Sewing Scientist: my fabric designs

Showing posts with label my fabric designs. Show all posts

Sew Beautiful Taktsang

A few weeks ago I showed you a few of my makes from the new book from Kennis Wong Sew Beautiful: Make Stylish Handmade Clothing with Simple Stitch-and-Wear Patterns (Sew Beautiful to be brief). Since then, I have been busy making a few more items from that book. This is the Taktsang Dolman Wrap and it's paired with the wide leg version of the Fortuna Pants (blog about those will be on Sly Fox Fabrics on December 8, 2020).

I think this is my absolute favorite make from the Sew Beautiful Book to date.

The Taktsang Dolman Wrap is for woven fabrics. I was making a size 8 graded to a size 12 hip and needed between 2 3/4 and 2 7/8 yards of fabric if using 54" wide fabric. I didn't find anything in my stash that spoke to me, so I went to My Fabric Designs to find a design.

I knew that I wanted the Faux Linen Slub. I had previously purchased the Faux Linen Slub for another project and loved how luxurious it looked and felt. This base has a printable area that is 42" wide. I'm also short and knew I'd be taking a little bit of length out of the top and I was hoping to find an abstract design that was non directional so that I could maximize my fabric usage.

I decided on a design by LoriBorealis (she also goes by Keweenawchris) called Stormy Silk Scarf. I'm going to try to curate my wardrobe around the colors blue and green and add in pops of Yellow and Purple. I loved that this design had many beautiful shades of blue, with a bright royal blue featuring prominently. The design brings in many other colors and I especially love the golden yellow tones in it.

I love that My Fabric Designs allows the buyer to change the scale of the design. I liked the scale that the designer had set (It fits absolutely perfect on 1 yard of the cotton silk and silk crepe de chine), however as I visualized the pattern pieces on the yardage as displayed, I wanted there to be more opportunity for variety in the design across each piece. Therefore, I scaled down the design to where each quatrefoil element was approximately an inch.

I ordered 3 yards of the Faux Linen Slub and crossed my fingers that it was going to work. The website states that the Faux Linen Slub is 100% polyester, so I didn't think there would be much shrinkage, but they indicate it can shrink 2% in length and 4.5% in width. I did not think to check my fabric for shrinkage after washing. I did quite a bit of pattern tetris, but am happy to report that I got my Taktsang out of 3 yards with a little bit left to spare. In true 2020 fashion I will likely make masks with the remainder.

The Faux Linen Slub is not a tight weave with a 90 x 90 thread count. It does have a "flowing drape" as described my My Fabric Designs and I have to agree. It has a nice feel and texture to it that I really love. The fabric is considered a midweight at 4.84 ounces per square yard. This will make my Taktsang perfect to wear year round. The Faux Linen Slub is $18.50 per yard - I think that is a great price. You can take advantage of a 15% discount using the code SS15.

For these photos I wore a camisole under my Taktsang, but in cooler weather I think it would still look great over a long sleeve tee or turtle neck. Below is a photo of my entire outfit.

The Sew Beautiful book releases on December 8th. This is a great gift for a sewist or to yourself.

Patterns included in the book:

Mornington Top & Dress
Taktsang Dolman Wrap
Prague Top & Dress
Carlsbad Cardigan
Fortuna Pants and Shorts
Castlepoint Skirt
Palermo Top & Dress
Orosi Top & Dress

The book is available as a softcover book with printed patterns that are nested (tracing will be needed) and in a digital (ebook) version with the patterns available in A4, letter, and A0 versions for printing. The book is available at the retailers below.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Greenstyle Cambria Top

It's not often that I buy a pattern when it's released and make it right away. When I saw the Greenstyle Cambria Top I knew immediately what fabric I was using and I needed to make it right then!

I recently received this fabric from My Fabric Designs and while I had a different top in mind initially, I just knew the Cambria Top was the best choice to show off the design when I saw it released. Every tester photo I saw of the Cambria Top was just beautiful and it was so flattering on all body shapes and sizes.

This fabric was designed by Vincent Desjardins (Vinpauld) and is called Women of Science and Learning. It's a beautiful toile design featuring some lady scientists that I have always admired. I was very pleased when I saw that Rachel Carson's portrait ended up front and center of my bodice. In high school I read her book Silent Spring and aspired to be like her and try to save the planet. While I haven't found a way to save the planet, I did become an environmental scientist and do my best to make our world a better place.

Jane Goodall is also featured and her life story has always been so inspiring to me as an animal lover. The design also include Marie Skłodowska Curie for her work on radioactivity and earning two Nobel Prizes. And many others that I won't bore you with.

I ordered the Polyester Pongee Silk. I love this base for its softness and slight sheen. It has a dressy feel and love it for making items that I will be wearing to work. My Fabric Designs describes it as a 100% microfiber polyester interlocking silk knit. It's stretchy with 50% stretch horizontally. Since it doesn't contain spandex, I would not suggest using it for fitted items.

The Cambria Top comes with many options. There are 4 top length options - high hip, low hip, banded and hemmed. I did the banded length which is cut between the high hip and low hip then a band is added. The Cambria Top also has neckline options - mock turtle neck, high crew, low crew, and wide scoop. I made the low crew. There are also fit options - FBA front piece, easy fit, and slim fit. I went for easy fit.

