I thought some of you might like to check out some of the gorgeous sewing-related items I picked up this weekend at the Portland Antique Expo. It was kind of amazing.

I posted all about them on my personal blog, Sweet Sassafras, so check it out if you’re interested in more photos and sewing goodness.

As you may already be aware, recently I’ve been thinking alot about sewing with my existing stash of fabric rather than buying more, and I’ve been trying to encourage others to do the same. Tackling the larger pieces of 2 metres-plus is proving easy enough, but so much of my stash seems to be comprised of smaller lengths and nice largish scraps. I’ve been thinking of ways sewers can use these stash-fillers in garment making projects and I plan to share some ideas with you over a series of posts.

Taking a look at some garments I had previously made I remembered two ways you could use smaller pieces of fabric to create a fun contrast. Skirt and trouser facings, or inner waistbands depending on the style, look much more interesting when made from a sweet check or ditsy print. This works best when you’re sure it won’t peak out and become visible from the outside. Similarly, pocket bags can be made from an alternative fabric. It’s often better to use a lighter weight fabric rather than the main outer fabric for pocket bags anyway, so why not use something cute? As long as you create a facing for the pocket mouth in the main outer fabric, the rest of the pocket can be as crazy as you fancy!

As I’m sure you are aware, these kinds of contrasts can often be found in manufactured garments, but usually only in more expensive lines, as cheaper clothing producers cut costs as much as possible by avoiding costly unnecessary internal details like this. With all the love, time and effort that goes into sewing clothes by hand, why not take an extra step to make your creation even more different and special?  What I love the most about contrast internal details, like nicely finished seams, is the buzz I get when put the garment on and I see them. They are a pretty secret added just for my enjoyment, with no practical purpose other than to make me smile! Have you used contrast fabric as a ’secret’ detail before? I would love to hear how.

You may have seen my post here on this blog a few days ago which spoke about the Stash Bustin’ challenge I have set myself and others to work through our fabric mountains and avoid trips to the fabric store. Well the post received many lovely comments, including a couple calling for some kind of fabric swap. So I’ve been giving it some thought and think I’ve figured out a way an international online-based fabric swap could work. Initially it will run for one week starting Monday 22nd over at my personal blog, with a different piece of fabric up for grabs each day. People interested in the piece of fabric on offer must also have a piece they are willing to give away and send to another sewer. All the details of how it will run are here. If this initial week of fabric swapping goes well, I will host a regular fabric swap, helping the world’s sewers to redistribute their stashes!

So, do you have a piece of fabric lurking in your stash that is perfectly good but just isn’t sparking your imagination? Would you like to send it to a welcoming recipient and get sent a new (to you) piece of fabric that does give your creativity a buzz? Fancy giving and recieving potential-filled fabric without being responsible for the massive environmental damage that fabric production and treatment causes? Alright, then head over here from Monday and let gets this underway!

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about fabrics stashes. Of all the beautiful and useful pieces of fabric that I, and probably every sewer everywhere, have stashed away somewhere not realising its potential whilst I (we) have been continuing to make trips to the fabric shop to harvest yet more.

I like to think that, these days, I am able to avoid buying a lot of the unnecessary things that I know I was guilty of in the past. One of the ways I keep this consumption in check is by following the Wardrobe Refashion pledge to make and upcycle any new additions to my wardrobe, instead of buying cheap and badly made mass-manufactured items. However I fear I have merely transferred my shopping addiction from the purchase of cheap and virtually disposable clothes to the acquisition of a fabric mountain!

I don’t want to be a hoarder and at this time cannot afford to be (both in terms of money and space), so I have set myself a challenge, complete with cute logo! The Stash Bustin’ challenge is to use only pieces from my fabric collection in forthcoming sewing projects as far as possible, only visiting the fabric store to pick up interfacings, linings and such that are needed to complete a project. However, I’m not going to be too hard on myself if I slip and buy a new piece of fabric before the entirety of my stash has been busted. If you yourself recognise a need to pare down your stash and are interested in joining me in the Stash Bustin’ crusade as some fantastic seamstresses already have, I’d love to hear from you and you are welcome to use the logo on your own blog, instructions for how to apply it can be found here.

Some Stash Busters have decided to implement a ‘one in four rule’: purchasing one new piece of fabric for a project for every three projects completed with stash fabric. Others are implementing the Stash Bustin’ challenge as a positive part of a wider attempt to dramatically cut their expenditure for a given period. Whatever the motivation, there can be no denying the benefits of unearthing your (sometimes forgotten) fabric treasures and allowing inspiration to strike in regards to how they could be utilised. Maybe you might end up with a collated stash as beautiful and inspiration-filled as Amy Honey’s pictured at the top of this post, or maybe something a little less dazzling, but still very much full of potential, like the medium-light weight pile from my stash pictured above! So, dear sewers, are you in?!

