Cover Designs!: #33 When We Were Young

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well. Today's book, When We Were Young by Jaclyn Goldis, gives us that last glimpse of summer!

Summary from the publisher:

Three generations of women come together in this page-turning debut full of family secrets, heart-wrenching drama, and the promise of second chances.

Corfu, 1942 : To sixteen-year-old Sarah Batis, the Nazis are a distant danger—of far greater threat is the opposing needs of her heart and her people. Tradition demands that Sarah marry a Jewish man. Only Sarah has fallen in love with a fisherman outside their community. And when the Nazis invade, Sarah must watch from afar as her family is taken away. . .

Corfu, 2004 : Sarah's daughter, Bea, has built a happy life with a steadfast husband and two independent daughters. Their summers on the Greek island with the Winn family appear idyllic, especially the love that blossoms between Bea's daughter Joey and Leo Winn. But there is a secret threatening their beach paradise.

Florida, 2019 : Joey is only days away from marrying the nice Jewish man her family adores. The arrival of Leo, Joey's first love, sends her reeling. Even after fifteen years, the attraction between them burns bright—but Leo isn't looking for a happy reunion. He's there to reveal why he really broke up with her during their last summer together.

Weddings have a way of bringing out the best—and worst—in those you love the most. And as the revelations of her family flood to the surface, what Joey learns will either bring them closer together . . . or tear them apart forever.

This simple sundress has a couple of notable features. First, those straps look like they are made with ribbon rather than self fabric - easily adapted in this pattern suggestions. Also, there is perhaps a waistband, or maybe it's a belt. You pick!  

The first suggestion to copy this cover design is the Avid Seamstress Sun Dress. It has the silhouette and a back similar to the cover dress, although the skirt is slightly fuller here. If you changed the straps to a ribbon, you could get a close match!

For another option that is similar, although with the small difference of an elastic back waistband, try the Wide Strap Maxi Dress created by Elbe Textiles for Peppermint Magazine. It's slightly lower in the back and longer as well, but has that light summery vibe. 

And to top it off you can make yourself a Cote D'Azure sun hat by ShannonMac Designs. Just add a black ribbon and you're set. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Weekend Review: Contemporary Quilts: Design, Surface & Stitch

 

Contemporary Quilts: Design, Surface & Stitch / Sandra Meech
London: Batsford, c2003.
128 p.

Somehow as September approaches, it always feels like Back To School Time no matter how long it's been since school was a part of my life! And so I'm really into learning new things at this time of year, even more so than usual. I've found a few titles that will add to my knowledge of textile arts; this is one that I really enjoyed.

This is a wonderful book about design in art quilts. From painterly approaches to developing your concept, to detailing techniques of surface design and stitching, this book goes over so much that is useful to a textile artist. 

There is also a wealth of big, bright and clear photos of quilts by many different artists with various styles. It's good to see examples of the design concepts, colour theory, techniques and finishing, from many different perspectives. There are over 200 illustrations, so plenty to both inspire and inform you.

There are also 4 "Design Classes", or exercises, for readers to follow to learn how to break out of the basics and add new ideas and practices to their art making. These are straightforward but useful exercises to give a fresh look at how to design your projects. I appreciated the logical layout and clear writing in this book, and found quite a lot to engage me. I learned some new tips through the text, and some new ideas just from looking closely at the examples (many of which also had detail close-ups). 

This is a book to go back to and work through in different areas. Two of the design exercises in particular, on composition and colour, are ones that I'll be trying out as I think they'll really add to my development as a textile artist. I'm glad I came across this book, and have already got my hands on another of Sandra Meech's titles. Looking forward to more by this author. 

Wiksten Red Shift

I bought the Wiksten Shift pattern just before the Wiksten shop closed. I'd seen it around forever, and put off buying it, but was a total vicitim of FOMO and picked it up at the last minute. 

