Mom’s Wedding Dress

The Universe is messing with me, and that ish is not funny! Well, not that funny… yet. Let’s go all the way back to last May so I can tell you what happened…

My cousins in Jamaica invited my parents (his aunt and uncle) to their daughter’s wedding to take place in November. Yes, November. Mom said to me, “I have to get a new dress to wear to the wedding. If you can make me one, that would be so nice, but I can always go down to the mall and buy one.” (From now on, I will refer to said dress as the Wedding Dress, so try not to get confused. My mom was not the one getting married. Dad would surely object.)

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It worked out that we had 6 months, yes 6 whole months, to find the material and pattern, and get my slow-ass self to sew it. Remember the wedding is still 6 months out. 6 months!!! … How many months?? You got it. S.I.X.

Oh! I need to mention here that I’m still terrified to sew with knits. Everyone tells me knits are forgiving. Toward me, they’re not. This will come back to bite me later in my story.

And the hunt was on for the perfect fabric and the perfect pattern. The fabric had to be bold, but not too busy; light but not transparent; good quality but not expensive. The pattern had a slightly longer list of requirements:

  • calf length or longer
  • pleats or gathers at the waist
  • short to three-quarter length sleeves
  • no frou-frou except ruffles; ruffles are always good.
  • no elastic in the waist (on account of the heat and humidity)
  • modest neckline
  • large armscye (pronounced arm-sigh or arms-eye)

Long story short-ish, I searched through fabric store after fabric store in Montreal and online. I did find a very pretty coral linen blend at Fabricville/Fabricland’s website. But the last time I’d ordered from them, I got a piece of trash, so I couldn’t bring myself to click that checkout button without having had my hands on the fabric first. And that’s how an entire season and a half passed with no fabric purchase.

At one point I sent Mom a photo of a satiny embroidered blue thing, and she texted back, “You want me to wear ants to the wedding?!” I looked again at the picture and sure enough, bad lighting + bad angle + phone camera = embroidery ants.

While the great fabric quest was on, I bought several patterns, none of which was just right. That was from the myriad rejected photos of pattern covers I sent my mom. So, not much luck in the pattern department either.

These guys made it to the finals before they got cut

As a pre-emptive backup, I bought this Vogue pattern on sale, although I would have had to do some modifications. I love hacking bags and accessories, but I’m still insecure about hacking clothing patterns.

Still in the running (Photo credit: Vogue website product description)

And then! Two things happened serendipitously. My BBF made some time to drive me out of town to Club Tissus, the huge fabric store in the middle of nowhere. Two hours later, after several mysteriously falling racks and a giggle-inducing “flipping” incident at the cutting table, I walked out of there with a lovely coral printed knit (remember I don’t do knits) and a couple more patterns that looked like they would work for the Wedding Dress (plus, you know, lots of notions I didn’t need.)

That rack didn’t see it coming!

 

One of the patterns bought at Club Tissus (Photo credit: McCall’s website product description.)

The second thing that happened right around then was that Blackbird Fabrics in BC got some new prints in stock and I fell in love with this pretty camel-coloured floral. (Yes, the colour is “camel” and not “caramel”.) Caroline, the owner, checked my pattern (the Vogue one above) and assured me that this adorable polyester crepe would work well with it. (Check out Caroline’s podcast at Love to Sew.)

Polyester just got delicious! (Photo used with permission of Blackbird Fabrics)

 

I love the content and care label attached. (All fabric sellers should do this, even when you buy in store.)

I had used fabrics from Blackbird before and loved them, so I was willing to put my Poly-Prejudice aside and trust that it would not behave badly like the traditional Poly-Crap. I ordered some.

There I was at the end of September with two acceptable, but not quite perfect, fabric/pattern combinations.

I just needed to cut and sew, and my mom would have two dresses to choose from. I was feeling pretty confident. But, cats! (The least they could have done is make sure I didn’t get all blurry photos. Jerks!)

Rapscallions!

 

Helpers will help, and knits will flip.

And then I forgot to flip the pattern so I cut the left and right bodice the same. (What is up with this fabric and flipping, man?!?)

