Spring is on its way! Ostara is just around the corner. Ostara, or the spring equinox, is the second spring Sabbat in the wheel of the year.
I made progress with my wool coat. I have finally sewn the coat lining. That was a real headache. I added a half inch to each lining section and each of the eleven sections were cut on the grain. This means that the lining won’t pull or twist when I wear it with the wool exterior. I sewed the sleeves. I had to ease the two sleeve pieces in together. I eased the sleeve on one side then I pinned the 2 pieces together. I used the iron to stretch the wool to make the upper and lower sleeve pieces fit together. The wool is thick and I can hardly even get a pin through. It worked. Now I set in two rows of basting stitches within the seam allowance of the sleeve crown. The thread is a contrast color to make it easier to remove them later.
I was so tired but I worked hard stitching all eleven sections of the lining together. Then I did a fitting once the whole coat lining was sewn. The coat lining was sewn with a 4’8 inch stitch. The wool coat was sewn with a 5’8′ inch stitch. I have to set in the sleeves, sew the belt carriers, sew the upper collar to the coat lining, sew the lining to the coat and hem it. Then once I am happy with that, I will sew in the buttonholes. I already purchased the buttons for the coat. My sewing machine has a button foot but I have zero experience sewing buttonholes. I know someone who will help with that step but that happens later.
The coat is coming along beautifully. I have to correct the seam allowances in the sleeve area of the wool exterior. I tapered to 3’8′ of an inch instead of 5’8′ inches. If I correct all that, then the sleeves will set in perfectly. There is a bit of work to be done but it will all pay off in the end. I have to sew the lining sleeves the exact same way I did with the wool sleeves. The lining always mimics the exterior of the coat. I am sure it will be beautiful.
The research and the reading I did has paid off. I now feel more confident sewing the coat. I intend to finish the coat this week or early next week. After all, I have waited two months for this. Spring will be here then there will be no point to wearing a wool coat. Yup I better make it happen!
I not only gain a beautiful coat. I have gleaned new useful knowledge from sewing the coat. I love using a tailor’s ham and honestly don’t know how I lived without it. I also now own a sleeve roll which will soon prove very useful. I cut the lining sections on the grain which means the garment will hang more correctly on your body. I added interfacing to the sleeve caps to prevent stretching. I added a strip of interfacing to the pockets of the coat to prevent stretching. I added interfacing to the collar sections even though I didn’t have to, but it will strengthen the collar sections. I plan to add shoulder pads to the coat. I decided against sewing on a fur collar. If the fur sheds, it won’t look good. I am sewing on a detachable lined hood. I may make the hood permanent because sewing buttonholes on the hood with all that bulk will be next to impossible. That is why the belt carriers are sewn on before the lining is added. There is a lot to consider in the proper construction of a wool coat.
I added the shoulder pads, sewed the sleeves into the coat lining and sewed the lining to the coat. It was far from complete, though. The wool coat is now lined. The collar points were sewn to perfection thanks to my Mom. The wool sleeves are attached. It has been tons of hard work. The lining has to be hemmed and the buttonholes have to be done. So much work!!!! She wants to fix the belt carriers and sew in the buttonholes. So much work!!!
The photo shows the progress of the coat so far!
The coat is done. All that remains to be done is to sew on the hood. I am so happy with the coat. It looks so beautiful.
Spring is coming. I should start planning which seeds I will start soon. I have lots and lots of seeds. I can’t wait to get to work on my garden again.
I know, I know, as if Covid wasn’t bad enough, it is also the middle of winter and spring seems a way off. Snow frosts the yard and garden here. To cheer myself up, this is how I have spent my time. A copy of Lisa Morton’s book Ghosts: A Haunted history. I am sure it will be an awesome spooky read. I polished an article about Paranormal paganism for the editor of Witches and Pagans magazine at her request. I am still slogging away on my brown wool winter coat. My lining material has strangely vanished from my apartment. I have no idea where it went. It’s been nearly a month and it hasn’t turned up. My Mom bought the last of the brown wool online as the fabric store had discontinued it. I would not have been able to sew the sleeves. I am buying new lining fabric in a different color by the end of the week. I am also slowly slogging away on a new novella story.
I have been busy. On top of slaving for my cat, as per protocol, I conducted a Sherlock Holmes worthy investigation of where the fabric could have vanished to. I did bring home a new mirror. I never saged it when I brought it home. Now I have smudged my apartment, spritzed holy water onto the mirror and smudged the mirror. I plan to sew a long white cloth and empower the cloth with a blue rune symbol like Eolh as a binding symbol for protection.
Mirrors are known to be portals for spirits, especially unsavory spirits. Some people believe that if you have a mirror in your bedroom, your partner will cheat on you. Ouch! Others believe that you should cover the mirror with a white cloth at night if you do plan to have a mirror in your room. Right now, the long mirror is in my bedroom with the back of the mirror facing up. I am broke right now and as soon as I can, I will cover the mirror at night. I want to buy a bagua. I believe in Feng Shui. Maybe incense too!
However, I can’t explain how my fabric managed to VANISH from a tiny, cluttered apartment. It is nowhere to be found. I blame the new mirror. I have to blame something. It is truly weird that fabric can disappear. It never left the apartment. I have waited all month for it to return to me and no luck. I beleive now I can’t use that lining fabric for my coat. I have to buy new lining fabric that has good energy in it. I am now not in love with the color anyway.
Some day I might find that fabric and then kick myself for the rest of my life. It will turn up in the most odd or unlikely place. In the meantine, I have sewn the hood for the coat, the belt and the outer shell of the coat. I have yet to sew the sleeves and set them in the coat, and line the coat and sew on the carriers for the belt. I am pleased with how beautifully the shoulder seam sleeves and the under collar turned out. I stitched a perfect brown wool belt too and the buckle is a gold color. The gold perfectly enhances the brown wool. Wool can be turned right side out. It just takes patience and being gentle with the wool.
