Wild Thang....I think I love you!

Last March, while taking a mini class with Diane Ericson in her wonderful Ashland studio, we were lucky enough to meet her son, Miles Frode.  He's a multi-talented man.  He paints, writes poetry, performs his poetry (check him out on UTube) and is a fantastic teacher.

He gave us little lesson on his method of painting canvas for garments.  And, he brought in several canvases for us to look over and purchase.  I swooped down on three large ones and held on tight until I figured out what they wanted to be. 

Katherine Tilton's B5891 won.  I made the jacket without sleeves because I love this shape so much.  This is my third time making it, first time in a vest though.  I would have made a jacket but I didn't have enough fabric.

I'm so in love with this painting, er, vest!  It's true wearable art and what a beautiful canvas it will be when I wear it.  Just about any color will pair nicely with this.  His colors are bold but earthy, saturated and complex.  I'm thrilled.

I auditioned several buttons at my local fabric store,  Hart's Fabrics.  I wanted something that would stand up to the art but not compete with it.  These buttons are about 2" square and come in all kinds of great colors.  These are a dark taupe.

I didn't want to mar the canvas by making gigantic buttonholes so I made loops from old silk cording in a dusty smudgy pink.  Both of these colors; the buttons and the cording have their own integrity and richness without standing out.

I faced the collar with a cotton net that I got from Marcy Tilton at a DOL a long time ago.  I wonder if she still has some?  I've used it so much I'm out and would love to re-stash.  It feels and looks like it's vintage.  Very low-key and textural.  I felt I had to face the canvas on the back of the collar and this was the least obtrusive fabric I could find.  I'm hell-bent to use what I have these days!

The pattern calls for inseam pockets but I thought they would be too bulky so I made ones that are sewn on, single layer.  The facing is the same fabric I used to face the collar.

I left most of the edges raw and used a cover stitch at the edge to finish it a bit.

The back had a place where the painting was a bit sparse so I used another piece of the canvas and patched it on the hem.

I'm particularly fond of this side.  Wish I could see it more when I'm wearing it.

A little close up.

And another close up.

Thank you, Miles!  I'm going to wear this to the fashionART Santa Cruz fashion show on Sept. 20th here in Santa Cruz.

Anytime Dress

Here's another version of Marcy Tilton's latest dress pattern V8975.  This is the second time I've made it.

Boy, do I love making this dress.  It's just so fun to put together.  The pattern works well and the sizing is perfect for me.

Here it is in a two way stretch woven I got from my friend Sharon.  I love those DOL giveaways.  One person is over it and another person is all over it...if you know what I mean.

This is a grey, slightly nubby stretch woven with shots of black and white.  Very versatile, and by that I mean when I spill something on it, which I will do, it won't show.

In my climate I can wear this garment all year.  I will always wear it with a pair of leggings.  Shorter ones in the summer, longer in the fall.

For the winter I'll pull another layer over it, maybe a short fleece vest.  I could also wear it with thicker tights in the winter.

Whatever I do, I'll use this as a canvas to highlight colorful jewelry, scarves, leggings and shoes.  Plus, it doesn't wrinkle...Sharon, what were you thinking?

This dress can look deceptively simple in one color that is dark.  But when you put it on the shape comes to life and really looks good.

Try it!

Oh, one detail.  There are two places, one in front and one in back, that require you to join the pieces in a "v" or angle.  I adhered a bit of tricot fusible interfacing to stabilize the join.  Especially in the front there seems to be so much weight on that join it may pull out in the future.  We'll see how this works.

In the meantime, I think I'll wear it to a meeting tonight!

Back to Black and Gray!

I have to get the taste of my last blog post out of my mouth.  And what better way to do it than with more black and gray!

This is a self drafted pattern from a RTW garment that my friend Sharon bought in Ashland.  It's fairly straightforward.  The original was in a lightweight puffy woven but my first attempt was with several striped knit remnants.   I forgot to take pics of the back but it's yet another stripe.

The armholes were a bit deep and baggy for me so I recut the upper bodice and sleeve parts of the pattern for a tighter fit.

I made it again in this heavy weight heather gray knit.  It's not hugely exciting but will be a workhorse in my wardrobe.  I love the large godet that wraps around to make a side front and back seam.  It makes the tight fitting bodice widen to a flattering drape at the hem.  I'm really happy with this pattern.  And it had to have pockets.  The original only had one.  I've never understood that.  What's the use of ONE pocket??

This will be a TNT for sure.


And here you see a big heap of the muslin I'm working on for my French jacket.  I'm almost done assembling it.  Pal Jenny is coming over Friday to help me with the second fitting.  With these jackets it's all in the fitting.  It has to fit like a glove yet give you room to breath.

More on this in the future...it's a long term project, worked in-between others.