Two perfectly cut identical pieces

 

Forgot to flip the flip

They needed to be mirror image and wouldn’t you know it, I didn’t have enough fabric to recut the piece all in one. I had to resort to cutting up the pattern and cobbling pieces together.

Slashed pattern

 

Now halfway through October, I had to face the fact that I could only do one dress, if that. Hey! why not go ahead and pick the knit one that you have no experience with, Marsh? Yeah, let’s do that! (Mumble, mumble… stupid, uncooperative… mumble… slipping and sliding… flippin’…)

Then mom had a brilliant thought. I would do as much as I could in the time that I had, and she would take it to her very talented dressmaker cousin in Jamaica to finish. Whoohoo! She is so understanding, and it helped me feel a teeny bit better when I was only able to get halfway through the knit dress (McCall’s pattern) and got stuck because I couldn’t make heads nor tails of the instructions. (I did, however, keep track of the tops and bottoms of the pattern bits.)

I reluctantly packaged both un-dresses with the required notions and matching thread, and delivered them safely to Mom’s suitcase. Her cousin could figure it out from there. (Ok, I did feel a ton of guilt and shame, and general misery because I couldn’t deliver what I’d promised. Still not over it, but…)

So, the half-made Wedding Dress 1 and the un-begun Wedding Dress 2 got to the cousin. Cousin Jean didn’t have time to do both, but she agreed to finish WD1. But guess what! Mom tried on the pieces that I had already assembled and the flippin’ armscye was too small, aaaand there wasn’t enough leftover fabric to cut new sleeves. (Whaaaaa!) Skillful Cousin Jean found a solution (I have no idea what) and got it all sorted. Mom wore the imperfect Wedding Dress to the perfect tropical wedding mid-November. (No photos of the finished WD1.)

Now comes the twist to the plot. You thought the story was over, didn’t you? You know better…

Two weeks ago, I got the regular newsletter from Blackbird Fabrics. More new prints had arrived. And, in the mix, was a sweet little viscose thing in two colour ways. As soon as I saw it, I knew that was the perfect fabric we had been searching for. I sent the link to Mom and she squeaked with delight, at least I think it was a squeak. She agreed it was the perfect fabric. Too bad the wedding was 6 weeks ago.

Also last week, Patricia (naughty elf!) from Sew Far North got me looking at the Boxing Week sales at Designer Stitch. That’s where I tripped over this pattern, the Kristen dress. Are you freakin kidding me?

Let’s see… calf length? Can be arranged. Pleats or gathers? Check! Sleeves (not long)? Check! Ruffles? Yes! No elastic? Yup! Modest neckline? Present! And just look at the size of those armscyes! (You can’t really see the size of the armscyes so trust me, they’re big. I asked.)

Kristen dress in red. Oh myyyyyy!

 

Just look at those perfectly placed ruffles!

Other bene”fits” to this pattern: Princess seams and a choice of cup sizes — two things that help get the perfect fit.

I bought it! Now that I had the perfect pattern and the perfect fabric, Mom casually reminded me that her birthday is in 6 (that number again!) weeks. And guess what she wants. That’s right; she wants a Kristen dress made with coral Open Floral Viscose Crepe that is even juicier when you get your hands on it. Could this be my chance to redeem myself? Possibly.

Patricia frolicking in her version of the Kristen dress:

Don’t be fooled by her charming smile. She’s still a naughty elf!

So now on top of all the no-sew-slow-sewing that goes on around here, we’re adding a birthday dress to the pile. And Wedding Dress 2 is on its way back to languish in UFO purgatory with my other bright ideas.

Why, oh, why didn’t I find the pattern and the fabric last summer? It would have saved Mom and me a lot of angst, not to mention dough. I suppose I better get to printing and cutting so 6 more months from now, I’m not still working on the Birthday Dress. That would just be tragic.

Maybe one day next year I’ll think back on this and laugh and laugh… For now, Universe, you go right on ahead and amuse yourself at my expense.

