Find out what is new with the Sewing Workshop patterns. Marilyn Carter will be in the store showing what is new and exciting with this indie pattern line. Try on Marlyn’s samples for style and size and find out her sewing tips and tricks for each garment. Sunday, 10 September 2017 at 11:30am. Free event!
Busy Like A Bee
Well, I’ve had a busy couple months.
July last year, my youngest sister announced she was going to get married (end of August 2017) so of course I had to make my garment for the wedding. In England. At Moor Park Mansion. Lots of time! But it’s surprising how quickly months pass before there is just 3 1/2 months left before flying outta here.
I decided to make an old favorite, New Look 6184, out of some printed linen we had in the store during the spring.
I had made this dress a couple times before out of some printed stretch cotton and received many compliments so I figured I had this thing nailed. As with my previous dresses from this pattern, I made the size 16 with little adjustment except for shortening the back bodice seam by 1 1/2″. I also made it a little longer – just below my knees – since I am not comfortable with the shorter length shown in the pattern. But upon completion, I worried it looked too mother of the bride-ish. Yes, I am 16 years older than this sister, have diaper changed her numerous times, bottle fed her etc, but I am not her mother! (Please note, I wore my scruffy Tom’s for walking around London, not to any of the events! I noted that everyone in London wears flats. Must be all the walking and the stairs to get anywhere.)
So back to the drawing board.
Next, we received this printed rayon that I thought would be perfect for this New Look 6244 dress. Because of the bias cut, which tends to be a bit clingy, I decided to make the size 18. Again, the only adjustment I made is to make it tea length (added 6″ to the length) as the others in the store thought the longer length would be more sophisticated. This style requires a long slip. And what more perfect fabric for that but some silk satin. But what colour? I tried a variety of colours (white, pale pink, and a milky tea) and decided the milky tea is closest to my skin colour so wouldn’t contrast so much.
By this time, there were still a couple weeks to go. Instead of sitting back and relaxing, I decided to try another dress option. Something more party! With a low cut back.
I decided on Vogue 1102 but despite wanting to make it in black, I was told by “those who know” one does not wear black to an English wedding. It is just not done! So I chose to make it out of this printed quilting cotton of all things.
Looking at the finished bust measurements of the pattern, I decided to cut out the size 18. After all, my bust is 40″ and the dress bust measurement was 41 1/2″. I also had to cut the one piece front skirt into 2 pieces (with a centre seam) as the quilting cotton wasn’t wide enough.
I quickly basted everything together and tried it on, and it was swimming on me! HELP! Fern McDonald (my sewing and fitting guru) to the rescue.
Here is a list of adjustments I had to make.
- Take out a total of 1 1/2″ from the center front.
- Which meant I had to move the bust darts towards each side seam by 3/4″. I also had to shorten the bust darts by 5/8″
- Take in the side seams by a total 1″ per side.
- Take in the back seam by a total of 5″.
- Add 2 small upper bust darts from the armholes to take away the gaping.
- Scooped the neckline which is more flattering for my short neck than the wide boatneck.
For the big bow at the back, I used a wide black petersham ribbon to break up the print of the dress.
Voila! I now had 3 dresses to choose from.
Oh, also a hat. So I went to our local millinery store, Roberta’s Hats and purchased this little number.
So which dress did I choose to wear? Why all three, of course! I decided to wear the bias cut dress for the ceremony, the pink party dress to the reception and the printed linen dress to the in-laws after party.
I don’t know about you, but for me there is nothing like a deadline to get my a$$ in gear!
In case you are curious, here are some pictures of the wedding. Pictures by A2Z Photography.
August Events
Just a reminder that our next sewing forum is 11:30am on August 6, 2017 at the store. Get together with other sewing enthusiasts to discuss all things sewing. Successes, problem solving, sharing … Free event.
Please note we will be closed on August 7 for BC Day, a local public holiday.
Another event we will be attending is the 7th annual Fibrations Festival. Fibrations is a community-based celebration of fibre. Held in the picturesque Porter Park, the day will feature up to 60 vendors sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm through demonstrations and hands-on-activities.
August 20, 2017 from 10am to 4pm.
Free event!
Penny by Colette Patterns
Check out the new pattern release from Colette!
The Penny dress features a classic design with feminine details. This charming shirtdress has a fitted bodice, with traditional shirt details like a collar stand, button placket, and shoulder yoke. These thoughtful details allow you to learn new sewing skills or perfect existing ones.
Version 1 features a fitted waistband and full set-in sleeves that complement a gathered skirt. This version is perfect for honing in on your decorative stitching and tailoring skills.
