I’ve been feverishly working behind the scenes here at FehrTrade Towers (or maybe that should be HMS FehrTrade?), but an awful lot of that isn’t quite ready to be fully shared yet…
Next Pattern samples
Case in point – the samples I’ve been making for my next FehrTrade pattern! Loads of you have been asking when this will be ready, and the answer is, well, it should be up for sale within the next two weeks. This pattern is for a top that can work for workout wear or casualwear, so it means I’ve been sewing even more samples than usual to show off both sides of it. I’m not yet ready to reveal the tech drawing, but you can see how colourful my samples have been so far!
I’m pretty sure the teal-y one in the upper right might be my favourite top EVAR…
Anyway, I really do hate to be a tease, but I hate it even more when I see something I really want to buy then have to wait ages (by which point the excitement has worn off), so I’m trying to hold back until I have an exact release date for you guys. The wonderful thing about digital patterns is that I don’t have to wait for any printers to release it!
Workout Inspiration
Speaking of FehrTrade patterns, have you all seen the XYT Workout Top hack Rebecca did for Sew Indie Month? Those of you who prefer a more loose-fitting workout top might be particularly interested in her changes, just saying…
And if you’re looking for inspiration to get more bang for your XYT Workout Top buck, then you may want to consider using this Athleta/Gap “Zahara Tankini” as inspiration – it’s a dead-ringer for the T-Back version!
(Thank you to whomever sent this to me, I’m so sorry but I’ve lost the email!)
Manequim cropped blazer
I’ve got a wedding coming up and, despite actually buying a dress (I know!), I wanted a cropped jacket to go with it. So I quickly made this Manequim cropped jacket in a green piqué and I adore it!
This is totally done, and just waiting for a photoshoot, which may or may not come before the wedding itself…
Also for the same wedding, I’ve got a commission from a client to make a very cool design of a silk shirt, which has really been testing my spatial ability (I’ve brought out my old paper model trick!) to draft the pattern, but it’s really fun. Fingers crossed I can meet the wedding deadline!
New video class
I’ve so far resisted the draw of Craftsy video classes (mostly because I have a very short attention span for YouTube videos, and I’m not sure I’d enjoy the format), but I received a very kind offer from Susan Khalje to try out her new Cocktail Dress video class for free (possibly because I took her Couture Hand Stitches class on PR a while back?).
I have huge respect for Susan, and even moreso now that she’s developed her own format for classes away from any other company structure. She’s got a big enough name in the sewing community to hopefully be able to do this on her own, and I really want to support this sort of independent venture.
Excitingly, the class comes with her own dress pattern, too! I may be wrong, but I think this marks the first time she’s ever released her own patterns, which is quite exciting on its own, even. So I received the tissue pattern in the post, and I’m going to try and watch the videos in this “spare time” I’ve heard so much about, and have this dress as a sideline to my other projects. And it’s not just because I’ve been wanting an excuse to buy the Minerva “skull lace” ever since they added it to the shop. Oh no.