Mood:
accident proneFirst draft for an article, posting it to test alignment, check links and all the crunchy HTML goodness. A good first sewing project is something that you use many times while sewing. A good first project is a tailor's ham. While you can buy hams at the fabric store, they are expensive and just a round lump of nothing. Unless you body is made entirely of lumps, it doesn't offer many options for pressing the curves and contours of the human body. A true tailor's ham is curved and has many options for pressing both concave and convex body shapes. Sometimes this ham shape is called "the Schmoo" after a character in the long gone comic strip "L'il Abner" Since no one under the age of fifty remebers the comic strip I affectionately call mine "The Blob."
Click picture for full size pattern part one.
Click picture for full size pattern part 2
The pattern is in JPG format, click on the small picture and the big one will open up. You know the drill: right click and save. Print and tape the papers together and cut out the shape. You need to cut out four: two from muslin for the inner part, one from sturdy cotton (such as twill) and one in a contrast fabric. Wool flannel is the preferred fabric as wool hold moisture and dispenses it slowly as steam. Cotton flannel will also work provided it is a densely woven flannel and not a loose pyjama top flannel.
The Tailors ham is stuffed with fine saw dust. Do not use saw dust from pressure treated wood ever. It's made with chemicals that will release vapours with heat and steam. Because the ham is used with the heat of the iron saw dust from pressure treated wood will make you sick every time you use the ham.
Use any basic solid wood planks like pine, maple, spruce -anything without glues or resins. You will need lots of saw dust as you will be packing the ham very tightly and the dust will compress. Saw dust is best and should be your first choice.
Also used for stuffing hams was dry hay cut into very small pieces. This is still used for making lace-maker's pillows in England. You need to be cautious if you use hay. It must not be sprayed with any pesticides and it must be as dry as possible. Making the hay small is easy, place cut hay into a metal trash can, put you weed whipper in the can and turn on the whipper. The hay will be shredded quickly. It's far faster than the traditional method of snipping hay with scissors.
Don't stuff with buckwheat shells, oat husks, beans, peas or dry grains. All these can not be sufficiently packed and compressed into the ham. Shells and husks shift and move while peas and beans are simply too large and lumpy. Do not use polyester fibrefill. It can not be compressed enough to be hard and firm.
Sew up the inner ham first and leave an opening about three inches long on one side. Press the seams flat using a small quilter's detail iron or by using a bamboo point tool or with a thumbnail if that all you have. The seam must be pressed flat before stuffing. Start scooping in the saw dust and press it firmly into the ends. The ham should be HARD. It's not a pillow for a nap, it needs to be as firm as possible. Use a mallet to hammer the stuffing in the ham and stuff even more it.
When the ham is stuffed enough that it almost stands on its own you can begin hand sewing the side. Use length of thread doubled and a long, thick sharp needle. Knot one end and backstitch in place along one side of the opening. The thread must be very secure and it should not be at any risk of breaking. Add extra knots and forget everything anyone told you about how knots in the ends of threads are bad. Use a modified baseball stitch and continue to stuff more sawdust as you close the seam. Use very close stitches so none of the sawdust can escape. Turn the ham over and go back and re-stitch the seam. Knot again and be sure the seam is firm and the knot won't open. There should be no loose stitches. The fabric should be drum tight over the sawdust. If it isn't, open up and stuff in more sawdust.
(Insert new pictures of sewing here. First ones sucked)
To sew the outer layer you need to sew slightly inside the seam-lines so the cover is fractionally smaller than the inner bag. This will keep the cover from shifting on the ham and keep the cover fabric tight. Leave the lager bulgy side open, press the seams, turn and press again. put the inner ham in the outer cover, this will take a little work. Finally, use doubled thread and sew the cover shut. Again, sew this seam so it is tight against the ham.
For a sleeve roll, the instructions are similar. The sleeve roll needs to be very firmly stuffed, so leave an opening on both sides of the roll and sew the opening so it is very tight on both layers.
The contoured ham is useful when pressing bust darts, jacket lapels, hip curves, shoulders, backs, anywhere the body curves. The shape simulates most body contours and will make all your pressing much easier.
The sleeve roll is inserted into set in sleeves so the seam can be pressed flat without pressing a crease into the sleeve. It also works when pressing cuffs on finished garments
These two are good early projects because they sewing is quite straightforward and not complicated in the least. The roll shouldn't take more than a few hours. The most time consuming step is stuffing and pounding the sawdust into place. The contoured ham takes a bit longer and it requires more sawdust.
Now let's see if this looks good. More illustrations will be forthcoming, especially for the hand sewing.
