Craftside

Four pattern adjustments for a professional fit from the book Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket

These are some great tips from  Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket for altering a pattern to make fitting "seamless." Hehe don'tcha just love sewing jokes?

Click on this page from  Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket to enlarge and read about cutting extra seam allowances, adding a center back seam allowance, changing a one-piece under collar to a two-piece under collar and adding a vent to a two-piece sleeve. Like these tips and want more great techniques for sewing a jacket? Then grab a copy of:

 

Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket

from the

Editors of CPi

  Tailoring is the complete photo guide to sewing jackets and coats. Written by sewing professionals, this book teaches the trusted, proven methods for sewing tailored jackets with impeccable details and perfect fit. Written for the intermediate sewer who wants to move on to more challenging projects, this book ensures success with detailed, step-by-step instructions, more than 400 photos, in-depth discussions about products and how to use them. It offers guidance for every aspect of tailoring a jacket: fitting and pattern alteration, fabrics and tools, interfacings, interlinings, seams and finishes, hand stitches, collars, pressing, topstitching, shaping shoulders, setting in sleeves, sewing pockets, vents, and making perfect buttonholes.

The editors of Creative Publishing international have created dozens of best-selling titles in the fields of sewing, crafting, quilting, home repair, home improvement, home decor, and landscaping.

 

Recipes for vegan bacon cheeseburgers and homemade vegan bacon bits from the book The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet

With the 4th of July just around the corner and my pledge to share more recipes with all you crafty peeps, I have a yummy recipe for the all-American classic bacon cheeseburger, but this one is vegan! The recipe is from the book The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet: 101 Globally Inspired Vegan Creations Packed with Fresh Flavors and Exciting New Tastes. This recipe calls for imitation bacon bits so scroll down for that tasty recipe too!

 

Click on these recipes for vegan bacon cheeseburgers and fake bacon bits from The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet: 101 Globally Inspired Vegan Creations Packed with Fresh Flavors and Exciting New Tastes to enlarge and read all the juicy details!

More about the book:

The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet:
101 Globally Inspired Vegan Creations Packed with Fresh Flavors and Exciting New Tastes

By

Joni Marie Newman

Hold onto your buns, the burger revolution has begun!

The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet takes the popular veggie burger to the next level of freshness and flavor, with more than one hundred daringly delicious, internationally inspired vegan burgers—burgers that stack up to any patty around (meat-full or meat-free) and will wow not only your vegetarian and vegan friends, but all the skeptics too.

In fact, we’re pretty confident they'd top the charts in any potluck popularity contest they might find themselves in.

The incredible recipes you'll find inside have been expertly designed to suit your every craving and desire, and include such favorites as:

• Sweet Caramelized Onion Burgers
• Korean BBQ Burgers
• Garlicky Ranch Potato Burgers
• Jalapeño Cornbread Burgers
• Curried Chickpea and Broccoli Burgers
• Three Pepper Stir-Fry Burgers
• BLT and Avocado Burgers
• Black Bean Tamale Burgers with Mole Sauce
• Oktoberfest Kraut Burgers
• Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Burgers

With The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet, you’ll find 101 ways of looking at burgers in a whole new way. Let’s get this “patty” started!

Joni Marie Newman is the founder of justthefood.com, the author of Cozy Inside, and the co-author of 500 Vegan Recipes (Fair Winds, Fall 2009), The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions (Fair Winds, Fall 2010), and Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites (Fair Winds, Spring 2011). A southern California native, she lives in Orange County with her husband, three dogs, and a cat.

 

How to make a cute doll purse from the book Palm-Size Softies

These dolls are beyond cute! And their accessories are just to die for! If you agree and want to make your very own doll purse, scroll down to check out how to make a doll purse from the book Palm-Size Softies: Patterns and Ideas for 44 Stuffed Pets and Dolls That Fit in the Palm of Your Hand.

 

If you like this cute softie (or plushie) project and want more awesome designs and patterns, grab a copy of:

Palm-Size Softies:

Patterns and Ideas for 44 Stuffed Pets and Dolls That Fit in the Palm of Your Hand

By

Hitomi Takahashi, Mikiko Matsui, Akemi Tsubo

Packed with more than 40 unique and adorable projects, Palm-Size Softies shows you how easy it is to create some of the most stylish stuffed toys around. Full-color images provide a panoramic view of each critter, and the step-by-step instructions and included templates will make construction of your new friends effortless and quick. Whether you’re searching for a loveable little pup, kitten, bunny, or bear, you’ll find a fun, fast, low-cost craft project that the whole family will enjoy. Easy-to-find materials and distinctive fabrics will give your projects personalities all their own.

