Clik here to view.
New Look 6864 and 102º in the shade
TIme for a sundress because we have a heatwave going on. Yes it really is over 102º F here at my house this week, and the forecast is saying even hotter tomorrow. At times like this we all console...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Look 6864 dress fit adjustments
Still hot here in the dog days of August. My sewing room gets the most sun of any room in the house, and while that is great in the wintertime right now it seems a bit too warm to attempt any daytime...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Garment Clone - tunic top
Sometimes I feel like Goldilocks when it comes to selection of fabric and pattern. Some fabrics are too limp, some fabrics are too bright, and sometimes as Goldilocks found in the story, everything is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One Hit Wonder # 3, Refashioned and wearable
Time to revisit my sometime series of One-Hit Wonders, which are dresses I worked hard to make for a special occasion, wore one time and then put in the closet, never to be worn again. In this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Simplicity 1916 - Knit top
Thank you for all the nice comments on my dress refashion in the previous post. I am so happy to change that one-hit wonder into a wearable dress. Believe me when I say that the finale to this series...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New vacation dress and a new pattern category
What do you call a pattern that is not really vintage but not exactly current either? I have been pondering this question for a few months and have come up with a category for these patterns which I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vacation wrap-up featuring Jalie 2805 T-shirt
Is summer really over? The calendar says so but I think we can pretend for a few more weeks. Still sundress and shorts weather, at least in the daytime. Recently I have been playing around with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vogue 1143 Suit - nearing the finish line
Who thought this Vogue suit had disappeared in the black hole of space? That mysterious vortex of unfinished objects which exerts such a powerful pull on the pesky, the difficult, the not completed in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clinging to summer with McCalls 5882
Even though the calendar says October it felt like summer this week since we had the typical late September heatwave in my part of California. More 100º temps which cause me to reach for a this batik...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One hit wonder - the grand finale
Here you go, the dress that got me started on this series of "One Hit Wonders". Back in May during a break from teaching, I showed my sewing student Karen a few of my previous makes. These are dresses...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vogue 1143 Jacket, Construction Notes part 1
This project, Vogue 1143 has veered perilously near to becoming a UFO - unfinished object. I started this project back in Jan. 2012 when I rashly offered to sew a Vogue designer pattern chosen by a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vogue 1143 Jacket, Construction Notes part 2
Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my previous post. I can say this jacket is technically a bit difficult and a little out of the ordinary. I have pushed through the slightly annoying design...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vogue 1143, Finally finished
Time for some autumnal weather so I can wear this suit. Yes, it is finally finished, taken out of the sewing room and put in the bedroom closet, so I know it is done. Although I still need to work...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vogue 1143 Jacket, how I hem sleeves
Thank you to everyone for all your fantastic comments. There certainly was widespread interest in seeing this jacket made up, lots of people said they had the pattern but were waiting to see a few...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Coat Refashion: preserving the pockets
For at least a year I have been looking at a well-loved coat in my closet that I no longer wear, trying to decide if I should keep or donate. For some reason I couldn't part with it, the color is so...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Coat Refashion part 2: making the skirt
If you have been reading this blog then you know that bright blue is one of my favorite colors so the idea to take a favorite wool coat and refashion into some new pieces was very appealing. Originally...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wrapped up in Blue
How difficult can it be to learn to knit? Just something simple, maybe a scarf. As it turns out, impossible in my case. I have tried a few times, with some very patient knitters showing me the basics,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Style Arc Audrey Jacket,
Thank you for all the great comments on my coat refashion project. That blue boucle coat keeps on giving, as I used the remaining fabric for a portion of this new jacket. It is the Audrey jacket, from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Winter coat time - starting with bound buttonholes
It is winter coat time here, or as much as that happens here in temperate Northern California. Mostly we are wearing our rainboots and watching the weeds sprout after our typical dry summer. But in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Breaking my own rule, the Little Black Dress
Curse you Vogue Patterns! Just when I have put a moratorium on making dresses I was tempted by this one. It is Vogue Easy Options 8280, which is their version of the designer Roland Mouret's Galaxy...
View Article