Movin' On

We're now posting over on our own domain at www.sewer-sewist.com. Please redirect your bookmarks and RSS feeds. All of the posts and comments here are over at the archives on the new site.

Thanks for a great run here at our blogger site---we hope you enjoy the new one too! Trust us, the new one's way nicer!

~Sarah & Josh

Happy Holidays

Wishing each of you very happy holidays!

Out of commission

Our computer is having some issues, so until that's fixed, you won't hear much from us. We've got lots and lots to post once we've got this issue resolved, though!

Hard to give away...

from sarah the sewist

As we've mentioned a time or two, we're continuing to work on holiday gifts for everyone, and we're finally starting to feel like we're making some progress. I just finished the gift for Josh's stepmother. It's the Amy Butler Downtown Purse. This pattern came in the mail yesterday---thank you Lisa Lam over at the wonderful site U-Handblog. I had won her monthly bag contest awhile back (for the Amy Butler Messanger Bag I made for my mom's birthday), and had my heart set on the Amy Butler Downtown Purse pattern as my prize... Unfortunately, this particular pattern was out of stock, so I had to wait. This pattern arrive was pretty fortuitous!

I am particularly happy that we didn't need to run out the "storm of the century that didn't actually happen" (the weather folks here in PDX had everyone on high alert this weekend, claiming snow and wind) to get supplies for this one either (sort of my MO---get started, realize I don't' have a critical piece for my project, have to run to the sewing shop, etc, etc).

A couple of weeks ago we bought a yard or so of some absolutely beautiful cotton from Windham Fabrics "American Coverlet Collection." You can read about the design concept for this line here, and visit the American Coverlet Museum's site to learn about their work preserving coverlets. What an exciting effort they're undertaking trying to preserve this unique American art form! Anyway, as you can see, this is gorgeous stuff.

Of course, me being me, I did make some changes. I'm continuing my infatuation with fusible fleece. The stuff just has so many uses... Since we didn't have a lot of Timtex, I backed the sides of this bag with two layers of fusible fleece, which created a pretty thick, very sturdy structure for Downtown Purse. I also used the fusible fleece for interfacing the strap, which I think makes it a bit more comfortable to carry---I had done this when I made my friend her Frenchy Bag, and she seemed to like that particular feature.

Also, I truly hate the removable false bottom that a lot of bags have. After making a zillion of the Amy Butler High Street Messenger Bags and never finding the stupid quilters template that you're supposed to use to make the false bottom, I now avoid that phase of bag making as much as possible. My latest creative brainstorm was to use two layers of Timtex to make up the bottom of the bag. (I know, I'm living on the edge... two layers of Timtex---the stuff is a tremendous pain in the butt to sew as a single layer, let along two.) It worked out just fine and seems to have created the needed stability at the bottom of the bag.

I really got a bit obsessive about matching the patterns on this one... Like, I think pretty much everything matches up. Which is weird, because I usually try to be kind of serene about that sort of thing. I mean, there only so much you can do to make sure your fabric pattern lines up, right?

Can you tell that I really, really don't want to give this one away? I really am proud of this one. I think I'll make a very similar one for myself sometime soon.

On The Newsstand...

The first in an occasional series of posts on stuff we find interesting.

What can we say, we still love a good magazine or newspaper. In a “paperless” world, there is still nothing like getting a magazine through the mail slot. A bath isn’t complete without bubbles and some light (or not so light) reading. Here are few things that we came across this month.

Having trouble finding jeans that fit? Virginia Postrel has an article in December’s Atlantic about changing ready-to-wear sizes, technology and $900 jeans for sale in England. There is an interesting data about how different in shape we all really are and how “in a tough apparel market ‘better fit’ has become the latest competitive weapon.” Truncated version available here. Guess we sewers/sewists have an edge here in the whole effort behind "better fit."

Surprise, surprise Amy Butler lives in an incredibly cool looking house. You can see it in the November / December issue of Martha Stewart’s Blueprint. We found that this magazine is kind of uninspiring but worth looking through in the check-out line or browsing at the store (if only we could organizer our life ala the “tipometer”). The Sewer’s favorite part is the “winter themed” pics that were obviously taken in the summer heat. Big props to Amy Butler and husband for featuring their Arbor Snowboard, we are big fans of Arbor’s long boards and nice to see them in an unexpected spot.

From USA Today, always double stitch the crotch of your pants!

Rip City Raglan

This post has moved to our new blog. The direct link to this post is here.

from sarah the sewist

People who know me, usually know at least this one thing about me---I am a tried and true, dyed-in-the-wool, unwavering Portland Trail Blazers basketball fan. It's a bit embarrassing, because I think that I'm a fairly interesting person with a variety of things that I do and am interested in, but I have actually had someone (my boss, which makes it even worse) introduce me to someone else like this, "I'd like to introduce you to Sarah. She's a huge Trail Blazers fan." No, this didn't make sense in the context of the conversation. So anyway, I've always been a Blazers fan, always will be.

Anyway, Blazers season started this month, and we've gone to three games so far. I have some pretty cute Blazers T-shirts, but I've noticed one tremendous problem: the terraced style of the seats combined with the seats' odd, woven upholstery has a tendency to grab onto whatever you're wearing and pull it upward, my jeans will then of course, slide downward. Not a pretty sight for those unfortunate folks who are seated behind me. Since I have a tendency to leap out of my seat (poor Josh, he's such a good sport about my Blazermania [that's what it's called here]), this is a situation that desperately needed addressing.

