Sewing, knitting, embroidery, easy and fashion blog

We have something new to show you as frog for children!

Frogs are these small fasteners in leather or fabric to close coats, jackets. They can provide an attractive finish in the twinkling of an eye.

We therefore sought it everywhere in order to offer you various types of frogs: flowers, hearts, and different materials: imitation suede, velvet. and a pretty panel of colors.

So you now have the choice!

To choose the suitable frog for your garment, take into account the total length of the flat frog. Flowers and hearts frogs are indeed more suited to a child's clothing (from 18 months) than velvet frogs.

We sewed the velvet frog on a small shepherd jacket and rendering is really nice. You will find organic coton fur here and, in the background, we can see the needlecord velvet which is here.

Pattern making is an integral part of our job. This job is relatively unknown from the public, but nevertheless exciting and at the base of any ready-to-wear collection production.

Following presentations on the A&A Patrons history and our work today, we wanted to offer you further on pattern making job and take the opportunity to understand the realization process of a ready-to-wear collection.

We are a small independent structure, so we can practice a very different working way than large companies. The pattern making we carry is very complete because we can develop each of the models from A to Z.

To better illustrate our work, we propose this scheme representing the cooperation with the customer, the dressmaker and clothing factory:

So you can observe that the pattern maker is involved in every step of the collection production! Even when it's time for the dressmaker or clothing factory to intervene, everything is prepared and supervised by the pattern maker.

After the collection production, the pattern maker can also intervene to perform quality control of each of the garments. To verify that each garnment complies with the technical specifications (dimensional and assembly control).

The A&A Patrons technical department can handle any type of collection, whether in women's fashion as well as men's and children's fashion.

The pattern maker work in independent consulting firm such as ours, requires a lot of special skills: strong experience, accuracy (help by design software such as Vetigraph and Grafis), good fabrics and haberdashery knowledge, mounting techniques and finally a good amount of strength to handle stress facing collections deadlines imperatives.

Did you already know the pattern maker profession? Did this article inspire you?
To go further you can also visit our presentation "Fashion design, pattern making, grading".

Size labels to mark hand-knitted or hand sewn clothes having great success, we have expanded the range.
These labels to sew are always sold by the meter, from 1 meter.
They are also handy for designers to beautifully mark their clothes.

Here are our new size labels woven in gray or black.
We created the label in adult sizes XS, S, M, L and XL

and size labels for babies 3 months, 3-6 months, 6 months, 6-9 months and 9 months. These labels are precisely designed with childlike font exclusively for A&A Patrons. You had asked us, we now offer marking double size for babies .

Gradually, you will see our range expand... a bit of patience for 12, 18 months, etc...

The size labels numbered  34, 36, 38, 40 etc. will soon be also renewed with a choice of gray or black.

Something new concerning the fabrics! We just received the beautiful Cotton + Steel printed fabrics.

We could not resist to the beautiful well fitting from the Frock collection. These are two rayon fabrics with small red or blue-green triangles.

We also fell for small cross with yellow mustard and mint green backgrounds in the Cotton & Steel basics collection. These are good qualities cottons. The colors range has a nice sweetness.

This is the kind of fabric you would like to see sewn into a light jacket, shorts, dress ...

Mint green and white poplin with golden triangles you can see, it's a pretty fabric by Art Gallery, from the Arizona limited collection. Going with everything cotton fabric while being chic with these little golden triangles, it will delight your entire wardrobe!

We are very happy to show you these little wonders, especially that ... shh, the rest is coming in the following months!

We are always looking for new products to offer for sewing, embroidery, knitting or crochet. And, as you may have noticed, lately trimmings resurfaced in spring-summer outfits!

light ladder hemstitch

The ladder hemstitch is a very good idea to add a touch of originality to your small needleworks. This small hemstitch (2 mm, 100% cotton) will leave just a glimpse of tiny squares of skin, it will be perfect to brighten up a blouse or a dress, like this one:

The ladder hemstitch tape is easy to apply by folding the fabric to the edge where the hemstitch begins to let only glimpse it, the remainder being counted as a seam allowance.

