random thoughts – Day 2,228 (Thursday) – sweatshop saga – the final fourth tier

Preparation of the final tier.

 I woke up early. The pinned big skirt beckoned. After a couple cups of coffee the third tier was stitched, I was pleased, and it was time to start on the fourth and final tier. It’s the home stretch. 

Laid out across the floor, the flattened circle tier ran from the bedroom, through the living room, and ended in a heap outside the living room door. It looked like a fancy runway for a cat fashion show. Kiki was doing her day shift in the bedroom and had no interest in the metallic splendor laid out on the floor. 

The plan for the tier was to mark the center front and back, sides, and halfway between the centers and sides to help with setting the tier equally around the bottom of the skirt. During the marking, I realized the bottom edge wasn’t hemmed yet, which is easier when done as a detached flat panel instead of a gathered ruffle with the weight of the entire skirt to manage at the machine.

It took several hours to hem the 25 yards of fabric in the tier, and some if it was due to my planning. At first, I pressed the edge with the iron and then pinned the hem, which was time consuming. When my back hurt from hovering over the iron and hem edge, I decided to start the sewing. Several yards had been pinned and then stitched with complications. The thread tension dial on the machine kept changing from 4 to 0, resulting in the stitching on the underside being loose. Much thread was ripped out. I sew, therefore I rip. Then I resew. There was a lot of “for fox sake” being uttered.

I finally realized I was bumping the dial as I removed pins with my left hand and set them in the pin box to my right because there was no room to the left and the skirt would knock them all to the floor. That’s when I skipped pinning the rest of the tier and hand formed it as I sewed. It was slower sewing, but faster overall without the separate pinning step.

Pinned about 3/4 around.

The momentum of the hemming propelled me to the pinning of the tier. It was slightly easier than pinning the third tier yesterday, but still tricky. Despite trying to carefully space the tier, some sections ended up not quite matching and would run out of ruffle for the space (like the previous tier). Sections were reworked (some several times) to redistribute the fullness. After hours of labor, it’s pinned only about ¾ of the way around. The end is in sight.

A decent night of sleep, some morning coffee, and with luck, the rest of the tier will be pinned and the whole thing stitched by lunchtime Friday. Hopefully. Fingers are crossed.

random thoughts – Day 2,227 (Wednesday) – sweatshop saga - waist and third tier

And just like that, the week is half over in a blink. There was a trip to WalMart this morning for two-inch elastic for the big skirt and a few other things. There were challenges inserting the elastic into the casing, despite deliberately making the casing a half inch larger than the instructions said. It was tight feeding the elastic through the casing, then, after I stitched the elastic ends together, I discovered I had twisted it when I stitched it and it couldn’t lay flat. Got that fixed, tried it on, and the waist was too loose. After a few more missteps, it was finally done. I hope.

Third tier pleated and pinned in place.

Mid-afternoon (3:00), it seems I was possessed by Saint Tabitha, patron of seamstresses and tailors. Instead of organizing the donation that is scheduled for pickup Thursday morning, I decided to start the third ruffle tier. The 6.25 yard tier looked sweet and innocent but the 12.5 yard ruffle layer that needed to be pinned into it was intimidating. The 25 yard tier that will finish it might also finish me.

The instructional video I’ve been following features a very chipper sewist who makes it all seem very simple and easy but that must be some happy pills or white wine mixed with some editing magic because it isn’t quite that simple. 

I marked the front, back and sides of the waistband with colored clips – red for center front and back, blue for the sides, purple for the points halfway between. Then I marked the corresponding points on the ruffle, matched the clip colors, and started pleating. Easy-peasy. Nope. Not so fast, sister.

It started out well and then fell to crap. At first, it was easy setting the pleats, but it turned out to be like the false spring we enjoyed last week. The clips ran out and I started using pins. Very stabby pins. There was blood. Then, I kept running out of ruffle and had to backtrack and respace the pleats to fit into the smaller tier. In the end, it was finally pinned, and at 9:00 I called it done for the day, despite really wanting to get the seam stitched today. There were lessons learned that will carry over to the fourth and final tier. I hope. 

random thoughts – Day 2,226 (Tuesday) – sweatshop plans

Four seams available
for adjustments.

The sweatshop operated on the production operations management rule in grad school – do the quick jobs first to get them out of the queue. Psychologically, it means something got done and the daunting to-do list might not be so long and I needed the mental boost, so the afternoon was absorbed with a couple projects that are quicker than the laborious 25-yard skirt. 

Today’s successes were letting out the seams on an Indian choli top and working on the coin bra. Ideally, there would be a local warehouse selling thousands of belly dance costumes and I wouldn't need to do all this labor, but that is not the case, so I sit and I sew and I sew and I rip out stitches. (Or, if you prefer the tongue twister Mummu used to love, "She sits as she sews and she sews as she sits.")

