I Just Have to Share this Fabric

I usually don't post client work, but I just have to show you this fabric. My client has given me permission to photograph it. But it is 10 times more beautiful in person than it is in this picture. There is a lovely story about this fabric. My client's MIL used to work for an interior designer, about 20+ years ago. When the designer retired, she gave my client's MIL this fabric, It is pure, snowy white, rayon and cotton (from what I can tell, I'm not going to do a burn test), and it has the most lovely fringe effect with Chanel type yarns between the solid strips. When I took a swatch of this fabric to NYC, an owner of one of the stores on 40th Street told me that it was $150+/yard fabric, if you could get it. The MIL thinks it was Italian, but I can't find anything like it.

Another view with different lighting:

Boy, this fabric is a joy to work with. But it does present some challenges. The fringe is heavier than the panel strips, and you can see that in the picture above, on the right hand side of your screen. The fringe pulls down, so the sides pull in. This necessitates a rod at the bottom, and some manipulation of the valance. But it yields a bee-yoo-tee-ful result. The curtain isn't quite done yet - I'm going to add a side panel on the valance tomorrow. I will post a picture of the finished version when it is in the client setting. But this fabric is just too pretty to not show.

Happy sewing!

Short and Sweet - Curtains for the Kids

Since I was pretty pooped today thanks to post-parabolic peter-out, I decided to tackle a project that doesn't tax me too much. We painted the kids' bedroom this summer, and they have been after me since then to make them curtains. I bought some inexpensive striped cotton at JoAnn Fabrics and whipped up a pair.


As a general rule, I don't really enjoy home dec sewing. I do it for clients, and I charge a lot for it, but it's not as interesting to me as, say making an evening gown or other clothing. But the plus side to sewing home dec is that it is pure geometry. Fitting is almost never an issue, except for slipcovers. I've made slipcovers. I liken them to the time I accidentally ate lamb's brains in Paris - I can now say I have done it, and I don't need to do it again. Ever. BTW, if you go to Paris and happen to go to dinner at some lovely neighborhood spot in the 17th Arrondissement, and see "Salade D'Hiver avec Cervelles D'Agneau" on the menu, take a pass. Trust me. But I digress....

Back to the curtains. They quite literally took me under two hours from cutting table to curtain rod. The window measures 36 inches across. My fabric was 45 inches wide. So I cut two panels to length, sewed an attached valance at the top, ran the whole thing through the Juki and then pressed and hung them. It's definitely not couture, but my eldest son gave me a big hug and a thank you when he saw them after school. That made my day!

Another view, from the door:


Happy sewing!

Not-so-instant Replay: My Slipcover Adventure

I backed up all my posts to another site recently, and in doing so, I saw a couple of reviews of projects that I had done that still make me laugh or otherwise tickle my fancy. Since I'm too busy getting ready for my next recital (next Thursday at 12:30 at Tufts University's Goddard Chapel, if you're in the Boston area), here's something to tide you over until I have time to be pithy again.

Couch Slipcover Project, posted on 9/3/03

Project Photo:


Pattern Rating: Difficult, but ended up with good results

Here's the short version. This slipcover took 3 days and 17 yards of fabric to make. The cushion back has 3 main pieces, attached to sides and a deck. There is a poufy arm, and I pleated the sides to fit. The back is cut from 1 complete width of the fabric (54" wide) with small end pieces (10" wide each). There are 3 cushions. I made the cushion covers from a single piece of fabric for the top, front and bottom, attached to side pieces, with a zippered back panel. I made this slipcover from upholstery fabric I bought at Fabric Fix in NH. Would I make it again? Read on...

The long version

Oy vey ist mir! And that from an Irish girl! This is one of those, "What on God's green earth was I thinking?" projects.

So here is the story. Last spring (as my DH has been fond of reminding me), we went to Fabric Fix -by the way, it's called Fabric Fix for a reason - and he said, "You know, the couch in the family room is looking pretty beat. Can you slipcover it?" I was busy drooling over some beautiful embroidered silk and muttered something unintelligible that he interpreted as "yes". So when he asked me how much material we needed, I said "Huh?".

"You remember, hon, the couch?"

"What about the couch?"

"How much does it take to slipcover it?"

"17 yards, why?"

Next thing I know, a BIG bolt of fabric is being loaded into the truck and I am being dragged physically away from my silk. But don't worry, I snuck up the next week and bought 3 yards, which will get reviewed as something or another at some point in the future. The bolt takes up its place of prominence in my sewing room.

Ignore, ignore, ignore. "Sweetie darling, can you please move this very large bolt of fabric?"

