The 10th edition of J.J. Pizzuto’s classic textbook Fabric Science (and optional Swatch Kit) was just released. I have the 8th edition. If you’re a student, you probably already have it and don’t need me to tell you about it. But if you’re just a freestyling fabric nerd like me, it’s an indispensible resource, and this 10th edition looks a lot sexier. It’s a reference for every type of fiber, weave, knit, finish, process, and quality that exists, plus you get an industry overview with a career guide, and a chapter on textile law. You can see the full table of contents on the publisher’s website here under the contents tab. Updates for the 10th edition include a standalone chapter addressing the effect of textiles on the environment. I’m looking forward to someday forcing encouraging my sons to work with me on fabric-related science fair projects!

{ full disclosure: links are Amazon Affiliate links, through which I receive a small percentage of the purchase price if you buy these or any products after clicking on them. }

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• A Field Guide to Fabric Design
• Recommended Books

Tags: books, fabric science, j.j. pizzuto, reference, textbooks | Category: Reviews

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I’m a fan of Brett Bara‘s Sewing 101 posts on Design*Sponge (this color spectrum pouf is probably my favorite), so I was excited to hear about her book Sewing in a Straight Line. Her talents go beyond sewing, though: she’s also a hostess of the show Knit and Crochet Now and the former Editor in Chief of Crochet Today magazine.

Sewing in a Straight Line is a book full of lovely sewing patterns, and as the title promises, there are no curves involved. The projects are meant to be accessible to beginners but also attractive for more experienced sewists, and Brett pulls it off so well. The appearance of complexity is achieved with sophisticated fabrics (the chiffon Easy Breezy Blouse is on my to-do list) and notions, and with impressive but easy fabric manipulation techniques like folding and tucking. Here’s a video showing how to sew the Folded Flower Bowl, one of my favorite projects from the gifts section:

Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara – How to Sew a Round Bowl with Straight Lines Only from Rarebit Productions on Vimeo.

Hop on over to Brett’s website, or check out the other stops on the blog tour (listed below), to see how-to videos on two other projects from the book.

—

Brett is giving away a Singer sewing machine and serger (as a set – one winner gets both machines!) – the contest will be open for the duration of the blog tour, with the winner being drawn tomorrow, August 12. So get on over there!

Follow the Tour:

Tuesday, July 19: Stitch Mag blog
Wednesday, July 20: design*sponge
Thursday. July 21: Vickie Howell
Friday, July 22: Kristen Nicholas
Monday, July 25: Crochet By Faye
Tuesday, July 26: Prudent Baby
Wednesday, July 27: Craftsy
Thursday, July 28: Nicole Smith
Friday, July 29: The Crochet Dude
Monday, August 1: Coquette
Tuesday, August 2: CraftSanity
Thursday, August 4: CraftZine
Friday, August 5: Ellen Gormley
Monday, August 8: Etsy Craft Night
Tuesday, August 9: Linda Permann
Wednesday, August 10: Cal Patch
Thursday, August 11: True Up
Friday August 12: Tour finale; contest ends!

Related Posts

• Blog Tour: Deborah Moebes on Stitch by Stitch
• My Slow Blog Tour
• Book Month: Meg McElwee’s Sew Liberated Blog Tour
• Heather Ross’ Blog March
• Blog Tour: Deploy That Fabric

Tags: blog tour, books, sewing, videos | Category: Reviews

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Today I’m excited to be hostessing a stop of the blog tour for Block Party: The Modern Quilting Bee, written by Alissa Haight Carlton and Kristen Lejnieks. In case you haven’t heard of the book yet, the project started out as a blog/virtual quilting bee amongst a like-minded group of 12 women from across the country, and about a year later became a book project with Stash Books. It is in many ways a regular quilting pattern book, covering a variety of techniques ranging in difficulty from beginner to intermediate, but it’s also a guide to running your own old-fashioned in-person or new-fangled online quilting bee. All the quilts are based on improvisational blocks, with many of them wonky and all of them modern in appeal. You can get a glimpse of all 12 quilts from the book’s great trailer:

Block Party: The Modern Quilting Bee book promo from Alissa Haight Carlton on Vimeo.

