Elemental Stitches

Artist Interview With Laura Barrella From Ginger Louise Clothing

As promised, Laura Barrella from Ginger Louise Clothing has answered a few questions about her process.  I hope you enjoy!

1. Your Name? Laura Barrella

2. Your websites?

www.gingerlouiseclothing.etsy.com

www.gingerlouisepatterns.etsy.com

www.gingerlouiseclothing.blogspot.com

3. Where do you live? NYC 

 

4. How did you learn to sew? I begged my mother to teach me to sew when I was 7, now looking back, that is when she seemed the happiest! I was also offered a store in 1990, I was a doll maker at the time and knew I needed to sell something other then dolls, so I taught myself how to make children's clothes.

5. What made you jump into pattern design? I always loved pattern making, and doing sewing tutorials will let me design even more because I won't have to make 100 of the same item:)

6. What inspires you when designing children's clothes? everything, life, the streets of NY, once I get started it just keeps inspiring itself, oh and also beautiful fabrics, its an obsession! 

7. I love the colors and pattern combination you use on the clothes you sell in your shop. Is there any advice you can give to sewers who are trying to coordinate fabric for their projects? Design from your heart, so that customers can spot your style, stand out from the crowd.

8. Do you have any tips on sewing clothes for girls? For me, it was always comfort and intention. Somehow the clothing is always more special when I am designing for a specific child. They can almost "feel the love" sorry, corny but true! And kids like comfortable clothes. 

 

9. What has been the most rewarding part of being part of the crafting community? I knew nothing about this community until 2 years ago.. Being in this business for 20 years, I never met anyone else that sewed, actually I have 1 friend that sews for her girls. I was shocked that there are so many woman in the USA that sew. I have met the nicest, sweetest woman online. And I love all the support that everyone has for each other. I love it!

10. Are there any upcoming patterns? Tons, some knits and hoodies and costumes. I am also going to set something up for pattern requests.

If you are feeling inspired follow Laura's blog and she will send you a free copy of her skirt tutorial!  Or check out Laura's Etsy Shops to find all of the items I have shown here or click on their picture.

Winner for July!

I can not thank each of you enough for participating in my sew along.  I have so much fun seeing what you all have done and getting to know each of you a little better.

This one was a tough!  I love what you all did with your chemises!  We finally chose Michelle's chemise.  I love the ribbon on the bottom and Brae was completely sold on the flower.  I am now required to add a flower to her chemise too!

Congrats Michelle!!  Michelle's website is called My Gramma Said and it is stocked full of cool tutorials on refashioning clothes.  Stop by and check out her adorable Heat Wave Halter made of a men's dress shirt.  It rocks!

Carefree Clothes for Girls - Month 5 - Dress with Quilted Bodice

Hi everyone!  Its time for our next project!  This one is going to be a little tougher, but its practically a blank canvas like so many of the patterns in this book!  I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! 

The project for August is...

The Dress with Quilted Bodice!

I am planning on using this pattern to make my little one a new princess dress.  Last week Brae and I were cleaning out her closet and when I took a closer look at the princess dresses we have been buying her I noticed the sewing is awful! 

I said, "I could make a better dress in half a day."  Well, my daughter jumped all over that!  She wanted to know what I was making and when.  Plus she wanted to have a say in the design.  This months project is the perfect pattern to do it with.  We are going to head down to Hancock Fabrics this weekend to pick out fabric.  I have a feeling we are going to have a very pink dress at the end of all this.

I am so excited to announce that the winner this month will get 3 amazing patterns generously donated by Ginger Louise Clothing! 

Here they are.

Boutique Twirl Ruffle Skirt

Boutique Twirl Peasant Dress

Ruffle Peasant Top

These are the cutest patterns and they are sent to you as a pdf file!  I am all about instant gratification so getting my patterns through email to print at my convenience is awesome!

Remember to post pictures and leave a link in the comments of this post to enter! 

Also post some pictures in the flickr group if you can, but that is not required to win. 

Plus, if you follow her blog she will send you a free copy of her simple skirt pattern!

We will be hearing more about Ginger Louise Clothing in an upcoming interview all about designing and sewing children's clothes! 

Happy sewing and have a wonderful week!

