I’m excited to announce some wonderful news! Denene Millner is moving her imprint, Denene Millner Books, to Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. I’m happy to say that “Just Like a Mama” written by the amazing Alice Faye Duncan and edited by Denene Millner, will be apart of the spring 2020 Denene Millner Books line up. You can find the Publishers Weekly write up here.
Introducing My First Skillshare Course
A few weeks ago I did something really scary... I hit PUBLISH on my very first online course. Extremely exciting, but also very scary. I gave myself one day to freak out and then started proclaiming it to the world without one ounce of regret. Creating a course wan't easy, but it sure was fun! It made me realize how much I enjoy teaching and how addicting editing film can be (never thought i'd actually enjoy editing...go figure).
Example of the drawn icons i used to create the finished repeat.
As the name states, the class is all about how you can turn your drawings into a beautiful pattern. If you ever wondered how to use Adobe Photoshop to design patterns while staying true to the hand drawn feel then this class is for you. In it I show you how to isolate your lines, create a repeat, and color your lines quickly and easily.
The course is pretty awesome if I do say so myself, but I may be biased so don't take my word for it...just take a peek at some of the reviews it has received in the past few weeks.
“Love this class! It covers a lot of the basics so even beginning artists can pop out a fun pattern in no time. I’m fairly experienced with Photoshop but even so, this class covers tricks I never knew I could do. Would definitely recommend this class to anyone who wants to get creative!
”
“Nicely presented and skillful direction. Thank you
”
“Simple, clear steps to creating great patterns!
”
Thank you to everyone who has already enrolled. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone creates! How about you? Is there something scary but totally awesome that you are working on? I'd love to hear all about it in the comments below.
Watch Me Paint: Jelly-Side-Up
Here is a little something for your viewing pleasure. I originally painted a version of this piece in my sketchbook and loved it so much that i decided to paint it as a finished piece. I used Holbein watercolor, Holbein gouache, and Sakura gelly roll gel pens.
P.S. I've finally found a good angle to film at which means that there are more videos to come. YAY!!!
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the beautiful mom's out there!
Emery Dress No. 2 + 5 Sewing Tips for Beginners!
Aloha friends! Spring is in the air and it's officially time to bust this dress (and these pictures) out of the archives. This lovely is my second Emery dress and i must say... I love it just as much as my first Emery. The shilouette is classic and can be dressed up or down depending on the fabric used and the alterations (i.e. shorter skirt, no sleeves, flowy fabric). If you would like an in depth review of this sewing pattern then check out THIS POST.
Garment: Emery Dress by Christine Haynes // Fabric: Pear by Call Me Chartreuse
There are so many benefits to sewing your own clothes (can we talk about the customization!!!!), but it can be hard to know where to start since there is a ton of information out there!
Because I love you all, here are 5 Sewing Tips for Beginners that have helped me the most in my sewing journey.
1. Oil your machine! I know, I know...sounds way too simple right? Trust me, wether you have a $50 machine or a $1,000 machine a clean machine makes all the difference. It'll run a whole lot quieter and smoother if it's free of lint and freshly oiled.
2. Get yourself a walking foot. A walking foot provides you with an extra set of grips on top of your work to help the fabric feed easier, which prevents the top fabric from shifting while you sew. It's especially great for matching stripes, slippery fabric, and stretchy fabric. This presser foot is by far my favorite sewing accessory and very rarely leaves my machine.
Bernina Walking Foot... insert heart eye emoji.
3. Use a pencil for tracing pattern pieces onto fabric. This tip I learned from Jen of Grainline Studios. Pencil is great because it shows up on a wide variety of fabrics, doesn't smudge like a chalk tracer, and doesn't disappear after ten minutes. Cut just inside the pencil lines when you are done tracing and you are good to go.
4. Start with a pattern that has a sew-a-long. When an indie designer releases a new pattern often times they will also host a sew-a-long on their blog with in depth pictures and instructions regarding that particular pattern. This is a great option if you find yourself staring at the original written instructions going "wait....WHAT?!" every 5 seconds.
5. Unsure about the fit of a pattern? Make a muslin!!!!! If you are unsure about how a garment is going to fit buy some cheap fabric and make a practice piece. For my first Emery I was pretty sure i'd have to shorten the bodice and was positive i'd have to do a small Bust Adjustment (SBA), so instead of cutting directly into my final fabric I cut out the bodice pieces in some cheap fabric and basted it together to see where i'd have to make those adjustments. which means you will be much happier with the fit of the final piece. If it's my first time sewing a pattern that has techniques I haven't done before or if I want to test the fit (but still be able to wear the piece if it comes out good) I make a wearable muslin from a low cost pretty fabric.
