Vote on a Sewcialist Logo!

Hello! It’s time to vote on a Sewcialist Logo! We had 6 entries that met our criteria - Now it’s your turn to pick your favourite! Please consider the following before you cast your vote:

We asked each designer to design an emblem that…

• Relates to sewing and the social nature of sewcialists


• Is modern, simple, recognizable and memorable


• Is useable in black & white as well as in color

You can read the rest of the requirements on the Sewcialists.org site. On this site, you can also find the rest of the Jury Blogs. You are allowed one vote per jury blog. (The Jury itself will not be voting.)

When you vote on our blogs, please make your vote very clear, typing in the # of the entry and the designer’s name.

Included before each design is a portion of the designer’s cover letter to give you context.

Voting closes on May 8th at midnight Eastern time in the United States. 

Entry #1- Bev

I chose my designs as a globe representing the world wide sewing community, needle and threads to represent sewing, threads of different colours to represent our differences and a computer mouse to represent our mode of communication. 

Entry #2- Gareth

I think that this design shows the close-knit (excuse the pun) nature of

Sewcialists. It places them within the circle created by the threads coming from the needles. I think this nicely sums up the idea of a community brought together by the hobby that they love.

Entry #3- Sabina

I basically wanted to keep the logo very simple and recognisable. Every sewcialist will at some point use a computer to communicate about their creations or engage with other sewcialists. Although there are lots of different hardware options to enable us to do this (smart phones, desk tops, tablets etc etc) I thought the world at large would be able to immediately recognise a standard laptop to represent how the online community interacts.The sewing machine in the middle was the obvious choice to represent what sewcialists do at the very heart of our creativity. It’s actually based on my Janome 525S machine! The dot and dash circle enclosing the logo represents to me the cutting lines on patterns!

   

Entry #4- Joost

The design uses a button and bobbin to relate to sewing whereas the smiley face speech balloon relates to the social nature of sewcialists.

The button is slightly rotated. It makes it visually more pleasing and reminds us that sewcialists needn’t adhere to the stereotype of off-the-peg garments. The bobbin is half-filled with thread, indicating it’s being used. The friendly chatter that sewcialists engage in online is embodied in the form of a speech balloon/smiley face.

The emblem is simple in its design and its button and bobbin shapes breathe ‘sewing’. The combination of three basic elements makes it memorable, yet distinctive.

The black and white version at the bottom and the color version at the top prove that the logo ‘works’ regardless of colors.

But I don’t like the color!

You don’t have to. You may like the same dress pattern as another sewcialist, but that doesn’t mean you should make it in the same color, right?

The strength of the design is its shape. Only you can choose your prefect colors. So, pick your own colors and make this design your very own sewcialist emblem.

You can do so online at this address:: http://lab.decock.org/sewcialists/

Entry #5- Dylan

Entry #6- Anne

My design is a patchwork globe revolving on an axis which is represented by the dress form. The needle and thread which changes to a computer mouse representing the lines of communication going round the globe linking sewing and the social media.

My idea for this came from the inclusive and diverse nature of the sewcialist community represented by the patchwork pieces of the countries – linked by a common thread – our sewing and means of communication. My favourite author is Anne Tyler who wrote the book A Patchwork Planet so a bit of me. I also wanted to represent all sewers, the dress form for the garment sewers among us and the patchwork, yes you’ve guessed it! for the patchwork community.

The text around the outside gives a vintage feel – I think – to the design. I mention the word Sewcialist  at the top and I felt we should aim high – with a bit of humour so a bit tongue in cheek with the proclamation that we will unite the world with our stitches.

Good luck to the designers!

Tell us your favourite with a comment below, including the # of the entry and the designer’s name.

Wanna vote again? Head over to one of these Jury members blogs for more voting. (Remember, one vote per blog!)

• @DDisciplines of Disparate Disciplines


• @Ladykatza of Peanut Butter Macramé


• @sewyourownway of Sew your own way


• @GillianCrafts of Crafting a Rainbow


• @Prttygrievnces of Pretty Grievances


• @laurahoj of Make it yourself mom’s diary

Blogging the Unblogged!