Just like with Susan’s book tour, I thought it’d be fun to have Alissa and Kristen complete the same lists about their favorite fabrics — five lists of five fabrics each! (Clearly these list assemblages need a clever name, but my brain’s not offering one up today. Any suggestions?)
 

Alissa’s Lists

Five Favorite Fabrics in Your Stash Now

1. Wa-Modern by Hokkoh: Such beautiful design. I love the colors and the organic nature of the dash-y stripes.
2. Kei Honeycomb Yellow Background White Dots: I have had a longstanding love of all of the colors of these dots and have used them so much. I tend to tire of a fabric and stop using it after awhile but this dot sticks with me.
3. Caterpillar Woven Stripe, Blue by Kaffe Fassett: There are so many of the Kaffe Fassett stripes to pick from and this is one of my favorites. A woven strip has such great texture and depth.
4. Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton, Galvanized: This fabric is magic! The warp and weft are aqua and orange but together the fabric reads gray. Amazing what color can do sometimes. Funny, two Kaffe Fassett fabrics in a row and I don’t think I’ve ever bought a yard of any of his prints. I love his woven basics though.
5. Raise the Roof, Bright from Habitat by Jay McCarroll: I love this whole fabric line and hope that the fabric industry starts to give us more variety like this line. It looks completely different from most of the floral and/or cute fabric lines that are released and I think it’s a breath of fresh air.

Five Fabrics on Your Wish List

1. Yoshiko Jinzenji’s fabric: Saw this at Market and was lucky enough to have my local shop owner buy some. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
2. Monsterz by Michele Brummer-Everett for Cloud 9 Fabrics: Also saw a bit of this at Market. I have more cute prints in my stash than I’ll ever use and stopped buying them full tilt a couple of years ago, but this one will be an exception for me. The cuteness is extreme!
3. A lot more independently printed fabrics. I’ll admit that the prices are sometimes off putting to me because I don’t always have a lot of money to spend on fabric, but there’s so much out there that’s truly innovative and inspiring.
4. More vintage fabrics. It’s so easy to build a quilting stash by just buying quilting cottons from fabric shops, and that’s what I’ve done. I want to take my stash to the next level and get better about digging around at flea markets and second hand places to add vintage and different weights of fabrics.
5. Lastly, I would love it if color cards for the woven solids (like Moda Crossweave, Robert Kaufman Carolina Chambrays and the Fassett Shot Cottons) existed. It’s particularly hard to know what they look like from photos online.

Five Fabrics You Could (or Do) Consume by the Bolt

1. Stripe in Pond from Red Letter Day by Lizzie House: I have bound a ton of quilts in this print. I love a stripy binding so much! Something about these colors and the imperfection of the strip makes it a favorite of mine.
2. Basketweave in Orange from Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt: I could use this basic in the aqua colorway just as much as as the orange. Luckily I realized early in the life of both of these prints that I would use them a ton so I have yardage of both.
3. Kona Cottons Bone, Ash and Coal: These three don’t really need any explanation and are the ones that I really do consume by the bolt. I use all three as my neutrals and/or the negative space in my quilts over and over and over again.

Five Most Recent Acquisitions

1. Pinstripe from Shades of Gray by Jan DiCintio – And another imperfect stripe! I didn’t realize I’d included so many until I typed this up. I guess I like ‘em, huh?
2. Moda Crossweave Gold Green – Another amazing line of solids that have wonderful texture.
3. Dogwood Diamond Chevron from Greenfield Hill by Denyse Schmidt – this print is a voile which has a lovely soft drape. It lends itself to garment sewing (which I’m scared of). It’s my favorite of all of the prints of this line though so I wish they’d also printed it on quilting cotton.
4. Kona Cotton, Peacock: I’d be lying if I didn’t include some Kona in my recent acquisitions. I buy no single type of fabric more than Kona cottons.
5. Picket in Dusk from Outside Oslo by Jessica Jones: Love the colors and graphic nature of this print. I use almost all of my fabrics for quilting but I’m thinking I’ll make a tote with this one which is a home dec weight.

