The Button Up Refashion Swap

Posted on May 17, 2012 by jen | grainline


So a few weeks ago I got an email from Miranda of One Little Minute asking if I would be interested in participating in a refashion swap with some other lovely ladies in which we would refashion the classic button down shirt into something new for another participant. Well you know how many refashions I do here (umm I’ve literally never done one before) so of course I said yes! Today we are all posting tutorials on how to make our refashions and next week we’ll be showing off the tops that were made for us.

For the making part of the swap I was paired with Miranda. Her style description was ‘classic with a twist’ and the colors she included were pretty great, neon orange, navy, peach, chartreuse! We all know that I never say no to color so this part was particularly exciting for me. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a top in any of those colors but I thought this seafoam green fit in with her palette pretty well. I wanted to make the top really fun since if there’s one thing that you can take from her blog it’s that she is always having an excellent time doing whatever she’s doing, I mean this is a girl who ran a 5K in a tie dyed American flag unitard. I made a scalloped hem for a little bit of cute but then echoed the scallops at the front yoke in the form of cutouts to add a little bit of an edge to the top.  When I tried the shirt on to make sure it was wearable it was pretty cute with the color of my tank peeping out of the cutouts! This was definitely a challenge for me, I’ve literally never refashioned anything before that I can remember (Luke agrees, he can’t remember me ever doing this in the 10 years we’ve been together) and I was (and still am) terrified that she’ll hate the top! Anyway, hope you like it Miranda and to everyone else, if you like it you can find the tutorial below! Also check out the refashions of the other super cool ladies involved in the swap!

Jennifer of Grainline Studio
Krista of Lazy Saturdays
Liz of Cotton & Curls
Megan of Megan Nielsen Designs
Melissa of I Still Love You
Miranda of One Little Minute
Miriam of MadMim
Kate of See Kate Sew
Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch
Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking

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24 Comments Posted in miscellaneous projects, sewn garments

Roses, Peonies and Something More Serious

Posted on May 16, 2012 by jen | grainline







I originally had something different written here but I literally just got news from my sister that the phone call my family has been waiting for was made tonight. My cousin Gina who has been living with liver failure for years finally got a match in Milwaukee, WI and is on her way there right now for a transplant. If you could keep her in your thoughts it would mean so much, if everything goes according to plan this liver will have found the best new life it could.

**Update** Surgery went well and she’s now starting the long recovery. Thanks for all your kind words, they mean a lot!

12 Comments Posted in miscellaneous

hound S / S 2012 collection

Posted on May 15, 2012 by jen | grainline












It’s the hound s/s 2012 collection!! Okay so THIS is why I’ve been MIA foreverrrrr, okay I’m lying, it’s one of 3 or 4 reasons but who needs to get technical. I’m so happy to have it done and sent out into the world…phew!! If you’d like to check it out I’ve got a super new website here and a revitalized hound blog here. Now onto the zillion other projects that I need to get done… I’ll be back here with a super fun new project on Thursday though, get ready, it’s SUPER FUN!

13 Comments Posted in hound

a little new fabric

Posted on April 18, 2012 by jen | grainline

I’ve sort of psyched my self out of posting on here, it’s been so long that I wasn’t sure what on earth to post about. I was on such a roll and then things got in the way. I really don’t want to stress out about this blog, I want it to be fun! I kept thinking, I don’t have any new tutorials to post or garments I’ve made so I can’t post at all. I used to post about other things, what happened to me? I have become a blog nut job. With that in mind I am going to try to relax and post about sewing but occasionally other things too, like I used to, because I do a lot more things than just sew all day every day. Well no, that’s actually what I do, but I like to do other things too! For example, I went to a fat quarter sale with my mom last weekend and we each picked up some things for a few mini-projects we need to make. I couldn’t resist the cat fabric in the middle! Though it was purchased with no plan at all in mind I’m now thinking of making a little flat bed for Roamy to lay on. That girl does love a flat bed for an afternoon nap. Okay, first post-break post done…PHEW!!! Now onto the next one…

17 Comments Posted in miscellaneous

Just Checking In…

Posted on April 1, 2012 by jen | grainline


So it’s been 2 solid weeks since my last post…I didn’t mean to disappear off the face of the earth but things have gotten so busy here that I haven’t had any time to do anything but work. Not complaining at all, I’m having a great time getting things done, but there just hasn’t really been a spare moment to post here. On Friday one project finished up, a wedding dress for my friend Katie. I’m SO excited about how beautifully this dress turned out and Katie looks stunning in it! I can’t share too much since her wedding is next weekend but here are a few snaps from my studio. I have found a few spare moments to make 2 things for my spring wardrobe but Luke is out of town for another week so I’ll have to wait for him to get back to photograph for me. I’ll try to be back here asap but for now I’ve got to get back to work. I’ve been posting on the Hound blog more frequently as I get things ready for the new collection + photoshoot so you can stop by there and see more of what I’m up to if you like!

4 Comments Posted in miscellaneous

Sewing Tutorial | French All Your Seams

Posted on March 15, 2012 by jen | grainline

After posting my navy lace scout tee I got a few questions asking how I french seamed my armholes. It can seem a little confusing at first but, as with apparently all of my tutorials, I promise it really is very easy. I’m first going to do a run through of the french seam and then will show you how to apply it to the armhole.

Just a few notes before we begin… 1. french seams are usually best used on light to medium weight fabric. 2. French seams require you to split your seam allowance in two parts. This tutorial is done using a 1/2″ seam allowance, but if you are working with a 5/8″ seam allowance, sew the first seam at 3/8″ and the second at 1/4″. I’ve tried to notate where this applies. With that, lets get to it! Click through to view the tutorial.

