Sewbussted's Material Witness, A Very Special Episode

I have enjoyed each and every person that I have had the opportunity to interview, but this one has deeply touched my heart. Rather than giving away the story, I will just ask that you watch. It is truly a story of how when you think you have hit rock bottom, there is still hope, and dreams can come true. 

  

Be sure to check out Motif Sneakers on Instagram.
If by chance you are in Chicago, and plan to attend the One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart, December 6-9, 2018, go by booth 7117 and say to hello to Yohannes. I know he will love meeting you!  

Sewbussted's Material Witness/ Chicago School of Shoe Making and Leather Arts

This past summer, a friend of mine asked me if I would like to join her for a leather sneaker workshop. I'm not a huge sneaker wearing person, but this was rather special since the sneakers would be made out of leather, and then too, I've always wanted to make a pair of shoes. So, I said, "sure, count me in!" Well, I had the best time, and I absolutely love my sneakers. I've had quite a bit of experience with making leather garments, but never a pair of shoes. 

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Sara McIntosh, the owner of The Chicago School of Shoe Making and Leather Arts. She is absolutely lovely, and such an inspiration. I think you are going to truly enjoy this episode of Sewbussted's Material Witness.



Below are a few of the items that we showcased in the video. 

The boots are just amazing. 

There are so many classes that are offered at the school, everything from bags, to shoes, to clothing items. The school is truly a place to dream and then create. And too, I think Sara's story is an inspiration for anyone who would like to realize a creative dream.  

You can find the school HERE.

On Instagram HERE.

To my delight, and surprise, I had the opportunity to do another interview and video while I was visiting the school. That video will air next Tuesday. It is such a moving and inspirational story. It actually brought me to tears. So, be sure to tune in next week for this very special episode of Sewbussted's Material Witness. I think it will touch you as much as it did me. 

Making An Old Dream Come To Pass With a New Pair Of Kicks

About 6 weeks ago, I took a sneaker class at the Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. I had so much fun! I especially enjoyed being the student :)

Below is my work in progress. The shoe that you see at the top of the photo was my inspiration piece. Below the shoe, you see my pattern, tools, and my shoe in pieces.

The class was 2 full days of instruction. I made a mistake on one of my shoes while attaching the top of my shoe to the sole. At that point in the day, I was quite tired, and ready for a break, so I elected to just finish my shoe at home. Last Sunday I finally sat down, redid the stitching, finished the shoe, and ordered my laces.

Ta Daa!!! My finished sneakers. I love them!!!

I have never been a big sneaker person, but these are not typical sneakers. Thankfully, my husband and I don't wear the same size shoe, or I would lose these! 

Pure fun :)

I have no intention of making all of my shoes. It was just a fun class to take. A bit of a dream realized, well, almost. When I was maybe 8 years old, my shoe wardrobe consisted of a pair of shoes to wear to church, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of school shoes. And there were times when all I had was a pair of sneakers. I so wanted a pair of cute sandals, so I decided that maybe I could make a pair. I found some cardboard, glued a few layers together. Between the layers, I glued some heavy string, punched holes through the top layers, and made the loops to hold my "sandals" on my feet. After all the work I did, I was so proud of what I had fashioned. They lasted about half a day before they completely fell apart. I never would have dreamed that I would one day own a pair of leather sneakers. Life does get better :)

Here's to realizing our dreams!
Rhonda

Fun With Sneakers

I made a fabulous soup this past week that I will share, but my time is a little short this morning as I am taking a class this weekend. So look for the soup recipe on Tuesday.

A friend of mine sent me a note about a leather sneaker class that was being offered at The Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. I have wanted to take a class, but I haven't made it a priority, so my desire continued to be placed on the back burner. When my friend told me that she was taking the leather sneaker class and asked if I would join her, I said, "Sure!," and I am SOOOO happy that I did.  

I did a little research before I went to the class, but just wasn't sure about what I would like to do. When I arrived, the sample pictured below grabbed me, and that was it! Loved the design.

Below is a sneak peek at what I am doing. When  I arrived, there was a table full of leathers to choose from. I vacillated between a red crocodile embossed leather and the teal blue crocodile embossed leather that you see below. I went with the teal blue, after all it is my favorite color :)

You're seeing the sides of my shoes and the tongue. In the background you see the inspiration sneaker. So today I will be sewing the shoes all together. Can't wait to see them all come together. 

I'm off to get dressed and head out for a super fun day! 
I'll post the finished shoes tomorrow.

Happy Sunday!

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Sneakers and Printing

This morning I awoke to find an email from a friend who had forwarded a link to a class that she's taking this upcoming weekend, and thought that I might like to take it as well. Here in Chicago, we have a wonderful school devoted to working with leather, Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. This class will be  a 2 day intensive on making your own sneakers. I don't know if the class has filled, but in the event that it sounds like fun, there is a discount code, 25KICK. The code will give you a 25% discount at checkout. You can find a link to the signup page HERE. Below are a few of the examples that others have made in the class. 

One of our Haute Couture members has taken a number of classes at the school, and everything she's made has been fabulous. Next Monday I'll show off my new kicks!

