I’ve taken a couple jewelry classes over the years, but had never tried lost wax casting. Wildcraft offers a two-day ring workshop hosted by Arielle Brackett that is such a good peek into the process. On day one of the workshop, we started with a piece of jeweler’s wax, which we carved into our desired shape and used a special wax cutting mandrel to size them. I wanted to create a simple signet ring that started off round, but then on a whim I shaved off the top and bottom. I’m glad I did because I think it turned into a pretty fun design.
Arielle showed us how to add different textures and prep the wax so that we’d have the least amount of filing and sanding to do once it was cast in bronze. Our rings were then sent away for casting at Tiny Desk Customs. Another local option is Castaway. This process took a couple months and it was hard to wait! The actual casting step of the process is still a mystery to me.
On the second date of the workshop we received our rings. They were already somewhat finished for us, like the sprue had already been sawed off, but we needed to create the satin finish through filing and sanding.
I am a little bummed that the face of my ring has a tiny hole in it. Arielle said that this sometimes happens and it’s best to leave it alone because there’s no way to know how far down that bubble goes. Other than that, I am pleased with my ring!
And now for a list of supplies if I ever want to attempt this at home:
The sewing community on Instagram is just the best. I’ve found so much inspiration, motivation, advice, and all the things on this platform. I’m in total shock that 10.6K have decided to follow me and my sporadic makes. This support has made me feel like there truly is space for everyone in the creative world. Additionally, it’s given me the push to pursue some new avenues…
Through stories, I’ve been sharing cool makes and people, but thought I’d also share them here on the blog. Here’s what inspiring makes I’ve seen this past week:
Natalie Ebaugh | @natalie_ebaugh | amazing quilted coats, currently collaborating with Ace & Jig.
Fashion and style have only recently become an interesting subject to me. My first glimpse into the world of style was back in 2007 (or maybe 2008) when I began measuring vintage clothing for Lauren of Dear Golden. Every week I would sort through giant bins full of the most well made clothing with timeless silhouettes made out of interesting fabrics. Up until that point, I shopped like most girls/women – unaware of how and where clothing was made, operating under the idea that more was better, and mostly adopting others looks. Dear Golden was my gateway into thrifting and buying used clothing. And that habit began to reshape my relationship with style. Four years of sewing, and now patternmaking have turned getting dressed into a form of self expression paired with more thoughtful consumption.
Although I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of my style, I occasional thrift some things and make some thing that aren’t worn often, or just aren’t as loved as other garments. I also want to be as thoughtful as possible when I do need to buy items. So, I’m going to try to participate in Slow Fashion October this year, but seeing as this first prompt took me hours to answer, it might not all happen within the month of October (and I guess it’s not supposed to either!).
Do you have a color palette? I sure do and I’m lumping in textures with this too. Give me natural fibers, woven textures, and block printed shapes in neutrals, grays, blacks and whites. If it isn’t a neutral, it needs to be muted and the weirder the brown, the better.
Whose style inspires you; do you have a muse or icon? The most influential folks for me have been other makers (like the women featured below).
What showed up in your mood board that surprised you? Skirts and dresses are garments I just don’t wear that often. I feel uncomfortable wearing them at my job and when I’m not there, I’m usually doing something that requires a full-range of movement and clothes that don’t get in the way.
As much as I hate to admit, it’s clear living in California is influencing my taste. Warmer weather and constant sunshine are making things cropped, lighter in hue, and the substrates drapey and unstructured.
Accessories Mood Board
Is there a brand you’re always drawn to, for their clothes and/or how they put them together? Why? The ladies of Block Shop Textiles are masters of bold, graphic prints and yummy colors. I love how Lily and Hopie play with color combinations, layers, and statement jewelry.
Elizabeth Suzann not only makes the silhouettes I’m most comfortable in, it’s also just a bad-ass company doing right by its employees, its customers, the industry, and the earth.
What shapes and styles of garments work best for you, your life and your body? Pants must be high waisted! I suffered through enough plumber’s crack during my teens and 20’s for a lifetime. Never again! My three go-to pant silhouettes are wide leg (both fitted and elastic waist), skinny jeans, and slightly fitted / tapered ankle length pants. I do love a paper bag waist too.
Tops must be boxy. Sleeveless, cap to above elbow length, and 3/4 length sleeves. I don’t like a long sleeve – they get in the way. If wearing wide leg pants, I like to balance the volume out with a more fitted, and sometimes cropped shirt.
What are your clothing pet peeves? (lengths, necklines, sleeve types …)Low rise pants. Ruffles. Synthetic fibers. Really bright colors. Fast Fashion brands – they fill thrift stores in CA. Anything that makes me feel uncomfortable (itchy, not full-coverage).
What is your favorite garment or outfit (right now or always) and why? I’ve got mad love for a jumpsuit. Jumpsuits are effortless full outfits, almost like a dress, but with more, uh, coverage. They do make going to the restroom interesting, but are totally worth it in my opinion.
What is the image you would like to project with your clothing? I enjoy that a decent number of people I interact with routinely ask “what are you wearing that you made?” Since learning to sew, I’ve identified more and more as an artist and I like that my style has started to project that image.
Can you describe your style in five adjectives? Comfortable. Handmade. Neutral. Functional. This question is hard.
What’s an example of something you own and love (had to have!) but never wear, and why not? I want to be a clog person. I’ve owned a lot of clogs over the years, but really only one pair has every been worn with some regularity. All others have been awful and Swedish Hasbeens are THE WORST. I purchased a pair of Bryr clogs for my wedding with the intention of them fitting into my regular closet – and they are actually comfortable – but I just don’t want to wear high heels as a teacher.