A Five Fabric Combo

I thought I’d focus on solids here because that’s pretty much 97% of what I’m buying and using these days. I thought a nice mix would show off the range that they can have. Mixing different solids is such a lovely way to add subtle interest to a quilt.

1. Robert Kaufman Quilter’s Linen Grey
2. Kaffe Fasset Shot Cotton Terra Cotta
3. Moda Crossweave Blue Blue
4. Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Grass Green
5. Welcome Road in Olive from Nicey Jane by Heather Baily – I love the idea of all solids with a little pop of patterned fabric pieced in so I included this great print.

Kristen’s Lists

Five Favorite Fabrics in Your Stash Now

1. Alexander Henry Jonathan Livingston Seagull in Taupe
2. American Jane “Magic Bean” in Green
3. Heather Ross Unicorn print from Far Far Away in green
4. This one is tricky. I know its Kokka Echino, but I bought in Japan and don’t what year it is from.
5. Brandon Mably Jazz for Rowan

Five Fabrics on Your Wish List

1. Demaskery in Steel, Toomuchery, by Helen Dardik for P & B Textile – I love the neutral colors combined with a complex pattern.
2. Yellow Basketweave, Dazzle, by Melisa Averinos for Andover – just watch, this basketweave is going to be everyone’s favorite new basic.
3. Pearl Bracelet in Green, Lizzy House for Andover- one of my all-time favorite fabrics that is now coming out in new colors.
4. Summer Totem in Tart, Loulouthi by Anna Maria Horner for Westminster- a very large scale pattern that is stunningly beautiful.
5. Shards, Cut Out & Keep by Cloud Nine Fabrics – love the triangles.

Five Fabrics You Could (or Do) Consume by the Bolt

1. Park Slope Leaf Dots, by Erin McMorris for Freespirit in Orange – These leafy dots are so versatile.
2. Kei Honeycomb Dots in Grey- another very versatile fabric in a lovely warm grey.
3. Katie Jump Rope basketweave in aqua, by Denyse Schmidt for Westminster- an oldie but goodie.
4. Kona in White- use this by the bolt and then some. I also use a ton of Kona in Ash.
5. Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton in Sludge; the crossweaves on these add an enormous amount of dimension to any project.

Five Most Recent Acquisitions

1. A stack of Kokka Echino fat quarters from sample spree at quilt market
2. A stack of the new Art Gallery solids, also from sample spree
3. Alexander Henry Heath in black (I also bought it in red, olive, and taupe)
4. Scalloped stripe by Jillian Phillips for Hoffman
5. A bunch of the new DS Quilts prints for Joann

A Favorite Five Fabric Combo

I have been really interested in working with neutrals recently, in particular, the subtle contrast that using a range of neutral can add to a project.

1. Alexander Henry Heath in Olive
2. Kona cotton in Ice (a pale aqua)
3. Paint-by-number dots by Erin Michael
4. Kona in Cactus (a medium yellow-green)
5. Bars in Olive Oil by Vicky Payne Home Dec

Thanks so much, ladies! I love getting these glimpses into other people’s stashes and seeing how they put together fabrics, don’t you?

Oh hey, as a reward for making it to the bottom of the post, you should know that Stash Books is offering up one copy of Block Party to a True Up reader today. (Also visit the other stops on the blog tour, listed below, for more chances to win.) Just leave a comment on this post, and I’ll draw a winner randomly next Friday, July 8, 2011, around noon Central U.S. time, unless I’m in labor (that’s my due date)!

