Show and tell. Sumer is icumen in

Summer is officially here, solstice, heatwave, all that. So sumer clouts are out and about.

Here's the robe I hand-stitched last year from a  Freecycled sheet. I really like it. 

I gave it the features I like, such as inside ties, a hanging loop, deep patch pockets, cuffs, the right length not to trip me on the stairs. 

Then skirts are just the thing right now.

Unpressed pleats, this cotton blend skirt, made from another Freecycled sheet,  has a side opening, stay tuned for the reason 

A Lucy Locket pocket.  It's a teardrop shape with a slit opening. You tie it around the waist under your skirt, so it's hidden. 

It doesn't pull on the skirt because it's separate from it. And you design the slit and depth to suit your own hand.  I used some unbleached muslin and friend-donated bias binding.

You can stuff a lot of things in  safely, and they won't fall out, because the top is closed, and you access it via the side skirt opening.

This is a centuries' old idea, and is the kind of pocket Lucy Locket lost, in case you ever wondered how in the name of historybounding a person could possibly lose a pocket.

These pockets took the place of tote bags. You could stow away a dozen eggs in a big one, or even transport a live chicken to market, easier than carrying it.  Nowadays it works for your phone, Kindle, wallet, banana sandwich, knitting,  your choice of size and purpose. 

This is more fun than shopping. You make what you want, in your own size, not something a garment designer thought someone like you should have. 

To be fair, they're trying to fit a huge range of body sizes and tastes, so they have to pretty much make an average, and most sizes probably fit nobody.  By the time you've altered a garment you buy, you might as well have made it how you want it. 

Hand sewing puts you in touch with history as very few other tasks do. Spinning, too.  

Happy day everyone. What simple processes do you enjoy?  Can be anything, mowing with a non motorized push mower, washing dishes by hand, knitting and crocheting yarn you spun, saving and planting seeds. It's all good.

 

And it's not DEI. it's DEIA. A for accessibility.