My latest design was pretty time intensive. I gained a lot of new knowledge and had fun making mistakes along the way. In this post I take you through the entire journey from shopping at Fabricana to hammering in the final metal snap. I also provide you with step by steps for fraying fabric and sewing a hidden patch pocket. As usual you get tons of helpful tips for drafting and sewing.

We all love videos! We filmed the entire process of creating this frayed denim jacket. Check out our YouTube video for the full Fast Forward Edition.

All fabric, thread and snaps from Fabricana. Click on below fabric links to purchase. Please note the quilting cotton prints may no longer be available. But you could take 3-5 different fabric prints in a similar color palette to create the same vibe of this lining. Fabricana carries some really fun Ruby Star Society prints that would work beautifully! I'm really digging the Stay Gold by Melody Miller series for Ruby Star Society they are selling right now.

I quite often say to my clients "talk to your fabric" or "what is the fabric telling you?". It sounds crazy but if we listen closely, the fabric will dictate how it wants to be pressed, folded, draped or manipulated. I started first with the lining. The quilting cotton prints made it easy to quilt in any formation I wanted. I really wanted to re-explore subway tile quilting but on a larger scale. We did this in the past with a Valentines Heart Shaped Bag. Initially the concept for the exterior jacket had no fraying element. Just keep it simple and let the lining shine was what I was going for. But the lining was so intricate and cool, that I had to make the exterior just as interesting. I'm sure we have all been there where a design evolves so much from initial concept. 

I have said it before, I am by no means a quilter. I just enjoy the visual of a "quilt" within a garment. The lining pattern pieces consisted of a BACK, FRONT x 2, UPPER SLEEVE x 2, LOWER SLEEVE x 2, and POCKET BAG x 4. I first mapped out which pieces I wanted the subway tiles to run vertically or horizontally. I started cutting out many many long strips of fabric. Some on grain and some cross grain (read on  below why this is important under tips). I then just started sewing strips together with no particular order. I let the fabric speak to me! I ended up creating an asymmetrical look to the tiles which I love.

Sewing up the lining of this jacket took up the majority of hours on this project. My guess is between 18-22 hrs. It involved cutting out strips, sewing strips, pressing each seam, cutting out each lining pattern piece, and securing edges. 150 strips in the end. Here are a few things I learn during this process I would love to pass an to you.

For more quilting tips check out our Quilted Heart Bag blog post. ​I couldn't resist trying on the layers of the jacket before them came together. Anyone else give in to this?

This was my first time intentionally fraying lines into a design. I made so many mistakes, but learned so much that made me wanting to make more designs with frayed seams. As I mentioned earlier, I also had no intention of creating any fabric manipulation to the denim but the lining looked so nice that the denim needed its own special treatment.

The front pocket panels and the entire back of the jacket had the vertical frayed edges. I took these steps to make it happen. I'm pretty proud of the outcome and look forward to applying this technique again.
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Step by Step Fraying Denim

1. Prewash fabric and press.
2. Cut out strips of fabric on grain. I cut out 3" strips for this jacket. NOTE: If you cut out on the cross grain, the frays will be representative of the darker color in your denim.
3. With wrong sides of the fabric facing each other, stitch cut out strips together. I used a 1/2" seam allowance (SA). The more SA the more fray you get, so feel free to play around on samples first.
4. Stitch another line right beside the previous stitch line. This step might not be necessary, but I figure with all the fraying the "SA" technically becomes weaker, so this was my way of providing more stability on these frayed seams.
5. Gently pull out the warp threads in the SA. This takes a while, be patient. 
6. Create a large enough fabric piece that is 3-5" larger that pattern piece you need to cut out.
7. Stay stitch or overlock around the raw edges of the large fabric piece you just created.
8. Throw it in the washer and dryer. This step is so important! It is what takes the frayed edges from flat to fluffy and soft.
9. Now go cut out your pattern pieces. 

The quilted lining and the hand frayed edges of the denim are major design elements in this jacket. But elements such as pockets, metal snap closures, topstitching and a hanger hook are so useful. Read on about the unique approach I took to some and things I learned along the way.

Pockets
This jacket has four not so obvious pockets. Two deep in-seam pockets along the side seams and two patch style pockets at the front chest. I took more of a non traditional approach to the patch pockets. I wanted frayed vertical lines to be present in the front but not the full shoulder to hem length, and I did not want a pocket to interfere or lay on top of the frayed edges. This pocket consists of two major pattern pieces- EXTERIOR POCKET PANEL and a HIDDEN PATCH POCKET. If you want to create a hidden pocket like I did, here is a step by step.

