My carpet tote bag is the result of my never-ending desire to make bags with unusual materials. It’s also, the result from impulse buying… I was looking for some materials that I could use instead of leather, and I was practicing my usual “whatever catches my eye” technique. This is something I do often, … Continue reading
The Greatest Discovery In The History Of Dyeing Fabric It’s the Easter vacation of 1856, Cable Street, east London, and a young William H. Perkin is hunched over his laboratory table. Fumes and gasses rise up from his work and struggle to filter out of the tiny windows of the … Continue reading
Introduction The flax fields are blooming in a beautiful display of blue-purple flowers. Bees fill the air with their happy flight, children duck and dive through the waist-high stalks. The seasons eventually change and soon the stalks will begin to ripen into a bright blonde, signaling the farmers to begin … Continue reading
Viscose (known in the US as Rayon) often elicits very strong feelings. Some sewists hate this material, while others see its benefits. I remember back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when this fabric started to be popular and it was used for numerous garments that you would see … Continue reading
Now any seamstress or hobby sewist will undoubtedly have discarded that little white strip along the fabric edge without a second thought, probably a few hundred times or more. You know that “useless” strip where the manufacturer’s branding is printed…along with a few strange colored circles? Well, there’s more to … Continue reading
I have to admit it right out front. Hunting for Tanzanian fabrics was not my main reason for coming to Africa. Instead, my husband and I were there with some friends to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at almost 20,000 feet or 6,ooo meters. However, being an … Continue reading
I know, I know..this is a big assertion, “the world’s finest fabric shop..” After all, the world’s a big place and there are a lot of good fabric shops, but please read on and you’ll understand. As I’ve written about many times before, I’ve been sewing all my life. I’ve also … Continue reading
I believe that the success of a sewing project lies not just in purchasing the right fabric and accessories. The way the fabric is cared for before the start of the project also has a profound influence on the result of the sewing project. This includes pre-washing fabric and usually … Continue reading
Think Mary Antoinette, Queen Elizabeth or the recently revived 1950’s Rockabilly movement, think Swan Lake and the fairy tale wedding gown. What do they all have in common? You’ve got it, serious petticoat action, brought to you by none other than the trusty, centuries-old crinoline… Let’s take a closer look … Continue reading
All parents would agree that it’s a herculean task to maintain children’s clothes. All the chocolates and cookies that they snack on inevitably leave their mark on that pretty dress or handsome pair of pants, not to mention puddles of mud and dirt cakes. Moreover, the sensitive skin of the … Continue reading
Ah, sweater knits! These highly textural, stretch fabrics can be cozy, lacy, casual, or sophisticated. With a good sweater knit and a little practice, you can cut and sew a sweater in a day or less, even if you can’t knit or crochet. Yes, they’re enabling. And they’re beautiful. If … Continue reading
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