Version 2 has a sleeveless bodice, a semi-circle skirt, and an overlapping gathered waist belt. The skirts can be mixed to match either bodice, so you can create a customized dress for your style.
It is available in split sizing – from 0 to 16 and from 18 to 26. It is a great summer wardrobe item or can be worn for fall with a cardigan. Available in our webstore here.
Summer Sale 2017
Want to squeeze in some more summer sewing projects or start your fall wardrobe? Whatever your plans, we have your back. Our summer sale starts tomorrow, July 21, 2017.
25% off all regular priced fabric in store and on our web store.
(Sorry, kits and already-on-sale stuff are not discounted)
If you can drop by the store, check out our remnant rack which will be Buy One Get One Free (of equal or lesser value) It’s a great place to find treasures you didn’t know you needed!
If you are shopping on our web store, just fill up your cart and use the coupon code JULY2017 when you check out. The discount is automatically calculated. Remember, if your purchase subtotal is over $200, we pick up the shipping costs!
Sale ends July 30,2017
British Columbia Row by Row Starts Today!
This year’s theme is “On the Go”.
Patterns available from June 21 – Sept 5. Quilts can be submitted for a prize until October 31 2017.
Row by Row Experience™ is a shopping event where quilters collect row kits or free patterns from participating shops, then create a unique quilt using at least 8 different rows. Be the first to bring your completed quilt to a participating store and win a prize of 25 fat quarters! Bonus prize if your quilt contains the store’s own block. Only one winner per store.
This is a bricks & mortar event, so kits and free patterns must be picked up in person. Free patterns are limited to one per customer.
Quilt Eligibility:
- Must contain at least 8 rows from participating stores (9th rows and Junior rows do not count*)
- Edges must be bound
- Must be quilted
- Must be labelled
* we are NOT participating in the 9th row or Junior row. The 9th row is a block available for purchase at participating stores where the proceeds are donated to charity. Junior rows are available for youth aged 6-14 in participating stores (please visit http://www.rowbyrowexperience.com/junior.htm for more info)
Please visit the BC Row by Row official website for more details and FAQs: http://www.rowbyrowexperience.com/bc
Check the Row by Row Facebook page for photos of winning quilts and updated lists of store winners: https://www.facebook.com/BCRowbyRowExperience/
Quickie Project
I don’t know where you are located, but in Victoria, BC, the weather feels like it has regressed to fall. Or maybe we skipped summer altogether and are heading straight to fall. Today is definitely not T-shirt and shorts kinda weather!
In fact, wrapping up with a blanket sounds pretty good right now. But if you are heading out to see the latest movie (Wonder Woman in this case) maybe a blanket is not ideal. Here is a 1 hour sewing project for a cape/wrap/shawl that you can quickly whip up for an evening out and it might be more stylish than carrying your favorite blankie.
Supplies:
- 1.75m to 2m of fabric that is at least 140 wide. (for warmth, you could use wool, fleece, cotton flannel … Check your stash!)
- a side plate (What? You say. Wait and see)
- scissors
- ruler
- marking tool
- pins
- thread
Directions:
You need to find the mid-point of your fabric. (Match your opposing selvages and fold along the length. Next, fold the fabric so the opposing cut ends meet) Mark the folded meeting points with a pin.
From your mid point down to a cut edge, trace a 10cm wide rectangle.
Using your side plate, trace a curve around all the corners. (inside neck, center front bottom edge, side edges)
Cut out your curved angle rectangle.
Finish all edges.
Enjoy your new cape/wrap/shawl and be the envy of your friends when you are on your front porch watching the sunset, at the hockey game, hanging around a beach fire or even on your sofa watching a movie!
June Events
Our next sewing forum is 11:30am on June 4, 2017 at the store. Come meet other sewing enthusiasts to discuss all things sewing! Project successes, project failures, fabric finds from far away places ….
Free event!
We will also be in the market hall of the Association of NorthWest Weavers’ Guild Conference held at the University of Victoria on June 30, July 1 and 2, 2017.
The conference theme this year is Treadle Lightly and is focused around exploring ways on how we can be more careful of our environment through the choices we make in our fibre activities. It is open to ANWG members and non-members. Click here for more information regarding this show.
Pretty in Pink
Happy days are when we receive a shipment of new fabric. Ripping open the boxes, pulling out the fabric to fondle, drool over and envision. Our latest treasure discovery involved some border printed cottons. I know some people have problems knowing what to do with border prints, but I like the challenge of finding THE pattern for the fabric.
