I am a big fan of ruffles, neutrals (especially grey), and abstract patterns in textiles. These are cool. From Etsy seller Made By Hank.

{view more from Made By Hank}

I’ve been on the lookout for clothing made from organic and sustainable fibers. I’ve found some beautiful things from small designers on etsy, like this petal dress from sunia natural fibers.

{not that I buy $188 jersey dresses, but if I did… }

As of now, I have plenty of volunteers (and then some!). I wish I could give patterns to all of you, but I have a limited number.

I am very much looking forward to seeing what the testers make with them.

Also, if you emailed me about testing a pattern and didn’t hear back… there were a couple people who must have had a typo when entering their email address, because mail bounced. If I didn’t respond to you, please send me your address again. I’d hate for anyone to think I don’t appreciate the offer.

And if you are wondering where the name came from for Colette Patterns, this is Colette, poking her head out of her penthouse:

She, in turn, was named for the writer, Sidonie Gabrielle Colette.

“Be happy. It’s one way of being wise.” - Colette

My first tutorial up at the new blog is about making a silk scarf out of 1/2 yard silk charmeuse. I love this green one I made. It has a hand rolled hem, which I just love. I think these would make very nice gifts as well.

The best thing is that the tutorial includes other tutorials on how to create a french seam and how to make a hand rolled hem.

Hi everyone. I really couldn’t wait to share this with all of you. For many months, I have been working on designing a small collection of sewing patterns! They aren’t quite ready yet: the patterns are all designed and graded (and will be available in sizes 0-18), but I am still working on the instructions, packaging, and printing. The goal is to make them available in January.

I really think the designs themselves are wonderful. They encompass many things that I love: buttons, dresses that use more than one fabric, really flattering feminine cuts, linings where appropriate, and best of all - pockets! I’ve been wearing the samples I’ve sewn up, and I get tons of compliments, which is incredibly exciting.

So, why am I announcing all this before I have anything to show you? A couple reasons.

First, I’ve started a new blog over there, appropriately called the Colette Patterns blog. I will certainly still be keeping this one. I anticipate that I’ll be posting more helpful sewing and craft things, like tutorials, free patterns, tips & tricks, and fun things related to the new business over there. I’ll continue to post about my own personal projects and life here. I think you’ll really like both of them, so go subscribe!

The second reason is I wanted to see if any of you lovely sewers out there would be interested in testing the patterns for me. I would give you a choice between a few designs, you’d sew it up in whatever fabric you choose and let me know of any problems. You could feel free to write/blog/whatever about the project, if you’d like (or not). Don’t worry too much about your sewing skill level, a mix of people would be great.

If you sew and you’re interested, please just write me a note, let me know you’re interested, how long you’ve been sewing, and what you consider your skill level to be (beginner, intermediate, advanced).

Thanks so much for all of your kind words on this blog over the months. It has been so encouraging to see how many people appreciate my little projects.

Update: I have gotten a ton of responses, and truly appreciate it! As of now, I’m no longer looking for pattern testing volunteers. Thanks everyone!

This was one of the many spontaneous street parties around here Tuesday night, and one of the smaller ones at that. I never thought I’d be in a crowd of young oakland residents chanting “USA! USA!” but there you have it.

It was pretty amazing. Every car that passed was celebrating and honking, even buses and taxis. Other larger intersections were simply closed, swarmed with happy, excited people. There were even fireworks. Seriously.

It’s a long road ahead, but there are possibilities for our future now that I wouldn’t have dreamed of four years ago.

It’s cold! I know I keep posting pictures of warm beverages, but they are a big part of my life at the moment. Warm tea, hot baths, and thick socks.

I have been working really hard on creative projects that I think you guys will really dig, but they’re not quite in the ready-to-announce phase. But I am molto excited about them and having trouble concentrating on anything else. Even Halloween has sort of slipped through my fingers this year. But I know it will be worth it.

I’ve been an admirer of Giant Dwarf for a while. I really love this rosette fascinator / headband thing. And now they are available in many colors!

I’ve always loved wearing things on my head, so I’m happy that headbands and fascinators and giant hair bows and whatnot are being made all over.

{photos from Giant Dward}

This is a halloween sweater for a certain little girl who is dressing up as Lucy from the Narnia books (before she goes to Narnia). Her mom asked for help finding a vintage dress similar to this reference photo, and I offered to do the sweater up. The actual dress ended up being purple-blue colors, so I changed the embroidery a bit.

I actually had the embroidery floss lying around for a project I’d abandoned. I’m not much of an ebroiderer really, and had no idea how to transfer a pattern to a knit garment, so I ended up freehanding it. The back of the embroidery was interfaced with a knit fusible, which worked really well.

The actual knitting was pretty quick, which is why I love making kids’ stuff. I made up the pattern, and even while having to occasionally rip back a lot (like an entire sleeve), I was done in a couple weeks. I used cascade 220. I don’t recall the color, but it definitely looks period, especially with the tweedy bits. I really love this yarn, it’s so inexpensive and sturdy and warm and relatively soft and there are so many colors.

She is going to look so cute. I wouldn’t mind one of these myself.