Thanks to everyone who entered the Mood fabrics giveaway! It was so much fun to read about everyone’s summer projects and I definitely stole a few ideas to add to my own to-do list.
Without further ado, the winner of the $50 gift card to Mood is..
Congrats Leigh-Anne!! Please contact me (ping@peneloping.com) to receive your prize.
*I was sent a copy of Love at First Stitch free of charge and all opinions, egregious sewing blunders, and mischievous plots are my own.
From Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes, © 2014 by Tilly Walnes.
Reprinted by arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston, MA.www.roostbooks.com
When I first started sewing I made a lot of pretty hysterical errors.
One time I tried to replicate a Star Wars dress that was originally made in some sort of textured crepe using a very lofty knit fabric just because the color was similar and the texture looked the same. I assumed that the grainline was something anal people bothered with and would cut things wherever they fit at whatever angle they fit and then scoff at the yardage suggestions. Oh, and I never ever finished an entire edge intentionally. There was a phase when I sewed exclusively with my mom’s serger and edges were just sort of finished by default but otherwise everything was just sort of open and happily fraying away on the inside. I’m also pretty sure I lost most of the extra presser feet from my first sewing machine because I thought they were extraneous and unnecessary.
Who am I kidding, I still wouldn’t call myself any kind of sewing guru. Up until a few months ago I was still sewing buttonholes and zippers by hand to avoid learning how to do it on the machine.
In defense of babby Ping, I didn’t exactly have someone ready and available 24/7 to help me figure things out the right way and I was extremely determined to make these garments, right way or not.
Anyway, the point is, ohmylord I wish I had Tilly’s book back then.
Things I was clueless about as a beginning seamstress that Tilly’s Book would’ve enlightened me about:
–Backstitching: Never did this. Always wondered why my seams would come apart. Sometimes I would fray check the ends of my seams in desperation. (Am I sharing too much?)
–Choosing fabric: I had SO much trouble with this. Like that time I tried making Kaylee’s Shindig dress out of cotton batiste. YEAH. That happened.
-Seam allowances: Another thing I assumed was just a helpful suggestion. I would sew Big4 patterns (usually 5/8″ seams) with about a 3/8″ seam and then wonder why their patterns were always so big on me. -headdesk-
–Facings: Those extra pieces were just optional. I never used them. Like actually never.
-Inserting sleeves: For some reason I completely missed the memo on gathering the top of the sleeve piece slightly before inserting it into the armhole so I would inevitably end up chopping off about 1/2″ off the top of the sleeve and then wondering why my shoulders were too tight.
Yes. I’m just going to go hide in a corner now.
The other thing I love about Tilly’s philosophy with this book is that she’s included several patterns meant to help a beginning seamstress learn how to sew without being stuck making pillowcases and curtains.
The Clemence skirt is so cute and such a simple way to get started with sewing and learning the basics. And don’t get me started on the Mimi blouse. And yes, this aesthetic may not be your cup of tea but I love getting people to start sewing and I love the idea of encouraging people to jump right in sewing things they’ll wear and love. (Yes, I was one of those kids whose moms made them sew a million straight lines on scrap fabric before being allowed to touch the fun stuff, why do you ask?)
As someone who’s been sewing for many years, this book wouldn’t necessarily be at the top of my need-to-have list, but I’ve been showing it to friends who have expressed an interest in sewing as a means of illustrating how accessible these skills are. (No but seriously, my sister is visiting next week and is being dragged to sewing club where I’ve instructed the Crafty Foxes to convert her. I will also be leaving this book around her vicinity accidentally on purpose. Hee.)
In my extremely biased opinion, this is my favorite page.
Anyway, on to the fun part: Tilly’s book has finally come to the US and she generously sent me an extra copy of her book to give away to a Peneloping reader!
Just comment below telling me a sewing technique you’ve avoided like the plague or one you’d like to learn. Make sure you include your email so you can be contacted about receiving your prize!
This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry, international friends!) and will be open until midnight Monday, October 27th. The winner will be announced shortly after.
*drum roll please*
The winner of the Tap shorts giveaway is…..
Congrats to Kat H! You’ll be receiving 2 yards of luscious cotton/linen polka dot fabric from Grey’s, 2 coordinating zippers, thread, interfacing, and a pdf of the Tap shorts pattern. I have faith in your welt-pocketing abilities!
Please contact me to receive your prize. And thanks so much to Katy & Laney for the awesome giveaway!
