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Yes...as a sewing educator for over 35 years, designer, and author with experience as a sewing machine dealer/fabric shop owner, custom dressmaker and more...I'm most happy to answer ANY and all questions to the best of my ability. Just contact me HERE with your question.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

'Resource Center' aka Fabric Stash Additions

Ahhh - it's about time to get started creating more stylish jackets from sweatshirts! I want to have a bunch of new samples for the Fall Show season. What an excuse! These pieces are ones I found at a fabric shop on Nantucket Island in off Cape Cod during our vacation there in July. Can you tell that I LOVE STRIPES??? It's just that I KNOW they have so much creative potential in wearable art. Here is how my mind goes crazy with ideas...
  • Of COURSE...cut on the bias for great 1) bindings - or any width 2) Create matching fabric chenille strips as I taught on the new PBS sewing show: It's Sew Easy making use of this awesome Chenille Brush which PERFECTLY ruffs up the bias edges. Read HERE for all the details of my technique as taught on the It's Sew Easy - Techniques page there to support/reinforce what was aired on PBS! If you don't get this show in your area - Call and Tell them about it! REQUEST it! P.s. If you're a supporter of that station with your $ - they will listen to you better! :)
  • I LOVE this brush SO much - SEW much better than your fingernail, a toothbrush, and safer than a stiff wire brush too, that I've made a new COMBO of my DVD for embellishments called 'Refined Embellishments for Creative Sewing' that INCLUDES this brush FREE with purchase of the DVD for a limited time. fabric chenille brushClick HERE to get this brush FREE!
  • Re-Create Fabric - by cutting and/or stitching the stripes in different configurations. For example, on the brown/aqua piece - I could create a 'fabric' of just the narrow aqua and cream stripes for an area on a jacket. I could cut out one of the narrow aqua stripes and piece it down the center of one of the wide brown stripes - couching yarn along each of the raw edges. ....
  • Use stripes themselves for embellishment...by cutting a stripe out and applique it on top of the fabric itself at an angle...
The textured piece above the aqua/brown stripe is a wonderful REVERSIBLE piece of aqua and brown! AND - check out that SELVAGE! I LOVE to make use of SELVAGE as trim!!! AND, this fabric will ravel amazingly well along the straight grain - and look ever so wonderful...can't wait to play..and this looks awesome on a BROWN sweatshirt!
Many of the same ideas for the blue/sand stripe to the left. Denim is bound to be combined with this piece!
WHAT is this you ask? Well...how about am amazingly wonderful HUGE (108'' long) linen tablecloth?
Found at an Antique center and talked them into a price of $85 - I should be able to get an amazing Creative Sweatshirt Jacket from it - PLUS another all linen & lace jacket - PLUS some kits for my Creative Sweatshirt Jackets as I sell at the sewing expos. It is wonderfully rich on the Brown Comfort Color Sweatshirt, but I also just today ordered some sweatshirts in White to play with dyeing with RIT DYE to achieve a perfect off-white color. We'll see...
SEW... Stay tuned - LIKE me on FACEBOOK to be sure to catch every step of my creative escapades! 
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