My Sewing Space

My sewing lately has been quite intentional, planned, and purpose-driven. I typically work well that way, but last week I needed a bit of a break and wanted to just sew something for fun. If it didn't turn out to be a runaway success, I wasn't going to worry about it. I pulled out a piece of black ponte knit fabric that was in my stash. I know it isn't the best quality and I didn't want to be tempted to use it for something that I would invest a lot of time in or would want to last awhile. It's a fairly heavyweight knit, but has quite a lot of stretch and decent drape. I don't know made me want to make harem pants, but after I had the thought I really wanted to go ahead with it. After looking for a pattern to download from Burdastyle , I remembered that I already had an issue with a suitable pattern in it ( 1/2011 #124 ). I didn't think I would like that deep yoke, so I modified that to be narrower and straighter across and also changed the front ...

The fabric for my older daughter’s dress was the inspiration for this coordination effort. I picked it up for a great price at the end of the summer last year. I had the fabrics for my son’s clothes already in my stash. I knew that I wanted to use some sort of bold stripe for my younger daughter’s dress (initially inspired by this one ) but it took me awhile to decide on exactly how to make it work. After some more searching and perusing, I came across this dress and thought it was perfect. Of course, I didn’t have a pattern exactly like that and looked for one that would get me close. Last year I was so happy with New Look 6089 so I decided to work with that one again. The biggest change to the pattern was the cut-away shoulders and it wasn’t as hard to do as I thought it would be. If I were to do it again, I would cut them away a little further - more like the inspiration photo. The stripes are made by sewing navy bands on top of the white skirt. I made pres...

My son has been in need of some more long-sleeved shirts for a few weeks. His patience was rewarded a couple of weeks ago with two new shirts, both from Ottobre patterns. The first was this collared polo shirt, #20 from the 4/2012 issue. The striped fabric is a nice pique knit. It has a good weight but a good amount of stretch, too. I'm happy with how the stripes match across the body and sleeves. The instructions for the placket were beyond puzzling to me. I should have just ignored the pattern pieces and instructions and used the same method I do for sleeve plackets. In the end, it looks okay from the outside, but the inside leaves much to be desired. The collar and stand is cut in one piece - not my usual preference, but I thought I'd give it a chance here and I'm happy with it. I stitched along the fold line and pressed along it well to help keep it in place. The second is a long-sleeved T-shirt with some sleeve details, Ottobre 1/2010 #24. The fabric is ...

Awhile ago I was inspired by this photo via Pinterest. I liked the layers, the simple lines and the mix of neutral colors. I was pretty convinced that her dress was navy, but now I think it's actually dark grey. It took me awhile to get over the "no-no" of navy and black together , but lately I really like it. Same with brown and black. So, this is me combining as many neutral colors as possible: The tunic is the noteworthy item here. The pattern is Simplicity 2245 , a lisette pattern that I purchased awhile ago. I made View B, the tunic. Based on other reviews and the fact that my fabric had some stretch, I went down two sizes. I also added darts in the back for a more streamlined shape there. There were no changes otherwise - this is an easy project! The pockets are a great feature of this pattern. The instructions for completing them are great - they look more complicated than they are. The fabric is a stretch cotton blend with tone-on-t...

Strange to be posting a sundress now, I know. I made this in July, but haven't gotten around the taking pictures or writing about it until now. I admire those who can blog in real time. Mine gets pushed to the bottom of the list most of the time. This is Simplicity 4721 , a pattern that I don't remember buying at all. My copy has a bright orange "SALE $0.99" sticker slapped on the front, but that isn't even triggering any memories. Anyway, it seemed like a good choice when I was perusing the pattern stash for a summer dress for my daughter. I wanted something other than the full, gathered skirt I often gravitate toward. I started with a size 4 and added gobs of length - some to the bodice and more distributed through the skirt. It looks like the narrow straps on the envelope models' dresses are falling off their shoulders. That could probably be fixed by moving them toward the center front more, but I also wanted a little more coverage. So, I changed...