Month: February 2025

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Are vintage sewing tools better?

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I’ve had this set of Dritz pressing tools for close to a decade now. They’re fine – they make pressing things easier for sure, but they aren’t pretty, they’ve developed some hollows, and I’m pretty sure the plaid side is a pilling polyester blend (just looked it up and, yes it is).

After perusing Etsy and Ebay for vintage hams and sleeve rolls, I finally bought one of each and was pretty surprised when they showed up.

Firstly, the shape and size are different. These old things are significantly larger and rounder than their newer versions.

Secondly, they weigh more. They are super packed with filling and even at their age, show no hollows.

Thirdly, the materials seem to be of higher quality. The woolen side especially, feels like it’s made of all natural materials. There’s no pilling either.

And lastly, they just look nicer. I think if the newer versions were heftier and made from better materials, the appearance wouldn’t irk me as much, but now that I’ve seen what Dritz used to offer, they just look cheap.

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February Update

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Things feel dark as fuck, but I’m still making shit. I hope you are too.

A very stained shirt.

After years of flawless use, my go-to washable marker let me down. On a white shirt, no less. I also used the shittiest interfacing I have in my stash and it has not held up to the numerous stain remover and bleach baths this shirt has been subjected to.

It’s the Closet Core Jenna. It was worked on over a few months and I plan to make a light-ish weight denim version soon. I learned how to do the burrito method on cuffs and waistbands when I was taking patternmaking classes in Oakland, CA but had never tried it on a collar before. IT WORKS SO WELL!

My one pain point in the construction was hem gusset. There’s no way to stitch it down neatly. The white fabric is a little sheer, so there was no hiding that it doesn’t quite line up with the shirt hem. I took them off and I’m kinda mad about it.

A very big bag.

I’ve been toting a lot of things back and forth from the office. Several paper bags have ripped on me, so I made this huge tote out of this really fun Japanese fabric my husband bought me a few years ago. I added a lining too.

A very lumpy mug.

Who doesn’t want to press their lips against ceramic lumps? I’m not sure why I went with this texture, but I did. It kinda reminds me of a corn cob.

And another brown sweater.

I like what I like. Finally joined the fronts and back together – there’s only 7″ inches before I can start the ribbing.

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Vertical Storage & Display

I just finished turning these plywood shelves into these smaller wall shelves. Since selling my big IKEA mega desk, the plywood’s just been sitting around, waiting to be useful again.

Initially, I planned to have three shelves above this table, but the sloped ceiling had other plans. But two shelves is better than none, especially since they now prominently display some of my favorite ceramics I made last year. Prior to shelf life, they were all kinda cluttered together and invisible.

The third shelf found a home above one of my sewing tables and is providing much needed storage space for my ball winder and new (but very old) swift. The art display is still being figured out over here.