Dreams Do Come True! Twelve Months of Fabulousness!

Looking back over the year, I have to say it has been incredible! Of course, there were many challenges, but overall the last twelve months were based on creativity, connection and joy! Owning a fabric store can be the best job ever. After 33 years in my family business, I feel blessed for the work that I do and more in tune with our mission to support the creative community around us. My own personal path has underlined the importance of kindness and the strength of feminine values in all aspects of my life, especially here at our store. I strive to make your experience at Stonemountain & Daughter an inspiration! I love working hard on creating classes for the garment sewist, quilter and crafter of all levels. My buying team is excited about buying for our customers and offering the best fabrics, notions, patterns and other accessories at the best value.

As much as the fabric is part of our family, so are the people I am blessed to work with. Natalie, our buyer and Mary Jane our operations manager, make coming to work a loving act! Our staff of 21 sales associates and 14 instructors make this one of the best stores around!

The other reason why 2014 was the best year ever, was my collaboration with Laurel of Laurels Quill. We started out with a shared commitment to inspire others to sew and create and it evolved into a deep friendship and love. Picking out fabrics, patterns, notions and putting it all together and then blogging about it…this is a dream come true! Thank you so much Laurel for sharing your talent not just with me and my closet, but with the world of sewing. What more is possible in 2015?

Fashion is one of those things that you have to think of in advance. Buyers and designers are always a season ahead of the retail customer, and buying fabric and designing and sewing a wardrobe is no different. In the bleak months of winter, we pondered the serene beauty of wintry weather and at the same time started thinking about Spring garments - admiring the soft woolens on the colder days, but  yearning for the warm sunshine when we could wear a light blouse...

Winter White

Pattern Layouts

Cotton Voile Blouse

As Sewists, we don't always get it right. I believe that is the single most challenging aspect of making your own wardrobe - we may think a particular style will work, and we love the fabric we've chosen, but sometimes you have to throw in the towel.

Knowing When to Quit 

My seamstress and collaborator Laurel became "France focused" long before she left in September. For her, it was all about making some garments that would hold up for a three week drive trip. I was inspired by her search for easy garments, using fabrics that had a little stretch and remained fashion forward.  Together we learned that sometimes you can sew something and get exactly what you're looking for rather than purchase it in the department stores and settle for something less than perfect.

Buy It or Sew It
Easy Bias Skirt 

There's nothing like Spring to inspire change.  Stonemountain celebrated 33 years at our Shattuck location in 2014, and like all truly successful ventures, change and renewal is a normal part of doing business. Collaboration inspires each of us to be more than we were, to think bigger than the box we're in and to let our dreams rattle our minds to new levels. April was a time to let the Muses take over and inspire us to undergo a metamorphosis...new web design, a fresh new look at fabric and a more focused outlook on garment sewing. In short we inspired each other.  Magic!

New Social Media Looks
Working With Stripes
Great Bag!
Kiki Ramone
Photography

With Summer around the corner, isn't it funny that people start thinking "in color"? Years ago I had my colors "done" by a professional, and like many women I have kept that color palette of swatches ever since. Some people know instinctively what colors in fabrics will look and feel good, but some of us need a little help. I for one am semi stuck in the blacks and greys, but as Summer approached, my peeps urged me to step out of my comfort zone and try a few of those swatch colors I've been carrying around forever. Isn't that what friends are for?

Your Colors
Fabric Stash 

The Bay Area is a hodge-podge of coolish, foggy, mild, sunny, wet, etc. weather conditions all throughout the year, regardless of the season.  Generally the weather is the same - mild - but once in a while we'll even get a heat wave. Berkeley summers may require a jacket or sweater in the evening, but sleeveless tops are always a great option here...especially while working at the store.  I love a great tank and when you find a great pattern, the fabric choices are endless. 

Summer Tank
Plaids 

Summer is one of the best times for traveling. We thought that we'd focus on some easy travel garments.  Knits are a perfect "pack and go" fabric, not to mention the comfort of wearing them. Ponte knits are especially nice, as they have a little more weight and don't wrinkle as much. We had fun with this fabric, just knowing that there was a time when you wouldn't be caught dead in a "double knit".  But this timeless fabric was trending for the upcoming Fall season.

