FSG Subscriber Area

The Fashion Sewing Group It's about the clothes.

Home The Clothes The Fabric The Ingredients News

Especially for Subscribers

These images are for the November - December 2012 newsletter.

November is usually the shortest newsletter of the year since you've already so much sewing to do with the change of seasons, I've always hated to load you up with too many "gotta-make-its"...just enough to get you enthused about the season and I packed the September issue with lots of new construction details. Nonetheless, a couple of things...I've added a little more chat here that couldn't fit into the newsletter or I wanted to expand a bit.

November-December 2012

If you're wanting something in traditional holiday red, I got in more yardage of the French Tweed that was in the September 2011 newsletter. I've had many requests and I've had to disappoint since it had sold out early, but I was able to get a little more and it's really a wonderful fabric to wear during this season and beyond. If you recall, it's really a wonderful fabric to sew and wear. Here's subscriber Mary Brignano wearing it as she gave a speech at the Annual Meeting of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra looking fabulous. She said it made her feel like a million bucks and it looked like it too--how about you this holiday season?

And here it is from last year's 9/2011 subscriber page and newsletter without the collar.

After I made the Grey Sweater Chic coat for my daughter in the September issue, I liked the cut and simple style of it so much that I decided to cut a brilliant purple alpaca coating I had the same style. I didn't want to cover the neckline and collar for you, but I wear it with a smashing Chanel scarf I recently got that is a hand painted, pleated silk just over 100" long that you twist and wear. Here you can see it wrapped around the neckline of a dress in the same silk. I only double, twist and loop it as a regular scarf, but the colors are just outstanding with my coat.

Then this is the red "curly" alpaca fabric I had from a trip to the wool/cashmere production area of Italy a few years ago. I had just two meters and I didn't want a car coat, but something to my knee. Then in last November's newsletter you got a swatch of a black fabric that was woven through with a red yarn that just hinted through the black yarns. I took a chance a washed a yard which lightly felted it and then it was the perfect weight to work as the facings and upper collar of the 1963 coat pattern. I laid the lapel front tissue piece on the edge of the coat as I had showed you in the January 2012 newsletter for a raincoat and that saved me yardage for that long front facing of the coat and a collar as well. It made the front wrap over ever so slightly to give it an asymmetric closing where I used to vintage black yarn woven buttons. Then the September issue of Vogue magazine arrived with this photo of coats from Balenciaga with similar contrasting collars and lapels. I gloated for an hour.....but also because I had made two coats in a week. Not a bad use of my time for a couple of designer quality and style coats that will last me for years.

I think I'll get some good use out of this 1960 top conversion to a woven (July 2012 newsletter). I used the French Tweed Holiday fabric and added a self-fabric scarf out of a width of the fabric 12" wide and then folded and sewn to 6". The fabric may be scratchy for some of you plain over your arms, so just layer it over a t-shirt, a silky woven top just like it or a shirt or blouse ala J. Crew and a look from Gwyneth Paltrow on her website, Goop.com.

The Handbag Chain comes in silver, gold and black...all are metal; the links are about .75" in length and while supplies last, it's just $12.00/yard...be sure to measure how long you want it before you order so we can cut it to the length you need...it can be tricky.

All of these things are on sale to subscribers while supplies last--they were purchased from a handbag supplier at a great price so order them while they last.

There are shoulder straps 36" long in brown or black leather (not imitation) regularly $23.95 but on sale for just $11.00 for subscribers and tubular tote or single strap styles that come two to a package, 24" long that are regularly $43.95/pair, but on sale for subscribers at more than 50% off--or just $20.00.

There are also:

• 3/4" magnetic snaps--gold or nickel just $1.25 each (regularly $2.50-$4.00)

• swivel hooks in gold just $2.00 each--regular $4.50

• gold purse handle loops sold by the pair: round and removable $2.00; rectangular $1.00 (regularly $3-$5.00 each)

Swivel Hook

Round Loops

Rectangular Loops

Whether you sew only for yourself or for growing children, I'm now carrying in my inventory some buttonhole elastic. How-to is in this month's newsletter, but I thought a picture can sometimes be worth a thousand words. This is from the pants of a grandson's Halloween costume in fleece (if you're among the young boy cognoscenti, the Ninjago character Lloyd Garmadon). At the time I was sewing this, Stella McCartney was just showing her spring 2013 collection in Paris and this came down the runway. Do you think amongst her several children there's a Ninjago fan for inspiration?

Though it's been tempting for me to add some "grandchildren fabrics" to the newsletter, I've resisted. I think most of the chain stores do pretty well with those kinds of things and for something better, like coating, anything I have is suitable for the more sophisticated tots to teens. I recently had a grandmother ask for coating swatches for her boy and girl twin toddlers and we were able to supply two good coatings including this month's cranberry. That's where we can really supply a great savings not to mention provide something that is very hard to find--a good looking children's coat beyond the typical parkas.