The choli was bought with a companion saree over the weekend. The brilliant design of the tops is that there are multiple seams stitched in. If the top is too small, stitching from the seams can be removed. This particular top had been taken in smaller, so in addition to four machine stitched seam lines, there was an additional hand stitched seam. That was the easiest one to pick out. Two machine stitched seams were removed after that. It needs to be tried on again and reevaluated. It’s also a little too short, so I’ll need to add a band of fabric at the bottom, which I’ll cut from the saree. At least I have the comfort of a plan.

Coin bra in process.

The second project that got moving along is the coin bra. Digging through my swimwear, I found the black swim top I hoped I had not donated away before moving. Whew! To add stability, a bra that didn’t fit quite right was disassembled for parts. Some parts were set aside for potential future use and the cups were hand stitched into the swim top. This will provide a sturdy foundation for two triangular panels of coins to be stitched on. For now, those have been tentatively pinned in place. They need a little work, as some coins are missing and the panels could be a smidge smaller, but at least I have an idea of the look.

Then it was off to dance group. We ran through many of the dances in the June show, except the two large numbers which were impossible to run due to absences. It’s hard to rehearse dances with nine or ten people three or four are absent. Hopefully next week we can run them.

random thoughts – Day 2,225 (Monday) – sweatshop saga

Lightly frosted.

The day kicked off with a hint of frost on the lawns, hedges, and rooftops. The sun was out, but it still felt very disrespectful. The temperature hovered in the 40s today, which is not nearly as nice as last week when it was in the high 70s/low 80s. Spring is so fickle. Once again, I'm glad I didn't buy any plants for the yard yet.

The sweatshop was back in operation. The fullest tier was remeasured (twice) to confirm the volume and was trimmed to the correct length. The waistband received buttonholes for the drawstring and was attached to the top of the skirt, and that is where the progress hit a hiccup. The two-inch elastic in my supplies, left over from another project ages ago, is a couple inches too short and won't work. There was no interest in running out to fetch more elastic today, so the production line was paused and the laborer (me) was granted the afternoon off.  There is always tomorrow.

Another day, another bucket.

It was another day with a bucket truck in front of the house. This time, there was only one guy. He parked the truck, then got out of it to enter the bucket and raise it up to the top of the utility pole. This seemed unusual and also like a safety issue and I was worried for the guy. What if something happened when he was up at the pole? What if the bucket got stuck? While he was in front of my house, I watched, ready to call for help if needed and hoping it wouldn't be necessary. 

The evening saw the weekly meetup with the duet partner to run the choreography we’ve been working on and compare costume making notes for the dance group we’re both in. Last year’s costumes were easy and we didn’t need to buy or make much, but this year’s costumes don’t seem to include anything we can just pull from our closets and wear. We’re each going to need additions on our homes for dance costumes.

random thoughts – Day 2,224 (Sunday) – sweatshop day shift

The gray, drizzly day turned out to be perfect for a quiet day at home sewing in the makeshift sweatshop. The 25-yard skirt is coming together and the machine (and my back) are getting a semi-abusive workout. Sitting on the floor to deal with miles of fabric because the table isn’t large enough (even when empty), is tough on the lower back. I always seem to forgot this detail.

Sewing the strips to make the tiers.

This skirt is a textile engineering marvel with each tier double the size of the one above it. In today’s progress, the first tier, which measures 3.1 yards of fabric, was joined with the second tier, which measures 6.25 yards. The larger tier is tucked and gathered to fit the smaller. The smaller top tier will be gathered into the waistband and the bottom of the second tier will have the 12.50-yard third tier gathered into it. Then the 25-yard final tier will be gathered into the bottom of the third tier. And just like that, it will be done.

It was around 11:45 when things got started today, fortified by a late breakfast of leftover risotto, scalloped potatoes, and fried salami. The breakfast powered me through sewing the strips together to make the tiers and verifying the length of the tiers, and suddenly it was 2:00.

Gathering, clipping, and hand-basting.

Mom stopped over at some point in the afternoon and we had a quick visit, during which I showed her the sewing project that was consuming the dining table and hard to miss. She sewed a lot when I was young, and taught me how when I was kid.

Fabric clips were used for the gathering and it took 100 clips to go halfway around the tier done today. I may need to order more fabric clips because the tiers are only going to get larger. When the 100 clips were securing half the tier, I switched gears and hand basted the gathers in place so I could use the clips to gather the rest of the tier. It is tedious, and probably not the sort of drudgery endurance test some people would find appealing. I kind of wish I had started with joining the fourth and third tiers, because then the remaining tiers would have been the shorter tiers. Lesson learned for the next time, if there is another one.

Done for the day.

There was a supper break with some freshly prepared sauteed veggies and rice, and then it was back to the sewing. I finally stopped sewing around 8:45. The rug was covered in pieces of thread and metallic bits from the fabric, so vacuuming seemed necessary because I don’t want Kiki picking up metallic thread with her paws and ingesting them while grooming herself. In the sewing times before pets, vacuuming would have been delayed until the end of the project or guests were coming, whichever happened first.

