Gala Fabrics

A Fashion Fabric Store in Victoria

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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What?  How did it get to October already?  I can’t believe the last time I wrote a post was back in June.  Where did the summer go?

I haven’t been doing much sewing lately as the store has been taking  up most of my time.  Receiving new inventory and getting it on the website is a task and a half for sure!  Helping customers in store, preparing and shipping online orders, even doing local deliveries for those purchases over $50, somehow the day is just gone.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone – yes guys too! – to check your breasts!  It should be done monthly, but if 3 months have gone by in a blink like it has done for me, this is a good reminder.

Many years back (probably about 15 years ago now), a friend’s daughter who was a nurse, approached us about making some breast cancer pillow bags for clients undergoing some kind of breast surgery.  The pillow is carried under the arm and against the chest to protect the surgery site.  A fabric bag is provided for ease of carrying.

Since we had a ready supply of fabric and stuffing required to make these pillows, we took on this project.   By supplying kits that included the cut fabric and stuffing, we offered it to local sewists who were interested in contributing their time to make them.  The completed pillows then get donated to the Breast Health Center at the Victoria General Hospital.

*Please note that this program has been TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED due to Covid.  Our nurse contact, Shawna, at the hospital has let us know that she has to work remotely with clients (so no giving out pillows) as the hospital is trying to limit the number of people in the building as much as possible due to the high contagion rate of Covid-19 and the upcoming flu season. We will continue with this program once things ‘get back to normal’.

Here are the instructions to making the breast cancer pillow bag.  I like to use 1cm (3/8″) seam allowance.

Supplies needed for the pillow:

  • 2 squares of cotton fabric measuring 25cm x 25cm (10″ x 10″)  Cotton fabric is recommended for easy washing care as the surgery site can ooze.
  • about 4 handfuls of washable stuffing to stuff the pillow

Supplies needed for the bag:

  • 1 rectangle of cotton fabric measuring 25cm x 45cm (10″ x 18″)
  • 2 strips of cotton measuring 5cm x 110cm (2″ x 44″)  I like to cut 5cm strips by the full width of quilting cotton fabric.  I use the finished selvedge as the ends of the straps.

  1. To make the pillow, pin the 2 pillow squares right sides together.  Sew all the way around, leaving a 10cm (4″) opening.  To lessen the bulk, trim the corners.
  2. Turn right sides out.
  3. Stuff the pillow so that it will provide some cushioning yet not so full as to have the patient’s arm stick out like a wing!
  4. Stitch the opening closed.
  5. To make the bag, fold the rectangle piece in half, short end to short end.  Stitch down the sides and finish the seams.
  6. Fold over the top edge by 1.25cm (1/2″) and press.  Repeat so the top edge is a double folded cuff.  Put aside for now.
  7. To sew the straps, fold in half, long edge to long edge.  Stitch.
  8. Turn the straps right side out.
  9. Insert one end of the strap under the cuff of the pressed bag edge along one of the stitched bag side seams.  Repeat with the other strap.
  10. Edge stitch the bag cuff down catching the straps underneath.
  11. Fold the straps up and tack into place.
  12. Insert pillow into the bag.
  13. Voila!  Your breast cancer pillow bag is now complete.

 

If you don’t live in Victoria, BC and would like start something like this, you are welcome to use this pattern/idea.  I would suggest contacting your health provider or local hospital to see if there is a similar program available in your area.  The more resources out there for people recovering from surgery, the better!  In fact, we have had a number of patients come into the shop thanking us for this service.  They mention that these pillows help in their recovery.  Yay!

Don’t know how to do a self breast examine?  Here is a helpful video.

Pandemic Hair Woes

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So, it has been 20 weeks since my last hair cut.  How about you?

How are you handling the forced hair growth due to the closure of personal services?

I don’t think I’ve had hair this long since my pre-teens.  I do have a hair appointment scheduled in 2 weeks but I’m still wondering if I’m going to cut it short like before or try living with the new length.

Whatever I decide, I will need a mask to wear for my appointment.  Unfortunately, the tie masks I had made won’t work because they tie over my hair.  I will have to make a mask with ear loops.  What to do?

Thankfully, a friend pointed me to the Marfy mask pattern.

