Really Rapid Ruffles!

The holidays are looming ever closer, and whether you are looking for a quick gift or a bit of feminine fabulousness for holiday parties, I have just the thing for you!



Rizos makes neat rows of ruffles



Triana is lacy, loopy, and lovely!



Arriving today in our stores are two amazing new novelty scarf yarns from Katia.  Triana knits up into a frothy boa of lace - it's fun to work with and lovely to feel.  Rizos knits up into dense layers of ruffles, a little warmer and equally fun to explore. Both could be used for trims on garments, but are really designed to be scarves  - one ball makes a generous scarf, and each comes with a free pattern sheet showing you just how to knit them up. Best of all, they knit fast, and at only $12.99 apiece, these could be the answers to your holiday gifting woes! I snuck a ball of Triana in white from Bremerton last night, and my scarf is already almost finished and truly spectacular.  These yarns are to be found at all stores but the 4th Ave Outlet - some colors were sold out, so we'll have even more choices come February!



ChaChaCha! Even the selvages are pretty!

 Want to wrap your friends (or yourself) in ruffles, but not into knitting?  Never fear, ChaChaCha is here!  Remember Dianne's awesome flapper dress for her granddaughter?  It was made from the ChaChaCha ruffle, which comes in red with black stitching, white with black stitiching, and black with white stitching.  Ellen, the Block of the Month leader and quilter extraordinaire at our Everett store, made the cutest skirt from the red one - it shimmies in the most delightful way, is totally adorable on her, and she said making it was a cinch - one width of fabric, a bit of elastic, and NO hemming, and it 's a sweet skirt!  If that's too complex, though, ChaChaCha makes scarfmaking even simpler - just get 1/2 yard, fold it in half lengthwise, sew the cut edges together, trying not to catch any of the ruffles in your stitches,  and it is a flirtatious and fashionable scarf - we have seen scarves at certain upscale department stores that begin with N that are identical - and retail for $60.  ChaChaCha is available at our Everett, Bellevue, Northgate and Puyallup stores, and is only $12.99 a yard. 

 - Anna-Beth

Tuesday Tip: Explore the Pleasures of Pleather - and Leather!

Pacific Fabrics just got an amazing new shipment of fun vinyls in textures, colors, and more, perfect for purses, pillows, seatcovers, accessories, or whatever you can dream up. We also sometimes get in shipments of wonderful soft genuine leather hides. I was excited to experiment with my first leather project (little baby shoes for my Annika) but first I wanted to be sure I had everything I needed, and understood sewing with leathers, so here's some tips I found and wanted to share with you!

1. Use a leather needle.  We carry these from Schmetz or Classe - they have sharp bladelike points that cut a neat little hole, letting your thread go through the fiber without shredding.

2. Use a larger stitch length- each hole in the leather weakens the fabric slightly, so less holes is preferable.

3. Instead of pins, try mini-clothespins. We sell these in our craft basics aisle, and they prevent pin holes and creases in your leather and vinyl textiles.  Instead of basting, try Wondertape, a double-sided tape that can be sewn through.

4. If you find your project is not moving easily along your feed plate or presser foot, try using a layer of tissue paper on the side or sides it is sticking on. Easy to tear away when you are finished stitching!  We sell Golden Threads quilting paper, designed to tear easily out of stitches in our quilting aisle, and it works just perfectly for this.  A Teflon presser foot, available from your sewing machine dealer, can also help.

5. Choose your pattern wisely! Patterns designed for vinyl and leather materials are the best, but other simple patterns can be used with a little adjusting. Avoid ruffles,  pleats, small pieces and topstitiching.

6. Stitch slowly and carefully - if you have to take out stitches, there will be holes, which are both ugly and weaken your leather or pleather. Plan carefully, go slowly, and only stitch once!

Now, which baby shoes to make?