Cheers

Marsha Law Sig2

PS. Visit the Canadian Directory of Sewing and Craft Businesses

PPS. I loved saying, “the size of the armscyes.”

Note: Photos of the Kristen dress are all used with permission of Designer Stitch.

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Fancy Pants & Giveaway — Sis Boom Pattern

sis-boom-tour

He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” (Alan Lakein, Ben Franklin, Churchill, Bob’s grandmother… I dunno who really said it first, but there it is!) And frankly, I don’t buy it. It’s spontaneity that leads to adventures and discoveries.

What exactly does this have to do with sewing, holidays and the Sis Boom pattern company? Hang on. You’ll see.

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Maple Skirt — Jacked & Hacked, but Still Gracious

maple-skirt-women-cover-640x495

I badly wanted a skirt like this, so I clapped my hands — not so much in glee, but with some trepidation — when I saw Jessica’s post in her Facebook group asking for testers for the adult version of her Maple Skirt. After a couple of disastrous skirt testing experiences the previous few months, I wasn’t sure I should try again. Will I finally get lucky with testing? Or do I give it up once and for all?

[Keep reading to the end for a surprise. FYI, it might also be somewhere in the middle.]

But you know, sucker for punishment and all, I just had to give it another go. I got the pattern, and like a very good tester, I made a muslin/toile following the instructions faithfully. (Do you have any idea how hard that was?) It looked so good when I was finished that I decided to add it to my summer wardrobe — you know the one I’ve been sewing under my bed for the past 5 winters.

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During the Canada Cups Tour this summer, I got to know a little about Jessica, a Canadian designer who produces her Gracious Threads patterns out in the middle of Alberta corn fields. Seriously, corn stalks at the backdoor.

To be frank, I didn’t give much thought to Jessica’s patterns because she designs for kids. All my kids are ankle height and furry, so her designs wouldn’t fit them. But Jess recently took the leap to make adult versions of a couple of her popular patterns. That included the girls’ Maple Skirt that she had released during the summer.

As I got started on my final tester version of the skirt, my true nature escaped and took over the project. What I ended up with was a similar garment but with a few minor hacks. It didn’t occur to me until I was quite close to the end that I had subconsciously eliminated most of the horizontal lines and emphasized the vertical ones. See?

Maple Skirt — Full Frontal

The original pattern has top stitching on the top and bottom of the waistband. Not this version!

The Hacks

Darts & Pockets

My muslin had the darts too close to the middle for my perky bottom (HA!), so I moved the darts closer to the sides for this one. Great! On to Step 24. And this is where I realized I forgot to cut out the side pockets on my front pieces. Oh well! Forget the pockets. I can always add patch pockets later if I get the urge.

After a quick fit test, I needed to bring the waist in just a tad more so in went extra darts on both sides. I did have the option of eating extra cake every night to fill it out, but I took the high road for once. I’ll build up slowly with one or two cupcakes.

Double dart

Two darts for the price of one cupcake

Belt Loops

At Step 25, I had a little accident. Instead of using the pattern piece, I was too lazy to cut it out so I just cut a 15 x 3 rectangle. Except that it was supposed to be 15 x 2, and what I read as 3 on my ruler was really 4, so I ended up with belt loops twice as wide as they should have been. As long as I’d already screwed that up, I might as well put some decorative stitching down the middle. Somehow late at night, I also managed to slice through one of my fancy belt loops, but we won’t go into that.

Belt loop

If you’ve already screwed up, make it pretty.

We Interrupt the Nattering…

Let’s take a short break here to have a little giveaway. Anyone want to win a copy of this fantastic pattern? It really is great!

The instructions are clear, the process is short and fast, the design is simple and very versatile. In fact, the reason I was able to play around with it so much is that it is so very versatile. Some of the other testers have made multiple versions of it already. I intend to, but you can never tell with me. The astonishing thing is that I’ve made two of these skirts, when I have trouble getting through just one of anything else.

All that to say, if you leave a comment below you’ll be entered in a drawing for a PDF copy of the pattern. I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner on Nov 1 at 6 PM EST. Tell me how you would style or hack this pattern.