Josh found this fabric to the left at Fabric Depot on Friday (we desperately needed some Stitch Witchery and braved the post-Thanksgiving crowds) and snagged a couple of yards for me (fabric and the Trail Blazers---in my world that's perfection, true perfection). A few weeks ago, when we were at Portland's new IKEA store, I picked up some vibrant red cotton to use to make muslins of some Butterick dress patterns I'd purchased recently.

The two had to meet. It was fate.

I whipped up (pretty much literally, this pattern takes basically zero effort) another Built by Wendy/Simplicity 3835 dress/tunic---this time in the shorter mini-dress/tunic length to wear over jeans. But long enough to sufficiently cover my butt when I leap out of my seat. I didn't make the collar with this one, instead opting for the elasticized neckline in the alternate view (although I kept the back darts for shaping). I also eliminated the zipper, since I don't used the zips much in two other versions that I've made of this dress---the modified neckline is large enough to just pull over my head.

However, I wasn't done...

I cut out one of the Trail Blazers emblems out of the fabric, backed it with some fusible fleece, and stitched it around with a narrow zig-zag in black. This went onto the bottom left hand of the tunic, like the tags on the players' jerseys. (Yes, I know I'm a lunatic...please don't hold it against me!)

Finally, my last bit of embellishment was the addition of small number 7s in black (Blazer colors are red and black) on each arm. Why the 7s? Well, 7 is a very important number for the Trail Blazers. They won their first and only championship in 1977 (a couple of months before I was born---my mom has a complicated theory about how this influenced my becoming a Blazer fan). In 2007, they only had a 5% chance of hitting the #1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, and they won, resulting in the drafting of Greg Oden (center from Ohio State---Josh, being an Ohioan, was thrilled, as was I). 2007 was also the year that Brandon Roy won Rookie of the Year, which was pretty exciting. Oh, and 7 is also the number that Brandon wears, and he's probably my favorite player at the moment. Plus that whole lucky number seven thing. (When I made this yesterday for that evening's game, the Blazers were on a five-game losing streak, so a little luck is probably not the worst thing.)

So, after making this yesterday, I wore it to the game against the Kings. It was an awesome game---and the Blazers broke their losing streak (although it was pretty exciting, and was really close). The length of the shirt did the trick, too.

So, I guess this shirt's record is 1-0.



(In case you don't recognize the location in this picture, that's me at the Rose Garden before the game.)

A Sewer-Sewist Holiday Gift Guide, Part 2

Part 2 of our Holiday Gift Guide...

Miami Valley Pottery. This next one is a little tricky. Josh grew up with a guy named Nays (pronounced nace) who now runs a small pottery business near Dayton, Ohio. The thing is his website seems to be down and it is hard to get a look at the wonderful work that he does. Nonetheless, we strongly support his desire to bring hand made and wood fired pottery to people at production pottery prices. You can see we used one of his lovely pieces used to model the “Call of the Wild Hat” hat. You can read all about his shop here and get more information here . The pottery that the faux shearling Burda hat we made recently is photographed on is one of Nays’ originals.

St. Josef's Winery. Neither the Sewer no the Sewist are experts on wine (or oenologist if you prefer), the Josh can tell you with all certainty that Turkish wine doesn’t taste particularly great, but will lead to pretty big drunkenness and a massive hangover. Sarah has much more refined taste and loves Reisling and whatever. We can both agree that St. Josef’s wine from Canby, Oregon is pretty great. Our love for their wine is more than taste; their vineyard sits right behind the home of the Sewist-in-law and the place the Sarah grew up. She can remember going to the Fleischmann’s bakery in Canby as a kid and both of us have enjoyed walking over to the tasting room when visiting the Sewist-in-law. Besides the nostalgia and the pleasantness of their vineyard, the wine is damn fine. Sarah prefers their Reisling and Pinot Gris while Josh likes the L’Esprit (Gewurztraminer) and Syrah. We are both looking forward to tasting their late harvest Pinot Gris desert wine. If you are out Canby way or are looking for a place to visit on the weekend definitely stop by or contact them to order.

Cello by Jan Vogler. Again, we are not experts on classical music (and the things the we are “experts” on, Race and Ethnicity in George Pelecanos’ D.C. Quartet, Beatrice Grimshaw and late 19th century feminism, building public support of bond and levy issues for municipalities are not necessarily the most exciting things to read about) but we both like the music of Jan (pronounced “yawn” but that’s the only thing that’s yawn-inducing) Vogler. The Sewer in the past had a contract to do marketing work with a classical music organization in Santa Fe and worked with Jan and his agent on promoting his appearance. Jan, in addition to being a great cellist, is a hell of a nice guy. Despite his working with a great big music conglomerate, we wanted to include his music in our list; musicians, even when successful, are always working to get heard. We would recommend his album of American composers Barber - Korngold – Bürger. (Just as an aside we are also fans of Portland hip-hop group Lifesavas new album Gutterfly in the car if you want to go in a completely different direction.)

Poppi Swimwear. Just the most rockin’, retro-fabulous, gorgeous swimwear anywhere. Sorry, guys, they only make swimwear for the gals. Poppi is owned by Portlander Pam Levenson, who is a great designer and very nice person. Her swimsuits are beautiful---the way swimwear used to look, and it’s actually flattering. For our Australian readers (you know who you are) who are enjoying summer right now---yes, we’re jealous---she has reasonable shipping to Down Under. Sarah really likes the Skirted Boy Short (who knew a skirted swimsuit could be so cool) combined with any of the Retro Tankini Tops---especially the Wendy top. It’s just so refreshing to see swimwear that’s attractive, flattering and fun.

