Fall 2015 Collection: Meet Kaylee!

Priory Square cotton voile by Art Gallery Fabrics

tunic length, high-low hem, drawstring waist

And last but certainly not least, our final reveal of the Fall Collection: The Kaylee Tunic! I wanted to design a tunic that could also be a shirt or dress that would be flowy and fun to wear. The Kaylee has an adjustable waistline that you can either finish out with elastic or a drawstring tie that has been so popular in the Claire Cami, Diane Kimono, and Tara Tank dress patterns. This is a great pattern for sewers who are just getting into garment making. Since there is no zipper, the construction is a snap!

Shannon Fabrics Embrace double gauze with lace yoke, lower sleeve, & skirt

shirt length with elastic waist

 



Shannon Fabrics double gauze with lace yoke and overlays on lower sleeve and skirt

tunic length with elastic waist

 



The Kaylee features a lined yoke (unless you are making the lace or knit version), slightly raised waistband, and a skirt with the option of a regular or high-low hem. The sleeve is three quarter length and features a slightly gathered sleeve cap and lower sleeve.

Cotton lawn print

dress length with tiny ruffle detail on hem, elastic waist

Design options include a lace yoke and lower sleeves/skirt, using 2 or more fabrics, using a silk ribbon for the tie, adding applique & embroidery to the yoke, or adding a tiny ruffle to the hemline.

Shannon Fabrics Embrace double gauze featuring applique from our Birds in Flight stitchery pattern and hand embroidery.

dress length with high-low hemline and silk ribbon tie waist

I think the best fabric options are lightweight and flowy, so that the tunic has nice drape. Recommended fabrics are: double gauze, cotton lawn, cotton voile, rayon, silk, or lightweight linen.

Amy Butler rayon border print for Westminster Fabrics

dress length with regular hem and drawstring waist

The pattern instructions include details for how to make the lace yokes as well as the faux insertion lace sections on the lower skirt and sleeves. Tissue sheets are included for 7 sizes.

Idle Wild knit for Riley Blake Fabrics

tunic length with contrasting yokes and hembands, elastic waist

 



Cotton lawn prints

shirt length, contrasting yoke, waistband, and hembands, drawstring waist

 



We expect the pattern stock to arrive late this week. We'll be adding this design to the website and everything should be ready to ship by Friday!

Happy Sewing!

Fall 2015 Collection: Meet Corinne!

Glitz Metallic Confetti border print (black and silver) from Michael Miller fabrics

caftan length, three quarter length sleeves

The first clothing reveal for the Fall Collection is the Corinne Caftan. I was inspired by the caftans of days past to create a design that flatters everyone and is comfortable to wear. This design can be worn as tunic length to wear with skinny jeans or leggings, or as caftan length to wear as a dress. The longer length also looks great with leggings. Dress up the look with some tall boots or go casual with flats. The possibilities are endless!

Melody Miller's Mustang border print for Cotton + Steel by RJR Fabrics,

accented with Amy Butler True Colors print

tunic length, elbow length sleeve, waistband and yoke contrast



Design options are a cap, elbow, three quarter, or full length sleeve with or without contrasting hem, contrasting front waistband, deep front and back yokes, yoke contrast trim, and a tie belt.

Alison Glass' Handcrafted 2 Plume Batik border print for Andover Fabrics

The caftan has a side zipper and princess seaming, which will allow for you to flow from one size to another for a great custom fit.

Chandelier Metallic by Studio M for Moda Fabrics with Moda Bella Solid contrast

Caftan length, full length sleeves with wide contrast, tie belt, & yoke contrast

Note that the solid portions have had a decorative machine stitch in gold metallic thread.

The caftan lends itself well to the use of coordinating fabrics, as you can choose to accent different parts of the design. Be sure to consider border prints, as several of the samples shown were sewn with these types of fabrics. Working with a border print takes a little extra time to plan the cutting, but the results are fantastic!

Rashida Coleman Hale's Good Fortune for Cotton + Steel by RJR Fabrics

tunic length, cap sleeves, tie belt, and yoke trim contrast

Note that this sample was worn with leggings, boots, and a long sleeved lace shirt underneath

I think the yokes would be great with some embroidery added, so keep that in mind when you are creating your own special look.

Chatsworth by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake

caftan length, elbow length sleeves, yoke trim contrast, and tie belt

All of our clothing patterns are featured on tissue in 7 sizes with full explanation of all the variations seen in the photos.

Amy Butler's Violette for Westminster Fabrics, accented with Joel Dewberry Hexagons and Jennifer Paganelli cuff link prints

caftan length, cap sleeve, tie belt, and front contrasting yoke

We expect our stock to arrive by the end of this week. We'll be adding this design to our website and we'll keep you updated on when they are ready to go out the door.

Happy Sewing!

Fall 2015 Collection: Meet Margo!

The second reveal of the Fall 2015 Collection is the Margo Wallet Bag. I decided to create another wallet style pattern since Madison has been such a hit. We are currently waiting on the reprint of Madison so we can start shipping her out again. The new stock and reprints should arrive by the end of this week.

Alison Glass' Ex Libris prints for Andover Fabrics

Margo is a great little bag, and you will see that the card pocket panel is stashed underneath the flap on the front exterior. This makes your cards accessible without having to dig around on the inside of the bag for anything. The flap has a turn lock to keep everything secure, yet easy to access. I also added a zippered pocket to the back exterior for a phone or other small accessories.

Shannon Fabrics Cuddle (Faux) Suede with Riley Blake Parisian pockets and lining

The interior of the bag features another zippered pocket and large patch pockets to help keep you organized. This bag is small but mighty! It will amaze you how much you can carry around in it for its size. The strap is adjustable so you can wear it cross body or over one shoulder.

