Welcome Erin Gilday who is blog hopping on her blog tour for her new book Stripped Down Patchwork 
Day # 5 of blog tour for Stripped Down Patchwork: A Retro Look at Fabulous Non-Traditional Seminole Patchwork
Hi Whipup.net! Remember me? I’m Erin Gilday, I live at Patchwork underground and I wrote a guest post about the Secret Life of Sewing Machines for Whipup a while ago. Thanks Kathreen for having me back!
I’m here today as part of my book’s blog tour to tell you about a vintage craft periodical odyssey that led me to write Stripped Down Patchwork: 12 Modern Project Featuring Seminole Patchwork.
Long-time readers of my blog will not be surprised to hear that I am completely vintage-obsessed and that I have a thrift-shopping, estate-sale problem. As a result of this addiction, I’ve amassed a huge vintage sewing pattern and vintage sewing periodical collection.
Before I started writing sewing patterns for a living, I was making one-of-a-kind patchwork clothing and selling it mostly in craft fairs in Oregon.
I loved it but it was hard work. I was so busy. I was always on the look out for quick-and-easy cheater techniques that looked to be harder and more time consuming than they actually were. That’s when I discovered the strip-piecing Seminole patchwork technique, hiding in the pages of various vintage books and periodicals I found at the back of thrift stores and estate sales….
Some of the examples were cute even by today’s standards. Some of them were – ahem – out-dated. What stuck out to me was the fact that I kept seeing it again and again. Why was this technique so popular?
You probably know that patchwork was a hot fashion statement in the 60′s and 70′s. Well, the Seminole technique turned out to be a great way to get ‘er done. Here’s why: you don’t have to sew every little square together one-by-one. My book shows you how to quickly create blocks of squares (or diamonds, or whatever shape you’re working with) and then sew those blocks together to create the illusion of complexity without the tears of actual complexity. There are no Y-seams or X-seams to match up (and/or screw up) – you only work in straight seams, all the time.
I think it’s pretty nifty. You might too. =)
Have you ever tried Seminole patchwork? Let me know which of these vintage examples of non-traditional uses of the Seminole technique is your favorite.
Follow along the blog tour
- Leisure Arts Blog – Monday, May 16
- Sew Daily – Tuesday, May 17
- Craftzine – Wednesday, May 18
- Craftypod – Thursday, May 19
- Whipup.net – Friday, May 20
- Burdastyle – Saturday, May 21
- Pink Pinguin - Sunday, May 22
- A Green Banana – Monday, May 23
- I Think Sew – Tuesday, May 24
- Happy Zombie – Wednesday, May 25
- A Mountain Hearth – Thursday, May 26
- Sew News - Friday, May 27
- Pat Sloan’s Blog – Saturday, May 28
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
ohmigosh. That rainbow eyeglass case is SWEET. I’ve never heard of Seminole patching, but I know the technique. This makes me want to go buy fabric. :)
Isn’t that fantastic? I should have given credit where its due in my article…the glasses case photo came from Quilted Clothing by (the one and ONLY) Jean Ray Laury. My copy is dated 1982. =)
p.s. wrong it’s. That drives me crazy.
That jacket is incredible, it’s so very intricate! Wow, that is just gorgeous. The muted pinks do really well too, though I’d be curious to see it with a more contrasted palette. Wow.
I can’t decide how I feel about those colors but I agree that there is a certain something about that jacket. Contrast is always a good idea in patchwork but, you know, I’ve seen some examples of white-on-white piecing that I’ve really loved, too. Glad you liked it, Mei-ling!
Did you use a pattern to make the jacket? It’s a great pattern made even better with the patchwork. Lovely colors and texture.
Hi Helen! That’s not my jacket. =) I found it in a book called “Quilted Clothing” by Jean Ray Laury.
Jacket is wonderful…except I would use a different colour. Hope your book does well in the market.
Thanks, Cathy!
That is so cool! I saw an impressive example of seminole patchwork once in an old quilting book from the 70s, but I didn’t know it was actually easier/faster than regular patchwork. Now I’ll really have to try it.
I think you’ll like it, Holly. Its gotta be 10 times faster than the conventional piece-by-piece method!!
I like the Seminole jacket. It’s really classy!
I would love to win this book. I’ve done some Seminole patchwork and it is easy and fun! I love the modern ideas for using it. And I love that rose-coloured jacket! Thank you for the giveaway!
Straight seams sound so good! I’m not very good at sewing straight and angles are sometimes a challenge for me! I love the eyeglass cases best, they could probably be easily adapted for phone cases!
I have a patchwork jacket in my closet that I made years ago. I figured someday it would come back in style. Looks like a fun book with some fresh, new ideas. I feel like I am returning to the 60′s.
I’ve been noticing a lot of seminole patchwork showing up.. I loved it in the 80s and 90′s, it’s a great technique.
This looks like an awesome book. Thanks for the review.
A super great idea for a book. Love what Seminole patchwork does for a project!
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