Be Creative with Border Prints!

Some sewists shy away from border printed fabrics because they can't figure out a way to incorporate the design into their garment. In addition to the design challenges, it usually takes more of the fabric to work the border design into the pattern, as borders are traditionally only on one edge of the fabric. But we love a challenge, and we find that working with border prints can add a new dimension to a otherwise plain pattern design. My father, Bob Steinberg, always said "a good border print turns you into a designer!"

Inspiration from the High Style exhibit at the Legion of Honor Museum!

A case in point: a basic pants pattern can become a statement garment just by using a border print. The palazzo pants that we're so in love with would be even more stunning by incorporating a border print on the legs. I love getting creative with how the fabric can be laid out to create new design looks!

Border Print ideas!  Fabrics from left to right, top row - all available at my store, Stonemountain & Daughter in Berkeley:  Alison Glass batik, Cotton + Steel Hatbox lawn, Alexander Henry Stockholm cotton, Alexander Henry Frida cotton.  From left to right, bottom row:  Cotton + Steel Mustang cotton, Alexander Henry Djada Border cotton, Cotton + Steel Mochi cotton lawn, Alexander Henry Big City Print.

I also found a great way to use a border print on my new drapey top, New Look #6268.  What a perfect use for that soft, beautiful rayon! I love this top so much and want to make it again and again! It looks great belted or loose and flowing.

Laurel found our minty Cotton + Steel border print, designed by Rashida Coleman Hale.  This sporty fabric is like a cross between denim and linen.  It's still soft after a washing and yet it remains "weighty." Being the Leo that she is, she loved the touches of metallic gold.

Scattered Mint

Since the fabric is 44" wide, turning a pants pattern piece to fit on the width of the fabric works well - unless of course you have a 36" inseam.

We should mention that Laurel makes a lot of her own patterns, and her own go-to pants pattern is used over and over again, usually just modifying the leg length or width. She wanted a jeans look to her Cotton + Steel pants, but didn't want the traditional jeans styling. Her idea was to use something like New Look's 6163 pattern style, as she wanted a zipper and darts at the waist, rather than her favorite elastic waist.

If you have a favorite pants pattern, you can reinforce it by applying fusible interfacing to the back with a dry iron - we got that hint from Sandra Betzina in her last class here at Stonemountain. Laurel's pattern is in inexpensive cotton muslin, so it lays easily on the Cotton + Steel fabric. For these pants, she narrows the width of the pants legs and places them on the fabric with the border at the bottom of the legs.

Remember how we talked about incorporating the selvage edges of fabrics into your design? (See our post on Show us your Selvage Edges!)  Like many designer fabrics, the edges often have the name of the manufacturer and/or designer stamped along the selvage. And this Cotton + Steel fabric has a great selvage edge that would add to the casual jeans look Laurel was after.  Besides the printing, the very edge has a soft frayed look - perfect for jeans! So why not use it?

Laurel incorporated the selvage edge into the design of two front "patch" pockets.  A patch pocket is made by sewing a piece of shaped material to the outside of a garment.  You can make patch pockets any shape and apply them wherever you like on your garment - even if the pattern does not call for them.

Lining the pocket with a lightweight cotton.

The zipper was applied to the back seam, just because she hates side zippers - sound like a personal issue to me! ;) To finish the un-banded waistline, think about using double fold bias tape as a facing.  It has some give to it, since its cut on the bias, but it's sturdy enough and works great on the curved nature of a the waistline.

With the addition of another patch pocket on the leg (cargo pants style), these "jeans" are rockin'!

And here's the fabric designer's name!

Her only regret is that she got the idea to incorporate a patch pocket using the selvage edges after she had already cut out the pants - so the legs would have been too long by leaving the raw edge at the hemline. Would have been cute, though!  But that's the best part of sewing - using your creativity to change up your design as you go along.  You learn by trial and error.  So now that you know how you might incorporate the selvage edge into your pants design, you're already ahead of the game.  Let your imagination by your guide!

One of our students, Kathleen, used the fuchsia version of Cotton + Steel's linen/cotton blend in a Sandra Betzina Vogue vest pattern, #1453. She made clever use of the gold borders as well!

So cute!  Even if you've never used a border print before, we hope this shows you how great they can be!  Using a border print can really get your imagination going, since you may have to slightly alter a pattern or adjust your cutting layout.  But once you've figured it out, the results are beautiful, and the right border print can bring any garment to the next level.