I’m falling way behind here on blogging finished clothes… so buckle up, because I’m going to ramble my way through pants, two tops, a skirt, and leggings! (Lucky for you I don’t have pics yet of the dress or tee!) :P

FO#1: Pavlova Top

 

Remember how I wasn’t in love with my first Pavlova? Well, I was so inspired by Leila from 3 Dresses, who loves her Pavlova, that I decided to make a second version. Sadly, this one is worse. The stretch of the ties must be the wrong way around, or this just doesn’t have enough give, because they feel tight when I wear it. For some reason, the ties also point off in a strange direction, so I had to take it all apart and cut out a triangle chunk to make them work. 

Oh well. It was fun to make, and I finished it just in time to help my team win the Sewalong challenge! Sweet! 

FO#2: Truffle Skirt

What’s that I’m wearing with my Pavlova? It’s a new spring skirt! 

It’s a simple lined skirt made with (gasp!) quilting cotton from Jay McCarroll’s line. (Remember him from Project Runway S1?) I love the bright colours and graphic pattern. Once again, I used the skirt pieces from the Colette Truffle dress to make the skirt. I tried to shake it up by using a button to close the waistband, but um, yeah… haven’t bought a button yet. The pavlova is holding it closed! (Though my invisible zip is pretty good! Don’t know why I fear those so much! :P)

In theory, I thought this top and skirt might work together because of the little coral paint platters on the skirt print. Looking at the pictures though, I think it will be better with a different colour! 

FO#3: Leggings! 

Behold! I have made the cake-iest of all cake garments - the humble legging! In fact, I’ve made several pairs… and this is the closest you will ever get to seeing them in full! I used a Style Arc pattern which was really simple and easy. There is no outer side seam - it’s all one piece. (Side note: It takes a terrifying amount of fabric to wrap around my thigh. Shocking!) 

Oh, and guess what? This was one of my 2013 Sewing Goals! 

Huzzah! 

OK, time to wrap this up…

FO#4: Wiksten Tank and FO#5: Capri Jeans! 

See how I snuck that in? PANTS! You guys were so encouraging last time I posted about my pants saga (5 muslins!) that i decided just to go for it and make some wearable, imperfect pants. These were made from 2 short scraps of denim, so they had to become shortie pants. The fit is far from perfect, but they are totally wearable and will come in handy during Me Made May!

Just in case one of you has a magic answer…. heres what’s going on in the back. Wrinkles galore! (This is an in-progress pic - now they have pockets!)

If you are interested in stretchy pull-on pants, here’s how the self-fabric waistband works… It’s got unstretched elastic inside which holds it snug without pulling tight. It’s simple and works well, and because the elastic is zigzagged it doesn’t twist around! 

Last but not… ok, totally least: a quick Wiksten tank in challis! Lesson learned? I need darts! Quick and fun though, and an easy way to join in the Challis Chalet this month! 

Phew! You made it through! Looking back, the common thread with these unblogged garments is that I haven’t worn any of them. Seriously, If I sew it an then ignore it, it’s not a good sign! The leggings get used, and the jeans will in warmer weather… the rest, maybe! How often do you sew up things that turn out to be flawed or uninspiring? What do you do with those “meh” projects? 

Me-Made May '13

Thank you all so much for your great suggestions on my Me-Made pledge!  It really helped me get inspired! I ended up deciding on a varient of the wearing-a-rainbow idea…So here’s my pledge: 

'I, Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear me-made clothing that matches my personal colour palette for the duration of May 2013'

There we go! I’ve got 11 shades to choose from… but my goal is to wear at least 2 or 3 colours a day. Even better, I’m going to challenge myself to combine colours in new-to-me ways: coral, pink, and kelly green? Monochromatic shades of turquoise? Why not? It’s time to shake things up! To that end, I’ll also be sewing some new stuff from my stash to round out the rainbow! (Pants, perhaps?) 

I’m really curious to see if these are ACTUALLY the colours that I wear! (I know I wear quite a lot of black, for example, but I don’t think it’s all that flattering on me, so I haven’t put it in the palette.) For the pledge, I figure I can still wear colours that aren’t in the palette, as long as at least part of my outfit incorporates these colours. 

I’ve got lots to work with - I counted the wintery me-mades in my closet last night, and came up with 30 things that match the palette. Plus I’ve got summer dresses put away downstairs, and some stash to sew up… Here are a few of my choices:

The only thing I haven’t decided is how to incorporate the colour palette into my daily pics. I could get some matching big paint chips, and held them in pics (yay for something to do with my hands!), or I could edit the photos and add colour swatches. What do you think would work better? Have you decided on your own Me-Made May pledge? 