For those of you who are Project Runway fans, you may remember Miranda Levy from season 12. 

She lives in Milwaukee, WI and she will be teaching a class in July at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee on the craft of working with wood blocks to create repeating patterns using traditional Indian patterns. I am so excited as I think it will be such a fun afternoon. 

Below is an example of the traditional wood block that is used to create the prints on fabric.

Below are a few examples of the printing being done and the lovely fabric that is created.

If you are anywhere near the Milwaukee area and think you might like to take the class, it will be held on Sunday, July 15, 2018. In the class, you will be making a silk scarf. All supplies are included. The fee for the class is $42.00 for non-museum members. You can find all the info HERE along with a link to register.

Have a fabulous week!
 Rhonda

The Call of the Red Suede Wild!

When I last left you, my red suede for the leather version of the Islander Fast and Fabulous Jacket looked like this.

It now looks like this. Not yet completed, but well on its way.

Working with any type of skin, it can take a little finagling on the part of cutting out the pattern. 

I had 3 skins that totaled just about 28 square feet. That would seem like quite a bit, but skins are not rectangular pieces of fabric, and there are imperfections. 
In order to get the jacket out of the skins that I had, some changes needed to be made. I'll walk you through them. 

For shaping over the shoulder, the raglan sleeve has a neckline dart. Rather than sew in a dart, I split the sleeve down the center and turned the dart into a seam. A raglan sleeve is also quite large, so splitting it down the middle made pieces that are much easier to position on the suede. 

1/2" seam allowances were added to the sleeve seams. 

Once the seams were stitched, I then top stitched them  to hold them in place. 

The front jacket pattern was also cut apart to allow for better placement on the suede. I chose to make a diagonal seam from the sleeve notch to center front. 

1/2" seam allowance added. The seam was sewn and then top stitched in place.

The seam was left at center back and a coordinating diagonal line was drawn in to the back jacket.

As with the other pieces, a 1/2" seam allowance was added.

The center back seam as well as the diagonal seams were top stitched.

Once I have top stitched my side seams, I'll be ready to attach my lining and the facings.  

In my next post, I'll show you how I am constructing the lining. You just might be amazed by how easy it is to do!

I need to finish the blue jacket, but the red suede was calling out to me, so I just had to put the other jacket aside and get this one finished :) At least I'll be ready when the cool fall temperatures arrive.

Thrifty Thursday/Ear Flap Hat

It's been quite some time since I've done a Thrifty Thursday post, and although it's no longer Thursday, I wanted to share the pattern with you. About a year ago, Purl Soho posted THIS super cute ear flap hat. I am such a sucker for a hat, so I just had to make one. The designer said that when her children were small, she designed a winter baby bonnet that her children still were a version of. Since she too loves hats, she regretted not designing an adult version. Although it's on a child, the hat below was designed to fit the head of most women.

And here's my crazy version. The designer said that the hat is a classic Amelia Earhart shape, so I just couldn't resist doing one in leather. And in true Amelia style, I took the picture in the cockpit of the airplane :)

The inside is in a faux fur.

If you look closely, you'll see that I braided strips of the leather for the ties. Other than that, I followed the pattern. 

The hat is super warm, and it will be great on days when the wind is hollowing. The leather should stop any cold air from penetrating the hat.

The pattern is so easy to make up. Someone who is relatively new to sewing should not have a problem. If you have a teenager who likes to exchange gifts with friends, I think this would be perfect. Although the designer said that the hat should fit most women, I think it would work for guys too. After all, it's not only women who fly ;)

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday/The Good Fortune Necklace

From the beginning, Fabulous Free Pattern Friday has been all about making easy pieces with rectangles, squares, circles and triangles. Today's addition to the lineup is super simple and could be made by even someone who has never sewn a stitch. 
The Good Fortune Necklace is just a series of circles sewn together. It can be worn close to the neck, or long and dangling. 
I made mine out of some leather that I had left over from another project. The necklace can be made out of;
1. Leather.
2. Fabric
3. Paper
So really just use your imagination and make what you like. A double sided fabric or paper would be especially pretty.

Since I wanted mine to be worn close to the neck, I needed to attach a clasp. Easily done, just sew a ring to either side and then attach the hook. 

Begin with a simple little circle.

My circles measure 1 1/2" across.

Once the circles are cut, fold in half and stitch down the center.

Once you get to the end, simply line up another circle. You will want just the slightest overlap. Back stitch at the intersections of the 2 circles.

Once you've sewn as many circles as you wish, put your fingers inside the adjust the circle so that it perks up a bit.  

All that's left is to put the necklace on and watch the good luck start coming your way!!!

Wishing you all a day filled with good fortune :)
Rhonda

Thrifty Thursday

As the holidays grow closer and closer, and we panic more and more :), a quick gift that's easy to make looks better and better. Just because a gift is quick to make doesn't mean that it can't be special. I found this bag pattern at www.verypurpleperson.com The bag was intended to be reversible, but mine is not for 2 reasons. First of all I decided to make it a little more special by making it out of leather, and second, I wanted to add a closure. All in all, I am super happy with the outcome.

