Hello and welcome to this video on making
sewing more accessible, this video is part
of Cocovid, that is a wonderful weekend of
online costume content for us all to enjoy
from the safety of our own homes during these
unprecedented times.
Only if you like me have a disability, not
leaving home for long periods of time isn’t
so unprecedented. Over the years my work as
a costume maker has been greatly impacted
by my disability and I, much like the world
at large is having to now, have had to adapt.
So in this video I am going to share with
you some of the tricks and techniques that
I use in my daily work to make sewing with
a disability easier.
These are split into two parts. Part one is
all about the way I plan and approach my projects
and part two is all about practical little
tips to make sewing that little bit easier.
So Part One:
I would like to start by saying that of course
disabilities are as varied and individual
as the people who live with them and so not
all these techniques may be applicable to
you. Which leads me on to my first point which
is:
FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
There are countless adaptive tools, alternative
methods or good old fashioned ‘hacks’
that claim to make sewing easier but depending
on how your disability affects you they may
actually make life more difficult.
An excellent example of this is rotary cutters.
Fellow sewists always ask me why I don’t
use a rotary cutter as they are “so much
easier” than scissors. But rotary cutters
require continuous downward pressure to work,
which I have found to be incredibly tiring
and painful if using for prolonged periods.
Instead I like to use spring loaded angled
scissors like this Fiskars pair. Because they
are angled I can rest the weight of them on
the table and the spring loaded action means
less thumb strain as I don’t have to lift
them open after every cut.
I can cut for much longer periods of time,
and with much less pain with a good pair of
scissors than I can with a rotary cutter,
but this might be different for you. Experiment
and find what works for you.
The next tip I have for you is to
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
Only you know your own body and as hard as
it sometimes is you have to work with it.
Sewing is hard work, big costume projects
can be exhausting and deadlines can bring
stress and anxiety that none of us really
need in our lives.
So approach a sewing project with painful
honesty about what you can realistically achieve
and make sure to accommodate that when planning
a project.
For example, I know that I cannot sit at a
sewing machine for long periods of time, I
cannot work for 8 hours straight, I cannot
pull all nighters and a whole load of inexplicably
random external factors can leave me incapacitated
for a week. (Thunderstorms)
So when deciding on a project, I factor in
that I will probably only be able to work
on it for a maximum of 3 hours a day and I
give myself longer deadlines as a result.
I also use the Sew in 30 technique which I
learnt from Brittany J Jones and I sew in
30 minute blocks and schedule a rest in between
them. This spreads out the physical impact
of sewing so that I can actually sew for longer.
For example, I can only really sit at a sewing
machine for an hour straight before I have
to stop for the day, but if I sew in 30 minute
chunks and then rest, I can sew for a total
of 3 hours over the course of the day before
I run out of energy.
You’ll be amazed how much you can get done
in half an hour and I often find that I am
more focused as a result of the limited time
frame.
Feeding in to this idea of knowing your limits
is also to
SET FLEXIBLE GOALS
You may have heard Noelle from Costuming Drama
talk about compassionate deadlines? And that
is absolutely something you should embrace,
but I actually go one step further and have
flexible goals and also flexible standards.
I work on a system that I call Good, Better,
Best. This is kind of based on the ideas of
‘Good Enough’ and ‘Finished is better
than Perfect’ but with a subtle mindset
shift that comes from my previous points of
knowing your limits.
The best way to explain this is to give you
a practical example. So say I want to go to
the Jane Austen Festival in Bath and I need
a Regency outfit.
When I plan my project I start with the Good.
Not ‘Good Enough’ but ‘Good’. What
is a level of work and finish that I am happy
with, that I know I will be proud of but I
won’t have had to sacrifice my health to
achieve?
So in my Regency example for my outfit I know
I will need a shift, but I’m not really
bothered about it being super historically
accurate or hand sewn or anything. It's only
a shift, no one will see it, so I’m not
going to waste my effort and energy on it.
So I’m going to use a bought paper pattern
and just sew it up quickly by machine.
What I would like to focus my energy on is
making some Regency stays for the proper silhouette.
