The Litter Box

Jeans with Isolated Thunderstorms

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:55:01 -0500

I'm working on a few interesting out-of-the-ordinary projects, including one I have titled "Jeans with Isolated Thunderstorms"! The inspiration was a fashion question "is 21C was warm enough to wear a dress with isolated thunderstorms. It was a simple sentence structure error, one easily made when writing and thinking in a rush. Nevertheless the tern of phrase was quite evocative and it made me want to make a piece of clothing with isolated thunderstorms.

I found some discharge dyed denim at Len's in both blue and black. Discharge dye is a fancy way of saying they bleached out parts of the dye. They don't always use a home bleach like javex or clorox, which can destroy the fibers when used in the needed concentrations. Instead they use discharge agents that are gentler than chlorine. These are sold at the store as "run remover" for those times when something red is washed with the white socks.

The discharge pattern reminded me of lightning bolts -in other words Isolated Thunderstorms! I bought a couple yards so I could make something inspired by someone's sentence error. After thinking and searching I decided that since it was denim jeans was the most logical project. I decided to make a pair from a pattern in a Burda magazine. These has eyelets in the side seams, an inset panel and a mid rise contoured waistband. seen right here:

I also want to add a bit more glitz to the pants so I'm using some Wonderfil Thread is Dazzle. This is like the thicker Razzle used in my previous dress project, only with added metallic threads for shine. Here's the back pocket:

You can see the pattern of the discharging agent. I added some more lightning strikes with some hand embroidery using both chain and stem stitch. The sparkle doesn't show up in this picture. I'm also going to add some rhinestone rivets and some brushed gunmetal grey eyelets on the side. The pattern calls for leather lacing and I think I will use something else other than leather -which isn't the strongest when under stress. Either waxed linen mixed with some of the Dazzle thread or some rattail rayon mixed with the Dazzle. Within little time I should have a pair of jeans with isolated thunderstorms!

The next one is this safari influenced sleeveless blouse. I love the top stitched details and the bold buttons and the peplum that's neither too long nor too short. My plan is to make it from some plain white cotton poplin or broadcloth and then dye it a mottled brown and blue. Then I will add bronze and blue razzle top-stitching and large bold bronze buttons or snaps. It's for wearing in the summer with jeans and jeans shorts

For my final projects I don't have pictures yet. I got some fabric from my Mom. She thought she had given me all her old fabric and patterns, but she found a box with some leftovers. Many of the patterns were hopeless: dated or worse. A few were worth keeping: like the classic shirtwaist dress and the polo shirt inspired dress, some "of the era" looks like the paper bag waist jeans, and a few sentimental favorite like the first pair of jeans I successfully sewed for myself. The fabric fared better including two lengths of rayon/silk. One was a medium heavy crepe in black and the other a medium corded bengaline in forest green. Both are perfect for dresses and both will become dresses.

I have a largish collection of old vintage patterns including Vogue, Butterick and Advanced. The drape and the weight of the rayon/silk blends will work well with these older patterns -especially the ones from the fifties. I'm not making an authentic true to the era in every detail dress -there will be no multiple layers of starched cotton tulle underneath, but I'm not averse to a single layer crinoline. There is a point where it ceases to be a modern wearable dress and it becomes a costume. When that happens it's no longer me wear a dress but a dress wearing me. I understand the appeal of something authentically vintage but there are limitations.

And that's what I am working on. When everything is complete I will post it over on the burda site and I will also post pictures here.

Crystal Clay Creations Part Two

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:16 -0500

I'm quite enjoying my Crystal Clay. It sticks to EVERYTHING and I've not only been making new jewelry I've been using it to repair old pieces and add more sparkle to things that I think aren't quite sparkly enough.

I've also been experimenting with the clay and gold leaf. It seems to be a matter of timing, you can't leaf a piece too soon when the clay freshly mixed and you can't wait too long, when the clay's surface has started to cure. The magic time seems to be between -nope! Not telling! Not yet! Here are a few things that I've made:

This is my favorite. I placed a blob of crystal clay on an old metal brooch blank and smoothed it into a dome shape. I used a plastic tool that's sold as a fimo tool. When it was smooth I added a large center stone that I recovered from a broken vintage necklace. I thin arranged an assortment of chatons around the center too look like a large flowering plant sitting on top of a pillar. After allowing the clay to set up for a while I added some gold leaf. I used small bits and a soft brush to poke it gently into the nooks and crannies. I used the round end of a fimo tool to buff the leafing in place around the edges without flattening or denting the dome shape. I let the clay cure for 24 hours and then brushed off the excess leaf with the soft brush. It mostly adhered. The problem spots were the tiny little gaps between the stones. Any leafing stuck on the stones easily came off with a stiffer bristled brush.

