Wearables « Jane Sassaman Ideas Blog

Archive for the ‘Wearables’ Category

Spring Fever Wearables

Wednesday, August 30th, 2017

The Spring Fever collection is still taking pride of place in the studio these days. This season we decided to try a few designs in different scales. I naturally gravitate to large scale patterns for their drama and their easy applications to quilting. But I also like having some smaller scale designs for projects like garment sewing. So in this blog post you will see a bit of both.

Our first project is this shirtwaist pattern, Vogue Bill Blass #2961. The body of the dress is in the mini version of Queen of the May in the blue color way with accents of Sassy Stripes. In fact, even the pockets are lined with stripes. This summer frock reminds me of favorite Laura Ashley dresses from the early 1980s… pastel, pretty and romantic.

Here you can compare the two different scales side by side. The larger print of Queen of the May, Mexican color way, in a lively tunic top, vintage New Look 6374. The mini version is made into a feminine blouse, Simplicity 5634. They both are very wearable. I love the contrasting striped belt on the left and rounded collar with snappy orange piping on the right.

The comely culottes are made with my Over-the-Top Dots design which graduates from red to yellow, an ideal use for that fabric!

So the choice is yours, but my vote is for a bit of both large and small prints!

Posted in accessories, BERNINA, Spring Fever, Wearables | No Comments »

Childish Diversions

Thursday, August 10th, 2017

Today we are feeling a bit childish! Summertime always transports us back to the carefree days of childhood. So we naturally started some projects with kids in mind. Of course, a new baby in the family is also good incentive for stitching up some cute little gifts.

We pulled some happy FreeSpirit Sassaman fabrics from our stash to work with.

This little jumper is a classic! Butterick pattern 5283 is vintage, but you may be able to find it on line. The “mini” version of Queen of the May from the Spring Fever collection makes a very feminine statement. It is delicate, sunny and rather old fashioned. But the geometric pattern of the little blouse makes a nice contemporary contrast. I’m wishing that I had one in my size!

These next tiny togs, New Look pattern 6651, also vintage, use prints from the Scandia collection. This pink and red fabric is called Heart to Heart, very pretty and a bit sassy. This little dress is perfect for your favorite itsy-bitsy Valentine.

This was a fun print to play with, Cardigan from the Scandia line. The pattern has been fussy cut to take advantage of the different parts of the design. The checkered collar and sleeve bands are nice pint-sized details. One of the best things about baby clothes is that they don’t get much wear and they often get handed down from child to child. In years to come these little outfits will bring back lovely memories. Welcome to the planet, little one!

Posted in accessories, Scandia, Spring Fever, Wearables | 1 Comment »

a trio of summer frocks

Friday, July 15th, 2016

I am so excited about these gay summer frocks that came out of the studio this week! Thank you, Susan! They are all made from jumper pattern, McCall’s M6739. This design would work nicely for any season. I’m hoping to make them in wool and corduroy for fall and winter.

The front two jumpers are made with my new FreeSpirit fabric collection, Cool Breeze. The black and white one is made with fabrics from my archives, Enchanted and Wild Child designs.I love the mix of prints. This is a great opportunity for combining motifs. The possibilities are endless.

I think this is an ideal way to use the Cool Breeze line, since it was designed to be sunny and light-hearted. The big plaid fabric is proving to be extremely useful in almost every project we have made this season and really contributes a contemporary flavor.

Because of the airy cut of this pattern, I plan to add light tee shirts and perhaps leggings or capris, depending on the weather and the occasion. And we couldn’t resist adding our latest silk scarf to the black and white medley. Superb!

Susan even added little tags of my Renaissance ribbon to signify the back of each dress! A perfect little detail that makes such a big difference.

Posted in accessories, Cool Breeze, Dragon Threads, flowers, Renaissance Ribbon, Silk Scarves, Wearables, Wild Child | 3 Comments »

Pretty Perfect Pocket Purse Variation

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Today you would never guess that there was tremendous storm last night. It is sunny with misty clouds scattered about a blue sky. Greg has done a spring burn in the prairie sections of our property, so the sprouts are easy to see as they poke out of hibernation. These are Bloodroot, one of our yearly favorites.

Last week I promised to show you a variation on the Pocket Purse pattern. So here it is.

This purse has a very different attitude than the bright hand-embroidered Prairie Chic one. Feminine, elegant and refined would be a good way to describe this new bag. It is embellished with digitized machine embroidery, also inspired by Prairie Chic motifs. These designs come from the HoopSisters Design Embroidery Series: Prairie Chic.

I took individual motifs from the collection and arranged them to fit the purse pattern right inside the sewing machine. The largest hoops I have for my BERNINA 880 are the Large Oval and the Mega hoop, so I rehooped for each of the 3 groupings. I am getting more confident and adventurous playing with the embroidery module. Of course, having my own designs to play with has doubled my incentive.