Powell’s Books. Okay, we know there’s Amazon, but before Amazon was even a twinkle in Jeff Bezos’ eye, there was Mike Powell and Powell’s Books, a regular bricks and mortar store that always seemed to have it all (before Amazon had everything you could ever want book-wise). A gift certificate to this wonderful “City of Books” can be used in person or in their vast online store. The book lover in your life can load up on used sewing books (they’ve got some good ones, too, like the old editions of Readers Digest Guide to Sewing) like they won’t believe. Give it a whirl…

Happy Birthday, Sewer!

from sarah the sewist

Happy birthday to Josh! (We won't mention that your birthday present is still a work in progress.)

Unzipped

from sarah the sewist

Sometimes things go wrong and you just want to give up. Generally, in sewing, given that it's not really a life and death sort of thing, that's the path I choose. In fact, I have been known to give my husband a pep talk or two about how it's okay to just stop a project that is just not working. He is yet to take my advice, but he hasn't been sewing that long.

When I got my August issue of Burda World of Fashion, I was excited about the nice-looking pair of jeans in this issue. Unlike a lot of BWOF stuff, there was no weirdness to these jeans (not that there's anything wrong with weirdness)---they were just a normal pair of pants. Around that same time my mom (who taught me everything I know about sewing) bought me three yards of amazing charcoal and black herringbone corduroy. (I have a long-time love of all fabrics that are textural like this---herringbone, houndstooth and plain old tweed all make me very happy.) This fabric and the Burda WOF pattern were destined to be together.

These pants came together very well, which I have come to expect out of the Burda magazine patterns. (I actually think that their World of fashion patterns have better drafting than their envelope patterns---although that could also be because I get the chance to "get to know" the pattern better in the magazine because of the tracing and seam allowance addition.) They looked great. I especially liked the way that the pockets turned out. I even recreated the waistband, since this was one of their "plus" patterns and the waistband was waaaaay larger than I needed, and made it wider and contoured. I thought I was pretty awesome. Oh, and I did all of this in the span of a single evening.

Then I got strep throat. (Yes, strep throat at 30---fun stuff.) So I didn't hem them for about two weeks after they were basically done.

Last weekend I pulled them off of their resting place on top of our Gumdrop Ottomen in our living room and hemmed them up. I tried them on and they fit great. Really great. They were slimmer fit than I had expected, but I've noticed that's a trend with BWOF, so it wasn't that surprising. But I did think that the zipper seemed a bit sticky. Not thinking anything of it, I wore the jeans around the house. Then I heard it...pop, pop, pop. Oh, yes, I had managed to install a defective zipper in my pants. The teeth, it turns out were completely warped, bent like they'd been stepped on and twisted. While only two or three coils actually popped completely out of the zipper, most of the other were not long for this world. So, I did what any sane person would do... I screamed a lot of stuff that would not be appropriate to repeat in this blog. Then I ripped the whole stupid zipper out, not thinking, of course that I had no idea how on Earth to re-install a zipper.

Anyway, I won't go into the details of my drama with trying to put the new zipper in the pants, but let's just say it took pretty much an entire week to figure out. And---the horror!---it involved me hand sewing. Which is pretty scaring. I got the stupid thing in the jeans and functional, but it's really not that pretty, to be honest.

But, the jeans do look pretty good...


Anyway, this is a great pattern, and I'll probably use it again. I'm pretty proud of myself for not being a quitter with this one, although it was my instinct. I did learn two things through this whole mess, though:

1. Always check your zipper coils before you use the zipper.
2. Through my searching for a solution to this problem, I discovered that there are professionals (tailors) who will fixed broken zippers for you. Next time (I really hope there's not a next time), I'll go that route.
   

A Sewer-Sewist Holiday Gift Guide, Part 1

Despite the continued pressures of “buying stuff” we love the holiday season and love giving gifts (and the Sewer loves to get them---lots of childhood issues, that one). In the spirit of the season, we decided to put together a gift guide to handmade or unique gifts. Some of these are Portland-centric, but they’re certainly a great excuse to visit our fabulous city (aside from the lack of a sales tax and not pumping your own gas)---some of these may seem odd for a sewing blog, but we believe in supporting the unique and creative whenever possible. Besides, we know that (amazing as it may be) not everyone shares the sewing bug.

We’re trying to make most of our gifts, but, undoubtedly, some will come from this list once our sewing energy wears out. The following represent our favorite individuals, small companies or large companies with a unique approach to their business.

Bolt. Obviously we love Bolt here in Portland's Alberta Arts District/awesome Concordia neighborhood. You guys have heard us sing the praises of this wonderful little fabric shop a time or two, and we're lucky enough to have this shop right here within walking distance of our house. What better gift for your favorite Portland-based sewer or sewist (or even a quilter) than a gift certificate to this lovely shop? If you want something more personal than a gift certificate, how about a couple of yards of fabric from her selection of interesting wool blends or silk, or some funky sweater knits, or maybe even an interesting embroidery pattern for someone looking to learn a different type of stitching. Sadly for those of you outside of the Portland area, Bolt is a bricks and mortar operation. (While you're at it, check out some of Alberta Streets other interesting, independently-owned shops---you'll be sure to find something unique, handmade and thoughtful.)

