Month: September 2020

Wire Comparisons

~ Michelle

I’ve been keeping myself busy with canning, and even a little dehydrating. In fact, I have six trays of peppers drying right now.

I haven’t been working on my drafting, but do want to get back to it soon. I haven’t even been sewing.

But I have been looking at wires, trying to decide the best wire for me.

Here are the wires I’m looking at so far.

Here’s my adjusted BMS 38XL wire (bottom) with the Orange 38 wire (top) from Emerald Erin. I’m noticing that they are a different shape. Part of my problem all along may have been the shape I’ve been using.

I do like that Erin is in Canada. I am too, and that will make shipping costs better.

I will say, I haven’t tried this wire yet. I’m still just looking at wires.

The next wire is the 38 Regular wire from Porcelynne.Oh! I like how thick these wires are! They look SO supportive!

This wire is rounder like my adjusted wire, but a bit narrower on the inside. And as I’m thinking, although this wires matches the adjusted wire, the shape may still be wrong for me.

I will tell you, I want to like this wire though. 

Here are the three wires. The adjusted BMS wire is at the top. Then the Orange wire is over the Porcelynne wire. This photo is the one that got me really thinking about the actual shapes. So rather than compare wires to wires, it was time to look at my trace again. 

Looking at my actual trace, the Orange wire is the right shape. I think the first wires I’ll try are the Orange 38s.Happy creating and may your wires never hurt you!

Progress on Drafting

~ Michelle

I’ve shown you a very little bit of the new drafting course I’m taking. It’s Bare Essentials by Porcelynne, and it’s different from what I’ve done before.

The first thing we do in this course is the root trace. I also shared with you how I didn’t really think I needed that. It turns out I did.I knew my wires weren’t perfect, but the 38s pinched, and the 40s seemed a little too big. As it turns out, the 40s are just a little too big around the base, and the 38s are a touch too narrow at the top.

The next step is to draft a band. That wasn’t very different from what I’ve done before.

Something that is very different is Jennifer has a calculator on her blog that is used in conjunction with the 3rd Bare Essentials book, and the drafting course. It’s very interesting.There is more to the calculator, but this is just a glimpse. Take a look. It really is very interesting.

I asked about drafting for an Omega cup because with the drafting method I’d learned previously, I needed two sets of wires. One for drafting the frame (my actual wire size), and one for drafting the cups (the wire that’s usually corresponds to my cup size).

However, with the Bare Essential’s method, the cups’ curves are built into the calculator. I don’t need that second wire to draft the cups. This will be totally new to me.

As well as the calculator, there’s another tool available. Jane’s Foundations has one too. This one you have to purchase, but it’s been made with input and support from Porcelynne’s. You can find it here.

Here’s what Jane’s Foundation’s calculator looks like.

This aspect of drafting is all new to me. It’s seems much more in depth and detailed. I’ll let you know how things are going when I complete more of my course.

Happy drafting & creating!