1. Draft EXTERIOR POCKET PANEL by measuring length from top of patch pocket placement down to hem. Width you can follow your PATCH POCKET pattern piece.  Be sure to add seam allowance (SA) at the top and bottom edges.
2. With right sides of the fabric facing each other, stitch the top of EXTERIOR POCKET PANEL to the top of the HIDDEN PATCH POCKET. Press all SA's towards the interior patch pocket.
3. Under-stitch on the interior patch pocket side.
4. With wrong sides of the fabric facing each other, press top edge of pocket flat, letting the under-stitching automatically roll layers in towards the pocket.
5. Place pocket layers on FRONT JACKET lining up to pocket placement drill marks.
6. Stitch bottom edge of HIDDEN PATCH POCKET layer only to the FRONT JACKET.
7. Stitch sides of EXTERIOR POCKET PANEL down to the FRONT JACKET.

Note: If you do not wish to have frayed edges along the sides of the EXTERIOR PATCH POCKET, simply press in SA's prior to stitching down to FRONT JACKET.

Metal Snap Closures
​In my opinion, metal hardware like snaps are suited for denim over traditional buttons. I initially had darker colored snaps. But as I have learned, designs evolve and it is best to go with it. The frayed edges of the denim seams needed a lighter colored snap to balance the white of the fray.  Honestly, if there was a way to make invisible closures for this jacket that would have been my preference. I wanted the frayed edges to be the star. I could experiment with magnets, but I am afraid of how the laundering process would effect the fabric.

Top Stitching
Super underrated element in most garments. Top stitching makes garment seams sit flat, provides extra stability, allows layers to launder easily and looks damn good when done well. I've made this jacket in the past, and the hem was always top stitched. I proceeded to top stitch this hem as well, but took it out the same day. It interfered with the vertical lines made by the frayed edges. A lesson that you don't always need to follow traditional rules.

Hanger Hook
Hand downs the most useful element in the jacket. Hooks are not in enough jackets. I am making it my mission to put them in all designs going forward. The only issue is if I want to make this a fully reversible jacket in the future, how can I incorporate a hook? Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas please.

I absolutely love the weight of this jacket. It feels heavy without being weighed down. I attribute that to the many many seams involved in the creation of it. This was also my first time (that I can recall) creating 3D with the fabric. It is not going to be my last. I already have another jacket cut in a darker denim color. The fraying I played around with vertical and horizontal lines and not lining! I will share that jacket soon.

I know we are all wondering what the jacket would look like inside out right?! So yup, I tried it on that way out of curiosity. It is nice with exception of the snaps being backwards and the hook being exposed. I think in the future I will try this design again, but with the intention of it being fully reversible. Let me know in the comments if you would wear this inside out.

If you would like to learn more about the textile manipulation and construction techniques in this post, book lessons today. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube for insider tips and inspiration.

Happy Sewing!
Filmed, photographed, written and created by Sheila Wong Studios.

As many of you know, my studio offers fashion design instruction. I assist my clients in creating many beautiful designs. I rarely have time to create personal designs for either myself or a loved one. It has been at least 8 years since I last created a Halloween costume. My last one was Sailor Jupiter if you are curious. My niece recently got into Japanese Anime, in particular Demon Slayer. There where no 'great' costumes online, so I did what any Aunt who could design would do. Create a custom cosplay outfit from scratch. In my late teens, I was obsessed with creating costumes for dancewear. So to be pulled back into creating a costume was a really nice treat this year. This was by far my favorite design project this year.

The Demon Slayer character I was venturing out to design was Nezuko Kamado. Her outfit consists of a pink geometric printed kimono, a haori style coat, a checkered obi, a corded obijime, a green obiage, leg coverings (aka kyahan), a pink hair ribbon, and a face mask. Nezuko normally wears a bamboo muzzle, but I thought a face mask would be more appropriate. Above is the inspiration photo taken from Reddit website. It seems like a lot of elements to create, but I have constructed haori style kimonos in the past so was up for the challenge. In this blog post, I'm going to show you each element of Nezuko's outfit and insight into how I created them. I hope you enjoy!​

In early Sept I was able to take full body measurements of my niece. So set with her measurements and an inspiration image of Nezuko I got to work. I was unable to do any fittings during this process, so guessed a bit in regards to ease and proportions.  All fabric purchased from Fabricana in Richmond. 

Hands down the pink kimono was my favorite part of the Nezuko costume to design. It was also the most challenging part. I have made similar kimono's in the past, but in adult size. I had to guess the amount of ease, length and proportions. I used my experience with drafting past ones. I had to imagine my niece beside me as I drafted the armhole depths and collar widths. Good thing I just spent a good chunk of time with her recently (we live in separate provinces). For the most part, the pattern pieces where rectangles, with exception of the back neckline, front hem and sleeve hem.

The brown overcoat (aka haori) was designed to fit  perfectly on top of the pink kimono. I drafted the sleeves and body to be 3/4" larger all around to have the pink kimono sit inside with out any pulling or peeking through.
On a traditional haori, waist ties can be found at the front facing to hold the jacket closed. I hand stitched the ties to avoid top stitching and maintain softness. Even though this was just a Halloween costume, maintaining some tradition and quality is always important to me while designing.

