Organic Cotton Plus Fabric Review

Checking my email a few months ago, I was ecstatic to see a message from Organic Cotton Plus offering me fabric from their website. They deal in 100% certified organic fabric that meet Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS). Their range of products include different types of silk, jute, linen, and wool in knit and woven forms. In just their silk category, they offer hemp, "peace" silk, and a hemp/silk blend. They also carry in their online shop "green" laundry detergents, natural horn buttons, and both fiber reactive and vegetable dyes.

After looking through their site I was eager to choose my items; however, I had no idea how hard the decision would be. I found myself taking two days just running through fabric type, quantity, and color scenarios; if I bought two yards of their French terry, could I still afford anything else? However, I could afford four yards of their organic twill but then get just one color or split it between colors? I was also tempted with their peace silk but whatever I made with it would probably only be worn once because of my so-NOT-silk-friendly lifestyle.

Swatches!

I decided to end the indecision by thinking of the patterns already in my stash and what projects I had been wanting to make that were already on my project list. I then compared that list with which fabrics Organic Cotton Plus had to offer that would work with them.

Nutmeg brown and olive green

In the end, I choose two lengths of their 60" (actually 62"!) twill in two colors that are always hard for me to find; a strong green and a rich brown. I was so excited to get my hands on this fabric and in addition, by publishing my review, I would join the likes of Cut Cut Sew, Lladybird, Male Pattern Boldness, and True Bias in sampling Organic Cotton Plus fabrics.

How it arrived.

Unfortunately, both two yard lengths I originally received were off-grain. I contacted the company and they graciously sent another cut length. While better than the first, the new length was also stretched out of grain. Even though I knew in theory how to fix the problem, I took this as a research opportunity and looked through my 20-plus sewing books and found everything I could about straightening fabric grain. Out of all my books, the most detailed and complete instruction was found in my Vogue Sewing Book (c. 1982) on page 132. This was the only one that suggested soaking the fabric to relax the fibers.

Dampened with the selvages pinned together.

I first straightened the crosswise ends of the fabric by cutting into the selvage and pulling a thread across the width. After unsuccessfully trying to stretch the fabric into shape while dry, I decided to block the fabric. I soaked it in warm water, gave it another good stretch on the bias, and pinned the selvages together.

Still wet and coaxed into place.

Then similar to what is done with knitted projects, I laid the fabric flat, stretched, and pressed it into position to dry for a few hours. Before it was completely dry, I steam ironed it while continuing to coax it into place. This corrected the grain.

Ta Da, dried and corrected fabric!

While time-consuming, I am still happy with this fabric, the quality and durability is excellent. It also sews and presses well. However, I strongly feel that the company should do a review their manufacturing process, because somewhere along the way something is pulling their fabric off grain. In all, I received three separate 2-yard lengths from them and all were off-grain. Since I started this blog in 2006, I have been in the habit of checking the grain of every woven fabric before I work with them but many sewists (especially new ones) may not do this and that is were the harm would be.

Rated on a scale of 1 to 5:

Organic Cotton Plus = 4, with suggested due diligence.

Here's a sneak peek of my finished project made with their nutmeg brown 60" twill (#16018OT-NUT), the review is coming up next!

Get Your Labels There!

The last week and a half I have been running around crazy. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that my storage room had flooding issues and I have spent hours and days outside in the heat going through many boxes choosing what stays, what to donate, and what to throw away.

At the nighttime in the AC, I would try to catch up on my blog reading. As I discovered some more cool sewing places in Philadelphia a blog post led me to the Dutch Label Shop, a local Philly business that produces small  batch clothing labels. I was impressed with their website which was packed with  information. They have an awesome interactive component that let you investigate and design what you might want your future labels to look like. You can use their customization options of different text/background colors, fonts, and label sizes or submit your own prepared design by digital file.

Just some of the many samples

I ordered a sample kit and a few days later was blown away with what I received. Now, this is a sample pack! They didn't just send me a few labels, no, I received a tiny padded envelope with a full-cover brochure and five zippered bags with multiple examples of each of the items they produce: cardstock hang tags, and separate examples of logo, clothing size, fabric care, and basic iron-on or sewn woven labels. In the basic woven label bag alone, they sent me 9 examples!

  

Over the years, I would think about putting labels in my me-made clothes, but never felt motivated to do much research on what types were available and the ones I did check out, well their minimum order quantities would be too high. Dutch Label allows a minimum order of 30 labels for less than $20 if you select their basic woven labels. After this last week, seeing the clothes that I've been choosing to donate go to Goodwill without any labels on them felt weird. There is a part of me that wants to leave my mark behind in a way that a custom label would help.

Now I just have to figure out what I want my labels to say!

*This is NOT a sponsored post because Dutch Label has NO idea who I am but I thought that this apparently well-organized little company should get some love.

