Diva Ann, who is on a scuba vacation with her family this week, has an excellent article in the latest issue of Threads that every sewer needs to read. It’s about proper pressing during construction, which is a subject completely different from ironing. For truly professional results, you must really spend as much time at with your iron as you do with your sewing machine. Trust me, seeing a well-made but unpressed garment just drives the Divas crazy – all six of us agree that pressing is an essential sewing skill.
In addition to the article, you can watch watch and download a video podcast of Ann demonstrating the techniques she writes about in her article.
Press On!
Here are some detail photos of the tiny bags I posted to the The Sewing Divas blog. The “Chanel” bag has a silk twill lining and the fringe is a strip of bias cut fabric stitched to the flap.
The Asian bag is made from a remnant of indigo dyed cotton. It has a silk twill lining that is s scrap from a vintage kimono. A wonderful littel company called Ah Kimono! They sell color cooredianted packs of authentic Japanese silks and cottons.
The folk art bag is made from wool felt and is embellished with machine embroidery. No lining is needed with wool felt but a stabilzer for the embroidery is still a good idea.
If you’d like a free PDF pattern & instuctions for this tiny bag, just email the Divas at thesewingdivas@hotmail.com and I’ll send you a PDF of the pattern and instructions.
by Diva Phyllis
Truthfully, I spent more time on the embellishment than I did on the sewing, although attaching the placket with the completed beading & embellishment was pretty challenging. The fabric is a fine poly 4-way stretch knit.
One interesting aspect to this technique is the individuality of each interpretation. Kenneth King, who originated the technique, has a broader color palette and his examples are much more heavily beaded.
The placket went on last. The neckline as first machine stitched, and then I flipped the placket to the front and fell stitched it by hand to the bodice.
This pattern is harder than it looks. You’ll need to use a regular sewing machine in addition to a serger. The ruching around the placket, and attaching the placket, must be done with a regular sewing machine. There are also no match points for the bust seams on the placket. Sizing can also be a challenge due to the placket – it’s supposed to hit right below your breast bone, and of course you’ll need to take your individual cup size into account. For a size other than a B cup you really should do a muslin because in addition to an FBA you’ll need to modify the placket pattern piece as well.
by Diva Phyllis
For many of us fashion bloggers, the latest styles and upcoming trends are an exciting and endless source of interest. And yet for all its supposed superficiality, the meaning of fashion, and our attachment to it, goes much deeper than mere trends or seasonal change. Each of us has memories, sometimes tender, sometimes not, of particular garments or accessories that evoke strong feelings and attachments. So this weeks Carnivale of the Couture topic is “Ritual Cloth” – tell us about your special item, the story behind it and why it transcends mere fashion for you.
It can be that special pair of super fantastic shoes that filled you with such confidence that you aced a much desired job interview. It can be that vintage Hermes scarf that your grandmother owned and has such meaning that you just couldn’t cut it up and the Project Runway judges slammed you for it. It can be the dress you made in 24 hours for the funeral of a beloved family member. It can be a Garfield tie your father wore (Father’s Day is this Sunday, June 18th – don’t forget Dad and the Significant Men in
your life!)
We want to hear about any fashion item with a history, a story or a pedigree and why it means something to you. Send your story to thesewingdivas@hotmail.com and on Friday, June 16th, we will share the most fascinating responses. Let the fashion memoirs begin!
Favorite Things
The Sewing Divas are no stranger to M&J Trimming, a fabulous one-stop NYC source for any kind of trim: bag handles and hardware, buckles, buttons, all types of Swarovski bling, as well as fashion and home dec trims of all kinds. M&J doesn’t have the lowest prices in New York, but you can rely on them to have everything under one roof if you don’t have a good trim resource in your town. They have a great website and the store is in a beautiful space right on 6th Avenue. Worth a trip just to drink it all in when you’re in NYC.
And don’t feel you need to be a sewer to check ‘em out; their web site has a fun project center and also fashion trend projections.
The catch stitching secures the pressed back seam allowance at both the outer edge and the shoulder seams. The neckline seam is not folded back because that seam will be attached by machine.
The hardest thing about embellishment is getting started – and also knowing when to stop! After I finish up the beading I’ll blog the rest of the construction process.
The embellishment that I wanted to do on this pattern meant that the construction process had to be changed. The instructions say to stitch the placket to the front, and then attach the placket facing to the inside. I reversed this for a couple of reasons, (1) I wanted the placket edges to be crisp and even. It’s just about impossible to get this with machine stitching, and (2) The placket had to be easy to handle so I could add the passementarie, rat tail cord and beading.
The first step was to create a placket template from a manila envelope (no seam allowances.) The template was used to form a clean edge. A piece of silk organza is placed underneath the fashion fabric and I pulled it up to fold back the seam allowance. The placket is interfaced to with a light knit fusible because it needs to be perfectly stable for the heavy embellishment. The interfacing goes to the edge on the neckline edge, but stops inside the seam allowance on the outside edge.
The next step is to catch stitch the fold backed seam allowance all along the outer edge of the placket. The black fabric is wool felt, which is needed as a backing. This is part of Kenneth’s original technique. After the edges were catch stitched I lightly pressed and steamed the placket again, and then added the passementarie trim and rat tail cord.
by Diva Phyllis
This is a technique I learned from Kenneth King – it’s a great way to add spontaneous embellishment to areas of garments that need to be symmetrical, such as jacket lapels or this tunic placket. Kenneth still teaches this technique, so I really can’t reveal how to do it – but you can learn it via on line classes on Pattern Review. Kenneth also includes this technique his book Cool Tricks. In addition to being a designer, Kenneth is a well-known and respected educator. He’s an excellent teacher, generous with his considerable expertise and supportive of his students.
So while I can’t reveal his technique, I can show how I modified the construction so I could do this embellishment on a knit. So let’s head over to the embellishment section of the Sewing Divas universe and I’ll give you the details…
Literally less than 5 minutes ago I found out I won this eBay auction for 5 brand new Indian wire bullion embroidery appliques!
These came from
Heritage Trading an eBay store that sells handmade Indian trims of astounding beauty and quality. Wire bullion embroidery is an advanced form, very difficult, and in India men tradtionally produce it. This wonderful eBay store brings it directly from the artisan to you.
So what shall I do with these treasures? I have five of them, each about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. A jacket? A bag? The planning is always the fun part!
by Diva Phyllis
Every sewer needs a bead stash, and it’s always a challenge to find the right colors and styles. The challenge is the same whether it’s fabric or embellishment – how do you find what you want?. A quick way to build a bead stash fast and inexpensively is to buy packs of beaded fringe and just cut the beads off and sort them.
This one came from Jo-Ann’s; you can also find them at craft stores like Michaels or A.C. Moore. There is generally about a yard or so in each package, which gives you a couple ounces of beads – plenty for most projects. Plus the color palette is already coordinated. Trying to do the same thing via bead catalogs or shows can just take forever. I usually sort the beads while I’m watching television.
These will be used to embellish the placket this for Simplicity 4124 tunic, View E (blue long sleeve version.)
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Phyllis - one of the original "Sewing Divas". Please visit my other sites.
This is where I write about organic gardening, raising backyard chickens, cooking and eating and green ideas for a more sustainable lifestyle.
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