Eventually, the winter coat will be completed and look just beautiful. I can’t wait. I know my strawberry blonde hair color will be enhanced by the brown wool. The gold buckle looks beautiful on the brown Kashmir wool. I borrowed a book about couture sewing and a book from the library about sewing. I also bought the Vogue fashion sewing book from Thriftbooks. I chose Thriftbooks because it is much cheaper than Amazon and more reliable. I was scammed by a seller on Amazon.
I invested in a thread box that stores thread- no more searching!, and a tailor ham, tailor’s chalk, new sharper scissors which hugely helps and are only for sewing. I do plan to buy a sleeve roll so I can perfectly sew the sleeves. I plan to interface the sleeeves and add a sleeve head. That is so the wool fabric is smoother and more professional looking. My Mom has offered to sew the buttonholes. I have never done that before and I am terrified. I have a button hole foot but she can do it better than I can. With a wool coat, there is no room for error. I plan to sew the buttons on by hand. The sewing needle might hit the button part itself, not the hole or break. I can’t wait!
Production or should I say, construction of my dreamy winter coat has been postponed. The lining material has strangely vanished. I can’t explain it. Besides, I want a new colour for the lining material. The red I chose is in my opinion, the wrong colour. Since I have to live with the shade of brown for the rest of my life, I am purchasing a tan or camel colour at the end of the month. The ling material that I have now is too red, more like a wine or a burgundy color. I can’t wait to get back to work on it.
Imbolc is here! Imbolc is the first of the three spring Sabbats. It doesn’t look like spring today. The sky is dark and overcast, and rain batters the houses and streets. Spring is a while yet in coming. mbolc is a pagan holiday celebrated from February 1 through sundown February 2. Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.
Imbolc, or Imbolg, is one of the lesser-known festivals of the ancient Celts, but it was one of the four most important festivals in the Celtic calendar. For this ancient society, the year revolved around two main points; on the one hand, since the Celts were an agricultural society, everything was based around the harvest.
On the other hand, they also had an in-depth knowledge about the alignment of the sun and stars, which history suggests had great significance for them. So their calendar was neatly divided up into four quarters, with a festival to celebrate reaching each one. The year started with Samhain at the end of October, when the harvest was in full swing, to prepare for the onset of winter.
In Celtic philosophy, light must always follow dark, so this is why their year began on such a somber note. Bealtaine at the beginning of May marked the coming of summer, the beginning of sowing crops, and the light half of the year, and was the biggest and happiest celebration. In between were Lughnasa in August, marking the beginning of the harvest, and Imbolc in February, to celebrate the beginning of spring.
What was Imbolc about?
Simply put, Imbolc was a celebration of the end of winter and the impending light half of the year.
The hardest part of the year was over; adverse weather, cold temperatures, food rationing, and of course, no warfare (an integral part of Celtic society) would soon be a thing of the past.
Farmers were getting ready to go back to work, preparing animals for breeding, warriors were picking up their weapons again, and the political and social aspects of life that had been put on hold for winter were also beginning again.
The name Imbolc originates from ‘i mbolg’, which translates as ‘in the belly’. This refers to livestock breeding season, particularly the pregnancy of ewes, which was one of the focal points of the celebration.
Because the festival was so associated with this, it’s timing often varied – it could be anywhere from mid-January to mid- February depending on the weather and the animals’ behaviour.
It also appeared to have a more spiritual significance for the Celts too, as it’s no coincidence that more than a few megalithic monuments around Ireland are perfectly aligned with the rising sun around the dates of Imbolc and Samhain.
Imbolc was celebrated all across Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, with each region having slightly different variations in name and customs. Wales also had a remarkably similar version of the festival known as Gwyl Fair y Canhwyllau.
After the onset of Christianity in Ireland, the festival was tied in with a celebration of Saint Bridget, and transformed from a pagan one into a Christian one.
Christians used Brigid as the focal point of their celebrations to smooth the transition, as Imbolc had previously been associated with a goddess of a very similar name, Brighid. Essentially, Bridget and Brighid were the same person! As with all Celtic festivals, Imbolc involved a host of unique customs and rituals to welcome the spring, say farewell to the winter, ward against evil and promote health and wellbeing.
Imbolc was similar to Samhain and Bealtaine in that fire played an integral part of the celebrations, although not on the same scale. While at Samhain bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits and at Bealtaine they served to offer protection and growth, at Imbolc they were symbolic of the sun’s return.
Rather than a huge central bonfire at the centre of the festivities, Imbolc was more about the home and each home’s hearth. Every home in the community would have their own fire burning right through the night, and during medieval times when homes consisted of actual wood and stone buildings rather than the wattle and daub huts of the Celts, all of the fires in the house were lit for the night. If for some reason that was not possible, it was sufficient to have candles lit in every room instead.
The Celts were always concerned about the weather (something that has lasted up until the present day with modern Irish people!), so Imbolc was an important time to read omens and attempt to predict the weather for the summer. An unusual but widely popular omen was if the weather was especially bad on the day of Imbolc, which meant a great summer was on the way. This is because one of the more malicious creatures in Irish folklore, the Cailleach, would spend the day of Imbolc collecting firewood for herself if winter was to last a while longer.
To do this, she would obviously need a bright and dry day to collect her wood, so if Imbolc was wet and windy, that meant the Cailleach had gone to sleep and winter would soon be over.
Visiting wells was another important custom for Imbolc, particularly holy wells. Visitors would walk around the well in the same direction as the sun traversed the sky at that point on the land, praying for health and wealth for the year.
Offerings were left at the well once this was done; usually coins or ‘clooties’ (pieces of cloth). Special foods were also part of the festivities, usually consisting of bannock – a flatbread cut into wedges – as well as dairy products and meat.
The early Celtic version of Imbolc was not all that different from the festival in early medieval times when Christianity was taking hold in Ireland. One of the goddesses the Celts worshipped at this festival was Bhrigid, the daughter of Dagda (the chief Celtic deity) and one of the Tuatha De Dannan, the first inhabitants of Ireland.