For some reason the checkered obi spoke to me first. It was the first thing I designed. I have designed an obi similar to this one back in 2006 for my fashion design grad collection. I decided to take a similar approach, but used a tie back closure instead of snaps to allow my niece to tighten at her own comfort level. I also included a discreet panel along one side of the center back to allow her to still wear it beyond this year. 
Cutting out the rectangles and quilting them together was so satisfying. A few tips for this checkered obi.

• Pre-fuse the interfacing to the cotton prior to cutting out the red and white rectangles. It will stabilize the fabric ahead of time and make it easier to cut.
• Stitch either the rows or the columns first.
• If you want seams to line up ensure when pining the four points of entry align to the seams. While sewing, do not take out the pin, gently hand wheel over the pin while sewing to ensure the seams to not shift. 

The upper obi section called the obiage was quite simple in design. Having it button on is far from traditional. But traditionally it is a separate element to the main obi. I wanted my niece to have the ability to wear the obi alone or with the obiage. The entire obiage was interfaced to maintain the structure of the entire obi section. To keep a clean appearance (no top stitching), the small front knots, where hand stitched. I applied this same hand stitched technique in a variety of spots in this costume.

The gold obijimie was the very last thing I created. Initially I thought it could just be tied around the body. But for a 10 year old, that would be extremely uncomfortable. I carefully looped the gold rope into a white glittery elastic to create a belt that could be worn right over the obi. Looking back it would have made more sense to have the gold cord stitched into the back seam of the obi. I figure now my niece has a pretty cool belt she can wear with another costume in the future.

The leg coverings where the least interesting part of this entire costume for me to design, but I knew it pulled the entire look together. I learned that kyahan are cloth leggings worn by the samurai class. Fitting as Nezuko is a demon slayer. The leg coverings are traditionally padded for extra protection. I decided not to pad them. I figured this was more cosplay than a functional kyahan.​
To keep the kyahan sitting properly on the legs, I placed a hidden elastic at the top. The ties essential just became decoration. The 12 ties where cut, pressed into place then top stitched prior to sewing into the center back seam. This was rather time consuming, but hey I already spent days top stitching the pink kimono! This was a breeze in comparison.

Final touches included a distinct pink hair ribbon and a face mask. I hand stitched the hair ribbon to ensure no top stitching was visible. Nezuko technically wears a bamboo muzzle. I opted for a face mask with the same colors so my niece could wear the costume to school.  

A big shout out to my amazing sister in law for taking the final look shots. Let us know in the comments if you want to see more costume related posts.
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Happy Sewing!
Created by Sheila Wong Studios.

This draft-a-long has been a long time coming. March 2020 to be exact. Due to Covid, my Reverse Pattern Drafting workshop at Maiwa School of Textiles got cancelled. Many students reached out wishing to still learn digitally. Some signed up as clients to learn one on one with our studio, while others waited for this draft-a-long. Thank you so much for your patience. 

Reverse Pattern Drafting (what we call it in our studio), is the process of extracting out a 2D pattern from an already sewn 3D garment. This is a great way to learn basic guidelines in garment drafting, and you get exposed to what pattern shapes look like. When I was younger, this was the way I learned how complex patterns like sleeves, plackets and collars looked like. In this draft-a-long, we are going to keep things simple with a sleeveless knit top from Lululemon. You can use a knit or a woven. This draft-a-long is just for the main front and back sections of the top. Hem finishing's will be addressed in another detailed draft-a-long.
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Here are a few important things to keep in mind before starting.

• Ensure garment has been laundered to avoid unnecessary stretching or distortion from being worn.
• There can be human error in the drafting and construction of the original garment so seam lengths and curves may differ from the left to right side of the garment. When extracting out the pattern, choose either the left or right side and stick with it.
• If the original garment is a knit, best to stick with a knit fabric for your recreation. If it is a loose fitting garment, then you can experiment with introducing it in a woven garment.

Once you have a sleeveless top picked out, get your drafting station prepared.

Fold the garment in half along the center front (CF)/center back (CB) line with the front side of the garment facing out. Mark the fold line with either chalk, pins or thread basting. Establishing CF and CB lines are one of the starting points in pattern drafting. In this example we will pin the center line.​

On drafting paper, draw in a line a few inches longer than the center back length of the garment. Label this line CF/CB GUIDELINE. This guideline can be drawn close to the edge of the paper. ​

​We will be creating a working pattern with the front and back shirt nesting on top of each other. Using either a sharp tracing wheel or a pencil, extract out the necklines, shoulder seam, armholes, side seam and hem. A pencil can be used for the edges that are exposed to the paper. For areas like the front neckline that have fabric right under the edge, a tracing wheel will need to be used to allow you to transfer shape onto paper.