But I’m not that bothered about them being
completely hand sewn, what I do want to focus
on is the fit. So I’m going to buy a paper
pattern, make as many toiles as it takes and
construct them with a machine. What I will
do is practice some hand-worked eyelets because
I want to get better at those and that’s
a good use of my time and energy.
Now for the dress, what I want to focus on
is drafting my own pattern, because that’s
something I enjoy doing and I think would
be energy well spent. I’m really not bothered
about hand sewing long side seams so I’m
going to machine those but I will do all the
finishing by hand. Hems, binding etc, all
that I’ll do by hand.
As for accessories, I’ve got some shoes
that will be acceptable and I’ll buy a recticule
because I’m not interested in making one
of those. As for my head, I’ve got a head
scarf that would make a good Regency turban
so I’m just going to do that because I can’t
be bothered with a bonnet.
So here we have a plan for a Good, perfectly
acceptable, and perfectly achievable (for
me) Regency outfit. And this is Plan A. This
is what I am going into this project working
towards.
Now along the way something might happen that
throws me off course and I can no longer draft
my own dress pattern, or hand sew my eyelets
and that’s a compromise that I’ll just
have to accept. At that point the project
would be downgraded from ‘Good’ to ‘Good
Enough’ But that isn’t my Plan B.
Plan B, is the Better option. That is “I
unexpectedly have more energy for this project
than I previously thought and I now want to
do a little more work”.
So for the Regency example, I might decide
that nope I’m still not bothered about that
shift, but I’m really interested in these
Regency stays so I’m going to do some research
and add my own cording design.
As for the dress I think I’ll keep it the
same as Plan A and if I’m still feeling
this extra energy when I finish the dress,
I’m going to make myself a bonnet. But still
I’ll just buy a reticle and make do with
my shoes and hey maybe I’ll buy some stockings
too.
Now if by some miracle I find that I have
unlimited time and energy to dedicate to a
project I may even work towards Plan C the
Best option.
This is if the sky were the limit what would
this project look like? I’d draft my own
shift using a historical method and of course
sew it all by hand. My stays would be completely
hand stitched with an etched wooden busk.
The gown would be draped by me and completely
hand sewn. I’d knit my own silk stockings,
make my own bonnet, a reticle to match, buy
some American Duchess shoes and hey maybe
I’ll even hand sew my own Spencer as well,
let’s go wild.
This process helps to clarify the aspects
of a project that I really want to focus on
and prioritise those, making it more likely
that I will achieve the goals I really care
about which leads to a really satisfying project.
If I achieve more than I originally set out
to in my ‘Good’ design it gives me a boost
and I feel really great about myself. Whereas
if I had started with my Best design I would
have felt really disappointed and frustrated
when I inevitably didn’t reach my goal.
I like to plan out my Better and Best options
because I often come back to old projects
with renewed energy at a later date to work
on those other elements. It’s subtle but
what I’ve done here, is reshape the planning
process to be less about compromise and more
about bonus extras. Instead of starting with
an ambitious goal that I’m probably never
going to be able to achieve and having to
compromise down, I start with what I know
I can achieve comfortably and work upwards.
Something else that I find really helpful
as someone with a variable activity level
is to
WORK ON MORE THAN ONE PROJECT AT ONCE
This can sound really counter intuitive because
it means that you’ve got more to think about
and manage but hear me out.
There are some parts of a project that are
more physical than others, cutting out for
example, is incredibly difficult for me, as
is fitting. So it can be really frustrating
when you get to a point in a project where
you need to do something, say a fitting, but
you have to wait for a day when you are well
enough to actually do it. You have all this
inspiration and drive to work and yet you
have to wait for days and weeks for your health
to be up to it and it feels like so much wasted
time. But just because you’re not well enough
to do a fitting, doesn’t mean you’re so
unwell you couldn’t pin in some pleats,
or hand sew a hem or sit and draft a pattern.
So this is where having a different project
to work on can be really useful, especially
if that project is at a different point in
the process than the one that is currently
on hold. Instead of feeling like you are wasting
time by not working on that project, you have
just redirected your reduced energy level
to where it can still be put to good use and
progress is still made just on a different
project.
