Fast and Easy Vest! Really! Our Modern Take on a Vest!

A few posts ago we talked about a dress that was touted as a "one hour dress," which we found out wasn't exactly on point. We typically don't talk about how long it takes to make our garments, as your sewing abilities might not match those of other sewists. Always sew at your rate. It shouldn't be a race or a chore!

But I have to say, we found a stylish pattern that lives up to its claim - Kwik Sew's "Kwik Start" vest pattern, 3838. From start to finish, you can make this vest in less than an hour. If you are feeling a bit wobbly about sewing with knits you can also register for a quick class or two to help you out!

The pattern only has two pieces - a back and a front. The edges are either serged or finished with a zig-zag or blanket stitch on your machine - no facings, no hems. Laurel thought it would be fun to make it two different ways, using several fabrics. Our original idea was to test our new linen knit fabric. This natural fiber knit is somewhat sheer and light as a feather.

Laurel has a serger, so rather than sew the four seams ( two shoulder seams and two side seams) she just seamed them with her serger.

Serge the edges and Voila! You have a vest.  

Pair it with a cute shirt or sweater for a touch of boho style!

Laurel had a small length of wool gabardine that she got at Stonemountain some time ago and a piece of snakeskin knit.  She'd had it for a long time and decided that it might be a little over the top, but what about pairing the two fabrics together for our second vest?  She used the same easy steps to make this edgy little vest.  The beauty of it is that you can wear it inside out as well, toning down the shine on the snakeskin.

Try using a different thread color for the edge finish just to add interest.

The inside of the vest back - wear it on the outside!

"Inside out"

Or right side out - two different looks.

The simple (really SIMPLE!!!!) vest could be made out of wool, knits, linen...almost any fabric. If you're brave, try using a soft leather or faux leather. What about a soft boiled wool for extra warmth?

Natalie, our buyer, shows off her vest made from our Ikats and one of our striped shot cottons. She used Vogue V1375 from Today's Fit by Sandra Betzina (or as Sandra Betzina calls it a Sleeveless Jacket!). Great for dressing up or down and so easy to make. So funky! If you love these ikats, we have a huge collection of colors and styles in the store right now and more on the way!

And here's Suzan in her new vests!  As easy as this vest was to make, making an outfit with it is even easier.  This is the perfect "throw on and go" piece that could be dressed up or down.  Such versatility!

 

Kwik Sew 3838 made with Polyester Import

  

2015 is off to a quick start! Laurel and I have been collecting new fabric and patterns to try out and show you in the coming months. I love the way many of the garments are out on our floor with tags and photos in them to inspire you. Please stop by and visit our gallery of ideas and see where your creativity leads you!

You can make it too!

We are also getting ready for our 34th anniversary of being here in Berkeley! 

Stay tuned for goodies…do you receive our email newsletters? 

If not, please go to this link and sign up for discounts, inspiring articles and more!

Always Creatively Yours,
Suzan
fabriclady3@gmail.com

Getting Ready for our Big Event with Sandra Betzina!

I am so excited to have teacher, designer and friend Sandra Betzina back at Stonemountain. Sandra has made many visits over the 33 years we have been here and each and every time she does a class for us, we all leave inspired and full of great new sewing ideas.

WHEN: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 from 6:30 - 9:00 pm

WHERE: Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics, UPSTAIRS

Some time for shopping with 20% off!

Cost: $45 per person

 This class is almost full, so call us right away at 
510-845-6106 to register!

  

Sandra Betzina is one of our "Go-To" designers when we are looking for something with innovative design and clever detailing. Last year, we made that wonderful silk and knit combination top, and I still love it!

Vogue 1355

Vogue 1355

Vogue 1355

And her soft yoga pants, also included in Vogue 1355 are still among my favorites!

Vogue 1355

                         

When we made this Vogue 1291 pattern in a soft cotton voile, we had many customers who wanted to duplicate this top, using the same fabric!

Vogue 1291

                         
        

Vogue 1291

Vogue 1291 made with Silk Charmeuse and Silk Chiffon!

                                       

So what's a girl supposed to do when you know Sandra is coming to town? Make one of her designs up to wear to the class, of course! Laurel picked Sandra's Vogue 1336, a color blocked dress that's so on-trend this season! Her only adjustment to the design was to shorten the dress to make it more of a tunic, so she could pair it with some leggings.

Vogue 1336

             

The best aspect of this pattern is that you have unlimited combinations of printed and solid fabrics. The true seamstress and design guru that she is, Laurel decided to use fabrics that she already had on hand, almost all of them being left over pieces from other garments that we have made.

