The Urban Craft Center » Sewing

Making it Work: A Project Runway-Themed Birthday at The U.C.C

the ucc team — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:09:21 +0000

It must be that time of year again- the craft party season. We’ve had a slew of folks turn to the Urban Craft Center to host their creative soirées this month, and one of our recent parties was so much fun, we wanted to share it with you here… our very first Project Runway themed birthday party. For those of you who have never seen the show Project Runway, it is an incredibly addictive reality show that puts sixteen upcoming fashion designers to the test on a weekly basis. Hosted by the fabulous Heidi Klum, and nurtured by the always thoughtful Tim Gunn, the designers all tackle a fashion-based challenge, see their creations walk down the runway, and are subjected to (sometimes ruthless, always entertaining) criticism by their esteemed panel of judges.

For the crafty birthday party version of this television program, we had twelve pre-teens in our studio space who were all given the same dress by the birthday girl, had two hours to work, access to a “Mini Mood” Fabrics counter as well as countless supplies from the Urban Craft Center, AND their very own version of a mini Tim Gunn.

The workroom at the U.C.C. was buzzing with creativity as these girls hot-glued, sewed, ironed-on, cut, and painted their dresses to their hearts content.

Their craft party hostess, “Miss M” aka radmegan, tried to channel her inner supermodel/task-master, while calling out the remaining studio time for the fiercely talented crafters. When the time was up, the girls donned their haute couture pieces and hit the make-shift runway.

Everyone had a lot of laughs as they strutted and posed through the shop.

We even set up a backdrop with Heidi’s photo on it for the girls to take individual photos after the “show” was over.

It was a high-energy, super-creative party and when it was over, 12 girls left with custom dresses and lots of fun memories. To book your own craft party at the Urban Craft Center, fill out our online private party request form, or give us a call (310.392.0139) and ask for Megan.

Toadstool Contest Winners

the ucc team — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:34:39 +0000

We’ve had so much fun seeing all of the fabulous Toadstools entered for this contest – the first of it’s kind at The U.C.C!

Once voting began we realized how difficult it was going to be to select a winner. They are all so unique and wonderful! But in the end, a little competition can be fun. We also decided to split the contest into two categories; Adults and Crafty Kids. Winners were chosen based on: concept, technique, execution, and overall effect. U.C.C staff accounted for 50% of the vote and 50% was determined by a public vote in our store. Below you can see all of the contestants entries, along with their written statements about each piece.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Adult Category
1st place – $150 gift certificate to The U.C.C, Annual Bulky Weight Membership
2nd place – $50 gift certificate to The U.C.C, Annual Worsted Weight Membership
3rd place – $25 gift certificate to The U.C.C, Annual Lace Weight Membership

First Place – Magical Toadstool by Sophie Smits

Second Place – Love Lives Here by Birgitta

Third Place – Abby’s Fair Toadstool by Nikki Lee

Crafty Kids Category
1st place – $20 gift certificate to The U.C.C and a crafting goody bag.
2nd place – $10 gift certificate to The U.C.C and a crafting goody bag.
3rd place – $5 gift certificate to The U.C.C and a crafting goody bag

First Place – Spring Fungis by Jacqueline B.

Second Place – Toadstool & Bunny by Harriette B.

Third Place – Mushroom on Paper Plate – by Arielle A.

The Other Amazing Contestants:

Under the Wire by Linde Williston

Crochet Toadstool Box

Stamp Out the Negativity, Stick it to the Positive by Tam Premsrirath

Peach Fuzz Monkey by Sam B.

Toadstool Family by the Brambrough Family

Kickstart A Seamstress

the ucc team — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 00:55:10 +0000

Support Christine Haynes’ Kickstarter

THE PLAN: Hi, I’m Christine Haynes! I teach sewing class at The U.C.C. I teach all kinds of classes from beginner level projects like totes and pillows, to more intermediate projects like skirts, tops, and dresses. I also design clothing for women and I’d like to turn those designs into sewing patterns.