Here is a montage of the 45″ wide cotton prints in question. (They are available in our webstore if you are inspired!)
The print I chose to challenge myself with was the pale pink with dark grey flower basket and garland print. It’s a very soft and girly print so I thought a bath robe or dressing gown (depending on what you call it). Next, scrolling through the great pattern book in the sky – Google – I found this website by Sewbon with a free PDF pattern. (scroll past all the pictures to the end of the article or click here.)
PDF patterns are fun because you can print them off at home and get started. No waiting for the print shop to open! But it is like tiling a floor where you have to match the notches together and tape into place. I find they work best for simple patterns where there is not a lot of pattern pieces. The 28 pages that this pattern took, turns out like this.
Because I was going to ‘fussy cut‘ (a quilting term) the pattern, I decided more fabric is better, so I got a 3m piece. Starting with the back piece, I decided to center a flower basket since it also gave the greatest amount of open pink space for the shoulders. I didn’t want to have any of the opposite grey flower basket at the shoulders as I thought it would look like black hair dye had run! I also shortened the hem by 1 1/2″ in order to avoid the print at the shoulders.
Repeat this step with the 2 front pieces. Note the basket wasn’t centered on these pieces since my primary concern was getting the open pink space at the shoulders.
Next, the sleeves which came out of the pink sections of the fabric.
Then the front band, loops and tie had to be cut. I wanted the plain pink for the front band so ran the pattern piece along the selvage but this would also mean that some of the print would show on the underside of the band. (Next time, I might use a light weight interfacing on this band to prevent the dark print from shadowing through to the front. Or I might play with narrowing the band.) The ties came out of the remaining fabric. The loops were just small pieces of plain pink.
You can find the sewing instructions here. But I did change a couple things such as the front band application and hemming which is not mentioned.
My changes:
To add the front band, center the band onto the center back of the robe right sides together. I cut these pieces as per the pattern piece which means they are slightly longer than your robe front. (Remember, I shortened the body to fit the pattern pieces on the fabric.) Stitch together. Press the seam towards the band. Press a 1/2″ hem on the other long side of the front band. Next, fold the right sides together of the band and even off the hem. Stitch a 5/8″ hem along the bottom. Clip the corner to decrease bulk.
Turn right side out and press. Press up 5/8″ hem along the bottom of the robe.
To hem, hand tuck the raw edges in as you sew.
Now, you can finish off the front band by slip stitching down or edge stitching on your machine.
Give it a final press, and you’re done!
Grocery Bag, Book Bag or All Round Tote Bag
I don’t know about you, but I always love to check out the fabric stores and thrift shops of any city or town I happen to be visiting. Despite being surrounded by fabric every day – both at the store and at home – I always like to see what other stores have to offer. Two of my fabric searching passions are conversational cotton prints for fashion and crafting projects (I have churned out 6 variations of New Look 6407 in various quilting cotton prints and now I’m on a surgical cap kick for my sister the doctor and my dog’s vet) and slightly heavier fabric like printed canvas for tote bags.
Tote bags are great for both personal use and as gifts. Here in Victoria, all of the grocery stores are trying to encourage everyone to bring their own bag. I just don’t like the non-plastic bags they have available to purchase!
Here are the instructions for the tote bag that I make (or have made something like 50!) in a vintage fabric I found at a thrift store. I like the 60cm length of straps because I then have the option of carrying the bag or slinging it onto my shoulder.
Supplies
2 pieces of fabric measuring 50cm x 50cm square (for the bag)
2 pieces of fabric measuring 8cm x 60cm OR 2 pieces of 1″ webbing 60cm long (handles)
2 pieces of fusible interfacing measuring 8cm x 60cm long (if you use the fabric for the handles)
Sewing
- With right sides together, sew the 2 square pieces along 3 edges – 2 sides and the bottom. (I like to use my serger as it sews and finishes the seams all at once)
- Pinch the bottom corners and stitch across 6cm from the corner.
- Press down 4cm hem along the top of the bag.
- Divide the front side and back side of the bag into thirds for your handle positions.
- For the handles, fuse the interfacing to both 8cm x 60cm pieces of fabric. (If you are using webbing, skip to step 8)
- With right sides together, sew along the long sides of the straps.
- Turn both handles inside out and press. Top stitch along the long edges if you wish.
- Tuck your finished handles under the top hem at your predetermined spots. Make sure your handles are not twisted!
As you stitch, tuck under the raw edge of the hem. - Flip the handles up and stitch in place. I like to stitch a fancy “X” for extra strength.
- Flip bag right side out and admire!
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