When I was setting up my shop, I talked about what it was like and what I wanted to do to it.  I haven’t updated any of that for a long time, nearly 2 years.  I have the before pictures on my shop computer and will make sure I load them on the original post about the bathroom.  Right now, I am writing from home.  But, I wanted to post current (Jan 2009) pictures of the bathroom.  So, here are some shots.

Since this bathroom doesn’t get wet from a bath or shower, it has allowed me to really go wild decorating it with items that wouldn’t stand up to the humidity of a full bath.  And, I hope it can inspire you with decorating ideas.

I did get a new vanity, faucet and mirror installed, not too far into 2007.  The vanity is very nice.  It is shallow, has a porcelain sink, and the style of it and the mirror go really well with the bead board walls and pressed tin ceiling.  The 3 came as a set from Lowe’s.  I found the faucet after much searching.  It is the only water source in my shop, so I needed it to be flexible.  High enough to fill pitchers with water.  And, be a good quality.  I finally went to Brickman’s in Waltham.  Unfortunately, they are now gone.  They were a “fixture” on Moody street for many years.  The faucet cost more than the vanity package.  Then, when the plumbers came, I found out that the installation was going to be more than the cost of the vanity and faucet combined.  This was because it was a commercial installation.  These are the hidden costs of running a business.  I have never regretted getting this improvement.

Two of the first things I installed in the bathroom were a toilet paper holder and a towel ring.  When I moved in, the painters had painted with the TP holder in place with TP on it.  There was tissue stuck to the wall! Uck!  And, the towel bar was just above it.  Standard-issue hardware store, bent square shaped rod, with screw plates at each end, chrome, of course.  I took a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got the holder and towel ring.  They are very sturdy, well-priced and look nice.
I hung a paper towel holder on the wall which use to be in my grandmother’s kitchen in Northern Minnesota.

Above that is a counted cross stitch of a bundle of pansies.  That was made by my Mom.  She is a dedicated cross stitcher.  I have another piece she did for my last birthday.  It is a Welcome sign.  It has sewing implements on it, which make up the letters.  It is hanging about the coat rack at the front of the shop.
The ceilings are tin and really high, so I had space above the pansies and the sink mirror.  I was at TJ Maxx and found a framed print.  I thought I would use it at home, but the colors and style made me think of the fabric and colors in the bathroom at the shop.  So, I brought it there and it fit the space sideways really well.  Plus, it covered a small (1.5″ dia.) hole in the beadboard.

The light fixture on the wall was ugly and operated by a twist switch.  I installed a wireless switch on the outside of the bathroom door frame.  Then I screwed the other end into the fixtures socket, then the bulb into that.  I removed the frosted glass shade and attached a beaded/sequined silk shade which has crystals hanging from the bottom.  I had those on some sconces in my old house which were above the fireplace.  I bought them from a wall lamp vendor at the Minnesota State Fair.  I cannot remember who he was.  But, he made lamps with would hang on the wall, and the cord was hidden in a pipe which curved and resembled a vine with leaves.  They were nice.
I bought swag finials and screwed those into the upper corners of the window.  I draped a black embroidered shawl over them and that covered a telephone junction box on the window frame.

I found a small, striped, wool rug at TJ Maxx & More in Woburn that goes well on the floor.

There is a painted wooden vessel at the base of the vanity.  I bought it from Target.  It looks nice, just a little decorative addition to the small space.
On the wall behind the door, I made a long curtain that fits on a continental tension rod.  It is a semi-sheer fabric with shiny holographic dots on it.  It picks up the light from the star lights hanging in front of it really well.  The lights were a gift from a friend who bought them from IKEA. The only problem I had making the curtain was that the dots would stick to the soleplate of my iron and somewhat to the ironing table.  I had someone give me some fabric and included was a multi-colored printed sheer.  I split it in half lengthwise, sewed both halves together at the middle so it would be long enough to drape along the top of the wall curtain.

I attached a dragonfly hook on the back of the door.  I purchased it from Restoration Hardware some years ago to put in the half bath of my old house.  It has a verdigris finish.  I thought it would come in handy when students use the bathroom as a changing room.
The plant on top of the toilet tank has survive my neglect for nearly 2 years.  I am terrible with house plants.  I do well with the window boxes because I have to water them everyday.  It is part of my opening routine.  But, give me a house plant and you are sentencing it to a long and slow death.  I should not have admitted this.  The plant was given to me by some very good friends as a “shop” warming gift.  I moved it to the bathroom so I might remember to water it more often.  Maybe that is why it is still hanging in there.

Here are just a few photos I had posted on my Wirkkala Designs website.  I thought that I would copy them here.  The first is of the curtains and pillows I made for the Master Bedroom in my old house.  You may recognize them, since they now hang in the front windows on my Sewing School!

Second picture is of a lamp I found in the trash.  I cleaned it up, had it rewired and made a lampshade out of some Elephant print fabric I have, which you may recognize from a quilt I have pictured below and in another post.  I glued the trim on with white glue.  I prefer double sided tape nowadays.  Less messy, instant tack and no burning potential when using a hot glue gun.  This picture was taken at the base of the stairway, leading to the 1/2 bath on the first floor of my old place.  The painting on the wall is a watercolor I did.  I copied a picture of leaves scattered on the forest floor.