Follow the Blog Tour:

1. Film in the Fridge
2. A Quilt is Nice
3. I Heart Linen
4. Tallgrass Prairie Studio
5. Oh, Fransson
6. All Buttoned Up
7. West Coast Crafty
8. Connecting Threads Blog
9. Crafty Girls Workshop
10. Whip Up
11. Pink Chalk Studio
12. [you are here] True Up
13. 7/5/2011: Block Party Blog
14. 7/6/2011: Anna Maria Horner
15. 7/7/2011: Craftzine

And more links:

Block Party blog
Facebook Page

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• Blog Tour: Deploy That Fabric
• Book Month: Rashida Coleman Hale’s I ♥ Patchwork Blog Tour
• Book Month: Meg McElwee’s Sew Liberated Blog Tour
• Blog Tour: Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara

Tags: alissa height carlton, block party, blog tours, books, fabric fives, kristen lejnieks, stash books | Category: Fabric People, Giveaways, Reviews

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You’ve got your Deadheads, your Phishheads … what do you call people who follow blog tours? I guess in this case I’ll call them Cierheads, because CarolinaPatchworksheads (for Emily Cier’s popular quilt pattern company) is too cumbersome. Remixheads (for her brand new book Quilt Remix) might also work, what do you think?

Anyway, it’s the last stop for the Quilt Remix blog tour. I imagine that Dead/Phishheads celebrate with clearance sales on vegan burritos, bootleg tapes, and hackey sacks, and smoking one last something of something. So what’s the equivalent for Cierheads? Passing around some fat quarters? Lots of hugs, with wistful hopes to meet again next year? You tell me. I have one copy of the book to give away, so leave a comment which provides some glimpse into the Cierhead subculture.

Since you are a Cierhead till the end, I don’t need to tell you about the awesomeness that is Carolina Patchworks, or that Emily’s debut book for C&T, Quilt Remix, is all about bridging traditional and modern. The patterns are all quirky, supersized, or otherwise modernized versions of traditional patterns, and each is shown made up in both modern and traditional fabrics (the work that had to go into that — oy!). But, in case you’re just joining us, I’ve listed the tour stops at the end of the interview, so you can follow along and learn all about this unique book. Only then can you call yourself an honest-to-goodness Cierhead.

…

Here’s my interview with Emily …

{ The zoomed-in Ohio Star quilt from Quilt Remix }

Quilt Remix crosses the divide between traditional and modern in two ways: first, with the patterns themselves, which are all modern twists on traditional patterns, and by the fact that show the quilts made up in two ways, one with more traditional fabrics and one with more contemporary fabrics. I’ve been thinking a lot about what, if anything, distinguishes contemporary/modern fabrics from traditional fabrics. What do you think? Do you see a strict dividing line, or a lot of crossover?

Emily Cier: I think there are fabrics firmly in each camp but with a lot of crossover in the middle. Paisley, flowers, stripes, etc can easily fall into either category depending on how they are drawn. Color plays a significant role as well. For example, browns and tans – to me – have always leaned towards the traditional side, but when paired with the right colors in the right designs they can make absolutely stunning contemporary prints.

I also think it’s genius that you made the quilts up in both types of fabrics. Did you go into this project with that idea in mind, or did it evolve with the book? Was it more to show the quilts in very different colorways, or to appeal to the widest range of quilters possible?

EC: It was actually a request from C&T. It shows the versatility of the patterns and just how different the same quilt pattern can look depending on the fabrics used. Now I want to make all of the patterns using just solids or just scraps. The possibilities are endless. And I really want to make ‘Pinwheel’ into a Christmas quilt with the pinwheels as peppermint candies.

{ Emily’s “deconstructed,” simplified version of the traditional Lone Star pattern, from Quilt Remix }

Looking through not only your book but also the Carolina Patchwork range of patterns, I see that you make up a lot of your quilts from single fabric collections. Why is that? I imagine it’s a challenge to bring patterns together with just the right collection (or do the collections inspire the quilts?) … can you tell us about that?

EC: I design a quilt first — keeping the fabric colors, designs, etc out of the equation. Once I’m set on the design, I look at the fabrics currently available and try to match them up. I usually go with one single collection (sometimes with solids mixed in) because I know the colors will be a spot-on match. For example, a green in print A will be the same green as in print B. No clashing greens allowed! Clashing greens seriously bug me.

It can be a challenge to get the colors and scale to work right but I do like the cohesive look a single fabric collection gives to a quilt so I look at many, many collections to find just the right fit.

