April 2013 Shows: Coming to a neighborhood near you!

Polka dot crop jacket, comes in two versions

Harobed Designs, my company, is currently booked to do three shows this April!

Rather than create a separate blog post for each, I've decided to post once and put all the details in a single post, for everyone's reference.


Here are the dates and cities; full location details are at the end of the post, below the photos.






Sunday, April 14 - Thornhill, ON

Shawl in abstract design, from silk pieces

Sunday, April 21 - Bronte, ON

Saturday, April 27 - Waterdown, ON

With the approach of summer, I'll probably be changing the mix of items I offer, although everything has been designed here in Canada and made here as well.

Periwinkle cozy wrap

I'm still rather surprised - and sometimes shocked -  that, for some show visitors, the "Made in Canada' moniker seems to be a turnoff. These folks actually favor factory-made product from India and China;  when it is offered by one of the vendors, that's what sells.

Some shows have stricter policies and do not admit foreign imports

One-of-a-kind vest

Detail of vest

April 14, 2013

B.A.Y.T. Craft and Gift Sale, 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sponsorhood by the Sisterhood of BAYT synagogue, to raise funds for their community outreach work

Peony & sea foam hangers

613 Clark Avenue West, corner York Hill Blvd. Thornhill, ON, near Bathurst Street.

The show is in the wedding hall. Parking is available!



April 21, 2013

Spring Has Sprung!  10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bronte Legion Branch 486
79 Jones St. Oakville, ON near Lakeshore Rd.

Sponsred by The Paper Bag Bride.  Beneficiaries may be a local dog rescue organization, which the craft sale organizer hopes to have on site, with dogs for adoption.

I've been told there's "tons" of free parking spots and lots around!

April 27, 2013

Hostess pinny in sunflower

2nd Annual Spring Artisan & Craft Show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sponsored by the Waterdown Legion's Ladies Auxiliary (Branch 551)
Proceeds allow the Ladies Auxiliary to continue their work with veterans and their families.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at:

deborah(dot)harobeddesigns(at)gmail(dot)com

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

  

Spring Fling at Scadding Court (March 23)

With spring on the way - at least, in these northern parts, we hope it is! - I am planning on taking even more spring items to my next show, which is called "Spring Fling". It's being held on March 23 at Scadding Court, which is at Bathurst St. and Dundas West. Full details at the end of this post.




And with some of the fashion trends forecast, I think I'll offer customers my very versatile tunics with peplums, as peplum skirts are part of the silhouette trend this year.

One is shown on the model in the photo. What's really useful about my tunics - which are made from washable Dupioni - is not only that they travel well, they can be worn with the V-neckline at the front or reversed for a plunging back neckline look!









Other customers may also find my crop jackets, in 100% cotton spandex, a must-have for the hotter weather. These jackets are unlined, so they are great for warmer temperatures on patios but also provide some coverage when you are inside with the A/C cranked up (which it usually is in most offices).







I'll still be offering some of my one-of-a-kind vests, in brighter or pastel shades for the coming spring-summer season. These vests can quickly dress up a T-shirt or add a layer over a camisole, plus they pair well with skirts, jeans, dresses, etc.

I've just made two new vests in colors that customers are describing as "gorgeous" - for example, a combination of ecru, periwinkle and gray and another in a combination of aqua, silver and white. I create the fabrics for the fronts of these vests using my Maypole Weave (TM) technique.

Spring Fling hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Entrance is on Bathurst St, just south of Dundas St. West. The event is being held in the gym.

Streetcars serve this location on both Bathurst (from the Bathurst subway station) and on Dundas (with subway connection at Dundas on the Yonge line).  Scadding Court is also walking distance from Trinity Bellwoods, Little Italy and Kensington Market.
Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

You can reach me at deborah(dot)harobeddesigns(at)gmail(dot)com.

Unbuttoned...but not undone!

(PHOTOS AT BOTTOM/BLOGGER WON'T LET ME EDIT THEM!)

According to the experts, a blog should be updated daily. However, some of us believe quality is more important than quantity, hence the reason I only post when I think something needs to be said.

This is the time of year when those of us in the North Hemisphere have to start wearing our heavier coats or buy a new one. I recently decided to retire the lined raincoat which I'd been wearing since 1983. (My European roots dictate that I make my clothing last!)

So, I went to a leading department store in my city, and bought what they used to refer to as a "famous maker" raincoat.(Photo #5) According to the hang tag, "Since 1927, X has maintained a heritage of unparalleled dedication to quality, workmanship and timeless style that is evident in everything we make".

