Amazing Customer Project!

Our customers are by far the most creative people I have ever met. Nothing fascinates me more than to see what customers do with our fabrics and this project does not disappoint!

Sue came in the store a few weeks ago looking for a fabric to use on her walls as a border. Now I am used to people looking for fabrics for clothing and for chairs but for walls? Never thought of that! Needless to say I was entranced. Looking for something with an Asian inspiration, she found this great fabric that had a floral stripe that ran parallel to the selvage. Since she was making a border this was perfect.

Check it out!


See the border on the walls? That's the fabric cut into strips, tacked on to thin pieces of wood and attached to the wall! How cool is that? I can imagine this process used for so many different things in your home. Headboard? Check! Wainscoting? Check! You know attaching the fabric right to the wall as wallpaper would be fun too!

Here are some more photos,


I am simply amazed. This is a great example how fabric can be used to enhance your home in so many different ways. Using the fabric instead of wallpaper gave the border so much depth and texture while bringing all the colors of the room together.

Thank you so much Sue for letting us share your amazing home with everyone. It just goes to show you that even if you don't sew, fabric can be used for a variety of projects! It's all about having fun. :)

Look what I found!

Being the complete narcissist that I am, I plugged in Sew What's New into YouTube to see if our videos came up. They didn't but thanks to YouTube user ShawnQuinlan we are introduced to the amazing George W. Trippon and his show Sew What's New! If you sew or want to learn to sew than you just have to watch these!

Check this out and learn how to make a neck tie at the same time..







Really neat huh? I am totally buying his books on Amazon. So since we learned how to make a tie, check out some of our amazing vintage tie silks! They come in a variety of patterns and we have a lot of different kinds. For now though, I am going to watch more videos!

Shopping for a cause!

One of our customers is having a spectacular event tomorrow Sunday, December 19, 2010 and if you are in the area you must come!

GIVE

SHOP

LOVE

A little luxury has never felt so good.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 12pm – 8pm at The Nyack Center (58 Depew Avenue)

NYC celebrity stylists, fashion publicists, designers and event planners have cleared their personal closets for a very special cause.

Fashionistas can shop to their heart’s content and 100% guilt free at sample sale prices with a portion of sales going to Rockland County native Angelo Lucrezia and his family in their brave fight against Myelodysplastic Syndrome (Blood Cancer). Angelo is in need of blood transfusions and a stem cell transplant and we hope the monies raised at our event will help make their holiday a very special one.

A $5.00 donation is requested to enter and drinks and light fare will be served as well.

Men’s and women’s designer apparel, shoes, accessories and jewelry – suitings, dresses, gowns, denim, cashmere, leathers, sheirlings, car coats, blazers, shirtings, scarves, hand bags, and of course shoes! CASH ONLY PLEASE

Prices range from $1.00 to $500.00 and the assortment will take your breath away…

Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabanna, Marc Jacobs, YSL, DKNY, Chanel, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Tory Burch, Theory, Vince, Ralph Lauren, Max Mara, APC, Miu Miu, Theory, Stella McCartney, Halston, Paul Smith, Hugo Boss, DVF, Armani, Derek Lam, Alice & Olivia, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Burburry, Cynthia Vincent, Vera Wang, La Rok, Roberto Cavalli, Anya Hindmarch, Jill Stuart, Giorgia Armani, Isabel Marant, Moschino, Calypso, Jill Sander, Seven for all Mankind, Earnest Sewn, AG, Rag & Bone, Nicole Farhi, Stuart Weitzman, Jimmy Choo, James Pearce, John Varvatos, Gary Graham, etc., etc., etc.

Easy Peasy Placemats and Table Runner - 1 Yard Project!

A family member had redone their bedroom and had extraordinarily expensive furniture put in. I am more of an Ikea gal myself but alas he wanted to cover the night tables as well as put a runner on the dresser to keep his rouge and mentally unstable cats from scratching the extraordinarily expensive furniture. (As it is now known.)

Of course he painted the room in an odd shade of lavender/copper so it was tough to get a match but at this store, we can find fabric to match anything. Lime green and white boudoir? Yeah we got something to match.

Anyway.

I found a great tapestry fabric to match. Tapestry is not only beautiful but it frays beautifully so I used that to give the mats and runner a carpet look. This project is also great for placemats and a table runner in your kitchen as well.

Here is how you do it...

What you need...

- 1 Yard of Woven Fabric (Tapestries work great for this, most woven will fray so ask your handy dandy fabric store employee for fabrics that will fray. )

- Thread that will hide in the fabric, I used a cream for this fabric. For fun you can use a coordinating thread.

- Sewing machine or thread and needle. (..and the patience that is required for a hand sewer.)

- Cutting tools

- Ruler

- Seam Ripper

- Paper and Scotch Tape

Directions -

♦ Start out my measuring what size you would want for mat. I needed 14"x19" mat so that's the size I went with.

♦ Put your rulers in an L shape (or cutting mat like I used) and use the paper to fill in the measurement. Tape paper together and it becomes your pattern for the mats!



♦ Lay out your fabric. I was dealing with a stripe and since it ran parallel to the selvage, I folded my fabric right sides together and lay the pattern butting up against the selvage. Make sure your pattern meets up evenly with the stripes, if you are using striped fabric.


♦ Cut evenly using a sharp scissors or rotary cutter. Try to get your cuts as evenly as possible.


♦ Get thee to the machine! There is no hard fast rule about this but we are sewing not to hem per say but to keep the fabric from fraying more than we want it to. I used my sewing machine foot as a guide and then placed a seam guide to keep me there. Sew all the way around with a shorter stitch.


♦ Once both mats are sewn all the way around find your seam ripper. (Mine was in my purse.) Starting on one side start pulling single strands of the fabric to create the fringe.



