Well…. it’s not exactly true that ALL of my creative moments are directed to the new release.  Of course I’ve had a few little home-decor projects for the new digs, mostly for the girls’ rooms. I found matching upholstered headboards at our local thrift store and I’m embarrassed to say how little I paid.  Combined with free leftover pink ikat fabric from my mother’s stash, I rid the world of a little more chintz.

BEFORE                                                                                                                      

AFTER 

“But what about matching curtains?” you ask?  Here they are:

I had so much fun at my first attempt at grommet-top curtains.  I found the hardware at Rowley.  All you need are the grommets, a little plastic setter, and a mallet.  Easy peasy!

OK.  Back to work on the new pattern.  No more home-dec projects until the release!

~Carla

Even with Passover and Easter upon us, you would think Mother Nature would be sending some daffodils and balmy breezes to lift our spirits. But not here in northern Ohio, where the temperature remains steady at the freezing point and there is still snow on the ground. Nevertheless, I’ve been sewing for my girls again.

The girls still have not grown out of their constant desire to be twins, so here are their requested matching dresses.

Luckily I had just enough gorgeous purpley poppy matte brocade fabric sourced in NYC a few years ago to use for the bodices. The skirts are created from a fine wale corduroy courtesy of our favorite in town fabric-retailer, while the chartreuse faux belt was carried all the way back from Thailand by my brother!  Thanks, Seth!

You may notice that the gorgeous little bow hand-tacked to the belt at the waistline of the dress. I created it using a Flourish Shoe Clip bow (part of a new accessory kit line we will be launching via Etsy soon–take a sneak peak at the bow tie kits already in the shop).

The bodice pattern pieces are from our Olivine Dress (using the Bodice Lining piece for the main fabric) but the cap sleeves shown are a variation of the Olivine original. Here’s how I changed the original sleeve to make a cap sleeve.

After cutting out the cap sleeve (cut along the dashed line shown above), you baste and insert the sleeve in a manner similar to a full sleeve.

Happy spring holidays to all!

~Carla

I have been dying to try a printing class at Cleveland’s local printing coop, Zygote Press, and was excited when my weekend schedule afforded me the chance to spend two whole days there.

We were supposed to design and print a business card for our class project.  I designed a card to include with Clever Charlotte orders instead, so look for one of these cards in a Clever Charlotte package coming your way soon!

We printed our cards on a Chandler & Price, one of the leading platen presses of its day and still highly sought after. The C&P also happened to be  made right here in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.–see?

Before starting out on the C&P, we ginned up a hand-cranked Vandercook to proof our designs. Here are the 4 student works being locked up in the bed–

There were lots of other fun, old-timey things in the studio to photograph–

I can’t wait to get back into the studio to finish up my cards, hopefully in a custom color, and who knows what other fun projects!

Happy pressing!

~ Erin

Wouldn’t it be great to apply the Starling Flounce pattern piece to the armhole of a basic shift dress and let it drape down? (from Gucci)

I adore how this flounce application wraps gracefully around the shoulders (from Gucci):

And again, accenting the shoulders (from Gucci):

How about some asymmetry from Chloe Spring 2013 Ready to Wear?

Or this wide flounce from a center placket, not dissimilar from our original Starling Dress design (also from Chloe, Fall 2013 Ready to Wear.)

Does this get you inspired to rework your Starling Flounce?  We’d love to see your frothy concoctions posted to our flickr group!

Yes, I finished a project!  Remember this cute Charlotte?  Well, here’s my version.

She was such a delight to put together–all by hand.  Felt has to be one of the most forgiving crafting mediums to work with and the results so rewarding. Which is not to say that I didn’t have a few oops moments, but I learned a lot on my first attempt and think the next one will go even smoother.  I made a small change to the dress by embellishing it with three delicate Mokuba ribbon rosettes I picked up from Nan’s shop, très magnifique!

I think Charlotte’s almost as cute from behind, and her tail acts as a convenient tripod, allowing her to self-stand.

Cynthia has added some very cute details to the dress, like the felt button that holds Charlotte’s dress together below her tail. And yes, those handmade buttons are working buttons!

In honor of Carla’s trip to Paris in a few weeks, Charlotte is posing in front of la tour eiffle, courtesy of the lovely ladies of Chartreuse.

Got any Paris recommendations for Carla–places to eat, shop, visit?

Au revoir!

~Erin

We wanted to share with you a guest post we recently did for Craft Test Dummies, a wonderful resource of craft product reviews hosted by a super crafty, creative cousin of mine, Jenny Rohrs.  Check out her site for unbiased information about the newest craft gizmos and products and use our curated list of online fabric resources to find the perfect fabric for your next Clever Charlotte pattern!

This Starling Dress is made of a cream-colored fine wale corduroy with a ruffle in a quilter’s cotton coordinating with the prints our first V-Day look.

Finally, I added this hand embroidered and lace embellishment to really drive home the message–

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

 Happy Sewing!

~Erin

In this ensemble, we’ve paired our complete Raven look (hoodie + front pintucked pants) with our Chickadee Blouse.

The hoodie is soft and scrumptious in this faux rabbit fur, aptly lined in a delicate white + red dotted Swiss. You remember when we used the same fur for the lovely little cape featured here?

The tie on the hoodie is a simple wide grosgrain ribbon sewn into the seam (rather than on the outside of the fabric), and a small purple glass button closes the collar on the blouse.

Normally, we do not use quilters cotton for our kids clothes but here we made an exception for the perfect mix of Valentines colors of this pattern.

Finally, the Raven Pants are a fine wale corduroy (yes, they really are that red).  We added some coordinating fabric on the back pockets to tie it in with the blouse.

Happy sewing!

~Erin

Here’s an older project from my crafting archives.  This was only my second–ahem, completed–quilt and took only 9 months to plan, assemble and quilt!  I chose my favorite color combination–pink and coral with small sunny bursts of yellow.

I love interesting quilt backs as much as I love the letter “e”.

Here’s the recipient, the third child of good friends  (and, incidentally the sister of our first Charlotte model as seen on the Finch pattern cover).

Here’s the more of the frontside:

Happy quilting!

~ Erin

Since my sewing machine will be in the shop for a while, I’ve been on the lookout for some projects to do from the winter comfort of my couch.  You can imagine my excitement when I came across this clever Charlotte!

This Charlotte Fox is the creation of talented designer, Cynthia Treen, a delightful Rhode Island artisan who sews, crafts, quilts, you name it.  She has a whole line of felt animal patterns and kits under her brand, threadfollower. Here’s her adorable lineup of animals sold individually in kits:

These kits are a perfect afternoon-cuppa-tea-in-hand-project and would also make a great craft to make with an older child. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, which would you sew up first?

So, back to Charlotte–she’s stands just 6.5″ tall. On this inside, she has pipe cleaners for arms so that you can pose her and, with the help of her tail, she stands all by herself.  The PDF pattern has very detailed instructions and illustrations. I can’t wait to gather all my materials to get started.

Check out Charlotte’s little hand-sewn cape!  It’s currently 14 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Houndstooth Falls, so she’ll need this to keep her warm!

Oh, and Charlotte has a “friend” too (or is it a beau??). Say hello to dashing Felix.

Be sure to check out all the fun at Cynthia’s blog, follow her on Facebook, and oh, did I mention she  has a new book out too of small gift-related sewing projects??

Happy crafting on the couch!

~Erin