I have to admit, I hesitated a little bit before writing this post to tell you about all the wonderful trims at Dishy Vintage. I almost wanted to save this source for myself. But that would be selfish.

Personally, I am very particular about lace. I do not like to sew with scratchy nylon lace and much prefer very fine, soft vintage laces. I have amassed quite a collection in fact, and it seems to be growing day by day.

I just bought several from Dishy Vintage and am completely in love with them! I cannot wait to use them on some super secret projects.

The photo above is a gorgeous wide net lace.

This is a lovely net lace.

Some gorgeous chemical lace remnants.

Adorable red and white seam binding (yes, that’s seam binding, not ribbon!)

A pretty net lace with roses

Vintage embroidered organza trim!

Go check out Dishy Vintage for lots more beautiful bits for your sewing.

What are sewing blogs for if not to share our triumphs and tribulations? If you follow my personal blog, you may have seen a skirt (pictured above) I made back in April 2009. It was a simple A-line shape made in red poly-cotton twill. I carefully cut out some shapes from scraps of my mum’s curtains and applied them to the skirt with a zigzag stitch. A simple and effective way to turn a ‘meh’ garment into a ‘wow’ garment I thought. Job done.

Except that was not the end of the story. These lace panels soon began to rip after a couple of wears, even before I considered laundering the skirt. As the rips got worse, I eventually had to come out of the self-denial that it still looked ok. I really did love this skirt and the acceptance came only after a polite and timely observational remark from my boyfriend! The only thing to do was to unpick them and apply a different form of decoration. I was pretty gutted as I loved the effect of the delicate silhouetted shapes against strong background. Recently I have been day-dreaming of trying something similar again. However, I refuse to be burnt a second time! This time I’m on the hunt for lace appliqués that should stand up to both wear and washing better than my DIY version did. Let me share with you some of the most special lace appliqués you can pick up on etsy:

Imagine this cute pair of hearts applied to the shoulders of a jacket or blouse, on patch pockets or even the curved yoke of the Ceylon dress.

How stunning would this neck piece look on the simplest navy or black shift dress?

For something even more whimsical, these black butterflies would look enchanting fluttering across a dress such as the Eclair or Chantilly made in a pale shade.

I’m not too sure quite what I would do with these incredible cream medallions, but I think it would involve red.

Once again, I think this bouquet applique would work best of the world’s least fussy dress to avoid any residual bridal vibe.

And last but not least, my own personal favourite, love birds! Have fun with these, fellow sewers, but please leave one of the sets of birds for me! How would you use this type of decoration?

Having lived in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, I’ve had the privilege of shopping is some pretty darn good fabric stores. But my favorite fabric store of all time is Britex in San Francisco. It’s four floors of gorgeous, top-quality fabrics, notions, and trims. It’s where I bought the gold Italian 4-ply silk charmeuse I used for my wedding dress.

But nothing can top its array of ribbons, trims, and buttons. The third floor is a stunning rainbow.

{image above: by minnibird}

So I was delighted to discover the other day that Britex now has an online notions store! I’ve been perusing and have fallen in love with so much, especially the gorgeous (but spendy) selection of fine laces. Look at this beautiful chantilly lace:

Or this one:

Or how about this amazing alençon lace with ivory pearls:

Or a wonderful venise lace:

There’s even this metallic silver venise lace:

I think this pearl beaded trim would look amazing on a pastel cashmere cardigan:

There are also buttons of all kinds. I like this vintage carved wood button:

How about this vintage toggle button:

This antique silver faceted glass button is calling my name too:

There is a wonderful selection of ribbons, including hand-dyed silk velvet:

And incredible brocade and ecclesiastical ribbons like this rose one:

I could go on and on! But check out Britex Notions. Maybe if it does well enough, someday they’ll offer their amazing fabric selection online too!

Seeing as I spend most my time either sewing or thinking about sewing, I’ve decided to attempt to fill in some gaps in my sewing related knowledge. I plan to take a closer look a different types of fabric, starting with the favourite of many vintage fans: barkcloth.

The term ‘barkcloth’ refers to the nubby texture of the weave (see close-up image above), rather than a specific fibre content or design. Original barkcloth was produced in South East Asia and the Pacific Islands by soaking and beating the inner bark of certain trees into a paperlike fabric. Often these fabrics were dyed, painted or printed. Exotic tropical designs began to become popular in the US from the late 1940’s and barkcloth Hawaiian shirts and furnishing fabrics (some of which were brought home by American GI’s stationed in Hawaii) became all the rage.

