Each image created by Chinese illustrator Jin Xingye seems to suggest a moment from an untold story, where people and creatures appear to share surreal, tender moments from within a larger narrative. You can see more of his recent work over on Behance. (via This Isn’t Happiness) More

TOC: The Royal The Poncho The Red Riding Hood Interesting Variations What to Choose? Have you noticed how capes are "in" at the moment? This is not the first fall/winter season where they've been featured, but this is the year I am noticing them more, especially worn by women in downtown SF, or on the subway. I've been wanting to make a cape for awhile, though capes can be tricky to wear. Depending on the style, a seat belt can be a challenge, for example, as can a shoulder-strap- or cross-body purse. I've been thinking about different styles of capes. You can go to any e-tailer, like Nordstroms.com, and enter "cape" into the search field and see capes galore. For this little survey, I reviewed cape patterns on ebay and etsy. Capes (and ponchos, which are similar) were a big trend in the 70s—"my" high school era—but capes are well represented in all decades since home sewing patterns have been available. A cape is basically a body tent and the challenge with a cape is: what to do with the arms and hands? It seems to me that most capes fall into one of three categories, vis-à-vis hands: The Royal This style of cape hangs on the shoulders and has no accommodation for hands. That means that the wearer's hands have to emerge from the center front. This form of cape is used more for drama (opera, weddings, costumes) than for warmth in polar climates. This cape is a bit fussy to wear, but worth it for the drama, perhaps... [Let's pause one moment for a quick trip down memory lane: When I was a teenager in the mid 70s, my next door neighbor had an older daughter who was engaged. I will never forget her gown. For her December wedding, she designed something special: a full length white velvet cape with a dramatic hood, lined in red and trimmed in white fur. It was cut longer in back, forming a train. I don't recollect that she wore anything underneath, as it did close, but there must have been some short of sheath, as shown in the following YSL ensemble. My teenaged heart went pitter patter for this gown and the idea of a December wedding, which I had never heard of before.] Examples of this style of cape include: Yves Saint Laurent These patterns often feature a ruana view, which is worn more like a stole The Poncho In the poncho style, the arms emerge from under the hem. For this to work, the cape is generally shorter on the sides, or all around. Another trip down memory lane: My mother, an accomplished seamstress, made a short cape from white faux fur back in the 70s. The cape buttoned and I wore it to several events (which I can no longer precisely remember). Examples of this style include: Fabulous neckline! The Red Riding Hood In the first two styles, there is no modification to the pattern for arms and hands. In this style, some form of slit allows the wearer's hands to emerge, while keeping the cape closed, if desired. The slit may land in a seam, or it might be a free-standing welt. Depending on the location of the slit, this can be the hardest style to wear, as it can greatly limit mobility. At least that's what I remember from back in the 70s... Designers seem to love this style. Examples include: Pucci! Givenchy! DKNY (current pattern) I love how the hand emerges from the welt and then slides into a patch pocket. A clever detail. Style Arc design (current pattern) Interesting Variations I saw a couple interesting cape variations that deserve special mention. This cape has cuffs, forming a batwing silhouette. This pattern claims that you can wear it as a cape OR a skirt! I wonder how feasible that is in real life... What to Choose? Have I chosen what kind of cape to make? Why, yes I have. :) I hope to have something to show soon, but I will say that mine fits into the "poncho style" category. What about you? Is a cape in your future? Or maybe you acquired one in the last year or two? Or maybe you were "caped out" in the 70s and can't go there again?

From scraps of found cardboard, Ann Weber constructs billowing forms that rise in vibrant patterns—almost figure-like—to greet us.

You are made of pure magic.