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28 Comments Posted in sewing tutorials

North American Birds and Tutorial Requests

Posted on March 13, 2012 by jen | grainline


[Birds of North America print from Small Adventure]

Sorry for the long silence this past week, I’ve been without my camera cord since last week but today I get it back and can get all my post photos off, finally! Get ready for a tutorial on french seaming sleeves, a finished project and some spring wardrobe updates. In the meantime enjoy this super sweet print from Small Adventure. With all the amazing weather happening here in Chicago the birds are coming out of the woodwork, yes! It’s so nice to hear them chirpy chirp chirping in the morning out the window instead of just the garbage trucks in our alley. Oh city living…

I’ve also noticed that my tutorials are getting semi-popular as far as this blog goes and have been coming up with ideas for new ones. I have some ideas but I want to make sure that they’re useful to you guys, not just what I’m guessing people might like to know. It’s really hard to guess! I know I did a call for things you would like to see a tutorial for about a year ago that I’ve loosely been working off but I’m not sure how many of these things still apply. Soooo…..if there is a technique either sewing,  patternmaking or whatever that you would like to see, leave me a comment below and I’ll see what I can do. Things on my current list include cutting silk, a notched collar and some other random junk.

33 Comments Posted in miscellaneous

Navy Lace Tee

Posted on March 5, 2012 by jen | grainline


I had originally planned to sew this top as part of my Autumn Wardrobe but obviously I’m a bit late on that. This was the original plan for the top all those months ago when I bought the fabric but I just never had time to make it until now. The funny thing is that it only took about an hour and a half to cut and sew this top so I guess what I actually didn’t have previously was the mental space to make it. Even though this top is about 5 months behind schedule I’m pretty sure that I’ll be getting a lot of use of it come spring and summer.

I like sewing lace because you get to do fun things with the hems instead of regular boring hemming since the lace won’t fray if you cut it right (following the pattern).  I just cut around the basic floral repeat but I’m thinking about going back in on the hem and cutting up every other flower. The lace border stands out nicely on the sleeves but I think it might need a bit more variation on the body. All of the seams are french seamed and the neckline is finished with an organza bias facing so that it’s pretty sheer. That’s how we do it at work and it works out pretty well once the garment is against your body. I ran out of organza in my skin tone and had to use ivory or it would have been even sheerer…next time. The pattern is of course my trusty bff Scout.

And of course, the requisite photo of me in pure awkward photoshoot mode. If you happened to notice my awesome new bracelet, it’s by Cursive Design. I’m a super lucky girl and got a one of a kind piece from Sarah but she has a similar one in her totally rad new collection that coincidentally debuted today. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need that bracelet too because who can resist pyrite. 4real not me boos.

47 Comments Posted in sewn garments

sketching

Posted on March 2, 2012 by jen | grainline


So I ordered the Fashionary sketchbook a few days ago and have been playing around in it in my free moments with some ideas for my spring wardrobe. It’s pretty great for quick sketches, something I am loath to do because I am unable to produce a proportioned quick sketch without some sort of croquis underneath and that pains my perfectionist nature. Once you’ve taken the time to fish out your croquis and line it up under your notepad it doesn’t really qualify as quick. It’s a funny, transitioning from my go to croquis to this new one has my hand a little confused as to where to go. I get all into the sketch and my hand is moving like usual but woah there, the girl’s arm is at a different angle and suddenly I’m off the guides. It’s sort of funny, I didn’t realize I had this much muscle memory in regards to my croquis but surprise Jen, you do. So far I’m really digging this little book and the most amazing part to me is that even after coloring in things with a black micron pen, when you turn the page you can’t see it. Magic! The only thing that bugs me is the zillion pages at the beginning of information, I kind of wish it was more ladies instead.


Also dudes, so pumped up about everyone who joined in the handmade spring group so far. We’re gonna make this happen! So far my plan is for 2 button down shirts, (one silk one denim), a gathered sheer skirt that hits somewhere just around the knee or lower (with a lining of course), a colored denim mini skirt (deciding between coral and mint right now) and a dress or two. I’m still waiting on a bunch of swatches so I don’t want to make any final decisions yet but soon! Until then I have 2 winter projects that are cut out and half sewn crying on my table. Got to get to those suckers soon.


What a dork.

16 Comments Posted in handmade spring 2012

happy leap day!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by jen | grainline




Hope you are having a wonderful extra day! We’re lucky to be enjoying some amazing weather in Chicago, though it’s starting to cloud over now. I woke up early today, answered some emails and did a bit of work and then headed out downtown around 9:30 to enjoy the sun and 60˚F temps. I walked down to State Street, hung out by the river for a bit then headed up to Michigan Ave. to check out some colored pants. After that the lake was calling so I went down there and found a flock of mergansers floating around who must be in migration north to their spring and summer grounds. I parked it on a bench at the lakefront for a bit, then wandered on home stopping at Millenium Park to visit The Bean who was looking splendid today with the sun and blue skies. The Bean can really always make you smile, I love that thing.


I also picked up some brights on my trip, which I’m pretty excited about, in the form of pants and Essie polish. I didn’t imagine that I would be buying purple jeans today but they’re so cute and I figured it would be nice to wear my 2 denim tops with something other than blue jeans. The blue are chinos with a super cute cuff. Pretty pumped about them.

Semi-related : Are you guys on instagram? I just joined as grainlinestudio and need some people to follow!

14 Comments Posted in miscellaneous