The Claryville Jeans are a new release from Workroom Social, but hardly a new pattern – Jennifer has been working on it for at least a couple of years at this point! I actually sewed an earlier version of the pattern (before it was finalized), but I do like the small updates of the new one better! It was cool to be able to “work” with Jennifer on this pattern – I put that in quotes because she definitely did ALL of the work – I didn’t even test the pattern – but I offered lots and lots of opinions, both from an instructor perspective and as someone who has sewn a lot of jeans! Overall, I think the finished pattern is absolutely fabulous and I’m really proud of Jennifer for all the work she put into it to make it so great!
Anytime I mention this jeans pattern, the very first question I get (like, every single time lol) is “How does it compare to the Ginger Jeans pattern?” The short answer: It doesn’t. They are very different patterns, made to work with different types of denim, and fit in a different way on different bodies. You can’t really compare them, I’m sorry. What I can tell you is some of the key features of this pattern (this is all in the official description of the pattern, btw, which most companies should be including anyway!): – BODY TYPE: This pattern is designed to fit a pear or hourglass shape; i.e., one with a large hip-to-waist ratio. If you are more straight/square, it probably won’t work for you without some adjustments. – FIT: This is a mid-rise fit (right below the bellybutton), with a close fit through the hip and thigh, with a bit of extra room for the calf. It is a true jeans pattern, not necessarily “skinnies” or “jeggins” like the Gingers tend to veer toward. – FABRIC: The Claryville uses denim with a very low stretch (I have heard rumors of people using non-stretch fabric to make this with great results, although I haven’t tried it myself), unlike the Gingers, which are stretch. You *can* make these in a stretch (just size down!), but the pattern is designed for low to no stretch.
Construction-wise, these go together like any other pair of jeans (although I will give a big shoutout to the 3/4″ side and inseam allowances which make fit tweaking SO MUCH EASIER!). The fly is constructed with multiple pieces (rather than a fold back fly like the Gingers), which definitely intimidates the shit out of my students when they first start the class, but honestly, it’s really easy and fun to do! TBH, I find it quite fool-proof and I think the instructions given are **far** easier than any other multi-piece fly instructions I’ve come across.
My favorite parts about this pattern are the small back yoke (so flattering!), the giant back pockets (there are 3 sizes to choose from, depending on the size of your butt! These are the small pockets), and the extra calf room (lord knows I need it). I also like that it uses a low-stretch fabric; it certainly is not as melt-on-the-couch comfortable as a good stretch denim, but they are quite nice regardless after a solid break-in. My pro tip for quickly breaking in your jeans: Wash them a LOT! I basically throw my jeans in the wash/dryer every single time something goes in there. After 5-10 washes they soften up considerably.
Fit-wise, these are great for me right out of the envelope. I made a size 2, with no adjustments other than length (these are 31″ inseam and mine is like… 28″ lol). The waistband is straight, and is supposed to be eased into the top of the pants which will naturally create a curve. In my workshops, we baste the inner waistband on first and check the fit, which is easy to adjust if you tend to get waistband gape.
I know someone is going to ask me about the denim I used, and here’s my answer: I know nothing about it! It’s from Workroom Social, the same denim that we use in the Jeans Intensive classes. I think it’s Japanese. There, now you know everything I know!
I kept these pretty simple as far as embellishments go, and used red for the bartacks and zipper, to match my pocket lining. The pocket lining is just a fat quarter, which is my FAVORITE fabric to use for pocket lining. It is sturdy, it is colorful, it is inexpensive and easy to source – what’s not to love? One thing I see a lot of students bring to class is cotton lawn (Liberty is especially popular for this) – my biggest advice is DO NOT DO THIS. Cotton lawn is very lightweight and not really suitable for a pocket bag. You will rip your pockets far before your jeans show even an inkling of wear. I cannot stress this enough.
My favorite part, though, is the back pockets! I had a stroke of a good idea earlier this year and decided to give them my initials 🙂 It is subtle for sure – and really fun to hear people make the connection!
To do this, I drew the lines with chalk and a ruler, and stitched over them with topstitching thread. Easy!
I also snuck a little L on the coin pocket bartack, because why not?
Ok that’s all for these jeans! If you want to learn how to make the Claryville Jeans with me next year, you can sign up here at Workroom Social! Please be aware that my classes are in March, July, and November. There is a May class, but I am not instructing it 🙂 Just FYI!
I finished this dress much earlier in the year (like, January!), took photos a month ago, and am now finally getting around to posting it! I should not be this proud of myself considering how much of a slacker I am, but here we are.
This is the Magnolia Dress from Deer & Doe patterns. I’ve had my eye on this off and on since it was released. The design is pretty similar to this vintage Simplicity pattern that I cannot seem to stop making, but with some slight changes and a better overall fit (for me, anyway!). I love both options – one of these days I want to make that long-sleeved maxi with the big ol’ front slit, YES PLEASE – but for now, the short view with flutter sleeves has totally been my jam.
Also, fun fact – the Magnolia is my favorite tree. Just so you know!
ANYWAY. Earlier this year, Workroom Social was gearing up to release a new line of fabrics and Jennifer asked if I’d like a piece to try out. Obviously I was immediately sold, and was sent 2 yards of this Fleur design in navy from the Bantam line designed by Kelli Ward. Â As soon as I saw the fabric – I mean even before it was in my hands, but definitely after, too – I immediately thought of the Magnolia pattern as I felt like it would be a great match for this floaty and colorful rayon. I’ve sewn with Workroom Social fabrics a few times and I really cannot give them the full amount of praise that they deserve. Super high quality, beautiful rayon that is surprisingly easy to sew and comes in a range of really, really fucking cool designs.
So… the short answer is, yes, this fabric (or any fabrics from the Workroom Social fabrics line) was a great match for this pattern. However, I was skimping on yardage as the pattern calls for closer to 3 yards, and I only had 2. Not one to be defeated by something as silly as fabric requirements (pfft), I spent a couple hours one evening working on a giant puzzle of fitting every single pattern piece on my fabric. I shortened the sleeves by 1″ to get them to fit, and ended up cutting the waistband facing, bias facing, and tie facing all out of a nice lightweight navy cotton fabric – but I eventually made it fit! Go me!
After I had everything cut, sewing was pretty simple and fun! I decided to sew the dress entirely with French seams, as I love a good French seam in rayon. My quick muslin showed that I did not need any fitting adjustments, however, this rayon is much floatier than the cotton muslin I used and required a little bit of extra tweaking as I sewed. I ended up taking about 1/2″ from the center back, and pulling in the side seams at the underarm by another 5/8″. I started with a 36 bust grading to a 38 hip; this makes me wonder if I might have been better off cutting a smaller bust size. Whatever, it fits great now!
I also came into a little surprise when I realized that I didn’t have a long enough invisible zipper for the side seam! The pattern calls for 16″, and mine was 9″ long (not that I bought the wrong size, it’s just that I had this perfectly coordinating pink zip in my stash that was DETERMINED to use, shortness be damned). I figured that since the bodice has a cross-over front, it allows just *barely* enough room for me to wriggle in. Generally I don’t recommend using a zipper that is that much drastically shorter than what you need, but in my case it worked out pretty well.