Quick links: Patterns with Built-in Bust Darts Are You Uber Busty? Altering a Pattern for Woven Fabrics to fit the Uber Busty Altering a Pattern for Knit Fabrics to fit the Uber Busty Negative Ease Pictures of Alterations Breast Reduction - Yay or Nay This post has been a long time coming. I mean, it's pretty hard to avoid the fact that I am mostly boobs. My current bras (I have three in varying states of decay) are 36G... and they are actually too small, purchased when I weighed 20 pounds less. When I sit cross legged and bra-less... well you can imagine the rest. When I was nursing my babies (a very difficult challenge for reasons I won't go into on the blog), one of my major personal milestones was when the baby's head would finally grow larger than my breast, and it took months. TMI? Sorry. :) Patterns with Built-in Bust Darts Before I proceed, I want to put something out there. I really dislike patterns that come with bust sizing. This might surprise you. I dislike them for two reasons: First, the cup size range offered usually ends at D and is nowhere near big enough to fit me. Second, the dart is completely in the wrong place. It is much easier to start from scratch and add a bust dart than to move and enlarge one. I just had to say it, because I have been told by more than one pattern designer, that their patterns "just work". Generally these pattern designers have a petite (or regular sized) bust. Are You Uber Busty? My full bust measurement is 10 inches larger than my waist and 12 inches larger than my hips. So, yes, I have a unique fitting challenge. In fact, I don't consider a D, or even a DD cup, to be large. Of course, that is a large bust, but I have an uber large bust. Are you busty? Or uber busty? Once you can no longer easily buy a bra in Nordstroms without special ordering and are looking at cup sizes like G, H and I, you have entered uber busty territory. But doesn't everyone have fitting challenges? Yes, I am quite limited in the styles I can wear up top. But isn't everyone limited in the styles they can wear? Every so often I truly yearn to wear a design that I know is totally impossible, but that is hardly unique either. When this happens, I whinge for a minute and then I remind myself that I can wear all sorts of great pants styles and move on. Women who are uber short, uber tall, uber small busted, highly asymmetric, all have fitting difficulties. Despite this fact, I don't post tutorials on how to fit my bust. This is for a couple reasons: There are many resources available that already cover this topic. My favorites are: Fit for Real People, 2nd Edition, a book by Palmer/Pletsch. (The second edition describes the Y-dart.) This excellent book on fitting is often referred to as FFRP. Full Busted, a DVD by Palmer/Pletsch. Debbie Cook has some good tutorials on her blog, Stitches and Seams. Even where I have gathered special knowledge on fitting my own bust, I am reluctant to post exactly how I deal with it. Maybe this is cowardly, but it's partly because I don't want flak about my approach being "wrong". And, every situation can vary. You have to learn the particularities of your figure — become the master of fitting your body. I am not great at fitting patterns. I am great at fitting patterns to me. So, I tell you, I have approaches that work for me: an uber busty, but hipless wonder. My measurements are, pretty much, 50-40-38. One of the big reasons I started my blog, over two years ago, is because the uber busty is a body type that one doesn't see much, outside of porn stars or Dolly Parton, and I wanted to represent this segment of sewists. Also, when the boobage is fake, the fit might be a challenge, but it's a slightly different challenge. Fake uber boobs are generally much higher up on the body - I always have to lower the bust point on a pattern by 2", maybe more. Women with fake uber boobs usually have slim upper arms and a strong shoulder line. I often have to enlarge the arm width on patterns, especially Style Arc or Jalie, which are drafted for a slim arm — the Palmer Pletsch book has the easy alteration for that. I also usually have to move the shoulder in by a couple inches, even on raglan styles or the shoulder "bump" is a couple inches down my sleeve. (Though I don't usually have to fiddle with the shoulder fit in Style Arc patterns, they are drafted to be much closer to my actual body. Many sewists of varying sizes comment that they love how Style Arc patterns fit through the upper chest and armscye.) Altering a Pattern for Woven Fabrics to fit the Uber Busty As I mentioned, there is a lot of information available on how to add a bust dart to a pattern for woven fabrics. I favor the Y-dart (covered in the Palmer Pletsch book), which is good for an uber bust. I routinely sew a size 18 or 20 (based on my upper bust measurement) in the Big 4 and add a 3" dart, for a total of 6" of width. Despite this, I always sew the darts and side seams last in a garment. This gives me an opportunity to place the dart exactly where it should go on the body — it can vary for each project. Once the dart is sewn I then pin the side seams, try the garment on, make any tweaks, and then complete the side seams — it is one of the last steps for me. So, I rarely follow the construction order given by a pattern, which usually has you sew the darts first thing. This is why my garments fit as well as they do (not that there isn't room for improvement...). Another thing I do when altering a pattern (and I have mentioned this in several posts) is that, before adding the bust dart, I chop the pattern in half approximately at the waist. This is because my hips are so much smaller than my bust and much smaller than a size 18 pattern. Before I figured this out, the tops I made were generally tents. So I add the dart to the top half of the pattern, and then re-attach the bottom and kind of merge them together at the side seam. This can create a strange pattern shape and is another reason I always fit the side seams last in the garment - so I can tweak. To give you a better idea of what I am talking about, in this post on the Liberty top, I show two versions that I made. The first version uses a standard FBA, extending to the hem of the garment. The resulting top has a tent-like, unflattering fit. The second top, uses my modified approach and creates a much better fitting garment. The following images are borrowed from that post: Both versions. Left: Size Large with standard 2" FBA. Right: Size Medium, sliced at waist, 3" Y-shaped FBA on top, bottom re-attached, and side seam merged. Result: Much better fit through the hips. Another way to prevent the "tent" effect, rather than chop the pattern at the waist, is to sew fisheye darts from the bust to the hem. You might be wondering why I do not make more liberal use of the fisheye dart. However, I am not a fan of this approach. It works fine if you have a relatively small belly, but I do not. This technique can work well for a conventional blouse, and I have used it once or twice in that situation, but it does not work well for the more unusual styles I favor. I mean, can you imagine the Sewing Workshop Liberty top with fisheye darts? I don't think so. If your pattern is asymmetric, or has an unusually seamed hem, a fisheye dart is not likely to work. Altering a Pattern for Knit Fabrics to fit the Uber Busty I know that knits intimidate many sewists, and I don't really get that. At the age of 11, in 1970, my mother (an amazing sewist and an A-cup wonder who didn't get how to fit my body at all when it suddenly exploded at age 16) signed me up to take a sewing