I recently had some requests for items that are supposed to be waterproof and so my focus has been on waterproof fabrics like oilcloth and laminated cotton lately. And the more I work with them, the more I love it! Actually what I am talking about is ONLY laminated cotton, I haven't tried working with oilcloth yet. Laminated cotton is basically a regular cotton fabric which has a laminate overlay, it's PVC free whereas oilcloth is a PVC product and also behaves a little bit different than laminated cotton, it's sturdier and not as soft as laminated cotton.
So far I have tried two wallets with laminated cotton which both turned out very nicely: I interfaced the first one with By Annie's Soft and Stable and the second one with Decovil. The purple one is still available in my charmed Liebling Etsy shop by the way:

My current project is a waterproof bag for my tennis racket. (At this point I noticed I am no longer a sewing addict by the way. More like a sewing freak I guess. I mean, who makes their own tennis bag?? Well, I do :-)) I found this really cute laminated cotton on Etsy. I love the different styles of the pears!

Some helpful hints when working with oilcloth or laminated cotton

1. When working with laminated cotton it is good to use sewing clips instead of pins, or if you don't have any, make sure you only pin on the seam allowance because the holes won't dissappear but stay in your fabric. I also like to use a stretch needle when sewing (e. g. Schmetz Stretch 75/11) which have a thinner point and hurt the fabric less.

2. Ironing is another tricky part and of course you should never iron directly on the laminated side. Only use medium heat and put the laminated cotton with the laminated side facing down plus another piece of fabric or a kitchen towel on top of it and nothing should happen. For me this worked out just fine!

3. It can be helpful to have a special sewing foot, a non-stick foot or a roller foot with two metal rollers like I use on my sewing machine. Oilcloth and laminated cotton don't feed well into the sewing machine and those sewing feet prevent the fabric from sticking on the throat plate and the feed dogs:

4. You can find a relatively broad selection of laminated cotton in most online fabric stores but I highly recommend you check out the following two Etsy shops:
Laminates
Oilcloth addict 

They both carry oilcloth by various designers like Amy Butler but you will also find little treasures that the "big" fabric stores don't carry, like e. g. the laminated cotton with the pears ;-)

As mentioned in my previous blogpost about my Amy Butler blossom handbag, I was going to donate the bag for a local silent auction here in Rochester, NY. The auction is part of a really exciting event on April 20, 2013 called "classical idol": a vocal competition with jury and audience participation who search for new talents in the classical music genre. The first prize is $ 2,000 and the opportunity to perform a solo in concert with the Rochester Oratorio Society. That is the choir I am currently a member of, hence my contribution to the silent auction :)

So I had the handbag, but I felt like I would want to make it like a nice esemble of things, for people to be more likely to donate for it. I decided I would make another one of my iPhone cases (for iPhone 5) but I changed it a little bit from the one I made for myself and added a small velcro closure to it. The salmon color matches nicely with the shades of the handbag.

Finally I made a bifold wallet in bright red colors. It has a lot of slots for credits cards and a zip pocket on the backside.

There will not only be a silent auction at this event but also hors d'oeuvres, cash bar and - most important of all - beautiful singing! The festivities start at 6 PM, the Idol competition at 7:30 PM. Tickets for the event are $40, and there also will be student "Theater Seating" available for $15.
To read more about this event please visit the website of the Rochester Oratorio Society. 

When I was still living in Germany I used to buy Germany's famous "Burda style magazine" which is published monthly. The story behind that magazine is actually a really interesting part of German publishing history. I don't want to bother you with too many details but let me just tell you this:

There is this woman, Aenne Burda, who after World War II decides to publish a fashion magazine, known as "Burda Moden" (= Burda fashion). Soon after it was launched in 1950 this magazine became famous for adding sheets of paper with patterns for clothes. She had the perfect idea at the right time: the people in post-war Germany were able to create stylish and modern clothes even without having to invest a lot of money (which they didn't have to begin with). During the next 15 years, Burda Moden should become the worlds bestselling fashion magazine! Oh and did I mentioned that in 1987 it became the first western magazine to be (legally) published in the former Soviet Union? Not bad, huh?

So anyway, when I moved to the States I started to focus more on the tons of patterns I already had since I thought Burda style was not available here. By the way, yes, my Burda style magazine collection moved to the US with me, so I still have plenty of patterns to choose from, BUT: for my birthday which was in December, my lovely husband gave me a subscription of Burda Style - the English edition!
It's basically the translation of the German edition - now I like to hang on the phone with my mother and we talk about the variety of patterns of the current edition, me browsing through the English and her through the German one :-)

Right in the center of the magazine you will find two large sheets with all the sewing patterns (in this issue there is a total of 53 patterns!). I admit, it looks a little wild on the first glance. Before I copy the patterns I like to use a pen or marker and trace the lines of my pattern, so they are better visible when I put my tissue paper on top. Of course, if you copy them with wax tracing paper it should be easier. I don't even know if you can buy Burda tissue paper in the US?

More sections in the magazine:

If you're thinking about subscribing to the magazine, here's where you can find more information about Burda style and the current rates. You can subscribe for three months, six months ore a whole year (the rates per issue get cheaper the longer you subscribe of course). The magazine is published monthly.
All prices are subject to change!