This pattern is a fitted mask with the option of ties or elastic loops.  It is an easy pattern to follow.  Just remember to add a seam allowance to the pattern.  I used a 1/4″ seam allowance so I didn’t have to  trim the seam allowances.

  • Cut 2 pieces (outer piece plus lining piece) on the fold. 
  • If you are using ties or ear loops, pin or baste in marked positions.
  • Sew right sides of the outer fabric with the lining together leaving a small gap so you can turn the project inside out.  
  • Press seams flat. 
  • Stitch opening closed.

 

 

 

Since I didn’t know what size elastic loops I was going to use, I gave myself a 3/4″ side seam allowance so I could fold them over to make elastic channels.

What I liked about this pattern, is that it fit quite closely to my face.  I also found I could talk while wearing the mask without the mask moving down my face which was a drawback with other ninja style face masks I had tried.  (see previous blog post)

While I liked the mask design, I felt it had an unnecessarily prominent front.  So I redrafted the front curve.

Also, my personal preference is the 1/8″ elastic.  While the 3/8″ elastic worked, I found it did hurt my ears after a 5 hour shift at the shop.

We’ll see how it works with the hair stylist!

 

DIY Face Masks

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Please note that DIY face masks are not meant to replace medical grad N-95 masks.  Wearing a mask does not mean you will not catch the COVID 19 virus.  It can only help reduce your chances of catching COVID 19. Observation of other preventative measures such as hand washing and social distancing are still necessary to reduce your risk.  Do not touch your mask when wearing it as it can become contaminated.

 

Sometimes I have to pinch myself because it is so hard to believe this pandemic environment is our current reality!  The city is like a ghost town with no pedestrians wandering around, many of the downtown store fronts are boarded up and sirens are going off every 10 minutes as emergency vehicles rush down Douglas Street.  We now have to practice new social norms such as social distancing and no handshakes or hugs.  Face masks are becoming the latest fashion accessory.

At the time of this writing, the Canadian government is dissuading the use of face masks because they fear it would give the populace a false sense of security.  However, many other countries, particularly in Asia and Europe, encourage the use of face masks and see this as a cohesive community effort to fend off the pandemic.  Whatever your stance is on face masks, consider this.

We, as humans, have moisture in our mouths.  Whenever we talk, laugh, sneeze or cough, some of that moisture is expelled.  It is not always visible droplets that your audience can see and cringe away from.  Many times it is just vapour.  But apparently this corona virus is carried on the water droplets that the body exhales.  Check out the (kinda gross) results from this experiment.

Micro droplets suspending in air from MixonK on Vimeo.

While homemade cotton face masks will not and are not meant to replace the N-95 medical masks, I think they can provide a rudimentary first line of defence barrier between you and others around you.  This is, of course, in conjunction with maintaining the 2 meter personal bubble and rigorous hand washing.  There are many face mask designs out there so I decided to try some out to see which I liked best.

The most popular designs seem to be the tri-fold style and the respiratory style mask. Both styles have adaptations to include a slot for a filter, but since the filter material was difficult to obtain, this was not a priority for me.  Both styles have positive anecdotal reviews from people in the medical profession.  But which would work for me?

The tri-fold style (pattern used was the Fabric Mask Sewing Instructions link) seems to be the style that has a one-size-fits-all feature.  It is also easy to make (literally 2 rectangles sewn together) so it is good for those who are not experienced sewists.  While it doesn’t really conform to the face, it does provide good coverage.  This style can be made with ties or elastic.

The tri-fold mask pattern is a one size fits all design.

The respiratory style mask is a stylized face mask.  It has a curved front seam to fit over the nose, a shaped top seam to curve under the eyes and a curved bottom seam to cup the jaw (such as the style by Jennifer Maker – see below).  It requires a little more advanced sewing skill because of these curves.  Since it comes in different sizes, you have to figure out what size fits you.  This style can be made with ties or elastic.

The Jennifer Maker mask front view.

The Jennifer Maker mask side view. Note how it cups under the chin.

Craft Pattern face mask. The bottom edge of this design runs along the bottom of my chin. It doesn’t cup under.

