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In this issue!
A Passion for Sewing - Promoting the joy and art of sewing.
The UPS Strike - What good is money when you can't get fabric?
New at Kiyo - Now that the strike is over, come see what's new.
New Books and Magazines - Here are several new items to inspire you.
The Christmas Creative Needle - Creative Needle features Kiyo Design and we have joys and disappointments.
Classes - Our classes are back and we've enhanced them.
What's Happening in West Annapolis - Football games, Boat Shows, & Octoberfest Check it out if you plan to come to the store on October or November weekends.
I opened Kiyo Design to give new life to quality sewing and sewing as an artform. I saw the gradual cheapening of fabrics, the rise of polyester and, one by one, the closing of old fashion fabric stores or their conversion to craft stores. I saw this as a loss for everyone.
I could see that this trend could stifle creativity by limiting our fabric choices. As the fabric chains became more prominent the quality of fabrics have declined. Can you find a beautiful piece of silk, or an exquisite piece of Swiss batiste at Walmart's, Joann's, or Minnesota Fabrics? Many people have told me that they simply stopped sewing when the fabrics disappeared.
The tragedy of this is that historically, women used to make their own gowns, dresses, and clothes for the entire family.
It was a source of creativity and relaxation. What is sadder still is that today with all the new sewing aids i.e. rotary cutters, sergers, computerized sewing machines, and wonderful new books and magazines, sewing is more fun and exciting than ever! It is so easy now to create beautiful, unique, and stunning garments in relatively short periods of time. So how do we get more people to sew.
My hope and goal is to provide the highest quality goods possible, quality that adds value to your projects and enables you to create garments that thrill and reward; clothes that you are proud to wear and own; and heirlooms that can enrich your family's history.
The first part of my goal has been reached. Kiyo offers the finest silks, cottons, linens, woolens, and other special fabrics that will amaze you.
My second goal is to develop new projects to promote the joy and art of sewing. This may involve a variety of activities including classes, trunk shows, kits, magazine articles, and books. I will keep you posted as things progress.
- As a small business, Kiyo depends on UPS, and a lesser degree on USPS, for the delivery of our goods. The UPS strike came just as we were expecting our fall line. Even though the strike is over, and many new items have come into the store, some items are in short supply. This is because a strike like this causes goods to back up in the production line. When distributors can't ship product, they tell the factories to stop manufacturing. Another impact of the strike is that our catalogue update has been delayed from August to November and many of the Christmas kits for Angels and ornaments will not be available until next year. The good news is that I have now been able to secure most of my fall line and we are very excited about some of the new fabrics and products.
Fabrics
Fabulous fall fabrics have arrived! Spruce up your fall wardrobe with our wonderful four-ply sandwashed silk from Dana Buchman in charcoal, navy, hunter green, chocolate, and cinnamon red, or new from Ellen Tracey, we can offer sandwashed silk ribs in fawn, and spring green or a beautiful black 100% silk pique. (These are limited supply fabrics and once they are gone they are gone). Other new silks include silk taffeta in black, white, ivory, ecru, light pink, and olive; and sandwashed silk charmeuse in shell pink, celery green, navy, black, and cream.
New colors for many of our standard stock fabrics include: sandwashed silk twill gabardines in navy, rust, cream, light tan, and light blue which was added to sage green, yellow, and peach ; wool crepe in eggplant, royal blue, and brown which was added to black, charcoal, red, and white; wool gabardine in dark teal, white, and slate gray which was added to black, charcoal, and red; and beautiful wool flannel in slate gray, olive drab, brown which was added to red, black, and charcoal.
Beautiful new cottons have arrived! We have many new fall cotton prints from Hoffman and splendid new 100% cotton twill prints from Rose & Hubble. This is a wonderful fabric for smocking or making casual clothes for cooler temperatures. Create a great look by combining these twills with one of our many colors of 100% cotton featherwale corduroy. And we are happy to say that we have added new featherwale corduroy colors of sage and chocolate brown. We have added new colors of 100% cotton pima broadcloth which include: red, purple, and royal blue. These colors can be nicely combined with our corduroys, velveteens, or our new 100% pima cotton plaids.
And lastly, we have added a beautiful palette of 100% cotton hand painted Bali batiks from Hoffman. These are monochromatic, subtly printed fabrics. They are wonderful when you want to work with only one color but want a little more interest than just the look of a plain colored broadcloth. These fabrics work beautifully for clothes and quilts. These will be stock fabrics at Kiyo Design and the colors include: flame (red-orange); barn red (deep red-dark pink); fushia; pumpkin; curry; chestnut; sea-mist; emerald; hunter green; olive; violet; purple; royal blue; navy; and midnight blue.
