This morning, you could find me at my local JoAnn fabric store. I rarely shop at JoAnn fabrics, I dislike most of the fabric they offer, but since they currently have four separate coupons good for 50% off non sale items, the 20 minute trip was worth it since I planned to stock on some serger thread.  Being an early bird I was there when they opened at 8:00 a.m. Oh by the way, the four 50% coupons are good until December 24.

 

I quickly browsed the store and found two bolts of fabric that I thought were acceptable.

 

 

I’m a huge fan of brocade fabric and so I choose the above fabric. If you’re looking for it for yourself,  JoAnn calls it Brocade Fabric Red/Black Cherry Blossom. There was less than 1.5 yards left at my local store, so I’m guessing since the fabric is 44″ wide and I’m petite, I could make one item. I’m thinking a skirt or perhaps a shirt? We’ll see…

 

I was undecided about the next fabric. There was this lovely blueish green fabric that I really loved, but with my complexion, I didn’t think that it would look that great on me, and so after a short deliberation, I choose the above pale gold knit fabric. It’s 58″ wide.  If you’re looking for it on JoAnn’s site it’s labelled as Famous Maker Lurex Cord Stripe Knit Ivory.   

Can you believe that? Out of all the fabric they had, I only found three fabrics that I liked. I’m not overly picky, JoAnn has a super crappy selection. A huge amount of their fabric seems to be geared to quilters. Which is fine for quilting, but that fabric isn’t something I want to use for sewing garments! Years ago it’s selection was much better. My cart would be full of the most delightful fabric. But those days are long gone. With my online fabric shopping, I’m always finding fabric that I love. If those online stores were local to me, I’d definitely be shopping at them.

 

 

I’ve been seeing people rave about fabric from Mood. I imagine it’s so popular because Mood is the official store for Project Runway contestants. I rarely watch TV, so this is just one of the many shows that I don’t watch. Up until now I haven’t succumbed to purchasing anything from Mood, but that’s about to change. Just look at the above fabric, I’m in love! In love I say, with this cotton batiste fabric! And it’s 100% cotton! I love cotton. It has a hippy trippy vibe going on that I adore. I’m planning to purchase several yards. In my twenties I had a comfortable maxi dress in similar earthy colors. I received a lot of compliments on that dress. It complimented my complexion beautifully. I’ve always wanted to recreate that dress in numerous fabrics, but never got around to doing so.

 

 

I’m still searching for the above fabric. Yes, it’s another Mood find, but this time I saw Brandhyze Stanley showcase this fabric on Mood’s blog. That post was about a multi-colored scarf wrap that she’d made. She used the wool material shown above. Isn’t it gorgeous. Why oh why didn’t you link directly to this fabric in your blog post? I’ve searched through their wool fabric, but I have a sinking feeling this one is gone, gone, gone….

I’m planning on purchasing my Mood fabric after the Christmas holidays. If I’m fortunate, some of the items that I’m placing in my virtual shopping cart will be on sale.

I absolutely adore couture sewing, for me, it’s a wonderful creative world that I can escape too and it challenges me in ways that regular sewing does not.

I’ve been following Susan Khalje for some time, I love the way she teaches Couture Sewing. During the Christmas holiday, I’ll be taking her Craftsy course, The Couture Dress. Next year, I’ll have the opportunity to take a live couture class for an entire week.

Imagine my surprise, when I learned that this awesome lady is local! I had to reread that tidbit a few times before it sunk in and so next year around my birthday, I’ll be taking a week away from work to participate in one of her local classes. I’ve included the description below.

Between now and October 2015, I have plenty of time to brush up on some of my couture sewing skills (and learn new techniques also) don’t you think?

 

The Couture Sewing School

At the Couture Sewing School, six intensive days are devoted to creating your garment—it can be sophisticated day wear, evening wear, a wedding gown, the little black dress—the choice is yours. It can be for yourself, for a friend, or it can be a sample. You’ll be incorporating into your project the couture techniques and details that go into Susan Khalje’s exquisite garments. You’ll prepare a muslin ahead of time, and after Susan perfects the fit, you’ll begin working on your garment.
Price:

The cost of the 2015 Couture Sewing School ranges from $1250–1500 depending on location. An initial deposit is required and the final balance is due 30 days before the start of the class. This class includes 6 full days of instruction.
Students Will:

Fine-tune the fit of the muslin and adapt it for project use Choose and work with appropriate underlinings and linings Learn expert techniques for difficult fabrics
Learn about boning, inner structure, and engineering
Take a close look at a number of Susan Khalje’s garments, including many from her articles in Threads Magazine And most importantly of all, construct your garment using couture techniques, under Susan Khalje’s close supervision Anyone with solid sewing skills and a passion for learning will benefit from the class, and from the camaraderie of working with fellow enthusiastic sewers. Classes are small to allow for individual attention.

Last evening, I started sewing these gift bags. They are similar to the bag that I sewed yesterday, but much smaller.

These will be given to my daughter’s classmates tomorrow. Of course, by the time they receive them, they’ll be stuffed with goodies. How long did these take to prepare? I’d say about four hours. With the way I went about this, I felt like I was on an assembly line. 🙂

 

First, I made a quick pattern and cut out all the fabric that was needed for 25 bags.

 

I then eyeballed and turned down and ironed a 1″ flap on the top side of each fabric piece. I did this so that the edge could be secured with my Brother 2340CV Cover Stitch. Having a flap, means that a cord would easily pass through and cinch the bag closed.

 

Can you see the overcast stitch in the above photo.

 

One of the last steps was securing the sides and the bottom with some type of stitch. Since I used my serger machine, all the raw ends were neatly secured and enclosed in a nice tidy seam.  My serger is a Brother 1034D.

 

Time to turn them right side out! The only thing left is to add the cord and stuff the bags with goodies.  My daughter and I think that her classmates will love the bags.  We’ll see!

If you know me, you realize I’m all about reusing items. I think we create way too much waste. If you were to stop by our space, you’d see that I actively practice what I preach. Whether it’s the  pyrex glass storage containers, to the hand sewn and embroidered lunch bags, the insulated lunch jar that my daughter carries to work… reusing is a part of our daily lifestyle.

 

At work we do “Secret Santa.” I think it’s dumb, but it’s a small annoyance, so I do it. This year the person I picked is someone I talk to often and I like her also. As part of her gift, I created the above reusable bag. It was a last minute thing, since I did it this morning, but I still liked how it turned out. This bag also has a lining, but it really did not need that; however, the lining increases it’s durability. I used my serger machine for this project and did a bit of slipstitch around the drawstring edge.

Note to self, purchase proper “drawstring cord,”  in a variety of colors/textures so I’m not relying on twill tape.

How did I determine the appropriate size?

Since I had my co-workers items on hand, it simply was a matter of placing the items on the fabric needed for the bag, and using my dressmakers ruler, to create an appropriate sized bag.  This was a simple project to make and thanks to the serger machine, with a few minor tension adjustments, was completed in no time. More importantly, my coworker liked her gift, and told me she wasn’t reusing this bag to give to anyone. She was keeping it for herself.

 

I’m seriously thinking about going the sewing route for all my gift bags. For a simple bag, it does not take long to sew. My next “big project” are simple gifts for my daughters classmates. I will sew their bags and of course items for the teachers.