Ponte Knits
Selvage Edges
Easy Travel Skirt
Travel Pants 

A lot of our readers and customers are NOT expert Sewists.  They visit the store to find a great fabric and a simple pattern. Laurel (who is an accomplished seamstress) mentioned that she used to make a garment during the day just to wear that evening.  So naturally, we thought we'd test it with a pattern that boasted "Easy 1 hour" dress. (Note: "Note so much!") But there is something to be said for taking your time and adding detail to a simple pattern - don't we just love a simple t-shirt pattern?

One Hour Dress
Do-Over for a Pretty Knit

By September of 2014, we were in full fledged creativity and metamorphosis! Our planning/fitting days with Laurel took on a whole new vibe, with the help of staff members who wanted to jump in with their ideas.  We were on a roll with our Funky Fall looks - garments that our customers could see were hand created! We combined colors and textures, prints and solids and added some great details to each garment. Creativity abounded and we haven't stopped since.  More Magic!!

Lynn Mizono Dress
Funky Fall 

We had such fun planning garments for our "Funky Fall" wardrobe. We wanted to try pairing different fabrics together - Natalie made the cutest little peplum blouse, so naturally I loved it and wanted one for myself. Laurel was just coming home from her French vacation full of design ideas, but after being away from her sewing machine for so long, it took a while to get her back in the "Berkeley Groove". We worked with fitting issues this month and the ins and outs of making a muslin.

Sewing "Zen"
The Muslin 

I've been obsessed with dresses this Fall, for some reason.  There are so many dress Patterns out there and many of them look alike, so you have to add your own touches to make them "yours".  We thought since Sandra Betzina was coming to Stonemountain for an evening class that we would make up some of her patterns for the event. Many of our staff joined in by making up their favorite Sandra B. design.  The evening class was awesome! Love Sandra!

 "Frances" Dress from Green Bee 
Sandra Betzina 

We wrapped up the year in our "Little Black Dress". Because we worked so hard on the fitting  (using the muslin) it turned out to be a sweet little number that I will wear for a long time.

Little Black Dress
Bright Prints 

Coming Soon!!!

We are already knee deep into planning for 2015. Keep FabricLady on your list of must-read blogs so you don't miss all the exciting designs coming up!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog on this day. Life is so much sweeter when it is shared.

Creatively Yours

Suzan

Suzan Steinberg, 4th Generation Fabric Lover
Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics
2518 Shattuck Ave. @ Dwight Way
Berkeley CA 94704

510-845-6106

email: fabriclady3@gmail.com

Easiest Skirt Ever - Even on the Bias!

The A-Line skirt has been around forever.  It's simple design has not changed over the years, other than the length of the hemline.  I remember making this skirt when I first learned to sew - didn't everyone? It's basically 4 pieces - a front section cut on the fold, two back pieces with a seam and a waistband (or not). It may be cut on the bias or the straight of the fabric and it may or may not have darts at the waist.

We decided to make up Burda's 8281 in two different fabrics - corduroy and denim. Both fabrics will be great for the transition into Spring. I'm not much into bold plaids, but as you can see, it would be easy to duplicate the look on the pattern cover with some of our great woolens!

For my corduroy skirt, we decided to cut the skirt on the straight grain of the fabric.  This soft corduroy has a distinctive nap. A fabric with nap is one what usually has a pile and will look different shades from different angles. Velvet and velour fabric are prime examples of fabric with nap along with our pin wale corduroy.

To determine the direction of the nap, lay the fabric up against your body and run you hand downward on the fabric. The nap of the corduroy should be smooth as your hand moves downward on the fabric.

This is the direction that you will lay out your pattern pieces, both skirt front and skirt back, meaning that the waist of the front should be the same as the waist of the back (think of it in terms of a top of the fabric and a bottom). When cutting out fabric, the "with nap" and the "without nap" directions are usually different to allow all of the with nap pattern pieces to lie in the same direction.

