Puget Sound Sewing & Craft

Sewing for Expansion Room

Here's a challenge I've been working on this week.  A friend and mentor found this beautiful, very sheer and lightweight Asian-style chiffon shirtjacket at a consignment store.  It fit her well in the shoulders and bust, but was a little snugger in the abdomen and hip area than was flattering with the jacket buttoned.  Normally, you might say 'just leave it unbuttoned" but the style of the shirtjacket is such that it really is meant to be worn buttoned and looks a little odd if left open.

So that was the challenge:  to create expansion room for flattery and movement, without making it obvious that the blouse had been altered.  Thankfully, the blouse already had short contrast sleeves so it was easier to introduce more solid black chiffon without it being obviously different.

In evaluating this blouse, I considered various options.  The least disruptive option appeared to be altering the side seams.  I didn't want to simply open the seam and have slit sides.  To me, that would be more obvious and would look more like an alteration than an intended 'design detail'.  I didn't want to add body, so that eliminated a ruffle.  And adding a gusset would have meant changing the set-in sleeve.

Finally, I decided to create an inverted pleat.  The pleat is 2" deep at the top, tapering to 4" deep at the bottom.  That gives quite a bit of 'wiggle room'.  Which is very important when working with a very drapey fabric like this lightweight chiffon.  The less body your fabric has, the more wearing ease it needs to have in order to hang on the body properly. 

I can't say this was much fun as a project, for a number of reasons.  Firstly, the entire blouse is constructed with French seams, which meant that not only did I have to take each seam out twice, but I ended up taking both sleeves off and putting them back on.  Restitching French seams means not only do you have a tiny seam allowance to work with in the first pass, but you must still retrim the seam to eliminate 'hairs' before stitching the second seam in the process.  Secondly, I prefer to stabilize shifty silks prior to working with them.  I couldn't use stabilizer on this chiffon because I can't wash it; it's not my blouse and I can't risk shrinkage or color alteration.  As many times as it has likely been drycleaned, it's difficult to say what would happen. Thirdly, I really dislike doing alterations - but this was an interesting challenge and I wanted to make a pattern from this garment, as I like its design.

Would you have done something differently?  I'd love to hear your opinion.  I'll be rehemming the altered section tomorrow and relieved to be done! 

The Wonders of Pacific Northwest Quiltfest

I was honored to be in charge of our recent Pacific Northwest Quiltfest booth. I love working at shows, but this show was really special to me. As a quilter, I find inspiration in many unlikely places, but there is nothing more amazing than seeing what other quilters do with their inspirations!

If you have never gone to/heard of Quiltfest, it is a juried show put on by the Association of Pacific Northwest Quilters (APNQ) biannually since 1994. There are vendors and workshops, but the focus is on the spectacular display of over 300 gorgeous quilts judged to be the best in the region. There are many categories, from traditional to innovative to wearable, and as an attendee, you are treated to an amazing breadth of styles, techniques and subjects. It is a show that is not only enjoyable to quilters – my mother, who hasn’t a quilting bone in her body, spent a very satisfying Saturday afternoon taking in the incredible pieces of art on display. She reported feeling frequently breathless at the beauty and power of the quilts on display.

One quilt that particularly affected my mother was Kathy McNeil’s “Last Dance in the Arctic.” McNeil’s mother polar bear clings to her melting cub, her pleading eyes following you like the Mona Lisa’s, but there is no mysterious smile at her lips – this is an expression in fabric of the dangers facing her environment as the glaciers melt. My mother is a passionate environmentalist, and reported to me that I must go look at it – when I did, my eyes welled up just as hers had. The quilt was more than an appeal to sentiment, though: the technical work was stunning, layers and scraps of fabric creating texture and atmosphere so real you would swear the quilt would be icy to the touch.

Another stunner, which I believe won first prize for the “Group” category, was “The Three Sisters” by Gail
Thomas, Annette Hendricks and Helen Godden – three women who worked collaboratively on this incredible self-portrait. They live in Canada, the US and Australia, and sent the quilt back and forth from country to country, to create a colorful expression of who they are as artists, friends and spirits. Again, the threadwork and fabric choices were magnificent.

