2013 Holiday Party

Many thanks to Jane for hosting again this year! What a wonderful gathering of creative women.

Couture Cookies

Couture Ladies

More Couture Ladies
Yes, they made those lovely jackets!

Katherine Tilton's Butterick jacket, Sewing Workshop Vest, Mani's Blouse

Love these pieces, Ladies!

Many, many thanks to Ginny for four wonderful years of CWC leadership!

Seasonal Color in Lovely Garments

Chic Jackets, Ladies!

So glad to be together!

Oh, yeah, she made it. Gorgeous lace work!

Great conversation

And, always, terrific ideas!

Pretty, too.

Wishing all a happy new year!

Welt Pockets

Jane made a thorough and delightful presentation on the creation of beautiful welt pockets. The same techniques apply to bound button holes. This process was taught to her by her mentor and teacher Nina Gleyzer.

Step One: Very precise thread-marking of 5 parallel lines on interfaced garment section

Step 1

Step Two:  Baste lips in place on WS of garment, using the upper two and lower two thread-marked lines. Machine stitch in place.

Step 2

Step Three: use middle horziontal line of thread marking to cut pocket opening on fashion fabric, stopping 1.5 cm from each end to create a tiny triangle. Turn lips to RS but do NOT press yet.

Step Four: Baste lips together by hand on the RS of finished lips:

Step 4

Step Five: Press.

Step Six: Create pocket part. Attach pocket. Stitch down each triangle using a slightly arched stitching line.

Note that many details are omitted from this description. The purpose is to give a pretty good idea of the precision needed for this approach which, if followed, will produce absolutely beautiful welt pockets. Much practice is required. The original 5 parallel lines must be absolutely precisely sewn. I believe this to be true. Jane told me so.

One seriously inspired CWC member,

One Pattern, Many Ways

Today Lorraine presented *One Pattern, Many Ways* during our regular July meeting.

She focused on Nancy Erickson's jacket pattern 1945 ,as well as Peggy Sagers' Mani's Blouse pattern. And she provided many, many ideas for how best to use the patterns you have, especially if fit is challenging.

Lorraine recommends that you buy patterns, but mostly for the details. For perfect fit, don't go back to the drawing board for each and every pattern. Rather, use these TNT patterns and add the new details.

In addition, Lorraine provided an excellent hand-out with numerous resources.

Last, but definitely not least, she demonstrated the concepts with her own beautifully sewn garments.

Many thanks to Lorraine!

And, as always, we had a great show n tell session.

May 2013 - How to Use a Sloper

Some of you requested pictures of the prom dress I made, here they are.  Plus I have created an article on my blog where I talk about my thought processes, sewing processes and show many detailed pictures of the dress.  www.techneats.com or just go to the members blog sites and click Martina.  Thank you for allowing me to share my journey with you.  Sewing is my passion and everyone at CWC are part of my inspiration.

April 2013 - Fabrics From Natural Fibers