Tag Archive for 'Liberty of London'

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AYALAH'S CRAFTY WISH LIST

Published on December 21, 2009 in the workroom. 25 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Ayalah's Craft Wish List

I’m feeling the holiday crunch as I try to start/finish off holiday gifts in the next couple days.

Thank you for leaving all your wish lists over the weekend! It’s fun to hear from you, to read what everyone wants and to see some of the same things repeated over and over. (more time, Liberty of London fabric, Japanese dress books – yes, yes & yes!) The winner of Twinkle Sews! is comment #51 – Tina!

Tina’s comment was “the only thing on my craft list right now… is my own sewing space in this house!!”

Today is Ayalah‘s Crafty Wish List…

  • Felting for Baby by Saori Yamazaki – Felting is something that I would love to try in the new year. This book is beautifully styled. And small projects for friends with babies would be the perfect introduction
  • Anna Maria Horner Study Hall Skirt Pattern – This skirt looks great with contrasting bold prints
  • A Liberty print like My Little Star or Little Mari to make either a dress shirt or a summer dress. I can’t decide.
  • Reliable Iron – I got one for my mother years ago, but I am still using my old leaky iron.

There’s only a few more crafting days left! Do you have any good last minute gift ideas? Leave a comment (with your email) by midnight tonight sharing your idea or a link to a great last minute gift idea and you could win a copy of Anna Maria Horner’s Study Hall Skirt. I’ll announce today’s winner tomorrow, with the next wish list!

Ayalah's Craft Wish List

Liberty of London has arrived.

Ayalah's Craft Wish List

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STYLISH DRESS BOOK 2 : DRESS 'S', AGAIN

Published on September 7, 2009 in stitchery, textiles and the workroom. 17 Comments Tags: , , .

Stylish Dress Book 'S' - Again

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project 6
Stylish Dress Book : Dress “S” in Zain Liberty of London Tana Lawn

If you have a sharp eye, you’ll catch that I’ve done this dress before. It’s not often that I repeat a pattern, but I have fallen in love with this style. My “Little Stars” version has become one of my easy favourites. It is perfect for dressy nights out and comfortable to wear every day.

Your sharp eye might also catch that I’ve used the Zain Liberty fabric already, for my camera strap. I thought it would be great to make a ‘black-ish’ dress to transition to fall that I could wear with tights when the weather got colder. I love how some of these Liberty of London prints seem so wild and crazy up close, but from far away read as quite sophisticated.

The dress exactly is pretty much exactly the same as the other one. I didn’t end up taking the sides in at all, so the skirt is slightly more full. I like this. I also repeated my modification of adding several lines of shirring just above the waistline. It’s like wearing an invisible belt. I feel shapely without feeling restricted.

Keep your eye out for at least one more version of this pattern, I’ve decided it will make a great top with some minor modifications.

Stylish Dress Book 'S' - Again

Stylish Dress Book 'S' - Again

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STYLISH DRESS BOOK : DRESS "M" VARIATION

Published on August 13, 2009 in japanese dress/craft, stitchery, textiles and the workroom. 19 Comments Tags: , .

Stylish Dress Book "M" variation

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project 5
Stylish Dress Book (available at the workroom)
Dress ‘M’ variation : Liberty of London ‘Wiltshire’

We went to a wedding in Montreal a couple weekends ago. It was a lovely affair out in the country on the grounds of an old mill. It was the perfect occasion to sew up another dress using my stash of Liberty of London fabrics. I chose to use the deep plummy ‘Wiltshire” print.

I agonized quite a bit over what pattern to use. I went through my vintage sewing patterns, scoured my collection of Anthropologie catalogs and revisited my inspiration folder on my computer. In the end I decided to make a version of Dress “M ” from Stylish Dress Book. The Japanese dress books always come to the rescue in the end.

To make the pattern a bit more dressy, I made the back neckline a ‘v’ shape and made a facing for the bodice to clean finish the neckline and armholes. To create more gathering in the skirt, I added a few extra inches to the width. This was really not necessary, but just a result of me being over zealous about gathering.

