PEP1 Textile--brainstorming

PEP1 clothing (everything but shoes --I think that should be its own category. I also think that leather clothing should be a different category, possibly with leather shoes --maybe a leatherwork PEP1?)

level 1 --white belt. I’m assuming someone is starting with no experience. There is a pretty steep learning curve here so I’ve divided this into sublevels.

1a. Make an entire set of clothing (everything you need for a year, including socks and underwear --exact number of everything should be specified so people won’t be tempted to wear the same three things all year round), using storebought materials and patterns. Include at least one garment with buttons and buttonholes and one with a zipper. Also include at least one knitted sweater and pair of socks.

1b. Repeat 1a, but make your own original patterns for everything.

1c. Spin 16 1- ounce 2-ply skeins of wool, using a drop spindle, from wool that you have skirted, washed, and carded or combed yourself; spin 4 ounces of lace weight, 4 ounces of sport weight, four ounces of DK weight, and 4 ounces of bulky weight. Include both combed and carded samples of the same wool. Knit a sample for each weight using yarn you have spun. Repeat, spinning the yarn on a spinning wheel.

1d. Make a knitted sweater starting with a raw fleece.

1e. Weave 5 yards of cloth suitable for clothing. Make a garment out of it. Weave 5 yards of cloth from yarn you have spun (including the warp). Make a garment out of it.

1f. Make 2 felted garments. Make one from fabric that you have felted, and the second felted after the garment has been made.

1g. Make one garment using traditional tailoring techniques and materials.


level 2 --green belt. Repeat Level 1 using fiber that you have grown/produced yourself. Include items made from both animal fiber and plant/bast fiber. Dye at least three garments using dyes and mordants from sources you have grown/produced yourself. Include knitted, woven, felted, and boiled wool garments. Include at least one outerwear item that would keep you warm outside in a Montana winter. Include three items that are embellished using embroidery or other decorative techniques.


level 3 --brown belt. Repeat Level 2 using raw materials sourced from your own ecosystem, using tools made from raw materials from your ecosystem. Include at least three items that are dyed using things from your local ecosystem. (The particular mix of animal vs plant fibers used will be adjusted to reflect local availability.)

Maybe add to 1a, or between 1a and 1b: Make an entire set of clothing for a child, relative, or other person who is a different size from you.

Edited for spelling

Excellent thread (pun intended).

Every time I make a quilt I think back on the original reasons and ways quilts were made - to use up bit of precious cloth too small to do anything else with from worn out clothing, grain sacks, etc. I also think of the thrill women had when they went to the general store to buy cloth not generated by them on their homestead and the special dresses and other clothing they made from that cherished fabric.

Another item that could be added to this list is the making of blankets, rugs, quilts, mattresses, etc. All those things that make a homestead more comfortable.

New fabric is expensive now that all the mills have left the country. So much can be done with existing fabric that can be recycled in to new projects. Quilts are one example but you can redesign an existing piece of clothing or re-purpose fabric for projects. I use new and old sheets for all sorts of sewing projects, dresses and skirts out of old tablecloths, and redesigned the top or bottom of a dress to create a new one. You can make all sorts of useful items out of a worn pair of jeans.

I would add to the first level alterations, re-sizing patterns, redesigning existing clothing. Hemming pants, taking a jacket, replacing a zipper, redoing the bust line of a dress, and other tailoring skills can be used to save a piece of clothing, create a new piece of clothing, and they are used in making more complicated pieces. Being able to alter a sewing pattern to fit someone is a valuable skill to learn. Most of us are not standard pattern size and altering the pattern before you cut out the fabric saves time and possibly expensive fabric when building a piece of clothing.

It is one thing to make a set of pajamas but a suit or formal wedding dress is much more complicated. A hand tailored suit, fitted button down shirt, lined formal dress, and gloves are all much more advanced than most people sew.
Drapping, tailoring, pattern making and original garment design should all be in the advanced levels. These are advanced design skills that allow you to design any type of clothing.

Creating items like curtains,quilts, slip covers, bags, sails, kayak skins, leather goods and furniture upholstery are all useful sewing skills that could be included.

