Friday Fun Fact: a book review from Laura

Today we've got a sewing book review from Laura!

The Coat Route 

Craft, Luxury, and Obsession on the trail of a $50,000 coat 

by Meg Lukens Noonan  

This is one of my favorite books, and I don’t mean a favorite book about fashion or sewing. It is the true story of an Australian businessman who asks his tailor to make him a warm coat for his upcoming move to Vancouver. Because cost is not an issue, the tailor uses the best materials, starting with Vicuna wool at $6,000 a yard, and hand sewing techniques to highlight the dying art of bespoke clothing.  

The author describes each step in making the coat from drafting the pattern to the final detail stitches. She also describes the history of the manufacturing process for the wool, buttons, silk lining, and other components of the coat. The book is not about excess, but about the quality of the supplies and craft that add lasting value to clothing.  

Enjoy the book and think about how sewing our own clothes is a practice of quality. 

Check out all our Friday Fun Facts in the archive here!

Treadle Make Tuesday: Kayla's Postcard Dress

Every Tuesday we share projects from Treadle Yard Goods employees (a.k.a. The Treadlettes) and our customers and fans!

Kayla came in recently wearing this cute sleeveless dress!

She used our cotton postcard print and a self-drafted pattern. A fit and flare silhouette like this works great for cotton broadcloth; the style doesn't need drape so the crispness of broadcloth is an asset.

Want to be featured on Treadle Make Tuesday? Send us a photo or tag us in your post! (We will always ask before we share.)

Treadle Make Tuesday: Char's Burnside Bibs!

Every Tuesday we share projects from Treadle Yard Goods employees (a.k.a. The Treadlettes) and our customers and fans!

Char recently made these fantastic Burnside Bibs, our Pattern of the Month, and showed them off at her Continuing On class!

Bibs and overalls are so in style right now, and the virtue of the Burnside Bibs pattern is the ease and simplicity of the fit! The back cinches up with a simple drawstring, no fuss required.

This pattern is 15% off through the month!

Reg $23.95    Sale $20.36

Learn more and order yours here!

Friday Fun Fact: Fork Pleats!

Here's my favorite way to make pleated trim: with a fork!

I first learned this technique almost 20 years ago in an online discussion forum about sewing Victorian costumes. It's the easiest way to make perfectly neat and consistent pleats!

First create your fabric strip. Cut your fabric as wide as you want the pleated trim plus hem allowance, and three times as long as the edge you're attaching it to. 

Next join them all together, and hem the bottom edge. If the top edge will be visible, hem that too.

​​​​​​​If you're using ribbon, you can skip the hemming and go straight to the pleats!

Set your sewing machine to a basting length and start stitching on one end of the strip. Now it's time to start making pleats! Grab your fork (and lick the cake crumbs off).

Insert the fork, give it a twirl, and voila! There's your pleat!

(Need more visuals? Scroll to the bottom for the video.)

As you go, pay attention to your spacing. Push each pleat snugly up against the last one, but not overlapping.

Now hold the pleat in place with your fingers while you slide the fork out. (We definitely don't want to sew over the fork.) Stitch along the edge to hold the pleat in place.

Repeat until you have all the pleated trim you want! Then take it to the ironing board for a good press.

You'll need to manipulate it a bit as you iron to keep the pleats even along the length.

Now you can sew your perfectly pressed pleats into place!

You can use different-sized forks to get different sized pleats. I've used a tiny fondue fork in the past for really little ones!

You can see more of the process in the video!

Check out all our Friday Fun Facts in the archive here!

Treadle Make Tuesday: Beginning Quilters!

Every Tuesday we share projects from Treadle Yard Goods employees (a.k.a. The Treadlettes) and our customers and fans! 

Today we're highlighting some student work! Judy and Mary made such beautiful pieces in our Beginning Quilting class! 

Friday Fun Fact: State Fair Highlights!

Did you make it to the State Fair to check out all the sewing?

I was so impressed with the quality and quantity of the garment submissions this year! Not to mention all the embroidery, quilting, and so much more!

You may have noticed the Treadle Yard Goods awards. Though Treadle donates prizes, we don't actually choose the winners. The State Fair judges determine the outstanding garment entries and we trust them to judge fairly. 

Check out my favorite highlights below!