Of course, I was working on the dress just a couple days before leaving for Montreal. When I did my first fitting I found that I had cut the dress too short. Oh dear. I wasn’t sure what to do. I thought about just adding more fabric to the end, but when I talked to Kristiann (teacher of our Knock it off, Underwear and Pattern Drafting classes) about it, she had the perfect suggestion. Kris’ idea was to randomly create miniature pleats along the bottom to create a slight bubble. To add some length to the hem, Kris recommended sewing a folded piece of fabric to the bottom edge and then ironing it down so that the final hem was self-finished. I really love this idea and to create a very slight contrast I used the ‘wrong’ side of the Liberty fabric for the hem trim. The printing on these Liberty of London Tana Lawns is so well done, on many of them it’s hard to figure out which is the ‘wrong’ side of the fabric.

My finishing touch was a sash, that I wore tied in the front.

After a bit of nail biting and obsessing, it really turned out just right. The perfect ‘summer chic’ dress for a wedding in the country.

Stylish Dress Book

Stylish Dress Book "M" variation

Stylish Dress Book "M" variation

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STYLISH DRESS BOOK 2 : DRESS "S"

Published on July 20, 2009 in stitchery and textiles. 28 Comments Tags: , , , .

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project 4
Stylish Dress Book 2 : Dress “S” in ‘My Little Star’ Tana Lawn Cotton

After warming up with a few smaller projects, I finally bit the bullet and REALLY cut into some Liberty of London fabric to make a piece of clothing.

When I chose the ‘My Little Star’ print, I thought it was really bold and a bit crazy. In reality, it’s a totally soft and muted yet still slightly rock and roll.

I had picked out Dress “S” when I first got Stylish Dress Book 2. The square gathered neckline and wide gathered sleeves had me at first glance. The pattern calls for a contrasting fabric in jersey for the sleeves and another fabric for the neckline. I decided the star print would shine better on its own.

The dress came together pretty quickly once I got going. When it was done, it was a bit too loose for my liking. One of the characteristics of these smock dresses is that they are rather loose fitting. On one hand this usually means the patterns are more forgiving with fit and very comfortable to wear. On the other hand, sometimes they are too unshapely. I thought perhaps just taking in the side seams a bit might make the fit more flattering. It wasn’t enough.

This is where magical shirring comes to the rescue once again. I can not sing the praises of shirring enough. It is such a simple technique that gives maximum result every time. I had not yet tried shirring around a waistline, but had seen it many times.

I decided to space my shirring lines a 1/2″ apart and wound up doing four lines of shirring. It turned out perfectly. The shirring around the waist seems to echo the wide gathered elastic sleeves and neckline. It has totally transformed the dress and I think for me, it is much improved.

I can’t say enough about how much I’m enjoying working with the Liberty prints. They are lovely to handle and sew with. Plus, wearing them is dreamy! The tana lawn cotton has a super high thread count that makes the fabric very durable, smooth and almost silky. I’ve also never seen such amazing detailed printing on fabric.

We’re going to a wedding in a couple weeks, so I’m trying to design a dress using this print. I’ve already been warned that I’m not to be trying to sew up the dress as we’re driving to the wedding, so I need to get cracking. At least we all know that I’ve got several dresses in my closet to fall back on if I can’t get it together in time.

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MISC. TWO

Published on July 17, 2009 in misc.. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , .

This week’s postings were rudely interrupted by some technical difficulties with my server. Things appear to be back up and running for the moment. Fingers crossed.

Friday seems like a good day to catch you up on a few more of my Twitter links.

  • Selvedge has opened a shop. CUTE. love the girls in Liberty dresses!
  • i’m starting to love the idea of whole cloth quilts… but with a map hand quilted into it? amazing.

These photos were taken on Brock of a couple posters that were transformed by all the rain we’ve been having. Pretty.