Me Made May - What should I pledge?

It’s almost time for another Me Made May! Last year was my first time participating. I’d only been sewing for about 3 months, but somehow I pulled it off! As many other bloggers have mentioned, it was a really turning point for me: since then, I’ve worn me-mades almost every day! 

Last year, I set myself an extra challenge by creating Japanese For Crafters - a Japanese-word-a-day challenge! It was so much fun to coordinate the Japanese word each day with what I was wearing, and I was so happy that people played along by trying out the words when commenting on my pics in the Flickr group! As a total bonus, it gave me something to do with my hands while posing, and made me feel a little less ridiculous getting my picture taken every day.

 Here’s a roundup of everything from last year… you can also go check it out on my Flickr stream if you want to read the individual words!

 Now my Japanese in’t all that great, and I have no intention of doing the same thing again… but I am looking for a fun project for this year! I really appreciate So Zo’s comments about how it is intended to be a *challenge*. Daily me-mades isn’t really a challenge for me right now, so I want to add an extra level… but I’m really not sure what! 

Here’s are some of the ideas that I’ve thought of…

• Wear at least 10 me-mades a week (Sounds like a lot of counting…)


• Colour-coordinate my clothes, and somehow wear a rainbow over the course of each week? (But I need to be adaptable to weather, so it can’t be set in stone)


• Figure out another thing to be photographed with… but what? 


• Frankly, at this point, I could do a series of 4 OWOPs - One week, One Pattern: All tiramisu’s one week, and all Renfrews the next… But I fear becoming the crazy lady at work! :P

Here’s the problem: I think Japanese for Crafters worked because it built community - It was fun for me, and hopefully fun for people to join in! (I mean, seriously, how many “I love your outfit!” comments can anyone write in a month?) All the ideas I’ve thought of for this year are purely selfish - things that only I would know I was doing, with no added fun for anyone else! 

(On the other hand, I don’t want to be rude and attention-grabbing… There’s a wee part of me that feared people would be pissed at me for doing Japanese for Crafters, like I wasn’t following the rules properly or I was being too selfish! I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.) 

So what could I do that is more social? Maybe recommend a great blog to go check out every day? A can-you-name-the-pattern guessing game? Or should I just let it rest and not try anything special this year? I’d love your honest advice! 

Thanks, sewcialists! 

Koalas! Koalas Everywhere!

Oh HAI! I’m just hanging out in my new Koala top… Striking awkward poses…

…soaking in the early Spring “sunshine”…

Hoping the rest of the snow melts soon! 

I finished this top weeks ago, but after getting pumped about spring sewing at the start of the month, I got annoyed that the weather did not comply! Seriously, school bused were cancelled because of ice and snow on Thursday last week, then all schools were SHUT DOWN on Friday because of a huge ice storm. I want SPRING! 

In the end, I decided, “Screw it! I’m taking pics outside anyway! In the same place that would be scenic come summer… If only I’d gotten out of bed earlier, I could have caught the entire yard covered in snow. Yay?

Anyway, my shirt: It’s a Grainline Scout Tee (my third!) made from Japanese double gauze that I ordered on Rakuten. It was $9/m, which seems very reasonable to me - I’d never get anything locally of such nice quality for that price! (Buy your own “Koara Chan” gauze here!) The inner layer of fabric is cream, and the outside has the adorable little guys on it. (How did I not notice until now that one of them is wearing a bandana? The cute-o-meter is off the charts!)

If you’ve never sewn with double gauze, you really should give it a try - its buttery soft, and magically both cosy in winter and breezy in summer.  It’s best for loose garments like this pattern, or a semi-fitted blouse like the Sewaholic Alma. 

There really isn’t much else to say about it… I usually lengthen the pattern, but for some reason this time I cut using the original printout, completely forgetting that I had a modified version traced out! It’s fine when i’m just standing or sitting around, but I’d be flashing some belly if I wore it while doing jumping jacks etc with my class. Time for an undershirt, I guess! ;)

I’ve got another coral top to show you later this week…and a skirt…and a bonus pair of leggings because it was too cold to wear the skirt without them! 

