I’m Still Sewing, I Swear!

I haven’t written a whole lot about sewing projects I’ve been doing lately. I’m not sure why, probably because some stuff just isn’t that interesting to write about. However, one project that I’ve made recently that I’m just loving is the Buttercup Bag, a swell free pattern from craft blogger Made by Rae. The reason I found this pattern is that when Rachel was in town a couple of months ago, she and I went to Bolt. While I didn’t really “need” anything, I couldn’t resist two sewing-inspired fat quarters–one in a scissor print, the other in a measuring tape design (I think they’re Moda fabrics, but don’t quote me on that!). The thing is, I really didn’t have a clue what to do with a couple of fat quarters, so some googling led me to the Buttecup Bag pattern.  I whipped mine up in literally no time at all. Check it out.

This is a really useful little bag for me–I keep my wallet, phone (the rad G1) and lipstick in it and then just chuck it into whatever random bag I’m carrying that day (I have a lot of them–as has been well-documented here). It’s also pretty handy if I am carrying one of my bigger messenger-style bags and just want to grab this little bag to run in and get a coffee or whatever. I’m sure this will be the first pattern I will think of if more fat quarters wind up in my possession.

A couple of quick notes on this bag:

• I omitted the tab on the top section–it just seemed like it would be a bit much for such a busy design.
• I elongated the shoulder strapped a bit, so it would be  a bit easier to tote around–I probably added about three inches, which is what I’d do if I made it again.
• I enlarged the entire bag just a smidge, probably by a half inch total. I just needed a tiny bit more room for my stuff and knew that the design as is wouldn’t fit both my wallet and my rather brick-like phone.
• Like I do for all of my smaller, less structured bags (pretty much anything of the size of Amy Butler’s Frenchie Bag and smaller), I used fusible fleece for the interfacing. I find this adds a bit more body–and less stiffness–than normal interfacing. Works like a charm.

I finished it off with a cool little button that my friend Michelle gave me. Can you see the detail in this picture? Yeah, it’s an “I heart sewing” button. And I certainly do.

(This button’s made by Cathy, by the way.)

~Sarah

Ten Things I Heart Right Now (And a Few I Don’t)

Ten Things I’m Really Loving Right Now…

1.) While I was in Pittsburgh, Josh was able to put heavy-duty grommets (Or are they eyelets? I never know the difference.) in the awesome Trail Blazers-ified Gadsden flag he made me and hung it in our entryway, which is looks totally amazing. Yeah, visiting our house is probably a strange experience for newbies.

2.) When Josh picked me up from the airport, after I’d been in Pittsburgh for over a week, he met me with my favorite burrito from Laughing Planet (tempeh, pinto beans, rice, veggies, salsa verde). Some gals get flowers, I get burritos. Reason #817 I love my husband–he knows how happy a burrito would make me (I have lots of food weirdnesses, so Pittsburgh was tough on me with regard to eating). Continue reading »

Book Review: Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

I have been pretty much over-the-moon excited about Heather Ross‘ Weekend Sewing book for a year–ever since I saw the proofs at an event at Bolt here in Portland when Heather was in town for Quilt Market. Well, it finally hit the shelves, and boy was it worth the wait!

I love that Weekend Sewing is a real sewing book. Not to dog on any of the fine sewing books out there, but many of them are definitely geared toward beginner sewers or are more on the quick craft project or learn-to-sew end of the sewing spectrum. Few are actually down and dirty sewing books. Weekend Sewing is. And that rocks. As a very experienced sewer, I am thrilled to see a more comprehensive sewing book out in the market.

Before I get into talking about the the actual sewing projects in the book, I’d like to quickly touch on one of my favorite items Heather writes about in Weekend Sewing–setting up your sewing space. This is the second book on my shelf that really does a nice job of that (Anna Maria Horner’s Seams to Me is the other one–although she has a different approach). Heather focuses on utilizing limit space effectively to creative a functional, personalize sewing space. This is something that we don’t have at our house–the dining table is the epicenter of our projects. My favorite method for organizing your sewing space that Heather discusses is using a computer cabinet to store all your goodies–including your sewing machine and ironing board. However, I also really like this compact, yet very function expandable desk set-up. (I definitely need one of those boards like in this photo up on the wall of my home office/someday sewing room, by the way.)

So onto the projects…

There are basically three types of projets in Weekend Sewing–home decorating projects, clothing/wearables and kids stuff. Being that I’m primarily a garment and accessories sewer, the clothing/wearables projects are by far my favorites. So I’m going to focus on that section here–the homewares and kids sections have been well covered in other reviews, anyway.

This bag, for example kind of rocks my world. In fact, I really think I need to make a sweet red pleather version for myself. (The original uses leather.)

The “Summer Blouse” really is a perfect go-everywhere blouse for, well, the summer. I had a blouse that I loved that was almost identical in design for years and years that finally fell apart last year–I’m hoping that this will be just the pattern to use in its resurrection. This would also be incredibly cute lengthened, with a belt at the waist, and maybe left sleeveless for a dressy, comfortable summer look.

And more summer cuteness (this was a perfectly-timed release, seasonally speaking), the Trapeze Dress is freaking adorable. It’s another one that could be eaily modified–I’d like it shorted to tunic length and worn over jeans myself. (Like everyone who grew up in the Pacific Northwest in the early nineties, dresses over jeans still seem like a totally legit option. I know it looks dorky, but I am always getting the urge to combine those two things.)

