Six girls in pajamas

Published on July 24, 2010 in Events. 0 Comments Tags: , .

What a fun time we had with these six wonderful girls!  We were so   worried with a storm forecast, what would we do if the power failed?  Sew our PJ’s by candle light???

Hey, that would be fun, too!  But the storm waited til the last stitches were complete and we had six happy girls in pajamas!

The best part of the day was that Megan & I wore our pajamas to work, now where else can you do that but at Stitch Cleveland???

We had so much fun, we just might do it again in August, keep posted for details!

Friday Night PJ Party

Published on July 21, 2010 in Events. 0 Comments

Yay!  Sewing and pizza… what a combination for fun.  Make a pair of super easy PJ pants, we’ll supply the pattern, just bring your fabric (or choose from our fabric selection), sewing machine… and appetite! We have a small group already planning on the party – but the more the merrier.

Teen & tween friendly.

Friday, July 23.  6-9pm.  $45.

Please call ahead so we’re sure to have enough pizza!

Holy craft, Batman.

Published on July 16, 2010 in Creativity boost, Customer focus and Events. 0 Comments

Tomorrow River Colors and Blackbird Bakery will be hosting the Cleveland Craft Coalition. This is a great group of Cleveland crafters that work hard for their craft! The Coalition will be highlighting 21 of their crafters during this afternoon event. Sounds like it’ll be fun!

The Cleveland Craft Coalition is not your typical craft bazaar. Why? Because there are plenty of those and we want to offer something edgier. We recognize value in all forms of craft and art, but we wish to highlight the crafters and artists on the fringe.

Will we still work with lace and dolls and jewelry and needlework? Hell, yeah! That lace will simply be attached to a kick-ass apron that you’ll wear while baking from your vegan cookbook, those dolls will have horns & may be chewing on a bone, that jewelry will have an eastern Asian influence or resemble tattoo work, and that needlework potholder may cuss at you.


Stop by and buy some stuff from someone local. The show runs from 12 – 6pm on Saturday the 17th at the corner of Sloane and Detroit (our old place). I’m looking forward to ending my diet – both yarn (at River Colors) and regular (at Blackbird), as well as getting my Tarot cards read by PJ at Harmonizing Energy, a good friend and student of Stitch Cleveland and fellow Cleveland crafter!

July Class Schedule

Published on July 7, 2010 in Classes. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

We have some cool classes planned for you this month!  How about a new sundress for those hot summer nights?  Whip one up using the shirred elastic technique–hardly any fitting is needed, and they are really comfortable, too!  And this means no zipper – wow, can it be any easier?

Did you buy dozens of patterns recently on sale?  Put them to use and take the Skirt Workshop, your choice of pattern we will guide you through each step – starting with choosing the correct size pattern all the way to the hem.  See how fun it is to sew in a group, share ideas and get inspired to try different techniques.

Also on the schedule is a stuffed animal workshop, toddlers applique bucket hat, alteration clinic, wrap skirt and a summer fabric necklace – we also have these fabulous necklaces for sale in the store if you need one for tonight!  Available in prints and gorgeous burmese silk – the perfect accessory for summer!

Oh, and don’t miss our Pajama Party!  July 22nd,  make a pair of PJ’s and enjoy a deelish pizza with us – a fun time for sure!

Make some new sewing friends in  our  sewing clubs.  Burdastyle, Church of Craft and Stitch by Hand.  All clubs are free.

Click on the Classes tabs for dates and times of classes & clubs.

How to make your pants longer: magic.

Published on June 26, 2010 in tutorials. 0 Comments

* This is the first on a list of tutorial posts I’ve been working on. What other tutorials would you like to see on our blog?

I have a lot of tall people in my family these days. It seems like every summer I am spending at least one day cutting and hemming pants that are too short and making them into shorts. It works great if you are 12 but when you are a grown up and your pants start to creep up you might think that the only solution is the donation basket… after all, your business casual workplace may frown upon dress pant cut-offs.