She is associated with many things, most significantly poetry and fertility, but such activities as healing, smithing, arts, and crafts, tending to livestock and serpents also make the cut. She is credited with creating a whistle for people to call to one another through the night.
Some legends claim that while one half of her face was beautiful, the other was horribly ugly. She is thought by many to be the Celtic equivalent of the Roman goddess Minerva and the Greek goddess Athena.
Saint Bridget, on the other hand, was not a mythical goddess but a real woman, born in Dundalk, County Louth, around the 5th century AD.
During her lifetime she became a nun, founded numerous monasteries and performed her fair share of miracles, becoming one of the foremost advocates of Christianity in Ireland. After her death, she was made one of Ireland’s patron saints (and the only female patron saint), along with Patrick and Columba. So it was a natural progression for Imbolc, the pagan festival worshipping the goddess Bhrigid, to become the Christian festival in honour of Saint Bridget. February 2nd was chosen as the permanent day of celebration.
For the Celts, Bhrigid represented the all-important light half of the year, so her presence was much revered during the festival.
On Imbolc Eve, it was claimed that she would visit the most virtuous homes and bless everyone who slept in them, so people would leave pieces of clothing, food, or other tokens outside the entrance for her to bless, or to entice her into the home, It was Bhrigid’s role as a fertility goddess that was most important here, but for the medieval people of Ireland, her healing powers and general protective sense were as important as well as her fertility.
The majority of Imbolc traditions regarding Bhrigid or Bridget come from this time. While the tradition of leaving small tributes to Bridget on the doorstep continued for several centuries, several others sprang up too.
Celtic Inspired Torc Pendant – Celts believed the ancient Torc provided the wearer with a mystical form of protection
Ashes from the fire that was left to burn all night long would be smoothed out and left to see if a mark from Bridget appeared, to confirm that she had visited the house. Sometimes a makeshift bed would even be made up next to the fire, in case the saint wanted to rest a while.
This tradition was particularly popular in the Isle of Man and Scotland, where there were several short rhymes to go along with the tradition, acting as a call to the Saint to come and visit – generally, they were some variation on the phrase ‘Bridget, come in to our home, your bed is ready’. In some areas across Ireland and Scotland, women played a very important part in the festivities. They would make a doll figure from rushes known as a ‘Brideog’, dress it in white and with flowers, and carry it in a procession while singing hymns and poems in honour of Bridget.
At every home they passed, they would receive more pieces of cloth or small bits of food for the Brideog. Once the procession was finished, they would place the Brideog in a seat of honour and have a feast with all of the food, before placing it in a bed for the night while they began celebrations.
The most well-known tradition, however, and one that is still practiced today, is making a Saint Bridget’s cross and hanging it in the home. These crosses were a unique symbol of the transition from Paganism to Christianity. Before, bunches of rushes were tied together and hung at the entrance to homes to welcome Bhrigid. One of the stories of Bridget’s lifetime, however, recounts how she wove a cross from rushes and placed it above a dying man’s bed.
He roused from his delirium to ask what she was doing, and on hearing what it meant, he asked to be baptised before his death.
Since then, the cross has been a symbol for Bridget, and was also a familiar symbol for the Celts, making it the perfect transition symbol for Imbolc. The cross is distinctive, with a square in the middle and each point of the cross placed at a corner of the square. Somewhere between then and now, placing a cross in your kitchen came to mean that your house would be protected from fire.
Imbolc today
Unlike Samhain, which transformed into the much loved night of Halloween, Imbolc is one Celtic festival that hasn’t quite survived through history.
Although Christians still celebrate St. Bridget’s Day in Ireland and children still learn how to make crosses at the start of February, little else remains of the ancient Celtic spring festival. However, Saint Bridget’s cross, made from rushes and hung around the home just as the Celts would have done, is as good a reminder as any to the festival’s ancient and mythological origins.
I am bitten by the sewing bug once again! My next sewing project is a wool coat. Inspirations seized me! I wish the muse would arrive and help me with writing the same way but that’s another story. The coat will be tons of hard work. I am nervous about sewing it so to combat my anxiety, I have researched how others have done it and how it is done. I have been lucky so far. The pattern is vintage and has lots of details: a lined hood with darts, buttons and buttonholes, facing and interfacing, upper and lower collars, a centre front and back with middle fronts and backs, and side front and side back. It is enough to scare the most seasoned sewer.
This project will not be an instant overnight effort. It may take me a week to a month to sew the coat. I have the lining fabric, I have cut out the pattern tissue, the pattern pieces. I want to do a mock up of the whole garment but I can’t afford it right now. I did a mock up of the sleeves. I am really glad I did for two reasons: I realized I needed to add an inch to the lower hem of the under sleeves on each arm and I learned how to sew the under sleeve to the upper sleeve. I also learned how the sleeve would feel on my body. I can easily move my arm up, down and in a circle. Making adjustments early on in the construction of the coat saves a person so much pain later on. When I cut out the pattern pieces (of the wool), I laid the whole 4 meters down on the floor and cut each pattern piece out in a single layer. I had to sweep and mop the floor – cat hair much? Then I flipped over the pattern tissue to cut the pattern on the left side. The fabric covered the kitchen floor.
I like the colour of the lining for the coat. It matches the coat and has a brown reddish colour but it will do. The interfacing is black except for the belt. The black interfacing will match the brown wool coat. The fabric for the coat is a gorgeous brown soft wool/polyester fabric. I love it. Oh so beautiful! The interfacing for the belt is white but it will be concealed. I have the threads, a belt buckle, the belt pattern is cut out and ready to go and I cut out the pattern too for the belt carriers. The belt does not go with the McCalls 6800 pattern B, but I love how couture it looks. So the belt stays.