This one I made the same way but without the gold leafing. I used a large aqua aura crystal in the center, two bronze rounds, for emerald squares and two medium aurora borealis rectangles. I added smaller rounds near the edge and tied to keep the composition as balanced as possible. After the clay cured I snipped off the pin back. I'm going to add some type of tube to the back because I think this would look stunning as a choker on a velvet band.

Speaking of putting things on tubes: these beads were made by wrapping crystal clay around boring metal tube beads. After i stuck some small flatbacks and chatons into the clay and added some gold leaf and let cure. Cool!

This is a small "clutch pin" These are small black disks with a notched pin on the back. There's a small pinchy-type clasp that goes over the post and latches into the notch. This is a compliment to the one above with the emerald squares. This is made with emerald rectangles and a medium size aqua aura center stone. I really do like symmetry and balance of formal compositions such as this.

This one is made with several variations of jet and grey crystals. I think this one has a true to the era late 1920's early '30's art deco feel to it -like the sets of an old RKO musical film.

This butterfly pin is far more ambitious and not quite as successful, at least in the application of the gold leaf. The center body is a stone recycled from a single earring that my mom gave me after she lost the mate. There and two large aurora borealis rectangles on the upper wing along with an emerald square. There are are also a few bits from that old broken necklace. The focal points of the bottom wing are the two daisy shaped stones near the bottom tip and assorted other stones arranged to look like veins of the wing. The gold leaf didn't stick because the clay's surface was beginning to cure due to the amount of time it took to precisely place all the crystal elements.

And for those who don't like in-yo-face-beeyoch-level bling: This clutch pin is made with crystal clay, teardrop shaped polished stones with a large round center stone accented with tiny crystals? I wanted it to look like a big puffy daisy, and I think I was successful!

And now for something completely different! A man with three Buttocks! Oh...we did that already? The how about one of the very first jewelry projects that I ever made? I made this necklace from some plastic propeller beads from a long ago craft store that was in the lower level of Waterloo Square back in the 70's and beads from an old broken necklace of my Aunt Linda's. Back then I used some linen upholstery thread, my Dad had some from his days working at the factory on the corner of Allan and King -it's an office building now -and I've re-strung it several times through the years. It was the summer of 1970, I was nine years old and I remember making it like it was yesterday. I wanted both halves to be identical -even then I like formal balance in my jewelry designs -and I wore it from the time I was none until I had kids. Both kids tried chewing on it when they were babies so I re-strung it and then put it in my jewelry box. And there's it's stayed ever since. I don't wear it -it looks rather childish, chap and plastic but I will never get rid of it because it's the first piece of jewelry I made for myself.

And that's all for today. I have more ideas and I plan to try them out today. I'm also doing some controlled experiments in leafing so I can zero in on the perfect time for adding the leaf. See y'all tomorrow!

The Nonsense Word Generator!

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:43:40 -0500

A new little toy making the rounds is something called "the random word generator" It http://www.soybomb.com/tricks/words/ uses an algorithm that takes common letter combinations and Phonemes and makes new words. The game is to give these nonsense words meaning based on the roots of the phonemes and based on their similarity to other words.. Here's the list of words I got and a couple attempts at meanings the sentences in italic are my attempts to use the new word in context:

jurambles: an adverb used to describe a jury who takes its time to reach a verdict in what should be a simple open and shut case due to excess time spent on legal minutiae. We could have found him guilty yesterday but we jurambled for hours over the legal definition of the word "is"

bribleash: the lengths one can make the receiver of a bribe go. I can get her to do anything for nothing more than a new pair of shoes a month because she has such a long bribleash.

affamoll: The cheerful girlfriend of a gangster who's very friendly and pleasant to be around. I don't mind when George shakes me down for all my cash because Cindy is such an affamoll.

Reprovary: someone who varies between being somewhat evil and completely amoral: see reprobate

Lusing: how lusers spell the condition they find themselves in during a spelling bee. lusers are often seen on Yahoo Answers and other cesspits of the internet wondering why they are always lusing

Hackene: a common compound often found in fan fiction, teen fiction and the Twilight series of books and movies.