Book Review: Wordbirds by Liesl Schillinger

A few weeks before my big move, Simon & Schuster sent me a newly published book, Wordbirds: An Irreverent Lexicon for the 21st Century (2013) by Liesl Schillinger and illustrated by Eliza Zechel. The book is a little over 200 pages.

It is written as a dictionary, complete with phonetic transcription and part of speech, that examines the concept of Wordbirds = word combinations creating a new word with a new meaning and then illustrated by a bird-related image. The images are delicate and in the cataloging style of bird watching journals

Goods one such as:

• Hyperscentilate (v.) To apply too much perfume, surrounding yourself in a thick, aromatic mist that causes people to choke, sneeze, and cough, (p. 8).
• Shoeicide (n.) The act of destroying your feet by deliberately wearing shoes you suspect or know to be excruciatingly painful, usually out of vanity, (p. 15).
• Tyrannitot (n.) Child who is permitted (or encouraged) to dominate adult social gatherings and indulge its whims in all particulars, (p.164).

Personally, as a person who talks about my love of dogs and how I want one so bad, yet still have not brought one home, I feel a deep affection for Dawgle (p. 148) and Procrastidate (p. 119) having used my returning to school later in life as an excuse to put off dating. Other great words to check out would be invipaytion (p.45), polterguy (p. 118), phonedeaf (p. 98), and the highly accurate GP-Ass (p.175).

Until I selected the above list of words I had not realized how many of these could easily be used in conversation. Knowing that the book originated from the Ms. Schillinger’s popular tumbler site, I wonder now how many of these have already entered the modern vocabulary.

I find the words and definitions clever and enjoyable; however, I am less a fan of these particular illustrations. While they are definitely gorgeous and finely detailed, the style seems at odds with the youth and irreverence of the text.

I see the images more suited for a tome of poetry or a novel. If I had read the text alone, I would have suggested something younger in feel, a bit less realistic with more whimsy and humor. The text is the most important element. However, the images are what gave the book its title…Wordbirds; therefore, they are an intractable part of the project. Therefore, my suggestions about the ornithology images are moot and just my humble opinion.

Overall, I can see this book as a great holiday gift for someone with a keen sense of humor.

Illustrations: Eliza Zechel

Drape Drape All Around the World!

This is part service for others and part archived research for me. Enjoy.

For two years, I've been obsessed with the Drape Drape books by Hisako Sato, a graduate of the Bunka Fashion College in Japan. Each time I see another blog seamstress in one of these creations I just want them more. Because of my already straining book shelves of twenty sewing books, my still slow-moving stash of projects and fabrics, and my less than bountiful cache of disposable income I haven't bought one for myself. However, while I work through my other projects I keep track of the finished projects from all books, I guess to torture myself? Until I give up and buy them, I thought my research shouldn't go to waste. I put together a list of sewing bloggers around the world that have succeeded in creating gorgeous pieces from these books, along with links to those particular posts on their blogs.

Meggipeg projects from all three books (Australia)
Ancien-Nouveau from Book 2 (Sweden)
Sew Well from Book 2 and 3 (USA)
Lula Louise from Book 2 and 3 (USA)
Handmade by Carolyn from Book 1 (Australia)
Tessuti used all three books (Australia)
Jorth from Book 1 and 2 (Australia)
Fehr Trade from Book 2 (England)
Tangerine Samuri  from Book 1 (USA)
Fashion Incubator sewed from all three books (USA)
Nikkishell from Book 1 (Australia)
Sew Smitten from Book 1 and 2 (England)
The Slapdash Sewist from Book 1 (USA)
Sewing In Athens from Book 1 (Greece)
Made By Meg from Book 1 (USA)
Sew Busy Lizzy from Book 2 and 3 (Australia)
Cation Designs from Book 1 (USA)
The Surly Seamstress from Book 2 and 3 (New Zealand)
The Material Girl from Book 1 (England)
Dixie DIY from Book 1 (USA)
Yes, Patterns from Book 2 and 3 (France)
The Sew Convert from Book 1 (Singapore)
J. Kaori Sews from Book 2 (USA)
Duck Bucket Sewing from Book 2 (USA)
Alabama Chanin tried out the #13 one piece tunic from Book 3 (USA)
Ariation made gorgeous bridesmaid dresses by adapting dress #2 from Book 2 (Trinidad & Tobago)
Pins And Brushes from Book 3 (Italy)
Needle And Ted from Book 2 (England)

F.Y.I. Here is the size chart used in all three books converted from metric to imperial:

Size	S	M	L	XL
Height	153	158	163	168
Bust	78	82	86	90
Waist	58	62	66	70
Hip	84	88	92	96

Size	S	M	L	XL
Height	5’	5’ 2”	5’ 4”	5’  5”
Bust	31	32	34	35
Waist	23	24	26	28
Hip	33	35	36	38

For informational purposes here are the lists of contents from all three volumes. Noticed that the project titles are less than descriptive so I linked the finished projects I've found online to the name and correct volume so you can make an informed decision about which book you want. Luckily, the books are no longer hard to find and the English-language versions are now available from many online sellers outside of Japan. Therefore, it's now possible to price around and get the best deal.

