Wayside Sewing Blog

I just wish I knew what people would find interesting. So bear with me as I find my “center” and figure out what people are interested in reading about.

I’ll start with a recent topic of discussion from the shop - SCALE. Fabrics come in many beautiful colors and we’re quick to pick, mix and match them but frequently we forget about the print on the fabric and the scale of the print. A project, be it a garment, home dec or a quilt, does care about the scale of the print. When you mix colors AND small/medium/large prints your project will have greater impact.

small

medium

large

So, next time you’re picking the fabrics for a project take a look at where you plan on using it, how big each piece is going to be, and just what a difference this will make in the way the fabrics looks on the project. Small pieces with a big print means lots of solid looking pieces. Big pieces with a little print can be very busy and overpowering. Use a combination of prints for the best effect.

Keep in mind, the size of the print is always in relation to the other prints in the project. A print may look like a small print compared to one fabric, and read medium next to another.

New small

Now reads medium

One more thing - just because a fabric may be a tone on tone print, if it has a pattern on it - it is still a print - and it will still effect the final look of the project.

So, I was thinking about all the great questions and information that people ask and share during the course of a week at the shop and thought what better way to share this than through a blog. Working in a sewing shop gives me the opportunity to be creative, influence other peoples creativity, and learn and expand on my own creativity and skills.

I hope you’ll find some of the items I share as enjoyable and informative as I do - that’s why I’ve decided to post them.

Being the first blog on the site I just want to welcome you and introduce myself. My name is Jill and I work at, and own, Wayside Sewing in Marlborough, Massachusetts. I started sewing as a young girl and have always enjoyed it. I left engineering a few years back to pursue a more relaxing and fun (no one said easier) occupation. To that end my husband and I opened up a sewing center. We sell everything from sewing machines to fabrics and all the notions and accessories in between. I don’t think anyone can be an expert in everything they sell but I sure as heck am having fun trying them all!

I hope you find some enjoyment in this blog as I bring you information from the quilting and sewing world. Check back, as new ideas, patterns and designs pop-up I’ll be posting those too.

Jill