Ebbets Field Flannels. Sometimes you just want to buy something that you could probably replicate. As you can tell the Sewer loves (loves) vintage athletic wear. Mitchell and Ness (now owned by Reebok, which is owned by Adidas) is probably the name that is most associated with the “throwback” look, but if you are looking for old baseball stuff Ebbets Field Flannels is the place to go. Located in sunny (har!) Seattle, their flannels are made in the U.S. and Canada of original fabric, construction and craftsmanship. After a brief merger with Stall and Dean, when the Sewer felt the quality was not as high, the original owners are back. The Sewer has a jacket and his eyes on a ton of flannels. Two favorites are the classic Josh Gibson (the Sewer’s namesake, by the way) Homestead Grays Flannel and this 1953 Estrellas Orientales Road Jersey. They can also custom-make a jersey of your choice. Their stuff isn't cheap, but that's sort of the idea---it's not cheap, it's made authentically, and we don't see quality like this much anymore. By the way, the Sewer’s father has always enjoyed great customer service, especially by phone.

Arbor Longboards. When the Sewer was a kid he had skateboard and rode all around the little town in Ohio in which he grew up. Josh was also terrible at: tricks, jumps and cool stuff. Now that he is feeling old and wants to skate again, he is riding a longboard, which allows him the free feeling of skateboarding without the pressure to do anything but go forward. The Sewist is starting to pick up this habit and has been riding an Arbor Longboard (the 36” Bamboo Bug to be exact, a great size for Sarah). The Sewer has been looking on in great jealously and plans to upgrade to an Arbor soon. Why do we like Arbor? Well, their longboards and snowboards are incredibly beautiful to start. They use environmentally friendly woods like sustainable Koa and maple wood, bamboo and non-toxic glue in their boards. Did we mention that they are beautiful? To order we suggest Daddies Board Shop here in Portland (in person or by their extensive website), they have always been great to deal with, can answer any questions you might have and are strong supporters of the skate community in PDX.

Uniwatch. Do you or significant other love a specific sports team or care about one at an unhealthy level (The Sewer slowly raises his eyes to the Sewist, who is dressed in red and black for her beloved Blazers as their game against Detroit is broadcast through our radio). One of the most unique gift ideas we have seen is a membership to Uniwatch. A great website to track sports uniforms and a great access to insider information on uniform design, construction and materials (believe it or not the Sewer has figured out construction techniques while reading an entry). This lively community not only features your “ra-ra” sports fan but also includes professional and college equipment managers, designers (not just sports), sporting good manufacturers, and jersey customizers. If you love Purple or Nike this is not the place for you. If you love socks you will like it here. The website is free of course, but one of the advantages of membership is a custom member card that features your name and number on the “jersey” of your choice. You can choose the back of your favorite teams jersey from your favorite year and color, even the 1977 Blazers.

The Button Emporium. Buttons, who doesn’t love ‘em and who doesn’t need them. The place we go when we need something unique or specific is the Button Emporium and Ribbonry here in Portland. They have a metric ton of buttons (we didn’t actually measure, but it is impressive). We have found them to be incredibly helpful and have picked up tips on buttons and sewage hookups. Really this place is small town America (and all of its wonderfulness) in the middle of Portland. If you need to close something, this is the place to go. The do have online ordering, but it's worth a visit if you're here in Stumptown.

Well, that's the first five. Hopefully, you'll find this useful for the oddball in your life. We'll post five more in a couple of days.

Another one down...

We're plugging away with our Christmas gift making, and finished this up recently---an Amy Butler Swing Bag for Josh's mom. It's in one of Amy's fabrics, two different ones from the gray and yellow theme from the "Belle" line. A lot of people have made this bag, and we can certainly see why. It comes together quickly and looks really sharp. It could use some pockets, but then it wouldn't be as simple to make reversible---not that that's a critical feature of the bag, but it's a nice novelty. We think she'll enjoy this one.


There's been a lot written about this pattern, and people have done beautiful interpretations of it, so we'll not bore you with what a great pattern this is. But, we would definitely recommend this if you're working on handmade holiday gifts, as it doesn't take a ton of fabric (so you can splurge on something nice) and is so, so, so fast to make.


P.S. We're working on some changes to this blog, so our links to our blogger friends have disappeared for some reason... The links will be back once we finish with the upgrades, we promise.

Call of the Wild Hat

We've mentioned before that we're trying to make most---if not all---of our Christmas gifts for family and friends this year. We've coined it the "Great Making Everyone's Christmas Gifts Odyssey." It's just so much less expensive and seems more thoughtful. Plus, it's a great excuse for Josh to get more practice sewing and build his skills on items that you don't have to fit.

Josh's grandfather is a pretty cool dude. He's really hip (probably a better dresser than either of us on any given day), his hair always looks perfect and he's funny as all hell. Recently, Josh's mom got his grandfather a Kawasaki Mule, which a tractor-like thing that he has been using to drive up into the his above his house in Appalachia. It's been great for him because he can't get around as well as he used to (he had a pick-up truck land on top of him once). Anyway, we decided that he really needed some appropriate accessories to go along with the Mule.

Josh picked up some tough-looking snowboarding goggles at Costco that he thought would be helpful when his grandpa is out in the hills on the Mule, because it doesn't have a windshield. But, really, you can't wear goggles like that without some head-wear to balance out the whole look.

Behold Burda 7996.

Yes, indeedy. Who knew that you could make your own hats? (Well, probably most of you knew that, but we'd sure never thought about it before. Although, in fairness, Josh does have a mild hat obsession, so it was bound to happen sooner or later.)

So, we whipped up this one last night in the same faux shearling fabric that Sarah's using to make Josh's birthday coat.

