Tuesday Travel - The Natural History Museum of London

Since some of you did say, it is not such a bad idea... This column might not come at every week, but I will do my best to bring you pictures of travels... And since we just came back from London a week ago, I will start with that trip. 

When we arrived, we dashed to the Victoria and Albert Museum to pick up my membershi card, because I could not breath easy until I checked that I CAN get in the Marie Antoinette exhibition (more on that next tuesday). But then I did not wanted to go into that exhibition just yet. We started at very early morning, with very little sleep, I was sleepy, I was tired, I wanted to go there fully alert, so I can soak up everything. 

Also, I wanted to let Norbert to have fun and see museums that interest HIM (yes, he would look at me at all the clothes I want, but he is a man). I suggested the two museums that are literally "just across the street" (the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum is there), and he choose the closer one :-) So we went into the Natural History Museum. 

Well, I admit, I have been into the Science Museum and the British Museum before, and was less enthusiastic, but boy, was I pleasantly surpised. 

First of all, the museum is free to visit. Yes, they accept donations, but they do not big you to give them money (unlike the Science Museum did, but then, that is yet another story).

There is an Earthquakes and Volcanos echibition going on, into wich you go into through this elevator: 

Take a look from closer:

Then, you can try a lot of things, like just how does a seizmograph work, how the elements move, how sands and stones mix, how water flows, and most of those things are really interestingly interactive. 

Long gone the museums, where one just looks. 

There is even a room, set up like a japanese store, and when you are in it, it stimulates, how things move around, when an earthquake hits.

Aside from the Volcanos and eathquakes exhibitions, there are a ton of interesting things around the museum, which is huge. I mean HUGE. We walked almost 20 thousand steps in there. 

There is of course how humans developed.

There are dinos:

There is the big blue whale:

And a ton of other interesting things.

Even Dodos (if you ever read Jasper Fforde novels... :-), they look like this. )

If you ever have a few hours in London, go. 

I've never was particularly interested either in biology or geography, but even I enjoyed it tremendously, so I can imagine, what joy it can cause to those who actually are. 

Weekly patternmuster (sewing)

 Lately I have a hankering for a red leather biker jacket... Yes, I know. I do not have the space or the money for it, nor would I be able to use it enough to justify the cost. But I was thinking, what if I sew myself a red jacket, maybe from velvet or courdory, whould that staisfy the hankering? 

For the moment I am working hard to resist the urge to 1) buy the red leather jacket, 2) order all the red velvet online, but admittedly, I was searching for and looking for the best sewing pattern for a biker jacket. 

And while I was doing that, I came across this jacket, that I thought, would be a good candidate for this monday's pattern-column. 

It is the Shimla jacket. 

I absolutely love the standing collar and all the small ruffles.

If I would be someone, who goes off to work every day, I would certainly make this, but since I work from home... I am not sure if I would get around to it. 

Still I love it. 

Very yellow (15th century man's doublet)

My friend and teammate, Ádám gave me a challenge. Can I make him a 15th century doublet that he can use for his gleeman character. His character does magic tricks, acrobatics among other things, therefore aside from keeping the period silhuette it was important to give him proper and full movement.

It was a challenge, because my experience with historical male clothing is very limited, I only made a few pieces for Norbert (who presetns totally different challenges, because of his bodyshape), however, one of the main reasons to accept the task was to change that. We talked about it, and agreed to work on it together. Adam gives his theoretical knowledge and research, and I, my experience as a sewer. 

My main starting point was this drawing, and a pattern draft.

I could have started with drafting the pattern, but I decided to go for the simpler solution, checked the internet for existing patterns from a company most deemed not to reliable, however, I had succes sewing with their patterns, and the final item would have to be fitted to the hell and back anyway. After two mock ups, the body was okay, but I was still hung up how to make the sleeves keep their appropiate shape, while add the necesssary movement. Then a side note in Opus Eleni's video (in which she made a 17th century rapier's doublet) gave me the solution. Adding a gusset, but not to the lengthwise seam of the sleeve, but o the armschye, like this:

From then the sewing was almost straighforward, though the very limited amount of fabric gave me a bit of a headache and prompted me to do some creative layout...

(umm, yes, piecing is period).

Since the body, the collar and the "skirt" needed reinforcement, in the form of interling with a piece of stiff canwas, as usual, lots of basting ensued.

One of the most interesting bit of this doublet is the standing collar that goes into a deep V shape down at the back.

After it was almost finished, and Ádám tried it on, we've seen that we was over-careful in leaving enough space for movement at the waist, so I took it apart, and took in a few cm-s from the waistline all around.

And the finished doublet. The uneven placement of the buttons were copied from a period painting, the sleeves have textile buttons. 

For the buttonholes I used the trick I figured out, when I made Norbert's 18th century waistcoat: I sewed them with the machine, because that way the machine stitching holds together all the layers and provide a guide for the handstitching, that I've done after cutting out the buttonholes.

Work photos: my phone

Modelled photos: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

Knitting content

Even if it is ever so small.

Not that I have not knitted, since last spring, when I last posted actual knitting here, because I did, but most of that knitting was done in the car, and most of it was utterly boring, around and around stocking knitting, as in the fall of 2024 I sold all but one pair of my historical stockings and I wanted to replenish the stocking stocks (pun intented). 

This year I wholeheartedly wanted to do my New Year's sweater, but I spectacularly failed that one, I did not like it and I frogged it, so to get back my mojo, I wanted someting small and colorful... and it was... yes a pair of socks, but unlike the historical knee high ones, these were short, colorful, and would have been quick, if I wouldn't kept putting them off for other, more urgent stuff.

