In the Pantry

Penny and I have been busy getting our latest Sew-Ichgio pattern set ready and today it has gone on sale… we are proud to present 'In the Pantry'.

Penny has included a great stacked bowl pattern with curved piecing and a video tutorial to show how to trim a curved seam quickly and easily.  I added a straight base to the bottom bowl so they could sit on a wood surface.  

There are multiple storage jar options with four different patterns with mix and match sections.

I made a runner with the bowls and jars, although I added some hanging corners so it may end up on the wall.  There are some clever cutlery blocks which Penny is adding to a runner she is in the middle of making. 

You can find the pattern info here and on sale as an instant download here and in our Craftsy shop.

November at Village Haberdashery

We are just getting to that lightly crazy time when you have planned two quilts, 3 cushions, 8 key fobs and some gift bags and the reality is, there isn't time without some sort of miracle: speed is not my forte, especially with quilts!  So, I will distract myself and see what catches my eye at Village Haberdashery this month.  Kicking off with Botanicals, new collection by Carolyn Friedlander.

Annie went to Quilt Market  in Houston recently and was quick to order this range in- all prints too (build-a-bundle is here) plus co-ordinating solids including this Kona roll up.

Annie started her new stash club last month, this is the November selection and there are some treats in there- Constellations (only available in this bundle), squared elements and Sun print text  are my favs. 

 You can just sign up for one month if your stash needs some blue.

Here's the organic blue bundle

Add some yellow or orange prints and you have the perfect baby boy quilt ready to cut.

You can make yourself a Sun Print text bundle here- I think these will be flying out of the shop, so 

useable, great type face and interesting to read too.

The Sun Print feathers shout binding to me, Alison Glass has designed a corker of a range with these prints

There are also Alison Glass quilt patterns which are big and bold to showcase her prints.  Spectrum Quilt

 and Feathers

I also spotted that Jeni's patterns (In Color Order) have made it to the UK!  This plus quilt- Arithmetic comes with 6 size options.

Fanfare- a flannel collection has lots for those of you making with little people in mind- soft pretty colours and cute prints.

For the quilter that has everything, Lizzie House nail varnish set, perfect for a Pearl Bracelet manicure!

Enjoy your look round x

Oakshott Liberty Love

Months back, Oakshott fabrics were kind enough to send me a stack of Impressions, a set of 16 colours all shot with a white warp (vertical) thread and I immediately knew my plan, starting with some Liberty lawn from Jo's shop- she lives close by so I got personal delivery.

The next part of my plan was Alexia Abegg's Green Bee Diamond Ring Quilt Pattern available here.   I remember seeing this pattern in multiple photographs a few quilt markets ago and I knew it was perfect for this- big cuts of fabric that will allow the prints and the colours to shine. Liberty and Oakshott are a similar weight so this marriage is a happy one.  The Liberty is more densely woven but they play together very nicely. The background fabric is one of my favourites: Kaufman Quilter's linen in grey which has an etched crosshatch linen style pattern on it but is soft quilting cotton, very quiet but it says just enough.

There are a few practical things to over come in the pattern- drawing a massive quarter circle to start with.  I used my Dura-bac board which is a large gridded piece of cardboard- v useful for pinning and in this case securing a drawing pin.  I bought this at a bootsale many years ago and I see them in charity shops from time to time.

The design looks like it would make perfect paper piecing but the scale is too large so instead I traced all the diamond pattern pieces on to freezer paper including seam allowances.  Because the diamond will form a circle you need to piece with a high degree of accuracy so each seam corner point is marked on the pattern and I then use a pin and fabric pencil to transfer it to the reverse of each piece of fabric.

You can see the pencil dot marked with the arrow below.

Once these points are pinned each I work my way round the diamond in order taking care not to stretch or distort the long diagonal bias edges.

When each diamond is complete I spray and press felt.  Earth Friendly starch it flattens and stabilises the fabric rather than producing a crispy shirt collar effect.   The smell is gentle and natural- I am very sensitive to fragrance of any kind.  I found it invaluable when Lynne and I were sewing up our 500 blocks for the book and I now class it as essential equipment, a bottle lasts ages.

I have just returned to this project after months away and I am around halfway round the ring.  If you are on instagram I have been posting these with the tag #diamondringquilt.

Matching the Oakshotts with my various bits of Liberty lawn is a happy task. I need to get a wriggle on, I am planning this as a Christmas present.

Whilst this project is on the way, I am planning my next with a bundle of Italy which has a silver grey warp.  I saw these at retreat when Michael and the Oakshott team set up the stall for the Saturday night market.  I am thinking something with a simple block and lots of light prints, Ohio Star is my block of choice and I have a pack of Denyse Schmidt charms that are shouting me- just need to make a sample to check on sizing and scale.  You can see the silvery threads peeping through the Oakshott colours below.

Thankyou to Oakshott, you know how to make me very happy!