The Best In Show winner, “Poppy Soliloquy” by Sandra Frieze Leichner, was a lovely thing to look at from a distance, but it’s true wonders were only revealed upon closer inspection – the incredible depth of the leaves, the trapunto pop of the clouds, and the incredible hand-embroidered details of the poppy blossoms were just fascinating to see. I loved this piece, and deeply admired the technique and artistry, although with the amazing overall quality, I did wonder how they were able to select a “best” in such a stunning show.

While the main focus of the show was the amazing work of local artists, it also featured several special exhibits, such as a selection of quilts from South Africa and an exhibit focused on small quilts inspired by currency. Sharon Yenter of In the Beginning had an exhibition of her collection of antique quilts. These elderly beauties reminded me of the classic role of quilting in the lives of the (mostly)women who made them. I loved this Dresden Plate – each square was embroidered with the signature of the woman who had
contributed it.

Quiltfest cannot be explained to be appreciated – pictures cannot do the quilts justice. For those of you who went – what was your favorite? For those of you who didn’t – better start planning for 2010!

- Anna-Beth

Hem Templates Make Hemming Quick and Easy

Anyone who has used a pattern by The Sewing Workshop (Linda Lee) is likely familiar with the concept of tag board hem templates.  Louise Cutting also uses them in the new Industry Insider Techniques DVD from Taunton Press.  These are simply strips of heavy paper (tag board) cut to specific widths to make measuring and pressing hem depth a very quick process.

What you'll need:  a manila folder, standard size; ruler, marker and scissors or a cutting mat and rotary cutter.

First, I trimmed off the 'fold' creases near the bottom of the folder.  I don't want to accidentally incorporate any lumps in my hem.

Next, I simply cut the strips into various widths; whatever I thought I might use when hemming.  Be sure to mark each strip with its exact width.  Use a marker that won't come off on your fabrics (you will be using these in your hem fold while you are pressing) or else use a pencil.  If you want to hang yours on a peg board, a hole punched in the end would also be a good idea.

I was able to cut templates for 1" - 2.5" in 1/4 inch increments, with a couple of 1/8" increments as well from just one folder.  I could have made more if I had cut them in the vertical direction instead of horizontal, but I'll cut more if I need them, and I wanted a longer template.  The tagboard from the folders should hold up well with typical use. 

How to use - of course you can simply insert the template into the hem crease, aligning edges, to make sure that the hem is pressed to the correct depth.  But you can also use the templates to turn under the raw edge and hem in two steps.  For example: let's say you wanted a 1 1/4" hem (finished depth), with about 1/4" raw edge turned under.  You would use the 1 5/8" hem template first to set the actual hem crease.  Once you had that crease, you would align the 1 1/4" template with the hem crease you'd created.  Then you would press the raw edge toward the crease.  Voila - you have a 1 1/4" hem, with 1/4" turned under.  If you're like me, you might be scratching your head a bit at the math - wouldn't I use a 1 1/2" template first?  No, you would use the 1 5/8", because that extra 1/8" will be taken up by the 'turn of the cloth".  Does that make sense?

I do have my 'old faithful' Dritz EZ-Hem tool as well.  I hate spending hours at the ironing board with a seam gauge just inching along.  I like the templates better because they are thinner, and don't get hot like my EZ-Hem tool.

--Katrina

Project Runway's Jillian Lewis at Brother Convention

Earlier this month I was in Las Vegas at the Brother Convention. It was super fun to see the new products and the unveiling of the new top-of-the-line sewing, quilting, embroidery and crafting machine, the Brother Quattro 6000D - creativity times four. The machine is absolutely amazing - with more features than I could have dreamed up. Some of my favorite new features are the InnovEye built in positioning camera, runway lighting, jumbo embroidery frame - 12" x 8", super wide angle HD LCD screen and the new larger workspace is truly magnificent. There are 100 new features on this machine - WOW is all I can say. For a sneak peek of this new machine in person be sure to attend one of Quality Sewing's New Product and Brother 6000D Unveiling Parties later this week.