And this isn’t just applicable for physical
energy. I actually learnt this tip from fellow
Foundations Revealed members with ADHD and
it’s really worked for me. So if you’ve
got a strategy of your own please share it
in the comments! The more we share the more
we can help each other.
So that’s all for Part One, but now let’s
move on to Part Two and all the practical
little things I do to make sewing easier.
I’m going to approach this list chronologically
from the start of a project to the end and
beginning with cutting.
CUTTING
Cutting for me is one of the most challenging
parts of any project because it is best to
do it standing up at a table. Now if you’re
disbled that’s not always an option, I know
a lot of people cut out on the floor, but
that isn’t really an option for a lot of
disabled people either and there really isn’t
a way around a lot of the challenges that
come from cutting out.
So sometimes the only thing to do is to ask
for help. Ask a friend or carer who you trust
with your fabric scissors for help. Yes it
can be frustrating and embarrassing to have
to ask for help, but it shouldn’t be. Sewing
brings so much joy to so many people with
disabilities and it is important that we as
disabled people prioritise our own happiness
because god knows nobody else will. So it
is okay to ask for help with cutting out or
anything else for that matter.
If finding a sewing buddy really isn’t an
option I have found some other ways of cutting
that limit the amount of time I spend standing
up.
Namely I take my time, sometimes days to cut
out 5 pattern pieces. What I often do is lay
the fabric out and pin the pattern pieces
on on the first day, and then roll the whole
length of fabric up and store it out of the
way until I am well enough to start cutting.
Then I cut the fabric up into smaller chunks
or cut roughly around the pattern pieces.
I can then cut these more precisely whilst
sitting down and can turn the pattern piece
around instead of having to reach and twist
to cut them out. This produces more cabbage
off cuts but it saves me a lot of pain so
I kind of don’t care.
PINNING
An issue that I have is the fact I don’t
have a very strong grip and this can make
pinning difficult particularly through several
layers of fabric. The solution for this issue
is actually really simple.
Use a thimble for pinning. It helps to push
the pins through the fabric, it saves the
surface of your fingers and it also makes
removing pins a lot easier. This saves me
a lot of joint pain and a surprising amount
of energy.
Now lots of people tell me oh I can never
get on with a thimble, or I don’t know how
to use a thimble and to them I say get over
yourself and LEARN to use a thimble. And using
a thimble for pinning is actually a great
way to practise using one because you don’t
need to be as dexterous as you do when sewing.
They come in different sizes for a perfect
fit and there are also so many different types
of thimble, metal thimbles, open ended thimbles,
silicone rubber thimbles and of course Bernadette
Banner has a video teaching you how to make
your own leather thimble.
In fact you know whether you have a disability
or not is irrelevant, if you want to get better
at sewing you have to learn to use a thimble.
Also on the subject of pinning, the type of
pins you use can also make a real difference.
It goes without saying that they need to be
sharp and suitable for the type of fabric
you are using, but if your disability affects
your ability to pick up or see tiny wee objects
you may want to consider glass headed or flower
headed pins. It’s a little thing but it
could save you a lot of energy if you no longer
have to fumble over stray pins.
My next tip is actually a productivity
tip that I have found to be very useful and
that is to
BATCH YOUR TASK
This means quite simply to group all the similar
tasks together for greater efficiency.
If we were to apply this to a bodice construction,
that would mean rather than the usual pattern
instructions that goes something like this:
Pin darts,
Sew darts,
Press darts,
Pin Shoulder seams,
Sew shoulder seams,
Press shoulder seams,
Pin side seams,
Sew side seams,
Press side seams,
What I would do is I pin EVERYTHING I can
before I even get my sewing machine out. Sometimes,
it is necessary to sew and press a seam before
moving onto the next one, but I find that
when making a dress, I can batch together
all the darts, pinning sewing and pressing
them, and then I can pin all the shoulder
seams, all the side seams, the pockets into
the skirt and some of the skirt seams. I can
then get out my sewing machine and stitch
them in one sitting. Then I can take all these
pieces to the ironing board and press them,
in one sitting. So instead of having to constantly
move around between the ironing board and
sewing machine and work table, I only have
to move 3 or 4 times.
