by Dave | Dec 29, 2016 | Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Tools and Technique
End of year traditions for blogging. Normally bloggers end the year with a recap of their blog titles. I’ve not decided what to end the year with, other than a BANG! I’ve been reading a lot of sewing and fashion blogs lately. One of which hits home since I’m not in my forties anymore and definitely not a size zero! I used Pinterest and the words curvy sewing. I was so glad to find the kimono listed under curves. It’s a mainstay in my wardrobe.
Curves Ahead
I wear it to social gatherings including weddings. My favorite site for curvy sewing I found through Pinterest. I created at sewing for curvy women board on Pinterest as well. Curves Ahead is a compilation of sewing tips and patterns for curvy women. Stitches and Seams has one of the better tutorials for making pants that fit our curves. Although I am not a plus size I want my clothing to flatter my figure. Curvy Sewing Collective has a great collection, many tutorials, and methods for ladies with curves ahead!
Boomerina has the best compilation for women with curves; an apple body shape. If you don’t know what that means, I’ll break it down; apples are ladies with more of a full tummy than booty. Her website has tips that are really helpful for the sewist.
- Wide stretchy waistbands- I use 1 1/2 braided elastic by Dritz.
- Avoid short or tight bottom half outfits
- Sleeves with a cap or that are short make us look top heavy (I refer to this as “booby out day” lol)
- Gauzy tops used as layering pieces that cover the belly are suggested
- Color blocking is our friend. Study the web for ways it enhances our figure and makes us look gorgeous!
- For more tips I really thing you should visit her website! It’s one of my favorites!
This is quite possibly not my end of year post, so check back for that. Most of all, ENJOY!
by Dave | Dec 10, 2016 | Beginner Tips, Fashion, Inspiration, Lucy's Sewing Lab
WHO, WHAT, WEAR is my fall back for fashion trend. I love that site, it inspires me. It drives me to do better. It makes me understand fashion. Sew what is not the actual name. The actual website is called WHO, WHAT, WEAR. I use this website as a sounding board when deciding what clothing I want to make and the articles of clothing I’ll skip! Let’s take a look……………
The most recent trend they discussed …… “the most expensive looking skinny jeans”. This is VALUABLE information for people like us who sew our clothing. I look at the article and take note then combine the little details into my me made jeans. The list on the website includes:
- high-waisted fit
- dark wash
- the right fit for your body
- high waist seems to be the most flattering on all body types
Top Trends of the moment
- Layering- turtlenecks and jackets under coats
- Tuck Your Joggers Into Your Boots
- Pair a Knit With a Chunky Sweater (push up the sleeves of the chunky sweater to show off the other style
- Jean jackets layered under coats, sweater dresses, and more
- Distressed leggings?
I LOVE (and the website agrees)
- Full sleeves- I’ve been doing this a few years. It’s quite simple. Start with a 3/4 sleeve and add enough length to make it a long sleeve by using gathered fabric. EASY PEASY
- Experimental denim- I keep a bin with outgrown jeans to use for fabric. I love patchwork jeans! Use your normal pattern. Place scraps in randomly….very on trend.
- Sweatsuits! Go stay at home mom in public and be fashionable.
- Leopard print was listed as the trend that we will still be wearing in 20 years! In case you are not old enough to remember 20 years ago……I assure you animal print was very hot!
- Plaid….plaid….plaid….if you have no idea where to start your fabric collection, begin here! Plaid is a mainstay for all seasons and versatile enough to become a dress, skirt, top, or pants!
ENJOY your fabric collecting and sewing up some of these amazing on trend pieces!
by Dave | Jun 30, 2016 | Beginner Tips, Blog, Experimentation, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Reviews, Tools and Technique
So it seemed like to me it’s been a while since I’ve done a review.
Tutorials
Tutorials, what a great topic to do reviews. The Internet definitely has a vast assortment of websites for sewing tutorials. But, just because there is a large variety does not mean they are all equally fulfilling your needs when learning to sew. Everyone can go on YouTube search and videos of sewing tutorials. That’s one way to get started.
You can just look at about.com to learn about sewing. Wikipedia will tell you about sewing, sewing machines, searchers scissors everything you need to know. But without a really good tutorial site to guide you through or hands on training, learning the art of sewing is not exactly easy. There are lots of methods from cutting up tee shirts for patterns, e patterns, and the old stand by paper patterns. Everyone eventually finds their way in or around sewing. When I started sewing again I just sewed. I sewed lines, curves, pillows, pockets, things like that just to get back in the groove. Moving on to patterns, the real deal I used some of the sites below.