 - Anna-Beth

Faux Fur Frenzy

Check out all the fur we have at the Outlet on 4th! You'll find a great new selection at all our stores, but since I work at the Outlet, I thought I'd tell you what's been going on in our Fur Department. Click on the picture to see a larger image.

It's been busy! Super Grover was in to pick up fur for a new coat. Then there's the group of six going to a couple of Halloween parties as characters from a video game. (At least I think that's what they said.) From what they picked out, I know they are going to be a colorful group. And I enjoyed hearing about the stuffed bear being made out of Husky fur for a school auction. The lucky bear will be wearing a hand knit sweater as well. Our customers are so creative!

The fur is literally flying here at the Outlet on 4th (and at all our stores, from what I hear). Don't wait - come on in and get what you need to complete your Halloween costume!

~ Mary

(Mary is a totally awesome knitter and quilter who works at our Outlet on 4th store. You'll find her leading our Block of the Month Club there, too!)

Easy Costume Idea - Bee's Knees Flapper Dress

Are you scrambling for a costume idea? Dianne, manager of our Bellevue store, stopped by to show us the adorable costume she made for her granddaughter. Dianne says "Mom said no, but Grandma said yes; so I whipped this up". This one is for an elementary schooler, but it could easily be adapted for anyone. Take a look!

She used the new ChaChaCha ruffle fabric that just arrived! It comes in black, white and, of course, red and is available at Everett, Bellevue, Northgate and Puyallup. (You'll find a few other color ways exclusively at Northgate, too.)

Close up of the ChaChaCha ruffle fabric. 

Dianne stitched up a one seam 'tube' for the body of the dress, added some sequin trim for the straps and a head band, then a black fur trim scarf and quickly had a darling costume. We have some very cute dress up accessories to finish off this year's Halloween costume or to add to the dress up clothes trunk. Wouldn't some elbow length black gloves just look amazing with this outfit?!



Close up of the top of the dress with accessories.

We're hoping for a picture of the fabulous dress on the sweet granddaughter later, but in the meantime, here's the finished costume. Just needs the gloves and she'll be ready to gather treats!

The finished dress. Ready for a roarin' good Halloween!

I hope this has inspired you! If you have more ideas for quick costumes you can sew, leave us a comment so we can all share.

~ Michelle

My Spooky Spectacular Shirt

Every girl needs a new shirt for Halloween, so I went looking for the perfect pattern for mine.

I found McCall's 6124, liked the look and decided this was the one. Just the lines and simplicity I was after.

Now for the fabric. Must be spooky, must be spectacular, must be The Ghastlies! So I chose this great print from Alexander Henry's Haunted House collection.

And here I am in my finished shirt ready for tricking, treating and any other fun October opportunities that come along. The pattern called for lots of handstitching to hold down facings and such, but that seemed like a bother, so I topstitched instead. I think it looks great and the topstitching added a nice design element. (I think that sounds better than saying I'm lazy!)

This really was an easy shirt to make and the pattern went together well. The spectacular touch was the pink buttons I used down the front and on the cuffs. They coordinate perfectly with the color accents on the fabric and now I have a Spooky Spectacular Shirt!

~ Janet

(Janet is the talented manager of our Puyallup store and also enjoys quilting and sewing for her sweet grandchildren. You can see more of her wonderful creations at the store!)

Patterns for Children's Clothes - get more for your money!

My little baby girl has a sea of pink clothes - sweet blush tones, hot corals, lipstick strawberry shades - but I needed to spike it with a pair of black and white striped leggings. Searching the mall and the internet the closest I came was a pair of black and ivory striped pants, for $16.50. (Not bad for an adult, but considering how quickly she outgrows everything, so not worth it for baby clothes.) 

I found Kwik Sew pattern 3607 and recognized right away what a great deal it is. At $10.99 for the pattern, another $5.62 for 5/8yd of knit fabric, and $.99 for a pack of elastic, you might think I'm not so great at math. But the pattern has leggings, a shirt, and a jumper in five baby sizes! It's the only pattern I'll need for the next year to make Annika a whole wardrobe of cute pants, tops and dresses, perfect for layering. Plus, the leggings are super quick - I made my dream leggings in less than 20 minutes.