Speaking of that invisible zipper – I’m gonna toot my own horn here now and say LOOK AT HOW GOOD IT LOOKS! After finishing the entire dress with beautiful French seams, it felt lazy to throw in a zipper with serged edges. So I used my remaining bias facing pieces to add Hong Kong seams to either side of my zipper opening, creating a very lovely finish that reflects the rest of the interior of the dress.
The only downside to making this dress when I did was that I had to put it in the closet for a few months before it was warm enough to wear! (yes, I realize sweaters and tights and layering exists but that does not change the fact that rayon itself is not a very warm fabric!) I actually didn’t wear this at all until last month for Easter Sunday brunch with my family! But it was worth the wait, because I really love it. The fabric is beautiful and hangs with a gorgeous drape, and I like that the neckline sits close to my body and stays well in place. The length is the same original length from the pattern, and while it feels a smidge long on me (I’m used to showing my knees, and then some), I’m trying to get used to it!
By the way, I took these photos in my new front yard! Isn’t it super cute!
I’m gonna leave you with this photo that we got on Easter! That’s my mom, my brother Mikil, and my sister-in-law Sarah (I know y’all are dying to know so I’ll just say, yes, Sarah is wearing a Sew Over It Penny Blouse). Love these nerds so much!!
** Note: the rayon fabric used in this post was given to me by Workroom Social, with no requirement to post a review or finished product.
As someone who specializes in teaching Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshops, I’m admittedly not the best at trying out new jeans patterns when they get released. Part of this is due to budget restraints (both monetary and in the sense of “ok Lauren just how many pairs of jeans do you really need?), part due to style choices (like, not gonna sew flared pants. I’m sorry. Maybe that will change in the future), and part is just because I know it’s a losing battle to try to keep up with everything as it gets released. That being said, I do enjoy seeing new things that are being released – especially when they cater to different styles and sizes! – and I’m especially receptive to anything that fulfills a personal style need in my own wardrobe.
I’ve been looking for a couple years now for a good non-stretch jeans pattern that will easily transition into shorts. Specifically, I wanted a shorts pattern that looked like – well, cut-off mom jeans. You know what I’m talking about – the super high waist, the tiny little back yoke, and the slight flare at the bottom of the leg. Bonus if the front pocket bags hang out! I’ve seen these all over the world – both in real life and on fashion blogs – and I haven’t found a sewing pattern that quite mimics it and is also readily available (i.e., not a vintage Calvin Klein pattern that costs $$$).
But, here they are! And I love them!
These are the Dawn Jeans from Megan Nielsen patterns – the mom jean pattern that I have been waiting for! With an ultra-high rise and four leg options (slim, straight, wide, and shorts), these are made with non-stretch denim and look like your classic jeans from the 70s/80s. They have all the features that make you think of jeans (including the option for a button or a zip fly) and a couple of different inseam choices so you can go long/tall, normal, or cropped. I loved this pattern as soon as it was released but it look me a little while to get around to making them. I’m glad I did though because this is definitely a new favorite for me!
I made the size 4, based on my hip and waist measurements, and chose the regular inseam (for the record, I am a little over 5’2″ and have a 28″-29″ inseam) and the slim leg. I find Megan Nielsen patterns to fit me pretty accurately right out of the envelope, so I threw caution to the wind and cut this shit straight out of my denim without making a test version first. There are NO adjustments to the pattern – this is exactly how it is drafted. Like I said, MN tends to work really well for me and you can see just how good they look! It’s like magic!
Also, I took a lot of photos so you’ll just have to suffer through them. Sorry.
My fabric is a medium weight Cone Mills denim that has been sitting my stash for probably about 3 years now. I’m sorry to say that I have absolutely no idea what weight it is, but it started out fairly rigid and has softened up with multiple washings. I like that it’s a medium blue color, instead of the dark wash that most shops carry. This was given to me by Jennifer at Workroom Social when I was up there to teach a workshop (again, a few years ago) so I’m not sure where it can be purchased now!
I had just enough to eek these jeans out (seriously, I think I had mere fumes of fabric left over by the time I was done cutting haha) and I’m so happy it worked out!
I used some quilting cotton that was in my stash to make the pocket bags. The topstitching thread is Mara 70, which is THE BEST topstitching thread imo. It is thick so you get the nice look of topstitching, but not as thick as the stuff that most fabric stores carry (which I find most home sewing machines don’t like at all). I keep loads of it in my stash and highly recommend all the shops I teach at to carry it for my workshops! If you have issues with topstitching thread in your machine, seriously, try this stuff! It’ll change your life! FYI the classic coppery color is #448 😉
All other notions – the rivets, the button, even the leather back patch – are raided from my stash. This was a very economical make for me, ha!
For construction, I followed the directions rather than use my own methods. Most of it is pretty similar, although the fly construction is completely different. Many of sewing patterns (including Ginger) use a “fold-over” fly construction which is really simple to do (and SUPER simple to teach!) but not necessarily how it is sewn in ready to wear. The construction for this fly is where you sew the facing on (rather than it be cut with the front leg and folded back), which is the RTW method. This is also the method we use on the Claryville Jeans with Workroom Social (hopefully to be released soon!). It can be a bit confusing if you’re not used to it but it does admittedly have a nicer finish, I think! I found Megan’s directions to be pretty straight-forward and easy to decipher.
There are also instructions on how to make your own button hole (rather than use the automatic one on your machine), which I tried for this pair! Honestly, my machine doesn’t really have issues sewing button holes on any of my jeans but it was fun to try something different!
Overall, I am extremely happy with the fit and the general proportions of everything – I was initially a little concerned that the back pockets were too high, but after some wearing around + a very enthusiastic discussion on Instagram I have come to terms with my mom-butt. Since the fabric is non-stretch, it does start out quite tight (I wouldn’t say that it is necessarily uncomfortable, but it is restrictive especially in comparison to how stretch jeans feel!) but loosens up over the course of the day. These photos were taken after a couple of days wear, and you can see that they are still pretty slim-fitting.
My only beef with the pattern is the size of the front pockets. They are HUGE and super deep! I know people love having big pockets but these are unnecessarily giant – like, they go nearly halfway down my thigh. And since the pants are so tight, it’s not like you can really stash anything in them without it being super lumpy and/or uncomfortable. Because they are so deep, they are kind of useless – anything you put in them travels way over yonder and then is almost impossible to get out without doing some kind of weird pocket dance. I don’t use my front pockets much so this doesn’t super bother me for this pair, but I’ll be making them quite a bit more shallow on future pairs (except for my shorts, which obviously need some pockets hanging out of the front so I look like the hussy that I am).
Hm, what else? I guess that’s it! I’ve been holding these photos in my queue for a month or so now – as evidenced by the fact that they were taken in my old studio, and I moved about 3 weeks ago! My new yard is much more private (i.e., fenced, not on a corner lot, and I don’t have an upstairs neighbor who works from home all day!) so I am hoping I can get back to doing photos outside once I’m back in the States. In the meantime, I’m Vancouver-bound! See y’all laters!