I hope you have a super weekend, I have plans to eat Chippy’s and play some new fangled version of Frisbee in the park tonight with some dear friends and Maisy.

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LEATHER CLUTCH WITH 'MIRABELLE' LINING

Published on July 3, 2009 in stitchery, textiles, the workroom and vintage. 2 Comments Tags: , .

Karyn's Leather Clutch

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project 3
Leather Clutch with ‘Mirabelle’ Tana Lawn Cotton Lining

I’m not exactly sure how many snap coin purses have been made at the workroom, but besides the ‘Sewing Machine Essentials‘ class, it’s definitely been our most popular one. The next logical version was to do a clutch purse. To make it even more exciting, Reva thought to make it out of re-purposed leather. It’s a great use for all those thrift store leather jackets out there. One jacket can go a very long way.

I haven’t done a lot of sewing with leather, but I did make myself a simple leather wallet a couple years ago. There are a few tricks to learn to do it right. I used a simple black leather taken from a jacket that has really nice texture. For the lining, you need less than a fat quarter, so this is the perfect place to splurge on a really nice fabric. I chose the Liberty of London Mirabelle print, which we have finally received a replacement bolt of (the first bolt arrived damaged). This print is so pretty! I’ll definitely be making a dress or blouse from it as well. Just as soon as I can find the right pattern for it.

I’m also going to use this pattern to make some non-leather clutches, as well. This is the perfect size for an evening out and we’ve got a wedding to go to in August, that I’m contemplating creating a fancy dress for. (Liberty of London with matching clutch?)

I discovered a place in San Fransisco called ReMade USA that makes all their bags out of old jackets and leather scraps. This gives me great inspiration for some other re-purposed leather projects.

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PARIS TOTE WITH 'FAIRFORD' LINING

Published on June 29, 2009 in stitchery, textiles and traveling. 14 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Paris Tote Bag

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project 2
Paris Tote Bag with ‘Fairford’ Tana Lawn Cotton Lining

I was determined to have a specially designed bag for our trip to Paris. The key feature being ‘impossible to pickpocket’. I was heavily inspired by the Leather Ruffle Bag by Tanaz Ghaffari. I especially liked how the bag closed with a zipper that sits under your arm as you held the bag on your shoulder. And of course, it’s hard to resist anything with ruffles.

For supplies, I decided to head to the Leather & Sewing Supply Depot (7 Vanauley Street, Toronto, ON – 416-913-4868). It was the first time that I had been there, but they have an incredible selection of zippers and I was looking for some heavy duty metal ones. I also happened to find the cool taupe-y denim that I used for the outside of the bag.

In my limited bag designing experience, I’ve found it really helpful to create a mini mock up version, in order to work out any problems with the pattern and figure out the construction. It’s a great way to test out your pattern quickly without using too much fabric. My mock up looked good but when I blew up the pattern and cut out the fabric, the bag was way more over-sized than I wanted. As I went along, I just adjusted the pattern to make it work.

The bag is lined with Liberty of London Tana Lawn Cotton in the Fairford print. I have to say that it is delightful to sew with. Every time my fingers ran against the fabric I had a little thrill. This sweet little floral goes perfectly with the denim I used.

There is a little zippered pocket sewn into the lining and inside the pocket is a special typewritten label in French. For the trip, I left my big wallet at home and only carried my snap coin purse. The snap coin purse was kept in the inside zippered pocket. Thus, any pickpocket would have to get under my arm to unzip the first zipper and then unzip another zipper to get to my money. My Euros were well protected!

I added the cutest popsicle zipper pull from Magic Pony as a final touch.

The bag is not the most refined design, but it fit all my requirements. It was big enough to carry around my camera, a sweater and anything else we needed for our days around Paris. I was also able to fit everything I bought into it while we were shopping, so I only ever had to carry the one bag. Lastly, my money was secure without me having to tape it to my body.

The last photo here was taken at Pearson Airport waiting for our flight to Paris. Perfect Bunny did join us in Paris, but this was the only shot I got of her!