Have you considered separating the fiber arts from sewing or making them a separate level by themselves? a loom is a serious investment in money and space.
Also many people are allergic to wool and switching it to spinning any animal, plant or recycled fiber would expand the options for people.
Creating knitwear pattern that others can use would be another good skill for people to develop.

I would make the white belt be a Chinese menu of complete several from a list of many things:
-make x sewn garments from patterns
-make x hand-sewn garments
-make x sewn household articles
-add some embellishment to a garment (embroidering, beading, crocheting, etc.)
-design, test, share a pattern in any craft
-knit a garment
-spin x amount of fiber
-etc.

Say 5 out of 7, enough to get a well-rounded start to the many crafts but demand mastery in none.

Then add the increasing complexity to the more highly colored belts.

ETA: took out remarks on leather since OP excluded it from consideration

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I've added them to my original list and reposted it below (additions in italics). Let me know if I've missed things or you've thought of something else. I think the home furnishing stuff should be its own category, so I've started a new PEP for that. Please add to it as you see fit.

A couple of thoughts: We in the permaculture community (and elsewhere) are talking a lot about local food production and food self-sufficiency, but we almost never talk about local clothing and clothing self sufficiency, even though clothing production may very well have a larger carbon footprint and be overall more environmentally destructive than food production. Few of us produce our own clothing, or know how to. I'm sitting writing this, wearing nothing that I've made myself ( and I suspect that most of it is produced offshore), even though I can in fact do everything on my PEP list. So I think we need to be talking and thinking about it more, and become more empowered to make (and wear) clothing in a permacultural way, whatever that would be.

I once attended a demonstration by a Romanian master weaver, who made the most incredibly beautiful things (home furnishing stuff mostly), using fiber that was produced either by her or locally to her, on a 4 harness loom that was made by her out of sticks and string. Clothing production is now highly mechanized/industrialized, but it doesn’t have to be. Looms can be made out of all kinds of things, according to what ever is available (as people all over the world have been doing for millenia). I once made hand spindles for myself and a nephew out of trash that had washed up on the beach we were walking along, which we then used to spin fiber from things we found in the woods. I think if we turn our permaculture minds to clothing production, all kinds of interesting things will unfold as we develop local and regional innovative clothing and fibersheds.


PEP1 clothing (everything but shoes --I think that should be its own category. I also think that leather clothing should be a different category, possibly with leather shoes --maybe a leatherwork PEP1?)

level 1. I’m assuming someone is starting with no experience. There is a pretty steep learning curve here so I’ve divided this into sublevels.

1a. Make an entire set of clothing (everything you need for a year, including socks and underwear --exact number of everything should be specified so people won’t be tempted to wear the same three things all year round), using storebought materials and patterns. Include at least one garment with buttons and buttonholes and one with a zipper. Also include at least one knitted sweater and pair of socks.

1b. Make an entire set of clothing for a child or a relative or someone who is a different size from you or who has different clothing needs.

1c. Alter 3 garments to fit someone they didn’t fit before. Replace a broken zipper. Resize a pattern.

1d. Create an original garment from a flat pattern you have developed yourself. Make a second original garment using draping techniques.

1e. Repeat 1a, but make your own original patterns for everything.

1f. Create an item of clothing from repurposed/reclaimed/reused fabric.

1g. Spin 16 1- ounce 2-ply skeins of wool, using a drop spindle, from wool that you have skirted, washed, and carded or combed yourself; spin 4 ounces of lace weight, 4 ounces of sport weight, four ounces of DK weight, and 4 ounces of bulky weight. Include both combed and carded samples of the same wool. Knit a sample for each weight using yarn you have spun. Spin another 16 ounces (4 ounces each of 2-ply lace, sport, DK, and bulky yarn) out of an animal fiber other than sheep’s wool. Repeat with a plant/bast fiber. Repeat the above three (wool, non-sheep animal fiber, plant), spinning the yarn on a spinning wheel.

1h. Make a knitted sweater starting with a raw fleece.

1i. Make a knitwear pattern that can be used by others.

1j. Darn a sock.

1k. Weave 5 yards of cloth suitable for clothing. Make a garment out of it. Weave 5 yards of cloth from yarn you have spun (including the warp). Make a garment out of it.