You have now created placemats! There seems to be a lot of steps but in truth it is very easy. I think any project without hemming is a dream. This is a great way to bring color and design into a room.


Voila!

Now with the runner that was even easier. Remember when we folded the fabric wrong sides together? Well when we opened that fold we had a long run of fabric which I just sewed up and fringed like the mats! It was the perfect size for the dresser.



So get out there and have fun. Sewing sometimes can get regimented with patterns and whatnot. I although have more fun when I just wing it.

Sale!!

Get this. Our whole online Etsy store is on sale starting tonight at Midnight! That means any invoice over $20 is half off! So, if you order over $100, you only pay $50!!

This happens only once a year and is a great way to stock up for the Holidays!

Here is how it works...

Head over to our website http://sewwhatsnewfabrics.com/ and click on our Specials sections to find a coupon to use only online on our Etsy site only on November 19, 2010. You will need to sign up for Etsy and have a PayPal account to place your purchase. This coupon can only be used online and will not be honored in store.

You get a huge 50% discount on your invoice of $20 or more!! Shipping is not included and discount is only off the items you purchase!

- The sale goes on all day till midnight 11/19/10.

- The coupon is not valid for previous purchases, can not combined and not valid for Alcantara fabric, faux fur, crewels and mohair velvets.

- Coupon code must be referenced to receive discount. Please wait to pay until a revised invoice is sent to you. Please let us know upon purchase if you wish to pick up your order in-store or have it shipped.

- Orders that are to be shipped must include shipping price! Orders will not be shipped or be able to be picked up unless invoice is paid in full.

- Someone will be online all day to answer all your questions. You can e-mail us at news@sewwhatsnewfabrics.com or Convo us on Etsy.

- If you want something special, please contact us and we can possibly find it for you!

So get all online tomorrow and get ordering! We can't wait to see you!

Making Christmas, Making Christmas...

While I realize that it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, it's hard not to get into the spirit of things when you work around fabrics like this one!

I hate to say it I have been thinking about Christmas since early September when I noticed some stores already pulling out their Christmas stock. This is the first year I am able to sew so I decided to plan early for all those handmade gifts I plan to make. (but probably won't, you'll see me at Macy's Christmas Eve for sure!)

Then again if you are the crafty type, nothing makes a present better than making it with your own two little hands. There is something special about something that you create yourself, it shows more love than just going to the store. Then again with how crazy shopping is, I think it's sort of the same thing. Alas, you can't beat that look that your loved ones get when they realize that you made their gift, just for them. That's the Holidays to me and they will be sure to remember it for life. Trust me.

Here at Sew What's New Fabrics we wholeheartedly believe that homemade is always the best and we have everything you need to make your crafts a success. From easy to make out of print patterns to great Holiday theme fabric, we have it all.

In the next coming days, we will be listing all types of great Holiday themed items like this..




and this...

AAaaah, I love bobbles.

So as you can see we are all ready for the Holidays. To help you get ready for the Holidays we are running our best Black Friday sale ever! Sign up for our newsletter on our website or visit our website starting this Tuesday 11/9 to find a coupon giving you 50% of your orders of over $20 or more online only on the 19th of November and the same coupon for use in store only Black Friday the 26th of November. Which means you have 2 times to save! In store and online!

Get those sewing machines and glue guns working because this is a big one!!

Boo!

*Disclaimer: This post is not intended for those with heart conditions, back problems, those who are pregnant, children or anyone with eyeballs.*

In the spirit of Halloween, I present to you the Most Frightening Fabrics Ever Created!

Ok, a little back story. Being that we have been in business for over 40 years, we have amassed a large variety of fabrics. Many are simply beautiful yet others, being from the time they are from, are slightly disturbing.

The Seventies was an interesting time. If the fabrics created then are any indicator, I don't know how anyone got out alive. It's "The Poltergeist", "The Shining" and most of the 70's all wrapped up in one. (You know, the part of the 70's your parents never talked about and still refuse to talk about except as death bed confessions.)

Take this for example,


A perfectly good Italian wool fleece that is warm and would make great throws or jackets. The kitties and fish are sweet, I get it but WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THE SUN FACE THINGIE?!?!! The scary thing is that I was eating lunch right next to this thing and I had no idea. Spooky. It's like a prop from "Silence of the Lambs". I can imagine it draped over Buffalo Bills couch, something he snuggles into after a hard day of moth propagation and mayhem.

Furthermore,


It isn't the pattern of this fabric per say although green on green sort of makes me seasick but it's the fact that it's DOUBLE KNIT! Argh DOUBLE KNIT! Ooooohhh! This is something that the ghost of "Maude" would wear.

Then there are those fabrics that come straight out of the Eighties. It seems the Seventies had sort of a "Harvest Gold" patina over life. Sort of sweet and only slightly scary but then there were the Eighties where life was NEON.


Oy. This could be cute but unfortunately I'm over the age of 6 so this panel frightens me. You are looking at a fabric that you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Only because you will walk out of said alley covered in Lisa Frank stickers, your hair dyed rainbow, humming "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".

THEN this unfortunate vista...


Yeesh. From the neon green Volkswagen Beetles to the brown Navajo print and the neon women sorting what I think are coffee beans (I hope.) and the parrots this fabric looks like it should be in a David Lynch movie. (After he had a couple of strong Mai Tais.)

Granted, these fabrics are utterly frightening but they are sort of like a car crash. You can't help but look. Alas, they all have this certain charm, of high quality materials and made by the best textile mills in the world. Like I always say, "one persons blinding nightmares is anothers' blinding treasure." In other words, don't take my word for it. I'll only demand that I see what you create from these fabrics and I promise I won't laugh!

If you just love these fabrics (and we even have more! Eek.) check out our Etsy site for more Frightening Fabrics!