New from Wendy Schoen is her Le Petite Enfant, a baby daygown and bonnet in sizes 6, 12, and 18 months inclusive. The pattern also includes a shadow work embroidery plate and instruction on Madeira applique techniques. This was recently featured in Sew Beautiful and her new book. New from Jeannie Baumeister's Old Fashioned Baby are The Antique Toddler Dresses and Embroidery Designs for Baby. The embroidery designs plus a bib pattern and an exact reproduction of a vintage baby slip pattern. Embroidery stitch instructions are complete and illustrated. Both Ellen McCarn's Bishop and Pat Garretson's Bishop patterns have sold well through the summer, but we are still waiting for Pat's companion pattern for dolls.
There will be no new Little Memories smocking plates for this fall, so we will have to wait until Spring.
Whether you are stitching by hand or machine, the difference between lackluster and exquisite, is often the selection of a needle that is most appropriate to the type of stitching, fabric or thread, ribbon, or bead being used. For example, if you want to embroider a perfect bullion rose on a fine batiste, a #8 or #10 milliner is a better choice than a # 7 or #8 crewel. With the former you produce a perfect thread tube, with the latter you get a stitch with a "fat rear end". Similarly, if you are doing heirloom sewing by machine on a beautiful Swiss cotton or silk batiste, a #60 universal needle (machines threading front to back) or #8 needle (machines threading side-to-side) is the most appropriate selection for the project. Therefore in keeping with our commitment to promote quality sewing, Kiyo Design has expanded our lines of notions, threads, ribbons, and trims!
There is so much that is new it will be hard to describe everything in this newsletter. So let's start with underpinnings. First, we are adding several different types of interfacings that are most suited to the fabrics that we carry at Kiyo Design, These include: featherweight fusible interfacing, fusible web, shirtshaper, wonder under, and sew-in lightweight canvas for tailoring . We also carry, water soluble stablizers, total stable, and heat soluble stablizers to name a few. We now stock a variety of shoulder pads, to achieve the perfect look for many of today's styles and fashions. And don't forget that we stock several different types of crinoline and buckram.
If you want to make your own baseball caps or hats, we've added cap visors and boning. The visor material is really incredible, it seems to be fairly heavy but you can easily sew right through it with a number #90 or #14 needle on your sewing machine. The boning is very flexible and gives the crown of your cap the perfect shape.
Making baseball caps out of velveteen, cotton twill, or corduroy and adding your own special embellishments can be a great project for preteen or teenage girls. You can satisfy your need to do fancy needlework and they get a unique fashion accessory that is very much en vogue with this age group. This type of boning used for these caps is also great for making hoop skirts for dolls. And speaking of dolls, we now carry several types of small buckles to provide the finishing touch to many outfits.
For those who love to do ribbonwork, ruching, or make ribbon or flower broches, we have added more types and colors of flower stamens. These range from small, delicate yellow, white, red and white, or black, white and green stamens to larger violet with light blue, or pearlized stamens. These are just a few of stamen types we now stock. And don't forget that we carry a variety of seed and bugle beads, that can be combined in different ways to make dazzling and sparkling flower centers.
Kiyo Design has many new types of ribbons! These include six beautiful new colors of sheer, wire-edge, cross-woven, voille ribbons, and stunning variegated, wire-edge ribbons. Some have variegations that run from the top to the bottom--i.e. dark violet at the top to light pink at the bottom--, while others are variegated so the colors change as you unwind the ribbon. In addition there are many new colors of Petals silk ribbons in both 4 mm and 7mm widths. These ribbons are gorgeous! A few of the colors are: autumn leaves, bunches of berries, rose red, marina, burnt almonds, and many more!
And for stitching, look for the new colors of Appleton crewel wool that we added this summer. The colors include the 700 and 800 series of colors. These are just in time to do beautiful wool embroidery that is so popular in the Australian needlearts magazines . But whether you are stitching by hand or machine chances are we have just the right needle. While we have primarily concentrated on the smaller size needles, we now stock most sizes and types of English hand sewing needles, as well as a number of different types of machine specialty needles. All these wonderful new products will be in the notions section in our catalogue update.
Inspirations No 15 is here. This is a spectacular winter issue brimming with embroidery ideas. Some of the projects include: "Stolen moments" an elegant nightgown and negligee in sheer silk georgette, "Chica" dainty heirloom garments for a precious 24"doll, and "Bebe", a charming four piece baby outfit featuring softly sculptured bears..
Australian Smocking & Embroidery No 40 is here and many of the garments in this issue are perfect for beginners plus there are sophisticated silk pajamas just for you. Some of the other projects include: "Angel Baby", an enchanting full bodice dress with detachable angel wings, birthday dresses for princesses, gorgeous happy rompers for your little living dolls, and country clothes for adventurers.
