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View C in this pattern uses long fake fur, which can be tricky to work with the first time. I am going to share some of the techniques I use to, I hope, make life a little easier for you! Short fur is easier to work with, but you should use the same techniques. Here are a few more tips for sewing with fur. Fake fur can make a garment, costume or craft item look very lush. I hope you will try it.
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Where do you shop for fabric??? This topic always comes up when I'm with anyone who sews. And, as I said in my Sew News interview recently, I think that is the aspect of sewing that has changed the most in the last decade or so. I live in the Washington DC area and feel pretty lucky to have a number a good fabric stores near me, but it's not like it use to be 20 years ago when I moved here. In the past 20 years three Hancock Fabrics near me have closed. One was just a mile from my house. Two Joann's also have closed. I live in a very ethnically diverse area and because of this there are a few of independent fabric stores, but again, not as many as there used to be. Also, G-Street, the best (aka fanciest with the highest quality fabric) store in this area, has moved into a smaller space and it's inventory is greatly reduce ... sigh ... We all know why this is happening and there is little we can do do stop it. Although we should all support our local stores when ever possible, which I hope will help. Nothing can replace going into a store to see and feel the goods. That said ... here is where I get my supplies. When working on a Simplicity project, they like me to shop the chain stores whenever possible so that the fabrics I use are easy for most people to find. SO ... most often I go to a Joann's that's about 20 minutes from home and I have the option to drive about 35 minutes to a Joann's super store!! I now have only one Hancock that is a reasonable drive from my home. It takes about a 25 minute AND there is a third Joann's store a half mile from this Hancock. I know how lucky I am to have stores this close to me. Now I want to tell you about my wonderful little privately run local store. It is called Sarah's and is family run. It caters to the diverse immigrant community where I live and the large number of professional theaters in the area. I often see designers with clipboards and folders shopping there. Here are some photos I took last week. But, even with all these wonderful store near me, I have to shop on line fairly often. Sometimes I'm brave or desperate and order the yardage I need without getting a swatch first. But, if you have the time, it's really best to order a swatch or the smallest piece the website allows first.
These are my favorite sites. Fabric.com - This is always my first stop. They have a wide selection and good quality familiar brands of quilting cottons and home decor fabrics. Also, they get in odd bits of designer fabrics at good prices as well as a large stock of nice apparel fabric. What I like best about them is they deliver fast and shipping is free for orders over $35. Fashion Fabrics Club or Denver Fabrics- I think they are one in the same now.They really have more fabric than Fabric.com. The main down side is they ship slowly and I find it harder to search for fabrics on their site. But, even with these drawbacks its a good place to find fabric. eQuilter - I also like this site. They are best for quilting cottons in any theme you can think of, specializing in Asian. They have fashion fabrics as well and they ship pretty fast. Renaissance Fabrics - I don't shop here often, but it's the place to go if you are looking for silk taffeta or other period appropriate fabrics and trims. They are a good place for most everything a serious costumer needs. Quiltshops.com - If you are searching for quilting cottons, for a specific print or just want to see what's available under a certain description, such as "red and white stripes". Then go to Quiltshop.com. This site will search independent fabrics stores all over the country and report back instantly with the fabrics they have that meet your description. I love this site. And when I'm stuck, I just type the fabric I'm looking for in a Google search and most often I can find what I need. But, I prefer to use the sites I'm familiar with. Do any of you have shopping tips or favorite websites? I would love to hear about them. Actually, I've done quite a lot of Disney. Simplicity has had the Disney license for a long time and I often am the one asked to turn their artwork into a wearable thing. As a toy designer I've done many movie "tie in" toys ranging from Muppet Babies, X-Men characters to Lord of the Ring collector figures. When doing this kind of work everything has to be approved by the licenser, in this case Disney. There are a couple interesting/funny things I can tell you about the pattern above. First, it was my introduction to polar fleece. I don't think there was anything being made with it yet, but it was the perfect material for these costumes. This was the first licensed pattern I'd done for the sewing industry and I approached it like I would a licensed toy first enlarging the illustration as much a possible, then drawing a grid over it and using a proportional scale to transfer the measurements of each portion of the character correctly from drawing to costume. Because I was expecting to get these costume back for corrections and changes from Loony Tunes, I had sewn things with large stitches so it would be easy to take apart and fix. Well, unexpectedly they liked my first sample. And even more unexpectedly they decided to have some models wear them on the Today Show. AND while the model wearing the Sylvester Costume was dancing around on camera the big red nose popped off right onto the floor ... oh well ... it got a good laugh! They send style books with artwork from several different angles and sheets with the exact colors to use. These are the same style sheets used by anyone making products using the licensed character, whether a night light or stuffed toy. But this time, if I remember right, the sheets for this project didn't arrive and I had to find as much information on line as I could. The first fabric swatches I sent in were for a dark green. I couldn't tell the right color with the images I was finding on line, but Disney wanted teal. The only fabric I could find with the correct shade was crushed panne velour, which Disney liked. Color for them is more important than fabric type. In the old days we had to send in the actual costume for approval and we would get back a sheet with very specific changes they wanted. Now everything goes via the internet and photos are sent. But they still have the final say. Here are some more Disney costume patterns I have made over the years, some are still in the current catalog. There even used to be these same classic princesses for babies. My favorite is the baby Snow White. Doing this pattern last year, I learned about a whole new world of Tinkerbelle spin off characters and the little girls who love them. This is currently in the line. Models are hired after the costumes are all finished. Modeling agencies send potential models over to try on the costumes to see if they fit and who they look best on. The story goes ... the kid who was chosen to be Captain Hook was the only one who would wear the wig!