I pinned the centre front, middle front and side front patterns together and tried it on. The centre front pattern piece stops just above my knee. The pattern of the coat has a high and low hem. I hope it all fits me correctly. I might get a bit of fabric from Fabricville so I can do a mock up of the rest of the coat. Or if that isn’t possible, I can pin all the pattern pieces together and try it on and see how it fits on me. I don’t own a full length mirror or a dress form (at least not one that truly mirrors my figure), so I have to wait until I can get a mirror. In the meantime, I will pin all the pattern pieces together then see how it fits on me. Again, if I am to make a mock up of the left side of the whole coat for myself, I need newspaper, tracing paper, muslin etc, to do it.
I still have to cut out the lining and the interfacing for the coat. After that, I need to transfer all the markings and notches to the wrong side of the pattern on the wool fabric. I am going to make my own press cloth. I don’t want to scorch the wool and so I will not be pressing on the top right side of the garment, only on the wrong side. I sew the facings to the lining and sew the lining and facing to the coat. That is so just nightmare inducing. I can’t get my head around how I turn the facing and lining to the inside of the coat. But I am not at that stop yet. I am grateful that I had enough fabric for all these pattern pieces. I searched for the fabric at Fabricville but I didn’t see it there. I purchased 4.5 meters of the beautiful soft brown wool. There was not much remaining on the bolt after that. I also bought the wool on sale – 50% off a meter! Excellent.
Anything that is worth doing is worth all the hard effort. I am confident I will turn out a beautiful brown wool coat. This investment has to last a lifetime. Wool is a resilient fabric! I completed the bodice corset that I sewed to accompany the awesome black witchy top I bought from Killstar. I need to add on a black bias tape so the lining of the corset doesn’t show on the outside or top side of the bodice. I need to stock up on extra bobbins.
This may be extra ambitious of me well, anyone hoping to sew a wool coat is ambitious period, but I’m sewing my own press cloth. I just laid two pieces of white cloth together and tucked in the raw edges. I ironed and pressed it. I will sew it once I have an extra bobbin. I was hoping to go to Fabricville today but I have to wait the delivery of a parcel- a bad ass hoodie from Wish. I have muslin for a press cloth fabric but the sewing machine won’t sew muslin. Argh! I am not the patient type but in order to make the coat, I shall have to try.
The next turn in the Wheel of the Year is Imbolc! I shall keep you posted!
I watched an episode, Demon under the Stairs, from the Haunted Museum recently. As I did, I suddenly experienced the worst pain in my jaw. It might be coincidental but the timing sure is worthy of note. Like I am not kidding, it was the most painful thing I ever experienced next to the nightmarish experience I had at the dentist’s office. Needless to say, I am no longer visiting that dental office. I am buying a big chunk of selenite to protect me from anymore possible ‘attacks’. I mean you know, just in case.
I watched a video about demons on YouTube in the past. As I watched, I felt a big muscle spasm between the shoulder blades. That really hurt too. Maybe it was coincidental or maybe I need to up the ante of this pain I suffer when watching certain videos. For any of you who are reading this, I do have psychic protection posts I wrote in the past on this blog.
Energy is real and all around us. Energy makes everything happen. We are composed of electromagnetic energy. The Universe is energy. A leaf has an energy as does an orange. As I type, rain falls from a grey leaden sky. I keep pining for summer but winter is here. Sometimes I have seen so much ice and snow in my backyard it seems that summer would never return, but it does. I hate winter but I know it passes. The change of the seasons never ceases to amaze me. Everything is energy and nothing is finite.
I am inspired to sew a scary doll. She is not haunted but she will be hopefully if I take her places that are speculated to be haunted. The photo shows the layout of the pattern pieces. The body of the doll is white. The hair which will be mostly made up of black and some purple yarn, she will have buttons for eyes, and her dress is a black and white spider print fabric I stashed in the sewing cart. The sleeves are the same fabric as the dress. The stockings are a grey fabric with a black bat print and the boots are black. She will get a witch charm necklace, a broom and a witch hat. I think she will be so Goth and cute. I can’t wait to work on the doll! Then of course, she will need a name. No, I will not name her Morticia. There are a thousand dolls named Morticia. Claudia would suit her though. Maybe she will need fangs and a driving hunger for blood?
Ha! The entire doll – the body of the doll and the dress has to be sewn with a 1/4″ inch seam allowance. I had to find out how that is done. My needle plate shows a 3/8″ inch, 5/8″ inch and 7/8″ inch seam allowances. So the 1/4″ inch seam allowance is before 3/8″. You can now imagine that means a tiny, narrow seam allowance. Now I know where that is indicated because 1/4″ inches is 2/8″ inch. I have to see slowly and carefully. Wow. I will never be so precise as now. I made a doll in the past and I was never this careful. That’s because I am now using a pattern. To make it worse, the body of the doll and the clothing which will forever be a part of the doll is white. It will all show if I screw up. I will mark with tape where the mark is where I have to sew. Sewing slowly and keeping an eye on it will be the only way to get this done. This is not a rush job. I have never needed to sew in a 1/4″ inch before. Needles to say, I don’t look forward to it but it is not impossible. That’s why marking rulers and understanding math can come in handy- and patience!
I can’t wait to stuff the doll and sew the costume. But that comes after patiently sewing the doll and minding the seam allowance. Or it is all for naught. Too much work to go through for nothing. But anything worth doing is worth doing well. I will post photos as I go along. This will be a fun weekend project. I googled goth scary witch dolls. I am going for a scary cute goth look. The buttons I wanted to use might be too big for her face. I ordered black skull buttons online at Amazon. I don’t want to use regular buttons on the doll. I need a button at the collar and on her boots. Skull buttons will make her look edgy and with attitude.
