Open House at Of Hand, Spirit & Earth Studio

Tomorrow is Open House at the studio and you're invited! Keep reading to the end for my special offer to you.

Of Hand, Spirit & Earth Studio
Saturday, November 29, 2014
12 Noon to 6 PM

O! Jolly! scarf

Come join us at the Of Hand, Spirit & Earth - Open House, featuring the unique jewelry designs by Jacquie Bird of SilkWire Jewelry and my limited edition O! Jolly! scarves and wraps. You'll also be able to see, touch, and order sweater knit fabrics, not yet seen in the online shop.

O! Jolly! sample fabric

As many of you know, with the ongoing construction and renovation in my building, making and showing has been extremely difficult at times. I was thrilled to be able to join forces with the multi-talented Jacquie Bird of SilkWire Jewelry to officially open the studio/showroom Of Hand, Spirit & Earth last month. The studio is open by appointment only, except for special events, like this!

Neck piece by SilkWire Jewelry

Bracelet by SilkWire Jewelry

Our invitation goes out to all friends, followers, and supporters in the New York City and northern New Jersey area. The studio is located on a beautiful tree-lined street in downtown Jersey City, just a couple of blocks from City Hall. (It's the Grove Street stop, if you're taking the PATH train from Manhattan.)
We hope you'll stop by for a glass of wine, good vibes, and relaxed shopping. We'll be here all afternoon.  RSVP on Eventbrite.

Of Hand, Spirit & Earth Studio [interactive map]
115 Mercer Street Suite 1
Jersey City NJ 07302

Saturday, November 29, 2014
12 Noon to 6 PM

Shop handmade on Small Business Saturday! Say "shop handmade" at our Open House to receive 15% off all O! Jolly! purchases and special orders placed at the studio on the November 29.

Hope to see you there!

O!

Shawl Cardi - Side Seams and Bulk - Part 5

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Damn, this cardigan is taking a long time." I'm not trying to drag this out.. really.... I sew when I can. Fortunately, these colors are going to work for spring, too. ;) If you're just popping in now, this is not part 5 of a sew-along. I'm posting the modifications that I'm making to Kwik Sew K3916, a sewing pattern not  specifically designed for bulky sweater knits. My earlier modifications can be found here:

• Shawl Cardi - Choosing the Fabric - Part 1
• Shawl Cardi - Before Cutting the Fabric - Part 2
• Shawl Cardi - Tracing, Tracing, Tracing - Part 3
• Shawl Cardi - Steaming and Seaming - Part 4

When last I worked on the shawl collar cardigan, I had just attached a sleeves using the flat method, as written in the pattern instructions. I then bound the seam allowances with thin nylon, knit mesh.  Now is the time to sew the side seams. My off-kilter plaid fabric is a substantial sweater weight, double knit fabric. What I don't want is for the seam allowances to be too thick and bulky under the arm where side seam and sleeve seam meet. I'm at step 6 in the written instructions, where I'm to "pin front to back, right sides together at side seam and sleeve seam [...]" Before sewing this seam, I trimmed corners off the seam allowances at the underarm.

Can you see it in the picture above? In the foreground is my sleeve with the seam already pinned. The bound seam (in the left half of the pic) is the seam that attaches the sleeve to the body. That broken yellow line is where I trimmed. You may be able to see it better in the diagram below.

Click to enlarge. I trimmed the yellow triangles before sewing the sides and sleeve seams.

The top photo is the "before". Here is the "after". This time the sleeve is at the top of the pic.

If I were sewing this for demonstration purposes only, I'd probably have chosen a lighter color, plain fabric, another color binding, and contrasting thread. I hope the picture is clear enough to see that this really does get rid of bulk. Another place where seam allowances can get bulky is where the shoulder seam meets the top of the sleeve. I could have clipped the corner of the shoulder's seam allowance before sewing on the sleeve. It really didn't seem to be a problem, however.

The end is near. Next I'll sew on the Front Band a/k/a the shawl collar, and I'll hem this thing.

O!
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Shawl Cardi Series

• Shawl Cardi - Choosing the Fabric - Part 1
• Shawl Cardi - Before Cutting the Fabric - Part 2
• Shawl Cardi - Tracing, Tracing, Tracing - Part 3
• Shawl Cardi - Steaming and Seaming - Part 4
• Shawl Cardi - Side Seams and Bulk - Part 5
• Shawl Cardi - Attaching the Front Band - Part 6
• Shawl Cardi - Finishing - Part 7

Crafting Fiber Art

There are numerous ways of crafting fabric out of thread. Sometimes fabric (and other thread manipulations) can be filed under the category of Art. It was a sweet break from my work with thread and fabric to run around the corner and see a whole exhibit of work with thread and fabric. Thread Lines is a group art exhibition at The Drawing Center in SoHo, NYC, that features sixteen artists who sew, knit, or weave. Also presented are a performance art piece by Anne Wilson (I've seen the piece in progress but not the piece in action; it's "durational". Read about it here.) and Kimsooja’s Thread Routes - Chapter I, first in a series of six films on indigenous textile construction. Here are my favorites from the show.