It just occurred to me yesterday that I never shared my Ginger Jeans that I made for my upcoming workshops! Fortunately, we had a weirdly sunny + 70° (look at how cool I am, I figured out the keyboard shortcut for making a degree sign lolz) day yesterday, so I jumped outside to take some photos! These aren’t the best – it was windy as hell, and for some reason I decided to take photos where I’d have to straddle over a fucking hole in the ground – but you know what, it works, and I’m moving on. I say this often, and it often bears repeating – no one comes to this blog for the stunning photography amirite.
Anyway.
These are my new jeans! I’ve made soooo many pairs of these Ginger Jeans that they don’t necessarily warrant their own post at this point (I mean, there are only so many times you can keep repeating the same pattern with no changes and expect people to find the information riveting haha), however, I did want to talk about this particular pair as I finally had a chance to make them in a new-to-me denim!
This denim is a super stretch denim from Robert Kaufman (FYI that’s an affiliate link). As I mentioned in my samples post, I chose this denim specifically because it was affordable, easy to source, and is great quality that is comparable to Cone Mills. I made all my workshop samples out of this denim – Robert Kaufman was generous enough to send me a couple bolts of the fabric; enough for 11 samples plus some extra so I could make a pair for myself! It’s an 8.6oz stretch denim, which is a hair lighter than most of the Cone Mills that people buy (I personally prefer the lighter weight, I find it more comfortable!). It’s also suuuuuper stretchy, which I love! Absolutely perfect for this jeans pattern.
Since this denim is indigo dyed, it is imperative that you prewash your fabric multiple times before cutting into it. It will shrink quite a bit, plus it bleeds a LOT! I only washed my samples once in cold water, and we all ended up with blue hands during class (true story; I went on a date immediately after the first night of my Nashville class and he totally called me out on that shit about halfway through haha). For these jeans, I washed + dried the denim three times before I cut it – twice with very hot water, and once with cold. This cut down significantly on the amount of bleed that I got, although they still bleed a tiny bit (not enough to damage, say, the upholstery in my car – but I do still notice a blue tint on my fingernails). Every single indigo-dyed denim I’ve used (especiallyyyy Cone Mills, oh god) does this, btw, but just be aware of it. Don’t carry a white purse, save your white undies for a different pair of pants, and for the love of god do not wash these in a load with anything but black fabric.
That being said, cutting down on the bleed does not actually fade the color. These are still super dark, even with all that hot washing.
Anyway, I made these a little over a month ago, and wore them on that first day of class so my students could see the ~jeans in action~. I’m happy to report that this fabric holds its shape really well – I’ve only washed these once since I made them (and even then it was mostly to try to bleed out more indigo, ha), and in these photos you are seeing them after about 4 days of wearing. No baggy knees or baggy butt! I still have a little bit of tightness at the calf, however, I have noticed with my more frequently-worn Gingers (i.e., the older ones) that over time the fabric will stretch and settle. I’m going to wear these a bit more and see if that happens with this fabric, before I slice up the calf and add more room on future pairs.
I also made the top I’m wearing, by the way! It’s a Grainline StudioHemlock Tee (which is free if you join their newsletter). I used a beautiful striped rayon knit from Finch, which I bought when I was there last year for a workshop.
For these particular jeans, I used the same notions that we offer students in my workshops (copper topstiching thread, matching rivets and buttons). Combined with the fabric and pattern, you can literally see what your finished jeans will look like.
BTW, I still hate setting rivets. I’m getting better at it, but I still hate it. I considered getting a special die for my snap setter, but then I realized I couldn’t drag it along to workshops (that thing is cast iron and it weighs a LOT), so what’s the point? I generally prefer the look of bartacks over rivets, anyway.
I won’t go into detail about fitting these; but you can read my Ginger Jeans tag to see previous posts about what fitting changes I have made to these jeans over time. Spoiler: It took many, many pairs with lots of tiny changes (and I’m still making changes!). Fitting is a journey, and a lot of things just aren’t clear until you’ve worn your garment around for a few days.
Flat-felled seams on the inside, quilting cotton pockets (1-2 fat quarters is all you need!), and of course a shitty little thread nest in there #honestsewing
In other news – I just had some more classes listed! You can see all my upcoming classes here on my class page, but for those who are just browsing – here are the new ones added:
March 24-25 / Jeans Making Intensive / Workroom Social, Brooklyn, NY (head’s up – we will be making a Workroom Social exclusive jeans pattern for this class! I am so excited about this one!)
August 18-19 / Jeans Making Intensive / Workroom Social, Brooklyn, NY (again, this one is using a Workroom Social pattern 😀 )
September 26-30 / Jeans & Wardrobe Basics Retreat / A Gathering of Stitches, Biddeford, ME (this one is a littttle different as we are focusing on wardrobe basics! There will be jeans-making, but there are also a couple extra days to make additional basics! Or, if you’ve already tackled jeans and wanted to try something else – such as a tshirt or button-up – bring it on!)
I have a few more classes in the works that haven’t been confirmed/listed yet (West Coast, I’m looking at you!), but I will share those as soon as I can! Other than that, pretty booked up for 2018! If you are a local shop who would like to discuss dates for 2019, please get in touch with me via email. If you are a person who wants me to come teach in your city, I encourage you to reach out to your local shop and tell them you’d like to see them host my jeans workshop 🙂
Ok, that’s all for this post! Happy Friday, y’all!
As I mentioned in my last post, I have a few workshops already lined up for the first few months of 2018 😀 I was hoping to include my sample jeans in this post, but I’ll be completely honest with you – this post ended up WAY longer than I was anticipating, so I am going to split my FO into a separate post. For this entry, I just want to talk about my upcoming workshops!
If you follow my Instagram, you may have noticed the madness when I decided to sew 11 pairs of jeans in mid-December. If that’s not crazy enough for ya, I finished all 11 pairs in LESS THAN A WEEK. Yea!! There’s a reason why my sewing industry friends call me Speedy 🙂
You’re also probably wondering why I made 11 pairs of jeans in the first place? Especially after announcing over and over that I have plenty of pants and I don’t actually need more (I’m gonna keep making pants anyway, sorry!). These jeans are actually samples for my upcoming Jeans Workshops!
When I first started teaching sewing back in 2014, the first place to bring me in was Workroom Social in Brooklyn, NY. There are a lot of reasons why I love working at Workroom Social and have continued to teach there over the years. Jennifer is incredibly brilliant businesswoman and teacher, plus we work super well together. One of the things she does in her workshops that I thought was SO CLEVER is to have all the sizes of the pattern made up in advance of the weekend, so that students can try the samples on. This helps them not only choose the correct size to start, but also gives the ability to do basic fitting adjustments without the need to make a muslin. I have always loved this idea and I think it’s one of many things that really sets Workroom Social apart from other sewing workshops.
Toward the end of 2017, I started thinking about what kinds of workshops I wanted to offer in 2018. I have gotten a lot of requests to bring my jeans workshops to other cities, but I was lacking the samples (I realize you can totally offer this workshop without the samples, but y’all – once I’d tried it, I didn’t want to do anything else haha). After some internal debate – as well as a few conversations with Jennifer about my plans (I wanted her blessing before I did anything – I am not in the business of stepping on anyone’s toes here, y’all) – I decided to bite the bullet and make up my own batch of Ginger Jeans samples. This ended up working out perfectly because Workroom Social is moving toward offering a different pattern for future jeans classes (something that is a bit more size-inclusive than the Ginger because, as I’m sure you know, there are plenty of people who fall outside the max size range in that pattern), so I can continue to offer workshops that feature this specific pattern without being in competition with other workshops that I teach.