Also, since I naturally work in a collage technique with my appliqued art quilts, it feels quite natural to “Ouija” these motifs into new and interesting compositions.

My BERNINA 880 also has many utilitarian and fancy stitches which I love to explore. I like to use the built-in stitches to enhance my quilts. Embroidery is an easy way to add another layer of interest. But I am always striving to make the application of embroidery look natural and organic, as opposed to stiff and mechanical. Here, I deliberately stitched the design so the pattern doesn’t line up. The embroidery is also repeated on the shoulder strap. And, as always, we have dingle-ball fringe at the bottom… icing on the cake.

The outer body of the purse is black linen. The inside is lined with one of my favorite vintage FreeSpirit designs, Sprigs from the Sunshine and Shadow collection.

This will be another busy week in the Sassaman studio in preparation for my trip to Huntsville and several impending deadlines. Stay tuned for our next bit of stitching inspiration.

Posted in accessories, Embroidery, flowers, HoopSisters, Prairie Chic, Wearables | 1 Comment »

Prairie Chic Pocket Purse

Monday, April 6th, 2015

We are making tiny steps toward the greening of our world everyday. Although the landscape is still pretty beige, there are little points of color peeking through the layers of dead leaves and debris. It is an inspiring time of year!

But, as always, it is a riot of color in the Sassaman studio. Here is one of the latest projects to be made with the current Prairie Chic collection for FreeSpirit. This is also my Pretty Perfect Pocket Purse pattern. We must have made this bag a dozen times with different fabrics and it always turns out beautifully even though the attitude changes. This version definitely has the spirit of FUN about it!

And notice the hand embroidered details… little french knots, running stitches and more. I think this folk art style is perfect for casual use and would be excellent to wear with jeans and an embroidered denim jacket.

Of course, we could not resist adding sassy felt dingle-balls!

The back and strap are made of red denim and hand stitched with Sew Sassy 12 weight threads. This could also be done by machine, depending on your schedule and level of patience. Dingle-balls are also used as the zipper pull.

We used a nice bright lining so it will be easier to find stuff inside. Plus this Wild Wiggles fabric just makes you chuckle and kind of rounds out the whole “happy” concept. Next week we will show you the same pattern made with an entirely different theme and technique, so stay tuned!

Posted in accessories, Embroidery, flowers, Prairie Chic, Purse, Wearables | 4 Comments »

Embroidery Everywhere!

Friday, February 20th, 2015

This week has been devoted to playing with my new Prairie Chic Embroidery designs for HoopSisters. I have so many ideas that it is keeping me awake at night! Now I need to bone-up on my new BERNINA V7 Embroidery software so I can mix and match the designs in a more efficient way. But this is a good beginning and each project inspires a new one.

This is the Medallion Brooch design that I demonstrated on Quilting Arts TV, so you can see how these are constructed. But for these I simply embroidered the fabric for the covered button. The ruffled fabric frame is the Seed Matrix fabric from the new Prairie Chic collection for FreeSpirit. The jacket is made with Triangle Twist in the Lapis colorway, a design that has turned out to be very usable.

This little bee brooch has a very romantic and old-fashioned feeling. It was inspired by some of the Victorian cameos that I like so much. I am very interested in one color and tone-on-tone embroidery, especially to use in my art quilts. It is so exciting to get some of these ideas into physical form!

The snow is gently falling now, so I am anticipating a cozy and productive day in the studio. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do! See you next week.

Posted in accessories, HoopSisters, Prairie Chic, Wearables | No Comments »

crisp summer style

Thursday, July 31st, 2014

This week has been composed of perfect cool clear summer days and the flower garden is at its apex. In the studio I have completed my FreeSpirit fabric designs for next spring, which I am quite pleased with. Now I am attempting to translate those ideas into ribbon designs.

But soon my teaching schedule steps up for the rest on the year. I am looking forward to doing several 3-5 day workshops in some beautiful and charming locations… August 24 – 27 at All In Stitches in quaint Zumbrota, Mn, September 29- October 3 at the fabulous Madeline Island School of the Arts, November 2-7 at awesome Art Quilt Tahoe and the delightful and yummy Hudson River Valley Art Workshops, December 8-12. I will also be speaking at Quilt Expo in Madison, WI on September 5. I hope to see some of you there!

For this weeks blog we want to share another new garment made with fabrics from the Gregory’s Garden collection. This classy creation is McCall’s pattern M6564. I really like the asymmetry of this design and its elegant details.

The zesty green Pussy Willow fabric fits right into the garden. The contrasting and adjustable belt make a flattering silhouette. Nicely fitted, this stylish blouse has a retro feel. Have you seen the wonderful noir movie, The Postman Always Rings Twice?

