Just so freakin' pretty.

Hello loves,
I have a very busy day planned. I've already been up since 5:45 to have some breakfast with my hubby, soon my kitchen table will be delivered, and then I have more shopping expeditions planned. Moving overseas stinks. You have to buy all new appliances with the switch in plugs/voltage... so I'm off on a hunt for lamps and the perfect waffle iron.
But first, I saw this on Pinterest this morning and just had to share. It's just TOO delicious.

Image source: defunct fashion.

This dress is by Charles James, circa 1957.
You may proceed with the fainting.

Don't give up on me! I'm still here!

Hello my lovely readers!
This is just a quick post today to let you know that I'm still here. I haven't really been in much of a position to blog during our overseas move. The husband, the kitty and I have all made it safely to Monterey, California and are trying to settle in as much as we can to our new house. All of our furniture (including the entirety of my studio) is half way across the ocean somewhere on it's way here so right now we just have our luggage, an air mattress, and my computer.

So far things are good and I'm really liking California, and especially loving how friendly and helpful most Americans are. It's a pretty surprising difference to Norway where (at least in my experience) Norwegians were mostly polite, but usually very reserved and often quite self-occupied.

The tough part about moving so far has just been the strange, transient life of living out of hotels and mostly empty houses, waiting for all of the things that make a house feel like a home to arrive.

Last weekend we found an amazing antique mall in Salinas, CA (a.k.a. gang land) and stumbled across the most amazing 1940's Duncan Phyfe table and chairs for our dining area. It will be delivered this week and I'll post pictures. In the meantime, the table is similar to the one below.

image courtesy of RossAuction.com

It will be really nice to have a table to sit and and work/ write... especially as I'm camped out right now on a pile of pillows on the floor, typing away madly with a pinched nerve in my back making me strangely immobile today. I'm sure it's actually quite a funny picture...

An-who, I'm still around, just not in much of a position to provide you with any meaningful, useful or interesting blog posts. I hope to resume full-time blogging at the beginning of September. On that note, A Few Threads Loose will also have some more sponsorship spots open for very low prices so if you're looking to advertise your blog or business, drop me an email! (afewthreadsloose at gmail.com).

Have a happy rest of the summer!

Giveaway Winner - With Bruno and Betty!

I know I was supposed to announce the giveaway winner yesterday but with the internet down at the hotel, I had to push it to today. But now it's time to find out who gets to win a great set of owl patches courtesy of Bruno and Betty!
Drumroll please...

Agh! So freakin' cute!

And the winner is... Abbey Irwin (Of The Irwin Bazaar), whose favorite thing from Bruno and Betty is their Thread Spool Shirt.
You and me both sweetie!

Congratulations to our winner Abbey and a huge thank you to Bruno and Betty for sponsoring this giveaway!

And now I'm off to make supper in a tiny hotel kitchenette (about as fun as shaving wet cats) so wish me luck!

Burda Style Magazine, July 2013...

I have a complicated relationship with Burda Style Magazine. I first discovered it at the newsstand of the Border's Bookstore I worked at, consequently, within days of getting my first sewing machine. I was enamoured! In my honeymoon phase I purchased some expensive silk habotai and a length of rich wool (how this fit into my saving money by sewing plan, I'll never be able to explain.) and set out to make my first dress.

I chose a dress from the December, 2008 issue, the much-blogged about Schumacher Cocktail Dress- which turned out to be quite possibly the most flattering thing I have ever sewn for myself.

Pardon my photo quality, I had a horrible camera back then :)

And then I was hooked, just like that. Even though the patterns have gotten increasingly blasé (and dare I say, uglier?) as the years go by, there is always just one good pattern and I can't stop myself from buying with each new issue.

Naturally, I was excited about the hints I was hearing of a lingerie feature in the new July 2013 issue and I ran right out from my hotel to pick it up (yup living in a hotel until the 12th, what fun!).
I skipped right past the slightly tacky beach cover-ups (though in the right fabrics, I think they could be fun) and turned directly to the "Delicate Liaison" feature.
It starts with a bra and knickers (#114) that is really more of a sleep set.

