I just finished watching CBS Sunday Morning.  They did a delightful segment on Dressing down a culture for refusing to dress up. Apparently Notre Dame Associate Professor of History Linda Przybyszewski (I had to cut and paste that!), (pronounced preh-beh-SHEV-ski) sparked some sort of "controversy" when she wrote a book called:  Nation of Slobs:  How Americans Learned and Forgot How to Dress. And she evens teaches a class called Nation of Slobs:  The Art, Ethics and Economics of Dress in Modern America.

In this article:  The Lost Art of Dressing, Linda Przybyszewski sites reasons on why she feel people stopped dressing up.  Like Baby Boomers moving into the suburbs... the Youth Movement of the 60s... and the 70s, when the Feminist movement caused home economics to be formally dismantled.  It's all very interesting.

But what I truly like about this lady is not only does she talk the talk, but she walks the walk.  In this article, she talks of her love of sewing  She makes almost all of her clothes (she doesn't knit sweates or cobble shoes, though. LOL).  She says:

Dressmakers feel sorry for people who don't sew, she says.  Most people are dependent on ready-to-wear sizing they don't realize their clothing could be made to fit."

I'm not saying everyone needs to run out and commission a dressmaker and have everything custom made.  But an alterations person in their life might be nice if  they can't do it themselves.  And  she also says:

Sewing is not that hard to learn, she adds.  People think its hard to sew, but they'll spend hours miserable in the mall looking for something to wear.

This I agree with.  If you're "size challenged" (tall, short, large, small, disproportion, etc...), I don't understand why not just learn to sew and make your own clothes.  Just my opinion!

I use to think Cheetah and Leopard were interchangeable terms as it pertained to animal print -- even though I am intelligent enough to realize that they are two different animals.  What lead me to this post is that I started noticing the differences in the prints while searching for fabric.  And also noticing how people look at the same print and one refers to it as "cheetah" while the other says "leopard".  

Since animal print is trending hard and heavy this season, I thought it would be good to really take a close look at how they differ.

Cheetah

Leopard

Jaguar

When you're working with white fabric, what do YOU use to make markings?

Do you take a chance and use colored chalks, the purple disappearing pens, thread tracing or tailor's tacks?

The only thing I can tell people is everyone is DIFFERENT. Prices vary! You could be a Target, Wal-Mart, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Belk, Macys, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, etc... type of shopper. You may be a person that only buys fabric from the $1 table or you may be the type to buy the most expensive fabric you can afford. Sewing is as expensive as YOU make it. I can't tell you if YOU are going to save money from sewing.

As far as me, on some things I do and some things I don't. For me, it's not about trying to save money. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to sew. It's about the enjoyment of the art.

for Beginners

I get asked 2 - 3 times a week via email to offer up opinion or give advice on what machine a beginner should get. Sewing machines are very personal. It's almost like asking me what kind of bra you should buy. YOU have to decide what type of sewing you will do most. Do you want to make clothes? Home decor? Hem jeans? Heirloom sewing? Quilting? Lots of embroidery? And most of all, which machine fits your budget.

Some machines are more machine than you actually need. You can get one that does hundreds of decorative stitches. To be honest, since I primarily sew garments, I use maybe 5 stitches on my machine. My requirement on my machine was that it does nice buttonholes. IMO, buttonholes can make or break a garment. Also, I MUST HAVE a free arm (for sewing small circumferences such as cuffs). Some sewists have requirements that the machine must have good light. Well, I never even notice the light on mine because I use an Ott Lite. Others prefer a sturdy, heavy-weight machine. You have to decided whether you want a mechanical or a computerized machine. Some machines are sewing/embroidery combos... these can really be expensive. If you have no desire to do embroidery, then I would suggest not spending the extra money on a combo.

Here are my top 5 suggestions:

Brother CS-6000i

Singer 7466

Janome 5124

Kenmore 16231

Bernina Activa 220

Carolyn just did a post on "wearability" and it made me think. I wore my Hotpatterns Sailor Pants when I was in New York... this was the first time I've worn them. I had them on from morning until late night. By late night, they were nearly falling off because they had relaxed just that much. I've noticed this problem with most of my natural fiber pants, especially linen.

Can this be prevented?? My first thought is to initially make everything very fitted so when they relax, they will be the right size.

What are your suggestions?

I'm sure all of you have heard about Club BMV by now. I've been pondering membership for days now. Would this really be beneficial to me? Here are the membership benefits:

You receive an "extra 10% off" on Butterick, McCall's and Vogue patterns -- even on sale days. Okay... there is a sale at Hancock on tomorrow: Butterick - $1.99 each; McCall's - 5 for $5 and Vogue - 75% off. See, I keep a running list of all patterns that I want and buy them when they are on sale, especially Vogue. For a person like me who does this, is the Club really for me? I do however like the 10% off on Out-Of-Print patterns, but I only look at those once in a blue moon. I don't buy catalogs and I don't subscribe to the magazines. So, should I just get it for the great price of only $12 just to have it? What do you think?

Remember I said I *was* going to do my trench coat in the microfiber polyester? Well... see what had happened was... LOL That fabric was bitch to work with. Okay... let me give you some background info on microfiber and a small tutorial in case you ever make the mistake decide to work with it.

Microfiber fabrics are made of high-quality, superfine polyester threads, densely constructed. This density gives the fabric its drape and water and stain resistance for outerwear, although it lacks breathability. The best reason to love microfibers? No static cling.

