SewBaby News

I'm not quite sure what style to call this jacket.  With all of the tabs and buttons, it seems to have a military feel to it, but add in the pleated collar and sleeves, and it suddenly becomes very feminine!  I made this jacket for my daughter's 22nd birthday present.  She loves green and she loves corduroy, and I found a gorgeous hunter green knit backed corduroy in my stash.  I'm pretty sure that it is all polyester, and it's the only time I've ever seen this type of fabric!  It should be warmer than a cotton corduroy and less likely to stretch out of shape.  She picked out the pattern Simplicity 2313, View C . This pattern has some really cute features, such as the pleated collar and sleeves, the curved in-seam pockets, and the zippered front with overlaid button tabs.  I think all of the other options in this pattern are cute, so I might make another view of it as well. The hardest part of this was the curved pockets.   You have to be pretty exact in yo

After my venture into sewing leather with a basic purse, I tackled sewing an actual jacket!  This one is a Sandra Betzina pattern, Vogue 1198 .  I love sewing with Sandra's patterns, as they fit me so well. Sandra writes great directions, and I always learn something new whenever I make one of her patterns.  This time I learned her technique for inserting a sleeve lining that was different than I've ever seen before  I used copper metallic goatskins that I bought years ago at a very good price.  It wouldn't be my first choice, but I think if I wear this at night, it won't be quite as loud! I made a scarf to go with it from a length of  chiffon that I had.  I just cut a rectangle 2-1/2 yd long by 14 inches wide, and then narrow hemmed the unfinished edges.  Do you think the leopard is too much with this?    This jacket went together very well.  I used binder clips instead of pins to hold the pieces together.  And since you really can't press the seam

School Girl e-pattern I'm happy to introduce to you, a new and very talented pattern designer- Laura Johnson from Ellie Inspired patterns ! Laura has just released several new adorable designs, and she has graciously offered our readers a chance to win TWO giveaways!  Instructions on how to enter are at the end of this post. One winner will get the complete collection of Nursery Rhyme e-patterns for sizes 1-5 (Pocket o' Posies, Lucy Locket, Sugar Horses, Daisy Bell, Dancer, and Daddy's Girl). One winner will get the complete collection of It's a Girl Thing e-patterns for sizes 4-12 (Sweet Daisy Girl, Twirl Girl, School Girl, and I will also include Dancer since it goes up to size 8). Both winners will also be able to add to their prize two new patterns not even released yet! Lil' Bluebird (sizes 1-5) and Nanny Etticoat (sizes 1-12!!!!) will be coming out next week but you will be the first to receive them! Where did you grow-up, where did you go to sch

On a whim, I bought some metallic copper goat leather skins online a couple of years ago.  Never having sewn with leather before, I bought them mainly because they were a cheap price, and I wanted something to experiment on.  When I got them, the metallic finish was *WAY* more metallic than I had anticipated.  They also smelled pretty strongly of chemicals.  I aired them outside for a few days, and then put them away until now. I've been noticing a lot of metallic finishes in fashion this year, so I decided this was the time to take the plunge.  I bought enough for a jacket (which I have already cut out) and I had enough left to do a purse.  I thought I would start with the purse, and then work my way up to the jacket. Burnt leather The purse pattern I chose was Vogue 8310 (now discontinued)- basically several variations of a hobo bag.   The first thing that I had to do was interface the bag.  I chose fusible fleece to give it more body.  Here is my first attempt at fusing f