{ Just one of Carolina Patchworks‘ many pixel quilts }

I freaking LOVE your pixel quilts! I want to make a lot of pixel quilts this year … I love Boo Davis‘ book as well (oh hey, she’s also from Seattle!) Pixels and patchwork … such a natural union, and one with a lot of crossover appeal in its own right.

EC: I’m somewhat addicted to pixel-based quilts. I made the first one in 2007 at the urging of my husband. I thought he was completely insane at first but I apparently liked them enough that over three years later I’m still making them! There is going to be a new collection with a new theme coming out for Market this spring. I’m so excited for them!

Thanks so much, Emily!

…

Follow the tour:

1. Sew Katie Did
2. Pink Chalk Studio
3. Jay Bird Quilts
4. Allie’s In Stitches
5. p.s. i quilt
6. House of A La Mode
7. Connecting Threads Blog
8. WhipStitch
9. True Up (you are here)

P.S., The comments will close and the winner of the copy of Quilt Remix (courtesy C&T) will be drawn next Wednesday, January 26, 2011.

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• Susan Beal’s Modern Log Cabin Quilting Book Tour – Susan’s Favorite Fabrics
• Fall Quilt Market 2011: Lecien – St. Ives by Sarah Fielke
• Fall Quilt Market 2010 – FreeSpirit – Tula Pink
• Fall Quilt Market 2009: Vintage Shopping (and Denyse Schmidt)!
• Guest Post: Quilting for Peace Author Katherine Bell on Housetop Quilts

Tags: c&t, carolina patchworks, emily cier, quilting | Category: Giveaways, Reviews

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Classic and Modern Fabrics by Janet Wilson
Thames and Hudson, 2009

My fabric nerd bookshelf contains all sorts of textile dictionaries and textbooks, pattern sourcebooks, and sewing books that show-and-tell about a few different kinds of fabrics, but it’s never held anything as comprehensive as this new book, Classic and Modern Fabrics: The Complete Illustrated Sourcebook by London College of Fashion lecturer and textile designer Janet Wilson. It is the ultimate fabric encyclopedia, with over 600 fabrics listed alphabetically, each with an accompanying photograph that clearly shows the textile’s weave, texture, and any other defining characteristics. This is great whether you want to familiarize yourself with more familiar fabrics or learn about more obscure ones (Albatross! Cranky Check! Épingle! Poult! Winceyette!). The entries describe the fabrics thoroughly, list their end uses, and exhaustively cross-reference all the terminology. There are entries for obsolete fabric terms, which would be really useful for costumers and historians, and for the newest high-tech and trademarked fabric names.

While not exactly eye candy — this is not a book full of prints and carefully curated colors — it is definitely texture candy. You can practically feel all these fabrics thanks to the detailed photography. It is not only “the ultimate resource” for students, textile and fashion designers, collectors, and manufacturers, as the back cover suggests, but for anyone wanting to expand their fabric vocabulary.

Related Posts

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• Book Review: Horrockses Fashions
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• Book Month: Amy Barickman’s Sew-It Book and Fabric
• Mina Perhonen Book Series

Tags: books, reference | Category: Reviews

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Crafting a Meaningful Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco
STC Craft, 2010

Now, this is a bit of a departure for this all-fabric, all-the-time blog, but I am such a fan of Meg Mateo Ilasco‘s work, including her paper and textile goods and her previous books Craft, Inc. and Creative, Inc. that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to host a stop on the blog tour for her brand-new book Crafting a Meaningful Home. The 27 projects, by Mateo Ilasco and scores of modern art/craft/design luminary contributors, are not only about “telling stories, holding memories, and celebrating family heritage,” as the subtitle suggests, but about making things together with the people you love. So it’s just about the most perfect gift you can give to a crafter you love. And don’t worry, in the mix of craft techniques found throughout the books, there are plenty of inspiring fabric-based projects — my favorites include Cathy Callahan‘s Vintage Fabric Display and Samantha Hahn‘s Family Banner.