 

With my Asian nose, I have a low bridge which can make fitting glasses a challenge.  But with fitting these masks, I had little difficulty.  I think for someone with a more prominent nose there could be some gaping which is why adding a metal nose piece might be helpful.  One suggestion for the metal used is to cut up the base of a foil baking tray.  Cut a strip 1″ x 2.5″.  Fold it 3 times so it is approximately 3/8″ x 2.5″.  Stitch it into the mask along the top seam.  Check out 13.40 of this video.

 

My personal preference from these 2 styles is the tri-fold mask.  Besides being easy to make, it is a one size fits all.  I can see why people in the medical profession request this style.  It is not the most appealing in looks as it looks like I have a wattle chin but it is the most comfortable being I don’t have to fuss with it.

I liked the fit and look of the respiratory style (Craft Passion and Jennifer Maker) but they are fussier to make.   Of these two, I preferred the Craft Passion style but I did make the largest size available.  Anyone who needs a larger size will have to remake the pattern.

The Jennifer Maker style has a similar fit and design, however, it curves under the chin.  What I found when wearing this style is that the mask kept riding down my face when I was speaking which meant I had to keep touching it to readjust the fit.

I also found I preferred using bias tape as ties.  Ribbon was too slippery.  The elastic, while easy to put on, ended up hurting my ears when wearing the mask for extended periods of time.  Also, I felt there was too much stuff behind my ears what with wearing glasses as well.

Feel free to try out the different styles and see which suits you best.  I’m off to mass produce some masks for family members.

Check out this link from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention which gives suggestions on taking care of your homemade mask.

 

Here are some handy links if you wish to make some masks for you and yours.

Fabric Mask Sewing Instructions (this researched instruction sheet was given to me by a sewing friend of a street nurse who works with the inner city population of Victoria)

I also just found this link for a tri-fold mask with a filter pocket and nose guard addition!

 

 

 

Face Mask Sewing Pattern

DIY Face Mask Patterns – Filter Pocket & Adjustable Ties!

 

A Note To Our Customers

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To all our valued friends

 

Thank you all for your continued support during this challenging time. As a small business we greatly appreciate your patronage!

 

We have been carefully following the developing news re the COVID-19 outbreak in BC and elsewhere. While the retail store will remain open for as long as possible, we have had to make some small changes.

 

We have shortened our opening hours to Tuesday to Saturday from 11 – 4.  We will be closed on Sundays and Mondays during this time.

 

We have temporarily cancelled our Sunday forums until further notice.

 

Our online store is active and we are currently offering free delivery within Victoria with a purchase of $50 or more.  Place your order with us

 

 

For those who prefer not to enter the store, we will be offering curbside delivery. Just let us know your preference so we can make the arrangements.

 

We are doing all we can to keep our staff and customers safe.  Following the guidelines of health officials, we are practicing social distancing and are frequently disinfecting our workspace.  We are all wishing for a quick end to this international disaster.

 

Keep well, wash your hands, and use this opportunity to sew up your stash! This too shall pass.

Spring Fling Sale

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Check your sewing project line up.  Check it twice. 

We have our SPRING sale starting March 7, 2020! 

All regular priced fabric will be 25% off including new arrivals.

If you order online, free shipping is still in effect once you reach the $200 mark (not including taxes).

Check out our Sale section for fabrics marked up to 70% off.

If shopping online, use coupon code SPRING2020.

Sale prices in effect until March 15.

Summit Peak Hoodie by New Horizons Designs

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Even though the bulb flowers are peeking their heads out as a precursor to spring, Old Man Winter is not giving up without a fight.  Every morning for the past week, the sun starts to shine bright only to glint off the icy covering on the grass.  I’m picturing Old Man Winter rubbing his frigid hands and cackling with glee “Not today.  Nope, not today!”

Since I have to get up early to walk my dogs before work, I was needing a warm top/jacket with deep pockets (for those poop bags!) and possibly a hood.  I have found most hoodies too uncomfortable to wear since, when wearing the hood, a cold gust of air settles in around my neck.  When I saw my brother-in-law wearing the Summit Peak Hoodie for Men at Christmas time (made by my sister) I knew I had to make this.  What I loved most about it is the funnel neck feature of the hoodie.  No more cold drafts around my neck.

