A lot has happened at Studio Decatur since I last updated. New students have joined, long-time students have completed fantastic projects (while learning advanced techniques!), and I've been working on a few projects myself. Besides whipping together a rail fence quilt pillow and a sling for her Chinese Crested pup, Spirit, Addy made her crowing project this year: a gorgeous flower girl dress. Addy shined in this lovely, fitted, '60s-inspired number at her neighbors, Heather and Elaina's, destination wedding in Arizona. Addy's dress was made from a fancy sequined lace fabric, and to complete the look she stitched six diamond darts, sewed in a zipper, attached set-in sleeves, faced a curved neck edge, and made an entire underlay dress from satin! This proved to be her most challenging (and rewarding) project yet– she had to use a microtex needle to prevent the fine, delicate fabric from tearing. The sequins proved troublesome, but they added that extra sparkle and were completely worth the effort. Of course her dress was the hit of the wedding! Grace has been keeping busy as well. Not only did she make an adorable fleece jacket for her fluffy pet puppy, Fozzie, but she sewed a dress for her American Girl Doll and completed the look by making a matching summer top for herself! For the dress and top, Grace used a cotton fabric with a blue geometric print. The dress has a full gathered skirt, a yoke neck edge, and a lined bodice–quite a lot of work for a 12" doll! Grace's top has side darts, a contrast band hem, and she learned how to finish raw edges using bias tape. (Unfortunately, her top is not pictured.) Recently, her Grandma came to visit her from Buffalo, and they bonded over sewing. Yay! While I tend focus on fashion and garment construction, lately, I've been expanding my repertoire to include household items and quilting. I'm currently working on a t-shirt quilt for my sister Jacqueline and her husband Joe. Hailing from Philadelphia, Joe spent his boyhood cheering on his favorite team at baseball games and collecting Phillies t-shirts and memorabilia. Now, those shirts are being cut up and sewn together to make new memories in a new home! I'm also working on an Elvis quilt to drape over my lipstick red, mid-century modern inspired sofa. My fiance Ben and I love early rock-and-roll, and I was so excited to find a "Jailhouse Rock" pop-art novelty fabric at the Booths Corner Farmer's Market in Garnet Valley, PA. Because one panel is neon pink and clashes terribly with the sofa, I decided to painstakingly paint over the pink panel using acrylics. (Hopefully I'll never need to wash the quilt!) Between the panels I sewed patchwork strips in a traditional American Pioneer Braid pattern. Soon to come... updates on my two weeks filling in for studio head, Judi, at Love to Sew Studio in Chadds Ford, PA this past June, and tutorials on sewing household items. This time, I'll be covering fabric napkins (learn to make your own and help reduce waste! thanks to my friend Sarah for the encouragement in this direction) and how to upholster a seat cushion for an outdoor wicker chair. | |
2 Comments
I love all the new projects going on in your studio! Congrats to Addie for making that beautiful dress to wear to a wedding. WOW! I adore the American Girl Doll dress too. Go Phillies! And the Elvis quilt is just rocking! Keep up the good work at Studio Decatur! I can't wait to see more!
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Jessica Sews
7/12/2015 09:33:54 am
Thanks! I will work on becoming a more consistent photographer. Addy and Grace have made lots of awesome projects I haven't taken pictures of.
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AuthorJessica has taught sewing lessons at Love to Sew Studio in Chadds Ford PA, and Studio Decatur in the Atlanta, GA area. She now lives in DC. She likes to read, write, garden, and is attempting to learn to cook. Archives
April 2016
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