It was super easy to sew, and came together in about an hour. This was a really fun project and not hard to sew at all. The tip Burda provided about picking the hairs that are stuck down by the sticking out with a pin worked great and resulted in a fairly professional look (as professional as something like this can look). It was surprising how cooperative the faux shearling was, although we'll be pulling fluff out of part of our sewing machine for quite awhile.

Needless to say, it's the perfect gift for Josh's grandpa.



Oh, and the dog tried it on for size. (It had been awhile since she'd made an appearance here. The dorky thing is, we'd put the hat on her, even if there wasn't a camera or blog involved. That's just the way it is in our house.)

It was sure nice to do a joint project again, too. They're just so much more fun.

I surf, so you don't have to...

from sarah the sewist

I’ve been meaning to post some links for awhile, basically random sewing-related items that I’ve bookmarked and found interesting for whatever reason. I hope you do to.

Pantone’s recent color report. The definitive analysis of color for fashion fashion. I sure like the Chili Pepper Red and the the beautiful, elegant Dusk. The Lemon Curry should be illegal. Warning: You'll need to view it in Preview or Acrobat.

The difference between High Fashion and ready to wear from a recent Wall Street Journal "Style" report.

Wardrobe planning---not that I actually practice this, but I do like to think about it.

Color trends through 2009. This has been really helpful for me in thinking about choosing colors that will be current for awhile.

Fashion trends (Including menswear!) for the next couple of seasons. Three trends really interest me: Rockabilly for men (this probably is due to my love of the Bakersfield Sound and the like), British textures (gotta love tweeds!) and women's sporty chic becoming even more popular, with significant influences from the world of surfing/skateboarding (so you can embrace your inner poser---I sure do).

For that matter, check out theentire Fashion Trendsetter site, I keep going back to it, absolutely engrossed.

I’d never heard of this technique for creating gathers, but it’s sheer genius.

Sew,Mama,Sew! Handmade Holidays: 30 Days of Gifts to Sew. If you're more ambitious than I, you can make a holiday gift each day of November.

In that same vain, the Handmade Holiday Pledge.

Velvet(een) Rabbit (nope), Elvis (no), PANTS!

from josh the sewer


Yes indeed, I have made some velveteen jeans. I am pretty damn excited about them (can you tell?), but will have to wait until the winter air blows through these here parts. As you can imagine they are a little bit on the warm side. A while back the Sewist and I were at Bolt buying something or other when under the main counter a shelf of 50% off pinstripe velveteen called to me. After spending a couple of days thinking about what kind of pants I wanted to make, we decided that jeans would be really cool. I choose this Kwik Sew 3504 pattern (really there aren’t a ton of choices, but I am taking a Burda break while I slog though the jacket).

Why velvet pants? When the Sewist and I were in graduate school in Ireland (yes sometimes it is important that you travel great distances to acquire knowledge that will be of little use to you in the future, oh, and I will avoid student loan whining, it is so passé) I used to walk by a shop everyday in the way to class that featured a Blue Velvet suit in the window. I was absolutely taken by these garments. There were two problems: the first was that I was a little bit broke at the time and the second was that there was nowhere that I would actually wear a velvet suit to. There were poshy bars that this suit would not have looked out of place in, but I would have. I was more of beer drinking good time guy (yes I was much thinner before I left for Dublin, still regretting too many beers).

I think I should step back and let you know more about the magnificence of the velvet suit. It rains a lot in Dublin and I know you have heard that all before. It rains in Portland, but nothing like it does on the Emerald Isle. When we were living in Dublin (1999-2000) they were in the midst of some serious economic expansion and to go hand in hand with that a housing shortage, especially for rentals. We took the first flat that we could find and afford, which was actually really nice in a brand new apartment block right near the Guinness Brewery (cool!), a really shitty part of town at the time (not cool!). Oh the things we saw, smelled and felt. Really kind of a depressing place to be. Plus, it turns out that the outside windows were installed backwards so they trapped moisture instead of letting it out; leading to a mushroom bloom under our “dresser” (cardboard, high quality). After walking along the River to get near downtown (before they banned commercial trucks) and cutting through the city building I passed Cuan Hanley’s Shop (thanks to the Sewist, for remembering this, I only recalled that he married the gal from Riverdance). This Blue Velvet suit was like some sort giant rhinestone on the gray wool that was Dublin (gotta love fabric metaphors). Seriously I loved thing, I still regret that I didn’t get it or even take a picture of it. It was just so cool to see something so incredibly bad assed and so (be prepared I am using this as word and not a prefix) ANTI to the smoggy rainyness.

As an aside, Dublin was really cool at the time featuring some great art, design, fashion and drunk soccer commentators; really we are missing something here in the US---a tumbler of whiskey should be a REQUIREMENT for all pre and post game tv shows. I am sure that some day the Sewist can put together a post how interesting the fashion was at this time. Since I am so far afield at the moment I have got to say that the Sewist was knitting some cool stuff at the time, third wave feminism and all (you weren’t alone Stitch n’ Bitch!) We have a really close friend, a photographer who at one time studied fashion in Manchester. She designed lingerie out of things like bicycle tire inner-tubes or the like (not sure exactly). She left fashion school, which is a shame because she was really far ahead of the curb; I believe that she would have dominated all of the recycled clothing fashion shows and competitions. Seriously, she too is bad-ass and a great photographer.