Having already worked with these samples for the past couple of years, I had some ideas on how I wanted to improve my own set when it came time to make them: – Fabric: Hey, here’s a surprise for you – I didn’t use Cone Mills Denim to make my samples. I know this denim is the holy grail for sewing jeans – and for good reason, it’s a really wonderful fabric! However, it can sometimes be difficult for the average home sewist to source, and somewhat cost prohibitive depending on where you source it from (especially when you consider that you first pair of jeans may end as a wearable muslin). This was fine at Workroom Social because they were able to obtain rolls of the denim to provide to students as a kit, but y’all – I live in a small 2 bedroom house with limited storage, and I travel for my workshops. I ain’t about to buy stock in heavy-ass denim and schlep that shit around in a suitcase lol. Furthermore, Cone Mills just closed its White Oak plant at the end of 2017, which could potentially make the denim even harder to source in the future (or they move production offshore, or someone buys the plant to continue operating it – who knows? But I don’t want to bank on “maybe.”). So, with all that in mind – I wanted to make my samples out of a fabric that was easier for the average home sewist to obtain. – Washed vs Unwashed: Plain and simple, denim feels and fits differently when it’s washed. It is softer and has more stretch. I wanted my samples to be out of washed denim, to better mimic what the finished pair would feel like. – Familiarity with all sizes: Ok, this was NOT something I anticipated up front, but in hindsight this was a nice perk! Sewing every single size gave me a very hand-on experience with how they differ and how each one fits together. I don’t know if there is another person (other than Heather herself, obviously!) who has literally sewn every size in this pattern – but I have! Everything from fitting the pattern pieces on the fabric, to how the notches match up, even the differences in size grade. It was a surprisingly enlightening experience for me. As much as I’ve sewn this pattern up before and taught this class soo many times, y’all. I KNOW this pattern now. Like in a really creepy way almost haha.
So anyway, here are the details on my new samples:
– The denim I used is Robert Kaufman Super Stretch denim! At 8.6 oz, it’s on the lighter weight side – but in my experience, a lot of people actually prefer this over heavier denim (especially for very fitted jeans like the Gingers) – it makes for a more comfortable pair of pants that feel almost like leggings. Of course, using a heavier denim and/or one with less stretch is as easy as adjusting your seam allowances to accommodate, but this particular fabric is a great starting point. The fabric costs around $15/yard and is super accessible – most fabric stores carry Robert Kaufman! And as someone who has long used Robert Kaufman fabrics, I love their quality and the company has been so easy to work with. I’m pretty excited about this!
– The denim is washed one time, to remove the sizing and soften everything up. I was hoping this would also remove the indigo bleed, but it only did so a bit – it looks like 2-3 washes is the magic number (based on my personal sample pair). I love my students but idk y’all, I wasn’t about to sit and wash 30 yards of denim multiple times. You hands will be slightly tinted blue. Don’t wear white underwear and bring hand sanitizer lol.
– Each sample is sewn using the key pieces necessary for fit – front and back legs, yoke, full fly (zipper, shield, etc), and waistband. There are no pockets, no seam finishes (or hems), and there is only topstitching where necessary for fit. Furthermore, the waistband is uninterfaced, except where the button would go – this is what I prefer in my jeans, and it gives students the chance to see what that feels like when they try on the pair, so they can decide for themselves whether they want to interface their waistbands. Personally, I find it way more comfortable! I also left off the buttons – students simply pin the waistband shut when they try on the sample.
– The pattern is the Ginger Jeans pattern from Closet Case Patterns, available in sizes 0-20. My samples are View B, the high-waisted, skinny leg version.
– As a fun side note, each pair of jeans has a different colored zipper. I knew that giant box of 75+ vintage zippers in weird colors that I bought at the flea market AGES ago would eventually come in handy! 😉
To get everything sewn up in a timely fashion, I had to set things in stages. Due to the number of pairs and them all being different sizes (in all the same fabric, no less), I was unable to batch sew these like one would in production. I literally sewed each pair one at a time. I found that the fastest way to do this was to cut everything first (again, individually) and batch all the pieces together with the size clearly marked. Then, starting with the largest size and working my way down – I sewed each pair of jeans from start to finish. For fun, I timed myself – the first pair took 52 minutes, but by the time I sewed that last pair I was actually down to 32 minutes!
And then I got really into it and a little time-lapse video of myself sewing one of the pairs of jeans. Because I am a huge nerd.
I also totally broke my sewing machine during this process. At some point, I sewed over a zipper (a nylon zipper, I might add) and hit it at juuuust the right angle that it snapped the needle and everything went completely haywire. I had somehow managed to completely jack up the timing – my needle was hitting the needle threader on it’s way up, and not picking up the bobbin thread. I am lucky that we have an incredible sewing machine dealer + repairshop in the area, so I brought it to him and he was able to get everything fixed and back to normal by the next morning! I can’t even tell y’all how much I love my dealer – highly recommend them if you are in Nashville and shopping for a Bernina!
Ok one last nerdy thing! Doing the same sewing process over and over (and over and over) actually gave me some wonderful insight for finishing the waistband! In the past, I (and probably most of y’all) have attached it the waistband from the right side, then turned the facing (inside) to the inside and pinned it, then topstitched from the outside. This is unnecessarily fussy and I don’t know about you, but I always end up with a little section of facing that didn’t get stitched down. Jennifer had mentioned a few times in the past to flip and attach the facing first, then topstitch from the outside – which I’ve done before with other garments when it’s in the round, but I couldn’t get a clean finish right at the zipper opening. Well, y’all – 11 pairs later, I’ve definitely got it down! So here’s a mini tutorial:
Assemble your waistband as normal (sew the waistband to the facing along the top and understitch one side), then press the seam allowance of the WAISTBAND (the side that is not understitched) under to the inside. I press about a scant less than the seam allowance – so a 5/8″ seam allowance gets pressed a little between 1/2″ and 5/8″ (this allows the waistband to fully cover your stitching). Sew the facing to the top of your jeans, with the right side of the facing against the inside of the pants, like so. It will look totally wrong at this point. Trust.
Now fold the short ends of your waistband in half, with right sides facing, and the connecting line of stitching (not the understitching) right along the top of the fold. Sew across the short end to close.
When you turn the ends right side out, the waistband should fall right into place, covering the seam allowances.
Then you just pin everything down and topstitch! Since the facing was already attached, you don’t have to worry about catching it in your topstitching 🙂 Here’s another hint – start at the center back, that way your backstitching gets covered by the belt loop.
So now I want to talk about my classes! Jeans Making has been pretty popular and I am excited to take this class ~on the road~ since I realize that not everyone can come up to NYC to take a sewing class (and also, I’m selfish and I like to travel haha). I have taught this class several times at Workroom Social, and learned a lot about teaching these workshops – what works, what doesn’t work, and what I might want to change for my own classes (very little- like I said, Jennifer is VERY good at what she does! There’s a reason why I keep working with her, she is amazing and the classes at Workroom Social are wonderful!).