Creating Heirlooms for Your Baby by Wendy Schoen is now in stock. This book features embroidery techniques and 9 pattern classics for various projects. Over 99 pages of text, beautiful color photographs of garments, and black and white illustrations are contained in this book.
The Mary Frances Sewing Book: Adventures among the Thimble People is another book that has been flying out of the door lately. As you remember, this is the charming story of a little girl who learns to sew from the sewing tools in her grandmother's sewing room who talk to her. This book was originally published in 1913. Many of our mothers as well as many of us learned to sew from Mary Frances. We will only be carrying the sewing baskets through November 30th, so if you would like to have the sewing basket, all orders must be placed by this deadline. We also have a limited stock of the Mary Frances notecards and these will be discontinued after this season. We will however, continue to carry the books as long as they remain available from the distributor.
The Machine Embroidery Annual is now available from the Australian Machine Embroidery and Textile Arts magazine. The good news is that we have been able to acquire a limited number of back issues.. These include the premier issue, vol 1 no 2, the machine embroidery yearbook and vol 1 no 4. When these are sold out, that is all. We also have both new and back issues of Australian Patchwork & Quilting. The most recent issue is Vol 4 No 1. This issue has 11 exciting quilt projects including 6 sensational bed quilts, a country miniature, appliqued art, and fabulous flannel patchwork.
Their Annual sampler just arrived and it contains 14 original projects. The back issues that we have been able to obtain include: Vol 3 Nos 1-6, and Vol 2 No 6 only, and special issues: Applique, Collecting Quilts, Colorwash Quilts, Minature Quilts, Scrap Quilts, and Traditional Quilts. These are in limited supply and once they are gone we will not be able to restock them.
My goal for this article was twofold. First to design beautiful, elegant holiday or special occasion garments that would inspire people to sew. And secondly, to use needleart techniques and fabrics that were most suited for older girls, teenage girls, and women.
I love the look of fine embroidery, and needlework as art but as a clothing embellishment I like to "keep it under control", i. e. "pick one spot on the garment to embellish and then stop". Small delicate touches of embroidery, beads or lace can add beauty and allow for expression of individual style.
I selected materials representative of the better goods available. I wanted to show that quality materials, careful sewing and thoughtful embellishments could produce stunning results for women. For girls, the same basis combined with whimsy and a little creativity would produce attractive and durable clothing.
I undertook this project with a great deal of joy and enthusiasm. It was a wonderful opportunity to share my love of sewing and promote sewing at the same time. In all, 18 garments were made for this project, as well as future projects for Creative Needle. All three of my daughters, my niece and grand niece, classmates of Chloe's, friends , and children and grandchildren of my friends were the models. Several of my friends helped sew some of the finishing touches.
The garments were photographed under the direction of the Creative Needle staff, all the garments were shipped to Creative Needle for detail photography, descriptions of the sewing techniques were sent for publication, and the editor made the final selection of the photographs that were used. We had hoped that this would be a landmark article and an inspiration to all.
The first time I saw how the garments were presented was when I opened the published magazine. Somewhere between the creation of the garments and the publication of the article, something went wrong. I had hopes for a quality article but these were dashed when I saw the grainy photos, the poor color rendition as well as the lack of supporting detailed photography and text.
First, let me say that I know many of you were very disappointed as you have expressed this to me many times. These sentiments have arisen both from many of the people who have visited the store as well as many of those who just know us from the magazine. I don't know why the colors of the garments were not true, why they didn't show a full view of the garments or the backs of the vests, why the details were blurred, why they didn't publish all the garments, why they couldn't seem to tell their left from their right, or why they couldn't consistently get my name right in various parts of the magazine. These are things that can only be answered by the editor, Ann Henderson.
For those that are able to come to the store and see the garments, some of the disappointments can be overcome. For those of you who cannot come to the store, I am searching for solutions to be able to share these garments and the sewing techniques with you. I have thought of two possiblities: one is to develop a trunk show and the other is to write and publish my own book. In the meantime, my only recourse seems to be to describe each garment and sewing technique for you. I tried to use a variety of hand and machine sewing techniques to make these garments. Most of these garments can be made up in relatively short periods of time, and although some of the techniques may appear complicated they are fairly simple to do.
One page 52, we have three girls trimming the tree. Cherish models a gold silk dupioni dress that was adapted from McCall's #8298 and the black velveteen hat is from Butterick #3055. I chose Spechler-Vogel black velveteen for the neckband because of the stablity of the dye and its ability to stand up to cleaning techniques without running. The neckband itself is made by using the neck facing on the outside instead of the inside. The special sewing technique used in this garment was crossed 1" corded machine pintucks using a Schmetz 130/705 H-E ZWI embroidery twin needle (2,0/75) and tailor's gimp for the cord. Kreinik cord #102C vatican gold was used in each of the twin needles and polyester or silk thread to match the dress color was used in the bobbin. You must create the tucks before you cut out your pattern piece. Making crossed pintucks will use up fabric so I always start with a piece of fabric that is at least 6" longer and 6" wider that the pattern piece that I am going to use. This may be more than you actually need, therefore it is always best to make a sample. I also liked using the Kreinik cord on the dupioni silk because it produced just a subtle glint. The irregular, 3 mm, fresh water pearls are hand sewn at the pintuck intersections.