**Bonus** Head to Sprout Patterns for easy peasy customizable cut-and-sew projects. Sprout combines Indie sewing patterns with designs from the Spoonflower community. Just pick a sewing pattern (from pouches to baby clothes to adult garments) and chose the design. All you have to do is cut it out and sew it up! To pair a garment with one of my own designs search by designer when choosing a design and type in Call Me Chartreuse. I purchased a Lark tee in my Camera pattern, so i'll be sure to report back.
Pear fabric//Call Me Chartreuse
What sewing tips would you give to a beginner?? Let me know in the comments!
Dressed in Donuts
Hello friends! I present to you my Donut Emery Dress. Sometimes it can be hard to visualize how a simple piece of fabric can be molded into something functional. I thought I'd get those wheels spinning by turning one of my own fabric designs into a wearable garment that would make even Ms. Frizzle proud (I know i'm not the only one who still watches The Magic School Bus).
Dress: Made by Me using Donut You Want Some (purple) | Garment Pattern: Emery by Christine Haynes
The fabric is Donut You Want Some in purple printed on Kona Cotton. The garment pattern I used is Emery by Christine Haynes. After stalking every Emery made, I finally caved and bought the pattern. This dress is a lovely, simple, and classic silhouette which makes it the THE perfect garment to display boutique patterns in all their glory. The best part....it has pockets!!!!!!! It can't get any better than that.
I made a quick muslin to see where I needed to adjust the fit. I ended up doing a small bust adjustment and shortened the bodice so that the waist falls at my natural waistline. On the muslin, I shortened the skirt by a few inches, but decided not to alter the length after all. I made this dress specifically for my brother's college graduation. I left the sleeves off because I was assuming that there was going to be some semblance of warmth in Rochester, Ny... boy was I wrong. Good thing it was held inside because it was freezing. Any who, I must say I really am infatuated with this dress. I even have donut earrings to match!
left: old size || right: updated size
three color ways available printed on Kona Cotton
The fabric is available in my Spoonflower Shop in three different color ways. I changed the scale of the pattern in order to make it more suitable for smaller projects (this dress was made with the old size). While the Kona Cotton is a dream to work with, it does have a tendency to fade a bit with the first wash. The good news is that the basic cotton ultra and the new cotton lawn ultra fabric bases don't fade at all. Hip Hip Hurray for bright colors!
Fruit of the Day: Survey + Giveaway
Edited 4/20: And the winner is....... Ophelia Leong!! Thank you yet again to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey.
Here are the winning Fruits: Watermelon, Avocado, Fig, Dragon Fruit, Raspberry, Grape, Pear, Grapefruit, Blackberry, and Boysenberry.
Edited to add: Survey is now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who voted!! Giveaway winner will be announced Monday April 20th at 3 pm EST.
Hello lovely people! I bring you the (drum roll please...) Fruit of the Day Survey! Now is the time to vote for all of your favorite fruit patterns from the past month and help me create my spring/summer collection! I will be turning the top pattern sketches into proper patterns that will be uploaded to my shops.
Below you will see a compilation of each Fruit of the Day numbered and labeled, as well as the survey to fill out at the bottom. You can vote for as many or as few as you want. If you would like to be added to my newsletter to be notified when the collection goes live, feel free to leave your email. The survey will remain open until Friday April 17th! Thank you for coming along this journey with me. I can't wait to see what y'all pick!
Giveaway Details:
Because you guys are awesome, each survey entry will be eligible for my very first giveaway! One person will win a 8" x 10" print of one of the final patterns (winner's choice). The winner will be announced on my Instagram, on this here blog, as well as contacted by email. Winner will be announced Monday April 20 at 3pm EST! One entry per person.
p.s. please be aware that some of the colors are not completely accurate in the below photos.
Fruit of the Day: Week 5 Roundup
Day 21: Pomegranate
Hi guys (and gals)! Here are the stragglers from week 5 of Fruit of the Day. I was originally going to include it in the post along with the survey, but I don't want anyone to get confused. Since the last week of March is only 2 days long, I finished up day 15 (grapes) on the first of April.
Day 22: Boysenberry
Boysenberry was a last minute Facebook request, so of course I had to oblige. Did you know that boysenberries are a hybrid between raspberries and blackberries? I surely didn't.
Day 15 makeup: Grapes
In the beginning this seemed like a daunting challenge and was sure I'd run out of fruit to draw. Ha! How wrong I was! March is over and yet I'm still thinking about all the fruit haha. The only fruit on my list that I didn't do was mango...blame boysenberry. Stay tuned for the survey to vote for your favorites!