Brother-in-law wearing his Summit Peak Hoodie made from a heavy polyester knit.

This is a print at home pattern which I’m not a huge fan of.  The first couple pages were fine, but as I got to the last pages, there were inconsistencies with matching everything up.  I may try the Tessuti method of tiling next time where they recommend taping the pattern pieces together as strips then taping the strips together.

The fabric I chose was a polyester cotton blend sweatshirt fleece.  This is a fabric choice listed on the pattern, however, my fabric didn’t have any stretch.  Given how close fitting the garment looked on the models, I made the XL (2 sizes bigger than my suggested size).

Detailed instructions and drawings are included with the download.  The construction of this garment was fairly intuitive.  But I don’t know where my brain went when putting the front together.  I ended up sewing and unpicking it 3 times while trying to follow the instructions.  After the third time, I did it my way and finally got it together.

Because this fabric has no stretch, I had to find another fabric for the cuffs and waistband.  Although it is lighter weight than the fleece, I found a bamboo cotton ribbing that was a 99% match in colour.

You can probably tell the sleeves are too long, however, I like that feature.  Keeps my hands warm on those early morning walks.  And yes, it is a cozy as it looks!

 

February’s Sewing Forum and The History of Silk

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Because the store is closed on Sundays during the months of December and January, we don’t hold our sewing forums during those months.  We find everyone is too busy with family obligations, travel and holiday commitments to tackle any large sewing projects or events.  However, once February rolls around, we get into full swing for our regular events such as our Sunday sewing forums.

Bobbi Baker has been a regular customer at the store for at least 5 years.  She is an avid member of the Victoria branch of the Society of Creative Anachronism,  the Barony of Seagirt, which is a community that pursues research and the re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat and culture.  Bobbi held the head position of Baroness for the last five years which resulted in intense research in the fabrics and garments for the Tudor period.  Since she is an animated speaker and loves to share her knowledge, I invited her to present at our sewing forum.  I was a bit mean in asking her to condense the history of silk and this fabric’s presence in today’s fashion in 40 minutes, but I think she covered this topic very well.

Her presentation is broken down into 3 sections (and I even missed the question and answer period at the end) simply because my arms got tired of holding the camera.  Make sure you add your name to our newsletter list (the link is at the bottom of our home page ) if you wish to receive notice of other speakers or events being held at the store!

Holiday Sewing Done!

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Despite there being 364 days between one Christmas and the next, I always seem to panic sew at the last minute in order to get Christmas gifts done in time.  Thankfully this year, the family decided to just do gifts for the kids this year.  That cuts my list down from a potential 20 humans and 3 dogs to just 7 children.

Three of these children are quite young, ranging from 3 weeks to 18 months.  Last year, I made bibs using the Bapron pattern.  While the reviews for this bib were positive, feedback was that these bibs were better for older children because of the arm manipulation.  Instead, I found this simple to make pattern from Nana Company.

These are so easy, I could almost make them in my sleep!  For maximum absorbency for drool and food drips, I used flannelette for both the face and the lining of the bib.  35cm (14″) of 115cm (45″) wide fabric, will easily produce 4 bibs fronts.  I know some people have used velcro for the fastening, but I prefer snaps since velcro is hard and scratchy and also collects hair and lint.  Yuck!  Here is my sister’s child modelling.

Unfortunately, my other sister’s 18 month baby was too big for these bibs, so his got passed down to his cousins.  Instead I traced his current bib (a bib with sleeves) to make some of those.  I also found this pattern online by Mommy Imaginings that I might try.

My brother’s baby, the 3 week old, received some bibs but also some knit covers.  Apparently, the latest baby must have item is a Milk Snob cover.  If you are unfamiliar with this item, it is a knit cover that can be used as a car seat cover, a nursing cover,  a feeding tray cover, even a diaper changing blanket.  My brother bought one and showed it to me.  It is unbelievably easy to make!   I traced the shape of his purchased cover, dug into my stash and churned out 4 – 2 from each different fabric.

