Sewing is an incredibly political act in itself. Being able to extract yourself from the negative aspects of the fashion industry by taking yourself from the end of the production system as a passive consumer right to the beginning of the process as an active maker is very empowering. I felt really proud seeing so many beautiful women adorned in something I had made myself, because I have long been waiting to put these sewing skills to greater use and I have finally found an outlet! Connecting a self-taught skill (that is soon to be shared) to the development of a group that shares my beliefs...what more could you ask for.
The tools needed are:
- Black fabric - I'm using polycotton
- Fabric pencil - for marking
- Ruler
- Fabric paint in purple and green
- Two drawing pencils
- Brushes
- A pencil
- Paper or card to make the stencils
- Pins and weights (such as tinned food, a jar - basically anything heavy)
I made the templates by looking at the logo on the previous sashes and sketching them, then cutting them out. I had also initially made a paper template for the actual sashes, but then I came across this method which was much faster for measuring and cutting fabric.
Measure 5 inches from the raw edge of the fabric on the wrong side. I used the ruler to measure, then when I needed to check that length of the sash was correct, I placed the paper template I made on top.
Fold the fabric back on itself on the 5 inch markings you have made, right sides together and pin. (I should have pinned near the raw edge and not near the fold in this pic, must have been tiredness!)
Use this raw edge as a guide to cut on. Cut the entire length of the sash.
I've moved the pins to where they should have been initially, and I've folded the pinned sash on itself to give you an estimate of how long it is. (I really should measure the length tbh...)
Measure a 1cm seam allowance from the raw edge and mark along the length of the sash. This will be your guide to sew and keep your stitches straight!
On one end of the sash, measure a 1cm seam allowance. The other end needs to be kept open so we can turn it inside out after stitching.
I backstitched at the start of my seam to ensure it was sturdy and wouldn't unravel. I also backstitched at the corner so that I'd have a nice sharp point when it came to turning it inside out.
I pressed my seam to set the stitches and trimmed the corners diagonally to reduce the bulk when it's turned the inside out. You're supposed to use a pencil or a knitting needle (basically anything with a point) to poke out the corners...but stiletto nails are practical (sometimes!) as well as pretty and so I didn't have to faff around with a pencil in an already small space and just dug in the corners with a nail, which did the job fine.
Press the seams again - this step is really important because it holds the shape of the fabric you have just manipulated together (and what is sewing if nothing but fabric manipulation?) Here is part of an unpressed and pressed segment of the same sash for comparison.
Now for the open edge. Fold each end of the edge in on itself, press and pin.
Get a needle and single thread and push the needle in the fold of one of the edges you've just created (if that makes sense).
Then flip the sash the other way and push the needle in the opposite side of the fold to bring the two folds together. Continue this action until the two sides are brought together. This is an almost invisible stitch and whilst it takes a bit longer and I could easily just close it on my machine in 5 seconds, my sewing OCD just won't allow it because it looks messy! No-one even looks at the ends but I still can't help it, although if we're gonna be making more I guess I'll have to give in to speed over neatness :(
Press the seam you've just hand sewn. (I did say almost-invisible seam earlier, haha).
Now for the painting. Place the sash around you and mark where the logo will be painted. It's generally somewhere below the shoulder/above the boob or thereabouts. Mark with the fabric pencil.
Here, I've placed my scissor stencil underneath the feminist symbol one to ensure that they'll match up correctly once painted and removed.
Once aligned, the scissor stencil is pinned, with the ends of the pins meeting the four corners at the centre of the scissors to ensure they stay down!
...which inevitably happened despite my best efforts to prevent it. But things happen and you've just gotta work around it! So paint a thicker layer of paint on the blade part of the scissors. For the points at the blades and the more delicate handle parts, I used a pencil dipped in paint. I was drawing with paint :)
Cereal packet cardboard has a very slippery side to it and there were smudges a-plenty, as the horrific third pic shows. I may revert back to the paper stencils I made. Anyways, I just used two different pencils dipped in purple and green paint to neaten up the edges. This was probably the most satisfying bit. Some of the smudges couldn't be corrected using this method - they were concealed with black marker as best as possible.
Almost unrecognisable! Meetings are every Thursday, 7-9pm at SOAS, Brunei Gallery, Room B102. Me and some other sisters will be distributing sashes as we make them at the meetings in the coming weeks. Meetings are open to all who have and/or do experience oppression as women. We are open to trans women, intersex and non-binary people.
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