Phoenix Blackdove

With regard to creating narrow wares on backstrap looms - you don't actually need to wind the warp over a front bar. You can simply tie all the warp threads in an overhand knot, leaving a loop at the start, and attach the loop to your belt. This is one of the traditional ways straps were woven in Nordic countries.

If you would like to try creating patterns in your straps, there's a lovely book called 'Norwegian Pick-up Bandweaving' by Heather Torgenrud. The first part traces the history of woven bands in Norway from about the 16th century to the present day. There's pictures of several different loom styles that were all used to create the bands, including backstrap and vertical looms. The second part contains instructions and patterns for pickup bands in the Norwegian style.

Michael Helmersson wrote:
I also hate starting sentences with "I".  

And there I was thinking I was the only person out there with that particular quirk! Any time I can manage it I default to "we" instead of "I". No idea why I dislike referring to myself as with the singular pronoun; I just do.

paul wheaton wrote:Maybe it has some requirements like "5 acres" and certain climate ranges.   Of course, maybe rather than limiting it to oz, it could be rubber stamped to a bunch of other places that are bit hot and deserty - in which case, maybe it should be PED for "desert" instead of PEOz.

I guess I'm saying that if we can make PEA, surely there are other programs that could be a big generic also.  

I like the idea of using climate analogues for broadening PEX.

For example, PEM for Mediterranean climates (the climate I live in is coastal Mediterranean - California is the best US analogue), PEST for Sub-tropical (the climate I grew up in/most of the Eastern States down to about Sydney - I believe Florida and similar places would match it?), PED for Desert/Arid... PEU for urban environments could be an interesting one, given there are urban centres in every climatic zone.

Knowing one's climate analogue is a valuable tool when designing using permaculture methods.

I think climate-based PEX could be a handy, low-stress, fun way for people to "try out that permaculture thing". It might even cut down on people choosing inappropriate design elements for their climate region if a Badge only lists things that are appropriate for where they live - such as hugelkultur in Montana-like climates, sunken beds or wicking beds with overhead summer shade in Mediterranean climates, and so on.

Ah, a fellow Aussie! Welcome!

I’ve pretty much come to the same conclusion you have re: PEP badges and their suitability for Australian/non-Montanan climates. Many of the BBs are easily transferable across many (if not most) parts of the world. Others.... not so much. Hugelkultur is the classic one. I can’t think of a single Australian climate where building a hugelkultur bed would be appropriate.

I’ve been sneaking around the edges of PEP ever since Paul conceived of the idea. Alas, I’ve had very little time or energy to devote to building or earning BBs. But I’m hopeful that I can one day help get the bones of a PEOz (or a PEUrban, or  maybe even a PEGlobal?) up and published.

If one wished to crochet a hotpad out of wool instead of knitting one (I like to use Tunisian crochet to make them nice and thick), would one post their 10x10” square in this BB, since it’s a hotpad, or in the “crochet a dish cloth” BB, since they’ve crocheted it (albeit out of wool rather than cotton)?

Nicole Alderman wrote:
I actually tried finding tutorials online, but I don't even know the right search terms to use to find the videos. Any resources or terms would be most appreciated ♥ Thank you!!!

Alas, this got lost for me on the page jump. Here are a few from a quick Google:
How to let out a dress - only works if you have a decent amount of seam and a smallish amount of letting out to do
Using corset loops to make a dress bigger - I pointed a friend to this technique just the other day, for a wonderful unicorn dress that fit everywhere except the bust.
Video of making a bodice bigger by adding a wedge of fabric at the side seams

Google's natural language search algorithm has gotten pretty good now. I find I (usually) get decent results using searches like "how to make [part of body] of [piece of clothing] bigger/smaller". Some examples:
- how to make bodice of dress bigger (A: see above methods)
- how to make bust of dress smaller (A: darts, usually)
- how to make dress bigger in hips (A: side slits or colour blocking are your best bet)
- how to make legs of pants shorter (A: hem them)
- how to make more room in crotch of pants (A: gussets)
- how to make waist of pants lower (A: this is called the rise, and is quite hard to alter well)

These are all things I've Googled over the last several months as I've gone through my/the kids' wardrobe and fabric stash to see what needs altering/mending/making. This method works well when you have a thing that you need to fit better, but want it to stay more or less the same thing.

If you're looking to turn a thing into a different thing, the terms "upcycle" or "refashion" will be your friend. This isn't something I do a whole lot though - by the time clothes reach me they're usually ready for the rag bin or the pet blanket pile. I'm happier to thrift sheets and start from scratch.

Depending on where you are in the world, Gumtree might be a good fit for your needs. It's a similar platform to Craigslist, in that listing is free. But to me it feels more like a giant online Classifieds section, and I find the interface nicer. (Craigslist isn't really a thing in Australia either, so there's that.) I've bought and sold there before with minimal fuss.

One thing I've been seeing more lately on Gumtree  is sellers posting "willing to post at cost," or "will post for extra $X" or similar in the item details. This is handy for me when I want to buy smaller things from, say, Brisbane.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:
Fabrics causing problems when ironing are often synthetics, or at least with synthetics mixed in.

True. Silk is a notable exception. Some wools are also tricky to iron correctly, depending on the weave.

Something I forgot to mention, is that improper ironing can also cover things like putting creases in the wrong spot, or taking out creases that are meant to be there. I've seen spectacular examples of pure wool box pleats ruined by someone who didn't know how to correctly iron them (or indeed, whether they ought to have been ironed in the first place).

Some fabrics don't like to be ironed with the iron moving - they like to be pressed instead. Some need steam, some really don't like steam at all.

Or sometimes people leave the iron in one spot too long, and cause scorch marks. Or sometimes they iron something that plain shouldn't be ironed, or go against the nap of the fabric.

Some of these things are fixable, some aren't. I think it would be up to the individual with the wrongly-ironed clothing to work out what went wrong and if it's possible to fix it, how to do that.

Nicole Alderman wrote:

Phoenix Blackdove wrote:

- add a panel to a garment that's the right size in one area but too small in another, to make it fit (for example, add a panel in the bodice of a dress that's too small in the chest but fits fine from the waist down)

I would LOVE to know how to do this! I have a medieval gown I'd made in 9th grade, and it still fits everywhere except the bust (obviously, I didn't grow much taller, ha!). I would love to be able to wear it again. I even still have extra of the same fabric, but I don't know how to do it correctly.

It's a handy skill to have, since so many people find they aren't the same size as the mythical "average" person a clothing company has used as their sizing template. Depending on garment construction, it can be as simple as opening up the side seams and adding a strip or wedge of fabric to each side of the front panel to make it fit one's new measurements. YouTube and Google are full of a good many decent tutorials (stay away from anything using glue though, those things are the devil).