NEW ARRIVALS AT THREADBARE FABRICS!

It's new fabric time at Threadbare Fabrics!! My initial goal was to begin offering more fabrics sooner, but I wanted to choose really carefully. I'm really proud of how our little store has been doing in the last few months, and I didn't want to overrun it with new fabrics just for the sake of having new product. So you can rest assured that I very much love these fabrics, and all are currently/will be a part of my wardrobe.

There are four new fabrics in total (with more planned for spring), and I've included some information below.

10.5oz Cone Mills S-Gene Dark Indigo Denim
Introducing our newest S-Gene denim weight - 10.5 ounces! It's the perfect middle ground between the heavier weight 11.5oz and the lighter 9oz S-Gene denim. This denim will work for low rise skinny jeans (like Ginger and Jamie) as well as other shapes. Be sure to note the spandex percentage, and baste your jeans to test the fit accordingly.

I've had a few trusted jeans makers tell me they prefer stretch denim in this weight range - and we're happy to offer it!

10.5oz Japanese Black-on-black Denim
Another popular request I've heard is for both Japanese denim and black-on-black denim. Japanese denim is considered to be extremely high quality, and I can vouch for it! I recently made my first pair of jeans with this denim, and they hold up just as well as my Cone Mills pairs.

The black-on-black is also new for our shop - this denim boasts only black threads (rather than white), and the fabric is very dark. The reverse side of this denim is a really nice dark charcoal, which could also be used for a slightly lighter pair!

10oz Cone Mills Non-stretch Indigo Denim
Calling all boyfriend jeans! We currently stock 12.5oz rigid non-stretch denim from Cone Mills, and while it's perfect for men's jeans and heavyweight applications (check out Darlene's apron!) - it might be a bit too heavy for most women's taste in jeans making. Enter this 10oz Cone Mills Non-stretch Denim! It's the perfect weight for boyfriend jeans, and other non-stretch patterns. I'm currently making Jeremy a pair in this weight, so it's great for men too!

I think jeans made from this denim would look great distressed or even bleached (like Lauren did here).

4oz Floral Denim Shirting
This gorgeous lightweight floral denim shirting is our first foray into light weight fabrics. It's perfect for collared shirts, popovers, shirt dresses, and even men's shirts. It has a very soft hand, and is completely opaque. It presses, sews and wears like a dream. I've already used this fabric to make a McCalls 6885, which I'll be posting soon.

This fabric is also extremely limited stock (around 20 yards), and can possibly be reordered depending on demand.

As always, if you're making jeans from any of our new denims, please baste together your pieces and try on before committing to permanent stitches and topstitching. All denims are different! Also, if you have any questions, need swatches, or have fabric suggestions - shoot us an email!

ALDER + ARCHER SHIRTDRESS

Happy February! Big things are happening this month! It's my 30th birthday in less than 2 weeks (eek!) and we've got four new fabrics coming to Threadbare Fabrics!! Things are pretty cold here in California (I'm from the midwest, so I know that's basically a joke) - but we're really not used to below 50F degree temps. Now onto my new favorite dress...

I'm not going to lie - I'm a total Grainline fan girl. I love Jen's style, and basically anything she posts about, or any pattern she releases - I'm going to at least consider it... If not buy it and make it immediately. So when she released instructions for a pattern hack featuring Alder + Archer - I was smitten, and I wanted to make my own.

ALDER + ARCHER DRESS
Pattern: Grainline Studio Alder Dress + Archer Shirt
Size: Alder View B, size 10 + 1.5" FBA (3" total) with Archer sleeve,  size 10 tapered to size 2 at wrist
Modifications: The whole thing is a mod!
Fabric: Floral viscose (rayon) poplin from Blackbird Fabrics (unfortunately sold out)

It took me awhile to perfect my Alder pattern (I still have not posted about this), but basically Jen's pattern measurements don't really match my body - so I end up with an amalgam of sizes and a necessary FBA. However, my Alder and Archer patterns fit perfectly now - so they were ready to be combined!