Each of the clothing projects continues this theme–easy to wear, highly-adaptable designs. And that makes me very happy, because it really demonstrates that Heather understands sewers. We don’t just want to sew up a cute project out a a book or pattern–we want to make it our own, adapt it to fit our lifestyle and what looks flattering on us. The clothing patterns each provide a great base from which we can become more creative and develop our own unique versions of the patterns in Weekend Sewing. And, from reading Heather’s blog, I’ve got to believe that it’s entirely intentional.

A few more random notes before I tell you that Weekend Sewing is a must-buy.

• The book has large sheets of overlapping patterns. You can’t cut these out. Heather provides instruction on using tracing paper to trace them. For my Burda World of Fashion magazine patterns, I use fused together wax paper, which makes large, transparent sheets. You may want to try this out. I find it is easier to work with than tracing paper–you may too. (Honestly, it’s a good habit to get into–tracing your patterns rather than cutting–because it’s easier to make alterations if you don’t have to worry about destroying your only copy of a pattern.)
• There are a few errors (or helpful notes that should have been included) in the book, please check the errata before you sew.
• While the patterns I was most excited about are the more complicated ones (the shirtdress, bag, kimono dress, etc), there are plenty in Weekend Sewing that would be appropriate for complete beginners–particularly the projects in the home and kids sections. There’s also a helpful “Sewing Basics” section at the end of the book.
• My only complaint is that there isn’t a single men’s pattern in Weekend Sewing (well, I guess there is a little boy’s shirt, but that’s not really the same). I know that the perception is that there aren’t enough men who sew or women who sew for men to justify it, but sometimes that feels like a chicken or egg scenario–I know I would sew more for Josh if there were more good patterns to sew from, and I’m sure that Josh would enjoy sewing more if there were more interesting, well-designed choices. I know Josh struggles with finding good patterns for men, and I find it irritating that if I want to make something for Josh, there are only like five decent men’s patterns out there (seriously–the selection is awful)–that gets boring pretty quickly.
• Let’s give a hand to STC/Melanie Falick Books for continuing to strike a great balance between appealing to casual crafters and hardcore aficionados of particular mediums–they did it with Weekend Sewing, the Alabama Stitch Book, Material Obsession and Printing by Hand; and I hear that their knitting books strike a similar balance as well. This is a tough thing to do, and they just keep bringing it with great offerings.

With all that said, this is one of those books that I think most sewers would want on their bookshelf.

~Sarah

Summer of Making Registration + Denyse Schmidt Awesomeness!

Hi folks! Registration is now open for the incredible Summer of Making program that the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s awesome Continuing Education department is coordinating this summer.

These are unique courses, offered in more comprehensive formats than you usually get the opportunity with in craft and DIY courses. The classes run for longer–so you really will get to know the subject matter in a thorough way. I can speak from experience–I came away from my letterpress class (which I’m going to write about soon, but I got a bit derailed by my overly-ambitious project) really feeling confident in that particular medium. Also, the other–rather intangible, but extremely important–thing that was really different about the class I took through PNCA’s Continuing Education department was the eagerness of the other students; everyone was extremely engaged and it was a real community within our class. I expect the same out of the Summer of Making–especially because of the awesome line-up of instructors. (Check out all the instructors’  bios here.)

Headlining the program is the phenomenal Denyse Schmidt. She is one of my favorite fabric designers, and everything I see from her is just beautiful and inspiring. We are so lucky to have her coming to Portland to teach her workshop–I have only heard wonderful things about her classes, which focus on improvisation and intuitive design. If you’re interested in anything from quilting to jewelry design to macrame to fiber arts, there’s a class for you at the Summer of Making. Also–and I think this is incredibly cool, and not just because I’m one of the teachers–they’ve made the bold move of incorporating the DIY digital communications arts into the program as well, so you can learn how to effectively communicate about your craft or art. (My mom is taking one of these classes, actually because the idea of learning new technical skills in a creative environment appeals to her.)

Also–while not formally part of the Summer of Making, my awesome letterpress instructor is offering a Beginning Letterpress and Mail Art class that spans four full days. It’ll be awesome. If you’ve ever been interested in letterpress, and are in Portland or want to take a long learning weekend vacation in the City of Roses, I’d highly recommend taking Abra’s class. While the tuition may seem pricy, compared to how expensive the letterpress two or three hour seminars are around town, it’s a great deal–and the presses at PNCA are really great to work on, since they’re large cylinder proof presses that are well maintained. (Also, after having taken letterpress, I really don’t think you could learn letterpress at the level that you’d need to take on an independent project in a short workshop. It’s just too involved and sophisticated. )

So, check out the offerings from PNCA-CE for the Summer of Making–I bet you’ll find something that’s just what you’ve been wanting to learn!

Summer of Making Links

• Registration.
• Program information.
• The Summer of Making blog
• Diane’s post on CraftyPod about Summer of Making (learn podcasting from the best!).
• Become a fan on Facebook – get updates & links of interest.
• Summer of Making Flickr group.

Help spread the word–the cutie-pie program coordinator for the Summer of Making would certainly appreciate your telling your pals about this awesome learning opportunity right here in Portland.

~Sarah

Cheer Up, Blazers Fans!

The loss tonight in Game Four had me in tears. I bet it did a lot of you, too. But, this should cheer you up a little bit.

Yes, Josh really made this flag.

Yes, it’s completely reversible.

Yes, he cut and appliqued the felt pinwheel.

Yes, he sewed the whole thing together.

And, yes, he hand screenprinted the “Don’t Tread On Me.”

Oh, and yes, that’s Josh holding it up and he’s about 6’2″, so it’s really, really big.

And then he informed me it was a gift for me.

Because my husband is just that awesome.

~Sarah

1957 Redlegs Jersey – Or, the Reason I Learned To Sew

Frank Robinson - The Reds should have never traded him.