The bra is wonderful! I'm sure that the bias cut contrast bands will be a nightmare to sew, but I also think it will be worth my time. The 'knickers' however, are another story. With a thick elastic casing at the top, these are more sleep shorts than actual underwear because they will be far too bulky to wear under anything other than a loose skirt. And, I hate to say it, but if you picture the nickers in brown, it suddenly looks a bit like something a roman centurion might wear... or, God forbid... maybe even Xena.

But maybe that's just me...?

Moving on, we have a nice, basic half slip that makes no waves.

And then a rather lovely camisole. Once again it's very basic, but cut in such a way that the under bust cup gathers make one's girls look so very nice.

The camisole can also be made with a lace overlay as in #115A.

Or cut longer as a slip like the "Mini Petticoat" #116.

And suddenly, the love affair has fizzled. There just isn't any more romance. These patterns are ok and might make decent basic patterns that could be embellished but we all know that Burda could do better, be less generic, and pay a bit more attention to what the lingerie industry is doing, and what the rest of us are buying.

Sadly, what could have been a lovely issue just turned out to be a boring 1990's Victoria's Secret catalog.

How about you? Do you buy Burda Style? Are you often disappointed or have you moved on completely to another sewing magazine? Have any good recommendations for my next love affair?

~P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway from Bruno and Betty, it ends tomorrow!~

Sew in love... with Bruno and Betty.

Today I'm happy to announce a new feature on A Few Threads Loose! When I find something sewing related that I just have to have, or think you would like to know about too, it will be featured in Sew in Love! Today's post is about a shop on Etsy that has the most delicious sewing screen printed t-shirts. I bought one the second that I found the shop and will probably be buying a few more in different colors soon. (I have a huge weakness for clever screen-printed tees. But more on that later.)

Vintage Sewing Machine Tee

Bruno and Betty is a clever amalgamation of retro inspired graphic design and charming humor created by a husband and wife team from Bloomington, Illinois.

Vintage Thread Spool Tee

I was so delighted by Bruno and Betty that I asked Priscilla, a.k.a. Betty if she would tell us a bit more about how they got started. Here's the whole lovely conversation!

Priscilla, how did you and your husband become interested in screen printing?

My husband Andy learned how to screen print in school and showed me the ropes. I was instantly smitten with the process. It's like my version of modern day alchemy!

What led you to opening a shop on Etsy?

I first found out about Etsy from a crafting resource site called Craftster. It seemed like everyone there had a Etsy shop. At the time I was more interested with the community aspect of crafters and hadn't even considered selling anything. Then the bulk of my projects started piling up and I needed a way to find them good homes.

Gnome needs a home...

My husband is amazingly supportive of my business, but I'm not sure he would want to jump in and start drafting patterns with me. What is it like working with your husband at a small business?

Since Andy taught me how to screen print he's always been super supportive and a major player in our business. Not to say it isn't a hard dynamic with us being husband and wife. It took lots of trial and error for us to find our places within the business. We found that I enjoy the printing process more then the shipping process, which is why his major role currently is quality control and shipping guru. I press the majority of orders but we both really enjoy working on the design concepts.

Obviously my favorite things in your shop are the vintage sewing inspired screen printed t-shirts. What are some of your sources of inspiration when you put together a new design?

The sewing machine is one of my favorites too. I based the design from an old sewing machine of my grandmothers, when she passed away I inherited her crafting supplies. She was the entire reason I started making things in the first place. We get inspiration from all sorts of places but it's always something close to our heart. We don't make anything we wouldn't wear or wouldn't have in our home. I think that's why we feel a certain closeness to our customer base.

Bike Tunic Dress

Your shop definitely has a palpable sense of humor going on (and I LOVE it). Is there any kind of line, or comedy barrier, so to speak, that you've drawn to keep thinks kosher, or do you occasionally push the envelope a bit?