class at a local Stretch and Sew store. Back then, there was no such thing as lycra. Imagine that! Knits were generally cotton interlock, qiana (a nylon fabric somewhat similar to the ITY and slinky poly knits you see today, except less breathable), or wool double knits. Stretch and Sew was the bastion of cotton interlock, having built their empire on that particular form of knit, which is a very stable, but not highly stretchy, doubleknit. So, I have been sewing with knits for a long time. It's true that they require some light handling and a good machine, but I find them to be, in most cases, a delight to sew. While there are many resources out there for bust darts, there is much less information available that specifically deals with knits. So, how do I handle an FBA in a knit? Well, it depends. The first question you must ask yourself is, what kind of knit are you using? Is it a stable knit with some heft to it, such as a ponte? A wool double knit? A cotton interlock? These fabrics can handle a standard dart. Though I suggest you might be happiest with a dart that extends into the armscye, rather than the side seam. It will be shorter, less visible, and give a superior fit. These kinds of knits are easy to sew because they are beefy and stable. For a knit like this, you may want zero ease in the finished garment. In other words, if your bust is 50", you might want the finished garment to be 50": 50" (garment) - 50" (body) = 0" (ease), called zero ease. This will skim your bust without tugging at it and it can look nice. But, to be sure, find a garment in your closet, or at the store (you DO carry a tape measure in your purse, don't you???), using a similar knit that fits the way you like and measure the bust. These days, clothing is more fitted and you might find that a garment that is larger than your bust is too loose. I know I do. Or, are you sewing one of the flimsier, floatier, highly stretchy, knits such as a rayon- (or bamboo-) lycra jersey, a mesh knit, or a a slippery ITY polyester knit? You probably will not be happy with a dart in a knit like this. It is likely to be wiggly and draw attention where you don't want it. In this sort of garment, I add the FBA, but I don't sew the dart. I convert the point of the dart to a curve, and ease the fullness in at the side seam. Negative Ease In a garment made from a stretchy knit, I like to use negative ease. For me, 4" of negative ease is just perfect. For a 50" bust, I would fit the final garment to be 46": 46" (garment) - 50" (body) = -4" (ease), or 4 inches of negative ease. A bit of negative ease creates a garment that gently cups the bust, and the fabric below the bust comes "in" a bit, but doesn't hug the belly. The resulting fit is very flattering. To determine the amount of negative ease that you prefer, measure a garment made from a fabric with similar stretchiness and fits the way you like. (By the way, when the garment measurement is larger than the body measurement, that is not called "positive ease", it is just called ease. Ease comes in two forms: wearing ease and design ease. Wearing ease is how much ease do you need to comfortably wear a garment. Design ease is purely aesthetic — how much ease do you add to create the design line you want?) For example, here is a top I made recently and posted here that has 4 inches of negative ease: But don't forget that the amount of negative ease varies according to the stretch of the fabric. In this garment, posted in Sweatshirt Mashup - Jalie and Au Bonheur, I used a less stretchy fleece but forgot that it would need more ease. I used 4" negative ease and the result is a bit hoochie mama: When adding a dart to a pattern for knits, I sometimes do not need much width to be added to the pattern at all because I do prefer negative ease. In this situation, I shortcut the alteration a bit. Rather than a normal FBA, which adds both width and length, I add length only: I slice the pattern horizontally at the bust point, lower the bottom part of the pattern by an inch or so, and possibly curve the outer seam at the bustline just a tad - but not too much! This adds the length I need to go up and over the bust, which you still need unless you like your front hemline to be too short. Note: Remember, when you are adding a bust dart of any kind, that you need to add length, and not just width. This is because, your bust is a mountain and not a rainbow. (And, yes, I made this phrase up. :) ) When constructing the garment, and I am pinning the side seams, I ease the fullness in at the bust level. In other words, I start pinning from the hem so that the front and back are one to one; in the few inches at the top of the side seam, the front seam is longer than the back and I leave the fullness alone — I do not gather it. When stitching at the machine, I have one hand above the presser foot and one below, and I pull the seam so that they ease together. This is very easy because this kind of knit is stretchy. In the finished side seam, you will see slight puckering on the front side, but it works out fine on the body. Pictures of AlterationsI have been asked for clarification of some of my pattern alterations. I pulled a few patterns and took pictures. These alterations were made on my Style Arc patterns. Seriously, I LOVE the fit I get from Style Arc and I use these patterns as my TnT (Tried and True) patterns and transfer the fit to other (non-Style Arc) patterns. Yes, shipping from Australia is expensive, but it's the same for our Aussie sewing sisters who order from the U.S. - maybe we need to develop Aussie sewing buddies so we can buy things for each other... And, yes, these patterns come in one size only. But I find that to be a treat - to just cut out the pattern on the lines and go. The Debra Zebra top with a Y-dart alteration. (The Y-dart is shown in Fit For Real People, 2nd edition.) I have chopped off the bottom of the pattern at the waist and reattached after the FBA is complete. I smoothed the bust dart into a curve - I do not sew it as a dart, but ease (not gather) the fullness in at the side seam. Note that I further tweak the fit in the garment stage, on my body, so this is just a starting point. Debra Zebra sleeve with the alteration to widen the upper sleeve. This is also explained in the Fit For Real People book. Adele top with FBA. In this case, the width of the top at the bust is correct, given that I want 4" of negative ease. However, I still need more fabric to go up and over my bust, so I add to the length only. Breast Reduction - Yay or Nay Every so often, someone will ask me about breast reduction surgery. Often, it is from a well meaning person who has herself had breast reduction surgery and has been very happy with the results. While that's fine, I have never seriously considered this for several reasons. One, it is expensive. Yes, it can be covered by insurance if you have back problems, but, except for a few notable times in my 20s and 30s, I have never had back problems. I stand fairly straight and my back is generally fine. Two, I am a complete weenie about surgery. Hate it. Don't want it. Avoid it. And three, I like my bust. Not in the "I'm proud of my huge boobage" sort of way, but in the "Yes, I have big boobs and it would be convenient if they weren't quite so large, but they very nicely hide my enormous belly" sort of way. Seriously, if I magically woke up tomorrow with a C or D cup size, all you would notice is belly, and I far prefer a dominant bust over a dominant belly. Besides, my kids, when young, really enjoyed my natural pillows, or Wilma and Betty, as we referred to them. ;)

