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A Very Belated Tour of My Sewing Room

Hey! Remember when I moved last year and promised I’d share photos of my new sewing room? Well, we’re almost a year overdue – but I’m finally making good on that promise! Truth be told, I kept putting off the ~big reveal~ because there was a never-ending list of things that I wanted to change about the space – first I wanted a new ironing board cover, then I needed new lights over said ironing board, then I thought I’d wait until I got new sewing tables… like I said, never-ending! I have since realized two things:

1. The list of changes is going to be never-ending. That’s the nature of decorating. Once you’re happy with one thing, you want to tweak something else. Ok, maybe you don’t decorate that way – but I do! Keeps me on my toes, keeps that DIY spirit alive or whatever.
2. I decided to move in June (more on that in a minute!), so I better document this room before it becomes a maze of boxes! Argh!

Anyway, better late that never! I always have a studio in every place that I live, and I like to document these snapshots of my life, so I wanted to include this one on the blog as well 🙂 If you’re interested in seeing my other sewing spaces from past homes, check out this tag 🙂

Here is what you see when you first walk in! It’s an average sized room (11′ x 12′, which isn’t super tiny – but it makes for a small studio, especially when you have a giant cutting table in the middle of it!), so it was hard to get good shots of everything, but I tried!

If you’ve followed my blog for a while and are familiar with my former sewing spaces, you probably noticed that this room is super white! In the past, I’ve always had lots of color on my walls – which I love, especially when it’s turquoise! – but I ended up keeping this room white. The landlord and I had a bit of miscommunication about the painting – he agreed to paint it turquoise, I sent him swatches, he said he didn’t get the swatches, I agreed to just go with white (it was originally that horrible beige-y rental color that no one loves), figuring I’d repaint it myself if it bothered me. But I’ve really grown to love it, it’s so fresh and bright!

The view from the door to the sewing station. I love having a window at my sewing station, even if the bright light makes my photos look awful 🙂

One of the things that I wanted to change about this room – and will change in my next studio – is to exchange those two sewing cabinets in favor of a long worktable that I can roll back and forth at in my chair. I love my cabinets, but they aren’t practical with multiple machines (plus, I can’t use the knee lever with my Bernina! Boo!).

Starting next to the door, on the right-hand side of the room – is my desk (or as they love to say on MTV Cribs “where the magic happens”). Since I primarily work from home, it’s great to have a dedicated desk space where I can keep my computer and all my office and art supplies. I also blog from this desk, and sometimes it holds fabric + pattern overflow when I’m on a giant cutting binge 😉

Next to the desk is my ironing station – yes, with a new ironing board cover (finally haha!). The lights over the ironing board are suspended on a cord that plugs into a power strip below. These lights provide two purposes: one, to give me more working light (despite how bright these photos are, the corners of the room are actually quite dark, so it needs a lot of light to be comfortable to work in!), and two, to let me know when the iron is on! I use a gravity feed iron that does not have auto shut off, so I keep it plugged into a power strip with lights above it. When the lights are on, I know the iron is also on!

The shades over the lights are Joxtorp shades from Ikea. They are cheap little cardboard things that I just spray painted a different color. Nothing fancy, but better than a bare bulb! I used paper lanterns in the past, but I lost one of them during the move and figured it was time for a change anyway!

Over the ironing boards, I keep my rulers and cork boards – one for inspiration and general things that make me happy, and one to plot out future projects.

My sewing machines and serger are against the wall opposite the doorway, right by that beautiful window! All my thread is on racks on the wall (serger thread by the serger, sewing machine thread by the sewing machine), and notions in the shelf above my sewing machine. Plus, my dressform!

Continuing toward the right, this wall has a full-length mirror and a few shelves. The floor shelves hold my sewing books and yarn stash (yeah, it all fits in ONE BASKET woohoo), and the wall shelves have bra making supplies and zippers. And also fake plants along the top, cos green stuff is pretty stuff. I also keep a big roll of craft paper on top of the floor shelves.

Next to the shelves is where I keep my printer (FYI there is nothing fun in those drawers – it’s all products and samples that I send out for my other job haha).