Drape Drape 1

no.1 loose drape top here here here and tuck drape pants

no.2 gather drape cape jacket/vest here and gather drape pants

no.3 gather drape dress here here here here and here

no.4 drape drape dress 

no.5 v-neck drape drape dress green one here and here

no.6 low back gather drape dress

no.7 gather two-pattern tuck drape dress
no.8 drape drape all-in-one
no.9 loose drape blouse
no.10 tuck drape dress
no.11 loose flare drape dress here
no.12 drawstring-detail drape tank-top here
no.13 loose drape top
no.14 tuck drape tunic blouse
no.15 loose drape tunic blouse
no.16 drape drape dress with gathered sleeves
no.17 goddess drape drape dress here

Drape Drape 2

no.1 two-pattern gather drape bolero

no.2 one piece side drape top(dress) here here here and here

no.3 three-pattern drape vest here

no.4 one-pattern drape top striped one here, here and another

no.5 one-pattern drape skirt

no.6 three-pattern drape dress and here

no.7 two-pattern tuck drape dress/open bat-wing dress sleeveless here and here

no.8 two-pattern gather drape blouse here

no.9 three-pattern tuck drape pants

no.10 four-pattern tuck drape blouse

no.11 one-pattern drape dress

no.12 two-pattern tuck drape pants

no.13 two-pattern gather twist drape skirt

no.14 four-pattern gather drape skirt

Drape Drape 3

no.1 one-piece twist drape dress here

no.2 one-piece drape dress

no.3 three-piece gather drape top

no.4 three-piece tuck drape pants
no.5 four-piece drape blouse
no.6 two-piece drape on drape dress
no.7 two-piece tuck drape blouse
no.8 three-piece tuck drape pants
no.9 three-piece twist gather drape dress and here
no.10 three-piece tuck drape skirt
no.11 three-piece string drape dress
no.12 three-piece gather drape wrap dress here and here
no.13 one-piece boatneck tunic
no.14 eight-piece twist collar tuck drape dress here
no.15 one-piece gather bare top drape dress

If you know of any from countries I haven't listed, please let me know in the comments. I am updating this as I find them. Thanks!

The Great British Sewing Bee!

Makower London Collection Icons

Okay, has everyone been watching the Great British Sewing Bee on BBC Two? I have and I love it. I know there has been some controversy on other blogs about certain aspects but I'd rather not get into that.* The most important point is that there is a TV program/programme about sewing where technique and knowledge are paramount and ornamentation is second. The show is very unlike the Project Runway franchise where the contestants are meant to be more focused on design and flash instead of quality of construction.

• What I like about GBSB is that the challenge projects were selected by an actual professional sewer, Claire-Louise Hardie of The Thrifty Stitcher. She also timed all of the projects to make sure that the time limits were do-able. She is currently writing on her blog about the GBSB: from the preparations made before filming to episode commentary once the latest episode has aired. 
• I love the fact that they acknowledged the many types of sewing; dressmaking, menswear, alteration of ready-to-wear, home decorative arts, and costume. One doesn't have to be able to drafting their own patterns to be considered skilled in the art. 
• The sewing history bits were great and informative. How many people outside of Great Britain knew about all the sewing-related street names that exist in England?
• Love that it focuses on details we might not be as aware of now, such as menswear's traditional rules, while ready-to-wear womenswear has become less strict, ex. the direction of men's flys and shirt button plackets.

Having seen the episode 3 semi-finals, it is clearly down to Ann and Lauren for the win. I adore and respect Ann Rowley, administrator of the Stitchers Guild forum on Artisan Square, and would love to hang out in her sewing room and pick her memories. I am also increasingly impressed by Lauren Guthrie, now the owner of fabric shop Guthrie & Ghani. She is great news for the future of personal sewing. Though very young, she is knowledgeable and technically proficient in the art and has a great attention to detail. She understand the patience it takes to create a quality product. Those rouleau ties she constructed were amazing! I absolutely hate turning fabric tubes inside out and I can't believe she was able to turn those incredibly teeny ones. Impressive, indeed.

If you are in the US, the official show website will not allow you to view full episodes. Instead, they can be viewed on YouTube: Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3. Here is Episode 4 - The Final.

*The show does have problems: the judging format and those silly sewing project segments. Seriously, if they are meant for beginning sewers/sewists, then the instructions are given too fast and are far too vague to actually help.