But just for a moment.  I was finally able to get my sketches, fabrics and inputs packed up in a box to be sent out to my pattern maker this afternoon.  When hiring a pattern maker, you need to send them:

• Front and back sketches of your designs
• Plenty of fabric
• Lining fabric
• Buttons
• Zippers
• Specialty Thread (if necessary)
• Interfacing
• Elastic
• Piping, Bias or other Trims
• Hardware (d-rings and other such components)
• Sample garment (if you have one)
• A deposit towards their fee...LOL

My pattern maker's work should arrive back to me within 2 to 3 weeks.  At that point, I'll take my fit samples and patterns to a sample maker to have my salesmen's samples made for the upcoming ENK Children's Club show.

Oh and guess what I did this morning?  My first wire transfer!!!  I had to send money to a custom metal snap manufacturer in Hong Kong.  Talk about a language barrier...ugh!  I've spent no less than 2 months trying to place this order.  The good thing is I ordered 10,000 jeans' snaps, so it will be years before I need to order them again...LOL!  Here's my approved artwork for the jeans' snap:

Speaking of exhaling, I was at the dentist yesterday to have a cap re-glued.  And all I could think about was INHALING sweet air (aka nitric oxide).  How sad is that?  See when I had all my caps done last year, I actually looked forward to all the sweet air.  Sweet air equals no physical pain in my joints and bones.  Pure bliss.  Too bad, they said I couldn't have any yesterday...drats!  I thought for sure it was going to be my lucky day--the sweet air addict I am!

Busy

Well actually, I've been procrastinating a bit.  Having zero confidence in my drawing skills, I've put off the final thing I need to send to my pattern maker...my design sketches.

I wish I was a whiz at Photo Shop so I could easily do my designs and add the different fabric swatches.  But I can barely figure out Paint Shop Pro, so I'm left with my Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils (I like them so much better than regular colored pencils).  I used the child croquis from Frances Harder's Forms for Profit.  Actually, I bought her Business Startup Package which included the forms and 2 books:  Fashion for Profit and Costing for Profit.

The frustrating thing about hand sketching with colored pencils is you can't really erase your mistakes well.  See, after drawing a zillion little skulls with crossbones (yes, that's what those little Xs and Os are...whatever), I realized I didn't add a front pocket on the shirt...ugh, ugh, ugh.  Do over.

And I drew several pants only to realize there will be no pants in my Spring/Summer line, just board shorts.

However, I did figure out a little trick.  I printed out swatches of my fabrics, sketched the garment on tracing paper and then put the swatch behind the tracing paper...so clever, right?

Stop by Fashion-Templates.com for tips on drawing children.  Or better yet, hire a talented illustrator like Danielle of Final Fashion.

Speaking of designing, check out Creativity for Kids' Fashion Studio.  And if you're a gamer, you might like My Fashion Studio:

Buying

I've been browsing the net to find the perfect Boy's Shoes for my upcoming Photo Shoot.  Look what I found:

You can't see the design well in black, but look at the gray version:

Get them here.  Although the colors won't work for this season, I definitely will be using them for the second season (Fall/Winter 2009).  Same with these:

These Me in Mind Infant Shoes are just too stinkin' cute, too!

Most importantly, B is for BACK TO WORK!

With friendship,

I got complacent.  Jeffrey's really good at not opening drawers he knows he's not supposed to be in.  But I left this drawer open because I was in a hurry.  And then, I left the door to the office--which has a childproof doorknob protector he hasn't yet learned to defeat--wide open.  As soon as you walk out the door of his bedroom, you're looking straight into the office and at that drawer hanging wide open.

And I knew he didn't usually nap during "nap time."  Or stay in his room like he's supposed to for quiet time.  So I have no one to blame but myself.

Amazingly, no actual destruction was done.  Despite the fact that the pattern pieces are tissue thin, none of them were torn.  I haven't yet been able to motivate myself to get everything back in the right envelopes yet, though.

In fact, I've had my fill of sewing pattern pieces for a while.