1l. Make 2 felted garments. Make one from fabric that you have felted, and the second felted after the garment has been made.

1m. Make one garment using traditional tailoring techniques and materials.

1n. Make a waterproof garment.


level 2. Repeat Level 1 using fiber that you have grown/produced yourself. Include items made from both animal fiber and plant/bast fiber. Dye at least three garments using dyes and mordants from sources you have grown/produced yourself. Include knitted, woven, felted, and boiled wool garments. Include at least one outerwear item that would keep you warm outside in a Montana winter. Include three items that are embellished using embroidery or other decorative techniques.


level 3. Repeat Level 2 using raw materials sourced from your own ecosystem, using tools made from raw materials from your ecosystem. Include at least three items that are dyed using things from your local ecosystem. (The particular mix of animal vs plant fibers used will be adjusted to reflect local availability.)

At some levels this crosses over into my question for Paul about just what depth he is looking for a person to have in how many subjects.
This thread is putting tailoring and making cloth under one heading, but breaking out some simpler sewing projects into their own subject?
The spinner, the weaver, the tailor, the upholsterer - these crafts have long been separated. Yes, a person can learn to do all of them to some degree and it is good for a practitioner of any of them to know something about the others.

And then my mind skips to the interconnectedness of it all in a permaculture approach. You need fiber to spin, which means raising plants and animals to get that fiber, which means knowledge of horticulture and animal husbandry, water management, rotational grazing, and all the mving parts that go with those. Then you need tools to work the fiber, carding paddles, spinning wheels, looms, which means woodworking, which means forest management.

No one person could reasonably be expected to knit a pair of socks, if they had to do every single step along the way to get them to the point of putting those socks on their feet. But it does seem, to me, reasonable for a person to be aware of all the steps, the numerous diverse elements that come together to make something as profoundly simple as a pair of knit socks.

This is the piece that the permaculture designer brings to the table - an awareness of how all the intricate pieces of the puzzle interact, fit together, can be arranged and rearranged so that they support one another, even provide synergies that amplify elements through proper relation to one another.

Most people probably don't see where the blacksmith and the lumberjack contribute to making a pair of knit woolen socks. A permaculture designer needs to see those connections.

And, there actually is a leatherworking thread, I started it several days ago. Evidently, no one noticed.
It is in the PEX/PEP1 forum, titled Leatheworking.

This is a wonderful idea.  I think I would like to try for my PEP1 clothing belts.  

I've done a fair amount already.

I think the current belts look like this

sand (off white)

straw (yellow)

wood (brown)

iron (black)


going with the ideas in this thread, and adjusting things to my physical limitations, I propose to follow this outline.  This is assuming each stage builds on the last and can be achieved within a 12 month period.  It would take 4 to 5 years for someone starting from scratch to complete.  

Assume all materials are as natural as possible.


sand (off white)

1a. Sewing:
i. one set of summer clothing and one set of winter clothing, using storebought materials and patterns.  Sew one jacket and a set of undergarments.  Include at least one garment with buttons and buttonholes and one with a zipper.  
ii. sew one large item of clothing hand sewing.  
iii. Learn basic sewing machine maintenance.

1b. mending:  Darn a handknit sock.  Darn a commercial sock.  Create at least one visible repair.  Mend something invisibly.

1c. Knitting: Knit 2 sweaters, 6 pairs of socks, one pair of mitts, using storebought materials and patterns.  (crochet is also possible)

1d. Weaving: make your own loom and weave 10 yards (total) of cloth suitable for clothing out of commercial yarn.

1e. Spinning:
i. make a drop spindle
ii. spin 500g of yarn by drop spindle
iii. wash one sheep fleece and card by hand.
iv. spin the fleece.
v. use this years' spinning to make a blanket.
vi. spin an additional kilo of fibre, consistently, so that the first bobbin of yarn is identical to the last and every other one.  Ply the yarn and knit a sweater from it.

1f. Felting: felt a pair of mits or slippers.