The third picture is of my daughter’s crib, from when she still slept in one.  Of course, she slept with the side on, but the picture looked much better without the railing.  I made the dust ruffle, bolster pillow, the bumper pads and the duvet cover for the crib-sized down comforter.  (The only place I was able to find that size of down comforter was at the Company Store in Wisconsin)  Amelia still uses the duvet and even though she is too long for it to cover her, she takes it with her on sleepovers and, at home, has me put it on top of all her other blankets.  Once I pieced the top, I backed it with cotton batiste, stitched those layers together in the ditch so that it would keep the patchwork seams from fraying in the wash.  It has worked well because this cover has been washed many times in the last 8.5 years.  Don’t you just love the walls behind the crib?  They were painted during the 4 days I was in the hospital when I had Amelia.  The painters did this beautiful paint effect.  Plus, they painted faint cloud images on the ceiling.  Dave Matuccio and his crew did the work.  Great guys.

Hi, this is very appropriate topic for today (Jan 28, 2009.)  We are having a snowstorm which is supposed to turn into freezing rain.  I have rescheduled today’s classes.  If the schools are closed due to weather, my school will probably be closed.  I will leave a voice message on the Laura’s Sewing School line (781-646-2463) as early in the day as possible, saying whether or not we will have class.  I will then try to contact everyone, effected by a class cancellation, directly.  I will offer a makeup class.  If you cannot make that class time, I will do my best to find another time for you to attend.  For example, I have been able to reschedule both this morning’s and evening’s classes for tomorrow.  Yet, one of the evening students couldn’t make it, so he is coming to another class time next week.

Keep warm and safe and cozy and we will see each other soon.

Laura

Following up from the Quilt project posting, here are pictures of various projects I completed in 2008. It’s not all of them, but the ones that are loaded into my shop computer. As you scroll onto the picture, each has a label of what it is.  Just like on the other pages, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge. To return to this page, click on the Back Button. (When I made so many items from a duvet cover: shower curtain, sink skirt, a top and a dress and then had some fabric left over, I couldn’t help but think of Carol Burnett’s “Went with the Wind.” Their take on “Gone with the Wind.” Check it out on YouTube, especially part 2 and the dress she makes…… Part 1 and Part 2)

Well, I haven’t been very prolific when it comes to posting new things. I do sew as much as I can, but haven’t been keeping up with posting pictures of my work. And, I have made more things than I have the photos to prove.  So, I thought I would quickly post my latest quilt project. I make quilts, not for money, but for friends and family. There is so much time and work involved, it would not be a financially viable way to make a living. I do it for the love of the process and the recipient. Piecing a quilt top requires precision, and since I have a streak of perfectionism in me, it is a good outlet for that. (To see an image closeup, click on it. To return to this page, press the Back button.)

The pictures of the individual blocks are in order from left to right, top to bottom. If you look closely, you can see that I put the border print in every block. I had to “fussy cut” them but the effort was worth it.

The Last picture is of the pillow my daughter, Amelia, made for Joan. She took scraps from when I was making the center block, and without help from me, cut and sewed the pinwheel. Then, she asked me to rotary cut some strips. She did all the sewing and stuffed the pillow and hand-sewed it closed.

This quilt was started in the fall. It was a gift for my daughter’s great aunt, who was suffering from cancer. I had bought a set of 1800’s reproduction fabrics from Keepsake Quilting in New Hampshire. My friend, Sara, and I went on a day trip there a few years ago. We wanted to see their store and take a day off together. She makes wonderful quilts. Sara always has a quilt in process and is very organized. She brings a file folder of fabric swatches with her so that she can fill out the colors needed for the quilt. I tend to enter a store and buy what appeals to me. I didn’t plan on buying anything that day. But, of course, I could not resist…… 19th century style fabrics are not what I usually work with. I tend to like batiks, bright colors, and more contemporary styled prints, including some modern. I bought a variety which would go together well. Trying something new, or should I say “old?” I thought I would make a feathered star quilt. But, as I let my fabric age, I never started it. When I thought of doing so, I couldn’t find them in my stash and then, when I could find them, I had misfiled the pattern.

Last Fall, I decided to make a quilt for Joan. I thought she would like the more traditional fabrics. She was a fine needleworker. Amelia received several gorgeously made smocked garments. And, Amelia was christened in a gown Joan had made for her children, grandchildren and other family members. Amelia was the 11th to wear it 9 years ago. She was a photographer, and writer, too. I decided to use Biblically inspired blocks for the quilt, since Joan and her husband are devoted Christians. I used 2 books by Rosemary Makhan for the patterns, “Biblical Blocks” and “More Biblical Blocks.”