In truth, the body of the garment is well made. I particularly like the strap buttoned to the inside of the belt, which passes through a belt loop and ensures the belt cannot fall off and get lost.(Photo #4)

Too bad the same care wasn't taken with the buttons. Just about each and every one was not finished off properly. The threads of the shank, which has to be made with thread, if the shank isn't part of the button, were all loose. (Photo #3) Even worse, the button on the inside of code, which helps hold a double-breasted style evenly, came completely off - this was just two weeks after I bought the coat! (Photo # 2)

I had to over-sew each and very button. (Photo #1)

This leads to two tips: obviously, if you buy a coat - or, for any that matter, any garment - double check the buttons and over-sew them when necessary. A second tip is: always buy a spool of thread the same year you buy the garment. Thread colors are like fashion colors and, five years down the road, you may not be able to get a matching thread.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

2. Dangling threads from lost button

3. Shank unraveling

4. Belt-retaining loop

5. The coat itself

1.Over-sewn button

Unravelling unseen

Those of us who live in the northern hemisphere are preparing for the fall. It's after Labor Day and the weather is starting to cool down. Time to get out our sweaters - or woollies, if you prefer - and prepare them for the winter.

Usually, during the summer, I wash all my sweaters that are washable, turn them inside out and stash them away, ready for the cooler weather. This is how I happen to know that one of my sweaters is slowly coming apart.

Usually, when you make a sweater - or any knit garment - from two or more colors, as one color of wool is phased out and the second color is added, the end of the first wool is supposed to be 'knitted out' and the second 'knitted in', so the wool doesn't unravel, ever.

Due to the way garments are now made in factories, this finishing off process doesn't happen. In the sweater I'm showing, knots were tied instead, where the white changes to black and vice versa. The only problem is, when the sweater went through the washing machine cycle, the agitation started to loosen these knots, because they weren't very tightly tied.

Had I not spotted this, my sweater would have started to unravel beyond the point of repair or possibly left me with some embarrassing moments, out in public, as gaps started to appear in the body or sleeves of the sweater.

I purchased this sweater at a very high profile, high-end women's wear chain, which has stores throughout North America. I won't embarrass them by naming them, but caution anyone else buying sweaters that have more than one color of wool in them, to check the inside frequently, so that your lovely turtleneck or cardigan doesn't unravel on you.

You may also want to consider looking for sweaters made by an artisan, by hand, so that the workmanship should stand the test of time!

Needless to say, in any garment made by my company, Harobed Designs, we strive to make sure that these sorts of accidents don't happen.

Not what they call 'buttoned up'!

Have you ever had the experience of going to put on a blouse or other garment you really love only to find that one of the buttons is missing? Or, even worse, have you been out and about when the button and snap fastener on what you're wearing pops off?

Given the way modern clothing is made, it's not surprising that we quickly end up far from 'buttoned up'! In industry, buttons are only rarely sewn on by hand, and the same is true for other types of fastening, such as snap fasteners. Instead, these items are added by machine, often with very rapid 'punch stitching' that is not fastened on or fastened off properly.

When you buy clothing made by an individual, there is a good chance the buttons or other fasteners will have been sewn on by hand and the person will have the first anchored the thread before attaching the button plus will then 'finish off' properly. So there's far less risk of the buttons coming off.

In the photos, I'm showing the problem that occurs. In the black-and-white striped shirt, the button was 'punch stitched' on and through successive washings, the thread has started to unravel because it was never finished off. If I hadn't caught this in time, the button would've likely come off - perhaps in the washing machine - or otherwise been lost. In the photos of the strawberry blouse, the fasteners are all transparent plastic snap fasteners. Apart from the fact these are less durable than metal snap fasteners, they have been put on by very rapid methods and are slowly but surely coming undone, one by one.

What can we do to deal with this? One tactic, any time you buy a piece of clothing, is to over-sew the buttons or fasteners yourself, finishing off well so that they do not unravel. This way, they won't fall off. An additional tactic is to always look for clothing that offers you spare buttons which match those on the garment. These can be kept in a safe place; if they're not actually sewn into the garment but, instead, come in a small plastic Ziploc bag, you can run a thread through the Ziploc and hang this on the hanger where you keep the garment. Or, put a safety pin through the top of the Ziploc bag and have a place where you keep these bags. I have a number of spare buttons in small Ziploc bags attached to the wire baskets where I keep my sweaters and other folded garments.

One final note of irony: both the garments shown above are sold by an extremely high profile women's-wear catalog company; as I am being 'brand-discreet' in this blog, I won't name the firm!

Is this what they mean by 'really stretched'?

Perhaps it's just a coincidence but, ever since I started writing a blog about clothing manufacture, it seems the Clothing Gods have been having some fun with me; just about every other day it seems I find one of my garments is in a melt down. But my experiences can help guide you to making better clothing purchases, as you'll know how to examine what's on offer, to see if it's well-made or not.

With factory made clothing, there's a lot of things they can do on the machinery, to put a garment together quickly. One of those things is stretching the fabric to fit, such as putting a sleeve in a dress or jacket, or attaching a yoke to the body of the dress. Trouble is, if you or I purchase such a dress and start wearing it, the fact the fabric was artificially manipulated to fit together quickly becomes evident.

I just ran into this problem with a summer dress, the kind of dress you like to have for a hot day, so you can just pop it on and go out, without a lot of fuss. The photo at top shows the dress I'm talking about today. It was made by a well-known company and, on the whole, is neatly made - razor-thin seams, of course.

While it might be hard to see, if you look in the next photo at right, within the white circle, you can see that there is a certain strain where they attached the yoke and sleeve to the body of the dress.



