Pagan Pride Nottingham August 3rd 2014 Home-made Lammas Costume Part 3

Pagan Pride Nottingham August 3rd 2014

Home-made Lammas Costume Part 3

This is the third part of the Home-made Lammas Costume. Now you know how to make Poppies and Sunflowers I am moving on to Wheat based items. I will start with the simplest.

Making a Hay Bale

Base

Select Yellow material and have the reverse facing you. Take a roll of tape and draw around it making a Circle. Cut out and tack a hem. To make a more secure hem you can go around it with blanket stitch.

The Pattern

Now you have the base you can decorate it. I have gone all around the circle in Chain Stitch to cover up the hemming but this is optional. Find the point you want to start at along the hem. Begin your Chain Stitch and slowly make a continuous circular pattern turning the material as you do so.

As you turn move the Chain Stitch slightly towards the centre. This will give an ever decreasing circular line until you reach the centre. How wide apart you make the lines is up to you.

The next part is not strictly Wheat Based but because of the similarities to the above pattern I have decided to include it at this point.

Making a Sun

Select Yellow material and have the reverse facing you. Take a roll of tape and draw around it making a Circle. Cut out and tack a hem.

Before you fasten off the hem gently pull the cotton through the material at the unsecured end. This will begin to bunch up the material. Spread the material evenly along the shortened cotton. When you are happy with the effect secure the hem.

I have gone around the hem again in blanket stitch to secure the effect. Alternatively you can blanket stitch the hem then make a second tacking hem inside and pull that if you find it easier.

 How to make a Wheat-sheaf.

I have to admit I had a bit of luck when I came to make a Wheat-sheaf. One of the tops I bought to cut up was elasticated across the front. I therefore just cut straight across either side. This automatically pulled it in at the middle. If you cannot get an already elasticated piece of material do not worry. The middle can be pulled in using a tacking stitch as described above.

Select a Yellow piece of elasticated material and cut out the amount you need

You will notice that the bottom half is longer than the top half. This is deliberate as you will see later. Next find the centre of the elasticated part. It might help to mark this spot with a pin. Decide if you want to start at the top or the bottom half of the material section. I found the bottom half easier to begin with as it wasn't so fiddly.

If you want you can use pins to mark the centre of the lower half in a straight line down from your pin in the elasticated section. Choose to work on the bottom left half or bottom right half. I started on the bottom left.

Beginning the Folding

From the centre I began to fold the material in a slightly diagonal direction. This led to a diagonal strip of folded material. You should have more unfolded material at the bottom than the top. I recommend pinning the fold rather than sewing at this point. This allows you to adjust the fold to a different width or angle in you are not happy with it. I certainly had to adjust this several times before I got the effect I wanted.

Continue with this process until you reach the hem at the side. Repeat the folding and pinning process on the bottom right but with the diagonal fold in the opposite direction.

Now once you are happy with size and direction of the folds it is safe to sew. I used a simple tacking stitch which I stopped just short of the edge. You will notice that in the case of the Wheat-sheaf I have not hemmed the bottom edge. This was deliberate to make the folding easier and to give a more rustic effect.

Folding the Top

I repeated the process above for the two top sections. Please note that the top half is folded apparently differently from the bottom. This depends on whether or not you fold the material in place or turn it upside down to fold. The fold still begins in the centre outwards to the edge.

 If you fold in place the direction of the folds will look opposite to the ones below. The simplest way to think of it is a mirror image. Therefore the Top Left hand section will look like the Bottom Right hand. The Top Right will look like the Bottom Left. See below

As you can see in the above picture I have also sewn along the middle of the Wheat-sheaf vertically with a slight overlap to make a tighter and more pronounced sheaf. You can also see that the top half is significantly shorter in length than the bottom half.

Adding the Wheat heads to the Top of the Sheaf

Select some pieces of yellow material to add to the top of the Wheat-sheaf. They all need to be the same width as the folds. I used the rest of the hem from the cut up top.

The length of the material is up to you. It does not have to all be the same length indeed it gives a more realistic appearance if it isn't. Sew the Wheat heads on to the stalks from behind You do not have to put one on each stalk. Every other stalk is fine.

As you can see I have spaced out the Wheat-sheaf heads and accentuated the direction.

 I have also sewn the tips into a triangular shape. This is the basic design of the wheat-sheaf. 

