I really have not made much progress on anything this year, very distracted, but today I managed to reorganise my pattern book paper files into a good and straightforward order. The book keeps growing because despite how quickly I can pattern and cut, it did take a very long time to get to that point. And imagine how much I could have done had I just been able to find that all in one place.
So I’m basically writing a book simplifying all stages, allowing for the kinds of compromises we have to make when recreating. So I’m starting with some basics. And all based on engineering. So I’m explaining what a stitch offers and what it is often used for.
I started my own costume making from 19thC construction methods. It’s actually really handy, but it’s really quite different from modern pattern making and construction that I have often been perplexed by a lot of reenactment/recreation terminology. So I’m not just trying to write something that could have been written in the 16thC, but to not skip over 500 years while also not over complicating things.
I am having a bit of difficulty in making sure my work is inclusive, so accessibility is a big deal- alt text yes, making sure that makes sense is a very different thing when being very specific for pattern drafting. But my text is also meant to describe what is in the image so I’m trying to not double up on text reader work. So that mostly means doing a bit more research on how technical manuals and geometry books do this. And of course also looking up reviews.
I also have built all my patterns on me. I happen to be a really close match to some extant garments but that mostly means I don’t have to do much in terms of proportion. But again, I have all the tailoring books, all the extant garment patterns I can get, and all the paintings of different people in the same fashion.
So that has also changed how I treat my construction notes.
But both RA and Fibro are Doing A Thing. My joints are very stretchy in some directions and none in the other. So my ankles and wrists at night need support so they aren’t overstretched. Which sounds strange right? At night though those joints can be overstretched for longer time than I would choose during the day.
So it’s time to apply heat!