AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013

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2 VOGUE PATTERNS

Contents Vogue Patterns Magazine August/September 2013

52

ON THE COVERSuno’s creative director,

Erin Beatty, with model

Mari Agory, both wear-

ing dresses from Suno’s

fall 2013 collection. Hair

and makeup by Joseph

Boggess. Above: Beatty

and Suno founder Max

Osterweis.

FEATURES

52Creating With a ConscienceBy investing in the idea

of community, four new

designers prove fashion

can be both sustainable

and successful.

by Sandy Black

58One Hundred Acts of SewingFiber artist Sonya Philip

takes her longing for

a fashion uniform, a

simple dress design, and a

traditional skill and turns

them into a big statement

meant to inspire.

by Daryl Brower

78Urban BlossomsFeminine cuts and

showstopping fl oral prints

in new styles from the

Vogue Patterns and

Butterick collections.

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70

COUTURE CORNER

Conversations in Lace 42

Collaging creates dimen-

sion and texture for a

one-of-a-kind garment.

by Samantha Sleeper

FASHION HISTORY

The Wearing of the Green 46

A killer hue with a

checkered past.

by Daryl Brower

BEYOND THE BOBBIN

Nicole Dextras’s Garden Couture 62

Fashionable Fabrics Grown From Bacteria 64

by Gillian Conahan

STYLE STRATEGY

Fabric Matching 68

FREE PROJECTS

Making Do 70

Transforming midcentury

thrift into modern style.

Frida Fashion 74

Using embroidered insets

to enliven a basic top.

THREAD TALES

Buttercup’s Journey 96

by Kathalyn Wilson

DEPARTMENTS

Editor’s Note 5

Letters | Contributors 7

What Are You Sewing? 8

Must-Haves 10

Destinations | TACtile Arts

Center 13

by Jean Hartig

SEW BIZ

Noon Design Studio 14

by Jean Hartig

Filly Designs 18

A passion for creating

rooted in nature,

function, and friendship.

by Jean Hartig

TIPS & TOOLS

Wear, Care, and Repair 22

Tips for giving your old

clothes new life.

by Alison Gwilt

The Thrifty Art 26

Draw inspriration from a

centuries-old skill to save

tattered garments.

by Gillian Conahan

MASTER INSTRUCTION

Corset Building 30

Part II: Cutting and fi tting

the mock-up.

by Linda Sparks

Heritage Lace 34

A reimagined vintage

tablecloth meets a dye

with a 2,500-year history

to produce a sunny

summer jacket.

by Kathryn Brenne

VINTAGE VOGUE

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EDITOR’S NOTE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 5

A t various points in my life I’ve heard

people wish aloud for the “fashion uni-

form”: A former supervisor wanted a

closet full of A-line skirts made up in different

colors. A friend aims to make shirtdresses in

a variety of seasonal fabrics. Around here, we

often talk about whittling down our closets to

the essentials, including only those handmade

high-quality garments meant to last.

For some, this reflects a desire to cope with

a hectic lifestyle—we want to look fashionable

without having to spend too much time think-

ing about it each morning. Others—who are

fed up with retail options and empowered with

the self-sufficiency provided by knowing how

to sew—seek a wardrobe with a custom fit and

individualized style. And then there are those

for whom it’s also a matter of sustainability,

which brings me to this issue’s theme.

The professionals featured within these

pages represent a socially proactive portion of

our community—artisans and designers who

respect the entire process of garment construc-

tion so much that they’ve set up their own

companies based on an eco-minded, ethical

approach. They all embrace the slow movement,

each in an individual, innovative style. Take

cover subject Erin Beatty and her partner Max

Osterweis (page 52), for example. Wanting to do

something positive to support Kenya’s economy,

raise its profile, and foster the rich talents of

its people, Osterweis decided to use his exten-

sive vintage collection of bold kanga fabrics to

manufacture clothing in Africa. Their company,

In Good CompanySuno, now works with artisans in Africa and

India to produce a clothing line that has been

garnering attention from celebrities and win-

ning awards.