Just pinning all of the pieces for the first family Hawaiian shirt set took all of Sunday (it didn't help that I was trying to do all of the Sunday chores to give Steve a break for Father's Day...it did help that he wouldn't play along and insisted on working too).  It's not that any of the outfits have that many pieces (Steve's shirt has the most--five, compared to four each for Jeffrey's shirt and Lexie's jumper--but I haven't cut out the pocket yet because I pattern match the pocket), but that I was pinning up three outfits at the same time.  Oh, and cutting out the pattern pieces for Jeffrey's and Lexie's outfits was incredibly tedious, because each pattern booklet is for several different clothing articles (dresses, pants, bloomers, a shrug, etc.) so I had to find the right pieces in the right size...all the while trying not to shred the delicate tissue paper.

Pulling out a pair of scissors was actually cathartic.

Twelve pattern pieces for three outfits, all ready for some sewing fun!  I still need to cut out the necessary interfacing pieces--I realized it would be a big mistake to unpin anything until I'm ready to start sewing, else I'll never remember what goes where, so I haven't been able to free up the pattern pieces for the interfacing--and Steve's pocket, but that's definite progress.  Steve is quite excited.

Now for a knitting break...

When designing a clothing line, one needs to assign style numbers to each design. Style numbers help you and everyone in your supply chain keep track of your designs.  Can you imagine a Chinese sewing factory trying to read "Urban Chaos" or "Hot Kitten?"  Or what about a boutique calling to order 3 "Delicious Wet Seals?"  If you name your styles, then everyone in your supply chain would have to remember the names (and it will show what a newbie you really are).  It's best to keep it simple.

Fashion Incubator says we should use numbers only.  Liza D says you could use both letters and number system such as the letter F for Fall and S for Spring if we want.  Let's examine this:

Fashion Incubator says we shouldn't use names for our styles as it's not for our benefit, but for those that will work with us (pattern makers, sewing contractors, etc.).  Kathleen points out that not all sewers speak English, but EVERYONE SPEAKS NUMBERS.  I can't stress this enough.  Numbers are the way to go.

Now don't go issuing random numbers.  Each digit in your style numbers should have meaning and enable you to grow.  Use 4 digits at a minimum.  However, 5 digits are even better.  Code by categories such as:

First number for gender:

10000 - boys

20000- girls

30000- unisex

OR

10000 - men

20000 - women

30000 - children

If you are making children's clothing in a range of sizes, you might instead want to allocate your first number like this as your infant size 3 months patterns will be different from your boys' size 8 patterns,etc.:

10000 infant size newborn - 18 months

20000 toddler size 2T - 4T

30000 children size 5 - 8

second number for type of garment:

01000 - pants

02000 - shorts

03000 - dress shirts

04000 - knit shirts

05000 - jackets

06000 - accessories (hats, belts, etc.)

then you can further code it by fabric type:

00100 - cotton woven

00200 - cotton knit

00300 - denim

00400 - silk

But I'm not going to divide by fabrication as most fabric costs are similar in my line.  You would only do this if there is a significant price difference in fabric costs.  Though really, it isn't necessary as you'd probably be using a different pattern if you were using different fabrics.

What about seasons?  Liza D. suggests we use letters to identify Fall and Spring (ie., F for Fall and S for Spring)...so your style number would look like this:

F23003 = Fall Toddler Dress Shirt Design #3

I'm thinking it would be better to incorporate a Fall or Spring category into my style numbers by designating a set of numbers for the particular season like this:

23001 to 23004 = Toddler Shorts Fall Designs #1 through #4

I'd know that my next season (Spring) would start with Design #5:

23005

So my Third, fourth and fifth numbers would be actual design numbers:

00001 - first design

00703 - 703rd design (can you imagine how old I'll be when I get up to the 703rd design?  OMG...LOL)

11503 - Infant Pants Design #503

I'm going to go with the 5 digit style number as I could easily outgrow the 4 digit system in a few years.  A 4 digit system would limit me to 99 designs in a category.  It would be a safer bet to use the 5 digit system and be able to incorporate up to 999 designs per category.

Here's so more info about issuing Style Numbers:

Fashion Incubator's Style Numbers Revisited

Fashion Incubator's How to Issue Style Numbers Part 127

Fashion Incubator's How to Issue Style Numbers Part 128

Fashion Incubator's How to Issue Style Numbers Part 129

On the home front, we just got back from Philadelphia where we had a successful Kidney Transplant meeting.  Things are going along as planned and My Sunshine Girl is doing well.  Thanks for your continued prayers!

This is the tenth entry of the "Things to know" series...

