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By Kathleen Fasanella on Feb 8, 2010 at 4:11 pm
News From You was a popular series I used to do more frequently. NFY is an eclection (eclectic+collection) of news, humor, arcane tidbits and nothing of importance to the community, sent to me from all of you. Your submissions are always welcome!
Today’s post is sponsored by the letter “S”:
Sewing machines: I found this machine (right) with the brand name of Long Wang a few month ago. It’s pretty, no? Ever heard ot it before? Here’s a larger photo (300 kb). Or how about this; have you ever seen a sewing machine made of a legos?
Shoes: Speaking of legos, Armo has come up with a component shoe you can assemble, click and snap together yourself.
Soccer balls: And speaking of making, this is how soccer balls are made. I still don’t understand how they close them. I would pay to see a detailed industrial video of the process start to finish.
Humor:
Dismay/chagrin:
2010 Tradeshow Calender, courtesy of California Apparel News. Formatted for printing.
Sustainable Fabric: Have you heard of Nessle?
Nettle fabric is developed from the Brennessel plant and was very popular in the Middle-Ages when upper-class ladies preferred it over silk. This plant grows in almost all types of soils and it requires very little fertilization because the minerals are not leached out of the ground. Brennessel is naturally resistant to vermin and many parasites and can be grown without pesticides and herbicides. It can be more finely woven than cotton and can have the gloss of silk. The fiber is hollow and this makes it possible for nettle fabric to breathe and be insulating at the same time.
Blogs:
Sue provided a link to Get Smart (about Manufacturing). A jewelry designer, Wendy Brandes explains the philosophical and practical reasons why she can’t do cheap and she can’t outsource.
The situation I’m in is a classic small-business conundrum. I could sell more if I charged less, but I can’t charge less till I sell more. This applies to most small businesses, whether the product is software or apparel.
Books:
Brina says there’s a book out about Geneviève Sevin-Doering who was the inspiration for our most recent pattern puzzle. It’s 20 euros and nobody carries it in the States. Brina is thinking of organizing a book buy.
Read:
The paranoid don’t innovate. Recent research shows that the less trusting one is, the less likely they are to come up with great ideas. I definitely notice that the more obsessed one is with IP, the more likely they are to be copying someone else. Go figure. On the other hand (see the comments), it could also explain why Gen Y has to cross the hurdle of doing entry level drudge work many are wont to do. It’s less a matter of paying dues (that sounds punitive) and more with developing a reputation of trustworthiness among co-workers to be deemed trustworthy and thus, gain access to implement the innovation of their ideas. In terms of psychological fragility, Why Victims Can’t Invent Invent Anything is related.
Thomas, Zoe and Lisa mentioned word of an article from Cathy Horyn of the New York Times, Behind the Scenes: The Product Specialist. Pardon my sour grapes but the NYT has recently discovered the industry has changed forever. On the other hand, if you’ve ever doubted any of my too lengthy editorializing on the topic, you can read it from somebody else. Decent read, go pile on.
Milena sends a link (again from the NYT) about Zac Posen’s decline called The Trials of a Former Boy Wonder.
There was a time when brashness was a refreshing change in New York fashion, which had been dominated by a handful of aging mega-brands until Mr. Posen planted his flag in the biggest, most expensive tent in Bryant Park. But his extravagant success came so quickly, perhaps faster than his limited experience should have allowed, that his setbacks echo all the more loudly. He became unpredictable, lashing out at the news media as his company struggled with layoffs, a revolving door of executives and an investor pulling back the reins. He was the designer wunderkind who went too far, too fast, his sequins falling to the floor like the feathers of Icarus.
The author of the piece says Zac Posen was largely the impetus for the new breed of fashion design rock star wannabes, “Now young designers think good looks plus diploma equals business plan.” I was wondering where that came from, can’t blame it all on him tho, part is Project Runway.
Heard:
Via NPR: A depressing story about the costs of higher education. Kids today have it worse. If a bachelor’s degree today is equivalent to a high school diploma 30 years ago… I just don’t see any end to the need of incurring massive amounts of debt just to get a halfway decent job. Jeez. No wonder kids today are described as narcissistic and feel entitled to rule the world, they darn well paid for it. They haven’t even gotten their first jobs and some can practically owe the equivalent of a mortgage. It’s nothing short of educational inflation. My sister in law said physical therapy used to require a bachelor’s but now a doctorate is required for licensing. Sure, life today is great in that a greater supply of information is accessible to more people but we didn’t anticipate the downside of it actually becoming required. The more that is known, the more we need to know and the more we must know. And then getting less for it. Inspiring: NC has an early-college high school program that is an alternative to high priced, higher education.