If you want to make this doll, use the pattern by Kwik Sew 4390. That is the pattern I used. You have to have all the fabric at hand that you will need. The clothing is sewn to the doll’s body and is never intended to be separate from the doll. The body of most of the doll is white. The stockings and the booties (See legs of doll in the photo) are the clothing. The arms are white and the face and neck. The hair piece that gets sewn to the head of the doll has to be the haircolor and the yarn has to match. Since the yarn hair was black, I used black cotton for the hair front and hair back. Be sure to use matching thread. Sew the eyes on last or before you attach any other parts to the doll. I wanted to use big buttons for her eyes but the buttons were too big. Here are some photos I took on the progress of the doll:
When you sew the arms and legs, you cut out four pieces. The arms have to look right on the doll and are reversed of each other. One right arm and one left arm. The same goes with the legs. Our arms and legs face a certain way. It is no different with a doll.
When you sew the head to the body (front), keep a straight seam allowance. If you want to, you can use a pencil and mark a very light straight line from the notch marked on the forehead all the way down to the neck. The seamline of the head of the doll to the body must be straight. The notches and points have to meet. It is the same with the back of the doll. I stuffed the arms and legs tightly and packed the stuffing down firmly using a wooden dowel but not hard enough to tear fabric or seams. You have to get the details of the doll’s body right or otherwise don’t bother.
Leave the back of the doll open for turning and stuffing. Take your time with this. Take your time making the entire doll. This is an act of creation so go slowly. Sew the doll with love and it will show. I sewed the smile on and traced a light line on for the smile with pencil then stitched over the pencil marks. I sprinkled in mugwort and mandrake then stitched the back of the doll by hand. Once you have correctly and nicely sewn the body, you can progress with the clothing.
The right arm of the doll’s sleeve cap features spiders. The left arm of the sleeve cap features the webs (where the spiders hide!). I drew an eyebrow on her brow very carefully with a sharpie pen and I did the same with her lashes. The pocket fabric is upside down and the collar fabric is wrong side up but it somehow works. The pocket can still hold spells!!! For the hair braids, you sew the braids to the head where the darts are. You can use whatever color yarn you want, but have lots of it on hand. If you want, you can sew a weft of the yarn hair and then sew it on by hand. You have to sew the yarn on by hand, Mark with a water soluble marker where you want to sew on the yarn. I have included a video here to better demonstrate how to sew on the yarn. Before you sew anything, watch this excellent video!:
I highly suggest you sew on the yarn by hand. If you use a hot glue gun, you will regret it. It won’t have that seamless look. Hot glue makes a mess. Sewing with needle and thread spares you lots of agony. I made the doll a dress and tacked it on to her body the same I did with the collar. I sewed on a pocket to the dress before I sewed the dress together. I had to sew the dress by hand because for some frustrating reason the machine refused to sew this fabric together. The dress comes with a slip. I gathered the fabric together but I had more luck just cutting the fabric to truly fit her body and I pinned the slip to the doll. Make sure to use thread that is the same as the yarn and the head of the doll.
I made the doll!!!! I love her and she is just sooo cute! I was successful in sewing the slim seam allowance. I stuffed the arms and the legs then I sewed the back of the doll’s head to the body. I sewed the back of the doll to the front of the doll. If you want to make your own doll and are trying this, you can’t catch the seams of the arms and legs when doing this. Then I finally stuffed the doll. Tear the wool into little pieces then put the stuffing into the doll. Be sure to pack it in carefully. You also have to stuff the doll’s head firmly because you don’t want the doll’s head to be floppy. I recommend watching how the woman in the video sews the doll body if you are inspired to make a doll yourself. It is incredibly helpful. I love my doll Miranda Spiderella. She is cute and scary! A perfect combination.
I might hunt a little rocking chair for her for a nice place to sit. I am sure I will eventually find something. This will be fun and hard work. I will let you know how it turns out!!
After this project is complete, I want to sew myself a brown winter coat.
Samhain is only days away!! I bet you are all excited. I want to share tips on how to better enjoy our fave time of year! Mm I enjoyed roasted acorn squash and reheated mulled cider for lunch. You can watch and subscribe to Lair of Voltaire for the recipe. See link below.
On to the tips:
You might be attending a party or two. You may need (or not) a costume. Take it from an experienced sewer. It’s so much less time consuming and less maddening to buy a costume at the thrift shop than to sew one. If you wanted to sew yourself a costume, I would suggest beginning a few months ago. Anything can go wrong in sewing. Buying the costume ready made spares you that. Make sure you are comfortable in your costume too. And make sure it is something you will wear more than once. If you do only intend to wear it once, then donate it. Why should a one time item take up that space in your closet?
If you can, you may have accessories at home to match your new costume. This can save you money. It costs more to sew a costume than to buy one. If you want specialty fabrics, then you are looking at spending a lot. I buy a lot of broadcloth cotton because it is $5.00 per meter. Silks, chiffon, velvet and linen are astronomically expensive. Five or six meters of fabric can easily run you up to a hundred dollars. I was gifted a black wool cloak. There is no way I would have sewed it otherwise. So if you can, and are crafty, consider making or acquiring cheap accessories. Masks can affect how best you see everything. At night, everything is in shadow. Consider this too. Masks aren’t safe. Wear comfortable shoes.
This may go without saying but if you have a black cat, please keep your kitty indoors where it is safe. Raccoons and owls eat cats, your cat might get hit by a car, or catnapped, or lost, or get a disease or be attacked by another cat. There are all kinds of dangers out there. So keep Fido indoors. It is one night. Even one fun night out can be a hazard for your fave feline. Or pooch, lizard or guinea pig.
If you are on duty to hand out candy to adorable costumed trick or treaters, consider offering organic snacks or treats. I might say this because I have teeth that crack from those hard caramel chews and now no longer eat them. But I’m not you. Raisins are a good treat. If you still want to get candies for kiddos, there are plenty to choose from at the local drugstore. Chocolate is good. I confess I can’t resist it either. I just don’t prefer the caramel chews. (They ruin my teeth which has resulted in expensive dental bills).
