Days 22, 23 and 24 of #MeMadeMay2022 : A power outage and running out of my stock of 1.5” elastic threw a wrench into things, but the mass shorts construction is finally coming along. I got 2 pairs done before running out of elastic, so the rest will have to wait until the town with the fabric store has its power restored to finish the rest. Also thrown in are a couple pairs of pyjama pants for Jake (okay, I made the llama ones a few weeks ago, but he is wearing the ones I made on Saturday), my other pair of Tania coulottes, and a shirt that needs a lot of reworking before I’m going to be happy with it.
Day 19 of #MeMadeMay2022 : More shorts! Jake asks for very little, but he loved the pair of Clyde Workpant shorts I made him so much, he asked for a weeks worth of them. Today I got another pair cut out, but construction will wait until the rest of the fabric for the other 3 pairs arrives. The blue pair is on indefinite hold. It is the same fabric I used for the coulottes I wore to the theatre yesterday, and after only 4km of walking, I found that the fabric is like sandpaper and caused some serious chafing issues! The green version of the same fabric I made Jake’s first pair from doesn’t have the same issues, it felt fine in hand, and I’m not usually too sensitive to fabrics so it was a surprise. Unless they soften up substantially in the wash, I will recycle them into another project.
Mountain Dog Adventures 
Thank you for creating and posting this account of your Kensho 2 tent construction process! I am going to start making mine soon, and will revisit this site often for tips and tricks!
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Hi,
I found your videos of the Kensho build, and I have really enjoyed them. I have really enjoyed watching your process, and seeing your approach to working with the sil fabrics, and dealing with the corners of the bathtub floor. And your sleeping bag is just phenomenal. I’m so inspired! Thanks!!
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Thank you for your kind words They have been really fun projects, and I’m glad you found the writing/videos about them useful!
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Hiya. I noticed you’re doing something at the beginning and sometimes end that seems to involve a piece of paper or cardstock? I’m guessing this is to avoid the funky first stich that sometimes occurs, but I’d love it if you could share a bit more detail. I haven’t seen that before, but when I gave it a try myself, it, um, kinda failed :). Thanks!
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It’s a scrap of fabric I start a new line of stitching on, a habit I have picked up from quilting (where it is often called a ‘leader’, ‘starter’, or ‘thread bunny’. I have no idea why on that last one!). I start a line of stitching in that scrap, then move onto sewing my real piece. It does several things: keeps the thread ends contained so they don’t end up getting tangled in the line of stitching, keeps the first few stitches of the line of sewing more consistent because the feed dogs/walking foot have something to grab onto when starting the real piece, and it helps to keep pointy starting points from getting sucked into the throat plate when starting. I don’t use one for everything, but I do use it for trickier fabrics and/or where precision is very important.
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Oh! that is so helpful! And I will absolutely be calling it a thread bunny from now on! Thank you so much!
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