Choosing Fabrics

Just a quick update.  I'm over at Somewhat Simple with my monthly post.

If you missed my post on choosing apron fabrics, you may want to check it out. 

Lantana Quilt

This morning I was out in my garden sprinkling my plants and thanking them for being so beautiful.

Even in this dreadful heat, a few of my plants are full of blooms and getting huge, like this lantana.

I love the variety of color in this plant and how effortlessly it combines them.

Pinks, corals, yellows…

Bright gold…

Soft pinks and whites…

I always respect and admire plants that can bloom proficiently without water, fertilizer or pampering.  Like the New Gold Lantana.  It blooms because it must.

And the color is bright and saturated, making the corner of my driveway so inviting.

 

The Desert Rose, with it’s bright fuchsia blooms, complements the lantana and makes everything harmonious.

While the Purple Sage, which is usually just a silvery gray until it rains, explodes with tiny purple flowers.

 

The patchwork of these colors blending together so harmoniously made me think of a quilt.

Bringing the outdoors inside…how pretty is that.

Getting the Fabric Right

The other day my friend, Emma, over at short, easy words asked me about a dress she had made for her daughter.  She was a bit unhappy with her fabric choice.




She said the fabric she chose was too stiff; so, what was going to be a summer dress for her daughter turned into a swimsuit cover up. 
 
Emma made the most common sewing mistake:  Choosing the wrong fabric for a pattern.

In Emma’s case, it wasn’t terminal. Even after making the dress/cover up, she knew something was off, but was still confused about choosing the right fabric for the pattern.

So, how does someone avoid making costly fabric selection mistakes?  The answer is simple:  You must know a little something about fabric weight.

Fortunately, the folks over at Colette Patterns have created a wonderful chart that helps with understanding fabric weights for wovens.



While understanding the chart is helpful, you still must adhere to the fabric suggestions for the pattern you’ve chosen.

For my example, I’m using the information from a Kwiksew pattern.



Somewhere on every pattern will be a blub about suggested fabrics.  

On this pattern it starts with:

FABRICS:  Designed for lightweight woven fabrics.

If you scroll back up to the Colette chart, you will see in the chart’s top right a variety of lightweight woven fabrics.

The pattern then suggests fabric choices:  Cotton, cotton types, broadcloth, handkerchief linen, gauze, lawn, seersucker.

This pattern suggest using either broadcloth or lawn, two very different fabric weights.

If you scroll back up to the chart, you will see that broadcloth falls to the bottom left and is stiff and heavyweight.
 
If you look to the top right on the chart, you will see that the lawn is lightweight and drapey.

So, if you want your dress to be stiffer, you would go with the broadcloth; if you want your dress to be drapey, you would choose the lawn.

Pattern choice also comes into play here.  My friend went with a pattern from this pattern book.



I rarely recommend these types of pattern books for new sewists.  They are pretty pricey and usually only have one or two patterns you may want to use.

The real drawback, though, is in the instructions themselves.  Most of the pattern books out there are written by fabric designers.  Generally speaking, fabric designers are more artist and less technical writer.

What I mean is the design is usually fabulous, while the instructions are usually dreadful.

For the new sewist, I recommend sewing with something from one of the ‘big three’ pattern companies, like Simplicity, McCall's, or Butterick. You can usually get these patterns for $1 if you watch the sales.

If you don’t mind paying a bit more for a pattern, I think Kwiksew patterns are fabulous. Keep in mind, you will need to trace the pattern onto tissue paper, but then you have this perfect hard copy pattern in a variety of sizes.  All you have to do is retrace the next size up!  Very economical.

The last thing I want to say here is something I learned while studying landscape design.  One of the teacher’s said, “You are no gardener until you’ve killed at least 1,000 plants.”

I think the same thing can be applied to sewing, “You are no sewist until you’ve ruined at least 1,000 garments.”

So, go out there and start on your 1,000!  I guarantee, you will have the hang of it long before you hit 1,000!

Choosing Fabric for an Apron II

I am in the process of redoing my Etsy store in order to give it a more consistent look.

Also, my photography skills and equipment are both much better, which can't hurt.



In doing this I must remake some of my apron patterns. 

This, of course, causes me to have to look for fabrics {what a tragedy} and make quick fabric decisions.

For this entire project I am wanting my fabrics to be a bit more modern and a bit less whimsical.  I think doing this will give my shop a consistent look.



For all of my aprons, I use 100% cotton in a quilting weight.

Translated: The cotton is a little bit stiffer and a light-to-medium weight, making it perfect for an apron. If you are new to sewing and unfamiliar with quilting weight cotton, visit a quilt shop and feel the fabric.
 