If the excitement of this new machine was not enough - the keynote speaker was Jillian Lewis from Project Runway Season 4. She was one of the 3 finalists and really one of my favorites. She spoke to us about her love of sewing, designing and Brother sewing machines. She got her first sewing machine, a Brother Pacesetter,  from her local dealer when she was 15. This was the same machine she used all through design school and even to sew her entire collection for the Project Runway final show at Bryant Park. Brother gave her a new Quattro 6000D and she created the dress she is wearing in the photo on the right. The dress is covered with a beautiful floral embroidery designs on fabric that she hand dyed. (And yes, that is me with Jillian - so fun to meet her!)  The thing that really struck me about Jillian was how genuine her love of creating and designing is.

To find out what Jillian is up to now - check out her website at www.jillianlewisny.com.

Last week I was so busy I didn't get a chance to see what happened on Project Runway. I have it recorded and hope to watch it tonight before the show tomorrow! What happened? Who can fill me in? The week before was pretty fun with the Olympics tie in. I felt like most of their designs needed to be a little bit more sporty and less fashion - particularly since what looks good on a rail thin model, probably doesn't flatter an athlete. I did like Korto's design, it seemed to be a nice mix of sporty fashion with the vest and fun pants. I think that I would have liked Terri's design better if I had seen the tube-top. She does get super props for creating so many pieces, making it pretty versatile. Let me know how you feel about season 5 so far - does anyone have a favorite designer yet?

-Carmen
carmen@qualitysewing.com

So Nice to Meet You

Before I joined the buying team at Pacific Fabrics, I loved working in the store at Northgate, and while I don’t want to give up my exciting new job picking fabrics and patterns for all the stores, I do miss the constant delight of meeting crafty folks every day at work. Luckily, one of my new duties is to manage many of our events – which means working at them, and getting great opportunities to meet you good folks.

In July, I got to play “Anna-Elf” at our Christmas in July event – our Demo Queen, Chris “Claus,” and I went to all six of our stores and showed a fabulous trunk show to hundreds of our customers. I confess, I went into this with a little dread – so much preparation, so much travel, and so little sleep! But you all were just wonderful – I spent lots of time in cheery conversations about everything from quilting and crocheting, to odd topics like animal rescue and cooking (I haven’t forgotten, sweet Northgate lady – I will get my crab cake recipe written up and posted!)

Last Thursday was Stitch ‘n Pitch Night at Safeco Field. I had so much fun working at our booth – I was at the Learn-to-Crochet Table in the Pacific Fabrics & Crafts Amigurumi Fun Zone. I don’t seem to be a gifted crochet teacher, but luckily I had the vivacious Pat (from our Everett store) there, who teaches well, and I got to meet everyone and watch with pride as they posed for pictures with the giant octopus I crocheted. I even had the thrill of having a customer from the Puyallup store recognize me as “Anna-Elf!”

The very next day was the opening of our APNQ
Quiltfest booth, which I worked at all three days. It was such an exciting show! I will write about the quilts on display next week (I’ll just tell you, they were sometimes gorgeous, sometimes provoking, often jaw-dropping -where do these people find the time? - but all inspiring.) I spent most of my time in our booth, helping customers from all over Washington, the US, Canada, and even one friendly lady from Norway, who was delighted to find a Heather Ross print she was having trouble finding. If you were there, let me just say again, thank you. You were all so interesting and kind.

There’s just something about the crafty set – we are imaginative, positive, unique and generous. I find these to be frequently shared qualities as I interact with our customers and employees. It’s such a treat to meet others who share my interest in handmade items, and my desire for a world made beautiful through art and craft.

I’m not trying to rub it in – I know that not everyone can have a crafty job, and you sure can’t have mine, because I’m too happy here! But I would like you all to remember, that there are so many ways to find your crafty community. Come to these wonderful events – sure, you will get a chance to shop, but even better, you get to meet others who are interested in your passions. Attend classes – expand your skills and bond with your classmates. Join guilds, groups and clubs, finding a community you can share our skills and experiences with. I’m really looking forward to PacFab’s Knit A Long – two of my friends are joining with me, and we are excited to become better knitters and better friends and I’d love to get to know you there, too!

- Anna-Beth