it's sew easy Archives ~ Page 2 of 3 ~ Angela Wolf's Sewing Blog

Sewing Your Own Wardrobe and ONLINE CLASS SALE on PatternReview.com!

There is only one reason I have not moved South in order to enjoy beautiful sunny weather all year round … jackets and boots! This is the time of year I rearrange my wardrobe, bringing out all the cute jackets I finished last March and never had a chance to wear (remember in the fashion industry we are always designing a season ahead). Of course while I am pulling out the fall wardrobe, out come the fabulous boots. I LOVE shoes! I sew all my own clothes, I have to find something to shop for besides fabric 🙂

Speaking of sewing all my own clothes, about 15 years ago I set a goal of only wearing clothes I had sewn myself. It was a great idea, but hardly possible. I spent all my time sewing custom garments for clients and I could never find time to sew for myself. You know, like the shoemaker that wears worn-out shoes. Those of you that are in the sewing business know exactly what I am talking about.

Once I started designing a ready-to-wear line and a pattern collection for the home sewer, I found a perfect reason to sew for myself. Someone has to test the fit, right 🙂 Over the last few years I have been adding my label to the closet with jeans, tops, jackets, dresses, skirts, slacks, … In fact last night after admiring my organized closet (now is the time to admire, it never seems to stay that way very long), I realized I finally accomplished my goal! Every garment carried the Angela Wolf label. I could hardly believe it! In fact, once you get going on sewing for yourself, the outfits flow in much faster than you think. Have you ever had the desire to sew all your own clothes? I challenge you to try. I am going to celebrate this accomplishment and try to focus on doing the same for the spring wardrobe swap. I feel a 2014 wardrobe sew along coming on … what do you think?

In the last post, I mentioned how thankful I am to all of you readers and a special thanks to those that voted my blog into the finals for the category sewing – best instructor blog for the 2013 Craftsy Blogging Awards. Voting in the final round is still going on, so make sure to vote for your favorites again (hint, hint). I couldn’t think of a better way to thank you than give away a few online classes, which I will do over the next few weeks.

Not everyone can win, so I asked my friend Deepika – founder of PatternReview.com – to place all my online classes on sale for the rest of the month. In case you haven’t visited the site, PatternReview.com is a great website for learning and connecting with other garment sewer’s. I offer quite a few classes there, including sewing jackets. No, my jacket patterns are not ready to launch yet, so this is the next best thing. The next few giveaways will be for my online classes. The first one is Create a Jacket Muslin on PatternReview. Creating a perfect fitting muslin is the most important part of sewing a jacket. If you would like a chance to join my class on sewing a muslin where I offer fitting tips, solutions, and you can even upload photos of your muslin for personal fitting advice, simply share a comment about your experience in fitting jackets. Never sewn a jacket, even better reason to start with the muslin class (a random winner will be chosen and announced next Friday). Speaking of jackets, have you been watching season 5 on It’s Sew Easy and following along as I sew a jacket? If your PBS doesn’t carry It’s Sew Easy, you can catch a new episode every week on their website.

Good Luck 😉

xoxo

Sewing a Zipper with the Laser Vision Guide with Brother Dreamweaver

Hope you are all enjoying February, I can hardly believe it’s almost over! I spent last week taping season 5 for It’s Sew Easy TV, despite the cold and snow – we had a successful week. Here is one of my favorite photo’s on set with June Mellinger (Brother) and Christopher Straub (Project Runway). I have to say, he is one talented designer! He even left an autographed handbag for Katie, my ninth grade apprentice. She absolutely adores him and I can’t wait to see her face when she opens her gift 🙂 By the way, that handbag in the photo is fabric he designed. I foresee an order with spoonflower soon.

I have been busy working on some custom garments and my new collection, which I will be sharing over the next few weeks, including launching some new patterns. First, I have to share one of my last gown dilemma’s. The fabric was gorgeous, but challenging to work with … slipper, shiny, textured, get the idea? I was having a heck of a time inserting the back zipper. I couldn’t use a hidden zipper, as I could not find a color to matched the fabric. The problem occurred when I was topstitching around the zipper. I hand basted in the zipper, marked the center back seam with chalk (that was also basted closed), and marked the stitch line with chalk. The fabric really presented a challenge with the texture. Being a total perfectionist, I ripped the topstitching out twice because it just was not straight enough. Then I remembered the Laser Vision Guide on my Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D. This worked like a charm! I was able to line up the laser light with center back seam and topstitch perfectly straight, all the way around the zipper. I won’t forget about that handy tool next time. Here is the short video I put together if you want to see more details. Now, back to the cutting table. Enjoy 🙂 xoxo Angela

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af20N8dbmE8]

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

How to Sew Designer Jean Pockets … Part 2 Adding the Coin Pocket

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OH2uiaZXyc]

Here is part 2 for finishing off the front of your designer jean pockets. This video will show you how to add a coin pocket, which is totally optional. Sometimes I add a logo instead, just depends what kind of mood I am in 🙂 Of course I have to show off a few other features on the Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D, like using the V-Sonic PenPal to determine how wide my zigzag stitch will be – you really have to see it to believe it. Now, I just have to finalize the last of the Angela Wolf Jean Patterns so we can ship them out soon, wish me luck! xoxo Angela

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own

Sewing Jeans with the Brother DreamWeaver XE VM6200D

I was thrilled to take part in preview of the new V-series sewing machines from Brother. The three new machines in this new V-series offer new technology that can really make your sewing and embroidery fun and easy … sew straight laser vision guide, v-sonic pen pal, drop light embroidery placement, just to name a few.

Since my Angela Wolf Jean Pattern’s are ready to launch in October, I thought it would be fun to put together some blog posts sewing my jeans to help you follow along and brag about the new Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D. This machine just came out so if you are thinking of picking up a new machine, you have to check this one out.

So, I have to tell you about this sew straight laser vision light. When I heard this, I really couldn’t imagine how this could work. I sew all the time, how on earth can this help me sew a straight line? First off, if you need help sewing a straight line – this feature is incredible! For me, I usually use the foot or guide on the plate to sew straight. I have to admit, after using the laser light for an entire day I noticed my eyes felt better (from not staring) and I was able to sit up straighter, instead of leaning over the machine. I know your thinking, go buy glasses 🙂

Anyway, this is how this works. The laser is shown on the main sewing screen. Simply touch the icon and you are given a range of 10.5mm to adjust the laser position. In the pictures below you can see the laser light on my fingers. The lighting on this machine is so bright (perfect for sewing black fabric), I had to lower the light level to less than half to take this picture.

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaverTM XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

It’s Sew Easy Episodes Now Online!

Is your local PBS a little behind the times and not yet airing It’s Sew Easy? No worries, every week It’s Sew Easy will show one of their weekly episodes online. Totally free of charge and if you register on the website there are even additional tutorials you can follow. A new episode starts every Friday at noon and today starts Episode 113. Rebecca Cornell and Christy Howden open the show with felting techniques for a fun toy. Next, Tricia Waddell and Katrina Loving have a mom friendly tip for reinforcing seams for heavy wear on stuffed animals and clothing. Then, Sheree Schattenmann creates a simple duvet for a baby’s room. Angela Wolf wraps up the show and the first season of It’s Sew Easy showing how to distress jeans for a fashion look suitable for kids, teens, and moms.