The 6 squares above and below the center block, are 12 inches square and placed on point. They are divided in thirds, fifths, sixths and sevenths. That means that some of my cutting was to the 1/16th of an inch, yikes! For the triangular piecing, I used a paper piecing technique using freezer paper patterns. I used freezer paper templates, ironed to the fabric for the odd shaped pieces in the Tree of life block. The rest were cut to size and pieced together. The borders were cut to show the pattern at its best. It was hard to match them at the corners since the pattern in the red section was not symmetrical. I was in a hurry to put on the outside border, so I just crossed my fingers and left it up to serendipity that they would look good. It turned out better than if I had tried to second guess it. As you have probably figured out, I did all of the cutting and sewing for the quilt top.

Since I needed a fast turnaround on the quilting, I decided to have a professional machine quilter do the work, if I could find someone who was available. Georgette Gagne of Black Wolf Quilting Services was able to help me. I gave her the top on a Sunday afternoon. She lives in Webster, NH. We met the following Wednesday at 5pm in Nashua. I drove right back to my shop and started putting on the binding. I finished it after my evening class, around Midnight. I printed a label on my inkjet printer. I set the ink with a dry iron. The printing was done by ironing a sheet of 8.5 x 11″ sheet of freezer paper to the back of the fabric. I trimmed the sides evenly and ran it through my HP. I used the same fabric as the quilt backing. So, to have it stand out, I bordered it with a rust colored print, which coordinated with the binding fabric.

I used the freezer paper piecing method on my Elephant Walk quilt, pictured below.  It hangs in my shop near the cutting table. It is easy and precise. All of the triangles in the compass and the borders are done this way. It was especially helpful when I did all of the green triangles in the Tree of Life Block. This technique was the brain child of Judy Mathieson. I took a workshop with her a few years back in which I did the center compass of the Elephant quilt. She is an extremely talented quilter whose best known for her Mariner Compass quilts.  Since I was intent on using the Elephant print fabric somewhere, she suggested that I have Elephant’s walking across the quilt.  Thank you, Judy!  I machine pieced all of the geometrics.  I hand appliqued the various Elephants who are walking outside the lines.  Needle turning under the 1/8″ inch wide tail of the smallest elephant is not something I would like to do again.  Then, I machine quilted in the ditch around all of the triangles and compass points and borders.  Then I free-motion quilted around all of the elephants and plants and flowers and the cream colored background of the center block.  Trimmed bound and labeled it.  The label is also done on the inkjet printer, like the Biblical quilt above.  It’s been in 3 shows.

Kathy and I first met when she started attending one of my classes 6 years ago. She heard about me through her friend, Mary Poor, who had been taking lessons with me. Kathy kept coming week after week, month after month. She started with home dec, never imagining she would sew clothing, let alone, knits. Now, Kathy’s outlet is sewing and she has a fabulous new sewing room in the house she and her husband, Noam, just moved into after lengthy renovations.

Kathy has become a very good friend and has gone exploring the internet and fabric websites and pattern makers I hadn’t even known existed. Recently, we took a trip out to Sawyer Brook Fabrics in Clinton, MA, together. Pattern Review arranged a special day visiting SBF. They opened the showroom on a Saturday for us, gave us a preview of their fabric line and let us loose in the showroom to purchase fabric. I only bought 4 pieces, hah! A beautiful silk tweed; a soft, pinwale printed corduroy; and 2 different knits. I will post pictures when I finish those garments. After we finished at SBF, we all went to a lovely orchard in Sterling, MA. called Meadowbrook Orchards. The sandwiches were great and do not miss their apple turnovers.

So, back to Kathy. I am posting pictures of a few of the items she has made. I think you will enjoy working with her. She is positive and can help you understand working with knits from purchasing them, matching them to the right pattern and construction techniques on a regular sewing machine. If you have a serger, you are welcome to bring it, but it is not required to be able to take this class.

Please check out the web links on the right column for resources.

Patterns: Jalie, Christine Jonson, the major pattern companies: McCall’s, Butterick, Simplicity, Kwik Sew, Burda, New Look, Green Pepper all have patterns for knits. The Ottobre Designs Magazine always has some nice patterns for knit clothing. You can buy these patterns at each of the listed companies’ websites, plus: JoAnn’s, Pattern Review (website), Sewing Patterns.com, The Sewing Place, Sewzanne’s and others.
Since Fabric Place is closing, it is harder to find good quality knits locally. Online is our best resource for buying knits. This can be scary for us who like to feel the fabric before we buy it. Most online services will send you swatches of fabrics which interest you. And, places like Sawyer Brook, offer a regular swatching service in which you receive swatches of the new fabrics several times a year. Usually there is a small fee for this service, but it is worth it.

I have several sites listed. There are so many great knits available today. Eco friendly like Bamboo, or even Soy! Tencel, Rayon, Cotton and blends and Polyester and hemp, this list goes on. Check out: Emma One Sock; Sewzanne’s; Gorgeous Fabrics; Christine Jonson; Fashion Fabrics Club; Vogue Fabrics; Sawyer Brook Fabrics; The Rain Shed (known for activewear and outdoor fabrics), Denver Fabrics and I am sure there are other places I haven’t encountered, yet.