Meg models an heirloom blouse, vest and dress trousers. The overall look of this outfit is not shown since the only picture of this is a side view. The heirloom blouse was adapted from Simplicity #8620. The sleeves had a central insertion of a 3/4" Swiss embroidered insertion with entredeux as well as 2 insertions of lace edged with entredeux, each spaced 1 and 1/4" from the central insertion.
Not shown was the 1 and 1/4" Swiss embroidered insertion with entredeux that was place down the center of the bodice front. The special sewing techniques used were machine heirloom sewing techniques for lace insertion, attaching entredeux to lace, and entredeux to fabric. The beautiful laces and embroideries were from Capitol imports and the fabric was white Nelona batiste.
The vest was an original pattern draft of mine but if you want to make this outfit any vest pattern will suffice. The fabric was bright red silk dupioni, we used snaps instead of buttons, and accented the outfit with a flower broche that was ruched from the red silk dupioni and a dark emerald green silk dupioni for the leaves. The center of the broche was made from size 3, gold lined, Japanese bugle beads and size 11/0, red glass, Czech seed beads. The black crepe backed satin dress trousers were made from Butterick #4004. These were women's trousers but the girls liked the wide legged look. The girls also liked this outfit because it did not use "baby" fabrics and colors, had heirloom sewing that wasn't puffy and did not have a collar.
My daughter, Chloe Kiyo, who is seated on the floor models a silk dress and hat. The dress was adapted from McCall's #8539 and the hat was an original pattern draft of mine. Hats are in these days with the preteen and teenage crowd and many patterns for hats are available from most of the larger pattern companies under the accessory section of the pattern book. The hat and bodice of this dress is of hunter green silk dupioni and the skirt is made from red plaid silk dupioni. The special sewing technique used 1/4" corded tucks made from rayon mousetail cording. The tucks are then hand sewn together in a diamond pattern with 4mm, regular, fresh water pearls. Once again, you make these tucks prior to cutting out the bodice of the dress. I used a retangular piece of fabric that is 1 and 1/2" longer than the longest measurement of the bodice length and a width that is the width of the bodice plus the number of tucks x 1/2" plus another 2 ". Chloe liked this outfit because she liked the coordinating hat, and that the dress, once again, did not have puffy sleeves or a collar.
Certainly, one thing I have learned from sewing for my daughters for over thirty years is that they have very definite opinions about what they want to wear. So, I try my best to design garments that incorporate as much of their choices in colors, fabrics, and style as possible. The more control the girls appear to have over their garments, the better success you will have in getting them to wear your creations.
On page 53, top right, are the outfits created for the younger girls. The toddler jumpsuit which also appears on page 51, with a beautiful close up, was modelled by 2 year old Savannah. The jumpsuit and blouse are #85 Libby from Children's Corner. The jumpsuit is bright red Riveria poly/cotton pique from Spechler-Vogel. Although most people think of pique as a summer or spring fabric, I love to use it in garments for any season. This is a heavier weight pique and I thought it would make a nice alternative to corduroy as a fabric for cooler temperatures. The blouse is 100% pima cotton white-on-white shirting. The detachable collar is made from #218 Fancy collars from Children's Corner and 100% cotton shantung was used. I love this fabric because you get the look of linen for about 1/3 of the price. The collar was embellished with double mini-piping made from Imperial broadcloth colors stop sign red and Kelly green over bugtail rayon cording. The special machine embroidery was done by my friend, Angela Prout. The machine embroidery of poinsettia and holly was done on a Pfaff 7570 with Christmas program # 260335. Threads included : Sulky rayon threads # 1051 Christmas green; #1147 Christmas red; #1135 yellow; and Mettler 100% cotton embroidery threads: #913 red; #828 gold; and #714 green.
I think detachable collars are wonderful to use for children. Collars can be made for different seasons. In this case, Angela also made Savannah another collar that was embellished with a Valentine's Day motif. In this way you get added mileage for your outfit and when they outgrow the jumpsuit and the blouse, the collar can still be worn for a longer time with other garments.
Jessica models a green smocked dress.