We definitely have a odd sense of humor and think there are a lot of things taken waaaay too seriously. Especially when it comes to decorating. We haven't actually set up a comedy barrier for our designs but there is a rather thick notebook filled with odd ball ideas we've had that will most likely never materialize.

Best odd ball idea yet, keep them coming!

In your thinking, what is the best thing about creating as a team?

I'm very focused when it comes to our creations, my process is very streamlined. Whereas Andy likes random slightly controlled chaos. Our creating process always starts out a bit shaky but everyone is usually happy at the end result. This works pretty well for us, some of our best design ideas (like the home sweet gnome design) started out as a whole other concept and then with one swift remark from Andy, is one of our best sellers to date.


..............................................................
What a cool team! It's amazing to find someone that you can happily share your life with, add successfully sharing a business to the mix and you have a formula for a wonderful and rare relationship. Livin' the dream, I tell you :)

Bruno and Betty were nice enough to also make this post into a giveaway! They are celebrating the one year anniversary of the opening of their website www.brunoandbetty.com starting in July and will have a different promotion every week to mark the occasion. This week, one lucky reader will win a Felt Owl Patch Pack! The prize is a set of 3 felt patches featuring a wide eyed owl hand screen printed in black ink.

To enter the giveaway here on A Few Threads Loose, check out Brunoandbetty.com and leave a comment on this post with your favorite item.

For an extra entry, you can do one or both of the following, just leave a comment letting me know about it!

• Like Bruno & Betty on Facebook.
• Pin any item on BrunoandBetty.com to Pinterest.
• Share this giveaway on Facebook.

I'll announce the winner of the giveaway on July 2nd.
Good luck to the participants and a huge thank you to Bruno & Betty!

Sew Expensive... Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing.

Hello lovely readers. For the last few days I have been watching an Ebay auction, waiting with bated breath (what does that even mean?!) to see how much this lovely little gem would sell for. Last night, a first edition, 1952 copy of Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing sold for an amazing $153.50. And it didn't even come with the original dust jacket (a huge contributing factor to the value of a rare book)!

Naturally this delighted me. Not only is this a sensational sum for a sewing book, I was smugly reveling in the fact that I was lucky enough to pick up the exact same book last year in an antique shop for a whopping $7.50. I may have even done a very undignified little dance, spilling my coffee this morning when I saw the ended auction. I may have even terrified the cat and confused my husband by whooping loudly, seemingly for no reason.

And let me tell you, this book is worth every penny ($7.50 or $150, you want a copy). It is by far one of my favorite sewing books.

Many of you familiar with the sewing blogosphere know this book well from reading Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing. It was this book that inspired Gretchen to start what I consider to to be the most well-written, and most popular sewing blog on the internet today.
If you aren't familiar with her story, it's a wonderful tale that makes you want to just curl up on the floor and hug your sewing machine.

For those of you who don't have hundreds of dollars just laying around to buy books with, keep your eyes open at thrift shops and antique stores. Sometimes a copy will briefly show up for $20- $30 on etsy or ABEBooks. So far though, there isn't a copy selling for less than $199 on the internet. The most expensive copy online right now? It's $248 on Etsy.
Good luck with the hunt, ladies.

A Fabric Encyclopedia

In my long experience working with vintage sewing books and patterns, I have come across quite a few fabric terms that have been a mystery to me. Many of the terms included below might not often be seen outside of a 1920s hat pattern, or a 1930s dressmaking book.

For this post I have consulted several resources including websites and many of my antique sewing books to help you make sense of some of the fabric terms you might see in your sewing adventures. This includes fibers as well as weaves. To make it a bit more clear, they are color coded as follows: Weaving Processes, Fibers, Fabrics and Finishes.

If you have a mystery fabric in your possession, check out this amazing burn test chart to help you discover which fibers you might be dealing with!

If you have any terms to add, just leave a comment. I'll try to update this post regularly to make it as helpful as possible!