Again via NPR, obesity has leveled out (finally) with one disturbing exception: the rate continues to increase among boys aged 6-19. Other than that it would naturally follow boys would then continue on to be more overweight than average adults, I wonder what it means -long term. There’s a related trend in Japan. Men have gained weight while women’s absolute weight has decreased.
Saw:
Strima has a whole passle of videos demonstrating unusual production equipment. For example, I’d always heard of pin tables but had never seen one in operation. There’s also a video of a sequin sewing machine. More.
Deep think: Via Farnam Street (”what the smartest people on the internet read”),
The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis: The CIA published “the psychology of intelligence analysis” as an internal guide to help analysts better understand their mental processes. The information is relatively timeless. The articles are based on reviewing cognitive psychology literature concerning how people process information to make judgments on incomplete and ambiguous information. I highly recommend that anyone interesting in complex systems, biases inherent in thinking and decision making, and human nature give this a read.
The blog author is posting a summary in four parts.
———
Well that’s it for this edition. Please send your submissions to News From You.
Continue reading "News from you 2/8/2010" »
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Feb 5, 2010 at 7:06 pm
With the monster snow storm headed for the eastern coast of the US, my complaints last week about snow really sound juvenile. All it takes for me to weep and gnash my teeth is a light dusting you can still see the dirt still through. But snow is not all that’s going on this weekend, there’s a football game too. I love Super Bowl weekend. It’s the only weekend I can go shopping in peace. Be it snow or Super Bowl, enjoy one or both of them this weekend. Cuddle, be warm and till we meet again, here’s this week’s entries from the archives.
January 29, through February 4, 2006
Bias match-stripe
Piece rate is good
Sending patterns off for correction
Organic clothing blog
How to make a line sheet pt.2
Analyzing sales by size
Analyzing sales by size pt.2
Budget Marketing Materials: Large Format Postcards
Thomas and Eleanore pt. 2
January 29, through February 4, 2007
MAGIC Show February 2007
Fix this: mitten contest pt 4
Patternworks Inc
Pet Peeve: Cutters and Mixed Markers
Setting up a small shop
January 29, through February 4, 2008
Pattern puzzle: Parrot jacket 2
Japanese Vionnet book
Old school grading method?
NY fabric shows: Printsource, Direction, TexWorld & Premiere Vision
January 29, through February 4, 2009
CPSIA Guidance for Retailers Working with Vendors
How the industry has changed forever
CPSIA: Stay of Execution?
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Feb 4, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I decided to write a follow up to my first entry because comments from two people who have every reason to expect they’d understand what I was talking about, didn’t. Perhaps my entry was too brief (1,500 words on seaming is brief) but I didn’t want to get too technical lest legions of readers expire from abject boredom, their hands affixed to the armrests of their chairs in the final stages of rigor mortis.
I have a silly question on overlock seam allowances. Are 3/8″ and 1/2″ the seam allowance as marked on the pattern or the finished seam allowance after sewing? I think most of my RTW knit garments have 1/4″ finished overlock seam allowances, and I’m pretty sure 1/8″ is trimmed during sewing. That would mean a starting seam allowance of 3/8″.
When we talk about allowances, we mean the total from nett (the sewing line) needed to complete the seam successfully. In the course of doing an overlock (serged) seam, it is presumed that successfully completing the seam means it is necessary to trim off a scant 1/8″ portion of the edge (or edges). In other words, the seam allowance (3/8″ for 3-4 thread, or 1/2″ for five thread safety stitch) will mean that after sewing and required trimming of the edge, the remainder will be 1/8″ less the finished viewable seam. So yes, a knit garment with a 3 or 4 thread overlock seam will finish at 1/4″ width from nett (the seam line) although 3/8″ was used to make it.
I understand where the confusion comes in. In the typical course of sewing a seam with a regular machine, the seam allowance is not trimmed away. The seam you see is the seam allowance you started with. Another way to explain it is if you were to dissasemble a knit garment (neatly undoing all the seam threads) to make a pattern from it, you would need to add another 1/8″ (that had been trimmed away) to all overlocked seams on the pattern to permit successful seam formation of the new garment.