This was adapted from Pat Garretson's Little Friend. The dress is pine green Imperial broadcloth. The mini-piping and bias strip tubes that trim the collar and the sleeves were made from stop sign red Imperial broadcloth. The smocking design is an original of mine. The threads used were floche: blanc neige, and red # 666, for the candy canes and borders. The heart was smocked with Mokuba 4 mm, azlon ribbon, #48 red. The special sewing techniques included: strip smocking, i.e. cutting smocking into small pieces and inserting them into a garment; and, hand fagotting to attach trim to collars and sleeves. The fagotting was done with blanc neige floche.
Strip smocking was a technique that I discovered when it took me too long to smock something for one of my daughters and she would grow too big for me to use the piece as I had originally smocked it. So I would cut it up and just insert little pieces of the smocking here and there and create a whole new look for a bigger garment. This is something that I would like to write about in more detail at some future date or publication. But this is just one example of the joy and creativity of sewing -- there is always something new to discover.
Emily models a white 100% cotton Swiss damask dress that was adapted from Chery Williams Coat Dress. The pattern was turned around backwards and then a mock front opening was created. The collar is of Swiss 100% cotton batiste and it is trimmed with a Swiss 2 and 1/4 " guipure embroidery. The dress is further accented with a 1 and 1/2" red grosgrain ribbon and clear glass buttons.
This dress and the beautiful hand embroidery was created by my friend, Taryn Faulkner. The special sewing technique was hand embroidery on the collar. The design features a large feather stitch worked with red embroidery floss as a border and small shadow stitched holly leaves and berries worked in the corners. This stitching design is available fromKiyo Design.
On page 53, bottom right (not left), my daughter, Ayn, models a black silk evening dress. This is a short, above the knee length dress and was adapted from Vogue #9469. The sleeves are an original pattern draft of mine. The body of the dress is made from a black rayon and silk velvet that was underlined with black silk organza, and lined with black ambiance rayon lining. The sleeves are made from purple and gold metallic silk with black silk taffeta inverted pleats and cuffs. There are 3 inverted pleats for each sleeve and each inset has a different original beading design of mine using dimensional french bead embroidery techniques. The beads used included: 11/0, Czech, irridescent purple, glass seed beads; No.3, Japanese, irridescent green, glass, bugle beads; and 6mm, matte gold, cup, garment quality, sequins. The sleeve cuffs had bound buttonholes and bead embellished covered buttons. Other special sewing techniques included a machine embellishment along the edges of the pleats using a #100 wing needle and Kreinik cord, #102 C, vatican gold. The seed beads (as described above) were hand sewn into the holes created by the wing needle.
Unfortunately, not very much of this dress is seen in the photograph and only part of one sleeve inset can be seen. Ayn, who is about 5 feet tall, likes to wear clothes that have simple lines and that won't overwhelm her height. When I first made this dress , I had to tone down the fullness of the sleeve but when I was finished she was satisfied with the result and the elegance of the embroidery and fabrics.
On page 54, Ayn models a snowy white (not cream) evening gown with beaded trim and fringe of my original design. This is a full length, evening gown that was adapted from Vogue #8512. The fabric is white four-ply silk satin crepe lined with four-ply silk crepe de chine. Key to the success of a white, fitted gown such as this, is to insure that the elegance is not lost because the wearer's underwear can be seen. Our test was to lay the fabrics over black underwear and if we couldn't see through it, we knew it would achieve the desired result.
It was unfortunate that a full view of this dress was not shown because I believe that it is truly stunning. The ensemble also featured a wrap-around shawl that was embellished with a 4" beaded trim and fringe that matched that of the dress. This too was not seen in the photograph. The straps, bodice trim and shaw trim were made using the peyote brick stitch and 11/0, Czech, opulescent white ,glass seed beads and 4mm, trocha shell beads. I chose trocha shell instead of pearls because the trocha shells are pure white.
The beaded fringe is an original modification of the straight peyote stitch using an alternating 1:3 bead ratio. The fringe uses the same 11/0 Czech seed beads as the trim and vertically drilled, trocha shell, drops. This peyote stitch trim and fringe may look complicated but it is very simple to do and goes fairly quickly once you get a rhythm to your stitching. In fact, I find it addictive.
When you are beading for clothing embellishment there are several important points to keep in mind. Beading for clothing embellishment is very different than beading for jewelry. First, stay away from nylon threads, they can cut through your fabric and are difficult to seal. Stay away from plastic beads and plastic pearls as they do not bear up to dry cleaning and can melt in electric dryers. Beads add weight to a garment. Most fabrics need to be stablized to hold the weight or you need to select an open design that requires less beads to achieve the desired effect. These were guiding points on my designs. I chose glass beads and the 1:3 bead ratio of the fringe created a wider dangle and allowed me to cover more area with less. This reduced both the weight and the stitching time.