1g. Dyeing: Dye in batches of 100g at least 6 different colours from natural items found in the grocery store.  



straw (yellow)

2a. Sewing:
i. one set of summer clothing and one set of winter clothing, from a pattern of your own design. Sew one jacket and a set of undergarments. Include at least one garment with buttons and buttonholes and one with a zipper.
ii. sew one large item of clothing hand sewing and a pattern of your own design
iii. aquire a non-electric sewing machine and repair it to working condition (easier than it sounds)
iv. sew one garment from your own weaving.

2b. Mending: create a Boro (Japanese patchwork) jacket from reclaimed clothes.

2c. Knitting: Design and knit at least two different sweaters, 6 pairs of socks, one pair of mitts - from patterns of your own design. (crochet is also possible)

2d. Weaving:  Weave 10 yards of cloth from your own handspun yarn.  Weave 5 yards of cloth from handspun singles.

2e. Spinning:
i. Prepare one fleece from scratch (washing, carding, everything) and spin it true woollen style.
ii. perpare one fleece from scratch (washing, combing, everything) and spin it true worsted style that is strong enough for warp!
iii. spin 500g of cotton yarn.
iv. spin at least 500g of line linen and 1 kilo of tow.
v. prove your understanding of spinning wheel maintenance and repair.

2f. Felting: Full a bag (knit or weave the material, then felt it)

2g. Dyeing:
i. using natural materials, dye 1 kilo of wool fibre, yarn or cloth the same colour.
ii. ethically wildcraft at least 6 different colours from your landbase
iii. grow at least 6 different dye plants.  Use them to dye but keep enough to save seeds.  
iv. create your own iron mordant.
v. Have one dye pot of iron, one of aluminium, one of copper and one of stainless steel.  


wood (brown)

3a. Sewing:
i.  on a treadle or crank sewing machine, sew one set of summer clothing and one set of winter clothing, from your own handwoven fabric.
ii. make a quilt or duvet cover from reclaimed cloth.

3b. Mending: Make shoddy - take old fabric, create strips and use it as weft for a twined rug

3c. Knitting: Knit at least one sweater from handspun yarn.  Knit one pair of socks from handspun singles.  Knit one pair of socks from handspun plyed yarn.  Knit one pair of socks from spindle spun yarn.

3d. Weaving: Weave enough cloth of linen or cotton for the sewing part of this level's challenge - about 12 yards ought to do it depending on the width.  Same of wool.  Prove your understanding and competence with plain weave and twill.

3e. Spinning:
i. Wildcraft at least 100 yards of yarn from your local land base.
ii. Grow cotton, linen or other suitable plant fibre and process it into yarn.
iii. create silk hankies from cocoons and spin it into yarn.  
iv. blend different fibres together
v. spin at least 2 kilos of wool to the same consistency (hint, you can use this wool for the next level if you do it well enough)

3f. Felting: felt a jacket or coat.

3g. Dyeing:  
i. create your own mordants.
ii. create sample book of at least 12 locally sourced plants dyed on wool.  Use different mordants and after baths and record what colours each produces.
iii. Grow and dye with either indigo or wode.  
iv. Dye on linen or cotton using locally sourced tannin.


iron (black)

Putting it all together with fully locally sourced materials either wildcrafted, ethically harvested, locally grown or grown by you.  


4a. Sewing: by hand or on a treadle or crank machine
i. one set of summer clothing from cotton or linen cloth that is locally grown and hand processed, hand dyed, handspun, and handwoven by you.
ii. one set of winter clothing from wool or mixed animal fibre cloth that is locally grown and hand processed, hand dyed, handspun, and handwoven by you.

4b. Mending:  Create Shoddy fabric by shredding old clothes and weaving it into a fabric Sakiori style for a jacket.

4c. Knitting:  ?

4d. Weaving:  Everything needed for the sewing section from everything created in the spinning section.

4e: Spinning: locally and ethically acquire, process and spin, the yarn required for the sewing section.  

4f: Felting:

4g.  Dyeing: Dye the yarn spun using all locally and ethically sourced materials.


Anyway, it's just a draft at this stage.

What do you think?  Would it be enough to earn an iron belt?  

Peter Ellis wrote:
No one person could reasonably be expected to knit a pair of socks, if they had to do every single step along the way to get them to the point of putting those socks on their feet.

That's a neat example.  

