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Nancy Murakami is my sewing guru
My friend Nancy makes clothes and has a sewing style that I admire. Her clothes are always interesting; not too fussy and never overworked. She does not own a serger and is a friend to an honest unfinished seam. Nancy lives in Gresham, Oregon and works in the local JoAnn Fabric store...are they lucky to have her on their staff!
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Silk velvet pleated pants
Sewing silk velvet can be a beast. The one garment that has been in my winter/holiday wardrobe for the past 30 years (in various iterations), is a pair of silk velvet pants, usually black. Take a look at the video to see the easy technique for pleating. I love these soft loose fitting pants; they are comfortable, warm in the cold, cool in an overheated house, I can cook in them, sit on the floor, wear them to a casual family gathering or to an evening event. The pant I am using now I got from Eileen Fisher a few years ago, but you could easily make them. The secret is to allow a bit of extra ease in the pant as the pleating takes up some space, and you want the pant to hang with fluidity.
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Sewing with eyelets, embroidery and lace — Vogue 9190 & 9193
I’ve been gathering a collection of eyelets, embroideries and lace for the website for months, so when the warm weather hit last week, I hit the studio. Last summer I made black eyelet pants and loved them. This summer I'm coveting a loose floaty top, combining a current Marcy pattern with an eyelet fabric from MARCYTILTON.com.
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A Little Black T — Vogue 9244
The ONE garment I replace every season and for nearly every Paris trip is a black t-shirt. This is the background piece that works to tie other pieces together. Diane Ericson came for a weekend visit and we had a studio day together. This t-shirt had it's start then and was directly inspired by Diane. She works with bits and pieces, stitches things together, drapes them on the dress form and what starts out looking like a hodge podge ends up as beautiful garment. Diane works one piece at a time, is intuitive, goes back and forth from the fabric to the sewing machine to the iron to the draping on the form. She has spent years and countless hours developing her own way of working.
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Jacket & Vest — Butterick 5891
Over years of traveling, and a tendency to overpack, I’ve developed a sewing and wardrobing strategy to help insure that the pieces I sew will actually make the final packing cut. For my upcoming Paris spring trip, I’m heeding my own advice, using a plan for a core wardrobe that was developed over years of teaching. The theory behind the core wardrobe works for any season whether you are traveling or not. It is a common sense and fun approach to the never ending question, ‘what shall I sew next?’.
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The Way We Were & What We Wore
A blank book covered in a familiar fabric, and after a minute of head scratching, realized that I had made the cover. When I opened the book, there were just a few photos of a trip to Europe back in the '80's that Sandra and I organized.
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The Versatile Vest — Vogue 8982
When I go to St. Paul to visit my family, I always stop by Atelier 957, a chic clothing store, to shop and visit with Marina, the savvy owner. In the past, Marina had a custom clothing/alterations business upstairs, and would make garments for her customers. Marina used many different Tilton patterns, though Vogue 8982 was the pattern she used the most. Marina told me that it flattered all sizes and shapes, ‘I change the neck, lengthen it, change the sleeve, make it for all seasons.’
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Slouchy Pocket Dress & Secret Pocket Strug — Vogue 9358
Vogue 9358 is a fluid, slouchy dress with an asymmetrical pocket and hem, sleeveless or with sleeves, plus a shrug coverup that has a secret pocket hidden in the front band. Both pieces are designed for knits. Good choices for the dress are rayon/lycra, cotton/lycra, poly/lycra ITY jersey knits or light weight ponte. All of these will work for the shrug as well as linen knit, lace and mesh knits.
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DIY Linen Sheets — Easier Than You Might Think
I was privy to all the excitement around the arrival of the Pratesi linens here at MarcyTilton.com. There was some talk about using this wide fabric for making bed linens and I thought ‘oh sure’ — meaning ‘I don’t think so’.
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