I didn’t plan to work on a skirt for the equivalent of an entire sweatshop factory work shift, but sometimes that is what happens when things are on a roll. I would complain to management about the paltry (nonexistent) wages and harsh working conditions, but I talk to myself enough already.

random thoughts – Day 2,223 (Saturday) – saree day and plans

Some days have nothing scheduled and other days have more going on. This morning was occupied with an appointment to look at Indian sarees for potential use as dance costumes or fabric parts for costumes. The afternoon was booked with a meeting of the planning committee for my class reunion.

The saree viewing turned into an hour spent chatting with a delightful woman. She showed my friend and me the six sarees (some with coordinating tops), bangle bracelets, and a couple necklaces. There was a conversation about her daughter who studied classical Indian dance, and our new friend offered to teach us some Indian dancing. She told us about BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham which is the largest Hindu temple in the Western Hemisphere, and the second-largest in the world. And it’s in not so terribly far away Robbinsville, New Jersey and now I want to go there. 

Sarees and tops.

The sarees were beautiful and my friend and I each bought two. Now I will be laying out a harem pants pattern on the pink and green saree to go under a skirt. The June show is costing me a fortune in costuming and I don't even want to add up how much I've recently spent in fabric, skirts, and clothes to dissect and rebuild, but it's been fun planning it. 

The reunion planning meeting was fun. Most of us don’t see each other often, and it’s always a good conversation when we get together. We are organizing our class reunion that will take place in 2028. We’ve narrowed down a list of venues and a set a date. One of the biggest challenges we’ve had with previous reunions is locating classmates. We’re hoping with the long lead time, we can cast a wider net and reach more classmates.

There was a lot of food at the meeting and I overate. This happens when I am parked for several hours at a table filled with food. I start out okay, then I turn into an eating machine as the minutes tick away, especially if I’m not actively taking notes and we’re just reminiscing. Hours later, I feel really yucky.

random thoughts – Day 2,222 (Friday) – busy day

The visit with the dermatologist was today. It’s been an annual event since about 2017 when my primary physician saw scarring across my shoulders and put in a referral. Three or four years before that, a different doctor at a different healthcare office noticed the scarring and asked if I had acne as teen. When I said I did not, they called in the dermatologist at that practice, who looked at my shoulders, said, “yeah, I’ve never seen anything like that before” and left the room. And that was that. Cool, thanks. Very not helpful.

At the dermatologist.

The current dermatologist looked at my shoulders and recognized the situation immediately. Then she pulled up images on the laptop to show me while she explained it. It turned out to be lichen sclerosis, which is a delightful autoimmune disease where the skin attacks itself and turns to scar tissue. I have no idea when the scarring on my back began, but for years, I had noticed random, smooth white spots on my arms, especially after being in the sun, and thought of them as reverse freckles (if I thought of them at all). There weren't that many, and I don't spend time in the sun like I did when I was young and reckless, so they weren't obvious. 

Now, after sun exposure, my shoulders and upper back are a dotted, mottled pattern of white scar tissue and light suntan, which I know, because now I check (or other people comment on it). Off the shoulder and low-cut back styles, which I used to like, are out for me now (self conscious, or vain?). Thanks, random autoimmune disease.

After the dermatologist visit (everything is fine, see you next year), I explored thrift shops. An Internet search of “thrift shops near me” done in the medical office parking lot sent me a couple miles down the street to a shop in a church basement. They had a lot of clothing set aside and under wraps for a fashion show tonight. The shop was small and tiny and mostly overpriced. I could buy similar items brand new for the same prices or less. 

Before leaving that parking lot, I did another Internet query. A couple miles away in another direction there was a consignment shop with beautiful displays and reasonable prices, but nothing I wanted. I was on a mission for dance costume components and things that are inexpensive enough that when I cut them apart, I won’t feel bad. 

Outside the nicest thrift store.

The next parking lot query led me to another church shop. This one had multiple rooms and hallways organized by logical categories – books, toys, housewares, craft items, cookware, dishes and glassware, and clothing – and true thrift store pricing in a boutique environment. It was possibly the nicest thrift store I’ve ever seen. The selection was great, but not what I needed.

Heading back home, I peeled off at the Fitchburg/Leominster exit for gas at my favorite station which happens to be near Salvation Army Family Store (coincidence?). It had been months since I shopped there and things have changed. There was still the annoying, perpetually flickering light, but the store felt cleaner and neater. There was a beautifully arranged spring clothing display on a wall. A rack of wedding gowns along a wall was stunning. The clothing racks were a bit overstuffed, but everything was hung nicely. Here, I found some of the items I needed for dance costumes for the June show at reasonable prices, plus a silk shawl for 99-cents (yes, please!). Nice score, thank you very much.