New Classes at Finch: Moneta Dress and Garment 101 Featuring the Scout Tee and Sailor Top

I'm so excited to announce my first sewing classes at Finch Sewing Studio! I've previously taught knitting classes, but now that the weather is warming up, interest in knitting tends to wane. (Although don't rule out summer knitting - linen yarn is lightweight and perfect for warm weather knitting. Finch has several linen knit classes lined up, so check them out: Hudson Cowl; Strathcona Linen Scarf)

I'll be teaching two garment classes for beginners: The knit Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns, and the Garment 101: Woven Top class, featuring Grainline Studio's Scout Tee, and Fancy Tiger Crafts' Sailor Top.

Sailor Top

Garment 101 is a great class for those who have never sewn a garment before in their life. In one four-hour class, you will learn how to measure yourself, trace and cut a pattern, and all the fun that goes into garment sewing: cutting fabric, sewing curves, attaching sleeves, and hemming. By the end of the class you'll be strutting out the door with an adorable top. You choose the pattern you want to make: The Scout Tee is a basic woven short-sleeved tee-shirt, and the Sailor Top is a very adorable blouse with a bit of gathering detail around the neckline.

With either of the tops, I recommend a lightweight fabric with a bit of drape to it. Personally, I am a lover of voile, especially for spring and summer. Voile can, however, be on the more sheer side, especially if you choose lighter colors, so be aware of that when picking out your fabric (I tend to layer my voile Sailor top over a silky camisole). I think a double gauze would also work beautifully for both the Scout Tee and the Sailor Top. Of course, you can always choose any cotton fabric for these tops for a little more added structure.

The Moneta Dress class is also great for beginners. With only a few pattern pieces, it's a great introduction to sewing garments. For those who have sewn garments with wovens but have not ventured into the world of sewing with knits, the Moneta Dress is a perfect way to get started. The class is split up into two sessions, and by the end of the second one, you should be leaving with a finished dress. Knits are so comfortable to wear, and you'll be amazed at how impressed people will be when you tell them that you made your dress!

Sewing with knits can be intimidating to beginner sewists, and that's why a class environment is the perfect place to learn. If you only sew with wovens, you may want to step out of your comfort zone while having an instructor (me!) by your side to help and answer questions. I'll be going over tips on sewing with knits, the best stitches to use for stretchy material, and how to effectively hem a knit garment. After this class, you'll be addicted to sewing with knits!

Visit Finch Sewing Studio to sign up in person, or register online: Garment 101 / Moneta Dress

BONUS! If you sign up this weekend for any upcoming Finch class, Nicole is offering 15% off! Use the code FinchFan.

To get inspired, here are a few shots of me wearing my Moneta dresses:

Girl's Night Clutch

Back in June, I attended Blog Brunch DC, hosted by Rebecca of A Daily Something and Joy of Mornings Like These at the Alexandria studio space of Sweet Root Village.  At the brunch, a few of us decided to arrange a ladies night at Finch Sewing Studio.  Our schedules through the summer were so packed that the soonest we could get together would be in September.  

So finally!  Our ladies night had arrived.  We would be making a clutch bag using two fabrics.  Some of the girls are not experienced at sewing, and Nicole assured them that yes, even they would be coming away with a finished clutch by the end of the night.

I arrived early and prepped my wine glass with a piece of scrap yarn.  Because this is how we do in a sewing/knitting studio.

The hardest part was probably choosing our fabric!  With so many gorgeous options, it was hard to narrow it down.

The photos stopped somewhere after my second glass of wine, and so my written summary of the evening is as follows: we ate, we drank, we laughed, we messed up, we fixed our errors, we planned another ladies night, we dreamed up all of the other things we could make, we ate more, we drank more, we finished our clutches and we ended the evening delighted over how wonderful our projects turned out.

Anthropologie Inspired Capelet

At the start of August, I had the brilliant idea of making my "fairy Godmother" the Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet for her birthday gift.  I had nearly the entire month to make it, and given the gauge and yarn it called for, I knew I'd finish in time.

And I did, only the first one I made was tiny.  Like, practically child-sized.  So back to Finch I went to get more yarn for part two, because at this point I had about a week and a half to make it.

Lynn's birthday was on Saturday - by the Tuesday prior, I had begun the final ribbing stage when I ran out of yarn.  And not only that, but I had bought the last two skeins from Finch.  So I started searching for yarn shops who carried this yarn.  Called to no avail, so I then began looking for shops in New Jersey.  See, we were headed on vacation to the Jersey Shore with my lovely giftee, so not only would I need to track down yarn on my way there, but also finish the knitting without her noticing.

That's when I first learned of Home Made, the shop I raved about in my last post.  She had the yarn (Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted) in the color (Mulberry), so I bought a skein and made it to the house.

I worked feverishly Friday night and throughout parts of the day on Saturday, finishing just before Lynn's birthday dinner out.  After dinner I packaged up the capelet and brought the gift upstairs with the others.  Whew.

I think it turned out well, although for the sake of these photos, it looks a little lumpy since it wasn't blocked.  

Pattern: Anthropologie Inspired Capelet
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes

Color: Mulberry

Alterations: Cast on 63

Sip + Sew at Stone Tower Winery

What's more fun than sewing?

Sewing while drinking wine, of course.

Although I am more of a whiskey drinker, I do enjoy a glass of white, especially on warm summer evenings.  Even better if I'm surrounded by 20 or so crafty women in a gorgeous barn-style wine tasting room with a wide open view of rolling hills and an impending sunset.  Behold, for I present to you Stone Tower Winery:

I love Virginia.

Anyway, last night was Finch's monthly Sip + Sew event.  Take a local establishment, toss in a bit of socializing and top off with a dash of sewing and you've got Sip and Sew.  Last night, we made waxed canvas dopp kits given that Father's Day is only a few weeks away.  I gave mine to my husband as a "Not-a-Father's Day" gift.

Sewing with waxed canvas was easier than I thought.  I had this impression that it would be thick and difficult to work with, but it wasn't any different.  I'm looking forward to using it again when I eventually make the Cooper Bag this fall.

You're either going to love or loathe the fact that I brought my camera and took heaps of photos.  Enjoy!

EEEEE Cotton + Steel fat quarters!  And guess who won one of them?  ;)

I apologize to those of you reading this (is anyone reading this?) who don't live in Virginia; we are not only blessed with countless vineyards, but also incredible landscapes to feast our eyes on while our tongues indulge in a glass of what Galileo called "sunlight held together by water."