On page 54, top right (not left), Paula and Cindy are our models for elegant women's garments. Paula is wearing a short sleeve, emerald green, silk dupioni jacket which is Butterick pattern #4004. Although barely visible in the photograph, the jacket is trimmed with a black French passementerie and studded with 4mm teal blue Czech glass beads inset into gold cupped antique beads. This was just enough to add a quiet, elegant sparkle to the garment. I used concealed snaps for the front closure so that the beauty of the trim would not be lost.
Cindy is wearing a blouse of white 100% silk damask adapted from Vogue #9070. The central insertion is a 1 and 1/4" Swiss embroidered insertion with entredeux and this is banded on both sides with a 1/2" embroidered guipure insertion and entredeux. The heirloom sewing techniques included: joining entredeux to fabric and joining entredeux to the guipure insertion. Somewhat more difficult to see are the stand-up collar and cuffs. These were made by making a series of consecutive 1/4" tucks that covered the width of the cuff and collar. Both women combined these tops with their own dress trousers.
Paula and Cindy are typical of today's busy women balancing power careers and family. They like the many advantages that sewing offers them. Often, there is not much time to shop or sew a complicated suit or gown for some of the many special or holiday functions that they might have to attend in one season.
Here's why these outfits are great. First, both women keep great fitting black dress trousers as a staple in their wardrobe and then combine them with many different tops made from beautiful fabrics, trims, or embellishments. In this way they can create many different and stunning looks without large investments of time and money. Both of these tops are quick to make and each can be made in about 3 hours.
On page 55, Chloe Kiyo and her good friends, Destiny and Haley, are wearing baseball caps, vests, and dress trousers made from Spechler-Vogel 100% cotton velveteens. I chose these fabrics for their rich texture and color, their durability, and easy care. I have had great success washing these velveteens in cool water with a cotton industry endorsed detergent and fluffing them dry on a delicate to warm setting in my clothes dryer.
These were the great compromise outfits for those preteens and teens who just don't want to give up their currently en vogue "grunge" look. The girls' guidelines were simple: no puffy sleeves, no baby appliques, no baby fabrics, and dark colors only.
All three outfits were made from the same style pattern: the baseball cap and vest were an original pattern draft of mine but any vest pattern or Butterick #3055 for the cap would do just as well. The dress trousers with hip pockets and fly fronts are Burda #3702. The different fabric colors, applique designs, and shirts or blouses that were combined with the garments produced three entirely different looks.
Unfortunately, neither the rich colors of velveteens or the applique techniques on both the fronts or backs of the vests were shown.
The Chloe Kiyo Santa Cat outfit was made from Imari blue velveteen, which is a deep blue with just a touch of purple in it. The Santa cat applique is an abstract of a cat that is lying over Chloe's shoulder and its hind legs and tail trail down the back of the vest. The applique is made from buff colored ultrasuede that is oversewn by machine using a small blanket stitch and Sulky rayon thread #1135 yellow. The Santa cap is made from rouge velveteen and the fur trim on the hat is white, plush felt by Kunin.
Haley's outfit which is a beautiful bottle green appears barely different than the blue of Chloe's outfit. Haley picked this color because she thought it would be pretty with her red hair. She was especially happy that I had included something to wear for Hanukkah with the design for the wrap around Menorah.
Once again, this vest is barely seen and only the tips of two of the nine candles were shown in the magazine. The wrap around Menorah was made from Mokuba #1505 series, 12 mm, rayon ribbon, color # 10, silver. This ribbon has a header thread and can be shaped in much the same way as a French maline or val lace. After shaping and machine stitching the ribbon to the fabric, I machine couched a 1/16" silver ribbon on the edge of the rayon ribbon, using silver cord #001C. Both the 1/16" ribbon and the cord are from Kreinik. The flames are made from Mokuba series # 1505, 12 mm, rayon ribbon, color # 14, gold. The centers of the flames were made using 11/0, Czech, irridescent purple, glass seed beads.
Destiny's outfit is made from rouge velveteen. This is a rich bluish red, not an orange-red. The holly leaves are made with olive green and hunter green ultrasuede with machine feather stitched veins using Kreinik cord # 205C antique gold. Two colors were used for the leaf appliques to give the design more dimension. The stems were made from brown rayon mousetail cording which is machine couched with Kreinik metallic cord #104C, colonial gold. The holly berries are 4mm, deep red, Czech glass beads. The holly embellishments on the baseball cap and the back of the vest were not shown.
The girls liked these outfits because they could dress them up or dress them down; they prefer to wear pants or trousers over skirts or dresses; and most importantly, the outfit included their much loved baseball cap. I liked them because the girls would wear the outfits; and, the outfits were fun for me to make and are very easy care.
In response to suggestions, we have lengthened and divided many classes into 2 parts so that there will be more time to learn the techniques and complete your projects.