Fruit of the Day: Week 4 Roundup
Day 16: Pear
March is quickly coming to an end. I think we can all agree that March is a pretty lengthy month ( 31 days is just craziness if you ask me), but it's amazing how fast it goes by when you're a busy drawing fruit all day. Here is week 4's roundup. Enjoy!
Day 17: Cherry
Day 18: Grapefruit
I think Grapefruit is my favorite pattern from this week. The colors are intoxicating. I may be biased, but I swoon every time I look at it.
Day 19: Blackberry
Day 20: Papaya
I had a small freak out this past week when I realized that the moonlight gel pens don't take well to scanning. I'm going to try photographing these and see how that turns out. If anyone has had any luck scanning neon please let me know.
Which is your favorite from Week 4?
p.s. There will be a survey to vote for your favorites at the end of Fruit of the Day. I'll be making proper patterns from fan (and my own) favorites, so stay tuned :)
Fruit of the Day: Week 3 Roundup
Hello lovely people, here is week three's roundup for Fruit of the Day. We are out of town at the moment, so you might notice that these are pictures form my Instagram and that there are only four fruits this week. Which means that you'll be seeing an additional fruit at some point in time next week... YAY!
Day 11 was Blueberry (my favorite fruit of allllllllllll time). I used the metallic blue Gelly Roll pen to add a little glam and depth.
Day 12: Pitaya a.k.a. Dragon Fruit. I've never had Dragon Fruit before, but it looks like a very interesting fruit. If you want something festive dragon fruit is the way to go haha. I've been obsessed with black and white + neon lately. It's just a stunning combination.
Day 13: Raspberries!!! They look like they're flying in outer space!
Last but not least...Day 14: Star Fruit. I restarted this one once and ended up really liking the first crack at it after I finished this one. So if you see Star Fruit again at some point don't be surprised :)
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!!
Fruit of the Day Roundup: Week 2
Day 6: Peach
It's that time again! Here is the round up of #CMCFruitOfTheDay week 2. Since I've started this challenge I've been seeing fruit everywhere! I guess i'm just more aware of it:)
This challenge is proving to be smoother than I thought it'd be. I've always wanted to do a "pattern a day" type of challenge, but never got past thinking about it. I'd start thinking about the end result before even getting started and psyche myself out. My inner critic would pop up and go on a spree of questions/negativity: "What would I draw? I can't keep up with a new pattern EVERY SINGLE DAY...that's crazy! There's no need for all that stress." When in all actuality this has been an amazing journey for me so far and a chance to experiment. As long as I take it a day at a time and actually remember that this is a time for play then all is well.
Day 7: Banana
I decided to play around with some collage for Day 7 and boy was that a serious arm workout! I made sure to take plenty of breaks haha.
Day 8: Fig
Day 9: Strawberry
I think Fig and Strawberry are definitely favorites of mine out of this week's patterns. I especially love the contrast of the neon pink gel pen on top of black ink.
So far, day 10 was the only day where I almost decided to forego a fruit post. I really wasn't feeling well, but I pushed through and got the drawing done and the post up.....and then i took a very long nap haha.
Day 10: Apple
Can't wait to see what next week entails! Don't forget you can follow along on Instagram either by following me @CallMeChartreuse or by searching the hashtag #CMCFruitOfTheDay. I've also started showing what tools I used for that day's pattern. I'll be creating proper patterns out of the fan favorites.
p.s. i finally started on the Watson Bra & Bikini Pattern by Cloth Habit...talk about exciting!
Which fruit pattern has been your favorite so far? How do you challenge your creativity?
Fruit of the Day Roundup: Week 1
Do you guys remember Gelly Roll gel pens? You know, the ones we used back in middle school to add a little pizazz to a top secret note you were writing to your best friend. Well I pulled out those last few gel pens that I had to accent some watercolor drawings in my sketchbook. They wrote for 2 minutes and then nothing. I knew they'd be all dried and gross, but I was hopeful. This past week I stopped into the craft store and picked up a brand new set of Moonlight Gelly Roll gel pens. Fast forward to today and my love affair with them is stronger than ever. They're so luscious and opaque and bright and just WONDERFUL! The ink dries matte and is so fluid that i can move it around with a small brush (which also saves ink). They kind of remind me of gouache.
I bought the set with the intentions of just playing around...add a little color here or there. I wasn't looking for a long term relationship or anything, but they swept me off my feet. I started out drawing some kiwi and inadvertently started a March challenge for myself called Fruit of the Day! The colors make me dream of nothing but fruit....which makes me giddy for spring.
