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A while back my buddy Vicky went on a cruise to explore the stunning yet frozen countryside of Alaska. Upon her arrival back to the continental states, she bestowed upon me this incredible souvenir–a thimble made from moose hide. It was a funny gift that provoked a lot of inappropriate jokes and hand gestures at first, but this fuzzy dude has quickly become my new favorite sewing notion. This week I’ve been doing quite a bit of hemming and hand sewing and decided to give the ol’ fuzzy guy a try. Now, I must say, this thing is pretty amazing. It’s durable, comfortable, and totally looks badass since with my houndstooth fingernails, my middle finger looks as though he’s ready to run off and start a ska band. Too bad I force him to stay home and play the banjo on my couch instead.

Brandon as Constantine the African

A few months ago, I began work on a project for the traveling exhibit of 1001 Inventions, which just ended its stay at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. For those who haven’t heard of 1001 Inventions, it was created to enlighten people of contributions to modern science by Muslims throughout history and has had more than 1,000,000 visitors so far. There’s a movie (starring Sir Ben Kingsley), a book, a website, and the traveling museum exhibit that I became part of recently. It was also highlighted in the New York Times, Time Out New York, WNYC and more.

In the exhibit, “Explainers” walk around in character telling visitors about their discoveries while in costume. That’s where I came in. With the cutting help of my buddies Dinne and Vicky and the amazing hemming assistance by Joi, I sewed up 20 costumes for all of the Explainers which are now on their way to LA. My trusty Berninas and I became intimate friends during this process, which involved making turbans, pants, robes, dresses, scarves, coats, hats, and more. In all, it totaled over 60 garments in 30 days.

I had a great time collaborating with the museum and exhibit producers to design and create the look for each character. My favorites to sew in the end were the explorer Zheng He (who wore a yellow floor-length Asian brocade jacket, a cape, pants, and hat), and the writer Lady Montague (long black velvet coat, pink taffeta dress, a petticoat, and hat). The most challenging part was figuring out the turbans, each of which had to go on and off the Explainers quickly like a cap (no wrapping on site). With a bit of ingenuity and a ton of spray starch (which I still find stained remnants of in my living room), the turbans were completed on time.

In the end, my back was sore, my fingers were scarred from pricks and hot glue, and I learned to wrap turbans with expert precision. In a few weeks I travel to LA to do it all over again, but this time in a much warmer climate.

(photos below by Chang W. Lee from the NYTimes)

Devi as Astralabi

Biruni (left) and Al Kindi with Dinne’s handmade tent behind them

Jabir (left) and his assistant

Part of the replica elephant water clock and one of Dinne’s tents glowing in the background

Carlos as Ibn Battuta

All of the Explainers in character at the opening gala

Today while doing some research online, I stumbled across this video on CBS highlighting the Royal School of Needlework, an embroidery school in England. Long considered the epicenter of embroidery talent and historic restoration, the RSN is now located in the Hampton Court Palace, King Henry VIII favorite palace (of which he had 60!) As the video claims, apparently Henry VIII was quite the embroiderer himself, which isn’t surprising seeing as he had multiple pounds of gold embroidery encrusting nearly every outfit he wore in public. The RSN began in 1872 as a way to educate women and give them a trade they can make a living by. Throughout the years the school has become a national treasure, including creating coronation pieces for every royal family member since 1902.

The video above showcases many embroidery pieces that are breathtaking in their workmanship, and I was pleased to learn that the RSN also offers classes to pass on the art of embroidery to students of all levels. Now, if only I can figure out a way to make it to the UK and fund such a thing. And what does it take to be a skilled embroiderer of the RSN caliber? According to one RSN student and now professional historical embroidery restorer, patience and a strong back.

It’s almost April, but for those of us living in NYC, you can’t tell from the weather. Instead of arranging springtime bocce matches in the park this year, I’ve been spending my spring mostly indoors, or bundled up so far. If you’re like me and still need to keep staying warm this season, my infinity scarf project on Sewing Republic site is just the thing to help keep you toasty. It’s surprisingly easy to sew, whipping up in less than an hour, and can be customized to any dimension. For the scarf below, I cut the fabric very wide and only long enough to go around my neck once, but you can make yours as narrow or long as you like. Choose a chunky knit fabric and the end result will look hand knitted (and you won’t have to tell anyone how quick it was to stitch!) Check out the Bernina Sewing Republic site for a downloadable pdf that includes all of the instructions you need to complete the look.

