216. Happy New Year! Norma Envelope Clutch - free pattern

Happy New Year!!!  New Year's Day is my favorite holiday!  But how would you know or remember that, given my propensity toward semiannual blog updates?  I plan to blog more frequently in 2012.  I've missed sharing my sewing exploits, and I have talked myself out of posting some patterns and tutorials for silly reasons.  This year, I'll just put it all out there and maybe it will be of use to someone, somewhere in the world, just when they need it.

First up in the new year is a free pattern and pseudo-tutorial (you'll see what I mean in a moment) for an envelope clutch.  I was OBSESSED this summer with sewing pleather, and faux suede, and other new-to-me fabrics, and I was digging the envelope clutches all over street style blogs and Pinterest.  I'm comfortable sewing clothes, so putting together a bag has never been a technical concern.  But when it comes to bags, there are often curves and proportions that look better when they're planned, and not made up on the fly.

I drafted a pattern and sewed the first prototype for this envelope clutch in October, and when I took it out one evening, my friend Norma gushed.  Norma has a very strong sense of personal style -- a way of looking appropriate and trendsetting and fashionable -- and I could not have been more surprised how much she liked the clutch!  I had to make her one for her recent birthday, and name this in her honor.  :)

Download the Norma Envelope Clutch Pattern here.  And the brief pseudo-tutorial follows the jump.

193. Wednesday Workshop: The W Bag v1 :: Free Pattern

Did you think Wednesday Workshop was limited to Wednesdays?  No way!  I just returned home from a week in White Plains/ Westchester County, NY, and Summit, NJ -- lots and lots and lots of travel, and lots of work!!!  I tried to include a day or two extra on this trip to venture into NYC, WHERE I HAVE NEVER EVER BEEN, but it wasn't meant to be.  Do you know how it is when sometimes you feel like you are pushing so hard for something to happen, but nothing falls into place no matter what?  That's how it was, so I figure NYC is meant for another trip.  Garment District, I've still got my eye on you!

Did you follow the recent story about W Magazine's search for a new editorial director?  While I was out of town, it seems they found one.  Meanwhile, this past Sunday, Kyle visited Austin and commented on my bag, which I'd made and called my "W Bag version 1," as I designed it especially to accommodate the oversized dimensions of W Magazine without damaging the corners.  Reminded me that I'd intended to share this pattern in case anyone else was looking for a brand new bag.  It has been my go-to bag all fall and winter long!  I will try it soon in a spring-appropriate fabric because the dimensions of the bag, for me, are just right.  Big enough for lots of stuff, like a big W magazine and a light sweater and wallet and keys, but not Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olson-bag big.  Maybe it will work for you, too?  Click through for the pattern link and directions.

191. Read All About It! Newsboy Cap: Free Pattern + Tutorial

Being invited by the ever-creative Dana to participate in Celebrate the Boy month gave me an opportunity to revisit one of my favorite topics: my 6-year-old son's head.  I've traced the story back to labor: I checked into the hospital when I was 6 cm dilated, at which point the doctor remarked that, based on my baby’s head size, the baby would weigh at least 8 pounds. I was stunned and scared! Hours later I was surprised not only by my baby’s gender (BOY) but also by his 8-pound baby head on a 6-pound baby body.  Mmmm hmmmm.

After the initial head pointiness from that trip into the outside world, my son’s head bounced back into admirably round form.  It has always been enormous, enormously round, and an enormous source of pride for me, with its glossy, healthy hair and housing the most amazing, wondrous brain!  Sometimes I am allowed views into the brain in that head, with thoughts both fantastical (“When I grow up I am going to buy my own chocolate factory”) and mystifying (“If I had a turtle, I would punch it in the face”).

I will always remember his first store-bought driving cap, allowing me to Celebrate the Enormous Head.  Given that, it was exciting to be invited by Dana to participate in Celebrate the Boy and find a way to share the joys of adorning our beloved boys' heads.  When I read that newsboy caps were traditionally made of 8 panels, I scoffed at the wimpiness of the commercially made 6-panelled caps, and I vowed that our handmade caps would return to the illustrious glory of 8 panels. Don’t our boys deserve that???

Of course they do, but after drafting from scratch and sewing three total samples to get to this point, I only have a cap pattern to offer for ages 6-8.  Tiny changes in the pattern make a big difference, and I need more time to grade and fit for smaller heads.  So stay tuned for a cap pattern I'll share in the future for ages 2-4 or something like that.  Or, if you're brave and try your hand at grading it for other sizes, please let us know where we can download your version.

Keep reading for the Read All About It! Newsboy Cap: Free Pattern + Tutorial.