Is 3/8″ cut off (and then the stitching takes up more on overlock) or is the actual seam at 3/8″ (so you cut off less).
I understand how this can be confusing. It is a matter of orientation, your point of reference, what you consider to be the zero point. With basic seaming, the point of orientation is (nearly always) the needle path, aka the sewing line. In the case of the single needle machine, it’s the position of needle (middle of the throat plate). This is the zero point. With usual handling, everything to the left of the needle is garment or product. Everything to the right of the needle is seam allowance. If it’s a two or more needle machine, the farthest left needle is the zero point of orientation (the sewing line). The space between the left and right needle and the fabric to the right of the right needle is all seam allowance. This is confusing because many people are oriented to lining things up on the right because there are (often) little lines on the throat plate and so, align the cut edge as their zero point or frame of reference on those markings. I just checked the machines I use most often. None of the industrials have these markings but all of the home machines do.
If you align the edges to cut off 3/8″, the needles to the left are seaming 1/4″ into the area that belongs to the body of the garment or product. To prevent this confusion, the guidelines on the throat plate of overlocks (only on my home machine) are measured and aligned in accordance with the needle path (the farthest left needle). If you do not have markings on the little guide that holds the knife of the overlock, you can get one of those pattern rulers and measure the distance between the left most needle and the knife. On my five thread overlock, this distance is 3/8″ -but that’s because it is a safety stitch. In order to to have a bit to trim away, I need to make the allowance 1/2″. [My problem is I forget to. My previous machine was a 3/4 thread that finished at 1/4" (total 3/8") so for the past year, I've consistently made my seam allowances too small for the new machine.]
Again, the above refers to most (but not all) basic seam formations aka “joining”. If you’re top stitching a patch pocket, the edges of the pocket are the point of orientation (the zero point). You’d stitch inside the area. This is similar to top stitching, say a collar edge. The edge of the collar becomes the zero point. This may not seam logical but think of it this way: you don’t need to add seam allowance to a pattern for top stitching. Top stitching is not a joining seam, it’s “ornamental”. Ornamental is the name of a separate and specific seam class. Not needing separate seam allowance is but one reason ornamental stitches are an entirely different seam class.
In the section on industrial sewing in my book (specifically 131-132), I explain the anatomy of seam class pictographs to analyze the manner used to illustrate them. You can also find out more about seam classes here or read related topics on sewing machine attachments. I was sure I’d written more about seam classes before but I’m not finding anything. Should I do something like that? I suppose it’s the only way you’ll see what I mean when I say that seam allowances vary according to the seam class and the equipment used to form them. If I ever write a production pattern making book, this will be a big part of it mostly because I don’t like having to figure it out over and over, asking around or measuring or whatever. I don’t know why somebody hasn’t cooked up a chart and posted it around long before now. Sure it’s minutia and a tedious task; where’s an autie when you need one?
Continue reading "The rules on seam allowances pt.2" »
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Feb 3, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Today I spoke with a friend who is an online retailer. She was complaining about the lousy emails she gets from sales reps (shades of 2 sales mistakes: pitching wholesale buyers by email). The pictures included are too small and few emails provide links to better photos (hint). When a sales rep followed up with her, she mentioned the problem. The sales rep waved it off as being unimportant because “she’d see the line when she went to market”. Problem is, my friend isn’t going to market so the only impression she’ll have of the line is via the internet.
This is a multi-faceted problem with technology as a double edged sword. With the help of technology, my friend doesn’t need to go to market as frequently, saving her money on travel costs considering the lower margins in this troubled economy. The roundabout being that hiring a booth at market is of decreasing value to you. It is also tragic that the average sales rep today is so out of touch with the impact of technology that they don’t realize why buyers aren’t going to market and what they should do about it. The obvious first step is that all sales reps should start with getting email addresses since at least half of them don’t have one but in the end, it’s not worth mentioning. Too few of the older reps are willing to change their behaviors so it’s a lost cause and they’ll end up getting pushed out of the industry. Don’t hire a rep who doesn’t understand changing demands of the marketplace.
But I wonder if there are other unintended consequences of online sales. For example, my friend can tell from a photo if she is interested in the product. You’re probably thinking the same thing I was, how can she know? Doesn’t she have to see the garment in real time, feel the fabric etc? But no, she doesn’t. The reason being that her customers will also only see the product via the internet. If the product doesn’t photograph well enough to show the design features, she’s not going to buy it no matter how exquisite it is. What’s worse, one excellent design feature actually looked like a flaw in photos. In the end, one unintended consequence of online sales is that designers may increasingly need to design for the camera.