Kathy will be going over the basics for choosing the right materials for your project. Have some ideas in mind coming to the first class. One thing you need to know is that patterns for wovens are sized for woven fabrics. There is extra room built in for “wearing ease.” There needs to be space between you and the fabric so that you can move your body. With knits, the fabric itself has wearing ease built into it, from a little to a lot. Have you ever bought a knit shirt that was smaller than your body, but when you put it on, it fit perfectly? To get a skin tight, curve-hugging fit, the knit shirt had to be made smaller than your body measurements in order to fit that way. The give of the knit fabric allows it to hug your shape.

Different knits, have different stretch. Some stretch more in one direction than another. Most sweaters have more give across your body than up and down. Knits designed for activewear usually stretch equally across an up/down. Double knits, you may remember the cursed Leisure Suits of the 70’s, are very stable and hardly stretch at all. You would use a pattern for wovens for this type of knit.

Denver Fabrics has a very good page on their website describing different types of knits and their appropriate uses for garments. They also describe how much stretch is in different percentages of stretch suggested for patterns. You see, each pattern for knits will have a stretch guide on the back of the pattern envelope. For example. A 50% stretch fabric means that if you take a 4 inch piece of fabric, it must stretch at least 6 inches wide to qualify to be used in the pattern calling for 50% stretch. On Sewzanne’s web site, there is a description in the right hand column of each particular knit, how it is made and best suggested uses. So, if you click on the page for “French Terry,” it tells you its definition in the right hand column, next to the color listings.

I have been playing with knits more lately because of Kathy’s encouragement. I bought some Jalie patterns through Pattern Review. As a member, I receive a discount on patterns purchased through their website. Nearby is a picture of my daughter. She is wearing a shirt I made for her from Jalie pattern 2788. It is the twist top pattern with a couple of alterations. I made a girls size “8″ (Jalie sz “L”), but lengthened it quite a bit. As you can see, she is thin and long. I raised the back neckline so it no longer scoops or needs a tie. She wanted long sleeves that flare out at the bottom. A nice part of Jalie patterns is that they are sized from a girl’s size 2 up to a plus sized woman’s. I used this same pattern to make 2 different sleeveless tops for myself. You trace off your size from the heavy paper pattern. I like using Pattern Ease for this. Pattern Ease is sold by the yard. It is a non-woven polyester/rayon material which is stable in all directions and is sheer enough that it is easy to trace patterns. It is quite durable and I prefer it over Swedish Pattern paper or other tracing mediums. Fabric Corner, here in Arlington, usually carries it. It is often kept with the interfacings.

If you use Ottobre Designs, the patterns are traced off from a Magazine insert. Pattern Ease works great for this, too. Getting back to this shirt I made for Amelia on October 3rd…..After I traced and altered the pattern, I sewed the seams with the serger on a 4 thread overlock and used a twin needle for all of the hems. The 2 best things about the project were that I finished it in 2 1/2 hours and Amelia really liked the shirt and it fit her. I guess that is 3 things.

In conclusion, you will love this class. Kathy is personable and funny and knits are easier than you would think. You must know how to sew in order to join this class. This is not a class for beginners. If you are not sure where you stand, just call or email me to find out if you have enough experience.

This summer was amazing. I met so many new students and was thrilled with their work. I wanted to share some photos of a few of the many projects which were completed over the 7 weeks of classes. I will be adding more pictures shortly.

You can click on any one of the images to enlarge it. When you want to return to this page, just use you “Back” button once.

Before I say anything else…….CHECK YOUR MEASUREMENTS AGAINST THE PATTERN SIZE CHARTS!!!!!!!!!! The current retail market sizing does not coincide with the sizing the pattern companies use. The major American pattern companies got together in 1971 to agree on a standard for sizing their garments. They not only agreed on the standard measurements for each size but that they would not change them in the future. This means that, for the most part, those measurements matched the retail industry at that time, 1971. Over the last 37 years, the retail industry has been “deflating” sizes. Why? This is because most of us females will choose a smaller size number when offered 2 garments that are exactly the same. (Vanity is hard to admit!) Designers have been doing this for decades. Now all of the retail market has done it. And, the sizing has gotten to be very inconsistent from brand to brand and store to store. Sometimes, you don’t even know what size you will wear until you try it on.

One of the most basic things you must not get stuck on when you make your own clothing, is the number of your size. If you currently wear a size 4 in women’s, you may end up making a size 12 or 14 Misses in the patterns. The fit is what is important, not the number. Also, no matter what the style of the garment, your measurements are taken in the same place on your body as indicated on the size charts. Currently, the common placement for a “waistband” on clothing for young people (tweens, teens and young adults) is below one’s natural waistline and belly button. It can vary widely depending on the style. When the size chart refers to your waist measurement, it is referring to your natural waistline, which is above your hip bone and below your ribs. Usually, it is the smallest measurement of your torso. Please click on the following link to find the instructions to measure your body and size charts for McCall’s patterns. Each company has size charts listed on their websites.
All of the patterns have multiple sizes in each envelope. There will be at least 3 sizes, possibly more in each pattern. If your measurements span more than one size, that is OK. Several sizes are included with each pattern. If you bridge the gap between size groups (you straddle sizes 12 and 14 and the pattern you want comes in sizes (8-10-12) and (14-16-18), purchase the size that most closely matches the measurements you need for the garment you want to make. For example, if you are making pants and you are bigger on the bottom than the top, buy the larger size.