Then there are sleeve option. Lengths are short, 3/4, long, and with a long cuff. There are 3 sleeve styles gathered at top and bottom, pleated at top and gathered at bottom, and a Bishop sleeve which is only gathered at the bottom. This is one area where the pattern instructions could be clearer. I printed both sleeves and the pleated sleeve is easy to identify, but the other sleeve is not clearly labeled. I was thinking of doing the gathered at top and bottom sleeve, but since nothing had it clearly labeled I ended up with what ended up being the Bishop sleeve.

All sleeves are finished with a band. Since the Polyester Pongee Silk does not contain spandex, it is possible that my sleeve bands will become loose over the course of the day. I used the Pongee Silk on another top with sleeve bands for a short sleeve and have not had an issue with the fit over the day. With these bands lower on my arm where there is more movement I will have to see how it fares.

The Cambria Top is one of the Patterns of the Month for December at Greenstyle . The top has so many options and I plan to make a few more and to try the gathered sleeve and the pleated sleeve.

I also have a discount code for My Fabric Designs! You can use the code SS15 to get 15% through December 31, 2021 (this code can be used up to three times per user)! The Polyester Pongee Silk is a bargain at $15.50 per yard and even better with the discount. I also love several other bases offered.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Sew Thankful Blog Tour

Image may contain: plant, nature, outdoor and text

Week of November 6th:

6: Sewing By Ti, 7: That's Sew Lily, 8: Elli and Nels, 9: Jot Designs

Week of November 11th:

11: The Sewing Scientist, 12: Sweet Mama Life, 13: Big Fly Notions, 14: Manning the Machine, 15: Stitched by Jennie, 16: My Heart Will Sew On, 17: Sew 4 Five

Week of November 18th:

18: The Fairy Dust Bin, 19: Kathys Kwilts and More, 20: Sewing with D, 21: My Sewing Roots, 23: Tenille's Thread, 24: The Bear and the Pea Atelier

Week of November 25th:

25: Sewing By Ti, 26: Vicky Myers' Creations, 27: MNW Sews, 29:Auschick

I love to do blog tours! They are always fun and usually get me to sew something new. Well, this blog tour did not go as intended, but that's okay! I have sew many thing to be Thankful for either way.

I made the Halla Patterns Stella Pullover.

This is one of my favorite patterns for fall and winter. I made a few when I tested the pattern earlier this year and they were in constant rotation in my wardrobe. You can read that first blog post HERE.

One thing I'm very thankful for has been the opportunity to do pattern testing for many wonderful designers. Samantha Lee of Halla is especially wonderful to work with. You can tell that she really cares about her testers and is thankful for our input and work.

It's not unusual for Samantha to give out a gift card to starbucks or offer you a free pattern code for your help with a pattern. She has even sent me fabric as a thank you - and it's so beautiful, I can't dare to cut into yet.

I'm also very thankful that I have tried my hand at designing fabric this year. I'm really enjoying taking photographs that I love and turning them into beautiful fabric. The fabric you see here is one of my designs.

This is a photograph of a Labradorite rock. I used a kaleidoscope style repeat to make the image seamless. I purchased this design through My Fabric Designs on their polyester french terry and absolutely love it! I want to buy more of this french terry - it feels so great!

This design is also available in my Spoonflower shop HERE. In my free time, I have been playing and learning more about pattern designs and hope to get get better and better.

Last year I made almost $63 from my designs on Spoonflower and so far this wear I have made two cents under $59. I'd love to see my pay go higher, but I see it as baby steps. I'm so thankful for each sale I make, no matter how small. I use my earnings to proof new designs every few months.

I'm thankful everyday for the support of my family. My husband understands my need to be able to sew my own clothes and gives me ample time to do so. He hasn't received any sewn items from me in many, many years. I've been thinking that I will make him a few t-shirts soon.

I'm thankful to live where there is a fabric district. I love going to the shops in Dallas off of Harry Hines and Perth. I find so many bargains. I used a rib knit that I found there for the bands of my Stella. I'm a bit of a rib knit hoarder and was so happy with how well this one matched. It was a small remnant and I used just about every inch on this top.

My health isn't always great due to Rheumatoid Arthritis and the other autoimmune diseases that I battle on a daily basis. I'm thankful that I am able to sew my own clothes so that they can accommodate my ever changing shape and my short stature. Autoimmune gastritis flares up from time to time causing my belly to get extremely bloated. It's nice to be able to make my tops so they fit across my shoulders and bust, but leave plenty of room for my awkward belly.

As I said earlier, this blog tour did not go as I intended. Sharon and I had all kinds of plans. We both bought the same fabric at the fabric district recently and had talked about both of us making something with it and don't show each other what we made until we saw each other for photos. Then we also thought about making the same pattern, but using different fabrics. Time got away from us and I had to have surgery a few days before this blog post went live. As a matter of fact - I'm typing this blog about 10 hours after my surgery.

All that to say that the final thing I'm Sew Thankful for is my friendship with Sharon (Sweet Mama Life). Sharon's blog will be up tomorrow, so be sure to catch hers too! Sharon and I met many years ago and I'm sew thankful we did. I love being around Sharon's cute kids. Sharon always helps me when I'm shopping by telling me what I should not buy and sometimes what I should. I love doing photos with her because she always lets me know when something doesn't look right and helps adjust my cloths to make sure I look my best. Here's one of my favorite photos of us together.

I'm Thankful fo so many things and would probably bore you if I went on any further. Please take a look at the other blog on the tour and reflect on what you are thankful for this year.