What I've been up to lately.....
Jul. 26th, 2020 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiberaddictI *have* been quite busy, and QUITE productive lately in the Studio. Buckle up - this post is VERY photo-heavy.
For the record, all fabric is from FabricMart, unless otherwise noted. What can I say - they have *awesome* fabric, at *fantastic* prices. Most of these came from the Swatch club......I can say that I have honestly gotten my money's worth from that!
Without further ado, let's do a cut!
For whatever reason, the back of each shirt posted first.....I'm too lazy to try and fix it, so......:shrug: You still get to see the entire thing :lol:
I recently discovered a new-to-me indy pattern company - Twig and Tale. I saw a post on reddit, clicked the link....and realized I had discovered a company that catered to my esthetic. I promptly purchased the Women's Breeze pattern......dug out some mint cotton chambray, and got a little stalled. The green is...well, boring. My eye fell on the embroidery machine, and I spent the next 2 days auditioning embroideries. This is what happened:
I went with the flutter sleeve, because I didn't want to mess with bicep fitting - but this shirt? This shirt FITS. I did have to blend sizes from my shoulders to hips, but the pattern has layers, so I printed JUST the 3 sizes I needed, and went from there. The instructions are pretty clear (a little too wordy, for me, but it's OK.) I *highly* recommend T&T, if you like this look.
I then sat down and figured out the sleeves. I had just received this fabric, and had no idea what to do with it....so it became my toile:
LOVE it! So I went back to the embroidery machine......grabbed some black cotton/raime chambray, and this happened:
I got a little more adventurous this time, as you can see. I LOVE how it came out - and now.....NOW, I am looking for solid color shirtings so I can utilize my embroidery machine. :lol:
At this point, Himself noticed my shirt, and commented that he might, maybe wear one. So, I went back to T&T, bought the men's version, and picked up the Women's Driftwood blouse......whooo boy.
I was pretty sure it would fit, since the Breeze did, but I wanted to test it first. I LOVE this particular print, and didn't want to break it up too much, so it got sacrificed to see how the Driftwood fit. LOVE it, so......I decided to go all out on the next version. I pulled out some white cotton from Golden D'or (was local, but looks like the needless lock-down managed to kill them - they are now listed on Yelp as "permanently closed". :sob:)
I'm now deep into embroidery sites, looking for more files to use on clothing. Because this? THIS is my jam. This is the type of shirt I LOVE. There will be more embroidered shirts entering my wardrobe!
I had purchased some Nani Iro double gauze from Miss Matatabi.......I pulled out my Hot Patterns Refined Peasant Blouse....and this happened:
The shirt looks heavy, but it's honestly as light as can be. VERY cool and breezy - in fact, I am on the hunt for some more double gauze that is less than $17/yard. LOVE it - the pattern, not so much. :lol: I'm thinking I'll sew up more Driftwoods instead of this one.......:shrug:
It hasn't been all selfish sewing, either! Himself has scored 3 new shirts:
This is the first "patterned" shirt he requested. Since it IS Hawaiian fabric, I paired it with my Victoria Jones Hawaiian Shirt pattern. I think it turned out nice:
I had a length of Ralph Lauren plaid......it took me HOURS to lay this out, but the result was absolutely worth it, I think!
Why yes, I DID match the plaid on both the collar stand AND collar. And the pocket! I've upped my game there, trying to get a perfect match every time. I'm still working on pattern matching the front placket - I'm getting better, but still need a little work.
This shirt.......I had made him one in the same pattern but in a grayer color way. It was one of his favorites, but unfortunately he managed to rip the shoulder to the point that I honestly couldn't repair it (NOT the seam, the actual fabric in the back yoke ripped - both layers. :sob:) When I saw this fabric on Cali Fabrics website, I grabbed it, thinking it was the exact same. It's close.....he requested a Hawaiian shirt this time, so....
He likes it, a lot! I'm glad - it means I have 2 approved shirt patterns for him now. He's also starting to think about branching out from his usual solids or plaids (for some reason the triangles don't register as "pattern" to him. He can't explain it, so I don't know why it's acceptable but the fish fabric wasn't. :shrug:)
Oh! A while back I mentioned my ironing station - have a photo:
It's a game-changer! Much more user-friendly than a standard ironing board, with a lot of storage. I can iron 60" wide fabric on this in one pass!
