Malotke Sews

I'm sure your social media feeds are full of face mask posts, but I  just wanted to share a few more pictures of some of the fabric face masks I made for co-workers, family, and friends. Above is a progress photo from a blue and white geometric printed mask I made where I was super happy with pattern matching around the slit in the middle. Pictured above are three black and white masks I made for family in Canada. There are two types of plaid and a lovely houndstooth one as well. All of my masks were made using the method I posted about: Project Homemade Face Mask . They're all breathable, cotton fabrics that are double layered and pleated. The slit in the middle allows you to add a filter to your mask for extra protection. 

This past week I finally got around to making a tie blanket out of fabric I've had in my stash forever. Probably last year I had purchased the black and white Jack Skellington fabric as a remnant from Jo Ann's when it was on super sale. Recently, to make my way through my stash I figured out what projects I could reasonably finish in the next few months and what materials I needed in order to finish the projects. I had decided I wanted to make a tie blanket using the Jack Skellington fabric, so I needed to purchase another fabric to make the fabric. Originally I had planned on just getting a plain black piece but once I started browsing the store I decided on a fun Christmas themed fabric with the Nightmare Before Christmas characters: Jack, Sally, and Zero. I think it's a super fun blanket that works for both Halloween and Christmas. It took about an hour overall between cutting the fabric to be the same size (the employees that cut fabric don't always cut it straig

A recent addition to my book collection is "Style" by Kate Spade, edited by Ruth Peltason and Julia Leach with illustrations by Virginia Johnson. It's a small book that is divided into three main sections: Style & the World, Style Start to Finish, and Maintaining Style. It also has a cute section at the very beginning that is titled "Have You Ever Wondered...?" and provides you with some brief responses to typical style questions you may have been asking yourself over the years. For example, there's the one about wearing white after Labor Day, but also a few answers to questions such as mixing fine jewelry with costume pieces and how to pack your finer tops to avoid that wrinkled look. Overall it's a nice take on Kate Spade's take on style and her own personal experiences mixed in with beautiful watercolor images and relevant quotes from other designers, authors, and more. I've always loved Kate Spade items. The brand is colorful, mixes print

Above is a close up on the neckline. I used a solid black knit for the neckline to really stand out against the red poppy pattern. After finishing the neckline I just needed to finish the hem! Since it was already serged, I decided to just roll the hemline up and zig-zag stitch it in place. The final look! The top is a little big overall, but I like the length of the short sleeves. If I made another top I would make the top a little more snug and I would move the peplum up the waistline about two inches to work better with my body shape.  For this top I used a test pattern I received a few years ago, the Parker Peplum, as a sloper in a way. After I had laid the two pattern pieces out on the fabric, I changed the underarm/side seam curve. I also did the sleeves and neckline differently than when I created this top the first time: Pattern Testing Part 2 .

After going through all of my fabric I decided to make a couple of simple styled tops to add to my work clothes closet. I have a pattern for a peplum top that has just 3 pattern pieces (cut two of each: front/back, sleeve cuff, and peplum). I chose a stretchy red, black, and white poppy print fabric from my stash and started working on the top. I laid the fabric out, pinned the pieces, and cut everything out. Then with everything cut out, I started to pin stuff together and run it through my serger. Pictured above is a snapshot of me pinning the front and back sides. After serging the side seams together I serged the sleeves and the cuff pattern. Then I rolled and pinned the cuffs and hand sewed them to the serged seams. I serged a black ribbed knit to the neckline and then, like the sleeves, rolled it and pinned it to the serged seams to then hand sew together. After this I just have the hemline to finish!  I'll post a picture of me wearing it once the hem is finished.

Modern Art & Ideas held by The Museum of Modern Art A few weeks ago I finished this online course through Coursera. At the time it was a free course and I figured it would be a great way to spend my free time (since my fall/winter shows have been postponed). It was a nice way to learn more about modern art through small sections. It had a variety of content including videos, interviews, reading sections, and photos. There were quizzes at the end of each section to make sure you understood the material and writing prompts to have discussions with others in the class. Overall it was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning some basics on modern art.

Since my fall and winter shows have been postponed to next year, I have a decent amount of time on my hands. So far I've been using that time to take online classes, tune in to various webinar seminars, and read for fun. I've decided to finally work my way though some commercial patterns I own. I am currently in the process of hunting down all of the necessary notions for each pattern.  I've chosen two patterns to focus on at the moment. First is a Simplicity pattern #8229 by Madalynne for a matching underwire bra and panty set. The other is a lined button front unisex jacket: McCall's pattern #M7818 "W Melissa Watson for Palmer/Pletsch". My plan is to use as much fabric from my current stash as possible and only buying what I am missing. Since I don't typically sew stretch lace and spandex, I will be buying most of the fabric for the matching bra and panty set. However, I have plenty of fabric to make multiple lined jackets, so I will be able to make a