All in the golden afternoon

Full leisurely we glide:

For both our oars, with little skill,

By little arms are plied,

While little hands make vain pretense

Our wanderings to guide...

-Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I hope your two hands are taking that wonderful inner child on some really fun adventures this spring.  Spring. What a great word for this time of the year.  Sustainable is also a great word.  It sounds a bit like work.  But it also sounds like independance.  A lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods gives back in independence and knowledge.

Learn how repair, alter or embellish your clothes instead of throwing them out.   Take those cotton sheets, curtains or tablecloths that have been folded away in the closet forever and turn them into some fun play dresses for gardening in or going to the Farmer's Market in.  Be inspired by designs from the store and the runway, but make it yourself.  As you learn how to make your own clothes you develop an appreciation for what you find in the stores.  And you develop the ability to see fashion in a more relaxed light.  Enjoy the process of creation and "make it work"!

Keep on sewin'!

Shauna 

Mindbites, an Austin based company,  is the newest place on the web to learn directly from other real people and share what you know with the world. 

We did a bite on how to hem your jeans. We plan on putting up more bites up in the  DIY and Home section, so leave a request if there is something fashion sewing related that you would like to learn.

Do It Yourself: How to Hem Your Jeans at Mindbites.

The First Samples girls have been posting like mad up on the blog this month.  I haven't really had a chance to check it out myself until today.  What some fun things they have been doing this month!  Waverly learned how to patch the knees of her jeans by unpicking the sideseam and laying the jeans flat to patch them and then re-closing the seam and the hem.  Antoinette has learned that knit patterns in the smallest sizes work well for her in woven fabrics because her frame is so small.  Tina is the clothing swap queen of Austin and definately the go to girl for re-making swapped items.  See what they have been up to here:

http://firstsamples.blogspot.com/

Get the Look: Hats 

It's just too nice outside to listen to the dermatologists warning to "stay out of that sun!".   Hat shopping can be such a drag though. The color, size or fit is always wrong. What's a seamster to do?  Make a hat yourself.  It's not hard to do.  And it only takes a little bit of fabric, so it's great for re-purposing something old and turning it into something new.

Vogue Hat Patterns:

8405, 7600, 8213, 8440

Jen's Jeans 

Summertime means shorts.  I know, Target has tons of bubble shorts for like $18 or something.  Abercrombie has the ones that went through the paper shredder.  But who has these ones?  These Chanel shorts?  And what is sewn so special about them that I need to shell out $1K for them? 

Jen, our jeans aficionado, has been studying pant fit and construction for years and has come back for her second summer of teaching you how to sew your own jeans.

If you would like to try sewing the fly zipper, setting hip pockets and a waistband, learn about those inside out seams called "flat felled", and more this is your class.  And what are shorts but shortened up pants? What are jeans but lean pants.  Don't miss this opportunity to delve into bifurcated skirts.

Learn more and sign up here!