The Titus Village Blouse, originally uploaded by queen puff puff.

We have another new class coming up in August. It’s the Village Blouse by the popular Titus Patterns from Berkeley. It’s a super cute peasant style blouse with raglan sleeves, a keyhole neckline and and elastic shirring on the sleeve hems. You’ll learn lots of new skills like:
1. how to make your own bias tape
2. working with elastic thread for gathering
3. how to set a sleeve
4. how to bind a neckline

Come join us on Wednesday nights, August 19th and 26th from 6:00 pm to 8:30pm.

Heads up! There is summer sale going on in the Maker Shed. Craft books and kits are majorly clearance priced. My favorite crafty business book, Craft, Inc. is marked down to $12.00 from $16.95!!! What a score!

And Susan’s Beal’s Bead Simple Vintagesque Necklace Kits are marked at a mere $5.00!

Also, Chronicle Books is having their summer sale too! 35% off with the coupon code FRIENDS at checkout through Aug 5 - along with free shipping with minimum purchase.

New sewing patterns at StitchCraft!, originally uploaded by queen puff puff.

We got in a new shipment of sewing patterns last week. Dress, skirts and tops by Favorite Things and the new mini dress by Amy Butler. Fun!

Today’s post is about the sewing tools that I use on a daily basis. I truly believe that the right tools make the job easier and faster!

This is my daily sewing machine. It’s a Janome 1600P and it’s basically a portable industrial machine. It only does a straight stitch but considering that is all I use in my business that is just fine. It sews a lightening fast 1600 stitches per minute, can sew through 6 layers of denim like they were nothing, has a knee lift, up/down setting and a separate motor for winding bobbins. This machine has easily cut my sewing time in half!

The best iron of all time! This is the Black and Decker Classic and I love that it looks straight out of the fifties (and it’s only about $30). But I love the way it functions even more! It has all metal construction so it won’t crack and leak water when you inevitably drop it. It gets hotter than the more expensive irons and its heavier (all that metal) so you don’t have to press as hard. Finally, it does not have the pesky auto shut off feature so it will be hot when you get up from the sewing machine. But you do need to be careful to turn it off when you are not using it.

The thing on the left is a loop turner and it basically a glorified latch hook that is invaluable for turning tubes of fabric for purse handles and spaghetti straps. The gizmo on the right is a bodkin and it works like reverse tweezers. the ring slides to create a tight grip and it’s very handy for threading elastic and drawstrings.

This last tool is called a point turner and I use it to push out the corners on pockets. Much safer than using your scissors!!!

What are your favorite tools of your trade?

DSC01048, originally uploaded by queen puff puff.

Finally! Our shipment of Bari J’s Full Bloom has arrived.These fabrics are just gorgeous and fresh. I love how painterly the flowers are rendered and the bright color palette.

Bari is a Bay Area designer and this is her first fabric collection for Wyndham. I’ve known her for years through the indie craft scene and that’s part of why I’m so excited about these. Well, that and they are just so pretty. Check out this awesome interview with her to learn how she developed the line and got a deal with Wyndham. Very inspiring!

DSC01049, originally uploaded by queen puff puff.

I am so excited about this new class. It’s for Anna Maria Horner’s Study Hall Skirt and it just adorable. So flattering with it’s inverted pleats and contrasting border. And look! The contrast fabric is inside the pleats as well!

Very simple and quick and you can make one too!

Thursday nights, August 20th & 27th

6pm to 8pm

Fuse & Trace Your Patterns!, originally uploaded by queen puff puff.

I don’t know a single person that likes patterns printed on tissue paper. My favorite patterns are printed on stiffer bond paper or even tag board. But most pattern companies print on lightweight and flimsy tissue that tears and floats away. So what to do?

I iron fusible interfacing to the back of my tissue patterns before I cut them out. It makes them stiff, gives them weight and makes them easier to cut. You’ll also find that they last a LOT longer. You can really use any sort of fusible. I always save my scraps and use those. You can piece together leftovers scraps so it’s a good stash buster!