One of the reasons I got into this whole sewing thing is that I wanted to make my own baseball jersey. I have been obsessed with having an “authentic” looking flannel for sometime, but I am not the type to spend $250+ on an article of clothing, no matter how cool that I might find it. On our trip to Washougal, I found a lovely piece of white wool flannel (cream might be a more accurate description) and had in my mind a multitude of potential uses. However, that piece of fabric sat in the box of potential projects for a long time, mostly because I wanted to make something “perfect” or truly “authentic” looking.

Sketch of 1957 Reds uniforms - one of the images used as inspiration for this project.

I spent the better part of a year looking for a pattern, but too no avail. Sarah and I went round and round about how it was such a simple construction that I didn’t really need a pattern, but for some reason I held onto this five dollar piece of wool like I would never find another. Inspired by a cold winter, and a need to get back into sewing, I decided to go for it. Sarah and I made a pattern by using Swedish tracing paper and an old jersey that I had (let’s be clear, this in no way was a $250+ piece of clothing, it is a jersey made out of sweatshirt material, it was cheap and huge and I have never worn it). Basically, the “pattern” is a simple shirt with a wide, curved facing that goes all the way down the front and around the neckline.

Stitching on the number 20.

The next step was to find a jersey to replicate, and of course I wanted to do my Cincinnati Reds and I thought there was no more appropriate players’ jersey to wear than Frank Robinson. Robinson was one of the original bad-asses in C-town and in one of the worst trades in baseball history was traded to the Baltimore Orioles because the Reds said he was an “old” thirty. The very next year, he hit for the Triple Crown with the Baltimore Orioles and continued his Hall of Fame career. Robinson eventually became the first African-American manager and later managed the inaugural season of the Washington Nationals, where his old school hard-assness was refreshing as a baseball fan to see.

Trimming the stabilizer behind the numbers.

I choose the 1957 uniform after looking through the baseball Hall of Fame’s Dressed to the Nines exhibit. I liked two things about this — that it’s vest and that I would be able to cut out the logo from felt by hand and have it look good/authentic. This is one of the seasons that the Reds were known as the “Redlegs,” so as not to appear that they were the Communist team. Put all of these together, along with the irony, and coolness came together in a perfect storm.

The dog: "Dad, can you please make me a jersey, too?"

Making the jersey was pretty quick and painless, especially without sleeves. I decided to bind the sleeve holes with shinny cotton bias strips (Oh yeah new skill, making bias strips!). While it is hard to tell if the sleeves were actually bound in the original, I really like the look in my version. I made the logo and the numbers out of a wool-rayon blend felt. I have used acrylic felt on other things and frankly the wool-rayon blend, while a little more expensive, looks and feels so much better (the 100% wool felt is too rich for my blood). To get the size of the numbers and positioning correct I used the Liebe Apparel web site, which has a fantastic guide on numbering and lettering sports jerseys.

Jersey back - I used specific porportions and and placement of the numbers, for an authentic look.

All in all, this was a fun project, and for less than $20 I had my throwback jersey and accomplished something that I had set out to do in the beginning. I was lucky to find the a nice piece of flannel in flat folds table, so most of my money was spent on felt. Sarah and I had so much fun figuring this out that we are going to do a Video Threads episode on DIY baseball jerseys (of course I will make the road gray jersey). And  down the road, I think I will also try designing a vintage-looking hockey jersey as well.

Mixed sports metaphor happening here...

~Josh

Snowpocalypse ’08!!!

Our plants are really not prepared for this type of thing.

Portland’s was under siege–by snow–for the better part of two weeks. We, like everyone else in Stumptown, didn’t adapt too well to our forced solitary confinement. But, it did give us a chance to take a few fun snow pictures–including those of the projects we (read: Sarah) made for people for Christmas. While we showed y’all these in our first Video Threads episode, we thought you’d want to see a few pictures–plus, you just gotta check out all the snow.

First up in our snow fashion shoot, the Amy Butler Downtown Purse. Ah, yes… Getting a little tired of making this one, but it’s always so well-received and doesn’t take a lot of effort… This is in one of the newish Denyse Schmidt cotton canvas fabric from FreeSpirit.

This will be the last one of these bags for awhile. As cute as it is, there are only so many one person can make...

The button on this was leftover from the last knitting project Sarah did before tendinitis ended her knitting for once and for all.

Next, the “I’ll have one of everything…” bag from Anna Maria Horner’s new book, “Seams to Me.” This is made in various quilting weight cottons in peach, green and pink tones.

It's kind of a pain in the butt to find that many fabrics that coordinate. How on Earth do quilters do it?

The handles are braided using 12 strips of different town fabrics, which creates a really fun and funky sort of look. It really keeps this back from looking too “quilty.” If that makes sense. (Probably not, huh?)

These rag rug looking braided handles are so awesome! They really make the bag look unique.

And another one from Anna Maria’s book, this one the “Cup Half Full” apron. This is pretty darn cute in two fabrics from Heather Bailey, and an orange checked print for the bias border.

Everyone needs a fancy hostess apron to wear in a snowstorm, right?

This color combo is really bright and fun--almost Christmas-y, but not quite.

Sarah’s mom, who usually scores in the homemade gift department was the lucky recipient of a violet iPod Nano, and most everyone else got silly gifts/books… Despite the snowfall, this Christmas was far less stressful than last because we weren’t under the gun to get things made. Production sewing can be nerve-racking.

Our view for days and days and days...

Our poor house started to look like it was going to get buried under all the white stuff.