Carefree Clothes for Girls - Chemise

Happy August 1st everyone!  Did you know today was traditionally celebrated as the first harvest celebration?  My garden seems to know.  I have had a spike in juicy heirloom tomatoes and spicy chilis.

Below is from 7-29

This next one is from 7-30.  That is a Cherokee Purple, another Lemon Boy and another Patio.  The peppers are the same from the day before.  This Cherokee is my biggest tomato yet at 10.7 oz or a little under 3/4 pound!.

This next one is from today.  Another Cherokee Purple and more Patio Tomatoes.  This Cherokee was 9.5 oz!  Over half a pound!  The cool thing is that these tomatoes are so much smaller then those gigantic Omars.  Those things are still getting bigger.

Ok enough with the food and onto the pattern.

It took me a week to get my daughter to model this chemise.  She is sooooo over modeling for me.  The first one was made of a thrifted pillowcase.  I am still going to hem the bottom of this one.  I didn't add any decoration on this yet.  My plan is to add a vertical line of gathered ruffles in the same fabric down the chest with some buttons or something. 

The next one is waiting for more binding to go around the bottom.  I made it of some lightweight cotton and used bias binding around the neck and arms.

Overall my impression of this pattern was not so great.  It ended up being a little tight across the chest and back.  Plus the top in the back did not lay flat.  Not to mention the confusing directions on how much to alter the pattern.  If I were to make this pattern again I would not take anything in at the arms and I would flare the sides out from the armpits a little bit more. 

If you tried the chemise and have any suggestions please leave them in the comments!

If you made the chemise this month please leave a link to the photos in the comments of the pattern announcement post for this month. 

You have until Wed. Aug 4th to enter your link!

Be sure to check out all the great projects in our flickr group!

I am finalizing the details on next months prize.  We have a special guest sponsor who I think you are going to love!  Back in a couple days with more details!

Winner! Carefree Clothes for Girls Sew A Long

Hi! 

I am back late (sorry!), to announce the winner of last month's sew a long.  This time it was hard!  Even though we only had two to choose from they both looked so good and also somewhat similar. 

We finally decided on Sarah's adorable striped skirt. 

The way you coordinated the lines in the fabric and matched up the diagonals was amazing! Check out her photostream for more pictures of Sarah's sewing. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE her gathering skirt.  You have to go have a look!

Try our project for this month.  It's very easy.  I already finished two!  Pictures coming soon!

Carefree Clothes for Girls Month 4 Project

I hope you all had a great fourth of July!  We had a great day.  A few friends and yummy food is all I require.  We went up to the hills in San Jose and watched the fireworks explode all over the valley.  It was beautiful! 

I had fun with that last skirt!  I will post pictures of it finished soon, but I wanted to get the next month's project up before too long. 

You have until Tuesday July 6th at Noon Pacific time to submit your project link for last month!

This month's project is the Chemise and the optional project is the Babushka Style Scarf.  Both very easy and perfect for hot weather.  I am going to try to make two of the shirts since they look so simple.  I already took out the pattern and began drafting it up.  You will have to make some slight modifications to one of the dress patterns, but it doesn't looks difficult.  You are just making it a little narrower and shorter.

Try to add some sort of extra embellishment to your shirts and scarves to make them your own.

Also dont forget to leave a link to your pictures

of your finished project in the comments of this post

and enter some photos to the flickr group. 

The winner of this month will get

Small Stash Sewing: 24 Projects Using Designer Fat Quarters

If you are looking for some inspiration the flickr group is a great place to look.  Just check out what other crafters have been doing!

1. Too much gray, 2. IMG_8441 Linen Hat - Carefree Clothes for Girls Sewalong, 3. Carefree Clothes Dress, 4. IMG_8520 White Cotton Sundress, back - Carefree Clothes for Girls Sewalong, 5. CCFG01, 6. hat, 7. DSC06399, 8. Natural Cotton Skirt- Carefree Clothes, 9. Summer blouse with pillow lace doily, 10. Old buttons, 11. ccfg 032, 12. IMG_8334 Pants with Lace Trim - Carefree Clothes for Girls Sewalong

Have fun and stay cool!

Almost Finished

I promised myself that I would finish this skirt today for the Carefree Clothes for Girls Sew Along.  But, I ran out of pink thread.  I should have saved it for the top stitching and used a different color for the parts that would be hidden.

