J is for Jalie 2682

For my 10th Sew All 26 160 project “J”, I chose to sew a Jalie pattern. Jalie is a Mother-Daughter owned company based near Quebec City, Canada. Their patterns are very body conscious and true to size. Jalie patterns are fit on people instead of mannequins, and perhaps that’s why Jalie fits “real” people so well. (Or it could be because the company originally made swimwear patterns). Jalie designs their patterns to be sewn on home sewing rather than industrial machines, and refines their instructions to be as simple as possible. Continue reading “J is for Jalie 2682”

katboulderMarch 29, 2014March 29, 20146 Comments

Tips & Tricks

How I Catalog All My Patterns

Okay so sometimes I get a little carried away with “organizing stuff”. Participating in a sewing blog has given me incentive to organize my patterns or at least inventory them. I have often times found myself at a fabric store wishing I knew how much fabric I needed for some fantasy project. I usually end up buying way too much and now have a rather large collection of “big pieces” in my stash. Continue reading “How I Catalog All My Patterns”

lynnenewMarch 28, 2014March 5, 20148 Comments

History

Vogue Covers – Then & Now: It’s not about art anymore

If you haven’t heard Kim Kardashian made it on to the cover of Vogue magazine April issue (with Kanye right behind her). The cover has generated more negative comments then one can shake a tube of lipstick at. (Full disclosure, I’m not a fan of any of the Kardashians, nor of reality television. ) The photo spread was done by Annie Leibovitz but her signature … Continue reading Vogue Covers – Then & Now: It’s not about art anymore

JillyMarch 26, 2014March 22, 20145 Comments

Finished Projects, Reviews

Burda 7207 Beach Dress

The Facts

Pattern:

Burda 7207, view B LH. A wrap style Beach Dress with flounce

Continue reading “Burda 7207 Beach Dress”

JaneMarch 25, 2014March 24, 20144 Comments

Reviews

Burda April Review (International Edition)

I thought this month’s issue of Burda was stellar. The features were varied enough that there were styles for everyone, and most of the looks were fairly original patterns I haven’t seen before. Let’s dive right in! My favorite pattern this month is this dress below with the crossover front bands. The fabric listed for the photo is a jacquard, and I think finding a fabric that looks slightly different at different angles is key to being able to see the front bands. I’m considering for myself whether it would work in a suede. Another option might be stripe or some directional print. Hmm, a ponte stripe sounds great too… do I need two of these dresses? I should also mention that this is a petite/short pattern. (Yay for me.) Continue reading “Burda April Review (International Edition)”

JamieDSCMarch 24, 2014March 23, 20144 Comments

Finished Projects, Reviews

Craftsy Sew Better, Sew Faster Review – I is for Islander

Island Jacket Collage Watermarked
This jacket is from Islander Sewing Systems and it’s my Sew All 26 160 “I” project. The pattern is Jacket Express #218 and it was designed by Janet Pray. There’s also a great craftsy class on the construction of this jacket called “Sew Better, Sew Faster: Garment Industry Secrets with Janet Pray”. You can order the jacket pattern here for $22.95 plus shipping, but if you wait for a craftsy class sale you might be able to get the deal I got: the pattern (including shipping) and the craftsy class for only $19.99. A super deal IMO! Continue reading “Craftsy Sew Better, Sew Faster Review – I is for Islander”

katboulderMarch 23, 2014March 20, 201413 Comments

History

Born on this day – William Travilla Costume Designer

William Travilla, known simply Travilla was born on March 22, 1920. Multiple Oscar and Emmy nominee and one time Academy Award winner for the Adventures of Don Juan. Travilla is probably best known for dressing Marilyn Monroe. He designed the iconic white dress in Seven Year Itch as well as the costumes for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How To Marry A Millionaire.(For a fascinating look … Continue reading Born on this day – William Travilla Costume Designer

JillyMarch 22, 2014March 22, 20141 Comment

Tips & Tricks

How To Machine Embroider Logos for Corporate Gear

Once a year I get asked to embroider my company’s corporate logo onto some garments for the Christmas party. Every year I have to reteach myself how to do it! So I’ll give you a quick run down of how I do it. The process I use can be used for any sort of machine embroidery. Continue reading “How To Machine Embroider Logos for Corporate Gear”

lynnenewMarch 21, 2014March 5, 20144 Comments

Junk Drawer

March Cape Sew-Along

At the Denver Sewing Collective’s March Meetup I announced a Cape Sew-Along. There were 3 of us who started to make capes, Karin, Jane and myself. There were a few others who couldn’t make it but we can sew-along for as long as needed. A few notes so far. I got my pattern from Etsy seller Spindesign and really loved the look of it. I … Continue reading March Cape Sew-Along

JillyMarch 19, 2014March 18, 20145 Comments

Junk Drawer

Upcoming Projects

I have two dresses in progress and about half-a-dozen cut out, ready to sew.

