BLOG

Sustainability is a primary value for Ratti, an environmentally virtuous business, oriented towards a circular, socially responsible economy, in constant dialogue with its circle of stakeholders. More creativity and less consumption is the principle that inspires their work. Combining beauty and sustainability in their creations, integrating cultural heritage with technological innovation, opening up to the challenges of the future without abandoning tradition, being in a constant quest for what is beautiful, well made and sustainable.

Nothing strikes trepidation in my heart like 'special occasion' dressing. Hard to believe that I have closets full of clothes and 3 barns full of fabric, but when the wedding invitation from my niece Marissa arrived, it dawned on me that I had nothing to wear.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?’.

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.

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.’

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.

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’.

Where Does Fabric Come From?

Stitching over the open spaces in lace and mesh could cause problems. Totally Stable to the rescue.

I caught the magnificent Georgia O'Keefe exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum right before the show closed. What a treat!. Not only were there paintings I'd never seen as well as those I've seen and loved, but photographs of O'Keefe by the greats from Steiglitz to Ansel Adams to Bruce Weber and more. But for me, the big thrill was the clothes displayed mixed in with the art and artifacts. I've been intrigued by her for years, reading biographies, her own writings, visiting her home in Abiquiu and the O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe.

The ONE item I know I will aways wear is a black cardigan, I COLLECT them in different weights for all seasons, some hand made, some purchased. The version featured in this blog is the result of my resolve to sew things I wear in everyday life (as opposed to too fancy-schmancy). After my last closet clearing frenzy, I realized once again that I have far too many 'special' garments in the closet that are much too 'good' to wear for my daily working life at home.

Just right for travel or staying home, and perfect for warm weather, are dress and tunic, Vogue 1750, which continues the Core Wardrobe Theme.

Shopping for fabric with Marcy is always fun and we’ve found such a fabulous variety of stripes that I knew I had to sew something. A person can never have too many shirts in their closet, especially striped shirts! Some of mine are soon-to-be rags but I can’t let them go just yet.

In this 2-part video tutorial, Vogue Patterns designer and fabric finder Marcy Tilton demonstrates how to sew knit hems using 505 spray and double needles.

The studio working name for this is the ‘square armhole top’. Versatile, it goes from warm to cool weather, indoors and out, is fun and easy to fit and sew.

The studio working name for this new Spring 18 Marcy Tilton pattern is 'The Tuck Tank Tunic'. Vogue 9317 is versatile, flattering, fun to sew, easy to fit and designed for both knit and woven fabrics. For the pattern envelope we used a polka dot Japanese double gauze, a drapey red rayon/lycra jersey and white handkerchief linen. Choose a fabric with drape - silk or rayon crepe, light weight ponte, linen blends. The piecing lends itself to color blocking - and I've been imagining a version in stripes with the stripes going different ways in the pattern pieces...or using a collage of different but related stripes.