And Annika's so cute in them! She wore them all weekend, and stared with great delight at her graphically striped legs.

Children's clothing patterns are an amazing value if you use all the sizes.  Keep tracing paper (like my favorite, Bosal) on hand, trace pieces in the size needed onto the sturdy paper, transfer the markings, and keep the pattern till you need to go up a size, and trace the next one up! Mark your traced pieces with the pattern number and size so you can use them again and again.

Tracing patterns is a great way to make all of your patterns last - Bosal Paper can be sewn through, so you can try out fit before you slice into your beautiful fabrics.  And you'll save a ton of time if you learn to love rotary cutters - use a nice big cutting mat, pattern weights instead of pins and roll that blade around  for lickety-split cutting! We even have Roll-A-Pattern Markers to trace patterns with super-speed.

Next, I'm going to make Annika a striped shirt, but first I'm going to make her a little pair of jeans leggings - I found an awesome 'denim' at our Northgate store. that is a super-soft, stretchy knit. With a little gold thread detailing, she'll be rocking a little denim on her next hike with Daddy!

~ Anna-Beth

A Shirt for San Francisco

When I came into work at the Bellevue store the other day a beautiful pink striped shirting by Moda was being put on the flat fold tables. I immediately asked to have 2 ½ yards cut for me. I didn’t know what I would do with it, but I wanted some!

Then I found McCall’s pattern M6035 for a shirt I have seen a couple of my favorite actresses wear in some movies I have watched recently. I love the pattern because it has separate pieces for A, B, C or D cup bra. I used to have to adjust the patterns myself.

I made a shirt in the pink striped Moda shirting and I love it. It looks great with the white jeans I made from our white bull denim. I used my old Calvin Klein jeans pattern from the 80’s –I never throw away a pattern—but we have lots of classes on how to fit pants, shirts and jackets in our new class catalogue. Check it out. Just be sure you pre-wash the bull denim and the shirting, too, for that matter.

We are going to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend to see our daughter. I know I can’t wear white shoes after Labor Day, but is it okay to wear white jeans after Labor Day? Oh, well. I am sure my daughter will tell me.

~ Nancy

Colorful, Coloriffic, Coloricious! - New Fabrics in Our Stores

As you can see from her Noro post below, Anna-Beth is done with maternity leave and back in the house (office, that is!). She called me from our Northgate store earlier this week to gush about two Marcus Brothers fabrics that she says you've just got to have. Guess, you better pack up and head into your nearest store - right? Take a look below, click on the pictures to see a larger image, then click here to find a store near you!

We'll go in alphabetical order since I can't decide which collection is the most gorgeous. Good thing is, we don't really have to decide - it's okay to buy both! The Color Defined collection from Marcus Brothers includes the uber useful stripe shown at the left. I love this kind of thing as it makes designing easier and if you're short on time, it would be a very cool 'cheater' quilt. Pick a few coordinates to go with it and define your own color dreams in lovely brown and aqua style! Available at our Everett, Bellevue, Northgate & Puyallup stores.

I DO love this collection. So fresh, spunky and full of life. Aptly named Petalicious and it really is! The prints coordinate lucsiously, but each one could easily stand on it's own, too. Truly botanically delicious! From Marcus Brothers and available at all our stores except Outlet on 4th.

If you're a Fashion sewist, get yourself down to the Outlet on 4th this weekend. They've added loads of rolls and flat folds from Cache to their already ample supply of fabulous designer fabrics. Hurry, before I get it all!

~ Annette

Fabrics For Your Sewing Delight - new in our stores!

Just had a few minutes to check on what's new this week, but I did find some great things with a lot of help from our friendly staff! Click on the pictures to see a larger image, then click here to find the store nearest you.