Finally, at the end of the room – next to the door – is the closet. Since this closet is really big (like 7′ wide) and didn’t have doors, I just stuck my entire fabric stash in there, shelf and all! The shelf fit in perfectly with some extra space on the sides, plus there is storage along the top closet shelf for all my sewing patterns. My apologies for the bare shelves – I’d already started packing my fabric at this point, and I wasn’t about to unpack it for one photo! Just imagine that those shelves are full of lovely, colorful fabric 🙂 hah!

Since that shelf is about 5′ wide, there’s at least a foot of space on either end to store things. One end has my sewing machine cases and tracing paper (boring), but this end I stuck a tension rod so I can hang my working PDF patterns from! I can clip all the pieces and then hang them from the rod, and that way they don’t get folds before I have a chance to use them (PDF patterns that I’m not currently using are stored in a binder system – which I keep behind one of those doors in the big shelf).

Speaking of printing PDFs – I have started using a local printer to print copyshop versions, instead of cutting + taping a million pages together. My research in the past showed that places like Kinko’s charge about $10/page, which just crazy (especially if you are unfortunate enough to have a pattern with multiple pages!). I found a local printer who will print them for $2.18 per page, and holy shit y’all they are amazing. If you are in Nashville, check out CCAD Reprographics, seriously! If you’re not local, I think they will ship 😉

This is on that time wall space between the door and the closet. The hook is good for hanging WIPs (or stuff that I need to do some alterations or repairs on), and I found that postcard at my local yarn store, Haus of Yarn!

The cutting table takes up the space in the middle of the room. On one end, I have a bar where I store my cutting tools. The boxes in the cubes hold silk scraps, leather scraps, Papercut Patterns + Vogue patterns (since they don’t fit in the comic book boxes with the rest of my patterns), and my dyeing stuff.

The opposite end of the table has some drawers where I keep a bunch of tools and interfacing scraps, and the bins at the bottom hold swimsuit fabric and an enormous stash of zippers.

I love this cutting table! I “built” it out of two shelves and a tabletop – all stuff from Ikea – and put it on casters so I can easily roll it around if I need to (the casters also lock, so that shit will also stay put if I need it to). It’s a great size and height for cutting! For more information on how I built this, check out my former sewing room post.

What’s rad about this table, is that the middle is open and tall enough for me to roll this cart underneath, so I can easily pull it out when I need supplies (or shove it under the table when it’s in the way).

Hi!

So that’s my sewing room! I have really loved creating in this room – it’s such a lovely, bright space and it is really the perfect size for my needs. I’m going to miss this room (not to mention THAT CLOSET), but I’m so excited about my new place!

Oh, and more about that! I really love this apartment, and I have enjoyed living here this past year. However, one of my friends got me a great hook-up on an AMAZING house (seriously, look at how cute it is!), which I jumped at the opportunity. I am excited to have yard access again, a private driveway – and I’ll be walking distance to my part time gig at Craft South (not to mention, all the other cool stuff in that area!). The house was built in 1935, which means it is incredibly charming and has really really small closets 🙂 I am seriously SO sick of moving (just thinking about my to-do list is giving me anxiety), but I know it will be worth it! My new sewing room is going to be a hair smaller than this one – it measured around 11′ x 11′ – which means I need a bit of an overhaul on my organization / storage (for example – taking advantage of all those drawers!). I am up for the challenge, though! I love decorating new studios haha 🙂

Side note to my Nashville friends – if you are looking for an apartment, this one is available! Send me an email if you want more info 🙂

Tags: my rad house, nashville, sewing, sewing room, studio

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Categories misc

Completed: Marlborough Bras

26 Sep

Happy Monday, everyone! Let me help you kick-start your afternoon with some underwear photos 😛

I made these Marlborough bras a couple of months ago. Nope, I haven’t branched out to new bra patterns yet; this particular pattern suits me just fine! I love the way it fits and I’m happy with the shape it gives me under my clothes. I prefer this soft cloth bra over a foam-cup bra (although I do like those, too!), even if it does mean that people can totally tell when I’m cold. Whatever. I’m always cold and we all have nipples and I’ve just learned to deal with it.