I call these things "dirty tricks", because they are potential deal-breakers when it comes to getting the desired result when sewing...

Multi-part pieces...

When using a pattern from one of the major pattern companies, please note that, due to the size limits of the pattern tissue, the printers of your pattern might find it necessary to divide some pattern pieces into two (or more) parts. So, you may occasionally find a pattern piece that is numbered, let's use #1, as an example... but it actually needs another part(s) to complete it. Both piece 1 and piece #1A (its extension), must be taped together to make a complete piece. This spells disaster for the hasty, artistic mind that sees only piece #1, is not following the cutting instructions as written, and goes straight to pinning and cutting just that piece #1, without noticing that it is incomplete.

Sometimes, the piece has an extension to create another view, when there are different versions of one design.

This Miyake coat has an extension piece for #4, to create View B, which is longer than View A.

On strapless designs...

Strapless garments often measure less than your body measurement at the bustline. This is especially true if the garment does not have significant structural support (boning, etc.). Although the real key to keeping a strapless garment up is the boning and proper, snug waist fit, it needs to hug your bosom tight to keep "the girls" in there.

No provision for above waist adjustments...

This should be read as "Women who are ample-bosomed, or have other major upper-body fit issues need not apply". If you know a bit about design, and can adjust both the fit and design details to accommodate your shape, go ahead and do it! Otherwise, you will be left to wonder why the features are no longer aligned the way the designer intended.

Did you know...Maternity patterns are based on pre-pregnancy measurements (and a B cup)...?

I ask you, who the heck is a B cup when they're pregnant enough to wear maternity garb? Who the heck remembers their pre-pregnancy measurements when buying maternity patterns? Well, I don't know of a better system, but what a pain...

Ever experienced this one? You followed the directions, made the garment, looks great... but you can't move.
Some designs, especially for sleeves, are flawed when it comes to allowing for movement. If the fabric doesn't stretch, and the design looks like this... know that the "funky chicken" cannot be part of the plan for that night.

Also, beware close-fitting sleeves that only have a partial armhole seam. You know the kind... a tiny cap sleeve (usually found in formal wear) that looks like a wing" attached to the bodice? Looks like you'll have to find a waltz partner shorter than you are...

Is that an understatement or what?

Have you ever sewn with a napped fabric, and discovered your cutting mistake after the fact? While that mistake pales in comparison to the surprise of finding out you have married your sibling, it is just so upsetting, I thought I would give some pointers on identifying one-way fabrics.

Many fabrics have a directional quality. Prints can have a definite "right side up" direction, such as floral with all of the blossoms and leaves headed one way. Fabrics such as brushed flannel, corduroy, mohair and velour, which have a soft or plush texture, feel smoother in one direction than the other. Also, fabrics such as knits, twill weaves and satin weaves show differences in color shading if not cut the same way. It is to these fabrics that the statement: "for one way designs - use nap fabrics and layouts" applies. The nap layout shows you how to arrange all the pattern pieces on the fabric so they are going in the same direction. Because this can require extra fabric, the napped fabric requirement is given separately on the back of the pattern envelope.

Example of a directional print (above).

If you are wondering where all of these posts are coming from, let me tell ya... I am so busy that I just write pieces of posts when the mood strikes, and I have at least 10 half-written posts at all times. Over time, I forget them, and/or forget to post them, and they just need a few sentences to tie them up and make them "postable". This kind of brain organization happens about once weekly, so that's when you see a flood of posts. The information is from my vast collection of article proposals (which have never been accepted), book proposals (same deal), books, magazines, and personal notes. I've been trying to get things published for a long time now (12 years?), but so far, I have only written for companies for whom I've worked as a full-time employee... so apparently, freelance writing in the cards for me, and hey, this information can help people... so why not just post it here, right?

All of my posts are the result of a spare 20 minutes here and there, while my son has his therapies (more on his progress later), while he naps, or while my daughter does her homework. Lots of good news to share about both of them... That post will take some time...

My work has become much more deliberate, purposeful, intentional... and so, fewer garments have been made lately. That's okay, though. It is probably part of the "maturing" process, and the best things last for years, anyway.

There is a Japanese philosophy called "kaizen", which is about doing all things in tiny steps to achieve your goals. It is a beautiful process for the creative person, and one I highly recommend it for anyone who is having trouble slowing down, and/or keeping all of their balls in the air. (I read a wonderful book that inspired me to implement the strategies in my own life... "One Small Step..." -- if interested, you'll find the book's full datils on my Amazon slide show to the right).