Perfection VS. Life As We Know It

I'm the first one to tell you that my sewing is not perfect.  I love the process and always...well almost always...try to do my best to make a garment look as good inside as out.

But I almost never achieve that.  I call myself a recovering perfectionist since in my professional life I have been tireless in getting things right.  But the truth is I've never been able to knit or sew with any consistent accuracy.  I've knit dozens of socks.  Not once have any two socks in a pair matched, even if I knit them at the same time!  Same goes for sleeve lengths.

Don't think I'm complaining, I'm just explaining that I know my limits.  I work on improving, I do.  Right now I'm hand stitching an Alabama Chanin wrap that is really challenging my hand sewing skills.  It's good for me.

And I'm slowly working on that French jacket pattern.  I have the muslin seam lines trace-stitched and am beginning to pin the pieces together.  Slow sewing, precise sewing...my new mantra.

And...I'm having a blast.  Love challenge.

That's the intro to showing you two things I'm not so happy with.  I told you a while back I'd show you an epic fail and here it is.   This is a Tina Givens Luella Top.  You might want to put on sunglasses lest it pokes your eyes out with the color!

On a recent trip to Nashville I ran across a wonderful fabric store,  Textile Fabrics.  Huge selection, wonderful fabrics and a super friendly/helpful staff.  As you may know, I love black and gray.  But I've been trying to branch out when possible and I thought a summer top would be the perfect opportunity.

So of course I picked this melon-pink number.  It's NOT as bright as it looks in these pictures but let me tell you, it's a lot of pink!

I tried this pattern once before with a heavy tan and black stripe.  It was too small and the bodice was not flattering on me.

But I thought it was the fabric and size I had chosen.  Oh, will I ever learn?

I got this one made and the same thing happened.  The v-neck area just looked horrible on me.  So, I began making tucks/darts vertically down the front starting at the shoulder and neck.

That brought it in nicely but left little puckers I just couldn't live with.  So I went to bed asking the sewing goddess to give me a solution.  And she did.  She said, "Make a fabric necklace to cover the puckers and sew it right onto the bodice!"

I listened to her and here's what it looks like.  I think it's made for the young me who was free-wheeling in San Francisco in the early 70's.  I might audition it with white gauze capris one hot summer day (who am I kidding, I live on the central coast of California and we really don't have those) or it might just never get worn.

The neckline jewelry technique was fun to make.  I think it's worth exploring again.  I made a template of the design, cut it out and backed it with a lightweight fusible.  I then stitched it on with Pearl Cotton.


And I'll throw in a little boo-boo lagniappe, just because I'm so nice!  Here you see a pair of slippers I learned how to make from Gwen Spencer (love that gal!) at the DOL Ashland retreat a week ago.  I was laid low by a knee injury during the retreat so never got the chance to go through the pattern with her at the time.

So when I got home it was the first thing I tackled.  I had to check in with Lisa Ford, my DOL travel pal, to ask a couple of questions but they are pretty simple to make.

I love them but for one thing.  It's the old sock problem.  You'll notice how I took the picture so that the bottoms are cut off?  That's because one is too big and the other too small!  I did it again!  I'm hopeless.  But I do love them and will wear them after fixing the one that is too long...can't do anything about the one that is too short!

They are made from the same painted canvas I make my purses from.  A bit of tan and black stripe stitched on for contrast...oh yeah, it's the SAME fabric I used on the first Tina Givens top!

I like how that brings the story back to it's beginning!

I'll soldier on, trying to slow down my process so as to get it right more often.  But in the meantime I'm going to continue to have a blast sewing.

Dress For Summer

I'm getting ready for DOL Ashland.  It starts with a road trip from my Central Coast of California home.  I pick up Lisa here in Santa Cruz,  head up Highway 101 to pick up Helen in Ukiah, over the mountains onto Highway 5 to pick up Annie and then on to Ashland.

The excitement starts building about a week before.  Deciding what to bring, what not to bring I should say.  Every retreat I vow to bring less.  And I'm getting better each time.  This time, with four of us in the car I'll have to tow the line.  Confession, I bought a roof rack for the car!  Just in case!

One of the fun preparations for these clothing design retreats is deciding what to wear.  It's fun to dress for women you know will appreciate it.

I've had time to do a bit of sewing these last two weeks.  Here's Marcy Tilton's new dress pattern I tried in a trio of knits I bought from her at another retreat.  These trios are such a great idea.  I just pick up the package from my stash and it's ready to go.

Sorry, these pics aren't better, I think I need to finally bite the bullet and actually get a camera instead of using my IPhone.

This is made from a white and brown stripped knit in front, one of the trio from Marcy.   The pockets are a burnout knit I got from a sewing pal and the sleeves are a sheer patterned knit that was in the trio.

