The mystery package and what to use these weights for!

I promised you to reveal the contents of a package that arrived from the UK last week.  So, here it is:

Nope, there is no fancy fabric! What you see here is premium quality tie interfacing and two types of lead weights!

The supplies come from MacCulloch & Wallis, a great UK-based tailoring supplies store and the only one I could find that sells quality tie interfacing. But more about ties later this month.

I wanted you to have a look at these weights! I have to admit - it will be my first! And I am going to use them for my linen skirt vent. It should help to prevent the vent from spreading too wide and standing stiff open after a while. I don't know how about you, but my skirt vents look very unsightly after just half a day in the office.

Lead weights are reportedely used in couture to weight vents or hems, especially for evening gowns. It is one of the heaviest metals on this planet and quite affordable for sewing projects, unless you go for gold or platinum, of course. In addition, lead lends itself well to shaping.  The latter is especially useful, because you will sometimes want to hammer the weight flat, so you can hide it in your hem inconspicuously – just handle it with gloves and a mask to avoid the health hazard, and wash your heads after you finished working with it.

More tips on working with lead: covering the weight in a fabric and sewing it into the hem will help eliminate the risk of lead poisoning, which happens through inhaling or ingesting the hazardous metal. And, of course, lead should be stored in a sealed plastic bag out of reach of children.

Have you used lead weights in your projects? Weighted vent tutorial, anyone?