Cutting & Sewing: To pin or not to pin?
Most performance fabrics can be pinned within the seam allowances without damage, but pins leave permanent holes in coated fabrics, so opt for pattern weights or binder clips where needed. When sewing, you should use Microtex needles because they have a thinner shaft and slimmer point than universal needles. Also, a good choice in thread would be fine embroidery thread.

For microfiber fabrics, choose the presser foot with the flattest bottom, holding the fabric taut against the feed dogs.

Lengthen your stitches slightly for this fabric, to approximately 3.0-3.5 length. Hems are beautiful when done with a coverstitch. Be sure to remove any auxiliary needles from your coverstitch machine, as pinholes will leave a permanent mark in the fabric. If you do not have coverstitch capabilities, use a double row of topstitching for your hems. Lengthen the stitch to 3.5 for this hem stitching. Seam finishes are not necessary to prevent fraying, as the fabric does not ravel. However, you may choose to topstitch your seams to encourage them to remain flat. If so, use the same 3.5 length stitching as for your machine hem. You can finger press the seam open and stitch on each side of the seamline, or you may choose to finger press the seam to one side, trim out the inner layer of the seam allowance, and run one row of topstitching to secure the seam in place.

Buttons and buttonholes will require additional reinforcement, such as a second layer of interfacing. Again, avoid the use of heat on this fabric.

You can definitely feel the resistance will attempting to pin this fabric. Make sure to use new, sharp pins. And handsewing... forget that!

Interfacing
If a fabric is already coated, a fusible will make a mess. Coatings and fusibles don't mix; use a sew-in instead. Test your fabric before fusing any interfacing. Some of these fabrics do not respond well to the application of heat; in these cases, a sew-in interfacing will be necessary. Choose cotton muslin or batiste, washed to eliminate the possibility of further shrinkage, and cut it using the same grainlines as the rainwear fabric. Baste the interfacing to the rainwear fabric with dots of glue stick. (The school variety glue stick works fine.)

What caused me to dislike this fabric was the fact that I could not press it. This garment has too many details that require pressing to just sew and go. I tested scraps of fabric to see if I could apply low heat... I could, but it did give the type of finished look I would want. When I turned up the heat, it scorched the fabric as I expected it to. I decided to just scrap it and start from scratch. I'm using a beautiful blue satin, that will give me more of the "look" of what I originally wanted. Sometimes, you should just follow your initial instinct. I'm *still* deciding on buttons (I hate picking those out) and as soon as they arrive, you'll be the first to know. Meanwhile, I have other small projects in the works and I'll be sharing those this week.

I've read and heard so many sewers say that sewing sheers (i.e. chiffon, georgette, light-weight organza, batiste) is difficult. I say, "No it's not"! That is IF you know the right techniques.

What I've found most challenging with chiffon and georgette is the laying-out process. Sheers are slippery and they tend to crawl about while you are trying to handle them. What I do is use an underlay. I do this by laying the sheer fabric on top of an old sheet or muslin fabric (anything you don't really care about) and cutting them together with a rotary cutter. The sheer fabric clings to the other fabric and makes cutting a lot easier. Also, misting with spray sizing or spray starch has worked for me too!

For my seams, I use a "scant" french seam. I do this by: (1) pinning WRONG sides together. Stitch 3/8" from the edges on the right side of the fabric. (2) Trim seam allowance to 1/16". Fold RIGHT sides together, with stitching line exactly on the fold. Press flat. (3) Stitch 1/8" from fold. This step encases the cut edges. Check the right side to be sure no raveled threads are showing. Press seam to one side.

For the collar, I interfaced it with Palmer/Pletsch PerfectFuse Sheer in black. I stitched the facing to the collar with a 3/8" seam and pressed the other end of the facing under 3/8". I stitched the collar to the neck edge using a 3/8" seam allowance and trimmed the seam. I pressed the seam towards the collar and slipstitched the facing to the neck edge.

The sleeves are cut on the bias and for the hems, I used a narrow machine stitch. I did this by staystitching on the wrong side of the fabric - 1/4" from where the hem will be. Pressing the seam allowance toward the the inside along the staystitch line and sewing along the fold line to the left of the staystitch line. I took a pair of small, sharp scissors and trimmed the seam allowance close to the stitching (BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO CUT INTO THE GARMENT FABRIC!!! Ask me how I know). I then folded the narrow hem toward the inside of the garment and stitched the final row to the left of the last stitching line. I used this method also for the hem of the garment.

BTW, this is Simplicity 4112... I'll have finished project pictures later.

I hope this helps those who have not or have been reluctant to sew with a sheer. This is what I do. If some of you more experienced sewers have better methods or something to add, please feel free.

I've got the blues!

Cobalt blues that is! I've been seeing this electrifying color everywhere.

I discovered the coolest site while checking out The Fashion Bomb this morning. Whether you plan on purchasing your next pairs of jeans or maybe even making them (like me), True Jeans is a site you MUST check out. This is how it works: go to the site and click the "Get Started" button and create a brief profile.

Then you plug in your waist, hip, thigh and inseam measurements(grab a pair of jeans you have with your perfect length and measure).

The next page is interesting. You get to give a little more thorough info regarding your body shape. They take everything into consideration. You give them your height, weight and even your date of birth. I know you're thinking, "Why do they need to know how old I am"? I thought the same thing. The reason behind this is, as we all know, weight is distributed differently over similar frames based on a person's age. You also use the illustrations to select your hip, seat, stomach and thigh shape.

After I provided all of this info, I got quite a few options in price ranges from $54 to $253 and styles from skinny to wide leg.

Whether you buy them or sew them, this gives you and excellent idea of what styles would work best with your figure.