I made a pair of leggings out of the sheer sleeve fabric and wore them with it.  I'm just not feelin' that great about totally bare legs these days, u-hum, if you know what I mean.  Leggings feel like a security blanket!

The back is from the last of the trio of knits.  It's a puckered lightweight knit, not the easiest fabric to work on.  I did a fairly good job of matching the stripes on the horizontal but the angular strips really suck.  But, hey, that's ok, they're in the back and I can't see them!  You can see a bit of the burnout used on the diagonal bottom piece.

I know I say this frequently but I'm really not a good technical sewist.  I'm not fishing for compliments here, I know my limits.  I'm getting better, slowly.  Stripes are something I haven't tackled a lot.  My strong point in sewing is diving into projects with abandon and not worrying about the perfection, just having fun.  And that's big, I think.  It's really why I sew; to be creative and have fun!

I do love this pattern.  It's like a puzzle but so easy to figure out.  It all went together well.  The final step is bringing the pocket bottoms and hem together to form the draping you see in the first photo.  I like it but you can leave it out.

I will be making this dress again, soon!  Very wearable and flattering.  I finished it last Sunday afternoon, wore it to a party where I got lots of compliments.


Here's my new pincushion that I am mad about.  My friend Suzanne made it for me after I coveted the one she made for herself.  What a sweetheart, eh?  I can't tell you how much I love this.  There's something about the colors and texture that brings joy to my heart every time I lay my eyes on it.  It's filled with crushed walnut shells that make for a very good feel when you push a pin into it.

It's going to Ashland!

That's all for now, I'll report on DOL upon my return.

ps, the epic fail is on it's way.  It's just more fun to show stuff I like!

Summer Sewing

I'm back in the sewing room after a few weeks of meandering through life's little diversions.  It feels good to make some useful garments and use pieces in my stash.

This first piece is made from one of Marcy Tilton's trios I picked up at a DOL retreat.  I love the way she puts three color coordinated knits together and makes it so easy.  I've used them in tunics and dresses with great success.

This trio is in one of my favorite colors...green!  Acid green to be specific.  A very fun tunic from a great designer, Katherine Tilton.  She's now designing for Butterick.  I've made this three times and wear them constantly.

This time I didn't sew a hem, just left the bottom raw.  Even the double thickness pocket is raw which gave it a great detail, showing both fabrics at the bottom.

I find that the neckband is the trickiest part of knit tops.  Every knit is so different.  The trick is to play with it and don't be too impatient.  I sometimes audition 4 or 5 ways to apply the neckband.  There are so many methods.  Maybe I'll do a blog tutorial on the different ones someday...when I get it together!

This neckband was applied after one shoulder seam was sewn but before the second shoulder seam was sewn.  Sometimes this looks good and other times that seam just bothers me.  In this stripe knit it was somewhat concealed so I went with it.

Here's another tunic from a Marcy fabric that I picked up while visiting her shop (open to the public by appointment.   Keep in mind it is not easy to get there but worth it!).  It's a hanky weight jersey sewn in a self drafted pattern from a friend's RTW garment.

This is the second one I've made.  The first one was so successful I plan to make many.

That's all for now.  But I have two other blogs coming up.  One on an epic fail and one on Marcy's new dress pattern that I love, love, love!

Soon!

Fun New Vest (yes, another vest)

Sorry it's been so long, sometimes getting into the sewing studio is just not in the cards.  Seems I've been doing some sewing lately but it's mostly hats for sale and working on future patterns.

One exciting thing I'm working on is a long range project.  I've decided to do a French jacket after the designer who's name shall not be spoken.  I was drawn into the idea by Patty Van Dorin in her Rambling Rose blog entitled French Punk.  She made the cutest patchwork French jacket that hooked me in one second.  You should follow her blog, it's terrific!

Making these jackets is a commitment because you have to fit the pattern, make a muslin, fit the muslin then make the jacket.  They say it's about 70+ hours.  Fine with me.  I'll just do it over several months.  I"m not really interested in doing a jacket like the originals, very formal and not suited to me or my lifestyle.  I am, however, very excited about building fabric from treasured scraps.  I've done the tissue fitting and will cut the muslin today.  I'll keep you posted.

I've also made a couple simple tunics from my existing pattern stock.  I'll take photos today and show you soon.  

Here you see a vest, like so many others, the pattern for which I got from a DOL sister.  It's a self drafted pattern so I'm sorry, it's not available, she isn't a pattern designer, per se.  This is my first attempt at the pattern.  Next time I'll make it a bit longer and give it more shaping at the waist.  I'll also work on matching the exposed seams at the side seams.  Love the exposed seams, I'd like to find some acid washed sweatshirt fabric to use next time.  Anyone have a source for that?

This version is made from a Marcy Tilton double sided heavy French terry, sort of a sweatshirt knit.  It's soft, very comfy and I wear it a lot over tunics.