My Smugglers Daughter dress/Vogue 8972 bodice is made using part of a border print. The next dress I want to sew using my Milly fabric will also be made from a border print. And over the years I've made quite a few garments from border prints. I will of course detail how I'm using/cutting the border prints in both dress blog posts but today I thought I would share some border print resources with you.
I've searched my blog and even though I've expressed my love of border prints, I haven't really discussed how to sew with a border print. There are a few brief tips included in this blog post, but I really want to share some references both in print and online. Why share links and magazine articles? Because honestly why rewrite what has already been done so well.
Magazine and Book sources...
The first one I always think of when I need inspiration is a Sew News article from 1992. Of course, I can't find an online link and somewhere in my moving I've lost the first page of the article with the article's title but what I have is inspiration enough just from the pictures/drawings included.
Does anyone know if Sew News has an online or web based archive of their older magazine articles? I have quite a few that I've cut out and saved from older issues but would love an online resource or DVD source similar to the Threads one to access.
Next, an older Threads article, "Border Prints on the Move" by Joyce Gale in the May 1996, number 64 issue is a very detailed article on what border prints are, how to lay a pattern out, examples of how to effectively sew a border print and the most interesting quote to me...
"To place a border print just where you want it, you can cut the pattern apart."
A newer Threads article, "Border Crossing" by Judith Neukam in the April/May 2014 number 172 issue, has great photographs on how to use border prints to achieve the look that you desire. However, the other Threads article has more detailed information, so if you can get your hands on the older article I highly recommend it.
Before I move on, I'm going to put in a plug for this awesome sewing publication that is a fantastic resource for the home sewist. Not only can Threads magazine be accessed on your tablet - android and iPad/iPhone - but they offer all of the issues on DVD and in a new web based edition. Finally there is "Threads Insider" that is a web based resource offered for a yearly subscription price.
In full disclosure, I own every Threads issue between the Threads archive DVD that's on my computer (for the early issues) and the subscription that I've had for the last 20 years. One of the things that my daughter (the only one that sews) treasures is my Threads collection. Even she flips through it occasionally to learn something new.
Claire Schaeffer's book, Fabric Sewing Guide - 2nd Edition, has an entire chapter called, "Prints and Border Designs." In this chapter, Claire discusses how to use a border print. She gives a border print sewing checklist, as well as, a section on how to plan the garment, picking a pattern, layout and seam finishings.
I think this is an essential book for every sewist to have in her library and would like to encourage you to purchase a copy if you don't already own one!
Now what if you only want online sources...
My first choice would be a $3.99 seminar from Sandra Betzina at Power Sewing. Her Episode 91, Unusual Techniques for Border Prints is a winner. Packed with loads of helpful and usable information for the price of a coffee from Starbucks but accessible for 30 days, this is an amazing resource.
Another resource would be this blogger who used border prints in what I think are an interesting way ~
The Sewing Lawyer - What to do with a border print?
There are loads more, these were just the two that caught my eye when I did a Google search. I hope that some of this information was/is useful to you. I know that I reread the original Threads article to assist me with placement for my Smugglers Daughter dress. More details on that soon...
...as always more later!
Back in August I reviewed the first of the Cynthia Guffey videos that I purchased from dailycrafttv.com. I was so thrilled to find videos online that captured the essence of Cynthia and also gave me the opportunity to watch them over and over again.
At the time, I purchased The Seven Core Sewing Skills, I also purchased "How to Fit a Skirt" by Cynthia Guffey, as well as, the video, "How to Fit A Jacket." It's taken me a minute but I watched the skirt video while I was sick. Hey it was better than daytime TV!
After viewing this 60 minute video, I will be making some fitting, construction and designing changes to my straight skirt pattern to get a better fitted straight skirt. A few general take aways first ~ she makes the changes look so easy to understand and do and she discusses how to interpret drag lines or "travel lines" as she calls them and how to fix them.
Here are some additional things I took away from the video:
~The skirt's side seams should always be straight on the side of the body.
~Adjust the widest area of the skirt first and then make everywhere else fit first. For most of us this is the hip area but for a few it will be the waistline.
~Cynthia started with a princess seam line skirt instead of the standard one piece front and two back pieces for the skirt. She says there are more fitting opportunities that don't involve the side seams if you use a princess seam skirt pattern.
~By using her grading techniques, you can take a skirt that use to fit and grade it up or down so that it fits you now. A vintage skirt, a skirt pattern that you use to sew and loved can be graded to fit your body now.
~Watching her draft a new facing for the skirt instead of using a waistband was worth the cost of the video alone! Watching her explain it and then do it was so crystal clear that I almost jumped up and down and shouted hallelujah!
~When making adjustments to the pattern, she draws a line parallel to the grainline to make changes - whether adding or subtracting width - that way the grainline is never thrown off.
~Cynthia says that one of the questions she's asked most is, "What length should the skirt be hemmed at?" She has an interesting take which mirrors my own, that the hemline should end at the place where the leg curves into the calf, that this is the most flattering place on most women...unless of course you have amazing legs and can wear minis!
~About the circumference of the skirt - Cynthia says that she adds fullness to the front of her skirts (pleats, gathering and kickpleats) because that's where she walks (forward). That adding to the back only ends up in the skirt pulling or the kick pleats and slits folding/bending and generally winding up looking askew. Another lightbulb moment for me! The video is only $9.99 and chock full of wonderful tips and things to learn.
However, the wonderful people at dailycrafttv.com are offering a free skirt video to one winner from my blog. Yes, this is the giveaway I alluded to earlier. So how do you win this wonderful video? Simple, just leave your name and email address in the comments section on this post ONLY by Wednesday, October 30th at 11:59pm EST.
I will announce the winner on Thursday, October 31st and submit your name and email address to the dailycrafttv.com team who will set you up with viewing privileges. This video is available to anyone in the world, so if you want your very own Cynthia Guffey skirt adventure, leave a comment.
Now for full disclosure, I will be reviewing one sewing video per month from the dailycrafttv.com site for free. I do get to choose which video I want to watch and review so rest assured that they will all be about sewing...but I thought you should know that I do have a vested interest.
...as always more later!