From scraps of found cardboard, Ann Weber constructs billowing forms that rise in vibrant patterns—almost figure-like—to greet us.

These sets are a celebration of friends, creativity, color, and communing. CFM is one of our fave local woman-owned-and-operated businesses. They are a storefront offering handmade watercolors and a line of letterpress watercolor papergoods all made in-house, alongside a curated selection of creative supplies. Earlier this year, we started to talk about collaborating and coming up with something that represents all that we care about: sustainability, creativity, process, and COLOR. We were sitting on a fair amount of patterned fabric backstock that we didn't want to go to waste, and wondered if we could come up with something to make from it. I think it was actually all of us who had the idea of a brush roll, and we immediately got so excited about this possibility! Inspired by the colored fabrics, CFM came up with a color-match lineup of handmade watercolors! Over a few meetings to tweak the design and test the supplies inside, we ended up with a beautiful folding brush roll, each with their own collection of 8 watercolors specially made to match the pattern and colorway. CFM even created two unique, blended colors to include in each set G&G Lilac and Cf M Cypress. Inside these folding brush rolls you'll also find everything you need to draw and paint: a pencil for sketching, a waterproof pen for lining, an eraser, pencil sharpener, one small round brush and one larger one, a pack of tiny paper that fits in its very own pocket, and a simple travel palette to hold your 8 color-matched colors. We can't wait to see what you all make with these sets!

she finds access to her cosmic seeing through quiet moments communing with her heart. Original ink and watercolour painting on acid free watercolour paper. 21 cm by 28 cm (a4) 11 x 8 inch approx.

When this Koos bag pattern came out in late April, I was smitten. I decided it was just the thing to make now that I am replete with red ...

Communing with Nature - on a profound, spiritual level; the horse freely enjoys the company of his spirit companion, without ties or force, under the full moon. Both are communing with nature and nature responds to them by radiating peace through the leaves, grass, flowers and stars. Truly a stunning Native American In

Surrealism has always played a role in graphic design—though it started as a political philosophy with the ideas of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. However, the French art critic Guillaume Apollinaire first coined the term in 1917. French artist André Breton fused forces with artists like Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst, first wrote the “Surrealist Manifesto” in 1924, which explored the subconscious world, intuitive drawing and the avant-garde, revolutionizing art and design. Now,

From scraps of found cardboard, Ann Weber constructs billowing forms that rise in vibrant patterns—almost figure-like—to greet us.

The Ziggi jacket from Style Arc features two exposed zipper pockets. These pockets are not positioned exactly in the center of the pr...