Meg graciously agreed to introduce the book to True Up readers and tell us a bit about the textile traditions in her own family …

When we were kids my mother, like many in her generation, was an avid sewer and crafter. She sewed some of our clothes, made baby quilts as gifts, crocheted doilies, and knotted macrame planters. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of an appreciation for it growing up. I didn’t think of handmade as “special,” rather I regarded it as something people did when they couldn’t afford to buy things. Of course, my perception changed as I got older. Now I wish I had spent more time behind a sewing machine with my mom than trying to convince her to buy things at the mall. Hind sight is always 20/20.

As I was selecting the projects for Crafting a Meaningful Home, I talked with contributors who hailed from the similar upbringings; raised by mothers who sewed. The sewing projects, like Sian Keegan’s Braided Rag Vessels (her lineage of braided rag makers), Rae Dunn’s Patchwork Coverlet (a memorial piece made from her father’s shirts), Joanna Mendicino’s Modern Norens (a tribute to her Japanese heritage), and Billie and Tootie’s Family Teepee (showing their love for the outdoors and made from a vintage quilt) — show how craft and sewing made an impression on them growing up and continue to be an important and nostalgic part of their lives as adults today.

……………

If you’d like a chance to win a copy of Crafting a Meaningful Home courtesy STC Craft, just leave a comment on this post telling us about one of your textile heirlooms or traditions. The comments will close and a winner will be drawn randomly next Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010.

Thank you so much, Meg!

Follow the rest of the tour:

December 9: Not Martha

December 10: Papercakes Finds

December 13: Uppercase

December 14: Dwell

December 16: Craftzine

December 17: You Are Here

December 20: ReadyMade

December 20: Oh Joy!

December 21: CasaSugar

December 22: Anthology Magazine blog

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• Blog Tour/Giveaway: Natalie Chanin on Sourcing Sustainably
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• Book Month: Rashida Coleman Hale’s I ♥ Patchwork Blog Tour
• Blog Tour: Deploy That Fabric

Tags: books, cathy callahan, cathy of california, meg mateo ilasco, samantha hahn, sewing, stc craft | Category: Giveaways, Reviews

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Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu
Stash Books/ C&T, 2010

Today we welcome the awesome Mary Abreu, who writes the blog Confessions of a Craft Addict and just had her first book, Little Girls, Big Style come out with Stash Books (an imprint of C&T). Mary and I have hung out a number of times at Quilt Market, and it’s been so cool to see this project evolve. Sewing kids’ clothes, especially girls’ clothes, has always been a mainstay of sewists, but it has really taken off lately. Younger sewist/parents (and the grandparents who love them) are looking for more options in the way of patterns and fabrics, and the market is responding. Mary’s book is all about options — she includes four base patterns (bodice, a top, a pair of pants, and a skirt) and shows a gazillion ways to customize them. You can go as minimal or as ruffly as you want, which makes this book great for both traditional and contemporary tastes.

{ Sample page from Little Girls, Big Style showing variations of the Basic Top/Dress pattern included in the book. Pinafores! }

I asked Ms. Mary about her unexpected use of contemporary quilting fabrics to sew the samples for the book, the plans for all the wonderful apparel fabrics coming out these days, and how she was influenced by European pattern companies. After the interview, leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of the book courtesy of Stash Books!

You use a lot of “grownup” fabrics not specifically designed for girls — was that a conscious decision? Does your daughter help you pick out fabrics? And do you see the use of more sophisticated/nontraditional prints for girls (and boys) as a trend in the market?

I don’t think it’s a conscious decision at all. I buy and sew what I love, and that’s often fabric that I don’t think was designed with children — or even clothing — in mind. Sometimes that might be a fun owl fabric designed by Amy Schimler. Other times, it might be a watercolor hummingbird by Phillip Jacobs. I think color is probably more of a deciding factor for me than anything: I definitely gravitate to bright more than subdued, especially if it’s blue. I have four times as much blue in my stash as anything else!