Depending on how much hem allowance your pants have, there may be another solution! Adding a facing to the bottom of your pant leg can add several inches to the finished length. Here’s how…

  1. The first thing to do is release the original hem in your pants. Do so carefully, please! Use a seam ripper and sharp snippers to remove the stitching. Vigorous tearing can damage fibers, making it obvious that you wrestled with your hem.
  2. Use these equations to determine the size to cut your facings: width of bottom edge of pants + 1/2″ = length of facing, width of original hem + 1/2″ = width of facing
  3. Choose your facing fabric. Lining fabrics are good but you can pretty much use anything that isn’t too heavy or thick. Stick to something slightly lighter then or the same as the fabric the pants are made of. I like to choose fabrics with prints or contrasting colors for fun!
  4. Mark and cut your facing pieces – you’ll need two. They  should be cut on the bias (45 degree angle to the selvedge edge of fabric), this allows your facings to stretch slightly, which comes in handy if your pants are slightly tapered.
  5. Sew the short edges of each facing piece, right sides together. 1/4″ seam allowances, please! Press seam open.
  6. The facing pieces are circles now, and you should have two. Press 1/4″ of one edge to the wrong side of each facing piece.
  7. Matching seam of one facing to the inseam of one pant leg, pin facing in place keeping unfolded edge of facing even with the bottom edge of the pant leg. Sew at 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat for second pant leg and facing.
  8. Here’s a little trick I learned from my mom (you may know her as Heidi, Stitch Cleveland’s resident Seamologist)… fusing a strip of interfacing to the hem of the pant will create a nice edge with body. I prefer to use woven fusible interfacing, I like the drape of it much better then the non-woven type. So, cut about a 1″ strip of fusible interfacing and fuse it to the pant leg. The edge of the interfacing should butt right up to the seam you just made all the way around.
  9. Press the facing to the wrong side of the pant leg. Now you’re ready to hem your new facing. I was always taught to try and match the original hem. So, if your hem was topstitched, topstitch your facing in place. If the original hem was not visible from the right side, you’ll want to use the blindstitch on your machine or sew it by hand.
  10. Enjoy! Without feeling like Urkel*.

Obviously, the amount of length you can add to the pants depends on how wide the original hem is… larger, double folded hems have more fabric in them so they will be longer.

I love pulling this little trick out of my hat. My husband is pretty tall and it’s hard to find dress slacks that are long enough for him. I’ve been able to buy pants that are 2″ shorter then what he would normally wear and make them work!

* Didn’t Steve Urkel drive an Isetta (“that’s what Isetta”)… I saw one drive by the shop this afternoon as I left. Sweet.

Summer Sewing

Published on June 26, 2010 in Sewing and summer sewing. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Our machines have been buzzing!  Summer dresses = super easy sewing.  Here are a few examples.

This is a variation of the popular pillowcase dress.  It can be a dress, swim coverup, or top.  Simple seams and tie straps finish it off easily.  A fabric flower was added to the front of this one.  This is a great  beginner project that can be finished in just a couple hours using under one yard of fabric.  I know you have something in your stash that would be perfect!

Beautiful silk fabric with elastic shirring at the top, which can easily be done to any fabric.  It’s a simple rectangle of fabric, this one has panels of contrast fabric along the bottom.  I”ve had this fabric in my stash for years, and this was the perfect project for it, it was just under one yard, so the fabrics along the bottom added length and matched perfectly don’t you think?  Oh, and don’t forget a fabric beaded necklace-a snap to make and fun to wear.

Etsy Craft party… you know you wanna come!

Published on June 17, 2010 in Creativity boost, Customer focus and Events. 0 Comments

Etsy Craft Party is a global initiative to energize your local community, make art together, and throw a party in your neck of the woods. We want to celebrate crafting together on June 18, 2010 (which just happens to be Etsy’s birthday) with as many celebrations across the globe as possible.

Help us celebrate Etsy and stop by for our bash! We’ll have some demos (paintsticks, stenciling, and patchwork artists’ canvases), some snacks, and some fun. If you are an Etsy-ite come in and share your craft… it’s a great way to broaden your customer base and get familiar with some other local Etsy artists!

