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Bringing Back the Past
There was a time in my career when I was pressed upon to do some antique garment restoration work for the Frederick’s of Hollywood Lingerie Museum in Los Angeles, Ca. This was long before the internet...
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1930′s Prediction on Fashion
This video from the 1930′s predicted what the fashions in the year 2000 would encompass. It’s a hoot! Enjoy…
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Bizzarre Beauty
Ideals of beauty change the same as other fashions do, and it’s always interesting to see what other eras found beautiful. Early 20th century beauty centered around an extreme hourglass figure helped...
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Whippin’ the Knits in Walnut Creek, Ca!
Joan giving Jill van Houten a quick measuring I’ll be teaching the 3 hour rendtition of Whip Your Knits into Shape on June 16th at Fashion-Knit in Walnut Creek. Here’s the info from their webpage: Whip...
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Knitting Magazine Giveaway!
I’ve been fortunate enough to have several of my designs featured in recent knitting magazines, and I have several copies of Knitters’, Creative knitting, and Knit-n-Style to give away! Email me at...
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More Bleach Pen Art Upcycling!
Here’s another bleach pen tee hot off the dining room table! I feel so smart rescuing my stained tees this way. And it’s so much fun, I’m kind of hoping I’ll drop something oily on my rack just so I...
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Holiday Gifting!
Until Dec 23rd, buy a gift certificate from White Lies Designs in a $25 to $100 denomination and receive 1 free pattern with the $25 purchase, 2 free patterns with the $50 purchase and so on. Free...
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Tainted Love
Did you know that there are over 50 versions of the song “Tainted Love” on You Tube? Most of us are familiar with the 80′s version by Soft Cell, but it was originally recorded in 1964 by Gloria Jones....
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Intro and Knit to Fit – Part 1
The prospect of knitting your own sweater should be filled with potential and the anticipation of adding a beautiful knitted garment to your wardrobe. However, the reality of this endeavor doesn’t...
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Knit to Fit- Part 2
Fit problem#2: Hem of garment rides up in the front. Addition of short rows solves bust fitting issues. If you have a larger bust and have tried to fit it into ready-to-wear clothing, it is no...
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Knit to Fit- Part 3
Fit problem number 3.- A Baggy Body I see a lot of beautifully curvy women walking around in sweaters or tee shirts cut for men, not realizing that instead of hiding the bits they want to cover...
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Dress You Up at FashionKnit!–Saturday June 8th, 2013
Join me at FashionKnit in Walnut Creek, California on Saturday June 8th for my Dress You Up class! Learn to combine fabric and knitting to make a pretty sundress like the one pictured as well...
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Knit to Fit- Part 4- Gaping Bust/Front
4.- Gaping Bust/Front In the knitting industry it is common practice to draft the front and back of patterns the same width. If you are a difficult fit, some of that difficulty may come from your...
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Rockin’ the Stockings!!
Even though I’ve been a professional designer for going on 30 years (yes, really), I can’t help but have an eye-rolling moment every now and then over the looks I see on the runway and the absence of...
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Stitches West 2014
Looking for a discount card for this big yarn show? Find it here. Stitches show dates are Feb. 21 thru 23rd at the Santa Clara convention center. See us (White Lies Designs) in booth 220 with some...
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Stitchery on your Knitting
I love the look of intarsia, wherein pictures and motifs are knit right into the work. However, though I know many people enjoy it, I personally hate the process. The bobbins, the weaving in of ends,...
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Seams or Circles?
This is the conundrum amongst knitters: Should garments be knitted in pieces and then seamed or knit in the round and all seaming eliminated? Knitters seem to be passionate about their preferences...
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Vogue Knitting Fall 2014 #24 Duster Coat
Check out the coat I designed for the Fall issue of Vogue Knitting! Boho Coat-Joan McGowan-Michael This issue is on newsstands now or can be ordered through vogueknitting.com ....
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Vogue Knitting Fall 2014 #24 Duster Coat-Part Deaux
Thanks all for the nice responses to the post about my #24 Duster Coat in the current issue of VK. I have photos of the coat when in progress that I’ve posted below. Here is the original sketch...
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Gabrielle Two Ways
The thing I’ve always appreciated about sewing patterns is that they more often than not give several versions of the same garment; with long and short sleeves or none at all. I like to follow this...
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