Cohesikko: A strand or thread or other commonality that ties together those who aren't in their right mind. The love of snuff films is the cohesikko that allows you to spot the sociopaths.

Buliatkes: a fetish that originated in japan that involves two girls, many men and one potato pancake.

Juddicingly: when a judge tries to be extremely, ecessively patient with the jury that's spending too much time jurambling

Brible: An infallible guide for offering money as a favor or offering money or other good to influence favor or a positive outcome. This guide is assumed by many to come from a higher source, possibly even divinely inspired. There Re Brible literasits who insist on following the code to the letter. Anything more or less that forty shekels of silver for a judge is a sin and punishable by eternal damnation. Other consider it a guide only and modern interpretations are permissible. According to the brible you need to give me ten thousand dollars if you want me to circumvent the zoning code and allow you to place a pig farm in the middle of an urban residential zoned area.

Trucedgent: A well dressed man of impeccible manners who is ferocious, scathingly harsh, cruel savage, aggressively self-assertive, belligeran. See truculent

Rogale: tales of hair grwing success using the patent form of minoxidal. We were rogaled with tales of his shiny brown tresses.

Tuation: Carefully controlled tuition meted out is small portions. from Ration and Tuition

unplifier: an elctronic device atached to receivers or musical instruments to make them quieter. "The people down the street could heare the sound of his guitar until we plugged it into the unplifier. now only he cane hear it in his room." The inventor of the unplifier beacme the world's first trilllionare.

Minasuim: a place wher you can do the lowest amount of physical activity with the smallest amount of equipment. Antonym: Gymnasium

Dismanced: the act of making someone fall out of love. The opposite or romance.

This is my full list here:

chekenner   cohesikko   prostran   trightinal   unplifier jurambles   pearch   schibindy   huskincators   logitic
bribleash   descal   wadescrings   kingerham   minasium sepant   wholisantens   extraching   ilinaction   swarce abrivale   apshamtrages   bulaitkes   rogale   shaddison
affamoll   hackene   juddincindly   confologatived   tuations
weation   undeliered   trucedgent   smocallocated   cratinclicears
gratious   resteat   dismanced   consibbotsware   cationoming
unican   atespotes   minized   frilos   brible
reprovary   lusing   compars   expaciends   warmely

One Pattern, Two Dresses

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:34:17 -0500

The December issue of Burda Magazine has several very interesting dress patterns in it. I decided that two patterns were suited to some of the fabric in my stash and one pattern in particular was perfect for two pieces that have been screaming out to be made inot something.

This is dress 107. it's also available on the BurdaStyle website to download. I made it as a short dress with long sleeves and as a full length sleeveless dress with a tie in the back. Here's the short long sleeve version:

I used a black and pink sheer velvet devoure fabric. It's meant to be worn with something underneath. I have a black and a pink cami to wear under the top part and a black satin slip for the bottom. it looks best with opaque tights or black leggings or dark skinny jeans. Here's a close up of the deep V neck with pintucks and the Deep inverted V midriff band.

I used Wonderfil's Razzle thread http://wonderfil.net/wonderfilcms/v1/Default.aspx?tabid=66&productId=4 and I hand stitched the saddle stitch details at the necck and the band. There was no neckband so I cut the pattern beyond the fold line and added a seam allowance. The midriff band was a bit fiddly and time consuming but worth the work in the end.

The second dress is made sleeveless so it can be worn like a jumper in the winter and as a sundress in the summer. I added tie belts to the side seams so I could make it fit very close around the rib cage and make me look thinner.

It's just below the knee length. I serged the armhole edges, folded them over, pressed and top stitched. Here's a detail of the small pintucks in the back and the tie belt:

The fabric is a vintage rayon challis. It's quite springy and didn't hold it's pressing as well as I would have liked. It bounced back more than I wanted. I might need to use something to set the press of the tucks, such as a rajah cloth.

Overall I like both these dresses. They fit snug where it looks good and they de-emphasise the parts that I don't want emphasized. The pattern was relatively easy to sew, the details were more time consuming than difficult. I probably won't make this one again, simply because there are so many dress pattern out there that two of one style is more than enough. There's still another pattern in the magazine I want to make.