Break’s over…

Zipper

Mercifully, I made it through the next few steps without more mishap. And this hack doesn’t qualify as a booboo as much as an experiment. I inserted the zipper upside down. That’s right! That little zippy opens from bottom to top.

Why? you may ask. Well, because I don’t know any woman who unzips her skirt when using the toilet. I can’t be the only one who hikes it up around my waist when I go. If we’re not unzipping to make use of the loo, why not use that zip to create a front split that’s adjustable to our liking? So with some fighting, a few choice words, and a couple of pricks, I got that thing in — bottoms up.

zip-down

Notice the decorative stitching that draws the eye down centre front?

Whew! I made it to the end of the pattern without straying too far again. Aside from a little fit issue with the way the back drapes over my cheeks, I’d say this is a winner. For some gorgeous styled photos, take a look on Jessica’s blog. (Because taking selfies of myself in a skirt is beyond my limit for self-deprecation.)

Before I go, may I coerce invite you to visit Gracious Threads and pick up your copy of the pattern? It’s on sale this weekend for only $6. Yes, an introductory sale! Go on now, because you know how fast weekends can slip away.

Cheers!

Marsha Law Sig2

PS. Did you miss the giveaway? Go back and check again.

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Do It Yourself Party of the Week — 41

It’s Thursday evening so it must be time for the DIY Crush party.

Things were a little touch-and-go about an hour ago when I realized that I still hadn’t written this post and scheduled like I intended to do last night. I was busy packing and removing cats from my suitcase. I arrived at my parent’s place for a weekend visit, only to discover that my mom couldn’t remember the WiFi password. And well, I can’t write a post on my phone.

You can bet I was having visions of the world coming to a crashing halt and all human life perishing at 8PM Eastern if I didn’t get online. Oh noooooooo! What’ll we doooooo?

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Feature: Camelot Fabrics (or The Road to King Arthur’s Court)

Kitties, owls and foxes on a 3-D quilt
Pretty Camelot Fabrics

Holding court at Camelot

Take a long journey with me. I promise I will eventually get to the point. Or past it — whatever!

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A Detour or Two

Going back a few months… When Reece from Happy Okapi invited me to get involved with this Canada Day 2016 blog hop, the intention was for me to showcase a pattern from a Canadian designer. I fell in love with a Jalie pattern for the lacy version of the Bella Fit & Flare dance dress — because I still have hopes of strapping on my suede soled shoes and returning to the dance floor one day.

And as with most of my plans, they went astray. (Or they took a little detour, if that sounds less random.) Just as I was printing and taping my pattern pieces together, one of my foster cats bit me and it turned into a painful infection of my right hand. Then 3 days later “someone” dropped a 25 Kg rock on my left hand. Right there was the end of any aspirations I had for sewing between May and July.

Fortunately — for me, and I hope for her too — we were able to recruit Michelle of Michelle’s Creations to cover for me with Jalie. I’d say everyone benefitted all around because she did a bang up job with her Jalie cami & panty set. If you haven’t seen Michelle’s sexy underthings yet, go read her post here.

Now, I might have incapacitated my sewing self, but I could still type with one hand. So I set about grilling Beverly, the owner of Bra-Maker’s Supply — who, by the way, makes the most delightful heroine in any story — for a post that didn’t involve cutting or operating dangerous machinery. It’s a good thing I suited up with some of her under-armour because… Reece had another quest to send me on.

Welcome to Camelot

One sunny Tuesday afternoon, I said goodbye to my village and set out for Camelot. I’m sorry to disappoint, but Lancelot, Galahad, Arthur and Guinevere were nowhere to be found because, well, they’ve been dead for centuries. There was no round table either, but depending on how much you love fabric, there might have indeed been a Holy Grail.

A tiny part of Camelot Fabrics' warehouse.

Could this be the Holy Grail of Fabric?

Public transportation schedules being as inconvenient as they are, I had the choice to arrive at Camelot either 25 minutes before or 5 minutes after the appointed time. I opted for the former because, let’s face it! when you’ve been summoned to court, you don’t get to use Societé de Transport de Montréal (STM) as an excuse.

