Tissú Fine Fabric Store

Last week I made a sales trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. What a whirlwind of a trip! It took 13 hours to drive across the mostly dry desert lands of Oregon, Idaho, and into Utah. The towns are small and gas stations are few between Boise and Ogden, and we nearly ran out of gas! It was a fast but fun trip, and successful too! Let me introduce you to the cutest boutique in all of Salt Lake Valley called Tissú Fine Fabrics and Design Gallery. The fabrics are top quality, coming from the cutting rooms of well known designers around the U.S., and being sold here at really good prices. You can find a great selection of wools, the most beautiful bridal fabrics, fun and unusual notions, pattern making supplies, sewing classes, and custom sewing and design services. Thank you to my son, Denver, for shooting and editing this great introductory video about Tissú.



If you live nearby, or find yourself passing through, I invite you to stop in, and please tell Teresa I sent you!

Tissú Fine Fabrics and Design Gallery  
345 WestPierpont Ave  Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Tel. 435 896 7286 

The zipper: An American Invention

My son has been doing the filming for our instructional video on zippers. The time it is taking from his daily routine is putting a kink in his social calendar, so with it comes the occasional mild complaint "Why do people have to know about zippers? Isn't there another way?"

Well yes, I explain. We can put button in your pants. That's how it was done in the days before zippers. Or we can go back a little farther to the days when pants were basically two tubes tied together with a cloth tucked between your legs to cover the gap. Or we can go back the farthest - just think! All men (and women) could be wearing a dress right now!

That was it. He was back to the camera without another word.Technology and invention have given us a lot to be thankful for.


While you wait for the video to be completed, I recommend an excellent website that tells the complete and interesting tale of how the zipper came to be. Published by a class of students in "History of American Technology and Culture", HST 325, at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the history of the zipper is the work of Taylor Brann, which you can find here: http://thezipper.umwblogs.org/

Sew a pattern without instructions

If there were no written instructions, would you be able to put a sewing pattern together? This question isn't meant as a quiz for the highly intelligent or for only the practiced seamstress. If you know what all the lines and markings on your pattern are for, your answer should be a resounding YES.These lines and symbols are a pattern makers way of telling you how to assemble the pattern with as few words as possible.  You've seen them many times; they lie upon the edges of the cutting line, seam lines, and inside the pattern itself.

Notches are marks found on the cutting line. What they look like will depend upon the program that is making the pattern. They can be triangles, filled or not, or look like clip marks. We use notches ONLY when the shape of a pattern pieces look like another, or if a piece could be easily turned around, or on long seams where stretching or easing could use some guidance.

Symbols come in various types (circles, squares, triangles, lines) and are for interior construction, such as pleats, gathers, ease, and so forth. A symbol usually has a matching partner, and that's why there are so many types. This way we can put circles to circles and squares to squares. Everything should match up perfectly, and sometimes we will add words to the pattern to tell you what that line is for!

I'll use the hip sash section of the Myrtlewood pattern to show you what I mean. Here are two pattern pieces that go together, Piece A and Piece B. One is laid on top of the other. You can't tell that right away, as they are both very different shapes. Pattern Piece A actually has a back piece to it, but we are working with the front half for this example.
On this piece A, you should see darts, notches, symbols, a slash line, and a bent arrow grain line which means you need to cut it out on the fold line, with the grain.

On piece B, you should see pleat fold and match lines, as well as the direction to fold the pleat, symbols, notches, and a diagonal arrow which means that this pattern piece should be cut on the true bias. Bias has the most stretch in the fabric, and if it isn't cut out with the right grain, the pattern piece will not stretch or lay properly.


Because these pieces are sewn together on top of each other, the trick is to identify what goes to where. It would be easy to get them mixed up, or one upside down perhaps.  It's like putting together a puzzle, and a good idea to figure out how it goes together before you start sewing. If something doesn't match up, it's your cue that you may not have it right.




Here is a view of the front of that pattern a bit larger.


Can you tell what goes to what?






