Summer Tees....

With warmer weather just around the corner, we're already starting to revamp our closets and drawers to move out the sweaters and jackets to make room for easy breezy summer garments. And nothing says summer like a summer tee shirt. They are a warm weather staple - easy to care for, cool to wear, and best of all, easy to make.

SHAPES	TILLY & THE BUTTONS	GRAINLINE STUDIO	BURDA	NEW LOOK

When we get new designs in from our independent pattern designers, we always try out the tee-shirt patterns. Shapes' Four Good Measure top is a loosely fitting tee that we made out of several knits last year, including a digital print from France.

Tilly and the Buttons' Coco tee is a snap to make.  Laurel made the longer version in a rayon print.

 

Pamela's Patterns has "The Perfect T-Shirt." We have used this pattern several times, using various knits.

And we loved Burda's easy t-shirt pattern, #7645. (We also made the tank!)

This month, Grainline Studio's Scout Tee caught our eye. It's not very often that you find a tee pattern that is designed specifically for woven fabrics, so we thought we'd give it a try.

We chose a soft lightweight cotton lawn.  The pattern has a lower back hemline than the front, short cap sleeves and works up in a jiffy. It's the perfect little tee for the beginning sewist.  In fact, we're even teaching a class specifically on this pattern in August and October!

You could wear it out, tucked in, or belted! 

Summer perfection!!

Laurel made her Scout tee out of one of our lightweight Ikats.
Now that will look cute with jeans or shorts!

She also gave the neckline a little extra detail by just letting some of the bias facing show and then stitching it down in the ditch.

Think about making this pattern up in a pretty silk...wouldn't that be great paired with some jeans for a "casual elegance" look at a Summer music festival? I'd love to see it made up in a soft Rayon challis too.  Even a lightweight linen?

I love this Scout Tee so much, Laurel is making me two more cotton tops for this summer!!!

 

Last but not least, I love my new favorite flowing top, New Look 6268!!!

Sew many choices!

Cheers to a summer full of sewing up essentials that will last season after season!

Happy Sewing,
Suzan

Loving the ethnic fabric and free flowing ease!

We are all over the ethnic look for this summer.  Some of our imported gauze fabrics from India are just perfect to get that free-flowing look so prevalent in the 60's and 70's.  And the best part is that they never seem to go out of style and are perfect for any age!

I wore my gauze palazzo pants, New Look 6271, on vacation and loved them so much that we made a second pair. My wonderful Burda 7645 rayon/lycra knit top is the perfect pairing!

 Laurel made her pants out of this lightweight rayon challis... yum! If you weren't blessed with long willowy legs, make these pants extra long, pair them with some wedge heeled shoes, and voila! You have that long lean look!

These wide-legged pants look great with a tee-shirt or even a more loose blouse,

 such as New Look 6268.  This is another very easy blouse to work up.  

We chose another imported gauze with a border.  Laurel placed the pattern pieces on the cross grain of the fabric to make sure we highlighted the border along the selvage edge of the fabric.

Again, this pattern uses a self belt, but it would look cute without the belt.  Very soft and flowing!

 And since we're gaga over gauze, we thought A Verb for Keeping Warm's "Endless summer Tunic" would be fun to make up in a cotton gauze.

We love the quasi-batik look of this cotton crinkled gauze or try one of our cotton double gauzes! . 

Can't wait to see this little number finished!

All of these patterns are a breeze to sew and we love the infinite variety that just one pattern can give you by using different fabrics.  Drop in to pick out something fresh and breezy to add to your Summer Wardrobe!

creatively yours,

Suzan
Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics
in the creative hub of Berkeley!

Stop by our website or store for a visit to our creative well!

Origami Cranes for Everyone!

Origami is the art of paper folding. The goal is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Modern origami practitioners generally discourage the use of cuts, glue, or markings on the paper. We found a great cotton print that featured paper cranes and it seemed that everyone who saw it in the store wanted to make something from the soft fabric. Right next to it we highlighted another Asian inspired print, which coordinated with the paper crane print.

 

Claire, one our sales associates (and a big inspiration to me) was the first to make her Origami dress.  She used The Laurel Dress by Colette! For other great dress patterns by Colette, check out this link to Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics.

             

I chose an Anne Klein design from Vogue, No. 1382.  We decided to use the grey paper crane print for the top and bottom sections of this simple shift and the coordinating small white and black pattern for the mid section.

                         

When Laurel added the facings, she used the coordinating print and let a tiny piping edge show aroung the neck and armholes.

                

Love how this turned out and especially love the interesting dart that fits so well!

           

              

Time out for some loving in our new clothes - it's so much fun knowing where and how your clothes are made! Thanks Laurel for two great years of making clothes together! xoxo

Here's a wonderful photo with Natalie and her amazing Marcy Tilton Knit dress Vogue 8904!

                           

Laurel was in love with the red version of the origami cotton, but couldn't imaging wearing all that red. We both said "a bag!" at the same time.  You can check back on our previous post to see how the purse is constructed.  I love how she used three different prints to add detail to her bag.

         

Check out the oversized button on the bag's front.  This red wooden button, from our Stonemountain button "wall", is attached with a tiny cord made from bias tape, threaded through the large holes and tied in a knot.

            

She used the coordinating Asian print for the lining. 

                           

       

Thank you so much for following my blog and the adventures into sewing and creating! It's a very exciting time for me as the owner of Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics...it truly is a dream job (for 34+ years now!!!) and I am blessed to have this great work to do. I hope that you will continue to join Laurel and myself as we keep igniting the flames of creativity through garment sewing and wearable fashion.

wishing you the best,

Suzan