tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post2032282114654839559..comments2024-03-26T04:10:52.296-07:00Comments on The Fashionable Past: On PerfectionismKatherine Caron-Greighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023378555632762445noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-42455363924716181472016-10-18T00:36:31.158-07:002016-10-18T00:36:31.158-07:00Also, I'm a typing perfectionist: bobbin lace....Also, I'm a typing perfectionist: bobbin lace.Hana - Marmotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532515160608083460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-7323939209604037542016-10-18T00:35:11.822-07:002016-10-18T00:35:11.822-07:00I have now also heard it said, in a short Czech TV...I have now also heard it said, in a short Czech TV documentary on bibbin lace, that in the days of the arrival of machine-made lace, the lacemakers who made lace by hand would intentionally put mistakes in their lace to make it obvious it was hand-made and worth more. :D<br />The perfectionism that drives me mad now is the uncertainty of whether what I'm doing is historically correct... more from a personal research point of view, as in, what if I do it this way and just as it's done find out it's wrong and I should have tried another technique new to me? Because that's happened to me already and it's a rather frustrating experience. :DHana - Marmotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532515160608083460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-81518518107413054602016-08-09T18:49:40.499-07:002016-08-09T18:49:40.499-07:00Thank you for this post...I think the perfectionis...Thank you for this post...I think the perfectionism we suffer from (in all areas, not just sewing) keeps us from developing our potential. I'm going to stop driving myself crazy with perfectionism in my sewing...and just sew! Eva www.mypaperrosegarden.wordpress.com<br />evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14450081181608191931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-81319751795040901722016-04-29T07:08:37.656-07:002016-04-29T07:08:37.656-07:00Thank you. I always try to Remind myself that Stor...Thank you. I always try to Remind myself that Store bought Stuff is not Perfect either in fact it is usually looking unprecisely or the seams are... Well not perfect. Reading an article like this one is calming my nerves. Blessings AnnaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901538627303078372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-2428634214600413592014-03-25T15:10:41.963-07:002014-03-25T15:10:41.963-07:00Very wonderful post Katherine! I love making my d...Very wonderful post Katherine! I love making my dresses in the fashion that the seamstresses did in the era I am emulating! The insides look very much like theirs...which is why I will never enter my dresses into a Fair. They go on how lovely it looks on the inside. Well, I am sorry, but I make my dresses using the same techniques my foremothers used! And I love it!<br /><br />Blessings!<br />GinaGinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14345391863552645466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-33970544196332628642014-03-25T06:32:21.133-07:002014-03-25T06:32:21.133-07:00We are so used to the standards of the ready-to-we...We are so used to the standards of the ready-to-wear industry that we forgot that a handmade garment construction is not comparable to the cookie-cutter type of modern clothing that we find on department stores' racks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-51681759198687356742014-03-24T11:32:19.902-07:002014-03-24T11:32:19.902-07:00This makes me so happy to see this post. I usually...This makes me so happy to see this post. I usually beat myself up over the imperfections and issues in my costumes, but your post makes me look at it in a different way. I think I can learn to appreciate these little imperfections now. <br />Thank you!Little Mothballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16290521780458381627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-90165518219285087932014-03-23T08:54:25.190-07:002014-03-23T08:54:25.190-07:00I once went to see a costume exhibit at a local mu...I once went to see a costume exhibit at a local museum. I was really surprised at the atrocious wavy hemline of a particular dress. Funny thing was, it was only from the 1950s! I suppose the bias of the skirt didn't help, but it did make me realize that there were slapdash seamstresses in every era!BoPeephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07374713332198134834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-25438852023175659632014-03-23T07:25:23.056-07:002014-03-23T07:25:23.056-07:00Stuff like this makes me happy because while I wan...Stuff like this makes me happy because while I want my project to look good, it's never, ever perfect. I had a similar revelation about perfectionism in period clothing long ago when I visited the Atlanta History Museum. Some of those Civil War uniforms looked like they were sewn by blind 5 year olds, but they were worn and held together enough for men to wear to wore. And just as you say, they HAD to make do so they did. <br /><br />I too have had the same problem with uneven fronts depsite measuring and have found that if I sew my hooks and bars on one and a time and hook them up as I go I can often over come it. If I find things are slightly off I can ease one side slightly with each hook and try to make up the difference.bauhausfrauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16152228335148460208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-87540395509374932832014-03-23T06:24:31.537-07:002014-03-23T06:24:31.537-07:00I assume you are familiar with the Amish view towa...I assume you are familiar with the Amish view toward the idea of perfectionism, also the Navajo one. In each quilt made by an Amish woman or in a Navajo woven blanket, there is a small "mistake" made, for only God is perfect. It does help me to think about this. Also, I have finally realized that most of the clothes that I have bought have flaws in them. Sometimes major as in a twist in the fabric as it was twisted when cut, or minor mistakes. I have now learned to live with my little flaws in my sewing that only I will know of unless I share. Also, as my mother said of her sewing, "who will know from the back of a galloping horse?"Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11867395223734680445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-57839059854730105902014-03-23T05:52:49.055-07:002014-03-23T05:52:49.055-07:00You are so right about that! I think it is the lit...You are so right about that! I think it is the little imperfections that make the character of a gown. Sometimes only the maker nows them... sometimes not. I do love to see a perfect gown, but it feels much better and more interesting, if there are these little imperfections. A pictured guide through fashionable imperfections would be so great! :) Lots of regards from Germany, Kris. Hertzwerk Freiburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794748313970398183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-72160404348832708832014-03-23T02:27:48.263-07:002014-03-23T02:27:48.263-07:00I needed this exactly. I'm making a sleeveless...I needed this exactly. I'm making a sleeveless spencer / bodice, and after I bound the whole thing in piping (including cutting the seam allowances, of course), I saw the front does not match. Good to know I'm not alone in this predicament!Hana - Marmotahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03532515160608083460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-75579396517067546242014-03-22T23:21:27.821-07:002014-03-22T23:21:27.821-07:00I really appreciate your insights on this. You are...I really appreciate your insights on this. You are one of the seamstresses that seem to just intuitively do things "perfectly" the first time. Your work is gorgeous! And yes, it's pretty easy to have costumer's envy when you're staring at a pile of fail in your own sewing room floor, while someone, somewhere, on the vast internet is seemingly getting it RIGHT. Kudos to you for keeping it real, and for reminding everyone that wonky seams happen.Thread-Headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15993301657471657837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-30696015882865968372014-03-22T23:10:31.138-07:002014-03-22T23:10:31.138-07:00Thank you so much for this post!
I suppose one of...Thank you so much for this post! <br />I suppose one of the main challenges for many is to let go of the 'perfection' in modern clothes and embrace the world of mis-matching, raw edges, puckered pleats etc.<br />And I second that this actually makes a re-creation feel period and real. I love the signs of 'handmade' and 'wear' and there are many extant examples out there and it would be such fun if a book would be made up of these 'imperfections' :)<br /><br />SabineKleidung um 1800https://www.blogger.com/profile/09187943106849398728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-41689529933589737932014-03-22T20:21:14.335-07:002014-03-22T20:21:14.335-07:00Most of the time when I try to do something perfec...Most of the time when I try to do something perfect I go kind of crazy. :)H.P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17526032515023960881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-54830401834598422342014-03-22T19:42:27.496-07:002014-03-22T19:42:27.496-07:00A customer definitely would! Agreed--one of many ...A customer definitely would! Agreed--one of many reasons I wouldn't want to do commissions :)<br /><br />And I'm glad you enjoyed it! That makes me smile :)Katherine Caron-Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03023378555632762445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-2390600871975126222014-03-22T19:41:34.733-07:002014-03-22T19:41:34.733-07:00Yes, definitely leave it! I'm so glad you fee...Yes, definitely leave it! I'm so glad you feel better about your own mismatch :)Katherine Caron-Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03023378555632762445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-81899609594702324592014-03-22T19:38:19.353-07:002014-03-22T19:38:19.353-07:00I also did not notice the mismatch until it was po...I also did not notice the mismatch until it was pointed out! That makes me feel a lot better about my own bodices being mismatched :) (I could probably fix one, but I put 20 bloody buttons on that thing and would have to move at least a third of them. Bah! I'm going to leave it!)Crystalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00962746282460467913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7326429105666772831.post-56439619784627512722014-03-22T19:24:58.169-07:002014-03-22T19:24:58.169-07:00I love this - I didn't even notice the mismatc...I love this - I didn't even notice the mismatches til you pointed to them! <br /><br />I'm glad someone else doesn't sweat what the insides of one's costumes look like! It's one reason (of many) that I never took commissions. I don't care what the parts that don't show look like. But a customer would!Maggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14336966472461335637noreply@blogger.com