Embracing my inner Edwardian

This is my latest make: a poplin shirt based on Burda pattern 01/2010 #109 and my inner Edwardian style leanings- think Helena Bonham-Carter in Room with a View. The beautiful fabric was kindly sent by Jessie of Sew and Quilt.

She recently got these poplin florals in stock and thought they would be perfect for dressmaking and she was so right!  I had already oohed and ahhed over the colours and the ditsy Liberty style print and once I felt the fabric I was totally smitten.  If you are not sure what poplin is, imagine a high quality, tailored men's shirt, poplin is frequently used for such garments.  It is densely woven, light weight-heavier than lawn/lighter than quilting cotton.  This particular poplin has a silky feel to it.  The dense weave makes it strong- hence its use for shirts.  Think of the movement of your arms and the strain on the seams and armhole/armscye area.  You will often see a run and fell/flat felled seam on men's shirts which add strength and poplin is a great fabric to work with on such finishes.  

For a long sleeved shirt/blouse in a smallish size, I generally think 2 metres is a good amount of fabric to work with and this fabric is a bargain at £8 per metre. The pattern is directional although not obviously so - on a non directional pattern I could squeeze a shirt out of slightly less fabric but long sleeves take a lot of fabric.  I made a short shirt as I am short in the trunk area, I wanted a shirt that would sit over the top of a waist band and if needed tuck in and I wear a lot of cropped cardigans as you can see below.

I tweaked the pattern which is really a dress.  Burda instructions are very sparing so you do need to know your way round a dress pattern.  I made the smallest size and the cut was generous.  I halved the width of the waist dart to allow for a small bust and doubled the length them to make diamond shape darts to provide waist and hip shaping, I then took in the sides to make a close fitting shirt with sufficient ease for my arms- I hate any feeling of restriction in clothing.  I did spend a fair but of time on fitting as this is a pattern I want to get right and repeat again and again.  I always make some sort of test garment with any shirts as I always have bust adjustments to do- its tedious but necessary.

The tucks are sewn on a large piece of fabric before you cut out the pattern pieces which is a great technique.

I sewed proper cuffs as the pattern directed and I was pleased with the finish.  Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing is my go to when jogging my sewing memory on how to do such things.

You may notice the lovely buttonholes.  I am extremely proud of them so I feel confident to shout about them.  They were sewn with a wondrous gadget, Singer 86718 buttonholer for Featherweight.   My Janome Horizon 7700 can do many things but its buttonholes are woeful- the lack of consistency being the biggest problem.  I long for the days of a 4-step buttonhole on my mum's Riccar, being able to isolate each step was so handy.  In a search for a solution I came across this video by Peter of Male Pattern Boldness- a great sewing blog and it was a revelation.

I found the attachment on ebay after a little oiling and cleaning up I had it in situ and within 10 minutes I had great buttonholes.  I'll do a separate post on it as it deserves a solo spot- seeing a straight stitch only machine sew buttonholes really was something!   You can find this gorgeous fabric here and if you are thinking quilting, it'll work just fine for that too and would make a lovely silky quilt backing too.  Thankyou Jessie, I loved working with it!

Quilty Fun Blog Tour

Welcome to the first stop right at the beginning of the Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour: Apples!

I am a huge fan of Lori Holt's work, she is such  a sweet person and she shares so many tips and ideas  at her blog Bee in My Bonnet so I jumped at the change to take part.   Her new book is a collaboration between Lori and the Fat Quarter Shop. You can see detailed photos of Quilty Fun book here- the photos, taken in Lori's home are to die for, all the retro styling and colours which I just know is not just for the cameras but how Lori lives her life.  The Sew Along is to make a quilty sampler from many of the blocks in the book and each stop on the hop comes with its own companion PDF that works alongside the book so you can make this quilt- Download 1 Apples is here

The book is well laid out and the spiral binding allows it to lay flat and makes it great to work alongside.  The instructions are displayed in a checklist style as is the download so you can cut exactly what you need for the sampler apples.  I did all my prep in order of the list and labelled and lined the pieces ready to use. 

 ***Edited to add***

Additional Yardage 

You will need 3 yards of background fabric in total for this quilt top

½ yard for red postage stamp border

1 ¼ yards outer border

All the blocks in this quilt are rotary cut and simple to make. Lori has such a systematic, efficient approach with tips along the way.  You can put the time into chosing your fabrics as the construction is very straightforward.  

This block took me 15 mins to prep and 1 hour to sew together.  

I love her graphic picture style, and the book is packed with ideas like these apples.  Other favourites in the book include the Town Square quilt the Apple-licious quilt- obviously.

Each stop on the tour comes with a giveaway and for this stop you will find two 3.5" Rolie Polies of Lori's new fabric line, Gracie Girl up for grabs.  To enter,  you must make the apple block using the tip sheet and page 22 of the book and post it to the Quilty Fun Flickr Group and the winner will be announced on the Jolly Jabber 11th Nov.   Enjoy!