Two major class series will begin in January. Our heirloom quilt series will be offered both as a Thursday afternoon session or as a Wednesday evening session. The blocks will be taught every other week over a period of 24 weeks. In addition, make-up classes will be offered periodically if you have to miss a session. But remember these classes are very popular, fill quickly, and are limited in size. The quilts will be on display in late November and registration begins in December. The second series is couture beading techniques. This is a six part class, it will be taught on Wedsnesday evenings only and will alternate with the quilt series. Projects for this class will also be on display at the store beginning in late November.
We are also in the process of recruiting other sewing teachers for clothes construction and other requested needlearts. We are most interested in persons that can teach on the weekends or in the evenings.
1. Registration requires an advance deposit of the class or course fee in full. Prepayment can be made by check or credit card.
2. Deposit will be refunded only if the class is cancelled by Kiyo Design.
3. If you are unable to attend and you notify us within 48 hours of the class, you can receive a store credit good for merchandise only.
4. A minimum of 3 people are required for each class. Register with a friend and help ensure that your class will not be cancelled.
5. Class size is limited to 6 people per handsewing class or 4 for machine sewing.
6. You must bring you own sewing machine for machine classes.
7. Cancellation of classes due to inclement weather will be in accordance with the Anne Arundel County school closings. Please listen to local radio or T.V. channels.
8. No babysitting is available so please make arrangments for your children.
9. No eating drinking, or smoking is allowed in the classroom. No smoking is allowed in the store at any time.
10. A discount coupon that may be applied to the cost of a class project or a future purchase are given with each course. (This discount does not apply to fees or kits).
with Nancy Hamasaki Smocking Classes
Beginning Smocking
This class provides an overview of basic smocking techniques including fabric preparation, pleating methods, and primary stitches - cable, trellis and wave. The class project is a baby bonnet and kit includes: ready-to-smock bonnet, practice panel, floss, floche, needles, smocking design and book. Please bring scissors.
Class fee $15.00 Kit fee $30.00 Weds. Oct 15th 12:30 - 3:30
Smocking and Sewing a Bishop
Learn the techniques of smocking and constructing the delicate English Bishop dress. The class includes fabric selection, pleating techniques, assembly, french seams, blocking, smocking patterns and variations. This is a beginning level class, however prior knowledge of smocking and sewing techniques is helpful. A sewing machine is required for the 2nd class. Kit includes a book, pattern, pre-pleated but not constructed bishop in pima bastiste, floche, and lace to make a child's dress size 12 months to 2 years, or if you prefer a doll's dress for an 18'' to 26 " doll.
Course fee $30.00 Kit fee: $35.00 Wed, Oct 22th, 12:30 - 3:30 and Wed, Nov 5th, 12:30 - 3:30
How to Adapt Smocking to Garments
Learn how to adapt smocking to garment construction. Topics include: estimation and release of seam allowances, blocking techiques, how to cut a pattern from a finished piece of smocking, how to adapt smocking to the armscye of a bodice, and construction smocking. This is a demonstration class. Please bring any smocking projects that you are having difficulty in finishing .
Class fee $15.00 Kit fee: none Weds, Nov 19th 12:30-3:30
Picture Smocking
Picture smocking, also known as stacked cables, provides beautiful clothing embellishments for both children's and sophisticated women's wear. Learn this smocking technique while constructing a garment of your choice. Smocking stitches include: stacked cables, backsmocking, trailing vine, and flame stitch. Other topics include: fabric selection, pleating techniques, blocking. and construction techniques. Beginning smocking or prior smocking experience required.Kit includes book, pleated panel, floche, needles and smocking design. You can select the pattern and fabrics for your garment prior to the first class or after the first session. Please bring scissors. A sewing machine is required for the second class.
Course fee $30.00 Kit fee: $25.00 plus cost of project Weds, Oct 29th 12:30 - 3:30 and Weds, Nov 12th 12:30 - 3:30
Know Your Pleater
Are you intimidated by your own pleater? Then this class is for you. Learn basic pleating techniques, pleater maintenance, how to change needles, and pleating techniques for different types of fabrics.
Kit includes a variety of fabric samples and thread.You must bring your own pleater.
Class fee $15.00 Kit fee: $7.00 Weds, Dec 3rd 12:30 - 3:30
Sewing Classes
American Girl Doll Clothes
Did you know that no two American Girl dolls have the same body size? Join us for our beginning doll clothes class and learn about some of the many sewing challenges of doll clothes construction. This class covers special techniques for sewing on a small scale, how to measure your doll, adapting doll patterns of different sizes, guidelines for fabric and trim selection, tips for making seams, garment closures, and other finishing touches. Please bring your own doll, sewing machine and scissors. Sewing machine is only necessary for the second class. Kit includes pattern, fabric, thread, and appropriate trim.
