Archive
Contoured Pressing Hams
I was on the fence about writing about these hams because it might sound like a paid advertisement (which this is not!). But the novelty of these things won out. “Contoured pressing hams? Say what?!”
Let’s face it, hams are already a bit weird. They’re helpful and all, but they seem like an arcane sort of notion. I can’t imagine that quilters and home dec sewers have any use for them, so they’re just for a garment sewers (correct me if I’m wrong). Now here comes along contoured hams, which Ann of Gorgeous Fabrics called “as rare as hen’s teeth” in her recent blog post. Check out her new ham below:
Did you think “OMG, it’s Barney’s spleen!”, too?? 😉
Anyway, if you’d like to get a contoured ham for yourself, you can order one from Stitch Nerd. You can get a custom ham in your choice of fabrics or a ready-made one from her Etsy shop. She sells that nifty ham stand as well.
(Also, am I the only one wondering how she makes them? She has to leave a good-sized gap to turn the ham right-side out after stitching, and then she has to fill it really full with sawdust. I imagine that hand stitching the gap closed is not an easy task!)
Holding Pattern Overnight Bag from Modcloth
If boring baggage is becoming a pattern, try this charming, vegan faux leather overnight bag on for size! This cute carry-all is perfectly tailored for a quirky crafter, or a jetsetting Jane looking for a vintage-inspired valise. The stitchery-style prints and darling button details conceal enough space to stow all of your sewing supplies, souvenirs, and other accoutrement. In a shirtdress, wire headband, and Mary Janes, your seamstress style is stunning by any measure!
Okay, the description is a little over-the-top (notice how it specifies the whole outfit? “Shirtdress, wire headband, and Mary Janes…”), but still, it’s a cute bag. I’m impressed that it’s vegan, too! I don’t need an overnight bag, though, so I’ll just admire it from afar. 😉
Holding Pattern Overnight Bag from Modcloth
Watchmaker Tins
Disclaimer: I haven’t bought anything from Lee Valley, nor have I seen their tins in person, but don’t they look nifty? 😉
Watchmaker tins from Lee Valley
Originally made to store gems, watch movements and jeweller’s findings, these glass-topped aluminum containers are ideal for organizing seeds, beads, bugs, buttons, or anything else small.
I saw these tins in the following Flickr photo. She added magnets and hung the tins on the wall in her sewing room.
I bought similar tins from Ikea. They differ from the Lee Valley ones in that they come in only one size; the lids are plastic, not glass; and magnets are already on the base. I like them, and one of these days I’ll get them mounted on the wall!
Grundtal containers from Ikea (not available to buy online — must buy in the store)
All About Zippers
This post began with a link to the CBS ZipperStop interview that Pat sent me. I remembered the ZipperStop article in the New York Times, then around the same time, I saw a video about zippers & fasteners featured on Yahoo. Which brings us to a grand total of two videos and one article about zippers — enjoy!
CBS ZipperStop interview with Eddie and Jeff Feibusch (video)
Behind this unremarkable storefront is an unforgettable father-and-son institution.
For Eddie Feibusch, a Life in Zippers (article)
Eddie Feibusch, a prewar refugee from Vienna, is now among the last of the big New York zipper men.
Zippers & Fasteners (video)
Why does your zipper say Y.K.K.? The secrets of everyday fasteners — including who invented the shoelace, how Velcro got its name, and what zippers were called before they got a name with more zip.
Did you know the graphics in these posts are also links?
Click the one above to go to zipperstop.com.
Zippers and Felt Balls
This post is brought to you by the 6/2/11 Kingwood Sewing Guild neighborhood group, where Janelle showed some great projects using zipper trim from Indygo Junction and magnets (see previous post).
She also showed a felted bag (purchased at Hobby Lobby) that she boxed the bottom corners of, lined, and decorated with felt balls. It’s possible to make felt balls, but she says it’s much easier to buy them! Her source was HandBEHG, which is based in St. Louis (my hometown!).
Design Your Own Fabric with Spoonflower
In case some of you have not heard of Spoonflower, I thought I’d give them a mention. I’m going to be lazy and cut & paste info from their site:
Spoonflower makes it possible for individuals to design, print and sell their own fabric designs. It was founded in May 2008 by two Internet geeks who had crafty wives but who knew nothing about textiles. The company came about because Stephen’s wife, Kim, persuaded him that being able to print her own fabric for curtains was a really cool idea. She wasn’t alone. The Spoonflower community now numbers around 150,000 individuals who use their own fabric to make curtains, quilts, clothes, bags, furniture, dolls, pillows, framed artwork, costumes, banners and much, much more. The Spoonflower marketplace offers the largest collection of independent fabric designers in the world. The site has appeared in the New York Times, Associated Press, Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Make, CRAFT, ApartmentTherapy, Photojojo, and many other terrific publications and blogs.
Custom printed fabric
- No minimum order
- $18-$32 per yard and $5 swatches
- Premium natural fabrics
- Eco-friendly textile printing
- International shipping
- Weekly fabric design contest
So if any of you have secretly wished to design some fabulous fabric to make your fabulous clothes, you can! I don’t have any experience with them, but True Up (a fabric blog) gave Spoonflower and three other on-demand printers a try. Check out her results: My Big Digital Fabric Printing Experiment.
Free Pattern!
I found a site that will give you a free pattern when you create an account (you have to print the instructions and pattern pieces yourself). Who wants to try it? The patterns are out-of-print ones that aren’t wildly exciting, but hey, did I mention they’re free??
ClubBMV for McCall’s, Butterick and Vogue Patterns
Loretta recommends ClubBMV because “they offer sales almost weekly & you can get patterns sometimes as low as $3.99/each. This includes McCall’s, Butterick & Vogue. Shipping is pretty cheap too. I buy all my patterns this way.”
The ClubBMV website says:
Members Receive
- 10% OFF All Current & Out-Of-Print Butterick, McCall’s & Vogue Patterns!
- 10% OFF Vogue Patterns Magazine Subscriptions and Back Issues!
- 10% OFF Butterick, McCall’s & Vogue Patterns Catalogs!
- Club-Only Sales, Exclusive Offers and Downloads!
If you’re interested, you can purchase your 1-year membership for $15 online.
Magnetic Badge Holders
Update: She double-checked her order slip, and her source is actually Applied Magnets, item #MB002-ST.
Janelle bought the magnetic badge holders (which she used for her brooches) from this company: K&J Magnets.
She adds: “If you order before 4 pm, you will probably get your supplies the next day without paying any additional shipping.”
I browsed the web and found a few other vendors (I don’t know what they’re like — just FYI):
Sewing Friends Wearables 