Jane Palmer, founder of Noon Design Studio,

has always embraced the marriage of nature and

invention and uses exclusively natural ingredi-

ents such as flowers, roots, bio-waste, and even

beetle shells in her California studio, where she

works with five fellow artisans to custom dye

garments (page 14).

In addition to the profiles, we’ve included

plenty of how-to instruction and expert advice:

Fashion designer Samantha Sleeper walks us

step by step through her lace collaging tech-

nique (page 42), contributing editor Kathryn

Brenne transforms an antique tablecloth into

a sunny summer jacket with turmeric (page

34), and we’ve upcycled a men’s suit jacket into

fashionable shorts (page 70). In “Frida Fashion”

(page 74) we revitalize an ordinary ready-to-

wear shirt with emboidered panels from a vin-

tage dress.

I hope these pages inspire you to make, alter,

and mend with creative, eco-friendly results—

and provide you with the good company of those

who also take pride in responsibly creating from

scratch.

Suzanne Pettypiece, editor

26 VOGUE PATTERNS

TIPS & TOOLS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 27

In the age of fast fashion, it’s easy to forget that

fabric was once precious and expensive. But

mending used to be a vital everyday task, and

darning—the art of reweaving torn or threadbare

fabrics with a needle and thread—was an impor-

tant part of working-class girls’ education from

the seventeenth through the nineteenth century.

After developing their skills with embroidery

techniques, students embarked on meticulous

darning samplers like the one shown here, which

originated in the Netherlands around the early

twentieth century, in order to prove their skills.

Thérèse de Dillmont’s Encyclopedia of Needlework, first printed in 1884, devotes an

entire chapter to mending techniques, including

four major types of darning. The most basic form,

which de Dillmont calls linen darning, replaces

a plain-woven fabric, and is demonstrated in the

right column of the sampler on the facing page

(shown from the wrong side). Twill darning, also

known as satin or cashmere darning, is shown

in the center column. Here, each thread passes

over and under two threads at a time, creating a

diagonal pattern in the weave. Other techniques

include damask darning, which replicates more

intricately woven fabrics, and fine drawing, in

which a needle is threaded with a single hair to

stitch threads together as invisibly as possible.

For each darn, the threads are anchored in the

fabric to each side of the opening, passing over

and under the existing threads. Viewed from

the right side, as shown on the following page,

the majority of these woven-in threads are hid-

den behind the original weave. Where the hole

to be darned is irregular, as shown in the third

column of the sampler, the anchoring threads

echo the shape of the hole to ensure that all the

threads are solidly attached. At each turn of the

back-and-forth thread, a tiny loop is left slack to

prevent any shrinkage from puckering the fabric.

When executed in matching thread—pur-

chased specially or unraveled from an inconspicu-

ous area of the garment—darned areas would all

but disappear into the fabric. Samplers such as

this one, though, were executed in bright colors

to show off the maker’s handiwork. Many incor-

porated elaborate weave patterns and embroidery

for decorative effect.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century,

cheaper clothes began to edge darning out of its

everyday role. During the World War II years,

government-issued booklets instructed consum-

ers in basic repair techniques to make scarce fab-

ric resources last as long as possible. Since then

darning has been on the wane. Most people sim-

ply discard their clothes when they start to show

their age, and many modern fabrics are too fine

to be rewoven by hand. But for those who rel-

ish an heirloom and invest in vintage garments,

mending can be worth the effort. Swiss darn-

ing is still used to repair handmade socks and

sweaters. Specialty-denim repair shops will use a

machine-sewn version of darning to restore your

designer jeans. Several modern textile artists,

including Australian artist Liz Williamson, have

even found artistic merit in the technique, using

darning motifs in jacquard woven textiles or

creating hand-darned tapestries. You too can use

the techniques shown here to embellish a blouse

or dress with a decoratively darned patch—or

who knows, maybe the next time the elbows wear

thin on your handmade tweed jacket, you’ll be

inspired to borrow a trick from your ancestors to

make it as good as new.