Mercury Prize 2013 James Blake

Music is a big part of my life and I always look to see what comes up in the Mercury Prize short list.  James Blake won last night and he is a big favourite of mine, his music takes me to an emotional place.  Its not for everybody, its not the most commercial sound but he is a genuine artist and creative talent.   I love  his music with an intensity and he is a joy to watch as he recreates this track, Retrograde, live - you can see him record the loop that runs throughout right at the start of the film.    Congrats to James Blake, well deserved.

and another version of the same song, although a little different, hoping this works for you USA folks x

Betsey Johnson 4089 Swishy Skirt

 This skirt has been on my 'to do' list forever.  A 1970s vintage wrap around maxi skirt with extra details designed by Betsey Johnson, Butterick 4089.  Once I saw Roo's version here, I was totally smitten.

Betsey Johnson has had her ups and downs over the years, including bankruptcy but she is still designing. Her heyday was definitely the 1970s.  You can read more about her and other Butterick designers from 60s and 70s at Fuzzy Lizzies .  There don't seem to be so many designer partnerships with bigger pattern companies, especially up and coming designers although I do enjoy Cynthia Rowley's patterns for Simplicity and I guess these days, indie pattern designers represent the new direction of clothing patterns.  The joy of these vintage patterns is the details are so well executed and the finished garment looks exactly like the drawing (although my leg length has some way to go to match the model).  Such vintage patterns are much sort after- I think I paid £10 including postage for this one which is pretty good and it was uncut, but more popular styles go for £20 upwards. 

I needed to size up my pattern- the waist was 25 1/2" and I am 27" so I added 1"on the centre front and centre of the back pieces.  You can read more about resizing vintage patterns here and more here- it is more straightforward than you may think.  Something to bear in mind with any pattern is that traditionally all patterns start off size 12 (USA 8, EU40).  See conversion for different countries' sizing here.  Pattern sizing is not like shop ready to wear clothing which is often vanity sized- you know the sort of thing- a size 12 in Fat Face is not equal to size 12 in Topshop, and indie sewing pattern designers tend to have their own individual sizing which often refelcts the pattern designers body shape.  Colette patterns have a bust cup size C, Sewaholic patterns tend to have a smaller bust and larger hip in the same size.  All patterns start off at a size 12 and this is a small 12 in the way we would think of it.  The subsequent sizes are drafted off this standard upwards and downwards.  It does mean that the sizes that are more than two jumps up or down from a 12 risk losing something in translation and the pattern companies should make extra tweaks to make sure all the details still work and fit is maintained. 

I digress, this was a dream to make.  I used chambray from Merchant and Mills which has a lovely handle and the drape essential in such a style.  The wrap round involved two mirror image whole back sections so there is no danger of flashing and the double layer adds warmth. It does take a lot of fabric because you are effectively doubling up for the back piece- I needed almost 3 metres.  

I do love a long skirt.  I hate tights/pantyhose and I don't get on brilliantly with leggings plus I love the romance and freedom of a long swishy striding skirt.  I opted for a length inbetween the shorter and longer styles on the pattern pieces.  The shaped high waist at the front is interfaced as are the ties that are round the waist- but the parts that finish as a bow are not interfaced so the bow is soft and flops nicely at the front.   The pockets are functional although as they are stitched to the front you wouldn't want to over fill them and look like you are wearing saddle bags. All these little details add up to a garment to be very happy with. 

I followed the top stitching as directed in the pattern and used Sulky Cotton 30 which is cotton, has a silky finish and is thicker than the standard dressmaking Sew-All gutermann.  There is a lot of top stitching, I used a full bobbin and the acufeed foot which I always use for large areas of top stitching as it makes the fabric feed through so evenly.

For the buttonhole which allows the ties to wrap around without bulk I wanted to try a simple bound method as I thought a standard buttonhole would fray and gape too much.  You can find the method here although I used the trusty Reader's Digest  Complete Guide to Sewing

It went pretty well.  I did have a slight freak out moment as the buttonhole is made on one part of the waistband- once I joined it to the facing which sits on the inside I realised the buttonhole was closed at the back.  This is normal, you have to finish the facing separately.  Its been so long since I've done a bound buttonhole I had completely forgotten.  Panic over.

 I always use Fray Stoppa/Fray check on buttonholes- just a little painted on the area that will be cut. allowed to dry and then cut through.  The Clover double fork pins are also a boon for dress making in areas that you don't want to shift, not even a tiny bit.  Penny put me on to these and I am forever grateful.  I bought mine from ebay, pricey but worth it.

This is another Betsey Johnson pattern in my stash, I am thinking about a shirt although the pattern pieces look pretty tiny and there is a little work to do to get them up to size so that I could at least move my arms!  And when I want to really be inspired by a little vintage, I go back and visit Gold Country Girls blog and there three part section on Betsey Johnson for Butterick- one, two, three.  

I think I need to wipe a little drool from my chin, those styles slay me every time.  Feel free to share your thoughts on sizing and vintage styles, or tell me your favourites, I'd love to find something new to love.