When you purchase your pattern, MAKE SURE YOUR SIZE IS INCLUDED IN THE ENVELOPE YOU PICK UP. STORES DO NOT TAKE RETURNS ON PATTERNS. The envelopes for different size groups all look the same, except in the small area designated to label what sizes are included in the package. Make sure you check for that. It will be along the top or side edge of the front of the pattern envelope.

I am including many pictures and links for patterns from the Big 3 American Pattern companies below: McCall’s, Simplicity and Butterick. Also, I found some interesting patterns from New Look and Hot Patterns. All of these are meant as suggestions for learning sewers. Usually, the less pieces and details, the easier the clothing is to make. Also, the less tailored, the easier it will be to fit you.

I strongly urge you to stick with woven cottons or linens/linen blends for your first clothing project. A nice stable fabric will be much easier to work with than something flowing or sheer or slippery. Please follow this advice. There is nothing more frustrating than to have to work with a fabric which is hard to control, especially without the experience to back you. Also, no knits! We wear knits all the time. They are so inexpensive to buy in ready-made clothing. But, for sewing, they are not easy to handle if you haven’t sewn clothing before.

When I mention cottons or linens, here are some examples. Many cottons designed for quilting are wonderful for pajama bottoms, skirts and tops. Flannel is great for pajamas. Linen and blends can work very well for any of these items depending on the weight, or thickness, of them. Cotton eyelet can work nicely. Also, for a closer fitting skirt or pant, you can find some nice bottom weights, like a stretch twill cotton, which includes a little lycra. Or a lightweight denim.
Please wash & dry your fabric ahead of class time. This will preshrink the fabric and remove any sizing (starch) and residual pesticides that have been added to the material to keep it well in transit and storage and on display. Do not use fabric softener in the wash or softener sheets in the dryer. If you will be using a fusible interfacing, the softener will keep it from adhering to the fabric. After the garment is made, it is fine to use fabric softener when it is laundered.

Make sure to check the back of the pattern envelope. It has a lot of information. Here are the items to take note of: a list of required “notions.” These are the items you need such as thread (which they may or may not list), a zipper, buttons, hooks and eyes, elastic, cording, etc.; you may need “interfacing.” This is material which goes between the layers of fabric to give you more strength and stability in certain areas or the gament like, the collar, cuffs and button band, the waistband, the neck and armhole area of sleeveless, collarless shirts, etc.; the patterns below may suggest lining, Bemberg/Ambiance rayon lining is wonderful or you may want a cotton batiste, but, I hope that there is no lining in your first project.

As far as thread goes, buy a good quality 100% polyester thread such as Gutermann or Mettler. Both are made in Germany. One spool is usually enough for a basic project. Do not buy discount, cheap thread. As with fabric, you will be spending a lot of time and effort sewing, don’t scrimp when it comes to thread. If it is low quality, your garment may fall apart at the seams. Purchase a color which blends with your fabric. If you cannot find the exact color, use one that comes close in the same shade (lightness or darkness.) If you must choose a color which is a slightly different shade, see which one blends better. Usually, go darker for a dark fabric and lighter for a light fabric. It is hard to judge how well a thread will match by holding the spool to the fabric. If you have ever tried choosing a paint color, you may have had the experience that the sample chip from the store looks a whole lot different when the color is intensified by being painted on a wall. The spool is like the wall, what we want is the “paint chip.” The color of the spool is too intense. Separate a tail of the thread, lay it across the fabric and see how that looks. It comes across a lot different. Perception of color is subjective. It is influenced buy the colors it surrounds.

When you first work with clothing patterns, there are so many things to learn. Your first pattern will be the hardest because of this. Patterns contain a lot of information, but they also assume a certain amount of understanding in order to work with them. Once you have gone through one pattern, with help, you will find that following projects are much easier to do on your own.

I mentioned some pattern makers above. There are many other companies which produce patterns for clothing. Burda is a German based company. They have many great designs, but for beginners, I find that their instructions and illustrations lacking. Kwik Sew is based in Minneapolis, MN. They offer patterns for clothing items you may not find in the big companies. The one thing that I don’t like for beginners is that many of their patterns include a very small “seam allowance” of 1/4.” The major companies usually use a 5/8″ seam allowance. It is much easier to work with when you are learning. Vogue produces many beautiful patterns. But, they lean toward designs which require more advanced sewing skills. So, keep them in mind for later projects.
There are small pattern makers. They can have very innovative designs. Often, the instructions are geared toward a more experienced sewing enthusiast, so I recommend that you gain some skill before endeavoring to use their patterns.

I say all this because I wish you success in your first clothing project. The best way for you to finish and have pride in your work is to keep things as simple as possible. Usually, simple pants and skirts are easier to start with than tops. Some of the patterns I link below include tops and dresses. Some are very easy, like a peasant blouse. Some are a little more involved, especially if it involves setting in a sleeve or collar. I tried to only list ones which I thought would be good for a novice. Some of the tops, included in pajama patterns & separates, may be for knits and I do not recommend that you make them at this time.