Let's see.  A pair of socks is about 100g of yarn.  

It takes about 30 minutes of actual labour to sort, wash and card (by hand) that much wool.  
It takes about 1 hour per sock to spin the yarn on a drop spindle.  2 hours for the pair.  Half that on a spinning wheel.
It takes 8-20 hours to knit the socks depending on complexity.
Back when I could knit, I usually made a pair from raw fleece in a few days.

Going into more depth, raising the animal isn't too hard. Growing the fodder for them is about as difficult as growing beat.  - but I think a basic understanding of these steps is enough for the clothing requirement.  Not everyone has the space to grow every animal or plant.  However, it would give them a more rounded knowledge if they participated in growing at least one fibre plant and one fibre animal (even if it's silkworms).  

Making a drop spindle, that's about 10 minutes work for a simple one.  

Knitting needles aren't too difficult to whittle.

Every single step along the way seems quite reasonable to me.  But I really like yarn.  I imagine anyone endeavouring to get their PEP1 clothing iron belt would like yarn at least as much as I do.  

I think I speak for all non-sewers out there when I say


.....
whoah.....

I kinda of have to agree with the whoah. lol And I have the ability to do most of the things on any level of the lists. I guess the lists kind of both inspires me and put me off at the same time. Not even sure that makes sense. If someone is interested in clothing and furthering their abilities this could be a goal list, however if I saw a list like that when I started I might have run the other way. ; ) Watching a whole group of ladies knitting socks at a dye gathering that I went to inspired my path, but I wasn't sure when if ever I would be making socks. They lovingly guided me to the point where I even went beyond what many of them do. They are still a wonderful support group.

Here where I live there are spinning and weaving guilds that are hidden away but once you find one or a member of one the doors to many swing wide open. The thing I appreciate about them is the low cost. Membership can be anywhere from 5 to 50 dollars a yr depending on the guide. Many things are taught free, but a couple times a yr there are optional classes that cost. Also some guilds have wonderful libraries available to their members. If anyone is interested in learning these types of skills I would encourage you to find a guild near you. They come in different "flavors" so you might want to try a few. Learning directly from the older, skilled craftsman/women is a gift in and of itself.

In truth, the idea of everyone making their own clothing might be a bit idealistic. For example, I've always wanted to make soap. I have been to classes how to do it, and even have my own collection of books on the subject. I am capable of doing it. however, I've met someone who makes wonderful soap and even added my request of sweetgrass to their wares. It wouldn't be profitable for me to collect everything needed to make my own soap when I can just barter with her for it. The friendship/barter relationship helps both of us in the end.

Bartering is often overlooked, but it is an age old tool that I personally believes reaches back to the beginning of mankind. I have four kids. Each has gifts and interest in totally different areas. If I approach one of them about helping me in an area that other one of them is good at I get the 'look". lol I get the best help and best results when I look at the whole picture and plan accordingly. I am trying to learn that I can't do everything, though often you will find me forgetting and still trying to do it. : )

The point of PEP is to create a course outline to be taught in person or as distance education.  Once compleated they have a qualification.  That's why it's a bit daunting because it goes so much further than most.  

I'm looking at what Paul wrote about time frames for each badge:

paul wheaton wrote:
In general, I think the approximate time to complete a badge would be about:

   sand badge: ~5 hours
   straw badge: ~40 hours (+35 hours over sand, about 4 or 5 days)
   wood badge: ~220 hours (+180 hours over straw, about 4 to 5 weeks)
   iron badge: 1250 hours (+1030 hours over wood, about six months)

What textile stuff is rudimentary and would take a total of 5 hours? Looking at some other Badge Bits, they're rudimentary, atainable skills, like carving a spoon or a mallet and that don't require many expensive, hard-to-find tools.

I'm thinking maybe sand badge would be kind of like Jr High school home ec:

Hand sew a small pillow (about 1 hour)

Sew on a button (5 minutes, but an important skill!)

spin ____ much yarn on a drop spindle (how much time would that take, Raven?)