The main thing that Workroom Social focuses on in their classes – and I focus on as well – is the overall experience of the class. Yes, you are there to learn and we want you to learn as much as you can and feel empowered by your knowledge! But even beyond that – we want you to have FUN in the class. Based on what my students tell me, this is not always the case – which kind of makes me sad, and also explains why there are lots of people who get scared off from sewing after a single class. I always strive to give my students the very best experience, and give them my full undivided attention during the entirety of the class. This is why I rarely have photos from classes (unless someone else took them), or post on social media during my classes – I’m not using my phone in class because I want to be 100% involved with my students. I am also a firm believer in that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do something – you do whatever works! Sewing isn’t like baking, it’s like cooking – whatever gets you the result you want is the “right” way to do it. My classes are less about doing things perfectly and more about having a good time, learning a lot, and actually finishing your project. Then when you go home and make that next pair of jeans – that’s when you can work on the perfection side!
One other thing about my classes that may be a little different – I don’t try to keep students at the same pace the entire time. If that means I have to repeat myself 10 times during a class, that’s ok (seriously, you’re not going to fluster or bother me haha)! I realize that everyone learns differently and operates at various speeds, and I don’t want to punish half the class for being at a different speed. Faster students can blaze ahead and not be bored, and the slower students aren’t stressed about keeping up. I find this to be a very positive overall experience, both in terms of people actually learning shit and also keeping the vibes of the class high.
The only thing I changed with my solo jeans classes is the time involved. Classes at Workroom Social are 2 full days. While you can definitely finish a pair of jeans in that time – I’ve had classes wrap up as early as 3 hours before the end time before – it can also be a little rushed sometimes. Workroom Social also speeds things up by having the patterns pre-traced and cut, and also providing lunch in the studio. After some thinking, I realized the fitting/cutting portion was really the big roadblock here – so for my classes, I am moving that to its own half day. This makes my classes 2.5 days, but those extra hours make a big difference (plus it makes things a little easier if you’re traveling to take the class – you can fly in that morning). Students have 4 hours to try on the samples, choose their size, cut or trace their patterns, make basic fitting adjustments if needed, and then cut and mark their fabric! Next two days go straight into sewing, with a little extra time built in so it’s not as rushed – and you can chat! Or take a break! Finish early? Cool, I’ll do some demos or talk about what shit you want (jeans-related or not)! Or we can drink and hang out and celebrate! I don’t care, we are here to have fun!
Oh yeah, one last thing – if you fall outside the size range of the Ginger Jeans pattern, that is ok! The Ames Jeans pattern from Cashmerette is available in sizes 12-28 and for two different body types (apple or pear fit). While I do not have samples available in this pattern, you can absolutely use it to take my classes and get you a pair of jeans that fits YOU. In other news, I cannot tell you how excited I am that Jenny released this pattern. I may or may not have fangirled for like 2 weeks straight haha.
Ok I swear I’m wrapping up! Here are my upcoming classes through the beginning of May (you can also see these on my Classes Page 🙂 )
Jeans Making Sewing Intensive March 24th – 25th Workroom Social / Brooklyn, NY
Pfft y’all didn’t think I leaving Workroom Social, did you? THEY CAN NEVER GET RID OF ME 🙂 This 2 day workshop in beautiful Brooklyn is all about jean-making – rumor has it we will be sewing a custom Workroom Social jeans pattern in this class 🙂
Ginger Jeans Workshop April 27th – 29th SOLD OUTÂ // May 1st – 3rd Stitch Sew Shop / Alexandria, VA
Two dates for this one! Choose either Friday – Sunday (Update: The weekend is now sold out!) or Tuesday – Thursdsay (maaaaybe you are thinking about going to the Sheep and Wool Festival that weekend? ;)). This is another one of my 2.5 day workshops where we will make Ginger Jeans!
If you are a shop who would like to host me for a Jeans Workshop, please get in touch! I still have a little bit of availability for the second half of 2018 🙂 I am especially interested in teaching on the west coast or in the UK!
If you read this entire post and you’re still somehow still here – if we ever meet irl, I totally owe you a drink haha!
Ok, I’ll be back soon to discuss my jeans made with the Robert Kaufman fabric! Have a great day, everyone!
In case you forgot, I still really love making pants.
I’ve had to slow my roll a bit lately because I ended up with waaaay more pairs of pants that I can seriously, feasibly wear during the course of winter (I never wear pants in the summer – unless I’m on an airplane or in a movie theater, where it’s always fucking freezing – and I’m really impressed with people who can manage it. Too damn hot!), and I sorely missed sewing them. I can get a little bit of a fix when I run a Jeans Workshop, but it’s not the saaaaaame, you know?
Anyway, it appears I’ve gone up a size this year, so a lot of my old clothes don’t fit right. So, lucky me – I get to make new ones! Starting with pants, because, again, first love.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a die hard when it comes to super tight, stretchy pants. I have loved that style ever since I first discovered it as a teenager (back when I learned how to use the sewing machine because I couldn’t find pants in that skinny cut – everything was flared at the time), and stuck with it over the decades. But I like branching out and trying new looks from time to time, such as this boyfriend jeans trend. The biggest upside to this look is that you don’t have to worry about stretch percentage when shopping for fabric – which is awesome and opens a whole WORLD of possibilities! Any fabric can be pants fabric if you put your mind to it!
This is my second go at the Morgan Boyfriend Jeans pattern from Closet Case Patterns (you can see my first pair, made of cotton twill, in this blog post). I re-traced the pattern to a size 4, since the size 2 I originally made was too small. These were still on the snug side when I first put them on, but thankfully the fabric has relaxed and I think the fit looks pretty good now.
The fabric! I actually used linen to make these – a beautiful marled gray-and-white bottomweight 100% linen that I picked up at my local fabric shop, Textile Fabrics, during one of their big sales. This was a huge remnant – I think I paid $20 for 3 yards. This fabric is usually around $20 for a single yard, so I definitely got a good price on this piece! It was pretty stiff when I first took it home, but after several washings it is thankfully starting to soften up. The fabric is not very thick – it’s more of a medium weight than a heavy weight – but it’s not see through, and it has enough of a heft that it doesn’t really wrinkle very much. In these photos, I have been wearing these pants for about 2 months – washed, machine dried and unironed. I’m really happy with the quality of this fabric, it’s really the perfect weight and thickness for a good pair of pants!
I also made my shirt, by the way! The pattern is the Sway Dress from Papercut Patterns, shortened to shirt length and sewn with a very lightweight raw silk that I bought in Egypt. I was 100% influenced by the Marlena Tank and wanted to make something similar. Mine is a lot more flared than the original inspiration- which is perfect in this drapey silk (seriously, I’ve never seen a raw silk this thin and drapey and omg I love it so much). I changed the construction of the top to mimic that of the Elizabeth Suzann – swapped out the facings for topstitched bias facings, and used French seams. I’ve probably sewn a thousand of those Marlena tanks, no lie, so putting this one together was like second nature (but not as fun on a non-industrial machine, ha!).
Anyway, back to my pants!
