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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
I have two embroidery machines, a 6-needle and a single-needle. The 6-needle is great for production work. But the single-needle is not as efficient for repetitive embroidery. It is, however, excellent for making in-the-hoop projects. An in-the-hoop project is a project created on an embroidery machine which yields something other than fabric embellishments. For example, you can make small stuffed animals, luggage tags, small bags, door knob hangers, and many other things. My favorite resource for in-the-hoop projects is Embroidery Garden. Continue reading “In-the-Hoop Fun: Owl Sewing Kit”
I often have no idea what needle is in my sewing machine. Sometimes I stick a note on my machine to remind me. Sometimes I leave the needle case that it came from sitting next to my machine. Sometimes I tuck the needle case behind a rubber band around the neck of my machine. Sometimes I entirely forget. Continue reading “Sewing Needle Identification”
My husband and I survived the September 2013 flooding in Colorado without any property damage, but suffered a water line break last night (Feb 8) in our storage unit as we went from freezing temperatures for two days to a relatively warm 40 degrees. Some of our boxes were wet and we brought them home to unpack and dry out. One of these boxes was labeled “Chickens” and lo I rediscovered this “Clucky Chicken” I made a few years ago. Continue reading “Clucky Chicken”
Ever since I saw my friend Jane parading down the runway at the Rocky Mountain Sewing Expo in a pair of “Laurie’s Pants” from Silhouette Patterns, I’ve been thinking about making a pair for myself. Jane said the pants were comfortable. And for me, they just looked fun. But I wasn’t sure that all that swishy fabric would look good on me. Curiosity overwhelmed and I finally bought the pattern. Continue reading “Silhouettes Patterns – Laurie’s Pants”
I have a RTW (ready-to-wear) top that I found at a thrift store that I have always loved – it is a V-neck ruched top that is snug fitting and comfy. It is the one on the left in the collage and the tag says “j.t.b. petite”. I have always wished I had more of these tops so I was pleased to find a similar pattern by Kwik Sew.
Continue reading “Kwik Sew 3915 – Ruched Neck Tops”
After having made two Kwik Sew 3891 Batwing tops that I *love*, I remembered that I made this batwing-like top over the summer, hoping to look like the lovely lady on the pattern envelope, casually posing with her bicycle.
Hancock Fabrics recently had one of their 99c pattern sales for at least one of the big 4 companies. They also had a sale on Kwik Sew patterns. I always give Kwik Sew patterns a look – they seem to have a lot of nice looking basic, functional patterns for wardrobe building. I was perusing the catalogs looking for a nice basic skirt pattern for my daughter, whose next cosplay outfit is going to be Jade Harley wearing God Tier. She’s from something called HomeStuck. Continue reading “My Favorite Pattern-of-the-Week: A Batwing Top”
I’ve been making dresses all summer long – mostly sleeveless ones from stretchy polyester fabrics. I love wearing dresses! They’re comfortable and cool. I think men are definitely missing out in the comfort department.
But it always seems to me that as soon as September rolls around, it starts getting cold mighty fast. Then I usually abandon my bright-colored floral dresses for darker colored pants. But my waistline seems to “improve” each year, making it harder and harder to fit into the small selection of pants that I purchased in 2007. Thankfully I’ve been slowly adding stretchy yoga-type pants to my wardrobe. Continue reading “Seeking a Winter Dress – Kwik Sew 4026”
My daughter attended Nan Desu Kan 2013 last September. 2012 was the first year she attended but this year she wanted to go in costume! One of her favorite anime shows is “Attack on Titan” and she wanted to attend as one of the soldiers:
I nearly had a heart attack! She would need a custom made shirt, jacket (with embroidered patches), strapping, and a “skirt”. Thankfully I knew I could buy the pants and the boots. And I would need to complete all of this in about a month. Continue reading ““Attack on Titan” – A Cosplay Jacket and Shirt”
This freebie pattern from Tessuti Fabrics was highly praised by Jill, who made her own in a lovely grey/silver fabric. At our last meetup, we were discussing whether or not this particular top would look good on all of us. Jamie tried it on and though I missed actually seeing her in it, I heard that everyone said she looked great in it.
It took a little while for me to come around, but I finally decided to give it a go. The pattern is free, after all, and I did have some appropriate purple stripey fabric just waiting to be used. Continue reading “Tessuti Fave Top – The Stripey One”
If you own and use a sewing machine, likely you do so in isolation, in the comfort of your sewing room, bedroom, closet or dining room. We have our machines set up just so, our notions and fabric stashes in handy locations, or not. The idea of sewing with others is often a foreign one. If your machine is heavy, there’s some reluctance to try … Continue reading Welcome to Denver Sews!
Denver Sewing Collective 