The links for the patterns will lead you to the online stores the their respective companies. There are many places to buy these patterns. The companies which produce them, local fabric stores, like Fabric Place in Woburn and Framingham, or JoAnn Fabrics in Burlington, Natick, Saugus and elsewhere in the Boston Metro Area. I have links in the right hand column of this page for many resources, including a company called Sewing Patterns.com. They carry all of the pattern companies from big to small and offer good discounts and many sales.

I am happy to answer questions for you. If you want to know if a pattern no listed here would be appropriate for your project, please send me a link for it so that I can give you my feedback.

BUTTERICK

Butterick Pattern company is now part of McCall’s and Vogue. They do not have very many Kids/Teens patterns. So, go further down to Simplicity and McCall’s Listings to see more for youth.

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity has some nice styles and some very up-to-date looks for young people. They have patterns inspired by the show “Project Runway.” I do not link any of those here because the patterns are more complicated to follow. But, they could be in your future if you gain the skills to make them. The Simplicity web site also lists the New Look patterns.

MCCALL’S

McCall’s has a large selection of patterns. They have been around for awhile. There are some nice styles for kids and teens, as well as women and plus sizes. The McCall’s web site also lists the Hot Patterns.

HOT PATTERNS:

They have a lot more patterns on their website, which is linked above. Check it out for yourself. They have a set called “No Sweat Easy Sew” which I show 3 of below.

Many of you find me online and are looking to learn how to sew or rediscover a lost skill. Now that is not true for everyone, since I do teach experience seamstresses, too. But, even if you have been sewing for a long time, you may not know how a machine works. We drive around town unaware of the mechanics of a car and we use computers while being technologically ignorant. And, that’s OK, because those machines are meant to be user friendly to those of use who don’t care to know how they work. As long as I can turn the key and go, I’m happy.

I do find that knowing how a machine works can be very helpful for understanding problems and overcoming them. Here is a website that you may find interesting for many items. This link will bring you to the sewing machine page. “How stuff works” is a great site for explaining and showing animated illustrations of how different mechanical items function. Make sure that you scroll down on this page so that you can see the animations.

When I sit down with a new student, whether they have experience or not, I try to show them how a sewing machine functions. And I explain how every standard household sewing machine is threaded in the same order. It may look different on different machines, but the function is the same. The first workable sewing machine was invented in the mid-1800’s. It is a fascinating history, for people like me who love to sew, and you can learn more by following this link to About.com Another history of the sewing machine is written on the Singer website.

The household sewing machine we use today is called a lockstitch machine. It is the one that has a thread on the top and one down below called a bobbin, which looks like a mini spool of thread. Each machine has a bobbin winding mechanism on it so that you can wind your own bobbins from the spool of thread which will be feeding from the top of your machine.

In the How Stuff Works illustrations, the first one is for a looping stitch, or chain stitch. That is done with one thread fed from the top. Your home sewing machine doesn’t do this stitch. But, this kind of stitching is like a chain stitch in crochet. It is a loop pulled through a loop and if broken, can come undone easily. Have you ever bought a paper bag of potatoes? There is a line of stitching at the top. It you cut the right end, you can just pull and all of the chain comes out.

There are other machine, used with fabrics, that produce a chain stitch. A Serger has multiple cones of thread and all of the stitches formed are made by the threads looping around each other. If pulled just right, they can come off. Of course, most people who use sergers, know how to secure the threads at each end so that this is unlikely to happen. If you look inside your clothing, you will find that the seams are all covered with thread, this is made by a serger, or overlock machine. If you want to see what one looks like click here The image you see is the model of serger/coverstitch machine I own. I wasn’t sure which one to input and there are so many brands. Just because I bought this one, it isn’t the only one I would recommend. If you want to read about the functionality, read here.

There is a series of videos I came across in my web search. It has thorough instructions on its use and how to thread and run it. The website is called Expert Village. This link leads you to the first video in a series about the serger. So, if you have a serger and need some help, visit this site to see if the video explains what you need to know. If you do not have a serger, but are curious about it, you can glean something from this, too.

If you have taken your clothes to be hemmed at the cleaners, especially dress slacks, the stitching will not show on the outside. This is because the tailor is using a blindhem machine. Often done in invisible thread, you will be hard pressed to see any stitches on the outside of the garment. These machine may also be used with curtains and other items. You may also find that it you catch your heel on the thread inside the hem, one too many times, that once the thread breaks, all the stitching comes out. The blindhem machine uses a loop stitch, and once it is no longer secured, it unravels.

So, the home sewing machine, is a lockstitch machine. 2 threads, one on top, the other below, are intertwined so that they are locked together and will not give way like a chainstitch will.

About.com has a page of interesting sewing links. I will link it here so you can go exploring, too.

If you have an old Singer, you can find out when and where it was made, by visiting the Singer website. All you need is the serial number off of the machine. They even show you how to find it. So, if you want to know when Grandma’s machine was made, visit Singer here. Or, there is one link off the About page you can explore, which will tell you the history of the brand of machine you own, or for which you are interested. It is called the International Sewing Machine Collector’s Society I have this linked to the Singer information page on About/ISMCS, but the left hand column sports links for all the old brands of machines. Some of the companies are still in business. And, some you may never have heard of. And, some of the current brands are not listed. But, it can be fun to jump around to learn what you can.