MAYBE knit a dishcloth (also about an hour or two)

Ideas for straw badge, with the thought that it takes about 35 hours):

Knit or crochet one article of cloth (6 hours):

a scarf from chunky yarn

a hat

Knit and felt:

a pair of mittens (6 hours)

Mend the following: (1-1.5 hour)

a sock

pants or shirt (make a patch and sew it on)

Embroider: (30 minutes)

Your name on something

Sew:

a pair of pajama pants from a pattern (2 hours?)

Make a button hole (10-20 minutes)

This needs more sewing stuff, and more weaving and spinning stuff. I think I've used up 15 hours. There's 20 left, what weaving and spinning skills would take about that long and are essential beginner-y stuff?

Edit:I just realized that textiles/clothing should also have leather working, right? Anyone know anything about leather working, because I sure don't! We should probably have one leather-working task in the Straw Level, but I don't even know what that would be, let alone how to do it!

Nicole Alderman wrote:I'm looking at what Paul wrote about time frames for each badge:

paul wheaton wrote:
In general, I think the approximate time to complete a badge would be about:

   sand badge: ~5 hours
   straw badge: ~40 hours (+35 hours over sand, about 4 or 5 days)
   wood badge: ~220 hours (+180 hours over straw, about 4 to 5 weeks)
   iron badge: 1250 hours (+1030 hours over wood, about six months)

What textile stuff is rudimentary and would take a total of 5 hours? Looking at some other Badge Bits, they're rudimentary, atainable skills, like carving a spoon or a mallet and that don't require many expensive, hard-to-find tools.

I'm thinking maybe sand badge would be kind of like Jr High school home ec:

Hand sew a small pillow (about 1 hour)

Sew on a button (5 minutes, but an important skill!)

spin ____ much yarn on a drop spindle (how much time would that take, Raven?)

MAYBE knit a dishcloth (also about an hour or two)

Nicole, I thought of something like that.
I read those first ideas here (which were of 4 years ago, before the PEP) and to me they seemed much too complicated. To make a whole garderobe in only 5 hours one must be very skilled. The first 'badge' must be doable for a beginner.

Nicole Alderman wrote:Edit:I just realized that textiles/clothing should also have leather working, right? Anyone know anything about leather working, because I sure don't! We should probably have one leather-working task in the Straw Level, but I don't even know what that would be, let alone how to do it!

Nicole, the only experience I have with leather is: taking apart a leather skirt (bought second hand on purpose to use the leather) and making a few pouches of it. This leather is soft and thin, it can be sewn with an ordinary sewing machine.
Maybe 'taking apart an old piece of clothing and use the fabric for something new' can be a BB too? Also: unraveling old knitwear and prepare the yarn for knitting.

The more I think about this, and knowing that Paul wants the PEP to be a way for people to learn basic skills most people would have known 100+ years ago, the more I think that the sand and straw levels should be BROAD.

If you have a Sand Badge in Textiles, you can do basic knit/crochet, basic hand sewing, hand-spin yarn and weave it, and hopefully sew leather. It's like Jr High Home Ec--very broad with very beginner skills learned that you can later build upon.

If you have a Straw Badge in Textiles, you can do a bit more complex knitting/crocheting, actually use a pattern to make clothing, do simple embroidery, etc. I say etc because I DON'T have the spinning/weaving/leatherworking/etc skills at this level. I covet them, though! I think it'd be super handy to be able to spin and weave and work leather and upholster. It'd be like high school level stuff here, basic stuff that leaves you competent.

I'm thinking that the Wood and Iron badges might be more like college--especially in that you get to specialize. So, someone who has a wood badge would have the basic skills from the sand/straw levels, but then they might have 3 intermediate skills and 1 advanced. So, they could do basic everything, but could be pretty good at knitting and felting, and be really good at spinning. So, they'd have a Wood Badge in Textiles with a major in spinning and minors in knitting and felting. Something like that.

With that in mind, and after doing a bit more research, I'm thinking maybe this might be a good sand badge. what do you think? Are there tasks that are more rudimentary and essential than these?

Sand Badge

Sewing:
* Hand sew a small pillow (about 1 hour)
* Sew on a button (5 minutes, but an important skill!)