Another thing that will help you if you have any time, attention span or frustration factor concerns, is to choose your patterns according to difficulty ratings. I don't know how many of you look at the difficulty ratings when you choose your sewing patterns, but there is a method to the madness (for Butterick, McCall's and Vogue, at least). Some of the reasoning is obvious, and some less obvious... I will help to demystify them for you now...

Very Easy:
The easiest and quickest patterns to sew. Perfect for the beginner or experienced sewer with limited time available. Most patterns have only five main pieces. Easy to sew fabrics are recommended.

Easy:
More details than the Very Easy category. Perfect for those with limited sewing knowledge or little time. Expect a wider variety of sewing procedures. Some fitting knowledge required.

Average:
Perfect for those with more time or sewing experience. Challenging construction details, more fitting and inner construction: interfacing, lining and underlining. More variety of fabrics - from stretch to synthetic leathers and suedes.

Advanced:
Perfect for those who like the challenge of fine couture techniques. Expect intricate shaping, hidden construction details, fine touches of hand sewing, and more. These patterns use the widest variety of fabrics.

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There is a sewing-related video at the end of this post... it will all connect... you'll see.

Last night, my husband came home from work early and I left the house. By myself. Dressed like a grownup. (Well, my version, anyway - I had a bright tuquoisey-purpley thing happening) It was glorious. Went to a business networking event. I love going to these things, because the topics are often of great interest to me, I meet interesting people, and get to talk "shop" with people who speak my language. The event was a lot of fun.

The topic of the panel discussion was the current state of the music and movie industries, and what sort of challenges they are facing, and will face in this new digital age. Of particular interest, was how they expect the video game "Guitar Hero" to really affect boys' interest in pursuing music and forming garage bands over the next five years. Hey, and did you know that the lightening fast speed of the internet can now get the word out that something is great or horrible in a way that significantly impacts box-office receipts within days? In music and movies, you really have to be clever to make money from a poor product nowadays, and that is a good thing. "Cloverfield" was the example of the terrible movie everyone will stay away from. Personally, I have heard nothing but how horrible that movie is, since the day it opened. "Juno" is enjoying the opposite effect right now. I'd love to see that... that is, if I can actually leave the house again so soon...

And, on a depressing note, I learned that in the movie and music industries, pure talent really doesn't mean much in financial terms these days... very skillful marketing efforts plus talent bring the success (at least in monetary terms and name recognition), not just the quality of the work. It wasn't always that way. As one of the panelists said "Show me the platinum artist who came outta YouTube without a big marketing behind them..." Someone offered an example. He replied "3 million dollars in marketing. Try again." That's kinda sad, isn't it?

I met one of the original organizers of the Woodstock festival (yeah, the big one), a comedy club owner, a children's' clothing designer, an intellectual property attorney... and more...

But the absolute best part of last night, was that it reassured me that I can still hold quality conversations with adults, that I'm not "out of the loop" when it comes to current trends and ideas, and that I have valid points to make, of interest to people who are actually intelligent businesspeople. They made referenced to books I've read, names I know, places I know about, even if I haven't been... Whew! Felt good.

So, when it was over, I was in Manhattan. Alone. And I took some video to show you that the hoppin' nightlife I imagine I'm missing, didn't seem to be happening last night. Walked past where they are setting up the tents for fashion week, but it made for very boring video, so I didn't include it here.

So, as with anything great...music, movies, clothing... you can come up with any idea, using any pattern or method, but to make it a quality item, you need to know how to navigate the rules for that particular pursuit. You won't get there without some amount of study, so here's some more help.

And I was more than happy to come back home to our warm apartment, and resume my cozy life.

See the video here.

This entry is more information on choosing your correct pattern size. This is the fourth in the "Things to know" series...

For women only, this information will help you find the help you need to use a pants pattern.

Information includes: taking measurements, finding your hips, tissue markings for finished measurements of garment, full rear end adjustments.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Hvu_bGosndU

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This entry is more information on choosing your correct pattern size. This is the third in the Things to know series...

For women only, this information will help you find the help you need to avoid buying the wrong patterns.