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CAMERA STRAP IN 'ZAIN'

Published on May 26, 2009 in DIY, stitchery and textiles. 18 Comments Tags: , , , .

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project #1
Camera Strap in ‘Zain’ Tana Lawn Cotton

My first Liberty of London project is a simple one, but damn, does it ever make me happy. When I got my Nikon camera last year, the first thing I wanted to do was make myself a new camera strap. I cringed every time I looked at that black and yellow strap.

I planned on making a new strap from scratch and this is likely one of the reasons why this project was so slow to get off the ground. As I thought about where I would get all the right hardware to do this properly last week, I realized that it would be much much easier to just re-cover the existing strap. Sometimes there’s no need to go building something from scratch when you can just hitch a ride on something that works perfectly fine.

How could I resist having a posh Liberty of London camera strap? I chose the print called ‘Zain‘, which seems to be perfectly suited to being a camera strap, don’t you think?

Since this project requires only a small strip of fabric (approx. 4″ x 20″), it hardly seemed painful at all to cut into this precious fabric. I cut the fabric along the selvedge so that I could use the finished fringe as my exposed edge. I ironed fusible interfacing on the back to make it a bit sturdier. Next, I pressed a small fold along the two short sides and then put a layer of ‘Steam a Seam 2′across the back of the fabric. I carefully wrapped the strip around the existing camera strap, overlapping the fabric with the selvedge edge showing. Using a hot iron, I pressed the fabric covering the strap to activate the ‘Steam a Seam 2′ and glue the fabric to the strap. The last step was to sew/quilt concentric rectangles along the length of the strap to secure the fabric to the strap.

I’m so happy. It’s the prettiest camera strap I’ve ever seen and it will be perfect for Paris. We leave a week today!

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LIBERTY OF LONDON SUMMER

Published on May 25, 2009 in textiles and the workroom. 11 Comments Tags: .

When you own a fabric shop, one must have a few personal rules in place.

#1 – Do not unnecessarily hoard fabric.

Obviously I adore fabric and I certainly adore all the fabrics that I choose for the workroom. Often times, just the satisfaction of having ordered a fabric, unpacking it from a box, putting it on the shelf and watching people buy it for projects is enough for me. Whenever I cut fabric off the bolt for myself, it is for a specific project or pattern that I am about to make.

My seven beloved bolts of Liberty of London fabrics arrived last Thursday and I have unabashedly broken my rule for these gems.

I have cut myself two metres of each of these seven fabrics to add to my collection before they disappear. In order to justify this, I’ve decided on this year’s summer sewing challenge for myself. (last year’s challenge = 13 dresses) I must make at least one thing out of each of these seven Liberty of London prints before Fall. This way, it’s not really hoarding, but merely being well prepared for my summer projects!

I am not the only one with Liberty fever. Check out this, this and this.

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LIBERTY OF LONDON DAYDREAMS

Published on April 6, 2009 in textiles and the workroom. 18 Comments Tags: , .

I’m not sure what it’s like where you are, but here in Toronto, it is grey and there is a slushy snow falling from the sky. It’s my day off and after running some errands with Maisy, I’m going to tuck in and do an oddball mixture of sewing and accounting. Hopefully working on my Double Wedding Ring quilt will offset the hours of accounting I have to tackle.

I thought perhaps these photos of the Liberty of London fabrics that I ordered for the shop last week might perk up your day. I have been looking at them constantly, carefully considering what lovely things I might make with them. Perhaps you’d like to do a little fabric day dreaming too? This Tana Lawn cotton has a really high thread count and is so lovely to work with.

For me, this is a big milestone. Liberty is the pinnacle of timeless fabric design. Flipping through their swatch books was such an incredibly delicious experience. It is unheard of to see that many amazing prints in one collection. Narrowing my selections down to just six bolts was a bit of torture, but I managed by telling myself that this is just my first order of many more. The fabrics don’t arrive until the end of May, so lots of time to imagine the perfect projects for them.

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