Ignore some more. Time passes. Couch is even more beat. DH is looking at me funny whenever I emerge from the sewing room with a cool new purse, dress, jacket, shirt, whatever. Grumble.

Good news! There's a stash reduction contest! Time to do the couch!!! Couch by now is extremely beat. Major holes in the cushions; needs Febreeze bad (naughty dog, stay off the couch! Why did we get a Labrador Retriever in the first place?).

I have never made a slipcover. I am really good at apparel construction, but I have no illusions about my abilities in home-dec. When I used to work full time in high-tech, home dec was something I hired folks to do. It took other skills and more space than I had. But time and people change, and so...

Day 1. Contemplate. Look at couch, look at fabric. Okay, this is not my usual, "I see the fabric in 3 dimensions on a human body." This is a couch. As a side note, a voice teacher once told me "Honey, every once in a while, you have to teach a couch." - this is my couch, but it's not here for a lesson. Grim, very grim.

Day 1 1/2. This baby is not going to cover itself. I decide to take the shears in hand and start cutting. It's only fabric, after all. I cut out the back, the cushions, and the deck of the sofa. Hey! This is all straight lines! The cushions only need 4 seams and a zipper! This is cool!

Day 2. Sew straight lines, lots of straight lines! Whoa... what's this bump? There are no bumps like this on the human body, not even mine! Alright, meditate, breathe deep. DH is looking at me funny again and says I'm getting that look in my eye I get before I go down a particularly terrifying double diamond ski slope. I'm going to beat this. I am NOT giving in! ... I think I'll make DS a bathrobe!

Day 3. Both DS's are back to school now, no excuse. Alright, what is with these bumps? By the way, many expletives are being deleted, to keep this blog family-friendly. Alright, you know what? We're draping here. Drape, sew, drape, sew. Try it on for size, then pin and drape some more. This is not so bad. A few pleats here, a few pleats there. Keep the thread clippers handy because, even though it fits perfectly with this seam attached, I need about an inch when I want to attach it to THAT seam. A little slow going, but by the time DYS gets home from kindergarten, he can sit on it (I hope I got all the pins out!).

Day 3 1/2. All seams are sewn, and I had to pinch and pleat the bizarre bumps. I'm sure that someone with home-dec experience is laughing their kiester off at me right now, but it doesn't look terrible. A tuck here and a tuck there. Man, now I know how plastic surgeons feel! If that's how plastic surgeons feel, remind me never to get a facelift. I added a skirt at the bottom, which compensates for a multitude of sins. Remind me to ask prospective plastic surgeons about skirts... But I digress.

The good news? DH came home from "work" (like what I do isn't!)
"Wow! that looks great! I can't believe it only took you three days. I thought it would take about a month!"

I feel good!

As an aside, the couch lasted another two years, until the Labrador Retriever, Otto, passed away at the ripe old age of 14

The Cobbler's Curtains, I mean, Kids....

I finally got around to making new curtains for my spare bedroom. The spare bedroom is really the cutting room. There's no bed in it anymore. These curtains have been a very long time coming. I made the last set when I was pregnant with my oldest. He's 11 now, and I threw the last curtains together at the last minute - literally. It was the day before I went into labor, and I figured I had best make some curtains so the poor baby wouldn't have sun in his eyes all afternoon. I was in such a rush I didn't bother to line the curtains, and as you can see, sunlight was not kind to them over time. If you look from left to right, you'll see a definite fade pattern. The left side was in direct sun much of the afternoon. The boys never noticed. They're boys, you know? But after they both vacated the room to bunk beds in the adjoining bedroom, the decor from the nursery remained. And by now it has officially outlived its usefulness.


Well, I again don't have a whole lot of time to make stuff. And honestly, I'm not big on sewing home dec. I do it, and I charge a lot of money for it, and I do a great job, but not for my own home. It's that whole cobbler's children thing. But this weekend was a pretty rainy one here in Boston, so I figured I would whip up some cafe curtains and line them this time so they will hopefully last a little longer. It's not much, but it's a little sewing while the kids have been getting ready for school. So here's what I ended up with:


The fabric is a cotton pique from Building 19. One of my students, Jeanne, bought some, and I liked it well enough that I ran to the store and bought a couple of yards too. It's lined (or in the case of the valance, backed) with unbleached muslin from my stash. The entire project took me less than two hours (thank you, industrial Juki!). It's not couture, but at least it makes the room a little nicer. Until each of the boys wants his own room and I have to give up my cutting room.

Happy sewing!