This project was also published on the BurdaStyle US website: http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/one-pattern-two-dresses--3

Hi Dave! If you're not Dave then...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:50:14 -0500

Hi Dave! If you're not Dave then there's nothing here for you. I was looking at ready to go PC's and Canada Computer has the best selection of good quality budget computers. Most on this page: http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=7_124&sort=0&brand=0&price=1&location=0 come with keyboard, mouse, CPU but no monitor. THere'e everything from out of date refurbished computers to bottom of the line to mid-point systems. I think we could find something there.

A also found some internet services that are cheap, cheaper and cheapest. This one is 2.95 a month for 56K dial up: http://www.295.ca/index.html and it's a local business.

This place is also has a budget Dial up program that's faster because it's got some acceleration thingy: http://www.distributel.ca/en/category.aspx?pc=Internet There were several glowing reviews for this service.

These guys let you bundle home phone and internet together: http://www.acanac.ca/DSL.html?gclid=CJPrvrXw2a0CFYvRKgodkC3xmA for less than Bell phone service.

And here's the current provider's dial up page: http://www.execulink.ca/connecting-residents/internet-connectivity/dial-up/ I think we could look at going to a better quality service from the same company and it would still be a relatively inexpensive service.

So that's what I've done so far and that's more than enough. see you later.

My Sure-Fire Never-Fail Unpsychic Predictions for the Coming Year

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:51:19 -0500

At the beginning of every new year we see a glut of two things in popular media: The end of the year best/worst lists and brash predictions of the coming year. I don't care about last year...it's over and done with. Do we really need a another loser best-of lists pretending to be witty and ironic but coming across as nothing more than a great big boast of "I know more than you so bite me!" So I will not make any lists of what I liked and hated about last year.

I will however, make a series of bold predictions about the new year. I am not a psychic. I have no paranormal powers. I do not use tarot cards, I don't gaze into crystals, nor do I channel anything...excepting of course cable news programs. Yet I feel that my unpsychic predictions will be stunningly accurate, in a way heretofore not seen from those other psychics. They make predictions, yet they never answer to their 99.9% inaccuracy rate. I have no doubts about the accuracy of my unpsychic predictions. They stand up to scrutiny year after year. See, I have written out this list privately for for my own amusement for many years, and every December 31, when I bring it to see if I was right, I am stunned once again by its incredible accuracy. I started posting it on-line back in 2006 and it has stunned the internetverse with its unfailing accuracy. So once again this year I am sharing this blast from the past: my never-fail unpsychic predictions.

Celebrity News

A long forgotten star of an old sitcom will see a revival of his/her career along with a revival of the old sitcom.
A long forgotten star will attempt an unsuccessful comeback
A top name celebrity will reveal a long hidden addiction.
A young twenty something female will break onto the scene, and be declared the next big thing. She will party all night and try her talents at singing, dancing and acting and be found sadly lacking in all three.
Long forgotten nude photos of aforementioned star will suddenly be made public.
A celebrity couple, long married, considered stable,will suddenly and without warning, break up.
A celebrity couple will marry after a whirlwind romance. They will divorce soon after.
A celebrity will make a fool of him/herself on national television.

Entertainment news

A highly hyped, heavily promoted all-star Hollywood summer blockbuster movie will bomb at the box office.
A low budget no-star independently made and released film will become a surprise hit raking in ton of money.
A big name music star will release a long awaited follow up album that will top the billboard chart in its first week, then sink to number 500 in the second week.
A new artist with a different sound and little record company promotion will release the hit of the year.
A long forgotten star from the past will release a come-back album that becomes a surprise hit.
A long forgotten artist from the past will release a new album that no-one will buy.
A fad novelty or comedy song will become the pop radio hit of the summer.

Television

None of the new shows in September will live up to the network's summer hype.
A surprise guest director will direct an episode of a cult favourite show.
There will be a new sit-com about twenty-somethings singles looking for romance.
There will be a new and shocking realty show with a twist.
There will be a drama about a tormented person escaping their past and thrown into an implausible situation involving police work, irregardless of their lack of qualifications for the job-which forms the premise of the show.
In a bid to out-scoop each other, the cable news channels will make serious mistakes in a major news story.