Can I just say – I’m so happy that making my own bras has given me the options to choose what sort of underwear I get to wear. Those big non-seamed foam cup bras that everyone is pushing right now – you know, the kind that make your boobs look like half of a grapefruit – just don’t fit me right. I don’t have the breast shape to fill them out properly and it always drove me nuts when I had to wear them. I do much better with a seamed cup – and I’m even happier when I have no foam, or very very thin foam – it just fits better and looks nicer. I am accentuating my own breasts, instead of covering them up to create new ones. Plus, I have the option to make my bras out of anyyyyy fabric I choose – which, if you’re any size that is outside the very small “standard” size range (like, basically 34B / 34C), you know how hard it is to find pretty bras that come in more than 3 colors. My underwear drawer makes me so happy now! 😀 haha!

Since I’ve already made these pattern multiple times (seriously, just look at my Marlborough tag), I’m not going to talk much about sizing and fitting. I’ve definitely already covered that! This is a size 30D with some minor adjustments to the band and upper cup, to fit my body better. I love this pattern and it was the first underwired bra I sewed, so yes, it’s a good pattern for a first-time bra maker. Might as well start big! For more tips on bra making, check out this post I wrote.

First Marlborough is this one with glittery black stars!! If the fabric looks familiar – it’s cos I’ve already made a bra with it! I loved that little soft bra so much, and I had so much of this sparkly mesh left over, that I figured I’d made an underwired bra with it as well 🙂 The mesh was originally given to me by my friend Carolina, who bought it for me a couple of years ago in the Garment District. It’s a sheer mesh with a 2 way stretch and sparkly glitter stars. Whenever I wear this bra, I end up covered with glitter haha.

The entire bra (minus the band) is lined with black sheer cup lining, and all the elastics and channeling are from the depths of my stash. The hook and eye, bra straps, and gunmetal rings and sliders are from Tailor Made Shop, which is my favorite online resource for bra making supplies (especially her kits!). I will note that I finally figured out a way to completely encase all the seams with lining so you don’t see any serged seams – if you leave the seam that connects the bridge to the frame (right under the cup) so that it’s not encased, it will eventually be covered with elastic and underwire channeling. That way, you can encase the frame to band seam and not have to serge it (I hope this makes sense). It does require making your sewing steps slightly out of order, but I think it’s worth it!

Sorry in advance for all the photos, as well as the cat hair that is included. I am very proud of how this bra turned out!

My second Marlborough is a bit more practical – a soft pink that almost exactly matches my skin, which means it works great as a nude bra. I wear a lot of shirts that border on sheer in the summer, so this is a definite need in my wardrobe. Sewing (and wearing) nude bras is so boring, so I’m happy to have one that’s actually really pretty 🙂

The blush lace is from Mood Fabrics; it is a very soft and sheer lace with pretty scalloped edges that have “eyelashes.” $20 a yard isn’t cheap for lace, but it is when you only need 1/2 a yard to make a bra (honestly, you only need like 1/4 yard… but Mood Fabrics only sells in half yard increments online, wah. At any rate, this is a good nude color for me so I can make more when I wear this one out!). In my experience with this pattern, most any fabric works as long as it has a very small amount (like 10%) mechanical stretch in one direction. Like, the same amount of stretch you’d get from cutting something on the bias. Once I line the fabric with sheer cup lining, it has the perfect amount of stability and stretch and almost guarantees a good fit. I really stressed a lot about finding the right fabric when I first started making bras, but this discovery has made things soooo much easier!

As with the black glitter star bra, this whole bra (minus the band) is lined with sheer cup lining in white. The scalloped edge of the upper cup is stabilized with a strip of selvedge from the Power Mesh, which I’ve learned I like better than using clear elastic. All the elastics are from my stash; I tried to stick with nudes to complement the blush. The hook and eye, strapping, and rose gold rings and sliders are from Tailor Made Shop – the strapping in particular is pretty cool, it’s not like regular elastic strapping… it’s almost like a stretch petersham ribbon. It looks really beautiful and delicate with this bra, and the color match is spot on. Oh, and the bows are actually pulled of an old bra that I wore out and tore up – I think it was originally a Betsey Johnson bra. It makes this one look extra frilly and girly, which I love!

Here, you can see the eyelash edge. It’s very soft and pretty, and makes for a really smooth line under tshirts.

Just a few more things – upcoming workshop and class related!

