Sewing Vortex

How are you planning your Seasonal Sew Wardrobe for our Deep Stash Edition?  As of this posting there are already 44 member albums in the Sew Alongs & Sewing Contests group containing hundreds of great patterns! Some sewers are using their group albums to plan and track ideas, some are showing snap shots of hand written, or typed lists... at least one had fabric swatches attached! Others are typing up their lists in a post and talking it out on the group page before deciding. It's so much fun to watch! While poking through my stash, trying to work out a sewing plan, I discovered I had a (nearly) blank copy of 110 Creations: A Sewist's Notebook . Based on what I found written inside, I had filled out a few pages in January of 2015 but never followed through on anything. What a waste!  My Plans For SSW: Deep Stash Fortunately, I'd written in my notebook using a Frixon Pen (thermal ink) and so I happily erased those pages the other day and started ...

**Updates and Clarifications In RED** I have a new challenge for you... Are you game? I want to know: How deep does your stash go? Since we launched the Seasonal Sew Wardrobe Challenges last January, I've been amazed at the imagination and creations of our Sew Alongs & Sewing Contest Members. We are launching our next session on January 1, 2017. This time around there are some twists and turns designed to pull you out of your comfort zone just a little bit, and encourage you to push yourself.  The Focus January is a time of renewal, goal setting and getting back on track after a season of indulgence. I have binged and splurged far more than my fair share, and that's why it was decided this season's SSW will focus on using what we already have .  How many patterns have you grabbed only for them to be buried by the next inspiration to come along? How many yards of fabric have you purchased for that great project idea only to find a year (or tw...

Several years ago, at the first American Sewing Expo I attended, there was a booth of painted glass nail files. They were lovely, but I didn't bring any home with me. The next year I went, the booth was gone, and I haven't seen it since. I was incredibly disappointed, as I'd come to think they would make a great gift for my girlfriends.  This year, I decided to poke around for glass nail files online. I stumbled onto some sets for a good price. They include a small file, a standard size file and a pedicure file. Upon their delivery, I thought they were so pretty that I was inspired to sew something to go with them and make a manicure themed Christmas present for the ladies in my life. It took some Googling, but eventually I stumbled on the Snappy Manicure Wallet : a free pattern from Noodlehead. It was exactly what I'd wanted. Not too big with a zippered pouch and little pockets for a small selection of polish bottles. Most of the supplies came...

Let's start talking details! My first Coat project this fall is going to be the Ralph Pink Fari Coat . The Fashion fabric is a charcoal wool melton that I picked up locally on sale for about $21/yard. I'm going to use a poly charmeuse from my stash for the lining. I know, I know...poly...but just look at it: The photo really doesn't do it justice. It's a bold abstract boarder print with mustard, tan, grey and black on a white background. It will be perfect for a lining that will show frequently. Because the finished product will be dry cleaned, I washed and dried the poly charmeuse like any other fabric, and steam treated the wool myself. I know there are other ways to pretreat your wool such as paying your dry cleaner to steam press it (without creases, of course) or to toss the yardage into the dryer with damp towels and run it until the towels are dry. I once had my dry cleaner steam press wool for me and it worked out great, except for the ridiculous cost ...

I've been a naughty Coat Cravings host. Jumping out of the gate all raring to go....then totally stalling out for 2 months. Don't worry, I did pick my Fari Coat back up again...I even finished it! Here, let me share the highlights of my Coat making with you: Welt Pockets I do believe when I last left you, I was just about to start my welt pockets. I added a nice healthy square of interfacing to the back side to support the stitches and opening. Then, I very carefully hand basted the prepped pocket pieces to my opening.  I was more than a little paranoid about things being very precise, this seemed the best way to ensure nothing shifted while stitching. It made machine stitching a breeze, as I could see the stitch lines very clearly, and just needed to follow the basting stitches. No matter how confident I am in my stitching, slicing into the pocket opening is always gut-wrenching... Will I have ruined my coat? ...