I have been putting this project off.  I was a bit intimidated.  All those layers, all the fabric... 

I think the reason I love knitting is that if I screw up I can easily frog it and start over.  With sewing, if you cut wrong or sew wrong you might have to go buy new fabric.  I am always trying to get over my fear of screwing up.  Sometimes I would rather not start at all, then fail.  It is so wrong to think this way!

If I don't try then I will not learn.  And learning is so important to me. 

I am sooooooooo happy with my skirt so far.  It was much easier then I thought it would be.  You basically make three skirts, gather and sew them together.  Make a band for the waist (the yoke) and sew that on, then finish with hook and eye clasps and a tie.  It took much less time then I expected.

There is only a few more days to enter in your skirts.  Happy Sewing!

Edited to add:  The yoke is not marked on the pattern sheet but you can find it near the hat.  It looks like a rectangle.  For more tips check out the Flickr group.  Lots of thanks to Tanya for finding the yoke!

Summer Projects

Happy Summer Solstice!  I love summer!  Right now I am loving my summer tomatoes!

Its taken longer then normal but I am finally starting to think about summer sewing.  I like to sew in the hot months of summer and fall, then I switch to knitting during the colder winter months.  I am sure I am not the only one!  For some reason this year I have been knitting a lot more then usual. 

So here it is,

Summer Project List

- I want to do all of the projects for the Carefree Clothes for Girls Sew A long.  Including the optional ones.  Remember the skirt is the project for May/June.

- Skirts for myself and daughter

- Summerlin dress for daughter

- Shorts for her again

- A couple of knitted headbands

- a gardening apron

- a knitting needle holder (does anyone know of a pattern for one that hangs on the wall?)

- new reusable grocery bags made from plastic ones!

- Large square patchwork blanket for outdoor fun.

- I want to try knitting a few toys.  

- I also want to finish a couple embroidery projects that are laying around.

I think that is a pretty full list, don't you?  What are your plans for this Summer's craftiness?

Winners! Shambhala Sewing Book Giveaway!

I had so much fun with this contest!  Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me!  I had so much fun reading them.  I also want to thank Shambhala Publications for donating these wonderful books for our giveaway!

Without further ado, the winners are:

Alex

"I don't really remember my first sewing project, I was just a girl. I remember sewing doll clothes by draping little bits of fabric onto Barbie dolls and making a few stitches. They were hideous and usually fell apart instantly."

Rebecca

"I don't think that I did any sewing as a child, despite the fact that my mom and grandma were always sewing! I decided about a year and a half ago that it would be fun to try sewing some stuff, so I asked my mom for a sewing machine for Christmas. With the sewing machine, she gave me a kit to make an apron, and it turned out really well! Since I got my sewing machine, I have made 2 quilts, dresses, shirts, and pj's for my daughter, knitting needle holders, doll quilts, colored pencil holders, and who knows what else! Who knew that I would turn into such an addict??"

Connie

"In 7th grade I made a cotton top in home ec class. I was in the midst of a growth spurt (I'm 6 feet tall now) so by the time I finished the top, it was too small! My mother was proud none the less. "

Morgan M.

"Hmmm... I think my first sewing project was when I was in high school. It was a denim skirt that I never ended up wearing. My second project was a dress that I never finished (but I still have the fabric!), and then I took a sewing break for like 7-8 years to recover!"

Congratulations!  I already emailed the winners!  If you didn't get an email then leave me a comment on this post with your email so I can contact you.

There is only a couple days left for the Carefree Clothes for Girls April Project!  Remember to leave a comment on this post to enter!

Giveaway!! Four Sewing Books from Shambhala Publications

I was thrilled when I opened up my email box a couple weeks ago and saw an email from Shambhala Publications, the publisher behind the books Carefree Clothes for Girls, Patchwork Style, Linen Wool Cotton, and Felting For Baby.  

They have generously offered to give four books away to my wonderful and deserving readers!

So here is how to enter.  Leave the answer to the following question in the comments section of this post.

What was the very first sewing project you did and how did it turn out?

I will randomly pick 4 winners from the comments and the winners will be able to pick which book they would like. 

This is a great opportunity to win Carefree Clothes for Girls and join the Sew Along!  

Also be sure to check out their website!  There is more information about each book and free patterns to try out!

You must enter by APRIL 27th at 10pm Pacific time to win!