​When using the tracing wheel, avoid pulling the fabric. Use opposite hand to help hold flat the garment. We really like using a super sharp tracing wheel while reverse pattern drafting. If you do not have one, simply use a large hand sewing needle to create the necessary markings.

Remove garment from tracing area, but keep it close by for reference. Using a pencil roughly mark in traced edges in using a dashed line. It will be easier to see for future steps. For demonstration purposes we are using a sharpie. Please use a pencil.​

Front Neckline: Using a French curve, slide ruler in to fit as best into extracted neckline. Stop when bottom of curve hits the squared out guideline. The curve should blend into the guideline to remain perpendicular for approximately ¾” to ¼” prior to CF/CB GUIDELINE. Unless you have a V neckline. Line up ruler to hit the shoulder neck point. ​

A side seam is typically straight or has a gentle curve coming in towards the body around the waist. Draw in accordingly with a straight ruler or French curve. Be sure to hit your marks at the hem and the underarm points. ​

Now it is time to 'true' the pattern pieces. This is the concept of ensuring the pattern pieces can be sewn together, and any curves or lines intersecting or running from one pattern piece to the next, will look good together. I like to think of this as— ensuring my puzzle pieces will fit. With this sleeveless top, there are only two major seams that will get sewn together between the front and back pieces. Side seams and shoulder seams.​

Lastly, please add seam allowance, notches, grainlines and labels. In our example, we have added 1/4" seam allowance along the shoulder seams and side seams. 1/4" is a normal knit seam allowance width. When a serger machine is set up for two needles, the stitch width is 1/4", perfect!

​1/2" seam allowance is used along the neckline and armholes, as we intend on drafting a ribbing hem finish to these areas. 1/2" will allow for the raw edges of the ribbing to be basted together with an overlock stitch first. Then, when stitching the ribbing onto the garment opening, the blade will cut away the basting stitch (1/4") to reduce overall bulk. I always try to avoid to overlock stitches on top of each other.

A sleeveless top does not require many notches. One notch matching the front and back side seam mid-way is great for alignment. Even though we do not have sleeves, placing one notch on the lower front armhole and two notches on the lower back armhole provide an immediate visual cue while sewing, especially when the neckline depths are similar. The armhole notches will be important in our next draft-a-long when we cover hem finishes.

If you want to learn more about pattern drafting, contact us for one on one lessons.
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Happy Drafting!
Designed, photographed and written by Sheila Wong Studios

A: Yes, definitely— working for yourself is so different in many ways. Being a very visual person, I often get inspired by looking at my surroundings and the people around me. Sometimes I would see a cool design detail and try to sketch it down or sneak a photo of it. I also feel the most inspired during my travels. However, all of that was impossible due to the pandemic. Luckily, I do have a habit of keeping inspirational images categorized by theme on my phone, as well as having a physical scrapbook of images I collect. Going through them helps me feel inspired and excited to create.

Staying connected with my peers from fashion design school has also been very helpful for keeping me motivated. We spent endless nights working together and experienced the same hardships while designing, so we know and understand each other well. We’re always rooting for each other and happy for each other’s successes. Coming to the design studio and working with Sheila also inspires me a lot— she is honestly one of the most nonjudgmental instructors/mentors I’ve met and pushes me to challenge myself. Overall, I think that having a strong support system is so important.
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A: To be perfectly honest, running a label is expensive, and I believe that it would be easier to have a full or part-time job to help fund business expenses and to have more capital to expand the label.

Attending the fashion design program was very physically and mentally intensive. By the time I finished the program, I experienced burnout. The pandemic also started in March 2020, which was when I finished school, so in the end, I took some time to rest. I focused on what I really wanted to design mindfully and slowly, something that wasn’t possible for school projects due to tight deadlines.
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I am happy to say that my health is in a much better state now. Going forward, I want to look for technical and design-related jobs that will help me to gain more knowledge and skills in this industry. However, I also want to keep working on my label because it keeps me passionate, curious, and inspired.
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A: I wish that I had better budgeting skills because there are so many hidden costs of running a business.

I’m generally a free-spirited person and not too business-oriented, and that has proven to be difficult for creating strategic and consistent social media content.  The whole idea of planning what to post ahead of time and thinking of captions etc. sometimes feels exhausting, but marketing is an area that I would like to improve on. Interestingly enough, this seems to be a common concern for other designers I know, so many of them have hired someone else to manage the marketing side of the label.
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At school, I was very grateful to have learnt how to use Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. However, I do want to learn more about the design aspect of graphic design— I do all the packaging design for the label, which is one of my favourite parts of making a brand. I really wanted to go into packaging design when I was younger so getting to design my own labels fulfills this dream.

