by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 12, 2014
I’m so excited to tell you all about an amazing event I am fortunate to be part of, happening September 26-28th in Toronto. I had a super “eeekkk!” moment a few months ago, when Esmari from Warp and Weft asked me to be part of her first ever Warp & Weft Weekend. This weekend will showcase the work of surface designer, Elizabeth Olwen, and will be hosted by RE:Style Studio in their workshop space. (And I promise all of this has to do with gorgeous fabric and sewing!)
It just so happens that Elizabeth lives in Toronto as well. Who, aside from her other amazing clients, designs beautiful fabric for Cloud 9! Her second collection Wildwood is set to be released around the end of this month and people, it is so gorgeous! I have had the AMAZING opportunity to sew with pre-released yardage from Wildwood and to design a project specifically inspired by it. (Just pinched myself, not dreaming!) And so… (drumroll please) I get to introduce the Forest Glen Satchel to you! I’m going to be teaching this project as a workshop during the weekend and you all are invited to join in.
The Forest Glen Satchel workshop will be taught on the Saturday, September 27th during the event’s Creative Sewing Afternoon Tea. SOOoooo great! Each satchel sewn will be made using the new Wildwood collection. This means that if you come to the workshop you are able to leave with a finished Satchel in one of three Wildwood collection combinations chosen by Elizabeth! If you’d like to sign up to attend the workshop, please click over to the Warp & Weft Weekend event site to register. (But wait, there’s more!)
RE:Style Studio Workshop
The weekend also includes a Maker’s Talk on Friday evening, complete with cocktails. I can’t wait to hear what Elizabeth will say. I have read a bit about why she put this collection together and I can’t wait to hear more! And, as if that wasn’t enough, there is a Trunk Show and Pop-Up shop happening all weekend long in the RE:Style Studio space. The Pop-Up shop will feature Warp & Weft fabric and products, the RE:Style Studio collection and Elizabeth Olwen’s other design products including items from Madison Park Greetings and her Brika prints!
As I read through this I know it sounds a lot like an advertisement, but in all sincerity – this event is one of the most amazing opportunities that has happened in my blog’s life and I am so, SO pleased to be part of it. The people I have been able to meet and interact with through the process have been amazing and encouraging. Most of all I hope that I will be able to meet some of you who live around Toronto. Sign up to attend the Maker’s Talk, drop by the Pop-Up shop or register for the Afternoon Tea Workshop. I’ll be there throughout the weekend!
I would be remiss if I did not thank you all for your amazing comments, advice and reminders on the last post. I am so grateful to have such caring readers and I am so fortunate to be able to journey through my life with you! Thank you!
by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 4, 2014
Wow! I have severely overestimated my ability to get things done and get two kids started in school. Especially since my body decided to let me catch a cold earlier this week! This past few days has been a rush of emotion and busyness, all while trying to get a few things ready for some really fun events coming up soon. More on that another day, suffice to say – I’m just happy to have “finally” posted something new since last week!
At the risk of using almost the same title twice in a row, I have made another mini quilt. (First one here.) This one is made from a little bundle of pre-cuts I received from Daryl at Fabric Spark. These photos were taken at the end of June, believe it or not. I’m feeling a bit behind in letting you know what’s going on around here! Either way, I am so happy with this little quilt. It has lived in our car for the entire (thankfully cool) summer and been loved a lot. We even have to keep track of who’s turn it is to use the “blanket mommy made”! You can tell we don’t have many of those yet!
(P.S. Fabric Spark is running their Mystery Fat Quarter event again – on now until September 14th! Buy the equivalent of one yard of fabric or more and use the code “FQfun” to receive a coordinating “Mystery” fat quarter absolutely free! Click here to visit Fabric Spark and see her great selection. I think you’ll have trouble stopping at 1 yard!)
When I got the pre-cut bundle, little did anyone know it would hold the most perfect number of colours and white squares possible! It almost exactly matched the requirements for the Big Love Quilt by Modern Handcraft for Dear Stella. The only thing it lacked was size, so I made it using a 5.5″ square instead of a 10″ square. So I guess instead of a Big Love quilt, I made a Little Love quilt. (hee hee!) I would love to try this again with another set of fabrics. I’ve got at least 4 bundles stashed that are waiting for quilts and I’ve begun cutting a 5th for something else.