Sports

A number one first round draft pick will fail to live up to expectations.
A college team will come from nowhere and end up ranked fourth in their division in the NCAA march madness tournament.
Last year's champion will go from first to worst in one year
Last year's worst team will be a surprise division leader
A star player from last season will demand too much money and sit out the season in protest.
A star player who sat out the previous season holding out for more money will sign with a new team and take a major pay cut for a chance "To prove myself to the fans."
After toiling for several years in the minors, second string, from the bench, a low round draft pick will be given a chance and become the league's most valuable player.
A team comprised of big name big money free agent signings will not find the needed chemistry to win games.
A former superstar on a champion team will write a shocking tell all book that becomes a best seller.
Don Cherry will whine about something.
And, with this being an Olympic year a pair of Olympic predictions: There will be a controversy over scoring in an Olympic event.
A Big Name Olympic athlete will fail a drug test. A year later the athlete will appear in the 7th season of "The surreal life" even if they only speak Latvian

News Stories

A natural disaster of epic proportions will strike a developing third world nation, sending all its progress back 25 years.
An area that hasn't seen flooding in fifty years will be hit with devastating floods
A minor skirmish between countries/factions/ethnic groups that have never had troubles before will lay the groundwork for escalating tensions which will lead to war in less than ten years.
Previous story will appear buried in the third section on the fourth page of most major newspapers, where no one will see it.
There will be weird weather which may or may not be the ultimate proof of global climate change.
Records for cold weather will be broken.
Records for how weather will be broken.
Records for rain will be broken.
Records for drought will be broken.
Farmers will complain there is too much rain.
Farmers will complain there is too little rain.
A major scientific breakthrough that could lead to a cure for a major disease will be mostly unreported as news editors won't understand what the scientists are trying to say.
A blog will report a news story the the regular news media won't touch
A political scandal will rock a major nation.
A politician will find himself in a controversy over his/her love life.
A politician will retire amid growing controversy.
A major political figure will anger many people with comments made during a speech.

I'm sure you get the picture now! The majority of these predictions will come true this year, as they have stood the test of time and have come true almost every previous year. Here's the original list of unpsychic predictions from 2006: http://www.lincatz.com/thelitterbox/index.blog/1379310/my-surefire-neverfail-unpsychic-predictions-for-the-coming-year/

And that's my sure-fire never-fail unpsychic predictions, fresh from the Kat's litterbox!

Crystal Clay Persuasion

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:53:11 -0500

Now that the holiday season is over -kids are back in school, the last family party was held on Sunday, and all the lights and decorations are down -it's time to get creative again. There's lots of time to spend experimenting and trying new ideas, techniques and tools. So with three months of snow and cold keeping me mostly indoors I brought out my jewelry making tools yesterday and began playing with some of my beads and things.

At the Toronto Creative Festival I got some Crystal Clay and crystal chatons at That Bead Lady's booth. I have visited the store once while driving to Haliburton. It's in Newmarket and we pass through Newmarket on the way there, so I made an extra effort to visit their display at the festival.

Crystal Clay is a two part epoxy putty that sticks to anything and everything. It's air cured and it takes about 24 hours to completely harden. It's pretty much the same ans that "miracle putty" that they were selling through TV pitchman commercials. Someone must have seen the commercial and though "I bet that would work for jewelry making!" Who ever that person was deserves our undying gratitude, because it works perfectly. It fact, it's better than perfect.

Here are my first experiments with crystal clay. I made two rings and two bolo slides. I like the top left ring and the bottom right bolo the best. I tried to stay away from what most people do: throw random crystal all over the place and made a balanced and symmetrical pattern with the different sizes and shapes.

I have several more ideas now. I want to try to make beads. First I am going to take some boring beads and cover them with a layer of this clay. Then I will press some crystal chatons on the clay and let it harden. Voila! New beads from old boring beads.

Then I'm going to take some some metal discs that are for making pins and brooches. I'm going to wire them together and use them as a base for a large focal point bead I've had in mind for a while. I'm not sure if I need a base, but I think it will add extra strength to the piece.

I would also like to experiment with gold leafing on the putty. I put a little flake on the side of one of the bolos and it seems to be sticking well. So far. If I can add gold leaf it gives me even more options for design possibilities. I have lots of old broken rhinestone necklaces that can be recycled by embedding in crystal clay and the leafing over the clay. It will look like expensive metal, without the expense. Or the metal.

And that's what I am working on. Tomorrow I will have a few more pieces to show off. I also discovered something called "sliders" There are three types of sliders, one has to do with beads stitching, one with jewelry making and one with food. I think you can easily guess which one I'll be talking about.

A New Year and A Blogging Resolution!

