The Hidden Story Behind the Heated Rivalry Fleece

 

Lately, it seems like a fleece jacket is all the rage since it appeared on an episode from the show Heated Rivalry.  Last night a local sewing business, Lilax Studio, was featured on the news for offering classes for sewing the fleece.  And last month this fan of the fleece created her own version.  I've never watched the show or read the book which the show is based on and I'm not into leisure sports garb.  But what I find it interesting all the attention this simple zip front style fleece is getting in the media lately.  

Photo source

Even the Prime Minister of Canada has been photographed in the fleece.  It's that popular and the question lingers who is behind this pop cultural moment.  Is it the actor who modelled this garment on the show.  Or does the credit go to the show's Toronto costume designer, Hanna Puley, who has been credited for designing the fleece?  Not so fast.  

Kuwalla Streetwear brand is behind the fleece design, a Canadian label based in Montreal whose clothes are available in Simon stores.  It was a Kuwalla-Tee Bonded Sherpa fleece jacket that was decorated by the show's costume designer to look like an Olympic jacket for the show.  Yet, nowhere in all the press coverage or celebration of this jacket is it mentioned that this is a Kuwalla Streetwear jacket.  So why is Province of Canada, a Toronto based fashion line releasing the jacket.  Not cool.  

Hey, I've been known to sew copy cat designs at the sewing table.  Most recently, a couple of days ago I copied and made my own Magic Bag heating pad.  It was another great Canadian design but I didn't try to hide the fact that I'm copying someone else's design ideas.  That's the part that is not cool.  It would have been cool if they worked with Kuwalla to re-release the jacket.  Is this another Montreal vs. Toronto rivalry?  Oh, the drama and heated rivalry of these two Canadian fashion brands.

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Neck to Back Heat Pad

The Magic Bag Heating Pad that I've been using has been hitting the mending pile recently.  And when the latest patch work started to open again, I decided that it was either time to buy another (these are a Canadian product) or sew a new one.  I decided to save some money and sew my own.  

I cut open the straight edge and removed the filling, saving it to reuse in the new bag.  I used the old Magic Bag as my pattern and cut out the fabric, a medium weight 100% cotton fabric.  

I transferred the topstitching line on one side and folded it over to transfer the design on the other side.  Then I topstitched the lines before filling the bag.  The bag was closed with the serger.

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  0.4 metres

Pattern:  Old Magic Bag

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, tailor's chalk, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, thread clippers, iron and ironing board.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Raw Silk Pullover Top / OOP Vogue 9246

This project is all about stash busting this beautiful piece of raw silk.  There was a struggle to find a project worthy for this fabric.  You see, with only 1.9 metres to work with the plan for Vogue 1899 didn't work as there wasn't quite enough width for the 114 centimetre wide fabric to accommodate the corner of the sleeves.   But OOP Vogue 9246 worked out for this small piece of silk.   

OOP Vogue 9246 has a super easy pullover top to sew.  It is an excellent project for a beginner.  It's a well drafted pattern.  I made it in a size large and there is ample ease, I could have gone down to a medium at the neckline and yoke seams.  The neckline and yoke were cut as a size large and the side seams and length on the sleeve is cut as an extra-extra large.  It's big on me but I will be able to wear this over the back brace and that is a good thing.  The bodice hem was increased to two inches and the sleeve is finished with a three quarter of an inch hem.  The neckline was finished with seam binding.  

The fabric is a medium to heavy weight silk noir in a beautiful raspberry colour.  It was an absolute pleasure to sew.  I wish that fabric like this were easily found in the fabric store aisles, but I believe this is a fabric from bygone days.  I picked it up at Winnipeg Sews when they acted as a fabric reseller.  It was pretreated before hitting the cutting table.  Going forward, this will be a hand washed garment.   

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  Everything needed and used was sourced from the stash.  The fabric is a second hand find from Winnipeg Sews, a now closed down Canadian fabric outlet.  The pattern, OOP Vogue 9246, is a made in the U.S.A. product that was in the stash prior to the convicted felon's tariff war against the world.  The fabric scissor is from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The paper scissors were made in Taiwan and were purchased at Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads used were from Gütermann Threads, a German company.  There are labelled as made in Greece and were purchased from Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project Details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.9 metres

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 9246, circa 2017

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, pins, pin cushion, fabric scissors, paper scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, tailor's chalk, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, threads, thread clippers, lint brush, canned air, iron, ironing board, tailor's ham, sleeve ham and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Scoliosis Brace Cover / Tube Top

This is basically a tube top for my scoliosis brace.  But let's call it a brace cover.  It is for the original brace, the one that I wear during the day and especially when clearing snow.  Since it's winter, I would like to wear sweaters but I'm scared to damage them with the Velcro straps on the brace.  I took inspiration from Brace Buddies and made a brace cover and it works like this top, just without sleeves.  

