Gaborone, Botswana: Now with 100% more fabric shopping.

I'm back!  Two days of travel to get to Botswana from Montreal + three days of work +  ten days o' vacation in Gaborone and Cape Town + two days of travel back home =  tired but happy sewintist.

There was time for some fabric shopping (while my men when off to wait in a bar).  Since I had a hell of a time trying to get some information about the best places to shop for fabric in Gaborone and came up totally blank, I'll post what I managed to find, in case any of you happen to find yourself in Gaborone with a free afternoon:

The first shop we visited, and one of the best:  Matseleng Fabrics (and "Sawing Machines and Herbedashery") on the south-east corner of the African Mall, behind the building that houses the Nando's and the National Bank.  Their selection of shwe shwe was quite impressive.  Aside from the traditional blue, brown and red, they had some newer fashion colourways: violet, green, pink...even orange.  Or is that tangerine tango?

The young man on the left (Bruce) was too shy to have his photo taken, but he was a great help.  We started chatting about the fabrics, and it turns out he is studying fashion design and helped me pick some prints, estimate yardage needed, match zips, etc.  They had some vintage Singers (including a few hand crank models) for sale, but he quietly lamented the prices.  They were all refurbished and working well, but 999 Pula (about $135) is a bit steep around here. 

My son picking some buttons, and wearing his Instant Dashiki I made last summer.

 

Next up:  Timba Trading, on the west side of the African Mall.  This was another Indian owned shop, not as friendly as Matseleng, but with an even larger selection of shwe shwe, and a wider variety of cottons, rayons and synthetics.  

They didn't really like me taking photos, so I did it surreptitiously.   (And blurrily, apparently.)  You can also see some kangas hanging from the ceiling; they were about 35-40P if I remember correctly.

About 1/4 of their blue shwe shwe.  They also had all the other colours too.  Oooooo, so much shwe shwe....

On another day, we had a vehicle and I managed to find Sismo, which is on the corner of Nelson Mandela and Independence Boulevards.  They were crowded, but I can't say I was really impressed.  The store was huge, but the selection wasn't much better than I had found at the African Mall shops.  And boy, were they unfriendly.  They should have just had a huge sign that said, "Buy something quickly or get the hell out of our store".  Sheesh. 

 I guess this is the go-to shop for household fabrics and curtains though, if you judge by the number of expats buying dull beige curtain panels in the back. 

 Basic cottons and blends section.

A few interesting wax prints, but the prices weren't any better than I can get back home on rue St. Hubert, to be frank.  (That's a colleague of mine, by the way, but she didn't end up buying anything either).  Next door was Fabric Paradise, but it seemed a bit empty when we visited.  I'm not sure what their usual selection is, but it may be worth visiting at another time. 

So here's the haul:

Traditonal shwe shwe, all at 47P/meter (~$7/m):  3m of brown/yellow, 2m of green/ brown circles and 1m of green/brown  polygons (what would you call those shapes?).  I plan to use the green/brown fabrics together, with the polygon print as contrast for pockets, cuffs or skirt panels.  I've seen a lot of shwe shwe used in this way (alternating skirt panels especially), so I think I'll be able to pull it off. 

 2m of a modern pop-arty shwe shwe, 1m of the Madiba border print (all they had left in stock - boo!  After washing shrinkage, 1m isn't quite enough to go around my hips...what to do?!), and 0.8m of this somewhat garish Venda print that my son had to have.  Not quite sure what that will become, but he was quite adamant that he needed it. 

I also had a moment of weakness and picked up some non-traditional fabrics as well:

2.5m of tie-dyed rayon. I have a hard time finding rayons in Montreal, and this will make a good summer maxi dress. 

3m of synthetic blends.  They don't have the nicest feel on the skin, but the colours are amazing.  And hard to capture on camera.  The burnt orange is a shot fabric, so it varies between dark brown and bright orange depending on the angle of  light, while the purple is shot with black.  Much nicer than they look here, believe it or not.  (Again, I have to get a better camera....)

After leaving Botswana, we flew home via Cape Town so we could spend a few days in one of my favourite cities in the world.  Seriously, can somebody offer me a job here for a year or two?  I didn't do any fabric shopping in Cape Town because as it turns out, I have to go back in a few weeks to clear up some problems with the screening program there.  (We half considered changing my return ticket so I could just stay there and do the work, but I had to get home to take care of some of my own research.  And see my daughter who was having a hard time being parentless for two weeks and started biting everyone around her.  Toddlers certainly know how to express their emotions, don't they?)

