Battling lassitude

Lassitude: a state of physical or mental weariness, lack of energy, lethargy.

It’s been a stressful few months for most of us, and creativity (for me) has dropped. Ironic, yes?  Time enough to make, and no real desire to do so. But lassitude feeds on itself and grows stronger with inaction, so, what to do? Here’s what I’ve tried to bring back some joy in the sewing room.

Just begin. A variant on the “Just Do It” ad I suppose, but without the pressure of a completed project. Just make a start — no deadline. One small step. I just finished a simple tee — it took me 4 days for something that would normally be a morning’s work. No matter, it got done.

Think small. Maybe now is not the time (for me) to embark on that tiny needles, thin yarn sweater. For some it might bring on a comforting, soothing meditative state, but for me it’s just another endless task. A lacy cowl, a cabled hat though — small, still interesting, do-able.

Rely on your “Tried & True”. Take comfort in the patterns you know work well for you. Give yourself every chance for a successful outcome. It may be “just a tee shirt”, but how much more satisfying than yet another “wadder”.

But don’t avoid the new if you can set aside that need for perfection. Just sample different stitches or techniques — play. Some things work, some things don’t. If they don’t please you not much is lost. If they do — a small creative spark!

These are things that have helped me fight against the hopelessness of “Why bother making?” A small thing in the larger picture of life in 2020, but I’ll take hope where I can find it.

Hair in the Time of Social Distancing

In the greater scheme of things the state of one's hair is extremely far down the list of current worries. Still, it's another small thing that adds to the malaise of 2020, so here's how I've been coping with that -- headbands.

I was last in a hair salon a few days before lockdown and closings.  I decided to get a new style -- a not quite pixie, but very short cut.  Good planning? Well, no. This was the sort of style that looks good when it's well maintained and trimmed frequently. The sort of style that often grows out -- oddly. 

No sense crying over something that temporarily can't be fixed, so let's go to a backup plan -- cover that mess! I considered a full-on turban, but then decided to ease into the style with a turban-like headband.  You can, of course, purchase a million different kinds online, but makers gotta make.

I have quite a lot of knit scraps that I fully intend to turn into - something? - in the future, so here was a good chance to get rid of a few. I looked at several tutorials, and ended up using the one from Dina's Daughter.  That link will take you to a measurement chart, and a further link to her YouTube tutorial. I used some leftover Art Gallery jersey and ended up with this:

Very comfortable to wear, and that particular fabric has plenty of "snap back".  Luckily it's also my favorite fabric for cotton tees, so plenty of scraps to choose from.

















Recently however I ran across a pattern for a woven fabric headband and decided to give it a try.  The tutorial is from Sew DIY - sorry, no direct link as Blogger takes me to the home page instead of to the tutorial despite typing the loooong address of the tutorial - which is sewdiy.com/blog/ulalouise.com/2013/07/diy-tutorial-turban-headband - but if all else fails - Google? It is apparently a knock off of an Anthropologie headband - the tutorial is from 2013, but the headbands are still being sold (if that matters to anyone). I can't say the tutorial is very clearly written, but it suffices - and my version looks like this:

Hmmm, I seem to like navy/white stripes, don't I?

Overall, I much prefer the knit version.  Because a headband needs to stretch, and woven fabric doesn't (much) any woven band will need to have elastic added to provide the stretch - and elastic will need to be covered by slightly gathered fabric. This adds an extra 'lump' to the back of your head, especially if your hair, like mine, is not luxuriously long - even if your fabric is quite thin.  So, while I love the fabric, and it looks good from the front - I can really live without that extra head lump! 

So, for now, my growing out hair will continue to be 'styled' with bands. Although in our locale the salons are re-opened, I won't be rushing off until things are more settled. Given the Metro area prices we pay I'd really like to not have my stylist working around required face masks when she's doing her precision cutting. Just me -- your mileage may vary.

Some fabric therapy...

...and a fabric disappointment.

It seems foolish to order fabric when you aren't sewing all that much, but hopefully that will change and nothing lifts the spirits like some fresh, pretty yardage.

First up -- some Telio Viscose Challis -- and how cheerful are lemons on a striped background?

I haven't used this particular challis before, and although it seems a bit thinner than my usual "go to" I think it will work quite well for a breezy peasant top. I'm thinking of Style Arc Anita and I'm hoping to find (or make?) some yellow tassels for the neck ties.















Because it is so lovely to work with, I indulged in some more of my favorite rayon challis --Cotton + Steel Rifle Paper Co. -- this particular pattern is "Wonderland".

It could be considered a bit whimsical -- with the Alice in Wonderland patterns -- but I don't think it jumps out at you.  Besides, what's wrong with a little whimsy these days?

Right now I'm planning to make a Loes Hinse Rochelle
but switching out the sleeve for a 3/4 length bishop sleeve.

This is a simple, classic pattern, but I like its floaty fit in a drapy rayon.








And lastly, a bit of a splurge --  Liberty Fabrics silk crepe "Marbelle Hall".

This was on clearance at Fabric.com for (not quite) 50% off, so why not? It is an absolutely lovely piece of silk and the pattern is not quite as twee as Liberty's ditsy flowers. Still pondering on the best pattern to use for this piece.

And now for disappointment:  I purchased some embroidered chambray to make a light summer dress -- Style Arc Lacey 

Doesn't look too bad from a distance, right?  The pattern itself is a good one for the type of everyday summer dress I was looking for. I lengthened the bodice by a bit (it's still above natural waist as the designer intended), and shortened the sleeves by an inch. I also used self-made bias binding on the neck instead of facings for no other reason than that's what I prefer.  So, no problems at all with the pattern.

The problem occurred when I took a close look at the embroidery.  What I had seen and assumed were French knots were in fact loose stitches. The embroidery is done entirely in chain stitches.  Chain stitching itself is not the issue, but the haphazard way it was fastened off is.  If you've ever unzipped a pet food bag you know that once you've pulled on the right end the stitching flies off.  

The yellow loops at the far left are loose stitches.  I've tried to fix the worst of them (and there are many motifs with this issue), but there's only so much you can do. So, I'm not really sure how long this will hold up -- there's no way a summer cotton isn't going to need to be laundered at some point. Sigh.  It even got a compliment from Mr. Mingling Yarn when I first modeled it.  Double sigh.