When you want to do color blocking it's a good idea to lay your fabrics out on a table to see what colors and patterns might look good together.  Laurel had some of our silk knit that she wanted to be the focal point, a couple of large scraps of black knit, a couple of right-sized scraps of that wonderful silk knit, and a length of sheer nylon and Lycra netting she found upstairs in our sale section. You will remember some of these fabrics from previous posts.

            

Color block patterns like this Sandra B. dress have multiple pattern pieces, and with most of them, you would be cutting out one single piece at a time, such as a front left side or right front section.   Because Laurel was working with small pieces of fabric, she cut out each section of the dress front and then sewed them together BEFORE she even started cutting the back sections.  Get the front of the tunic the way you like it, then move on to the back.

            

With the front and back finished, she sewed the shoulder seams and then finished off the neckline.  Laurel chose some of the sheer nylon that would make the sleeves and the hemline band to also make the neckline trim.

           

When you're combining a sheer fabric for sleeves or a hemline band such as this nylon, you have to decide if you want the seams to show at the joined edge.  Laurel turned the finished armhole with the sheer sleeve turned back on to the knit fabric so that the sleeve was sheer all the way to the edge, then top stitched it down.

            

The sheer nylon on the hemline band really finished 

off this design beautifully.

           

All I can say is that I'm green with envy - this Sandra B. design is perfect for those of you who want to mix it up a little and be creative - isn't that what sewing is all about - taking a pattern such as this Sandra Betzina dress and making yours? Laurel's tunic totally fits into our "Funky Fall" season at Stonemountain. I can't wait to see her rockin' it at our November event !

   

I cannot wait to try on my "twinsie" dress - Laurel's bringing it for me to try on this Thursday! 

Yes we will take lots of photos to share with you all 

that won't be able to join us!

Creatively yours,

Suzan 

Fabriclady

stonemountainfabric.com

510-845-6106

Getting it right! Falling for a Soft Knit Dress

Fall is on the horizon, and I've been thinking about dresses! Finding a great dress pattern is easy, but if you're not used to wearing them, then it becomes a little more problematic! When I saw our customer Ruth's Lynn Mizono Vogue 1312 dress made in one of our imported Japanese cotton double gauze, I fell in love with the pattern and the fabric.

I loved the ease and fullness of the skirt and thought of making it in a soft knit while I waited for this fabric to come back in. I chose a Bamboo/Rayon and Lycra  knit because of the way it draped over my hand. The pattern calls for 4.5 yards, and you will use every inch of it.

 Laurel's oriental rug is a 9X12, so you can get some idea of how much 

fabric is in the skirt of this dress (hope I won't get lost in it!).

Because of the sheer volume of the lower skirt and the fine gauge of the knit, she marked the four sections of the skirt with masking tape before trying to assemble the lower skirt. Not only did the panels all look alike, it was hard to distinguish the right side of the fabric.

Remember that there is no "one-size fits all" stitch for knits.  You need to consider the weight of the knit and it's stretch.  This rayon and Lycra knit is exceptionally drapey and heavy.  Given the volume of the skirt (remember that 4.5 yards?), Laurel tested several stitch settings and decided on a small  zig-zag.  The length of her stitch was set at 1.5 and the width was set at 2.0.

Sewing a "straight length" of fabric around a "corner" can be scary.  The trick is to take it one step at a time. For a sharp corner, Laurel sewed on the lower skirt side (the straight length), then flipped it over to make sure that there were no puckers in the corner. If you're happy with it, trim off the outer corner.

Most fine dresses use an invisible zipper, and this one is no different. Usually an invisible zipper is put in BEFORE any of the seams are sewn together - this makes it easy to match everything up.  However, this side zipper is put into an "opening" in the side seam, making it a little more tricky to do a stellar application.

Kudos to Laurel for sticking with it, but she reports she had a rough time.  That should tell you that even the experts can't do everything perfectly, so don't be too hard on yourself if your garments aren't perfect. We are not all about perfection here at Stonemountain...we are about having fun and enjoying the process.  (I would have told her to give it up and put in a regular zipper!) This puppy is going to be under my arm anyway. I'm good!

Such a soft drapey (and voluminous) knit dress calls for a steamer to get the wrinkles out, rather than an iron. If you want to tackle the iron, be careful with your temperature on some of these finer knits - if your iron is too hot, you can create a shine on the fabric...a definite downer! I'm so happy one of my friends gave me a professional steamer that I use on all my clothes at home.

