Thank you for your reply, Kenneth. I've been curious about tambour work recently. I think I'll go ahead and order a set of hooks and give it a whirl. I like that you can use it for beading or for chain stitch on the front. That stippling effect is really neat.

Kenneth, there isn't a huge amount of beading, but it is quite covered with handwork. I've been reluctant to do this to a whole garment piece worked on organza. Does it seem frail or maybe the handwork actually fortifies it? I know appliques are frequently worked on organza. Is it common for whole pieces to be worked on organza? Does one give up any quality by using durable synthetic rather than silk organza? Would it be wise to use synthetic or silk for something like this piece?

I notice that the stitcher allows the yellow thread to travel between areas on the back. It's really not noticeable on the front, is it? That's good to know.

Thank you for sharing this piece. I can appreciate the stitcher's design and creativity. I always wonder how much was planned and what was decided "on the fly".

Cool! I just returned from a week of training in thermal analysis. After hearing about some of the technologies that my classmates are working with, this book review is timely and fascinating. It's going on the top of the reading list. I would really enjoy seeing more people embrace math and science. Thank you for reviewing a book of this type. Hmmm...is it possible that I could direct my career in the direction of my true love...textiles?

I haven't tried to drape yet. I do a lot of sketching though and take a sketchbook with me everywhere to capture all my spontaneous ideas. My ideas don't start with a base pattern but the way I build them does. I want to learn to start from scratch. Seems like draping will help me visualize and change or scrap ideas. Should probably just try draping but some guidelines would help. There are probably plenty of books in the library to help. It seems like such a mysterious art.

Wow! Stunning! I'm inspired to go to the next horse show around town just to see the outfits!

Wow. I like your job. Thanks again for this look behind the scenes at Western Costume Company and what you folks do for Up Close and How Did They Sew That. Really really neat. I think this bit of education will make those two magazine items even more interesting in the future.

I noticed that the garments on the back covers of Threads are usually (always?) from Western Costume Company. Their website has a great gallery but I really appreciate this peak behind the scenes. The information on the poster boards is very interesting. Too bad more of it isn't legible. Definitely will put it on my list of places to go if I visit LA.

I love the historical aspects of sewing as much as sewing itself. I perused the Maryborough Flour Mill Gallery website. Wow! Wayne and Judi have certainly done their homework! Fascinating historical evaluation of the Australian made machines. Thanks, Annie, for following up on the story that you stumbled across.

I see Wayne and Judi's post below. Just in case they read these comments again...Congratulations on your wedding! And thanks for sharing your obsession.

Thank you, for the recommendations!

Right now, I love bead embroidery. I'm learning the techniques and enjoying it very much. Need to carve out more time to spend working on it.

I also have a cross stitch project going. I'm helping my mom finish a bedspread kit she ordered probably 30 or 40 years ago to relieve stress when my grandma, her mother-in-law, was living with us!

I enjoy researching, looking at and learning about most other kinds of embroidery though: black work, swedish weaving, drawn work. It's a long list, right? They're all beautiful. I would enjoy learning about embroidery from other cultures around the world and the past. Was recently reading an article about a museum glove collection in the UK with some amazing embroidery. Very high "wow" factor.

Could you, please, recommend a good book to read more about his work and life?

I'm not a professional teacher. But I love to sew and I love to tell people about it and encourage them whenever I can to sew or do other needle crafts. My knitting friend said that she had been wanting to learn to sew and I happened to have a heavy old Singer I wasn't using. She was very happy to take it off my hands and has told me about pillowcases, a quilt and other household items she has created. Another knitting friend said that she wanted to learn to sew but thought it wasn't "her thing" since a severe bobbin knotting followed by actual machine fire in high school home ec. If I win the magazine and DVD bundle, she's the first person I will loan them to if not give them. Whenever someone says to me that they used to sew, I tell them about Threads and how joining the ASG has made my life happier since I started sewing again. I'm also very vocal with family and co-workers about the ASG and my sewing projects.

Regarding choice of technique, I can't speak for Mr. King. But I will hazard to guess some reasons...
Did you see the jacket that this pocket is on? Notice that this pocket is solid on plaid. It's an inside pocket. Machine stitching would show on the outside unless it was under a pocket on the other side.
Let's say that it's one of the outside pockets. Machine stitching would smash the fabric down or sink into the fabric. Not the right look for this garment.
A wider seam allowance will grade the seam so it's not ridgey at the the seam. And woven wool ravels pretty easily.
It seems that he went to a lot of effort to make it look beautiful on the outside and inside. It just plain looks RIGHT. To me.
I think the goal here was to demonstrate an alternative to traditional technique. Issue No. 152 also had an article about sewing a patch pocket without topstitching.

Dekobell and pdevore's comments lead me to this thought: Threads is devoted to educating and publishes many techniques. As an intermediate sewer I practice and learn the techniques. Not so hard. Learning WHEN to apply WHICH technique is the hard part for me. Maybe this is something that comes with experience. I'll suggest technique comparison for future articles.

Thanks for taking the scary out of double-sided fabric. I'm happy to have this follow-up/addition to the jacket article in No. 152. I love the look of the hand-picked attachment for this garment.

I have the great fortune of living near the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store. In fact I'm going that way today. I'll see if they make double-sided fabric in a weight suitable for garments.

I enjoy reading the history of fashion and sewing. It sounds like Horrockses Fashions would be wonderful to curl up with during these dreary winter days. Thank you for your book reviews and give-aways.

Was a picture added? Rereading the article, the second hook picture clarified the technique for me. Perhaps I just needed to read again with fresh eyes. Can't wait to try it.

Thank you, Susan and Threads! Love your magazine!

Elfstone, I know exactly what article inspired you. I was also inspired by that article. I ordered Fred Bloebaum's Athena blouse pattern with the square armholes. However I haven't acted any further on that inspiration and you created a real beauty. Congratulations! You deserve those wonderful prizes and the recognition!

I'm sorry. I'm not quite understanding. Do you go through the loop twice? It doesn't seem like going through once is going to make a knot. Unless you start the next stitch to the right of the first one?

This is a beautiful technique. I literally frowned at the last hook and eye that I sewed on because it was so ugly. I'd love to resew it with this technique.

Have you looked at Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin? She and her Alabama Chanin friends have created some unique and fun items. The techniques are easy to apply to my own creations. I made a reverse applique journal cover from retired shirts. I pin swatches to the inside and write my design ideas in it. Carry it with me everywhere!

"One of sewing's joys is that it brings you into a different, deeper relationship with textiles." Similarly, Alabama Chanin has a great philosophy around sewing, textiles and that relationship to their community and regional history. They have a website: alabamachanin.com. Be sure to read the "about" page. This philosophy is described more in depth in the books.

65 yards?! You lucky duck! Your colleague is a gem.

Kenneth, thank you! Thanks for many things but the most important thing to me was the advice that you gave in a Threads interview to not be afraid. This jacket may be a good example that you "practice what you preach", I don't know. But I would have been absolutely terrified to cut this fabric! But you did it. And the result is really wonderful.

I have made two bags with increasing challenge and various technique. Right now, I'm working on a bag with the hibiscus motif from Kenneth D. King's Designer Bead Embroidery. I'm a beginning embroiderer and love the look on garments and home dec projects. Bags in Bloom would be a wonderful resource and inspiration.