Have you used a border print before?  Show us your pictures or better yet, stop by the store to show us all!

Creatively yours,

Suzan

a.k.a. Fabriclady!

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!

Sewing For Yourself: Me Made May 2015 & Personal Style

As May begins, we here at Stonemountain and the Fabric Lady blog would like to invite all of you to participate in Me Made May 2015.  If you aren't familiar, Me Made May is a month long celebration of everything handmade. Participants are encouraged to wear a handmade item for as many days of the month as they can, document it and share their images through social media. This tradition, now in its 5th year, aims to encourage makers of all skill levels to share their wears with a larger community of sewists.

Burda Skirt 8282, New Look Top 6267

We love the idea of this tradition and feel like the message is so in-tune with the Stonemountain philosophy of making.  Supporting local businesses and curating your own handmade wardrobe is increasingly important these days.  The garment industry and "fast fashion" are far from perfect, and making your own clothes gives makers a more sustainable, eco-friendly, and humane way to dress themselves.  So join us while we participate in Me Made May 2015!

The New Hippy Pants 

They say that if you wait long enough, styles will come back in season. Having been in Berkeley for most of my adult life, I'd like to say that we lived first hand the bohemian lifestyle and the soft, easy clothing that is the Boho-chic we still see today.

This free spirited way of dressing comes naturally to me. My father had the first Hippie counter culture fabric store in Los Angels in the 60's.  The clothing that came out of this era is enjoying a resurgence in popular retail outlets today.

We were going for the hippie look when we picked out these great palazzo pants from New Look (pattern 6271) and found the perfect block print cotton gauze from India!

Working with this fabric is easy, but you have to watch for the inconsistencies in the dying process. The selvage edges of this piece did not absorb the dyes evenly and they were heavily crinkled, so it was a good thing that we allowed for some waste in cutting our pattern.  Basically two pant lengths will be enough for this pattern, avoiding the selvage edges.

The pattern has both elastic and a drawstring at the slightly lowered waist.  You could leave the elastic out and just hold them up with the drawstring.  We added both. The thing to remember about slip-on pants is to make sure that the elastic waist is large enough to slip up over your thighs and hips.

Laurel uses a long thin paintbrush to turn my drawstring right side out. It's tricky to start the turning process in such a narrow drawstring, but once you get it going, it falls into place.  You can also try using a bodkin or a loop turner - it makes the process very easy!

I love the way these pants flow.  The fabric you choose needs to be soft if you're going for the Boho look, especially because the elastic waist could be bulky of the fabric is too stiff or heavy.

An Effortless Top, Two Ways

Another staple of the Boho look is the classic peasant blouse.  We've made New Look's 6267 before and loved the ease and comfort of the styling.  We made our first blouse in a gorgeous combination of silks in a great neutral palette, but we thought we'd try it again. It's amazing to see how a pattern can change depending on the fabric you choose!

This time we chose a soft crinkled cotton voile.  What do you know, another drawstring! Drawstrings are a popular characteristic in the Boho style - they add a relaxed look and feel to clothing that is effortless and chic.  

This time around I paired them with my awesome linen pants that Laurel made in Summer of 2013. These pants are made with linen that Laurel treated with Sandra Betzina's great instructions...

"If you want for your linen to wrinkle a lot less, do the following: Before you preshrink, open the windows and iron the linen with the hottest dry iron possible, to set a wrinkle-less finish,which is already on the fabric. Next, throw in a little detergent and wash and dry in the hottest water and hottest dryer you have. Take out of the dryer when close to bone dry. You will notice that smaller softer wrinkles have replaced the hard crease usually associated with the fabric."

We love how this top turned out, just as wearable and gorgeous as the first time, but a different feel. It's amazing how one sewing pattern can be integrated into different wardrobes. Laurel loved how the palazzo pants turned out so much that she's making a pair for herself from some of our rayon challis!

We all have our own personal style and ways of wearing our clothes, which is just another reason why sewing for yourself is so fun and important. It gives each and every one of us an opportunity to express ourselves in our own unique way, whether your a Boho gal, a modern prepster, a vintage maven or something in between. Join us in celebrating Me Made May and make something for yourself that you'll wear and love.

with gratitude,

Suzan

p.s. I love these pants so much here's a preview of my next pair of palazzo pants!