Continue reading “Upcoming Projects”

JaneMarch 18, 2014March 18, 20144 Comments

Junk Drawer

Ziggi Moto Jacket – The Plan

I’ve been trying to gather the courage to make the Ziggi Moto Jacket by StyleArc for a couple months now. The pattern is just my style but… there are SO MANY PIECES. There are 23 (!) pattern pieces, most of which you are cutting 2 of. Basically there are about 50 pieces to sew together. I had fabric set aside that I bought at Colorado Fabrics at the end of last year, I cut the pattern out in February, and then… it just sat there. Until a couple weeks ago when I found out that Sew Maris is doing a Ziggi Jacket sew-along, which was just the spark I needed to get off my butt and just do it. As an aside, I don’t do many sew-alongs because they are mostly targeted towards beginners, so I am so happy that someone is doing a sew-along involving some more advanced techniques. I really need help putting those pocket and sleeve zippers in! Continue reading “Ziggi Moto Jacket – The Plan”

JamieDSCMarch 17, 2014March 17, 20146 Comments

Finished Projects

H is for Hibiscus Patterns

H Project Collage Watermarked

For my 8th Sew All 26 160 post, the letter “H”, I chose this Hibiscus Pattern. Hibiscus Pattern Envelope I bought this 1998 pattern for 50 cents at a thrift shop recently. Hibiscus could be a prototype for all the independent sewing pattern companies we are blessed with now. But as far as I can discern Hibiscus Patterns are no longer produced, which is a shame. The pattern is timeless, very nicely drafted, has great instructions, and fits extremely well. Continue reading “H is for Hibiscus Patterns”

katboulderMarch 16, 2014March 14, 201416 Comments

Finished Projects, Reviews, Tips & Tricks

Two Zip Hipster and eClutch Pattern Reviews

I recently made two bags, both of which I like very much. One is the Two Zip Hipster from Erin Erickson (Dog Under My Desk) and the other is the eClutch iPad pouch from Schoolhouse Patterns. Continue reading “Two Zip Hipster and eClutch Pattern Reviews”

lynnenewMarch 15, 2014March 14, 20146 Comments

Denver

New York Designer Fabrics at Colorado Fabrics

Thursday night Colorado Fabrics had an exclusive after-hours event to debut the fabrics they acquired from designer workrooms on a recent trip to New York. I couldn’t believe how much fabric they added to the store! There were new racks up front full of bolts, bolts piled up on tables, and half the cutting tables were sacrificed for more bolts of fabrics. SO MUCH FABRIC. And all of it from the workrooms of big name designers (whose names I don’t think I’m supposed to mention). My favorite were the two racks of silks, shown above. There were lots of gorgeous prints and weaves. Everywhere in the store I found rare fabrics that you just don’t see much of. To the right is a “silk gaberdine” – I’ve heard of wool gaberdine, but never silk! Some of the fabrics had lots of yardage on the bolt, and some only had a few yards. They said if it was fabulous they bought it, regardless of the yardage. Continue reading “New York Designer Fabrics at Colorado Fabrics”

JamieDSCMarch 14, 2014March 14, 201412 Comments

Finished Projects

Sewing the perfect T-shirt = A surprising amount of work

I am working on the perfect t-shirt. One that fits like a glove. Ultimately I want to use a cotton blend fabric with modal that is somewhat sustain-ably made if possible. My goal is to make all my t-shirts from here on out and build on this must have Wardrobe Basic. Continue reading “Sewing the perfect T-shirt = A surprising amount of work”

JillyMarch 12, 2014March 12, 201411 Comments

Reviews

Burda March 2014 Review

It’s hard for me to review the March 2014 issue of Burda because there is so much crazy WTF in it that it’s all I can focus on when I’m flipping through it. However I do greatly prefer weird to boring, and since I’m afraid hurting Burda’s feelings might lead to a regression to the rectangle based patterns of this summer, I’m going to try and focus on the positive. The best part of this issue is that they chose a pair of jeans for the “sewing lesson for beginners” feature. That means four glorious pages of color diagrams on how stitch pockets, insert a fly front zipper, and attach the waistband. Useful! Continue reading “Burda March 2014 Review”

JamieDSCMarch 10, 2014March 10, 201412 Comments

Finished Projects

G is for Grainline Studio: How to Use A Scarf as The Scout Tee

G Collage watermarked

For my 7th Sew All 26 160 project, “G”, I chose a pattern from Grainline Studio, the Scout Woven Tee. This pattern is available as a download, which was a big plus for me. I intended my G project to be the Go Patterns Sleeveless Dress, but the Go dress proved to be more involved than I expected and I needed to find another G project fast! It probably didn’t help that I sewed my G, H, and I projects in reverse order, giving me the least amount of time to complete the project I’d be posting first. Hmmm, whose dumb idea was that? Continue reading “G is for Grainline Studio: How to Use A Scarf as The Scout Tee”

katboulderMarch 8, 2014September 11, 201412 Comments

Tips & Tricks

How to Sew with Foundation Piecing: Paper vs Freezer Paper

I learned how to paper piece many years ago from Carol Doak’s 1997 classic “Show Me How to Paper Piece”. It was, at the time, seemingly a lot of work and I particularly hated pulling off all of the bits of paper from the back of the finished product. I put away paper piecing and swore I would never do it again. Continue reading “How to Sew with Foundation Piecing: Paper vs Freezer Paper”

lynnenewMarch 7, 2014March 5, 20148 Comments

Reviews

“Seams Unlikely” and Nancy Zieman

I just finished reading this autobiography written by Nancy Zieman. It was excellent! If you sew, you probably know Nancy Zieman as she is well known for her television show “Sewing with Nancy” and for Nancy’s Notions. Continue reading ““Seams Unlikely” and Nancy Zieman”

lynnenewMarch 4, 20143 Comments

Reviews

Burda Plus Spring/Summer 2014

I received the March issue of Burda Style and the Spring/Summer issue of Burda Plus in the mail on the same day and decided to pick the better of the two magazines to review first. Sorry “regular size” ladies… Burda Plus is where it’s at this month! First up, can we talk about that sheath dress on the cover? Perfection. I don’t remember if they’ve always done this, but a few of the patterns in this issue are petite plus size which means zero alterations for me personally. This dress is going straight to the top of my make list. Continue reading “Burda Plus Spring/Summer 2014”