Another unintended consequence of online sales is consumer expectations for fit, appearance and performance. It is a hassle to return things to say nothing of the cost. After a time of being accustomed to under performing goods, people won’t know any better and/or their perception of value will devolve. Or arguably, they’ll know less than they know now. This could mean that a motivated designer producing goods to stringent fit standards may be wasting much of their time and money on a value proposition that isn’t appreciated or expected by the customer meaning the line loses its unique selling proposition if the majority of the goods are sold strictly online. One can only imagine that the level of merchandise will continue to degrade.
Someone I knew used to say, “it doesn’t matter what is, it only matters what it looks like” and it annoys me every time I find he is right. This person was largely incompetent but his desk was always tidy, he spoke personably and steadily moved up the ranks over co-workers with messy desks but much higher levels of competence. The matter of increasingly needing to design for the camera is yet another example of it and there is little to be done about it but to fall in line. Perhaps that’s why tee shirts sell so well online. You just need a good photo of the graphic to fill the frame.
Thoughts? Ideas? Other unintended consequences of online sales? What say you?
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Feb 2, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Related to last week’s entry on organic cotton fraud, I found a video called Two days in Texas [via] which describes current cotton production practices in the United States. The video is shot in Lubbock TX, aka the “silicone valley” of cotton production. The provenance of the film, at least as it relates to commercial interests is not transparent. I do not think I would be the only person to suspect the film may have been underwritten by Bayer Crop Sciences, the producers of Fibermax GMO cotton seed.
Some of the claims from cotton farmers are quite compelling. One claims he used to plant 25 pounds of cotton seed per acre but now uses only 6 pounds. Yields are also up. Previously, 3 bales an acre was considered excellent with 1.5 bales to be average but yields are up to 4 bales an acre. Intertwined with the yield discussion was the effect of improved watering technologies, specifically sub surface drip (that looked interesting!) but it wasn’t clear how much of the yield increase was due to improved watering and equipment technologies, nor how many acres had previously been dry farmed. Speaking of equipment, ditto for the 8 row harvesters (see Field trip to a cotton gin). Cotton farming employment continues to fall; one farmer said he used to have 30 people working for him but now only has one man.
I’m left with the impression of a gross contradiction; if cotton farming is so great now, with less expenditure of resources (less pesticide, less seed, less water, less labor) then how come 90% of cotton farmers have gotten out of it since the early 1980’s? One thing is certainly yields. Increased yields have depressed the price of cotton (prices have decreased steadily relative to inflation) which can be good and/or bad since this amounts to lower cost apparel but US cotton farmers enjoy subsidies courtesy of your tax dollars.
I looked for a rebuttal to the film but could not find one. If you have a source, please sing out. For now, I hope you will read a previous entry I wrote (Roundup: The birds and bees) about pesticides and GMO cotton seed.
Related:
Field trip to a cotton gin
Roundup: The birds and bees
My cotton farming series (more popular than you’d think):
It all starts here
It all starts here 2
It all starts here 3
It all starts here 4
It all starts here 5
It all starts here 6
It all starts here 7
It all starts here 8
It all starts here 9
It all stops here 1
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Feb 1, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Have you had fun playing with the all-in-one patterns from last week? I didn’t process the red one because it seems you could figure it out easily enough if you cut one in quarter or half scale. Judging from comments, most people agree the hole in the center of that one is for the neck. Danielle posted an illustration of both if that helps you visualize. Owing to my own bias, my idea was the slit was a seam at center back but there’s no reason it couldn’t be its opposite as Danielle showed.
The purple one more closely resembles a Rorschach test than a garment pattern. Britannica and Brina have decided this one is a jumpsuit (Brina’s sketch). In the interests of intellectual honesty, I didn’t read their comments until after I came up with my own rendition so I’ll have to go back and play with their idea since I came up with a dress.
Hopefully you can follow along with the brief notations. I think that there is a twist at center front, right moves left, left moves right and the wider pink seam is gathered to join the shorter pink one. There’s no real way to know until someone cuts one of these in smaller scale and bastes it together. Hopefully someone will do that and enlighten us all. Either way, it’s been fun, no?