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 12:17:51 -0500

Happy New Year! According to the Mayans it's the end of another 500 year cycle. According to the interweb that means it's the year of the apocalypse. According to astrology it's the beginning of the Aquarian Age. According to history it's the 100th anniversary of the sinking of The Titanic! And according to the sane and rational people of the world it's just another year. Let's hope the sane and rational ones are correct, like they have been with all the other apocalyptic predictions.

Remember Y2K, when every microchip in the universe was supposed to go crazy or explode and there would be toasters roaming the streets killing people? Yeah, and remember how on January 31 as the Y2K made it's way across the planet through the different time zones NOTHING HAPPENED? And around 3:30 when it went through the former USSR and none of the old nukes exploded or decided to launch themselves towards anyone everyone realized there was all this panic for NOTHING? Yeah...so I'm guessing that this 1012 thing will be the same all over again. I think that December 21 is a good day for an end of the world party, don't you?

It's also the time of year for resolutions. I resolve to be a better blogger this year. I'm going to clean out some of the old crap and re-categorize many of these entries. The focus is going to be mostly on sewing, fashion crafts and the like. I will try to have at least one entry a week, and hope for more.

Christmas was good. There were big meals, lots of shopping and the weather was fantastic. It was so nice to have Christmas in March. Now that Christmas is over it's back to winter. I got art supplies and jewelry hangers and organizers and lots of gift cards so Christmas was really great.The tree isn't' down yet, but we'll probably start taking stuff down this evening.

So that's all for today. Ive cleaned up a whole mess of stuff from 2005 and '06 and it's on the '07. Later~

Christmas in now "under Control" I'm nowhere...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:23:00 -0500

Christmas in now "under Control" I'm nowhere near done the shopping but the big, hardest to find present is now under the tree, the presents I am sewing are almost completed and the house is all pretty and sparkly. So I am happy and less stressed.

I'm working on a new site design. After months of fighting syntax errors and weeks of testing layouts here's a published test page: http://www.lincatz.com/newindex/ I still can't get the background color to that pale aqua that I prefer, there's a few minor spelling mistakes, and in spite of my best efforts that footer thing that came with the template won't go away and I have no pictures yet. But this will be the basic look of the page, complete with little stitch like borders and the little pocket like sidebar.

So here's a link that has nothing to do with sewing: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/12/14/top-24-deep-space-pictures-of-2011/ It's hard to pick just one to use as a desktop wallpaper!The bay star having a hissy fit is amazing, so s the big gas bubble, the exoplanets are mind warping -but my favorite is "the Space Volvox" Which sound like a critter Created by Dr Suess but looks a little like staring into the gaping maw of goatse.

And that's all. We still have the cats separated in different areas of the house. We trade them around so they get used to each others scent markings and so they know the other cat isn't going anywhere any time soon. Christmas eve in going to be a challenge, we need to ensure that everyone understands that the two cats must be kept apart or they will fight. Everyone needs different cats for different areas of the house, after all basement cat might clash with the living room decor and upstairs cat might not match with the pale aqua in the laundry room.

And that's my sewing free entry for today.

Q: Is sewing polar fleece easy?

Thu, 8 Dec 2011 10:33:34 -0500

Time for the annual Q: Is it easy to sew polar Fleece? I'm a beginner and I've made a couple things. Do I need a serger? What interfacing do I use?

A: Very easy. Good for you, then you have more than enough experience for fleece! Absolutely not!. None.

Polar Fleece is made from recycled soda pop bottles, water bottles and juice bottles. It's a polyester fiber that acts like a natural wool fiber. It's warm, water resistant (It will stay dry in the snow and light rain but it will get wet in a downpour) moderately windproof and it's light and less bulky than wool fleece. It's shrink-proof, washable and machine dryable on low. The edges never fray or unravel so no seam finishes are needed, so a serger is not required. You can't press it, but you can lightly steam it. You can't use interfacing so tailored styles with stiff collars and lapels are out of the question. Fleece is beefy enough that cuffs and collars hold their shape without interfacing. Don't line fleece unless it's with more fleece. Fleece is designed to trap a pocket of warm air around the body in the fine fleece fibers: a lining prevents the fibers from trapping body heat and the jacket will not be as warm as when it's unlined.

That's sort of weird isn't it? You'd think adding lining would make it warmer...but it doesn't. That because fleece was designed so well for its purpose: lightweight warmth without excess bulk. A few "experts" suggested lining with cotton flannel, don't listen to these experts. napped fabric against fleece will bind, twist, and worse. the two fabrics will battle it out against each other and this will make you very uncomfortable while wearing battling fabrics.