Spinning:
* Make a drop spindle (10 minutes)
* spin 50grams of yarn on a drop spindle (according to this post it takes 1 hour)

Knitting & Felting:
* Knit and hand felt a hot pad (entirely garter stitch, about 1.5 hours total time)

Weaving:
* Make a simple loom? (10 minutes)
* Weave a belt? (estimated time?)

Darning:
* Make a patch and sew it on your clothes (30 minutes?)

Leatherwork:
* Cut and sew a leather sheath?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm thinking we should have upholstery added to textiles, too? My sister-in-law can do it, and I am so envious of her ability to take an ugly, damaged chair and make it beautiful again!

Maybe we should put "make a pair of curtains" in here somewhere, too? it saves a lot of energy to make thick/insulated curtains!



Straw Badge

Knit or crochet one article of cloth (6 hours):
  - a scarf from chunky yarn
  - a hat

Knit and felt:
  - a pair of mittens (6 hours)

Mend the following: (1-1.5 hour)
  - a sock
  - pants or shirt in a way that people can barely notice the darning

Embroider: (30-1 hour minutes)
  - Your name on something
  - Draw a design on a piece of fabric and then embroider it using the basic stitch.

Sew:
  - a pair of pajama pants from a pattern (2 hours?)
  - Make a button hole (10-20 minutes)
  - A quilt (no backing necessary) measuring at least 2 sqft (can be 12x24 inches and turned into a pillow) 2-3 hours

Spinning:
   -

Weaving:
  -

Leather Working:
  -

Upholstery:
  - Reupholster a dining room seat cushion

I have to say that raven and I have worked on textiles together a couple of times.  

So far, this is the sand badge:

darn a sock

sew a patch onto one of the following:
  - an elbow of a shirt
  - the knee of pants
  - a quilt or tote bag

make a small pillow
  - stuff with straw or bedstraw

make twine
  - 20 feet long

dye something with a plant that doesn’t need mordant like rhubarb leaves

simple grass basket
  - no handle
  - a foot in diameter
  - 6 inches deep

paul wheaton wrote:So far, this is the sand badge:

darn a sock

sew a patch onto one of the following:
  - an elbow of a shirt
  - the knee of pants
  - a quilt or tote bag

make a small pillow
  - stuff with straw or bedstraw

make twine
  - 20 feet long

dye something with a plant that doesn’t need mordant like rhubarb leaves

simple grass basket
  - no handle
  - a foot in diameter
  - 6 inches deep

So for the sand batch one doesn't have to be able to knit or crochet?
Or is it an option to knit or crochet the 'small pillow', because the sewing is already done with the patch?

I like the newest requirements for the sand patch. I sew for other people, everything from pillows to wedding dresses. Some of the previous requirements looked too intimidating.

To better convey what intimidating to me means... I do not understand working with wood. The Roundwood roundwood "Wood Badge" looked more attainable for a newbie than some of the prior collections of textile skills in sand.

Sand badge has a time limit.    The idea is to get a few experiences.  Just a taste.   Just a bit of progress.  

I think that straw badge can introduce knitting and crotchet.  

Knitting, crochet, spinning and lots of other tasks come later.

The goal for the sand badge was for someone with zero textile experience to learn and accomplish all the tasks in less than five hours.  We also wanted each skill to have a useful finished project attached to it that wasn't daunting to someone new to textiles.  The other important aspect at this level was that the tools and materials required were easily accessible to everyone (especially at Wheaton Labs).  That's why we went with basketry instead of knitting or crochet.  There's lots of grass at Paul's but not so much in the way of yarn and knitting needles.

Maybe we need to stock up on yarn and knitting gear.  :)

paul wheaton wrote:Maybe we need to stock up on yarn and knitting gear.  :)

Maybe we need to stock up on yarn and knitting gear. :)

Definitely, need sock yarn (cotton or wool), knitting needles, and some crochet hooks.  A few drop spindles wouldn't be a bad idea.  Perhaps that could be worked into one of the woodworking badges (lathe work)?  A good drop spindle is really hard to make because it has to be balanced.  It's not just the shape of the wood needs to be round, the weight of the wood needs to be (I don't know what to call it, so I'll call it 'round').  Knowing nothing about wood, I imagine that it would involve choosing the wood very carefully to get the balance right.  A good drop spindle starts at $40 and can sell for up to $400 locally.  