I have many sewing machines. Some are very old. My grandmother left me her old treadle machine, but it is in Minnesota, so I am not sure when I will be able to retrieve it. I have some early, electric, portable machines; my first sewing machine from the 50’s, plus some from later than that to modern computerized machines. Also, I have some industrial machines for my accessories business.

The majority of your sewing is a simple straight stitch. All of my machines from before 1960, have only a straight stitch function. In fact, I started on a “New Home” that my mother used, and it did a zigzag. Then she bought me a Viking which only did a straight stitch. At first I was upset, because I was ready to make buttonholes on a shirt I was finishing, and this machine couldn’t do it. But, it came with a buttonhole machine which had cams of various sizes and shapes of buttonholes. It makes the nicest buttonhole you have ever seen. I used that machine for several decades for all of my clothing and quilting. It was only a few years ago that I started using a more modern machine for those projects. And, it was only because I was wanting to be able to blind hem or overcast without changing machines.

I plan to put up another post about what I like in sewing machines. What to watch out for and what features are really helpful to have. I will also talk about Sewing Machine Dealers vs. big chain stores vs. online purchasing, including auction sites. Also, I am looking into posting some video instructions for “How to thread your sewing machine;” “How to wind a bobbin;” and other helpful items. I hope to have you be able to visit my site and get answers to questions you can’t find elsewhere. Or in a format that makes it easily understandable for you.

So, keep in touch and check back with me. If all else, just come to class and have me show you what you want to learn.

I spent very little time talking about the value of using a dress form. I guess I lost myself in the excitement of how simple and inexpensive making a custom one could be. So, I thought I would talk about what is so helpful about a dress form, especially one that reflects your body shape exactly.

Most of the time, you may imagine dress forms as being only for designers, or tailors, bridal shops, costumers and SERIOUS clothing makers. And, sometimes the price seems prohibitive, or you just don’t know what to do with it!

Dress forms are a great way to fit clothing, check the drape of the fabric, and try design ideas or alterations of someone else’s design. If you want to make the effort of sewing your own clothing worthwhile, time and energy need to be spent in checking the fit several times during the construction process. A knowledgeable sewing friend is necessary to truly help you fit the garment well to your body. They can pin the fabric to fit better, hang better, flatter your figure better.

Most of us are sewing at all times of the day or night. We may not have that friend available at 1:30am when it’s time to check the fit in the seat. We can contort ourselves trying to pinch and pin and adjust, but it is very hard to do on ourselves.

What if, you had a clone of yourself to stand there for hours, never complaining, never needing to take a bathroom break, willing to be there until all hours of the night? What if they always agreed on your choice of music? Let you stick pins in them? Too good to be true? Not anymore.

The idea of a custom dress form is nothing new. From what I have read, paper tape dress forms have been around since the 1930’s. I’m talking about ones made out of layers of paper packaging/mailing tape, which are done in a similar way to the duct tape forms that I am referring to below. That was a time when most women knew how to sew. Machines would be tucked inside a sewing cabinet which looked like a table. When I say that women knew how to sew, I mean, they really knew how to sew. The styles and details and difficult tailoring were commonplace. Think back to some to the styles and how well fit they were to the body. I love looking at designs in movies from the 1940’s. Back then, it wouldn’t be so hard to find someone to help you with your fitting, because so many of your friends shared the same skills and interests. Now, it may not be so easy.

I love how some item that was designed for one use is used in a completely different way that it was designed for. When I worked at a Sail Loft on Lake Superior, I had this boss named Rich Smith. He wasn’t one to talk a lot or shower one with compliments. Glowing praise from him might be “Good job, LW.” He never used my first name. It would always be Wirkkala or LW. But, I always felt my work was appreciated and that he understood when a job was “yucky” or a pain. (this is becoming a shaggy dog story….) Repairing sails is hard work. The floor becomes your work table. The sails are huge, you crawl around a lot, sometimes they are smelly from being wet or moldy. The sewing machine was built into the floor, actually, it was suspended from the ceiling of the boat shop downstairs. Rich said that he didn’t think I wanted to see what held me and the machine into the floor. The machine was in the floor so that the weight of the sail didn’t pull it away from the machine while sewing. I would have to sit sideways on a stool, to keep out of the way of the sail as it fed through the machine. Sometimes, another person would have to pull the sail while I was sewing so that it would run through the machine straight and steady. The machine was very powerful and would go through very thick material, as much as 1/2-3/4 inch thick. The needle would get so hot from the speed and friction that it would smoke. If the area was really thick, we would spray it with silicone, to make the needle slide through the layers better. Rich had a great sense of humor. He would tell us stories about sailboat racing. Often the funniest were of times when things didn’t go well.