Me and my son at the V&A waterfront, Cape Town, with Table mountain in the background.  My Good Morning Starshine Tunic got quite a bit of wear (and a few compliments) on this trip!

Good to be back and have a long hot shower, but I don't think I'll have any sewing time before I leave town.  I did take a lot of me-made things along on this trip, and wore them more than anything else.  It's great to reach that stage of sewing where everything works, isn't it?

A Year in the (Sewing) Life

2011 has been quite the year.  There was travel in 4 (or 5?) countries, new experiments and collaborations to undertake at work, a 3 month strike with no income, the loss of a family member, a new school and a new language for my son, a new lab for me, conferences to speak at and prepare posters for, the ever-increasing difficulty of managing an independent-minded toddler, a collective agreement to negotiate between the Board of Directors over which I preside and the daycare staff ....I'm hoping that 2012 calms down a bit.

One constant throughout the past year has been my renewed efforts to find time for myself to sew, and everyone out there in blogland has been a great help.  Or should I say a great enabler.  I sometimes find my mind drifting when I'm in a meeting that is dragging on a little too long (....I wonder what would be the best pattern to use with that new purple gabardine.....).  I sometimes stay up too late looking at vintage patterns for sale on Etsy (It's purely to study the construction details on the envelopes, I swear).  I sometimes check out my blog roll when my kids are watching TV and I can't stand one more minute of Toupie et Binoo.  As far as addictions go, it's a relatively innocuous one.  And it's much more socially acceptable to have someone walk in a catch you reading Burdastyle than sneaking a smoke or a drink at work.  Unless you happen to work for Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Price.  

Without any further ado, here is my sewing year encapsulated:

I brought back a fabric hoard from Cape Town (pictured in the upper left) and did a little Cape Town to Canada series:

You can see that there are still a couple of unused fabrics there; I'd better get cracking before the year is up.  Plus, I'll need some more room in my storage for the hoard I plan to bring back from Botswana this February!

I started Sewing Through the Decades with Debi and Sarah:

I had randomly pulled some patterns from my collection that spanned 1940s-2010s, and planned to make one pattern from each decade.  The only one I didn't get around to finishing was 1950s.  I thought about doing a reissued 50s pattern with modern proportions, because the proportions of the 1950s patterns I own are insane.  Whereas I have a bust:waist differential of only about 5", the 50s patterns assume much, much (MUCH) more.  Like 10".  That's crazy.  I lost enthusiasm and put it on the back burner.  Maybe some perfect pattern will come my way and make me change my mind about the New Look silhouette, but for now, I'm going to call it a day.

I also went from reading Mena's blog to participating in The Sew Weekly:

It was great to join the community and draw from each other's projects and advice.  I'll probably continue to participate whenever a weekly theme coincides with free time + a previously planned project + fabric and notions already lounging in my hoard.  Mena is changing the format in the coming year, so there may be the chance to be a featured member from time to time.

You can see that there is some overlap between these three groups of projects.  If motherhood has taught me anything, it's why do one thing at a time when you can do two (or three)?  It's the only way shit gets done around here.

Oh, and I almost forgot!  The weekend escape to NYC to meet up with a bunch of people I had never met and only knew by their web pseudonyms.  Luckily, the weekend did not become the subject of an after-school special and was a legitimate meetup of sewers (sewists.  sewintists.  whatever.):

Those ladies (and gent) know how to have a good time.

That's 2011 in a nutshell.  I may as well post this today, since I seriously doubt that I'll be able to do any more sewing before the 31st.  I had 9 people staying in my house over Christmas, and now that they are gone, it's just me left to do the cleaning, cooking and child care while my man tries to get through a mountain of student papers and exams that are due.  

Happy New Year everyone!

(ms. oona just turned me on to Thinglink.  I'm going to give it a try.  Bear with me until I get it all figured out, but it should results in links within each photo subset.)

On the fence about this one

This fabric was quite valuable:

Now I should point out the difference between value and cost:  it only cost me $4 for 2 metres, but I valued it quite highly because it is another in my collection from Cape Town.  (I promise that I'll stop talking about this Cape Town stash when I've used it up completely and/or gone back and cleaned out the fabric shops.)  When I was in the shop buying this with a friend of mine, we laughed at how I wouldn't be able to justify doing a muslin before using it because any muslin would cost more! 

I thought I'd use it for my daughter, since one of her first words was "turtle", and as soon as she saw it, she laid claim to it.  However, upon closer examination, I thought it may not be the most appropriate fabric for a little girl.  I'm not sure.....something about those turtle heads looks a bit off.....know what I mean?  

