I've got a new DIY bow tie sewing pattern in the shop, that shows you how to make a skinny bow tie with a vintage style clip in the back. There's two different variations included in the patter: one for women when a long hanging tie, and one for men without the hanging tie. They are pretty quick and easy to make, with only a tiny amount of fabric, which makes them pretty addictive.
The pattern is based on the really cute vintage bowties that are super skinny and minimal. They sew up well with either a silky style fabric or nice cotton. I also like perusing the thrift store for shirts/pants/dresses made out of interesting fabrics that I can repurpose, since so little fabric is needed. They have been a good way to use up old fabric remnants I have laying around my craft room too.
The pattern is written for all skill levels, and covers all of the basics, like how to add a buttonhole. Also, I did some research on where to buy the bowtie clips and found that you can pick up a dozen of them for pretty cheap over at B. Black and Sons.
As you've probably guessed from my (sorta) recent pattern-testing posts, I've had a new shop in the works. And, it's finally open! It's called I Make It; You Make It and has digital PDF sewing patterns and tutorials. The patterns are mostly fashion related with a vintage-inspired twist. Through the years, fashionable sewing patterns have been hard to come by, which generally led me to creating my own patterns. Now I've been digitizing them, and writing up easy-to-follow, detailed instructions with photos to go along with the patterns.
As a follower of the blog, take 20% off any of the patterns by entering GRANDOPENING when you checkout, available until June 25th. You can have a looksy at the DIY sewing patterns in the shop, or sign up to get an email whenever a new pattern comes out (about once a month).
The Patterns
Right now the shop includes:
A men's bowtie that is custom-fit to the wearer and closes with a hook and eye in the back.
A women's turban made from a stretchy knit that wraps around for a custom fit
In New York, it's finally spring-like out and my mind has suddenly started to drift towards chambray dresses, bright colors and pastel shoes and pants. And for the first time in months I was able to get out of the house without tights and a big heavy coat. yay, spring! even though the winter hasn't been too harsh, I'm super excited about pulling out my spring clothes from storage (it's always a surprise) and buying new stuff. I've already bought 3 new pairs of sandals! For spring fashion inspiration, I was perusing the steven alan spring 2012 look book and thought how pretty and simple everything was.
Or, I think A lot of these pieces could easily be made. Especially the chambray shirt dress, blue shift dress, striped tee, or the green dress. I think the patterns could easily be whipped up by the slopers and instructions included in the Built By Wendy Dresses book. I actually am 95% finished with a shirt dress identical to the first picture that I made with the BBW book, but in a blue and white striped seersucker fabric. Maybe it's time I finally finished it!
Hey guys, I've got a bunch of new jewelry for spring coming soon, and I need to clear out a bunch of stuff from the shop. Which is good news for you, because there's three ways to save (yay!).
i've been etsy perusing. found lots of purses. since i've self-imposed a purse buying ban on myself, i thought i'd post here instead! for shopping, for inspiration. it's a bit of a mix between handmade and vintage, i love them all. i just wish my closet would hold more purses.
recently i started using an online inventory management program for my craft etsy business, called Craftybase, to track all of my inventory and materials. for years i've been looking for an online 'cloud' solution to track my finished products, as well as my materials. google spreadsheets was my temporary solution, but i knew there had to be a smarter system out there. then i heard about craftybase. i've had an account now for a few months and it has been pretty amazing.
overall, Craftybase does exactly what I want it to do. it lets me track my inventory to the level of detail that i set. it's online, so if i sell an item, i can login to CB from anywhere and see if i can relist. it's smart - materials link to inventory, which link to sales, which link to expenses. it's pretty and well-designed. it's constantly improving. it's new so there are still some quirks, but Nicole and Nathan and awesome (they read your suggestions and questions, and implement them!). so, overall, i'd highly recommend it if you're into things like organization and wanting to track inventory. now on to the more detailed review...
craftybase lets you enter and track your materials (down to a single seed bead, if you'd like), number of finished items, sales, expenses and contacts. i only use it to track my inventory, materials and sales....and leave all of my accounting and bookkeping aspects to Outright.
