~Happy Holidays~

As the holidays are truly upon us I thought I would have a Holiday Sale! 

Today I am hosting a big sale both on Craftzies and on Sophia. Some items were already on sale in which case I just added additional sales on top of those. The shops can be found at www.Craftzies.etsy.com and www.SophiaDeLaMer.etsy.com. 

Items are shipping daily Monday through Saturday USPS Priority 2-3 day delivery with tracking and in order for them to arrive in time for Christmas please keep in mind all orders should be in by Saturday morning so that I have time to address them and have them shipped out Saturday afternoon before they close. All orders received after that time will be shipped out right away however there is a chance they may not arrive in time for the holiday. 

The shops will be closed for the most part from December 20th until January 2nd, 2015 however I will be around to chat if needed, send any late packages out that might come in and things of that nature. 

You will find a number of handmade items available for really great prices including a variety of accessories, home accents and even some gear for the little ones!

                                         

                                          

All of the items you see in the shops are ready to wear/ ready to ship unless the listing says otherwise. 

Feel free to message me via www.Craftzies.etsy.com if you have any questions. Thanks!

  

Have a great day and enjoy the sales!

Lindsay :)

Lotus on Water

One of the many projects that I have had the pleasure of working on this last year has been my new Lotus on Water design and I recently listed a queen sized Duvet Cover for sale on etsy. More items with this design are soon to be listed however in the mean time here are some photos to inspire some of your own projects.

This slip cover was made by quilting and then dying the fabric in a variety of blue shades, rinsing and set to dry. While the top sheet was drying the flowers were constructed, first being sewn together and then hand stitched to the top sheet. The flowers were made from a combination of white sateen fabric, peach silk and a silver satin and reinforced with both white and blue thread to give variance in shading. Once the flowers were set then each was reinforced on the machine for long term durability. After the flowers were reinforced then the water ripples were added by way of hand embroidery. Cording was then covered with fabric and the piping was sewn to the top sheet. The back sheet was then constructed, the zipper was added and the front and back sheets were sewn together.

These images of the duvet cover were taken without an insert blanket. 

When one is added the cover will have a fuller look. 

I make it sound really easy don't I? The project for a detailed duvet cover of this style does take time however you can simplify things for yourself by selecting a duvet style that does not require quilting panels together, hand dying, applique, hand embroidery, etc.

The brightness of the top sheet is reflected fairly well in the above images however you will find it is a rather vibrant color. Here is a photo of the materials during the construction process to show you the color of the sheet. 

This Waves on the Sound Duvet Cover Set is also made to fit a queen sized bed however it has been constructed of a chocolate brown, blue shale toned fabric and a peachy beach hued fabric. For this duvet cover the strips of fabric were sewn together horizontally across until the entire sheet is slightly larger than the measurements of the bed size you need.

Once the top sheet has been constructed you will put it aside and construct a sheet the same size as the front sheet. As the zipper will be hidden, my advice is to select a long zipper however it is not necessary for that zipper to be long enough to extend form corner to corner. A 3 ft long zipper will be fine if you are hunting for zippers for a new project of your own.

For piecing strips of fabric together as with this design, I prefer to go with a french seam to construct the top, and again the bottom sheet, however you will most likely find when sewing the front and back pieces together that you will simply want to sew and trim and reinforce the stitches by sewing at least once more. Adding a french seam to the inside edges will be too bulky and can deem a bit messy from a visual perspective. So yes, go with a french seam for durability if you would like to construct the sheets, however you will most likely find regular straight stitching to sew the panels together will be most helpful.

If you like the look for piping then you will want to either pick up pre-covered piping and you will find a number of choices at your local shops. If however if you want to make your own from fabrics of your own then you will want raw cording to cover yourself. Cording is referred to as the raw insert that is used to make piping, just for clarification there. Measure the length and width of the top sheet, double each of those measurements, add about 8" extra (for the sake of not being short when tucking the edging in at the end) and you have the appropriate length of cording needed. When it comes to whether you would like piping to edge the duvet cover or not, it really depends on personal style however the one thing that is really nice about piping is that it allows the duvet cover + blanket insert to fit together well and sort of holds the insert around the edges a bit more than without it.

When creating piping from strips of fabric and cording: You will want a zipper foot in the machine for this part (pop that in there), take strips of fabric that are about 2" in width and the overall length needed to cover the raw cording. You will most likely find that you need to sew the strips of fabric together on the ends so the fabric strip is as long as the full length of cording needed. If desired, you will want to round out the edges slightly on both the top sheet and bottom sheet corners. Take the top sheet and starting at a lower corner-with zipper foot still in the machine-sew the piping along the edges. At this time I like to trim the edges. You can do this once you have added the bottom sheet so yes, it is a bit repetitive, however it is a little easier when trimming to do it twice as you are chopping through less fabric in the end which is a little easier on the hands and scissors.