If you feel like adding to it you can do so. I took a long piece of hem and made a bow. This I added to the centre on the Wheat-sheaf to give the impression that it was tied. Once the Wheat-sheaf was sewn in place onto my skirt I added to the Wheat heads. Using a Chain Stitch I added a few stitches either side of the Wheat heads and also on the top of the heads. This completed my Wheat-sheaf

If you take a long piece of hem or yellow material you can make single pieces of wheat. I did this in between the Poppies

Making a Wicker-man

Select a Yellow piece of elasticated material and cut out the amount you need. Again I was fortunate to have some small elasticated material. However due to the shape of the material I had left I did not have quite enough material. Therefore I had to improvise and do it in sections.

Cut out the shape of a man. As stated previously I was short of material so I have cut out of the man minus the arms.

Please note that the material on the right is upside-down. I did have a reason for this at the time but now I cannot remember for the life of me what it was.

Making the Legs

Cut the material up the centre from the bottom to just short of the elasticated part shown.

I have put a hem on both sides just to secure it.

Using the folding technique that was used for the wheat sheaf above begin to fold each leg until they are fully folded.

Making the Head

Trim the upper part until it is roughly head shaped.

Using the folding technique that was used for the wheat sheaf and legs above begin to fold the head from the centre outwards. Sew from the bottom to the top of the material. Leave a small gap at the top. This will allow for more trimming for a better result.

Making the Arms.

Cut out two pieces of material for the arms. Trim the pieces so both arms are slightly angled at the bottom.

Using the above technique fold both pieces of material until both of them are completely folded. Attach an arm to either side of the body. You now have a finished Wicker-man.

In my next Blog I will be showing how to put the sleeves on the top and edging on the skirt.

Pagan Pride Nottingham August 3rd 2014 Home-made Lammas Costume Part 2

Pagan Pride Nottingham August 3rd 2014

Home-made Lammas Costume

Part 2

To continue from my last Blog on making Poppies this Blog will show how I made Sunflowers.

How to Make a Sunflower.

Select your material. You need Brown material for the Base, Green material for the Stem and Orange and Yellow material for the Petals.

Base

Select Brown material and have the reverse facing you. Take a roll of tape and draw around it making a Circle. Cut out and tack a hem. To make a more secure hem you can go around it with blanket stitch.

            Rough cut       Tacked Hem       Secured Hem

Petals

Select Orange or Yellow Material. Cut into rectangles.

Reverse

Front

Next hem all four sides. Fold the material down the length with the front on the outside. Sew along the top edge. Next turn over the material and flatten out so it forms a point. Sew a few stitches in the middle to secure. Repeat with the bottom. 

You will now have a single Petal. Repeat this process until you have enough Petals to go around the Base. Remember to allow for overlapping. If you want a longer thinner Petal cut a longer piece thinner. If you want a stouter Petal you make cut a shorter wider piece of material. 

Stem

Select Green material and have the reverse facing you. Cut a long thin rectangle piece. Hem all around each side. Find the centre then fold the right side to the centre. Then fold the right side to the centre. Then sew up along the centre line.

Leaf

Select Green material and have the reverse facing you. Cut out a leaf shape then hem around. Repeat for the second leaf.

Making up the Sunflower

Now that you have all the pieces you need. Sew the leaves onto the stem. It doesn't matter if you sew them behind the stem or in front of the stem. You can overlap the leaves, have them adjacent or at different positions on the stem. If you are making a very tall flower you may wish to add extra leaves.

Overlap the Sunflower Petals slightly and sew around the circular base. You will get a triangle shape in between the Petals in the centre of the flower.

When you have finished sewing on the Petals to the Sunflower head you can then sew the head and stem together. You now have a finished Sunflower.

This process can be repeated with different coloured Petals and sizes.

Finally add the Sunflowers to your material. 

My next blog will be how to make wheat items.

Pagan Pride Nottingham August 3rd 2014 Home made Lammas Costume Part 1

Pagan Pride Nottingham August 3rd 2014

Home made Lammas Costume Part 1

I often find that I have difficulty trying to find outfits that I like, fit and above all can afford. Therefore I had the bright idea of adapting an old plain outfit that was past its best and revamping it. Since this was likely to be a long project especially since it would be all personally designed and then hand sewn by yours truly I decided to make it into a step by step blog.

Many thanks to all those that assisted in making this project possible. These include my mother and Shani Oates for supplying thread. D. B Griffith and David Hames for help with photography and finally Marie Sutherland for assisting in the locating of cheap material.