Each image created by Chinese illustrator Jin Xingye seems to suggest a moment from an untold story, where people and creatures appear to share surreal, tender moments from within a larger narrative. You can see more of his recent work over on Behance. (via This Isn’t Happiness) More

Our traditional Easter High Tea. So decadent... For awhile now I've been wanting to make a Liberty top. I have seen some really beautiful versions on the Sewing Workshop Gallery, Pattern Review, Stitcher's Guild, and in my own sewing group. Then, at our last sew group meeting, Heather Nishimura showed her latest version of the Liberty and I fell in love. Heather is one of those stealth sewists. She quietly, and without fanfare, makes the most gorgeous pieces. She always looks so elegant and beautiful - she really rocks her wardrobe. She had the brilliant idea of making a pullover using the Liberty pattern. She used a black/grey stripe knit (with the stripe positioned vertically) and placed the center front on the fold of the fabric. She finished it off with a turtleneck. Well, I love knit t-shirts, pullovers, and the like, that have interesting details and this one was fabulous. I couldn't wait to try it out. I traced off a Large and added a dart. I tested the pattern fit using a light yellow cotton interlock someone had given me at our last Babes meeting. I finished the neckline with a binding. My test garment, using donated cotton interlock. For my actual garment, I used a Japanese knit from Emma One Sock. This slightly sheer knit has a weighty hang - really nice. For this version, I didn't sew the dart, I eased it. For the neckline I finished with a piece of the selvedge. The second version uses a Japanese sweater knit from Emma One Sock When I wear this top, the neckline pulls a bit to the back. The next time I make this top (and there will be a next time) I plan to move the shoulder seam forward 1/2" and to shorten the sleeves an inch. Eventually I want to make the pattern as shown on the envelope. It's a great one! [Edited on 4/9/10.] Heather has sent me a picture of her striped Liberty turtleneck for posting! My understanding is that it will appear soon on the SW gallery. Isn't it gorgeous?

The winner of the digital subscription to Selvedge Magazine is R. Trittel! Please contact me, R, and congrats! If you didn't win the subscription to Selvedge, here is something to inspire you. Check out some amazing eye candy—wearable art by Kay Khan! We are experiencing some ark-building weather here in northern California—it's the "storm of a decade", which makes it a wonderful day to work from home. My cat, however, is fairly grumpy that there is no door into summer.