Corduroy can ravel and fuzz up, so Laurel serged the seam edges.  You could also use a "Hong Kong" binding finish or flat-felt seams if you felt especially ambitious (curious about to finish your seams with something besides a serger? Take a look at our Perfect Seams class).

For the denim skirt, we chose a lighter weight 6.5 oz denim and decided to cut the pieces on the BIAS for added interest. A bias cut just means that the fabric pieces of a garment are shifted to a 45 degree against the lengthwise grain.  Making this shift usually means that you will need more fabric than the pattern calls for, but how much?

Karen (one of our customers) writes:

 "If I want to make a dress or skirt and I want the fabric to be cut on the bias instead of with the grain then how much extra fabric do I need? Is there a certain percentage more that is standard? like add 30% more to the yardage the pattern calls for if I'm cutting on the bias?"


This is a great question with a not so easy answer. I asked two of my sewist friends if they had a tried and true rule, and both came back with similar answers.  To put it simply, how much more fabric you need for a bias cut depends on the width of the fabric and style of the pattern.

For instance a short A-line skirt such as the denim skirt Laurel made requires less additional fabric to cut on the bias because the pattern is short ( only 20"). On the other hand, a longer skirt such as the ponte knit maxi skit we made last summer would probably need 50% more fabric to cut it on the bias.

Laurel is planning to make a knit maxi skirt with a Chevron striped pattern similar to this Calvin Klein knit skirt, so matching the striped pattern will probably necessitate twice as much fabric as the pattern dictates. The simplest solution is to make a muslin (there we go with that "make a muslin" suggestion again!) of the pattern.

Remember the silk charmeuse blouse? Laurel made a muslin pattern to lay on bias of the silk to determine the best use of the fabric's lovely print. If you're making a skirt with a center fold, like this blouse, then cut out the entire front panel in muslin (on the fold), open the piece up and use it to lay on your chosen fashion fabric. Most bias pieces are cut in a single layer, due to the width of most fabric is not wide enough to have a fold on the bias AND fit a skirt or blouse front pattern piece.

For most bias cut garments, it is okay to alternate the bias, putting the grain-line on the cross or the lengthwise. With our denim skirt, the weave is a twill, so because there is a perceptible nap to it, it's still best to cut it out with the waist part of the garment at one end (the "top" of the fabric) to keep the nap similar.

Very little finishing is needed for this bias fabric, so Laurel was able to complete this A-Line skirt in a little over an hour. A simple zipper, narrow waistband and a machine finished hem completed my casual denim skirt.  Both looks are going to be great with boots and/or tights! Do you want to make a perfect basic skirt for your wardrobe? We have a class for that! Our Perfect Pencil Skirt class shows you how to cut and fit the right skirt for you.

Laurel will be coming by this week with the finished skirts and we'll do another photo shoot to show off our success! Be sure to share YOUR successes (and even your failures) with us! We are all inspired and learn from one another. I love seeing what you are working on for Spring. Email me at fabriclady3@gmail.com with your sewing blogs, photos or words of wisdom!

Creatively yours,

SuZan

a.k.a. Daughter!

p.s. we are getting ready to celebrate 33 years in Berkeley!!! 

Do you already receive our newsletters and postcards with discounts on them?

If not, please let me know and I will be happy to add you to our list of all-star customers!

It's All in the Pattern Layout!

Almost all patterns come with a suggested pattern layout for the fabric. We've seen these, right? They look like drawing of fortifications with the moat and drawbridge over here in option for 45" wide fabric and over there in the option for 60" wide fabric.

Some fabrics have a "nap" to them (such as velvet), which may complicate your layout plan, especially if you have a limited amount of yardage. Besides helping you ensure proper grain for your pattern pieces, these layouts allow you to see what the pattern pieces will look like in your fabric before you cut it out.  This really matters if you have a pattern or print on your fabric, like words in only one direction, stripes or chevrons, any pattern can be a challenge depending on its size and direction. Just think about plaid!

