While we were at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Cleveland, I picked up a combo of rayon batiks from one of our favorite vendors, Sew Batik, to create a summer top. Of course I had to use our new Rain or Shine Variations for the Tabula Rasa Jacket!…
Category: How to
Beach Coat Fun
Sewing up a beach cover up seems like an old fashioned activity. In fact, the vintage beach coat patterns I pinned to my Pinterest page while designing this Rain or Shine Variation (RSV) of the Tabula Rasa Jacket (TRJ) were so inspiring. I do think that a beach cover up…
Wide Leg Pants for Summer
Summer seems the perfect time to wear a pair of cool wide legged pants, so I decided to try my hand at creating some. Step one, as always, search the stash for an appropriate fabric to test this idea. Lucky for me, my darling daughter has brought me several lengths…
Hems for Unlined Tabula Rasa Jackets
The seasons are changing, so all of a sudden my unlined summer Tabula Rasa Jackets (TRJ) are coming out of the closet. Just like summer pants fabrics, the fabrics I choose to sew for summer tops are light weight and washable. So, their engineering needs to be washing machine safe too. Today…
Imperfect Fabric – Perfect Top
We buy fabric for all sorts of reasons: it is a great print, or the perfect color, has the right drape, is the perfect fiber combination, will fill a hole in our wardrobe, will bliss the heart. Now I will confess that I also buy fabric to match an…
TR Camp Shirts for Summer
A few weeks ago we had a brief spurt of warm weather which got me to thinking about my summer tops. I really like to wear a “camp shirt” in warm weather, which I think of as having short sleeves and collar on a relaxed fitting shirt that falls open…
Stitch and Flip Jacket Engineering
Every time I approach a group of fabrics destined to be a Tabula Rasa Jacket (TRJ), I consider both the design and the engineering. It is easy to dream up a pieced front and back for a jacket, but it is quite another thing to stitch it together into a…
Inspired by Ruth’s Jacket
Last year at The American Sewing Expo (ASE) my friend Ruth “C” stopped by our booth to show us her first Tabula Rasa Jacket (TRJ). She had used a large print Japanese cotton in classic indigo with selected red accents and an unusual tie closure. Carrie immediately started taking photos…
Sewing Basic Knit Tees
You know we love to share our mixed fabric knit tops to inspire you to have fun mixing knits into tees and tunics. But don’t lose sight of the fact that the Tabula Rasa Knit (TRK) pattern makes great solid color basic tops that will complete an ensemble or support…
Wrap It Up with an Obi Belt or Sash
A few months ago we posted a blog with directions on how to alter your Tabula Rasa Jacket pattern to give it a trimmer fit. Today we are presenting an alternative method for pulling the jacket in to define your waist by adding an obi belt or attached sash! Detailed directions…