AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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2 VOGUE PATTERNS
Contents Vogue Patterns Magazine August/September 2013
52
ON THE COVERSuno’s creative director,
Erin Beatty, with model
Mari Agory, both wear-
ing dresses from Suno’s
fall 2013 collection. Hair
and makeup by Joseph
Boggess. Above: Beatty
and Suno founder Max
Osterweis.
FEATURES
52Creating With a ConscienceBy investing in the idea
of community, four new
designers prove fashion
can be both sustainable
and successful.
by Sandy Black
58One Hundred Acts of SewingFiber artist Sonya Philip
takes her longing for
a fashion uniform, a
simple dress design, and a
traditional skill and turns
them into a big statement
meant to inspire.
by Daryl Brower
78Urban BlossomsFeminine cuts and
showstopping fl oral prints
in new styles from the
Vogue Patterns and
Butterick collections.
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 3
TK
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68
70
COUTURE CORNER
Conversations in Lace 42
Collaging creates dimen-
sion and texture for a
one-of-a-kind garment.
by Samantha Sleeper
FASHION HISTORY
The Wearing of the Green 46
A killer hue with a
checkered past.
by Daryl Brower
BEYOND THE BOBBIN
Nicole Dextras’s Garden Couture 62
Fashionable Fabrics Grown From Bacteria 64
by Gillian Conahan
STYLE STRATEGY
Fabric Matching 68
FREE PROJECTS
Making Do 70
Transforming midcentury
thrift into modern style.
Frida Fashion 74
Using embroidered insets
to enliven a basic top.
THREAD TALES
Buttercup’s Journey 96
by Kathalyn Wilson
DEPARTMENTS
Editor’s Note 5
Letters | Contributors 7
What Are You Sewing? 8
Must-Haves 10
Destinations | TACtile Arts
Center 13
by Jean Hartig
SEW BIZ
Noon Design Studio 14
by Jean Hartig
Filly Designs 18
A passion for creating
rooted in nature,
function, and friendship.
by Jean Hartig
TIPS & TOOLS
Wear, Care, and Repair 22
Tips for giving your old
clothes new life.
by Alison Gwilt
The Thrifty Art 26
Draw inspriration from a
centuries-old skill to save
tattered garments.
by Gillian Conahan
MASTER INSTRUCTION
Corset Building 30
Part II: Cutting and fi tting
the mock-up.
by Linda Sparks
Heritage Lace 34
A reimagined vintage
tablecloth meets a dye
with a 2,500-year history
to produce a sunny
summer jacket.
by Kathryn Brenne
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EDITOR’S NOTE
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 5
A t various points in my life I’ve heard
people wish aloud for the “fashion uni-
form”: A former supervisor wanted a
closet full of A-line skirts made up in different
colors. A friend aims to make shirtdresses in
a variety of seasonal fabrics. Around here, we
often talk about whittling down our closets to
the essentials, including only those handmade
high-quality garments meant to last.
For some, this reflects a desire to cope with
a hectic lifestyle—we want to look fashionable
without having to spend too much time think-
ing about it each morning. Others—who are
fed up with retail options and empowered with
the self-sufficiency provided by knowing how
to sew—seek a wardrobe with a custom fit and
individualized style. And then there are those
for whom it’s also a matter of sustainability,
which brings me to this issue’s theme.
The professionals featured within these
pages represent a socially proactive portion of
our community—artisans and designers who
respect the entire process of garment construc-
tion so much that they’ve set up their own
companies based on an eco-minded, ethical
approach. They all embrace the slow movement,
each in an individual, innovative style. Take
cover subject Erin Beatty and her partner Max
Osterweis (page 52), for example. Wanting to do
something positive to support Kenya’s economy,
raise its profile, and foster the rich talents of
its people, Osterweis decided to use his exten-
sive vintage collection of bold kanga fabrics to
manufacture clothing in Africa. Their company,
In Good CompanySuno, now works with artisans in Africa and
India to produce a clothing line that has been
garnering attention from celebrities and win-
ning awards.