my favorite things
you always know what you have on-hand and when you need to place an order for new materials
you can see trends in sales, what you've sold the most of, and which items are your most profitable
you can see at a glance your costs for materials per unit and see where you can save on supplies
everything is customizeable to the level of detail you prefer - only want to track products by not materials? no problem
help determine how much you should charge for an item by seeing your costs at a glance
Craftybase one-time account setup
so, here's how i use it. first, i set up my account
1. painstakingly enter all of my materials. i'm obsessed with organization so i logged every. single. bead. for weeks i sat in the middle of a pile of beads, counting, entering, counting, entering. you only have to do this once....afterwards just add new items when you buy them. (tracking materials is optional, so you don't have to do this if you're not concerned with this level of detail).
2. import in all of my current items from etsy. this part is simple - just link up your etsy account and click 'import'. done.
3. for each made item, you can create a 'batch recipe' where you log how many and what materials it takes to make that finished product. you only need to do this once, and again, completely optional but highly recommended in order to link your materials and projects.
4. go through and add your inventory for your finished items. each time you add a made item, CB magically decreases your material counts that you set up in your 'batch recipe'. neat!
Maintaining your account
so, that was the tough part. after that is out of the way, maintaining your account is super, super easy.
1. import your etsy items regularly. simple as a single click. this will tell CB if you've made any sales, added new products, or had any fees.
2. when you physically make an item, click the 'add a made item'. if you've setup your batch recipe, this automatically subtracts from your materials (my favorite part!!)
3. anytime you make a supplies purchase, you'll need to enter it in.
all in all, Craftybase does take some work to setup, but for me, it's completely worth it. it is a new program, so it's constantly evolving and changing. there are some bugs and quirks here and there, but the team is very responsive and quick to fix things. they also really listen in the forums, and will add new features that you suggest if they think it makes sense for the whole community. it's also exciting because who knows what kinds of fun things there are to come. if you've tried out craftybase, let me know what you think!
i've added a few new jewelry items to the A Common Thread shop. this batch includes lots of semi-precious stones (including amethyst, turquoise, and rust orange magnesite), brass animal jewelry, and geometric brass earrings. AND free shipping on all orders. when you checkout, just enter SHIPONOUT. ends November 13th.
a few weeks ago, I met up with neighboring Brooklyn-based stylist, Sarah, to chat necklaces and eat pie. my little necklaces were prettied up, packaged away, and sent out to have fun on a photoshoot. and here's the result of their hard days work, featuring the arrow necklace and pyrite necklace....
i've been adding some new necklaces in the shop for fall! lots of fun things like geometric onyx triangle necklaces, and more minimal brass necklaces. aaaaand there's a sale!....enter the coupon code YAYFALL when you checkout for 15% off your order. ends sunday, september 23.
with the recent time spent on the beach, i'm realizing the need for the perfect bathing suit. i'm finding that suits with triangle tops with tiny little string bikini bottoms aren't very unique or flattering anymore, and i'm looking for outfits to wear to the beach without feeling like my grandma. i'm finding that my favorite suits... via modcloth
1) have thick bottom coverage with a 50s style shape. not just because this is becoming more age appropriate for me, but also because that whole string bikini look is tired.
2) are one-piece with a unique cut. for instance a big oval cut out in the middle, which is suggestive from a whole new angle.
3) if not a one-piece, then a really high-waisted boy-short bottom with a bustier style top. so modest!
here are a few of my vintage pattern picks from the internet!
this summer, me and my boyfriend, along with my two of our best friend couples got a beach house out in greenport, on the north fork of long island. we spend every weekend out there, and it's pretty much our city-folk way of playing house in the country. we lay in the sun and build castaway tents on the beach; go to the market, make dinners in our 'real' kitchen and drink way too many wine spritzers (it IS long island); knit, read and obsessively put puzzles together; wake up really early and find treasures at yard and tag sales.
all of this beach time has made me prepare accordingly. bright beach towels, ultimate blocking sunscreen, big floppy hats, the perfect beach/market tote, gauzy summer dresses, beach blankets for castaway tents.
here are a few of my favorite beach finds for the summer.