Quiet now - can you hear it? The beat of the drums, giraffes quietly munching leaves, then suddently the whirr of a sewing machine! African Beat from Hoffman Fabrics evokes wild and wonderful images and a herd of inspiration for your summer sewing. Far from dry and dusty, this vivd collection would be smashing in a summer weight quilt, fabulous as room decor and tons of fun for tablecloths or placemats at your next barbecue. Available at our Bellevue, Everett, Northgate and Puyallup stores.

Willa from our Northgate store called me this week to let me know they just got a HUGE shipment of Spandex fabrics in. Turns out most of our stores received a fabulous array of Spandex solids and prints and they're ready for you now! It's definitely swimwear time, and I'm sure you have lots of other ideas, too. The top row of my picture shows just a few of the yummy solid colors that came in to all our stores and the bottom row shows a few colors of the holographic Spandex that came to Northgate only. No picture, but also at Northgate only, you can look for brand new Spandex colors in collections called Twilight and Shattered Glass. By the way, if you're sewing swim, dance or skating wear, I highly recommend Kwik-Sew patterns. They come multi-sized and Kwik-Sew really gets it with knits. You'll find them at all our stores except Outlet on 4th.

Last, but not at all least, we have new Wool Jersey solids at our Everett, Northgate and Puyallup stores (coming soon to Bellevue, too). I know it's hot, but I also know if we don't start our Fall fashion sewing now, it won't be ready when our weather does cool off. So plan ahead and take a look. No picture, but take my word for it - it's lovely and wonderful to sew.

Down at the Outlet on 4th they're unpacking nice big boxes of designer fabrics from Cache. They're adding them to the designer rolls left from last month, so it will be well worth going in to look at the tables from time to time over the next few weeks.

More next week!

~ Annette

Destinations & Fulham Road - New This Week

Click on the pictures to see a larger image, then click here to find the store nearest you.

Destinations from Studio E is SOooo pretty! I just love it and it makes me want to travel, sew for my travels, then stitch up my memories so I can remember every moment. Wouldn't this be a fun collection to make a bon voyage gift from? And I think the map could be centered on a quilt top and then surrounded by scenes from a trip. What do you think? I'm sure there's a whole summer full of ideas out there! Available at our Bellevue, Everett, Northgate and Puyallup stores.

Sew Lovely! Alexander Henry's Fulham Road Lawn is fresh as a summer breeze and as delighful as a budding bloom. So soft, cool and luxurious you'll think you're handling silk, but it's really a fabulous 100 threads per inch cotton. Create your fashionable runway dreams, quilt a soft, silky summer throw or stitch up a sweet dress for your favorite baby girl! Available only at our Bellevue or Northgate stores.

Head for your nearest store and SEW!!!

~ Annette

Fashion Diva Heaven - New Knits, Lace & Designer Fabrics

Sophia Double Knit from Logantex is one of my favorite fashion fabrics. It's a great bottom weight that is equally attractive as a dress or top. We carry lots of scrumptious colors and just received six new shades at our Everett, Bellevue, Northgate and Puyallup stores. I LOVE the names! Clockwise from top: Denim, Golden, Hot Sauce, Sangria, Spanish Olive, Tarragon.

Enchanting Lace, also from Logantex, comes in brilliant fashion colors that you'll want to keep in your stash. Great for everything from lingerie to party dresses, it's 100% Nylon and you'll find it at our Bellevue, Everett, Northgate and Puyallup stores.

A few weeks ago, the Outlet on 4th unpacked four big boxes of rolled Designer Fabrics from Ann Taylor, Chico's and White House Black Market (WHBM). It went quickly at just $9.99 per yard, but now there's more! Hurry and you can have first pick from the four boxes we just put out today (at the Outlet on 4th only). Buy the whole roll and the price drops to $8.99 per yard. Fashion bliss!

~ Ready, set, sew!!! Annette