OT word of the day

Rather sew than cook any day! Even mending.
Roberta in D

On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 13:25:10 -0700, "Butterflywings"
wrote:

Oh dear, I'm not hungry, but I sure expected you to say and I make them into
omelets.

Butterfly (Thanks for the LOL)
"Roberta" Roberta@Home wrote in message
.. .
I have 2 eggs and one mushroom, and I actually use them to darn socks!
Roberta in D

On Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:15:26 GMT, (NightMist)
wrote:


Since it got some mention, and I know that some people don't know what
it is...

Darning Egg

An egg, ball, or similarly shaped tool used to keep the tension and
weave or knit of already worked fabric even while further working on
it.

By its name it is obvious that it is commonly used for darning.
It is also used to keep the knitting stitches even when finishing
certain knitting projects, like the toes of socks or the ends of
mittens. It is useful when embellishing finished or premade portions
of clothing items. For example, when adding embroidery to the little
puffed sleeves so frequently found on infantwear it is invaluable.

Darning eggs can be found, both modern and antique, made of a wide
range of materials. They may or may not have handles. While the
stone or porcelain ones can be very pretty, the wooden ones are
generally easiest to use. The wooden ones are not so heavy, and have
enough texture to not be slippery against the fabric.
Alternatives to the egg are the darning mushroom, which always has a
handle in imitation of the stalk, and any number of smooth gourds.

One occasionally finds the false eggs placed under hens to try and
encourage them to sit sold as darning eggs. These eggs come in a
variety of sizes according to the breed of chicken they are intended
for, all of which are usually smaller than the average darning egg.
The materials are often much the same, though sometimes colored to try
and imitate real eggs. The size differences can make them useful for
working on children's and baby clothes.

In a pinch almost any smooth, hard object of suitable size and shape
will do the job.

Sewing Cushion
Sewing Bird

Women have been pinning or clipping the work to their knee so as to
hold a fair bit of the seam straight to be worked on for centuries.
This practice was especially common when sewing large items like
skirts or sheets.
At some point in the eighteenth century the practice became looked
down upon as "common". However it was so practical that many women
just didn't care. At some point prior to that the idea of using a
fancy cushion with a fairly heavy weight in the bottom that could be
set on the edge of a table, and have the work pinned to it instead of
to the seamstress knee came about. As books gradually became more
important, and books and periodicals on housekeeping and sewing became
more common, admonishments from authors against the practice of
pinning work to your knee were not infrequently seen. It would
variously mark you as a low sort of woman, or destroy your health,
depending on the author. Instructions for the construction of sewing
cushions began to be published. Some number of cushions were
marketed, many of which included things like pockets to put things in,
fringes of beadwork around the bottom, carved platforms upon which the
cushion sat, and sometimes a clamp arrangement that would allow the
cushion to be clamped to the table rather than having to depend upon
it being weighted. The idea of a clamp arrangement instead of a
cushion appealed to some inventors, and a number of completely
unsatisfactory clamping arrangements were marketed. None of them
allowed the work to be repositioned quickly. Then somebody
remembered the sewing bird.
There are records of sewing birds as far back as the 17th century, but
the were expensive and didn't really come into fashion until the late
Georgian period. They allowed the fabric to be repostioned in the
clamp with reasonable ease and speed. However they were still
expensive, so cushions ruled. To this day sewing birds tend to be
pricy enough that they are more regarded as a novelty than a tool,
though in the mid to late 19th century they were moderately common.
The sort of thing a professional seamstress or well to do housewife
might own.
Of course once sewing cushions and birds began to be _sold_ the whole
topic took on a new slant. Not only would pinning the work to your
knee destroy your health and mark you as an outcast in society, but
_not_ pinning the work to your knee would as well. The work had to be
pinned to a cushion or held by a bird. Charles Atlas probably read his
mother's old sewing periodicals, for some of the ads for birds or
cushions were accompanied by engravings of the bright and chipper
woman with good posture sewing with a cushion or a bird, accompanied
by a picture of the slattern with the work pinned to her knee, or the
poor broken backed frail woman hunched over her unpinned work.

An explanation of how a bird works, with a note on the first one
patented in America at:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collec...y=35&objkey=74
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

While I do not own a sewing bird, I have employed my SM in similar fashion.
It can work as a 'third hand' when I need to unstitch a seam. I just place
the offending bit of fabric under the pressure foot, and hold the cloth taut
while I wield my seam ripper. I bet most of you have done the same.
Barbara, I don't always have time to read all the posts, but when I come
across one of your 'wotd' posts, I always learn something new! Thanks.

PAT in VA/USA

"NightMist" wrote in message
...
Sewing Cushion
Sewing Bird

Women have been pinning or clipping the work to their knee so as to
hold a fair bit of the seam straight to be worked on for centuries.
This practice was especially common when sewing large items like
skirts or sheets.
.. At some point prior to that the idea of using a
fancy cushion with a fairly heavy weight in the bottom that could be
set on the edge of a table, and have the work pinned to it instead of
to the seamstress knee came about. ..........cut....The idea of a clamp
arrangement instead of a
cushion appealed to some inventors, and a number of completely
unsatisfactory clamping arrangements were marketed. None of them
allowed the work to be repositioned quickly. Then somebody
remembered the sewing bird.
There are records of sewing birds as far back as the 17th century, but
the were expensive and didn't really come into fashion until the late
Georgian period. They allowed the fabric to be repostioned in the
clamp with reasonable ease and speed. .....cut...... An explanation of
how a bird works, with a note on the first one
patented in America at:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collec...y=35&objkey=74

Batiste

A fine plain weave fabric.

