My Sewing Space

Every once in awhile I feel like I want something "different" in my closet. Generally I'm not super trendy, but from time to time an odd trend appeals to me. This time it was culottes. I had a piece of black wool in my stash that was too lightweight for pants. Using it for a skirt was an option, but that would have left a good sized remnant that would be too big to toss and too small to do much else with. Since it was lightweight and had some good drape, I thought it could work for culottes. Plus, stash fabric seems "free" to me, so if it was a total bust not much was lost. There are quite a few patterns for culottes available now. The one I chose was  Vogue 9091 . I prefer a yoke to a regular waistband. Views A and B are considered culottes and View C is considered pants. I chose to make View C, but shortened it by five inches. I also added a lining, but those are the only real changes. This is not a complicated pattern. The pleats are deep and gett...

Now that I'm done with the Christmas clothing sewing, I'm turning my attention back to my Dress Warm project. For my third dress this season, I made a lightweight sleeveless knit dress. Sounds perfect for winter in Ontario, right? Actually, it has been unseasonably warm less cold but still a long way from summer-like. On it's own, this dress is not at all seasonally appropriate. But, I made it with the intention of wearing it with a long black cardigan that I picked up at a thrift store awhile back. I liked New Look 6071 when I first saw it and have been wanting to try it out. I give the fabric pretty mixed reviews. I used a rayon jersey - very soft and drapey and nice to touch. However, it was difficult to sew and I think it will keep growing. This dress probably won't last beyond this season, but I'm okay with that. This is the last piece of this type of knit I had in my stash and I likely won't buy any more. My local Fabricland always has a lot of it ...

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...