If you’ve always wanted to check out Etsy but have been too nervous to jump in and create your own site, use this opportunity as a creativity boost! Over the years we’ve heard a lot of questions and hesitation regarding Etsy… why not get some advice from Etsy artists in our area and a little bit of moral support?

Let’s celebrate our community’s creativity together! June 18th from 6 – 8pm… be there!

It’s Summer-yay!!! June workshops

Published on June 10, 2010 in Classes. 0 Comments

School’s out for the summer…now take some fun classes!

Pillowmaking workshop – using two patterned fabrics, applique a monogram on a simple square pillow with a zipper. Beginner.  June 12, 10am-1:00.  $45.

Pillowcase Dress /tunic – a very simple but very impressive project!!  (it’s not really made from a pillowcase)         Yes, you can finish it in 3 hours, too-even beginners!  June 15, 12-3, $45.

Stuffed animal workshop – Sock monkeys & glove  puppies, you choose the animal!   This is a fun & relaxed  class for all ages and levels of sewing.  June 17th, 12-3, $45.

Summer dress – Learn how to smock using elastic thread and make this super easy dress, which can me made shorter for a tunic.  An easy intermediate/beginner project.  This can be made in any size. (black gauze would make a sweet summer party dress!) June 19, 10am-2, $85.

Name applique pillow –  This is a very impressive intermediate/beginner project that will impress everyone!  Int/beginner.  June 20, 12:00-3pm, $65.

Easy Peasy Quilt – back by popular demand! Any sewing level, an excellent beginning quilt project.  June 24 & July 1, 6-8pm, $65.

Toddler T-shirt applique – use one of our silhouette stencils, or design your own!  June 26, 10am-1, $25.

Summer fun!  A Pajama Party & more great classes coming in July – wrap skirt, alterations clinic, toddler’s bucket hat to name just a few. Sound like fun?  Call for more details.

Supply lists available when you register with payment.  Please register 2 days in advance so we can prepare for the class.  Sorry, class fees are non-refundable.

We wanna hear from you!  Post a comment about the Pajama Party and be entered in a drawing to win a yard of Amy Butler fabric!

Party time!

Published on May 31, 2010 in Amy Butler, Creativity boost, Customer focus and Trunk show. 0 Comments

Hi all! We’re so excited that the Amy Butler trunk show has arrived. During Church of Craft we took a sneak peak at the goods. We were interested in how the laminated fabric looks since we’ve had a hard time getting it in. Wait until you see it! Hope ours comes soon!

We’ll be hosting an Amy Party on Friday, June 4th from 6 – 8pm. We hope you can join us. Since she will be unable to attend, Ms. Butler sent some great prizes for us to give away and we’ve gotten in some cute new things, too (this photo is a hint)! We’ll be doing several drawings during the festivities and oohing and aahing over our Student Trunk Show as well!

Just like last year, you can bring in your Amy Butler items for us to display in the shop with the Student Trunk Show this week and get a cute little prize! Bring them by during our regular hours anytime this week and we’ll keep them on display throughout next week. It can be anything Amy… something from one of her patterns, something from her fabric, or something from her pattern and fabric! Last year we had some great items. I can’t wait to see what you can cook up this year!

We’re looking forward to seeing you Friday for our little party! Come help us kick off our third year as Stitch Cleveland and a whole month of customer appreciation surprises!

Church of Craft rapidly approaching…

Published on May 24, 2010 in Church of Craft. 0 Comments

Hey all, it’s that time of month again! Church of Craft is meeting for our monthly craft-on this Saturday, May 29th from 1 – 4pm. We’re looking forward to seeing you there… don’t forget to bring your latest project. Or the one you started last year and haven’t touched since. For real. We’ll help you get right back on track!

Wondering what this is all about? Church of Craft is open to all creative types that want to stop in and get crafty. Our space is free to you for the afternoon, but remember to come early to get the spot you want! We’ve got plenty of room for you to spread out and work hard on your project!

We’re there to help answer questions and give our advice and humble opinions, but remember, for uninterrupted time with a Seamologist you should schedule a private lesson!