When we left for London, it only needed a few rows from its ribbing, and a couple of nights ago, when we were watching TV and I was between bigger projects, I finished them. 

Simple, toe up, short row toes and heels, stockinett socks, with "contrasting" toes, heels and cuffs, which I knit wider, because I often turn them down. 

You might remember las spring I got some orange shoes, and knitted some socks to wear with them, and this pair makes another addition to the circulation. 

Who-knows-what-brand leftover bits of sockyarn, my own pattern/recepie, and 2,25 mm Knit Pro Zing needles.

Weekly SO

And this time I have a rather unpopular opinion.

Sometimes, while I knit or sew at my desk, I watch (or listen to?) videos. Sewing, history, costuming, and yes, knitting ones too. Sometimes I like watching pattern round-ups, because I can find new favorites, sometimes they annoy me, either because they are popularizing the absolute bland and boring knitting that seems to be the mainstream these days, or because they are full of data. The youtuber lists every available data, from the suggested yarn type and amout, through the supposed gauge, and needlesizes, to the sizes available. And lately there is always a comment if it is size inclusive or not, with the youtuber putting on a somewhat disdained face, or even shaking his/her head if it fails to be offered from size XXS to 6XL at least, and every time I hear/see that I vince.

And then there I came across with this video, talking about how much the majority of "sized up" patterns do not work. (I had other problems with this video too, though I generally enjoy Deborah's videos, most of the time I even agree with her - the series on The Game of Wool was really good, but this one was like she wanted to poung her "truth"/opinion into the viewer, there were things she said like three times...). 

Anyhow. 

I think once again, things are "falling over the other side of the horse" (a Hungarian phrase, meaning that we overdue something so much, it looses its meaning). 

While I do see the need to have patterns (knitting as well as sewing) for smaller and larger sizes as well, I do not think that demanding that EVERY designer should size his/her patterns for EVERY size is the solution, and if hey don't they are getting cancelled (like everyone with an opinion in our cancel culture), or called out for it. 

Everyone knows his/her own bodytype, and knows what suits *that* body type the best. They know how to design for *that* body type the best. Not every design sits/suits equally well on totally different type of bodies, and all the different bodies differ differently. Lets just look at the larger ones, there are apple, pear shaped, some of them have big boobs, but hardly any butts, some has thick arms, and those who are pear shaped might have bigger booties, others wider hips, while others might have rounder bellies, just to pick a few obvious factors. Not every design would fit EVERY size and every type of body, no matter how well designed, and how well tech edited, and how throughly tested. 

If someone is well practiced to design for a certain type of body, demanding that they design for a totally different one is like demanding a writer, whose that h/se should write a language s/he does not speak. 

I would much more happily endorse someone who designs specifically with larger bodies in mind (and not be angry, if h/se does not cater for smaller knitters) than pounding on someone, who cannot.

This is not against larger people, not "fat phobia", I, myself was a larger size up until very recently, and I was not demanding the patterns even when I had multiple X before the L. I would wholeheartedly support people who would and CAN design for them. However, I would not want to push, force, pound on people, for whom it would not come naturally, but still can have genius ideas, beautiful designs..

Also, we should just try to learn to knit differently, and not by following the patterns to the letter. Back in University once I wrote a paper on how differently the "Eurpoean" (Continental) and English/American patterns are written, and how the demands of the English/American knitting community changed European pattern-writing. English/American patterns describe the knitter literally how every stitch should be knitted, and do not leave much to the knowledge, experience, creativity of the knitter, while European patterns supposed that the knitter KNOWS what is s/he doing, and she can "increase in every sixth row" instead of having to write down every row. 

I remember, when knitting patterns were tenth of the size of today's petterns, basically just the outline of how to do it, and some charts (basically only a recepie) and we happily knitted them and modified them to the inch of their life. We did not get hung up of the magazine only printed ONE size, we recalculated modified, downsized, upsized them to whatever size we needed. We should reclaim that knowledge, practice and flexibility.

We are back

 From London, that is. 

Ever since I knew about the Marie Antoinette exhibition in the V and A I wanted to go desparately. 

I told Norbert, that I do not want any birthday or Xmas present (possibly even for next year), all I want, is to go and see that exhibition. 

I was not sure we can do it, that we could squeeze it into our budget and/or time, but at the end, we went.

It was 

5 days, 

4 museums, 

about 120 thousand steps, 

one boot, walked to shreds, so I had to throw it out,

met one of my Instagram friends (intentionally, we organized it,

and managed to fangirl over about someone else I follow on Instagram/Facebook (by chance),

I bought 3 huge books, 

visited countless fabric stores on Goldhawk Road,

seen my favorite musical in a West End production,

I took about a thousand pictures, Norbert took many times as much.

As much as I "don't want to return to reality", we are home now, regular programing (work, sewing, posting, etc) will return. 

I am thinking about a Tuesday Travel column, what would you think of that? 

Weekly patternmuster (Knitting)

 Yet another gorgeous shawl. A big one.  Because I like BIG shawls. (And just cannot understand the fascination with those tiny neck-kerchiefs...).

It is the Game of Tones shawl.

I love its traditional triangular shape, the pattern, the lovely fan like pattern on the middle, and the fact that you can use a base color and for contrast-color either one long repeat yarn, like Noro, or the old DROPS Delight, or some leftovers, even in different qualities, in which case you might end up with interesting structures.