Zero-Waste Skirt

I’ve been reading a bit recently about zero-waste in creative processes.  Last week, Betz White was the guest blogger at Sew Mama Sew and wrote a great article on this subject (make sure you click on the related article links to read more about this topic including some amazing pattern layout skills).  I’ve also recently been a little obsessed with Alabama Chanin, a fashion design company based in (where else?) Alabama that creates fabulous garments with low environmental impact (I have another blog post in the works about this company) and who is working toward the zero-waste goal.

Last week a friend asked if I could help her with a sewing project.  She was planning to attend a traditional Nigerian wedding and wanted to use some fabric she brought back from her own trip to Africa to have a skirt made to wear to the event.  This project turned out to be my first zero-waste project, not by design but by necessity.

My friend envisioned a ruffled 3-tiered skirt, a popular style right now.  I was delighted with this plan as these skirts are particularly easy to sew.  The trick to the project was that I had only 2 yards of 48” wide cotton fabric to work with (and far less once the fabric had been pre-shrunk).  There are lots of tutorials on the internet about making these skirts (Google: ruffled tiered skirt) and the planning involves some mathematic skills.  In the end, I made the math conform to the amount of fabric I had available.  Here’s what I had left over:

I was very pleased with the final result.  The skirt flared gently to the hem but never looked overly full or bulky.  I particularly love the technique I used for the elastic waistband, and I've posted a tutorial for creating one yourself.  This is a factory technique used in ready-to-wear and makes a much nicer finish (I think) than elastic in a casing.

This final picture shows some lovely beaded bracelets that I received as a gift a few years ago.  The non-profit organization Bead for Life offers women in Uganda the chance to rise above poverty by creating sustainable creative opportunities.   Each bead is created from paper recycled from magazines (the color of the bead is the color of the paper used).  I think they are the perfect “green” accessory for my zero-waste skirt.

Sharing the Love: Knotty Daughters

Yesterday I stopped by my favorite local coffee shop to check out their Spring Bazaar.  One of the vendors, Knotty Daughters, had the CUTEST aprons for sale.  I stopped to talk to Beth, who told me all about the new business she has with her two sisters.  The girls all grew up on a farm in Iowa and have recently come together to turn what started out as a hobby into a lovely company creating, amongst other things, Bakin’ Babe aprons.  These gems began their lives as kitchen towels but have really blossomed with the addition of a clever tie and buttons.  What really caught my eye when I walked past their booth was the way they had these aprons packaged so I stopped to take a look.  It goes to show that if you are marketing products it is worth putting some thought into the presentation.

All photos courtesy of Knotty Daughters

Beth is working on a fairly new blog for their website where she writes about their products as well as life on the farm.  Take the time to visit their website and blog and see what they are up to.  Or, as their slogan says, “Go on, be Knotty.”

Aqua Linen Blouse

I made this week's featured garment a few years ago when I ended up with a surplus of aqua linen that I had ordered from Fashion Fabrics Club in pursuit of the perfect fabric for my baby's nursery.  Originally thinking I would use it for curtains, I ordered a very large amount.  In the end it became liners for various baskets in the room, and I was left with a lot of fabric for another purpose.

The pattern for this top was created with Pattern Master Boutique pattern drafting software by Wild Ginger.  The design features include a center front button closure, shoulder princess seaming, curved hemline and collar with stand.  I followed directions written by Belinda Davies for creating a collared v-neckline, a style that was very popular several years ago. 

Before cutting the body of the garment, I created pintucks in the linen fabric and then cut the center front princess panels from that fabric.  The top is lined with a lightweight cotton voile, making it cool and comfortable to wear in the summer.  I finished the look with square shell buttons.

I really love this little blouse because it is so quintessentially ME.  I love wearing and working with linen and am particularly fond of soft, feminine shades like this aqua.  The pintucked details harken to my love of heirloom sewing and add (I think) just the right touch of uniqueness while maintaining the traditional look that I like.  The fit is just right, and I feel pretty wearing it.  Which garments in your closet are truly YOU?