I had a lot of fun planning and sewing these! The black buttons are also from Textile Fabrics (and they were stupid expensive because they were ~imported from Italy~ ugh I mean come on), and the pocket lining is some black linen I had in my stash. I used black thread with a triple stitch for the topstitching, and thread bartacks in place of rivets. Rather than flat fell the seams, they are just serged and topstitched.
The back is my favorite part! I topstitched the pockets with some fun little swirlies, which I then mimicked on the leather waistband patch. It looks very designer to me. I’m a designer, you guys.
That’s all for this one! I will admit, I didn’t get to wear these as much as I had anticipated because it’s been soooo hot here, but they’ve finally had their place in the spotlight these past couple of weeks. I have the hems rolled up in these pictures, but I’ve been wearing them full length lately. They are hemmed slightly long; I wanted to make sure they were washed enough to get the shrink out before I hemmed them to the proper length. Seeing as I’ve washed and dried them probably a dozen times since finishing them, I should probably go ahead and re-hem. Maybe. Ha!
One last thing, I have ONE MORE jeans workshop for 2017, and it’s coming soooon!! I’ll be going back to Brooklyn to teach the Jeans Making Intensive in November and I can’t wait!
Did I ever tell you guys about how much I love shirtdresses? Hi. I love shirtdresses.
I don’t know what it is that appeals to me so much about this style of garment – but, as you WELL know, I also love me some collared shirts, too (or, rather, maybe just that particular pattern lolz amirite). Something about that collar, dude! It just looks so pulled together and is also so fun to sew! I just love it!!
Sooo… surprise! Another shirtdress 4 u.
This time, the pattern is McCall’s 7351, in view A. If this dress looks familiar, it’s because I made it last year in a fun cherry rayon print. I really really love wearing that dress – the style looks pulled together, the fabric feels great in the heat, and the print makes me so happy! I am no longer at the point in my life where I like something and feel like I need to own multiples of them in every color, however, I did want to make another one of this dress in another fun rayon fabric.
So – this fun rayon fabric! This is another fabric from Workroom Social, also from their Miramar line. The design is Abstract Eyes, and there is still some available for sale! (and also in a green colorway if navy ain’t your jam!). I had just finished my lemon rayon dress when I wore it back to NYC for my most recent Jeans Making Intensive back in August, so I had rayon prints on my mind while looking through the rest of the bolts of fabric at the studio. This eyeball print was SCREAMING at me, so I ended up taking some back home with me! I knew I wanted another shirtdress with this fabric, but I didn’t necessarily want to duplicate the Alder- which is why I landed on McCall’s 7351. It’s very similar, just slightly more fitted with a straight skirt.
Since I’ve already made this pattern before, I don’t have too much more to add to what I’ve already said. I mad the size 6 – same as last time – but only shortened the skirt a couple of inches (I have no idea how much I shortened the skirt before – I just wrote in my post “quite a bit” whatever the hell that means. Usually I’m pretty good about leaving myself notes, but apparently not this time!). The skirt is a little longer than I usually prefer, but I’m not opposed to it.
As a flip, I did manage to get the bust point button in the exact right spot this time! (on the cherry dress, it’s slightly high, so the bust gapes unless I pin it closed). It took some practice to find that sweet spot, but it’s pretty really life-changing in terms of being able to wear button-up anything and have it fit properly across the bust without gaping. What I do – I don’t mark my button holes at all, just try on the garment when it’s nearly finished. I mark the bust apex (usually about at nipple point), pin it, and adjust the the position of the pin as needed until all gaping in eliminated. Then I use a buttonhole gauge to reposition the remaining buttonholes, using the bust point mark as an anchor point.
Speaking of buttons – aren’t they a good color match for those eyes? I found those at Textile Fabrics, and thankfully, they were the cheap kind on a card so they were pretty inexpensive 🙂 The topstitching thread was in my stash – again, a surprisingly perfect match. I usually prefer dark contrast when it comes to topstitching thread, but I really love the way the light contrast looks against the dark fabric background. When it comes to this much of a contrast, you want to be *really* certain that your stitching is going to be as close to perfect as you can get it, since it’s so visible. I use my blind hem foot to get an exact 1/8″ measurement from the seamline, and then lengthen the stitch by about a point or two. The bobbin thread is just the same navy I used for seaming; it’s easier to switch between threads if you don’t also have to change the bobbin.
Ummm what else? I used light weight woven fusible interfacing for the collar, collar stand, and button band – this one from Workroom Social. This stuff is AWESOME! It provides the right amount of support, but doesn’t interfere with the rayon’s drape. For finishing, I used French seams throughout the dress, and a bias facing for the hem.
Finally, I sewed a flat hook and eye at the waist seam (I think this looks more polished than putting a button right there, plus, it’s easier to wear a belt with this dress when it’s flat right there), and added chain loops to the side seams (for the aforementioned belt).
I think that’s it for this dress! I’m not sure I’ll get too much more wear out of it before the weather crashes into cold, but that’s fine – it’ll be waiting for me next year 🙂
Like everything I try to purchase, I get really fixated on something that seems reasonably attainable and then spend years trying to find it (let me tell y’all about my 2 year wallet saga. Just kidding. No one cares lol). I wanted a lemon fabric on a dark – not black – background, that was not a quilting weight cotton (THAT’S the hard part!) (that’s what she said). I found something nearly perfect with the lemon knit I bought earlier this year, but, I was really hoping to find a woven with no stretch.
Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase – I found it, yay!, and it’s also no longer available, sorry! 🙂 This lemon print is from Workroom Social, from their Miramar Fabric line. Here it is on their website, although, again, it’s sold out! But there are loads of other amazing designs that are still available.
The Workroom Social fabric is a beautiful rayon challis, that is just a bit weighter than other challis that I’ve sewn with. It still has that lovely fluid drape and that amazing breathability (my absolute, 100% favorite fabric to wear during the summer!), but it’s a touch more manageable to sew. Some rayons require a bit of prep to stiffen them before you start sewing (I have used spray stablizer and also a gelatine treatment in the past, both with great results), but this one was easy to handle without any special pre treatment. I just cut and sewed and got on with my life! The best of both worlds!
Another really big perk about this fabric is that it is WIDE – 54-56″ to be exact. Most rayons are closer to 45″, which means you need more fabric to make stuff (and some patterns won’t work with the narrower width). At $28/yard, this is not a “budget” fabric, but a yard stretches much further thanks to that extra width! I had about 2 yards of this fabric and I was able to squeeze out my dress and a cami, so, not too bad!
Btw, I hope y’all like my “fashion blogger pantomiming walking away” shots 😛
I have had this fabric since spring, but it’s taken me this long to decide what to make it into. I had LOTS of ideas – but ultimately realized that my current style go-to is anything with a collar. Seriously, I am loving me some collars these days, have you noticed? I decided to take that look and run with it, and make another shirt dress. This pattern is the Alder Shirtdress from Grainline Studio, in view B. I will confess that I wasn’t crazy about view B when the pattern was first released – but after seeing several versions made in drapey fabric, I was sold. What I like about this design is that it is a classic shirt dress – collar + stand, button front, back yoke, etc – but those gathers give it an interesting twist (and also a little bit of shaping!). The fit is slightly loose – which is perfect for warm days, and looks absolutely beautiful when made up in a fabric with a soft drape.