If you didn’t win and are still lusting over this fabric (for which I would totally not blame you because I’m totally eyeing it in a Gollum-esque manner and might go snag some for myself..), you can find all of these items at Grey’s Fabric and Notions. And the Tap shorts pattern can be purchased here.
shorts: self-made, pattern here // top: self-made, pattern here // earrings: Michal Golan // kitten: named Kaylee, borrowed from Seester
Once upon a time (last summer) I came up with all these big ideas about making shorts. I was going to use this pattern, there were going to be two bows on the sides where the pockets are, and they were going to come out perfectly. Except everything became a huge mess, nothing came together correctly and I was slightly traumatized.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, Katy and Laney announced they were making a pattern and did I want to test it? Um, yes! These guys always look amazing and I had no doubts their pattern would be super cute as well. Oh, but it’s shorts. Ruh roh.
But then I remembered all the times I’ve shown up sewing club dramatically proclaiming that I could never in a million years learn how to do a particular thing (e.g. button holes, invisible zippers, self-made bias tape, etc.) and each time one of them has been like “Nay, here is how,” (not an exact quote) and within ten minutes I’m pretty much able to do it myself. So I had faith in their instructable abilities.
And I was not wrong! These shorts came together easy peasy. The pattern comes with two back views, one with welt pockets and one without. I’m just going to say that I 100% do not understand how welt pockets work so I went into it extremely tentatively. They just looked so cute I knew I would be sad if I didn’t at least try. Luckily Katy and Laney’s awesome instructable abilities didn’t let me down one bit and I managed to make two pretty decent looking welt pockets! There’s definitely room for growth there but practice makes perfect and all that.
I did make a few changes to the pattern. I was somewhere between a size 0 and 2 so I cut a 2 in the waist and graded down to a 0 around the crotch area. I wanted the leg openings to be a little less dramatically wide and going down a size in the bottom half achieved that for me. I also trimmed off a good 2-3″ off the bottom so these are quite cheeky. Hee.
When they sent me the pattern it only included the pleated view so that’s the only one I’ve tried so far and I absolutely love it. I made it in a thick denim (and a second soon-to-be blogged pair in a lighter weight linen) and I love the way the heavy weight fabric holds the pleat. They do puff out a bit when I sit down but I don’t really mind. I can’t really speak for how curvier ladies might find this effect. I do want to add though that I think it’s pretty awesome that the K&L ladies took the feedback they received about how the pleat might not be for everyone and created two whole new views. I, for one, am super excited to try out a pair of front-zip ones. (Maybe I’ll get my side pocket bow shorts after all.) Tap Shorts for everyone!
Andd to celebrate the release of their inaugural pattern, Katy and Laney are generously offering up a Tap Short kit to one lucky Peneloping reader! You’ll receive:
-a PDF copy of the pattern
-2 yards of fabric + required interfacing
-coordinating zippers, thread
Just comment below telling me one sewing technique you never thought you’d be able to master. Make sure you include your email so you can be contacted about receiving your prize!
[CLOSED]
This giveaway is open to readers worldwide and will be open until midnight Friday, June 20th. The winner will be announced shortly after. In the meantime, make sure you check out the rest of the Tap Shorts blog tour!
Thursday, June 12th: Heather at Closet Case Files
Friday, June 13th: Ping at Peneloping
Saturday, June 14th: Jenny at Cashmerette
Monday, June 16th: Mary at Idle Fancy
Wednesday, June 18th: Sarah at Grey’s Fabric and Notions
Thursday, June 19th: Jennifer at Workroom Social
Friday, June 20th: Kelli at True Bias
Saturday, June 21st: Mary at Young, Broke, and Fabulous
Sunday, June 22nd: T at Uandmii
Tuesday, June 24th: MacKenzie at Some Real Things
The Art of Whimsical Lettering by Joanne Sharpe
Interweave/F+W Media; $24.99
Interweave generously provided a copy of this book for me to review, but all opinions, thoughts, and obscure computer game references are my own.
I’ve been a huge fan of Jenny Highsmith’s lettering prints for ages so when Interweave asked if I wanted to review this book on Whimsical Lettering I had to go for it. As much as I love Jenny’s prints, I never saw one that had a message that quite fit what I was looking for. But now, armed with Joanne Sharpe’s amazingly colorful book (no seriously, it’s like a jar of Skittles for your eyes), I think I’m ready to dive in.
The book is divided into sections and the whole thing is just so inspiring and gorgeous to look at. Some sections talk about styling your font, others give ideas for watercoloring or monochromatic designs, and then there’s a whole section of alphabet ideas!
This one where you write out a message and then stitch it with colored embroidery floss warmed my seamstress heart.
How pretty are these??
Well, I already know that my first print is going to say “Ask me about Grim Fandango.” (100000000 points to anyone who gets it.)
Interweave is very kindly offering a copy of The Art of Whimsical Lettering to one of my readers! Just leave a comment below telling me what message/word/phrase you’d write out on a print. Make sure you include your email so you can be contacted about receiving your prize!
The giveaway will be open until midnight Tuesday, May 20th and the winner will be announced shortly after.