This quilt is made from half square triangles (HST’s), with a few full white squares in the centre of the heart. It was extremely fast to sew up, even for a beginner quilter like me, and I love the results. Actually, I have several heart-related things pinned to my “Quilts I Might Make” Pinterest board, maybe it’s time to do a little round-up? I love that a quilt is an art-piece that you create to keep someone warm and let them know that you love them – so the heart theme is quite appropriate!
I am absolutely in love with the back of this quilt as well. It was nerve-wracking and fun to sort out how to stitch these pieces together so they came out in the positions I wanted them to, but it turned out great I think! I am quite happy with the low-volume modern-ness that it made itself into. And it’s amazing how clean it has stayed, even in the back seat of our car! (Though there was that one incident with the chocolate milk… but thankfully it came out in the wash!)
It is straight-ish line quilted and I used a double layer of fleece blanket for the batting. That amount of fleece would be perfect for a baby play-mat, nice and squishy! Unfortunately, squishy doesn’t really drape over your lap, but it is cozy, and the kids don’t notice things like drape anyhow! The most perfectly coloured binding is the same vintage yellow dot fabric I used to make my youngest’s Easter dress this spring. I love how it picks up on the yellows in the quilt. It’s machine sewn, since I haven’t had the compulsion to hand-stitch a binding on as yet!
Well, I’d better go now, I’ve got lots of things on the list to do tonight! Amazing how time flies by. First up… clean the house! (Today’s Trivia Question: How many times can you use the word love in a post? A: 11!)
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 29, 2014
I have literally been living in this dress this summer! When I wrote a tutorial on adding a drop shirt-tail hemline to the Staple Dress pattern earlier this year, I mentioned I had made a wearable muslin, and is it ever wearable. I picked up this rayon at my local Fabricland in the spring for about $6/metre, if I remember right. It’s very soft and drapes beautifully – making it perfect for the Staple Dress – and also a real pain to sew!
I seem to like prints with an obvious graphic repeat, and then I get home and have to sort out how to match up the side seams and keep everything straight at the same time. I’ve had a LOT of practice over the last few years! This fabric was one of the worst I have sewn with. It was a dream on the machine – but cutting the pieces was a nightmare. I had to straighten the lines in the fabric by holding my quilting ruler in a straight line and incrementally moving the fabric until it lay straight. Then I had to hold my breath while I placed the pattern on top and cut it out. Thankfully it all worked out well in the end.
I’ve already mentioned that the floaty nature of the fabric was hard to work with, but I would still highly recommend that a slightly thicker rayon is the ideal fabric for this style of dress. It really needs to drape well or it will look very boxy. A good quality rayon would also be much easier to lay out, and wouldn’t cause the trouble I put up with for this particular low quality (but gorgeous!) fabric. I’ve seen many complaints about the Staple Dress pattern on countless blogs. Most of these mention using (non-draping) quilting cotton to sew their garment. I wonder if it is a coincidence? I do have to say, though, in quilting cotton’s defense – that the Art Gallery fabrics are great for this pattern. They still do not drape as much as the rayon, but they drape enough to make a great dress. And think of all of the amazing collections you can choose from!
We took these photos in old Quebec City while we were on vacation. I wish I could go back – it was an amazing trip, and had so many great places to take photos! I got a little photo-bombed by my girls in this shot. It was the day that we also photographed the Add-a-Bow tutorial and the Flutter Sleeve Tunic. I love that all of us were wearing handmade, and that our vacation shots are going to preserve them forever. I’m sure, though, that one day we will look back at our vacation photos and my kids will wonder why I ever “let them” wear these outfits in public!
