From 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to Your Sewing Studio!

So, one of my favorite design/sewing blogs closed it shutters this month – Weekend Designer – a sad, sad day for me, indeed!! Here's the description of the blog:

Welcome to Weekend Designer! This pattern-drafting blog is meant to show anyone that it is not difficult to fabricate fashionable clothing, accessories, and soft home furnishings. All designs shown on this site are samples culled from the world of fashion and design. In no way am I claiming that they are my own creations but use them as examples of what you can do yourself. Most of the tutorials illustrate basic concepts in pattern-drafting or are patternless designs. In all cases whenever possible, credit is given to the original work and creator. I do not have any affiliation with the designers and do not have access to their original patterns or production methods.

And here's an example of WD's mastery:



I hope someone else fills this void.....

Silver Lining ------ The Weekend Designer inspired me to take images from another favorite site - Mrs. O and make them my own (or, for those of us who live in DC, to bring those stylish frocks from Pennsylvania Ave to M St to Canal Rd to MacArthur Blvd to Q St to Greene Pl).

Here's a lovely dress that Mrs. O wore to a recent event:
If you want one like it in your closet as much as I do - all you'll need is one of these -
---- a new Michael Kors Vogue pattern (V117 - a lined, fitted dress, below mid-knee length has pleated bodice, tucked front, invisible back zipper and center back slit) and one of these extraordinary silk florals from Gorgeous Fabrics



See you at the next STATE DINNER!

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Fashion Week - AH BUENO!

Videos speak louder than words!

Enjoy Zac, Jason and (coming soon) Isabel - - -

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So I Love the Lounge!!

Sweet September at DC Threads! The project for this month was a stylin' laptop sleeve.



Juliana nailed it with her Ikea fabric and handles!
I'm thinkin' I may need to grab the seam-ripper and add a pair of handles to mine! Great idea by Coach Emily and stellar execution by Juliana!

We had a great turnout AGAIN! Our new registration process sort of worked. Lots of folks signed up early but only a third of them showed up - but we had loads of drop-ins so we still had a full house. Gotta figure out how to get folks to either come if they registered or respond to our email request to let us know if they are not able to join us! If anyone has any ideas how to solve this conundrum drop me a line! I am certainly not complaining - it's a wonderful problem to solve!

But let's talk about the amazing sewists that joined us yesterday - a great mix of ages, expertise, experience, and interests. We spanned the ages from 10-80 and tackled chair cushions, recycle/restyling jeans to a dress, lots of easy breezy blouses, tote bags, etc., etc.....

A HUGE thank you to our amazing volunteers/sewing coaches! The Lounge is a successful because of all of you!! Thanks thanks thanks!

Enjoy the photos and hope some of you will stop by October and celebrate our 1 year anniversary!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
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Pining for those lazy days of couture! DRUM ON!

So I haven't touched my couture dress from my AWESOME class in NYC with the fabulous "sit and stitchers" because life (and its adult responsibilities) has managed to get in the way of fashion progress! I am also WOEFULLY delinquent in posting about the class (on the bucket list for this weekend - after the Lounge today!).

But in true L2 form I (with the help of Greene Place's newist sewist - Lauren Archer - I know, who'd a thought!) have managed to squeeze in the construction of 16 lapas for the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project's performance today at the African Art Museum! Why not wander down to the Mall today and check out their AMAZINGNESS!



Get a sneak peak at this year's "Sistas of the Shakedown Tribe" as they take the Pavilion Stage at 2:30 p.m. for the Museum's Community Day... Festival entitled "Africa Now!"950 Independence Ave SW

FREE!!

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September Sewing Lounge! DC Threads Rocks!!!!!

UPDATE: Due to a fabulously positive response, we have filled our registration slots for the upcoming sewing lounge this Saturday, September 12th. If you have not already registered, we hope you will join us for the next lounge in October. You can reserve your slot using our new registration page here. Thanks so much for your interest! REMINDER---if you are a member of the American Sewing Guild or would like to volunteer at the Lounge your registration request will be automatically honored.

Join us this Saturday, September 12 from 1-4 at North Michigan Park Recreation Center, for the DC Threads Sewing Lounge! We will welcome the glorious Fall with a fabulous back-to-school/campus project - a hand-designed and crafted laptop sleeve - thanks to Ars Technica!

Here's what you need:

• 1/2 yard (or so) of outer sleeve fabric
• 1/2 yard of lining fabric
• Thread (preferably in a matching or complementary color, but it can be any color you want)
• Your laptop measurements

Optional:

• Sew-on or glue/iron-on velcro, or a button

As always, you can bring your own project or browse our library of patterns for other ideas. We’ll also have tutorials for first-time and beginning sewers and plenty of opportunities for you meet others who love to sew. Check out our pattern library here....

And, in response to your requests for tutorials about sewing techniques (see, we really do read and value the evaluations you graciously complete!), we will offer a 20-30 minute tutorial about how to read a sewing pattern. The tutorial will start promptly at 1:15 - leaving you loads of time for sewing!

Hope to see you there!

Laura and Allison

Sit and Sew Preparation - Will I Ever Avoid Crisis Sewing

On Wednesday I head to NYC for my class with Susan Khlaje and Kenneth King! Beyond excited! But, as usual, I'm in crisis sewing mode! My pesky real job always seems to get in the way of my sewing and other parts of my life!

Anyway - here is my plan for the class......

I will have a muslin of a basic dress sloper completed and ready for Susan's and Kenneth's magical fitting touch. I hope to use the sloper as a stepping off point for designing and constructing a variety of dresses (both work and casual). Our first lady offers me some fashion
inspiration --
and Michael too -



I hope to begin work on a garment using this sloper while I'm in NY - which, likely, will require that I stumble into several fabric stores!! Tragic!!

I am also hoping to have a muslin completed (or nearly completed) of this jacket (this task is the source of my current crisis sewing state):
in the hopes that I will have a jacket like this one some time this fall/early winter:
I will look to Susan for any sage wisdom about Chanel construction techniques (I have read and re-read her Threads article a bazillion times!).

And in the times that I am sure I will have between discussions and fitting and fabric shopping I have tucked away this pattern in the hopes that Kenneth will share with us some of his embellishment and millinery tips:

I also have a "life list" of techniques and embellishments that I would love to finally have the time to sit and practice - you know all those things like welt pockets, bound buttonholes, the PERFECT zipper application, finishing sheer edges, etc!

Yikes, sounds like I am going to be there for a month instead of 4 days!

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This I love.....

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But can someone explain this to me???

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The First Mum's Batiks - The Textile Museum

A Lady Found a Culture in its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks
August 9-23, 2009

For two weeks only, textiles from the collection of Ann Dunham, President Obama's mother, are on view at The Textile Museum. This marks the final stop on a national tour of the exhibition A Lady Found a Culture in its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks.

Early in her life, Ann Dunham explored her interest in the textile arts as a weaver, creating wall hangings in earthy shades of brown and green for her own enjoyment. After marrying Lolo Soetoro and moving to Indonesia in the 1960s with her son Barack Obama, Ann Dunham was drawn to the vibrant textile arts of her new home and began to amass the collection from which the exhibition objects are drawn. The wide variation in the batiks reflects the range of colors and of patterns, both classic and contemporary, that captured her imagination, and provides a window into the rich culture from which these fabrics originated.

Don't miss this unique glimpse into the First Family and Indonesian textile traditions! A Lady Found a Culture: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks will be on view August 9 through 23, 2009 only.

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DC Threads Gets Some Press!!

Here is a Post article by Holly Thomas about the Sewing Lounge......Thanks Allison for helping to make it happen!


Join us in September!!!!