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An Unexpected & Essential Sewing Tool

An Unexpected & Essential Sewing Tool

Sometimes the simplest tools can be the best. Take the humble tweezer. Sure, it has been stereotyped as a bathroom-only apparatus used only for splinters and the stray eyebrow hair. But the tweezer is more than that, it is an apparatus that can be used in the most delicate of sewing situations. 

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Eileen Fisher Inspired Ikina Jacket

Eileen Fisher Inspired Ikina Jacket

Have you seen a version of a beautiful oversized red jacket flying around the inter-webs? Well, according to Melissa Greene and friends, it's all over the place and she just had to make a version of it, and, well . . . we love it.

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eTee Conversion to Cap Sleeve

eTee Conversion to Cap Sleeve

Carol Scott attended Sew Kansas this summer and wore a really cute variation of the eTee that resulted from her running out of fabric! We asked her to share her process.

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Eureka Top Variation

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The Eureka Top is a simple scoop-neck, boxy tee that has become a staple piece in our wardrobes. Linda took that classic shape and added some pizzazz by dividing the pattern and creating an altogether new garment, the Divided Eureka. Read on to learn how to create this fun variation!

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Long Mimosa Vest

Long Mimosa Vest

I love the look of long vests and sleeveless blazers. Our Mimosa Top has a lovely shape and crossover neckline that gives it that perfect structured look. 

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Add Walking Ease to Jackets and Coats

Add Walking Ease to Jackets and Coats

In the December 16, 2015 blog post called French Terry Topper, I described the process of lengthening the Chicago Jacket to make a longer version in French terry. The coat looks and feels great, but I noticed after it was made that it wants to fly open at the bottom a bit, even when just hanging on a hanger.

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Crinkled Cotton Barcelona Top

Crinkled Cotton Barcelona Top

I love crinkled fabrics. Not only are they interesting, but they hide a lot of things that you don't want to show, including your stitches!

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Short Sleeve Barcelona Top

Short Sleeve Barcelona Top

​Have you seen the Barcelona Top? Our brand new pattern is perfect for summer with one easy modification - shorten the sleeves. See how easy it is to make your Barcelona comfortable for the heat wave! 

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Lantern-Leg Trio Pants

Lantern-Leg Trio Pants

Pants silhouettes are ever-changing, but one constant in the last few seasons is that pants tend to have interesting shapes and details on the lower portion of the legs.

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Plaza Vest

Plaza Vest

Every time I fly to Chicago, I always make time to walk through Neiman Marcus on Michigan Avenue to see the Eskandar line of clothing.The pieces are simple. The designer basically turns out the same designs every season and simply changes up the fabrications and perhaps a length or two.

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Working with a Border Print

Working with a Border Print

I've known Ellen March, editor of Sew News magazine, for a long time. I wrote articles for her and even fielded questions in the Q&A department for years. When she called me and asked if I would be a guest on her Sew It All TV show, I couldn't resist an opportunity to work with her in another format — on camera!

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Zona Jacket Adaptation

Zona Jacket Adaptation

The inspiration for this jacket came from an OSKA advertisement. It was a yellow felled-wool jacket that had all the "bones" of our Zona Jacket. I love to create garments with boucle nylon and wool fabric using lapped seams and raw edge techniques.

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Sew Confident! 2016

Sew Confident! 2016

Inspiration The process of being mentally stimulated to do, feel or imagine something, especially to do something creative.

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Chicago Jacket French Terry Topper

Chicago Jacket French Terry Topper

French terry is a type of jersey knit fabric that has vertical ribs on one side of the fabric and fine loops on the other side, unlike terrycloth, which has loops on both sides. It has entered the fashion scene once again and is used by designers for all kinds of ready-to-wear including coats and toppers.

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Metallic Terry Vest

Metallic Terry Vest

This Metallic Terry Knit is very unique. Soft and warm with the perfect amount of sparkle. A traditional sweatshirt or jacket just wouldn't do. The new Tremont Jacket pattern has a great fit. So why not try a vest?

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Hand-Stitched Leaf Stencil eTee

eTee ACMusclesWEB, Alabama Chanin, eTee, handstitching

After my wonderful retreats at Alabama Chanin in Florence, Alabama last summer and again this summer, my obsession with AC-style stitching is unrelenting—not driven, but truly relaxing and satisfying.

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Now Spring Dress

NowDress SilkYellowWEB

The tulips and irises are blooming. The toes are painted and sandals are out. It's spring! Wearing dresses is a simple way to get dressed in the morning, year round. But it's essential in the spring and summer to stay cool. In an effort to make every pattern into a tunic or dress, I tackled the Now Shirt.

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Random Ruffle eTee

Random Ruffle eTee

And the stitching goes on! Using the new eTee download pattern and the Alabama Chanin organic cotton knit in Dark Grey, Kathy created this darling t-shirt that she claims is "girly", but we love it anyway for its creativity and charm.