This method is also great to combine with
the Sew in 30 technique. So my first 30 mins
is going to be spent pinning everything, then
I rest, then my next 30 minutes will be at
the sewing machine, then rest, then my final
30 mins at the ironing board.
This keeps things really efficient and saves
so much energy.
Speaking of saving energy something else I
have found incredibly useful is to
ORGANISE YOUR SUPPLIES
I can’t tell you how many hours of my life
I have spent going “where did I put that
thing?”. I am a chaotic person and the second
I put something down it is lost and I will
have to spend the next half an hour looking
for it.
And *sigh* I HATE THIS. Oh my god it’s so
annoying literally why am I like this. I waste
so much energy just looking for things I literally
had in my hand two seconds ago. And the only
way that I have found to combat this supernatural
ability to lose things, is to literally tie
them to myself. I’m not joking.
This idea actually started when I worked as
a dresser backstage in theatres. It’s common
amongst dressers to wear either a hairdressing
belt or a waitressing apron or bum bag that
holds all sorts of emergency supplies, you
know safety pins, torches, needles and thread,
in case there is a wardrobe malfunction halfway
through a show. Now I ended up keeping most
of my sewing kit in my dressers belt because
it made it so easy to find, and I have since
taken to wearing it as I sew and have gotten
into the habit of only putting things down
in the dressers belt. So that if (if) WHEN
I lose something the first place I look is
the dressers belt and 9 times out of 10 it’s
in there somewhere.
I have also known colleagues in costume shops
I have worked in wear their little scissors
on a length of elastic around their neck so
that they are always on hand so snipping those
little threads. Genius.
And this is probably the thing that has made
the single greatest difference to my sewing
practice and it’s simply not having to waste
my precious time and energy looking for things.
So find an organisation system that works
for you, tie things to you if you have to,
and save yourself a lot of effort.
Now I have tried to keep this list free of
recommendations for things you can buy because
I don’t want you to waste your money on
things that might not work for you, but there
are of course a lot of adaptive technologies
you can buy and if you have any recommendations
for things that you use regularly and are
comfortable sharing how they have helped you
please let me know in the comments. But there
is one thing that I own that has really changed
my life as a costume maker and that is an
adjustable height folding ironing board. And
this is because I can
SIT DOWN TO IRON.
This has been a game changer for me. We all
know that good sewing is at least 50% good
pressing but I can’t stand up for long periods
of time and so I usually dread pressing because
it involves standing at the ironing board.
I know it’s going to be really painful for
me so I don’t press things as thoroughly
as I know I ought to to avoid pain flare ups.
But the simple fact that I can make my ironing
board low enough to sit at means I can now
take my time carefully pressing up long skirt
hems, or getting a crisp edge along facings
and linings or getting beautifully even pleats!
Being able to sit down to iron has changed
pressing for me from the thing I hate most
about sewing to one of my favourite parts.
The other thing about an adjustable height
ironing board is you may find it a more comfortable
height to work at than a standard dining table
or desk. In which case you can sit and work
at the ironing board. Use it to pin things
or for hand sewing or whatever it is you need
to do. A lot of back issues are caused by
too high tables or too low chairs so get the
ironing board at the correct height for the
chair you use and use it as a work table.
And I think this video is probably long enough
by now. These are just a few of the techniques
that work for me, they may not work for you
or they may really help you. I wanted to make
this video because I have found so much wonderful
support from fellow disabled sewists online
and I want to give back to this community
that has helped me so much.
I know I mentioned it earlier but I will ask
again, if you have any suggestions for making
sewing more accessible, please share them
in the comments of this video, let’s go
on supporting each other and sharing information
to help others so our community can continue
to thrive.
I also recommend that you check out the rest
of the CoCovid schedule. You can find all
the information in the description. There
is going to be a live panel about disability
and costuming over on Snappy Dragon’s Youtube
channel tomorrow which you should definitely
tune in for but the Costube community is covering
so many topics from Gender in costuming to
historical knitting and history bounding and
Abby Cox is even making a video on how to
use a thimble so you really will have no excuse!
Thanks for watching and see you next time.