Continue reading "Pattern puzzle: pick one pt.2" »
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Jan 29, 2010 at 3:18 pm
It’s another great day -any day above ground is a good one. I’ve been distracted and preoccupied as of late but I’ve found a great new site that helps me dwell less on my grievances over silly things like snow (I do feel childish and petty) and to be more mindful. The site is an agent of change. I love the way she writes. She writes the way I feel so how come my words don’t come out as kindly as hers do? She’s definitely a model for me to emulate. For a sample, see When life asks more of you than it has before. And thanks to my friend Ann Katzen who told me about it.
As (nearly) every Friday, here’s this week’s entries from the archives. Hoping you enjoy a relaxing weekend.
January 22, through January 28, 2006
Color numbers
Importance of Product Identification pt. 2
Nameless Tutorial #9
Suffering Unappreciated Inventor
Manufacturing organic home furnishings
Button sewing problems?
Designer’s guide to a business plan
Thomas and Eleanore pt. 1
January 22, through January 28, 2007
Back from LA
If your contractor competes with you
What to do with scrap?
The power of a good (or bad) review
Does the devil really wear Prada?
January 22, through January 28, 2008
Mexico City trash
Mexico City costumes
Finding the right needle size in the Haystack pt.1
Mexico city architecture
Trip report: Seattle Trend Show
Finding the right needle size in the Haystack pt.2
News from you 1/24/08
Problem sewing contractor
January 22, through January 28, 2009
Pop Quiz 481: What’s wrong with this collar?
Pop Quiz 481: What’s wrong with this collar? pt.2
Pattern Puzzle: Origami Sleeve
CPSIA Crystal Ball & Status Report
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Jan 28, 2010 at 11:12 am
Annie Jackson posted a link to designer Geneviève Sevin-Doering. She leaves me speechless in two ways. First, I don’t speak French (help?) and second is her work. Here’s just two samples of her patterns lain flat, you won’t be able to pick just one.
The red on the left is rather obvious -or maybe not. The one on the right is another story entirely. Any guesses as to what these (or any others on her site) look like on the body? Normally I’d think these would keep you busy well into next week but you surprise me all the time. It would be wonderful if someone could provide some back story, I’d love to know more about this designer.
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Jan 28, 2010 at 10:43 am
Perhaps you caught the story alleging H&M used genetically modified cotton from India in their certified organic products. The story was published in the German edition of the Financial Times last Friday. Via Ecotextile News:
The scale of the alleged fraud uncovered by the German edition of the Financial Times newspaper is shocking – if it’s accurate. Lothar Kruse, a director of the independent testing laboratory Impetus in Bremerhaven, who examined the cotton fabrics claimed around “30% of the tested samples” contained genetically modified (GM) cotton. The head of the Indian agricultural authority, Apeda, Sanjay Dave, told the newspaper they were dealing with fraud on “a gigantic scale.”
Yesterday, Organic Exchange, responsible for certifying the two suppliers, published a press release dismissing these charges saying in part:
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By Kathleen Fasanella on Jan 27, 2010 at 12:32 pm
This will be more fun if we answer it together. I’m also curious as to what you’ll say. KT (a technical designer for a manufacturer) writes:
I’ve been given the task of setting up a Sample Room/Design Lab here in our design offices. Whilst I had a great sample room in [redacted], I’ve never had the opportunity to build one from scratch! I’m picturing my dream world – one where I can develop patterns and construction details with our team in an innovative and creative environment (my dreams will probably be crushed by budget but they’re nice for now). So I thought I’d put the question to you since you’re the professional… what would you include in your dream sample room? Is there anything you would think essential?
Don’t we love to dream? ~sigh~ My essential shop would include fairies. Lots of fairies.
From the responses I’ll create a list of essentials, priorities and costs which will be useful down the road regardless of the size of your enterprise. I’ll make it into a separate post for future reference.
Here are my suggestions -in the context of KT’s employer. Obviously, your mileage will vary:
Essentials:
- CAD system with all the doo-dahs.
- Software: Illustrator, Excel etc
- A 16-20 foot table
- Various tools and supplies (rulers of varying lengths
- Good lighting, probably more than they think they need.
- Pressing equipment
- Sewing machines (product specific)
- Shelving
Nice to have:
- Dress form
- Two sections of 16-20 foot tables
- Overhead feed rail
- A compressor (depending on equipment/product demands)
- Stereo
- Fairies
Thanks for your suggestions!
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