The idea of a velvet suit has stuck with me for quite some time; I remember that Samuel L. Jackson wore a maroon one to something or other (very impressed, but not enough to remember the occasion). Every morning, I drink out of my Elvis mug. Which features the King wearing some kick ass pinstriped pants, but also a really strange shirt and large belt, neither of which I would want to replicate. These pants are an homage to the velvet suit and my King mug. Could I see the King wearing these pants, hells yeah! Which again elevates them in my eyes, now I should mention that I believe the King would have to wear them while touring Alaska, Norway or Bemidji, Minnesota; and he would have to be alive (no conspiracy for me, anyone who mixed that much peanut butter with that many barbiturates is certainly dead).

Since this is a sewing blog and not me being boring at a party, I should talk about the pants coming together. The velveteen was really messy; I am still finding pills of it around the house, lurking in corners away from the Hoover. Sewing across the grain was really difficult and required lots of ironing to make things like the pockets lay flat. The Sewist did a blind hem for me on the legs that I really like. Still haven’t made the carriers yet, the first two attempts have featured me failing; I have got one more attempt in me to get it right.

The Pattern was great, except the waist was a little a long and the back pockets were too big and placed a little too low. I did do my first major pattern alteration (aside from length)---I lowered the rise by about an inch and a half---these are pretty high waisted as is. I did view "B" the boot cut version. The Sewist found the matching fabric in the scrap bag from which I made the pockets. The technique in making the fly was really common sense and the final product looked nicer than any fly that I have done previously. With some rivets we could probably make a more than reasonable facsimile of a ready-to-wear pair of jeans. All in all a very nice pattern and with nice results.

Pretty in Plaid

from sarah the sewist

We've been pretty lazy with our blogging lately... I guess the annoying combination of our digital camera going a bit wonky and the shift key on the laptop not functioning has taken its toll. Nevertheless, sewing has continued. In addition to the Christmas sewing we've been doing, Josh and I both finished up some clothing projects.

Awhile back I got this Built by Wendy pattern at one of the Despot's $2 Simplicity pattern sales. I thought that the top pattern would be a handy one to have, especially for cheapo summer tops and the like. However, after making a tunic (out of a hot-pink floral remnant---which kind of works, actually) out of the collared dress view, I decided this was a pretty fun, versatile dress pattern. If you remember, I had some back luck with a dress this summer, so I've been gun-shy with the dresses ever since.

Anyway, when I made my first version of this pattern, the neck was incredibly annoying---it came up very high on the neck in a tight crew neck. I hacked away at it until it was tolerable. Which was basically the entire neck band. I also didn't like the gathering around the entire neckline; it created an odd puffiness in the front of the dress that was not that flattering.

I did cut the neckline on the bias and matching bias-cut panels to trim the bottom of the dress. I wanted to trim the sleeves this way, too, but I ran out of fabric. It looks pretty snazzy, nonetheless.


I made an amazing discovery at the fabric shop in my neighborhood---Maywood Woolies flannel. This stuff is pretty amazing. It really and truly looks like wool. It also drapes like wool. But you can wash and dry it. Unlike wool. It also doesn't itch. Unlike wool. Basically it's badass stuff. I am taking a weird delight when people compliment me on the dress in telling them that it's not wool.

I think more of this will be on my shopping list... It also comes in herringbones, houndstooth and tweeds. All of my favorites. Those of you who've been reading for awhile know that it's very bizarre that I made myself a green article of clothing. I've justified it by calling this "olive."

I thought I was terribly creative using a plaid fabric for this dress. Until I sat down to write this blog post and noticed the envelope picture. Oh well.

Nice fall color huh? And the leaves aren't too bad either.

Book Review: The Collection by Gioia Diliberto

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from sarah the sewist

Taking a brief break from our regular programming here at Sewer-Sewist…

If you're in need of a good read, but don’t want to break away from the sewing completely, take a look at The Collection by Gioia Diliberto. There aren’t a lot of books around that actually feature sewing as a plot device. (In fact, if you can think of any, particularly any that are actually good, let us know, and we'll compile a list.) Not only is sewing central to the plot, it’s truly the catalyst for the story, with the first line in the book being, “Instead of dying, I learned to sew.” You gotta love that.

Anyway, this book tells the story of a seamstress in post-WWI Paris, who has joined the House of Chanel (as in Coco) just as fashion is becoming relevant again. While there are several fascinating subplots involving personal relationships, the outrageousness of Coco Chanel and the energy of Paris at the time, what I was most enthralled with was the story of the creation of a very special dress for “the collection.” This dress is just one of those projects, the ones that never end, if you know what I mean. Isabelle, the main character, even names the dress---Angeline. For whatever reason, probably because I sew myself, I just was rooting for this dress to work out. I won’t say much more about it, because if the saga of the dress, too, fascinates you, I don’t want to spoil it.

I thought this book would simply be a fun read, but it was honestly absolutely captivating. It’s more than the summer beach reading that I thought it would be. Because of the book jacket and some of the overly-embellished reviews, I had a vision that it would be something like Sex in the City post-WWI Chanel style. I was very wrong. This was not a fluffy read at all. Definitely it is a curl up next to the fire on a cold winter night type of novel.

It's also worth mentioning that this book seems to be very historically accurate and well-researched. There's a pretty comprehensive bibliography, that would probably be well worth a look if you're interested in fashion history. I also think that with the holidays coming up this would be a thoughtful gift for someone who loves sewing or fashion.

Check your favorite local bookstore for The Collection, or virtually visit my favorite, Powell’s (this is my frame of reference for what a bookstore should be---we’re so spoiled here in Portland).