Th e Th rifty ArtDraw Inspiration From a Centuries-Old Skill to Save Tattered

Garments and Even Decorate New Ones

BY GILLIAN CONAHAN

TIP

The more coarsely woven

your modern fabric, the

easier it will be to darn.

Look for thick fi bers and

a loose weave for your

fi rst try.

MASTER INSTRUCTION

34 VOGUE PATTERNS

MASTER INSTRUCTION

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 35

Heritage LaceA Reimagined Vintage Tablecloth Meets a Dye With a 2,500-Year

History to Produce a Sunny Summer Jacket

BY KATHRYN BRENNE

Chances are you have admired your fair share of

hand-embroidered tablecloths at flea markets or

online and most likely have a few tucked away

in the closet. Trouble is, there are only so many

tables to dress: Today’s busy lifestyle just doesn’t

allow for much formal entertaining. Luckily all

it takes to turn an unused treasure into a sunny,

summery jacket is turmeric from the spice

drawer, some drafting skills, and French seams.

Here’s how.

SELECTING YOUR MATERIALSLook for an unstained (or minimally stained)

medium-weight cloth with attractive lace detail-

ing that can become the focus of the garment’s

design. (Matching napkins are helpful for test-

ing dye colors.) Check for broken threads in the

lace and make sure any damaged areas will not

interfere with your intended pattern layout.

I used a smooth, textured beige silk dupioni

for the neck and front bands. (Satin or taffeta

could also work, if you want a more glamorous

look.) The contrasting color prevented me from

having to worry about dyeing the fabric or try-

ing to find an existing, exact match. Fusing

tricot interfacing to the dupioni kept the seam

allowances from showing through and added

a bit more body to the silk, preventing it from

stretching around the curved neckline.

Getting the sunny yellow color took a lot of

experimenting. Marigold, goldenrod, weld, and

a liquid osage-orange extract all produced pale

colors. While curry made the house smell won-

derful, it didn’t yield the brightness I wanted.

Turmeric, however, produced the vibrancy I was

looking for.

DYEING The natural dyeing process is like a science

experiment. While it’s much easier to use

synthetic dyes, the earthy hues derived from

plant, tree, insect, nut, and fruit sources are

unmatched. Outlined below is the process I used

to achieve the color shown on the opposite page.

If you plan to do your own testing, know that

the fabric pulls the dye from the water, so new

baths have to be made for each swatch of mus-

lin until you get a color close to what you want.

Carefully record dye and water quantities, tim-

ing, and results, so that you can remember what

you’ve tried and replicate the best versions later.

Once you’ve achieved your desired color with

the muslin, test-dye a table napkin to check the

color in your actual fabric and refine the proce-

dure before dyeing the tablecloth.

1. Weigh the dry fabric using a kitchen scale

to determine how much dye you will need. My

tablecloth weighed 2 lb. (900 g)—depending

on the size of your tablecloth, you may need to

adjust the quantities below. 2. Choose a scour-

ing agent suitable for the fiber content of your

fabric to remove any wax, residual soaps, and

oils and ensure that the dye absorbs evenly. I

used 4 tsp. Synthrapol and 16 tsp. soda ash in

a 5 gal. (20 L) stainless steel stockpot. Fill the

pot with enough water to cover the cloth and

SUPPLIESVogue Patterns 8830,

or a jacket pattern

with minimal seam

detail

Vintage cotton or

linen tablecloth, with

matching napkins

if available, about 2

yards (1.8 m) long

3/4 yard (0.7 m) of

silk dupioni or similar

fabric for the neck

and front bands

3/4 yard (0.7 m)

of fusible tricot

interfacing

Stainless steel pot

with 5 gallon (20 L)

capacity or larger

Turmeric

White vinegar

Scouring agent such

as Synthrapol and

soda ash

52 VOGUE PATTERNS

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54 VOGUE PATTERNS

Natalie Chanin, shown

center right, and scenes

from the Alabama Chanin

studio.

collection features the concept of “modern

armor” for a contemporary Joan of Arc, using

protective, quilted fabrics and crystal-studded

neoprene dresses contrasted with graphic and

floral engineered prints of plaids, medieval

brocades, and stripes.