Here is the new black hem chain to add to the gold and silver types I've already shown you and are shown in the notions file of this website.

These come from a French supplier and are all $4.00/yard=about .11/inch. (I was recently told someone is selling nearly identical chain for .69/inch!)

Here's your complete Holiday wardrobe. Starting from the top right, the Cranberry Coating for your outer layer--either a very lightweight coat constructed like the sweater coat in the September 2012 issue, or as a full out winter coat using the Warmline coat lining that was swatched in the November 2011 newsletter. Then below that, a lovely velvety sweater knit sprinkled with black matte finish sequins. This has a coordinating plain knit that you can use for ribbing or as parts of a top, dress, or cardigan. For the skirt or a jacket, the French Tweed from the September 2011 issue is a great coordinate and I've been able to buy just a few yards more if you missed it then. To the left is the Black and Red wool from the November 2011 issue. It's what I used after machine washing and drying for the facings and upper collar on my red coat on page 5 in this issue. It would also make a great skirt for the red French Tweed (9118), facings and collar with the Cranberry Coating, or a skirt with the Sequin Velvety Knit.

PLUS: with the purchase of any fabrics from this issue, you can buy the Black and Red Wool for 30% off until November 30.

If your dining table and decorations sparkle for the holidays, shouldn't you too? Just a little? If the climate where you live makes it unthinkable for a sweater, sew a simple quick tunic from the 1960 top converted for a woven with the Red Crinkle in no time at all. For a little more warmth, the terrific and unusual rib knits with matching tiny sequins are great for a shell, dress, cardigan, pullover or whatever you can dream up. You can use self-fabric for ribbing if required, or the plain black rib coordinate of exactly the same fabric that was swatched for you in September since it makes such a good ribbing for all of your knits. If you missed it then, order it now before it gets away!

While the Stretch Velveteen is a dark blue, it's not a true navy--more of a tealish-navy. I thought it would go well with the French Holiday Tweed, but when it landed and I could see it in its entirety, it's just slightly off in certain light. Instead consider the French Holiday Tweed with the Navy Wool Crepe (swatch in the September issue and still available as regular inventory) or with your jeans. even the lightest as shown. There is also a black yarn running through the French Holiday Tweed to wear with black or very dark denim, and for those of you that love to use selvage edges as trim, this one has a great selvage that would be wonderful for edging--shown on the right side, lower edge of the fabric.

Here are three of the luxe line fabrics for this month, a green Italian doubleknit, a wool and metallic sweater knit (I've shown them with the navy wool crepe from the September issue) and a french woolen little black jacket. The stripe would also be fabulous with jeans for a more casual look. I'm frequently asked how you get these swatches. It's a bit of a loyalty program for subscribers. If you meet the $500.00 minimum threshold of spending for the year from January first to December thirty-first of each year, you receive additional fabric swatches from smaller yardages of fabrics I'm able to buy and not offer to all subscribers. There are also some discounts and specials which have also including free shipping on occasion during the year following meeting the loyalty criteria.
ALL SUBSCRIBERS may order these fabrics, if any remain, two weeks after each issue's mailing date. They are usually posted on the subscriber page for each issue of the newsletter. Please feel free to look those over by just opening the subscriber pages from back issues. There is still remaining the gorgeous ombre autumn stripe and sweater knits from September--those I bought more of than normally required for the Luxe group, but not enough to swatch for everyone. Don't miss them.

Leather and fur trims are everywhere. I found a great clone for leather in this issue but the trims I bring you are real, not imitation as they offer a more luxurious look. Here are some new fur trims that I've sampled and can sell you from the sample reels--that means limited yardage is available so if you're interested at all, don't wait. The top fur is attached to a rayon braid...perfect to just add to the bottom of a scarf or sleeve edge too. The next is a narrow cording like fur you can attach by hand (the fur will hide where you whip a stitch across it) and also made perfect boas for my grand daughters American Girl dolls without requiring any finishing at all. The third is a brown rabbit fur with it's natural pelt backing that you can use anyway you wish...you can back it or just edge stitch it in place. I recently saw a multi-thousand dollar handbag made by simply stitching rows of this in the same way we made the grosgrain ribbon handbags a decade ago. All of these are just $8.00/yard.

This time of year I also keep in the inventory fur trims that I first offered you in November 2011...these are an insertion type I first offered last November--you can see them here: http://www.fashionsewing.com/November11.htm. They are terrific to border the edge of a hood, cuff, or neckline. You can see how easily it's inserted between the coating and lining of a detachable hood. You can use the hood pattern from the 1945C pattern, put some buttonholes at each end and center back of the hood and some buttons on or under your coat's collar and button on a hood for warmth. Here I used the blue fur around a navy blue coating, but it also is available in black, grey, blue and brown.

About Us • Terms • Links • Chat • Contact Us