In the next diagram, I've identified what goes to where. Center Front and Center Back notes let you know where the pattern matches in front and back.




















Clearly paying close attention to your pattern pieces is essential but you also want the item to fit exactly. If you are working with a pattern that doesn't quite match your proportions, explore my Pattern Resizing Tutorials, Part 1: Small to Large or Part 2: Large to Small.

I challenge you to sew your next pattern together without written instructions. Did you get the messages that the pattern maker was sending you?

What is a Facing? Know your terms.

My sister asked me that question not long ago. Having a correct understanding of terms is pretty important, because these groups of words  that have a special designation are essential shortcuts for us. We can explain with one word what could take many sentences to say. If one or both people use or understand the word differently or don't know the meaning, then you can guess what might come next.



Is the cartoonist saying that a Burda pattern - which is German made- is her means of death!? I hope not.

As a for instance, do you know the difference between rouching and shirring? How about interlining and interfacing? Pleats and gathers? A facing and a lining?

The internet has much good and useful information, but having a good quality book ready at hand is a good solution for understanding terms and technique and the proper way to execute them. Here is the book I recommend to my students: 

Yes, it's even the 1976 version. See how I save you money?? This book has everything about sewing that you'll ever need to know. If a pattern has you confused, this book can get you through it, step by tiny step, and get you sewing better than anything you'll find on the internet.

I was going to do terms quiz for you, but haven't the time today. Maybe next week. But here's an 8th grade quiz that will be a good start and could be kind of fun. Are you "smarter than an 8th grader"?

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=8th-grade-sewing-quiz
  

Sew Chic Pattern Review in Threads Magazine

This week at the end of a phone order for the Phantom pattern, the caller says "You know Threads Magazine had a review of your pattern in this months issue." My voice brightens "You don't think I would MISS that do you?"  I knew the review was coming, but I didn't know what the review would say, or if it would be......left unprinted. The truth is I could very easy miss a review of another sort, if someone didn't mention it, so thank you to that customer who took the time to call in her order so she could tell me. How could she have known that inside my  mailbox last weekend was a huge manila envelope with this really spiffy folder:

Inside the folder was a letter congratulating me on the upcoming review, and along with two other sewing magazines published by Taunton, was the current Threads Magazine with a marker for a quick turn to the review: 

What? You say you'd like a closer look? Well, okay if you insist...

 

Not all reviews gets a photo of the outfit, so that was special too. I love to see the pattern come to life, and this ensemble is definitely modern chic. I love the wool they used for the pants. The review gives it a "challenging techniques" icon, probably because the jacket/shirt assembly is compatible with sheer fabrics. All but the center back, side, and armscye seams are enclosed. I used a serge on mine, but a french seam  would be top notch quality.

In this magazine was another bonus: Threads did an article on independent pattern companies. The caller hadn't read the article yet, but had noticed the Spin Skirt in the cover photo. It was truly an honor to be numbered among so many talented and skillful pattern makers.

 

 What did my family think? My son noticed his sister's face, barely visible in the corner, and exclaimed "Elise is famous!"

Ahhhh, trumped again. 

Please, if you write or see a review of one of  my patterns, do tell me about it. I wouldn't want to miss that!

Sewing Apron Giveaway!

Back in the day when I used to design costumes for theater, I worked with Claudia Echols of Not the Norm. She sewed some of the more difficult designs for me, so I came to trust her work and knew that the project would come back perfect - and in theater, that's a rarity! Recently I called her up to find out what she was up to these days. Turns out she is now selling kits and manufacturing sewing aprons, and she brought me one!

This apron sells for $65 on her website: http://www.notthenorm.biz/#!store
and looks to be very practical and sturdy. The top pocket flap has built in space for straight pins and sewing needles:

Open the magnetized flap to reveal more pockets and slots for your sewing tools:

All the bigger things like scissors will easily fit in the lower pockets.

