Fall 2016 Pantone Colors

Fall 2016 Pantone Colors

Welcome to Fall 2016  Pantone Colors. These colors are so versatile,  I love them!  You have vibrancy with New Riverside (shades of blue), Spicy Mustard (shades of yellow), New Bodacious (shades of pink), and Meadow Lush (shades of green). Actually they are each their own new shade of blue, yellow, pink, and green.  I love them!  They can be worn alone and make a statement, or paired with other colors to further define their vibrancy.

Potter’s Clay is one of my personal favorites!  I love this color and will gladly mix it with Spicy Mustard, Taupe, and  Sharkskin. This color is very versatile and lends itself to a neutral as much as a color that can stand on it’s own.

Dusty Cedar can be as romantic as business. Mixed with Sharkskin and black screams business.  While mixing Dusty Cedar with Warm Red and Warm Taupe can lead to an exciting night out on the town, Fall 2016 Pantone has hit the nail on the head once again!

Warm Taupe, I have to admit is one of my favorites. I am biased to shades of brown though. Potter’s Clay would make this 2016 Pantone color pop. It can be mixed with all the colors, a few at a time or all at once.  This color can also stand alone.  It reminds me of the naked dress from Sex and the City. Airy Blue is a fall version of serenity.  This color would look great mixed with lush meadow’s vibrancy as well as aurora red for a punch of confidence

The  color combinations with Fall 2016 Pantone’s colors is spectacular!  Stock up now.  I know a few local stores already selling these colors which is perfect for warmer climates. What do you think of the selection? How will you use it?  ENJOY!

 (all images are from Pantone.com)

Fashion Hacks!

Fashion hacks are my favorite sewing inspiration. Do you specifically shop for fashion in pattern catalogs or on pattern sites?  I found myself really wondering if these things are really in fashion or just look good to other seamstresses. I started about a year ago shopping in fashion magazines and stores for hacks.  I didn’t want to look cool to the sewing community, I wanted to look cool!

Free People Fashion Hacks

[envira-gallery id="2845"]
[envira-gallery slug="freepeople-lace-up"]This is one [envira-gallery id=”2855″]of the better descriptions.  It not only lists the fabric but also the exact fabric content and points out the seaming around the bust as well as details about the hem we cannot see. Thanks for the help needed on our own fashion hack. 🙂

This dress!  [envira-gallery id=”2853″]I cannot wait to make. Do you see the simplicity of the lines? The photo boasts, “Made in suede!”  Easy peasy!

We all need casual I don’t care clothing in the warmer months, right?  Here’s another of my favorite fashion hacks.[envira-gallery id=”2851″]This is a Raglan top with a wide neckline.  They have Shirred the neckline, but you could get a similar look with elastic. I would hem the neckline.  Then sew the elastic directly to the hem.  Encasing the elastic would take away some of the free spirit.  If you want to know how to shir, Seamingly Kitten has a great tutorial.  Basically you need elastic thread.

By Gum By Golly is a really hip seamstress.  [envira-gallery id=”2849″]She sews like I sew, a lot of self drafting. In case you haven’t heard, the turtleneck is making a comeback!  She nails it and gives great instructions to make your own.  WHO WHAT WEAR is featuring dark denim.  I’ve had dark denim [envira-gallery id=”2847″]in and out of my stash for over a year now and I just bought quite a lot of some very lightweight dark denim at  Hancock Fabrics. I love the look of this dress they featured. It’s essentially your favorite tee-shirt, nipped at the waist, and made longer.

I found it! The Serger for me

I found my serger!  After too much research, comparing, interviewing, and asking for demonstrations I found the one! You see, I have a friend whose a “real” designer.  One of her designs even made it to the red carpet.  I asked her opinion on which one to buy and why.  I really, really wanted a Singer.  You see, I’m married to Singer!  Love at first sight for us.  Singer got us through the 80’s and when I started sewing again, Singer was my first choice. She assured me Singer was a great choice.

She then told me she used JUKI.  I asked why, I mean, who wouldn’t want to know, right? She told me she worked with and worked on a lot of different machine brands.  JUKI is the strongest and best produced machine, in her opinion.  So, of course I kept researching.  My researched turned up the same information she already gave me.  JUKI is a very well made machine and the lowest end of the line performs just as well as the top of the line.  The company was given the Deming Prize for quality control in the manufacturing of industrial sewing machines in 1981. If you would like more information and convincing of the brand go here. Amazon testimonials are also a great source for information when looking for a new machine. The machine I am looking at buying is the Juki MO-50E 3/4 Thread Serger, the customer reviews made me a believer!  ENJOY

Feature image retrieved from here.