Honoring your loved ones this year doesn’t have to cost a fortune. The local dollar store has everything you need. That includes picture frames which are quite nice for photos of your deceased loved ones. They sell affordable candles, incense, trays and other dishes. I bought a bottle of rubbing alcohol and long matches. I already had a jar of Epsom salts. I found and gathered sand at the local small beach. I performed a banishing ritual. I wanted to use the Epsom salts and rubbing alcohol in my extra large cauldron. It cost about $5.00. Not bad. I love shopping at the dollar store. Being a Witch doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune. I found a discarded Tim Hortons coffee cup and used that to scoop the sand into the plastic bag. I needed the sand to quickly extinguish the fire in my cauldron if it got out of control. Another good life saving item to have on hand is a fire extinguisher.
Getting evicted from your apartment due to fire is never cool. Safety first. Always.
I know you already know this, but it’s a good idea to check out your little sister’s Halloween candy haul or your own kid’s haul before letting them eat it. There are all sorts of weird crazy people out in the world now. Accompanying little kids as they sweet talk neighbours into offering sweets is a good safe idea. They shouldn’t go alone. I read stories online all the time about people who go crazy and commit crimes. I don’t have children of my own but if I did, I would go with them as they tricked and treated and check ALL of their candy. Yup. Make sure that the kids’ outfits are safe and warm and comfy and their masks fit well too and let them see easily. It’s a weird world now.
Be sure to social distance, sanitize your hands and wear Covid masks. It is a very good idea to keep a bottle of Echinacea tincture on hand too. Now is the time to stock up on lemons, raw ginger and jars of natural honey for the cold season. These ingredients will always outdo and outlast NeoCitran. NeoCitran does nothing as it has none of the nutrients that lemon and honey does. Lemon and honey are antibacterial and antimicrobial. They naturally boost the immune system. My throat felt scratchy. I drank a glass of water with a drop of Echinacea tincture and the feeling in my throat was gone. !!
Have fun this Samhain (or Halloween, if you prefer)!!! I hope these tips help.
I just sewed a pair of awesome spooky Pyjama pants. I love them. It was so easy and so much fun to make I had to share it with you. It is so easy to do. You can do it in one day or in a few days.
I borrowed a pattern from my Mom. Her pattern was so simple. But there is the problem. It’s not really all that simple. Since I had a skull print on the fabric, I wanted to ensure the direction of the print was correct. I laid out the fabric on my kitchen table. I made sure the direction of the skulls was in unison. The skulls go down the pants not up. I hope I explained that clearly. I have included a photo of the skull Pyjama pants. Maybe that will help.
Then I cut out 4 pieces on the selvage. I had 4 pieces of fabric. Then I stitched them together – the inside of the legs. I used a straight stitch. Then I sewed the crotch area. I reinforced the stitches. That means I stitched twice to strengthen the stitches so they don’t unravel. Then I sewed the front and back sides together. I tried the pants on. Yay they fit! When I was sure that they fit, I proceeded to the next step.
I did a finishing stitch on the seam allowances of the pant legs. I did a long nice zigzag stitch. That prevents the fabric from fraying. But I hit a snag. There is always a snag when sewing. I needed to set the sewing machine to the right settings to do a zigzag stitch. I had to watch the tutorial on how to do that again.
I pinned down an inch or two of fabric at the waistline. I did that to make sure I had enough of a casing for the elastic. I pinned the bottom hems of both legs of the pants. Then I stitched the pant hems. I stitched again to strengthen the stitch. I then sewed the casing for the waistline. I worked in the elastic using a safety pin. I looked in the mirror and armed with chalk- and securing the elastic in my fingers, I measured how much elastic I needed. Always have more elastic at hand than you plan to use. You are always better off using more than less. You cannot compromise on this step. Or it will never fit you properly. I also tested my pants for fit by sitting down in the pants to see if they truly fit me and do a few stretches. When I was sure they fit, I stitched the ends of the elastic, tucked it in the hole and stitched the hole closed. I wore the pants for a moment. Yup they felt good. I was so happy. It was so easy to do.
Just like the elastic, I encourage any of you who are eager to try this to have more fabric than you need. It is o easy to err when sewing. Always err on the side of caution. If you are using a print like mine, decide how you want the print to go. The skull print goes down the pants on both sides- front and back. This is in unison or consistent. It makes it look store bought.
Now I have an awesome affordable cool pair of Pyjama pants to wear with my diabolical dark lord slippers. !! I love how they turned out. Paying attention to the details ensure a beautiful garment in the end. It is easy to have problems as you are sewing such as the elastic twisting in the casing, not enough elastic or fabric or running out of thread. Taking care of those tiny details ahead of time saves you the trip to the fabric store in the rain- when you could have been sewing.
When you sew the zigzag stitch, be neat and clean. Sew it next to the straight stitch or on it. The point of the zigzag stitch is to prevent fraying. If you look carefully at a garment in your wardrobe, you might just see a zigzag seam on your clothes. It will be found on the inside of your garment. Look even closer and you can see how neatly it is done. Yup that is what I am talking about. You can adjust the stitch to be wide or a narrow zigzag stitch. Try not to sew the zigzag stitch outside or far from the seam allowance. Sew it on the seam allowance, inside the seam allowance. It will look neater that way. If you think you can do it, a smaller seam allowance leaves you more fabric. It may help the pants fit you better.
Remember this maxim when sewing: Measure twice, cut once. I can’t emphasize that enough. It is so true. When you hem the pants, you don’t always have to do a narrow hem. I didn’t. I just folded up the hem on the inside of the pants an inch or two. I secured the fabric with pins then sewed it. I did it twice to ensure it would not come undone. The fabric I used can unravel easily. I had to be careful. The stitches show on the right side of the fabric. But I took the extra time to make the seams neat. I can see it but I don’t know if others can. There are so many black lines on the print it may not be visible to everyone.
