Innholdsfortegnelse for #216 - Winter 2021 i Threads Magazine

LEILA KELLEHER (“Size-Inclusive Pattern Designers,” p.66) says, “Fitting and body image are intimately entwined and for plus-size sewists, we also have to contend with the silhouettes we are used to seeing on ourselves. Moving toward a neutral body image is the first step toward achieving great fit. I also think it’s important to not put too much pressure on yourself to achieve fit perfection if it’s not your focus. Sometimes we just need clothes.” Leila, who cofounded Muna and Broad, is trained in patternmaking and custom clothing. She lives in London, Ontario, Canada, land of the Anishinaabeg, Attawandaron, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapeewak peoples. DENISE SEVERSON (“DIY Project: Square your pillows,” p. 22) says, “First, ignore the size printed on the pattern envelope and sew for the real you. Sew test swatches…

Vote for your favorite runway-inspired entry You don’t need to enter a garment in the Threads 2021 Digital Ambassadors’ Runway Sewn Your Way Challenge in order to vote for a winner. Visit ThreadsMagazine.com to view the top entries beginning November 8, 2021. Cast your vote by midnight Eastern Standard Time November 26, 2021. Another winner will be selected by the digital ambassadors. Both winners will be announced December 3, 2021. Check out these Web Extras Luxury knit advice: “Fabric Lab: Cozy alpaca,” p. 16, looks at sewing with alpaca, which is predominantly sold in woven versions. When you want to try your hand at alpaca knits, visit our website to learn more. A 360-degree view: Insider members get to see every side of the retro-style, wrap-front Casablanca Dress from How…

Gloves have long been useful to needleworkers. Originally, gloves were used for warmth: They kept fingers nimble in poorly heated homes. While they still serve this purpose, gloves and hand covers have evolved along with sewing technology to serve even more roles. From providing support and compression to armoring fingers against cuts, gloves care for your hands so you can enjoy sewing and other crafts more, and get better results. Katrina Walker is a textile artist and teacher who investigates new tools and techniques. KatrinaWalker.com Warmth Even in modern times, our hands can benefit from the increased warmth that wearing gloves provides. According to the Arthritis Foundation, warmth increases circulation in the hands, which helps to relax stiff muscles and joints, and alleviate pain. Wearing fingerless gloves is a simple…

Add drama to a simple, one-piece coat sleeve with a cuff that clings to, then swoops away from, the arm. It’s easy to create the pattern based on the original sleeve pattern. I’ll show you how to make a cuff that is similar in proportions to the one shown, but you can adjust the measurements as desired for more or less height or volume. You could even create a more geometric version. In the original coat, the cuff was attached to the unhemmed sleeve, and its bottom edge turned up along with the sleeve’s hem allowance. This made for a bulky and stiff sleeve hem. A better method is to apply the cuff as a facing that is turned to the sleeve’s right side. This finishes the sleeve hem with…

Every holiday season, Threads suggests gifts intended to celebrate and share your love of sewing. Whether you are shopping for yourself or a friend, there are thoughtful choices to consider, from practical notions or interesting books to spectacular sewing machines. When you refresh your sewing toolkit, it recharges your interest and builds your foundation of sewing expertise. When you give a new sewer tools or materials, it enables them to try fresh techniques and become more efficient and confident. Enjoy getting—or giving—some of the following sewing gifts. Compiled by the Threads staff. Celebrate sewing Away from the sewing machine, these charming items and services offer a connection to our favorite pastime. PIECES OF HOPE Enjoy the message and workmanship of artist Meri Henriques Vahl’s award-winning Free Tibet Quilt in a…

Leila Kelleher and Jess Rodda met on Instagram, where they sha red an interest in stylish sewing. As plus-size sewers, they agreed that the home-sewing industry wasn’t serving an important part of the market. Driven by their own wishes for well-fitting patterns, Leila and Jess decided to give the sewing community a solution. They realized that, between them, they had all the skills needed to create and market a line of patterns drafted for bust sizes up to 64 inches, and hips to 71½ inches—beyond the range of major commercial pattern brands and most independent pattern companies. So they set up their own company to focus on versatile and modern pieces, which can be mixed, matched, and interpreted by the maker as casual or dressy. These wardrobe-building, easy-to-sew patterns have…