After that much the sources begin to disagree.

It is apparently made of everything, used for any fine clothing and
originally was created in at least four different countries. It is a
finer version of muslin, cambric, lawn, dimity, and voile. It was
invented by a man named Baptiste, it was invented at a convent, it was
commissioned to be made by a mistress of the king of France, and it
was invented by English weavers to give the local lacemakers a leg up
on the Belgians and the French.
With this kind of history it is obvious that a good many people think
highly of the stuff. It is also obvious that it's history is so
muddled as to be nearly impossible to disentangle. And it is
difficult to know what anyone means when they use the name, unless you
have already come to agreement on a definition.

When I say it, I mean a fine gauzey fabric made of cotton or a
cotton-linen blend, that is suitable for a narrow scope of clothing.
Mostly costumes, lingerie, special occasion infant's or children's
clothes, and parts of blouses or dresses. It is usually too fine to
be able to stand on its own unless it is layered or lined. That does
make it useful for some embroidered laces, certain religious garb, and
assorted work of that nature.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

My most typical use of batiste is for a soft underlining in a garment
that I want to have just a bit of extra body. For example, I used it in
the tops of the satin dresses I sewed for DD's wedding; they were also
lined with a light-weight poly lining.

Julia in MN

NightMist wrote:
Batiste

A fine plain weave fabric.

After that much the sources begin to disagree.

It is apparently made of everything, used for any fine clothing and
originally was created in at least four different countries. It is a
finer version of muslin, cambric, lawn, dimity, and voile. It was
invented by a man named Baptiste, it was invented at a convent, it was
commissioned to be made by a mistress of the king of France, and it
was invented by English weavers to give the local lacemakers a leg up
on the Belgians and the French.
With this kind of history it is obvious that a good many people think
highly of the stuff. It is also obvious that it's history is so
muddled as to be nearly impossible to disentangle. And it is
difficult to know what anyone means when they use the name, unless you
have already come to agreement on a definition.

When I say it, I mean a fine gauzey fabric made of cotton or a
cotton-linen blend, that is suitable for a narrow scope of clothing.
Mostly costumes, lingerie, special occasion infant's or children's
clothes, and parts of blouses or dresses. It is usually too fine to
be able to stand on its own unless it is layered or lined. That does
make it useful for some embroidered laces, certain religious garb, and
assorted work of that nature.


--
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button gimp
buttonhole gimp

Button gimp is just a thin heavy cord used to reinforce buttonholes.
It can be used in either overstitched or welt style buttonholes. It
adds a bit of stiffness to them, and can help prevent them tearing
out. It is simply basted down to where the edges of the button hole
will be, and then stitched over for overstitched holes. For welted
holes it is more permanently stitched down after the welting fabric is
basted or pinned in place. Then the welting fabric is just turned
over the gimp and stitched next to it after the hole is cut and the
welting pulled through.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Welt

In addition to being a bit of soft leather used to reinforce the sole
of a piece of footwear, it is the bit of fabric that is used to make
bound buttonholes or pockets.

instructions for welted pockets are he

http://www.savvyseams.com/techniques/pipedpocket.php

This is one of the simplest instructionals I have found for it, and it
varies from the way I do it only in that I tend to turn the whole welt
to the backside at once, then sort it out and press it. Buttonholes
are made pretty much the same way but on a smaller scale, and of
course without the pockets and turning the raw edge under before the
final stitching..
Cording can easily be added to the edges by basting or gluing it to
the welt next to the stitch line, and then proceeding as normal. A
bit of cording helps make it nice and even and serves as a guide for
stitching when finishing the welt.

--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Darning

I see that I have previously done darning eggs, but neglected darning
itself!

Darning is a mending process whereby a hole in the fabric is flled by
reweaving the fabric with new thread.
For most utilitarian purposes darning is done with a simple plain
weave. Though in knit fabrics often the knit is reproduced either by
matching the knit stitches in horizontal rows with a needle and thread
after placeing vertical strands of thread, or with a crochet hook or
knitting needles if it is a bulky knit. This reknitting helps maintain
the stretch inherent in knit fabrics, and avoids "runners"from the
damaged area.
If the original yarn or thread can be matched, it is possible to
repair a garment through darning so that the rent or hole is nearly
undetectable. However as with any other mending any weakened threads
or fabric must be cut away prior to starting, or new damage will occur
where the strong new thread meets the old weakened fabric.

--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Saxony

A high quality soft heavy napped woolen fabric, usually made into
coats.
Also may refer to a soft fine woolen tweed used as an informal suiting
fabric.

--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Microfiber

Superfine synthetic fibers used to produce soft lightweight farics.
Some manufacturers are defining microfibers as being less than 1
denier in weight, but the stuff is too new on the market to have a
firm definition as yet.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.