Ok, this is pretty amazing. At least it is if you are like me, both addicted to fabric and addicted to Etsy. Catherine of More Cloth has created an index of fabrics available on Etsy, sorted by color! Catherine says on her blog that it’s far from comprehensive since there are so many wonderful fabrics available on Etsy, but I have to tell you, I spied so many beauties in just a few minutes of clicking. It’s really helpful and fun, just look:

Go check out More Cloth and have fun!

{via Heart Handmade

Have you guys seen the online magazine Modern Seamster yet? It’s a wonderful new digital magazine for the sewing enthusiast, and there’s a little story by yours truly in the latest issue, a free download!

I am in love with this huge, intricate, handmade butterfly applique. It’s a full 8″ by 6″ of black felt, and I think it would so amazing on a simple white or cream skirt. Only $7 from etsy seller kutz.

I really love street fashion. It all started when I was maybe 16 or 17 and first discovered the Japanese magazine Cutie. It’s filled with page after page of adorable girls on the street in quirky styles and I would go back and to my old issues for years when I was looking for inspiration.

Nowadays of course, there’s a wide assortment of street fashion blogs out there, from professionals like The Sartorialist and Garance Doré to the quirkier-leaning Hel Looks and London Street Fashion. Each is wonderful in its own specific way, much like the cities they cover.

So I am delighted that there is a new street style blog for all the cool, stylish people around Portland: Urban Weeds. There are certain to be a lot of food carts, a lot of tattoos, a lot of bikes, and a lot of beards.

Oh, isn’t this one just so lovely? Gertie emailed me with a link to this post on her new sewing blog about Parfait, and I am just in love. It looks so lovely on her, and the pink and white checks are so summery. Here’s what Gertie has to say about Parfait:

“I made the Parfait dress in a pink seersucker check from B&J, and I have to say I’m over the moon about the pattern. The drafting is great, the instructions are awesome, and the aesthetic is so beautiful. Look at the little gathered patch pockets!”

Some of you might recognize this beautiful lady as a finalist from the recent SewStylish Spring Fashion Contest, which I read about on A Dress A Day. Ignoring the awful naysayers, I really really loved her striped summer dress as well.

Go check out, bookmark, and subscribe to Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing, I’m sure there are many more beauties to come.

Wow, another incredible Japanese fabric from chokichokifabric, this time with images of drafting! Something about this reminds me of the Eames’ workshop, and that just makes me happy.

There is something just so crisp and summery about red, white, and blue. This set seems like a pretty rare find, a gorgeous vintage belt buckle and matching buttons. Wouldn’t it look so amazing on a crisp white or navy summer dress?

This Japanese sewing machine fabric from chokchokifabric is pretty awesome. I really like its 50s retro flavor. It would make a great sewing tote or sewing apron, or just a super awesome dress or skirt.

Crafty Wonderland was a lot of fun yesterday, and it was lovely to meet some of you nice blog readers!

I did a little bit of crafting for the show, as I’d never done one before! To show the prices, I made these tiny silk and cotton pin cushions, and little flags with pearl head pins. You might also notice the “necklace” sign on the dress form (it says “make me”).

I could easily have spent all earnings on the gorgeous jewelry everywhere, such as my booth neighbor, kspell. Pretty!

{photo of liberty bias trim by poshyarns}

As I mentioned recently, I think bias tape is wonderful stuff. It’s a terrific help if you can learn to make it yourself. Yes, it’s a bit time consuming, but the possibilities are pretty endless for prints and patterns, it’s less expensive, and best of all as far as I’m concerned, you can make tape to match your fabric!

If you’re not really familiar with bias tape, it’s basically a long strip of fabric that’s been cut on the bias of fabric. Because it’s cut on the bias, it stretches, which makes it really easy to sew around curves and such. The strips of fabric are folded so that you can sew them to enclose seams neatly.

So here’s my method. Nothing novel, but I thought it might be handy.

You’ll need:

• a piece of fabric to use for your bias tape
• a Clover Bias Tape Maker. These come in various sizes, I find 1/2″ useful.

Step 1: Cut yourself a rectangle of fabric. How much tape will you get out of it, you ask? First, figure out how many square inches your rectangle is by multiplying the length by the width. Now divide that number by the width of the strips you’ll be cutting. That will give you a rough approximation (I say rough approximation, because you’ll probably discard the corners of your fabric).

Step 2: Now you need to find the bias. To do this, simply fold the fabric so that the edges meet to form a triangle. Mark the fold (I did this by pressing it, so the pressed line is the bias grain).

Step 3: Mark off strips along the bias by measuring equal distances from the line you marked. Your strips should be twice the width of your completed bias tape. So if you’re making 1/2″ tape, your strips should be 1″ wide. (I know, mine are a bit sloppy, but silk charmeuse is slippery. It’s easier on cotton or the like). As you get to the corners, your strips will become very short. It’s probably best to just discard the corners rather than worry about sewing all those tiny strips together.

Step 4: Now cut out your strips. You’ll notice that the strips are stretchy if you give them a tug.

Step 5: Trim the ends of the strips so they’re flat.

Step 6: Place two strips at 90 degree angles with the right sides together, lining up the edges. Sew diagonally across, as in the photo. Continue sewing all the little strips in this way to form one long strip. Make sure they each are sewn the same way, so that all your seams go in the same direction in the end.

Step 7: Trim the pointy little seam allowances on each seam.

Step 8: Press the seams open.

Step 9: Now to use the fun doohickey! Feed your strip evenly through the bias tape maker. There is a little metal bar you can gently pull on to help guide the tape. As it comes out the other end folded, press it down as you go.

And you have bias tape! This is single-fold bias tape. If you want double-fold bias tape, you just have to fold it in half again and press.

And here’s what your seams will look like from the outside. Diagonal and pretty and neat!