In
sewing we could have a sewing kit (La trousse au coudre).
A
couple weeks ago I was given a pattern for a sewing kit and was asked embellish
it any way I wanted to. The pattern was simple. It was the embellishment that
would make the bag.
The
pattern was a prolate spheroid.
Hmmm, interesting but what does that
mean? Well it means that its axis of symmetry is longer than its other axes. Not
to be mistaken with an M&M chocolate candy, which is an oblate spheroid.
Its axis of symmetry is shorter than its other axes, and definitely do not
mistake it with an ellipsoid since that one is formed by rotating an ellipse
around one of its two axes. The equation for this projection onto the x/y plane
of an ellipse of revolution is (x/a)^2 +(x/b)^2 = 1. where 'a' and 'b' are the
semi-major and semi-minor axes, respectively. Also it does not have pointy ends. I remember this from somewhere in math
background, but it is not what the pattern was.
No the pattern was definitely a prolate
spheroid. click here to see the complex math that goes with it. In the
meantime, I will just tell you it looked like a football.
American football not
European football, otherwise known as soccer. There of course we are talking
about a round ball. But I digress!
So you start with 3 pieces of Timtex,
that would be Gifitex for us in France and you cut out 3 footballs. Size would
be the size of the bag you want to make. My pattern was 4.25 (y axis) by 8.25
(x axis) inches. I thought it made a bag that was larger than I would want, but
that was the size I was given to work with. You cover one side, cutting out the
fabric piece about 1/2" larger than the Timtex. You baste it down through
the Timtex.
To finish the football, you sew on a lining fabric. I cut out a
slightly smaller piece of stabilizer and then fused it to the wrong side of the
lining. Last step was to iron and glue the seam allowance down. That made it
easy to sew the lining into place after you finish the front design that is.
Now what do I do with it. I needed a
design. Finally it came to me, Sewing owls. Ya I know we think about sewing owls
all the time don't we? I suppose we think about them as much as we do oblate
spheroids. Yum, Chocolate!
Back to the owls. For the last week anytime I was in the car I was sewing owls. I needed 2 of them and I needed a needle and, well, they needed to be sewing something. Here is what I came up with for the front:
The small spool of thread is one of those wooden spools you can buy at craft stores. I drilled a hole in the center horizontal to the hole already there and then wound some thread on it and glued the thread in place. It was then sewn on like a regular button through the drilled hole.
Here is the back:
The fabric is Nu-Suede. I bought a pack of 18 cuts several years ago at Nancy's Notions. The lining is hand dyed silk.
Once I had the lining sewn on after I finished the owls, I had to sew the thing together. There is an elastic loop in the center that hooks around the spool of thread to keep it shut. Only the bottom is sewn together. Due to its shape, it closes itself.
I like the way it turned out.
J'aime beaucoup...
ReplyDeleteUne fan de chouettes.
Bises et bonne journée