This project took roughly four months from conception to end product and though I was still sewing the night before the festival it remains a work in process and will be no doubt added to in the future.

I have tried to organise the development of this project in a chronological order but due to having various pieces at different stages throughout the revamping some items might appear out of sequence.

Equipment

Needle

A variety of coloured threads - both cotton and silks.

Thimble

Pins

Scissors

Thread Picker

Pencil

Ruler

Tape

Material

One old top

One old skirt

Assorted scrap pieces

Charity clothes to cut up

Beads

Start

Find an old outfit you want to revamp.

 

Mine was an old sleeveless top and a skirt that had got too big for me.

Next decide what design you want. Since I was wanting an outfit for Lammas (The First of the Harvest Festivals) I selected Gold, Red, Orange and Yellow colours for decoration. Some of the symbols that are connected to the Summer and the Harvest are , The Sun, Wheat, Sunflowers, Poppies, Bales of Hay, and John Barleycorn/The Wickerman.

Sourcing Material

Any old clothes that I have that cannot wear anymore I either pass on to friends or give to charity. However some clothes if they have tears or holes in are not suitable for this purpose. Therefore any left over material I keep in a rag bag for either dusters or craft projects. It is also an ecologically friendly way of recycling old material.

I looked into the bag and selected various pieces of scrap material. I try to wear only natural fibres so most of it is pure cotton. I designed and drew out patterns (pencil will do if you do not have chalk) on the Reverse side of the material. Always err on the larger side when cutting out as you can always trim to fit. Also allow at least a fingers width extra on patterns to allow for making a hem.

Unless you are being completely random make sure you have enough of the material you require for the pattern. There is nothing worse than finding that you have run out and cannot find an exact match. I did my patterns in stages so that I could stop and find extra material if necessary. I sourced extra material from charity shops which I then cut up.

Making a Poppy

Poppy Parts Collection

Poppy Parts Single

Base

Select Black material and have the reverse facing you.

Take a roll of tape and draw around it making a Circle. Cut out and make a running hem. To make a more secure hem you can go around it with blanket stitch.

Inner

Select Black material and have the reverse facing you. Draw a rough Cross shape and cut out. Trim around the square edges so they have a slight curved edge. Hem as for Base. Make sure the curved cross is smaller than the Base. If not adjust accordingly.

Petals

Select Red material and have the reverse facing you. Draw a Hexagonal shape and cut out. Hem as for Base. Each Poppy requires between 4 and 6 petals.

Left to Right - Rough cut - Tacked Hem - Secured Hem

Stem

Select Green material and have the reverse facing you. The piece I had was the old hem off a top which I had unpicked and opened. Cut out a piece just longer than you want the Stem allowing for hemming on both ends. The width depends on the size of the Poppy head but allow again for hemming. Fold the material until it is the right width and sew along the length.

Making up the Poppy

Take the Base and place it best side up. Take a selection of Petals you need to between four and six. Place one onto the Base. For ease I tried to select petals of a similar size. The next stage is a bit of trial and error. I placed the first Petal with the centre points just over the hem of the Base. This meant that there was 50% of the Petal is on the Base and 50% is over the edge of it.

Then overlap the Petals until you complete a Circle. You will have a small gap in the centre showing the Base. Sew along the overlapped Petals until they are all fixed in place.

Next place Cross over the gap in the Base.

Sew the Cross on top of the Petals.

For the centre I had two different designs. The first was a sphere bead with smaller different coloured sphere beads around it. This Poppy was for the front of the skirt. 

The second was an embroidered circle of yellow silk. This was for the back of the skirt after all it would be a bit uncomfortable sitting on it.

In my next Blog Post I will be demonstrating the process of how I made Sunflowers.

Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Who is the Fairest one of all?

This phrase is well known for the comparison between beautiful women. However in this experiment I will not be comparing Physical Fairness but that of Fairness of the Spirit.

Mirroring is a technique where one person Mirrors (copies) the behaviour of others. We do this everyday without thinking. An example of Mirroring on a simple level is when a person smiles you smile back. Another example is when somebody yawns nearly always there is an unconscious mirroring action.

This month the social experiment is that I will try to consciously Mirror the behaviour of others. So be WARNED if you see me this month it will be like looking in a Mirror. I wonder will you see the Evil Stepmother or the Fair Princess.