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Midnight Blue

Uncategorized April 24, 2012
After Midnight Cheeky Knickers
I found this midnight-blue stretch satin and snatched up several yards of it.  It feels so amazing on and the colour is just gorgeous.  Navy is such a nice alternative to black… 

After Midnight Bias Cut Camisole
My local fabric store has been offering up lots of good finds lately.  The lace on this set is so nice, cottony and stretchy. I have it in two colours – cream and taupe. 
Bon Voyage Bra & Panties Set

Here

Here

Ooh La La Pin Up Sew Along Pt. 3… Finishing the leg and waist openings with elastic

Uncategorized April 21, 2012

Depending on the type of elastic you are using, you will use different methods to apply the elastic.  However, the basic idea is the same.  Baste your elastic on, pulling gently to ensure a secure fit.  Fold your elastic under, or over, and zig-zag stitch down, pulling flat as you go.  When you finish, you want your elastic to pull your leg and waist opening slightly smaller – about 2″ depending on the resiliency of your elastic.
For foldover elastic -baste the elastic to the wrong side, as you would bias tape. Use a long zig-zag stitch.

Trim back any excess, fold over towards the right side, and zig-zag stitch down, pulling as you go.

If using a flat lingerie elastic, with or without a picot edge, baste onto the right side of your garment, pulling gently as you go. Stitch about 1/16″ away from the edge of the elastic, furthest from the edge of your garment.  For instance, if you are applying a 1/2″ elastic to the waist band of your panties, baste on 7/16″ away from the seam allowance.  Make sense?

Trim back any excess, fold your elastic under, and top stitch down.

Voila! Two easy ways to finish off your garments… And you’re done!

Ooh La La Pin Up Sew Along Pt. 3… Sewing in the crotch lining

Uncategorized April 17, 2012
Something I never anticipated, getting into design, was how comfortable I would become with the word “crotch.” 
Anyway… it’s time to add the crotch lining.  Start by finishing the straight edge of the crotch lining by zig-zag or overlocking.  You want a finish that will not add any bulk to prevent a seam from showing through. With jersey you also have the option of just leaving the raw edge.  It’s not going to unravel on you, but might roll a little.

We are going to sandwich the back crotch seam between the front crotch seam and the  lining crotch seam.

The right side of the crotch lining should be facing the wrong side of the back panel.

The right sides of the front and back panel should be facing.  Pin together, and straight stitch your seam.

Grade your seam allowance, to prevent bulk.  Grading is trimming back one layer of seam allowance at a time, creating a staggered effect.  You might want to add some top stitching here if you find your seam is bulky.  If not, just press your crotch lining forward, and baste into place.
There you have it, you’re almost done.  Just needs elastic now! 

Ooh La La Pin Up Sew Along Pt. 3… Cutting your fabric and sewing your vertical seams

Uncategorized April 17, 2012
Once you have fitted your muslin and made the necessary changes, you can start cutting your fabric.  I’m using bias-cut satin and stretch lace for mine, with organic cotton jersey for the crotch lining.  When using woven, non-stretch fabric for the front and back panels, I’ve found that fabrics like satin, woven fabrics blended with spandex, and looser-weave fabrics work best, as opposed to a tight weave like broadcloth.

Pin your side front seam to your center front panel, easing the curves together.  Easing is a technique used in setting in sleeves, and sewing opposite curves together.  Essentially, you need to fit a larger line onto a shorter line, without any puckers.  The start and end of your seam should match up without any overhang.  I’ve added 3/8″ seam allowance to this pattern.

Sew and finish all four seams.  I am overlocking mine, but you can zig-zag, or pink your edges.  I would not recommend a french or bound seam as it will be too bulky.  My sewing machine comes with a faux-overlock stitch that works great.  

Now you have all four vertical seams sewn, and the crotch seam is left open.  Press your seams and try it on to make sore you don’t need to make any adjustments to the with.

Black & White

Uncategorized April 16, 2012
When I graduated from Design School I landed the most fun job through my part-time job at a fabric store.  The position was in a textile design studio.  I met my best friend in the whole-wide-world there – it was a studio full of fun, young people who loved their jobs and had so much fun at work… It was a lot of fun, and I really miss the people to this day.  
Recently my manager from that position contact me because she is starting a new business – one she had talked about for years – called Dye It Black.  She specializes in re-dying your faded blacks back to their full glory.  I love this idea because it prevents “old” clothes from winding up in the waste bin… and I wear a whole lotta black.
So, she and I are teaming up a bit, and will be collaborating on a few black pieces.  I sewed these power net  mesh panties yesterday.  They are great because the netting is stretchy and soft, yet firm enough to hold you in a little bit.  Because it is such a stable net, I was able to avoid using elastic around the legs, which helps prevent panty lines.

I also started a striped set, and listed these on Etsy last night.  Tops to follow… as well as some garter belts and whatnot… 

Making the house less… ugly.