That is how you sew your own pjs! It is so easy to do. Most fabric stores carry fabric patterns. It certainly is a cheap way to make a pair of pyjama pants. I love mine. It’s even better that I can wear my Dark Lord slippers with them. I ordered the slippers from Killstar. But I didn’t plan to pay for shipping and handling for pjs- not when I made mine look that cook! I also plan to set in a black tie or ribbon for the pj pants. That will be the finishing touch!
Does this inspire you to sew your own pyjama pants? I hope so.
I’ve been busy sewing myself a beautiful cosplay costume, Nightfell Herbalist. Here is the photo of the costume:
It has been so much work. I’ve returned to the project for two reasons. I want to finish it before October 31st. I also want to wear it this fall. The pattern consists of a long knee-length coat and a mock corset with a very gathered skirt that has a gathered ruffle. I have the veil, choker, and black lace gloves. My kick ass black lace up boots will look great with the outfit.
I have a large beautiful blue button to sew onto the bodice. I can’t wait to add the trim. Here are a few tips to make a cosplay costume of your own- in time for Samhain! Do own a measuring tape and seam ripper. Remember: the seam work goes on the inside so the polished seams show outside. Measure twice cut once! That can save you lots of heartache. It’s better to have too much fabric than too little.
I made the skirt for the costume. After three tries to gather the threads, I ended up sewing in an elastic waistband. The skirt is a deep blue color to complement the beautiful mock blue corset. I’ve included a photo of the costume so far:
The skirt was hard. It is a good idea to measure EVERYTHING! Measure the skirt before you gather the material to know how much you have. Measure how small or ‘gathered’ the skirt will be when you are all done and see if it matches your original estimation of fabric. You will then know if you are on the right track. I did it that way and my guess for how much fabric I had after it was gathered was the same as before. I ended up making an elastic waistband instead of a zipper. It was too hard to do the gathers by pulling the threads. But when I sew the ruffle ( which looks ten feet long), I have to gather. I gather it in sections, then match the ruffle to the center, side and back sections then pull the threads. I had to hem the skirt ruffles and that was a lot of effort. I didn’t do a narrow hem because it would hardly be noticed and it was serious effort. Then I sew on the waistband.
The ruffle was a little nightmare. I had to make sure the wrong side was facing up on all the five sections-which is now 4 sections. They were all stitched together. One side was right side up so I corrected that with my seam ripper. They are so handy. Then I hemmed it section by section. I set the extra fabric over my ironing board or over a chair to hem it. My ironing board is my work space. Since all the sections were stitched together, it was trying. But slow and steady wins the race.
The ruffle sections were hard. One side of the five ruffle sections were notched. I knew then how to sew each section together. I cut tiny triangles in the seam allowance to know which side was which- and matched the edges together that way. I had to sew 5 sections together so the tiny notches were a great guide.
I have sewn the gathers into the ruffle. The ruffle is so long. I can’t quite yet grasp how so much fabric is pinned and eased into the skirt hem. The skirt and ruffle are both dark blue. I stitched the gathers in, using 2 different lighter colors of thread. The stitches were a wide length and I left long thread tails for each section. See the photo below:
Here is a closeup of the gathers on the ruffle:
Today I shall adjust the gathered fabric into the smaller skirt hem. After that, when I am satisfied with how it fits and the gathers are evenly spaced, I will sew on the dark blue wide scalloped lace over the seamline.
The costume is supposed to have a petticoat. However, I am ever resourceful and thrifty. I have a knee-length black tulle skirt already. I cut it from a Baroness costume I wore once ( but paid $60 for). Sheesh. I donated the costume but kept the tulle skirt. I will stitch it in when I have to add the waistband. It will work just as well. See how I saved money and time- and tears that way? Yups.
I have to finish the sleeves. The sleeves are in 2 sections. One is the sleeve with the armhole. It joins to a lacy ruffled section. I plan to finish that this weekend. The back of the jacket is a problem. I plan to stitch on a section of black fabric to the back and finish the raw edges. A zipper would normally be added but that is physically impossible for me to zip up. My arms don’t work that way. I will add a snap to the back and with the extra fabric concealing raw edges, it should look nice. When the fabric edges join where I would add the zipper, it seriously pulls on me and feels tight. I like to believe there is always another way to finish something.
Sewing is tedious and repetitive. It does demand a certain level of dedication but I believe the results are worth it!
I have completely redone the sleeves from scratch. This time, they are sewn properly. I sewed the beautiful sleeves with black cotton and lining. The ruffle was the hard part. The ruffle has four layers to it. The ruffle is dark blue on the wrong side and black on the right side. The ruffle is very gathered. The four layers are edged with ribbon trim on all layers. But the bigger ribbon trim really does the ruffle justice. Here it is in the photo:
You can tell that the ruffle is very gathered. The original size of the ruffle is about twenty-three inches in total to gather into fourteen inches. That is a lot of gathering. After I adjusted the gathers and was sure, and that my arms fit comfortably in the sleeves when I fitted it, I stitched on the bow and the small black button to the center of the bow. It looks so beautiful and feminine.
I basted the back of the jacket and am now ready for the zipper. Once that is done, I shall sew on the sleeves. I have one or two spots to touch up then voila! Done!
Once that is all done, I can finally sew the button on the bodice. I shall add the veil, my lace gloves and witchy boots. I can’t wait to be done and wearing it in time for Samhain!
Update:
Well it turns out the cosplay costume is not ready in time for October 31st. I have sewn the sleeves onto the dress jacket. I also sewed lacy ribbon trim to the entire dress jacket opening edges. I shall sew a nice wide ribbon to the center back seam and stitch the zipper onto the ribbon. That will give me more room to fit in the dress jacket. I also need to adjust the mock corset to the rest of the jacket. I shall top stitch it to the dress jacket black fabric.
What they don’t tell you about sewing this costume!
The skirt has five sections but you can only match four sections of the ruffle to the four sections of the skirt. You can sew in the five sections of the ruffle. That gives you way more gathers. I went with four sections and it still looks great. The sewing quality has to be amazing. No room for error here. The stitches show whether they are perfect or not. It all counts! I had to redo the entire sleeves and ruffles because I realized early on the initial fabric was too heavy to take to being gathered. Oh- and do try multiple fittings as you work on this project t make sure it fits you perfectly.
