duck bucket sewing

We were already planning to go to NY over Memorial Day weekend, mostly to visit some old haunts that were closing (you'll be missed, Pearl River Mart and Salvor Kiosk). Then I found out that Natalie Chanin was hosting two sewing workshops and a book signing...on Thursday, two days before we were supposed to leave. So I exchanged my train tickets and found a hotel and arranged to work remotely for two days. I mean, what else could I do? The workshop was held at LF8 , a nifty boutique in the East Village. There's not much you can do in two hours (and we didn't sew much, just a bit in the end), but it was a great introduction to AC materials and methods. Natalie talked about the physics of sewing, the properties of various textiles (did you know that silk from silkworms is perfectly triangular? I didn't), and the basics of hand-sewing. We practiced stitching on swatches and she walked us through the process of reverse appliquéing the projects in our DIY kits, inclu...

At the Worcester Sewing Expo  a few weeks ago, I bought a book called  The Beginner's Guide to Dressmaking  on impulse, as well as a ton of bamboo knit from Vogue Fabrics . The haul: How could I pass up an Animal appliqué?  The book's t-shirt pattern caught my eye because I'm perpetually on the lookout for a decent not-too-fitted, not-too-loose t-shirt with interesting details. (Which is hard to find. As much as I love Alabama Chanin, their fitted tops are a little tight—and the Vogue top I just muslined is enormous.) This one is just drapey enough, with a boatneck and sleeve bands. And only two pattern pieces! I loved the variations, too. In fact, the variations on every project (there's an asymmetrical moto jacket, as well as skirts and a shift dress) are pretty great. You can make the dress with or without sleeves and add collars and/or pockets to just about everything. And I couldn't pass up the fabric; I'm a sucker for stripes and polk...

So my article on dyeing with plants is in the latest issue of Seamwork , and I thought I'd post some pictures and stuff from my own projects (because I think Colette Patterns is using their own artwork). Here's what coreopsis tinctoria (aka dyer's coreopsis) looks like in the garden. I plant this every year from  Old Sturbridge Village  seeds; they package their own, and they grow fan-freaking-tastically in our backyard. OSV also has a dye garden, if you're ever in Massachusetts and want to see some plants up close and personal-like. They also have a couple of great textile exhibits and do a Textile Days weekend every year. I love these guys. They're so cheery. And I always wind up with a ton of them, so I don't mind harvesting a bunch for the dyepot. ;) I used a camp stove with a propane tank in the backyard for awhile, which was pretty fun. Fabric dyeing in progress, using wool from Weircrafts.com , a dollmaking supplies site. (As I mentione...

New Alabama Chanin book! I preordered it from the AC site because they promised 1) an autographed copy and 2) a gift, and there's the gift on the left -- a small blank book with an insert where you can record your measurements, plus an Alabama Chanin-stamped pencil and measuring tape, tied with one of their cotton jersey ropes. I love it all. I spent last night devouring the book and it's pretty genius -- it includes patterns from several previous books, including the corset and a cardigan/coat pattern, and ways to customize and fit each one. (Including adding godets to some of the tops and skirts, which I really appreciate.) I'm now bound and determined to finish some of my AC UFOs, dangit, so I can start some new ones.

Pardon the bad iPod photos. But: Thing 1: Nylon magazine, January 2015 Thing 2: BurdaStyle 135A, February 2014 Just saying.

First, and most importantly: Cinders the cat says hello. From my lap. Sort of. Type? Ha! We'll see about that. Second: I've been experimenting with t-shirt patterns and necklines. T-shirts because I HATE WINTER and want it to go away, and necklines because I just want to figure those things out (and because that way I can make more t-shirts). I tried view D of Marcy Tilton's V9057  and it didn't quite work (love the handkerchief hem, not so crazy about the sleeve piece that's too large for the body -- which could be user error, I mean, maybe I just traced it wrong or something). But she did have pretty good instructions for making and topstitching a neckband. And I've tried making bias binding for necklines both the Alabama Chanin way (single-fold, where the raw edges show) and the Drape Drape way (double-fold, where they don't), and to be honest I'm not really thrilled with either. They're really hard to attach and I always have to tear ...

Are we sewing? MOM. Are we sewing? MOM.