To drum up business, we would go to the sailboat races locally and in Duluth, MN. One time, we went to Duluth for the Wednesday evening race. It’s light late in the summer, until 9:30pm. We arrived at Canal Park for the pre-race meeting. One of the things that happens at the meeting is that anyone who needs crew for their boat, puts out the call and people respond. Since there were 4 of us, we split up between boats. I was put with a small, 22 ft boat with a 3 man crew. Because I worked in a Sail Loft, the captain assumed that I knew how to sail. On the way to his boat, I confessed that I didn’t know anything about sailing except how to be movable ballast. He looked me up and down and said that he doubted that I would be much use in that case. (I was really skinny then and my weight moving from side to side wouldn’t be much help to the boat’s tilt in the water.) When a sail boat is tacking, it heels over, or leans to one side. Usually, in a brisk wind, the crew sits on the high side of the boat to help it not heel over too far and help increase the speed of the boat through the water. If the wind is really slow, the crew may sit on the low side for the same reason, different circumstance. Sometimes, the only job a crew member will have is “movable ballast,” meaning that all they do is switch sides of the boat as it tacks (turns.) Movable ballast is the job given to people who don’t know how to sail.

When we got to his boat and I discovered how small it was, I became nervous. There was barely enough room under the boom for me to crawl from one side of the boat to the other when we tacked, even less with a life jacket on. Yet, I wasn’t in a situation where I felt I could back out. I came to wish I had. There had been a storm on the lake the previous few days. So, even though it was clear, the waves had turned into rollers which were 8-10 feet high. Rollers don’t crest, they just go up and down. Any of you ocean-going people are probably laughing at me right now. I am a lake girl, and where we lived, the Apostle Islands broke up the fury of the lake to some extent, therefore, I had never encountered being on a boat in that condition.

As we exited the canal into the lake, I realized I was in trouble and wished that I had not agreed to be a crew on any of the boats. But, it was too late. The whole time we were out there, I had only 2 wishes. First, not to fall off the boat and secondly, not to throw up.

When we finally finished the race and reconnoitered in Rich’s Suburban, we all sat there, thankful for the lack of movement. Rich said, “you’re out there and you think, ‘If the boat would just stop moving for 10 seconds, I would feel better.” One of the girls with us had been feeling nauseous on their boat, so she got sent to the low side of the boat. That way if she got sick, no one else would have to suffer for it. (Think of spitting into the wind.) This was a brisk night and you can imagine how it must have felt to have been near the water on the low side of a boat, as it is racing across the lake.

So, back to the unintended use of products. When out on a boat and a sail rips, duct tape is often used to temporarily hold the rip together. It works in wet and dry circumstances. Rich used to say, “…..and on the 7th day, God created Duct tape!” So, here I am, over 20 years later, continuing my relationship with duct tape in another way.

Finally, to get back to the value of a dress form. You can save yourself many headaches and disappointments if you can fit your clothing on a form that matches your body. You learn how to change patterns to fit you. What needs to be done to flatter your figure. If any of you watch “What not to Wear,” you will hear them respond to a woman who talks about needing to lose weight, “we want you to dress for the body you have now.” So, if it fits you well, it will make you look good and feel good. You can save yourself money and headaches in the future. It can also help you create with success instead of guesswork. Why? Different fabrics react differently in the same pattern. I made a pattern of a linen shirt I love. I used quilting cottons for my new shirt. The shirt came out fine, but it didn’t fit the same because the linen has a flexibility that the cotton does not. It hangs in a different way. If I had a form, I could check that on it and make adjustments. I will take pictures of those shirts so that you can see a “knock-off.” That means a garment for which the pattern is taken off of another piece of clothing.

So, after all of this, here is what you need to bring with you when you come to the workshop:

• Long T-shirt or close-fitting turtleneck, this will become part of the dress form, so it has to be one that you are willing to sacrifice to the cause! If the shirt doesn’t go past the hipline, we can extend it

• Leggings or tights to wear while being taped

• Undergarments like you wear under most of your clothes, so that the form will be shaped (conformed, constricted, or left to hang) like your body is on a daily basis.

• Breath mints, just kidding!

If you have been to the shop, or see the pictures on the site, you know that there are large windows across the front and on the door. All shades and curtains will be pulled closed and the door will be locked so that we won’t have any surprise visitors while we are holding this workshop. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, we will stop and cut the form off immediately.

I will walk everyone through the process and demonstrate the taping techniques. We may need to do some prep of your shirt, etc. and we will do that, too. I will supervise every form made so that you will be happy with the one you take home with you. No swapping!

I think that teams of 3 work really well. One person being taped by 2 others. One in front and one in back. I think it will go better that way and faster.

There are ways to make stands and fill the forms. I will present them to you and you can decide what you want to do. You will need to buy fiberfill, (polyester fill for pillows and stuffed animals) to fill and support your form. I have seen various options, included packing peanuts. I have seen it recommended that the bust be filled with raglan shoulder pads. Let’s see how it goes and I will answer any questions you have about finishing them. If need be, we may have a short follow-up class.

The final thing is that I can teach you how to use your form through the classes you take for sewing. If your body does change, you will know how to make the form. With help from a good friend, you can remake the form in short order and very little monetary outlay.

I look forward to seeing you soon!