Thankfully, the Snowpocalypse is over and we were able to successfully leave our house in our own vehicle for the first time in a VERY long time yesterday. (We had to borrow Sarah’s mom’s SUV to go to the Christmas Day Blazers game–which was, uh, “rad.”)

In completely unrelated news, we’ve added a Facebook/Blog Networks widget to our sidebar. If you’re on Facebook, you can join our network by following the sidebar link and see who else is reading Sewer-Sewist. It’s kind of cool, actually.

Happy holidays, everyone!

~Josh & Sarah

Video Threads: Episode 1 – Happy Holidays

Hey everyone! We want to wish you all a very happy holiday season. In honor of this occasion – and our boredom due to Snowpocalypse ’08 – we made a special video, hopefully part of an ongoing series we randomly titled, “Video Threads from Sewer-Sewist.”

Enjoy!

~Josh & Sarah

Book Review: Seams to Me by Anna Maria Horner

Anna Maria Horner's first book, Seams to Me, is exactly what you'd expect from this popular fabric designer.

One of the sewing books that I’d really looked forward to much of this year is Anna Maria Horner’s Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing, which was released by Wiley in October. Anna Maria is one of my favorite fabric designers–I love the highly artistic graphics she utilizes in combination with vibrant colors. The result is a rich, bold and distinctive aesthetic that’s modern and fresh. When Seams to Me arrived in our mailbox, I was not surprised that the cover practically screamed “Anna Maria.” And the contents follow suit.

The first section, “Getting Started,” is a great introduction for new sewers and offers lots of tips and reminders for those of us old hands. For example, there’s an excellent page and a half of guidance on choosing and buying a sewing machine. My mother happened to be looking for a new machine after killing hers in a very abusive fashion right around when I got Seams to Me, and she found this advice very helpful:

The best machine for you is the one that keeps you inspired to try new things but doesn’t overwhelm you.

While that’s fairly simple advice, it is also advice that really holds true–and it proved helpful to my mom as she was making her decision about a new machine. This section also contains some excellent thoughts on setting up a comfortable sewing area, particularly making sure your setup is ergonomically appropriate. Anna Maria also covers some important concepts often overlooked in sewing books that are geared toward a broad audience (as this one is): good pressing, cutting tools and importance of using the right tools for your pinning, sewing and marking needs. Even advanced sewers and sewists need this reminder every so often. She even shares her clever trick for making perfect circles–which she dubs “Super Circles.”

A page from the "Cooking with Color" section of Seams to Me. Anna Maria explains how three basic formulas can create wildly different effects, depending on the tone and pattern of your chosen fabric.

The final piece in this first section that really stands out to me as unique is her Anna Maria’s focus on combining colors–which she calls “Color Recipes.” She has three basic formulas for “Cooking with Color”–Monochromatic, Monocromatic with an Accent and Multicolored–and demonstrates quite well how these recipes can be applied in various ways to create radically different outcomes. While my initial impression was that these formulas would primarily benefit quilters and home decorators, after reflecting on it some more, I can definitely see some applications in the garment sewing that I do–especially when planning trims and accents.

Of the twenty-four projects in Seams to Me, seventeen are for home accessories or decorating items–only seven are garments or fashion accessories, two of which are (extremely cute) little girls items. As primarily a garment sewer, this is somewhat disappointing, although not surprising. This seems to be about the ratio in every general sewing book. It’s much more difficult and expensive to produce patterns for clothing with all the sizes required, and much more room for error in pattern drafting. With that said, the items in the “Stylize” chapter are really quite attractive, with one notable problem that I’ll discuss in a minute.

First, both bags are über-cute. (Because you can never, ever have too many bag patterns.)

Taxi Tote: I really like the simple shape of this bias tape-trimmed shoulder bag. (I also think that the model in this photo may have stolen one of my outfits. That so looks like a combination I would put together.)

I'll Have One of Everything Bag: This bag is constructed using small pieces of eight different fabrics--a great way to experience with the "Color Recipes" in Seams to Me.

I was also happy to see that the skirt “pattern” in this book is actually a formula, much like that in Sew What Skirts, for making a custom A-line skirt for your exact measurements. This is one of those things that really everyone who sews with any regularity should know how to do, in my opinion. I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed someone at the pattern counter who is wanting to learn how to sew who is asking the (often grumpy) salesperson for recommendations on an A-line skirt pattern so they can learn to sew. The custom skirt route is so much more forgiving fit-wise (since you draft it for your measurements), and I think that the investment in time creating a well-fitting skirt pattern can potentially encourage people to keep at sewing. Whereas so many of the big pattern companies have so many crazy fit issues that a beginner is fairly likely to get frustrated–especially when they find out that their measurements equal three or four sizes larger in sewing pattern sizing than they do in ready-to-wear. Two big thumbs up for this!

With that said, however, Anna Maria should have either 1) omitted the “Smashing Smock” or 2) given it the attention it deserves. It’s a very cute sleeveless yoked top, but it only comes in a medium (no size chart included, that I could find). As we know, one person’s medium is another’s extra-large is another’s small, so the label “medium” is essentially meaningless. Also, while Anna Maria included very comprehensive and methodologically-sound instructions for enlarging and shrinking the pattern, it’s such a fussy maneuver that I fear it will turn most readers off of this particular pattern. And, while the pattern will be modified successfully using those instructions (since it’s a loose, boxy style), it bothers me that the modifications don’t include a discussion of the fact that for most pattern you would need to grade the pattern to modify it, rather than just enlarging it. I would hate for someone to apply this technique to a fitted blouse because it worked for a boxy smock. You would end up with gaping armholes and a neckline that folds over onto itself.  The child’s “Prairie Blouse” (which is adorable) is modified the same way, and measurements are also omitted for that pattern as well. I realize I’m far more advanced and particular about fit in garments that most people who will be using Seams to Me to make either of these tops, but it’s still somewhat disappointing. (I also wish that the “Prairie Blouse” was the adult blouse because I love raglan sleeves, but that’s just me being wistful.)

