I find myself weathering the pandemic in the middle of Chile. Never in my life would I have thought that I’d be here, but the world has changed so much that it’s impossible to know where we will be in a few years from now. One thing for sure is … Continue reading
Last week the embroidered hoodie pattern got many of you guessing how to attach embroidered patches to stretchable velvet. I’m sure the advanced sewists out there got the clues immediately after looking at the fabric swatches. For the others, I’m now going to show you how I did it and … 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
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
Thinking of traveling again after the lockdowns? Going on a business trip? Preparing for that long-awaited vacation with friends? Planning to be on a solo journey to give yourself that break you deserve? Traveling, even its planning stage, is already too exciting, isn’t it? It is! Until you reach the … Continue reading
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
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
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