Information includes: taking measurements while wearing the proper bra, where to measure, how pattern was designed to fit, standard height for patterns, tissue markings for finished measurements of garment, body types and figure flattery, "no provision for above waist adjustment", and using the stretch fabric gauge.

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For women only, this information will help you avoid the most common pattern selection mistake.

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I forgot to bring my vintage sewing box to the hospital.  Darn...cause I really need to do some sewing.  Even if it is just learning some hand embroidery...anything.  Maybe I'll finally learn how to smock using those smocking stickers...maybe.

When I'm not doing something with my hands, my mind tends to wander...and that's not a good thing these days.  There is only so much Law & Order one can watch and BINGO one can play (especially considering B5, B13, I27 and N33 are missing from the box).

Not to worry...I drove home to NY in the wee hours of the morning.  I needed my vintage sewing box some more clothes .  My Sunshine Girl has been asking me to make something similar to one of these in her size:

I've also been missing my garden.  Two weeks ago, I bought a bunch of annual flowers.  Guess I'll just have to leave them on my neighbor's porch as I won't have time to plant them this year.  I was going to have my Expensive Gardener plant tons of annuals like he did last year, but the $2,200 bill he gave me persuaded me to do it myself this year.

But luckily I planted some Tall Bearded Iris from my favorite Iris farmer and some other perennials so I will have flowers this Summer.

There was lots of packages waiting for me when I arrived home.  I smiled when I opened the box that contained these two books I won on e-Bay for a mere $2:

Score!  Well, I'm off to sort some laundry (Mr. Diva can't seem to figure out how to do this and call the laundry guy for pick-up.  Unbelievable.)

The Sunshine Girl is still hospitalized in Philadelphia.  She'll be undergoing some tests tomorrow and is on a liquid diet today.  Mr. Diva and my little guy are supposed to be driving down there today to spend the day with her woke up complaining of kidney stones.  I think I'll scream if Mr. Diva ends up in the hospital, too.

P.S. - My Koi fishies are still alive and doing well.  All is good in the world.

Pattern Description:
"There's nothing prim here! Cut short, close-fitting and with a back peplum, this club jacket is elegant and bewitch-ingly feminine. The white piping emphasizes its very fashionable lines."

Pattern Sizing:
38-46
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Right down to the gold buttons!
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Oh boy, these might as well have been in greek. I took them to coffee in the morning and STUDIED them. (Wish I'd studied this much in chemistry class). After reading several dozen times they started to make some sense.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Love love love the piping - very trendy right now (see Nordstroms). Love the creative lines of the jacket with the piping, the front pockets that are actually pockets and the decorative sleeve flaps.

There is heavy labor involved - sewing the piping in, and a lot of top stitching, including all of the piping and some of the seam lines.
Fabric Used:
Navy blue stretch poplin from Joanns. It has textured lines through it.
Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
Sewing the piping in was not that difficult, believe it or not!

• Absolutely make a muslin first - this jacket is meant to be fitted and I needed to make a lot of adjustments to fit perfectly. There is a front piece with large dart, side piece, side bottom peplum and back with a large bottom pleat. With the botton peplum piece, it makes it a little more difficult for fit.You want to get the top pieces fitting perfectly before you sew on the peplum and do all of the top stitching.
• Joanns only sells cotton piping, this jacket absolutely needs satin piping so I made my own. Use thin polyester satin, cut in bias strips and sew over the cotton piping and voila.
• The collar - was extremely difficult to fit the way they have you do it. The instructions call for you to stitch the upper and lower collar on to the jacket, then bla bla bla (about 2 or 3 confusing paragraphs to muddle through). I could not get it to sit flat correctly using their method and it was difficult to get the piping to line up at the corners. After ripping out the collar several times, and hopelessly fraying the fabric, I recut the collar pieces and used the standard method. I sewed the upper and lower collar together with the piping, turned right side out and attached it to the neck edge Click Here. The collar laid flat and the piping was easier to match up with the piping on the front edge.
• Some tricky hand sewing was involved under the collar to get the piping to meet up exactly