I made a size 0 with no alterations – including to the length (tall people – beware! I’m 5’2″ and I love the length, but it might be a lil’ short on y’all ;))! For my next version, I will raise the armholes a little because they are definitely a bit low on me – you can see my bra sometimes. This is a common fit issue that I have across the board with most patterns, not specific to Grainline.
I had fun putting this one together! I used French seams everything – yes, including the gathered waist and that corner that connects the gathered piece to the front. I am not going to lie, that shit was RUFF and absolutely not my favorite part (but I survived, so hey, go me). Jen posted a tutorial on how to sew a French seam on a right angle, which was very helpful, but I still managed to fuck it up somehow idk. Anyway, it worked out great in the end – just tried my patience REAL HARD up to that point!
I also used the method outlined in the pattern for inserting the collar and collar stand, rather than my usual method (which is this one, if you’re curious!). That whole process might have actually been worse than the French seamed right angles, to be honest! I ripped out my stitches several times before I got it right – and even still, it’s not my best work, but it’s passable. I think trying to do it on a rayon challis was probably not my most brilliant idea, since the fabric is thin and shifty. On a more positive note, I just tried the Grainline method again with a nice cotton flannel, and it turned out PERFECTLY on both sides the first time. Probably because I have so much practice under my belt at this point! 😛
Now let me show you some close-up detail shots while I also instruct you not to look too closely.
This has been my go-to summer dress ever since I finished it – it’s lightweight and breathable, easy to pack (yes it wrinkles, but the wrinkles also drop out pretty easily on their own), and looks pulled together with very little effort. I can see why this pattern has been so popular – it’s fantastic! Of course, Tennessee had an unexpected blast of fall weather immediately after Labor Day (I’m still not convinced it’ll stay cold, however – it’s usually very hot in September!), so I’m currently hunkering down in pants + a hoodie. Hopefully it’ll warm up again so I can get some more wear out of this dress before next summer! 🙂
Here’s an old projects from my archives – I finished this months ago (in, like, August haha) and never got around to posting it. Mainly because it’s a pattern that I have done to death and I might be just as sick of talking about it as most people are probably reading about it. With that being said – I am feeling this weird urge to wrap up all my projects for 2016 before the year ends (and I also feel bad for doing 2 review posts back-to-back, sorry friends), so this is the project I’m sharing today!
It features KITTY CATS yay!
First things first – the pattern is Butterick 5526, yes I’ve made it like a dozen times (see my tag for all my renditions of this pattern!) and no I don’t plan on branching out to other shirt patterns in 2017 haha. I love this pattern – I love the fit on me and I love how it looks in pretty much any fabric, although my personal fave is something lightweight with a soft drape. And sleeveless, so it works in both summer flyin’ solo, or in winter under a sweater or cardigan. My TNT, my desert-island pattern. MWAH ♥
This pattern is pretty similar to a button-up pattern, although it lacks a back yoke (I was able to draft one for my Tencel B5526, which wasn’t difficult). It has back and front princess seams, which give a lovely fit, and a traditional collar, collar stand, and separate button placket. It’s drafted as a sleeved pattern, but making it sleeveless is pretty simple – mainly, you want to raise the arm hole just a smidge and also sew a deeper side seam at the underarm. This is a super hack-y way to give the arm hole a good sleeveless fit.
Anyway, yawn, enough about the pattern. This post is all about the INCREDIBLE KITTY RAYON CHALLIS FABRIC.
I spent a few days in San Francisco at the beginning of this year, and while I had some fun things planned (like going to the Computer History Museum and nerding out so hard), I didn’t even consider my fabric shopping options bc I figured anything worth visiting would be in Los Angeles. Once I landed on my first day, I had some free time to kill and decided to walk around for a bit. On a whim, I typed “fabric store” into my Google Maps app and was surprised to find that Britex Fabrics was not only in SF, they were actually about a mile away from where I was currently sitting. So obviously I HAULED ASS over there to see what kind of fabric souvenirs were waiting for me.
I’d never been in Britex, but it’s a beautiful store with lots of incredible fabrics. It’s also quite expensive – I was drawn to the designer silks, but I didn’t see any that I loved enough to justify the price (like, all the ones I kept grabbing were like $80/yard lol nope). I spent an hour or so crawling the store – digging around the silks, revisiting the sale section, admiring all the lace trims. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a beautiful store with lots of amazing fabrics and notions, but I was traveling with a fully-packed carry-on, and only had enough room for a couple of special pieces (yes, I did this on purpose haha). I eventually found the rayon section, squirreled away near the silks (who were taking all the attention), and when I found this fabric there was absolutely no question that I had found THE ONE.
This fabric ticks all my boxes – it’s a unique novelty print that doesn’t look like a quilting cotton (sorry, quilting cotton lovers – that just ain’t my jam) *and* it’s in the softest, drapiest rayon challis. My favorites! Not to mention, the novelty print is little cats, which I just think is really cute! I hadn’t – and still haven’t – even seen a fabric like this, so it was definitely going to come home with me. The price wasn’t too terrible, either – I don’t remember exactly what I paid for it, but I think it was around $18/yard (definitely under $20/yard). This is one of those rayons that is quite wide – around 55″ – so after some deliberation, I had 1.5 yards cut and folded into the tiniest little cloud of a square.
I spent a few months waiting before cutting into this and sewing it up – I wanted to perfect the fitting tweaks I’d been doing on B5526, and I also wanted a little more practice sewing rayon challis before I cut into something this precious (precious in that I couldn’t buy more, not precious that it was terribly expensive). I’m a firm believer that fabric is best when it’s being cut and sewn and worn – not hanging out on a shelf for years – but I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to get your ducks in a row before you dive in, as long as the ducks don’t take like 5 years. I debated on a few design elements on this shirt that I ultimately did not end up doing – black piping at the collar and button band, rounding the collar to be a peter pant collar, black topstitching – I felt it was best to keep things simple and let the fabric be the star of this garment.
A note about rayon – it’s not the easiest thing to cut and sew, but it is definitely easier than a slippery silk. You can use a spray stabilizer to make the fabric even easier to handle, but I usually just throw all shits to the wind and sew it up in it’s slinky glory. Which is what I did here, and it wasn’t too bad – even with the fiddly collar stand and such.
Care-wise, I wash my rayon on cold and either tumble dry low or hang to dry (depending on whether I feel like ironing after the fact – which is usually no, so usually a hang-dry haha). Actually, I hand wash this shirt quite frequently – not because it necessarily needs it, but because I rarely wear white so I never have a full load when it’s time to wash. As much as I am not careful with my laundry, I am careful about not mixing my precious whites with darks that could potentially dye them. I use Soak Wash for all my hand-washing needs – lingerie, clothing, etc – because you don’t have to rinse it. Just soak it for 15-25 minutes, squeeze the water out, and dry it. I have always hated hand-washing, but this stuff makes it so much less of a pain!
Speaking of washing – the photos of you see of the shirt on my form are immediately after I finished it, without washing (other than the fabric pre-wash). The photos of me wearing the shirt as after a few washes. It has some soft wrinkles at the seams, but nothing super dramatic.