Another HUGE benefit for using quilting weight cotton is the enormous variety of available fabric choices.  Cupcakes, skulls, animals, kitchen gadgets, holiday themes - you name it – anything you could possibly want.

Here’s a sampling:



So, how do you begin to choose a fabric for an apron project with so many choices?

I think the easiest thing to do is have either a color or theme in mind.  Christmas and Halloween would be good examples of holiday themes.

I had a color in mind – orange.  When I found the fabric for this apron I knew I wanted something that was modern and had orangish tones.  This fabric met both needs.
For the yoke and collar I was looking for something that would keep the apron from looking whimsical.

I actually had a different design in mind, but when I found this geometric fabric, I knew it would work with the the large floral.

 
I also knew I wanted the fabric to have a large design.  The Retro Chic Apron Pattern has a large panel which is ideally suited for big designs.

I don’t always get it right.  I forgot to consider the mannequin that I use in my pictures.  It’s black – and there is a lot of black in this apron.

 
I had to use this slip-on sleeve I made in order to get the apron to stand out.  It works for now, but I will probably remake the apron in a different fabric.

Translated:  I will have to go fabric shopping, again.

Choosing Summer Wardrobe Fabrics

I know that this is a sad little picture.  But, I want to make a point about choosing fabrics for garments you intend to wear.


These are a few summer basics that I've made.  I've been ranting {to anyone who will listen} about the low-cut nature of many ready-to-wear shirts.  They require wearing a tank top underneath.  If you live in Seattle, this is great in the summer.  If you live in Texas, it's misery.


So, I was determined that following last year's record heat {over 80 consecutive days of 100-plus degree days}, I was NOT, NO WAY, PUT IT OUTTA YOUR HEAD going to wear two shirts just because some manufacturer made my shirt so low-cut that I needed a tank top underneath. 

To begin with, I created a summer garment vision:  A handful of casual, comfortable, well-fitting shirts that I could wear here, there, and everywhere, sans tank top.  


With my garment vision, I needed to chose a pattern.  For my shirts I used Kwiksew 2849.

It just so happened that this pattern was being offered in a blouse-making class here.  The pieces were just falling into place.


Here's the thing, if you love a garment you've made and want to remake it more than once, how do you keep it from looking like you haven't changed your clothes in a month?

Shirt #1 is the one I made in class; the jumping off point for my summer garment vision.  The fabric is a lightweight cotton lawn and is unbelievably comfortable on hot Texas days.  I bought it at Joann's using a 50% off coupon.  It cost under $15.


Not wanting all of my shirts to be the same,  I started looking at different types of fabrics for Shirt #2.  If I happened upon another lawn that I liked, I might go with it, but I really wanted something entirely different. 


Enter Shirt #2, an eyelet that I also found at Joann's.  The fabric is heavier than the lawn, but it has little eyelet holes which are great for letting in the breeze, but not so big that you can see through them.  Because the fabric is just a bit heavier, it looks great with jeans, slacks, skirts, and even shorts.


With a coupon, this is an economical fabric and I spent around $15.


The best part, I saw something almost identical in a variety of colors at a high-end women's store a couple of weeks ago. 


On to Shirt #3, a cotton sateen that I also found at Joann's and purchased with a coupon. It was a little more expensive, but I was making the pattern for the third time so I felt like I could splurge.  I think I spent around around $20 for the fabric.


I chose this fabric because the satin-ish finish on the surface makes it a little dressier.  Since it is considered a bottom-weight, which means it is a slightly heavier fabric, it looks more tailored when I wear it.


Lastly, I decided to pair my three blouses with a simple skirt that I can wear everywhere.  This book contains the simplest skirt pattern I've ever made.  It adjusts easily, has only two pieces, and can be made in a variety of fabrics.  What's not to love.  {also, I will be teaching from this book in the Fall}

I made Skirt #4 from a cotton twill that was really cheap didn't cost very much.  Perfect for hot days, looks nice enough to wear almost anywhere.  

One thing I love about this pattern is it's versatility.  I can make it out of a print {like Shirt #3}, wool, denim, corduroy, etc.  Not only that, but the length easily adjusts allowing for a longer skirt in the winter.

All this to say, I started with a plan.  While I didn't know exactly which fabrics I would choose, I had a basic idea of what I wanted.
All had to be light weight 100% cottons that were not too sheer.  I also was looking for a little versatility.

While these tops may not be your exact style, I knew I had done something right when a really cute young mom came up to me in Starbucks and complemented my blouse {#3}.