Shear(ling) Love

from sarah the sewist

Josh's birthday is coming up next month, and since he made me such a fabulous gift that I know was a real labor of love, as well as a major pain in the butt, I feel compelled to make something for him that's he's going to love as much as I love my gift. Plus, my husband's just generally awesome, and he deserves something special.

When our latest Burda World of Fashion magazine arrived, Josh was thrilled because it actually contained three men's patterns. He was immediately taken with the snazzy faux shearling fisherman's coat.


(You can check out the line drawing here if you're so inclined.)

I've never made anything out of shearling, faux or otherwise, but I thought this would be a wonderful birthday gift for my sweetie. It's certainly not something that he'd make for himself (even though I believe he'd be perfectly capable, despite his recent spate of self-doubt). And, faux shearling items are still so popular, that they're quite overpriced. I've also never seen anything in the stores, even Nordy's, that has quite these unusual lines and interesting shape. (Working just a few blocks from the downtown PDX Nordstrom can be a bit dangerous---I'm always checking that place out.)

What I didn't know is that faux shearling is really expensive---like $25-30 a yard. That seems a little insane for something that's basically fancy polyester. But I'm sure there's a good reason. Anyway, these prices forced me to do something I never do---brave Fabric Depot on one of the 40% off days. Worse yet, the Saturday of the two 40% off days. Hardier souls can handle this, but I'm just not that tough when it comes to shopping. Anyway, I grabbed my fabric and ran (after paying, of course).

This looks to be almost identical to the fabric in the pattern photo. It's your normal white fleece inside, with the outside of the fabric being a dark brown faux distressed leather. I think it's pretty masculine, unlike the pink-on-pink that was also available.


So, I haven't actually done any work on this pattern. Haven't even traced it out of the magazine. But, I'm thinking about it a lot. I hear the this stuff is a nightmare to sew with, but I'm in denial. It'll all work out just fine. And if I keep telling myself that, it just might be true.

Oh, in case you're wondering... It's (obviously) not a surprise. Kind of hard to hide a sewn gift in our house, since the trusty Kenmore's in the living room.

More Than I Can Chew?

from josh the sewer

I think is would have been appropriate to start this post with "Dear Diary" because it is really whiny (or whingy in Ireland), many apologies.

Piles, that is where I am (or "piles and piles of demo tapes by the miles," if you want to quote an obscure lyric or two). I think I thought (sounds clumsy, but it is really the best description) I was ready for Burda Pattern 8135 and my attempt at making throwback sportswear. I am having trouble easing the fabric into the curve to make the contour (the Sewist just articulated this for me). I have a pair of velveteen jeans half done and a flannel shirt half done, and everything feels a long way off from being finished. I grew up cooking and for me after doing the "prep work" I always expect the downhill toward finishing and sewing isn't quite like that. I guess it would make much more sense to make the pockets or carriers or other accoutrement (which should always be said in French) first and finish up with the large seam sewing, but as you know, that doesn't work.

I have hit that point where I know enough to be dangerous, but still spend way to much time (redacted) up. I am ready to be good at this stuff, damn it! I am sure the Sewist is sick of answering the same question again and again, or maybe not. She is really patient (sometimes). Let's ask her what she thinks(take it away my lovely Sewist):

You're doing great. Really. I know you don't believe me. But there's no way I would been able to make a complicated pair of pants, let along had the guts to try a tough Burda jacket, when I was only six months into learning how to sew. Seriously. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but you're learning and that's a good thing.

If it were raining on the moon...

from sarah the sewist

And I were an astronaut stuck in that lunar rainstorm, I'd have just the thing to wear.


You may remember a few months ago that Josh and I scored a serious haul of fabric from Rose City Textiles that was rather eclectic. Basically, it was a bunch of random, slightly sporty stuff that was only a buck a yard. Among that was some lovely satin waterproof stuff of unknown fiber content---I can guarantee that there's absolutely nothing natural. Anyway, I got about eight yards each of brown and blue. The brown is super-classy; the blue, not so much.

Anyway, it's started raining like all get out here in PDX, and I only have one raincoat (living in Santa Fe for three years will do that) that I have had since college. It's pretty ugly and has no hood, which kind of defeats the purpose of a raincoat in my book, since I'm a disaster with umbrellas (they always break on me). I keep it at work for rain emergencies, when I have to run across the street for coffee and the rain is just too torrential.

I bought a few of the Built by Wendy Patterns at the Fabric Depot when they were having one of their $2 Simplicity pattern sales. I've used all of them that I bought that day (someday I'll tell y'all about my waaaaay too low rise BBW jeans debacle---use your imagination) except 3694, which is a hoodie/dress pattern. I figured this would a be a quick and easy raincoat---which it really was. Well, beyond the little incident Josh shared with the world today. How mortifying.

I just think the whole thing looks fairly ridiculous, though.


With the floppy, A-line sleeves, I could take flight (maybe that would come in handy on the moon?).


Anyway, the jacket served my purposes, a new raincoat with an actual hood for under $5.

A few "design" notes: I top stitched the fronts of the raincoat, as well as the sleeves, where they attach to the body of the coat. I finished all of the seams with navy bias tape, which does go a long way in making the jacket look more professional, and less goofy. It's a good thing, too, because this fabric ravels, ravels, ravels. I'm hoping that the finishing job helps to keep the whole thing from falling apart. I also used a parka-style separating zipper, which looks fairly snazzy, although it does add to the overall moon rainstorm effect.