Wouldn't you like to have one of these to carry around all of your sewing tools! September is national Sewing Month, so it seems a good time to give this apron away to one lucky winner on Labor Day, Sept. 3rd. If this fabulous apron is something you will make good use of, all you need do is make a convincing comment below. PLEASE make sure I can contact you by email, and that it's an email you actually use. Sorry, but because of the high cost of shipping, this giveaway is open to US residents only.

UPDATE: Sept 5, 2012: Thank you to everyone that entered this giveaway. Congratulations to our winner, Kristie!

Make your own Ironing board pad

As a little girl I remember my mother sometimes ironing on a  doubled up towel over a table. The fact that steam and heat can really damage wood probably never crossed her mind since ironing boards were once made of wood. As a little girl, she would have ironed on a board like this, using a snazzy "Steam-O-Matic" iron like this one. Seems like everything was an O-Matic back then.

 

 Anyway, the point of my mother's method is that it's really hard to iron on a completely flat surface, so the board, whatever it is, must be padded. Too much or too little, and it's hard to get a smooth finish, and what is just right is likely a matter of opinion. Here I will show you how to piece and pad your ironing board and then you can take it from there.

 My ironing board has 3 layers of the standard "market" purchased padding, but let me say that this is likely the most expensive kind. You can cut your own using 100% cotton batting, the kind we put in quilts. Several thin layers will usually be better than one thick layer because the thicker batting has too much loft, or air. This will lead you down the road of  too much softness.

You might wonder, why cotton? Because it can easily handle any amount of heat and moisture from your iron without damage. Polyester batting will melt in high heat situations, it won't absorb moisture, and besides, they usually have too much loft. Commercial pads can be made of polyester, but they will have the addition of a heat retardant, like fabrics made for kids sleepwear. They still don't absorb moisture well.

 Let's take a look at these commercial pads to see what kinds of features you might like to add to your padding collection. Working from the board up, the first pad on mine is extremely thin. I would guess this is the pad that is original to the ironing board. What you are looking at is the muslin cover, made just like the top cover with a draw string. This layer is meant to be added protection from burns and water spills, but is totally optional. Should you like this idea, this muslin should be the last layer, going over all layers of padding, not the second layer as I have it! In my case, this muslin would be too small to cover all these layers so it will stay as it is.

Next you see two more layers of commercial pad. Another extra detail they both have is a cotton end pocket for you to slip your ironing board into. This feature is also totally optional, but helps them to sell the product for a higher price.

 Here is a close up of that pocket.

Another feature of this middle pad is a serged edge. Also completely optional. Makes the edge look nice I guess- but who is going to see it? You'll want to be careful that you don't stretch the batting while you serge or you'll end up with ripples.

 This top pad is a mix of cotton and polyester that has been pieced. This pad was probably the most expensive of the three for that reason. Because polyester can be made retardant, but never will absorb moisture, the manufacture decided to add a little of that spendy cotton batting just in the middle where the board gets most use. Cotton batting is expensive- so if you have a polyester pad that is damaged just in the middle, it would be very frugal to piece in the cotton just where needed. Or if you want to replace the whole thing, use cotton batting left over from a quilt project and splice those pieces together.

Here on the back side you can see they used a tricot (also a very meltable fiber!) tape to stabilize that pieced seam. I recommend a cotton bias tape pressed flat instead. Use a three step mending stitch, or even a zig-zag stitch across the seam, butting the ends, and centering the bias tape. It can also be done in two steps if you feel more confident with that. Sew the batting first then sew over it again with the bias.

Now that you have your pad fixed up and ready to lay out, how big should it be? Because the edges get a good amount of wear, cut it long enough that it will easily cover the sides of your board. Just trim it right on the board to fit. Together, my last two pads cover well enough. We like to use the end a lot, so my end is much longer than it needs to be. It goes well under, and as you can see I do not need and cannot use those end pockets. Yours does not need to be this long.

It does not need to be cut exact either. Just remember that your cover has to be big enough to handle all the padding that you give it!

Here is the link for how to finish the job right with a cover that is custom sized to your board:
http://www.sewchicpatterns.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-make-ironing-board-cover.html

Happy Ironing!