I am getting ready to head up to New England for a sewing retreat next weekend, in Exeter, NH! I will be running a 4 day open sewing workshop at Pintuck & Purl, which I am super excited about! I’ve heard that Exeter is gorgeous (I mean, can you really beat New England in the fall?!) and I am so pumped to spend 4 days sewing with my amazing students – on Bernina sewing machines, no less! There are still a couple of spots left if you’ve been considering and are on the fence – you can sign up here! Seriously, it’s gonna be so much fun! This is an open-sewing concept, which means you get to work on whateveerrrrrr you want! I’ve been emailing my students and they are already all planning some great projects.

Then the following week, I’m heading out to Camp Workroom Social to assist Amy in her bra making class! I just got my hands on the pattern we will be using, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Camp is already sold out for this year – are you coming? Raise your hands if you’re attending the bra making class!

I’ll be back in NYC the first weekend of November to teach two back-to-back workshops at Workroom Social – the Jeans Making Intensive (which has already sold out!) and the ever-popular Pants Making Intensive (I think there are still a couple spots left for that one, but it also tends to sell out so I’d suggest snapping it up if you’re considering!). It’s been a few months since I’ve been to the city, and I’m excited to go back! I’m actually staying an extra day so I can visit the Science Museum + blow my wad(of ca$h) in the Garment District 😉 YAY.

One last thing – I have a new class series at Craft South! I am bringing the open-sewing workshop to Nashville – Yay! Tailor Night (I can’t take credit for that name, my co-workers suggested it haha) is select Thursday evenings at Craft South from 6-9PM. It is similar to a regular class – except YOU get to pick the project that you want to work on! As you know, I’ve pretty much covered it all when it comes to garments – so I can help you with whatever your little heart desires 🙂 Jeans, coats, tshirts, first-time pattern users, general fitting, seam finishes – I got you! Or you can just use our big cutting tables and awesome Janome sewing machines, and socialize with other people while you sew. There are always snacks and drinks and I definitely encourage some wine to tag along as well 😉 The best part is that you don’t have to commit to a whole weekend – or a big expense. The classes are 3 hours in the evening (which you don’t have to stay for the whole time if you don’t want to – remember, it’s *your* open sewing sesh), and they cost $35 a pop. If you’re visiting Nashville and want to get crafty for a couple of hours, this is a great way to spend a Thursday evening 🙂 And if you’re local – well, this is also a great way to spend a Thursday evening, and get to know other sewists in the area! If you’re interested, you can sign up here on the Craft South website and choose which date you prefer.

All right, I’m out! Here’s a picture of me and my dad, taken a couple of days ago. As silly as this sounds, I was pretty upset that I didn’t have a recent picture with him – so as soon as he felt up to it, I made him take one with me! Love my daddy so much ♥ He’s doing great and my mom is by his side 24/7! Already getting lots of PT and OT, eating solid foods, and we are hoping he can go home as early as this week!

Tags: bra, camp workroom social, classes, completed, craft south, lace, marlborough, nashville, nude, NYC, pintuck and purl, starz, workroom social, workshop

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: A Jumpsuit, of sorts

3 Sep

A couple of months ago, I was asked by the ladies at By Hand London if I’d like to test their new Holly Jumpsuit. I’m always a sucker for these gorgeous patterns, but then they went and threw in an offer of testing-fabric from Grey’s Fabric to really seal the deal. Consider me sold, name signed in blood and all (forreal, though, I’ll do anything for ~~love~~ free fabric).

I finished with good time, sent my testing notes in, and took some photos (I could pretend my hair grew like that overnight, but in reality, these photos are just that old. Haha!). And then I waited. And waited. Right before the pattern was to be released, there was a design snafu that meant the pattern had to be reworked, which set things back by… well, a lot. Fortunately, the kinks have been worked out and the pattern is now officially for sale! Which means I can finally show you mine! Yay!

You may have noticed by now that my jumpsuit* looks nothing like the pattern – and you would be right. That’s because at this point, no part of my jumpsuit is actually part of the pattern! Whoops!

However, it is still technically a jumpsuit (right? The two-separate-holes-for-each-leg dictate that… right?), so there’s that.

