Mollie Makes - U.S. Magazine Edition finally arrives and a giveaway!

Hello my lovely readers. Yesterday I was so delighted to get my first U.S. edition of Molly Makes in the mail.
I first found Mollie Makes in Norway. It was a monthly tradition of mine to drive into town for an afternoon, pay too much for parking, treat myself to lunch, shopping, and my monthly editions of Burda Style and Mollie Makes.
There are no proper bookstores or newsstands in my area (something that hurts even more than the painful lack of nearby fabric shops) so when Mollie Makes announced a U.S. edition subscription, I had to pounce!

And, boy, is this sweet little monthly mag worth the $7.99. It's BEAUTIFUL!

Image courtesy of Molly Makes.

Along with tutorials for the adorable felt pine cone ornaments pictured above, the issue features knitting patterns for socks and breakfast themed scarves, patterns for a laptop bag, pin cushions and an adorable stuffed mouse, craft book reviews, a feature on Crafty attractions and shops in Portland, a fascinating article on the art of making bobbin lace, and a bunch more!

Image courtesy of Molly Makes.

If you would like to get your own subscription to this little gem, you can find it here.

Image courtesy of Molly Makes.

And it just so happens that I have an extra copy!
To enter to win a copy of the November U.S. issue of Molly Makes, just leave a comment below with your favorite magazine - craft or otherwise, and why.
I'll choose one lucky winner next week on the 16th.

Happy sewing!

Celebrating 500 Followers with a Giveaway!

My lovely readers, imagine my delight when I woke up the other day, took a peak at A Few Threads Loose, and saw that I had reached 500 followers through Google! I know that there are more of you through Bloglovin', bookmarks, and other readers but ever since the blog started to have a regular following, I've always dreamed about hitting that 500 mark!

Welcome to our new followers, (I hope you find the blog useful!) and my warmest thanks to my current readers, especially to those of you who have stuck with me for so long. You all make my life so much richer with your comments, moral support, and friendship.

To thank you all, I would love to do what I love doing the most on this blog: Have a Giveaway!

It's good timing too, because I have just finished my newest pattern for Mrs. Depew Vintage, and one lucky reader will win a copy!

French Knickers Depew 2018

 I have recently sewn what feels like a hundred of these little knickers and have really had a blast making different ones in all sorts of styles.

The pattern only takes a couple of hours to sew and is suitable for beginners. It also includes fully illustrated instructions. 

The sky is the limit with a simple pattern like this. You can trim the knickers with ribbon, lace, bows or buttons to suit your own style. I've been making mine with a great silk twill from Denver Fabrics and the results are heaven.

Above is the knickers in Kelly green silk twill with silk rose ribbon trim. The matching bra is from a pattern that I'm currently working on as well. It should be out soon!

The knickers pattern includes sizes X-Small through X-Large to fit a wide range of figures.

To enter to win, leave a comment telling me what you would use to make the knickers from. Do you have a favorite fabric? Would you embellish with lace, ribbons etc?

For an added entry, you can do any of the following.  Just leave me a comment to let me know which you've done:

1. Become a follower of A Few Threads Loose on Twitter, Google, or Bloglovin'.

2. Like A Few Threads Loose on Facebook.

3. Like Mrs. Depew Vintage on Facebook.

4. Mention this giveaway on your blog or share it on Facebook.

5. Re-pin the pattern on Pinterest.


I'll announce the winner on March 1st. Good luck, and thanks for reading A Few Threads Loose!

Lingerie Competition...Let the Voting Begin!

Lovely readers! The much-anticipated day has arrived! Your entries have been an absolute pleasure to see and I can't wait to share them with you.
Once again, there will be one winner and prize for each category (bra, corset, and panties) and contestants are allowed to win more than one category.

All votes (yours, your friends'; anyone can vote once for each category!) must all be in comment form on this blog post so that Sarah and I can keep track of them.
 Let's get started, shall we? And dare I say it, (I'm afraid I must) "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Here are the very talented contestants according to their categories. They will have little introduction. Normally I would gush but I'm supposed to be impartial (rules, boo!). To see more pictures of their entry, just click on the username under the picture. You can just vote for them by their numbers if you like!
(Please note, the numbering is random, and just there for voting convenience.)

The pattern we used...

#1 Bra by TroubleandStrumpet

#2 Bra/ Bathing suit top by Farmhouse Garde

#3 Bra by MissFloFlo

#4 Bra by Annei-Priscina

#5 Bra by Yvette

#6 Bra by Farmhouse Garde

#7 Bra by TogglesT

#8 Bra by PurplePinCushion

The pattern we used...

#9 Corset by TroubleandStrumpet

#10  Corset by MissFloFlo

#11 Corset by Charmel

#12 Corset By Charmel

#13 Corset by Yvette

#14 Corset by KLCreations

#15  Corset by KLCreations

#16 Corset by AnnabelleBumps

#17 Corset by Miss Charlie

The pattern we used...