Portfolio Website: javialeung.com
Shop Website: shop.javialeung.com
Instagram: @javialeungofficial 

Incorporating patchwork and quilt work into designs can be seen all over social media right now. Not only is it popular, but it has the ability to decrease leftover scraps otherwise thrown out from past designs. Patchwork is a composition of pieces of fabric in a variety of shapes, colors and sometimes fabric weights. Kind of like a hodgepodge. Patchwork is similar to quilting, but I feel like quilting is more calculated- less hodgepodge. But! I am not an expert at quilting, so feel free to share your insights in our comments below. You can read more about incorporating quilting techniques into designs in our Latest Design: Quilted Heart Bag.

Your feedback has been so positive on our Instagram when we shared our patchwork sweatshirts last year. It is now time to share with you our process for creating patchwork fabric, sewing with patchwork fabric, and tips to make it enjoyable! Read on to gain a better understanding of how we take a pile of scraps and turn them into in this case, a knit sweatshirt. You can incorporate patchwork fabric into your fabric pattern. Bonus for you is we made a Fast Forward Edition video going through the steps.

Creating patchwork fabric can be as easy or complex as you would like to make it. You could keep things simple with 2-3 colors and maintain the same dimensions for each patch cut out. You could get as complex as us, with up to 6 different colors and patch together a variety of cut out dimensions. In this section I will go over the steps you should take to create patchwork fabric for your next design!

Go through your fabric scraps to see which ones are suitable for the design you have in mind. It is important to have the pattern of your design close by to ensure you have enough fabric. Decide upon your color palette at this time. You can always remove a color if it doesn't feel right during layout. If you tend to hold on to your fabric scraps, it is best to keep a bin for wovens and a bin for knits.

Clean up all of your scrap edges to be straight and squared off. Using a quilting ruler and a rotary blade is the easiest way to achieve straight lines.

Working inside your marked box on the table, lay out possible patch formations. You can trim down large scraps to make more patches. Start thinking about where the corners or seams of the garment may hit on the patchwork fabric you are creating. It is best to avoid seams of the patchwork in these areas. It is not the end of the world, but when you can avoid bulk it is nice.

Stitch together each piece of fabric to create your patchwork fabric for each pattern piece. Be mindful to not set yourself up for any in-set corners.

Please note in our example, we are working with knit fabric and will overlock our seams with a ¼” seam allowance. If you are working with a woven fabric, you will need to accommodate for your desired seam allowance. Press seams as you go along if you are working with a woven.

Cut out each pattern piece. Our sweater has a front, back, and two sleeves. Be mindful of not placing patchwork seams on garment seams.

Mark all necessary notches. Now you are all ready to sew up your design!

For fun, we filmed the entire process of creating patchwork fabric for a knit sweatshirt, including stitching up the design. Check out our YouTube video for the full Fast Forward Edition.

Using what we have is a great way to be sustainable and slow down consumption rates of new materials. Our variety of patchwork sweatshirts were created entirely out of scrap fabric from Fabricana and Atex Designer Fabrics. This was by far our favorite way to recycle those scraps!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram or join our mailing list for insider tips and inspiration.

Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed, and written by Sheila Wong Studios.

Decide where you would like buttons placed on the front and back of the skirt. In our example the buttons are approximately 3- 3 ½” away from the CF and CB of the skirt and 1 ¼” down from the waistline.

Mark with a pin or thread mark button placement. Feel free to hand sew buttons on at this point or wait until the end when suspenders are fully constructed.

While wearing the skirt, measure from front button placement  around shoulder to back button placement. Record measurement. Our length is 36” with a cross-back formation.

Draft out the suspender pattern as follows.

Length= Button to button measurement (from step 2) + 3” (back extension) + 1” (front extension). The back extension will allow space for two buttonholes and the front will allow for one buttonhole. Example: 36” + 3” + 1”= 40”

Width= Desired suspender width x 2. Example: 1 ¾” x 2= 3 ½”

Add desired seam allowance around the entire pattern piece. We are using ⅜” in our example.

Fold along the middle fold line with the right sides of the fabric facing each other, pin around three edges. Stitch around three edges using one stitch line. Drop down to a smaller stitch around corners. Leave a 5-6” opening anywhere along the longer edge. Trim away excess bulk in seam allowance, flip and press.

Mark and stitch buttonholes using a sewing machine or by hand.

Here is our placement for buttonholes. We used two buttonhole options on the back to allow for a variety of tops to be worn under with ease. Feel free to personalize.

Hand sew buttons onto the skirt and hand sew closed the 5-6” opening. Draw stitch works well.

This 60’s inspired retro skirt and suspender set was fully stitched on one of our Juki industrial machines and took just over 6 hours of sewing while instructing. We still have two meters of this lovely plaid in the studio. Let us know below if you think we should evolve this design into a pinafore with the remainder.

If this fabric looks familiar to you it's because we designed a Plaid Button-up Dress back in January of 2020. Be sure to follow us on Instagram or join our mailing list  for insider tips and inspiration.
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Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed, and written by Sheila Wong Studios.