I think Lana Turner would look right at home in this outfit! Well… she would look fabulous in anything!

Posted in Gregory's Garden, Wearables, workshops | 1 Comment »

welcome quilting arts tv blog hoppers!

Thursday, July 24th, 2014

Welcome, everyone! I am so pleased to be part of this blogging event for Quilting Arts TV! And even happier to be on the roster for their new 1400 Series of programs. One of my segments shows how to make the ribbon rosette which graces this weeks featured sewing project. This rosette uses my Renaissance Ribbon with some of my FreeSpirit fabrics, but it can be made with any combination you’d like. So once you see the process you can make them to your own preferences. Tune into QA TV or order your own DVD to learn more.

Today we are sharing a light-hearted blouse made from a fabric in my current FreeSpirit collection called Gregory’s Garden. This is Simplicity pattern 1590, an elegantly fitted design. The fabric, too, makes this a perfect summer costume, since it is sprinkled with a quintessential hot weather critter… a wasp!

I always find peplums very feminine and romantically old-fashioned. The peplum on this blouse is shorter in front and gracefully lengthens in the back.

The cap sleeves add to the striking hourglass silhouette.

Obviously, I love the color yellow, as it appears repeatedly in my work. But here it seems especially ideal for a light and lovely summer outfit. But the fabric also comes in two other gentle pastel colorations. I think they all would make fabulous nursery accessories. At my house they are destined to become hot weather pillowcases and new summery shower curtains.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Please visit again next week to see our another project from Gregory’s Garden!

Posted in accessories, Gregory's Garden, Wearables | 6 Comments »

Gregory’s Garden arrives!

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014

This is a happy week because our current FreeSpirit fabric, Gregory’s Garden, hits the stores this week! We have been playing with it in the studio since Spring Market, so we are excited to finally show you some of the goodies that have been created with it.

The title is, of course, derived from my favorite gardener, my husband, Greg. Here is one of my favorite pictures of Greg in the early days of our country living adventure. Greg has nudged the landscape considerably since then.

We especially enjoy making wearables and accessories with Sassaman fabrics. Gregory’s Garden has some nice tone-on-tone designs which are perfectly suited to that task. Here is a super little sun dress, McCall’s M6739, made in the pink Dahlia fabric. I love the loose fit and the generous pockets. The square neckline and arm holes give the dress a very contemporary look.

Next we added a blue belt and scarf for a bit of pizzazz. They are made with the Willow fabric in the fuchsia colorway. I think the two fabrics play together wonderfully. This is an ideal summer frock… fresh, pretty and comfortable.

By the way, our mannikin is posing in Gregory’s Garden. I am quite pleased by the usefulness and practicality of these designs. Here are the other colors that they are available in. You will see them used in some other clothing patterns in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, please check our vendors list to find Gregory’s Garden in your neighborhood.

Posted in accessories, Gregory's Garden, Wearables | No Comments »

Easter Apron

Saturday, April 19th, 2014

First of all, I’d like to thank all of you who voted in the BERNINA Faceplate Face-off! It was an honor to participate, especially among such distinguished companions. What ever the outcome, it was wonderful to see my design on the front of a BERNINA!

I have been busy in the studio preparing for several weeks of workshops beginning at the end of the month. So I have been cutting, wrapping, boxing and labeling. Plus I’m attempting to finish designing some new ribbon, a new scarf, and completing a sample for the BERNINA booth. In the midst of it all, yardage of the new spring line, Gregory’s Garden arrived, as well as, the strike-offs for autumn’s Prairie Chic. Phew!

As I’ve been absorbed in the nitty-gritty of travel preparations, my “Super Susan” has been able to fondle some fabric. This week she whipped up this fabulous vintage style apron. The current Sweet Lady Jane collection has a half-inch Garden Gingham in three optimistic colors.

Gingham has always been a favorite of mine and I often include some variation of it in my fabric designs. It is a fabulous foil for the more sophisticated floral prints. But in this pattern, Simplicity#4282, it gets to be its good old-fashioned, honest and domestic self… I’m thinking Dorothy in Kansas.

The details really make this humble apron great. The pocket is outlined with contrasting yellow rick-rack and accented with a strip of my polka-dotted ribbon. Perfect! The waistline is pleated along the checks and fastened with giant hand embroidery stitches.

The hemline is enhanced, yet again, with ribbon, rick-rack and embroidery. The essence of the Domestic Goddess! And just in time for Easter Dinner! Happy holiday, everyone!

Posted in accessories, Renaissance Ribbon, Sweet Lady Jane, Wearables | 1 Comment »

Jane Sassaman quilt artist, fabric designer, author and teacher

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Madeline Island School of the Arts

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