The fabric didn’t want to gather as much as I would have preferred. The fabric on the back of the jacket near waistline. I still made every effort to gather the fabric and stitch it into the back waistline.
The sleeve ruffle is very gathered but again, no room for error. Sewing the sleeves into the dress jacket took an entire afternoon. I basted and eased the sleeve into the armhole, I pinned LOTS, and I stitched the sleeves in twice into the armhole. The gathers show and whatever you do, take your time with this. It will turn out much better. Match up the ‘points’, for example, make sure that the top of the sleeve matches the top of the armhole point where it should meet. The same goes for the bottom armhole point then pin- a lot! Be sure before you begin sewing the right sides of the fabric are together. If you can turn your sleeve out and it is correct, then you sew. Then press/ iron it and try to tease out the fullness of the sleeve cap. Also, make sure that there are no holes or obvious puckers.
Are you all thinking of the perfect costume for that soiree or seance? The store aisles are full of costumes. It is still early while you chow down on candy corn or roasted pumpkin seeds to get a costume. The stores such as Value Village, a thrift store, carries an array of costumes, perfect for whatever strikes your fancy.
I have never worn a plastic costume for as long as I can recall. Samhain is a special time of year so your costume should be too. My Mother was a seamstress and was always sewing a costume at the last minute. I still own the spider web cape. That’s a good thing because that type of fabric is very hard to find. The spider web design on the black chiffon type fabric is hard to see but it is there. I attached the tiny black plastic spiders to the cape. It is still in great shape.
I know my dear readers know I am a seamstress. But if you choose to make your own costume, bear a few points in mind. Start now if you want enough time to make the costume and make any final changes/ repairs to the costume. Don’t go into too much detail of the costume, Do keep it simple. Some of my sewing projects took longer to make than I initially anticipated. Be sure you have all the materials and tools you need plus a friend’s assistance. Stock up on thread and other supplies so you aren’t racing to the fabric store 5 minutes before closing time.
The easiest choice is buy a costume. It may initially cost a lot but sewing is so complicated, the best solution is to buy it. But that doesn’t have to mean going cheap. A great costume at a decent price can still be found. I hope you all find the perfect costume. Don’t think that buying one is not as great as making your own. Sewing a costume is tedious and can result easily in frustration.
If you have costumes left over from your younger days, donate them or give them to someone younger like your sibling. It is one night and the point of the festive holiday is to have fun. That brings to my next point. Make sure you are comfortable and safe in your costume. Make sure you can see where you are going and flame retardant can be kept in mind too. You should be able to move freely and feel good in it. It couldn’t hurt to check on your sibling’s costumes too. Masks shouldn’t hinder your visibility. I’d much prefer to stock up on costume makeup than costumes.
The trick with costumes when buying one is asking yourself if you will wear it more than once. That way you get your money out of it. And not to sound vain here but compliments can help you earn your buck with your garment.
Good luck finding that perfect Chewbacca or Spiderman or Wolfman costume!!
The Wheel of the Year next shifts to Lammas. Lammas is one of the first three harvest Sabbats. The harvest season is almost upon us. I think time is speeding up. I just put my squash vines in the ground.
I am sewing a whole new outfit for the upcoming Christopher Penczak workshop The Mighty Dead. I grew up in fabric stores and pored over countless pattern binders. I learned how to sew. I sewed myself a lovely purplish blue peasant blouse. I plan to sew myself a black corset. The corset is lined with dark purple butterfly print fabric. I need to finish it by inserting grommets ( not the easiest job) and make the black gothy blouse and skirt. To some, sewing is a challenge. Yet I see a challenge as something to overcome. I see sewing as an act of creation. I walk around a fabric store and can’t help touching the fabric. So my new outfit will be a joy to create. I know all about selvages, bias tape, and all the other important things involved in sewing. The malls never carry the type of clothing I want. That is why I do so much sewing. Sometimes the fabric stores don’t carry the patterns I want. The patterns are standard and conventional. I put my own spin on my creations.
Here are some photos of my efforts o the corset and my purple blouse so far:
The blouse:
I can’t wait to complete the corset. It is not that hard. The pattern I have calls for 2 pieces of boning to be inserted on both sides of front section of the corset.
I love black as a choice for clothing. Black is empowering, magickal, and adds mystery. Purple is a good witchy colour too. But black has always held superiority over everything else.
When you sew your own clothes, you create something original and tailored to you. The outfit will fit you better because you know your own size and measurements, which is important when sewing. Designers understand that though the models in the magazines are extremely thin. So whatever you sew you will feel good in. This is why I go to all that work.
GARDENING
Gardening is also an act of creation. That may be painfully obvious but it’s true. Once you have grown all your magickal plants, there a thousand ways to use them.
Incense, incense cones, potpourri, tinctures, potions, charged water, the possibilities are endless. You might even create your own herbal book where you can record all your successes and experiments. I am currently experimenting with making incense cones.
I blended herbs with orris root, red wine, and honey. I formed 20 incense cones. They are curing on wax paper on a cookie sheet in the kitchen. I will let them cure till the cones are ready then I shall store them. They smell like cloves.
Basically, when you create something, whether you grow black hollyhocks or a gothy shawl, you are putting your own energy into it. If you practice, you can become very good at it. You are creating something and feeling the fire of creation, You are a Witch and witches are usually very crafty. You don’t need to buy a wand when you can create just as magickal a wand from a fallen branch on the ground. I did that and I wood burned a Celtic serpent design over the whole wand. I painted it green and brown. People might start asking you for your help and where you get your inspirations. That’s when you know you are getting somewhere.
Please do not steal or copy from this blog. If you do, be prepared to be stomped on by the Fates and karma for your bad character. I can be reached at :
heddyjohannesen @ gmail.com