The “Organize” chapter is really fun, with loads of items that would be great to make for a sewing room especially, including organizing cubes, a magnetic inspiration board, wall pockets and even a garment bag. These projects would be particularly rewarding for a new sewer who could simultaneously work through these projects, build his or her skills and organize and decorate a sewing space. There is one item in particular that I absolutely love–the “Pin Cushion Caddy.”

Pin Cushion Caddy: This is fun project requiring small bits of fabric to create a pin cushion that also helps contain clutter in your sewing space.

I also absolutely love the items in the “Domesticate” chapter, which range from beautiful appliqued and embroidered dishtowels to a fun patchwork ball (which our dog has requested I make for her). Each of the items in this section would be thoughtful wedding or housewarming gifts, too. (I always keep in mind simple projects that would make good gifts for various life events.) These are my two favorites:

The "Doggie Dreams Bed" (which you make using a formula based on your dog's size!) and the "Full Contact Cooking Apron" (which I need to make ASAP). Both of these designs from Seams to Me would be well-received housewarming gifts.

You’ve often read me gripe about how hard it is to read the print in many sewing books and how their design often doesn’t think about the end user. I have to tell you, I am 100% thrilled with the readability and usability of this book. It has sewing-friendly spiral binding, clear, dark print on a light background (yay!) and clear, understandable instructions with appealing, clear drawings. And, even better, they haven’t sacrificed the book attractiveness to make it accessible. It has loads of color on each page, beautiful photography that really shows the projects in detail (and you can get a good sense of the size of the items, too, as they’re shown with other items in each photo). Also, the people used throughout the book look like real folks, and the settings feel very familiar–like the pictures were taken at your friend’s very stylish farm. This total package makes Seams to Me one of those sewing books that’s really fun to flip through and admire.

An example of an instruction page from Seams to Me (this page is for the "Right Off the Cuff" project. Each project has easy to read text and clear drawings and most have multiple photos. Finally someone who really understands sewing designed a sewing book!

Playing Along Quilt: This is an example of the attractive, yet familiar, nature of the photography in Seams to Me.

Seams to Me is a fun book, and if you’ve followed Anna Maria’s blog and are familiar with her designs, you’ll see her mark all over this book. There are definitely enough projects that have a special twist that make it worth the $24.99 price tag, and the introductory section really stands apart among the rapidly-growing catalog of sewing books that are on the market. With the holidays coming up, this could be a nice gift for a sewer or sewist in your life–especially if they’re an Anna Maria Horner fan. It’s also another one that would be a quality addition to a “learning to sew” list, because of the clear instructions, variety of projects, tips and techniques and the fact that it doesn’t appeal strictly to the younger set–to me, Seams to Me has a wonderful universal, ageless appeal.

You can check out projects people have made using Seams to Me over on flickr. There’s also a free pattern download available from Wiley, if you’d like to take Seams to Me for a test drive before purchasing.

~Sarah

Book Review: French General Home Sewn

Cover of Kaari Meng's French General Home Sewn, published by Chronicle.

Chronicle Books’ latest sewing offering, French General Home Sewn: 30 Projects for Every Room in the House, is a unique sewing project book from Kaari Meng, owner of the well-known store in L.A., French General (you can visit her blog here). (I figure it’s pretty well-known, since I’ve actually heard of it.) Part tour of the vintage French aesthetic, part sewing book, this is an appealing book for folks who are Francophiles or fabric collectors, in addition to those looking for unique designs for sewing useful and decorative home items.

Every sewing book should include a pet bed.

This book was on my radar initially because I did judge a book by its cover. It looked so incredibly attractive, and visually very distinctive (I am slightly obsessed with design). In that area, Home Sewn did not disappoint. From the cover, which has an unusual fabric-y texture, to the hand-sketches of the project instructions, there is no doubt that this is a book inspired by the French aesthetic. Each project is even named in both French and English.

Floral cocktail coasters made from 5-inch squares of fabric--a perfect project for using up remnants.

However, the sewing projects and innovative use of special fabrics are really what make Home Sewn stand out. Kaari Meng is a collector of vintage and antique French fabrics–and she has been doing so for years, “whether they are small scraps or large panels.” You may have noticed that I love Japanese fabrics, especially those designed by Etsuka Furyura. Sadly, they’re also quite expensive, and so it would be more cost-effective to purchase small quantities. This book is full of ideas for small pieces of fabrics, from the coasters pictured above, to small lavender-filled cushions. So, if you have an affinity for distinctive, and expensive, fabrics, there are a number of projects in Home Sewn that could fit your needs.

My favorite project in Home Sewn--simple wall hangings and a shaped banner.

There are several projects that I haven’t seen in other sewing books, such as a shower curtain and a bath mat. While these are very basic projects, it’s the discussion of the usage of materials that really shines here. She recommends using natural hemp. Why? Because hemp fibers are naturally absorbent and fast-drying, which makes it ideal for bathroom projects. What a nice alternative to the plastic-y stuff that dominate mass-produced bathroom textiles.

Quick-Dry Bath Mat: The striped ticking adds a bit of style to this simple project.

And that speaks further to my earlier point about Meng’s book–it’s definitely a book that’s written more with the fabric-lover in mind, rather than a more sewing focused work. While the projects are generally quite clever unique interpretations of really useful everyday items (the fact that the projects are focused on items that you actually need is a huge bonus in my mind), fabrics really take center stage in this book. Even when the projects utilize very simple, unprinted textiles.

