Fiber Organics

This place should come with a warning label. Caution! Leave your wallet at home!

I finally made it over to Kinokuniya in San Francisco. Oh my, what a crafty-book-lover's paradise! I won't say how much I spent, but suffice it to say I spent a good 2 hours salivating in the design and sewing sections. Read more ...

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Here's a sweet, simple pattern for a set of napkins. It's a great gift idea, and a good way to practice a new technique. This pattern uses frayed edges and a zig-zag stitch detail. Use it as a jumping-off point to create your own design! Read more ...

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I'm even more in love with the finished product than I was with the pattern. This is a Vogue skirt (V8296) made in lovely berry-colored hemp/soy linen. It's cut on the bias to show off the lovely drape of this fabric. My favorite part: the raw edges of the fabric, lapped rather than seamed, which will fray and soften over time.  Read more ...

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Shopping is no fun anymore.

Last weekend I paid a visit to a new discount chain department store in town, to pick up some can't-make-it-myself staples (tights and sunglasses, to be exact). Read more ...

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When you think "organic" in the context of clothing or home accessories, does a particular image come to mind? What does that object look like, and feel like? How colorful is it? How embellished? Read more ...

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At my local funky used bookstore this weekend, I picked up this awesome $2 find: a "modern" sewing manual from 1932. "Sewing Secrets" introduces all the basics of professional sewing for the modern woman. Sigh ... it makes me nostalgic for a time when creative ability was an expected part of life.  Read more ...

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Consider for a moment … when you begin a new craft project, what "mind" do you bring to the making of it? Do you strive for perfection (every stitch in place, every seam straight)? Do you follow the pattern as if you’re trying to get an A?  Read more ...

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Often when I mention to someone that I know how to sew, they look at me with awe and amazement, as if I've mastered the art of hovering in mid-air. Or they'll sigh wistfully and say "I wish I'd learned", as though they'd missed a train that comes by only once in a lifetime.  Read more ...

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If you're a crafty person living in the Bay Area, my friend Khadija over at Barakah Life is conducting her annual Sew Giving baby blanket drive. Blankets will be given to Project Night Night to distribute to children in homeless shelters.  Read more ...

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Eco-conscious readers already know that the garment industry has a lot of issues when it comes to environmental and social concerns. Aside from the question of which fibers are used and how they are dyed, another BIG problem in the industry is waste.  Read more ...

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