A challenge needs a few guidelines right? Here are the guidelines I have set for myself:
- I will draw 4-5 different fruits each week for the month of March
- there will be a weekly round up on the weekend (most likely on Sundays)
- patterns will be created from the most popular fruits (and the ones i just can't live without hahaha)
- gel pens will be used in some aspect within each pattern
- readers can suggest a fruit and I'll add it to the list (if it's not on there yet)
List as of today. Fruits with a number to the right were suggested by others. The number indicates the amount of votes for that fruit. The checked ones are the ones I have drawn already and the number to the left indicates the order they were done. I hope my handwriting is somewhat legible :)
If you just can't wait for the weekly round up you can follow me on Instagram (@CallMeChartreuse) and you can also search #CMCfruitoftheday on there as well. i hope y'all enjoy this as much as I am.
Don't forget to suggest a fruit in the comments and i'll add it to my list!
#LindenSwap
Hi guys! Happy Tuesday. This past week has been a huge whirlwind of events/emotions. My father-in-law passed away a week and a half ago, so I took that time off to spend time with family and help get things in order for the memorial service. Dealing with the death of a loved one plus being away from the studio for so long is not the best recipe, but spending time with relatives that I haven't seen in awhile (some I met first time) was worth the time away. It also gave me a chance to get back into really working in my sketchbook. Not to figure out ideas (although i do use it for that), but to use the page to rest.
Now what you came for... the Linden Swap! To recap, Carrie of Oh She Dabbles and Ingrid of We The Sewing started a swap for all those who adore the awesomeness that is Grainline Studios' Linden Sweatshirt. This was my first time participating in a swap, so I was a tad bit nervous. It's weird to not to try on a garment throughout the process of sewing it, but it turned out to be such a great experience that i'd totally do it again!
I swapped a Linden with Jess from Wardrobe Ecology and this is the one she sent me! Isn't it lovely?! She made View B for me since my first Linden had long sleeves. The patterned fabric is an organic cotton jersey from Feral Childe called "Somthin' Else" and combined that with a mid-weight black knit fabric. I did a happy dance when I opened the package because it's so......ME! Our tastes seem very similar when it comes to wardrobe, so i'm not surprised that she read me so well.
If you would like to see the Linden I made for her go check out her Instagram :) Carrie recently posted the first round up of swapped Lindens. You can see those HERE.
p.s. I'm back in the studio and trying to get more organized. I'm in desperate need of some sort of planner or weekly calendar that has a good amount of writing room. If you have any suggestions for a functional and beautiful planner let me know in the comments.
Playtime
Hey guys! Sorry it's been a tad quiet around here, I had more bad days than good ( health wise) during the month of January, so i've been trying to rest up as much as possible. Fret not though... I have managed to get two new patterns (Milky Way and Heart of Stone) finished as well as start on another. I decided to play around with taking some video of my process while i finished up the latest pattern repeat. The video above is the result...hopefully that makes up for my lack of posts this month :) My desk lamp needs new light bulbs, so it's a little dark.
p.s. follow me on Instagram for more day to day stuff.
p.p.s. this forced me to make an actual youtube account...so maybe ill make some more drawing videos...we'll see.
First Make of 2015
Of course my first make of 2015 had to be a Grainline's Linden Sweatshirt. I've been hoarding this fabric not knowing what to make with it and finally decided that it'd be quite fitting as a Linden. This knit is a red and navy St. James stripe. I bought it from the sale bin at a local shop in Alaska, but I'm pretty sure that I found it on Fabric.com...or at least its look-a-like.
This linden is a hodge-podge of view A and B. I used the front bodice and hemming method from B and the sleeve length and back bodice from view A. I'm really diggin' the high low effect it gave the shirt. I cut a size 0 and the only alteration I made was shortening the sleeve by about an inch. Since I didn't make a muslin I just made an educated guess based off of the other Grainline patterns I've made up (specifically the Archer).
Can we take a second to check out that stripe matching?! I love stripes and last year vowed to get more of them into my wardrobe, but boy do they make me anxious. I tend to stare at the fabric for a good ten minutes getting up the nerve to cut into it. Luckily this knit is medium weight, so it didn't shift and stretch a lot. It also retained it's shape well after pre-washing which is awesome!!
p.s. Carrie of Oh She Dabbles and Ingrid of We The Sewing started a Linden Swap on Instagram! I'm sure it's not too late to get in on it. I ordered my fabric for my partner's (@Jesssomewhere) Linden and hopefully it'll get here by next week, soon excited!! Who else is participating in the swap??
p.p.s. I realized I never actually explained the why behind my want to create a handmade wardrobe...i'll get on that :)
New Pattern: Say Cheese!