On a side note, I’m really fascinated by all the Colette Laurel dresses popping up! I love some of them, and find other less flattering… It’s that great lure of something loose, just like this shirt! I don’t think the Scout tee necessarily brings out any great features of mine, but dang, is it comfy! And hides all forms of muffin-top… I love it. I’m working on a Jiffy shift dress - inspired but the Laurel, but hoping the shape is more flattering on me! (Thought it’s looking nothing like Erika’s hella sexy version right now!) 

How do you feel about loose sihouettes? Yes, no, maybe so? 

Where did the blogging go?

Hello, peeps! i’ve been absent around here for a while… ok, only two weeks, really, but that’s a long time for me! I don’t know what happened - I’ve been sewing, but just haven’t felt like photographing or posting anything I make! Tonight I’m not quite sure I have much to say, but I’m making myself write anyway. Twitter can *almost* satisfy my sewcialist tendencies, but it’s time to get back to blogging! 

Since Christmas, I’ve really been enjoying using my iPad to record my monthly sewing plans. Not that I stick to the plans very carefully, but they are helpful inspiration when I don’t know what to start next! 

Here are my plans from the start of March. Let’s see how many I got done! 

Two Pavlova tops? Check. Lounge pants and leggings? Check. Style Arc pants… well, yes and no! I made one muslin and was pretty happy, so I made my next pair wearable and fully finished - my first ever pair of pants! But then I got deeper down the fitting rabbit hole, and became less and less pleased with the fit on my 3rd, 4th, and 5th muslins. Now I’m looking at muslin 6, and wondering if I’ve only made things worse! I’ve been wearing v2 all weekend, and they are comfy and look fine. Should I push for more? I just don’t know. It’s a little depressing, to be honest! 

Next up: No, I didn’t make that Grainline Scout tee yet. It’ll come in April, I hope! I did finish the a-lin skirt though, including one of my better zipper attempts, thanks to using fusible webbing for the first time to hold the zip in place!

Hmmm. Yes, I did make my sister a Hollyburn, and the pattern was great to work with. I got as far as muslining and cutting out the bodice of a dress with my Tsuru fabric, but it’s got lots of little pieces and I haven’t been able to face it since! It has the honour or being the very first cut pattern that I’ve hidden away as a UFO! 

Oh, and that cowl neck polka dot dress? Well, i didn’t buy tha fabric when I first saw it, because I knew good sales were coming up… but I haven’t found it at any of the other locations I’ve shopped at since, and also haven’t been back to the city where I found it! Lesson learned: Buy the damned fabric when you see it! 

So, overall: Some of my plans worked out, some didn’t! I also made a few other things, plus duplicates of the leggings and lounge pants. Not bad! 

Now for April! I sketched out a few plans yesterday, including: 

Recognise that Scout Tee from last month? I actually made the coral Koala Scout tee yesterday, so that other one should follow soon. I’ve got plans for one more Tira - i just have to figure out how to use my border print ITY without loosing stretch anywhere vital! 

The Kimono Sleeve dress is an interesting one for me… it was one of the first patterns I bought, thinking it looked really simple.. then muslined it in jersey and was really disappointed! I’m ready to give it another crack though, even though it looses serious points for not having a size big enough for my butt! Seriously? It’s not THAT big! 

Well, hello, Style Arc Pants! Fancy seeing you here again! i’m determined to get it fitting well enough to make some cute and colourful capris for spring. Which leaves me lots of time, since it’s still snowing here! 

As for the Jiffy dress… I fell in love with it when Colette Patterns convinced me that a shift would be fun and cute for spring! I have a hard time fitting Colette though, and I prefer the cute French darts on this pattern. I spent today doing a bunch of patterns alterations, and I think I’m ready to cut fashion fabric… but what? I have a nice green and blue gauze in mind, but I don’t know how to work with the permanent crinkles in the fabric. How will I iron my darts? I also can’t decide what to do about lining. I’ll wear it over leggings for school, so it needs something slippery… but I’m considering making an ITY slip instead of a full lining. I hate making breezy sundresses and then sticking in an unbreathable, sweaty lining! Any suggestions? 

Hunh - Apparently I DID have a lot fo say! Thanks for reading!

What do you have planned for April?