The ready-to-wear clothes my daughter owns are a lot like what I sew for her, too. Neither of us is really into character clothing but we love texture and color. She’s quite opinionated about what she does and doesn’t like, and she’s not shy about sharing that opinion. Fortunately we tend to like similar fabrics, so it’s rare that I buy something for her that’s not a winner. Of course, there are times that she surprises me and insists on a fabric that I might not have otherwise chosen or one that I want but in a different colorway.

Lately I’ve been helping out at the quilt shop and I think more and more customers are looking for sophisticated, contemporary fabrics instead of novelty fabrics for children. And it’s not just for apparel — it’s for quilts and home décor items, too. I think people want fabrics that are a little more timeless, fabrics that will grow with their children instead of being outgrown in a year or two. I think Wendy Bellissimo had a huge influence on that with her nursery designs and you can see it at places like Pottery Barn Kids, too.

You must be excited about all the new designer apparel fabrics like voile and velveteen coming on the market — have you worked with them much?

I am so in love with these new substrates, I don’t think I can even convey it! I was at my local quilt shop to pick up some of the new Innocent Crush velveteen as soon as they unpacked it (and that’s not an exaggeration). I really love quilting cotton and I’ll continue to use it but voile, lawn, velveteen, 21-wale corduroy, interlock knits — they’re intended for apparel and I love working with them. I’ve already made myself a skirt from the velveteen and a pair of ruffled pants from the book for Miss L with it (and used the coordinating quilting cotton for the ruffle) and folks who’ve seen them have just gone crazy for them. I may live in the South but it’s really too cold even in Atlanta to wear pants made from quilting cotton right now. Velveteen and fine wale cord are warmer, more durable and really more suitable for pants, in my opinion. The fact that it’s 100 percent cotton and easy to care for makes it even more appealing.

I read that when you started sewing for you daughter, that European sewing patterns opened up a whole new world for you, and they inspired your patterns in the book. Can you go a little more into depth about that? Which are your favorite companies?

My collection of Euro patterns keeps growing and I can’t see it stopping anytime soon. I think what appeals to me about the Euro patterns stems, at least in part, from my love for European children’s clothing. I am just crazy about Oilily, Room Seven, Jottum, Catimini, Deux par Deux and the like but the prices just didn’t work with my frugal nature. The Euro patterns had that same sort of design sensibility but let me have the creative freedom to go as wild or mild as I wanted — while still being budget conscious. The styles are wearable, sometimes a little whimsical, with an amazing attention to detail — like curved hems or bell sleeves — with alternate views so you can change them up. Onion, Burda, Abracadabra, BizzKids — I’ve got some of all of them. Among my favorites are Mamu (many patterns include sizes from toddler up to women), Farbenmix/Studio Tantrum (the Olivia is my go-to knit dress pattern) and Ottobre (I’ve been a subscriber for I think five years now and refuse to give it up).

Thank you so much, Mary, and congratulations on your beautiful book!

To win a copy of Little Girls, Big Style, simply leave a comment on this post that somehow uses the word “pinafore.” Why? I just love the word (and the dress!)

P.S. you can follow the blog tour from the beginning to learn more about the book … some of the other giveaways are still open too. Mary also has her own big huge giveaway going on, so don’t miss that either!

12/6 Lisa http://thedomesticdiva.wordpress.com
12/7 Susan http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com
12/8 Jessica http://juicy-bits.typepad.com
12/9 Penny http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com
12/10 Daria http://boutiquecafe.com
12/11 Rashida http://iheartlinen.com
12/12 Kristin http://sewmamasew.com/blog2
12/13 Jona http://jonag.typepad.com
12/14 You Are Here
12/15 Bari http://barij.typepad.com

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• Blog Tour: Deploy That Fabric
• Book Month: Meg McElwee’s Sew Liberated Blog Tour
• Blog Tour: Deborah Moebes on Stitch by Stitch
• Book Month: Rashida Coleman Hale’s I ♥ Patchwork Blog Tour

Tags: books, children, european, girls, mary abreu, sewing | Category: Giveaways, Reviews

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Tags: amazon, books, Reviews | Category: Reviews

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Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love
by Hillary Lang
STC Craft, 2010

If, like me, you’re one of the legions of longtime fans of crafting blogger/goddess Hillary Lang and her influential work at Wee Wonderfuls, then you’ve no doubt been wanting to get into her oh-so-inspired brain for a long, long time. So you can imagine the enthusiasm, the anticipation when I heard the good word that she was working on a book. Of course, in the back of my mind, I knew that it was quite likely that the book would never, could never live up to my over-the-top expectations, and that I was setting myself up for disappointment.