Here’s a peek at the inside! I used French seams to assemble, then topstitched them down so they looked like flat-felled seams (easier to do on this rayon than a true flat-felled seam, and prettier and stronger than a mock-flat-fell). The arm holes are hem are finished with bias facing. I actually didn’t quite *quite* enough of my polka dot bias facing, wah! I was a few inches to short, so part of the hem just has white batiste facing kind of patched in haha. But I loved the polka dots with the cats, so I wanted to use what I did have. Aaaand now that is the last of my polka dot bias – I’ve been using it on the inside of garments for YEARS (it’s first appearance was with this trench coat haha), surprised it’s hung around my sewing room this long!
I didn’t get a great close-up of the buttons, but they are vintage glass buttons that I also bought at Britex, specifically for this fabric. The girl working the button counter spent foreeeever with me trying to find a set of matching buttons (they were all just dumped in a jar) and we had a great chat while digging through the beautiful buttons. I found out she was originally from Nashville, even, which I thought was an interesting coincidence.
Anyway, that’s all for this project! While we’re on the subject of rayon – have you seen the new rayon fabric line from Workroom Social, Miramar? Jennifer gave me a little peek of this stuff while I was up there in November, and I can personally vouch for how awesome it is! I especially love that the designs are a bit more grown-up, and in darker colors (that lemon print needs to get in my life!). They are taking pre-orders now through tomorrow, which an expected ship date of 2/15/17. Once the pre-order sale is over, they are gone, so act fast if you are even considering it haha.
Oh, and one more thing (sorry) – Indie Stitches is closing shop, and all patterns are currently on sale for $15 AUS (which my currency convertor tells me is a little under $11 USD woohoo). Go help Caitlan clear our her remaining stock, and get yourself a nice gift at the same time 😉
Hey everyone! Just a quick update to let y’all know about a few workshops upcoming for the beginning of 2017! Just in time for the holiday-buying season, ha 😉
Join me for another open sewing workshop, this time in beautiful Leesburg, VA at Finch Sewing Studio! This is the same concept as my other open sewing workshops – there is no set project, you just bring whatever you wanna work on! This shorter weekend means less time off work, as well as a smaller price tag 😉 We will start on Friday evening with a meet & great, snacks and shopping, then spend Saturday & Sunday working on our projects! Whether you want to start a coat, focus on fitting, learn how to sew a perfect collared shirt, tackle your first bra, or just sit in a beautiful sewing shop surrounded by creative energy with a teacher on hand to answer any oh-shit-what-do-I-do-next questions – this is the workshop for you!
As of this posting, there are only 2 spots left for this workshop – so if you’re considering it, better act fast!
I’m coming back to NYC for another round of jeans and pants making (basically… I’m coming for your butts)! First up is the Jeans Making Intensive – where you will learn all the fun that goes into making a beautiful pair of professional-looking jeans. We will cover basic fit and alterations, construction, and all the finishing that makes jeans look like jeans. Think topstitching, setting rivets and buttons, flawlessly sewing a zip fly and perfect waistband. Like other Workroom Social classes, this includes pre-made muslins to try on (so you’ll know off the bat if those jeans are gonna fit!), use of all the sewing machines and tools (including separate machines threaded for topstitching, so you don’t have to re-thread your machine repeatedly), and really delicious catered lunches!
My workshops at Workroom Social tend to sell out pretty quickly – the jeans one in particular is quite popular! – so, again, if you’re considering this one, better snap that shit up ASAP 😉
I’ll also be teaching basic pants-making at Workroom Social, immediately following jeans-making! This class is similar to the jeans class in that they both result in a pair of pants – and that’s about where the similarities end. Where we focus on construction with jeans-making, pants-making is more about fit! This is a great class to get started on your fit journey for making pants that are perfect proportioned to YOUR body! You will also learn all the construction that goes into a pair of basic dress pants – perfect pockets and darts, sewing a zippered fly, attaching a narrow waistband, professional hemming, all that fun stuff! I have taught this class for a few years now, and it just gets better every time I come back! Yay for making pants!
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my workshops and classes, so here is a compiled list of FAQs if you’ve got a burning one you’ve yet to ask!
Q: Why are these workshops so expensive?
A: I actually don’t have any control over this! Since I do these workshops as a guest instructor, it’s up to the owner to determine the price – which is based on a variety of factors, including the cost of getting me over there to begin with. In addition to my teaching rates, I also have travel and lodging expenses. Like, I really really love you guys and I love teaching these classes, but I can’t afford to do this stuff for free. All those fees go into the cost of the class, not to mention whatever the shop/studio needs to charge in order to keep their doors open. I understand that not everyone can afford to spend so much money on a sewing weekend, but, that’s part of the deal when you bring in a non-local instructor.
Q: Will you come to (my state) and teach a workshop?
A: I would love to! 🙂 If you have a local shop that is interested in hosting me for a weekend workshop, let’s get in touch and plan something!
Q: You should come to (my country) and do a workshop here!
A: As much as I would love to travel to another country to teach some sewing, it’s honestly pretty unlikely. Travel fees are quite expensive for transcontinental, and most shops can’t cover the cost of that. In the past (lol once), I squeezed in a workshop while I was overseas and that was awesome… but I’m probably not going to do that again, as I kind of want to spend my vacation… well, vacationing! 🙂 However, if you are an overseas shop and you want to talk some numbers, get at me! 🙂
Q: Please come to (somewhere that’s not Brooklyn) and teaching the Pants-Making Intensive!
A: I get this question pretty frequently, and unfortunately my answer is always no. Here’s the deal – the Pants-Making Intensive is a Workroom Social class. Everything that makes the class happen – including that giant stash of pre-made muslins that students try on the first day – is handled by WS. I just show up to teach the class 🙂 I can’t take this class on the road because it’s not really my class to run off with (yes, I understand that “pants-making” isn’t exactly proprietary here; it’s more about being respectful for what Jennifer has built and not moonlighting it behind her back) Also, Jennifer is my assistant in that class – I can’t teach it without her! Also, those muslins? Yeah, I’m not about to sew all those myself – or drag them around with me on a plane. Nope! Come to Brooklyn and take the Pants Making class, ok? You will LOVE New York City! 🙂
Q: Why don’t you teach these workshops in Nashville?
A: You know, I’ve wanted to – but for whatever reason, local classes don’t really get a great turnout! I’ve spoken to other sewing instructors about this too, and that’s kind of the general consensus. I don’t know if its the scarcity factor that makes the out-of-state classes sell out vs the local ones have empty seats, or if the locals here just don’t like me 😉 At any rate, I like traveling for my classes and checking out fun new cities/meeting new people/sleeping in weird beds that are not mine – so I’m not complaining!
Q: Can I hire you to come up and teach a private workshop for me and my friends?
A: Sure! 🙂 Bonus points if you live somewhere FUN! haha
I think that about covers it! As always, let me know if you have questions and I will do my best to answer them! I am excited for this next round of workshops – I love meeting and hanging out with other sewists, and sharing my knowledge (and picking up new tips and tricks from my students, too!). Are you taking any workshops next year? What’s your sewing goal for 2017?
LLADYBIRD 