I top stitched all of my seams.

To give the bag its lovely shape, there are 2 darts on the front and back at either side. I top stitched both to accent the darts and make them look a little more special.

As I said, I added a magnetic closure to my bag. If you do decide to make the bag and add a closure, be sure to back your fabric with a piece of iron on interfacing. The closure will need the stability.

Just to give you an idea of how long the bag will hang. It feels very comfortable on my shoulder, but you may want to add a couple of inches to the length of the handle.

You can find the pattern HERE. On the page that I've linked to, you will find the pattern link down near the bottom of the page. It will print off very easily, not like the owl pattern from last week. There will be 3 pages, so there is a little taping, but not much. I think this bag would make a GREAT present for just about anyone.

Now, I would like to give a quick shout out to http://stineundstitch.blogspot.de/ . Remember the Soho Leather Tote? Here's a link, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/08/make-your-own-leather-soho-slouch-tote.html

Well, Kerstin made a lovely bag using synthetic leather. This is another great idea for gift giving!!

Hope you have some time to make a few gifts and have your own Thrifty Thursday!

Rhonda 

Make Your Own Leather Soho Slouch Tote

I really can't call this a Fabulous Free Pattern Friday piece as this was done by The Weekend Designer back in August of 2008. And since no pattern was published, it really doesn't fit in the Thrifty Thursday file either. 

But it's a great bag that is super easy to make, so in the event that you haven't seen this bag, I think you'll really enjoy making one for yourself.

The suede bag was originally sold in the Sundance catalog, and like most things in the catalog, it was very nice, but fairly expensive. 

They came in a lovely selection of colors.

I didn't have a piece of suede that was of a suitable weight, so I made mine out of  a supple piece of leather. As long as I don't carry bricks in the bag, the lighter weight of leather should be fine.  

You can find all of the detailed instructions for this bag here.

In the instructions for the bag, there is a graph for the pattern.

Rather than make you count the tiny squares, I thought I would just draw it out for you. You can see that the bag is really nothing more than a few connected rectangles.

The width across the bottom is 9"

The side length is 11"

The length of the handle is 9"

And my apologies, I neglected to add that the width of the handle is 2 1/2" 

I did not draw out the bottom of the bag, but it is a simple 9" square.

In order to achieve the curved edge on my handle, I used my curved ruler, but to be honest, you can easily draw the curve in by hand. 

In order to have the same exact curve on either side, I simply folded the pattern in half and then cut the handle out.

If you have never sewn with leather or suede, I encourage you to give it a try. To be honest, I absolutely love sewing with leather. The leather comes as a skin and there will be imperfections. In the picture below you can see a hole in the lower left hand corner. So when choosing a skin, look carefully at the piece before purchasing it. If there was a large imperfection in the center, it would really limit the possibilities of what I could do with the skin.

The instructions from the Weekend Designer says to cut the handle on the fold. This would not allow me to make the best use the leather, so I decided to just add a seam to the top of my handle. One of the nice things about leather is that is no grain, so you can turn your pieces in whatever way you like as you see below. I have marked my pieces on the wrong side of the leather.

The bag has 4 sides, so since I didn't cut the handle on the fold, I will need to cut 4. I was able to get 3 sides out of 1 skin. 

Once all of the pieces have been cut, it's time to start sewing them together. Leather can be a little tricky especially since you can't pin it. The instructions say to use mounting tape. I have never used tape on any leather project. If you would like, you can use paper clips to hold the pieces together as you sew. You can also use a walking foot. But to be honest, I don't use either. Just take your time, be patient and practice a little with some of your scraps and I think you'll get the hang of sewing with leather. One thing to keep in mind is that you must use a leather needle. Please don't try to use a regular needle. The leather needle has a special point specifically for sewing leather. It makes all the difference in the world.

Once you sew the seam, I used 1/4" seams on this bag, you can either glue down the seams with rubber cement, or you can top stitch them. I prefer to top stitch my seams. It must have been the angle at which I took the picture as my stitches look like they are on an angle, but they really aren't.

Once the seams for the sides of the bag have been sewn, you'll then attach the bottom. Pay close attention to the fact that the seams of the bag do not match up to the corners of the bottom. The seams of the bag match the center of the bottom of the bag. It can be a little tricky, but you can top stitch the seams around the bottom of the bag. Just take your time.

 Since I didn't cut my handles on the fold, I simply over lapped the 2 ends and sewed them together.

 My finished bag.

You can see that the bag is quite roomy. If you would like a hard bottom, you can always cut a piece of chip board, a thick cardboard, and place it in the bottom of the bag. I rather like the soft, easy feel of the bag.

If you have never sewn with leather or suede, I urge you to give it a try. This is a great first time project. If you are a little concerned about spending the money for leather for a first time project, there are a lot of home dec fabrics that mimic leather, so that's a nice alternative.

The Weekend Designer no longer writes at that address. You can find him at http://bagntell.wordpress.com/ 

The blog is full of wonderful information and projects. He also has a Craftsy class that teaches you how to work with leather and you can find it here.