Course fee $30.00 Kit fee: $18.00 Thurs, Oct 30th 12:30-3:30 and Thurs, Nov 13th
Designing an Heirloom Garment
Learn the delicate tecniques of French heirloom sewing while making a garment of your choice. You may select from a lady's nightgown, a child's dress or a christening dress. Topics covered include: fabric, lace, and embroidery selection, joining lace to fabric, joining entredeux to lace and fabric, gathering lace, and puffing. You must have basic sewing skills and you must bring your own sewing machine with zig-zag stitch capability. Applique scissors, washout blue marker, #60 or #8 machine needle, and 100% cotton sewing thread required. If you do not have these supplies, they are available at the store for purchase. Kit fee includes pattern and fabric, entredeux, and lace for practice purposes. You will receive a discount towards the purchase of fabrics and laces of your selection for your garment.
Course fee $30.00 Kit fee: $20.00 plus cost of project Thurs, Nov 6th 12:30-3:30 and Thurs, Nov 20th 12:30-3:30
Shadow Works
Shadow techniques offer a delicate subtle fabric embellishment on fine garments. Learn shadow embroidery techniques using different fabrics, threads, and patterns. Shadow applique, by both machine and hand will be demonstrated. A notebook class. Kit includes: fabrics (Batiste, linen, organdy); booklet; needles; and threads. Please bring a 6" or 8" embroidery hoop and scissors.
Class fee $15.00 Kit fee:$15.00 Thurs, Dec 10th 12:30-3:30
Beginning Ribbon Embroidery
Learn the basics of ribbon embroidery which is so popular today as a technique for clothing and fabric embellishment. This class uses different ribbons which vary in width, fiber and texture. Ribbons used are silk, azlon and organdy. In the first part of this class you will learn about fabric selection, needle selection, and the effects of using different ribbons for the same stitches. You will learn a variety of basic stitches. In the second class, different transfer techniques will be demonstrated and you will stitch a project of your choice. Kit includes fabric, a selection of ribbons, and needles. Please bring 6" - 8" embroidery hoop and scissors. Course $30.00 Kit fee: $15.00 plus cost of project Thurs Oct 16th 12:30-3:30 and Thurs Oct 23th 12:30-3:30
Maderia Applique
Maderia applique is a delicate embroidery technique that allows you to embellish fine fabrics or combine two colors of fabric to finish the edge of a hem or collar. The class includes fabric preparation, construction details, and instruction on the pin stitch by both hand and machine. Kit includes practice fabrics, and 2 types of fabric, either Irish linen or Swiss batiste for your project, pattern, needles and threads. You can make either a collar, a baby day gown, or a doll's dress. Indicate your choice at the time of registration. Please bring your own sewing machine and scissors.
Course fee $30.00 Kit fee $30.00 Thurs, Dec 4th, 12:30 - 3:30 and Thurs, Dec 11th, 12:30 - 3:30
Boating fans may wish to combine the boat show with your visit to Kiyo. Parking for the show is available at the Naval Academy and we are 2 blocks away. Use Exit 24, Rowe Blvd, off of Route 50 and park in the lot closest to the Taylor Ave entrance. We are just two blocks away. Cross Rowe Blvd at Taylor, walk two blocks to Annapolis Street, turn left and there we are, the first shop on the left. Or drive to the store and park in our parking lot behind the store. However, we cannot accomodate your parking needs if you are going to an event.Sailboat Show
VIP Day, Thursday, October 9, 10-6 Public Day, Friday-Saturday, 10-7 Public Day, Sunday, 10-6
Powerboat Show
VIP Day, Thursday, October 16, 10-6 Public Day, Friday-Saturday, 10-7 Public Day, Sunday, 10-6
Navy Home Football Games 1-4 PM
Saturday, October 11,18 Saturday, November 8,15,22
Oktoberfest in West Annapolis
Sunday, October 12 10am-5pm
The traffic goes to the Navy Home games between 12-1 PM and the stadium empties out between 4-5PM. Avoid these hours if you are going to be driving in West Annapolis or if you are coming to the store. We will reserve parking spaces in our lot to accomodate our customers..
On Sunday, October 12th, is the West Annapolis Oktoberfest. Annapolis street will be closed from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, in order to hold the festival. There will be live music, food, drink, street vendors and more. Kiyo will be open during the entire festival. There will be lots of parking at the stadium, just two blocks away or you might be able to find parking on one of the side streets in West Annapolis. There will be no access to our parking lot that day.
Closing comments - As I write this I continue to reflect on my hopes for sewing as an artform and as a way to reward ourselves and our families. I know the joy that simple elegance brings to people and the value of a little color and style in our lives. Here's wishing you happy stitching and that you will always find Kiyo Design "Someplace Wonderful."
-----Nancy Hoyt Hamasaki