Sandra Lee Chandler, owner of Sandra Lee Design, feels grateful to have made sewing her profession for four decades. She inspires others through live and virtual lectures and workshops, television appearances, YouTube tutorials, and an active blog. A running thread through her work is an emphasis on the joy found in sewing. Sandra’s been a passionate teacher of sewing throughout her career. She believes teaching is a twoway street and constantly finds inspiration in her students’ work. “Teaching brings new joy to my art,” she says. Though her background was primarily in traditional quilting and sewing techniques, Sandra says that she has taken up new techniques along the way, such as sashiko, that influence her work, especially in garment creation. Her website is full of unique projects that cross styles,…

Women’s coats in the 1920s tended to have a simple silhouette. A prevalent style was a roomy, surplice-front wrap, often with a single-button closure at the left hip. This intriguing example is made from a two-tone textured wool. The darker section is placed at the hem and balances the visual weight of the large fur collar. On the sleeves, the dark fabric is used to form gauntlet-like cuff extensions. These rise to elbow level, and the back portion wraps around the sleeve in a dimensional swoop. Learn to draft a pattern for a similar cuff detail, p. 29.…

With every issue we put together, I am reminded of how knowledgeable and creative Threads contributors and readers are. This edition contains inspiration and tutorials for garment fitting, construction techniques, and exciting embellishments. As it is our winter issue, it puts the spotlight on wool, a fiber many sewers favor for its versatility and potential. First, congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Make It With Wool national competition. Our coverage begins on p. 58, where you can take a closer look at the spectacular garments and learn about the creators’ concepts and methods. For more on working with wool, check out “Sewing with Boiled Wool,” p. 72, by Contributing Editor Louise Cutting and Sandra Miller. We all look for ways to finish garments beautifully with the appropriate techniques, and…

BEST TIP Pinpoint cutting accuracy I’ve always liked the idea of tracing patterns without seam allowances, marking the seamline the old-fashioned way with tailor’s chalk. But I also like cutting folded fabric and having precise seam allowances, which usually requires using patterns with seam allowances included. I came up with an easy, accurate seam allowance guide for my rotary cutter. I placed a small disk magnet on the center of the rotary blade. I measured and found the magnet’s outer surface was exactly ⅝ inch away from the cutting edge. Note: You may need to try different sized magnets and stack more than one to achieve the right depth. Then I attached a glass-head pin to the magnet’s surface. Now, as I cut, the pin rolls along the pattern’s edge and…

Pillows are a great way to learn—or brush up on—essential sewing skills. That’s one reason a case is often the first project assigned in pillow-a sewing class. Even though pillow covers are typically simple squares or rectangles, the techniques needed to achieve truly professional-looking results apply to gar- Consider each pillow you make an opportunity to challenge yourself and improve your sewing accuracy. As a bonus, your samples will be attractive additions to your home décor. Denise Severson of Janesville, Wisconsin, is a designer, alterations expert, and on the team for Bridges4Justice.org. Plan the size and cut the fabric Cutting the fabric to size is straightforward, but if your fabric has a large motif that you want to match or position intentionally, spend time planning a cutting layout. FIGURE YARDAGE…

Vogue 1786 (SomethingDelightful.com) This is a versatile shirt with a trapeze silhouette. Design elements include: a traditional shirt collar with stand; hidden front-button placket; deep back yoke; semicircular lower back section; curved hemline that is lower at the back than the front; a self-fabric belt; and cuffed sleeves with curved seams at the elbow, which create a lantern silhouette. The sewing instructions are easy to follow with enough match points to ensure accuracy and ease of assembly. This design offers opportunities to make it your own. Combine sheer fabrics with solids or larger with smaller scale prints. Play with combinations for the lower sleeve and back yoke pieces. The front and back sections are large enough blank canvases to add embroidery or iron-on crystals. Possible areas to add beading and…

