Tag: serger

Precious Pocketses

Clothing without pockets is ridiculous.

I carry a lot of things in my pockets.  I put my phone in, my keys, money, a small wallet with ID.  At times my pockets carry lens caps, tissue, paper towels, pens or pencils or markers.  If I can stash things in pockets, I would rather do that than go out with a purse slung on a shoulder.

Defined by Wikipedia as

A pocket is a bag– or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag or pouch.

That works for me.  Pockets have been found as bags to carry items, such as with Otzi the Iceman, bags worn under clothing with slits to access them, and so on.  It’s good to have them to carry things, leaving hands free.  Backpacks and other types of bags (fanny packs, butt bags, whatever, be you English or American 😉 ) are all useful ways to tote.

And then there is a “poke” – a dialectical word for a pocket, used in mountain areas to this day in the US.  “A pig in a poke” leaves a lot to the imagination.

So, why pockets?

Sewing.  I love sewing, and have decided to work on expanding my skills as well as knowledge.  Hand sewing is an art I have long enjoyed, and have set myself the task of improving those skills, such as hand sewing a 17th century shift in linen.  (Nearly done!)  I have also collected some books on medieval clothing, Tudor, and Regency era clothing.  Hand sewing was done in all those eras.  But, as I also like modern clothing, I have decided to improve my machine skills, such as with my serger / overlocker and coverstitch machines.  All this in addition to my first love, painting.

Back to pockets.

Burnley  & Trowbridge have a whole YouTube series on sewing pockets that tie around your waist, accessible through your clothing.  Very simple and elegant.  Here is the first video in the process:

And there is a book that I just bought, by Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux:

Definitely a great read so far – scholarly, thought-provoking, and a great look at the humble pocket.

However, is it just utilitarian? Nope! Pockets can also be works of art, with fine embroidery, as seen on the cover of the book above. They are also included in the wardrobes of dolls form long ago. You can read about pockets at England’s great Victoria & Albert Museum.

Besides the V&A,  VADS has a whole series of pictures and information about pockets – 373 to be exact – of accounts of material bought for pockets, paintings with pockets, dolls clothed with pockets, children and adult clothing with pockets.  Scroll through it – it is a stunning resource for pockets and all kinds of other things.  Words cannot describe the visual richness and historical treasures found at these sites.  Here is an image of a doll, skirts flying, and pocket showing:

And so, I will leave you with thoughts of the humble pocket.  I have plenty on me today – two in my fleece vest, two big ones in my pants.  I am a very happy girl, I assure you.  If it ’twere true I had on socks, I could also use those for pockets.  (We won’t discuss my underwear.)

Pocketses are truly precious.  Gollum knows.  So do I.  So do you.

 

Outdated

Jacket 3

This pattern dates from somewhere in mid-nineties. Original intent was a birthday present for a friend, but, like many things, got set aside because of other distractions. Now, resurrected, it surely does not appeal to me, but I am determined to finish it, even if I never wear it and just give it to a local thrift store. The experience, at this point, is the point.

Additionally, this is the very first project I ever used with my serger.  And it was the last, until, like this jacket, I resurrected my serger.  Can you believe at least 15 years have gone by for both of these??  I admit, the serger just scared the hell out of me – so fast, so complicated – but with my renewed interest in sewing, I decided that the serger was going to come out of oblivion.

Elna 2

This serger was one of the top of the line during the 1990s. It is an Elna Pro 5 DC, is a 5-thread machine, and has a really cute and convenient LCD display that one can program to put in settings for each of the many stitches it does. Unfortunately, there seems to be a bit of a problem with it because it beeps at me, and the red lights turn on and off. For now, though, I am going to use it until the jacket is finished, and then bring it in for a check up at Art & Jenny’s. I have it set up for 3-thread overlock, and for now, that is where it is going to remain. I’ve had the fun experience, already, of cutting through part of the upper left sleeve while finishing the side seams, so it got patched with some fusible interfacing and a mending stitch. Experience is the best teacher!

Jacket 2

Besides not being a talented serger-ess, I also seem to have not bought enough material to provide a facing for the yoke of the jacket. I will have to wander over to Joann’s later today and find something along the same weight, and maybe color, as the turquoise poplin. And, my threads don’t match the original I used back in the 90s . . . Gosh, life sure is tough!

Jacket 1