For Valentines Day our studio celebrated love by creating an intricate Quilted Heart Bag. The love continues with our latest design- Faux Fur Heart Bag. Full disclosure, I adore sewing with faux fur, so I jumped at the opportunity. This adoration all started as a teenager where I experimented with faux fur dance costumes. I still have a bin of faux fur I work with occasionally. This bright red from Fabricana is definitely the boldest color I have ever worked with.

In this blog post, I will dive in-depth into how to cut out faux fur without creating a fuzzy mess. You even get a short YouTube video of my must-do steps. Please let me know in the comments below if you would like a second blog post focusing on sewing with faux fur.

If you have ever cut into faux fur you have probably experienced fur fibers flying in the air, sticking to the walls, your clothes, and possibly in your mouth. The mess deters many of us from cutting into this fun fabric. After two decades of working with faux fur, I now implement a few essential steps.

Here is a step-by-step how to cut faux fur on your own. Video and photo options available below.

Layout fabric with the wrong side (backside) facing up. Be aware of the fur direction (nap). You can even chalk in an arrow on the wrong side for guidance. Once you have your pattern pieces on grain, weigh down the pattern and begin marking around the pattern and the notches. Avoid pinning pattern pieces down as it will distort the pattern edge shape. Once marked, remove weights and pattern.

It is important to note we will be cutting one layer at a time. If you are cutting out any asymmetrical pattern pieces, ensure you flip your pattern pieces as you proceed cutting out any more than CUT 1 patterns.

Cut through just the backside of the fabric along your marked lines, avoiding the fur pile. DO NOT cut through any fur. You want to maintain the length of each fur fiber.

With high-quality faux fur, you can glide your fabric scissor edge along the backside of the fabric avoiding any closing of the scissors on the fur itself. Once cut, pull out each pattern piece. This is where the magic happens! If you have cut correctly, there will be minimal fur stray bits.

Keep a vacuum handy. Vacuum all the edges of each piece after cutting to remove away any excess dust or fibers hanging on. If you have leftover fabric, be sure to vacuum the cut edges before storing them away.

Always wear a mask when cutting out high pile fabrics like faux fur. For years, we have kept N95 masks in the studio for this purpose. Here I am in 2015, cutting out faux fur for a fully lined vest.

I hope this blog post provided you with the confidence to cut into faux fur fabric. Fun fact, items I have made using faux fur include a vest, stole, bolero, skirts, dresses, crop tops, triangle tops, boot coverings, and bags.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram or join our Mailing List for insider tips and inspiration.
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Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed, and written by Sheila Wong Studios.

Spreading some community love with our latest design! Our team decided a heart-shaped bag would be the perfect project to celebrate Valentine's day. ​

Our bag drew inspiration directly from a local mural created by Vancouver artist Brynn Staples. We drive by this mural every day on our commute to work and find ourselves drawn to the colors and the positive feelings it evoked. As Brynn put it herself, this mural was meant “to be a symbol of the community that can bring people together”, and we were inspired to do the same. The mural can be found on the corner of Cambie and King Edward.

With leftover fabric from our Color Block Denim Jacket, we are giving a go at creating two styles of quilted fabrics. Fabric is from Fabricana. This blog post will discuss our process, how to incorporate quilted fabrics into a design (that is not a blanket), and what we learned.

Creating fabric from scraps comes naturally to us in the studio. We have patchworked a number of designs in the past, so quilting was inevitable. Our team experimented with two different styles of quilting. One style required more perfection (perfect square tiles), while the other was more forgiving (asymmetrical subway tiles). We know they are not called “tiles” in the quilting world, but we thought it was much more exciting!

The final dimensions for our heart bag pattern are 21” x 20”. With this in mind, a bit of math was involved in figuring out how many strips (tiles) we needed to cut. We decided to keep the height of each time the same 2”. The tile length varied from 2” x 6” up to 2” x 24”. You can really play around with this depending on how much of one color of fabric you have or how much vertical seams you wish to sew.

We made sure we had a 24” x 24” final box of fabric in the end, to be able to cut out the heart pattern. Be sure to sew each row first, press the vertical seams, then proceed with sewing rows in the desired order. Keep reading on helpful tips like taking photos of the tile layout prior to sewing.

Welcome to side B! We leveled up with the accuracy required for cutting and stitching on this side compared to side A. We determined each individual square would be 3”x3” for a total of 80 squares. You can really choose your own sewing journey with this style. Larger the tiles, less effort in sewing. Smaller the time, the more sewing and accuracy required to maintain the perfect square look in your final piece.

With three colors to work with, the color blocking took on a life of its own, creating a pixelated effect.

When incorporating self quilted fabric into a project, there are many details to consider to make the process easier. We wanted to share with you what we learned, and boy, did we learn a ton.

Planning the tile dimensions, cutting and stitching them up, we think you should consider the following.

