More Jamie!

You asked for it...more pics of the new Jamie Dress, modeled by our lovely testers!

Here is sweet Jenny in her gorgeous Jamie sundress made from Honey Child Danielle fabric. LOVE the flip-flops and the gerbera daisies! That girl is single-handedly bringing summer to Texas!!! Check out her blog to see the coordinating Marissa dress she made her precious little daughter.




Above is another beautiful babe from the Lone Star State! Shannon's dress is made of Nelly Melon, also from the Honey Child collection. This talented girl has been busy lately...check out her new Etsy Shop!




Jeanne made this Easter Dress for her stunning daughter (who managed to look perfectly springy despite the freezing cold).

Here is Teresa, a lovely Midwestern lass who brightens the landscape right up! LOVE this purple Rosetta dress on her. Check out Flickr to see pics of her cute little redheaded daughter in her coordinating Marissa dress.




Angie, Tester Tom's wife, is looking amazing in the dress he made for her. According to Tom, she wasn't thrilled to be out in the cold, but she still managed a pretty smile (the things we women do for the guys we love). The regal fabric is Dolin from Queen Street. He also made some beautiful Marissa dresses for his daughter - see them on Flickr!




I absolutely adore this picture of my girl Cathy in her Jamie Dress! That fabric is just perfect for her (Honey Child Danielle), and I love the style with her cute bobbed haircut. She only lives a few hours from me, and we are both so ready for green grass and blue skies!!!





And finally, me in my boggy backyard. I used the periwinkle Maritza from Queen Street to whip up a fabulous retro-frock to wear to quilt market later this spring. In honor of the style and my locale (Baltimore suburbs), I teased my hair into a bouffant and put on some frosted lipstick. Now I have this strange urge do the Mashed Potato like Tracy Turnblad (interestingly, John Waters grew up less than a mile from my house, hon).

In addition to requests for more pics of the Jamie dress modeled, I've gotten some great questions about the zipper insertion. The glue sticks I use are the ordinary ones you'd use for paper projects - Elmer's, Scotch Brand, UHU, etc. The glue will come out in the wash, so you don't need to be too picky. As far as the foot goes, I use my regular presser foot with the needle positioned to the far right hand side. I've never been that skilled with the zipper foot...I can't keep the stitching straight with such a narrow base of support. Between the glue and the wider foot, everything stays in place, giving nice even stitching.

Zipping along with Marissa and Jamie...

Last week, Jennifer Paganelli and I launched two new dress patterns (and of course I am the last to blog about them...that doesn't mean I'm not excited, I'm just all wrapped up in the next set of patterns)! Jamie and Marissa are classic dresses with lots of gorgeous details that make them modern and special. The straps, the waistline, the full skirt...everyone is swooning! The fitted waistline flatters women and girls of all sizes.




To get a great fit like this, the design requires what the pros call "fit control." It can come in many forms...shirring, ties, buttons, etc. In this case, a zipper was truly the best (and easiest) option. Now I know a lot of folks are afraid of zippers and rightly so...most patterns don't really tell you to install them. Rather, they refer you to the zipper manufacturer's 1/2" wide inserted instructions, which give you multiple options in several different languages.




This pattern actually features a side zipper, so the back is nice and clean. This picture was captured mid-twirl.




Here is another mid-twirl pic...you can better see how the back of the dress hangs (and I love her curls)!

Zippers really aren't that hard to install. In fact, it only took me two pages to describe "my way," and I am a super wordy type. I've posted those two pages so you can see for yourself if it is something you want to tackle.







See??? Easy peasy!!! I had several testers who were staunchly "anti-zipper" and they were shocked and amazed at their zipper abilities! The glue stick makes it SO easy! Once you are putting in zippers, think of the sewing doors that will be opened for you!

Free Bosco Bowtie Tutorial!

Something about a bowtie transforms a little rascal into a perfect gentleman (at least long enough for a few pictures).



Jennifer and I have come up with a technique for whipping up impeccably crisp and classic bowties for the guys in your life. And in celebration of her beautiful new book Girl's World, we've put together a free tutorial!



The secret to pleating perfection is a printable template that is included in the file.



The tie can be made in three different sizes, so you can dress up babies and macho men alike. We've even put in actual-sized diagrams of finished bows, so that you can "try-on" for size before sewing!



You can download the free file over at Jennifer's blog. Just click on the picture of the dapper doll shown above!!!

Tee time!

A few months ago, Jen from Stitch Simple invited me to participate in the Great Knit Fabric Experiment. Just from the name I could tell the challenge was right up my alley! Participants were provided with wonderful organic knit fabric from Harmony Art and asked to come up with a tutorial. I decided to focus my "research" on designing the perfect dolly T-shirt...something stylish, great fitting, and most importantly EASY TO SEW!




I selected the lime green interlock for my project. I have a bin full of knits, and I have to say this is some of the nicest stuff I have ever worked with. It is thick and soft, and the color is vibrant...just gorgeous. And since it came to me from Stitch Simple, it was prewashed and ready to sew - YAY! I couldn't have asked for a better substrate :)!

Below are a few pictures from my experiment...



Stitching (with a little help from a secret weapon ;) )




Adding the neckband (secret weapon at work again)




Almost finished

...and here is the end result!



Front View




Back View




Short Sleeved Version




If you are new to sewing with knits, doll clothes are a great starting point. They require so little fabric, but you still get to go through all the steps involved in constructing a knit garment.

The free doll T-shirt pattern and detailed sewing instructions can be downloaded here.

Click on the image below for more Great Knit Fabric Experiment tutorials!