Serger or Overlock Machine

It’s so confusing, which should I buy?  The Serger or Overlock machine, which one do I need most? It’s a hard decision, both do basically the same thing. They perform finishing stitches.  A serger performs one task perfectly–overlocking, cutting and finishing seams in one step.

The real difference is with the make and model of the serger.  Some have 8 spools of thread.  WOW how confused can one person be? From what I have been told the number of spools increase the number of stitches the machine is capable of doing. On that note the serger handles knits superbly.

An overlock describes it’s main use, to finish edges with the overlock stitch. They have fewer spools of thread, and less decorative stitches. It does not have a cutting attachment.
here they are having a discussion about the differences and the ones they prefer most.  If you don’t care about people’s opinion, I found a great blogger who explains the machines very well. Over at SergerPro they advise finding a serger easy enough for anyone to manipulate.  I agree whole heartedly!!  Automatic or color-coded features are recommended for threading. Of course I’m a penny pincher and I would choose the cheapest one on the market.

 

aking a final decision on the serger sewing machine starts with knowledge of the most important factors needed in a quality machine. The top serger machine will be easy enough for even an amateur to manipulate. It should have an acceptable differential feed for material versatility along with automatic or color-coded threading features. The serger will have the appropriate number of threads as well as various stitching styles. Along with offering helpful attachments, the machine should be reasonably priced considering how it will be used.  I look for FAST machines. I love being able to sew my clothing at a rate to wear it the same day I start if I want. At the time of this blog, I found the Brother 1034D was the top seller.

With the SINGER 14CG754 ProFinish and the JUKI MO644D Portable Serger close behind.  I would have to study the machines and their options a lot closer to make a decision.  My heart says SINGER, that’s all I’ve ever used.  That doesn’t mean it’s the best choice.  You can find a great article here comparing options, price, and brand. I hope you find the serger machine of your dreams and ENJOY!

 

Parts of a Machine

Knowing the parts of a machine is the most important part of sewing.  Seriously!  All that tech garbage just gets in the way of creativity. But, nonetheless, these parts of a machine are extremely important to know. If you do not know the thingamajig is actually the feed dogs, no one can help.  Because when you ask for help they will have no way of explaining to you how to accomplish what you want. I’m including a video to help you through the darkness of the valleys.  Hopefully encouraging you not to quit sewing before you get started just because the parts of a machine are bullying you.

I promise over time you’ll learn these things and sewing will be a breeze. Pretty good graphics but they are not exactly the same on every machine. the best place to look is your menu. Once you learn about your machine.  How to thread the needle, what the parts of the machine do, and most importantly how to turn it on, you’ll be ready to practice sewing some straight lines.

Some people start sewing on paper, following a pre-drawn line. I was afraid it would somehow kill the sewing machine.  I started with making curtains and pillows.  Those are two simple projects that can be made quickly and are fulfilling.  ENJOY!

Brand New Sewing Machine, now what?

New Sewing Machine

Christmas was a few weeks ago. Who received a brand new sewing machine? Now what? If new sewing person or it’s been about say, 25 years or more, I may be able to help.

  1. Threading the needle on your new sewing machine.  It seems something that should just happen, right?  In reality it’s not that easy.  Read the manual, if you still cannot threat it or the bobbin.  YouTube has amazing tutorials.
  2. That’s a great accomplishment. Now, when you start sewing make sure to hold onto the bobbin thread and the top thread for a few (10) stitches.  If you don’t, you get a horrible thread mess and hate yourself for wanting a machine. Trust me on this.
  3. Another helpful hint, make sure your first stitch onto the fabric is no on the very corner edge.  Even one centimeter down is better than the corner.  This sometimes causes the fabric to get stuck in the machine under the feed dogs. Yeah that is a pain for sure.
  4. If the fabric happens to cause a few problems for you like getting stuck and not letting your needle or machine operate, rock the wheel on the right end back and forth until you can free the needle.
  5. I discuss bird nesting, that horrible annoying bobbin mess, here.
  6. Once you get past the initial learning curve of your machine, you’ll be ready to work on some straight lines. You’ll probably need a few supplies to get started.

Important Supplies

*Pins with glass heads

*Pin cushion

*Titanium needles (you will thank me for this later

*Seam ripper (save your project tool)

*Fabric scissors (fiskars…..I made the mistake of buying singer to match

my machine) No skimping here.  Good scissors will save you a lot of

trouble.

*Tape measure it’s horribly shocking to have to measure yourself, but

much needed.