I awoke the other day from a fabulous dream in which I was (unusually) operating a sewing machine with great glee. I say unusually because although I am the custodian of several splendid machines (my mother’s 1965 Elna and my grandmother’s 1927 Singer, both of which still function perfectly) you are more likely to find me sewing by hand, simply because I enjoy the peace of it.
But there I was, bussing away on this machine and having a fabulous time. Let me tell you about it. Imagine a quite big space, about nine metres in diameter. It is roundish with a domed ceiling. I don’t recall a door (perhaps I was sitting with my back to it, which would be very unlike me as I always like to face the exit) but there were many windows and it felt mid-century modern in terms of clean design. A column descended from the middle of the dome. This held the “head” of the machine…needle, spool and presser foot. Another column rose from the floor directly beneath, to provide the support for sewing and hold a decent sized cone of thread in place of a miserly bobbin. There cannot have been any of those toothy thingies that move the cloth along because I could move my work around freely.
The lower column had a lovely comfy seat attached with a big squishy cushion on top of a chrome arm that was attached to the lower column, much like one of those lovely stools you might still find in a diner somewhere, but more generous. There were two pedals to rest the feet on, one for forwards sewing and the other reverse. I was happily drawing on a huge piece of cloth and manoeuvring it about making long lines of lovely running stitch with great gusto when Martha (cat) demanded the immediate serving of breakfast by delicately inserting one of her claws into my left nostril and shattering my slumbers.
I don’t think such machines exist in reality but it would be a jolly good idea…though I suspect it would need very precise installing in order to match top and bottom. Perhaps one with an enormous arm running across the floor, up the wall and then up and over again would do the trick. It would probably weigh a ton and not be portable, unlike the spool of linen thread and accompanying needle I can take anywhere.
I know what prompted the dream though. I have been remaking some of my clothing. Though I rarely wear jeans in public there are numerous pairs in my closet, several of which no longer accommodate my abundance, though they still fit around the waist. But what is the point of being able to do up the waist of your trousies if you can’t get your hips into them?
Given that unwearable items are simply a waste of space and I am too fond of them to deposit them in the charity bin I decided to experiment with some expansions by unsewing the side seams on a lovely pair of Imogene and Willie’s that I had acquired eleven years ago in Portland in a moment of weakness. I left the lower hems intact and inserted lozenge-shaped panels harvested from another pair of jeans that I wasn’t quite so emotionally attached to.
I added side pockets while I was at it, because I really dislike sitting on solid objects such as phones, notebooks and (particularly) pencils. I like that they’re still quite tidy at the bottom edges (less seeds will be able to climb into my socks than if I were wearing flappy trousers) but now I have lots of space to bend my knees and I would quite like to insert a dart at the inside of the knees but I think I would need pliers to pull the needle through so many layers of cloth. I’ve been securing the seams with several rows of running stitch and I think the sewing machine of my recent dream would be a big help with this project. There’s still a ways to go before I will be wearing them, but it’s always good to have a project to hand when sitting down with a cup of tea and too tired to concentrate on reading a book.
The other remaking that has been occupying me is the renovation of the indigo-dyed linen dressing gown I acquired in Jaipur while travelling with Maiwa early in 2020. I’m a sucker for indigo, and immediately began wearing it as a coat rather than the purpose for which it was intended. I can only find one photo of it as it was before, and even then it already has the pockets I immediately sewed on to it, because what good is a coat without places to put things?
The sleeves, while quite comfy, were impractically baggy, so I began by creating a pleat so that when I roll them up (which I frequently do) they don’t immediately fall out again.
Then I began to look at the body of the garment, which was straight up and down, and did not have a means of fastening at the front, so that if I were trotting vigorously it would sometimes try and flap away in the opposite direction. Not helpful. I mumbled a prayer to the sewing gods and took to it with scissors, cutting two big slashes up the back, with the intent of adding cloth. Then I added more cloth to the front along with the button plackets from a shirt (the pockets from the shirt will be added to the inside so as to keep my passports safe.
There’s quite a bit of stitching yet to be done but I have a feeling this coat will become my travelling companion on the two international journeys I have planned for this year.
It’s lovely to be able to use some of my store of Japanese indigo cloth scraps at last. I have a feeling this garment will become thicker and warmer over the years, as it becomes increasingly patched, like its sister, the ‘journeycloth’ that was with me on those wanderings in India.
The cloth was shown at Fabrik in the exhibition ‘retelling’ in February 2022, after which I gave half of it to a friend (the rest is still travelling with me, and being stitched into whenever I have to wait somewhere).
that coat is grand and your redo
on the pants is inspiring. i have a pair of jeans i
bought on thinner days for 300
american dollars. the treasured jeans have been cut up the side and patch worked in the most awful way. then ripped up the middle to turn into a skirt which it most certainly did NOT become. so. i covet still these very expensive jeans and hope and pray one day to make them into a pair that is cozy AND beautiful.
Double dipping here! I am in awe of the jacket and pants. I have been dreaming of reworking a pair of jeans I have, and refuse to let go of due to my abundance. I am going to give it a try! Thank you!!