Making a crappy drop spindle is a skill every spinner needs to have.  I really want to use the word should here because it is so important.  If one can make a crappy drop spindle in under two minutes then one can use said crappy spindle to teach others how to spin.  A rock, a stick and some string is most common.  At the local Fall fair, my friend uses a potato and a chopstick.  She once used an onion and a chopstick, but that made the poor girl cry


I think for most of the projects later on, the person would be making their own yarn.  But for the straw badge, it would be good to have some basic yarn supplies on hand.

paul wheaton wrote:Maybe we need to stock up on yarn and knitting gear.  :)

Or maybe it's time for some sheep on your land ...

I kind of like the idea of a very beginner knitting or crochet in the sand level that could be made with any size yarn or needles, like a potholder/dishrag. I like the idea that when someone gets their sand badge, they've got the beginner taste in all the levels to feel able to take on other things.

I really like the idea of making some twine in the early level, because I want to be able to do that. I've also never made a basket, and am pretty excited to learn that!

Nicole Alderman wrote:I kind of like the idea of a very beginner knitting or crochet in the sand level that could be made with any size yarn or needles, like a potholder/dishrag. I like the idea that when someone gets their sand badge, they've got the beginner taste in all the levels to feel able to take on other things.

I really like the idea of making some twine in the early level, because I want to be able to do that. I've also never made a basket, and am pretty excited to learn that!

Exactly the same for me. I made baskets, but not in the 'basket weaving' technique. Baskets can be made in crochet too. Grass or other fibres from nature can be used for knitting, crochet, nalbinding ('looping'), macramé, ...  not only weaving. In my opinion a basket is something for 'more experienced' level. A beginner could make a little 'mat' or 'pad' out of grass.

A good drop spindle is really hard to make because it has to be balanced.  It's not just the shape of the wood needs to be round, the weight of the wood needs to be (I don't know what to call it, so I'll call it 'round').  Knowing nothing about wood, I imagine that it would involve choosing the wood very carefully to get the balance right.

There might still be the drop spindles in a box at the Lab that I sent a few years ago  with some yarn and a bit of raw wool? Steve used to make them way back when and at the request of spinners he made them in different weights.  I just gave away a big wad of knitting needles (again) after realizing (again) that I am challenged in that area.  I can crochet, weave, spin, etc but knitting past learning a few stitches continues to allude me.

I think it's really common for people to be able to EITHER crochet or knit, but not be able to do both. Whichever they learned first is usually what they can do. I learned to knit first, and can't crochet.

For me, it's the fact that the yarn is held in the opposite hand when working with crochet. Maybe if someone learned the Continental style of knitting (with the yarn held in the left hand), crochet would be easier. I learned the English style (with the yarn on the right), and I can't crochet.

I'm thinking, maybe, for the PEP, people can choose to either knit or crochet, and not be required to learn both styles to earn their badges. Sure, some things are better made with crochet than knitting, and vice-a-versa, but most everything you can make with one, you can make with the other.

Nicole Alderman wrote:I think it's really common for people to be able to EITHER crochet or knit, but not be able to do both. Whichever they learned first is usually what they can do. I learned to knit first, and can't crochet.

For me, it's the fact that the yarn is held in the opposite hand when working with crochet. Maybe if someone learned the Continental style of knitting (with the yarn held in the left hand), crochet would be easier. I learned the English style (with the yarn on the right), and I can't crochet.

I'm thinking, maybe, for the PEP, people can choose to either knit or crochet, and not be required to learn both styles to earn their badges. Sure, some things are better made with crochet than knitting, and vice-a-versa, but most everything you can make with one, you can make with the other.

Nicole, I think you can easily learn to knit the 'Continental way' and to crochet too.
Here we call that the 'German way', in the Netherlands traditionally we knit the 'English way' (and call it the 'Dutch way'). I know both, but I usually do it the way it was taught at school (when I was very young).
I don't see any reason why you should do only one technique, crochet or knitting. In the time I was at school every girl had to learn both of them. Nowadays they don't teach textile crafts anymore at school.

You're never too old to learn something new ...