1. Cut your pattern pieces apart. You don’t need to cut on the line here, just quickly separate them so they are easier to do deal with.

2. Place a pattern piece face down on your ironing board and TURN THE STEAM OFF ON YOUR IRON. Seriously, steam and paper is a bad combo. Quickly iron the pattern flat, making sure there aren’t any creases or wrinkles. Place a piece of interfacing on top of the pattern GLUE SIDE DOWN and quickly fuse on the interfacing. Flip to the right side and give it a quick iron. Repeat for all of your other pieces.

3. Now go ahead and cut out all your pattern pieces. You’ll notice that it’s much easier to cut the fused pattern than soft and flimsy tissue. Cut in your notches. (Just chop off any triangle notches and clip into the triangle)

4. Now lay your fabric out and place your pattern pieces according to the cutting layout. Instead of pinning, just weigh down your pattern pieces with anything heavy like soup cans, tape dispensers, etc. (I never pin because it takes too long and buckles the fabric.)

5. Trace around each pattern piece with tailor chalk, a fabric marker or even a Sharpie. Be sure to mark all your notches!

6. Remove your pattern pieces and cut out your fabric by cutting on the inside of your lines.
This technique is so much faster, easier and more accurate. Give it a try and you’ll never pin again!!!

New fabrics at StitchCraft!, originally uploaded by queen puff puff.

Long time, no blog update. But that is about to change. I have tons of sewing tips that I am going to be posting. Whenever I am teaching classes, I tend to ramble and drop constant hints. My students are always telling me I need to post all these tips so stay tuned!

In the meantime, we have received some new fabric shipments in the store! Joel Dewberry’s Deer Valley is gorgeous and we should be getting in some of the coordinates soon. We also got in Joel’s Woodgrain in pink, Valori Well’s Del Hi Floral and Alexander Henry’s Birdseed in Yellow! They are all available in the store and on the etsy site.

Do you know about Handmade Nation? It’s a documentary movie (and book) about the indie craft movement. Faythe Levine traveled thousands and thousands  of miles to all the big craft fairs like Renegade, Felt Club, Bizarre Bazaar and interviewed all sorts of designers and artists. She also visited many of them in their studios and the results are fascinating. Some of the designers you will recognize like Austin Craft Mafia founders Jenny Hart (Sublime Stitching) and Jennifer Perkins (Naughty Secretary Club) and also Susan Beal of West Coast Crafty and Susan Stars. Here is a sneak preview trailer for the film which is being screened on March 11th by the San Francisco Film Society. I can’t wait! Hope to see you there!

Following the screening there will be a conversation with Lisa Congdon, owner of retailer Rare Device; Tina Barseghian, editor-in-chief of Craft magazine; Derek Fagerstrom, co-owner of the Curiosity Shoppe and the Craft and DIY editor of design*sponge; and Stephanie Syjuco, fine artist and professor. Also, local artists and vendors (such as Needles and Pens, Dutch Door Press, Diana Fayt, Miss Natalie, and Little Otsu, just to name a few) will be on hand to sell their work. It promises to be a fun night! You can find more information about the event here:

http://www.sffs.org/events/films/film_handmade_nation.html

Tickets are $8 for SFFS members and $12 for non-members; must be 21+ to attend. Mezzanine is located at 444 Jessie Street in San Francisco.

We just marked our first anniversary and we are celebrating with a sale on fabrics, patterns, notions and more! In this scary economy surviving is definitely something to celebrate! From today through February 28^th all full priced supplies are 20% off. In the past year at StitchCraft, hundreds of adults and kids have learned to sew for the first time or have improved their skills to new levels and we look forward to teaching hundreds more this year! So come on down and took a look at the new fabrics that just came in this week (new Amy Butler!) and sign up for some of our new classes like Serger Basics and the Frenchy Bag!

Thanks Petaluma for making our first year such a success. Couldn’t have done it without you!