Stonemountain & Daughter Fashion & Quilting Fabrics

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Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics is a Berkeley landmark stocking complete collections of fashion and quilting fabric to inspire every generation! Inspiration awaits you in our two floors and three rooms of designer and natural fabrics. Come fall in love with sewing at Stonemountain!

Customers from all around the world love making a trip to Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics, our family run, locally owned store located in the San Francisco Bay Area... and now you can experience our store online!

Our new 2011 Classes are out - we have added many wonderful new classes such as our new Ribbon Flower classes, Sewing with Difficult Fabrics, Rotary Cutting, Upcycle - Recylced Clothing, and two new Lingerie classes. Come join us!

2011 marks our 30th Anniversary in Berkeley and over 14 years with our Sewing
School! Please join us in celebrating creativity while enjoying a class or two. Great
projects start with quality fabric at Stonemountain and our classes put the fun in sewing!
We have classes for every level and interest. Our beginner classes will make sewing
easy and get you going. Our technique courses and fit classes will enhance the
garments you want to make. Use our great cotton & yarn collections in our innovativequilting classes and knitting classes. We also are opening up a second classroom
upstairs for more space, classes and innovation!

Suzan and the entire staff at Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics
Call 510/845-6106 or www.stonemountainfabric.com for our full schedule.

Just because we're in California doesn't mean it doesn't get cold... Winter is coming and we are coming up wool! Wonderful nubby boucle wools, flannel wools, warm wool coatings with their understated brushed textures, Chanel designer wools, smooth elegant suiting wools, chunky boiled wools... try them all...

These Loes Hinse Patterns are wonderful... they fit many different body types well and are elegant and sophisticated - a perfect pairing for our luxurious wools! Her concept reflects soft feminine shapes with simple lines that are easy to mix and match. Because of this, the patterns can be made in a variety of fabrics that can be worn again and again.

Wool doesn't only come in solids - get adventurous! - These wonderful Pendleton fabrics are not to be missed - warm and cheerful!

And don't forget to check out our elegant suiting wools - worsted flannels, gabardines, and wool twills from Italy. We now have a whole section of fine suiting - our super 100 wools - this refers to the thread count per inch - which means these wools are super fine!

Tips and Techniques -
Wool molds and shapes beautifully if you have the right tools!

1) Use a good iron - one with a lot of steam and that doesn't drip! Use a heavy iron and press and hold instead of ironing. Use a press cloth between your iron and your fabric on some woolens to prevent the iron from changing or dulling the fabric's finish. $7.85 Dritz 2 Vue thru Press Cloths.

2) Use a heavy wooden clapper. Use your iron first and then press the clapper onto the wool. The cool wood removes the moisture and makes a great press. $20.05 Golden Hands Industries Clapper.

3) Use a point turner and presser to get crisp edges on collars. A bamboo presser can be used while pressing with your iron. $3.75 Collins Point Turner and Presser.

4) Use a tailor ham for molding darts, curves and sleeve caps. Use the wool side of the ham to shape woolens. $9.65 Dritz Tailor Ham.

5) Patterns and pressing tools available at Stonemountain and Daughter!

Dive into a silky fall with beautiful silks from Stonemountain and Daughter. We have every texture imaginable - crinkle silks, airy chiffons, velvety suedes, charmeuses that shimmy and shine. And if that isn't enough - new silks from Italy are to arrive soon!

Glamorous reds ! The Mondrian and "tattoo" print are really fun!

Fresh pastel greens! You can layer these silks for great effect - think about how you can make a project a large polkadots print peeking though a top tiny polkadot print layer!
Tips: Silk can be slippery, delicate and mark easily so...
1) Use silk pins - they work really well and don't leave holes in your fabric. Clover - $5.55

2) Hand baste - it takes time but is well worth it. Your project will really
shine! Silk thread doesn't mark the fabric when ironed - Japanese Fujix 100m thread is great for hand basting and hidden sewing. $5.25

3) Try using tear away stabilizer so that your delicate project doesn't get caught up in your throat plate. Carefully tear it away when you are done. If your project is still too delicate - there are also wash away and heat away varieties.

4) If you are a beginner - try using silk noil - it is a beautiful fabric and sews and shapes really well. It will take your sewing to the next level!

This versatile dress can be worn as either a sundress or layered over a shirt or blouse in cooler weather. Features a gathered bust and flattering high waist. You learn how to do gathers, buttonholes, invisible zippers, lining and more!

635 - Dec.7, 14, 21. Tuesday: 6:30-9:30pm $90/3 sessions.

This week at Stonemountain and Daughter, we are featuring Louisa Harding's beautiful yarns and books. These romantic looks are wonderful! These wonderful patterns are in Louisa Harding's Book, Fade to Grey, which includes 14 projects that use Grace and Grace Hand Dyed yarns.

$12.00 - Louisa Harding - Fade to Grey -14 Projects using Grace and Grace Hand Dyed.

For starters, check out this fun and feminine hat pattern "Millie". Tip: Louisa Harding recommends using a stitch marker at the beginning of each round to identify which round is next and where the lace pattern begins and ends.
The Wrap is beautiful and you can use your left over yarn to make as many flowers as you like and stitch them to the wrap.
The Cardigan can be made up as below or in darling cropped version.

Knit up a few this week and look gorgeous going out for a jaunty walk in one of our beautiful Bay Area parks!

It would be great in one of our soft wool flannels, colorful wool coatings, textured boiled wool, or luxurious wool cashmere.

Or try a raincoat fabric; great for the Bay Area: we have PUL,Supplex, and water repellent nylon!

Sandra Betzina's new shirt pattern Vogue 1197 would be a great one to cut your teeth on.
This is a versatile shirt that can made in up in a long or short version and would be a great look over leggings. You want to use a knit with a beautiful drape for this pattern.

Tips: Sewing with knits is fun if you know what to do....

1) Use a ballpoint needle. This is very important - if you use a universal needle you may experience a big ball of thread knotting up in your machine - yuck! This is because the fabric isn't moving forward. As well, the ballpoint needle spreads the fabric apart instead of cutting the loops in the knit fabric.

2) Use weights to weigh down the fabric when cutting. You can use store bought weights or large washers from the hardware store. I use free marble samples from a marble store near my house. Some people use their silverware - be creative!

3) Seams - Sergers are made for knits- so if you have one, use it here!
If not - use the overlock stitch on your machine or a narrow zigzag with a medium stitch length. Don't pull on the knit as you sew.

Focus On: Vogue Jacket 1097
This coat looks amazing in many different fabrics - from raincoat fabrics to classy linens and wools.

This jacket has two-piece raglan sleeves, can be short or long, lined or unlined. The hood looks like a relaxed ruffly collar when not in use and is so cute when it rains!

Tip - When working with nylons - to secure the edges you can melt the fabric edge with a hot knife tool, a stencil burner or small soldering iron. Run the tool quickly over the edge to melt and seal the edge.

100% wool felts with heat, friction and pressure. You can put wool flannel and some wool jerseys in the washing machine. Set washing machine to HOT WASH/COLD RINSE and a small amount of gentle shampoo. The wool will shrink as it felts together, so allow for this.

Want to learn more? Visit our new Tips and Techniques page!

Stonemountain and Daughter offers a selection of sewing and quilting classes.

Learn buttonholes, zippers, darts and pockets in Garment Construction Techniques, get a wonderfully fit garment in our Fit Clinics, develop a master pattern to your own measurements in Create a Block / Sloper and turn it into a variety of designs in Use your Block / Sloper !
Call 1-866-4SEW-FUN or 510-845-6106 to enroll by phone today!