Duvet covers easily allow you to transform a room and are a bit easier for some in that the cover can be washed without having to wash a comforter all the time and are perfect for college kids, brothers (I know because I have one) and well, anyone really...

You can use an old blanket as an insert and you will find if you order a duvet cover from my shop that the inside corners have long slim elastic ties. I find these most helpful as the insert blanket only needs tiny slits added in order to hold the blanket in place. It also allows the blanket to rest well inside and hold in place. The elastic ties are long enough to tie bows and this will not cause the cover with insert to look bunched or unprofessional. If you already have a blanket with ties on the ends you will also find those easily tie to the elastic strips as well.

More Bedding will be on the way along with additional items with the Lotus on Water design. In the mean time I hope you enjoyed some crafting inspiration and I wish you all a fabulous Friday!

Lindsay :)

Fall Fabrics: 'Tis the Season

Above: Fabric Set I

I love this time of year when late summer comes to an abrupt end and fall storms its way on in. This time of year a transition also takes place in the fabric shops where the summery fabrics are replaced with new fall and winter blends. This year I am seeing vibrant colors, energy, happiness and yes, as always, a desire from my customers to keep their houses looking clean and great with a bit of ease to top it all off.

Above: Fabric Set II

Here are a variety of new upholstery fabrics available to me locally. The prices vary from an average of $16.99 and up. The fabrics themselves are some of the nicest not only in patterns and weight but the loveliest of textures as well. The photos shown here are all from Mill End. Their website does not allow you to purchase fabrics online. Fabrics chosen from this shop, as with all shops where I purchase fabric, are charged the price they sell the fabric for. My fees are in reference to the work itself so when you see a fabric and are given a fabric price per yard, you will find it is the price the shop has set for the material. That is the price I will be charging you based on the yardage needed for your project including any additional notions such as trim, zippers, buttons, tassles, etc. For the bottom hem of slip covers I usually pick up a matching cotton twill tape. These items such as twill tape and thread are covered under my work fee and you are not usually charged for these small additional notions. It is the additional materials such as buttons, heavy duty zippers and tassles that will be added to the materials list on your part.

Above: Fabric Set III

Joanns also has a large selection of upholstery fabrics as well and if you are looking for a local shop to me to see if a fabric is in stock, on Joanns you can put in my zipcode-97005-and it will tell you if it is in stock. If it is local I will pickup for free. Joanns has a large selection of fabrics and they also are known for keeping those prints in stock for a longer period of time. If you see a print you like from this store in many cases you can order it. In the case of Mill End, they may have more, they may not. I will have to inquire on specific fabrics from both of their stores for larger quantities though in the past I have located upwards of 22 yards for a project from the two stores so your chances are good. Most of my customers do not require that much in the way of yardage either so it is rare, but it has happened.

Above: Fabric Set IV

There are a number of additional fabric shops online, a few I have used and personally like are www.FabricDepot.com and they are local to me. You can purchase fabric and set it for store pickup. I offer to pick up the order for free. In the comments section when ordering please tell them that Lindsay from Craftzies will be picking up the order. You will then message me on etsy when Fabric Depot calls you to tell you the order is ready to pickup. This takes about 3-5 days for the online order to be ready for pickup as they bring the online orders from the warehouse to the store itself. Sometimes the wait time is more like 2 days, please just know it is at their pace-they are quick about it of course-but if it takes me 5 days to pickup and start working on your order from when I receive the fabric that is simply part of the entire process on my end. I assume Fabric Depot fabrics will be available in 4 days usually before the fabric is in my hands and I am ready to work on an order.

Above: Fabric Set V

www.Fabric.com and www.Beverlys.com are also great online shops and you are free to order fabrics and have them sent to me. www.Spoonflower.com looks great and I have a few orders to send over there in a few months myself. This is a shop where you can have your own prints made, or select from some really fabulous custom prints designed by others. I notify you when the fabrics have arrived and I start your order the next day after I have had a chance to pick up any additional notions locally that I might need. I like to have the fabric in hand before the additional notions are selected. These websites ship items quickly, however it may take an average of about 3-5 days for the materials to arrive similarly to Fabric Depot so please keep this in mind when placing your order.