Jane Palmer, founder of Noon Design Studio,
has always embraced the marriage of nature and
invention and uses exclusively natural ingredi-
ents such as flowers, roots, bio-waste, and even
beetle shells in her California studio, where she
works with five fellow artisans to custom dye
garments (page 14).
In addition to the profiles, we’ve included
plenty of how-to instruction and expert advice:
Fashion designer Samantha Sleeper walks us
step by step through her lace collaging tech-
nique (page 42), contributing editor Kathryn
Brenne transforms an antique tablecloth into
a sunny summer jacket with turmeric (page
34), and we’ve upcycled a men’s suit jacket into
fashionable shorts (page 70). In “Frida Fashion”
(page 74) we revitalize an ordinary ready-to-
wear shirt with emboidered panels from a vin-
tage dress.
I hope these pages inspire you to make, alter,
and mend with creative, eco-friendly results—
and provide you with the good company of those
who also take pride in responsibly creating from
scratch.
Suzanne Pettypiece, editor
26 VOGUE PATTERNS
TIPS & TOOLS
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 27
In the age of fast fashion, it’s easy to forget that
fabric was once precious and expensive. But
mending used to be a vital everyday task, and
darning—the art of reweaving torn or threadbare
fabrics with a needle and thread—was an impor-
tant part of working-class girls’ education from
the seventeenth through the nineteenth century.
After developing their skills with embroidery
techniques, students embarked on meticulous
darning samplers like the one shown here, which
originated in the Netherlands around the early
twentieth century, in order to prove their skills.
Thérèse de Dillmont’s Encyclopedia of Needlework, first printed in 1884, devotes an
entire chapter to mending techniques, including
four major types of darning. The most basic form,
which de Dillmont calls linen darning, replaces
a plain-woven fabric, and is demonstrated in the
right column of the sampler on the facing page
(shown from the wrong side). Twill darning, also
known as satin or cashmere darning, is shown
in the center column. Here, each thread passes
over and under two threads at a time, creating a
diagonal pattern in the weave. Other techniques
include damask darning, which replicates more
intricately woven fabrics, and fine drawing, in
which a needle is threaded with a single hair to
stitch threads together as invisibly as possible.
For each darn, the threads are anchored in the
fabric to each side of the opening, passing over
and under the existing threads. Viewed from
the right side, as shown on the following page,
the majority of these woven-in threads are hid-
den behind the original weave. Where the hole
to be darned is irregular, as shown in the third
column of the sampler, the anchoring threads
echo the shape of the hole to ensure that all the
threads are solidly attached. At each turn of the
back-and-forth thread, a tiny loop is left slack to
prevent any shrinkage from puckering the fabric.
When executed in matching thread—pur-
chased specially or unraveled from an inconspicu-
ous area of the garment—darned areas would all
but disappear into the fabric. Samplers such as
this one, though, were executed in bright colors
to show off the maker’s handiwork. Many incor-
porated elaborate weave patterns and embroidery
for decorative effect.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century,
cheaper clothes began to edge darning out of its
everyday role. During the World War II years,
government-issued booklets instructed consum-
ers in basic repair techniques to make scarce fab-
ric resources last as long as possible. Since then
darning has been on the wane. Most people sim-
ply discard their clothes when they start to show
their age, and many modern fabrics are too fine
to be rewoven by hand. But for those who rel-
ish an heirloom and invest in vintage garments,
mending can be worth the effort. Swiss darn-
ing is still used to repair handmade socks and
sweaters. Specialty-denim repair shops will use a
machine-sewn version of darning to restore your
designer jeans. Several modern textile artists,
including Australian artist Liz Williamson, have
even found artistic merit in the technique, using
darning motifs in jacquard woven textiles or
creating hand-darned tapestries. You too can use
the techniques shown here to embellish a blouse
or dress with a decoratively darned patch—or
who knows, maybe the next time the elbows wear
thin on your handmade tweed jacket, you’ll be
inspired to borrow a trick from your ancestors to
make it as good as new.