As a result, once I had worn the dress just a few times, the strain became too much and, with ordinary movement of my arm and body, the fabric ripped (see the lower photo at right).

When you are buying clothing, examine it closely to see if there are signs of strain in how the garment was put together. If there is, re-consider what you are purchasing.
That way, you won't find you cannot wear something you really love and, if you are buying the garment on sale, it will prove to be a good investment.

Really hemmed in!

Seams aren't the only part of a garment you need to check before you buy. Just as contentious is the hem. If a hem isn't well sewn, it can easily unravel, just when you need it least.

Many years ago, back in the days when women were encouraged to purchase "power suits" for the office, I had made such a buy at my city's top ladies wear store. Nothing fancy, just a navy blazer and white skirt, this being for summer.

I took my "power suit" with me on a business trip and got up the morning of my meeting, got dressed and was ready to go down to breakfast when, low and behold, my skirt hem caught on something and completely unraveled. So there I was, looking at my watch, wondering how I would find time for breakfast and to fix my hem. Obviously, I was a long way from the store so storming in there to complain about their shoddy merchandise wasn't an option. It quickly became clear that I would have to order breakfast up from room service and sit in my room to mend my skirt - luckily I had a sewing kit with me.

This initiated two trends in my life: one, I never ever purchased clothing from that supposedly top-notch store again and two, I began a lifelong addiction to room service!

When hems are sewn by a machine at lightning speed and not by hand, there is always the risk that the threads aren't finished off properly and that the hem will unravel at an unfortunate moment. Better quality clothing usually has hand-sewn hems. Certainly, my company, Harobed Designs, always hems by hand. We also never use the dreaded clear plastic thread, as this rarely gives a firm finish. (See the photo of the red jacket hem at top, which is hemmed in clear thread.)

Another aspect of hems that can be maddening is if you are slightly taller than average but not tall enough for the clothing category known as 'Tall". If only the manufacturers allowed slightly more generous hems - 2 inches being a reasonable amount - it would be easier for all above-average height people to let down their hems slightly if they wanted to. Usually, what happens, is that people have to buy clothing that is bigger than they need and have the hem taken up to where they want it rather than letting down a garment of the right size. This is one of the nuisances that has come into clothing with the advent of total factory production.

That's another thing we always do with Harobed Designs clothing; we always allow generous enough hems for both the outer jacket or "shell" and the inner lining, plus we include a generous amount of trim, so if someone wants to lengthen one of our jackets slightly, they can. The center photograph of the apple green jacket - actually, it's what is known as 'shot silk', meaning it has a blueish cast in certain lights - shows the depth of the outer hem as well as the depth of the lining hem and the amount of trim available. The final photo shows this jacket on the runway.

Now that's seamless!

One of the problems with a lot of factory-made clothing is that everything revolves around costs and keeping them down. As a result, manufacturers find the fastest and cheapest way to put the garment together. If you're lucky, this will never cause you any embarrassing moments. But if you're not lucky, you could end up in a situation that is truly seamless, in the worst possible way!

The photos posted show some of these problems. In manufactured clothing, the seams are edged by a process known as serging, to stop the fabric from fraying and the seam is usually sewn at the same time. Trouble is, this work is often not properly finished off. When you sew by hand or on a hand-operated machine, it's possible to finish off by back stitching or some similar method to secure the seam. This way, there are no dangling threads which can get caught...

In the picture of the white garment, the serged edge is starting to fray. This happened while the garment was in the washing machine; the threads caught in some way and started to come undone. Too bad if this process happens while you're actually wearing the garment...

In the red garment, an even worse problem exists because the seams are sewn with clear plastic thread. Manufacturers like this thread because, obviously, when it's clear, it can be used with garments of any color. Problem is, such seams are rarely stable and very easily unravel. The same is true when hems are sewn in this fashion, but that will be the topic of a future post...

The skinny on seams

Photo showing 3/4" seam
Photo showing seams of 3/4"
Third photo shows how easily factory-made seams unravel
Bottom photo shows razor-thin 1/4" seam

Your clothes may look great on the outside but if you don't pay attention to how they look on the inside, you'll frequently find yourself having to pitch out a favorite garment because you can't let it out. Changes in weight are as common as changes in fashion; but it's only in the last few years that consumers have come to it accept clothing with razor thin seams inside that allow no possibility of alteration.

It wasn't always this way. In fact, before the Industrial Revolution, just about everyone wore custom-made clothing - and shoes for that matter. When factory-made clothing came into existence, it was viewed as being inferior and the manufacturers had to do a selling job to get everyone to buy it. Even as recently as the 1950s, the factory-made garment did not confer status the way a custom-made suit did. Obviously, manufacturers have put effort, by way of branding, into changing people's views, so that many people now view clothing from a factory as superior. But is it?

If you look inside most manufactured clothes, it's easy to see that, if you even put on a couple of ounces, you'll have to get rid of the garment. However, if you buy clothing that has been made by craftsmen or artisans, you're more likely to get a generous seam allowance, meaning that a weight gain will not leave you scrambling to put together a new wardrobe.