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Pleated Riviera

Pleated Riviera


Riviera Pleated Top, Japanese Printed Cottons

The Sewing Workshop was lucky enough to host a great group of garment sewers in Eureka Springs in April for a fun three-day workshop. Several of the participants wanted more detailed instructions on how the pleating was done on left front of this Riveria Shirt made from Japanese cotton.
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Long Helix Tee

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I lengthened this one 3″ and used two colors of the Alabama Chanin organic cotton jersey in white and natural. Plus I used the embroidery floss to hand stitch some parallel lines of diagonal running stitch embellishment along the lower right front.

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Gathering Up the Urban Tee

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Here's a little tutorial so you can create your own Ruffle Urban T-Shirt!

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Icon Vest: Linda's Favorite New Garment

IconVest-BrownCloqueWEB

On a recent trip to Mulberry Silks in Carlboro, NC, I saw Nancy Quaintance in yet again one of her fabulous creations. She was wearing an Icon Shirt as a vest made in a combination of leather and wool. I was so enchanted with it, that I came home and made one for myself in a Chocolate Brown Cloque.

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Whistles Shirt Without the Whistles

whistles-coralstripeLinda

Whistle-less shirt in a handkerchief weight stripe linen that is easy to sew and wear.

 

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Quincy Top Button Front Variation

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I don't always want a zipper closure on the Quincy Top. I can't always find the exact color and length of separating zipper - at least quickly. Also, the fabric that I used, EBL004 Linen - Frosty Pink & Green, was so soft and semi-sheer, that I thought a zipper would be too heavy. So it is possible to convert the front to a button closure with some simple adjustments.

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How to Lengthen the eShrug

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Has the eShrug become your summer staple yet?  I know it has for me. It's always chilly at our office, so the shrug is so easy to throw on with a simple tank, button-down shirt or sleeveless dress.  But what happens when the AC really gets out of hand? 

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Perfect Collar Points

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I don't know about you, but collars can be tricky.  Everyone wants their garments to look crisp & clean, finished with a professional look.  My downfall, precise collars.

Linda Lee can make crisp collar points each and every time. Jealous? I know I'm green with envy.  Now you can follow these 5 easy steps to sew perfect collar points!

To download the full step-by-step tutorial, click here.

Now go, show off your amazing sewing skills!

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Sewing an Asymmetric Mitered Hem

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One of the most interesting features of the Liberty Shirt is the beautiful hem finishing. Since the back is longer than the front, there are two corners that need attention in a special way. The bottom hem in the back is a 2 1/2” finished hem and the adjacent side vent hems are 1 3/8”. The instructions for mitering this corner condition is just one of the seven mitering techniques that Linda has written in her book, Mastering Miters.

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San Diego Tunic

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I do believe that spring is going to grace us with it's presence this weekend.  Finally, I can wear floral without a wool cardigan, scarf & gloves.  What a concept! I'm ready to pull out the lightweight linen, colorful florals, and vivid accessories.

And when the garments in my closet don't excite me for the upcoming season, why not create something new? Using a pattern that never fails, Linda created a fresh new San Diego tunic.

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Sweater Knit Verona Jacket-Free Tutorial

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I just can't stop sewing.  Those creative juices are flowing!!!

Next stop, the Verona Jacket.  The Verona Jacket has always been "uncharted territory" for me.  It's a little more fitted than I would normally choose to wear.  I like more movement & flexibility in my clothing.  But this is such a great pattern, I needed to find a fabric that would make this garment work for me.  Then we received the most amazing heavy-weight wool knits, in floral.  I couldn't resist.

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Double Layer MixIt Tank

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I like to layer my clothing so I can adapt to seasonal changes or to temperature variations in buildings, and the one of the best garments to make for that purpose is a tank.

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Wool Felted Zen Shirt Instructions

ZEN WOOL FELTED JACKET
The Now and Zen shirt pattern (Zen Version) from The Sewing Workshop Pattern Collection was the inspiration for the white jacket on the cover of Threads magazine, March 2010, Issue 147. From there, the design morphed into something quite different.

To cut out some of the straight boxy shape of the shirt, I drew and then sliced a curved princess line in the pattern tissue from hem to front armhole and repeated that on the back. I shaved a little more shape into the waist on the tissue. Because of the size of the washed jersey piece, I also made a back seam and shaped that a little at the waist. Then added the necessary seam allowances to the split edges of the pattern tissue.

I rounded off the corners of the neck edge and lower front.

The Zen shirt pattern departs from the traditional right-over-left buttoning and buttons left over right. But I buttoned right over left for this jacket.

The ruffle came out very different than first planned. I set aside about 1/2 yard of wool jersey before washing to use as the thinner layer of the inside ruffle. I thought the selvedge edge of this yardage was a finer finish than most jerseys, so I used the selvage edges for both of the ruffle edges – both washed and unwashed layers. I cut the one strip of unwashed jersey 3 1/2” wide and one strip of washed jersey 3” wide – both on the selvage if possible.

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