For the record, all fabric is from FabricMart, unless otherwise noted. What can I say - they have *awesome* fabric, at *fantastic* prices. Most of these came from the Swatch club......I can say that I have honestly gotten my money's worth from that!
Without further ado, let's do a cut!
For whatever reason, the back of each shirt posted first.....I'm too lazy to try and fix it, so......:shrug: You still get to see the entire thing :lol:
I recently discovered a new-to-me indy pattern company - Twig and Tale. I saw a post on reddit, clicked the link....and realized I had discovered a company that catered to my esthetic. I promptly purchased the Women's Breeze pattern......dug out some mint cotton chambray, and got a little stalled. The green is...well, boring. My eye fell on the embroidery machine, and I spent the next 2 days auditioning embroideries. This is what happened:
I went with the flutter sleeve, because I didn't want to mess with bicep fitting - but this shirt? This shirt FITS. I did have to blend sizes from my shoulders to hips, but the pattern has layers, so I printed JUST the 3 sizes I needed, and went from there. The instructions are pretty clear (a little too wordy, for me, but it's OK.) I *highly* recommend T&T, if you like this look.
I then sat down and figured out the sleeves. I had just received this fabric, and had no idea what to do with it....so it became my toile:
LOVE it! So I went back to the embroidery machine......grabbed some black cotton/raime chambray, and this happened:
I got a little more adventurous this time, as you can see. I LOVE how it came out - and now.....NOW, I am looking for solid color shirtings so I can utilize my embroidery machine. :lol:
At this point, Himself noticed my shirt, and commented that he might, maybe wear one. So, I went back to T&T, bought the men's version, and picked up the Women's Driftwood blouse......whooo boy.
I was pretty sure it would fit, since the Breeze did, but I wanted to test it first. I LOVE this particular print, and didn't want to break it up too much, so it got sacrificed to see how the Driftwood fit. LOVE it, so......I decided to go all out on the next version. I pulled out some white cotton from Golden D'or (was local, but looks like the needless lock-down managed to kill them - they are now listed on Yelp as "permanently closed". :sob:)
I'm now deep into embroidery sites, looking for more files to use on clothing. Because this? THIS is my jam. This is the type of shirt I LOVE. There will be more embroidered shirts entering my wardrobe!
I had purchased some Nani Iro double gauze from Miss Matatabi.......I pulled out my Hot Patterns Refined Peasant Blouse....and this happened:
The shirt looks heavy, but it's honestly as light as can be. VERY cool and breezy - in fact, I am on the hunt for some more double gauze that is less than $17/yard. LOVE it - the pattern, not so much. :lol: I'm thinking I'll sew up more Driftwoods instead of this one.......:shrug:
It hasn't been all selfish sewing, either! Himself has scored 3 new shirts:
This is the first "patterned" shirt he requested. Since it IS Hawaiian fabric, I paired it with my Victoria Jones Hawaiian Shirt pattern. I think it turned out nice:
I had a length of Ralph Lauren plaid......it took me HOURS to lay this out, but the result was absolutely worth it, I think!
Why yes, I DID match the plaid on both the collar stand AND collar. And the pocket! I've upped my game there, trying to get a perfect match every time. I'm still working on pattern matching the front placket - I'm getting better, but still need a little work.
This shirt.......I had made him one in the same pattern but in a grayer color way. It was one of his favorites, but unfortunately he managed to rip the shoulder to the point that I honestly couldn't repair it (NOT the seam, the actual fabric in the back yoke ripped - both layers. :sob:) When I saw this fabric on Cali Fabrics website, I grabbed it, thinking it was the exact same. It's close.....he requested a Hawaiian shirt this time, so....
He likes it, a lot! I'm glad - it means I have 2 approved shirt patterns for him now. He's also starting to think about branching out from his usual solids or plaids (for some reason the triangles don't register as "pattern" to him. He can't explain it, so I don't know why it's acceptable but the fish fabric wasn't. :shrug:)
Oh! A while back I mentioned my ironing station - have a photo:
It's a game-changer! Much more user-friendly than a standard ironing board, with a lot of storage. I can iron 60" wide fabric on this in one pass!