So I thought I had better make a version of it! I have had this red geometric print rayon in my stash for ages, and thought it might be a nice match. Not very many seams to worry about matching up here!

I made the knee length view with patch pockets. It's a pretty easy project, with a front and back, a neck facing that is stitched down, patch pockets and a sash. In rayon it took a bit longer because of the nature of the fabric; lots of wiggly bits to pin carefully. 

I like it -- the gathered back yoke is a nice feature which also adds a bit of extra width across the hips, so it fits me quite well in a 10/12 blend. I kind of wish I would have added an extra inch to the bottom to compensate for when the belt is tied and the dress is drawn up, but it's okay as is. 

It's very soft and comfy in rayon, and I had the perfect jewellry to go with it. I'm finding that I like red more lately, and so had to use this and get it out of my stash. 

A funny note; I was listening to an excellent audiobook, What You Can See From Here by Mariana Leky while sewing this dress, and now it feels like this dress is linked to a rural German village. Does that ever happen to you? Does the piece of music or the audiobook you're listening to 'stick' to your project?

Weekend Review: Layered Cloth

 

Layered Cloth / Ann Small
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Search Press, c2017.
144 p.

I've looked at various titles in this "The Textile Artist" series, and they are always very good at including instructions and lots of photos on whichever topic they're covering. This one was no exception; there are many large and clear images illustrating the technique she's sharing. It just depends if it's a technique that catches your interest! 

This book focuses on fabric manipulation, as clearly stated in the title. The first half of the book deals with straightforward layers of fabric, mostly what I'd know as chenille. She also layers by cutting shapes out of the top layers and folding them back -- both of these are illustrated on the cover. Unfortunately for me, I'm not really taken with the frayed and messy look of these styles. Lots of people love it, but I don't think it's something I'd do much of at all (although never say never!) 

The second half of the book has some different kinds of manipulations, not quite a simple layering. There is a section on a trapunto influenced technique - layering fabrics and then stuffing the main motifs from the back in trapunto, which is interesting, especially in the neoclassical images she's using, pillars and such. Then there's a bit on suffolk puffs, done in various sizes and not perfectly circular, some with centre stuffing added. This reminds me a bit of the puffs in Ruth Singer's book on fabric manipulations, and I do like this technique and idea quite a bit. And she also talks about twisting fabrics to create shapes. 

The section of this book which I found the most original was a technique that she created called "Book Stacks" (guess why I like this one!) It's a series of folded squares all sewn closely together to make long columns that are textured and bookish. Hard to explain the technique but the effect is great. 

There are also a couple of quick projects at the end using a few of the techniques - scarves, pins, stuff like that. I'd be more likely to use these ideas in an art piece than in wearables, but I can see other people with a different style who would like the projects. Overall, an interesting read with some new ideas, which is well laid out and comprehensive. Check it out if you can find a copy! 

Weekend Review: Reclaimed Textiles

 

Reclaimed Textiles / Kim Thittichai
London: Batsford, c2014.
128 p.

I'm always interested in upcycling and using unexpected materials in my textile art. So I thought I'd check out this book for some new ideas! It's broken up into chapters on Inspiration, Textiles, Paper, Packaging, Plastics & Mixed Media. Then there is a follow up on some of the featured artists, links and bibliography, etc at the end. 

It's a Batsford book, so it's really beautifully done. Those fuzzy Batsford covers always get me! And there are many glossy photos of lots of projects and ideas inside. 

Somehow I didn't really click with this one, however. The projects felt too random and junky for my preferred style. I do find that British artists seem to like a looser, rougher, or messier aesthetic overall, which doesn't always mesh with my personal tastes. There were still some really interesting ideas, though, especially in the plastics section, that I could use in a different way than the artists featured here did, and still get that upcycled ethos in. There was one artist in particular, Mary Grey, who used plastics to make a water scene, and it was very effective. 

