching LOL

Val

"duh who" wrote in message ...

Hm. From your title I though you might have been asking for help with
your underwear while you were wearing it--that might be called
"shocking". My experience of shopping and working in fabric stores
leads me to believe that if you give it enough time, every form of
craziness will walk through that door...The one that really freaked me
was the story about people in Chinatown stuffing store cats (mouse
patrols) into their shopping bags to take home.

So feel free to teach that employee a lesson, sort of along the lines
of asking for help to buy tencel "for underwear". You never know--I
went into a store for pants elastic, and came home with yards of
shocking pink with "Victoria's Secret" woven into every inch, 5 yards
for a dollar...

Oh, and about buying tencel--I have had consistent luck ONLY at most
locations of Fabricland/Fabricville chain in Canada. Decent quality,
sometimes on sale, and good colours. Maybe you need to think about a
trip...

Irene




I went into Jo-Ann's tonight to get some interfacing. I'm not sure how the
woman got the idea that I was "repairing" my own shirts. When I said
"Repair? I make them from scratch."

And then there's Betzina's books that never deal with men's clothing.

Its such a hard life living with this prejudice. You just get so far, and
then you hit that muslin ceiling. ;-)

Dwight