You can use the ladder hemstitch with many fabrics, plain or patterned: it is available in 17 colors including 1 colors ready to dye.

The ladder hemstitch, once hand-embroidered on tablecloths, is now encrusted perfectly in a blouse, a top or flowing dress.

Also find our by the meter embroidered ladder hemstitch in linen here or in cotton here .

Click on the following picture to access the ladder hemstitch product:

You start sewing or you sew already for a while and now, you can find the patterns with or without seam allowances. When you are a novice, you get lost and you do not understand the "why and how" and when we used to sew, we are adept of "with seam allowances" or "without seam allowances."

As a professional, I will try to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Patterns without seam allowances (or seam allowances not included)

First, working without seam allowances allows you to check all assembly lengths coherence: for example, does the collar fit the neckline where it will be mounted? What is the value of the ease (*) of a sleeve? etc ...

Within our design office all patterns are developed initially without seam allowances, we also digitalize without seam allowances and then we check with one of the tools of our software all coherence lengths (see above, but also the side seams etc ..).

So if you buy a pattern without seam allowances, you will have to add them on the fabric and make a mark

Advantages: assembly accuracy for fine finishes and facilitates all delicate assemblies, easy to modify because you know where is the original outline of the pattern. For a model which you are not sure, you can take the precaution to add larger seam allowances for a fitting.

Cons: this method is long because you have to add the seam allowances accurately and you have to do the pattern outline marking, so you need good marking tools, accurate and lasting the time of your assembly.

Going back to our design office, when we have checked all our pattern, we add the seam allowances because they are patterns for industry and all of the adjusment fittings were made, then we adapt the seam allowances to the assembly type and to the manufacturer's(**) hardware. 0.5 or 0.7 or 1 cm etc ... following sewing types.

Patterns with seam allowances (or seam allowances included)

So if you buy a pattern seam allowances included, you don't have any additional work to do on the fabric, you can set up, pin and straight cut along the pattern edge, you just need to know the value of the reserve.

Advantages: much faster to cut and assemble, no sewing lines to match.

Cons: if the assembly is very technical, you don't have the pattern outline mark to guide you, it requires great sewing techniques mastery. The seam allowances have been set, you do not have much room to maneuver in case of fitting.

Our conclusion: prefer patterns seam allowances included for all simple clothing that you don't want spend too much time.

But if you get into the "beautiful" for which you want the hang perfect which implies some fittings, if you are precise and meticulous take a pattern without seam allowances.

Lexicon:

*ease: the sleeve head is always slightly larger than the armhole, on which it is mounted, this difference in length is placed, assembling, at the top of the sleeve over a small distance from both sides of the shoulder line. These are not gathers, it's a mounting ease, ie we play on the ability of the fabric to absorb a small difference in length when sewing. This ease allows to garnish the round part of the shoulder without the sleeve pulls.ease: the sleeve head is always slightly larger than the armhole, on which it is mounted, this difference in length is placed, assembling, at the top of the sleeve over a small distance from both sides of the shoulder line. These are not gathers, it's a mounting ease, ie we play on the ability of the fabric to absorb a small difference in length when sewing. This ease allows to garnish the round part of the shoulder without the sleeve pulls.

**manufacturer: outsourcing company dealing only with sewing clothing collections

Through this blog, we talk mostly of our products, our discoveries and tutorials that have been developed, but we do not talk much about us, the one that founded the company A&A Patrons up people who now develops it and the various activities that have been developed over time.

Indeed, we see regularly, talking to those who move at our offices in Nantes, they are amazed at our many activities and they would like to learn more!

That's why we wanted to tell you our history at first, and then the details of our activities through a second blog post coming soon,

1/ The A&A Patrons history

We truly immersed in our archives to tell you all about it!

The company was founded in 1989 in Nantes, by the will of Nadine, trained in fashion design professorship, to create her children sewing patterns brand.
A few years later, Nadine noted, making animations for sewing in Paris Tissus Reine (a famous fabric store near Montmartre), a need for people to get personal couture training. She decided to offer household sewing workshops and a new service custom tailored patterns. Meanwhile, Nadine answers many requests for patterns for making and thus develops her own fashion design office for ready-to-wear.