I was most drawn to the reused textiles; there were vintage embroidered dresser cloths and tablecloths that were stitched into to create new messages and artwork on top of the original stitching, and I thought the juxtaposition worked well to emphasize the concepts. And of course upcycling fabric scraps is familiar and something I feel comfortable doing, so those projects felt more approachable. 

This book was well done, in that it delivered what it set out to do. It's put together with variety and lots of colour and imagery, so if you are interested in this topic you might also want to take a look. There may be something in it that will inspire you. 

Fancy Pants!

Yes, indeed, it's a rare day here at Following the Thread... I made some trousers! 

This is not something I do every day. In fact, I don't even do it every year. I so rarely wear pants that I don't focus much on making them and figuring out all the fiddly pants fitting. 

But Liesl & Co had the Cannes Trousers as part of their recent pattern release, and so I wanted to give them a try as part of the Advisor's Circle. They take almost 3 m. as drafted (although I knew I'd likely have to shorten them by a great deal) but magically, just the week I was thinking about making them, I found 3 m. of floral rayon at the thrift store. So off I went! 

You can see this project and the details over at the Liesl & Co blog now, but I'll also share a bit here. 

They were pretty straightforward in design and instructions; as usual, the instruction booklet has great illustrations and step by step explanations. Despite all that, I managed to put the fly zip in backwards even after holding the pieces up to me numerous times. Argh! But other than the fly going the wrong direction, it's otherwise perfect, it even has a nice fly shield.

The other major change I made to these pants was to shorten them significantly. I think I took 5" out of the length (I am barely 5'2") and have a 2" hem. That's pretty much what I'd expected. I'm not sure that pants this long and full suit my short figure that well, but maybe with a shorter and more fitted top the balance will be a little better. 

To check the crotch curve and rise, I took a well-fitting pair of linen pants that I've had for years (they've lasted because I probably wear them once a year) and laid the pattern against them. I found that I had to add about 1/2" to the back rise and a slight bit extra at the crotch extension to match but that the two were very close. I used this as my quick fit process and went ahead - the rayon only cost me $2.50 so I was treating this like my (hopefully) wearable muslin. 

As it turns out, it worked pretty well. I do find that these pants are still a little close to the body for my liking in the back, but still wearable. The pattern has lots of interesting details like the pockets and pleats, and I thought that it was easy to put together, other than my mirrored fly error. 

The rayon is very soft and feels great in these wide legs, especially when a breeze is blowing. I feel like these are very much 1930s beach pyjamas, and they're very Agatha Christie glam. Still not sure I'll wear them too often, but at least I now have a pair of summer trousers that actually fit me, so maybe pants will appear more often in my wardrobe. 

Linen Santa Rosa Top

I made another Santa Rosa! Actually, I made this top before the dress, to test out how the unfamiliar placket worked. You can also see this project on the Liesl & Co blog now, as well. 

Here I made the top view only, but it's very similar to my dress version, in that I left off the pockets, as I'm not a huge fan of breast pockets. The main difference with this (aside from length of course) is that I left the placket loose, no buttons at all. 

This linen blend is a stiffer fabric than called for in the pattern, so the interfaced placket is quite sturdy, in the sense that it will hold its shape and place - I don't have to worry about gaping and sagging with it. So it works out well just leaving it as is. It's not too low, and the way it sits means that unless you are doing some active moving about, it's not going to reveal anything.

I left the length of the top at the pattern lines, and quite like it. I was worried it might be too cropped for my tastes, but it really isn't. I have a higher waisted skirt in my closet (Butterick 5466) which is perfect, as it removes any concern that my midriff would show when I raise my arms. 

This top was such a quick and simple project. I really like the way the placket is constructed on the Santa Rosa, it made it easy to get a good result on the first try. And the standing collar is a little different and gives this top that extra flair that makes it a good addition to the wardrobe. Also, this fabric is a remnant that I've used in two previous projects, and is now mostly gone. It's also very light and cool for these summer days. A win all around!