• Pattern calls for hand sewing the sleeves hems before sewing one of the sleeve seams. I sewed both sleeve seams THEN machine sewed the sleeve hem. With all the top stitching, I thought it looked just fine.
• Not a hope of the sleeves fitting! I chopped about an inch and a half off the sleeve cap and they were still a little bulky. Lots of ripping out and adjusting until it would fit correctly. The pattern calls for shoulder pads so I found the thinnest ones I could find to boost up the sleeves slightly - which did the trick.
• Piping adds a lot of bulk and even with pressing the back pleat it would not lie completely flat. I tacked each side of the pleat on the inside at the bottom.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Now that I have a perfectly fitting muslin, I may make the other version - without the piping. I would recommend it, but not for the faint of heart!
Conclusion:
Not all fun to make but I love the end result and it fits me perfectly. Not sure if I would call this a college blazer jacket, I think it looks too flash for that. Trying to decide what to wear with it. I thought white linen pants would look sharp, but my husband - started humming the theme from the Love Boat! Oh dear, it does look a little like Julie, the cruise directors outfit! Now,where's my clipboard?!

You know, with the popularity of Project Runway, so many individuals have gotten the bright idea to start their own fashion line.  Little do they know what is REALLY involved.  Many people think they have the new hottest idea.  Truth is most of it has already been done.  Lots of them are trying to reinvent the wheel.

Yesterday I attended the first part of Liza D.'s Fashion School and it got me thinking.  Seems about a third of the attendees didn't belong there IMHO.  Not that Liza isn't a wonderful teacher...she's great.  But some of the attendees were very secretive about their brilliant ideas.  In conversations with them, they barely gave you an idea on what they were trying to produce.  How the heck are you supposed to give them sources for contractors, fabrics, etc. if you don't know what they are trying to do.

I shared my line sheets, samples, and some fabric sources with the class.  Yet, when asked directly, several of the "designers" were very guarded with what they were trying to manufacture.  Well, how in the world is anyone going to suggest a sewing factory if they don't know what you are sewing?  See, some sewing factories are great at sewing knits while others only sew woven fabrics.  A place that sews bras wouldn't sew your hats (unless of course you're wearing a bra on your head).  Thankfully, by day two, attendees started to loosen up a bit.

Many were so concerned with patents.  Unless your idea is truly innovative, that's throwing money away.  Instead, spend that money on marketing.

One of the great things about Liza's seminars are the networking opportunities.  There were a few individuals I'd want to hang with:  the three girls who wanted to start a bathing suit line (they asked the right questions), an Asian gentleman who was all business, the Vietnamese handbag guy who knew a lot about overseas production and the sweet blonde who wanted to do plus-size women's wear.  These were the ones I'd put my money on.  They got it and would most likely be successful in their ventures.  None of them were concerned with small silly details.

Liza stressed the importance of having a business plan and went into detail of what should be included.  This particular session was very helpful.  One of the things which she suggested be included in your plan was asking and answering the questions, "What are the 5 problems that can happen?" and "What are the solutions to these problems?"  It's how you deal with these types of things that can make or break your business.  For instance, let's say a particular fabric you were planning to use is no longer available.  How do you plan to source replacement fabric in a pinch?  Or a worse case scenario--what about if the sewing factory burns down?  Do you have a back-up sewing factory?  I've purchased the Canadian Fashion Incubator's Fashion Business Plan, but see where it needs to be tweaked.

Another important thing is the Cash Flow Chart.  It was suggested that you make a 2 year chart.  As designer entrepreneurs, we tend to focus on the artistic aspect of the business, but we really need to spend just as much time on the financial part.  Your designs may be awesome, but without a plan for financing it, all is lost.

I found came across this link which might be useful:

BRC's Planning Guidelines

Today's 2nd part of the seminar was awesome.  We learned about costing, cut sheets, factoring and production.  While I knew a lot of what was taught in the seminar as I've been researching my plan for the past two years, the most important thing I got from Liza was to stop over-researching and JUST DO IT!

Meaning, I could have the greatest ideas, but unless I get out there and produce, it all means nothing.  Thanks Liza for a wonderful weekend!  You're truly inspiring.

For those interested in learning more about Liza D.'s Fashion School, visit her website!

ok...now for some pics of my traffic nightmare getting to and from Manhattan this weekend...a mere 15 miles which took over an hour each way...ugh!

While idling in traffic, I noticed this De-Fender fender protector on the SUV in front of me.  How hysterical!  Who would have thought?!  So if someone bumps into your fender, you don't scratch your $2,000 bumper...brilliant and useful here in NYC.