Scalloped tablecloth made with hemp fabric.

I was thrilled to see a different interpretation of “Party Banners” in this book—these are lined and, in the beautiful vintage French fabrics used in the book, could really be a wonderful decorative addition to a home office or guest room. (Full disclosure: I have party banners hanging in my home office.)

Hooray for party banners!!!

There is an added bonus to Home Sewn if you’re mad for embroidery (I’m looking at both of you, AverageJaneCrafter and my mom). There are many intricate, vintage-looking embroidery patterns included with the patterns in Home Sewn. They’re meant to mimic the look of the embroidery on antique linens. There’s also a perfectly respectable step-by-step of basic embroidery stitches.

Directions page.

A note on the book’s design and presentation: As much as I really love this book (I will probably make a number of the projects as I need housewares), this is another book in which I wish there’d been a bit more attention to the way in which the book is designed from the user’s perspective. Like so many craft books, the font is rather small and lightweight, which is difficult when you’re sewing. I generally glance down at the directions while I’m doing other sewing prep, and if the font were one point larger (which would make the book longer, and therefore more expensive, which isn’t a good thing either), it would be much easier to read. My other gripe is that, despite the absolutely stunning photography, some of the projects are hard to see completely in the photos, and it’s hard to get a sense of the scale and how some of the projects should look when finished. But would I trade the almost coffee-table book look of Home Sewn for boring pictures? Nope. Also, beginning sewers and sewists should be aware that there are not a large number of drawings accompanying the projects, although there are a few for each one. This doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, for straightforward projects like these, they’re just a bonus. However, if you’re used to the beginner-level books that have a lot of detailed illustration and instruction, be forewarned. Personally, I think you don’t need a lot of illustrations once you’ve got the basics of sewing down.

Despite those relatively minor criticisms, Home Sewn is really a winner of a sewing book. It is very, very different from anything else out there. It not only educated me about the French aesthetic, it got me thinking about new ways to utilize my favorite fabrics, about the benefits of collecting small pieces of really special textiles and about the beauty in elegant touches added to simple, everyday items.

If you’re a stationary fan, there is also lovely stationary that’s been developed as well. You can check it out here. Also, during the month of November, Kaari Meng is hosting a stash-busting contest with a really swell prize. You can get more details right here.

~Sarah

Dayton Triangles Redux Hoodie

What do you get when you combine screen printing, applique, sewing, refashioning, vintage sports uniforms and a little bit of crazy?

Me.

With autumn bringing cool weather, I needed a new hoodie to wear (by the way, sometime we’ll have to ask Sarah to write about her hoodie addiction). For inspiration, I wanted it to look like the old Dayton Triangles jerseys from the 1920s, because I am from Dayton and I like stripes and appliqués. And I really like any excuse to screen print just about anything.

Why the Dayton Triangles? Well, my dad remembers them playing at the park near his house when he was growing up in Dayton, Ohio in the 1950s.

I started out with a plain gray hoodie and used tape to create the stripes I wanted. I then used a blank screen to spread the ink.  (Which made one hell of a mess.) After drying, I was left with even stripes on both sleeves.

I really can’t believe this actually worked.

To make the bottom half of the hoodie navy–after briefly considering screen printing the whole bottom–I wisely bought a navy crew neck sweatshirt and cut it underneath the armholes, I then cut the gray sweatshirt two inches under the armholes to give it more length, (one and a half inches with the seam allowance).

On the chest, I made a simple triangle out of wool felt and stitched it onto the a larger white piece of felt and then sewed it onto the front of the “jersey.”

This was really a quick and easy project, except for the long drying time of the sleeves.  With the cold weather coming, it looks like I am going to get back on the sewing machine and out of the garage (where we screen print).

~Josh

We’re Still Here!

We both just managed to each have a case of what will now be referred to as “The Worst Flu Ever.” First I was sick, and Josh was so wonderful taking care of me, and then I started to get better and Josh got hit with it even worse that I. But we’re on the mend, and will hopefully resume our regularly scheduled programming here at Sewer-Sewist shortly.

Meanwhile… Before our untimely case of the flu, I was busy being frustrated with my attempt to make this lovely kimono-style robe from a Burda World of Fashion from this spring.

It’s adorable, right? I think so, too. And it’s a very simple pattern as well.

Unfortunately, I totally lunched when I was measuring and cutting all the bands for the sleeves, hem, neck and front and neglected to add the seam allowances. I discovered this when I was sewing the sleeve bands together. I know, a totally bone-headed/dumb-ass/nitwit move. I did, however, manage to get the bands together on the sleeves, but the rest of the garment, no dice. So, I was in the midst of contemplating whether I wanted to re-cut all the bands (I have enough fabric, but, come on, it’s a robe) or piece together a few squares and call it a day. (Can you tell which way I’m leaning?)

Either way, I think it’s going to be a pretty darn cute robe. It’ll go nicely with the snazzy Amy Butler Lounge Pants from In Stitches that I made out of the same fabric combination. (I haven’t posted those yet, because I wanted to share the whole “ensemble” together.) Here’s a preview:

Last year, I was on quest–a serious quest–to find this gnome fabric from Heather Ross. It was out of stock everywhere. I had seen it once, and there seemed to be a citywide run on the stuff. So I did something I never do–because I don’t need to, we’ve going sewing resources like crazy here in Portland–and ordered five yards online from ReproDepot the second they got it back in stock. (Yeah, I went a bit crazy. No one really “needs” five yards of gnome fabric.) Since I don’t quilt, it took me all this time to figure out what the hell to do with my gnomes. Pajamas seemed like the logical choice.