Hitomi Takahashi is the Chief-Editor at Boutique-Sha, a leading craft publisher in Japan. Hitomi has published books on a variety of craft subjects. Mikiko Matsui and Akemi Tsubo are staff editors at Boutique-Sha. They are big fans of small and cute sewn creatures.

The Crochet Dude on his Boot Camp tour and crafty blogger links

How did you spend your weekend? Well, my co-worker Mary got the pleasure of crocheting with The Crochet Dude himself! I am totally jealous! You too could "hook up" with the Dude if you are going to be in the area of any of his stops on The Crochet Boot Camp Tour.

See his schedule below along with more pics from Mary's Day with the Dude and crafty links!

Lindsay Sews
Have you ever tried the quilt-as-you-go method? Lindsay wraps up a rainbow ticker-tape quilt this week and experiments with a disco-floor layout.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has finished piecing and stitching her little bird quilt top, and now she needs advice on what to do with it!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Computer key ATC card inspired by the book Inner Excavations.

About Family Crafts
Learn how you can save money and enjoy quality family time by making your own fun craft supplies.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how she made her old faded patio umbrella festive again!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a new tutorial featuring the sweetest little elephants!

Craft Buds
Sewing with oilcloth is fresh and fun, and these sandwich bags will help you reduce waste! There's a little debate over whether or not laminated fabrics are safe for food. Do you know a food-safe alternative?

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy discovers some retro crochet items and has a brief moment of nostalgia.

Cross Stitch at About.com
You're the designer! See what Irene did with Connie's Hummingbird Outline chart and try your own hand at designing and stitching too.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Here are a couple of ways to make hybrid cards to match a gift. Gift baskets of all sorts make lovely eye-appealing gift packages. Coordinating the elements is easier than you may think.

 

Recipe: Nectarine and Nasturtium Salad with Simple Summer Vinaigrette from the book Salad Days

I love when food looks too pretty to eat and is presented in a unique way. That is what you get with this new cookbook Salad Days: Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season. This recipe for nectarine and nasturtium salad with a simple summer vinaigrette looks so pretty, especially when served in vintage-style enamelware. So whether you like salad or just get inspired to serve your next meal in a pretty cup, I hope you have a fab first weekend of summer!

I've grown nasturtiums and they are pretty easy if you like to grow your own salad ingredients. Click on this page from Salad Days: Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season to enlarge and read the complete recipe for nectarine and nasturtium salad with a simple summer vinaigrette.

And if you want a bunch more yummy salad recipes that are accompanied by really pretty and innovative presentations, grab yourself a copy of:

Salad Days:
Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season

by

Pam Powell

Photographer: Paul Markert

This book includes 150 recipes for creating delicious salads and dressings using organic, locally grown ingredients. Recipes include Apple and Roasted Beet Salad with Fruit, Nuts, Gorgonzola, and Watercress; Green Apple Sassy Slaw with Crisp Apple Maple Dressing; Pear and Grape Salad with Big Woods Blue Cheese and Concord Grapes; Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese and Micro Greens with Crisp Apple Maple-Brushed Crostini; Chilled Moroccan Couscous Salad; Curry Chicken and Apricot Salad; Harvest Moon Salad; and many more. Sixty color photos and colorful illustrations from the author accompany the recipes. Sidebars and tips for green ways to prepare salads are included.

Pam Powell is the founder and creator of Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressing Company, with products that can be found nationwide in co-ops, Whole Foods markets, and other supermarkets. Pam shares recipes for her organic salads regularly on her Salad Girl blog. She lives in Minnesota.

www.saladgirldressings.com

 

Paul Markert specializes in people photography, corporate portraits, lifestyle photography, and commercial photography, but his forte is shooting people with food. Born in California and raised in Minnesota, Paul set up his first darkroom when he was 10 and decided to pursue a career as a professional photographer at age 18. Paul lives with his wife and children near the chain of lakes in Minneapolis, where they enjoy spending time together outdoors. He loves to fly-fish, bike, and snowboard.