What is Kickstarter? Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects. Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

WHAT THE MONEY IS FOR: Print house minimums is usually 1,000 pieces per style. While the cost per print isn’t that high, when you multiply it times 1,000 pieces, it gets costly really quick! And that’s just the printed patterns! I also need the instruction sheets and illustrations, as well as photos of the finished items for people to see what they’d be making. Once totaled, it will cost about $3,000 per design to launch a commercially available sewing patterns.

HOW YOU CAN HELP!: I have had successes with my business, but coming up with enough money to launch sewing patterns is beyond my means. I am literally a one woman operation. I do all the sewing, designing, writing, and everything myself, and while I’ve been doing all this work for the last few years, I’ve maintained a day job to keep things afloat. I know it’s too much for one woman to do, but I love it and am ready to see it to the next level! No donation is too small, honestly! If I don’t reach my fundraising goal, none of the pledges made by people get collected and I won’t get a dime. As you can see, every little bit does help!

CLICK THE PHOTO BELOW TO SEE CHRISTINE’S KICKSTARTER PAGE, WATCH HER VIDEO, DONATE AND SPREAD THE WORD!

Melody Miller Spotlight

Miranda — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 20:54:27 +0000

As many of you probably saw on Facebook, we got in almost two dozen new Japanese fabrics, including several Melody Miller prints. I was checking out her blog, and was amazed at how personable and friendly she seems. These days pretty much everyone has some sort of blog, but I was struck at how much Melody Miller sounds like someone I’d want to hang out with. I know this is a bit of a shameless plug, but seriously, I have to admit I’m really digging her blog.

Super Mario Bros Quilt at the Urban Craft Center

Miranda — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 02:32:38 +0000

Three years ago I decided to make an Item Block pillow for my friend Devin. We were discussing the pillow and agreed that to be a proper item block, something needs to come out of it.

“Quillows” are quilts that fold into a pillow. When it’s a quilt, there’s a pocket on the back for your toesies, and when it’s a pillow the quilt is safely tucked away.

I can’t really resist pixel art. It’s just too cool. So I went a little bit crazy and decided to make a screen shot wall hanging as well. it’s about 60″ wide and 50″ tall. (Check out my little printout in the lower corner – I found a screenshot from the game and used Paint on my computer to make a map of all of the pixels.)

The bricks, bridge and axe are made up of 1/4″ pixels, and then Mario, Bowser, the fire ball, the hammers, and the lava are all 1/2″ pixels. (For the quilting nerds out there, the grey bricks and the bridge are all pieced and the lava, characters and weapons are all appliqued using Wonder Under.)

The one crucial Mario element that I couldn’t fit on the quilt was Bowser’s fireball, which was just too long to really sit happily anywhere on the quilt. So I went to Spoonflower.com, this incredible web site where you can upload images from your computer and they will print it out on fabric. I uploaded some tiny Bowser fireballs and used the fabric as the binding around the outside edge of the quilt, and as a sleeve on the back so that it can be hung on a wall.

In the process of making the screenshot wall hanging, I accidentally made a backwards Mario who was running away from Bowser, so I put him on a pillowcase with a green pipe on the back. I put the pillowcase zipper right on top of the green pipe so that you can take the pillow out of the pipe when you want to wash the pillowcase.

Slinging some Scooters

Miranda — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 03:50:54 +0000

When my old purse died last year, my crafty conscience demanded I make myself a new one. I chose a fabric and a pattern that I had been eyeing for a while, and got this fabulous sling bag!

The super awesome thing I discovered while making this bag is that old plastic grocery bags are perfect for tracing your sewing patterns onto. I used a sharpie and an old Target bag, and now have pattern pieces which stand up to pin pricks and still fold up very nicely for going back into the envelope. I know other people who swear by freezer paper, and I believe them, but I’m pretty excited about my upcycled plastic bags.

Check out both the pattern and the fabric on our web store!

Scooters in Natural from Echino Catalina Sling Pattern from Pink Sand Beach Designs

New Fabric from Moda!

Miranda — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:43:29 +0000

New fabric from Moda – we just got in both the It’s a Hoot! and the Hideaway collections, with Just Wing It on the way! I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel some pre-summertime pajama pants coming on with one of the bird stripes . . .

Check out the entire collections on our web store!