Pattern layout is one of the most crucial parts of garment sewing. So much so that time spent on the layout, pinning and cutting is essential to the ultimate fit and finish of your garment, especially when you have spent your hard-earned dollars on a length of fine fabric such as silk, linen or wool. It's easy enough if you have a solid colored woven fabric; get it on the straight of the grain and go.  Things start getting a little dicey when you're working with knits, bold prints, stripes, plaids and border prints, etc. Spending time preserving the integrity of the fabric design pays dividends at the finish.


Take this striped fabric for instance. I chose this beautiful woven rayon-blend brocade fabric for the mock-wrap skirt we already had made in a wool crepe (remember the celedon colored wool skirt in the Not your ordinary Fabric Store post?).

I knew I wanted the stripes to lay horizontally on the skirt, and matching the wrapped front sections was easy enough. The waistband required more attention - our first attempt produced an odd, elliptical shape right below the waist. Laurel, my dressmaker, summed it all up: her observation -  "looks like a nasty potbelly effect to me!" She ripped it out and re-cut the waistband on the diagonal, thereby eliminating the bulls eye on the abdomen.

Yipes!!! Even the floor looks like it has a potbelly!

Much better!

Still need to hem it and put in the zipper, but WOW! I love it!

Cutting on the bias allows for more stretch and ease in a garment. We are working on the second garment using a wonderful stretch silk with Lycra charmeuse. Even though the Lycra does allow the silk some extra give, we decided to cut the bodice of Sandra Betzina's Vogue 1291 on the bias. An added design complication is that our fabric is a border print and we also decided to make the flowing sleeves out of a coordinating silk chiffon. Every now and then Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics receives the same print on different types of silk weaves from various designers!

The decision of where to place the bodice front and back is simplified by making a muslin pattern and placing it directly on the fabric and moving it around to find the best direction of the print. In order to find the best direction of the print, we simply laid the fitted pattern directly on top of the fabric, and moving it around until we liked it.

When you're working with a large pattern that had a long repeat, layout becomes very important. I love this rayon knit from France.  The large circles are in horizontal rows, but the repeat is a very long 25". Because the design is so bold, the placement of where the row of circles should cut across my figure took a little planning.

I chose the Shapes "Four Good Measure Top" and decided that we should just take the horizontal striped effect of this print out of the equation by cutting it on the bias.

Tip: You don't have to have a special tool to find the bias of any fabric - just take a piece of paper and fold it with a 45 degree angle.  Place the square edge of the paper on the selvage edge of the fabric and line up your pattern piece's grain line or edge to the 45 degree angle of the paper. Voila! On the bias!!

Love it!! This fabric is dreamy!

In my previous "Make your Wardrobe POP - Ooh la la" post, I featured a digital rayon knit from France. With such an amazing image, maintaining proper layout was especially crucial. Again, the Shapes top has one long pattern piece for the front and back, so cutting a shoulder seam (not in the pattern) allowed us to control the print images on BOTH sides of our garment. (Please note that we have sold out of this color way, but just got a new color way with greens!)

Working with these bold prints requires forethought.  This lovely polyester knit had some bold circular areas that if placed in certain areas of my chest would...well, use your imagination! LOL! (Pattern in this top is New Look 6098)

Because Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics has so many prints and pattern choices, my design choices have really expanded the overall personality of my wardrobe. I love these new fabrics and their complexities, so pattern layout and planning becomes the cornerstone of our designs.  Laurel says most of her efforts in making my garments is spent on layout decision and execution.  But when I see the results, I  would agree, it's time well spent. 

Try not to be discouraged about the time it takes you to cut out your garment - think of it as a wearable masterpiece - one in which you are the artist! What are you inspired to try sewing next?

Creatively yours,

SuZan

Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics

2518 Shattuck Ave. @ Dwight Way

Berkeley CA 94704

510-845-6106

fabriclady3@gmail.com

Please feel free to leave your comments here on my blog or email me directly! 

I love hearing from you!

Greetings from our Winter Holiday in Park City Utah!
Let it Snow!