My Sewing Space

In this post , I mentioned my wanting more fall/winter dresses. Here we have the second dress in this "Dress Warm" project. For this one I opted to use a warm fabric and chose a design that would allow wearing a cami underneath  for an extra layer. The pattern is Simplicity 2406 , view C. I previously made view B here . I used a dark green fine-wale corduroy fabric that I've had in my stash for years. It's so soft and more drapey than most corduroy. I've considered using this fabric every winter for the last few years, but haven't felt like I found the ideal pattern for it. I'm making a concerted effort to sew up stash fabrics and not hoard them out of fear of not getting it perfect. So, did I choose the perfect pattern? I don't really think so, but I still like the dress and a dress in my closet is more satisfying than flat fabric on a shelf. I had just enough fabric to make this dress - only small scraps left, so no matching sash. This is an e...

When I began blogging, I posted my makes right after they were finished and the blog was a chronological record of what came off the sewing machine. That isn't the case anymore. Now I blog when I get around to taking pictures, which can be awhile. In the case of this vest, it's been at least 8 months. It normally doesn't take nearly that long, but I didn't have a shirt to wear under it when I finished it, and then the wrong season came along (summer). Finally I wore it a few days ago and got a picture. Excuse the funny shadows. And the funny hair. You'd think after waiting 8 months, I'd get it right... The problem with blogging long after creating is that it's hard to remember what I did or changed. I do know that I'm happy with the fit of the vest, particularly across the back. The construction seems sound, too. I think I used cotton batiste to underline the tweed fabric. It isn't a very high-quality fabric and the loose weave needed a little ...

This past summer I really increased my summer dress selection. My fall/winter dress choices are pretty minimal, but I think I'd like to change that this year. I associate fall/winter dresses with being cold, so I'm hoping to find dress options that have long sleeves, work well for layering, or can be made in warm fabrics. I started this add-more-dresses project with a dress to wear to a wedding I attended last weekend. While out snoop shopping a few weeks ago, I tried on a ponte knit sheath dress with tucks radiating from the side seam. It cost $250. Even though everything about the dress was too short (bodice length, skirt length, sleeve length), it was a flattering style and was easy to wear. It was very similar to Butterick 5559 . I picked up the pattern and some navy ponte knit fabric and got to work on my own version. This was a very interesting pattern to sew. There are separate top and bottom pieces for the front and back - the seam is hidden under the tuck at the...

The only thing that is really noteworthy about this skirt is that it isn't needed until December and I made it in October. My daughter needs a black knee-length skirt to wear as part of her school uniform for concerts and performances. The first concert she is a part of is the Christmas concert. Assuming this December would be just as busy as those in recent years, I tried to be proactive and get this done earlier than a couple nights before the concert. Yay me! I've made this skirt before , so I was familiar with the pattern. I want this skirt to be wearable for a couple of years, so I added three inches in length to the size 7. It finishes just at the bottom of her knee cap. The fabric is a basic poly suiting with a little bit of stretch. Poor planning on my part, but I added all of the length to the middle part of the side panel. It would have been smarter to add 1" above the pocket, 1" in the middle, and 1" to the pleat. That would have kept the proporti...

This is the second bag I made for M's shop. To keep it simple, I started with the same pattern as the first one and modified it a bit. The changes include using two narrow straps on the sides of the bag instead of one wide one at the ends, making the bottom of the top band straight rather than curved, and cutting the main part of the bag into three gathered strips. I stabilized each gathered seam with stay tape so they wouldn't stretch out. The lining is smooth and slightly smaller than the outer part, so stretching shouldn't be a problem. Since the print fabric is a quilting cotton, I backed the lining pieces with fusible fleece to give the bag some heft. The rings are harness rings from the hardware store. They come in a variety of sizes at a good price. And then the zipper. I added tabs to the end of the zipper because this one was a little short, but generally I find this works better than stitching the zipper all the way to the ends when it's recessed l...

A couple of weeks ago, M asked me to make a couple more purses for her shop. Two of the others that I made awhile back had sold - yay! The only guidelines M has is that the purses should close securely, preferably with zippers. She finds that bags that stay open or close with only a snap don't sell very well. Since color, style and fabrication were all up to me, I really wanted to make them from materials I already had. My MIL sent me home from our summer trip to their place with a pile of fabric that she had. One of the pieces was a really nice dark pink wool. The piece was long, narrow and not very big - ideal for a bag. Please pardon those spots on the camera! I used the pattern I developed when working on these bags . Since the fabric was plain, I figured some embellishment would be a good idea. These roses are pretty easy to make. If I were looking at this bag in a store I would be concerned that the roses would come apart or come off the bag, so I made sure to stitch t...