Fog City Kitty by Pam Kitty Morning for Lakehouse Fabrics with contrasting lower exterior

You can use a wide variety of fabrics for this bag, such as quilting cotton, faux suede, linen, lightweight denim, chambray, batiks, lightweight corduroy, lightweight wool, etc. Be mindful of the weight of the fabric as really heavy fabrics would overwhelm this design as well as make it difficult to handle during construction.

Exterior of faux suede bag with flap closed

I used a combination of stabilizers for this bag. After making several prototypes, I concluded that making the entire exterior from Pellon's Deco-Fuse 520 would be too difficult, so I swapped out for a foam stabilizer (Pellon's new Flex Foam one sided fusible) as the base for the exterior. I still wanted a sturdy base for the bag, so I added the Deco-Fuse 520 to the base of the lining. It worked out great and made the bag so much easier to stitch together, while still lending the needed structure.

Mama Said Sew, Volume II by Sweetwater for Moda with contrasting lower exterior

Lastly, I get all my hardware from The Buckle Guy. If you have not checked out their website, I highly recommend that you do. Their hardware comes in a variety of metal finishes and has nice sturdy construction. I have never had any hardware from them that I didn't love. You need to check them out!

Zombie Love by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Fabrics

 

We expect the stock of this new bag to arrive by the end of this week. We are working to get these posted to the website and will send out notice when they are up for sale and ready to ship out!

 

Happy Sewing!

Fall 2015 Collection: Meet Cheyenne!

Kaufman Newcastle denim with batik lining,

featuring hand embroidery from our Cottage Roses Stitchery pattern

Well, it's that time of year again! I have been hard at work designing the fall collection. I have four new designs to share with you for the fall. It has been a while since I released any new bags, so there are two new ones in this collection for you to enjoy!

The Cheyenne Rope Bag is the first reveal of the fall collection. I have been wanting to design a backpack, but didn't really want two straps. I guess it is because a lot of us never use both straps and then the one that isn't being used just sort of dangles there looking unloved! When I researched sling style backpacks, I discovered the rope bag. I had never heard of one before. That tells you how much I know about rock climbing (I definitely don't climb rocks!). For those of you who are also unfamiliar with a rope bag, rock climbers use them when climbing to hold their extra ropes and supplies. The bag is held on with one strap and zips along one side for easy access to the contents. Of course, most of the commercially made bags are hideously ugly and very utilitarian, but I could see the beauty in the design and got to work.

Shannon Cuddle Suede (faux suede) with faux suede fringe on the pocket flap

and a quilting cotton lining

Initially, I thought about having a separate piece to create the depth of the bag like a usual backpack design, but I wanted to branch out and do something REALLY different. I let my brain work on it a bit and then the idea dawned on me...what if I could make the bag from only TWO main pieces? I got busy experimenting and before long I had an idea that worked. This bag really IS made from only TWO main bag pieces! I was able to get the three dimensional depth by darting the front piece before it is added to the back. I LOVE the shape and easy access to the contents. I also love that it is EASY to sew!

Riley Blake Elements, Equations, and basic fabrics. I call this one my Breaking Bad bag!

Once the "bones" of the bag were in place, I added some good solid details, like a front darted pocket and a zip pocket on the back exterior for a phone or other small items. The wide strap is adjustable and works well over one shoulder or cross body. Adding the lower tab along one side of the bag makes it really hug your back during cross body wear. It is a bag that would be great for a guy in really masculine fabrics, for a kid in fun themed fabrics, or for anyone else with whatever fabrics tickle your fancy.

Laundry Basket's Color Daze linen Fabric from Moda, featuring faux suede fringe on the pocket flap.

The design lends itself very well to a variety of fabrics, as you will see in the photos. Feel free to choose just about any fabric except knit or something really heavy like stiff canvas. It would work in canvas, but the seams will get thick and turning it right side out might be a challenge. I recommend the following fabrics: quilting cotton, twill, linen, faux suede, home decorating weight fabrics, corduroy, lightweight wool, velveteen, heavy silk, or lightweight denim, to name a few. A lining from quilting weight cotton is recommended.

Feel free to add your own special details as well. I added faux suede fringe to two of the bags and hand embroidery to the denim one. I mainly stick with sport zippers for this bag, but you can use metal zippers if that is your preference. If you choose metal, seek out the 7" length, or you will have to contend with shortening the zipper so you don't have to sew across the metal teeth.

A word about the stabilizer for this bag: FOAM! I experimented with several brands for this bag and with fusible VS. non-fusible. I can tell you that fusible is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Because of the way the zipper openings are constructed, it is important for the layers of fabric and stabilizer to be very attached to one another. Otherwise, you may have a wonky opening, and no one wants that.

My absolute favorite stabilizer for this bag is Pellon's new Flex Foam one sided fusible. I can't say enough good things about this foam! It has a great adhesive on one side that fuses quickly and effortlessly to the fabric and does NOT crinkle when you turn the bag right side out. It holds its shape well, is easy to sew through, lightweight, and looks great when the bag is finished. What more could you ask for?

Flying Colors linen by MoMo for Moda with a quilting cotton lining

Lastly, I get all my hardware from The Buckle Guy. If you have not checked out their website, I highly recommend that you do. Their hardware comes in a variety of metal finishes and has nice sturdy construction. I have never had any hardware from them that I didn't love. You need to check them out!

Passport by 3 Sisters for Moda

 (This was the prototype bag when I was experimenting with different foam stabilizers. If you look closely, you can see the crinkling in the foam and fabric from the fusible.

This is NOT the Pellon product.)

We expect to have the stock for these patterns in a few days. We'll be adding them to our website for easy ordering and posting to Facebook as soon as they are ready to go out the door.

Happy Sewing!