Th e Th rifty ArtDraw Inspiration From a Centuries-Old Skill to Save Tattered
Garments and Even Decorate New Ones
BY GILLIAN CONAHAN
TIP
The more coarsely woven
your modern fabric, the
easier it will be to darn.
Look for thick fi bers and
a loose weave for your
fi rst try.
MASTER INSTRUCTION
34 VOGUE PATTERNS
MASTER INSTRUCTION
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 35
Heritage LaceA Reimagined Vintage Tablecloth Meets a Dye With a 2,500-Year
History to Produce a Sunny Summer Jacket
BY KATHRYN BRENNE
Chances are you have admired your fair share of
hand-embroidered tablecloths at flea markets or
online and most likely have a few tucked away
in the closet. Trouble is, there are only so many
tables to dress: Today’s busy lifestyle just doesn’t
allow for much formal entertaining. Luckily all
it takes to turn an unused treasure into a sunny,
summery jacket is turmeric from the spice
drawer, some drafting skills, and French seams.
Here’s how.
SELECTING YOUR MATERIALSLook for an unstained (or minimally stained)
medium-weight cloth with attractive lace detail-
ing that can become the focus of the garment’s
design. (Matching napkins are helpful for test-
ing dye colors.) Check for broken threads in the
lace and make sure any damaged areas will not
interfere with your intended pattern layout.
I used a smooth, textured beige silk dupioni
for the neck and front bands. (Satin or taffeta
could also work, if you want a more glamorous
look.) The contrasting color prevented me from
having to worry about dyeing the fabric or try-
ing to find an existing, exact match. Fusing
tricot interfacing to the dupioni kept the seam
allowances from showing through and added
a bit more body to the silk, preventing it from
stretching around the curved neckline.
Getting the sunny yellow color took a lot of
experimenting. Marigold, goldenrod, weld, and
a liquid osage-orange extract all produced pale
colors. While curry made the house smell won-
derful, it didn’t yield the brightness I wanted.
Turmeric, however, produced the vibrancy I was
looking for.
DYEING The natural dyeing process is like a science
experiment. While it’s much easier to use
synthetic dyes, the earthy hues derived from
plant, tree, insect, nut, and fruit sources are
unmatched. Outlined below is the process I used
to achieve the color shown on the opposite page.
If you plan to do your own testing, know that
the fabric pulls the dye from the water, so new
baths have to be made for each swatch of mus-
lin until you get a color close to what you want.
Carefully record dye and water quantities, tim-
ing, and results, so that you can remember what
you’ve tried and replicate the best versions later.
Once you’ve achieved your desired color with
the muslin, test-dye a table napkin to check the
color in your actual fabric and refine the proce-
dure before dyeing the tablecloth.
1. Weigh the dry fabric using a kitchen scale
to determine how much dye you will need. My
tablecloth weighed 2 lb. (900 g)—depending
on the size of your tablecloth, you may need to
adjust the quantities below. 2. Choose a scour-
ing agent suitable for the fiber content of your
fabric to remove any wax, residual soaps, and
oils and ensure that the dye absorbs evenly. I
used 4 tsp. Synthrapol and 16 tsp. soda ash in
a 5 gal. (20 L) stainless steel stockpot. Fill the
pot with enough water to cover the cloth and
SUPPLIESVogue Patterns 8830,
or a jacket pattern
with minimal seam
detail
Vintage cotton or
linen tablecloth, with
matching napkins
if available, about 2
yards (1.8 m) long
3/4 yard (0.7 m) of
silk dupioni or similar
fabric for the neck
and front bands
3/4 yard (0.7 m)
of fusible tricot
interfacing
Stainless steel pot
with 5 gallon (20 L)
capacity or larger
Turmeric
White vinegar
Scouring agent such
as Synthrapol and
soda ash
52 VOGUE PATTERNS
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54 VOGUE PATTERNS
Natalie Chanin, shown
center right, and scenes
from the Alabama Chanin
studio.
collection features the concept of “modern
armor” for a contemporary Joan of Arc, using
protective, quilted fabrics and crystal-studded
neoprene dresses contrasted with graphic and
floral engineered prints of plaids, medieval
brocades, and stripes.