Norma, the sweetest, most professional receptionist ever, greeted me at the castle gates and welcomed me despite my being too early for my appointment. And while I waited for Claire Haillot, the Marketing Director and resident blogger, to come and collect me, Norma let me fondle some of the display fabric bolts. I may or may not have drooled on a few of them, but that’s strictly between us.  And while I was poking about in the entrance display cases, look what I found! Janelle, you sure get around!*

Pretty Pink Necessary Clutch Wallet

The Necessary Clutch Wallet (NCW) made from a pattern by Emmaline Bags

Focus wall quilt

Claire’s wall quilt helped me focus.

Once I started the tour and chat with Claire, I was overwhelmed to be honest. I had no idea which angle to take with my post. There was so much! They had history; they had stories; they had incredible people; oodles of talent; social conscience, award winning staff, and some of the nicest damned fabric I’ve ever been allowed to feel up. I finally figured I’d focus on their foreseeable future. That and the warm work culture that made me very nearly consider dusting off my moldy résumé. Nearly, I said!

More than 12 years ago, when father and son team Max and Steve decided to buy the floundering Eugene Textiles and modernize it to appeal to the emerging quilters’ market, they had vision. (Coincidentally, it was at the same time that Claire opened her quilt shop, so destiny was already at work.) Montreal’s once flourishing textile and garment industry had started to sink along with the flounder, and most companies were bailing. These guys saw something the others didn’t see so they took a chance and Camelot Fabrics emerged from the mist. In March of this year, Claire closed her quilt shop and joined formidable forces with Camelot.

During the interview, when I wasn’t shoving my hands into bins of fabric or gawking in awe at the finished bags, clothes and quilts they have on display, I wanted to know what life was really like inside those castle walls. I had barely got the question of group dynamics out of my mouth before both Claire and Cinzia pointed to the hanging on the wall of Cinzia’s office: Synergy. Everything else I saw there backed up their claim. We popped in and out of people’s offices saying hello and waving like royalty.

Synergy quilt

A synergistic workplace

Despite their commitment to keeping their new and longtime employees happy (some have been there nearly 50 years), this year, the company has found itself in the unique position of having outgrown its staff. Yup! They have been hiring more and more staff in just about every department with plans to add a few more by the end of summer. They do need all the extra people to handle the increasing popularity of their fabrics, but I think they also need fresh ears to listen to the old-timers’ stories that start with, “In my day…” (“You guys are so spoiled. In my day, we didn’t have trucks and all these fancy machines to move the bolts from here to there. I would push my shopping cart of fabric down the street…”)

Speaking of happy — and apparently absent-minded — employees, how many times in your working life have you been so engaged in your work that you didn’t hear the announcement that the building was closing up and it’s time to go home? Hah! Most of us would be out the door and merging into traffic before the announcement was finished. But that’s exactly what happened to Cinzia, who also works in the marketing department with Claire. Cinzia is an award-winning, internationally published, quilt designer who joined the team just this past February. But I digress, though not as much as I usually do…

Stunning quilt and designer

Master quilt designer Cinzia justifiably proud of her exquisite workwomanship

Cinzia told me the story of how she was so absorbed in her work and grooving to her music that several hours later when she looked up, the whole office was dark. She tried to leave, set off the alarms, called Max the owner, and was eventually rescued from the building by Jason the guy who works in the unit next door.

(Now, I didn’t pry but I wonder if she was happy to be rescued. I guess it all depends on their respective relationship statuses, attractiveness of Jason coz Cinzia is pretty cute, and how much she was looking forward to spending the night in a deserted building.) I’m inclined to think this Knight-in-shining-armour Jason dude was the direct descendant of Sir Galahad, but nobody asked me!

And then there was the other locked-in story of what happened after the Christmas party, but you’ll have to infiltrate the ranks to hear about that one. My lips are sealed with plastic wrap!