It's currently a little snug but it works.  I'll take it out for a test run before I make more or changes.  The fabric has been in the stash for many years.  To be honest I'm not sure when it entered the stash or if it came from Mitchell Fabrics or Marshall Fabrics.  All I do know is that you don't see cotton knit like this in the fabric stores now-a-days.  The last time I used some of the yardage was for this top about five years ago.  It is a medium weight cotton knit.  And it was previously pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer before returning back to the stash and making it onto the cutting table for this project.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free sewing project.  Everything used to create this project was sourced from the stash.  The beefy knit has been in the stash for decades.  I do not remember where I bought this but I know it wasn't Fabricland, it was either Mitchell Fabrics or Marshall Fabrics.  Anyway, all three mentioned companies are all Canadian.  The scissors used to cut out the project are from Merchant and Mills, a U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads were all pulled from the stash and are a mix of Gütermann and Coat's and Clark threads.  

Project Details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1 metre

Pattern:  None

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, threads, thread clippers, and the Janome AirThread 2000D serger.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting and Revisiting a Favourite Issey Miyake Pattern: OOP and Vintage Vogue 2334

This top will see a lot of wear.  The fabric is a wool overlay on a knit, it's beautiful and warm.  I could really use some warm pieces right now.  The pattern is one of my favourites, a vintage Issey Miyake design, that is making a reappearance on the cutting table.  

This is a fun project.  It has some basic shaped pattern pieces that drape into an unique style.  The band on the bottom is off centre creating draping to one side.  There is more volume in the front to help with the draping effect created by the neck hole being cut on the back piece and having the circle piece drape over the shoulders into the front.  

The fabric is a black wool overlay with some lace like designs on top of a white knit.  I used the dryer and damp towel method to pre-shrink this fabric.  This fabric is warmer than the sweatshirt fleece fabric that I used on the first version.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made project.  Everything used to sew this project came from the stash.  The fabric originally came from Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The pattern in a vintage and previously used item pulled from the stash.  It was sadly a tariffed item after the convicted felon started a tariff war with the world.  I have since learned my lesson about not jumping off the boycott wagon even for an Issey Miyake pattern that I was searching for over the past few years.  It is not a mistake that I will repeat.  The scissors are from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The sewing label is from KATM, an Australian company.  The threads were from Gütermann, a German company and were made in Greece.  All of the threads were purchased at Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  partially serged

Fabric:  2.1 metres 

Pattern:  Vintage and out-of-print Vogue 2334, circa 1989

Label:  1--"circa 2025" label by KATM (I'm trying to use them up)

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, cutting mat, pins, pin cushion, measuring tape, measuring gauge, tailor's chalk, tailor's ham, fabric scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, threads, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, tweezers, thread clippers, canned air, seam ripper, iron and ironing board.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Monday's Mending Pile

Lately, it seems like I've been spending more time mending than sewing something new.  This past week it was all about altering curtains.  Two sets of kitchen curtains required some additional length so there was some quality time with the seam ripper to open up the upper casings and to add length by adding a facing and new casing.  Not my favourite type of sewing but I'm happy that it is off the list of things to do.  

My heart broke a little when I found this fraying at one of the edges of this duvet cover.  I wasn't sure how I was going to mend this one.  In the end, I just used some linen fabric to make a patch and hand stitched it in place.  

I would like to go back to this and do some decorative stitching.  For now, it's covered up and safe to put away.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep mending.  

Monday's Mending Pile

So, the first day that I wore these pants, this happened.  This is the second pair that recently required this type of repair.  

This time the crotch seam broke in three sections.  Thankfully, the seam is serged and I wore a hip length jacket avoiding any cold drafts or exposure.  Just a run through the sewing machine with a 2.6 straight stitch to repair the stitching.  

The corner edge of the patch pocket on this pajama top was starting to expose a hole in the fabric.  This mending job called for some hand stitching and strong thread.  

Talking about jobs that require strong thread, the winter work gloves finally received the attention it needed before the cold weather returns.  The original stitching was in brown thread, and the first mending was done in black, this latest fix is done in the ivory coloured thread.  They're not the cleanest looking mending job and I'm okay with that as long as they can get me through a few more winters. 

My heart sank a little when I pulled this 100% cotton duvet cover out and discovered this rip in it.  It's a nine inch by 2 inch fraying on the underside of the duvet cover near the edge. I thought, for a brief moment in time, that it might become fabric but I really would like to keep this as a duvet cover.  And that is how it ended on the mending pile.  

The question I need to answer is if this will be a hand mending project or do I turn to the sewing machine for help?  Until I decide on the method of repair, I will be trying to find a solution.  I'm open to suggestions.  

These 100% wool pants had three small holes in need of repair at the back crotch seam.  This was a hand stitching job and going forward I will choose a longer shirt / sweater to wear and cover the area of repair.  Hopefully, I can get another winter out from these pants.  

Besides crotch seam fixes, seam breakage is also common around the armholes.  This robe needed repair in this area, a quick fix with the sewing machine.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.