I love to wear vests! I like them because they are comfortable and easy to move in, provide warmth, and add a lot of color, design, and pizzazz to an outfit. Of course the Tabula Rasa Jacket pattern makes a terrific vest. You may have seen several of my Tabula Rasa…
We lose track of the number of sewing friends who ask us this question; “Where did you get your beautiful fabrics?” While teaching and manning our booth at sewing expos the last two weekends we consistently replied, we buy fabric whenever and wherever we see it! Because of our fabric…
The foundation pieced Tabula Rasa Jacket I started on Labor Day features four appliqués cut from a Japanese scarf. Today we will look at the creation of these appliquéd sections as a follow up to the Sewing Play on Labor Day post about the jacket’s design and fabric placement. …
Fusible interfacing is such an important tool for sewers. I keep several different types in the studio and use them to provide support in most of my garments. This is particularly important when I am pushing the limits of a fabric. Here is a case in point. I made this…
As I am sure you know by now, I love to sew and I love to collect fabric. One of my collections has been on my “wish I had time to sew” list for several years. It is a group of deliciously drapey blue and taupe fabrics destined to become…
Rae Cumbie is not one to toot her own horn, so in this post I am going to share the terrific articles and teaching videos Rae has produced and published in the past year or so. I know you will want to check some of these out, if you haven’t…
Underlining is a couture technique that offers a number of benefits to careful garment sewers. When you underline, a second layer of fabric is hand basted to your fashion fabric to provide support or to change the fabric’s nature. Today we will consider underlining pants. I mentioned this briefly…
We are pleased to announce that we are giving the Tabula Rasa Jacket a bright new face! It was time to print more TRJ Instruction books, so we decided to put new art on the cover that is more consistent with the TRJ Variation covers. Many thanks to our excellent…
The quilted Tabula Rasa Jackets in my closet are real favorites when the weather is cool and crisp. Deep in the “dog days” of a Baltimore summer, I am wishing for fall weather and thinking about designing clothes to freshen up my fall wardrobe. When this urge to sew for…
In the spring, after we had finished cutting and assembling our knit bundles, there were a few small pieces left over. We could not throw them away, so they went into the bucket for small knits. Usually these scraps become contrasting neck bindings, pockets or yokes. One colorful floral piece…