Here's a close-up pic of the De-Fender borrowed from an auto parts website:

Leaving the city, I passed the old World Trade Center...which is just a large pit and dozens of construction vehicles.  Still no new buildings.  The city has really dragged their feet on rebuilding the area.  Sad.

Seems most of Manhattan is under construction...ALL THE TIME.  Doesn't matter what day or time it is, there is always construction.  The roads are getting worse everyday.  When they say you take your life in your hands driving in NYC, they aren't kidding.

Oh and in case you thought it's all bumper-to-bumper traffic in NYC, you can still drive 70 mph through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel...LOL!  See?

Off to watch the Season Finale of Desperate Housewives!  Have a great night!

Bethany, originally uploaded by mabeane6.

I am trying out a different dress pattern. I think it is really cute.

Well, when it rains, it POURS!  Out of nowhere, babies are being born all around me...

Since Monday, I've added 4 new babies to my list:

2 boys, 1 girl and 1 surprise.  Now this wouldn't be too bad except for the fact that 2 sets of gifts are due by Friday morning, 1 set is overdue (baby is now 3 weeks old!) and 1 is due next week.

Well, creating for the boys is easy enough for me.  It's the UNISEX NO NAME baby gifts that always baffle me.  This unisex gift is for my son's teacher.  They are having a surprise baby shower for her on Friday morning.

I searched "unisex baby gifts" online and came across two usable prints (which, of course, I have in my stash--act surprised..LOL):

OOP Michael Miller's Sunny Side Up

Robert Kaufman's Chopsticks Please

I'm curious if any of my sewing buddies have the same problem as me...see, every time I need to make a baby gift, I go a little overboard with my thoughts...oh yeah, let me do one dozen burp cloths, 6 bibs, 2 blankets and heck, at least 3 onesies.  And it gets worse if it's a girl...that darn Bowdabra gets the best of me.

Then as time slips away and reality hits, I come to the realization that I am no Domestic Diva, just a Domestic Disaster who dreams big.

You know what I mean.  You want to give the baby gift that gets all the "oohs" and "aahs."  The one every other person only wishes they gave.  You are so past the bottle warmer and the cheesy plastic play mat gifts.  You're much clever and can make anything with your sewing machine (or at least you tell yourself this).  But between family, home and your real business, there's only so many hours in the day.

While on the subject of baby gifts, it just occurred to me burp clothes are shaped wrong.  I got a brilliant idea.  What if I changed the shape of a burp cloth to encompass an adult's shoulder and add a curve at the side of the neck?  Something like this:

But that's something for another day.  Now to see how much I can get done in my sewing room by then...UGH, UGH, UGH.  And crap...I think I'm down to just a few sheets of medium tear-away stabilizer...figures!

With friendship,

Lisa

Ooooh...look what I bought...Vintage Dress Form Vinyl Decals...but I'm getting mine in hot pink (like the ones pictured below).  Figured they'd be perfect in my sewing room on my black metal fabric cabinets, right?

Here's a smaller set of Vintage Dress Form Vinyl Decals from the same seller!

And while I was shopping on Etsy, I bought this and this, too!

Clothing Manufacturing

Remember last week when I was talking about dangerous drawstrings in children's clothing?  Well, it seems the CPSC finally took some action:

CPSC Fines 8 Firms $230,000 for Drawstring Safety Issues

Perhaps other children's clothing manufacturers will take the drawstring safety issue more seriously...KWIM?

Sewing Blogs

Mary aka Confessions of a Craft Addict is enjoying The Magic Sewing Box she won from me a while back.

Lots going on over at Sew Mama Sew.  They listed links to all the Sew Mama Sew Tutorial Winners.  In addition, they have a new Sewing Forum!

Patty of Mod Kid Boutique will be debuting her new fabric line with Michael Miller in October!  Way to go, Patty!

Kittee posted a tutorial for making Pink Popcorn Balls.  YUMMY!

Kristy of Lower Your Presser Foot came up with a great idea for organizing her sewing patterns!

Well, hope everyone's Sunday is a relaxing one!  I think I'll try to sneak off to Target and do some more shopping without my needy children.  Did I mention they've been home for 4 days straight?  Need I say more?