The original barkcloth effect was appropriated and reproduced to supply the demand by using a heavy Momie weave to produce what we know as barkcloth today. It is typically a medium-to-heavy weight fabric which dominated interior textiles, particularly curtains and upholstery, from the 1940’s right through into the 1960’s. Some countries, including Australia, were still producing barkcloth into the late 1970’s. The lighter weights were also used in apparel (see the 1950’s skirt above).

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the South Seas and Pacific were exotic and desirable, a taste of which could be brought into the home or wardrobe with tropical imagery and designs which referenced the original imported barkcloth fabrics.

Going further into the 1950’s, the barkcloth print designs that were available changed along side shifting popular imagery. Designs featuring feathers or leaves in subtler tones like the fabric above became popular.

Interior influences began to shift towards the clean lines of Scandinavian furniture, and textile design reacted by combining gentle geometric forms with organic motifs.

These increasingly abstract textile designs were soon sent into orbit, prints became only representative of the earlier nature-inspired designs. The space race inspired an obsession with ‘atomic’ imagery: boomerangs, flying saucers and scientific stylings.

As interest in atomic imagery was slowly replaced by the embrace of flower power around the mid 1960’s, barkcloth faded from the interior design scene. However, recent interest in mid-century design has resulted in printed barkcloth becoming highly collectible. Vintage barkcloth of the atomic ’Eames era’ in particular has become highly desirable, and reproductions and appropriations are now available. Barkcloth produced in the 1940’s to the 1960’s can still be found in junk shops, flea markets and on eBay, sometimes going for a steal. In the past Barkcloth was almost exclusively used for interiors, but these days it’s heavier weight and durable texture plus it’s nostalgic and often kitschy prints have inspired sewers to produce some fantastic accessories like this clutch.

So whether if you pick up a vintage piece, or splash out on some fantastic repro barkcloth, you will be ensuring the spirit of this 20th Century phenomenon lives on!

I have a real thing for London fashion in the 70s, especially all things Biba. That combination of 70s glitter and 30s glam that was personified in the “dollybird” is still so inspiring.

I don’t know if I could pull off the bold patterns in these silks, like this fuschia one above, or this amazing purple and orange print, but I admire the girl who could (with plenty of black eyeliner, curled hair, and a fetching hat, I’m sure.) Barbara Hulanicki helped bring back these sorts of colors, what she called “granny colors,” along with art nouveau and deco designs.

And this green one is like a glam william morris print.

This last year and a half has seen the opening of a new flock of internet-based businesses which offer affordable digital fabric printing. The possibilities these have opened up for home sewers is immensely exciting and virtually limitless. Since I learned about them and investigated their services to research an article I wrote on the subject (which can be read here) I often find myself trying to come up with ideas for interesting print designs.

Whilst having a reminisce about Christmases past, I remember in the 1980’s my nan each year producing presents wrapped in Christmas paper from the 1960’s. As a young child I couldn’t figure out why the paper had such distinctly (to my 80’s child’s eye) bizarre designs. In retrospect I imagine she must have picked up a job-lot one year, and her frugal nature made her hang on to it for a couple of decades!

These days my love of vintage print is surpassed only by my love of wine, and assuming the constraints of wrapping paper print design are similar to that of fabric print design, I decided that vintage wrapping could be the perfect starting point for some seriously fantastic Christmas themed fabric. So where to find vintage wrapping paper images? Silly question really, I should have instantly assumed that there would be a Vintage Wrapping Paper Flickr group!

I’ve always felt a little nonplussed about the fabric shop Christmas themed offerings, so whether your taste is a little on the kitschy side (like mine) or erring towards the more subtle and classy, I reckon really individual and exciting Christmas fabric potential is out there.

Now one tricky area that these DIY fabric design opportunities throw up is that of copyrights. Don’t hold me to this, but I would assume that any licenses on these 50-or-so year old designs is up by now, and that for non commercial use like your yuletide tablecloth, it might suffice to contact the individual Flickr member for their permission to use their image. In fact one member of this Flickr group actually advertised that they are willing to send you a larger image file upon request (how’s that for festive spirit?!). If anyone has more of a clue on these matters than I do please leave a comment! However, for anyone aiming for a more traditional festive fabric design free from all copyright concern, the Graphics Fairy blog contains images, clip art and photos (festive being but one type of the squillions featured) which are free to use in any of your projects created for resale or pleasure.

So, you’ve found the perfect image, figured out the whole image file/pixel size/colour checking shebang (congratulations! I have yet to muster the courage)and received your bounty, what could you do with it? Table cloths, napkins, present stockings or even a fabulous party dress! What about the Macaron dress with a contrast plain colour for the top section, or the Ceylon dress to act as an elegant canvas for a riotous festive fabric!? Ideas anyone?