Hello stitchers! We finish our dress today! Who’s ready?
hot patterns plain & simple woven t dress sew-along: side seams and sleeves
Hello stitchers! It’s time to get back to our wonderful HP shift dress! Today’s entry is our longest. Are you ready to OWN IT?
hot patterns plain & simple woven t dress sew-along: joining
Hello stitchers! It’s time to get back to our wonderful HP shift dress!
hot patterns plain & simple woven t dress sew-along: bodice preparation
Hello stitchers!
Wow – December is already here! I hope, if you celebrate the holiday, that you are finding peace and serenity during what can be a very intense time of year! I know it can be difficult to sew for yourself this time of year. If you are joining me here to make yourself a holiday dress, a daywear dress, or just something special – good for you!
If you are here to make the dress as a gift – good for you, too! The sample dress I’m showing here, is going to be pressed and off to a friend just before Hanukkah. I hope she likes it!
So – who’s pumped to get started?
hot patterns plain & simple woven t dress sew-along: supplies
Hello stitchers!
We are just wrapping up our lovely Holiday Robe Sew-Along from November – and it’s time to assemble our supplies for our December sew-along!
gimme some slack! post six: side seams, cuffs, and waistband
Thanks for joining up on the Gimme Some Slack! Sew-a-long. We are on the final stretch! This is the second-to-last post. The final post will be one with the slacks modeled on a child. If I can find a child! I am looking for one.
Today is going to be all about steam pressing and wonderful, slim cuff and waistband finishes. This is an image-heavy post – 53 images – not because the techniques are difficult, but because I want to show you in detail the exacting work required to get beautiful, wearable, and very comfortable results.
Our progress so far: last month I posted the supply list and timeline, and earlier this month I posted our preparations, including creating our pattern. On the sixth I posted our methods for marking, cutting, and interfacing our fabric pieces. For post four we constructed the darts, front and back, and the pockets, front and back. And in post five, we constructed a totally killer, low-bulk, and beautifully-finished fly front.
Thank you to all who’ve participated, and emailed or commented suggestions and corrections to this sew-a-long. And remember – I am available to support via email, blog comment, and Skype! I will Skype support any stitcher through the months of June and July 2014.
gimme some slack! post five: fly front
Aw yeeeeeah. Sh*t’s about to get real.
Our progress so far: last month I posted the supply list and timeline, and earlier this month I posted our preparations, including creating our pattern. On the sixth I posted our methods for marking, cutting, and interfacing our fabric pieces. For post four we constructed the darts, front and back, and the pockets, front and back.
Now before we get started, I ain’t gonna lie. This will be the trickiest session. We are putting together a TOTALLY BOSS fly front, using my favorite method. It’s gonna get intense, y’all.
Before we proceed: thank you to all who’ve participated, and emailed or commented suggestions and corrections to this sew-a-long. And remember – I am available to support via email, blog comment, and Skype! I will Skype support any stitcher through the months of June and July 2014.
“like, zoinks, man!” – a thread-drawing (mini) tutorial
Today at the evening meeting of the Harbor Art Guild I got to present a little feature on thread-drawing. Since I documented the process I figured you-all might enjoy the education, as well!
A few days ago Nels drew a ship with a smokestack and lots of rigging, in part influenced by one of the Tin Tin books. I really liked the sketch and thought it would look great rendered in loving thread-drawn splendor, and framed. I especially liked the bold vertical lines and the expressiveness of the smoke:
Above from bottom to top: Nels’ original piece, an inkjet photocopy on copy paper, and an inkjet photocopy on a washaway stabilizer.
And here is the completed piece:
The stars of today’s show are: Nels’ expressive and lovely artwork, my many years of sewing f*ck-ups that help me make good decisions today, and Sulky’s Sticky Fabri-Solvy, which, if I was going to have an affair with any of my sewing supplies, she’d be the guy.
gimme some slack! post four: darts & pockets
Good afternoon, or evening, or whatever time it may be for ye!
Our progress so far: last month I posted the supply list and timeline, and earlier this month I posted our preparations, including creating our pattern. On the sixth I posted our methods for marking, cutting, and interfacing our fabric pieces. Today we will be constructing the darts, front and back, and the pockets, front and back.
Thank you to all who’ve participated, and emailed or commented suggestions and corrections to this sew-a-long. And remember – I am available to support via email, blog comment, and Skype! I will Skype support any stitcher through the months of June and July 2014.
gimme some slack! post three: cutting, marking, and interfacing

Hello my awesomesauce stitching fiends! Today we get to handle our fabric in earnest. This is big fun as it turns out!
To bring you up to date: last month I posted the supply list and timeline, and earlier this month I posted our preparations, including creating our pattern.
Remember – I am available to support via email, blog comment, and Skype! I will Skype support any stitcher through the months of June and July 2014.