Then in 1994, A&A Patrons needs to expand and Nadine opened her first premises in Nantes. In addition to ongoing activities, such as creating "wallet" patterns for children and sewing workshops, Nadine launched herself into the fashion design professional training.

Then, in response to a growing demand of her students of a need for technical haberdashery (colors choice, technical advice ...). Nadine changes her premises in1997 to open her haberdashery in Nantes historical center while developing her Vocational Training Centre: The haberdashery on the ground floor, the training center on the second floor always coupled with the fashion design office.

With the increasing development of the Web, and thanks to Yannick computer skills, her husband. A&A Patrons decides to go in 2000 in the online business by opening one of the first online haberdashery.

In 2008, Nadine, to better manage her business, decides to refocus her structure on the online haberdashery and fashion design office and so stops her vocational training activity and the physical haberdashery (the store located in Nantes).

The online haberdashery gradually takes the scale and passing the years, the technology of the first website becomes obsolete. In 2012, Yannick completely recasts the online haberdashery to become the site you see today (which is still evolving every day!).

The same year, Amandine, the Nadine and Yannick's daughter, wool & knitting passionate, is embarking on a workshop-boutique in Paris (Aléfil) in order to propose French quality knitting wool, haberdashery and knitting, crochet and sewing courses.
A live exchange takes place between Aléfil and A&A Patrons, the proposed haberdashery coming directly from A&A Patrons, the wool offered on A&A Patrons coming from the Aléfil shop. The Aléfil workshop-boutique is naturally called "the daughter structure" of A&A Patrons.

In 2013, Amandine moved to Nantes, closes Aléfil and fully supports the mother structure for both the online haberdashery and the fashion design office, while continuing her knitting, crochet and sewing course activity (at Henry & Henriette particularly,).

Today, you would have understand it, A&A Patrons has a strong experience in both fashion design (more than 25 years!) but also, and in addition, in creative leisure, technical haberdashery, (mainly French) with complementary family skills!

You will find in an upcoming episode, more information about our work today, our know-how and the structure of the company ...

Did you like the little story?

In the series of sewing books "Seamstresses Secrets ", here one dedicated to romantic clothes.

these sewing books of this set are translations from japanese books.

You will find 21 sewing models awith their explanations with pictures accompanied, of course, with full size patterns.

Many of today models are presented: tunics, shorts, dresses, skirts, blouses and pants.

This sewing book has many models in eyelet lace (broderie anglaise) which provides a very romantic feel.

The patterns are available in S, M, L and XL sizes, but be careful to properly compare your measurements with those of the book.

Details:

What we liked:

The models presented in this book are relatively simple, and therefore ideal for beginners for sewing. The presentation is original bringing a nice vintage look to the work. There are the basic sewing: Bermuda shorts, blouses, simple dress, a little buttoned blouse, trousers with elasticated waist ... The explanations are in the form of diagrams, step by step, very clearly at the end of the book as we usually find them in Japanese sewing books.

If you want a simple book to start sewing clothes for you, this book will not disappoint.

Another plus:

A community blog dedicated to Japanese fashion presentes all these seamstresses works made from this book:The Japan Couture Addicts. To see all the achievements from the Romantic Clothing book, it's here.

We fill up of fluorescent this new year to give pep to our ideas!

Therefore find our braids with pompoms in fluorescent pink, yellow and green as our zippers with rhinestones yellow, green and fluorescent pink as well.

Braids can be sewn on the edge for making cushions, armchairs tablecloth and even a clothing or an accessory like the edge of a scarf, coat, etc.

Zippers have their teeth in colored rhinestones which can give a very original look to an outfit

Find our fluorescent pompom braids here and our fluorescent rhinestones zippers here (also available in white and garnet).

The blog "Le son des Grelots" tested for us our Kiwi baby's vest & shorts sewing pattern!

We love the pattern description on her blog and the very pertinent remarks she gave us back.

She chooses to reverse the front and back of the baby's vest to show the wrap-over-top side which gives a nice variation.

Click on the image to access her blog's article:

Is it not a lovely version?