Our Material Girls Sewcial is tonight, and funny enough, I’m going to wear this dress. Which reminded me that I should post these photos before we run out of summer. It would be a little crazy to post a summer dress in the middle of winter, I think. I’ve got a collection of at least 4 photographed summer projects + the end of school teacher gifts I didn’t blog about yet. I should really get on that! Or, maybe I should wait until next May to post those… hmm…
Reader Feedback: Have you sewn a Staple Dress? How did yours turn out?
by Sherri Sylvester | Jul 22, 2014
And now… back to our regular programming folks! Last week’s giveaways were so much fun and I will be sending out emails to all of the winners today. Thanks again for your comments, I felt so fortunate to be able to find out more about all of you! And especially thanks for the amazing birthday wishes. I had a great day and was spoiled rotten by my husband and kids. I hope you all had as much fun as I did last week!
A while ago I mentioned that I wanted to make the Staple Dress, and what happens? Daryl from Fabric Spark has given me the opportunity to make one! I have had this pattern on my list for over a year, and I LOVE the results. I made a wearable muslin with the regular hem, so I thought that I would change it up and include a tutorial for a drop shirt-tail hem in this pattern review. What is a shirt-tail hem? After some searching I found out it is curved on both sides, like a dress-shirt. And a drop shirt-tail hem is just a bit longer on the back. I really like how it gives the pattern more shape at the hemline.
And, can I say that this is the most comfortable dress I have worn in a long time. It’s perfect for hanging out with the kids – or walking around Quebec city. We did quite a few photo shoots along the way on our vacation last week and it is so nice to have something old and historic in my photo backgrounds! You’ll be seeing more of the city in the next month or so.
I had a lot of fun choosing my fabric from Fabric Spark’s shop. She has so many great fabrics that work really well for sewing apparel. In the end, I decided to chose one of her Art Gallery fabrics, since this dress looks best in a fabric with a great drape. As usual with Art Gallery I was not disappointed! The selvage says “Feel the Difference” and it does not lie. These fabrics are so smooth and the drape is perfect for clothing. I picked African Palm Indigo from the Safari Moon collection by Frances Newcombe. The colour is so amazing in person. It is a soft blue and totally wearable – and almost the same colour as my eyes… which is a fun bonus! I love the art deco palm trees, and the scale is perfect for a dress.
I got the pattern in my Perfect Pattern Parcel #3 purchase (not available anymore). But lucky for you, Daryl has the Staple Dress pattern available on her site. And, it’s the real deal paper version, so you won’t have to print and assemble the pdf pattern to make it! Now when you are choosing your fabric, you can get the pattern too – hint, hint! The pattern is well written, with lots of tips and hints on how to use elastic thread to shirr the waist, and on lengthening and shortening your dress. You can even move the shirring up or down to suit your natural waistline. And… it has pockets! I was so disappointed when I realized I didn’t take any photos of them. But, they are there and I used them a lot. Don’t you just love a good set of pockets?!
On with the tutorial then… Here is how to alter your pattern pieces and hem the new shaped hemline into a drop shirt-tail hem.
You will need:
How to alter the pattern pieces:
- Cut/trace both front and back pattern pieces in the longest length. The front will be cut on the “straight hem” line and the back will be cut on the “drop hem” line.
- Remember to take into account that there is a 5/8″ hem included in these measurements – whatever you draw will end up 5/8″ shorter when hemmed.
- I already knew that I liked the straight hem dress length, so I used the drop hem length on the back pattern piece as the length for the drop shirt tail. I wanted the top of the hem where the side seam comes together to be a bit shorter than 1 1/2″ above the straight hem length. Draw a 5/8″ wide line at that point on your back side seam, measuring up from the straight hem pattern line. The 5/8″ line gives you room to sew the 5/8″ side seam without stitching into your hemming area.
- Use your curved ruler to draw a curve from the right side of your 5/8″ line (Step 3) down to the drop hem pattern line. Or you can draw it by eye using the curve in the photo as a guide.
- Cut your pattern on the new line.
- Place the Front pattern piece on top of the back pattern piece. It will match from the underarm down to the hem. (The shoulder is a bit higher on the back.)
- Trace the bottom of the back hemline onto a new piece of paper. Also trace the bottom of the front hem.
- Cut the extra paper along the back drop hem line. Place it underneath your front dress pattern piece, matching the traced line so it is correctly placed. Tape. Fold up or cut off the left corner of the original dress front so the new line is visible.