There’s a method to this madness, I promise. As a pattern tester, I always make my first version (usually a muslin), exactly as drafted and written by the pattern. After I have taken my (usually very unflattering)photos and made my fitting adjustments, I will transfer those adjustments to the pattern and make it up in my fashion fabric (if not a second muslin entirely). I started out with the shorts and Variation 2 bodice, which was surprisingly a pretty good fit straight out of the envelope. The butt of the shorts was a little tight (it is my understanding that this ended up being a grading error that has since been amended), and I needed to shorten the straps – but overall, things were looking good. It wasn’t until I had made this up in my beautiful rayon challis – i.e., the good stuff – that I realized the entire ensemble just made me look like a giant toddler. Especially when combined with this fabric – while beautiful, it’s pretty juvenile looking. Eep!

After some chatting with the BHL ladies, we ultimately decided that it would be a shame to sew something I’d never wear (and I know I occasionally wear some out-there ensembles, but again, looking like a giant toddler is NOT one of them) , so I was given the green light to swap out the bottoms for another pattern. Specifically, I chose the Tania Culottes because FUCK YES I DID.

After that, things went haywire in the design department and my tested version of the bodice ended up getting scrapped and redesigned. Which means my tested Holly jumpsuit is now basically anything BUT Holly! Oh well! I tried!

Anyway, let’s talk about the construction of this jumpsuit. To combine the bodice with the Tania culottes, I added a 2″ wide straight waistband (interfaced on one layer, and faced with self-fabric on the inside) that connects the bodice to the skirt. Ideally, I would have shortened the bodice and raised the rise of the culottes, as I think the waistband sits a little low, but that’s life. The Tanias are sewn as normal, just without a waistband.

All edges were finished with my serger and I used my rolled hem foot to make the prettiest little baby hem.

The end result is a sweet little flouncy tank dress that has an amazing twirl factor – and thanks to the culottes, is less likely to fly up and flash any innocent bystanders.

As I previously mentioned, my beautiful rayon challis came courtesy of Grey’s Fabric, specifically to be used to test this pattern. I just love the smooth silhouette and fluid drape that comes with rayon challis – not to mention, it’s ridiculously comfortable to wear in the heat. Rayon loves to wrinkle like crazy and this fabric is no exception, but at least the busy print and voluminous skirt hide most of that.

Anyway, despite my design changes+unexpected pattern snafu changing things to the point that my tested pattern ended up being something completely different, I am happy with said end result – not to mention, it’s absolutely something I would wear (and have worn! Lots!). Again – if you plan on buying this pattern, please keep in mind that absolutely nothing about my version matches what is included in the final pattern – although it would be pretty easy to Frankenpattern this one with a couple indies.

What do you think of the Holly Jumpsuit? Are you Team Jumpsuit – craving dangly earrings, sparkly eyeshadow, and a Studio 54 vibe (I mean, ugh, that new Variation 2 bodice is KILLER, ain’t it?)? Or do you feel like an overgrown toddler who would prefer to stick with dresses and two pieces, thank you very much?

* I think the leg-shorts mean this thing is actually a romper or a playsuit, not a jumpsuit. However, the thought of saying that I’m wearing a playsuit makes me feel, again, like an overgrown toddler, so fuck that. I’m calling it a jumpsuit, as that sounds a lot more grown-up. My blog, my sewing, my rules 😛

In other news-
1. The new class schedule is up at The Fabric Studio! Lots of fun classes coming up – including an Open Sewing Lab hosted by yours truly! Those of y’all in Nashville can come hang out in the studio to sew and drink tea with other crafty peeps 🙂 I’ll be on hand to answer questions and assist as needed. This is a great alternative to a structured class since you can work on whatever you want, come whenever is convenient for you, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than a private lesson 🙂 Check out the classes page to sign up (my class is at the bottom). I am REALLY excited for this; I love sewing with company! Yay!

2. Don’t forget that the Casual Sweet Clothes giveaway ends on Friday! If you haven’t already entered, here’s your hint 🙂

Tags: By Hand London, colette patterns, completed, culottes, grey's fabrics, Holly jumper, jumpsuit, megan nielsen, nashville, overgrown toddler, pattern testing, rayon, rayon challis, studio 54 vibez, tania, the fabric studio