It’s a Hoot by Momo for Moda Fabrics Hideaway by Lauren & Jessi Jung for Moda Fabrics

Kids Winter Craft Camp

Victoria — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 01:00:15 +0000

Thinking back to our Kid’s Camp over summer, I can’t wait for this time around! I’m hoping we’ll see some familiar faces from last time, and new friends too, of course! Even though the week was a sticky vortex of glitter, glue, and googly eyes, I know I speak for all of us at The UCC when I say it was one of our favorite endeavors to date. There are few things cooler than seeing kids genuinely excited about making things. It’s inspiring to have students so eager to learn what we’re teaching, and to see how their imaginations make it their own. The crafts we’ll be doing with the kids this month are some of my personal favorites, and I can’t wait to see the kids creations and learn a thing or two from them in the process. If you’d like more information about the day camp, you can download our December class schedule or simply give us a call. Happy Holidays, stay crafty!

Craft Camp Ages 4-7 Just Added!

rhea — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:48:20 +0000

Lil’ Craft Camp
Level: Beginners ages 4-7
Monday, December 20th – Thursday, December 23rd, 11am-2pm
Four session class, materials included.
$245 for the week

Monday: Hand-crafted Nature Wands, Pressed Flower Necklaces, & Finger-knitting
Using slender sticks of sycamore and willow we will create our own bubble-making wands from copper wire wrapped with beautiful yarns. (Includes making your own bubble solution and decorating it’s container)
We will also read the beautifully illustrated children’s story “The Willow Maiden” and then create necklaces from willow wood, pressed flowers, ferns, and hemp string. Children will take home their wands and necklaces in beautiful handmade linen bags which they will finger knit straps for.

Tuesday: Candle-making and Children’s Tibetan Prayer Flags
Using sheets of beeswax in natural shades made from plant-based colorants, children will create a set of their own candles embellished with beautiful designs. (*No flame, heat, or melting is involved.)
Then using merino wool felt wool, children will design, sew, and embellish their own “prayer flags”. This activity is loosely based on elements found in traditional Tibetan prayer flags, touching upon the idea that the “Wind Horse” will carry the images and messages on the flags (centered around peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom) into the surrounding space and to all beings. Thich Nat Hanh’s beautiful children’s book “Hermit and the Well” will accompany this activity.

Wednesday: Soap & Mold Making
Children will experience the excitement, joy, and satisfaction of making their own soaps! First we will create our own molds by pressing an array of materials into a flexible re-usable putty. Then using a melt and pour goat’s milk base, we will create all-natural delicious smelling soaps using organic herbs and spices, cosmetic grade french clays, and plant-based colorants. Each child will create one mold and 2-3 bars of soap, as well as wrapping and labeling their soaps. (*As the soap base is a melt and pour one, no lye or other harsh chemicals are being used or handled and there will be adult assistance in pouring the melted soap base into molds.)

Thursday: Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Using Vietnamese rice paper, and an array of colorful vegetables and herbs, we will make our own Vietnamese spring rolls, complete with dipping sauce. Children will enjoy the sculptural feel of the rice paper as it soaks in warm water, smelling the aromatic herbs, tearing and cutting the brightly-colored veggies, and tasting the fruits of their labor! They will also decorate a set of reusable chopsticks, and a carrying container for their finished spring rolls. (*No cooking is involved and the ingredients are all vegetarian. There is an option for sweet and sour sauce in case of peanut allergies. The children will use butter knives to cut the veggies.)

Meet the Instructor: Nicole Ichtertz
Nicole was trained as an artist and has been teaching art to children for the past 3 years. She lives in Redondo Beach, and is a volunteer handwork assistant at two local Waldorf schools. She currently teaches knitting, weaving, and embroidery to children ages 4-11. Through a friend, she discovered the art of soap making and has taught workshops to children and adults to create uniquely beautiful molds and soaps using objects from nature.

More Foodie Fun!

Miranda — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:46:19 +0000

The Urban Craft Center is bringing some classy crafting to Food & Wine’s Taste of Beverly Hills. Put on by KCRW, this delicious extravaganza is a series of events, tastings and talks starting on Thursday and continuing through Sunday. We at the UCC are going to be making our crafty contribution in the form of five handmade aprons made from fabric in our studio.

Pics to come!