• This is a great way to use up fabric scraps, but it is best all fabrics used have a similar weight and fiber content.
• If you are color blocking, take a photo of the final layout prior to stitching quilt pieces together. 
• If you are working in a team, allocate one person to stitch the quilted fabric. This will ensure seam allowance remains consistent.
• Create the end quilted fabric 3-5” larger than the actual pattern piece. For example, our Main Heart pattern piece with seam allowance has the dimensions of 21” x 20”; thus, the pre-cut quilted fabric should be approximately 26” x 25”.

After the quilted fabric has been created, keep in mind these helpful tips we learned.

• Avoid placing project seams or pivot points along quilted seams. At the upper heart's dip point, we should have offset this point from a quilted seam. This would have allowed us to clip the seam allowance with ease.
• After cutting out pattern pieces, immediately stay stitch around each quilted pattern piece to avoid quilted seams opening during construction.
• Create a backing/interlining when incorporating quilted fabric into a garment. This will keep the multitude of seam allowances in check.

We are absolutely mesmerized by our Heart Tote Bag. You might even say we have fallen in love with it. Quilting is a fun and creative way to elevate a design. We were able to achieve two completely different yet cohesive aesthetics to the same bag. This entire project took approximately 10 hours to complete, so you know it’s made with love!

We completely see the fascination with quilting and are starting to see why some of our quilting clients are in love with the process. It involves a great deal of organization, planning and accuracy in its execution. For us, you will only see quilting incorporated into our designs.

Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed, and written by Sheila Wong Studios.

I have absolutely no recollection of tie-dyeing anything as a youth. I started sewing at a very early age. From the get-go, I was in awe of the variety of fabrics one could design with. It was my mission to feel, cut, sew, and understand the nature of textiles and how they could be manipulated into a 3D form. It is only in the past few years, I have slowly started taking an interest in using paint or dye to manipulate textiles.

I have always wanted to stitch up a complex design and chuck it in a dye bath. So let's do it! I had some leftover black stock solution from my Ciba Washfast Acid Dye. Obviously, I am not going all tie-dye rainbow colors on you. I’m sticking to more subtle colors, or in this case, lack of color. Read on to learn more about my inspiration, tie-dye process, before and after shots, and what I will be dyeing or painting next.

This tailored shirt design comes full circle for a number of reasons. First, the pattern/silhouette is the same as our Rainbow Faces Tailored Shirt. I love the way that the original shirt sits when worn, but the colors were too much for me to wear often.

The white and grey vibes may feel familiar to you because back in October 2020, our team experimented with a White Sweatshirt Dye Project. My sweater was inspired by rainy days in Vancouver. That sweater was very time consuming to achieve the ombre dye. As I mentioned earlier, I am all about chucking this tailored shirt into a dye bath. So if the Rainbow Faces Tailored Shirt and the Rainy Day Sweatshirt had a baby...VOILA! I present the baby.

My experience with resist dyeing is limited to shibori. Shibori is the art of folding, clamping, or manipulating fabric in either a calculated or organic way to resist dye. The outcome of shibori is beautiful. Check out Ombre Slip Top Post to see the outcome of my shibori dyed slip dress.

The only thing I had in the studio to create dye resistance on the fabric was a ball of elastics. So tie-dye it had to be! I had no rhyme or reason when wrapping this white tailored shirt with elastics. I started scrunching up the sleeves tightly, then slowly worked towards the middle of the garment and up to the collar. I wanted the collar to be darker if possible, so I left this area last so it could potentially have the most exposure in the dye pot. 27 elastics were used to tie this shirt. Unexpected was the heart shape created in the end. The tops of the heart were made by the sleeves being tied in. Perhaps this was a gentle reminder that beauty can be found anywhere.

After approximately 1 hour in the dye pot with my black Ciba Washfast Acid Dye from Maiwa, what emerged was a very subtle tie-dye result. Here are some before and after shots for you.

I still have one more jar of the black stock solution. I know that this particular type of dye (Ciba Washfast Acid) works best on wool and silk. So, I am thinking the next project will need to be a wool cropped coat, a silk dress, or a silk skirt. I will continue with the tie-dye technique. Let me know your thoughts below.

Want to keep up to date on how our dye projects evolve? Sign up for our Insider Newsletter.

Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed, and written by Sheila Wong Studios.

For any designer, 2020 has been a year of sewing countless face masks. I have waited to post anything about face masks for a number of reasons. Digitally, we are bombarded with a variety of how-to-sew, what-to-buy, and how-to-wear face masks. Furthermore, our health officials have evolved the necessities when it comes to protective materials for face masks. So after months of observation, research, experimentation, and wearing masks for long hours every day while in the studio- here is my blog post on face masks. I will cover the following.