Above: Fabric Set VI

For upholstery fabrics please keep in mind that the materials are much heavier and may take an extra day to complete an order however I am able to produce finished goods ready to ship within a few days from when the fabric has been selected, style decided on and all materials are in hand. For all upholstery fabrics, please assume dry cleaning or a gentle wash cycle/ or hand washing with line drying and low heat pressing will be required for laundering purposes. Many customers assume dry cleaning, others skip over this part and want to wash them on their own. When these heavier materials are wet the fibers are stressed even more, stressing the weave of the fabric and the seams the fabrics have been sewn together, therefore some extra attention when laundering these finished pieces will help them last for a very long time for you. It is my opinion that in most cases you should be able to wash the fabrics on your own however if it is a very colorful print then you should have it cleaned professionally or wash in a very cold soak and rinse well so the colors don't run. All fabrics are dyed with different dye lots and colors can be heavier or lighter depending on the materials used in the dye process.

Above: Fabric Set VII

Above: Fabric Set VIII

Above: Fabric Set IX

I once made a chair cover in navy blue to go over a white chaise lounge. I washed the fabric a number of times but in the end the slip cover still turned the chaise a navy grey in appearance afterwards. It was in my very early years working with different fabrics and I learned that fabric dyed can be great but also terrible. That is why in many cases when you see slip covers professionally made you see a thin muslin backing added to back the fabric. This way it keeps the fabric weave on the outside from wearing too much and any colors from the outside print from rubbing up against the base fabric of the furniture. The point of a cover is to protect the base layer of the furniture, not change the color and wear it down. I can do this, the price is more and a lot of my customers prefer to skip it as it is an added cost for materials but there have been times I have suggested it. It really depends on the furniture you are trying to cover and the material you select as a cover. Feel free to ask if a backing is to be needed if you are unsure. For those covering a particularly nice chair underneath I would recommend this as it will protect both the cover and the base of the chair as the back of upholstery fabric can at times be rather abrasive, which in turn can possibly over time wear down the chair fabric underneath the cover. For those covering an old chair I would suggest not bothering for the most part. It is $12-$18 to add muslin backing per slip cover, the material is pre-washed and pressed to keep it from shrinking once the cover has been made. Unlike a lot of other fabrics used such as cottons and fashion fabrics, many of the upholstery fabrics are not washed prior to construction.

Above: Fabric Set X

Above: Fabric Set XI

Above: Fabric Set XII

Just the Fabric: Depending on the availability of a fabric, you can purchase just the fabric, sold by the yard. There is a fabric charge applied for this type of sale. The fabric desired and yardage needed will be required in order to give you a quote. 

Above: Fabric Set XIII

Above: Fabric Set XIV

Enjoy the new fabric prints, I will update as new once present themselves, and if you have any questions in regards to a custom order for tableclothes, placemats, chaircovers or an item of similar nature feel free to message me at www.Craftzies.etsy.com if you are interested in a specific fabric shown here. Please reference the Fabric Set Number with the blog post and from left to right, top to bottom when inquiring on fabric.

For example if you are interested in the bottom print shown above in Fabric Set XIII then you will message me with: an interest in a fabric/ Blog post Fall Fabrics: Fabric Set XIII-4th fabric down-last print visible-red/ natural geometric print.

*NOTE: There are a few small fabric samples attached to the big rolls in the photos. Some of these are available, mostly for ordering by the yard, and in some cases but not all, with those smaller samples I find a minimum purchase of somewhere along the lines of 20-24 yards are required for a minimum purchase. There are not many, if you select one of these prints I will notify you on price and if there are any specifics that will limit your chances of a specific print.

*NOTE: For the fabrics shown in these images please keep in mind the fabrics cannot be purchased online and require a stop into the shop in order to see the quantity available, perhaps confirm a yardage price, etc. If you contact me on a fabric from this blog post please keep in mind I am probably reading your email and then taking the image back to the store to make sure the fabric is still in stock and in the quantity needed for the project you have mentioned int he message. This usually takes a day so please know I am not ignoring you if I do not respond immediately, I am just checking details so I have the information needed in order to send you the information you requested. I do hope to have some assistance this coming year to make this craft collection run more smoothly and quickly but until then it's just me so thank you a million times for your patience.

Above: Fabric Set XV

In the way of pricing I have not added the prices for all of the fabrics but I have back images so I can check a price for you. I will goo through the back images and add pricing as I have it later on today. It could change with time, it's subject to the store, but these are their prices now and having a base price helps when thinking about a project.

On the topic of ordering, I am accepting one large order for these per week. This week's schedule is currently full however while I am finishing a few orders we can work on designing yours. If I am done sooner with projects then I will allow more orders to be placed but as these are heavier materials and detailed work it is best to limit my orders so everyone receives their items in a timely fashion-i.e. as soon as possible.

And here are a few links on Chair Covers ->  
http://craftzies.blogspot.com/2012/11/custom-dining-slip-covers.html
http://craftzies.blogspot.com/2012/08/making-it-awesome-custom-made-office.htmlhttp://craftzies.blogspot.com/2012/07/sewing-little-desk-chair-slip-covers.html

Have a great day!
Lindsay :)