Hope y’all are staying healthy this fall! Take care of yourselves!

~Sarah

Sewing Heritage: Stitching Old Glory

We all know (or should, at least) the story of the Betsy Ross Flag, none of us know the story of these ladies and how they came to be sewing American flags at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1909. This photo was taken while the U.S. was still engaged in military action in the Philippines (an extension of the Spanish-American War, although it officially ended in 1902). The Yard was winding down from a huge surge in manufacturing employment due to goods needed by the military, with women engaged in the production of garments and textiles, including the sewing of American flags. What struck me about this photo is not just the high-intensity production these women are involved with, but simply the layers and layers of clothing and intricate hairstyles they’re maintaining while they’re doing this tough, physically exhausting work.

It’s interesting to note that when this photo was taken there were only 46 stars on Old Glory—New Mexico and Arizona joined the U.S. as a state three years later, with Alaska and Hawaii not admitted until 1959. The material they are using in this photo is bunting, likely made out of cotton, wool or a blend of the two. (Now flags are often sewn out of synthetics such as nylon, although official flags flown by the military and government still use bunting materials.)

This photo is another one from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Reading Room.

~Sarah

A Little Late to the Whole Apron Thing

But I guess better late than never. Did y’all know aprons are now cool? And have been for quite some time now? I should have known. I mean, I read both Amy Karol’s blog and CraftSanity, both of whom often write about their love of aprons and seem pretty darn cool. So I shoulda known… Anyway, I discovered “the whole apron thing” last week when I realized that I’d managed to get half of our dinner all over myself while I was cooking (Josh usually cooks dinner, but since I have a bit more time on my hands these days, I have been cooking more). Anyway, I picked up an apron design from local Barbara Brunson, whose company is Vanilla House Designs over in Hillsboro, Ore. Barbara designs some of the most fun aprons I’ve seen, with lots of creative touches, many of which are retro-inspired. I chose her Friday Night Apron, which is a halter style and combined it with three different complimentary fabrics in greens and pinks.

(Yes, that’s the dog’s toy salmon standing in for actual food on the grill.)

Oh yeah, and my new favorite embellishment is rickrack (yes, I’m late to the rickrack party, too) and it plays a prominent role in my apron.

Oh, and now I know that I would have been well-served to read Stacy’s comprehensive review of of this pattern before I started preemptively fiddling with it for fit on the halter. It would have been a perfect fit on me unaltered, but I tinkered and paid the price, it’s a bit too big.

Oh well, after all, it is an apron. It doesn’t need to fit perfectly.

This pattern, and all Vanilla House designs, use length and width measurements for the square pieces—the only pattern pieces that are included are those that are shaped (think the Amy Butler In Stitches book)—and I made a slight oops! when I did my cutting for the apron skirt and, as a result, it’s rather narrow. (Lesson learned: Don’t cut out fabric you have to measure when you’re overly tired.)

But again, it’s an apron, it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Since I’m also obsessed with top-stitching everything, I also top-stitched the entire thing, which I think makes it look more finished and makes the entire apron a bit more stable. I think it will help it hold up longer too (I’ve noticed garments I’ve made that aren’t top-stitched seem to take a beating in the wash at the seams. While this isn’t a precise science, I figure something like an apron that gets washed a lot is well-served having all the reinforcement it can get.)

One final note about this project. I had stuck the pattern sheet that has all the yardages on it in my bag, and somehow misplaced it. In a total panic, I emailed Barbara, the designer, asking her if she could send me the yardages. In a moment self-deprecating humor, I also told her that I was sure that by emailing her and asking for this information, that I was guaranteeing that I’d find my copy somewhere stupidly obvious. She sweetly immediate sent the information I needed to me, with this hilarious note (which I imagine she won’t mind me repeating):

Please find the attach pdf for the back cover of P141 Friday Night Apron. And as soon as you open the pdf, your other cover will magically appear!

And you know what? I opened the PDF, and she was right!

~Sarah

Wear a Dress Week & Another Amy Butler Lotus Dress

I certainly love the Amy Butler Lotus dress. So much, in fact, that I’d planned on wearing this version in celebration of International Wear a Dress Day/Week.

Except, when I got dressed this morning, I decided that I really wanted needed to wear these shoes.

Which don’t really go with my pink dress. At all. If I didn’t happen to have a meeting today and therefore be required to present an illusion of professionalism, I would have just worn the aqua shoes and pink dress and said “to hell with it.”

So, I pulled out my black stretch twill version (and I’ve got to reiterate my point in my earlier post about this dress–this one works so much better in a stretch woven, since it’s meant to be quite fitted) of the Amy Butler Lotus Tunic/Dress, because I know you can wear aqua shoes with a plain black dress. And it gave me an excuse to show it off to you guys.

I also know that a denim jacket (my fave–I watched it at the Sundance Catalog Shop forever until it went on clearance) goes with everything–including both aqua shoes and a plain black dress. So I think I did okay in my celebration of International Wear a Dress Day/Week… Right?

(My apologies to Antoinette for not wearing the dress I said I was going to wear.)

~Sarah

Pillow Fight

Not really.

But, we were hiding from the miserable heat this weekend (real heat, it was 100+ this weekend) in our air conditioned house and were very very bored. Josh hasn’t sewn a whole lot in quite awhile, because he’s been preoccupied with printing on fabric, wood and anything else that will hold still (so far, the dog’s managed to avoid any customization). Since we’ve been sitting around watching the Olympics as well as season 5 of The Wire on DVD, we noticed that our couch isn’t exactly that cushioned. Nor does it look that cool and/or interesting. In fact, it may very well be the most boring thing in our house.