I think I preordered these:

And here are some photos of the yarn dye bottom weight fabrics I was talking about.  They come as the lightest color in the photo and then I have to over dyed the fabrics to the various colors I'll be using:

Guess what?  I located that cool skateboard print in both color ways:

It's a print from last year by a company out in California.  My dear friend, Carol (aka JustKidd'n) called her friend at the company and they have 200 - 300 yards left of each.  It obviously will not be reprinted.  Not sure what to do.  When buying fabric for production (manufacturing), you are only supposed to buy what you have orders for.  You purchase your sample yardage (usually 5 to 10 yards), make your sales samples, take orders at the trade shows and then order fabric based on what you took orders for...get it?

So what do you do when you come across a discontinued print you MUST HAVE?  Do you take it all (200 - 300 yards of each color way) or perhaps 100 yards of one color way?  And do you buy BOTH color ways? Ugh!  Any thoughts?

I'll post tomorrow about my AWESOME day as an audience member of the Martha Stewart Show...boy, it was a BLAST!

Pettiskirt Instruction Video

Here's another helpful link:

Measuring for a Pettiskirt from e-How

Tomorrow Diana and I are finally going to see The Martha Stewart Show in NYC!  The show will be taping their annual Mother's Day Special.  Several times we were asked to give up our tickets (we agreed once and were rewarded with VIP seating for this show).

Although I might goof on Martha occasionally, I absolutely think she is the BOMB!  You can say what you want, but she is the original Domestic Diva!  So even if she has a large staff and oodles of cash, she has put herself out there and made herself into a household name...KWIM?

I had planned to source printed (novelty) cotton knits for my boys' line, but came up empty handed.  Lots of solids to be found.  And I met several knit suppliers at the LA Fabric Show.  Some yardage minimums were too high while other fabric converters would work with small clothing lines to divide up their orders into dyeable lots.  Not sure if I want to get into the whole knit dyeing process.

I did, however, order sample yardage of some cool cotton yarn dyes bottom weight fabrics which will need to be over dyed for my boys' pants.  How fun...not!  I had originally visited this fabric converter in hopes of finding some neat denims, but got turned on by the cotton yarn dyes.  The good thing about using these fabrics is I can use the same fabric in a pants' design and then dye it in several different colors.

Examples of over dyed pants:

Found these fabrics on the web and MUST HAVE THEM...LOL!  The retail web site doesn't say who the manufacturer is, so I ordered 3 yards (keeping fingers crossed this info will be on the selvage edge).  Unfortunately, they only had the beige/khaki colorway...I prefer the blue.  Don't you?

I was disappointed to find one of the fabric I was planning to use is made by Springs and is a licensed NASCAR print...DRATS!  It would have worked perfectly with my NYC theme:

So here's what I have so far:

Collection 1:

Collection 2:

Collection 3:

Collection 4:

Still need to add another collection or two...more to come!

And if deciding on fabrics is not enough when designing a clothing line, there are all the "inputs" to consider such as snaps, rivets, trims, leather labels, zippers, etc.  I met a few supplier while in LA and then did hours and hours of Googling to find additional sources.

I was hoping to find metal jean snaps which resembled a NYC subway token, but unfortunately they are no longer produced and were purchased by a company who made them into cufflinks:

One of the gals on Fashion-Incubator came up with this idea for custom jean snaps (note:  DOWNTOWN is really one word, so this would have to be edited).  Perhaps instead of "dTj" I just put "NYC."  Either way, it would cost more than buying a stocked snap design.  However, it may be worth it...KWIM?:

Then I had another idea for a custom jean snap (inspired by my recent NYC Manhole Rug purchase for my trade show display).  I'd probably take out the word "SEWER" (pronounced sue-er)...not to be confused with "SEWER" (pronounced so-er):

Continuing along with other business updates...Ingrid is hard at work putting together my Downtown Joey web site.  And guess what?  I found myself a terrific PATTERN MAKER...yippee!

A few AWESOME links around the sewing community:

Pamela's Perfect Pockets Every Time

True Up by Kim Night of Dioramarama fame

Bonbonkakku - fabrics designed by YOU

Michael Miller Baby Booties Contest

Tanya posts about her new fabric release, Ava Rose (Barefoot Roses Collection for Free Spriit)

By the way Mr. Expensive Gardener, what's up with my white tulips?  Ummm, weren't they supposed to bloom with the bright pink tulips?

Off to watch Desperate Housewives...yeah!