{ Wes the Giraffe is one of several animal stuffies that have made Hillary Lang’s new book well worth the wait. }

Lo and behold, Hillary Lang delivers with Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love, authoring a book that is every bit as good (and better) than hoped for and proving that sometimes hype is in fact justified. The book, a beautifully-packaged hardcover meant to stand up to years of use and generations of re-use, captures the magic of what makes Lang’s work on her standard-bearing blog so special. She draws on vintage childhood classics, re-imagining them with a contemporary freshness and rendering them very accessibly. If you’ve never done yarn hair before, Lang unravels that mystery for you; likewise countless other seemingly intimidating doll-making techniques, like hand-embroidering faces or sewing doll clothes.

{ Hansel and Gretel, the wooden spoon puppets inspired by a 1970s craft book. }

Offerings include several animal stuffies, various styles of girl dolls, a few boy dolls, an animal backpack, and even an apron and a doll quilt — and virtually all are standouts. Tops on my personal list of favorites are Margot, the topsy-turvy doll; Betsy, the “paper doll” pillow (my daughter’s request); Eddie, the shaggy-haired boy; and Hansel and Gretel, the wooden spoon puppets. But you can’t go wrong in making any of these heirloom-quality dolls, thanks to Lang’s thorough instructions and sharp eye for detail, or in giving as a gift. If you can bear to part with them, that is!

{ Eddie, a doll just begging to be made for the little boy in your life! }

So treat yourself to Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love, a book whose tagline should perhaps instead read, “Proof positive that great expectations often reap great rewards.”

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Tags: blog tour, books, hillary lang, Reviews, sewing, stc craft, vintage fabric, wee wonderfuls, Wool Felt | Category: Reviews

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Sewing Bits and Pieces: 35 Projects Using Fabric Scraps
by Sandi Henderson, Wiley Books, 2010

If you sew, then you have them. You have loads of them, and maybe you know what to do with them, and maybe you don’t. Either way, Sewing Bits & Pieces: 35 Projects Using Fabric Scraps, the first book from popular textile and pattern designer Sandi Henderson, will help you put them to creative good use. And, dare I suggest, even have you wishing that you had still more of them!

As promised, the book contains 35 projects, and each and every one is as fetching as the eye-catchingly adorned cardigan on the cover. But what makes this book truly exciting is how the projects are of varying size and difficulty level, ranging from smaller, quicker applique or crafting projects to larger, more substantial endeavors. And Henderson does an impressive job, ably demonstrating how working with smaller pieces of fabric need not confine the sewer to turning out smaller projects, all the while keeping the larger projects sufficiently undaunting to guide the beginner-level sewer into an advanced beginner sewer (and beyond). So there truly is something for everyone in Bits & Pieces.

{These Fruit Magnets are one of the cutest projects in Sewing Bits & Pieces.}

That said, among the smaller projects, the Fruit Magnets and Countdown Chain are cute and fun — they’re on my to do list! — but it’s some of the larger ones, particularly the Growing Tree Wall Hanging, Saturday Market Skirt, and Picnic Quilt, that are the book’s real selling point. In today’s ailing economy, it’s especially reassuring to know that you don’t need to splurge on significant yardage to make something something that looks like you dropped significant buckage.

{This heirloom-quality Growth Chart is one of the book’s selling points!}

And it’s especially nice to know that fabric scraps need no longer be a nuisance in your sewing studio. So, what are you waiting for?  Start digging through that scrap bucket!

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Tags: books, michael miller, portabello pixie, sandi henderson, scraps, sewing | Category: Reviews

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