What a great month we had! Lots of new people at Treadle-we hope you liked what you saw. Lots of show and tell. The weather even improved as the week went on. So here are the garment pictures-any good photographers out there? We’re learning as we go with the picture taking technique but we hope the pics help you remember what the pattern looked like when you have questions.
Happy Sewing-see you next month! First time attendees are free so bring a friend.
April was a great month-lots of show and tell and information from many of you. We love to see what you’ve sewn and hope that what we do is inspiring you to get to your machines and create wonderful garments for yourselves and others.
Here are the pictures-we missed a few so I’ll add them when I can get back home and photograph them.
I missed a picture for Laurel’s pillowcases but here are a few links from Nancy at the Associated group that give video instructions for making the pillowcases:
Pillowcase Tutorial
Sausage Pillowcase
LaVonne recommended www.homesew.com for great notions, etc.
And then there was Show and Tell!
Click for more information on the Verona jacket or oliver + s patterns. All are highly recommended.
The shawl/vest that Becky showed was something she copied from ready to wear and got many oohs and aahs. Here is a picture of the garment laid flat. The edges are unfinished but she had another one with a neckband and finished hems.
Here are the dimensions for the garment as many of you requested. You will have to adjust for your body but this should be a good start.
Rectangle is 25 1/2″ x 45″. Inside “rectangle” is 8″ x 17″. Fabric is a mid to light weight knit. Put it on as if the one inside hole were the two armholes.
Happy sewing! Check out the new calendar (click on Calendar above). See you in May.
if there was an iPhone app that would allow us to keep track of our patterns and our stash?
I know there are a few of you out there with iPhones or their cousins. Cheri told me about MyStyle which is an app that allows you to take pictures of your clothes and make outfits, even wish lists of what you’d like to buy. Thinking it would be fun/useful to catalog my stash I looked around at the App store and found several. Fabric Calc is $14.99-a really high priced yardage converter app for industrial sewists. There is a cheaper ($2.99) version for the personal sewist-Yardage Calc. Fortuny, a very cool Italian fabric manufacturer has a free app that features their fabrics and you can order samples. May be an affordable option for a fabric fix-just browse through the app instead of Treadle! But the two that looked closest to what I wanted were Fabric Stash ($4.99) and Fabric Journal ($1.99). I like the looks of Fabric Stash better but will try both of them for ease of use, etc. (I can’t link any of these apps, just go to iTunes and click on App Store.)
What seems sorely lacking is an app to organize my pattern stash! My son, the geek, told me to blog about it and then go to the other apps and make suggestions and maybe someone would pick up the idea and run with it. So here’s the blog. You may add your own dreams to the wishlist:
Dream Sewist’s Stash App
~Allows you to enter your patterns from the big companies down to the obscure designers
~AND (and this is big) will download the information and picture from the pattern envelope in a font size that will allow you to read it-you won’t need to enter all that info-OK, I’d be happy with front and back views, yardage and notions needed
~AND (another big one) if the pattern company isn’t available or the pattern is out of print, an option for photographing the pattern envelope and an easy format way of entering the needed info-yardage, notions, etc.
~A wish list of patterns to buy
~Ability to comment on the patterns
~It would be really sweet if this was part of a fabric stash app and then you could match the fabric to the pattern and vice versa
Enough of dreaming, I need to get to work on April’s garments and Easter plans. I found a new blog that I spent way too much time looking at-but love! Fashion for Nerds. And here’s a great scarf tying video from the Sartorialist.
Treadle(link to their new blog) is having a sale from April 1-11. Don’t miss it!
Happy Easter from the Material Girls
After going to Paris with Marcy Tilton I decided to work my way through her patterns. So far I’ve made the vest, tee shirt and skirt. I’ve been very happy with the results. Today I got a good start on the jacket pattern. The fabric is a beautiful purple and blue on a gray/black background. It’s available on Marcy’s website (click to link). It has a large repeat which I thought would work very well with the pattern. Most of the jacket pieces are straight so I could use different elements of the fabric (top section is purple hearts, lower section is more of a fleur de lis). I’ll be using other elements of the pattern for the collar and cuffs.
The pattern directions are very clear and take small steps so it’s easy to read the pictures and figure out what to do. Marcy also takes advantage of the serger-something many patterns don’t do.
Despite the bad weather we had a fair turnout and lots of great show and tell. One of the Treadle attendees got motivated to add four pieces to her wardrobe giving Marcy Tilton’s new tee pattern a try. A few of the Bloomington attendees were busy with children’s and American Girl doll garments.
One week later and the sun is shining. The last of the February Fashion Sewing Club meetings is this morning. The coffee in Dunn Bros smells great.
Jacket Techniques class met last night and everyone got at least one sleeve in.
Laurel and I attended the U of M Design Department Senior Style Show last weekend. It was amazing to see the progression of the students from sophomore to senior. There was a wide range of styles, and talent could be seen in them all. For only a $15 ticket and great parking it is definitely something to make sure you see next year.
With no major snow or electrical outages to put a damper on things, the January meetings of Fashion Sewing Club came off without a hitch. Here are the pictures of the garments plus a few show and tell items. If you are a subscriber and didn’t make it to the meeting, email us and we’ll send you copies of the sheets. Otherwise they are available for $3.
Enjoy!
Unfortunately, Zach’s vest is on its way to California and the Ruffled Pajama Top is on display at Treadle. Will do better next time.
If you watch…Christopher Straub will speak about his experience of being part of Project Runway. See the Shakopee native from Project Runway Season 6 at The Sampler on Friday, Mar. 12, from 7:00 to 9:00. Cost is $30. Call 952-934-5307 to register.
The Sampler is a few doors down from the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre and there are some good restaurants right across the street if you want to gather with friends and take in the event.
The Sampler also has a great idea:
Speedy Service Saturday
Saturday, February 20, 10-5
Drop off your machine (all makes & models) and get your machine cleaned and oiled while you shop!
$24.99
Call & make a time slot reservation!
For more details, here’s the link: www.the-sampler.com
In the event of bad weather, cancellation of Fashion Sewing Club will be posted on the website.
Hope to see you this week!
Material Girl Sewing 