Where was I before that last tangent? Lost, I suppose, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Oh! The future! Right… So some of the pretty cool stuff I saw in the works and slated for release soon:

  • Disney licensed colouring fabric (you colour it yourself)
  • Specially designed fabric markers that don’t fade in the wash
  • Scented fabric (Releases delicious smells when you scratch it, and it last up to about 30 washes.)
  • Lots of new modern quilting prints, of course!
Cat-face handbag

I WANT this bag! Meow!

Oh gosh! I’ve been going on and on about quilts, but doggonit! their fabric prints look simply amazing in bags, kid’s clothes, women’s wear and my personal stash. If I only had a shopping cart, I would have had to push a few bolts down the street myself. Look at some of these lovely creations!

Women's clothing in Camelot fabrics

Robe, skirt, dress

Summer dress and duffle bag

If I had a body like this mannequin, I’d totally make that dress.

What’s not quite working for them yet?

The website that isn’t quite up to snuff. Frankly (was there ever a Sir Frank at the round table?), I was confused by the site. I couldn’t figure out how to get my hands on their fabric unless I became a retailer. It turns out that they do have many retailers around the country (Canada) and also in the US, but each store is responsible for adding themselves to the list of locations. They haven’t. Bunch-a slackers! I’m sorry but Club Tissu has no excuse for not getting this done! Smaller quilt shops, yes, it might be on the harried owners’ to-do lists but dammit! I want to know where I can buy all this yummy goodness. While we’re waiting for the website to catch up, you can email info@camelotfabrics.com and ask them for a list of stores in your area.

The site isn’t all bad though. Claire writes a pretty awesome blog daily, with giveaways on Wednesdays.

Really, I can’t possibly tell you all the great things I learned about this company; at least, not in one post. (I’m verbose enough as it is.) The main thing I can tell you is that they do have some excellent modern prints in both quilting cottons and double gauze. (Thanks for explaining double gauze to me, Claire!) They are accessible and cost effective for Canadian sewists, especially with the savings on exchange rate, customs duties, and shipping costs. It’s also a super deal for US sewists because their dollars go so much farther here.

Maybe all or most fabric manufacturers do this, but I was blown away that they support local sewists by placing their products on display and for sale. You know like restaurants that decorate their walls with works from local artists so their patrons can buy them and support the artist. Yeah, just like that! Plus, they tag the articles with the name of the pattern and the designer. So cool! … Ok, but seriously though, did everyone else know about this and didn’t tell me?

I’ve got to wrap up this post, but man! I could go on and on about my audience with King Arthur and his court. However, I’m running this risk of boring you to the point of driving a lance through your Guinevere for recreation. I suppose I’ll have to write one or two more posts to finish paying fan-girl homage to my holy grail of fabric.

You can start your own crusade to Camelot by following the trail:
◊ Facebook ◊ Website ◊ Blog ◊ Pinterest ◊ Instagram ◊

Happy holiday weekend, everyone!

Marsha Law Sig2

PS. I did warn you it was going to be a long trip.

* Janelle MacKay is, in my opinion, Canada’s premier handbag designer, hardware supplier, and Craftsy instructor. Besides being supremely talented, she’s also funny, generous, helpful… (Would it be too humiliating if I were to move back to Alberta and entreat her to become my best friend?)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack A: 1 pattern from Jalie, 2 patterns from Blue Calla, 1 pattern from Carla’s Creations, and $25 CAD store credit from Tangled Blossoms Design

Prize Pack B: 1 pattern from Stitch Art, 1 pattern from Pollywoggles, 1 fat quarter bundle from Camelot Fabrics, and $25 CAD store credit from Emmaline Bags

Prize Pack C: Rebel Quilt pattern from Libs Elliott, Bundle of 3 patterns from Thread Riding Hood, 1 pattern from On The Cutting Floor, $20 voucher from Flare Fabrics

 


Canada Day 2016 Blog Hop Schedule

Be sure to visit each of these brilliant blogs this week for more on our
outstanding Canadian designers and suppliers:

June 24: The Tour Starts HERE at Happy Okapi

June 25: Celine guest posts on Happy Okapi; Marsha @ Seam of my Pants

June 26: Fiona @ Tangled Blossoms Designs; Carla @ Half Dozen Daily

June 27: Sherry @ Thread Riding Hood; Reece @ Happy Okapi

June 28: Nicky guest posts on Seam of my Pants

June 29: Daniela @ On the Cutting Floor; Reece @ Happy Okapi

June 30: Michelle @ Michelle’s Creations

Canada Day–June 31**: Ula @ Lulu & Celeste

July 2: Marsha @ Seam of my Pants

July 3: Keshia @ Sand Dollar Design Studio

July 4: Wrap Up @ Happy Okapi

July 6: Giveaway winners announced

** Yes, we know! I’m personally trying to avoid “Moving Day” in Quebec.

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Spotlight: The Crafting Fiend Stitch Art

I’m so lucky! Really lucky that Nicky didn’t turn me in to the Mounties 2 years ago when I started stalking* her on FB. She just accepted that we were going to be friends. Phew!!

And now she’s relented and agreed to write a guest post on my blog. So, heeeeee-eeee-eeere’s Nicky!


I must say, I’m so glad that Marsha lets me “guest post” on her wonderful blog. Doubly glad to be able to review a pattern from The Crafting Fiend Stitch Art.  Ah blessed is me …

Oh yes,  sunny sky with a soft breeze, a perfect Summer day.  On days like this my thoughts are often drifted into images of wriggly doodles and colouring outside the lines.  Yes, pictures of imperfect yet whimsical childlike drawings.  Can these be transferred to fabric in an applique method? I’ve seen them appliqued on stuffs before but never thought of how it was done.  Even the User’s Guide of my Brother sewing machine (bought in 2000) had a section on “Free Motion” embroidery…what the heck??

Like a curious kitty I had to explore.  I scratched on my laptop keyboard and Googled, and YouTube-d, read and watch with amazement, so I had to try it out.

In Free Motion you replace your normal pressure foot with a free-motion darning/quilting foot.FreeMotionFoot

Next you drop the feed dog, you know the tiny teeth-like metal bit that guides and feeds your fabric through so that your stitches are evenly spaced and pretty looking, well we don’t need that for free motion, because we use our hands to guide the fabric.

 FeedDogUp  FeedDogDown

I found that The Crafting Fiend Stitch Art by Canadian designer, Jeanine Thomlinson, has some of the cutest designs. Her patterns look easy enough to follow.  So armed with hours of watching YouTube tutorials, pressing pause and play button until I’m flat out like a tired puppy that couldn’t wag her tail, I’m now ready to get my sewing gear on.

square-logo

Bubble Pets pattern by Stitch Art is so cute I just had to try it out.  I chose the cat applique for my very first attempt..  She listed out all the notions recommendation on her patterns, making it super easy to gather your tools and figure out what you want to do. These are just the few main things:

  • HeatnBond Lite is a double sided adhesive sew-able paper that does double duties by keeping your fabric from fraying and affixes your applique pieces
  • Free motion foot
  • Embroidery stabilizer (tearaway for the woven, cutaway for knit and wash-away for delicate fabrics)
  • Fabric vanishing ink pen or pencil or tailor chalk, Fray Check (optional).

NotionList

It was suggested to use Muslin or broadcloth in neutral colour for the base of your applique; I had neither on hand so I used cotton poplin which turned out not too bad.  She also gives the approximate size of the applique depending on the scaling percentage which is very helpful.

So first, we trace the pieces directly onto the paper backing of HeatnBond Lite not the textured shiny side.

TracedOnBondnHeat

Cut loose around each shapes.  Place these textured shiny side against the wrong side of your chosen fabrics for the pieces. Preheat iron to medium heat, no steam; iron the paper for 2 seconds, repeat until the required surface is bonded.

Wait for it to completely cooled, cut the shape out and remove the backing paper, pretty easy far.  Now your fabric pieces are fray-proofed.

Lay the pieces in the order as instructed by the pattern on top of your muslin or broadcloth or base fabric of choice.  Once happy with the way it looks, iron them down on that base fabric.

