Sewing Leather Workshop

Firstly, I know I've got quite a bit of catching up to do .... you've probably been as busy as me, so there's no need to gabble on about excuses ...... Secondly, thanks so much to my merry band of regular comment makers - a small, select group  - but since I've completely slackened off reading blogs and leaving comments, I very much appreciate those of you who do take the time to leave some words of encouragement / suggestions - So THANKS!!!!

Also thanks for all of your comments and suggestions about Photo Sharing options as per my previous post .... I will definitely have to start resizing my photos - which programs do you recommend to do that? I'll also look into the various photo sharing options - I really have no problem paying - it's just that it's a monthly payment, and from what I read there are no refunds, and I just don't know if that goes on for the rest of your life - and what happens when I die??? It's a weird kind of set up .....  I have a Flickr account, but had trouble uploading images from there onto here - the message said that I might have a password or something that is stopping the load - but I don't have privacy restrictions - just the usual login password thingo - ahhh - very confusing!!! Anyway, somehow I managed to add some photos to this post, and I didn't get the error message I got last night - it may be my last!

A while ago now, I did a leather sewing workshop with the ASG on the Central Coast (NSW). Ronda Braybrook was our teacher, and she's quite the know how person when it comes to sewing - she wore a beautiful soft blue leather jacket and she even intentionally left one of the lining seams open so that we could have a sneaky peek inside her jacket - how good is that?? She also had a helper  (who's name I've forgotten - sorry) and she wore a very cool leather jacket as well - so these girls really knew what they were talking about!

After discussing the types of leather and where to buy, we did some samples experimenting with thread and needle types.

And then we made this little wristlet bag - cute hey! I purchased this leather on the Pattern Review shopping weekend in Sydney ..... looking to more adventures with leather.

ASG Industry Day and other ramblings

Creating stand alone flowers.

Lots to catch up on ... firstly the Industry Day yesterday at Niagara Park ... First speaker was Sally Sommer from ZIG ZAG sewing. She spoke about stabilisers for Machine Embroidery. WOW - what a minefield of possibilities!! Sort of glad I'm not into that,  though the work is quite amazing and there are lots of creative possibilities.

Embroidery on jeans.

AMAZING - embroidery on a plastic umbrella.

More stand alone work - started on water soluble stabiliser.

Making little boxes from machine embroidery.

Then a little fabric shopping - Rosemary from Chic Fabrique was there with a lovely selection of fabrics - I went all lacey with blacks and creams ... she really does have the most fabulous fabrics at fantastic prices - if you haven't been there yet ...... what are you waiting for????

Inspired by some lacey pics from our recent Sunday papers .....

Then we heard from Christine who makes bags and purses in an upcycling method - she uses old zips and old everything to create some really sweet looking bags - she sells at markets and on Facebook.

Our last speaker was Nola Sterling from Victoria - this lady was amazing, she must eat, sleep and drink at the sewing machine - she's into machine embroidery, machine felting, making fabric, and a million other things.

Machine Felted but constructed by HAND!

Now, back to some of my sewing. At TAFE we constructed a Magyar knit block pattern from our direct measurements, they gave us the fabric to sew it up.

We also made up this Size 10 Sleeveless Top - fabric from TAFE - or quite possibly from Corporate wear donations ....

Anyway, I thought I'd make it up at home also. I chose this brown cheesecloth with pink embroidered flowers - from The Fabric Store - and if my memory is correct it's a Lisa Ho fabric .... we did a neat way of finishing the armhole edges with bias binding. So, the darts have been sewn, the neck facing has been attached, and before you sew the side seams ...

Take a pice of bias binding and PRESS one folded edge open to form or mould the shape of the armhole edge.

Stitch on to the RS of the fabric - 6mm seam allowance.

Then sew and overlock the side seams together (or apart if you want).

Trim the bulky corner.

Turn the binding to the wrong side and stitch down - I think I should have understitched before this step - we basically understitch everything!!! Anyway, it's a neat an easy way to get those raw edges tucked in!

I also like the way they drafted the back facing to be quite deep at the CB - this allows for the label to be prominently positioned and it looks really neat on the coat hanger - I guess from a retail point of view that's a good consideration - but also good to wear a facing a little deeper. That's the white interfacing you can see.

Anyway, after all that - it didn't fit!!! That fabric stretched and stretched - hmmm.......

So I made another one in a much better fabric - and this behaved beautifully, although it was a leftover from another project, so I couldn't make it any longer - but that's OK. It's a stretch cotton sateen. Worn here with my Clovers from Colette Patterns - yet to blog about them - this was my 2nd attempt - and these are Size 8. Hope to make up another longer pair and yes, hope to blog about them.

Lastly, this little pink number is a toile for a Pattern Modification - adding a yoke and a front inverted pleat, moving and eliminating some darts, drafting the waistband ...... phew ..... learning is exhausting!

The Weekend Wrap Up

So we start with the ASG Industry Day at the Simplicity Warehouse at Revesby. We had some great guest speakers and the opportunity to purchase patterns, trims, notions and fabrics. Jodie "RicRac" Carlton had us in "stitches" with her stand up comedy routine .... the girl was an absolute hoot and it was just amazing to see the many totally cute and clever little toys in real life that I had seen on her blog over the years. And ... just to warn you - there will be many photographs on this post ....

Jodie in action "And this is a Bernina Sewing Machine, and the machine on the right is an ... an  ....??"

As you can see, Jodie is a legend, and we could all relate to her hilarious anecdotes - especially if you've ever had a teenage son. Her imagination, skill and sense of humour is mind blowing, and I came away with the reminder to practise those pelvic floor exercises!! If you haven't seen Jodie's work before - pop on over for a look -  the patterns for her toys and other projects are also available.

Another speaker was Renee Wedell - a Haute Couture dressmaker with experience in Paris working for Givenchy, Balenciaga and Chanel -  this lady was truly amazing - her skills, her challenges, her life experiences - there is no other way to say it - but, just amazing. She had made clothes for Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy amongst others- it was a pleasure to hear her story.

Balenciaga Dress

 Also, at Simplicity, John Byrnes spoke to us about some new pattern ranges that Simplicity has been developing, basically to encourage new sewists with simpler patterns - so that should be interesting to watch out for. Once again, another truly worthwhile ASG Industry Day.

So, Sunday was the Craft and Quilt Fair at Darling Harbour. My friend Nicole and I helped out on Nicole Mallalieu's stand. It was a great fair - on my quick buzz around I saw a good variety of stalls - and I noticed great interest in yarns. Nikki's stall was consistently busy, and it was great to see some friendly faces and other bloggers.

The items on the top shelf are some of the great projects in Nikki's new book.

 

 

Nikki & Nicole

 

 

 

 

Hands On Printing Activities

The gorgeous Sewing Guild girls roping in new members.

Delicious Yarn Creations

And so, the sock monkeys and I need to get back to the normal routine. Ciao!