• Top 2 face mask silhouettes that my loved ones and I wear the most.
• Pattern adjustments I have made for a better fit or ease of construction.
• Fabric and trim recommendations for sewing your own face masks.
• BONUS VIDEO- Comfy DIY ear elastic tutorial.

If you have ever worn a face mask for a full day, you know the importance of a very comfortable ear elastic. I absolutely despised using the ¼” elastic trim everyone was stitching into their masks, so I dug into my large pile of knit jersey leftovers to create my own ear elastics. I really like to use bamboo knit jerseys for added softness but any jersey knits will work well. You can even cut up old t-shirts! Just remember to pre-wash your fabric prior to cutting as knits shrink dramatically.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to create your own comfy ear elastics for face masks. Video and photo options available below.

Cut out 1 ½” width strip of fabric on the crossgrain or stretchiest part of the knit fabric. If you are cutting out of a 2 way knit then you can cut on grain or crossgrain. No need to cut on bias. Best to work with a long strip so you can create multiple ear elastics at once. So the full width of the fabric from selvage edge to edge will work well.

Fold right sides of the fabric facing each other along the long edge, line up the raw edges, and pin/clip in place.

Overlock between ¼” to ⅜” in from the folded edge. There is some fabric being cut off during this process. If you do not have an overlock sewing machine, just use a medium width zigzag stitch and trim away excess seam allowance.

Approximately ½” in from the end of one strip, cut into the fold, creating a hole. Attach a safety pin around the fabric loop you just created.

To finish, cut elastic according to the length you require. Strap lengths are approximately 7-9” for adults and 6” for children. But you will need to fit accordingly, as each knit fabric will have a different stretch capacity. Feed the elastic through the mask tunnel, stitch the elastic ends together then turn the elastic into the mask tunnel to hide connecting stitches.

I have stitched up a variety of mask silhouettes to find the best shape. I have experimented with 2D and 3D shapes, with vertical and horizontal pleating. I even considered gathers at one point to create structure. My key factors- the masks must provide little to no exposure, I could breathe in them, and be stylish. Be sure to read on for material and trim recommendations, as picking out the right fabric to match a silhouette is just as important!

My first favorite shape is a 2D center front seam mask I found on Craft Passion. After my first toile, I made the following pattern adjustments and design changes to better suit my face shape and improve construction.

• Taper upper and lower edges by ⅝” at the back edge and recurve. This helped the mask shape better around the cheek up to the ear. I wanted to avoid any gaping of the mask along the back opening.
• Topstitch the upper edge at ¼” instead of edgestitch (1/16” - ⅛”) to allow space for a nose wire. Read on for nose wire recommendations.
• For narrow faces, press in a small ½” to ¾” pleat along the midway of the back edge prior to pressing in the tunnel for elastic.
• Lengthen back edge by ½” to make it easier to sew the ear elastic tunnel and insert in elastic with ease. This allows for you to be able to fold and press comfortably once at ¼”, then again at ½” to ⅝”. Edge stitching is completed along the second fold line described.

My second favorite mask shape is a 3D horizontal seamed mask I found on Japanese Sewing Books. This is probably one of my favorite silhouettes so far as it provides space inside the face for you to breathe yet seals the edges along your face, so you feel safe!

As usual, after my first toile, I made some adjustments to the 3D pattern. Just like the 2D pattern, I lengthened the back edge by ½” to make it easier to sew the ear elastic tunnel and insert in the elastic with ease.

To allow space for a nose wire, I topstitched the upper edge at ¼” instead of the recommended edgestitch (1/16” - ⅛”). I have tried two different kinds of moldable nose wires. One is a thin galvanized free molding wire from Canadian Tire. I used 24 gauge and cut them at 2 ½” in length. I then used pliers to carefully twist back the raw edge of the wire.

The other is a flat 5mm moldable bridge you can purchase from several online shops. A simple Google search will yield a hundred sites for you to pick from. It was important for me to perfect the art of the nose wire, as many of my loved ones wear glasses and need to wear masks for long periods of time. Their favorite combo so far is the 3D mask with the flat nose wire.

To maintain a 3D shape, the fabric choice is so important. The more structured your fabric, the easier it will be to wear. You want to avoid sucking in fabric with each breath. I've found that a cotton canvas fabric works the best, as it is tightly woven and provides structure. If you just want to use lightweight 100% cotton, that is fine, but try to back it with a fusible non woven interfacing to provide structure and decrease particle penetration.

Wearing a mask is not going to be forever. I support mask wearing and feel we should do our part by using our creative skills to keep our community safe. I will continue to improve on the fit and comfort of face masks and share when possible. A reminder that all the face masks shown in this post are non medical grade. If you love the printed cotton fabric shown, it can be found at Fabricana.

Let us know of any sewing tips, pattern modifications or material recommendations in the comments below, and be sure to sign up for our Insider Newsletter to keep up to date with our designs.

Stay safe and happy sewing!
​Designed, photographed and written by Sheila Wong Studios.