(Random weirdness: in this last picture you can see peeking out from under my new lunar raincoat, I'm wearing my Brandon Roy rookie t-shirt. Woo-hoo! Trail Blazer training camp starts this week!)

Oops!

from josh the sewer


The dog and I got a kick out of this. The Sewist accidentally mixed up the back piece and one of the arms on her current rain coat project. She did fix it quickly, though I thought it would be much cooler to leave it with the trunk opening. I am sure she will have more to add shortly.

We sewed quite a bit during this rainy and cold weekend. I am working on another pair of pants (this a pair of jeans made out of velveteen, I love Bolt, because I always find the neatest fabric) and a flannel shirt. The Sewist is keeping my head spinning with her multiple projects, which are all coming together at once.

Out of the Trenches

from sarah the sewist

My Indygo Junction Trench Topper that I was sewing as part of the Great Trench Coat Sew-a-long on Pattern Review is finished and I broke it in by wearing it to work today. I was a little uncomfortable with it just because it's a lot louder than most of my wardrobe, but it worked with dark jeans, a white collared blouse and my black cowboy boots. Someone even told me that it gave off a "vintage cool vibe," which sounds good to me. Not to mention, Josh and I went out to The Screen Door (yum!) for dinner this evening, and he claims that two diners noticed on my jacket. My style is generally not that noticeable, more cute than anything, so it's kind of nice to have something distinct and eye-catching.


I wrote about my progress here and here and it was really fun knowing that there were quite a few other folks working on a trench at the same time---although mine is more of an indoors jacket, rather than the outwear most of the others on Pattern Review are planning and sewing. It's funny, I was planning on sewing this jacket, but it jumped to the top of the queue when the sew-a-long was announced. The super-cool Amy Butler print from Bolt in an unusual cinnamon color and the lovely pink Moda fabric from Fabric Depot for the contrasting bands were a fun combination.

I covered the issues that I had with this pattern in my last blog entry, but I do want to re-iterate that while I had some problems, they were completely fixable and Indygo Junction seemed very happy to get the feedback about the errors in the pattern drafting. The other thing I noticed with this pattern is that it's already rather petite-ified. By that I mean that I didn't shorten the sleeves, and only took in the shoulders a smidge---which was great for me. My fix to the belt issue worked, and I think it looks like it was supposed to be this way.



Anyway, since this jacket is unlined, and since the Sewer and I don't have a serger (waaaah!), there was a lot of seam finishing on this jacket. Which was a colossal pain in the butt. Well worth it, but a pain, nonetheless.


I also faced the pink bands at the sleeves and bottom so that they'd have more of a structured look and flare out a bit more. Which I think turned out pretty nice, since the two fabrics were different weights. The contrasting bands actually, oddly, toned down the busy look of the main fabric, which is sort of interesting.

I must have placed the three stupid button on this jacket at least three times. Each. It was really difficult to figure out the right spot for the buttons, and I still not completely satisfied with the way the buttons look on the jacket. I am really crappy at hand sewing and avoid doing so at all costs. Our sewing machine does a lot for us---including auto buttonholes and it's really easy to use the machine to attach buttons. However, like I mentioned in a previous entry, the buttons I chose for this jacket were too big for the auto buttonholer, and it turns out, also are too big to sew on with the sewing machine. Which sucked. So I spent all of last evening sewing and re-sewing the buttons.

Basically, the buttons won.


I'm planning to make this trench again, especially since I've worked out all of the weirdness with the pattern, and since I have a decent stash of raincoat fabric on hand.

In the Trenches, Part 2

from sarah the sewist

I'm making good progress on the Indygo Junction Trench Topper that I'm sewing as part of the Trench Coat Sew Along on Pattern Review. It's been fun being motivated by knowing that others are working on similar projects at the same time (and I feel a bit of extra pressure for it to look extra-fabulous); however, this project has had some silly problems.

First, the ones that are beyond my control: the sleeve markings are screwy on this trench coat---basically, there's no way to tell which side of the sleeve is the front and which is the back; the neck facing is way wide than the shoulder facing that it's supposed to be joined with, so I had to fix that issue; and the belt for the trench is waaaaaay to short. Like seven inches too short. Anyway, I worked through those issues, and am on the home stretch at this point. As an aside, I emailed the lovely folks at Indygo Junction and let them know about the problems I'd had with the drafting of the pattern, and they were fabulous, and seemed very appreciative of the feedback. I was very impressed---I've sent my observations of errors/issues in patterns to other companies (I figure everyone has an interest in having high quality patterns) and they're not always so receptive. Thanks, Indygo Junction!

Now, the issue that was basically my stubbornness getting the best of me. I'm using some really big buttons for this project. Like 1 5/8" in diameter. I needed to make one buttonhole. Well, since Josh and I got our fancy schmancy new Janome-made Kenmore 19233 sewing machine that has one-step automatic buttonholes, making buttonholes has been a dream. Seriously, this is probably my second-favorite feature on the machine (this first being the speed control). However, apparently, the auto feature doesn't allow for buttons over one inch. So I searched the owners manual, then the internet, then all of the Pattern Review message boards that had any reference to buttonholes, and Kenmore sewing machines. Then I just cried. Because I just couldn't make a stupid buttonhole. (Someone on Pattern Review posted the directions for overriding the auto function for the Janome equivalent machine, but it just wouldn't work for me.)

Anyway, I experimented.


A lot.



Finally, I just fudged it, and it looks okay. I don't care that it's not perfect. At least I can get the damn button in the damn buttonhole and close the stupid thing. And that's all I really wanted.



On the home stretch...