Untitled, 2013 by William J. O'Brien is felt on felt applique. This is a detail of one of six parts, each 23 7/8 x 19 3/4 inches.

A Peruvian woman walks and hand knits from Kimsooja's Thread Routes - Chapter 1, 2010. According to the gallery's website the film was only going to be shown from September 18 through October 2. According to the time/date on my photo, I saw it on October 3rd! If you love watching men and women spin and hand knit with multiple needles and Machu Picchu as a backdrop as much as I do, you'll love this! But call the Drawing Center first, as the film may have really closed by now.

One of the late Maria Lai's embroidered books, her embroidery on canvas resembles handwriting. This picture cannot capture the beauty of Lai's books.

Other artists represented are Louise Bourgeois, Sheila Hicks, Jessica Rankin, Robert Otto Epstein, and more.

The Drawing Center is located 35 Wooster Street, New York NY 10013. Admission is $5.00 for adults. Thread Lines runs through December 14, 2014.

O!

Shawl Cardi - Seaming and Steaming - Part 4

I always say that if the project is properly prepared, then the sewing will go easily. (There's gotta be a catchier way of saying that!) And so the making of Kwik Sew 3916 continues with modifications for a sweater knit fabric. Things at this point have definitely gotten easier. If you're stopping by for the first time, here are the previous posts in the series:

• Shawl Cardi - Choosing the Fabric - Part 1
• Shawl Cardi - Before Cutting the Fabric - Part 2
• Shawl Cardi - Tracing, Tracing, Tracing - Part 3

This is not an official sew-along. I'm simply posting the steps I take and the modifications I make to sew this particular commercial pattern, a pattern where sweater knits aren't specifically suggested.

For me, a key part of preparing to sew this cardigan is the thread tracing. Being able to see the sewing lines on both sides of the fabric when pinning and sewing makes things much easier. Thread tracing also makes it easier when doing any last minute minor fit adjustments. So you noticed I did no fit adjustments and no mockups? This is a loose fitting cardigan with drop shoulders and no buttons. I didn't think it was necessary. I hope I'm right.

Following the instruction sheet for View B, I've skipped steps 1 & 2  because I'm not doing pockets. Step 3 is basting the stabilizer to the neck and shoulders. Like all the other pieces I traced the sewing line with chalk. I didn't bother to thread trace my interfacing, though I wished I had. The chalk was nearly all rubbed away by the time I needed the sewing line for the shoulders.

Way back in Tracing, Tracing, Tracing - Part 3 I thread traced with a contrasting (orange) thread on the outer edge of the chalk line. Following the specified order on the instruction sheet, I now stitch my seams just inside this easy to see thread traced line. The orange thread pulls out quite easily after sewing the seam, even in those few places where I accidentally sewed over it.

Wrong side

I'm not using any of the suggested methods to finish my seam allowances. Instead I'm using a thin nylon mesh fabric to bind the seam allowances with a stretchy Hong Kong finish. I hesitate to mention my settings, because I've found that my exact settings change with the fabric I'm using and the location of the seam. For instance, I always want the neckline of a pullover to be stretchier than the shoulders of a cardigan. Here are the zigzag stitch settings I'm using for this medium to heavy double knit cardi. The step number in parentheses refers to a step on this page.

• Seam = 0.75 mm x 2.75 mm (width x length)
• Attaching binding (step 2) = 0.75 x 2.75 
• Stitching binding down (step 6) = 2.75 x 2

Because this fabric is substantial and springy, I've been careful to steam the seams well after each step. I've also decided to top stitch with seam allowances, steamed to one side, as I did on the Zipper Ripple Jacket, even though the fabric isn't quite as heavy.

• Top stitching = 0.75 x 3.5

Right side

So far, so good! I've sewn shoulder seams and attached sleeves (flat method) to the jacket. Next up -- side seams, bands, and hems. 

O!

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Shawl Cardi Series

• Shawl Cardi - Choosing the Fabric - Part 1
• Shawl Cardi - Before Cutting the Fabric - Part 2
• Shawl Cardi - Tracing, Tracing, Tracing - Part 3
• Shawl Cardi - Steaming and Seaming - Part 4
• Shawl Cardi - Side Seams and Bulk - Part 5
• Shawl Cardi - Attaching the Front Band - Part 6
• Shawl Cardi - Finishing - Part 7