A couple weeks ago, I became the newest addition to the Stitch team at Interweave Press. I am working remotely as their contributing editor, which means I will be working with crafting authors again and makes me incredibly happy. If you haven’t seen Stitch yet, check it out online or at your local newsstand. Each issue is completely packed with projects, sewing know-how, and adorable photography. I couldn’t be happier to be on a more positive, excited, and growing team.

I’m also helping out with their new site, SewDaily. If you haven’t checked it out yet, the site features tons of free projects and more to come, as well as a forum and blog.

So far I’ve only written two posts on the Stitch and SewDaily blogs, but I have much more to come. Check out my post from last week on the upcoming red and white quilt exhibit at the Armory Show. I absolutely cannot wait to check it out in a couple weeks in Manhattan.

UNDERCITY from Andrew Wonder on Vimeo.

Today in Brooklyn, we finally have a nice day outdoors. Unfortunately I’m stuck indoors doing a bit of writing, sewing, and photography. As I was downloading photos from my camera, I came across these from last summer of Amanda and me deep beneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. While living in New York and taking the subway daily, it’s only a matter of time before you hear stories depicting CHUDS and the glorious abandoned NYC subway tunnels that apparently boast some of the city’s most beautiful architecture.

Now, our excursion was total legal (or so the guide said), unlike the incredible video above from cinematographer Andrew Wonder and explorers from UnderCity.org. The video is a little long (almost 30 minutes), but I found myself captivated by every moment of it. It’s well worth the long sit in front of your computer monitor. I’ve always wanted to do this, but fears of the third rail and being arrested have always stifled my dreams.

Below are a few photos from the tour of the Atlantic Avenue tunnel (officially the world’s oldest subway tunnel!) last summer. Unfortunately, the city no longer allows civilians to explore the tunnel, which is a damn shame. Despite how creepy it was to climb down that ladder at Court Street and Atlantic Avenue, I’m glad I got to see it. There are still soot stains on the ceiling from the old trains, as well as divots in the ground from the railroad tiles. The tour guide provided many stories about the tunnel’s history, including NYC Mafia and Russian Cold War ties. My photos pale in comparison to those from the Under City team, but it was great to spend an afternoon doing a bit of guided urban exploration even though it wasn’t quite as exciting as an illegal underground jaunt.

Amanda crawling down the ladder

The tunnel was surprisingly clean with no bugs or rats to be seen. However there were a few piles of debris about that almost seemed to be arranged.

Apparently W. Wafer was here in 1916 (or 1816?)

More arranged trash

Here you can see the divots in the ground from the tracks

I have exciting news to share! My third book is underway and it’s all about patternmaking. It’s to be published by Lark Books next year and will demonstrates 28 fashion sewing projects. Tentatively titled Skirt-A-Day, it chronicles how to draft your own patterns, as well as includes full-sized patterns for you to stitch, alter, and make your own. I couldn’t be more excited about it. Many thanks to Kate McKean (my agent extraordinaire) for helping make it happen, and to Sloan Howard who helped with the amazing photos for my proposal. I couldn’t have done it without you!

My old coworker and Dorm Decor coauthor, Theresa Gonzalez, is now the lead editor at Crochet Today. Her very first issue is available now! Check your local newsstands or their website to get your copy today. She’s an incredibly talented lady, and I’m so excited for her and eager to see all the new projects she helped produce.

A while back Theresa made the great video above of her creating the ‘Hangover Helper Eyeshade’ from our book. This project can be completed with or without a sewing machine and is a great way to use up fabric scraps. It also makes a great Valentine’s Day gift for a fellow tired stitcher when stuffed with a bit of lavender.

While my site was in various states of disrepair the past couple months, I missed a few projects I created that went live on Bernina’s Sewing Republic site. The first is the Trapeze Dress, which takes less than an hour to sew and can be made to fit any figure. The full pdf instructions can be found on the Sewing Republic site.