Boiled wool jackets and coats look sensational—and expensive. Their textured fabric is timeless and lends itself to silhouettes from body-skimming to full and swingy. With boiled wool, you can create single-layer garments with a classic tailored look, but minimal inter-nal structure. The knitted textile has give, so even a fitted style feels like a sweater when worn. And because it molds beautifully to your figure, fitting is less troublesome than with a stiff woven fabric. The textile called “boiled wool” by most retailers is a wool/rayon blend. However, its nubby texture and malleable hand make it feel like 100 percent wool. It’s a dream to sew: It needs no seam finishes, it lies flat without curling at the edges, and it is soft and fluid. You’ll find boiled wool in…

have a question? Send it to us and we’ll find an expert’s answer. Threads Q&A 63 South Main Street Newtown, CT 06470 or via email: ThreadsQ&A@taunton.com A press cloth with oomph Q I iron a lot of cotton shirts and no matter how careful I am with using steam and letting the fabric dry and cool, the shirts still end up looking rumpled. I’d rather not apply spray starch or sizing. Is there anything I can do to get a better result? —Judy Falls, via email A Carol J. Fresia, Threads senior technical editor, suggests a helpful product: It sounds as if you are following good practices by steampressing and allowing the fabric to cool fully before moving it. Ideally, you should lift and lower the iron to press. However, some…

INSPIRED BY THREADS #215 What a delight to get #215, Fall 2021. I got to take my time with this issue and really absorb it and it was delightful. I loved the Back Cover dress and respect the talents of the lady who made it. I have never seen such fabric matching between seams. It was incredible. And you showed where she had used lace hem binding, something I don’t recall seeing used before. While reading the article, I was thinking how nice it would be if you had articles on other notions like that, explaining when and how to use them. Then I saw your article on stay tape. I also loved your article on mending. I just wish that when I need to mend, the ideas would apply…

The alpaca’s fleece is one of the most sought-after fibers in the world, with characteristics similar to cashmere. The fiber is soft, light, and lustrous. Fabrics made with it are warm to wear without being bulky. According to the Alpaca Owners Association, alpacas generally weigh between 120 and 150 pounds, about half the size of llamas, with which they are often confused. They are related: Alpacas belong to the South American branch of the camelid family, which includes llamas, camels, and vicuna. Each alpaca is sheared for about 5 to 10 pounds of fleece per year. Alpacas do not produce lanolin, the waxy oil that coats sheep’s wool, and their fleece requires less cleaning and scouring before spinning. High-grade alpaca fleece is also considered to be hypoalleringgenic, and its softness…

Give delicate lace fabrics an edgier application and incorporate them into more hard-wearing and functional styles. It’s easy to do by applying lace overlays with cutaway “reveals” along construction seams. You stitch the lace pieces inside the seamlines to garment sections before constructing the garment. With this largescale appliqué technique, the garment seams appear to frame the lace panels, adding texture and a graphic element. The technique also supports the lace without adding bulk to the seams. You can appliqué lace panels on any garment you choose, but it works best on structured shapes. A full, gathered skirt or bias-cut design won’t accept lace panels as successfully as a sheath dress, structured jacket, or tailored coat. Select a garment fabric that has enough body to support the lace; a lightweight…

PART 1 For many men, finding a button-front dress shirt that fits correctly can be difficult. If a shirt fits at the collar, the sleeves may not be the correct length, the shoulders may be too wide, or the body too full. “Standard” sizing for men’s apparel has some of the same problems as women’s sizing: The proportions are often ideal for only a small portion of the population. Although it’s possible to hide some fit problems under a suit jacket, casual office and leisure settings rarely call for jackets these days. To look neat, pulled together, and modern, it’s worthwhile to assess whether your shirts have enough ease where it’s needed, but not too much, and that the body and sleeve lengths suit your build. Many brands sell dress…

For sewing enthusiasts, wool is a fiber that inspires creativity and rewards effort. It offers boundless opportunity, as it is available in knits and wovens, blends and pure options, and tissue to coating weights. Wool is also malleable and responds beautifully to shaping techniques from heat and steam. With wool-based fabrics as their medium, the contestants in the annual Make It With Wool competition create stunning examples of the art of garment sewing. On the following pages, Threads features garments created by six of the 2021 national winners. The challenge begins at the state level (there is an “at-large” category for those living in nonparticipating states), and winners continue to a national judging round. MIWW is sponsored by the American Wool Council, the American Sheep Industry, and American Sheep Industry…