bits and bobbins

i’ve been a long time fan of built by wendy, the nyc-based indie design label by wendy mullin. like, say, since at least the mid-1990s? yeah. i distinctly remember seeing a spread on her in seventeen magazine sometime back then, which i saved as inspiration…

for those who may not familiar with wendy and her eponymous clothing line (where have you been? heh.), do check out her website, built by wendy.

in addition to having stores in major cities across the u.s. (including NYC, chicago, SF and LA), wendy’s also the author of two books focusing on sewing, sew u, and sew u: home stretch (which i promise to review here one of these days, hopefully sooner rather than later!), and has a line of super cute, super chic little sewing patterns, available via the simplicity pattern company.

anyway, i love the aesthetic of wendy’s designs…it’s all a little bit of a throwback to decades past, a little nostalgic, but always sweet and girlish. her work has a distinctly crafty ethos…which is directly reflective of who she is and where she comes from. she claims she just wanted to “make things,” from the get-go. that desire led to all of her future endeavors and successes in the design world. and clearly, she’s remained humble through it all, and willing to share her secrets and inspire crafty young women the way she was inspired.

so, on those notes, i was delighted to run across this video this past week from etsy that features wendy and her work, called handmade portraits: built by wendy. i thought i’d share it!

enjoy!

this past week’s episode of threadheads features an intense sewing lesson from indie designer liz tilly, who shows the world how to make a cool pair of shorts and a hat from a discarded pair of pants. neato mosquito! the ruched effect on said featured hat is pretty fresh, i gots to say…

great work as always, rob and corrine!

this video from threadbanger is a week or so old at this point, but oh well, i figured i’d share it late (better than never!). why am i sharing? because this particular episode gives some insight into sergers/overlockers (what are they? how the hell do you use one? how do they differ from regular sewing machines?). invaluable information if you’re into fashioning your own clothing. they also have a quick and dirty round up of their fave indie-pendent designers, including compai, ruffeo hearts lil’ snotty, rebecca turbow and new york couture.

great work as always, rob and corrine.