What a beauty! Can't wait to try it on! 

Fast forward a week to fitting day at the store: Okay, I think we have some issues.  The very qualities that make this fabric so dreamy are the same ones that impact the way it fits. The sheer weight of the skirt caused it to hang off my shoulders, stretching the armholes...and it's just too big in the bodice.

We decided to take it up in the shoulder seams and in the bodice.

Fast forward to Laurel back in the studio...Among the least favorite tasks of any sewist is ripping out your work.  As I mentioned before, this Bamboo/Lycra fabric has such a tight knit that "deconstructing" it was not fun.

Even though seam rippers are designed to do this sort of thing, often a sharp pair of embroidery scissors is more effective. And after all the pain of that invisible zipper, we decided the fabric and style of the dress didn't really require a zipper anyway. So we took it out!

A word of advice: When you have to undo all your hard work on a garment, don't expect it to go back together as easily as your initial construction - it rarely comes back together as well.  It takes patience and an understanding of just how far you need to rip to make it work.

In the end, we're happy with the adjustments we made and when I get to actually wear it, it's going to be glorious!  I LOVE this dress!!

 The Re-engineered Lynn Mizono Vogue 1312 Dress, ready for prime-time!

I am going to make this dress again in the double gauze from Japan featured in our customer's dress above - stay tuned!!!

Creatively Yours,

Suzan

Visit the FabricLady Collection of Garments on display at
Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics and Sewing Center
2518 Shattuck Ave. @ Dwight Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
www.stonemountainfabric.com
email: fabriclady3@gmail.com
M-F: 10 am - 6:30; SAT: 10 am - 6 pm; SUN: 11 am - 5:30  pm

Let's Get Funky for Fall!

I can't believe that summer is virtually gone - August flew by so quickly we've barely had time to think about our fall wardrobe. As I look back at the things we've been making, as much as I love each and every garment, I'm starting to wonder if I'm too much a creature of habit, too color conservative, too predictable.

For me fall, like spring, is a time for renewal. It's that whole "back to school" mentality that we never seem to grow out of as September rolls around: time to gather sharp pencils and new notebooks, buy new dresses and boots, maybe try a fresh hairstyle. For those of us who sew, it's a time to peruse the new pattern books, check out the new fabrics and plan our fall/winter wardrobes.

This season I'm feeling the need to branch out a little with my fabric choices… and I have been inspired by our own staff here at Stonemountain.  Most of them are sewists in their own right and their creativity and use of our fabrics inspires me to shake off the everyday Suzan and morph into: Funky Zan.

I'm surrounded with creativity every day at the store. Wow, these women can sew!!

When I see their creativity, I am excited to step out of my comfort zone and add some real flair and color to my wardrobe.  I am equally inspired by the "Fall Cool-lections" (my new term!) in the pattern books. 

Plaids are everywhere…BurdaStyle magazine has patterns for "back to school". We love it when fashion design students visit Stonemountain to choose their fabrics! Talk about inspiring!

I love to see what retail fashion has too offer too. I saw this idea that in a fall catalog: check out the added lace to this top - love it!!

I want to try this idea on this Japanese Print cotton, to be made up in the New Look 6013 dress. But call me old-fashion, I hate it when my bra straps show, so I think we will just layer the lace over the sleeve fabric. I had my first fitting with the muslin mock-up on this dress and I love it!

Laurel inspires me with her creativity as well...she took one of our cotton stretch knits to create a "slouchy sweater" for her European car trip.  She used Marci Tilton's boxy jacket pattern (Vogue 8430) that we've both used several times, and lined it with some left over rayon knit.  It's reversible and kinda funky!

Have you noticed that big capes are making a comeback this fall? We love this pricey Burberry cape, but for we sewists, there are other options.  Why not pair some of our great fall woolens with this Vogue pattern.  The possibilities are endless!

We have picked out some great fabrics and styles this month,  all to help me get down and get a little funky for fall. Stay tuned to see how these plans come together! I would love to hear your ideas on what you are doing to "funk" up your styling for the fall...

Thanks so much for reading my blog…I value this community more than words can tell...

Creatively Yours,
SuZan
a.k.a. fabriclady
email me at fabriclady3@gmail.com
Check out my store at
www.stonemountainfabric.com
Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics
2518 Shattuck Ave. @ Dwight Way
Berkeley CA 94704
Store phone: 510-845-6106