I recently spent several days in Seattle. I was there for work, but extended my stay to include a weekend. I love Seattle and was happy to have a couple days to check out the sights. So, I have a museum and shopping report! And yes, this is a long, photo-filled, post! TOC: Counter Couture Exhibit at the Bellevue Museum Claire's Issey Miyake Coat Seattle Fabric Shopping Shopping Shopping Chihuly Museum Finale Counter Couture Exhibit at the Bellevue Museum I had heard about the Counter Couture exhibit in Bellevue (near Seattle), but it closed on January 10th, so I thought it unlikely that I would be able to see it. When it turned out that I would be in Seattle on its last weekend, I was thrilled. Claire, a local sewing pal, offered to pick me up from the airport and take me to the exhibit, and then to Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle. Yay! What a fascinating exhibit, featuring hippie clothing from the 60s and 70s, largely originating from Haight Ashbury. I had to wonder why a San Francisco museum (hello, de Young?) has never had a similar exhibit. The exhibit featured handmade garments, shoes, and jewelry that was painted, embroidered, crocheted, and covered with studs. It reminded me how handwork was prized in my youth (in the 70s), when creative ideas were "out there", and colors were exuberantly expressed. Some of the displayed clothing was "every day", some was created as performance wear, and some was worn by cult members. It was fun to see the early work of many wearable artists that I recognize: Yvonne Porcella, Candace Kling, Jean Cacicedo, Laurel Burch. I especially loved the studded garments by Billy Shire. I'll share a few of my many photos. One of Wavy Gravy's outfits, made entirely from doilies Crochet jacket by Jean Cacicedo. You may recall that I recently made a coat using the newly released Jean Cacicedo pattern. A painted leather jacket. (I didn't note the maker on this one.) A painted dress A necklace by Laurel Burch Embroidered jacket for Merl Saunders by Nina Jean Carisi Chrysalis Collar Eye Necklace by Alex and Lee Denim jacket by Billy Shire, winner of the Levi denim art contest in 1973. That center piece is a car ash tray—the lid slides back and forth. That must have been a hit at a party. The front of the jacket features a desk bell. Detail of Billy Shire's jacket More work by Billy Shire Dresses by Yvonne Porcella Whimsical shoes by "Apple Cobbler" (Mickey McGowan) Boots and more boots by Apple Cobbler An entire room was dedicated to the wonderful, whimsical crochet by "100% Birgitta" (Birgitta Bjerke) Claire's Issey Miyake Coat I also want to mention Claire, my gracious tour guide, who was sporting a piece of wearable art herself! Claire attended Design Outside the Lines in Fall 2014, the first time that Carol Lee Shanks was Diane Ericson's guest teacher. She started this coat at the retreat, using an Issey Miyake pattern. I think she used Vogue 2182, though she tells me that she had to modify it quite a bit. She finished the coat recently, just in time for this winter. She included some wonderful details, such as gathered organza trim and contrasting boucle details. I love it! Thanks to the museum staff, who offered to take a pic after admiring Claire's coat Claire recommended that we lunch at The Mediterranean Kitchen and I loved their felafel plate, which is more like a felafel salad! After lunch, we drove into Seattle, heading towards a fabric store I have been wanting to visit. On the way to the Queen Anne district, Claire wanted to show me one of the best lookout points in Seattle, just above Kerry Park. As we approached the street above Kerry Park, we saw this: It turns out that there had just been a shooting in the park. (Pic from this story.) So I guess I'll have to save this sight for a future visit. Bye bye and thank you, Claire! Seattle Fabric Shopping Nancy's Sewing Basket Claire and I ended our outing with a visit to Nancy's Sewing Basket. An independent fabric store in the Queen Anne district, you may have seen their booth at Puyallup. Nancy's carries a very nicely curated selection of fabrics. Here are a few fabrics that caught my eye: Wool They also have a nice selection of knits and sweater knits I didn't buy anything, but Claire found a couple beautiful Japanese cottons Stitches On Sunday, as I was taking a long walk from the Space Needle to Pike Place Market, I stumbled across a small independent fabric store, Stitches. A cute little store, with a mix of quilting, garment, and costume fabrics, as well as a limited selection of yarn. I would support this little store if I lived in the area. I didn't see any fabric or yarn that I needed, but I did buy some cute gift hang tags. pirkko Once I arrived in the area near Pike Place Market, I wanted to check out a number of shops. One of them was pirkko, Seattle's Marimekko store. They have bolts of Marimekko fabrics in the back. Nothing tempted me, but it's good to know about another resource. District Fabric I've mentioned visiting District Fabric in the Fremont district here and here. This store carries a nice selection of garment fabrics and is two blocks from my Seattle office, so I generally stop by when I'm in town. However, I wasn't able to visit this trip: I worked on Monday and Tuesday, and District is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Oh well, next time! Have I seen all of the fabric stores in Seattle? Have I missed anything? What about great yarn stores? Shopping Shopping When visiting another city, I love to search out shops that sell interesting garments and accessories. Seattle did not disappoint! All of these shops were in the area surrounding Pike Place Market, a shopping mecca. Totokaelo My first stop was a Margy recommendation, Totokaelo. This store sells gorgeous, high end clothing, shoes, and accessories, from designers like Issey Miyake, Dries Van Noten, and Commes des Garcon. I didn't stay long enough to see everything, but I saw an R13 cape that I keep thinking about. This beautiful green and teal Issey Miyake bag was on sale, though still a bit out of my budget at $800. Sandylew For years now I've been following Sandylew's blog. This compact store carries brands like Comfy USA, Itemz, Spirit House, Transparente, Ronen Chen, and Stella Carakasi. Like most of the stores I visited, they were having a big January sale. I had a lot of fun trying things on, chatting with Sandy and her sales people, and enabling other customers. I ended up buying a bracelet and a pair of tattoo leggings, both of which will make an appearance at some point. Maggie's Shoes Next, I headed for Maggie's Shoes, Seattle's purveyor of Trippens and other European brands. Even though I was there well within their Sunday shopping hours, they were closed, with a suggestion to ring the bell. I rang the bell several times, and waited around, but finally had to move on. Baby and Co I came across Baby and Co as I was searching the internet for Seattle shopping places. This store carries interesting designers, like Rundholz (a favorite) and Kenzo. They are, very conveniently, directly across the street from Maggie's Shoes. By the time I arrived, it was nearing sunset. I'd walked for miles and was losing steam, but I still bought myself a hat, on sale, of course. Did I miss any great clothing stores? I'd love to hear about it. :) Chihuly Museum I feel like I've saved the best for last! I put this last because it has nothing to do with sewing or wearables, but I've been wanting to go to the Chihuly Museum for ages. Many people seem to confuse the Chihuly Garden and Glass with the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, but they are quite different. I saw the Tacoma museum last year when attending Puyallup Sew Expo. It's a nice museum—my favorite exhibits were the glass sculptures made from children's drawings. The Chihuly museum is located at the base of Seattle's Space Needle. Last year, I went to the top of the Space Needle and I got an aerial view of Chihuly's glass garden and the hall with massive windows. I had seen the Chihuly exhibit at the de Young Museum in 2008 and it was amazing. The Seattle museum is similar to that, but larger and more impressive. The museum opens at 11am on Sunday and it was a perfect time to go. It just so happened that this was also during a big Seahawks vs. Cardinals game (leading up to the Superbowl), so the streets, and the museum, were deserted! What a treat to visit this museum with only a handful of other tourists! It was also a blazingly sunny weekend (really unusual at this time of year), which makes the glass glow. Enjoy some pics! Looking directly up at the ceiling Looking up at the Space Needle Who doesn't love museum gift shops? I gravitated to the children's section in the Chihuly gift shop. I was enamored with the Snooter Doots. After much dithering, I selected the Washington Cherries. Here they are, packed for the trip home. And here they are, keeping me company in my office. They make me happy! Finale I wore my new Minoru every day while in Seattle. It was chilly and rained two of the four days. I love this coat! I received countless compliments on it. In fact, as I was walking along 1st Street, a group of 4 young men wearing droopy jeans, hoodies, and knit caps, passed me, going the other direction. Just as they passed, a voice emerged from the group, "Nice jacket, ma'am." It almost didn't register. I stopped, turned around and said, "THANK YOU!" One of the young men stopped, turned around, and smiled shyly. It made my day! In fact, I am planning on making the Minoru again for my Paris travel wardrobe. If you've hung around this far, here are a few more pics that didn't fit up above. Near the Chihuly Museum Maybe it's easy to tell - I'm wearing a Marcy Tilton wide-legged pant from a long OOP pattern. Pic taken at an outdoor grocer at Pikes Place Market. I love how the produce resembles Chihuly glass!