Footwear collaborations, such as the one

with British designer Nicholas Kirkwood, have

also become a signature of Suno. The company's

range of colorfully patterned fabric sneakers

with recycled rubber soles are made in Kenya

with a percentage of sales supporting a Kenyan

wildlife charity. “Hopefully we are inspiring

larger retailers to reveal where they are produc-

ing and how,” says Beatty, “and to think about

producing in better, more ethical ways.”

ALABAMA CHANIN, EST. 2006FLORENCE, ALABAMAAlabama Chanin, founded by fifty-year-old

Natalie Chanin, exemplifies the slow-fashion

movement. A former costume designer and

fashion stylist, Chanin moved from New York

City in 2000 back to her hometown of Florence,

Alabama—formerly known as the T-shirt capi-

tal of the world—and has made it her mission

to support a community of quilters and seam-

stresses, many of whom previously worked in

local mills before they closed in the eighties.

Housed in a reclaimed textile factory, Alabama

Chanin now pays a living wage to eleven workers

and thirty locally based independent contrac-

tors who use domestic, organic, custom-dyed

jersey to create a timeless series of hand-sewn

clothes, accessories, and housewares, reminis-

cent of the ethos of nineteenth-century textile

artist William Morris and the homespun work

of early American settlers. “Sustainable design

has shaped our growth, our direction, our prod-

ucts, our materials…from the ground up,” says

Chanin. “It plays a part in every plan that we

make for the future—it isn’t so much what we

do as it is who we are.”

Because this labor-intensive approach to run-

ning a business is expensive, so are the clothes

(prices range from $1,200 for an embroidered

poncho to $2,000 to $5,000 for jackets and

coats). To make her designs accessible to more

people and to promote the methods employed

in making them, Chanin shares the patterns

and techniques used by her company through a

series of DIY books. She even sells her signature

organic cotton jersey, dyed in muted shades,

which is otherwise hard to find. “We want to

find connections at all levels: with our indi-

vidual customers, our suppliers, other designers,

manufacturers, etcetera. Open sourcing is an

important part of creating those relationships.

Sharing ideas connects and elevates us all.”

GOODS OF CONSCIENCE, EST. 2005BRONX, NEW YORKFifty-year-old Father Andrew More O’Connor,

parish priest, visual artist, and fashion designer,

seeks to make clothes that “look good, feel good,

and do good,” by bringing the social and mate-

rial benefits back to the producer communities.

Originally inspired by a retreat to Guatemala

in 2005, O’Connor currently employs twenty

backstrap weavers in the Guatemalan Maya

communities to produce his Social Fabric, a

unique combination of strains of color-grown

cotton, harvested from ancient “heritage” seed

stocks preserved by the community, and light-

reflective yarn woven in a signature abstract

cross motif that appears in all of O’Connor’s

designs. This special cloth was originally devel-

oped for ecclesiastical art projects, under the

banner Sacred Art Heals (the philosophy and

moniker under which O’Connor still produces

his own artworks), and he has now adopted it

for his soft, tailored menswear, womenswear,

and sportswear. Designed in conjunction with a

pattern maker in New York City, his collections

have captured the attention of Anna Wintour,

who chose a pair of his cuffed checked shorts

for June 2010 cover girl Cameron Diaz; the style

now retails for $225.

Alabama Chanin now pays a living wage to eleven workers and thirty locally based independent contractors who use domes-tic, organic, custom-dyed jersey to create a timeless series of hand-sewn clothes, accessories, and housewares, reminiscent of the ethos of nineteenth-century textile artist William Morris and the homespun work of early American settlers.

78

Feminine Cuts and Showstopping Floral Prints In These New Styles From the Vogue Patterns and Butterick Collections

Urban Blossoms

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Just Breathtaking!

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