Our weekly challenge was to use an orange fabric.  Sounds easy, but it's not a colour that most people have in their stash, and it's not the most flattering on most skin tones.  I thought I'd give it a go, using Simplicity 2892, view B.

There were a few flaws in this fabric that I had to cut around, so I didn't have quite enough fabric for the poofy sleeves; I just used the sleeve lining pattern piece instead.  I also cut the back on the fold, since that neck opening is so wide that a back slit seemed redundant (and only served to make more work and break up the print).  I also used the selvedge border in the hem and sleeve edges since it was an interesting feature.  Any other changes?.....oh yes, I made a wider and much longer waist tie just because I like it better that way.

This is the best photo I could get before the rain clouds arrived yesterday afternoon.  It was as dark as night and this grainy flash photo is worse than usual.  Well, you get the general idea.  Probably won't be in heavy rotation, but I'll reserve final judgement for a while. 

Cape Town to Canada: The Skirt of Indecision and Disagreement

So the Thanksgiving weekend is over, the living room is shoveled out, the leftovers are eaten and the kitchen is degreased.  Seriously degreased.  You would not believe what percentage of a duck is pure fat.  In case you don't believe me, here's a picture of what was left over, and that's after we used loads of it to roast the pumpkin and poured some extra over the dressing that was a bit dry:

 Anyway, I finally had time to do some sewing yesterday and the skirt of indecision and disagreement is complete.  It was a very straightforward pattern and it went together very easily.  It would have been one of those elusive 1-hour patterns if I hadn't run out of serger thread and then rethreaded it incorrectly and send broken needle bits flying.  Why is threading a serger such a pain in the ass?  I have actually zig-zagged seams rather than serging because the machine was threaded in the wrong colour and I didn't want to rethread. Eeep.

I carefully read all the comments, weighed everyone's opinion, and then decided to ignore the majority ;)  Since I had spent so much time trying to match the print, I had to go with matching panels rather than constrasting ones.  

What I like about this fabric is that from a distance, it reads as a light denim.  Then you get close and see the intricacy of the print.  I'm glad I decided to use such a simple pattern because it lets the print speak for itself rather than getting lost in complicated construction lines. 

And now for a close up of my fairly amateur* pattern matching:

Side seam:

 Back seam:

Not perfect, but I'll take it.  I didn't line it because shwe shwe is quite stiff and won't cling to tights (I tested it out), but on the other hand is soft against the skin and doesn't need a silky lining to feel good against bare legs.  Win-win.

 

There was a seam down the centre back and I decided to add an alteration seam.  Actually, I have no idea what to call this, but you know how men's trousers have one long seam all the way up the backside and through the waistband?  That's what I did here instead of the usual solid waistband.  Since my waist size has fluctuated up and down by several inches in the past few years, I wanted to leave myself the option to take it in (or you never know, let it out).  And while we're talking about it, why don't women's trousers have this seam too, since, let's face it, we're more likely to need alterations than men are.  Men usually only need to let out gradually over the years, whereas women grow and shrink and grow and shrink!   

*I had to google the spelling of amateur because I kept spelling it in a frenchy kind of way (amateure) and couldn't remember the correct spelling.  Don't ever google the term "amature", by the way.  You'd be suprised what sites come up.  Or maybe you won't be suprised.  That's your business.

Help! Some expert advice needed

When we were having lunch at El Centro during the NYC meetup last week, we started talking about sewing hits and misses.  I confessed that I still feel like too much of a beginning sewist to cut into my precious shwe shwe from Cape Town, so it sits unused in a storage box.  I realized how ridiculous this is, because even if I did completely botch it up, I'm going to be back in South Africa and Botswana in February and can always get more for a few $$$.  

     Full of renewed enthusiasm (and new patterns), I pulled out this Butterick 3509, AKA Rita Thomas.  A nice simple pattern like this would work well with the very complicated print of the shwe shwe.  I don't know who brought this pattern at the meet-up, but my money is on Marina.  She brought loads of great vintage patterns. 

Shwe shwe is printed on the reverse as well: 

So I cut, remembering to try to match the print.  There wasn't quite enough yardage to match exactly, but take my word for it, it's pretty damn close.  As you can see in the first close-up above, there are 8 elements that repeat, and I just about went blind last night trying to figure out which element went where.  Then I lay out the pieces to get an idea of how it will look.....

.....when I realized I could switch the side panels to show off the reverse print.  I've seen this many times in S.Africa, but I'm not sure which option looks best.  Also, to be frank, would I look ridiculous in a skirt that said, "Designed for African Women"?!!!?