Footwear collaborations, such as the one
with British designer Nicholas Kirkwood, have
also become a signature of Suno. The company's
range of colorfully patterned fabric sneakers
with recycled rubber soles are made in Kenya
with a percentage of sales supporting a Kenyan
wildlife charity. “Hopefully we are inspiring
larger retailers to reveal where they are produc-
ing and how,” says Beatty, “and to think about
producing in better, more ethical ways.”
ALABAMA CHANIN, EST. 2006FLORENCE, ALABAMAAlabama Chanin, founded by fifty-year-old
Natalie Chanin, exemplifies the slow-fashion
movement. A former costume designer and
fashion stylist, Chanin moved from New York
City in 2000 back to her hometown of Florence,
Alabama—formerly known as the T-shirt capi-
tal of the world—and has made it her mission
to support a community of quilters and seam-
stresses, many of whom previously worked in
local mills before they closed in the eighties.
Housed in a reclaimed textile factory, Alabama
Chanin now pays a living wage to eleven workers
and thirty locally based independent contrac-
tors who use domestic, organic, custom-dyed
jersey to create a timeless series of hand-sewn
clothes, accessories, and housewares, reminis-
cent of the ethos of nineteenth-century textile
artist William Morris and the homespun work
of early American settlers. “Sustainable design
has shaped our growth, our direction, our prod-
ucts, our materials…from the ground up,” says
Chanin. “It plays a part in every plan that we
make for the future—it isn’t so much what we
do as it is who we are.”
Because this labor-intensive approach to run-
ning a business is expensive, so are the clothes
(prices range from $1,200 for an embroidered
poncho to $2,000 to $5,000 for jackets and
coats). To make her designs accessible to more
people and to promote the methods employed
in making them, Chanin shares the patterns
and techniques used by her company through a
series of DIY books. She even sells her signature
organic cotton jersey, dyed in muted shades,
which is otherwise hard to find. “We want to
find connections at all levels: with our indi-
vidual customers, our suppliers, other designers,
manufacturers, etcetera. Open sourcing is an
important part of creating those relationships.
Sharing ideas connects and elevates us all.”
GOODS OF CONSCIENCE, EST. 2005BRONX, NEW YORKFifty-year-old Father Andrew More O’Connor,
parish priest, visual artist, and fashion designer,
seeks to make clothes that “look good, feel good,
and do good,” by bringing the social and mate-
rial benefits back to the producer communities.
Originally inspired by a retreat to Guatemala
in 2005, O’Connor currently employs twenty
backstrap weavers in the Guatemalan Maya
communities to produce his Social Fabric, a
unique combination of strains of color-grown
cotton, harvested from ancient “heritage” seed
stocks preserved by the community, and light-
reflective yarn woven in a signature abstract
cross motif that appears in all of O’Connor’s
designs. This special cloth was originally devel-
oped for ecclesiastical art projects, under the
banner Sacred Art Heals (the philosophy and
moniker under which O’Connor still produces
his own artworks), and he has now adopted it
for his soft, tailored menswear, womenswear,
and sportswear. Designed in conjunction with a
pattern maker in New York City, his collections
have captured the attention of Anna Wintour,
who chose a pair of his cuffed checked shorts
for June 2010 cover girl Cameron Diaz; the style
now retails for $225.
Alabama Chanin now pays a living wage to eleven workers and thirty locally based independent contractors who use domes-tic, organic, custom-dyed jersey to create a timeless series of hand-sewn clothes, accessories, and housewares, reminiscent of the ethos of nineteenth-century textile artist William Morris and the homespun work of early American settlers.
78
Feminine Cuts and Showstopping Floral Prints In These New Styles From the Vogue Patterns and Butterick Collections
Urban Blossoms
79
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