I found the perfect fabric for my Alder + Archer dress from Caroline's beautiful shop - Blackbird Fabrics. Caroline's viscose poplins are always great for dresses and skirts, because they've got all the benefits of rayon (soft, flowing) with the added bonus of being opaque.

I went to work combining the patterns - using Jen's tutorial (it involves changing the arm hole shape). I also took a page out of Katie's book, and made the front of the skirt gathered all the way across, by hacking off the front "tails" of the View B pattern, and extending the skirt fronts. Additionally, because I was already tracing the pattern off to change the arm holes, I combined the yoke and back piece into one because *laziness.* 

Overall, I'm really in love with this dress. Changing the arm hole shape isn't terribly difficult, but I do have a few changes for next time. I think I may still need to give a bit of room in the front of the armscye....sometimes it seems a bit tight. Also, I think I really need to use the Archer pockets vs. the Alder pockets, because after doing an FBA, they seem almost comically small (luckily they blend right into the fabric enough to not bother me... too much).

These photos were also taken by Jeremy in the Munich Englischer Garten, and you can see more pics from our recent Germany/Austria trip here.

HAPPY 2016!! // WINTER WEAR

Happy New Year, everyone!!!! It's been a very busy few months! It all started back in November when Jeremy and I traveled to Indiana for Thanksgiving, came back to LA for 5 days and then went off to Germany. Somewhere around August, that all seemed like a good idea... At least we had fun!


In December, we spent two amazing weeks in Germany and Austria (you can see some of Jeremy's awesome pics here). We spent 3 days in Germany in 2011, and we'd been craving a trip back ever since. This time we did 4 days in Munich, two in Hallstatt, Austria, two days in Salzburg, 4 days in Mittenwald, and back to Munich for two days. It was a great balance of city and country, long stays and short - and we hit up many a Christmas market. All in all, we had a great time and I'm sure we'll get the itch to return again in the not-so-distant future.


I feel like I've spent the last few weeks recovering from travel and the holidays - so I'm just now getting around to posting some new handmade clothing - finished just in time for my trip! I made several new items, and these are the best of it.

Also - the pictures of the first three items were taken in Hallstatt, Austria, and the last set were taken in the beautiful Englischer Garten in Munich.

SWEATER KNIT CARDIGAN

Pattern: McCalls 6996

Size: Large, View C
Modifications: None
Fabric: Teal tweed double knit from the LA Garment District
Worn With: My first knit hat - the Magic Hat in Madelinetosh Nebula

Cardigans used to be a major staple of my wardrobe, but since I began sewing - my cardigan collection has aged because they're almost all from my RTW days. McCalls 6996 seemed like as good of a choice as any - plus it's easily picked up in a Joann's sale (although I may have ordered this from McCalls during a $3.99 sale due to impatience). 

This pattern sews up quite quickly, and I easily made two of these in one day (the other is a very thin, white sweater knit that's been dubbed the "Ghost Sweater" and likely won't make an appearance here). The sizing, however, as McCalls tends to be - is a little on the large size. I made a size Large based on my measurements, but easily could've gone down to a medium if it was included in my envelope. The overall effect isn't too large, but in a bulky double knit - it's bigger than I'd like. 

The fabric was a lucky street-side find that I came across while rolling with my Katie gang through the LA garment district (made up of me, my friend Katie, and Katie of What Katie Sews). It's a fairly thick double knit, with a teal tweedy textured (say that three times fast) outer layer, and a black inner layer. It probably has a bit of poly content, but it's really soft and super warm. 

PLAID POPOVER

Pattern: Pauline Alice Carme Blouse

Size: 44 with a 1" FBA

Modifications: Slimmed the sleeves, omitted sleeve tab, used different cuffs
Fabric: J.Crew Plaid Shirting from Indiesew

My second winter make today is also my second version of the Pauline Alice Carme Blouse. I've made this pattern up once before, but I was never that crazy about the outcome, although it fit pretty well. My main issue on my first version was the sleeve pattern - it's a bit billowy at the wrists, and it's gathered into a narrow cuff - but I get too many Shakespeare vibes from it. 

