Creating the world around us, one stitch at a time

As I've mentioned before, our customers make amazing things from the fabrics we offer. Sometimes we're lucky enough to see pictures of the finished products, and occasionally we like to share pictures of special creations with everyone else. This is one of those times: Loralee Holman shared pictures of her beautiful wedding gown and bridesmaids' dresses that we'd like to let you see too.

Loralee's mother must love her very, very much, as her mom sewed all the dresses for the wedding. The bridesmaids' dresses were made using our Plum Hemp/Silk Charmeuse, while the wedding gown was crafted from our Natural Hemp/Silk Charmeuse.

Look at the details that went into the whole process -- the embroidery on the wedding gown that matches the bridesmaids' dresses, the barefoot bridesmaids carrying wildflowers ... doesn't it look like a beautiful wedding? I love how eco-friendly weddings can run the gamut from the simplest, least-fuss ideas imaginable to incredibly ornate, and it's so marvelous knowing that our customers care enough to ensure that their happy day will be a happy one for the earth as well.

(Click on any of the pictures to see them larger -- they're definitely worth it!)

Posted by Tara at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Not sure about the whiskers on kittens, though I do find it very amusing watching cats chase their own tails. Anyway, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about Kickstarter, which is one of my current favorite things.

Kickstarter is "a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers..." It's much like a microloan program, like Kiva or Microplace (both of which I recommend highly), but for a completely different group. People join together to fund projects ranging from buying art supplies for kids in Africa to filming a movie, and in return you get some sort of reward ranging from the artist's gratitude to something physical (a photograph, a book, a CD, a puppet, etc). My current favorite projects, both of which I've invested in, are:

• Spread Organic Flower Love -- help an organic flower grower get eco-friendly packaging so they can ship flowers nation-wide. If you contribute enough, you get organic flowers in return (and I love organic flowers!). They have an incredible offer for brides who contribute, too -- SO worth looking at.
• Innovative Non-Boring History Camp In Small Southern Town -- help fund scholarships for kids to attend what sounds like an absolutely amazing summer camp. The physical rewards aren't necessarily as impressive as those for the organic flowers you see above, but what you're doing is amazing.

I'm betting if you check it out, you'll find something on Kickstarter worth considering for yourself or a loved one ... and it's a good feeling to be part of a microloan community for artists!

Posted by Tara at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We get many questions about upholstery -- what fabrics will work best, obviously, and how to do basic projects. In an attempt to reduce a bit of the mystery, here's some information that just might help.

For fabric choices, your best bets are woven fabrics (of course) that are fairly heavy. You want them to have a tight weave and to be fairly durable, especially if the piece you're going to upholster will be receiving a lot of wear and tear: if you're covering a couch that will have kids and pets bouncing on it, it'll need a much stronger cover than if you're covering a side chair that's mostly for show. Some of my favorite upholstery fabrics are:

• Cape Cod
• Embossed Melon
• Anemone
• Natural Herringbone
• Abundance Hemp
• Natural Canoe
• Dark Brown Heavy Hemp Herringbone
• Geometrics
• Natural Hemp Twill
• Sassafras Bark
• Shellgame Twill
• Natural Light Hemp Canvas
• Brown Sugar Stripe (I have a chair-sized futon covered in this and it is SO PRETTY!)
• Wavelength Twill

(That doesn't mean these are the only upholstery fabrics, of course -- just that they're my current favorites. Just about any tightly-woven fabric can be used for upholstery/slipcovers, depending on what your particular needs are.)

Here are some how-tos from around the web. Many call for materials that I would want to swap out for a safer alternative: organic batting instead of conventional, natural latex instead of foam, etc. Your choices are, of course, up to you!

How to reupholster a dining chair set -- a video from the ReadyMade Magazine folks. Their plan includes foam and spray adhesive, both of which I would personally avoid (I'd choose a natural latex, obviously), but it's a good demonstration of how easy it is to recover a basic chair seat.

How to reupholster a (more complicated) channelback chair or sofa.

Here's another solution, for those among us who prefer less work: leave the original fabric on and simply sew another layer on top of it. Demonstrated on an office chair.

How to upholster a headboard using a frame or a piece of plywood (make sure it's formaldehyde-free, though, and do use organic batting!).

How to reupholster a couch, in words (no pictures, and no video).

Here's a photograph-rich description of how to make a couch slipcover; she's frank about how much work it is but yet makes the task seem eminently doable.

If that seems like a bit too much work, consider making a sofa wrap -- they're quick to make, easy to swap out to change your decor, and can be ever so elegant. Winnie just made one, and her only comment is an enthusiastic "I love it!"

Posted by Tara at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? If you didn't before, you do now! This year's contest from NationalSewingMonth.org is the Reuse, Remake, Restyle Challenge; it's all about repurposing.

In honor of National Sewing Month we have a freebie for our facebook fans. So head on over there and see what it is -- you won't want to miss out.

Oh, and we've swapped out the sale items, and there are now some wonderful cool-weather fabrics, a couple of marvelous prints, and more. They'll be on sale until October 6, so you have time to request swatches now, receive them, plan your projects, and still get your yardage order in before the sale is done. As long as you actually do get started right away!

Posted by Tara at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)