Choose patterns that are designed for fleece, or patterns with few extra details such as inseam pockets, linings, etc. Kwik Sew Patterns have fleece outdoor jackets for everyone in the family in all sizes, from toddlers to men. Simplicity has several designed for beginners including a few that are bit more stylish that the classic outdoor jacket. Fleece also makes great accessories such as hats, mitts, scarves, bootliner socks, slippers, blankets and of course the "slanket" or "snuggie" A basic outdoor jacket is really the best beginner project, so I will assume you are making a jacket.

Here is the classic zip-front fleece outdoor jacket from Kwik Sew: Women's: http://www.kwiksew.com/catalog/cat_detail.cfm?pid=3297&Cat=Misses&Level=Outerwear&QL=MissOuterwear Men's http://www.kwiksew.com/catalog/cat_detail.cfm?pid=3187&Cat=Men&Level=Jackets,_Vests&QL=MenJacketsVest and Kid's: http://www.kwiksew.com/catalog/cat_detail.cfm?pid=3290&Cat=Girls&Level=Pants,_Shorts,_Tops,_Jackets&QL=GirlPantsShortsTopJacket Here's Simplicity's Fleece accessories for all sizes including mitts scarves, hats and more: http://www.simplicity.com/p-1690-missmenchild-vest-hat-scarves-mittens.aspx

Fleece has two sides, one side is smoothly brushed and napped, the other is fleecier. The smooth napped side traditionally goes on the outside and the fleecier side goes inside. For some printed fleeces the print is clearer on the fleecy side and muted on the smoother side the print is fuzzier. Use the side that you prefer when working with a print. Always use a "with nap" layout, meaning all the pieces need to go the same way: with the tops all at the top and the bottoms at the bottom, no turning pieces topsy turvy to make them interlock together. If you interlock to save fabric you get the naps running in different directions in solid colors and -even worse -you can have the print upside down. Most fleece is quite wide so you should be able to lay out the main body pieces across the fabric, with the back at the fold and the front near the selvedge. This will make matching the print across the jacket super easy. use the notch of the side seam and the notch of the front armhole as match points for the print when cutting the sleeve.

Cut using long sharp shears. You will generate lots of fluff so keep a swiffer cloth or duster nearby. Swiffers are best when it comes to picking up the fine lint generated by fleece. When sewing use a 16 needle and long staple polyester thread such as gutterman or mettler. The polyester has a bit of "give" it needs that for sewing the fleece. Use a shade that's slightly darker than your fabric, it blends in better. Use a longer stitch length, a minimum of 3.5. The length is needed to handle the bulk of the fabric and to let the feed dogs push it along. To short a length and your machine will stitch in one place and not move the fabric. The foot shouldn't get caught in the nap of the fleece, it should slide over with no problems. Some people use tissue paper between the foot and the fabric, I have never had any need to do so.

Finger press seams, or use a wooden pr plastic press tool. Do not let a hot iron make contact with the fleece, the iron will crush it and defeat the insulation qualities of the fleece. To make the jackets even warmer, finger press both allowances to one side and stitch them down. There's no open seam for wind to leak into, making it warmer.

If collars of facing seem a little limp then add another layer of fleece inside. You really don't need heavy interfacings at all, it may feel a little odd at first not having that stiffer interfaced facing, but trust me, the jacket will look better.

To finish the hems simple fold up and top stitch with a zig zag o straight stitch. the zig zag gives a bit of stretch. A hand sewn hem is technique overkill. There's no need for it to be invisible; fleece is a sporty and casual fabric and the garments only need sporty casual finishes. The top stitched hem will blend into the fibers of the fleece and be almost invisible.

Sewing fleece really is this easy. With no seam finishes and not needing interfacing or pressing it eliminates three things that beginners have trouble with. One you make a few simple things you can add patch pocket, flapped pockets, sleeve cuffs, and more to the basic jacket to give it even more style.

And for all those who really want it here's a pattern for a fleece Snuggie or Slanket in Three Sizes! http://www.simplicity.com/p-6325-its-so-easy-lounge-blankets.aspx

Fleece is a fun and easy fabric, so get yourself a couple yards of fleece, cut a few simple pattern pieces and in little time you'll have a nice warm jacket that can be worn on cool fall days or as an extra warm layer under your coat on the coldest winter days.