Quimper Hittys

Cloth and big Rickrack

The Quimper Hittys had a number of textile questions this weekend, and I did my best to help them figure out the answers…Rose wanted to know if the Möbius Pinafore could be made with ordinary cloth, on the straight grain, and using big rickrack…

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Cottonwood Stuffing

…Min wondered  if Cottonwood fluff can really be used for stuffing a doll Mattress…

Apron Potential

…and Constance examined the cloth which we took off the loom last week, and which is now washed and ironed.  She politely enquired whether I thought this nice piece of linen was about the right size and shape to make a pretty doll apron.

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Another Pinafore

So, the answers are: the apron pattern works just as well on the straight grain and with big rickrack.  If anyone wants to try making it this way: I’d say, as always be careful not to stretch the cloth while sewing; after sewing and before ironing, snip the seam allowance up to the rickrack in the tight part of the curve at the neck and under the arms; and when ironing, use a small sandbag or clean wooden spoon instead of an ironing board, this will encourage the rickrack to lie flat around the curves, and it will end up sitting more nicely on Hitty.

Cottonwood Mattress

Cottonwood fluff makes a very nice mattress stuffing, though it takes a lot more than you’d think.  Min says it is very comfortable, though the fluff sticks to everything and makes you sneeze while stuffing!

Tulip Apron

Constance gets her Tulip apron!  There were a number of hiccups while weaving this cloth. First there was a flood my friend’s house, and the loom had to be rescued, and put on blocks while repairs and restoration went on in the studio. We wove enough of the tulip pattern to make an apron each for Opal and Agathe, but they want nothing to do with it after their disappointing experiences with tulip farming.  Constance likes it though, and thinks it is a good reminder that some times good things come out of disastrous beginnings!

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