Hi, it's Shams from Communing with Fabric with another garment made from a lovely Britex fabric! When Britex asked me to choose one of their linen fabrics, I was drawn to their Cross-dyed Turquoise Linen. Note: This fabric is difficult to photograph. In real life, it seems less saturated to my eye than shown in this photo, but it looks more sky blue in some of my photos than in real life. In any case, it's a lovely color and you can always order a swatch! I am a huge fan of linen that is woven with one color in the warp direction, and another in the weft. With linen, this effect is generally referred to as a cross dye (though it's actually cross woven, but it's referred to as cross dye) and I love the resulting visual texture. Earlier this spring, I made a jacket using cross-dyed linen and the Tessuti Silva jacket pattern. This pattern is suited for linen and features a raw bias edging. The concept is that, with time and washing, the bias edge gently frays. But I am an impatient sort, so I fray the edge manually using a low-tech tool—my thumbnails! I like the effect, but it does take awhile. For this jacket, I timed how long it took to fray the outer edge of the jacket: 3 hours and 17 minutes. I neglected to time my fraying of the sleeve hems, which probably took another half hour. It created a lot of lint! But the effect is totally worth it! I made a few other changes. My last version of this pattern had no pockets and I like pockets! I made a patch pocket, but when I pinned it to the front of the jacket, it made the jacket hang awkwardly. I decided to center the pocket over the side seam, which worked great! I had small pieces of canvas that had been stenciled and painted by Miles Frode. I purchased these from Diane Ericson last spring at Puyallup Sew Expo. I cut several rectangles from the canvas and trimmed them with the beautiful selvedge from the linen. I embellished the back, the pocket, and the right front edge with these pieces. Finally, I closed the jacket using large snaps that I covered with scraps of turquoise lining. I now have another great linen jacket for the warm weather, on those rare occasions that I leave San Francisco to go somewhere warm! Thanks to Britex for the fabric! And welcome to Kirby, the cutest pug puppy EVER!

New Balance Salehe Squiggly Scarf - jewel Acclaimed designer and recurring New Balance collaborator Salehe Bembury presents a new collection of outdoors-minded apparel. Inspired by portability of the yurt, a traditional, felt or skin covered round tent, the collection embraces the mental and functional aspects of communing with nature. Sizing: One size - Shop to size Materials: - Suspected resellers will be turned away and Good As Gold reserves the right to determine suspected resellers. - Awesome puffer scraf - Zip detailing - Opening to keep your neck nice and toasty whilst looking cool & clean as - This'll easily elevate your winter wardrobe

This fanny pack is the ultimate accessory for butterfly-loving whimsicals and people on the go! Whether you're headed to a concert, festival, the beach, communing with the faeries or off on global travels, this waist bag has everything you'll need—the right size, a small inside pocket, and adjustable straps—to become your favorite hands-free fashion item no matter where your adventures take you! Design elements include patterned brown, pink, and blue realistic butterflies. Great for nature, butterfly, bug style gifts for all ages. • 100% polyester • Fabric weight: 9.56 oz/yd² (325 g/m²), weight may vary by 5% • Dimensions: 6.5″ (16 cm) in height, 13″ (33 cm) in width, and 2¾″ (7 cm) in diameter • Water-resistant material • Top zipper with 2 sliders • Small, customizable inner pocket without zipper • Silky lining, piped inside hems • 1¼″ (2.54 cm) wide adjustable straps with plastic strap regulators • Blank product components sourced from China This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

.css-1sgivba{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;gap:0.5rem;margin-bottom:var(--chakra-space-2);} .css-cosgki{font-size:16px;font-weight:var(--chakra-fontWeights-bold);} Product Type: Giclee Print Print Size: 16" x 16" Finished Size: 16" x 16" .css-1336n79{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;gap:0.5rem;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-8);margin-bottom:var(--chakra-space-8);} Product ID: 57854534975A

Each image created by Chinese illustrator Jin Xingye seems to suggest a moment from an untold story, where people and creatures appear to share surreal, tender moments from within a larger narrative. You can see more of his recent work over on Behance. (via This Isn’t Happiness) More

195 p. ; 18 cm

While he is famous to us for his mathematical theorems, in antiquity Pythagoras was renowned for the philosophical-religious sect that he founded.