As you can see, it is basically an jar shaped piece – 75cm tall by 70cm wide.  Cut 2 pieces (a front piece and a back piece) to be sewn together along the sides.  Hem the top and bottom.  That’s it!  You have to use a 4 way stretch fabric such as a rayon or bamboo knit.  I also found similar pre-made covers on Wish

As to the older children, there are 4 ranging in age from 6 to 12.  Since this age group were mostly interested in electronic games and gadgets, I gifted them with cash.  But to make it interesting, at least for me, I put the cash inside some food.  I made some gingerbread dough, used a store bought poop emoji shaped cookie cutter and made brown poop cookies.  Using some chocolate frosting, I sandwiched 2 cookies together, slipped the cash wrapped in plastic in between and decorated the front.  Being kids, they jumped on the cookies and started eating.  I didn’t say anything until one of them mentioned not being able to chew part of the cookie.  I know, I’m a bad auntie!  But we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the remaining  the cookies.  That kept them busy for a while!

Wishing you all the best for the holiday season!  Can you believe 2020 is just around the corner?!?

 

 

Stock Up for Your Holiday Sewing

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Check your sewing project line up.  Check it twice. 

We have our Fall sale starting November 18, 2019! 

All regular priced fabric will be 25% off including new arrivals.

If you order online, free shipping is still in effect once you reach the $200 mark (not including taxes).

Check out our Sale section for fabrics marked up to 70% off.

If shopping online, use coupon code FALL.

Sale prices in effect until November 24.

Choosing a Side

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Here in Canada, we have just completed our federal elections.  Personally, I find it difficult to choose which party to vote for.  Some of my friends are tried and true party diehards and they will vote for their chosen party every election.  I like to listen to the platforms and see which party policies make the most sense for me.  Granted, not one party  perfectly aligns with my beliefs.  I try to decide based on the policies I think will best determine the future of this country.  It can get very complicated and lead to some very heated discussions with family and friends.

Thankfully with sewing, there are not usually so many variations to the construction of a project.  Take for instance, the right side versus wrong side to a fabric.  Most times, it is obvious which side to choose.  Sometimes, however  one can walk on the wild side and choose to make a garment using the ‘wrong’ side.

When the store received this sweater knit fabric, there was some debate as to which side was the ‘right’ side since some of us liked the defined black and white contrast, while others preferred the muted grey.  With the cooler weather, I decided to make McCall’s pattern 7846.

The pattern description reads:

Very loose-fitting ponchos have neckline, opening and length variations. A, B: Pullover poncho with collar. C: Front opening with separating zipper. D: Pullover poncho with purchased decorative toggles.  For moderate stretch knits only.

Based on the measurements for a 100cm bust size, I made a size L.  I liked the zipper detail, so decided to make style C first.

The pattern itself is very easy to put together.  One comment about this design C, is the neckline is very wide.  I was careful to not stretch the neckline when putting in the bias tape however I find it gapes.  I am currently considering threading a narrow elastic behind the bias tape to tighten up the neckline.  Or I could knit myself a chunky scarf to wear to fill in the neckline.  Maybe!

Another comment I have about this pattern, is that the instructions for the mitered corner in the hem didn’t work for me.  The way I read the instructions resulted in a squared off corner, not an angled corner for the miter.  What I did instead was fold the point over on their suggested stitching line to get the correct angle for the miter.  (The sample pictures are shown in a less distracting texture fabric.)

Another comment about this design is that the shoulder dart placements were too narrow for me.  When sewn, and if I fit one shoulder dart to my shoulder, the other shoulder dart ends up along my shoulder blade.  So I had to move the darts apart by a total of 2″.

Because the pattern piece is essentially a long and narrow rectangle that runs along the selvedge and the width of the pattern piece for the shorter length does not reach the middle fold line, I was left with a long and narrow piece to make something else.  So I decided to also make style A.  But using the reverse side of the fabric.

With the yardage I had left, there was not enough to cut the collar as one piece.  Instead I pieced it at roughly the halfway point.  Note I made an angled cut.  This way I wouldn’t get the seam bulk all at the centre back.  If you go this route, just remember to add seam allowances on your angled cuts or your collar piece will be too short.

I do admit I like style A better since it is a cozier design with the collar.  As to which side of the fabric I like better, I actually like both!  Thankfully I don’t have to choose, since I have essentially the same garment using both sides of the fabric.

 

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