Now you can draw the inner details and inner out lines, and the outer outlines as well if you wish, with tailor chalk or fabric pen/pencil of choice.  These will be guide lines while free motion sewing.  It is suggested that you should sew over the lines at least twice.

OnBase   DrawnDetails

Sewing starts! Yay!

Drop the feed dog, install your Free Motion darning foot.

FMFootOn

Place the stabilizer underneath it all and start free motion sewing.  Just do the inner detail and inner outlines.  Start from anywhere you’d like, there is no rules to this. Remember to leave the outer outlines alone…for now.

Once the inner details & inner outlines are done, trim the back stabilizer.

Again, iron the assembled pet to the HeatnBond Lite.  Once cooled, cut closely around the pattern.  Remove the paper backing.  Iron this applique to the item being embellished with it.

InnerDetails

Last step, add a piece of stabilizer underneath, free motion sew the outer outlines and voila! You’ve completed your first Free Motion Applique…well at least I just did, and shall do more! Woohoo!

FinalApplique

Free Motion Applique is great when you have left-over fabrics from your other projects, The Crafting Fiend Stitch Art has many cute and whimsical patterns for both boys & girls, and some are gender neutral.  What I like most about her patterns is that the shapes are inter-changeable; her instructions are easy to follow, her tips are just invaluable especially for beginners. You can find more of Stitch Art patterns on:

This is the kind of sewing where perfect, straight, even length stitching are just purely not applicable.  I hope you’ll visit Stitch Art and try a few of her patterns they are simply adorable! Enjoy!

NickyK

Ooh…almost forgot…Reece organized a giveaway with some sew delicious prizes as well as wonderful discounts.  To find out more on the prizes and discounts visit Reece at Happy Okapi

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway  by clicking the link below…


Oh Nicky, thank you! I’ve got this sudden urge to try Free-Motion Appliqué (FMA). I had no idea it would be so simple. I sure hope you’ll honour me by coming back to guest post again soon. And coffee, yeah?

Readers, I’ll be back in a couple of days with a feature post from King Arthur’s court. I hope the jetlag won’t be too bad, and if Lancelot is really cute, I’ll bring him back at swordpoint.

Marsha Law Sig2

* It all depends on how you define stalking. It really was more like, “Please, please, please be my sewing buddy. I can’t find any other sewists in Montreal. Please, pretty please. And your dogs are so cuuuuuute… ”

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack A: 1 pattern from Jalie, 2 patterns from Blue Calla, 1 pattern from Carla’s Creations, and $25 CAD store credit from Tangled Blossoms Design

Prize Pack B: 1 pattern from Stitch Art, 1 pattern from Pollywoggles, 1 fat quarter bundle from Camelot Fabrics, and $25 CAD store credit from Emmaline Bags

Prize Pack C: Rebel Quilt pattern from Libs Elliott, Bundle of 3 patterns from Thread Riding Hood, 1 pattern from On The Cutting Floor, $20 voucher from Flare Fabrics


Canada Day 2016 Blog Hop Schedule

Be sure to visit each of these brilliant blogs this week for more on our
outstanding Canadian designers and suppliers:

And, of course, to enter our giveaway for some sweet-like-maple-syrup prizes.

June 24: The Tour Starts HERE at Happy Okapi

June 25: Celine guest posts on Happy Okapi; Marsha @ Seam of my Pants

June 26: Fiona @ Tangled Blossoms Designs; Carla @ Half Dozen Daily

June 27: Sherry @ Thread Riding Hood; Reece @ Happy Okapi

June 28: Nicky guest posts on Seam of my Pants

June 29: Daniela @ On the Cutting Floor; Reece @ Happy Okapi

June 30: Michelle @ Michelle’s Creations

Canada Day–June 31*: Ula @ Lulu & Celeste

July 2: Marsha @ Seam of my Pants

July 3: Keshia @ Sand Dollar Design Studio

July 4: Wrap Up @ Happy Okapi

July 6: Giveaway winners announced

* Yes, we know!