#18 Betty Hipster Panties by Farmhouse Garde

#19  Betty Panties by Farmhouse Garde

#20 Betty Panties by Farmhouse Garde

#21 Betty Panties by Annei-Priscina

#22 Betty Panties by IndoorKitty

#23 Betty Panties by Yvette

Whew! And that's it! If I missed your entry, please let me know and I'll add it in. Everyone can vote once for each 3 categories. Invite your friends and family to vote for you, share on Facebook, Twitter and your blog, and good luck!

Voting will end on February 25th and we'll announce the winners on February 26th!

My New Year's Present to You...a free pattern!

Hello lovely readers. My Google blog reader is full of great "best of" and "top 2012" posts from all of my favorite bloggers. Those are much fun but I thought that I would do something different instead. I have a present for you.

A free pattern just for A Few Threads Loose readers!

This great little pattern originally came from a 1949 sewing pattern catalog. And now it's digital, and it's yours for the sewing!
Click Here to be taken to the free download. It's an easy two page pattern with a simple diagram and sewing instructions.

The original description is great. It reads:
"Love to look neat as a pin? Like to comb your hair after you put on your dress? The make this smock-modern aid to good grooming! You run it up ever so quickly from this pattern and instructions, in that wonderful new plastic fabric. Use it when you comb your hair, when you put on make-up, or to protect you while you shampoo or give yourself a home - permanent. And not to make a pun, it's a wonderful shower present, you know!"

I just love that friendly, woman to woman tone that articles from the 1940's use. It's so informal, so...blogger-like!

And what should you use for fabric, you might ask? We've come a long way from the first plastic fabrics. Check out this great Amy Butler laminate cotton from Fabric.com!

Or this lovely cotton laminate from Anna Maria Horner:

Or this eye-catching cotton laminate by Heather Bailey... my personal favorite.

I hope you all have a lovely New Years Eve. There are no parties for me, just my sweetie, a bottle of Champagne, and some Champagne Belgian truffles and that's just the way I like it!

P.S. Speaking of bubbly, I'm celebrating the New Year over at Mrs. Depew Vintage with a coupon code for 10% off. Just use "Champagne" in the 'apply coupon code' part at checkout. It expires Jan. 2nd!

Giveaway Sponsored by Patterns from the Past!

Hello readers! Today I have a really special treat for you! Not too long ago I bought a few patterns from Patterns from the Past that were really special. Michelle, the knowledgeable proprietress has an amazing collection of 1920's and later patterns available. It is in fact, the best selection I've ever seen in all of my pattern shopping years.

I mentioned to Michelle that I would love to blog about her patterns and then in the massive shuffle that is family visiting, food poisoning and various other disasters, blog features got put on the back burner to simmer. Michelle recently contacted me though with a great idea. A Giveaway!
She is very generously offering one lucky reader a $50 gift certificate to Patterns from the Past!

Patterns from the Past has just under 5,000 patterns available from early turn of the century to modern times. Michelle has an excellent reputation amongst sewing enthusiasts. She has been selling patterns online for 18 years and in that time has sold patterns that have been used in productions like Mad Men, American Horror Story,  and the New York Ballet.

A great deal of her love for vintage fashion stems from her love of the old Oz books by L. Frank Baum. We have this in common, both of us were completely enchanted by the combination of Art Nouveau and ragtime illustrated fashions. These books and the wonderful art in them are still among my most treasured possessions today and it's wonderful to have something so unique in common with a fellow vintage pattern enthusiast!

Michelle has taken her love of vintage fashions and created a wonderful website, full to bursting with vintage and new patterns for every kind of fashion lover.
You'll definitely have a hard time choosing just one thing, I know I did.

Here are a few of my absolute favorites:

I'm completely in love with...

McCall 5903

McCall 5935

Butterick 8558

McCall 6357

Vogue 5261

McCall's 4219

Simplicity 3927

Ohhh la la!
If I wasn't saving up to buy a house at our next assignment, I would completely blow at least a month's income on these sweet little patterns!

So, how can you enter to win the $50 gift certificate?
 1.To enter the giveaway pop on over to Patterns from the Past and pick out your favorite pattern (it will be hard to choose!) then leave me a comment here with which one you like most.

You can also do each of the following to get an extra entry, just leave me a comment for each thing you do!
2. Like Patterns from the Past on Facebook.
3. Share about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter.
3. Mention the giveaway on your blog.
4. Become a follower of A Few Threads Loose, if you're not already.

Be sure to post your entries in the next 10 days. A winner will be randomly selected on December 27th.

To read more about Michelle, check out this great interview on Sew Retro and good luck to everyone who enters!