- Now we need to shorten the front hem, creating the “drop” at the back. Draw a straight line at your new height, parallel to the straight portion of the drop hem line (furthest on the right). I drew mine about 2″ up. Cut along the new line.
- Place the cut piece along the bottom of the cut line as a guide, and draw a new curve.
- Cut the front hem line along the new line.
- Cut your fabric using the new pattern pieces.
How to stitch the new hem:
- Follow all directions (up to the hemming instructions) as per the pattern when stitching the dress except when stitching the bottom of the side seam. Leave 5/8″ un-sewn at the bottom of the dress. Make sure to iron your seam open and finish your seam allowances.
- When you get to the hemming instructions continue on here instead. Baste from one side seam to the other along both dress front and dress back hemlines with a 1/4″ seam. Leave long tails at either end of these separate basting lines.
- Press the hem up 5/8″. Pull the long threads (as if you are gathering the fabric) to help ease in and curve the fabric along the hemline. Make sure your curves are neatly pressed, use lots of steam.
- Fold the raw edge under to meet the pressed edge of your hem. Iron again, pin if desired.
- Stitch along the upper edge of the hem, about 1/4″ away from the bottom of the hem. Curve the corners up to a point at the side seam, then continue down the next curve until you have stitched the entire hem.
Enjoy your new dress! And if you have any questions please contact me by email: sherri@threadridinghood.com
** This is a sponsored post and the fabric for the Staple Dress was provided to me at no cost by Fabric Spark. However, as always, all opinions are my own and I will not promote something to you that I do not love myself. **
by Sherri Sylvester | Jun 29, 2014
I managed to only post twice last week – oops. I finished a quilt in 5 days though, so it was necessary! I’m so excited – you can see some peeks of it on Instagram if you’d like. It’s not a complex pattern, or huge, or even “all-over” machine quilted (I tied most of it), but it’s finished and I love it! It’s actually my second quilt finish in as many weeks. The first one is photographed and ready, I’m just waiting for a good time to post it.
Friday was the last day of school for us, so I’ve got summer in full swing now, including my 2 year Blogiversary that is coming up really soon! I’m planning some fun stuff to thank you all, so stay tuned…
As part of my next Warp & Weft Sewing Society post I have put together a little tutorial as part of a larger tutorial for the quilt coming at the end of this week. I needed a few black hexies for a very mysterious part of the quilt (hee hee, you’ll have to come back to see it!) and I thought I would make my life a little easier. Turns out you can make these things without basting them! Instead of thread and a needle – you just need some freezer paper and an iron.
Now I know that the hand-sewn element involved in basting these hexies allows you to baste in the car, or make them as a “take-along” project. So, if you are one of those people I have a solution for you too. Instead of using an iron to adhere your freezer paper, try bringing along your hair straightener! The Riley Blake Instagram account posted this last week – and it would work perfectly. You could even use one of those outlet plugins in the car and make them on the road!
You will need:
Here we go:
Step 1: Cut the freezer paper to a size that will fit into your printer. I used a letter size sheet – so 8 1/2″ x 11″. I put them into the paper tray shiny side up, so my printer would print onto the matte side. Check which way your printer works before inserting the sheets. Now print out your hexie template. You can use the one I’ve provided in the “You will need” list or another one in the size you’d like.
Step 2: Cut out your hexie templates. This is not super fun, but it was a lot quicker than I thought it would be. I’ve noticed that there are pre-cut freezer paper hexie templates for sale online – so you could try that too.
Step 3: Iron the templates onto the wrong side of your fabric, leaving at least 1″ of space between them. The space accounts for the 1/2″ seam allowance. Make sure the shiny side is DOWN, unless you want the paper to stick to your iron! The shiny side of the freezer paper is actually a thin plastic layer, so when you iron it, it temporarily sticks to your fabric. I use the heat setting on my iron that matches my fabric, in this case it was cotton. Iron just long enough to get the paper to stick.
Step 4: Cut out around your templates. Leave at least 1/2″ seam allowance around all edges of your hexies. This is the part that will get folded under and usually gets hand basted.