On a related (not really) note, it seems that each summer we become obsessed with some variety of bird of prey. This summer, it’s been the osprey (seahawks) that migrate up to these parts — particularly around the Columbia River, to which we live pretty darn close. In fact, we even saw an osprey right outside our office window one afternoon. We saw them nesting along the river when we drove up the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River. We’ve also seen them over by the Ikea near the airport.

Which leads us back to the topic at hand.

Armed with some very cheap red cotton fabric from Ikea, some even cheaper pillow forms from that same establishment and a dream (ha!), we came up with a pretty bad-ass concept: The Osprey Pillow. What better way to commemorate summer with some sewing, screenprinting and a comfy place to nap and/or watch t.v.?

Fortunately, we have the most awesome book of silhouettes ever, Neubauwelt. And in it was The Osprey. Josh traced it out onto freezer paper and cut it out into a stencil. This was the first time that Josh had screenprinted using a non-photo emulsion technique (yes, we’re aware that normal people usually stencil first, then maybe some drawing fluid and then start with the photo emulsion –but Josh usually does things backwards, so it makes sense). We will be reviewing the new book, Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin soon, but we used her stencil-making techniques to create this stencil. Also, Josh got a bunch of helpful encouragement in trying out the stencil method of screenprinting from Rachel when we got together when she and her husband were here in Portland (and via Twitter).

Sarah cut out the red fabric into four 21″ x 21″ squares (after checking the Ikea website for the dimensions of their pillow covers, which were 20 3/8″ x 20 3/8″ — no sewing math necessary here!).

The first print turned out so great that we decided to print on both sides of the pillows. We used a Jacquard brand screenprinting ink that is a very lovely gold color. This was first time we’d used this brand of ink, and it is far superior to the Speedball stuff that we normally use. (We got it at Art Media, and it was slightly more expensive than we usually pay. However, because you are supposed to thin it with water, it’s probably worth the price.) The stencil method definitely yields a different result than the photo emulsion technique, but results in a really blocky, dramatic print.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, Josh sewed three sides together and then got the brilliant idea to use an invisible zipper so that we could easily launder the pillow covers. (We have dog, and sometimes she, uh, “submits” the pillows and then drags them around the house.) So, since Josh has never really had the occasion to install an invisible zipper, Josh had to call in the “big guns” (Sarah) to assist with the zippers. Which would have been a whole hell of a lot easier to do before the three other sides were sewn up. But, oh well. That’s life.

Fun, fun, fun and what an easy project. And the couch looks a whole lot more interesting now.

And, the new pillows probably help delay Josh making some sort of crazy attempt to screenprint the actual couch…

~S&J

Oh so pretty…

It’s settled. One of us is going to have to learn Japanese. Because all of the goodies that we keep finding at Kinokuniya are getting a bit out of control. This time, and innocent trip to Uwajimaya has resulted in quite the find — The Pretty Bag Collection.

I have such a weakness for bag-making, as you’ve probably noticed (it’s funny, too, because I have only been making bags for a year or so). And this book has some really awesome projects. It’s, like many of the Japanese sewing books, brokenn down into thematic sections, this time by fabric type: Silk Shantung, Jacquard and Lace & Check. This is, actually, far more fabric information than I’m normally able to figure out in most of the books I’ve picked up on one of stops at the Japanese book store.

Here are just a few of the highlights that I quickly scanned this afternoon.

This asymmetric bag would be great to show off a striking lining fabric. I would be fun to sew it in a simple exterior fabric and an absolutely wild interior.

These two shaped bags are just damn pretty, hands down. And the round one, in particular, could be really fun — and is really screaming for contrasting panels. You could also do some interesting embellishment with beads or crochet (which I don’t know how to do, but like the idea of for whatever reason) on the ties at the top.

I’ve nicknamed this pieced number “The Clever Bag” because I think its handle/closure is just so ingenious…

But hands down, I have four definite favorites of the 24 projects in the Pretty Bag Collection. In fact, I’ve been looking at this book every time we go to Uwajimaya, because of these both of these. They’re garment-inspired bags! Seriously how awesome are these?

They’re bags and they’re clothes. And you sew them. What’s not to love? It’s like the perfect storm of craftiness.

~Sarah

Breakthrough!

Not only do we have a functional computer again (Public Service Announcement: don’t fill your Mac hard drive beyond 70% capacity; just ask Josh & I what happens), but I also managed to let go of some slightly obnoxious perfectionist tendencies I have with regard to sewing.

Yep, on my latest project, I had a significant bobbin malfunction (it happens to the best of us, right?) and had some bobbin stitches—yes, the stitches no one really sees—go wonky. And I took a deep breath, fixed what I could, and moved on with life.

And, you know what? It looked just find.

Kind of liberating, I think.

Feelin’ Stitchy

In my last post, I mentioned that I’m planning on making another Burda shirt for Josh—this time with a bit of monkey embroidery… I usually farm out my embroidery needs to my mom, who’s amazing, but since this is a shirt for Josh, I’m thinking that I should do it myself. To give myself a bit of practice (Mom taught me, but she’s kind of, er, fanatical about stitch evenness and embroidery perfection, so I’ve never embraced the craft with a lot of zeal as a result), I’m doing some embroidery on an Amy Butler Lotus Dress (this is my second—I made the first in two evenings and haven’t had a chance to take pictures yet—it needs a good wash/iron before the big photo shoot) made from some Gino’s Chino. Here’s a peek at my concept.

Yes, of course it’s going on the shoulder of the dress.

~Sarah