For my second go around, I used my Archer sleeve pattern (which is a 12 graded down to a 2 at the wrist) to slim down the Carme sleeve, and I used the Archer cuffs instead of the narrow cuffs included in the pattern. I also did a 1" FBA (2" total), and changed the position of the dart - and I really like the fit. I also changed up the front panel by eliminating the pleats, and cutting it on the bias. 

The fabric is a navy and red plaid J.Crew shirting from Indiesew. The fabric has a really nice feel to it, but the plaid was terribly off grain, and lining everything up was a serious headache. Such is the life of a sewist who wants matching plaids and stripes :D With the placket, front panel and band collar - Carme is a great alternative to my regular uniform of Archers and Granvilles. 

SKINNY JEANS

Pattern: Closet Case Patterns Ginger Jeans
Size: 10, View B (high rise)
Modifications: Added 1/4" at the top of each leg piece side seam, grading to nothing below the pocket. This added about 1" and helps my waistband lay flatter.
Fabric: Cone Mills Denim in 11.5oz Indigo, from Threadbare Fabrics

Ah, another pair of Ginger jeans! Can there ever be enough?! I've been wanting another pair of indigo Gingers for a little while now (I've worn this pair basically every day for over a year). The denim is, of course, Cone Mills Denim in 11.5oz Indigo (available at our fabric store, Threadbare Fabrics). The 11.5oz, in my opinion, is the perfect denim weight for a pair of skinny jeans. 

I chose to make this pair with silver topstitching, to make them a bit different than my pairs with gold topstitching. I like the look, and they are effectively different. It's also funny how much darker they are when the denim is fresh, rather than being lightened by washing over a year. 

There's one slight issue with these jeans - a few pairs of jeans ago, I decided to add a bit of room through the hips and waist on the pattern. This works okay for a stiffer denim, but the 11.5oz has such a nice stretch, that it was a bit of a mistake to leave that extra room in this pair. They fit great straight out of the washing machine, but as the denim relaxes a bit with wear - they become a bit too big in the hips and waist. My other pair can be worn for basically two weeks straight without washing or bagging out, while these need to be washed more frequently to tighten up the hips/waist. Note to self - when using the Cone Mills S-Gene... leave the sizing alone :D 

MEN'S BUTTON UP

Pattern: McCalls 6613, view D
Size: Large
Alterations: Diagonal yoke and pockets
Fabric: Plaid flannel shirting from Michael Levine

Jeremy's been itching for a new flannel shirt (this one has been worn completely to death) - so I made him one just in time for our trip. The flannel is from Michael Levine, but I'm not sure of the brand (I had my eye on some Robert Kaufman Mammoth Flannel, but this one isn't it). The fabric is super thick, and was super warm for our trip - as well as Jeremy's motorcycle commute to work. 

There's not too much more to say about this shirt (I've made it about 15 times or so) - it's made exactly as instructed in the pattern. There's only one pocket - I had a bit of a fabric shortage, and messed up the pocket plaid matching a few too many times. The inner yoke is a red chambray - again due to fabric shortage. 

The one part I'm most proud of is the plaid matching. I've always had stripe matching across the fronts and seams down, but I've struggled with matching the plaid. This is probably the first shirt where I feel like I truly nailed the plaid across the entire front, including the button band - keeping the main plaid stripes balanced vertically (I think I did pretty good with this shirt too, actually). Jeremy loves this shirt, and so do I!

I hope everyone is having a great new year so far!  Slowly but surely, I'm getting back into sewing - but I am currently loving knitting (I'm working on the Rosemont Cardigan from Home & Away). Has anyone else suffered from a lack of post-holiday sewjo/motivation? Any tips on dealing with it?