Step 5: Grab one freezer paper/fabric pair. Pull to remove the freezer paper and flip it over so the shiny side of the paper is facing up, centred on the wrong side of your cut fabric. Fold one edge of your hexie seam allowance over onto the freezer paper and iron it down. Easy peasy, it sticks to the plastic layer! Proceed around the hexie template folding and ironing each side down.
Step 6: When you are done, turn it over (paper side down) and give it a quick press with lots of steam on the right side, to secure the shape. (It might stick a little to your ironing board, but no harm done, just pull it off.) One hexie done! Repeat until you have enough to make your project.
When you want to stitch your project, just remove the freezer paper templates. Because the paper can be ironed multiple times, you may even be able to do this as you finish stitching them together. Anything to save cutting more templates, right?!
I feel that it is a little sad to be posting a tutorial with all of the hexies in black, they are so pretty when they are made in colour! Unfortunately, I needed black hexies, so that is what we get. Curious about the quilt much?! Here’s a little peek… I got to use Warp & Weft’s Charlie Harper Fat Quarter bundle. You’ll have to come back at the end of this week to check it out. I’m so excited to show it to you!
by Sherri Sylvester | Jun 17, 2014
Good Tuesday to you! After a long and drawn out technology war with my computer today, I finally get to introduce a new sponsor – Double Decker Fabric! I met Dorienne online when I interviewed her last year for my Canadian Online Fabric Store series. She has a giveaway and a discount code for you today, so stay tuned! Before we get to the giveaway, I thought it would be fun to pair some of Dorienne and my favorite tutorials with her fabric. I love finding out what other people’s favorite tutorials are. Sometimes I have seen them before, and sometimes (like with Dorienne’s today) I find a few new ones, and some new favorite bloggers too. I hope you enjoy the list!
|
Tutorial: Snappy Manicure Wallet from noodlehead
+ Double Decker Fabric’s “Geekly Chic”
Use Dorienne’s extensive collection of Geekly Chic from Riley Blake Designs to make one (or several!) of these cute manicure wallets.
|
Tutorial: Origami Bento Bag from Very Shannon
+ Double Decker Fabric’s “British Invasion”
British Invasion is the perfect trendy fabric to use for a fun summer bag. This tutorial is so quick and easy. Sew up a summer hostess gift in no time! |
| Tutorial: Plus Quilt from For the Love of George
+ Double Decker Fabric’s “Mixed Bag”
This Mixed Bag collection from Studio M for Moda is so colourful and looks great together, it would be perfect for an easy-to-make Plus Quilt! |
Tutorial: 5 Fat Quarters Scarf from Tea Rose Home
+ Double Decker Fabric’s “Textured Basics”
Use these textured basics to make a gorgeous bright scarf for summer. Perfect with those neutral colours that are so popular! |
| Tutorial: Fabric Beach Balls from the Purl Bee
+ Double Decker Fabric’s BarthloMeow’s Reef
BartholoMeow’s Reef from Moda fits perfectly into this summer’s nautical trends and would be so cute as a fun soft beach ball! |
Tutorial: Pinwheels in the Park from Sew Mama Sew
+ Double Decker Fabric’s “Storybook”
Add a few of Dorienne’s solids to this lovely Storybook fabric from Kate & Birdie for Moda and this tutorial would make the sweetest little boy’s quilt! |
Hooray for summer sewing, Dorienne has provided a discount for you that lasts until the end of June! Use the code “Summer15” to get 15% off your purchase from today until June 30, 2014. Head on over and stock up, I know you must have summer projects planned. (Or you could plan some now!)
Last, but certainly not least, you can try your hand at winning some fun fabric today! Dorienne is giving away a bundle of Mixed Bag by Studio M for Moda. When I saw this collection I thought, “Oh my, I have to have some of those origami animals… and the houndstooth… and the dots… and I’ll need some of those red speech bubbles!” (Hee Hee, I know what I’m going to be spending my 15% off on!) pic of mixed bag bundle This contest is open to Canada and the US, and will remain open from today until midnight on Monday, June 23, 2014. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, just use your name and email address!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
