Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stays progress....
I've gathered my books for documentation writing, and I have another on order from the ebil Amazon.com.
I've officially started on the other side. Yay! I'm not so sure the eyelets are up to Kingdom A&S standards, however. (They're pretty much the fugliest eyelets I've ever done.) Boo!
Oh well. If I was actually *competing* there are a lot of things I would do differently......this is mostly to get feedback on my writing, not the piece itself.
I've officially started on the other side. Yay! I'm not so sure the eyelets are up to Kingdom A&S standards, however. (They're pretty much the fugliest eyelets I've ever done.) Boo!
Oh well. If I was actually *competing* there are a lot of things I would do differently......this is mostly to get feedback on my writing, not the piece itself.
Eyelet Tutorial for Jane
1. Gather your supplies:
*Needle (I prefer longer needles, but you should be OK with a all-purpose needle, as long as your thread fits through the eye)
*Thread (heavier thread is better - buttonhole twist, embroidery floss works. In this case, I've used linen thread)
*Awl (I love my awl, this is the Dritz "Ergonomic Tapered Awl".)
*Snips/scissors
*Beeswax/Thread conditioner
*Chalk/Marking utensil (My favorite is the Dritz "Quilting Chalk"
*Ruler (I actually use a "Simflex Gauge", but rulers....yanno, rule.)
2. Mark out your eyelets.
*Be sure to mark where you want the *center* of each eyelet to be
*Check out this awesome article about sprial lacing for spacing suggestions
3. Place the point of your awl on your marked eyelet.
4. Slowly push the awl through the fabric while twisting and wiggling your awl. The whole point of this excercise is to work the threads in your fabric apart, rather than breaking them. Make your hole slightly larger than you want your finished eyelet to be - the threads will try to creep back together!
5. Check out the back side - sometimes you'll get a 'volcano' effect with the fabric stretching down the awl. You can either use your fingernails to push the fabric up the awl , or remove the awl and go through the hole from the back side.
6. OK! You've got your hole! Now it's time to thread your needle. Get it nice and waxed/conditioned, and tie a knot in the end. (You should probably do this before you make your hole, but it doesn't matter, really)
7. From the front of your fabric, sew a running stitch in a circle around your hole. This is going to anchor your eyelets, and help prevent tear-outs!
8. When you complete the running stitch, start whipping around the hole. Be sure to do this from the front - you want the front to be pretty! The first time around the eyelet, you don't need to be perfect, or completely cover the entire surface. This stage is just to keep the hole open and create some stabilization for the next stage.
9. Keep poking your awl through the hole to keep it nice and open while you're working. (Eyelets are also best done on the couch, in front of the TV) Go all the way 'round your hole....it's not gonna be super-pretty the first round, but don't worry!
10. Go around your hole, one more time. You can continue to whip the eyelet for another round to fill in all the gaps, or you can do a buttonhole stitch for the second round. And, you're done! Well, almost.....
11. Take your thread to the back, and run the needle underneath a few of the threads. Make a loop and tie off the thread......then go underneath a few more threads.......now SNIP! You're done!
*Needle (I prefer longer needles, but you should be OK with a all-purpose needle, as long as your thread fits through the eye)
*Thread (heavier thread is better - buttonhole twist, embroidery floss works. In this case, I've used linen thread)
*Awl (I love my awl, this is the Dritz "Ergonomic Tapered Awl".)
*Snips/scissors
*Beeswax/Thread conditioner
*Chalk/Marking utensil (My favorite is the Dritz "Quilting Chalk"
*Ruler (I actually use a "Simflex Gauge", but rulers....yanno, rule.)
2. Mark out your eyelets.
*Be sure to mark where you want the *center* of each eyelet to be
*Check out this awesome article about sprial lacing for spacing suggestions
3. Place the point of your awl on your marked eyelet.
4. Slowly push the awl through the fabric while twisting and wiggling your awl. The whole point of this excercise is to work the threads in your fabric apart, rather than breaking them. Make your hole slightly larger than you want your finished eyelet to be - the threads will try to creep back together!
5. Check out the back side - sometimes you'll get a 'volcano' effect with the fabric stretching down the awl. You can either use your fingernails to push the fabric up the awl , or remove the awl and go through the hole from the back side.
6. OK! You've got your hole! Now it's time to thread your needle. Get it nice and waxed/conditioned, and tie a knot in the end. (You should probably do this before you make your hole, but it doesn't matter, really)
7. From the front of your fabric, sew a running stitch in a circle around your hole. This is going to anchor your eyelets, and help prevent tear-outs!
8. When you complete the running stitch, start whipping around the hole. Be sure to do this from the front - you want the front to be pretty! The first time around the eyelet, you don't need to be perfect, or completely cover the entire surface. This stage is just to keep the hole open and create some stabilization for the next stage.
9. Keep poking your awl through the hole to keep it nice and open while you're working. (Eyelets are also best done on the couch, in front of the TV) Go all the way 'round your hole....it's not gonna be super-pretty the first round, but don't worry!
10. Go around your hole, one more time. You can continue to whip the eyelet for another round to fill in all the gaps, or you can do a buttonhole stitch for the second round. And, you're done! Well, almost.....
11. Take your thread to the back, and run the needle underneath a few of the threads. Make a loop and tie off the thread......then go underneath a few more threads.......now SNIP! You're done!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The plan is coming together.....
I'm spending the weekends exclusively on the vic, and the weekdays on the bodies. (Since the vic will require some serious time investment to get traction, while the bodies can be worked on and set down sporadically) So far, so good! Alas, the pictures for the bodies are kinda boring-like. (Unless someone is just dying to know how to make hand bound eyelets?)
Last night I got all of my eyelets marked out on both sides, and 6 of them completely bound. Not too shabby considering I left work late, got caught up in some epic traffic, went grocery shopping, cooked dinner, and spent almost an hour searching for my *BLEEPING* beeswax. (Which I didn't find until this morning, completely by chance, in a room I never would have thought it would be in, but that's another matter. By the by, beeswax that has gone through the washer and dryer is a very *interesting* tactile experience.)
I still have not decided my method for binding. Hm. I'll have to ponder that some more. I can't wait until the eyelets are all done so I can strap it on and see if it fits! (That has to be the worst thing about corsetry of any type - you never quite know how it's all going to fit until it's acutally done. Eep!)
Last night I got all of my eyelets marked out on both sides, and 6 of them completely bound. Not too shabby considering I left work late, got caught up in some epic traffic, went grocery shopping, cooked dinner, and spent almost an hour searching for my *BLEEPING* beeswax. (Which I didn't find until this morning, completely by chance, in a room I never would have thought it would be in, but that's another matter. By the by, beeswax that has gone through the washer and dryer is a very *interesting* tactile experience.)
I still have not decided my method for binding. Hm. I'll have to ponder that some more. I can't wait until the eyelets are all done so I can strap it on and see if it fits! (That has to be the worst thing about corsetry of any type - you never quite know how it's all going to fit until it's acutally done. Eep!)