Some of my Personal Favorites
When I first started sewingI discovered Melly! Her site is amazing, she covers it all! Those projects will keep anyone busy for quite some time. Have fun sewing, cut up clothing from the thrift store and make something new, it doesn’t matter always how the project turns out. It’s great to have fun.
Threads magazine is another great tutorial they focus more on fit and technique. Their series, “Teach yourself to Sew” benefits the beginner.
Craftsy is a great place to go, they have both free and paid tutorials.
Tutorials for Appliqué Templates and Designs and tons of other fun projects abound. She has pages and pages of fun projects. The sewing machine needs you to mess with it, and that is what her site is about sewing a little of this and a little of that. She has a great whimsical area on her website, So Can She .
One day I found an overwhelming amount of information. If that is what you are looking for, All FREE sewing is your new home. All free sewing is an example of a wonderful tutorial site, they take you from objects they don’t have to be sewn all the way through bridal wear.
Melly’s tutorials are wonderful! She is thorough, imaginative, and can get you through pretty much anything.I like the way her site is set out, the site is easy to read easy-to-follow and includes email for subscriptions.
Of course Pinterest has tons ideas tutorials and such the one I use the most is Colette. She has authored a few books that I enjoyed reading as well.
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by Dave | Jun 24, 2016 | Beginner Tips, Blog, Experimentation, Fitting, Knit Tips, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Tools and Technique
I design a lot of my clothing, I’ve been dying to take my designing to the next level with a dress form! Constant trying on, next running to the mirror, next adjusting, next ripping seams, next sewing seams, next, next next, it takes for EVER! Then when you THINK your garment is ready you try it on…..NEXT what the is the fit? Do I want to portray this look? People see me everywhere I go. Do I feel good wearing clothing I should hide? See the problem? A dress form takes care of the guess and next work.
So, what’s really NEXT?
Learning the ebb and flow of threads combined to create the fabric chosen for the garment. It’s easier once on the dress form to define how the fabric reacts to movement, wrinkling, , and how it generally lays against a 3 D object, eventually your body.
A really cool part about a dress form is examining the look of the garment on something that is three dimensional. Hangers cannot make clothing look good. If they could, the body consciousness in America would not exist to the extent at present. I recommend shopping around before deciding on and purchasing a dress form. Also studying up on the dress form you purchase is a great idea. I went with brand name only. I should have visited this instead.
Singer does it for me again! I don’t like the color, but I’m creative, I can recover it to match my studio. I love that it’s so completely adjustable. I found this one at Amazon. The features are wonderful. All of the below information is excerpted from Amazon. I am not an affiliate.
13 key adjustments (bust, waist, hips, neck/back) provide a perfect fit
Height adjustment lets you customize the dress form to your height in a snap
Foam-Backed fabric exterior allows you to easily pin dresses, skirts, tops and patterns
Four leg metal base for extra durability and added stability
Pin cushion with key holder provides convenient storage for pins and adjustment key
In my own opinion, this dress form is pretty generous in range of size. I like that the dress forms size changes with the twist of a knob. The foam backing is a dream for any designer or seamstress. I’ll follow up with a real life experience as soon as I get the chance to enjoy it.
I’ve figured it out, I used a chop stick to adjust the size. Important tip that could change your life!
by Dave | May 31, 2016 | About
Lucy’s First Year (Sewing Lab)
Below is a post originally released in November 2015. I was so proud of my subscription rate, especially since it was Lucy’s First Year. I never dreamed in a million years I would have more subscribers than my email program would find impressive! They actually think the number is troublesome! RUDE, isn’t it?
I LOVE MY subscribers!
You all are so loyal and dedicated! I love you for hanging in there with me. Since April 2015 when the site launched and I started my first real serious blog, 3,000 of you wonderful readers have enjoyed my space on the internet enough to subscribe. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We are growing so rapidly I’ve had to upgrade software. We are growing, keep coming back, you can look forward to a members only area soon with paid tutorials as well as FREE tutorials of my own designs.
So, it’s almost six months later and I haven’t accomplished everything on my to do list, but my site does look amazing, I think so anyway! “The Lab” has 8 current categories
Pages
Inspiration
Lab Journal
Newsletter
Pinterest
Lucy’s Photo Journal
I really look forward to sharing more with you as the years pass. ENJOY