Indonesian artist Elicia Edijanto (previously) has long been fascinated in the bond between animals and children. In her stark black watercolor paintings she depicts predatory beasts like cheetahs and bears as having a direct and intimate bond with children who accompany the animals as companions in misty, haze-filled landscapes. “Nature inspires me. My subjects are often children and animal because they are sincere, unprejudiced and unpretentious. There’s an innate relationship between them,” says the Edijanto. More

Just another blog from a red haired, 50-something, uber busty, slim hipped, funky lovin' sewist! To reach me, email toofunny2 at gmail dot com.

It's interesting that I often get questions from folks who sew for the uber busty more than I get questions from the uber busty. I guess the uber busty learn to deal with it, and move on. :) I recently received a question from an expert sewist who was sewing for her uber busty daughter and struggling with the mammoth dart. I'm not talking about those darts where the legs are maybe half an inch apart. I'm talking about darts where the legs are 2" or 3" apart. This sewist was asking me how to sew such a dart so that you don't get a "point" at the end of it. I hate that point. Hate hate hate. And I don't know about you, but my uber bust lacks sharp points, so a dart that ends in a point is to be avoided at all costs. There are several ways to deal with a large dart. All are valid and you can play around to find the approach you like best for your particular project. Convert the mammoth dart to a seam, for example a princess seam. A princess seam goes through the bust point. It can go from the bottom seam/hem to the armscye, from the bottom seam/hem to the shoulder (I recollect this is called a military princess seam), from the side seam to the armscye, and so on. This is really not that hard to do, but I won't cover the "how to" in this post. (I googled and found a Burdastyle pictorial, Change darts to Princess seams, showing how to do this with a sloper, but the approach is the same for a garment.) Convert the single mammoth dart to two or three smaller darts. This is also quite easy to do using slice and slide. (There might be a better term for this, but it is descriptive of how I do it.) For example, convert the large dart to one that goes to the side seam and another that goes to the armscye. Or maybe put two darts at the side seam, but one heads towards the hem, in what is called a French Dart, and the other ends higher up, maybe towards the waist. Note that angled darts create a more flattering line than a strictly horizontal dart. Use some shaping when sewing and pressing the dart. This may not always work to your satisfaction, but is most successful when you are using a print or a textured fabric that will help camouflage the dart. For this post I want to talk about the third approach. There are several aspects to sewing a dart, which is a big reason I sew my darts at the end of constructing a garment. I pin the darts right on my body. That is not always possible, for example if you are sewing for someone who is not geographically available, but it really works the best. First, you must consider the length of the dart, and this relates to the shape of the bust. A full, rounded bust, like mine, requires a shorter dart. A less rounded bust (does anyone with an uber bust really have a cone shaped breast?) requires a longer dart. But never do you want to sew the dart all the way to the bust point, at the fullest part of the bust. It should end before that point. In my case, maybe 2 or more inches before. In the less busty, maybe an inch before. Secondly, I don't sew the bust dart in a straight line, though it is always drafted with a straight line on the pattern. Again, if the breast has a more conical shape, this is fine. But for me, a gently concave (or is it convex?) curve works best. Again, if you can pin it on the body, it's easy to achieve the correct shape. Next, and possibly most importantly, as you are sewing the dart, start from the legs and sew towards the point. However, as you near the point, approach it gently. Ease into it. Think of a beach where you can easily walk far into the water, rather than one that drops off sharply. It's almost impossible to accomplish this if you start sewing from the point. Finally, press the finished dart flat (do not press all the way to the point or you will create a crease) and then press the garment opened flat, over a ham. This is an important step, so if you do not own a pressing ham, treat yourself and get one from Stitch Nerd (scroll down in the post). Note that her regular ham is on the smallish size. For the uber busty, you might want her larger sized ham. Lay the garment opened flat, so that the dart drapes over the gently curved ham and the fullness of the dart is folded down, towards the hem. Cover with a press cloth, if needed, and press, with lots of steam. You want to squash that "point" flat and encourage it to be a curve. This works better in some fabrics than others; wool, for example, is very malleable. Despite all of this, sometimes a dart just doesn't behave as well as you'd like. When this happens, it's best to take a philosophical approach. The garment will still fit better than anything you've purchased. ;) By the way, thanks for all your feedback on my muslin post yesterday. I really do appreciate your perspectives and input! We are having a gloriously sunny day today, so at some point I will take photos of my latest project, which is not a wearable item.

The Fox Sisters claimed they were communicating with the dead. They helped bolster the Modern Spiritualism movement in America.