Thread snips are one of those rare items I buy in bulk. I keep a jar of them (I’m not kidding) next to the sewing machine because I can never find a scissors when I need one. (And I suspect you’ve been in this situation too, right?) They’re basic thread snips, nothing fancy, but they do the job well, and I don’t feel bad if I’ve already misplaced six pair that day; I just grab another one without taking the time to look for its buddies. They’ll show up later when I’m cleaning.
These are a simple, ingenious little tool that makes quick work of clipping the threads at the end of a seam or for removing stray threads from your finished sewing projects. They’re also useful for clipping into seam allowances on light- to medium-weight fabrics, and for marking notches. (I usually mark my notches with just a little clip at the location of the notch. Do you do that too?)
We’ve added these thread snips to the shop, for your sewing tool kit.
And I just went and counted. There are seven thread snips in the jar by the sewing machine today. Obviously I haven’t started my sewing yet!
We love handmade (of course we do…) and that extends to fabrics too.
I was recently introduced to Celina Mancurti’s hand-screened linen fabrics. If you follow the blog, you know I’ve written before about how much I adore working with linen. And when it’s hand-printed with wonderful simple designs like this I think it makes a wonderful material for a fun summer dress.
This week for Fabric Friday I want to tell you about manufactured fibers and how they are made.
Originally, manufactured fibers were created to mimic more expensive natural fibers like wool and silk. Today, many manufactured fibers are engineered specifically to have certain properties that natural fibers don’t. Manufactured fibers come in two primary types: cellulosic, which are plant-based, and petroleum-based.
So, yes, some manufactured fibers can, in fact, originate from plants. In the manufacturing process the plants are broken down into chemical solutions which are then forced through tiny holes to make filaments, much like a silkworm extrudes a liquid that hardens into filament. (Remember when I talked about that last week?) That’s why these fabrics aren’t considered natural fibers. Natural fibers are made without the use of chemicals.
Amy Butler’s rayon fabrics
Ready? Put on your fabric geek glasses; we’re going to start rolling pretty fast! Here a few common cellulosic-based fabrics and their qualities.
Summer is almost here, and that means trips to the shore. And every girl heading to the beach needs a new sundress for the season. That’s why we’ve chosen the Seashore Sundress to release as our next digital pattern.
The Seashore Sundress pattern features button straps, princess seams, and two almost-invisible little pockets at the dropped waist which are perfect for stashing tiny treasures.
You can purchase the pattern now as a digital download in the Oliver + S Shop.
We have some good news this afternoon for those of you who live outside the United States. We have just lowered our shipping and handling costs on international orders. These rates will be effective on all orders shipped starting May 2, 2013.
I’ll spare you the details, but the new shipping method we are using will still have packages delivered by your local post office in roughly the same amount of time as they have previously taken to arrive. But they will cost less to get there.
The US Postal Service rate increases last January were disproportionately high on packages shipped outside the country. So we’re glad that we’ve been able to find an alternative delivery method that provides the same level of service at a reduced cost. And we’re happy to pass that savings along to you!
Tailor’s chalk is probably my most-used marking tool. I have a few other marking tools I like to use, too (and I’ll talk about those another day), but tailor’s chalk is the one I use most frequently. Tailor’s chalk is more compressed than sidewalk or chalkboard chalk, so it doesn’t crumble quite as easily and makes a sharper line. I think it would be accurate to say that tailor’s chalk is more silky than sidewalk chalk, if that makes any sense.
As a marking tool, chalk works best on darker colors (although the yellow is actually really good at marking pretty much any color except yellow) and makes a very visible line on the fabric. It rubs or washes out when you’re finished with it, so you don’t need to worry about the marks becoming permanent. It’s great for transferring markings from a pattern, for marking stitching lines on your fabric, and even for tracing around a pattern piece before you cut. (Once you’ve traced the pattern piece you can remove it from the fabric and cut on the chalked lines, which makes for really accurate cutting if you like to work that way.)