Uncategorized April 15, 2012

 Hurray! Our shutters are up.  They fill up the void of the upper level nicely.  Now, if it would just stay warm enough for me to pain the front porch and get some flower beds started… At least our grass is starting to grow on the front lawn.  I’m starting to see more houses like ours around town, but ours seems to be a little different with the spaced apart windows on the second floor, the beams, and stucco… Ours is also much taller than others I’ve seen.  There is standing room in our attic, and the ceilings in the upper floor are very high.  It is such an unusual house, I just love it so much!

We live on a busy street so I am a little concerned about putting too much out on my front porch.  Have you ever had thing go missing from the front of your house? We have a huge front porch that one day, I’d love the have a wicker chair and love seat for…. but for now this little bench and shelf will do!

I made 3 16×16 cushions.  One ruffled, one with a bow, and one with our Monogram, which I cut out of fabric, glued onto my cushion, then with embroidery thread, did a running stitch around.  In all, the 3 cushions, including forms, cost $30.  I added long pieces of ribbon to the back to tie them down to my bench so they don’t blow away…

Uncategorized April 15, 2012

This has been an awesome weekend, and I’m just getting a few minutes to sit down and relax before I start another busy day.

I was off on Friday, but was starting to come down with my “spring cold.” I rested a bit, which I was over-due for, did some drafting, then had an hour and a half long pedicure and had my toes painted a lovely cobalt blue – which I’ve had 2 strangers comment on!  We picked up a small metal bench for our front porch, and I sewed some cushions for on it in blue plaid, paisley, and matilisse. Pictures will follow… They turned out really nice.

Yesterday our shutters arrived… unfortunately our drill will only survive through 2 shutters, then dies… so we have 2 more to install today.  Pictures of this will also follow shortly… The house looks amazing.  We no longer have the most run down house on the block!

In the morning I did some sewing for a friends Baby, who will be making his arrival into the world soon, and dropped it off at her parents house.  I hope she likes what I made. I love sewing for babies.

I had planned on sewing yesterday, but I received a tweet from our local News Paper asking if I’d like to be interviewed for an upcoming article, which of course I said YES to! So I had to go home and clean my incredibly messy house.  When I go on a sewing spree, I have a hard time stopping to always fold up my fabric and put my scraps away… and bra’s, socks, hot yoga towels had migrated throughout the house. So, I pretty much spent the entire day cleaning, but it feels nice to have a clean work space again, and clean clothes as well…

Wish me luck!

Ooh La La Pin Up Sew Along Pt. 3… Sewing your Muslin

Uncategorized April 15, 2012
So, if you’ve got your pattern, you’re ready to start.  This is a really easy project, but requires some experience working with cloth cut on the bias, applying lingerie elastic, and sewing curves.
Because of varying amounts of stretch that your fabric might have, the sizing on this pattern is simply a guide – I’ve found that when using a woven front and back panel, I like to go up a size for myself, but depending on the amount of stretch in the bias, stretch in your side panels, and your body type, you might not find this necessary.  This is why a toile for this garment is really important.
Print and assemble your pattern.  Cut along the dotted lines sand tape together so lines match, just like you would with any pdf pattern.

If you are using a woven fabric for your front and back panel, you need to cut your fabric on the bias.  Here’s my “cheater” way.  Fold your fabric at a 45 degree angle to the selvedge, and cut on fold.  OR, you can trace out a mirrored image of front and back piece and cut it that way.
There is no need to add the crotch lining at this point, so just set the pattern piece aside.
Cut your size panels out of a fabric that has similar stretch to what your final garment will be sewn in.

Sew your front and back seams with a 3/8″ seam allowance, press to once side.  Then, right sides together, sew your curved crotch seam.

Try’em on and adjust.  When using a woven fabric you may find the legs feel a little snug – if so, trim the leg opening to be a little higher.

Ooh La La Pin Up Sew Along Pt 3…. What you will need to sew the High Waist Panties

Uncategorized April 12, 2012

The 3rd instalment of our Sew Along is definitely the easiest, and will require just a few things that are pretty easy to source.

You will need a total of 1 yard of stretch knit fabric, like jersey, stretch lace, spandex, etc.  OR you can do a combination of a woven fabric cut on the bias (1/2- 3/4 of a yard will do), and about 1/2 a yard of nice, stretchy fabric for the side panels. When using a wove fabric for the front and back panel, you may find the panties do not sit as high – when fabric is cut on the bias and is stretched horizontally, you will find that it shrinks vertically.

You also need a small scrap of cotton jersey for the crotch lining, and about 2 yards of lingerie elastic.  You can use Fold Over Elastic, Picot Edge Elastic, and even just a plain, soft, flat elastic – about 1/4″ to 1/2″ wide.

Gather up some scrap fabrics of similar weight and stretch to sew a muslin.  I used broad cloth and some old scrap mesh to sew mine. It’s very important that the fabric you choose for your muslin have the SAME stretch as the fabric you plan on sewing your final garment with or your fit will be off.

The last thing you will need is the pattern – I’ll be drawing for a free copy tomorrow.