What I Like in April: Dogwoods

“I don't see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood.”  ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Last month I began writing about and sharing pictures of some of my creative inspirations.  In March it was cherry blossoms.  This month it’s dogwood.  The state tree and flower of my Virginia home. I love the symmetry and paper-fine quality of their blooms, and how their centers look like clusters of beads.  I have a hard time deciding which color I like best.  Dogwoods also offer a second round of beauty in the fall with their glorious red leaves and berries.  I had the pleasure of attending some garden week tours this year when the dogwoods and other flowering trees were at their peak.  Here are some pictures taken this spring along with a few items from my sewing room.  I hope you will find them inspirational.

Betz White Birdhouse Workshop: A Review and Results

“Virginia Springtime”

I just finished a really fabulous online workshop with Betz White.  She taught me how to make one of her darling felted birdhouses complete with resident bird.  I have to tell you that I loved every minute of this course.  Betz posted new instructions, with video and lots of beautiful inspiration, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for two weeks.  I could hardly wait until the next set of instructions arrived.  Each day when Betz’s post would arrive I would drop everything and work on my birdhouse.  I found this project rewarding for lots of reasons:  felt is so lovely and forgiving to work with, the time and materials commitment was small, the creative possibilities were endless, the end result so darned cute! 

Here are a few things I learned along the way.  I hope some of these ideas will help you think and problem-solve creatively in whatever project you are working on.

I had plenty of raw materials to work with, seeing as how I hoard fabric including felted wool and sweaters.  But while I was working on the embroidery using some silk ribbon, I discovered I didn’t have the color I wanted. I thought about taking a piece of white ribbon and coloring it with a marker but then I had the better idea of dyeing it with koolaid. I’ve done this quite a bit and it works really great for both silk and wool. And it is safe and super easy. From the time the idea came into my head to completion took me (literally) less than 5 minutes. I took a small glass jar and put about ½ cup water in it and added roughly ½ packet of lemonade (unsweetened) koolaid powder. I submerged the ribbon and put it in my microwave. It took less than 2 minutes of cooking to achieve the shade I wanted (wool usually takes a little longer). I rinsed and hung the ribbon up to dry. This is a bit of a random science so you might need to experiment (NOTE: start with a small amount of koolaid powder and work up; the yellow I used required quite a bit for a darker color but most DON'T!) Here are a couple of links that will show you the various colors you can achieve with different koolaid flavors:  knitty and wrappedrocks.  The ribbon embroidered flowers with blue beading on the sides of the house were inspired by this photo, taken in my yard.

The next challenge presented itself with the fabric I wanted to use for the leaves on the roof.   I had previously over-dyed some black and white wool pieces with green dye in various colors.  During the dyeing process the wool did not felt very much and I was concerned that it would ravel when I cut it.  I first thought of edging each leaf with Fray Block (that would have been tedious).  Instead, I used my needle felting embellisher to felt each little piece more fully (no pun intended).  This worked great and had the added bonus of adding a soft, fuzzy quality to the pieces of wool.  So, if you’ve got a piece of wool that just won’t felt using conventional methods, try some needle felting.

The stitching on the bird’s wing represents forsythia, spring’s harbinger.  When I discovered that the back side of the stitched wing was going to be visible once applied to the bird, I fused another fabric on the back, and ended up loving that little print peaking out.

But the most joy I got from this project was the realization, toward the end, that I have really “loosened up” with my creativity.  There was a time when I would have cut each leaf for the roof with a pattern.  This time I free-hand cut each one; after all, nature’s variety is what makes it so special.  I also free-hand stitched all of the elements and embraced any and all diversity.  Each stitch in this project was made by hand, something I am turning to more and more these days.  Working by hand really allows me to feel what needs to be done to a project, something I think is missing when I sit at the machine. 

I’ve already sketched out and made notes on three other birdhouse ideas, each celebrating a different season.  This really was one of the most rewarding projects I’ve done in a long time.  I really recommend trying one of Betz’s workshops if you get the chance.  She has such a nurturing and kind teaching style, and all of her projects are so appealing.  Since she lives locally to me I am hoping that one day I can attend a live workshop; I’m betting she is even better in person.