So this is where I need an objective eye:  I like the idea of alternating panels because it looks more authentic to my eye, but I think that the matching panels would look better on me... less costumey.  

What you do think?

Instant dashiki

I tried to do the Sew Weekly Challenge of two weeks ago (American Apparel), and again last week (Album Cover Inspiration) but I didn't get around to it.  First there was kid fever and vomiting; then there was a multi-departmental grant to be submitted, which meant lots of overtime and lack of sleep; then there was me getting sick because of said vomit and sleep deprivation.  You know how it goes.  

I did start a self-drafted knit dress like the one Karen Lynn Gorney wore in SNF:

but something went wrong with the neckline.  It was too loose and droopy, even after unpicking and altering twice.  Unpicking serging is seriously no fun.  It's gone into the magic alteration pile, where it is sure to remain until the alteration elves get around to it.  

I have a few things cut out, but nothing I really felt like working on during a heat wave.  Then my little guy tried on his beloved dashiki and complained that it was getting too tight, and he really needs something loose and cool to wear while the temperature is above 35.  Ah ha!

Easy to whip up in an hour or so, including tracing the shape, cutting, sewing and seam finishing.  And he actually wants to wear it, as opposed to little miss picky, who still hasn't worn her pillowcase dress.  

I used the 70cm end-of-roll giraffe-y wax print that I picked up in Cape Town for about $2.  It was just enough for the shirt, the facings and there is a little scrap left over that I could just about squeeze two tiny pockets out of, if I were so inclined.  I added size vents and left the selvages as bottom hem, partly out of sheer laziness and partly because I liked the writing on it:

The bottom of the front slit doesn't lie quite as smoothly as I'd like because I was trying to copy the way it looked on the original, rather than sewing and slashing to a point.  Lesson learned.

So let's just say, for the sake of argument, that my inspiration was Miriam Makeba; then I can add the photos to the Sew Weekly archive and feel like I've completed a challenge for the first time in a few weeks ;)

   And then I have an excuse to watch a bunch of videos on Youtube until I can find the perfect one:

If you're not shakin' it by the end of Pata Pata, there's just something wrong with you.  

Seriously, you should have that checked out.  

Simplicity 2591 fail.

I was so excited to make this pattern.  I received it from the generous Angela of RiAnge Creations, after I put out a plea for the OOP Simplicity 2591.  I wanted to make a vaguely nautical version like Adey and Farah had, but now there's a whole lotta wrong going on with this dress.  I don't know squat about fitting, but even I can tell that there's something out of whack with this bodice:  it's so tight across the underbust that I can barely lift my arms and doing up the zipper involves some serious contortions, but there is a big poof of fabric above the bust.  It looks like my chest collapsed in upon itself.  (I cropped off my head in all the following photos because I'm having a lazy hair day.)

The tragic part is that I used up almost all of this length of shwe shwe from Cape Town, and now I don't have enough left to recut, so I'll have to manage some kind of alterations on this bodice as is.  I'm thinking that I should have cut a larger size in the front bodice and then done a SBA.  Sound reasonable?  For the more experienced sewers out there, what do you think would help at this point?

You can see in this photo that my upper arms are being strangled, but there's a good 6L of extra volume in that upper chest.  Argh. 

I am super happy with the zipper however.  I hand basted so that I could match the pattern, and I think it's pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.

Oh Simplicity 2591, you will be the death of me.  How's that for melodrama?

**Oh, BTW, two posts in one day is due to a combination of holiday (Yay Canada Day!), my man taking my son out for Canada Day Celebrations all afternoon and my feverish daughter napping for 3+ hours.  

Cape Town to Canada: Beaded Collar

If you read this post from early April, you'll know the backstory of Xhosa collars and remember that I started working on my own version, but didn't think I'd make much progress.  Well, once again, the Sew Weekly came to my rescue and hosted  Embellish This!, so I really had no excuse to let it languish any longer.

When I was shopping for a beaded collar in Cape Town, I could only find Kenyan wire collars like this...

 

source

...which I don't think a white girl in Quebec can quite carry off.  I wanted something inspired by, rather than imitation of.  

Ta da!  

Each of these rows took me about 1 - 1.5hours to do, and I was seriously cheating on the couching.  Instead of doing 3 beads / backstitch 2, I did 10+, then backstitched 2.  I think it would have taken me years if I had done this properly.

I thought it would look best if I photographed it against bare skin, but then I chickened out and put on this old linen dress.  

     You could wear this forwards as peter pan collar, but I think I prefer it backwards.