Happy (almost) New Year!! 2015 will be here very soon. This is the last new pattern of 2014...crazy huh? I told my dad i'd have this camera pattern done by the end of December and by golly I made sure I stuck to my word. If you would like to see work in progress pictures (because i actually took some this time haha) then check out >>this post<<. It's in four different color variations and is now available in my shop.
I hope everyone has a safe and festive new year's eve!!
Newsprint Circle Top
Hey gang, I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas! We went down to Georgia for a few days to spend time with family, celebrate our wedding anniversary (4 years…gah!!!) and my husband's birthday. It was a pretty eventful few days. I woke up thinking that today was the 29th, but nope…it's definitely not, which means that tomorrow is new year's eve. I could have sworn I had a few more days to get 2014 makes up, but looks like they're gonna spill into 2015 a little bit.
Let's get on with the show. This lovely make is Papercut Patterns' Circle Top. If you thought the Marianne Dress was a quick sew (which it totally is) then this is double-timing it. Talk about instant gratification! Surprisingly, I haven't seen any of these floating around the blog-o-sphere. If you know of anyone who's made it let me know. I'd love to see other variations.
Please excuse the fuzzy head shot. I don't have a camera remote and working with a timer is a fine art. Keeping your head still is a skill haha. Anywho… the fabric I used was a Newsprint Stripe Knit I bought at a local shop the day before we officially left Alaska, so unfortunately I don't have a link for it. It's a beautiful fabric, but was finicky to work with. The gray and black sections of the knit were stretchier than the cream section which made cutting something symmetrical quite frustrating.
This was my second time working with a design from Papercut Patterns (the Anima Pant was the first). Their instructions a easy to follow, although I will say that the pictures provided aren't as detailed as i like them to be. I like the pictures to be super detailed… just a personal preference though. If you've thought about making the circle top go for it!!! It's so comfortable and versatile (if you haven't realized by now i'm all about comfort).
If I don't see you before Thursday have an amazingly great and awesome New Year!!
Black, White and Knit all Over
Today I present to you the Marianne Dress by Christine Haynes. One of the four finished garments I've finished recently. The Marianne is Christine's newly released sewing pattern. As soon as I saw the post saying it was available I knew I HAD to make one…add to that a kit including this beautiful black and white striped knit and I was swooning. It's seriously the softest silkiest knit ever! All of the fabric kits are sold out, but there are still notion kits available.
I ordered an organic black knit from Fabric.com in order to make view B. Pretty sure I still have enough of the black and white knit to make view A as well. My measurements were between size 0 and size 2, so I just cut the 0 since it included a good amount of ease already.I might cut a size 2 as well to make a drapier (?) version. If you look closely you can see that I left off the buttons on the cuffs. No life shattering explanation behind that choice…I just didn't have enough buttons plus I put myself on a sewing "no buy" for the rest of December haha. The struggle is real.
This is a super quick sew and after cutting can easily be sewed up in a few hours. The instructions are clear and include notes on how to sew this dress up on a regular machine or a serger. There's really not much to say other than how much I love love love this dress. I'm definitely going to be making a whole heap of these… especially for summer.
Keep a look out for the Marianne Sew-A-Long in the beginning of January! I'm already plotting my next version.
Holidaze Day 7
Hey gang! Sadly Holidaze is coming to an end, but don't fret because for the last holiday promotion all mugs are by 3 get 1 free. Click the above picture to go get you some. I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!
Work in Progress + Holidaze Day 6
Hey team! I have three (soon to be four) garments I still need to photograph for the blog, but here's a new pattern I'm currently working on. My dad's a photographer and has been looking for a camera themed phone case, so since I'm such an amazing daughter I gladly took on the task of creating a pattern.
I actually took a few progress shots this time (yay me!). Cameras can be kind of weird to draw. I'm on to the color and should have it done by sometime next week. A friend of mine mentioned that she thought It'd look great as a letterpress print and I'm strongly considering getting letterpress prints done of this pattern and maybe a few others. If you'd be interested in buying a print let me know.
Holidaze will be coming to an end soon :( But on the bright side today you can receive $5 off All phone cases plus free shipping. Click the ^^ pic ^^ to treat yo self.
I leave you with these amazing donuts I made the other day (they have all been devoured since then). Gluten free, vegan, cinnamon sugar and chocolate covered goodness.