I've always been told being agreeable is an important part of getting hired in any job. It really counted this time. As I said last week when I blogged about the light weight polar fleece sweater, I visited southern California a couple weeks ago, which gave me the chance to visit the wonderful Getty Museum for a second time. The last time I went was when I attended Costume College several years ago. I didn't allow nearly enough time to see everything and have wanted to return for quite a while. The building itself is a wonder. Above is an arial view. But, the main reason to visit the Getty, is the art. It is a large and diverse collection ranging from Medieval Europe to modern art and architecture. The visit is making me want to make a new Renaissance men's pattern. There were several portraits of handsome guys from that era. This is called "David with the Head of Goliath." It's by Guido Cagnacci, painted around 1645- 50. I don't think this outfit is close to what the real David would have worn, but I like it a lot. The slashed sleeves, the maroon sash and especially hat with the perky feather on the side. The angle of the feather goes with his confident attitude and pose. Again, not exactly the costume I would make, but it is inspiring me to start researching. This painting is from about the same time. It called "The Musicians' Brawl" and is by George de La Tour. Of course it's interesting to see the clothing common people wore, but what's going on in the painting is what I like best, especially the man in the center right who is squirting a lemon in the eye of the other man apparently to prove if the other man is really blind. The expressions of all the people watching the brawl are fun, too. This scene just appealed to me so much. Probably because of my years in music school and all the competition that goes on there.
Now, the word Polonaise means in the Polish style. Chopin wrote piano pieces called Polonaises and there is a dance called a Polonaises. I wonder why things with draped fabric are called Polonaises? Any one know? There are two periods in clothing history with Polonaise style dresses. I have found one example of each period. So, every time I go to a museum I learn something or make a connection in my mind like seeing this Polonaise bed did for me.
Aren't these wonderful fairy costumes!!! I'm afraid I can't take credit for the design, although I'd like to. But, I can take all the credit for making the actual costumes look as close to the illustrations as possible. Every year I do a few ghost pattern making jobs for Simplicity. Usually it's a Disney movie tie in. These two outfits were a challenge and a lot of fun. The instructions say all those wavy cut edges on the blouse and short outer skirt have the option of being hemmed or left unhemmed. But, to get the curled effect like on the illustrations, the edges must be hemmed. Plus the hemming can be in a contrast thread color, which makes the curled hem edges pop. There are two methods that will work and I am going to show you how to do both. You can either use the hemming feature on your serger with the stitch length set very short or zig zag twice over the cut edges. The zig zag should be set at it's widest width and shortest length. The edges need to be stretched while doing either method for the best results. These photos will sometimes show the serger and sometimes the regular machine zig zagging. But, the technique is basically the same, except the zig zagged hem really needs to be done twi. I strongly recommend practicing on some scrap fabric of the same kind before hemming the actual garment,
Next next week I will post a blog with tips about the wings and ivy neck and head accessories.
This is the fifth and last in a series of blogs about the books I use for designing, pattern making and sewing. The other four were about sewing, costume research, patterns and "dress up" costumes. For those of you who haven't read the other blogs, you should be able to go to those by clicking on the appropriate word ... (if I've done it correctly). Collecting craft books is different for me than costume or pattern books I need books for all the different technics, not for design or styling too much. Because when I do a craft pattern, it's usually supposed to be contemporary styling, so I look on line and pick up magazines which I. most often, don't keep very long. Below are the books below I refer to for techniques and classic crafts.
Also, a super book with basic quilting lessons and traditional pattern. And a book on lace making ... something to do after I retire, maybe???
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From AndreaI am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"! Archives
August 2019
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To search for blog posts in specific categories, use the drop down menu above by hovering over the word "Blog" Andrea Schewe participates in Amazon's associates program.
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