I’m capturing more mood boards and inspiration on Pinterest. Are you participating in Slow Fashion October?
I bought this sandal making kit shortly after discovering Rachel Sees Snail Shoes on Instagram. At the moment of purchase, I felt entirely up for the challenge, but once it arrived, it stayed boxed up in a closet for probably two years.
I’m unsure of where that ‘can do’ attitude disappeared to, but the longer I waited, the more intimidating the project started to feel.
Then, Summer of Basics 2018 rolled around and I thought “just fricking do it, Sienna.” I then declared to the world of Instagram that handmade leather sandals would be my 4th make for the challenge. These were added as a fourth project because technically it’s a sewing and knitting/crochet challenge.
I blew through my three other planned makes and was feeling pretty good about tackling these shoes I’d put off for years. I cut everything out, did the fitting, marked everything, and felt great. The kit comes with pretty much everything you need including pattern pieces and thorough instructions. If you’ve ever made anything, I’m pretty sure you too could make these sandals.
Then we went on a week long trip abroad and immediately after I started the 2018-19 school year. So productivity plummeted and they sat partially assembled for weeks.
Finally, last week I plowed through the last few steps of gluing, skiving, attaching the foam soles, trimming, and adding laces. I don’t have the ability to sand down the edges (elbow grease just doesn’t cut it) so the foam bases are a little choppy, but whatever.
Each step is truly doable, it just takes a little slowing down and some foresight. The kit comes with contact glue, so it differs from sewing in that once the glue-y parts connect, it can’t be ripped off (easily anyway). And there are no do overs with leather.
Next time, I will size down. I compared a pair of sandals I wear often and the pattern pieces seemed like a match, however, these are definitely too large.
Along with everyone else, I’ve been battling a spring cold and have subsequently been pretty unproductive making-wise. Feeling like crap has, however, given me all the time to look at images on social media.
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about how damaging Instagram and other social platforms are to people’s sense of self-worth and productivity. Now I must agree that I may spend more time than is healthy scrolling, but other than that, I don’t agree with this sentiment. I draw so much inspiration from Instagram and the community on this platform has really helped solidify my love of making.
While being a sick blob, I marinated on the reasons I don’t find social media toxic and came up with a few tips, sprinkled with some inspiring Instagram accounts (all photos are linked):
Follow real people. Yes, celebrities are real people, but I follow artists and makers whose lives are more similar to my own. I’ve “met” so many lovely makers through Instagram – folks I can reach out to for making advice, and are encouraging and kind. Good people with good intentions make a social media platform meaningful and uplifting.
Quilt Inspiration by Jennifer Neil of @ersa.fibers
Follow accounts that share inspiring content. There’s a lot of stuff to look at on the internet. Food shots, make-up selfies, and memes don’t get my creative juices flowing, so I avoid looking at accounts based solely on those things. I also look for well-lit photos, process shots, and honesty. Making can, at times, be incredibly frustrating and it’s nice to follow people who keep it real (even if the photos’ compositions are pleasing).
Weaving Inspiration by Sarah Sullivan of @sullystring
When inspiration hits, document it in a sketchbook. It’s important to capture ideas, otherwise they fade. Anytime I see an image that sparks an idea, I document it in my sketchbook (or pin it on Pinterest). The practice of putting ideas on paper is very calming and lets me brain dump when I’m overwhelmed with ideas and inspiration. I love this Shinola Sketchbook, if you’re interested in starting a sketchbook practice.
Sketchbook Inspiration by Hillary Butterworth of @butterhi
Share your work. Think of social media as a motivator and as a means to document your creative work. I’m a stickler for only taking photos in natural light and my job/commute makes M-F making pretty challenging. It’s a goal to find the balance where I’m making something and sharing it every day.
I’m a pretty organized person. When it comes to physical things like my home and classroom, have I got systems. But when it comes to digital stuff, I’m just okay. I know which PDF sewing patterns I own and when I’m inspired to sew a pattern, I use my sketchbook to plan most of it out. But I was lacking in a system for collecting inspiration.
Instagram lets you save posts and organize them with collections, but you can only access those through the app. I’ve had a Pinterest account since it first came out, but it felt a little limited in what it could do (and the ads are annoying). Then a couple of days ago I realized Pinterest added a “Sections” feature to its boards and I ended up spending my Friday night re-organizing my whole account.
Since I’d had this account for years, it had quite a few pins that were no longer my style and entire boards that just didn’t make sense for how I wanted to use it now. As far as my making-related boards go, I pared things down to the following categories:
2018 Make Plans – I’m going to make a board for each year of the patterns I want to make (sewing and knitting). It’s divided into sections by pattern and will include RTW inspiration as well as others’ makes.
Fabric + Fabric Inspiration – This board has links to fabric I’d like to purchase (or just look at because they’re pretty) and a section of surface design inspiration for future blocking printing projects. Or if I ever figure out Adobe Creative Suite, my own fabric designs.
Knitting Patterns – This board consists of knitting patterns I don’t currently own, but might want to purchase in the future.
Sewing Patterns – This board also consists of patterns I don’t currently own, but might want to purchase in the future.
Fashion + Style – I’m quite excited about this board. I made sections for each type of garment. I’m planning to use this board to help my design process for my patternmaking class and for future making plans.
Fiber Arts – I also have an Art + Design board with media-based sections, but decided to make a separate Fiber Arts board. It includes weaving, punch needle/rug hooking, and quilt inspiration.
Sewing Tutorials – This board is a collection of links that help me sew french inseam pockets, bind a quilt, thread my serger, and etc.
All of my boards are linked if you’re inclined to check them out. How do you organize your inspiration and plan projects?
